The Sault Metal Scene would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local rock singer/guitarist Jason "Jugga" Roy, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 53, as per numerous personal Facebook postings. A native of Geraldton, Ontario, Jason is best known from SMS coverage as the frontman and only constant member of local classic/hard rock cover band Havadder, who were active off and on from 2009-2016. You may recognize Havadder as regulars at venues like The Rockstar Bar, Foggy Notions, and The Nicolet Tavern, while they also played at Toystock in 2015 and various other venues as a headliner or featured attraction, and opened for Lou Gramm and Chilliwack at 2012's Rock N' Roar Festival in Spanish. From 2011-2012, Havadder pulled a "Gates of Ypres" when they absorbed most members of contemporary classic/hard rock cover band Turner Up, with Jason playing rhythm guitar in that band then as well.
Jason was not active in new bands after 2016, and while I'm not at liberty to go into detail about the personal struggles that he endured in the past decade, I did notice that postings on his personal Facebook page drastically decreased in that time (unfortunately, he also took down Havadder's Facebook page after their final breakup). I knew Jason a bit from friendly interactions at concerts, and he was a good guy with a strong voice and real guitar skill, and he had a keen eye for talent, based on the notable artists that filled out Havadder's ranks across their seven year run. We'll let you know when the obituary and details on services are publicized, but keep the Roy family in your thoughts at this time. R.I.P. Jason!
Let's get this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site as our last monthly feature post of the summer! This series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels each month, each being randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions of channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts. Again, this month's installment is on two channels, as the first selected channel only had three videos sourced from two concerts, so a channel with videos from just one show was added to fill things out with. Here's what you should know on both!
Owner: YouTube user and Sault Ontario resident Dana Bellerose
Channel Timeline:Launched on January 16th, 2010; Videos uploaded in January and February 2012
Channel Summary:Dana's only uploads are of videos of defunct local classic/hard rock cover band Havadder playing two concerts at the former Nicolet Tavern (later Rednecks Saloon), early in the run of this particular five-piece lineup, which notably featured the complete final lineup of fellow local hard rock cover band Turner Up.
Why You Should Watch:This channel will be of primary interest to fans of early Havadder and late Turner Up lineups, which merged to create a strong unit while they lasted! I should have called them "Havadder Up" in this era, with the power of hindsight. Note that Dana has not visibly used her channel since these videos were uploaded, and you can see more Havadder videos (largely with other lineups) elsewhere.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Tweeter & the Monkey Man covered by Havadder: Dana's first video comes from Havadder's gig at the Nicolet on January 8th, 2012, where they covered The Travelling Wilburys' "Tweeter & The Monkey Man". Their then-new lineup featured existing singer/guitarist Jason Roy and guitarist Jason "Nez" Nisbet joined by Turner Up's Robert Brown, Travis Sharpe, and Scott McLurg on guitar, bass, and drums (Jason Roy had joined Turner Up himself the previous year). The grainy video quality and uneven lighting don't help the scratchy audio, but what we can make out of this performance is fine, and the triple guitar attack doesn't come across as overkill! Click here to see them covering Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome" that night via Turner Up's short-lived official channel.
HAVADDER--Running Down A Dream (cover) February 4, 2012: The other two videos here come from Havadder Up's Nicolet show on February 4th of that year, where they covered The Foo Fighters' "These Days" and, in Dana's most popular upload, Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream". Much improved lighting and softer audio help make these February videos a better watch than January, and while Havadder would splinter off into The Thrill Junkies and Jason Roy's overhauled new Havadder the following year, this super lineup was still neat to have in 2012! If you're curious as to the hockey game playing on the TV monitor in the upper right corner, Edmonton beat Detroit 5-4 after a shootout.
Owner: YouTube user kilko8011, exact identity unclear, but I doubt they're locally based
Channel Timeline:Launched on March 30th, 2011; Videos posted in April 2011 and September 2013
Channel Summary:
Alongside a "beer jousting" video, kilko8011's only videos comprise of four songs played by inactive local/Toronto indie/punk quartet Treble Charger at the third annual KOI Music Festival in Kitchener in September 2013, early in their reunion. The videos feature Greig Nori, Bill Priddle, and touring musicians Darcy Yates & Jason Pierce playing outside of Crabby Joe's Bar & Grill as that day's headliners, where they were filmed playing "Cheat Away", "Business", "Brand New Low", and in the most popular video on offer, "Hundred Million". While "Cheat Away" was filmed and uploaded horizontally, kilko8011 changed his camera orientation mid-video multiple times on the rest, and opted to upload them vertically, so be advised of that. While there is some mild audio distortion, Treble Charger sound good on these punk-era cuts, and the crowd was very responsive!
