I hope that our Canadian readers had a good Victoria Day long weekend! We're picking things back up for Sault Ontario news on this Tuesday morning, including some assorted recent notes and a bunch of summer season LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!
Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced more summer concerts via their website's calendar, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren after June 8th? The first new shows will see Bone Yard play at the Queen Street Cruise once again on Friday, June 14th & Saturday, June 15th, marking their seventh straight appearances at this annual event and first since tacking "225" to their name. Of course, the Queen Street Cruise is the annual classic car cruise and show taking place downtown, and after moving from its home base at GFL Memorial Gardens to Roberta Bondar Pavilion last year due partly to construction and larger space, the cruise will remain at the Pavilion this year, presumably to keep using the larger locale. Bone Yard 225 will appreciate playing under the tent again in case of bad weather! Like last year, their sets will be at 7:00 PM on Friday and a 12:30 PM matinee during the car show on Saturday.
The Cruise is an ALL AGES event (aside from needing a valid drivers license and whatnot for the cruise itself) and there is no admission fee beyond the $20 registration if you are entering you vehicle for the cruise or show (click here for details). Hopefully the Cruise is another huge hit for car aficionados, let alone music fans, and there's more family entertainment there too, so visit the above links for more on what's going down next month! In terms of traditional indoor concerts, Bone Yard 225 will next return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a one-nighter (as they host DJs most Fridays) on Saturday, June 22nd, in their first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since playing there three nights ago. If you'd rather see them elsewhere downtown, they will be rocking Reggie's Place for full weekends on June 28th-29th (for this year's Canada Day long weekend) and on July 26th-27th, so keep all of these dates in mind!
Yes, they will be at Reggie's on Saturday, June 1st too, but that one-nighter was already announced by the band. Lastly for this batch of shows, Bone Yard 225 will go "uncorked" for an acoustic show at The Water Tower Pub on Friday, July 12th, in their first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub since their upcoming date there on May 31st (which they also already announced). Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly by rule. Sounds like a busy summer ahead, so look for Bone Yard's hard rocking classics at multiple venues in the coming months! Of the bar shows, all are 19+ with no cover charge, and all have 9:30 PM start times except at The Water Tower Pub (8:00 PM). Conspicuous by its absence from their schedule is a gig at Rotaryfest Stage 1, but note that A. the full schedule is not out yet (it was unveiled on May 26th last year) and B. they didn't play at last year's Rotaryfest.
We'll let you know when we know who all is playing at Rotaryfest this year, but in their four Stage 1 appearances from 2017-2022, Bone Yard were a nightly closing band, so one assumes they'd be well positioned if they do come back. Visit the above links for more details on Bone Yard 225's summer slate so far, and don't miss them at Gateway Casino this Saturday!
Finally for today, here's three shorter recent news items, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore reportedly dropped out of the Hails concert at The Distraction this past Sunday, as per Ha!ls frontman Brenton Ellis on his personal Facebook page earlier that afternoon. A reason for Chase's withdrawal wasn't given beyond that he "can't make it tonight", and he was not replaced on late notice. Hopefully all's well with Chase, and that Hails still rocked the old barbershop in style!
Prolific local alt-rock musician Dustin Goodall has received two 2024 Northern Ontario Film & Music Award nominations for Outstanding Engineer, respectively for his work engineering/co-producing The Northwest's 2022 EP "All In" and Handsome Sandwich's 2023 debut album "Deconstructed" at his studio Unsalted Audio. It's rare when NOMFA nominations cross our radar, but it is very cool to see Dustin recognized twice over for his work in the mid 2022-mid 2023 voting period! The awards ceremony takes place in Sudbury late next month, so click here for details on that and the complete nominee list!
I have moved local metal solo project Sir Hell to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Led by Bear Hunters/ex-Handsome Sandwich guitarist Mitch Sirie, this was his newest solo project after prior attempts across the 2010s under differing names, with Sir Hell releasing a proper studio version of the Bear Hunters live favourite "Squirrel Buddy" to their Bandcamp page in February 2023. I was definitely curious to hear more from Sir Hell, but nothing has publically emerged since the "Squirrel Buddy" re-release, and hopefully Mitch resurrects this "vessel for my madness" when the time is right!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
With December now upon us, let's not waste any time, so here's a new news post on this rainy Monday evening! Today, we have some assorted updates, new videos of a local band's recent engagements, and leading off, lots of updates on a rising young band, so here's what you should know!
