YouTube Channel Profile Series: The Highest Of Fives, Cary Orsborne, And 6Immortal6Fears6

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we continue our monthly spotlight of 1-3 YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk music and concerts, in order to encourage viewership and new subscriptions from recent readers. As usual, this month channels were randomly selected, but with the first only having one surviving channel, we kept selecting until we had enough for a full post. You'll find an original song, live videos, and a full CD this month, so here's what you should know!
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The Highest of Fives (http://www.youtube.com/deving94)

Owner: Former Highest of Fives drummer/guitarist Devin Anderson, also known from his prior work in local hard rock bands like Free Refill & 415E, and currently with the Big Rapids, Michigan progressive rock band The Balsam Brothers

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 4th, 2007; Only surviving video posted on February 13th, 2014

Channel Summary: In 2012, Devin repurposed his existing personal use channel as the official channel for The Highest of Fives, his 2011-2014 hard rock band & film production collective. Numerous comedic skits & original songs were posted there towards a debut album & short film (both named "Bang!"), but neither was released, and all but one of their videos were quietly taken down after they dissolved. The sole survivor is their original song "Take My Time", featuring Devin alongside singer Mitch Goetz & bassist Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs, with other members not present thanks to their intentionally fluid lineup structure. This "tasty jam" has a very 1990s alt-rock vibe with a solid bass-line & good production, and it's a shame that the "Bang!" album was never completed! You can see more from The Highest of Fives at singer/guitarist Travis Theel's YouTube channel.


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Cary Orsborne (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKSZpzh5akwWqd2h_9looaw)

Owner: Sault Michigan-area resident and past local race car driver Cary Orsborne

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 17th, 2013; Videos posted six days later

Channel Summary: Cary's only videos are of defunct Brimley metal band Half A Man's final public concert appearance, when they headlined the third LemmaFest outside of Dondee Lanes in June 2013. Five videos (including one with no music) were uploaded, where you can see them play "Die In Disgrace", their Michael Lemma tribute "Goodbye", and Machine Head's "Davidian", plus two songs in their most popular video, namely "Freedom Ride" & "Drunk". Half A Man are represented here by their late-period trio lineup, including singer/guitarist Erik Rintamaki (yes, of Yooperlites fame), bassist Gary Croad, and prolific extreme metal drummer Mikey Bishop. The low contrast & lack of zooming don't help the visual quality, but Half A Man's gritty Black Label Society-esque sound holds up really well on these videos, and this was a strong way for them to go out! See more from Half A Man and LemmaFest III at Erik's YouTube channel.


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6Immortal6Fears6 (http://www.youtube.com/6immortal6fears6)

Owner: YouTube user 6Immortal6Fears6, who I don't believe is locally based

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 23rd, 2008; Videos uploaded from February 25th through March 4th, 2009

Channel Summary: This channel's only uploads are of the 5 individual songs on local/Windsor black metal band Woods of Ypres' 2002 debut EP "Against The Seasons: Cold Winter Songs From The Dead Summer Heat", including "Intro: The Shams of Optimism", "Awaiting The Inevitable", "Crossing The 45th Parallel", "The Sea of Immeasurable Loss", and the most popular here, "A Meeting Place & Time". Of course, Woods of Ypres were represented here by drummer David Gold alongside guitarist/vocalist Brian McManus & bassist/singer Aaron Palmer. Owing to their nearly decade-long presence on this channel, these are among the most popular YouTube copies of these songs, despite other channels existing with more than this album. Though Woods of Ypres would look very different in forthcoming releases, "Woods I" remains a fan favourite among black metal loyalists, and their relatable aggression remains intact!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, we will return to a single band profile for the first time since July, as our latest random selection is of veteran local metal/punk drummer Chris Thompson's YouTube channel, featuring 23 videos of his old hard rock band Half Past! Look for that on or around November 26th, and stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Highest Of Fives

Now, let's tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again spotlight a randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk band that (while no longer active) deserves a modern spotlight for current SMS readers! This month, we're looking at a notable Sault Michigan band that definitely thought outside of the box during their run in the early 2010s, and featured many familiar faces, so here's what you should know!
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The Highest of Fives

Genre: Hard/Alternative Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Note that member fluidity after their 2012 relaunch was common, allowing for frequent member absences and instrument role changes as a result, though at last public word, no credited band members ever left the group before falling inactive. Also, some official sources credited Marcel Grengs & "Crusty Puck" as two separate band members during their run, as they appeared separately in their short film clips, though his alter ego wasn't a secret.)

Mitch Goetz (415E, Intrepid, Hoist the Sails), vocals/guitar
Travis Theel (Hoist the Sails), vocals/guitar
Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs (Hoist the Sails, Analog Deficiency), guitar/bass
Devin Anderson (The Balsam Brothers, Free Refill, 415E), guitar/drums
Jack Slater (415E, Unleashed, 7/47), bass
Mike Pascoe (Free Refill, 7/47), drums

Audio/Video: An unusually ambitious group during their local run, The Highest of Fives once had a number of comedic videos, musical performances, and teasers for a linked debut EP and short film, though after their demise, most of their material was deleted for unannounced reasons. What little surviving media there is can primarily be seen at Travis Theel's YouTube channel, aside from Devin Anderson's copy of their studio song "Take My Time". Travis posted numerous performance videos on his channel, some with H.O.F. bandmates, and some featuring songs intended for the group. Here's the band's sole publically surviving music video, for their song "Look How Far We've Come" from September 2013!



Info/Analysis: Formed by Guitar Studio rock camp alumni (initially sans Travis & Marcel) and named after a "How I Met Your Mother" reference, The Highest of Fives first came onto our radars with hard rock cover performances at the Sugar Island Music Festival and Relay For Life in the summer of 2011. After taking a 6 month hiatus, the guys returned in March 2012 as a fluid six-piece collective, and changed to a wider focus beyond live concert sets, planning to release an EP and comedy short film (each titled "Bang!"). Released music videos, particularly with material sung by Travis, also took on a softer tone than the guys had previously performed. Despite likeable teasers and segments from the "Bang!" film being posted over a 2 year period, and a June 2014 release date being announced, Highest of Fives updates ceased by the fall of that year, and many members later moved from the area, though Mitch Goetz still plays live locally as a bassist with 415E.

