YouTube Channel Profile Series: STILLBROKE1's Channel

It's the 22nd of the month, so here's our latest YouTube Channel Profile! As usual in this monthly feature series, we're taking a look at a YouTube channel with at least a 50% concentration of videos with a local metal relevance, so we can profile it and tell you guys what lies within and what videos you should check out! After our three-for-all last month, we're kicking off 2012 in this series with a look at a prominent returning local band's old channel, so read on below for all that you need to know! (Updated on October 15th, 2013)
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STILLBROKE1's Channel (http://youtube.com/user/stillbroke1)

Owner: Stillbroke frontman Jesse Frigault (and maybe his mother Laurie Usitalo too), but the channel is credited to the band as a whole.

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 2nd, 2009; Videos posted between July 2009 & May 2010.

Channel Summary: This was the official YouTube channel for inactive Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Stillbroke, before their late 2011 name change to Borderline Divine. The channel features 8 videos from late 2009 & early 2010, which included the release of their debut EP "Never Enough" and their final major activity under the Stillbroke name. Though I think some early 2009 concert footage may have been featured on this channel at one point, the currently posted videos include Stillbroke's set at the Kiss Battle of the Bands in December 2009, two advertisements for their EP, a short video of the crowd from a rare out of town show in Baysville, three solo performance videos by Jesse Frigault, and one featuring him and ex-guitarist Chris Villeneuve. Note however that this channel was not utilized during Stillbroke's 2010-2011 hiatus or during their brief Borderline Divine tenure before breaking up last summer.

Why Should You Watch: Because it has a lot of good video footage and clips from the later active months of the band's run under the Stillbroke name, and their modern hard rock talent is evident in the posted clips! The advertisements are good for what they are, and Jesse's solo performance clips show his talent as a singer and guitarist as well. That said, this channel has not been actively used since 2010, and with Stillbroke's later name change and 2012 breakup, future use of the channel is unlikely at best, so keep that in mind in case it changes your mind on subscribing.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Stillbroke Battle of the Bands for Kiss: The most popular video and the most substantial live concert footage here is of Stillbroke's set at the Kiss Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub on December 1st, 2009, where they played their self-titled song and "Never Enough" for hundreds of fans! This featured what I'd call their "classic lineup", including Jesse on vocals & lead guitar, final drummer Sam DeDominicis on rhythm guitar, prolific local musician Kyle McKey on bass, and Jenny Hooper on drums. Despite disappointment at the live sound quality and their stage setup in the video description, and that they didn't make the finals of the battle, Stillbroke still sound good here, and have a nice on stage energy & presence! It's how I remember them from back then, and the criticisms of the quality underrate the video, though the beginning of the first song is cut off. It's definitely worth checking out for old Stillbroke fans, or if you enjoyed the Kiss Battle of the Bands, which got the whole scene buzzing in 2009!



"Stillbroke: Never Enough" Advertisment: Two homemade commercials were posted onto the channel to promote the release of Stillbroke's 2009 EP "Never Enough", one of which featured the band's 2009 lineup riding atop their tour van set to the EP's title track. The one we're featuring here though is a later ad from March 2010, and it features Jesse demolishing an old piano with a sledgehammer, set to their song "Wash It Away" from the EP. Though only 1:41 long, it seems to symbolize their musical approach, tearing down an instrument they no longer used in favour of their existing hard rock sound. That, or it's fun destroying an old piano, but either way, it's a neat little ad! Note that the video ends with some purchasing details for "Never Enough", though it's now out of print.



I Dont Wanna Say Goodbye - Jesse Frigault & Chris Villeneuve: Though three other solo performance videos by Jesse are on the Stillbroke channel (including the original compositions "I'm Still Hanging On" & "Drifting Away" and a cover of Disturbed's "Darkness"), I picked this May 2010 video of Jesse and Stillbroke's final rhythm guitarist Chris Villeneuve playing the song "I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye" to post here as it has a fuller sound with two guitarists. Possibly the only public video footage of Chris actually playing with Stillbroke, he and Jesse have good chemistry on this song, which nicely blends a ballad style with heavier vocals and a pretty good dual guitar solo. Though this is the channel's final video, it's still worth checking out for some proficient hard rock action from the last active months of their run under the Stillbroke name!


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I hope you guys enjoyed this month's YouTube Channel Profile! For the next installment of this series, I've randomly selected the YouTube channel of local electronic hard rock project Candle Hour to be profiled next, so look out for that between February 19th and 25th! That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for reviews of last night's Tym Morrison and Sneaky Pete concerts! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Turner Up), New Sense of Truth E.P. Samples, And More!!!

