Lots Of Defunct Local Band Link Updates & Deletions!!

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!

VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Updates, New Treble Charger Footage, And An Older Punk EP!!

For today's news post on the site, we have an archive album purchase that I recently made that I thought might be interesting to share, along with new videos concerning a major local band playing live TONIGHT, but first, here's the latest on one of next month's anticipated battles of the bands, so here's what you should know!!

The latest updates on the lineup for next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands are now out, so what should you know? Promoter J.D. Pearce revealed on the Facebook event page yesterday that there are currently 9 bands finalized to compete in the battle, which takes place on each Wednesday in March at The Canadian Nightclub, so who's in and out? There are two new confirmed bands, those being the previously hinted death metal rockers The Bear Hunters (who will look to claim their second straight battle win next month) and newer local hard rock trio Infamous (as seen at November's Sault Band-O-Rama), who still lack an online page as of this writing, but would be making their battle debut after the Rock For Dimes Battle's cancellation. They join the previously confirmed Danger Cats, Gnaeus, Haggith, Honest Job, Mannapool, Project 421, and Revolution on the lineup, but three bands that had had announced reserved slots are not listed at present.

Those missing acts are rap/metal project The Apocalypse Afterparty, hard rock quartet Late Shift, and newer metal trio Them, and while reasons for their absences haven't been announced, keep in mind that the latter two bands don't have online pages to confirm anything, and The Apocalypse Afterparty have recently been hinting at lineup changes. Plus, Them's Anthony Boudreau is also a member of Infamous, so they may have replaced Them. It's entirely possible that the three bands are still pending a registration form submission, but J.D. is publically hyping that there are now only 3 open slots for the planned 12 band lineup, so there's still time if you or your band want in! Message him at this link or visit The Rad Zone A.S.A.P. if you want to register! Remember, there is a $100 deposit required, but you get that money back (and more) by selling the ticket packages you get upon registering. Stay tuned for full updates and the complete schedule when announced, and click here for full details!

Next up, here's new videos of local/Toronto alternative punk veterans Treble Charger, just for good measure before TONIGHT'S headlining show at The Machine Shop for Bon Soo! On January 13th, the guys played an acoustic set live at The Bradshaw Hotel in Stratford, Ontario as part of their Preview Day, which saw that historic building re-opened as a student living facility and performance art space for the University of Waterloo. One video is mostly about university staff and area notables talking about the development, but 80 seconds in, it does feature interview remarks from Treble Charger's Greig Nori & Bill Priddle about the re-purposing of the building, even mentioning the Soo when discussing the concept (which we're also seeing with the Mill Square redevelopment.) Their section is short, but it's worth a look! The other video is of Greig & Bill playing an acoustic rendition of "American Psycho" at The Bradshaw Hotel, so what should you know on that?

An intimate rendition of one of their most popular songs (albeit sans touring members Darcy Yates & Jason Pierce), this video was excellently shot on multiple cameras, and captures basically how the MCTV commercials for TONIGHT'S show would sound if played out in full and with Bill contributing. The Bradshaw Hotel people got some great footage, and though not of their full live lineup, it's a nice preview of what to expect at The Machine Shop, so give it a look below!

Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge a new archive punk CD that I recently acquired! On one of the local Facebook auction groups earlier this week, I won a bundle of CDs for $5 that included defunct local pop punk/emo quintet A Fall From Innocence's self-titled second (and final) EP from February 2006, and I've since uploaded it to our YouTube channel for posterity! According to the liner notes, this album features singer Larry Babic, guitarists Matt Durette & Jeff King, bassist Waylon Bougie, and drummer Marc Santos (now of Northwest), with Marc producing the album the previous year at Cherry Valance Sound, which is where defunct hard rockers Infrastrate also recorded their EP. Note that I don't have A.F.F.I.'s 2005 debut EP "The Breathing Method" yet, but I'm always on the lookout for that and more from older local bands. Five songs can be heard from this EP on the band's MySpace & Bandspace pages, but how about the full disc in order?

"A Fall From Innocence" features the songs "Take With Honor", "Tie Down Your Ghost", "Campbell's Cuts Are Too Deep", "B Is For Boston", "You Were Right, So Sue Me...", "Elliott", and "Take Your Jap Anime & Get The Hell Out Of Here", and they capture a talented emo/pop punk band from their local heights almost a decade ago! I don't know when we'll get a chance to review the EP on the site (though it'd tie in nicely with a Northwest show), but give "Take With Honor" a listen below, and hear the whole album at this link!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Treble Charger fallout and much more over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

Meet The (Inactive) Local Punk Bands!! Part 6

It's now time for our 6th (and maybe second-last?) post to roll in defunct/inactive local punk bands with surviving online pages into our band links on the SMS! Sourcing mainly from MySpace now, it's sadly incredibly hard to search for local bands on there now due to last year's layout overhauls, and with biography information and bands' hometowns no longer listed, it makes the search a lot more difficult. We have enough bands there that I can verify their local ties to for at least one more installment after today, but I can't guarantee an 8th or not yet. Now, here's four more inactive punk bands from Sault Ste. Marie to formally add to our site links, in alphabetical order!