With a lot of clear talent, imagination, and chemistry, it is a shame that The Highest of Fives' best laid plans never fully got off the ground in their three year run! I can't speak musically for their 2011 shows, but from what I saw and remember of their late era music, they were a solid group with a lot of varying styles, often led by Travis' quality clean singing, though hard rock fans will have preferred their earliest gigs. The collective approach of the guys as multimedia artists really set them apart in the local scene of the early 2000s, and their "Bang!" teaser videos were often genuinely funny, but hopefully the final product can be posthumously released!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we're heading back to Sault Ontario for our first in a three band run from this side of the border, and our 100% random selection has given us T-Rex Manning, the early 2010s punk/metal quartet that begat Stegadeth and Jack Spades! Look for that on or around July 10th, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

The Return Of Winkstinger, Tuned Updates, And Much More!!

Another slow news period has hit as of late, but let's help remedy that now that Thanksgiving has come and passed (on the Canadian side of the border), and I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Today, we have lots of assorted recent notes, updates on a popular webseries, and first, a surprise band reunion, so here's what you should know!

Local extreme metal band Winkstinger are back! After almost two & a half years of public dormancy, they reemerged with a new Bandcamp page with live jam recordings this morning, with their Facebook page confirming that "things are happening", among other typically irreverent hype. Guitarist Jesse Cook (also of Jack Spades & The Elements) and drummer Jonas Gasperas are back from the original run, but singer Alan Wells and bassist Jason Bourcier are not back from their last full incarnation in 2013, and it remains to be seen who will fill out the new lineup. Their Bandcamp page features two new original songs in progress (one being over 7 minutes in length), though both are untitled at this stage, so give them a listen at the above links! Of course, fans will remember Winkstinger well from their original 2010-2013 run which saw them win 2012's Battle for the Blood, play numerous fun & heavy concerts (including at 6 Roosevelt Hotel metal nights), and record material for an unreleased debut EP.

Dare I say it, the new Winkstinger original jams actually sound more technical and progressive-influenced than back in their heyday, and while they did take a self-deprecating bent when describing the quality, I'd be very curious to hear these fleshed out with bass, vocals, and perhaps rhythm guitar! It's great to have Winkstinger back at last, so check out their new material above, and they're back in our active band links!

Next up, here's the latest from Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper! Alongside newer episodes on Al Wood & The Woodsmen and another from Sudbury's Northern Lights Festival, the newest installment went up on Saturday, spotlighting the Soup Kitchen benefit at The Algonquin Pub earlier this month featuring (among others) the aforementioned Elements and The Bear Hunters! The main interview is with Machines Dream frontman and event promoter Craig West about the inspiration to promote the show and add the benefit side to it, why local musicians are more prone to participate in charity shows like this, and the odds that Machines Dream may do a similar event in the future. Short but respectful interview that shows Craig's good nature well, and it looks like the concert was a hit! In terms of concert footage, Machines Dream, Drew Armstrong & friends, and The Elements were filmed, but The Bear Hunters and Nikkfitt were not.

Most of the music is muted behind the interview, particularly Drew and friends (some of which being very familiar faces), but The Elements get some spotlight during the credits, covering what appears to be the ending of Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Another solid, if brief episode of Tuned, so give it a look at the above links!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items (including two inactive band notes) from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or website name:

• Project 421 singer Curtis McKenzie is looking for a bassist and drummer for his "sweet new project" in the making. Presumably this references the band he previously posted about that he hoped wouldn't play metal or hard rock, but just in case it fits our coverage, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!
• In their newest update on their Facebook page, secretive local black metal duo Dullahan revealed that they plan to record their second "EP" soon, which they hope to be "even rawer" in production than on older recordings. They also reiterated that they'll "never" reveal their full identities, and have "no intention" of playing live (which is odd, they'd attract positive and unique attention with their sound if they did!) Stay tuned for more from Dullahan above!
• Rudyard, Michigan hard rock quintet Exiled have quietly deleted their Facebook (and sadly, only online) page, which likely indicates their breakup. Featuring Absolute, Full Throttle, and Division of Sanity alumni, Exiled played numerous regional concerts in the latter half of 2014 before announcing a break in December due to drummer Justin Lawless and his wife's impending arrival of their new baby, though no word on if that's a factor for the apparently demise. Exiled had a strong lineup, so hopefully everyone stays active in music, best of luck to Donny, Joe, Myke, Johnny, and Justin, and don't miss Joe with Ten Kings!
• We have moved Sault Michigan hard/alternative rock collective The Highest of Fives to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Featuring Intrepid, 415E, and Free Refill alumni, the band expanded from a young cover group in 2011 to a more fluid studio project that had ambitious plans to record & release short films, an album, and music videos that were only partially complete before their Twitter page's last update over a year ago. I liked The Highest of Fives high goals and diverse skill set, and hopefully they pick things back up again at some point! Best of luck to Devin, Jack, Marcel, Mike, Mitch, and Travis in the future!
• Ex-Late & Loud frontman Jonathan Tiberi is gauging support towards bringing his current Hamilton blues/hard rock quartet Jon & His Friends to the Soo for a concert (for reference, their lineup also features Mike Agostino & Scott Brady, Jon's bandmates in Xanadu from 2013's Apocalypse: The Musical event.) It'd be nice to see Jon and the guys back home, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group on October 7th for more details!
• And just as a house cleaning note for the SMS, we've removed the video bars from the sides of the page, which rotated recent videos from YouTube channels that we're subscribed to. For one reason or another, they no longer work, so I deleted the widgets that ran them. If they're ever restored or replaced by the host, I'll add them back, but I just wanted to acknowledge their absence!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more later this week! Thanks everyone!

Theatre of Night Updates, The Highest Of Fives' New Video, And More!!

After a day off, we're back with some big news today, and while we're focusing mostly on Sault Michigan, there is a shorter note relating to a Sault Ontario band's upcoming t-shirt plans. Among others, we also have a new video to take note of, and first, some long overdue news and updates from a talented regional band, so here's what you need to know!

Remember how Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night have recently been overhauling their online pages, which coincided with a de-emphasis on older material and drummer Greg Giles' sudden departure? Well, there's more to outline now, so here's what's been going on in their camp! New Theatre of Night pages and websites don't include the past art styles used in their media, which were largely Greg's work, and he's now compiling and featuring them as part of his new artistic company Giles Arts. Surviving regional T.O.N. members Craig Harrison & Steve Giles remain hard at work with the band, remodeling their website again, where they're readily referencing their "Christmas Night" and "The Dawn's Early Light" albums again, even offering free downloads of the latter! A release of their full song "The Killing" featuring Italian singer Ida Elena DeRazza is still planned (likely for this weekend), while their website now includes links to Craig & Steve's own artistic work, plus this interesting "behind the music" feature where Steve remarks on "The Dawn's Early Light".

