YouTube Channel Profile Series: C Auffrey, Guy Thiffault, And excellentand

To allow tomorrow's focus to lie solely on weekend concert previews, this month's YouTube Channel Profile is going up a day early on the site! This monthly feature post looks at 1-3 randomly selected YouTube channels (3 this month) with at least half of their content focusing on local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts, in order to spotlight them for current readers and encourage fans to check them out and subscribe for more! As the first channel we picked only had one video (as did the second), we're tripling up this month, and this is a very punk-centric installment as it turned out, so here's what you should know for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles!
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C Auffrey (http://www.youtube.com/carlyauffrey) 

Owner: YouTube user and area resident Carly Auffrey

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 17th, 2012; Only video posted on July 2nd, 2016

Channel Summary: The only upload on Carly's channel comes from the Hedley concert at The Yard on July 1st, 2016, though the 10+ minute video does not feature any performed songs by the Abbotsford B.C. pop punk band. Instead, the video is of frontman Jacob Hoggard borrowing a fan's phone to call her mother, in response to noticing fans texting mid-show. This extended break definitely amused attending fans, and could also serve as word of warning if you plan on texting at a concert! No visible activity on this channel has followed this video's posting, but you can see another take of this segment from a different attendee at this link, and more from this concert on other channels.



(Note that we will not be commenting on the very serious allegations levied at Hedley earlier this year, as they do not directly affect local bands or concerts. This is the same policy that we take for legal incidents regarding local musicians. For better or worse, we are not TMZ.)
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Guy Thiffault (http://www.youtube.com/guyjthiffault) 

Owner: Former Hangdowns, Nebraska Arms, Business Suit Trappers, Bondar, Mark Rand Band, and Crawfather singer/bassist Guy Thiffault

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 21st, 2011; Only video posted on October 23rd, 2012

Channel Summary: Though active in The Business Suit Trappers concurrently with this channel's active period, Guy only posted one video there before his sudden passing in December 2016, and it was of his old punk band The Hangdowns' original song "No Man Is An Island". Presumably also featuring Jordan Cumming and Marc Muto on guitar and drums (though no performer credits are given), this song is a solid punk number with more of an aggressive skate-punk vibe than many of Guy's later bands, and it's well worth checking out! Note that more videos and songs of The Hangdowns can be found elsewhere on YouTube and social media.


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excellentand (http://www.youtube.com/excellentand) 

Owner: YouTube user excellentand, who I don't believe is locally based

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 13th, 2006; Only video posted on August 17th of that year

Channel Summary: This channel's only video features local/Toronto indie/punk quartet Treble Charger's song "Brand New Low" (from their 2000 CD "Wide Awake Bored"), as set to footage from the 1990s Sci-Fi Network series Farscape, though excellentand admitted that he didn't make this video himself. I don't find the visuals match the song at all, but fans of that series may feel differently. "Brand New Low" is an entertaining song with a catchy chorus that fans of their 2000s punk era will definitely take to, whether or not you played NHL 2002, though there are more substantial channels for Treble Charger media from this and other albums.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our random selection has given us a single channel again, that being of YouTube user Jeff Hagan, who has 17 videos from Pop Evil and Alter Bridge concerts in Sault Michigan in the mid-2010s! Look for that on or around May 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nameus), Din Updates, And Much More!!

I wasn't expecting to have a full news post today, but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALRT, we can't avoid it, so that leads off this post! Alongside it, we have some cool news from local radio, a local band's latest video and road trip news, and a belated song posting from a band of the late Guy Thiffault, who we memorialized this afternoon, so read that post below if you missed the original announcement. Here's what you need to know!

New local classic/hard rock cover trio Nameus (no formal new name yet) will make their Rockstar Bar debut TONIGHT! Apologies for the extremely short notice, we only got full confirmation about the show via the venue's Facebook event page this afternoon, though note that their physical marquee board had previously advertised "Travis Band" as playing today, which we now 100% know was meaning frontman Travis Sharpe. A one-nighter due to tomorrow's return of pop rock cover band Crush (formerly Cherry Crush), this won't be Nameus' last concert of 2016, but it'll be their last regular, non-New Year's Eve party event of the year, so if you want to take in some hard hitting covers, be at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT! Also, note that this is the first publically announced Rockstar Bar show for a Terry Eaton/Steven Flint band at The Rockstar Bar since Mourning Wood played there back in February. There's no announced cover charges for TONIGHT'S 19+ show, and despite what the event page might tell you, expect a 10:30 PM-ish start time.

