Before we unveil this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's a new news post for your Monday morning, mostly devoted to some recent concert video finds of local bands out of town, but first, here's a special Tuesday night concert preview, as Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to Sault Ste. Marie TONIGHT with a headlining show at The Gore Street Cafe! Coming less than a month after their headlining concert at The Oddfellows Hall, this brutal grind outfit should devastate fans at the laundromat as they make their way back west on their current tour, and the locale should add some spice to the proceedings, as Iskra may be the heaviest band to ever play at the cafe! Note that this show doesn't have an official openers lineup, but it will be preceded tonight at 6:00 PM by an open mic night hosted by local musician Kody Penno, though these are considered separate events.
Like last month's Oddfellows Hall show, this is an ALL AGES event, and it will start at 9:30 PM tonight, but like usual for Gore Street Cafe events, admission is via the "pay what you can" model, so keep that in mind! After the 12 year wait for Iskra to come back to the Soo, the short turnaround this time is a nice surprise, so kudos to the laundromat for bringing them back so soon, and don't miss out tonight! For a preview, here they are last month!
Next up, here's some new concert video finds from three local metal bands during 2016 tour dates in Sudbury! These all come from Sudbury concert venue The Asylum (co-founded by Wolven Ancestry frontman Mark Howitt), whose new YouTube channel is the site of a spree of recent uploads from shows there, with six of those videos being of Sault Ste. Marie talent, so what should you know about them? Three are of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's headlining show at The Asylum on April 29th, and they include their songs "Helen Kellers", "It Won't Change" (focused on drummer Matt Baic on a vertical camera angle), and as embedded below, the guys playing their self-titled song, "You're Scared", and "Fabricated Nonsense" one after the other. The videos can be a little dark, and fans' heads get in the way until the filmer gets closer to the stage, but Shit Liver sound ferocious as usual, so give their Asylum concert videos a look above & below!
Two more videos came from local doom metal trio AlgomA's set opening for past local headlining acts Striker and Archelon at The Asylum on June 15th, and yes, the channel has videos of those bands too if you're so inclined! AlgomA's videos include a portion of their newer song "Brazen Bull" (kudos to guitarist Boyd Rendell for confirming the title on his personal Facebook page), and as embedded below, most of their song "Extinct Volcanoes". More of a stationary camera angle here, capturing AlgomA's sludgy and down-trodden brand of metal nicely, so give their Sudbury videos a look above & below too!
Finally for today, The Asylum's channel does have one video of local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades from their set opening for recent New American headliners Cocaine Moustache on July 13th, and it's of their original song "Negative Headspace"! This may be of extra note as the first public video that we've found of Jack Spades' current quartet lineup, following guitarist Tiffany Stocco's departure last month, and while the song sounds a little emptier with only one guitar track, Jack Spades are in fine form during this "tiny disastour" stop, with J.D. Pearce delivering some fun pre-song banter! Give their Asylum video a look below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, which is definitely next! Thanks everyone!
With weekend concert previews complete, let's tackle some big recent updates in this stacked news post! Today, we have the latest from a veteran local band, big updates concerning two upcoming local alternative hard rock albums, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a familiar touring band coming back to our area next month, so here's what you should know! (Updated at 11:06 AM)
Just under three weeks after their headlining date at The Oddfellows Hall, Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to the Soo on Tuesday, August 2nd at... The Gore Street Cafe?! In what may be the heaviest show to ever hit the laundromat, fans of Iskra's brutal crust originals will return for what should be a devastating encore next month, so if you want a second helping (or missed their Oddfellows show last week), be at The Gore Street Cafe on August 2nd! This confirms the earlier teases that Iskra would return to the local stage on this date on the way back during their Canadian tour, but contrary to the original & now-cancelled plans, Blood Shed Productions are not promoting this show anymore. Local openers haven't been announced yet for this month, and while there was a local opening lineup for the original Blood Shed-planned date, don't expect those acts to be carried over verbatim.