Aside from retroactive mentions there and in their biography, the new website doesn't mention Greg too much, but he's staying busy with Giles Arts, which encompasses his work in photography, music, and other areas. Though his music work with End of Existence and Theatre of Night is acknowledged therein, Giles Arts (who are now in our "Other Local Metal Links") will also cover a new side project that Greg has yet to announce, so we'll have to see what comes of that! A new Theatre of Night E.P. is still in the works (likely still featuring Gaby Koss on vocals), while assorted newer songs have been posted on their Reverbnation page in recent days, including (but not limited to) the fast and heavy "Hellride", a "Metal Mozart" concerto, and a live version of the dramatic "The 11th Hour" with Craig and Steve's fellow I.S.O.M. alumnus Bart Rennels on guest drums. In terms of YouTube, it looks like all of the postings on their YouTube channel have sadly been either privatized or deleted (for what it's worth, the channel now links to Giles Arts rather than the band itself), but they now have a new active channel, so what's been uploaded there so far?

A mixture of things we've previously seen on Facebook and new uploads, but mostly surrounding recent studio sessions over the past month, so click here to give them a look! Mostly, these are straight jam session videos, with filming done by Electric Motor Fish alum Fran Blackwood, while Sault Realism's Eric Demaray is credited for guest appearances. Interesting fish-eye view of the sessions on most of these new clips, with the guys working well on these newer instrumental tracks, and it will be very interesting to see where things go from here! See above for Theatre of Night's newest uploads, and here's a 12 minute studio session video!



Also today, here's the newest video upload from Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives! In a short break from their recent "Bang!" short film postings, they posted this music video of their previously-uploaded song "Take My Time" from the upcoming "Bang!" album onto their YouTube channel, so what's to expect here? Directed by drummer Devin Anderson with singer Travis Theel receiving co-production credit, The Highest of Fives' in-video lineup features Devin alongside singer/guitarist Mitch Goetz (recently of The Bottom Line) and bassist Marcel Grengs (albeit out of his Crusty Puck character.) Like their other recent videos, this is very well shot, with performance footage, shots of Mitch singing in some very nice looking nature scenery, and even some interesting shots of what appear to be Chinese drummers (apologies if I labelled them wrong.) A light modern rock song with a nice melody, it's good to see the band continuing work on their upcoming album and original tracks, so check the full music video out below!



Finally for this post, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Sault Ontario death metal standouts The Bear Hunters are planning to release their first official band t-shirts as part of the early planning for their "Eternal Hibernation" CD release party, and with that, are looking for input as to what sizes to make for interested fans, specifically if they should make shirts smaller than medium or larger than extra large. Voice your opinion at this link!
• Sault Michigan metal band One Hour Till Dawn (formerly The Eleventh Hour) have changed their name once again, this time to When All Fell Silent. A reason for this newest name change hasn't been revealed, but it quietly happened yesterday morning. We haven't heard from the guys (aside from the name change) since February, but hopefully they have some more news coming soon!
• This is admittedly overdue, but I've promoted Sault Michigan concert venue The Savoy Bar & Nightclub to our active concert venue listings on the site, mainly due to their ongoing Summerfest series of concerts, featuring a number of regional hard rock bands (with that, I also updated their link to change it to their current active Facebook page.) Don't miss Plastic there this weekend!

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

The Great Sabatini Concert Preview & New Sault Michigan Videos!!

I wouldn't blame anyone for experiencing slight deja vu with this post, as just like yesterday, we have news relating to The Highest of Fives, Power Slug, Theatre of Night, and a Sault Ontario all ages concert! Different topics all around in each category though, including a concert preview for a special Tuesday night show on the horizon, so here's what you need to know on this Sunday morning!

The newest all ages concert from Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions goes down THIS TUESDAY, as Montreal doom/grind quartet The Great Sabatini return to Sault Ontario for a headlining set at The Moose Lodge! Last seen locally at what's now Coch's Corner over 3 years ago, that show will have left a solid impression with attendees thanks to The Great Sabatini's dark, sludgy, and often retro-feeling sound that should strike the right chord on Tuesday! Local openers will include local doom metal standouts AlgomA in their first live concert set since Dank Fest in April, and likely their last before their road trip to Cochrane for the Touch of Death festival at the end of the month. Their intense originals from their forthcoming CD should be right at home as they rock The Moose Lodge for the first time, so don't miss their set! The advertised opening band is Habitat Shuffle, a new local punk project from alumni of Free Beer & The Dirty Few, but guitarist Dustin Goodall revealed on his personal Facebook page on Saturday that they wouldn't be able to play this concert for unannounced reasons.

Though we await official confirmation of their exit from promoters (including a possible late notice replacement), this is definitely disappointing, but hopefully Habitat Shuffle pop up soon! This ALL AGES show has an $8 cover charge, and while everything is supposed to start at 7:00 PM, it could be later if only two bands play. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Doom metal fans would be well served to be at The Moose Lodge on Trunk Road on Tuesday night for this high impact and sludgy event, so don't miss it, and for a preview, here's The Great Sabatini live last summer!



Next up, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! Posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, this video features the band's 2012 instrumental rendition of "America The Beautiful" from their second CD "The Dawn's Early Light" accompanied by footage of the band's local members playing in studio, along with scenes of American flags and nature. I assume the upload was meant to coincide with Friday's 70th anniversary of the landings in Normandy on D-Day, but the video doesn't explicitly confirm that. Great gesture regardless, as this was a well composed metal version of this American standard, and part of a very solid album with an awesome message! Check out the full video below, and hear more from Theatre of Night at the above links!



Also, here's a new live video upload from Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Power Slug, courtesy of their long awaited new Facebook page this morning! Among recent concert photo postings (including media from a set way down in Grand Haven for their annual Ribfest last month, apologies for missing it) is this video of the guys covering Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" at what appears to be The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, date unclear. The video quality isn't great, thanks to dark lighting and a distant angle from the stage, but Power Slug do add extra heaviness and aggression to this familiar song! Give their new video a look below, and stay tuned for more from Power Slug!



Finally, this is more atoning for not posting this at the time, but here's a music video for Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives that we've never formally shared on here! Uploaded to singer Travis Theel's YouTube channel in September, we originally didn't feature it on the SMS because it was initially credited then as a solo song by Travis, but it features other band members, it later got a public label as a Highest of Fives original, and they even confirmed that it's their first released original song (source here.) To be featured on their upcoming "Bang!" album, the song is called "Look How Far We've Come", and while it naturally shares more similarities to Travis' softer acoustic solo work than his bandmates' more aggressive resumes, it's a well composed song that shows off Travis' singing ability well! For followers of the band's ongoing "Bang!" short film, the music video is well filmed and features familiar faces & locales all around, and a fun spirit! Either way, give "Look How Far We've Come" a look below, and stay tuned for more from "Bang!", be it the movie or album!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon, plus this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), A New Band Page, And Sault Michigan Videos!!