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! We're doubling up again next month, as our first randomly selected channel for September only has two videos period, both from different projects, so a channel with a single video was chosen also to round things out with. As such, we'll be looking at the YouTube channels of Curtis McKenzie (featuring two videos from old hard rock projects of his) and Dick Jerkins (featuring a free EP from local metal solo project Awokest). Look for these on or around September 26th, and for lots of overdue news and notes to come on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Today's news post is a little different, but by no means lacking in information, and it constitutes some long overdue updates to our defunct band links, as a number of past local bands listed on the SMS have seen their primary link deleted, either by band members directly or via the closure of the site that the page was hosted on. I was able to salvage some names, but not all, and you will find information on the first 12 links below in alphabetical order! All are from Sault Ontario unless otherwise stated:
I have changed the link for mid-2000s local punk band A Fall From Innocence due to the deletion of their page on Bandspace, a music networking service that quietly shut down without any visible warning in early 2017. I now have them listed via their MySpace page, which barely has enough surviving material to warrant a present link. Hopefully everyone's doing well nowadays, and don't miss alumni Wayne Watkins & Marc Santos with their current band Northwest once they can play live again!
I have changed the link for late 2010s black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest from their now-deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page, which still hosts copies of their three studio albums. As one of the few acts to carry the black metal flag locally, I hope Old Man Wyrn resurfaces with new music of some kind!
I have removed early 2010s Sault Michigan acoustic hard rock band All The Dirty Words In One from our band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page in the last few years. A.T.D.W.I.O. had some promise, and hopefully Josh, Cody, and Dan are still working on new music in some form!
I have removed mid-2000s ska punk band Break The Violence from our defunct band links due to the quiet deletion of their Tripod page at some point in the last few years. In this case, this isn't a massive loss, given that most of the band would form the far better regarded As It Stands shortly afterwards, so be sure to check them out!
I have removed early 2000s Sault Michigan death metal band Bludgeoned's posthumous Reverbnation page from our defunct band links due to it's quiet deletion in the last couple of years. Given their original run was two decades ago, we should be glad this existed at all, but hopefully the guys are still active in music!
I have changed the link for 2000s-early 2010s metal cover trio Caveman Morrison from their now-closed website to their Facebook group. Tym's Flash-heavy band and solo websites were well made and useful for content, but his musical and personal approaches have evolved so much since then. Look for Tym Morrison's next live-streamed solo concerts on Tuesday & Thursday!
I have changed the link for mid-2000s noise metal duo Das Skalpell Kampf from their now-deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page, which still hosts two original songs and relevant band information. "Fonzy" and "Chachi" had an intriguing thing going with their extreme metal attack, and hopefully the guys have new music in the works in some form, regardless of stage name!
I have changed the link for late 2000s metal band Despised Eyes from their now-deleted Facebook page to their MySpace page, which still has barely enough material to be a replacement. It would have been nice to see Despised Eyes pick up where D.O.T.H. left off, but hopefully everyone's still musically active!
I have sadly removed early-mid 2010s classic/hard rock band Havadder from our inactive band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook page in the last couple of years. Other official pages survive, but they have nothing of substance that is publically viewable, alas. Jason and crew had a good 7 year run, and hopefully we hear more music from their wide array of band members!
I have changed the link for early-mid 2010s progressive metal solo project Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe from their now-deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page, which still hosts their 2014 self-titled EP. Project-leader Matt Parr has since moved back to his hometown of London, where he has since joined the alt-rock quartet Czech Hotel, so give them a listen to see what he's been up to!
I have removed mid-2010s punk supergroup Killer from our defunct band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook page in the last few years, and I don't believe they had a page elsewhere. Non-seasonal successors to the one-off Rude-Offs from Toystock IV, this band had an impressive lineup, but never got off the ground in 2016 as planned. Look for members in Destroilet, Treble Charger, and Bone Yard once the pandemic ends (hopefully!)
Lastly for now, I have removed 2005 local punk/emo band Murder By Romance due to the deletion of their Tripod (and only surviving online) page at some point in the last few years. An all-female punk band in this era was definitely intriguing in concept, and hopefully their members are still musically active in some form!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is a step forward and three steps back in a sense, as relating to our active band links, but the first story today is also a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, so here's what you should know!
Local/Toronto indie punk veterans Treble Charger will indeed return to the stage on Thursday, July 27th for a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge! I was reticent to list the show on the SMS when I first discovered it on LopLops' website's concert calendar, as a band of this scope returning the stage after a two year hiatus should have more promotion than it does, but tickets are indeed on sale for $25 on LopLops website, so it looks like it's definitely a thing. Last seen on a local stage at The Machine Shop in February 2015 (and elsewhere in Belleville that July), we had listed the platinum selling quartet as inactive on the site for the past year, but based on LopLops' website's article on the show, this isn't a one-off return. Greig, Bill, and company are "threatening to unleash a brand new CD on the world" and are "ready to hit the road", so assuming things line up as projected, their local show in two weeks will help re-kick things off for them!
No word yet on potential opening bands, and also no word on if Richard Mulligan is their new touring drummer (as noted in a Wikipedia article edit, but I don't consider Wikipedia to be a source.) This 19+ show has an advertised 9:00 PM start time, and you can buy tickets for $25 at the above links or presumably at LopLops in person. I don't know if this concert is intentionally on the down-low for public promotion or if it just hasn't fully commenced yet, but tickets are on sale, so it's not a secret. It's great to see Treble Charger back in action, so stay tuned for updates on July 27th's return show, and they are back in our active band links!