As usual for Gore Street Cafe shows, this is an ALL AGES concert, and will operate under the "pay what you can" model, so don't let the admission fee scare you away! It's great to see Iskra finally secure the long hinted return date on August 2nd, and that we'll see them much sooner than the prior 12 year gap, so stay tuned for updates, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details on this grind encore!
Next up, here's the latest from local post-punk quartet Gnaeus' upcoming debut CD "Meditations", so what should you know about it now? Well, according to this shared meme photo on their Facebook page, it will apparently be released on Friday, August 5th! We're under two weeks from the release in other words, and while Gnaeus hasn't publically elaborated further on the release, bassist Matt Fronzi indicated plans for a release show in a personal conversation (which we'll wait for the band to publically announce before covering here.) The full official album cover has also been unveiled, as you can see on the left, and it is indeed one and the same as the original "Loomings" cover, just with Gnaeus' name and new album title in all lowercase with a new and weathered font. Looks good and fitting to their style, though still no word on if the preview image from the Rotaryfest program was ever officially intended to be the cover art.
As a preview for the release, Gnaeus posted a lyric video for their song "Fire" onto their YouTube channel yesterday, which is a rarity alone in the fact that it's a lyric video from a local band! It's yet to be established if the physical album booklet will have printed lyrics or not, but it's nice to have words to sing along with if need be! Check the above links for more on "Meditations" and Gnaeus' upcoming
plans, look for the new CD next month, and give their lyric video a look
below, and keep an eye out in just in case we have an advance review in store in the next week or so!
Also, here's some of the latest updates from local alternative
hard rock trio The Din, who are also nearing the release of their own debut CD "Give In To The Din"! We're badly behind on Din updates so far this month, so let's start rectifying that with this preview of the album artwork & booklet courtesy of CDBaby (where their album is being manufactured), which lets fans get a full 3D look at the front, back, and inside of what you'll get in physical copies! The preview is very tricky to maneuver with a mouse, especially when trying to look inside, but if you buy the album proper, you can avoid any issues! The full CD will have 9 songs, including "In Search of the Perfect Moment", "Flux", "Alleyways & Apartments", "Out Of My League", their cover of Haggith's "75", the newer "Remember", "Potato (Should Have Known Better)", another new song "The Rose", and "A Drive Through The Peninsula". Everything looks good and professional so far, and of course, copies go on sale on August 12th at The Tech!
As another preview, The Din unveiled the studio version of "Alleyways & Apartments" on their YouTube channel on Tuesday, which is notable as the song that the band recorded at Mission Control Studios with Dustin Jones engineering things, though Pretoria Hill Productions' Daniel Schmidt produced the track along with the remainder of the album. We'll hold comment until our review of the album (likely coming next month), but check it out below, stay tuned for more from The Din soon, and don't miss the release show!
Finally today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook, as per their latest post from their Facebook page
last week! The post reveals that frontman Joel Syrette is taking a hiatus from the band
while attending Queens University in Kingston, and as a result, he did not play with
them at Rotaryfest on Saturday.
As a result, bassist Dan Beaupre's
former Hollow bandmate Adam King (recently of Mustang Heart) filled in
for him, which is a solid and fitting choice, and hopefully Adam
performed well last week! It's not clear if he'll join Griphook for
future gigs or not, but the band did note on Facebook that their hiatus
since January was due to band
members "going through some ups and downs", and while they didn't
elaborate further on that, they said that they remain "dedicated
to keeping rock n' roll alive." It's great to see that Griphook are
alive and still kicking, so stay tuned for more on their next shows when
announced, and best of luck to Joel in Kingston! Hopefully we'll see him back on the local stage in time!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates shortly! Thanks everyone!
Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here's a concert video showcase from last week's Iskra-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall! Attendee Christopher Paci (a frequent filmer at local concerts) was on hand to shoot the show, and if you were curious, he was back at Rotaryfest to film there, and we'll showcase those on the site shortly! Uploaded to Chris' YouTube channel on Tuesday, he apologizes on each for the poor lighting at the hall, but he was in good angles to get each band filmed! Given the jumbled lineup order, we'll start with his videos of Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra, who Chris filmed playing their songs "Priviliged Morality", and 90 seconds of a song I can't place off hand, bot embedded below is "Illegal" (I think.) The dark lighting does these videos no favours, and the audio is a little staticy, but Iskra sound ferocious as you'd expect, so give Chris' videos a look!