It seems like too long since we've had a news post on here that focuses mainly on the Sault Michigan area, but that's the case today, as we have new videos from two E.U.P. projects and the long awaited first online page from a regional hard rock band, but we do have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Sault Ontario as well! Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know!

Over two and a half years after their formation, Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Power Slug finally have their own Facebook page, so we can finally add them to our active Sault Michigan metal/hard rock band links! I have no idea what took them this long, but it's great to finally have a formal online page for them! Succeeding the short lived River Witch in late 2011, Power Slug's lineup has continually featured singer/bassist Chris Leask and bassist Chris Gurnoe from the earlier band, with drummer/prolific local metal singer Bob Helsten (also of Nose Dive) rounding out their ranks. The band has carved out a solid reputation since their debut, playing numerous weekend gigs at regional bars, along with a few appearances outside of our area, and sets at some major concert events like LemmaFest. Currently, Power Slug has out of town gigs lined up at the Kewadin Casino in Manistique through September, but their new Facebook page has yet to plug any upcoming dates , so hopefully some more are forthcoming!

Power Slug's few online videos (some of which you can see here) show off a solid and gritty hard rock sound that fans of the members' prior bands should appreciate, and it's easy to see why they have a following! Be sure to check out Chris, Bob, and Chris at a local stage near you hopefully in the near future, so you too can chug your mug with Power Slug, and stay tuned for updates from their camp!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local hard/alternative rock trio The Pixo Control will take the stage for a show on Monday, June 16th at Cafe Natura! If you're not familiar with it, this venue (located at 75 Elgin Street, just seconds from Sears at the Station Mall) is a whole foods restaurant & natural medicine shop that also doubles as a concert hall (mainly for acoustic, indie, and folk bands), and they have a unique and successful thing going, so give them a look above! This show will be headlined by Halifax folk/alternative musician Jon McKiel (who The Pixo Control covered at the Hard Times Bar & Grill on Sunday) and fellow Nova Scotia indie/experimental duo Construction & Destruction, both of whom have a talented and experienced sound that will fit well at Cafe Natura, so keep them in mind as well! Promoted by Jackson Reed at the local music/art collective Ears & Eyes, this concert (the first at Cafe Natura that we've ever formally covered) is ALL AGES, starts at 8:00 PM, and has a $10 cover charge.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! While this may seem like an odd genre fit on the surface for such a grungy band, The Pixo Control are huge Jon McKiel fans, have a good relationship with Ears & Eyes, and frontman Michael Mikus has played this venue before with Great Chamberlain, so things will work out! The Pixo Control should set the tone nicely on the 16th with their alternative & grunge originals, so keep this unique show in mind!

We'll close today with some new Sault Michigan videos, including the long awaited first part of local hard rock collective The Highest of Fives' short film "Bang!" Uploaded to member Devin Anderson's/the band's YouTube channel on Thursday, what can you expect to see in part 1? It starts with an introduction to guitarist Marcel Grengs' "Crusty Park" alter-ego and the revelation that he's been kicked out of his parents' home, followed by an introduction to The Highest of Fives' in-movie lineup (singer Mitch Goetz, guitarist Devin Anderson, bassist Jack Slater, and drummer Mike Pascoe) and whether they should practice or not, with their related storylines being expanded on in the last minutes of this video, presumably to merge in part 2. Note that member Travis Theel is not featured on camera in this section, but he is listed as a co-producer in the credits. Also, while there is some of the band's music featured, it's not a widespread focus after the opening titles.

This is an amusing first part of "Bang!", with some appropriate cliffhangers for the next installment, and I like the spirit and imagination employed (though some of the post-production effects seem a bit out of place.) Things have been a slow go in terms of finishing and completing their film and album, but check out part 1 of the film below, and stay tuned for more from The Highest of Fives!



Finally, Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night posted a sample of their new original song "The Killing" onto their YouTube channel on Thursday! As previously teased on their website, this song features guest vocals from Italian singer Ida Elena DeRazza, who is a member of singer Gaby Koss' classical vocal group Cantus Lunaris, though it's not clear yet whether Gaby sings on this song too. The video is naturally heavily filtered, though the end does confirm that the full song will come out on iTunes on August 1st, so we'll have to see if that holds up. We don't get a huge glimpse of the song, but it has a haunting and dark quality, so give it a look/listen below, and keep an eye out for more Theatre of Night updates!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Strange Coyotes & Banned) And Highest Of Fives Updates!!

Before we get to our review of last night's Late & Loud reunion concert, we have a new news post to get to as we slowly clear out our news cache! For reference, I've postponed this month's YouTube Channel Profile to tomorrow to help keep the news rolling, so I would expect that and another news post then! Now, we have a bunch of updates & a new video from a rising Sault Michigan outfit and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next weekend and this summer, so here's what you need to know!

Local funk/metal trio The Strange Coyotes will apparently be heading north to play at Slopefest 2014, a freestyle skiing & snowboarding/music festival at the Searchmont Resort on Saturday, March 1st (one week from tomorrow!) An official confirmation of the full performer lineup has yet to be made beyond the Facebook event page confirming that local indie/punk quintet Northwest will be playing (along with "support"), but Strange Coyotes drummer Mike Haggith confirmed the band's participation on the event page on Thursday. The music stage will be outdoors at the base of the mountain, and while the outdoor winter setting is similar to The Marquee at Bon Soo, I assume there will be a lot more people for Slopefest, which has open registration for interested skiiers and snowboarders to compete for $300 in first prize cash in their events! For all non-musical details, check the above links, and while I assume this is all ages, I have not heard of a spectator entry fee (though the listed event timeframe is 10:00 AM-4:00 PM.)

I'm very curious to hear the full lineup, but Northwest have the veteran skill to provide a solid punk set, and The Strange Coyotes have been making steady fans since their fall launch, so keep your eyes peeled for Slopefest updates, as this could be a very exciting event for sports and music fans if all goes well!

Next up, and rounding out yesterday's new hard rock show announcements from Kewadin Casino's concert calendar, Kinross hard/classic rock trio Banned will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan branch for an additional weekend on Friday, August 22nd & Saturday, August 23rd! Coming over 4 months after their next Soo Kewadin dates, these add to Alex, Jim, and Don's surely busy slate of regional concerts in 2014, which should reassure fans who haven't heard of any pre-April dates on the horizon! Their diverse and often heavy covers & originals will be on display that weekend at 9:00 PM each night, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, check the above links! It's nice to get lots of advance word for these upcoming Banned concerts, and hopefully they're a blast, so stay tuned for updates from their camp as they roll in!

