YouTube Channel Profile Series: wirelessguy6969, LondonGentlemenn, and Pacoheadley's Channels

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, continuing our monthly spotlight of randomly selected YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists & concerts! Due to the first selected channel this month only having two relevant videos from the same event, and the second similarly formatted, we're tripling up this month, and conveniently, all three channels have live concert footage from Sault Michigan bands in the early 2010s! I swear I didn't plan this, but here's what you should know on all three!

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wirelessguy6969's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/wirelessguy6969)

Owner: YouTube user wirelessguy6969, exact identity unknown

Channel Timeline: Launched on February 12th, 2007; Videos uploaded from January 2009 & September 2011

Channel Summary: After previously uploading two videos of his dog Casper, wirelessguy6969 posted two videos from of young local hard rock quartet Abstract (later better known as Tantrym Tyme) playing an outdoor show at the Mackinaw Crossings shopping center in Mackinaw City in September 2011. Represented here by singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen, guitarist Kyle Burton, bassist Mike East, and drummer Ethan Twardy, Abstract can be seen here covering AC/DC's "Back In Black", and as featured here, the longer & more viewed cover of The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane". Considering the guys (well, kids) were 11-12 years old at the time of this show, their talents are impressive and would only improve through their 2017 dissolution, so it's interesting to see them at this early phase! More Tantrym Tyme videos can be seen on other YouTube & Facebook sources.

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Londongentlemenn's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/LondonGentlemenn)

Owner: An unidentified member of 2012-2017 local rock cover quartet The London Gentlemen

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 23rd, 2012; Videos uploaded that same day

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for this union of Fallen Heroes & Nixxon Dixxon alumni, The Gentlemen only posted two videos here, both from a show at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in July 2012, namely covers of The Black Keys' "Gold On The Ceiling" and, as featured here, Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name". While not a full hard rock band like we're used to seeing from bassist Kyle Beaumont & drummer Jake Lalonde together, they mesh well musically with Mike Russo & Steve Sivret on these songs, even if "Killing In The Name" is quite overplayed. Solid stuff despite the dark lighting! Check out more from The London Gentlemen in 2014 at this link.

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Pacoheadley's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/pacoheadley)

Owner: YouTube user and former area resident Chris "Paco" Headley

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 21st, 2011; Videos uploaded that July and in March 2013

Channel Summary: Aside from a later video of him playing the video game Dishonored, Chris' only videos are of defunct local classic/hard rock trio Banned at a Music In The Park concert in nearby Rudyard from July 2011, where they covered Bob Seger's "Turn The Page", and as featured here, the more popular cover of Golden Earring's "Twilight Zone". Featuring current Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor and his dad Don on drums alongside bassist Alex Schrovenwever (Steelhead), the audio still holds up on these covers, but the visuals aren't great, with Chris filming from a very distant corner angle, so there isn't much to look at it beyond the park. Still interesting to see Alex Traynor's early live music work, and more videos from Banned's run do exist on YouTube (like here!)

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around August 26th when we randomly look at YouTube user nathan s's channel, featuring a bunch of live and jam videos related mostly to inactive Sault Ontario punk duo Bad Back! Look for that then, and for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everuone!

Emergency Festival Lineup News, Plus Some New Videos!!

Before we get this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile up on the site, let's touch on some news so we don't fall too behind. Today's news post features some new video finds from each side of the border, but first, some early lineup announcements for a returning summer concert festival, so here's what you should know!

The first lineup announcements have been made for the second annual Emergency Festival on Saturday, August 15th! The LopLops Lounge-promoted concert & arts festival (that more or less replaced Rotaryfest's Second Stage) will once again welcome numerous local and out of town artists back downtown for another year, so who all is playing so far? Punk and hard rock fans will notice alt-rock trio The Pixo Control & post-punk quartet Gnaeus (both from last year's Shock stage) and local indie/punk quintet Northwest among the announced bands, and it's nice to have them all on board! The out of town lineup is completely different (so far) from last year, including Toronto folk duo The Sunparlour Players, Alberta reggae band Tasman Jude, Toronto/Calgary indie rockers The Fast Romantics, Thunder Bay rock quintet The Poor Young Things, and Saskatoon country musician Zachary Lucky, many of which will be familiar from past local concerts. Though nothing "heavy", there's lots of talent to go around!