Next up, here's Chris' video of the night's opening band, local doom metal trio AlgomA, who were filmed playing a lengthy newer original, with guitarist Boyd Rendell on lead vocals. Better lighting here, partially because it was earlier in the day, so this is one of the better videos that Chris shot, and Algoma sound devastating as usual! Give it a look below as well!
Also filmed last week were the closing band, local death/thrash trio Pillory, who Chris filmed two songs from, those being their new songs "Abhorred Apprehension" and, as embedded below, what I believe is "The Passing". Though the video quality suffers in similar ways to the Iskra videos, Pillory sound brutal, as they have continually sounded since reuniting, though Robert Sartini's vocals are often hard to discern. Check out Chris' Pillory videos above & below!
Finally for the Iskra concert videos, Chris did film one video of local goregrind duo Rotopsy playing their song "Lesbian Luxuries of a Lobotomy Factory" (they named it, not me!) Good side-view angle of Dylan and Taylor's bouncy minimalist metal action, despite the obvious lighting issues, but they are easy to hear in this clip, so check our Rotopsy from last week below as well!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next, and for our spotlight of Chris' Rotaryfest videos soon as well! Thanks everyone!
At last, it's now time for our review of Thursday night's Iskra-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall, and apologies again for the delay, this concert weekend was beyond busy! Decent attendance on Thursday night, especially compared to recent all ages shows there, and by the time of Iskra's set, the crowd was very animated, especially when the mosh pits got going! Special kudos as well to AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's mother, who doled out sloppy Joes & refreshments to attendees, which was well recieved!
Though the show was delayed a half hour, things began with a bang when local doom metal trio AlgomA returned to the local stage as the night's openers, a bit surprisingly so given their stature, but many faces were melted at the hall regardless! AlgomA's no-nonsense, sludgy originals continued at their crushing, glacier-speed rate, and while they didn't announce any song names (and only talked to the crowd once), their presence and intensity was at their live standard! Kevin Campbell and Boyd Rendell were once again a solid compliment on vocals, and the distorted, doomy guitar riffs fit the proceedings just fine, with Jamie Vincent right in his groove on drums throughout! AlgomA could engage the crowd a little more, but their down-trodden, dark, and doom-laden set definitely set the tone for the night, and stay tuned for more on their show in September on the site shortly!
Local goregrind duo Rotopsy hit the Oddfellows stage next for the first time in months, and if you haven't seen them at their recent house party gigs, fans will be happy to know that they were on form from their last Oddfellows sets! Playing a mixture of familiar originals like "Swamp Donkey" and "Non-Profit Vomit Shop" long with newer songs like "Stab Alley", Dylan Taylor and Tyler Gibson kept up their usual minimalist grind intensity for gathered fans, with Dylan continuing to diversify his vocals with more clean and spoken word sections, and Tyler laying down some solid bass throughout! At times though, Rotopsy lacked the bouncy enthusiasm that they often showed last year, and the last third of their set was cut due to time constraints, preventing fans from hearing the crowd favourite "Cops N' Moms". It's good to see Rotopsy back at it, and hopefully we hear more of the grind soon!
Victoria, British Columbia grindcore quintet Iskra hit the stage next as the night's featured band, playing for the first time in the Soo since 2004! With the exception of founding guitarist Nick "Wolf" Edwards, Iskra's entire lineup has changed multiple times over since their local gig 12 years ago, and with songs largely coming from newer releases, this was a whole new beast than their last time here, and they devastated the crowd with an intense set of original death metal! Rocking 8 songs (plus a deserving encore) including "Lawless", "Ruins", and "Kronstadt", Iskra devastated with technical and hard hitting instrumentation, with frontwoman Danielle a constant and ferocious presence up front, and both Wolf and Anatol Anton (who was celebrating his birthday) were a nice match with their brutal riffs and solos! Some intense moshing went down during Iskra's set, and overall, I'd say Iskra made plenty of new fans, hopefully ones who'll see them in town again much sooner than 12 years from now!