Next up, we have three bands to soon move to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, the first of which being local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester.
The band has not announced anything online regarding their future
status, but they have not issued a public statement on current or
upcoming activity since their featured set at last year's Rotaryfest
Stage 1 alongside numerous guest performers one year ago on Sunday. One of
the most enduring bands covered on the SMS, That's Chester launched in
2004 and became a fan favourite sight at local concerts and festivals
for the next decade, notably excepting a 2012-2013 breakup. Highlights
of their run included nine Rotaryfest sets, appearances at numerous
charity and community events (such as Toystock and Ride For Sight),
regular gigs at various local bars through mid-2014, and their
involvement in November 2015's local stage production of The Who's
Tommy, which wrapped just days prior to the sudden passing of guitarist
Eugene Orlando.
Though That's Chester focused their
post-2014 attention on Tommy and Rotaryfest, their crowd-friendly brand
of classic and hard rock was always worth checking out on local stages,
and if they are now formally defunct, their Rotaryfest set last year was
a nice way to give their run closure and pay tribute to Eugene's
memory. Best of luck to Greg, Gabe, Aubrey, Ric, and their former
singers in the future, and don't miss Bone Yard, Stiffler's Mom,
Obsession, Mojo, Guitars & Tequila, and The Bearded Lounge to
see what members are up to nowadays!
Also, another band being moved to our inactive band links are local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder.
Though the band has issued no public statements about their active
status, they have not played live since headlining at The Rockstar Bar
one year ago on Saturday, or posted on their Facebook page
since promoting that concert. Active off and on from 2009-2016, and
continually fronted by singer/guitarist Jason "Jugga" Roy, Havadder and
their fluctuating lineups (including a sextet run from 2011-2012) were a
reliable sight on local concert stages throughout the early-mid 2010s,
which saw them frequent venues like The Rockstar Bar, The Rednecks
Saloon, and the former Foggy Notions, perform at the Toystock fundraiser
in 2015, bring live bands back to Studio 10, and even earn a spot at
the 2012 Rock 'n Roar Festival in Spanish. In the past year, you may
have seen Havadder alumni in bands like The 3 Day Millionaires,
Soundcheck, Jack Spades, Project 421, Mid Life Crysis, and The Band Camp Rejects.
With a
wide ranging set list that fit our coverage while entertaining general
audiences, Havadder were always a welcome sight on local stages, and
Jason's strong vocals and guitar work were always a constant no matter
what form their lineup took! I'm unsure what happened to Havadder since
last summer, but as Jason has shown before, they can always re-appear
with a new lineup. Hopefully that does happen, but if you couldn't, you
didn't! Best of luck to Jason, Travis, Scott, and other former band
members in the future!
Finally, we're moving local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook to our inactive band links as well.
While the band has not announced anything publically regarding their
future, nothing has been stated by the band since they performed at
Rotaryfest Stage 1 one year ago on Sunday themselves, notably alongside guest
singer/guitarist Adam King while frontman Joel Syrette takes his own
hiatus from the band to attend university out of town, as per their Facebook page
last year. Debuting at November 2012's inaugural Toystock charity
concert (notably alongside fellow 2012-2016 cover rockers Lucky 13),
this union of Hollow, Bigsuit, and Gsis Murphy alumni quickly carved
their own niche in the local scene with hard rocking renditions of their
own at venues like The Rockstar Bar and The Roosevelt Hotel, plus turns
at 2013's Rock 'n Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish, the late Ray
Brown's benefit show, and four consecutive Rotaryfest main stage
lineups.
Whether you preferred Griphook with Joel or
original frontman Jim O'Leary, this veteran quartet delivered their own
entertaining blend of styles to local stages for the better part of 4
years, with hard rock augmented with some blues and alternative touches
where need be! Griphook did leave the door open for Joel to pick up
where he left off when his schooling wraps up, and hopefully that
remains the case, but in the meantime, best of luck to him, Brian, Dan,
Tony, and Jim in the future! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews soon! Thanks everyone!
Quite possibly the busiest concert weekend of the year is upon us, so let's begin this weekend's concert previews with the first of (at least) three concert preview posts! I plan to tackle Thursday nighters and cover bands in this Sault Ontario-centric post (which includes SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), while we tentatively plan to cover Rotaryfest's stages in their own post next, followed by Sault Michigan-area shows and The Din & Id Iota's Rotaryfest afterparty together in the third post. Of course, this could all be thrown a loop if more shows are announced for the weekend, but we'll approach that if it comes. Let's begin our previews!