More artists are to be announced, as are performance venues, hence why we aren't calling The Emergency as a concert on here yet. For reference, last year's event featured three outdoor stages on Queen Street (the main stage for headlining bands, and two mainly for solo performers), and the indoor "Shock" stage in LopLops Lounge for local rock bands, so the same might apply here. For reference, a planned stage name this year is "Triage", which is being booked by Ears & Eyes Online's Jackson Reed, but again, we're waiting for official word on stage locations and lineups. Also expected like last year to have local arts vendors, beer tents, and FREE & ALL AGES admission, this will likely begin again in the late morning with music and entertainment all day, so be sure to stay tuned at The Emergency's Facebook page for full and future details as they come in!

It's great to see The Emergency Festival back for year 2, and after the positive response to last year's event, hopefully everyone at LopLops sees an even bigger turnout and reception for the sequel! Stay tuned as we hear more on where bands are playing, and for future lineup announcements!

We'll close today with new videos, including footage of Sault Michigan cover rock band The London Gentlemen covering some familiar songs at a wedding last year! Though this popular area band does cover the occasional heavy tune, posted media mostly points to general and indie rock covers, but given that their lineup includes Nixxon Dixxon alums Kyle Beaumont & Jake Lalonde, plus the extremely talented Mike Libertoski on guitar, you know the talent's there no matter what sound! Fronted by Fallen Heroes alum Mike Russo, 40 minutes of video from a wedding that The London Gentlemen played at in January 2014 at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino can be seen at the band's YouTube channel, and while I can't make out every song due to the audio quality and vocal levels, the first video includes covers of The Marshall Tucker Band, The Black Keys, and Blind Melon, among others.

Embedded below is the second video from their wedding show, including covers of Imagine Dragons and Foster the People, but punk fans will especially want to check out their solid cover of Sublime's "Santeria" about 7 minutes in! None of the songs here are badly done, but the video quality is mixed at best, and the camera is oddly distant from the stage (also, it's too bad more people weren't dancing, given that this was a wedding gig.) Check out these London Gentlemen videos above & below, and stay tuned in case we find more hard rock or punk covers from them!

Finally, here's the latest videos from ex-Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's personal YouTube channel! One is from February (apologies for the delay on this making the site) and it's a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again" alongside guest singer Jon Scott, who had also featured on Alex's Kodaline cover from last year. Solid performance of this softer number, and both guys handle their parts well! Alex's newest video (embedded below) is a cover of Dustin Lynch's "Hell of a Night", which is uniquely staged as a music video with Alex playing and singing in outdoor locales, including a beach. A country cover is a little unique considering Alex's usual cover range, but he handles this one well with an improving vocal range and nice guitar work! Check out Alex's newest videos above and below, and stay tuned for more videos from him when posted!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned), Sault Michigan News, And Some New Videos!!

Happy Sunday, everyone! The long weekend is in full swing in Sault Ontario, but today's post largely focuses on goings on in Sault Michigan (with one exception), so read on below for a new video from a local record label, new live performance clips, some updates from two bands with Nixxon Dixxon alumni, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning an annual music festival!

Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are returning to The Sugar Island Music Festival this coming weekend! The annual festival in nearby Sugar Island is back for it's 12th installment from Friday through Sunday, and there will be plenty of family activities, vendors, and entertainment all weekend long for attendees to take in, so click here to see what's on tap! As best as I can tell, Banned will be the only hard rock band this year (the other heavier bands from last year, Free Refill & The Highest of Fives, have been dormant in recent months), but they'll bring their hard rocking and classic covers & originals to the outdoor stage on Sugar Island at 8:00 PM on Friday, which is a 2 hour improvement from last year for their set! The Friday headliners are 3-ZIP at 10:00 PM, with The Foster's Sportsmen's Club Band at 9:00 PM, and Banned will be preceded by Missy & Chelsea, Hillsdale indie band AllArms, and solo performer Frank Kieronski from 8:00-6:00 PM. Note that online information on these acts is generally minimal, but from what I understand, the bands that play at The Sugar Island festival tend to lean in a softer folk/country direction, so Banned are somewhat of an outlier. The Saturday and Sunday schedules contain no visible hard rock, but each Friday band except Banned and Frank Kieronski will return for at least one more set, so check the above links for more details!

Like last year, admission will be $6 for a single day and $10 for a full weekend pass (there's no deal for just 2 days), but children under 10 can get in free. Admission buttons can be purchased on site this weekend or in advance at Grooves Music in Sault Michigan or at Ed's Bayview Store, The Hilltop Bar & Grill, or the Westshore Convenience Store in Sugar Island. Camping and other activities have their own costs, so click here for all admission details! Though this year's festival doesn't contain as much heavy music as past installments, it should be another great weekend of music & family entertainment in Sugar Island, and hopefully Banned rock the stage well in their return! Stay tuned for more on the Sugar Island Music Festival as the week rolls along!