Reunited local death/thrash metal trio Pillory were the surprising headliners on Thursday, marking their first Oddfellows Hall appearance in over two years, and the first time that I've seen them live in longer than that, believe it or not! If you've missed Pillory since their reunion, they're now a trio playing more technical death metal than their speed/thrash beginnings as a quartet, complete with shunning all old originals in their set, and this evolution seems to be working for them, with late fans giving a very positive reception! Robert Sartini's growling vocals have deepened and improved over time, Bret Shuttleworth continues to show his skill level among local metal drummers, and new bassist Jordan Leach (ex-Haggith) is a solid fit, and yes, that did appear to be a lit stick of incense on his bass head! New songs like "Exhaustive Incarnation" & "Abhorred Apprehension" show Pillory's newfound potential well, but their speakers seemed to give off a scratchy feedback, so I'd like to hear them again with that worked out. Overall though, Pillory are firmly back and in control!
Overall, this was a great show, especially for fans of death metal and grindcore, and you could definitely tell that fans enjoyed the action! You can check out our photos from Thursday night at this link or via our Facebook page, and here's our videos, including AlgomA playing their newer song "The Longest Swim", Rotopsy playing their newer track "Groove, Grind, and Gutrot", Iskra playing their song "Priviliged Morality", and Pillory playing their newer original "Wasting"!
And before we close this post, I just wanted to thank AlgomA and Six, Two, Oh. again for holding the door prize draw for the AlgomA/Chronobot vinyl split EP on Thursday (and to Danielle from Iskra for making the pick), as I somehow managed to win! Luck of the draw, but I didn't have it on vinyl previously, and I had an empty frame for a 12'' vinyl record already, so it works out fine! I did play the record on the turntable here, and it sounds great, and looks sharp too thanks to the blue vinyl! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and note 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!
We're back with what could be our last non-concert preview/CD review post of the month, so what's on tap for this Tuesday morning? Lots of shorter assorted recent updates, and preliminary details for what could be the biggest Sault Michigan concert of the summer, but first, here's a surprise find for local punk fans from over a decade ago!
We have a newly discovered (albeit long defunct) local punk band to add to our inactive band links, and they are Why! Active from at least 2003-2004, Why may be best known as an early band from Northwest frontman Wayne Watkins, who played bass alongside singer/guitarist Cory Coulter (ex-Outspoken/The Fallout) and drummer Dave Cote (a.k.a. "Dirty Dave Sanchez"), while Cory's former bandmate Chris Nielsen was a later addition on guitar. Forming circa December 2003, Why's debut concert appearance was at the Bon Soo Battle of the Bands at Club Princess in February 2004, where they didn't place, but Cory did apparently win a Best Individual Musician award. I can't find substantial information on the band's post-battle activities beyond Chris' addition, but their Angelfire page features photos from the battle, biographies, song lyrics, and some juvenile humour that might not be to everyone's taste
Dave's YouTube channel uploaded three concert videos from the Bon Soo Battle in December 2007, likely the original source of the defunct mp3 links from Why's page, and they include their originals "Break From the Madness", "Tchike Davis", and as embedded below, "Isolation". Why weren't as polished as Wayne's later bands, but they had a fun punk sound with hardcore tinges, and very good enthusiasm to boot, so if they played more beyond this battle, I'm sure they were crowd favourites! Given their name though, it's hard to find info on them. Give Why a look above & below! Next up, Sault Michigan MMA/concert promoters Superior Entertainment are back with their first announced music event since last August's Superior Festival, and while specific details are forthcoming, organizers are bringing North Carolina glam metal quartet FireHouse back to the Soo on Saturday, August 6th! Quietly announced via Superior Entertainment's Facebook page on June 11th, we learned a bit more via the video below (posted early this morning to Facebook) where the members of FireHouse confirmed the show will take place as part of Sault Michigan's annual Downtown Days. A planned stop on FireHouse's 25th anniversary tour (with hits like "Love of a Lifetime" & "When I Look Into Your Eyes" sure to be in tow), this would be FireHouse's first concert here since opening for Bret Michaels at the Sault's Kewadin Casino in January 2014, and third total in the area, but first as a headlining act. As of this writing, organizers have yet to confirm a venue, ticket pricing, or age limit.