Lastly for this post, here's a long awaited new video from Sault Michigan hard rockers The Highest of Fives! Posted to guitarist/drummer Devin Anderson's YouTube channel last week, it's a music video for their original "The U.P. Song" (as composed by members Travis Theel & Marcel Grengs), and Devin has asked me to include this press release on the SMS, so read on below for official direct word from the band on this new song & video:

Hello, friends. Travis Theel, Mitch Goetz, Marcel Grengs, and Devin Anderson are proud to present their newest original material from their debut album, BANG. This song is a tribute to our roots here in Northern Michigan.

Travis, Mitch, Marcel, and Devin are currently the main lineup of The Highest of Fives, but there are many more members. In the coming months, you'll see the group collaborating with various members including stars of the upcoming BANG film: Crusty Puck, Jack Slater, and Mike Pascoe. So think of The Highest of Fives not as a band but as more of a production collective.

In addition to "The U.P. Song," another single from BANG called "Take My Time" will be released to iTunes on Valentines Day.

Make sure to follow @HighestFives on Twitter and subscribe to our Youtube channel to stay in the loop. ENJOY.

Thanks to Devin for the above information! In terms of the video, it's self-described as "a farcical interpretation of our homeland", and it includes numerous amusing clips of the group members in such activities as frisbee golf, and while the audio sync isn't perfect, it has a likable quality and easy going nature! Assuming we'll be reviewing "Bang!" upon it's release, I won't comment too much on the song itself, but it has more of a rock base than some of Travis' earlier solo songs, though it remains to be seen how many of the clips in the video will be expanded on for the teased "Bang!" short film. It's also interesting to see that The Highest of Fives are identifying themselves more as a collective, but the fluidity of membership should be interesting for diversity, and hopefully we hear Mike and Jack on some new songs too (and remember that Crusty Puck is an alter ego of Marcel's.) As for the teased "Take My Time" iTunes release, the Valentine's Day plans don't appear to have went through, but you can stream the song above, and give "The U.P." song a look below! It's well done, hopefully they keep up the good work!



That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for our review of last night's Late & Loud reunion show! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Who Made Who), New YouTube Uploads, And Some Musician Searches!!

Happy President's Day to our American readers, and if you count it as a Canadian holiday, happy Family Day! Today's post is full of some recent stories that we couldn't fit in recent posts due to the glut of weekend concert previews last week, including local musician searches, a new cover, a new song posting, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you need to know!

After two years away from the Soo, Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to our area on Friday, March 28th for a show at The Rockstar Bar! My source for the above date is their official website's tour calendar. Canada's only AC/DC tribute act that tours the country full time, their accurate and hard hitting sound is sure to give a high voltage dose of rock n' roll to fans at The Rockstar Bar next month during the early stretch of their current tour, so don't miss the return of Who Made Who next month! No word on potential local openers yet, but for reference, their older local dates at The Canadian didn't have any that I remember. Though the venue has yet to confirm this show, I would assume a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 10:00 PM start time will be in effect on March 28th, and for more details, check the above links! Sounds like a good time for you AC/DC fans, and I enjoyed them when they played here, so keep Who Made Who's return in mind for next month!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives have stayed busy by finally releasing some full new material recently, and while we'll touch on their new full video "The U.P. Song" in an upcoming post, a song named "Take My Time" was just posted onto member Devin Anderson's YouTube channel on Thursday. Described as "a tasty jam", it was written by singer Mitch Goetz & features him alongside Devin and guitarist Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs. Compared to their material written by fellow member Travis Theel, this is closer to their hard/alternative prior work, but assuming a release of their CD "Bang!" is still forthcoming, I won't comment too much on it. Sounds good though, so give "Take My Time" a listen below!



Also in new videos, Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's newest cover video is of Stone Sour's "Through Glass", as uploaded to his YouTube channel on Wednesday! A bit of a return to his older covers of heavier bands (albeit sung too like on other recent videos), he handles this softer track well musically, though his vocal range doesn't suit the more dramatic later verses. Solid cover though, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's three recent musician searches that could have metal/hard rock ramifications, as per the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in recent days (specifically, Saturday, Monday, and Friday respectively), so keep them in mind if you need to fill out a lineup! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Local pianist Damjan Binda is looking for a drummer to jam with while he's in the Soo, though a specific genre wasn't cited. His solo work has some interesting dramatic qualities, so if you're interested, message him at this link or via the ones above!
• Local bassist Paul Stanghetta (ex-Smeltzer, The Fury) is looking for musicians (preferably female) of any instrument to fill out the lineup of his new band Keep It Lit (yes, the same "secret" band that dropped out of last fall's Viva La Battle.) He's looking for artists who will be committed to and devote time for performances, and genre wise, he described Keep It Lit as a band who "likes to rock really hard and also rap and sing hard poppy hooks." If you're interested, message Paul at this link!
• Former Ashes To Dust bassist Kyle Breckenridge is looking to join a new band (preferably punk, rock, or metal), and he's willing to play bass or rhythm guitar. It'd be nice to see him playing again, so if you're interested in trying Kyle out, message him at this link!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Bear Hunters), Upcoming Album Updates, And More!!

The first month of 2014 is now over, and we're kicking off February in style with a packed news post, so what's on tap for this morning? A new live concert video, upcoming album updates (including some audio recordings for one), and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a new weekly series' debut installment, so read on below to get caught up!

THIS THURSDAY'S first installment of local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's new Thursday metal/punk concert series Heavy Thursdays at The Rosie is now official with a complete 3 band lineup, so who's slated? Fittingly, local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters (the original Rosie metal nights' most frequent band) are the listed headliners in their first Roosevelt Hotel appearance of the new year, and they should brutalize their fans on familiar ground this coming Thursday! Newer local hard rock quartet Punch (featuring 2 members each of The Suicide Kings & Project 421) will also play on Thursday in their Rosie debut, first show of 2014, and just their third live concert set, and it's nice to see that they're still active and gigging after some recent quietness, so watch out for their high impact originals and covers! The third slot will go to a new local band named The Elements, and while they don't have a known online page yet, their lineup features Side FX singer Rob Speers and Redundant bassist James White alongside a yet-unidentified guitarist & drummer

Unless things have changed since Rob's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last month, Elements appear to play a mix of funk rock and alternative music, which should be interesting to check out, so don't miss their debut on Thursday either! There's a $5 cover charge and 19+ age limit in effect, and the announced start time is 10:00 PM. Click here for more details! Sounds like a really solid way to kick off the new Heavy Thursdays series, so hopefully there's a big turnout for the debut, and stay tuned for updates! (As for The Side FX's current status, I'm waiting for a bit more info before we assume anything either way.)