Next up, here's some more Sault Michigan news relating to two bands featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni! First, the new local hard rock project The Hubbard-Menard Band have revealed a setlist that they're working on, which is surprising given that they're still just a two man project. Featuring 42 songs (one's double counted), it's split in three categories: All 15 of their original songs, 15 Van Halen covers, and 12 covers of other bands, and this looks very promising if The Hubbard-Menard Band become a performing act at some point! Van Halen-heavy for the covers, but Chris Hubbard is a huge fan of theirs and can do the songs justice (his solo YouTube videos are proof), so old Nixxon Dixxon fans should be excited! Click here for the full setlist, and stay tuned for more from them! The other news is that local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (featuring Chris' ex-bandmates Kyle Beaumont & Jake LaLonde) have been named as the local openers for the Buckcherry/Fuel concert at Kewadin Casino on August 13th (one week from Monday.) That news was broken on The London Gentlemen's Facebook page last month, but Allstar Promotions or Kewadin Casino have yet to publically confirm the local openers. This is a great opportunity, as even though they're not a real genre match, the talent's there!

Plus, all of the members have opened for major bands at Kewadin, including Steve Sivret & Mike Russo opening for Buckcherry in March 2011 as Fallen Heroes, and Kyle & Jake's numerous opening slots with Nixxon Dixxon, so they're all well suited for this event! Tickets are still available from the fifth row back for $35, so click here to order online, and stay tuned for updates!

We'll close this post with some new videos, and first, here's the latest footage from Sault Ontario grunge trio Haggith! Uploaded onto YouTube user paperclipprojectX's channel (which I believe is ran by guitarist Daniel Horton) last week, these newest two videos are also from their Canada Day weekend sets in Goulais River, and they're of their original songs "Rage Train" and (as embedded below) "Living It On The Run" and "Wanko"! The former song on the second video is brand new to me, but it has a nice contrast in softer verses and an aggressive chorus, though they have heavier originals. Solid stuff, but I wish the camera was consistently closer than it is. Check out Haggith's newest videos above and below!



Finally, here's a short video from Eckerman, Michigan studio/label Werehold Records entitled "The Birth of Werehold". Uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, it features the logos of 8 of the label's bands (including the yet-to-be-revealed Awaken Eidolon, but not Wearwithal or Orb Hearthstone's solo project) fading in and out of view along with the label logo, with text stating that "the birth of Werehold" is "coming soon". I'm curious as to what this means, as Werehold Records already exists, so what's being born? A full relaunch? Live concerts by their band roster? Album releases? Something else? Time will tell, but check out this video below and see if you can decipher anything!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes very soon! Thanks everyone!

Anvil Concert Preview, F.A.T.I.L. Requiem Updates, And A New Metal Cover Video!!

One more news post for this Tuesday evening, but remember to check out this morning's post below this one for news on two newly announced concerts, some great recent radio coverage of the scene, Rotaryfest fallout, and some Coch's Corner updates! Now, this newest post features a new metal cover by a non-metal local band, updates on some of the bands at a Laird show next month, and leading off, a slightly extended preview of a major mid-week concert that you guys should really enjoy, so here's what you need to know!

First up, it's a huge concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as Toronto heavy metal legends Anvil will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie at a headlining show at The Canadian Nightclub! Potentially making their first local stop since 1984 (though I may be missing some in between), the Juno nominees and stars of the hit 2008 documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" will bring their highly influential brand of speed metal to their Saultite fans tomorrow, and they have tons of classic and very heavy songs to break out tomorrow, so I definitely wouldn't miss this concert if I were you! Three local bands have been signed to open this concert, including local horror punk/metal notables Frightlight (last seen at The Canadian headlining the Dead In The Van fundraiser), and it'll be good to see their eerie Misfits-inspired brand of music back for this show, and kudos to frontman J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce for booking this show! Also to note: 62nd Chamber Productions will be on hand to film their set for upcoming media uses, and they're encouraging fans to wear costumes as part of the video plans, so keep that in mind if you wanna appear on camera! Fellow local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam (fresh off of headlining the Rotaryfest Second Stage) will also open tomorrow's show, and they're definitely on a roll right now, so expect only the best and heaviest from them tomorrow!