Local alternative/grunge standouts The Pixo Control have launched their "12 Days of Pixo", which will see one of the 12 songs from their upcoming debut album "Probably Not" posted to their YouTube channel for each of the 12 days leading up to the CD release parties at LopLops Lounge on December 12th! Nice seasonal way to slowly unveil the album, so what should you know? Apparently released in order by the album's track listing, the first two songs are "Quick Little Quarter" (which is embedded below) and "Call Me A Liar", with the other 10 songs to follow being "This Is Momentary, Forever", "Land of the Moles", "Reasons", "Vicinity", "60" (presumably a short form for "Sixty Extra Chances Called Minutes"), "Tall Ships", the newer "Congratulations On Your Decision To Become A Pilot", "Scratch", "No", and "Potpourri". The videos so far credit frontman Michael Mikus on vocals, guitar, and bass, with original drummer Keeghan Rosso on drums.
Note that it's not publically clear if ex-bassist Steve Edwards will have any credits on the album following his split with the band, or if Michael re-recorded the bass parts, but I just hope things are more amicable than they once sounded online. Also, the previously posted album artwork (of the mushroom picture framed on a gray wall) has quietly been deleted from band pages, which seems to note a cover art change, with the green designs of recent posters now factoring in. Check out the new song below, and stay tuned for the third song tomorrow!
Next up, let's stay with The Pixo Control for the announcement of their new lineup, also via a new YouTube channel upload earlier today, so what should you know here? Courtesy of the video, we learn that Id Iota/ex-Free Beer guitarist Dustin Goodall (who mixed and mastered "Probably Not") has replaced Steve Edwards on bass, while the band has welcomed back Keeghan Rosso on drums (replacing his original replacement, Matthew Thibert.) Intriguing to say the least, and in one case, incorrect from my earlier guess! Dustin's talented and should fit in well, while it's nice to see Keeghan back in the fold as well! As for the video itself, it's a humorous story about how Michael, down on his luck with no bandmates, meets up with Dustin & Keeghan to round out their new lineup. It's funny and creative, with some innuendos for good measure, but I won't spoil the plot otherwise, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for the new lineup's debuts at LopLops next Saturday!
Also today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock veterans That's Chester, and of course, I hope late guitarist Eugene Orlando's funeral went as well today... well, as much as a such an event could. Two more videos from their engagement with the live local production of The Who's Tommy have came onto our radar, though neither are actually from the musical itself. One was actually shared on their Facebook page in July (apologies for it being so late) from their concert at Rotaryfest's main stage that month, which was their last normal concert with Eugene, and it's of their rendition of The Who's "Pinball Wizard" with the Tommy cast joining in on guest vocals. Filmed by drummer Ric Datson's daughter Rikki, it's on the vertical cell phone camera angle and somewhat shaky, but you get a nice close view of That's Chester and company tackling one of The Who's most famous songs during their big set at Rotaryfest, so give it a look at this link!
The other new video actually comes from a promotional event for the Tommy production at The Station Mall where Eugene and guitarist Gabe Tessaro were playing acoustic versions of songs from the rock opera alongside actors from the play on vocals (one being Obsession/Domina frontwoman Valerie Powley.) One of many videos from that day uploaded by Valerie's brother Keith (though the band only shared this one), this is of "Tommy Can You Hear Me", and it's an interesting unplugged version that is filmed well, so give it a look below, see more above, and R.I.P. Eugene!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or promoter name:
Brutally Fatal singer/guitarist Austin McCrae is looking for performers to play at a fundraiser that he's promoting in January or February. Pay is negotiable, and he's looking for 2 or 3 acts, but details on the fundraiser's purpose, host venue, date, or if it has any Blood Shed Productions affiliation are to be announced. For more details, visit Austin's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from this afternoon, or contact him at this link!
Recently dormant local alternative hard rock band Id Iota have parted ways with bassist Justin Girardi, as per his quiet removal from their lineup on their Facebook page. A reason for his exit wasn't announced, but keep in mind that the band hasn't made a public statement (or played live) in over 5 months. If we hear anything on Id Iota's status, we'll let you know, but best of luck to Justin in the future!
While we await new media and concerts from them, local goregrind duo Rotopsy posted their full demo album from earlier this year onto YouTube last week, and you can hear it at this link! Due to cover art that some readers may find offensive, we won't embed the video here, but check it out above for more of Dylan & Ringsnaps' intense and minimalistic grind originals!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Where Are The New Albums? post tomorrow, and more news to follow! Thanks everyone!