Next up, local hard rock standouts The Suicide Kings have unveiled two new studio recordings via their Facebook page in the past week! Presumably recorded at The Smoke & Oak Room last year towards their forthcoming debut CD, the songs were posted as Facebook videos, and they include their first original "Into The Fray" and, as embedded below, "Jesus Concubines", which I think is a somewhat newer song. Given that I still expect to review their CD upon release, I'll hold on major comments at present, but fans shouldn't have anything to complain about for the sound or recording quality! Note as well that their Facebook page on Thursday suggested that they have "some important news & maybe a surprise or two" to unveil at some point, but it remains to be seen what's specifically intended from said teaser. Check out The Suicide Kings' new studio tracks above and below, and keep an eye out for more news from their camp!

Speaking of upcoming albums, Sault Michigan hard rock group The Highest of Fives recently reemerged from a few months off to resume public work on both their debut CD and their short film (both titled "Bang!", likely cover art featured) as per their Twitter page last week. Guitarist Devin Anderson shared some extra info with me the other day on Facebook that he wanted me to pass the word on, so here's what you should know! The CD has 10 tentative songs (including a self-titled song and the previously previewed "Sweet Apple Pie"), while they'll also be releasing some full length songs soon, including a song written by singer Mitch Goetz named "Take My Time" and one written by recent collaborator Travis Theel (who I believe is a member now) named "The U.P. Song". Plans for media postings, including the short film and new songs, are currently in the works, and we'll have them for you guys when they're public.

I admire The Highest of Fives' ambition, and I'm curious to see what they have in the works! A lot of their recent activity has been related to the short film and collaborations with Travis' solo material (his song "Look How Far We've Come" is also planned for "Bang!"), though the other samples I have heard are promising, so hopefully things work out well for the gang in 2014! Keep an eye out for updates at the above links!

Finally for today, local/London deathcore band Saints & Serpents (a.k.a. the successors to The Valentine's Day Massacre) are the subject of a new YouTube video posting from their live debut in December! Uploaded onto singer Steve Rhodes' girlfriend Taylor Phillips' YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the band playing their original song "Lovecraft Cthulhu" at The Richmond Tavern in London, and I'll note that this song is a holdover from the V.D.M. days, being unveiled shortly after the members moved south in the fall of 2012. This is of better video quality than their prior video from this show (especially in terms of lighting), and it's nice to see the guys on stage together again, which we'll get a reunited taste of in May when they open for Fuck The Facts at The Oddfellows Hall! Also, the video's information hypes their drummer search to replace Ian Timmermans (who left after this show), so if you are or know a drummer in the London area, message the guys above, and check out this new live video of Saints & Serpents!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Riding Shotgun & Banned), The Highest Of Fives Updates, And Much More!!

One more post before we review last night's Hydra's Teeth-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub, so what's in store? We've got a new video from a Sault Michigan band, a handful of other recent news and notes, and first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month and TONIGHT!

Toronto hard rock quartet Riding Shotgun will return to Sault Ontario TONIGHT for a show at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about this show via advertising at the venue when I was there last night, but it's been public through band sources since last month. You may remember Riding Shotgun from their headlining gig at The Canadian Nightclub last August (ironically, one I also learned about first through physical posters), but they have a solid and radio friendly hard rock sound and great guitar work that should carry them to another popular set tonight! Fellow Toronto hard rockers Last Bullet will open tonight's show with their own attitude fueled blend of originals, and I like the groove in their videos, so don't miss out on their set either! Tonight's show should have a 10:00 PM-ish start time and a 19+ age limit, while I've heard nothing about a special entry fee, so bring around $5. For more details, click here! Even though this concert completely slipped me by until last night, I won't pass judgement as to why, I'm just glad to see more out of town hard rock action in the Soo!

If you've got nothing else planned for this Saturday, be at The Rockstar Bar for the return of Riding Shotgun (plus Last Bullet), as this should be a great show! For a preview, here's Riding Shotgun live earlier this spring!



Next up, Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan for a full weekend on October 4th & 5th! Announced on their Facebook page last night, these are currently their only announced regional "jobs" prior to November, and they'll also be their first live appearances inside this local bowling alley & concert venue in almost 7 months. Banned's prolific stage show and mix of hard rock covers and originals should be another fun sight at the Dondee in two weeks, so don't miss these shows if you can help it! Both nights have earlier start times of 8:00 PM, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links! With their Grand Rapids show coming next weekend, it'll be nice to have the Traynors and company back on regional turf for their Dondee return next month, so keep those shows in mind for next month, and stay tuned for more from Banned!

Also today, here's the latest video from Sault Michigan hard rock band The Highest of Fives! This is a new trailer for their long gestating independent short film "Bang!" (also the name of their planned debut album), and it was uploaded to their YouTube channel on Wednesday. This gives us our best glimpse yet as to the plot and tone of the film, which seems to center around guitarist Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs being kicked out of home and moving in with drummer Mike Pascoe, and havoc occurs in the process. It's definitely still a comedy, and there's a likability present, so we'll have to see what comes of this when it finally get released in full! At least one song of theirs is sampled in the video, but we still don't have a major glimpse at their music independent of the film (though all members but Jack Slater have recently been playing more general rock with local solo musician Travis Theel, which you can check out at this link.) For now, give The Highest of Fives' newest trailer a look below, and keep an eye out for more updates!



Finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• If you were curious on a timeframe for The Canadian Nightclub's planned re-opening from the flood damages, it looks like it'll take longer than the 2011 renovations did. On Tuesday, Canadian DJ Jay Perron said in response to a query on their Facebook group about where fans should go now, "Give it a few months.. We'll keep ya's posted." That would imply it will be closed through at least mid-November, but nothing more specific is out publically. Stay tuned in case we hear anything!
• Even though they just debuted last night at The Algonquin Pub, new all female rock quartet The Danger Cats are already exploring adding a new drummer, with Kate Kougar moving to guitar and/or vocals if they secured one. To fit the band's theme, they would prefer female candidates, and if you're interested in trying out, message the band at this link! Thanks to Jamie Jaguar (via my mom) for the heads-up!
• In their first major updates since the Airbourne concert, local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they're self-recording some songs & are hoping to have enough to release a full debut CD rather than one of EP length, and while they've been busy in studio lately, they hope to have more to reveal soon, while also sharing a Facebook-only video of them (and guest bassist Brandon Uhl) covering Rev Theory's "Hell Yeah" at Rotaryfest. Solid video, and it's great to hear they're hard at work, so stay tuned for updates!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Hydra's Teeth/Haggith/Danger Cats show later today! Thanks everyone!