Local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder will apparently return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the show via the venue's physical marquee on Tuesday, though note that the band nor venue have plugged the show online as of this writing. A one-nighter due to a previously scheduled karaoke event on Saturday, this show comes just two weeks after Havadder's last Rockstar Bar gig, so it's great to see this talented and hard hitting trio playing a little more regularly after a very sporadic start to the year! And while Havadder have never played Rotaryfest, remember to see Travis & Scott in their side project The 3 Day Millionaires tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM on the main stage, which we'll preview next! TOMORROW'S Havadder show will have no cover charge, a likely 10:30 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Havadder live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. Fresh off of a private outdoor gig this past weekend (as per members' personal Facebook pages), these will be Mourning Wood's first stops at The Esquire Club in two months, and it's good to see the guys rocking out at this west end venue once again, especially with a little more advance notice than some shows of theirs get! Note that while we won't see Mourning Wood at Rotaryfest this year, drummer Glen Thomas will be playing there TONIGHT with his 1960s-centered classic rock band The Peace Vibe, so keep them in mind if that's up your alley! As for this weekend's Esquire Club shows, they'll be on at 9:30 PM TOMORROW & SATURDAY, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!
Moving to previously announced concerts, let's first head to The Oddfellows Hall, where Victoria, British Columbia grindcore band Iskra will play Sault Ontario for the first time in twelve years TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall! The scene has changed a lot since Iskra's 2004 stop at the former Foggy Notions, but their brutal, fast-paced, and aggressive originals should get some solid pits going once again tonight at 10:45 PM! Despite being the advertised headline act, thrash metal trio Pillory are actually playing last tonight, in their first post-reunion concert appearance outside of a battle of the bands or house party. No word why (maybe Iskra have to hit the road early?), but Pillory should devastate tonight at 11:30 PM, so check them out if you've missed them since their return! Goregrind duo Rotopsy (who also haven't been seen outside of house parties lately) will return to the Oddfellows stage themselves at 10:00 PM, while local doom metal trio AlgomA will curiously open the show at 9:15 PM, despite their own promotional involvement with Six, Two, Oh., though maybe it's so they can focus on running the event? Relocated from The Moose Lodge to The Oddfellows Hall in May, this ALL AGES show will have door admission for $10, but advance tickets are available for $8 at The Rad Zone and through members of the local bands. Promoters have also teased that drinks and sloppy Joes(?!) will be on hand for attendees, while there will be a contest where ticket holders can win AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Chronobot (or $20 in merchandise if you have/don't want it), so prepare for all of that too! This should be a brutal concert for fans of death metal, if an oddly short show for The Oddfellows Hall, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Iskra live here in 2004!
Finally for this preview post, local acoustic hard rock cover singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! Entering the second week of his return to thrice-weekly bookings at The Quality Inn's restaurant (after a lengthy stretch of not playing Thursdays there), Tym should be in fine form for the next three nights of unplugged cover action, and if you're familiar with him, you'll know that his extensive setlist and clear talents will be in fine form! Remember, Tym has (to my knowledge) never played Rotaryfest as a solo artist, so if you want to enjoy his music this weekend, get to Gliss over the next three nights! As usual for his Gliss gigs (Thursdays included), there are no announced cover charges or age limits in effect, and all start at 6:00 PM, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest previews next, and then Sault Michigan and more! Thanks everyone!
For our last post of the month of June 2016, we're tackling concert previews for this Canada Day weekend largely, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we also have additional shows for later this month from one act playing this weekend, and enough details on a big August show to call it for our listings, so here's what you should know!
With a new month drawing near, we'll add Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's July slate of acoustic solo concerts at Gliss Steak & Seafood to our concert listings, starting with shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's gigs, we were waiting for public confirmation of the July dates in his ongoing weekly arrangement with Gliss, which came via this weekend's Facebook event page. As usual when approaching this long-term run of shows, we've added Tym's presumed remaining July shows as well, so look for him at The Quality Inn's house restaurant as well on July 10th & 11th, 17th & 18th, and 24th & 25th for three more full weekends of unplugged classics! You can check out Tym's solo matinee concerts each Friday & Saturday this month (including TOMORROW & THIS SATURDAY) at 6:00 PM each, with no announced age limits or cover charges. For more details, see the above links, and here's Tym live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via the official Facebook event page yesterday. Seen less frequently this year than we have in the past, this will be Jason, Travis, and Scott's first concert in about a month, and just their fourth of the year, all at The Rockstar Bar. Of course we've seen 2/3rds of Havadder recently with The 3 Day Millionaires, but if you miss Havadder's blend of classic and hard rock covers, be at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY! Note that this is a one nighter due to a previously announced Canada Day concert tomorrow by country rock cover band The Ride (formerly The Border City Band), whose current lineup notably features ex-Havadder drummer T.J. Case. Admission for SATURDAY is likely free, there is a 10:30 PM start time in effect, and you must be 19 to attend. See above for more details, and here's Havadder live!