I wish the guys in Nameus would have plugged this show in some form of advance fashion (and/or launched an online page already), but if you're familiar with the guys' chemistry and backgrounds, you'll know that they should have a solid night of covers in store at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT! Don't miss out if you can help it, hopefully videos turn up soon, and apologies again, we'd have covered this with our weekend concert previews had we known about it beforehand!

Next up, here's the latest from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, starting with some intriguing news, as they're taking a road trip to Toronto for their out-of-town debut at The Revival Bar on January 6th! The show is part of Landmark Events' Showcase Festival, a concert series that will help rising musicians network with other acts, radio personalities, and industry professionals. No word on the complete lineup yet, but the show will apparently be live streamed as an i-PPV event, so if you buy an e-ticket, you can watch it online as it happens! It looks like their set is at 3:45 PM on January 6th, and e-tickets are $13, just $1 less than the regular in-person admission, for what that's worth. If you're interested in watching the stream, click here and visit The Din's Facebook event page for full details! For something new that you can watch free, The Din's eighth Cover of the Month video was posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, so what should you know on that?

Their first of this video series to have it's cover suggested by a fan, this month's cover is of The Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy", but in this case, it was recorded at Mission Control Studios, where they have been recording something or another recently. The multi-camera video is well shot and the band sound as reliably good as ever, with the cover suiting their sound, but I'd have angled the camera up a bit for the wide shot, as too much of the table is in the road. Give The Din's latest cover a look below!

Also today, here's some surprising yet cool news from the world of local FM radio, as Brian Davie has returned to Rock 101 to resume co-hosting Scott & Brian In The Morning! The surprise announcement was made on air at 101.3 FM and via the show's Facebook page on Tuesday morning (also Brian's first day back), with co-host Scott Cook jokingly saying that Brian was back "by mediocre demand". A 20 year veteran of local radio, Brian originally left the Sault Michigan rock station in March of last year for personal reasons, with Scott hosting the morning show solo in the interim, but fans definitely seemed to welcome back Brian with open arms! He was always very kind and cordial to our work here at the SMS, and he always had a great chemistry and rapport with Scott in the mornings, which was often very noticeable over the past 21 months when Scott had no one to play off of. Tune in to the newly renamed Scott & Brian in the Morning weekday mornings from 6:00-10:00 AM on Rock 101 for music, infotainment, and much more for your morning drive!

Finally, here's a new song that I found online today from the late Guy Thiffault's mid-2000s punk band The Hangdowns! Guy himself posted this song to his YouTube channel (his only upload there) in October 2012, and it's of their original "No Man Is An Island", which notably wasn't on the band's MySpace page previously. I can't date this song specifically, but it could be from their planned 2004 album, which I can't verify if it ever saw a public release or not. The fireman picture is a little ambigiuous, but it's a solid fast-paced punk number of this missed band, so give it a listen below, and continue keeping Guy in your thoughts at this difficult time!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend. Thanks everyone!

Meet The (Inactive) Local Punk Bands!! Part 7

Today, we likely conclude our roll-in process of defunct and inactive punk bands from the Sault Ste. Marie area into our band links on the SMS, as it's getting far harder to find distinct surviving pages for local punk bands now, so I can't promise we'll have enough to populate their own post in the near future. That said, our seventh and presumably last of these defunct punk band "introductions" do feature some strong notable names from the scene's past, so let's take a look at our remaining additions to our links, in alphabetical order!

We'll start with defunct skate punk quintet Bankshot, who were among the most prominent local punk bands in the Sault area at the turn of the millennium! Though only active from 1998-2000, the guys accomplished quite a lot during their run, which saw them share the stage with the likes of Strung Out, Treble Charger, and (in their very first show) Our Lady Peace, releasing their only CD "Angst For The Memories" in 1999, while also being semifinalists at the YTV Achievement Awards (or YAA!) and playing live on the old CBC talk show Jonovision during their height. Bankshot's lineup included Ten Brick Limit alums Ron Pelletier & Christian Pasiak on vocals & guitar alongside rhythm guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf (a.k.a. Dr. Sal Velinus), bassist Neil Vallee, and drummer Clint Wilson (currently of Northwest & Late Shift.) I own a hard copy of Bankshot's CD, and I enjoy their fast paced modern punk sound, which had a solid spark and clear talent from the guys, and it's a little surprising that such an accomplished band didn't last for more than 3 years!