Alright, so before I start, here's my likely posting schedule for the next few while. Tomorrow, I will post my review of Duane Roy's "Castle Stories: A Rock N' Roll Scrapbook", so after I finish this post, I'll be curling up with a good book and finally giving it a proper review reading! Sunday will feature my review of tomorrow night's Lion Ride/Sense of Truth concert, and some extra news stories if I have some. Monday, I will profile Human Disorder and Summon, two other metal bands who, though not from here, have at least one Saultite in their ranks! And after that, I don't anticipate a so-called "special post" until May 29th, when I post a double review of Downtown Showdown AND Phatstick's return to Foggy Notions! Two separate concerts in one day, that's a first for me. Stay tuned for all this excitement!

I really apologize for this, but to be fair, advance warning of it was minimal. Turner Up, the local hard rock cover band, are playing at Foggy Notions TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT!!! Now why am I so late to mention these shows? I think it's because the band haven't notified us on Facebook through a group update or an event page. I was first alerted to these shows' existences on SooToday a few hours ago, through their newest "Don't Say-There's-Nothing-To-Do-In-The-Sault List" posting on the Entertainment page. There, it says they take the stage tonight and tomorrow at 10:30 PM. For further confirmation (never hurts to have it), I checked my sources, and band members Len Ward and Jeff Gray both confirmed they'd be there this weekend in Facebook statuses, so they're definitely on! Len's also said they were at Foggy's last weekend too, but alas, I didn't hear about them from other sources. I definitely need to pay more attention to Facebook status updates!! Well, if you want to head on out and here some great sounding covers of all kinds of rock classics (the later you stay, the heavier they get), Foggy's is the place to be tonight and tomorrow! 19+, I'd expect a minimal cover charge, head on out and enjoy yourselves! And once again, I'm sorry!!

Now, here's some more exciting news! Three new samples from Sense of Truth's upcoming debut E.P. have been posted online at their newly revamped MySpace page! Yes, they're finally fixing that back up, it previously hadn't been touched since way back, I'm thinking late 2008-early 2009? Well, that's slightly beside the point, the top story here is the new samples! They're all about 50 seconds long, and feature mid-track portions of three new songs from the E.P.: "Crawling", "Land of Greed", and "Push and Pull"! I'm pretty sure we've heard all of these live, but it's great to hear them in crisp clear studio form! Now, what do I think of the samples? Well, you should know by now that I don't give detailed opinions on songs to-be-released on an album until it comes out for a review, but let me just say this: These certainly do not suck, and are well worth checking out! Click here to check out the new Sense of Truth E.P. samples, and I'm sure you'll get a chance to hear these, and more, tomorrow night at The Canadian Nightclub as they back up Lion Ride! I'll be there, and I hope to see you guys there too!

Also, quick note: When you play "Land of Greed", notice the picture that comes up in the MySpace player? Might that be the album cover for the E.P.? I'm not hinting towards things I've been told, this is my own observation. Still, think it might be the album cover?

Next up, a new video has been uploaded to Stillbroke's official YouTube channel! This isn't a "Stillbroke" video, per say, it's actually an acoustic solo performance from Jesse Frigault, and it's a cover of the Disturbed song "Darkness"! If you know your Disturbed well, then you'll know that this is probably their softest and quietest song, but Jesse gives it a bit more edge that actually doesn't hurt the song! Also, props to him for keeping the original vocal arrangement, I was a bit worried the timing would be different like on Stillbroke's cover of "Rooster" by Alice In Chains. Interesting choice of video effects too! Check out Jesse's performance below!



And finally, remember the logo contest that WLSO 90.1 FM: The Sounds of Lake State was running to find a new logo? Well, it has been chosen, and has been uploaded to WLSO's Facebook page! And you can see the new logo for Lake Superior State University's campus radio station to your left. What do I think of it? Well, honestly, I won't give opinions to it, because the creator of the logo was actually...me. I go to LSSU as you may know, and I sent in an early version of this logo a little while after I first posted info about the contest on the SMS. I hate self-promotion and "tooting my own horn", so I won't say anything else about myself here, but there you go, there's WLSO's new logo! If anyone else had created it, I'd still mention it here! It hasn't been posted on their website yet, but to be fair, it's not frequently updated at all. Remember to check out WLSO if you get a chance too, because they air some really good stuff if you're on 90.1 FM at the right time!

That's all for today, and remember: "Castle Stories" review tomorrow, Lion Ride/Sense of Truth review on Sunday, Human Disorder and Summon profiles on Monday, and my reviews of Downtown Showdown & Phatstick at Foggy Notions on May 29th! And throughout, lots of local hard rock and metal news and updates! Stay tuned!