Before we round out this weekend's previews, here's one more new concert announcement, as we now have fuller details regarding Superior Entertainment's previously announced FireHouse concert on Saturday, August 6th in Sault Michigan, so where is it being held? Outdoors, behind Moloney's Alley, the Irish pub at 227 West Portage Avenue, which is just seconds down the road from The Satisfied Frog. Moloney's Alley isn't a frequent sight for hard rock concerts in the area, but it's great of them to host this huge outdoor show! In the event of rain, promoters will apparently "work with Kewadin (Casino) as a back up venue", even though The Dreammaker's Theater has a British Legends tribute show that night, but details would be fleshed out if need be. As for the lineup, North Carolina glam metal veterans FireHouse will of course headline in their third local concert appearance, while Saginaw rap rock band Redburn and Rochester, New York post-hardcore band Lights Out Paris will also return to the Soo as featured acts.
The show will apparently be an all-day event starting at 12:00 PM and ending at 8:00 PM, and "many more acts" are to be announced, so we'll let you know when they're confirmed! This Downtown Days event (which isn't being advertised as a sequel to last summer's Superior Festival) will be ALL AGES, and tickets are now available online at this link for $25, while children 14 and under can get in for $15, and babies 2 years and under will get free admission, though I can't confirm if you can get tickets at Moloney's Alley or not. It's great to see a huge summer concert event in Sault Michigan, in what has otherwise been a quiet stretch, so see above, click here, and stay tuned for continued details on this huge show!
Finally for today's previews, here's the biggest show of the Canada Day weekend in Sault Ontario, as Abbotsford, B.C. power pop/punk quartet Hedley will headline at The Yard at 75 Huron Street for a huge outdoor show TOMORROW NIGHT in the first half of the venue's Canada Day Kicker! This will be Hedley's first local concert appearance since headlining at The Essar Center in the fall of 2010, and with hits like "She's So Sorry", "Crazy For You", and "On My Own" in their repertoire, the Juno Award winners' diverse and fan friendly hits should attract a huge audience tomorrow! All-female Toronto indie rock quartet The Beaches are joining them on tour as openers with their poppy and skilled originals, while local/Toronto Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will play their first local concert of 2016 to kick things off, and it'll be great to see them back on a local stage! For what it's worth, Dustin's personal Facebook posts for the show have tagged Mikey Hawdon in them, who is the band's most recent permanent drummer, but hasn't played with the band in their recent shows.
Nothing has been publically confirmed otherwise regarding who'll be behind the kit tomorrow, but be there to find out! Notably the first concert of any kind since The Tech bought The Yard from the Mill Square developers, this half of the Canada Day Kicker will be complimented by Saturday's Kira Isabella show, which should be entertaining for country & pop fans! This ALL AGES event has gates opening at 6:00 PM, with tickets going for $59.89, plus extra VIP & dual show passes from $82,49 & up, so click here to get yours online! Hedley are a huge attraction for pop and punk fans, and this should be a big hit, so see above for more details, and here they are live in the Soo!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes next month! Thanks everyone!
After having just one post in the past 4 days, let's get back into the groove with this weekend's concert previews! It's a relatively light weekend to start the month of June, barring any more late notice announcements, but we have lots of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to kick off our hard rock concert previews, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has announced his next solo dates at Gliss Steak & Seafood for TOMORROW & SATURDAY, so we'll add his slate of June 2016 dates to our concert listings now! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's dates, we were waiting for the Facebook event page to confirm them before announcing them here. Along with TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S Gliss shows, Tym will also bring his acoustic solo show to The Quality Inn's house restaurant for shows on June 10th & 11th, 17th & 18th, and 24th & 25th, with his previously teased return to Thursday nights at this venue still awaiting a firm return date. Tym's long-term arrangement at Gliss continues to successfully march into the summer, so keep his June dates in mind, as well as his previously announced Algoma Ride for Autism set in Runway Park on June 11th too! All of his Gliss shows this month have 6:00 PM start times and no announced cover charges or age limits, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant.
Tym's acoustic matinees should deliver some solid hard rock hits this month, including TOMORROW & SATURDAY, so check the above links for more details on the next month of his Gliss run, and here he is live!
Next up, the long teased second Redneck Rock Bash goes down THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rednecks Saloon! Apologies again for the short notice, we had heard about the show via a Musicians Wanted Facebook group discussion searching for performers since April 10th, but we waited for an official public confirmation before calling it here, which only came on Tuesday. A sequel to April 23rd's initial Redneck Rock Bash from promoters Twin City Sound & Entertainment, this will again unite five local acts for a night of varied local music, so who all is performing? Listed acts include classic metal quintet Project 421 (replacing The Din, who are focusing on their album release right now), punk trio Redundant (the only returning band from April's Rock Bash), indie rock solo artist Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell, The Leash Kids (an experimental/rap duo from The Gore Street Cafe's Sam Decter & rapper Mikey Thomas), and classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood (whose members run Twin City Sound.)
Solid, diverse lineup to be sure, so keep it in mind despite the short notice on SATURDAY NIGHT! There's no announced cover charge for Redneck Rock Bash 2, which has a 19+ age limit and 10:00 PM start time (and for the record, I can't confirm if any of these bands are playing tomorrow night at Rednecks or not, Mourning Wood in particular, but we'll let you know if something is announced!) Check the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 421 live!