It should be noted that their online biographies (which look written by a band member) teased a potential 10 year reunion, but I don't recall a Bankshot return in 2010, so fans are still waiting. Check out some rare photos and four songs on their MySpace page, and here's Bankshot's full "Angst For The Memories" album to stream for free!



Next to add (finally) is Bin Hawdon & The Taliband, the notorious local punk supergroup that have made occasional well recieved concert appearances since from (at least) 2003-2008! Often timing their shows with the Christmas holidays, you may best remember the guys from headlining shows at The Oddfellows Hall and at the former Foggy Notions. Despite the Middle Eastern links with the name, The Taliband didn't play that up live that I've seen, though they did generally wear irreverent costumes at their shows, which were all 100% cover-centric. Fronted by band namesake Mikey Hawdon on vocals & guitar (just like his current role with Toronto bands like The Fairmounts), their lineups tended to also feature his Lion Ride bandmate Mark Rand on bass, and while I believe there was some fluidity to their lineups, the only full online lineup that I've read also featured the aforementioned Lucas Schmiedendorf on guitar and Aaron Mooney on drums, I think. The Taliband have a ton of videos on YouTube via three different channels (here, here, and here), and therein, you can see a fun, carefree, and intense take on punk classics!

While not as refined as Mikey's other bands generally are, Bin Hawdon & The Taliband were there for fun and just a straight up punk show, and it shows nicely in their videos (despite many being very dark.) Check out more at the above links (their MySpace page has some audio recordings too), and here are the guys covering The Misfits in August 2006!

Also today is Busted, a short lived local punk band from the mid-2000s that didn't accomplish much, but they have a fairly extensive biography on their Tripod page! It just needed a lot of proofreading. Formed by then Bawating Collegiate classmates (all of whom I remember from going there at the same time), their lineup featured singer/guitarist Ben Crackel, lead guitarist Ryan Poluck, and current Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case (pictured), with a bassist not acquired at last update. According to their page, Busted played live at a Bawating talent show where they covered Blink-182, and got a positive reception despite not being very loud. I was on friendly terms with all 3 guys (I was once a classmate of Ben's at River View too), but I admit not remembering Busted at the time, which might be due to a short runtime as a band or just a lack of expansion beyond school events, which paled in prominence compared to the Dunnplugged gigs at Sir James Dunn. Note that I can't date Busted's run either, but it was at some point between 2003 & 2007. It'd be interesting to find media of Busted, and we'll let you know if anything ever turns up!

Lastly for our defunct punk band additions (that I know of) are The Hangdowns, a Sault Ontario punk quartet that fans may remember from their own local run from 2003-2006! Essentially the predecessors to local indie punk band Bondar, their lineup featured future Nebraska Arms singer/bassist Guy Thiffault alongside Gutwrench alums Jordan Cumming and Marc Muto on guitar & drums, while the band briefly enlisted Bondar's Mark Rand (later Marc's Lion Ride bandmate) after a return from hiatus. Recording a debut album in 2004 (that I'm unsure on if it ever came out), The Hangdowns had a faster and more aggressive skate punk sound than the guys' later bands tended to have, which fans got a good glimpse of at shows everywhere from The Oddfellows Hall to the old Foggy Notions, along with being one of the last bands to play at the Club Princess in January 2005.Compared to Nebraska Arms, The Hangdowns will be a more intense sounding band, with solid levels of humour and aggression throughout, and fans of the members' other bands will definitely want to give them a look for their strongly written original material!

The Hangdowns have some solid original songs on their MySpace page (I really like "Separation Anxiety"), and there's a handful of YouTube videos making the rounds as well, including this Oddfellows concert clip of their original trio lineup, courtesy of The 705 Video Magazine! Check out more from The Hangdowns above!



I hope you guys liked our "introductory" posts to defunct local punk bands, and while I'm fully aware that I'm missing plenty from back in the day, these posts were strictly to add punk bands with surviving online pages, as I wouldn't want to clutter our site links with dead, non-informative, or fake links. We'll be sure to touch on many punk bands not featured in our inactive punk roll-in posts when we start featuring archived punk videos on the site next month as we continue to get caught up, so watch for those in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!