The concert will be opened by the debuting Skeyes of Seven, the new local hard rock band featuring Sense of Truth alumni Cory Murchison & Ron Baxter alongside Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher, ex-Tripod the Dog bassist Mike Mannarino, and Cherry Crush drummer Jonny Amendola, and just on the surface, that's quite an impressive lineup! Media has yet to be released to preview their sound, but I'd expect some solid stuff in their live debut, so be there bright and early to check them out! Tickets should be available in some capacity at the door tomorrow for $25, but I believe advance sales have wrapped up, so if you wanted to save $5, it's probably too late now. An 8:00 PM start time has been announced, which seems early (if I hear a correction or change, I'll have it here), and this show will be ALL AGES! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome concert, and you know I'll be there to cover and review it for the site! That, and I'm a fan of the bands, including Anvil, who I have great respect for as musicians and people, and hopefully my Metal Pounders Union card will come in handy tomorrow at the merchandise table! I will absolutely see you guys there, and for a preview, here's a well done compilation video for their song "Flying Blind"!



Next up, here's the latest updates on the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem taking place at Neebish Road in Laird next weekend! A new band is being sought for this show, as local/North Shore metal band Crimson Crusade have pulled out of the event. A reason for their withdrawl has not been announced, but the Facebook event page had hinted that their participation wasn't final, so this isn't really a surprise. If you or your band are interested in replacing them in the 7:00 PM slot next weekend, message promoters A.S.A.P., or if you have available P.A. equipment for the concert! My other note concerning this show is for co-headliners The Valentine's Day Massacre, as the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem might be one of your last chances to see them the local death metal quartet in the Sault area for a while. Though not publically addressed on their online pages until Sunday, the band's members are all moving to the London, Ontario area for school in late August, and frontman Steve Rhodes mentioned on his personal Facebook page over the weekend that it'd be their "second last show" before the move took place. As far as I know, The V.D.M. will still be active as a band down there (similarly to Infrastrate after they moved to Ottawa), and local shows will take place when they come back home for breaks and such.

While it will be disappointing to see The Valentine's Day Massacre move down south for the forseeable future, hopefully they can make some inroads in the London scene and hit all of their educational goals in the process! With that said, I'll make it clear that we won't stop covering them after the move, as they were formed here and will always count as a local band as a result. We didn't stop covering Sue Inside after they moved away, did we? No matter what, The V.D.M. have a bright future, so stay tuned for more news from them as it comes in, and don't miss their last local gigs before the move next month!

Lastly for today, here's a new metal cover by a local band! As you may know, we'll mention metal/hard rock covers by non-metal local bands if I come across them (like Fusion's AC/DC cover that I missed at Rotaryfest), but this one actually comes from a Sault Michigan band, that being the local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen. This past weekend, the new band featuring the members of local acoustic duo Fallen Heroes alongside Nixxon Dixxon/Splitshot alumni Kyle Beaumont & Jake LaLonde were rocking The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino, and two videos were filmed over one of the nights for their YouTube channel, one of which is a surprising cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name"! Nice throwback to Kyle & Jake's past metal work, but how does this performance sound? Pretty good, though Mike Russo's singing is fairly soft compared to a song this potent and aggressive (but at least it's not forced!) Well done, but I have a feeling this won't be terribly common, as I know their sound is similar to Mike & Steve's Fallen Heroes work (just fuller & plugged in), and their other video is a Black Keys cover, but hey, this is a nice diversion, so check out The London Gentlemen's R.A.T.M. cover below!



That's probably all until Thursday, but I'll see you guys at the Anvil show tomorrow night! Thanks everyone!

LemmaFest 2012 Extended Preview!!

After a successful first installment last year, the second annual LemmaFest goes down TOMORROW at the outdoor stage outside of Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan, so here's an extended preview of it for this post! This annual festival in memory of late Dondee employee Michael Lemma will go down all day tomorrow with all kinds of activities for fans and revelers, including $1 bowling offers, prize draws, drink specials, food by donation, and shirt & mug sales for the event, though volleyball & horseshoe games from last year aren't advertised this year that I can tell. Check the above links for more on the non-musical aspects of tomorrow's event, and we'll get to the admission details in a bit, but how about tomorrow night's performers? 8 bands have been scheduled for this year's LemmaFest, down from 10 last year, but this helps facilitate both longer sets and easier set up and tear down time, so this should all work out well! Plus, there's been a LOT less lineup changes, with no bands dropping out and only one timeslot being switched, luckily! I believe Grooves Music are also on hand to take care of the sound for tomorrow's bands. The lineup is full of veterans from last year and some newer talent, including a greater local concentration, so here's who's on tap for this year in chronological order!