We'll start with A Fall From Innocence, an emo/pop-punk band that attained some notability in the Sault area in the mid-2000s! Active from roughly 2003-2007, their only full cited lineup online featured singer Larry Babic (later of Backroom Concept), guitarists Matt Durette and Jeff King, bassist Waylon Bougie (who's since manned some solo projects), and drummer Marc Santos (Fuller), while the band also featured Stay Seventeen singer Matt Maccarone and current Northwest frontman Wayne Watkins in other incarnations, possibly among other artists. A.F.F.I. released two CDs ("The Breathing Method" in March 2005, and a self-titled CD in February 2006), and would tour Canada in support of both discs, open for bands like The Planet Smashers, and appear at popular local concerts like the 2005 Heatwave Festival, before quietly breaking up by the following year. While I'll admit that emo punk isn't my favourite of punk subgenre, you can sense a strong talent and chemistry with A Fall From Innocence's MySpace tracks, which had strong songwriting and melodic sensibilities!

I imagine they made some fans in their tour runs, and if you listen close to some songs, Larry might have some screaming vocals too! It'd be nice to get a hold of their albums, and while I don't know of any videos of A Fall From Innocence, check them out at their Bandspace, MySpace, and PureVolume pages to hear their public original material!

Next is the popular late 2000s ska-punk band Free Beer (also known for short stretches as M.O.B. and Sarah's Valley), who fans should be familiar with from a number of big local concerts of their own! Their lineup featured singer (and Shaw TV correspondent) Christian Lemay alongside current Habitat Shuffle guitarist Dustin Goodall, and local metal band alums Ryan Gray & Keith Gagnon on bass & drums, though Stefan Zaharuk played bass for Free Beer at one point early in their run as well. During their original run as Free Beer, the band opened for the likes of The Rebel Spell, Broadcast Zero, and The Flatliners at numerous local venues between 2007 & 2009, as well as placing third at the 2008 Skid Row Battle of the Bands. Free Beer changed their name to M.O.B. in 2010, though the band didn't last terribly long under that name, and played only the occasional one-off gig before reuniting as Sarah's Valley last year, which itself was also a short lived run, and they broke up for good last summer.

I don't recall Free Beer ever putting out an album, but they had entertaining originals and covers all the same! As heard on their MySpace & Soundcloud pages, they could deftly take on both Chili Peppers-esque funk rock on originals like "My Reality" and more reggae influenced material like on "Come With Me", and their sound and fun stage show definitely helped them get a strong following! It'd be cool to see the guys turn up again under any name down the road, but give them a look at the above links, on Reverbnation, and on Christian's YouTube channel, which has a fair amount of Free Beer concert & jam videos from their heyday, including this mid-2008 video from the old O'Aces! Hear more above!



Also, we're adding defunct mid-1990s punk band Room 206 to our links! One of the few pre-2000 punk bands from the Soo with a posthumous online page (via MySpace), there isn't a lot of surviving information on them, but they were a well recieved band that were among the roster of bands that frequented the Windsor Park Hotel during that venue's heyday, as vividly depicted in Paolo Colascco's book "Going Underground", which is on the local punk scene. At the time of their feature in the book, Room 206's lineup featured singer/guitarist Mike Yorke, current Role Models frontman Brad Lacell on bass, and Mike's future Totally Confused bandmate Al Watson (later of Startlefish) on drums. I know that I'm missing members, as their MySpace photo shows a quartet lineup (and I seem to recall Brad's longtime bandmate Dave Bahun once being in Room 206 too), but I can't verify much else. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!

Though long since inactive, Room 206 had a successful run in the local punk scene, apparently recorded some sort of album named "2 Innies & An Outie", and their song "Good Enough" even found their way onto the "Punk: The Next Generation" compilation CD alongside fellow locals The Spigots. Room 206 had a good skate punk sound with fitting vocals, very good riffs and hooks, and a nice explosive sound that must have gotten a good reception live, and you can check that out for yourself via this YouTube video of themr covering Fugazi's "Waiting Room" at the former Club Princess in February 1995! Muffled audio and patchy video, but look at that crowd! Check out much more from Room 206 via their MySpace page!
 


Finally for this punk band feature is Smeltzer, who were among the most prominent young alternative/punk bands in the Sault area in the mid-2000s! Their lineup featured both "songwriters" of the new local band The Apocalypse Afterparty, those being singer/guitarist Steve "Knuckles" Mozarowski and The Fury's Paul "Pauliford" Stanghetta on bass, while Steve's former RedD Monkey bandmate Kevin "Kevo" Overton (also formerly of Gates of Winter) rounded out their lineup on drums. Active from roughly 2006-2008, Smeltzer opened for notable bands like Propagandhi and Means at assorted concerts during their run (including a sizeable amount at The Oddfellows Hall), and though they've been broken up for 6 or so years now, the guys did reunite for a one-off headlining show in 2011, and Steve has been known to cover Smeltzer songs like "The Jock Song" both with RedD Monkey and in solo gigs. An album release named "Dropping the S-Bomb" was also teased on MySpace, but I can't confirm if it came out or not. I actually can't find a video of Smeltzer from their run, but how'd they sound?

Sound wise, I'd compare Smeltzer to a more grungy 1990s-alternative variant of Steve & Kevin's later RedD Monkey sound, and with the lack of cello, not as original, but effective in itself! I remember enjoying Smeltzer at local all ages show when I was a teenager, and their darker essence served them well, though of course, turns with a dress at live gigs did offset that a bit! Nice to hear Kevin's drumming again too, he was a local standout before he moved from the area. Check out Smeltzer above, and follow The Apocalypse Afterparty for Steve & Paul's newest material!

I hope you guys liked this newest defunct punk band feature! The only thing I can guarantee for our 7th (and maybe final?) of these introductory posts for older punk bands is that Bin Hawdon & The Taliband WILL finally be a part! Anything else is up in the air, mainly due to the awful MySpace layout changes last year, but keep an eye out regardless in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for this month's new poll and the results of last month's poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!