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

While I rock out at TONIGHT'S Airbourne concert, here's a post for Yooper readers out there, as everything today relates to bands and shows across the river! This includes updates to one of our monthly feature series, new videos from both a local band and major recent concert, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related updates from a prolific local band, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will be playing a solo concert set at this year's Chippewa County Fair on Friday, August 30th, the night after their Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands appearance at the fair! This isn't cited on the fair's website, but I believe they aren't alone for bands playing live sets this year. According to Banned's Facebook page, they'll be playing at the pavilion near the Lions Club's food trailer from 4:00-7:00 PM that day. An admission fee isn't announced beyond fair entry fees, which you can get details at via this link, while there's definitely no age limits. Check the above links for more details! Note as well that Banned (fresh off a Drummond Island show this past weekend) will also take another road trip to Gould City this coming Saturday, but barring an interim announcement, their next shows within an hour of the Sault will be their Chippewa County Fair sets. Nice to see Banned keeping busy, so don't miss their varied mix of heavier and more general covers and originals at the fair, but can they top RamWagon or Tantrym Tyme at the battle on the 29th?

Also to note: The picture above (posted on their Facebook page by attendee/band member relative Holly Traynor) shows guitarist Alex Traynor's former TraynWreck bandmate Sam Lalruatpuia playing keyboard with Banned at their Pickford concert on August 3rd, with singer Tara Starr noticeably absent. Banned haven't listed their official lineup on Facebook since Tara and Denny Smith joined, so I have no idea if she's out and/or if Sam has signed on, but I'll note that Sam's personal Facebook page still lists him as living in Pennsylvania. If I hear any confirmation either way, I'll let you guys know!

Next up, here's another new video from last week's Pop Evil/Team Jessica benefit concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! This was uploaded by YouTube user KFNightFire23, who previously uploaded a clip of Pop Evil's Leigh Kakaty playing an acoustic version of "Hey Mister" at their 2010 show here, but this video is of the full band playing their hit single "Trenches"! The first Kewadin hard rock video in a while to be filmed on our left side of the theatre, KFNightFire23 got a great side-stage angle that catches Pop Evil well, but the audio sounds muffled and slightly scratchy during choruses. Still, this is a very solid video, so check it out below, and stay tuned in case more videos turn up!



Also in new videos, another teaser clip for local hard rock band The Highest of Fives' film/possible show pilot "Bang!" was posted onto the band's YouTube channel yesterday, so what's in it? It basically features band members daring Crusty Puck (who is one & the same as guitarist Marcel Grengs, I think) to jump off a cliff, with text teasers asking "What will happen?" It's just 27 seconds long, and we don't learn a whole lot about the end product, but give the video a look below and see what you can deduce!

Finally for today, here's some recent updates to some of our Defunct Local Band Profiles from Sault Michigan bands! First, I did update, remove, and note as many changes and deletions as possible that were caused by the recent MySpace layout/profile edits (namely for information and videos) through mid-2012, and expanded videos to fit the bigger post field we have now, but I'll just acknowledge visible changes below to avoid soudning like a broken record. In our Lower S.E.S. profile, I replaced the embedded MySpace video with this 1996 clip when they opened for L.A. Guns, and I also replaced Bludgeoned and Sadomasochism with Train Wreck and Dirtbag In A Dress when noting members Erik Rintamaki & Mikey Bishop's other band work, just to keep it current. I also added links to Melissa Krahnke & Jason Mapes current out-of-town solo projects on our Bad Side profile, and added former Bent Rollercoaster singer Jeff Parish (who was only minimally acknowledged in later band postings) to their lineup on their profile, while also noted drummer Paul Burns' current work in Plastic as well there.

We'll edit and update the last year's worth of Sault Michigan profiles (and begin on Sault Ontario) in this series in upcoming posts, and for now, stay tuned tomorrow for my review of TONIGHT'S Airbourne concert! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Walk To Rock), Pop Evil Concert Videos, And More From Sault Michigan!!

(Updated at 1:33 AM) For this Saturday morning post, we were gonna focus 100% on the Sault Michigan area, but we have a late notice venue change to note for TONIGHT'S Haggith/Mike Haggith & The Din concert in Sault Ontario, as it's been moved from The New American Pub to The Rockstar Bar. A reason wasn't announced beyond singer Curtis McKenzie saying that it was "no longer scheduled" for The New A on it's Facebook event page this morning, but this doesn't affect Haggith's fall dates there. I'm not sure what happened, but now we'll see Haggith's first Rockstar Bar show since their second place battle run in April, and this will be The Din's debut at this venue as well, so don't miss it TONIGHT! 19+, 9:00 PM, $5 cover!

Now, this otherwise-Sault Michigan based post is mostly video centric, as we have a new teaser for a band's upcoming filmmaking projects, a video of a newer band covering a metal song, and the first public videos from the latest Dreammaker's Theater hard rock show, but first, here's an important LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Five bands will take the stage on Saturday, September 14th outside of City Hall in Sault Michigan (225 East Portage Avenue) as part of the first annual Walk To Rock Against Bullying, a fundraising/family event to raise funds to promote work to help end bullying in schools and raise awareness for this important issue. There will be a mile long walk starting and ending at City Hall at around 10:00 AM, with food, 50/50 draws, awareness booths, and face painting among the entertainment, so click here for all non-musical details about this event! The five bands (who'll be playing at 12:00 PM and on) include three heavier bands, and in listed order, they are local cover rock quartet Chump Change, young local metal band Tantrym Tyme, local indie rockers The London Gentlemen, newer local hard rock quintet RamWagon, and (in their first Sault Michigan appearance in over a year) Munising metal quartet Infathom! Last seen locally at the 2012 LemmaFest, it's great to see Dillion Semasky bring his band back to the region, and hopefully they impress like they did at their other recent shows! The other bands are all popular recent acts in their own rights, so don't miss this talented lineup of rock bands on the 14th!

No admission prices are announced for this event beyond possible donations against bullying, while this is definitely an all ages event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great event to help put an end to bullying, and it's great to see these bands taking the stage to help promote the cause and entertain local fans, so keep it in mind for September 14th, and stay tuned for potential updates!