In one more late notice concert announcement, local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT themselves at The Rockstar Bar! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only heard about this show via the official Facebook event page yesterday. Playing just their third show of the year and first show in two months, this will be Havadder's second live appearance since contracting to a trio lineup full time, and while we haven't seen Jason, Travis, and Scott much this year, their well tested and hard hitting covers should find another solid audience on SATURDAY NIGHT! There's no cover charge for SATURDAY'S 19+ concert, which has a 10:30 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Havadder live last year!
Finally for this weekend's previews, we'll head across to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will hit the stage for two previously announced shows! Though still not plugging new dates on Facebook, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page confirms that the Monkey's Uncle successors will continue their one-weekend-a-month run of shows at The Rapids Lounge this weekend, so keep their often heavy and classics-filled sets in mind for this weekend if you want some live music action in the E.U.P.! There's no announced cover charges for these 21+ concerts, which will start at 9:00 PM each night. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Highway 63 live earlier this year!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next, plus more news to come! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we continue our monthly spotlight on YouTube channels have at least 50% of their current content relating to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands, concerts, and events! All randomly selected as usual, we have three videos again this month after the first random selection (and the second) only had a single video each, but with clips from two concerts and a slideshow making use of a notable song, there's a lot to see, so read on below for this month's profiles!
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Owner: A member of local classic/hard rock band Havadder's 2011-2012 quintet lineup, exact identity unclear
Channel Timeline:Launched on January 12th, 2010; Only video posted on February 6th, 2012
Channel Summary:These veteran local rockers began using this as their intended official YouTube channel during their brief quintet run in the early 2010s, when Havadder & the now-defunct Turner Up had four members in common. However, the only posted video, a cover of The Foo Fighters' "These Days", is copied from YouTube user Danabelle39's channel, which features an extra Tom Petty cover from the same show at The Nicolet Tavern (now The Rednecks Saloon) in February 2012. Featuring the band's entire current lineup (founding singer/guitarist Jason Roy, bassist Travis Sharpe, and drummer Scott McLurg) alongside then-guitarists Jason Nisbet & Robert Brown, this is a strong cover with Travis handling lead vocals, and the triple guitar attack comes together well, though the camera is slightly angled. This channel is now inactive, but more from this Havadder lineup can be found on YouTube and Havadder's own Facebook page alike.
Owner: YouTube user HockeyTraditionalist, real identity unclear, but I don't believe he's from Sault Ste. Marie
Channel Timeline:Launched on March 7th, 2010; Only video posted that same day
Channel Summary:The only video on HockeyTraditionalist's channel is of a slideshow of NHL game footage set to local/Toronto indie punk quartet Treble Charger's song "Brand New Low" from their 2001 album "Wide Awake Bored". Possibly inspired by the song's inclusion on the soundtrack of the video game NHL 2002 (which also featured "American Psycho"), the video is a well put together slideshow of hockey photos from circa the 2009-10 season, and the song itself is a solid mid-tempo number from Treble Charger's heyday! However, this channel hasn't been actively used in a few years, and if you just want Treble Charger, there are many other channels with more substantial band content.
Owner: YouTube user jjjjjeeeennnaa, first name presumably Jenna, but full identity unclear
Channel Timeline:Launched on January 26th, 2008; Videos posted that same day
Channel Summary:Jenna's YouTube channel was launched to upload three videos that she filmed at the Three Days Grace-headlined concert at The Steelback Center (now The Essar Center) on January 24th, 2008. All running for under two minutes, Jenna filmed the Norwood, Ontario alt-hard rock favourites playing their songs "Get Out Alive" (preceded by a drum solo from Neil Sanderson), "I Hate Everything About You", and as embedded below, "Just Like You". Filmed from a far angle in the seating area, Jenna has a clear angle of Three Days Grace in action from their first of two stops here, and while the audio's a little distorted, they're solid in terms of footage from this show that's available online, especially if you prefer their original lineup! However, this channel has seen no visible usage since 2008.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around May 26th, and after a completelyrandom selection, we're again doing multiple channels due to the first having only one local music-related clip, but the next random channel had two distinct video types to fill things out with! With that said, we're looking at YouTube user cinnamoncubicle's channel (featuring a Treble Charger music video, ironically) and local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven's YouTube channel (featuring a live clip and two old studio tracks) next month, so look for that next month, and for more updates soon! Thanks everyone!