With that said, the early August scheduling could point to it being a sequel event to the Superior Festival (which was held on short notice at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub after a relocation and rescheduling from Aune-Osborne Park, for what it's worth.) In any event, this is not being held at The Dreammaker's Theater, as Kewadin Casino has a British Legends tribute show there on August 6th, continuing their run of tribute bands this year in place of 1980s hard rock (hopefully they're not gone for good!) Give FireHouse's teaser video a look below, and stay tuned for more info when announced!
Finally for today, here's six
assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in
alphabetical order by artist name:
Last week's Go Skateboarding Day festivities were filmed and spotlighted in this SooToday video from this past Wednesday, where interviewer Jasmyn Rowley chats with (among others) co-organizer/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce about the event at large, skateboarding culture, and more! Jack Spades are briefly shown performing as well, though they're muted behind existing background audio. Solid press for the event, which looks bigger & better than last year, so give it a look above (we can't embed it here) and read SooToday's full article at this link!
Local indie rock outfit Great Chamberlain have launched a petition on Change.org to attempt to gain support towards being added as a late local opener for Hedley at The Yard on FRIDAY! According to drummer Keeghan Rosso (recently of The Pixo Control) on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group,
the band needs 300 signatures to be added to the bill, as per their
agreement with event management. As of this writing, Great Chamberlain
have 152 votes on the petition, so if you want to help them get on this
huge pop/punk show, see the above links for full details!
A local singer named Greg McLeod is looking to jam with local musicians to "see where things may go." He cites alternative and classic rock among his influences, naming bands like Collective Soul, The Foo Fighters, and 3 Doors Down among favourites of his. I'm not familiar with Greg from past local bands, but if you're interested in jamming with him, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!
The long-teased Iskra-headlined concert from Blood Shed Productions
on Tuesday, August 2nd has quietly been cancelled, as per the recent
deletion of it's Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation
wasn't announced, but the show never had a confirmed venue, despite
having a full advertised lineup and hopes to book it at The New American
Pub. Disappointing, but if you want to see Iskra, remember that they'll
still be headlining at The Oddfellows Hall via Six, Two, Oh. on July 14th, so
click here for details on that event!
The second song from local hard rock quartet Long Shot's forthcoming debut EP is now on their Bandcamp page! Entitled "The Beat", I believe this is one of Long Shot's more recent original songs, and like before, we'll hold full comment until our likely review of this EP. Check out "The Beat" above!
In their newest Facebook page update from Saturday, local pop punk quartet Stereo North revealed that they're "taking a little break" due to guitarist Matthew Anich being on paternity leave (congratulations to him!) However, the other three guys are staying busy in other projects, including planned solo acoustic work from frontman Andrew Pucci, while Bill Bennett & Brett Norton are apparently jamming with "some other local bands". The band didn't elaborate on these projects, or give any indication about when Stereo North's break may end, but fans will surely anticipate whatever comes next!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more shortly! Thanks everyone!
On this Saturday morning, we have a stacked new post to touch on, so what's in store for today? Some archive song finds from 20 years ago, recent concert video footage, and big updates for an upcoming show, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this summer!
Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert on Saturday, August 13th at The Canadian Nightclub! Talk of an ALL AGES Ripcordz show in the Soo has been teased in recent months, but this is the apparent fruition of the idea, so if you want some all ages punk and metal action with Paul Gott and company, you know where to be this summer! This will be The Ripcordz' first local stop since the release party for their "Fed Up!" split CD with local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and hardcore punk quintet Destroilet at The Algonquin Pub in October, and in a fitting encore, both local bands will be back to open on August 13th as well! While Jack Spades have been seen often lately, this will be Destroilet's first announced concert appearance since the "Fed Up!" release show. No idea where they've been in the past year & a half, but hopefully Destroilet tear up the stage in this rare Canadian Nightclub appearance later this summer!