This year's opening band (right at 12:00 PM) is Brimley metal trio Half A Man (pictured), fresh off of their first show in 13 months TONIGHT at The Bird, and with a hard hitting metal sound (complete with their Lemma tribute song "Goodbye"), you know they'll set the tone really well for this year's event, especially after missing last year's LemmaFest! Also note that they may have a CD of some form available, and some merchandise proceeds will go to area firefighters, which is an awesome gesture! Following them at 1:30 PM are new local indie cover band The London Gentlemen, whose singer/guitarists Mike Russo & Steve Sivret played second last year as well with their acoustic band Fallen Heroes. However, The London Gentlemen also feature Trail's End/ex-Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Kyle Beaumont & Jake LaLonde on bass & drums, but despite their metal pedigrees, this new band won't be too heavy from what I know. Still, they're a talented quartet, so don't miss them, and if I hear anything good or bad on Trail's End's recently quiet status, I'll have it here! Third up tomorrow at 3:00 PM are the local rock cover band Chump Change (fronted by Terry Talentino, who was 3rd last year as well with the inactive acoustic band 2PumpChump), and they have a nice mix of covers from many genres for their fans tomorrow in a rare afternoon concert for them. Think of 2PumpChump plugged in with a full band, and you'll get a good idea of what to expect!

The 4:30 slot tomorrow belongs to local hard rock trio Powerslug, whose members performed at LemmaFest last year in both River Witch & Great Bodily Harm. Expect an entertaining hard rock set from the two Chris' and Orb tomorrow, as the talent's there, even if the online pages aren't (and click here for a rare video of Powerslug in action!) After them, the fifth band at 6:00 PM is the local rock band Bucksaw, who I know very little on, despite returning from last year's LemmaFest at the exact same timeslot. I know their lineup last year included guitarists Bill Ogston (ex-Blind Baby) and Ryan Franklin (a local boxer), bassist Barney Gravelle, and drummer Jason VanLuven (also in Chump Change), but is that the same this year? Do they have online pages or media? Are they even hard rock? If I ever find anything more on Bucksaw, you know I'll have it here! Sixth is the only non-local band at this year's LemmaFest, that being Munising metal quintet Infathom (pictured), who played right after Bucksaw last year as well. Featuring former Half A Man singer Dillion Semasky, this will be Infathom's first announced show of 2012, and they're sure to build on their brutal sound and good local notices with another entertaining set of covers and originals tomorrow night at 7:30 PM!

The outdoor portion of LemmaFest will be headlined by the return of local metal trio Scofflaw (featuring Barney Gravelle from Bucksaw) at 9:00 PM, who will play their first announced local concert since October tomorrow! After a successful set at last year's LemmaFest, look for Jeff, Barney, and Ivan to melt faces with their rough but entertaining metal assault tomorrow night! As Scofflaw begin their set, local southern rock cover trio The Hixx will play a standard Saturday night set inside The Dondee to close the festival, just like last year, though they aren't playing an earlier outside set this time around. Their dependable and oft-seen party music will be a great way to end the evening, so don't miss The Hixx inside at the end of the night! Now, if you're planning on going, here's some attendance details. Tickets are $10 in advance at The Dondee, Grooves Music, and The Merchant's Bar, but the price jumps to $15 at the door. All times are above for when the bands play, and while the event itself is ALL AGES, attendees under 21 years old can't be in the Dondee's bar or the fenced in area after 8:00 PM. For more details, including individual merchandise and drink pricing, visit the official Facebook event page!

This sounds like an awesome festival for a great cause, especially seeing as some proceeds will go towards the Grosse Point Music Camp this summer in Sault Michigan, so click here for more details! Mike Lemma would definitely be proud of everyone coming out for this year's festival in his memory, and with 5 returning bands (and only one with no performers from last year), the synergy and talent will go a long way tomorrow! For metalheads, half the lineup (plus one if Bucksaw count) are hard rock or metal, so there's no shortage of music up your alley if you come out to LemmaFest, which will be worth every penny! Check the above links for more on the festival and each band tomorrow, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their original song "Love Destroyer" circa 2008!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's YouTube Channel Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone, and don't miss LemmaFest tomorrow outside of The Dondee!