The first weekend of April is drawing near, so let's start previewing concerts taking place during it today, with this post largely comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Alas, four of these shows were only announced this past weekend, too soon for us to plug them in advance of this coming weekend with, hence why they've been held for our previews, but don't bypass them! We'll touch on this weekend's Tym Morrison, Project 906, and potential further late notice shows in our next post, but for now, here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will become the first band to play at The Park Grille at 196 Industial Park Cresent when they play there TOMORROW NIGHT, but it's not a trial run, as further Friday nighters are coming on May 6th & May 27th! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S show, we only heard about it via the official Facebook event page on Sunday. For those unfamiliar, The Park Grille has been open since May 2014, is located behind Soo Mill, and is known for it's "industrial man sized food", so if you live up at this end of town, here's a joint that you might want to check out! Mourning Wood's concert TOMORROW (their first since gigs at Rednecks two weeks ago) is just the start of The Park Grille's band experiment, which will also see blues rock veterans Mojo playing there twice later this month, as well as new hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires for four gigs this spring (more on them specifically shortly.) For the time being, at least, all of The Park Grille's concerts are on Fridays only, but Mourning Wood members will be busy on Saturday, which we'll outline in a bit.
There is no announced cover charge or age limit for Mourning Wood's shows TOMORROW, May 6th, or May 27th (but remember that this is a restaurant), and bands will play early sets at 8:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links! With steady bands booked on Fridays through the end of May, it'll be interesting to see how successful The Park Grille's band experiment is, so consider being at Mourning Wood's first show of the venue's concert run TOMORROW, and here they are live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder will end their near-three month break with shows at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, the band also only announced the shows via the official Facebook event page on Sunday. Their first announced shows since the band confirmed guitarist Jamie July's departure (though trio gigs have not been uncommon at this time of year anyway), Havadder have been fairly quiet since early January, though we have seen Travis & Scott with The 3 Day Millionaires in the interim. No word on where Havadder have been lately, but it'll be good to see Jugga and company rocking out at The Rockstar Bar again TOMORROW & SATURDAY, so keep their returns in mind! These shows are 19+ events with 10:30 PM start times, but it came out on The Rockstar Bar's Facebook group earlier this week that the venue has abolished cover charges for local bands, including this weekend's Havadder concerts!
No word on if this solely applies to cover bands playing alone, or if the policy will extend to multi-band events, but given how most band-hosting bars in the Soo don't have an announced regular cover fee anymore, this should be welcomed by fans! For more details on Havadder's return to the stage, see the above links, and here's the guys live last year!
Lastly for late notice concert announcements, The Rednecks Saloon will be hosting a "grand re-opening" concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT with a stacked lineup of local bands! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this past Saturday via it's Facebook event page. No word on why they're having this "Redneck Relaunch Party" when they haven't recently closed (has there been renovations lately?), but in any event, 7 local acts will take the stage on SATURDAY, so who all is playing? In descending order from headliners to openers, we have a rare multi-band concert set from hard/alternative rock cover quartet Lucky 13 (in their second gig with new guitarist Robin Lee) at around 1:15 AM, with local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements in a rare Rednecks appearance at around 12:25 AM, though no word on if Alex Hagerman will be back behind the kit or not. At 11:35, we'll actually see the return of local metal/hard rock cover trio Caveman Morrison to the local concert stage!
Last seen on stage at the former Roosevelt Hotel on New Year's Eve in 2013, it's great to see Tym bring back his live local band after a two+ year hiatus, so consider coming to the former Nicolet on Saturday to check them out, and they're back in our active band links too! According to co-promoter Terry Eaton in a Facebook conversation, he believes that bassist James White and drummer Johnny Belanger are back from their last incarnation, but the band hasn't confirmed this yet. A debuting local band named The Band Camp Rejects will take the stage at 10:50 PM, and while members are opting to remain secretive until SATURDAY, I can confirm that their lineup has familiar faces. We'll let you know when something is publically revealed! Local hard rock/alternative trio The Din will play their first set since their VM Radio Battle of the Bands runner-up performance at 10:00 PM on Saturday, while two local solo acts (folk artist Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell and rapper Mikey Thomas) will open the event at 9:30 & 9:00 PM.
Co-promoted by Mourning Wood's Terry Eaton & Steven Flint, and with sound presumably provided by Twin City Sound as a result, there is NO COVER CHARGE for this 19+ concert, so how could you miss out on all of this live music action on SATURDAY NIGHT? Check the above links for more details on the Rednecks Relaunch Party, and here's Lucky 13 live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our previews of this weekend's Project 906 & Tym Morrison concerts, and any late notice confirmations, next! Thanks everyone!
For our second post on this Saturday night, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Our monthly look at 1-3 YouTube channels with at least 50% local metal, hard rock, and punk content returns with three randomly selected channels today, as the first and second channels that we selected only had two similar videos each, hence maxing out for this installment. We have some interesting footage from both sides of the border to look at today, so read on for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles!
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Channel Timeline:Launched on August 14th, 2013; Videos posted in May 2014
Channel Summary:Three years after Bring The Fallen dissolved, Andrew re-emerged with two solo performance videos on his YouTube channel in May 2014, including a rendition of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" and, as embedded below, an instrumental original (I believe) named "RockBro". I don't know why Andrew hasn't been in a major local band in recent years, as he was a standout in Bring the Fallen, but these videos show that he hasn't lost a step at all, and still displays the technical skill and ease on the guitar that fans remember! However, Andrew hasn't posted on his YouTube channel in almost two years.