Next up, here's the first videos that I've found from the Pop Evil-headlined Team Jessica benefit concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Wednesday (and there's a lot more than their last local show had!) These were uploaded by YouTube user Dan Reck, who posted 5 videos from the concert onto his YouTube channel on Thursday, and they're of Pop Evil playing their singles "Hero", "100 In A 55", "Boss's Daughter", "Monster You Made", and "Last Man Standing", so click each link to check them out! Oddly filmed at a similar angle to his clips from last month's Shinedown show (albeit a bit closer), the recording quality adn the band's performance on these is solid, with a good camera angle & nice audio (if slightly muffled at times), and if these end up being our only videos from the show, they'll work well! However, I still find that YouTube auto-stability effect to be odd looking. I've embedded "Boss's Daughter" below, but check out more at the above links, and hopefully lots of money was raised to help Jessica Jorgensen and her family!



Also, here's our first look at (as best as I can tell) a new local band named Train Wreck! Note that they're not to be confused with the Banned predecessors TraynWreck, that was a completely different project. I have no idea if this new band was a one-off or will be seen live again, but they're an acoustic rock cover band, and they feature Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki on vocals & guitar alongside bassist Mitchell Willis and percussionist Rafe Rosini, who plays a box shaped instrument named the cajon in this video (no, that's not a speaker.) Two videos were filmed at an employee festival in nearby Bay Mills, Michigan on July 28th (but only just posted on Erik's YouTube channel on Thursday), including covers of Hellyeah's "Alcohaulin' Ass" and (as embedded below) White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65", which is effectively converted into an unplugged format here! Erik's vocals are paced well to fit the tones, and the guys have talent from what I can see, but the very nice recording quality (on a stationary camera) helps here!

If they're a new continuing project, we'll have to see if they continue to skew more to an acoustic Half A Man sound, or will take more influences from Erik's old Set To Random work, but check out Train Wreck's White Zombie cover below, see more at the above links, and stay tuned in case we hear more in the way of hard rock performances from them!



Finally for today, here's a short teaser trailer for local metal quartet The Highest of Fives' planned "short film/TV pilot" with local "Twitter personality" Crusty Puck that they recently previewed in this video last month! Uploaded to guitarist Devin Anderson's YouTube channel on Wednesday, this is just a 19 second teaser with the text "Things are about to get out of hand" preceding a short clip of Crusty and a band member rocking out to Nickelback's "Animals" while driving. We don't learn a lot (other than the film will share the name "Bang!" with The Highest of Fives' upcoming album), but check out the 18 second clip below and see if you can read into anything!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Airbourne preview and more TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

New Sault Michigan Videos, And Lots Of Recent Sault Ontario News Items!!

Before we get to the news, I just wanted to apologize for a possible missed concert for promotion on here, as local classic/hard rock cover band Griphook (who we recently began formally covering on here) were listed as playing at The Nicolet Tavern last night on SooToday's Don't Say There's Nothing To Do In The Soo List (link here.) However, neither Griphook's Facebook page nor members' personal pages said anything about a show at the Nic last night, so I can't definitively say if that show went on. If it did, my profuse apologies for missing it, but I have no clear proof that it happened.

Now, this post largely clears out our cache of unposted news items on the site, and it's half divided between videos from the Sault Michigan area, and a bunch of recent shorter stories from Sault Ontario! We'll start with this somewhat hard to describe promo video from local hard rock/metal band The Highest of Fives (featuring 415E, RamWagon, and Free Refill alumni), which was uploaded to guitarist Devin Anderson's YouTube channel on Sunday. According to the description, the video is a preview of an upcoming "TV show" that The Highest of Fives are making with local "Twitter personality" Crusty Puck, though I don't know much about him. The video features assorted out of context clips set to music (presumably a Highest of Fives song), though everything seems to be parts of sketches rather than performances, and I don't think the full band features even in an acting role. I wouldn't write off the video too fast, as the band's past preview clips for their upcoming album "Bang!" have amusing moments and some inspiration, so if this takes off (presumably as a web series), there might be value to it! Give the preview video a look below!



Also in new videos, remember on Monday when we covered that Tesla cover from the Music In The Park event in Brimley on July 4th? Well, there's one more acoustic hair metal cover from the event that sound engineer/Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki filmed and uploaded to his YouTube channel last week, and it's of The Mills Family (identities not clear beyond the family connection) covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" on the 4th! One of two videos of this quartet that Erik shot (joining a black & white cover of Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville"), it's well performed, albeit quainter sounding than the original, and the singer handles the track nicely! Bon Jovi fans should like the cover, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from Sault Ontario in the past little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• In a somewhat odd replacement for the third annual Sewer Swampstravaganza on August 10th, local folk artist Guy Smith has replaced young local hard rock quartet Ashes To Dust as the show's opening band, as per promoters on the Facebook event page on Thursday. A reason for the switch was not announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened in the Ashes To Dust camp! Guy's a talented musician and poet, though definitely an outlier for this type of show, but give his work a listen above and see what you think!
• Local musician Chris Raginskis is again exploring the possibility of launching a local band, this time eyeing a Christian hard rock band that would cover artists like Chevelle and Switchfoot. Christian rock bands are definitely more common in Sault Michigan, but this one sounds like it'd be heavier if it took off (similarly to Outshined), so if you're interested in being a part, message Chris at this link or at his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on June 5th!
• Late & Loud successors The Hydra's Teeth announced the addition of ex-Sativa Rose/Winkstinger guitarist Anthony Orazietti to their lineup on their Facebook page yesterday, replacing the already departed Talon Risto. Anthony proved to be a quality addition in his last two bands, so hopefully this new gig works out, and stay tuned for more as we hear it!
• Also from the Musicians Wanted group, new local musician Jason Hayward is looking to play some "angst driven rock covers" in a local band (for the record, he plays bass and can sing.) If you're interested in jamming with him, message Jason at this link or via his post from last week at the above link!
• Local thrash band Pillory are still at work on their debut EP "Cringe At The Cross", with bass and drum tracks complete, and guitar and vocal tracks now in the process of being finished, as per posts on their Facebook page this month. A return to the stage would help their prominence and exposure for the EP release, but I don't think they've found a replacement for the late Andres Duchesne yet. Hopefully things are coming along well for them, and stay tuned for updates!
• Newer local classic/hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies have added Redundant frontman Justin Langlois to their lineup as their new bassist, replacing Jamie Cameron. With no online pages yet, my source is drummer Scott McLurg's personal Facebook page. Barring an interim announcement, their new lineup will debut at the Rock N' Roar festival in Spanish next month, so keep it in mind, and hopefully Justin proves to be a solid addition in this new band!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming week, especially as we approach Rotaryfest weekend! Thanks everyone!