Unlike in October, an additional opening band is to be announced, and we'll let you know when they are publically confirmed. This ALL AGES stop on The Ripcordz' Night of the Living Punks tour will have a door opening time of 7:00 PM, as well as $10 advance tickets (availability to be announced), with the door price jumping to $15. This sounds like a great concert for hardcore punk fans, and a nice make-up date if you missed the "Fed Up"! release party, so keep it in mind for in three months time, and visit the official Facebook event page for more info!
Next up, here's some big updates for the Iskra-headlined
concert at The Moose Lodge on Thursday, July 14th, starting with it's
relocation from The Moose Lodge to The Oddfellows Hall, as per the show's new Facebook event page!
A reason for the move wasn't announced, but it followed the surprising
deletion of
the original event page, leaving some fans worried that the show was
cancelled. All is well, it's just downtown now, and it's still ALL AGES!
The lineup and start time are unchanged, but the bands' set-times are now
confirmed, with the Victoria, B.C. goregrind headliners on at 11:30 PM,
local death/thrashers Pillory co-headlining at 10:45 PM, goregrind duo Rotopsy on at 10:00 PM, and in a surprising placement, doom metal trio AlgomA opening the show at 9:15 PM. Given that members are promoting the show with Six, Two, Oh.,
maybe this is intentional so they can get back to running the event?
However, ticket fees have been hiked up from $5 to $8 (again, for
unannounced reasons), with the door charge now at $10.
Advance
tickets are on sale at The Rad Zone and through AlgomA members, and the
tickets will also serve a double purpose, namely as tickets for a
planned door prize: AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Chronobot,
or if you have it already or don't want it, $20 of AlgomA merchandise.
Despite the raise in admission fees, things seem to be shaping up well
for July's Iskra show, so visit the above links for full current
details, and stay tuned for confirmation on the planned August 2nd Iskra show when/if it's venue is confirmed!
Also, here's an almost full concert video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, courtesy of their set opening for Sulfur City at LopLops Lounge last week! Filmed at a stationary camera angle, the video was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Monday, and features audio remastered by Pretoria Hill Productions, the upstart independent studio where The Din's debut CD is largely being recorded. The 36 minute set is notably 100% comprised of original compositions (be they from The Din, Mike Haggith's solo material, or the defunct band Haggith), with covers reserved in case there was an encore. In order, The Din played "75" (complete with the lengthy intro labelled as "Leamington, Ontario" from "The Din Does Laundry"), "In Search of the Perfect Moment", the newer "Alleyways & Apartments", "Out Of My League", "Differences", and most of "Analog Palace", and after a brief Star Wars-esque intermission to restart the camera, "Flux" & "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device".
Overall, this video is very solid for fans of Mike and company's original compositions, with solid audio quality, fun banter between songs, and a nice view of the band, though it's a little tight, so Mike sometimes wasn't in view when he left his microphone's area. Fans of The Din will be right at home, so give their full set a look below, click the above song names to go directly to individual songs, and stay tuned for more from their Facebook page soon!
Finally for today, here's a neat find from the local metal scene's past, as YouTube user schwazemoto has uploaded 10 studio-recorded songs by defunct local punk band Gutwrench to their YouTube channel in the past week! Given that their original run ended no later than 2002, and no online pages survive (or ever existed?) for them, I can't verify a whole lot on this band with existing online sources, but their lineup did include future Hangdowns guitarist Jordan Cumming (pictured) and drummer Marc Muto (ex-Lion Ride) alongside guitarist Paul Melanson, who's now a prolific metal usician in the Lethbridge, Alberta area. The Gutwrench songs on YouTube are dated from 1996, and include various paintings as the featured picture (if these were from an album of some kind, the cover isn't included.) The included songs are titled "Stranded", "Pictures Blur", "Phobia", "Part II", "Identity", "Human Nature", "Good Riddance", "D.S.U.F.", "Another Song", and as embedded below, "Dead", so click each link to hear each song!