Owner: YouTube user and likely Sault-area resident Brian Myles
Channel Timeline:Launched on March 15th, 2011; Videos posted the following day
Channel Summary:Brian's only uploaded videos come from the Buckcherry-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on March 14th, 2011, so it looks like his YouTube channel was launched solely to post his videos from that event. Though the show also featured Papa Roach & My Darkest Days, Brian's videos are both of the Los Angeles hard rock notables playing their songs "Sorry" and, as embedded below, "Crazy Bitch", complete with lengthy crowd banter. Both shot on vertical cell phone camera dimensions, and with attendees' heads in the way, the quality is otherwise decent, but Josh Todd's vocals are relatively flat compared to other shows of theirs. Brian's channel is definitely worth checking out for footage of this huge show from 5 years ago, but note that he hasn't used this channel since at least 2012.
Owner: Former Havadder guitarist/vocalist Jamie July
Channel Timeline:Launched on March 7th, 2014; Only video posted that same day
Channel Summary:Jamie's YouTube channel has just a single upload, that being of a sample video of classic/hard rock veterans Havadder live at The Rednecks Saloon shortly after their late 2013 reunion, featuring Jamie alongside founding singer/guitarist Jason Roy and then-members Lucas Bugyra & T.J. Case (Asylum Country) on bass & drums. The side-stage video features Havadder covering multiple songs, including some with Jamie on lead vocals, but the poor audio quality makes it hard to discern the individual tracks. As one of the few public videos of this incarnation of Havadder, it's worth watching for fans, but there are better quality videos from before and after this show. Also, Jamie hasn't visibly used his channel since this video was posted.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our random selections have again given us three channels (again, as the first two only had a single video), and in another coincidence, these will again include a Havadder video and footage from a major touring concert! On or around April 26th, we'll be profiling Havadder's old official YouTube channel (with a single live video), YouTube user HockeyTraditionalist's channel (with a Treble Charger video), and jjjjjeeeennnaa's YouTube channel (with three videos from Three Days Grace's 2008 Essar Center show), so stay tuned for that then, and for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Before we get into today's weekend concert preview post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert, as local classic/hard rock veterans Mourning Wood apparently played a one-nighter at Reggie's West (or "The Reggievelt") this past Saturday. Partly as they didn't plug it on their Facebook page until the day of, it completely slipped us by, but I should have been more alert last weekend, so our profuse apologies, and hopefully it was a great show! We'll make up for it with lots of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from them and others in this weekend preview post, so let's get rolling for what you should know!
Local party/hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will play their first ever weekend at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed the gigs on their Facebook page on Saturday, though they had teased them without finite dates earlier this month as well. The shows themselves will actually end a two month break for Greg, Mike, and Jon, who have been practicing over the holidays, and it'll be interesting to hear how they do at The Esquire Club at 103 Second Line West, which only sporadically features hard rock bands. Hopefully TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows go well for Stiffler;s Mom, and it's great to see them back out there in the new year! 10:00 PM start times are likely for these shows, which have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Stiffler's Mom live a few years back!
Next up, classic/hard rock cover veterans Havadder will return to The Rockstar Bar themselves for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we only heard about these shows via the official Facebook event page on Tuesday. This weekend's shows come just three weeks after Havadder's last Rockstar Bar gigs, and they've been very familiar with this venue as of late, so be sure to check out this popular local band again TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY if you haven't been able to see them lately! As usual for Havadder's Rockstar Bar gigs, there's no announced cover charges (but bring $5 or so just in case), you must be 19 or older to attend, and while the event page lists an oddly late start time of 11:00 PM, one would assume it would start by at least 10:30 PM. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Havadder live at The Rockstar Bar earlier this month!
Lastly for late notice show announcements, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to the stage with headlining dates at The Rednecks Saloon TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, the shows were only just announced via their Facebook event page yesterday. Fresh off of their Reggie's West date last week (apologies again for missing it!), this will be their first announced concert weekend of the year at the former Nicolet Tavern, unless we missed another late notice announcement. Mourning Wood have apparently learned even more songs to add to their extensive setlist, so if you've missed them at a non-Reggie's venue so far in 2016, consider a trip to Rednecks TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY for their varied and often heavy cover selection! Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 19 or older to attend, and neither has an announced age limit. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live at Rednecks!
Finally for this preview post, let's touch on shows that actually did get advance notice, as prolific local hard rock solo singer/guitarist Tym Morrison is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood to close out another month in his ongoing weekly run there TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! This ever-busy but very talented local favourite should deliver another solid weekend of tunes at this downtown restaurant this weekend, so if you're up for a mellower night of familiar hits, head to Gliss for one of the next three evenings! And yes, we will add Tym's February gigs at this venue when confirmed outside of his website. Each of these three Gliss shows are at 6:00 PM, have no announced cover charges, and don't have an announced age limit, but remember that this is a restaurant. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days, plus this month's CD review! Thanks everyone!