With weekend concert previews now taken care of, we can touch on some recent news and notes today, including a pile of shorter items, new media from a regional guitarist, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!
Montreal psychobilly quartet The Brains will return to the Soo for a belated Halloween weekend concert on Sunday, November 2nd at The Rockstar Bar! Coming almost a year after their most recent local stop at the same venue, The Brains are fairly frequent sights as out of town bands go, and their unique blend of horror punk and rockabilly should go over well once again in November, so keep this show in mind to end the Halloween season with! Besides, how often will you see a punk band this year with a stand-up bass? Joining them at this show will be fellow Montreal punk rockers Boids, who have more of a traditional punk sound, but will impress with their varied influences and catchy melodies, so don't miss them on November 2nd either! A local opening band is to be announced, and it should be noted that promoter J.D. Pearce was looking for bands different from ones playing the Gob and Halloween Party shows a few days prior that he's also promoting, so we'll have to see who gets added! This will be a 19+ concert, a $10 admission fee is in place (no word on advance tickets yet), and everything is slated to begin at 9:00 PM.
For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With Gob, The Brains, and Frightlight's farewell now confirmed for J.D.'s Halloween concert slate at The Algonquin Hotel's bars, he's definitely stacking the deck for the season, so be sure not to miss out on this late October spree of great concerts! Stay tuned for updates on all 3 as we hear them!
Next up, we have some new original songs from Dafter, Michigan solo rocker Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, courtesy of his YouTube channel and a new online page of his! In recent days, Ken has been posting songs on Spreaker, a music networking site that specializes in podcasts and radio shows, but can also host individual music too. New tracks named "Mustang", "Crud", and (as embedded below) "Can It Be (Guitar Confusion)" can now be streamed there or on linked YouTube video uploads, and while it is presumed that they'll be on SweetKenny's upcoming album "Amazonian", this isn't explictly stated. As we hope to review a new SweetKenny album early next year, we'll hold on comments on these songs for the time being, but long time fans should check these songs out for more classic-tinged hard rock! Check out "Can It Be" below, and hear more at the above links!
Finally for today, here's six shorter recent news items from the
last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band
or event name:
Habitat Shuffle/ex-Free Beer guitarist Dustin Goodall is looking to join or form a band that would play old hardcore and indie music inspired by the likes of Fugazi, Refused, and Brand New. As he described it, such a band would have "eclectic taste that, despite being badass, is completely unmarketable." Interesting plans, but if you're up to jam with Dustin, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
Local pop punk/screamo project For July have posted a new song named "The Truth" onto their Soundcloud page! Self-described as a "work in progress", it has the upbeat energy of many of their older songs, and some catchier hooks, so give it a look above, and stay tuned for more updates on For July!
Local punk (but don't call them that) trio The Fury
are officially defunct again, as confirmed in a recent personal
conversation with frontman Paul Stanghetta. He commented on musical
differences with new members as part of the reason, but you could
consider The Apocalypse Afterparty
as successors, given that they cover Fury songs live, and that Steve
Mozarowski was briefly The Fury's drummer this year. Fans will best
remember their high octane bass & drum sets from 2009-2011
compared to their barely launched 2014 reunion, but give them a listen
all the same, and best of luck to all former members!
A drummer named Phil Grecks (possibly a nickname for former Role Models drummer Phil Greco) is looking to form a new original local band that would play heavy, melodic, and sometimes fast songs, citing Nonpoint, Starset, and Nothing More as possible influences. Sounds intriguing, but if you're interested in trying out or getting more info, message Phil at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
Local crust/death metal trio Shit Liver are staying busy in their new home of St. Catharines, having played a gig there on Tuesday opening for Killitorous, and being scheduled for another show there on October 3rd where they'll open for Life Problems
in a fundraiser for a beloved dog's surgery. Good to see the guys
playing often, and hopefully we'll see them back north in short order
too!
This year's sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to being scheduled the week before Halloween on Saturday, October 25th, though it will still be based at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a second straight year, as per this year's Facebook event page.
What we don't know is whether the expanded afternoon band lineup at the
museum will return, or if the afterparty will regain it's prior
non-acoustic format in it's place, but when we hear more regarding the
band situation this year, we will let you guys know!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!