Gutwrench have an entertaining skate/speed punk sound that hasn't aged badly at all, with good enthusiasm and strong guitar work, and good production to boot, and it'd be interesting to see or find more from Gutwrench at some point! And yes, this is definitely the local Gutwrench, not one of the out of town bands with the same name, Paul and Marc were reminiscing on one of these uploads on Facebook. Give Gutwrench's studio tracks a listen above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates and reviews shortly! Thanks everyone!
Before we get to our profile of last year's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, let's sandwich them with a new news post to keep things rolling for our regular posts. Today, we mostly have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one of the SHORT NOTICE variety), but we also have some videos from one of the involved bands to cap things off. Now, here's what you should know!
Local hard/party rock trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only quietly announced the show on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Coming about a month after their last show at the same venue, this popular veteran trio should be in fine form for another night of fan favourite covers, so if you don't have existing plans, consider a trip to The Rockstar Bar for Greg, Mike, and Jon TONIGHT! Note that this is a one-nighter due to last night's 3 Day Millionaires show. Expect a 19+ age limit, 10:30 PM-ish start time, and no announced cover charge, but bring cash on hand just in case. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Stiffler's Mom live a couple of years back!
Next up, here's some concerts with more advance notice, starting with the fourth announced show from new Sault Michigan blues/hard rock cover quartet Project 906, who will make their debut at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in nearby Brimley for one night only on Saturday, April 9th! We only sporadically hear about Bay Mills hosting a local hard rock concert (the last one I've heard of was the November 2013 "Nick Cam Jam" fundraiser), but Project 906 must have Brimley ties given that their debut show in two weeks will be there at Pickles Bar & Grill. The Ten Kings successors will specifically be rocking out at The Back Bay Grill & Games, which is the resort & casino's sports bar, notably the only one in the E.U.P. on the waterfront of Lake Superior, so there should be a nice backdrop for this show! A 10:30 PM start time is in effect for this gig (at 11386 West Lakeshore Drive in Brimley), which has a 21+ age limit, and has no announced cover charges.
Time will tell if this is the first of many hard rock shows at The Back Bay Grill or not, but Project 906's promising lineup should deliver a fun night regardless, so check the above links and the official Facebook event page for more details on next month's show at "your perfect up north retreat!"
Lastly for today's new concert announcements, Victoria, British Columbia grindcore band Iskra will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario on Thursday, July 14th when they rock The Moose Lodge! Last seen here back at the former Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) in 2004, some fans may recall that a video from that show exists on YouTube, but their explosive crust/grind originals should be as heavy now as they were 12 years ago, so don't miss Iskra's return this summer! A triple threat of local openers will include reunited thrash trio Pillory (in their first announced non-battle of the bands concert in over two years), goregrind duo Rotopsy (in their first announced concert outside of house parties in almost a year), and doom metal trio AlgomA (who are promoting this concert via Six, Two, Oh.) Strong lineup with some faces that we haven't seen a lot of recently!
The first announced metal show of the year at The Moose Lodge on Trunk Road, there are $5 ticket charges (availability to be announced) for this 9:00 PM concert, while door admission will jump to $7. This is an ALL AGES event with licensing, so bring ID if you want to drink, and visit the Facebook event page for more details! This should be a brutal concert for local metalheads, especially to see some bands you haven't typically seen of late, so stay tuned for more on this show as it comes in! We'll close today with the latest videos from one of the openers of the Iskra show, they being Pillory, who posted two new videos onto their Facebook page on January 9th, and apologies for the delay on getting these on the site! These constitute Pillory's first public videos with new bassist Jordan Leach, and with their full current lineup, with both coming from jam sessions in January (one linked here), though none feature audible vocals or listed song titles.
If you've missed Pillory's thrash/death metal sounds, these videos will help rekindle their heyday, and they sound really solid here! Of course, their long awaited return to the stage is this Thursday at the 2016 Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, so be sure not to miss them there or in July, and check out their new videos above & below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our latest Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile on last year's Speak Easy Battle later today! Thanks everyone!
It's time for some more news at the SMS before we devote tomorrow's post to our new poll (VOTE TODAY in our current poll while you still can) and possibly a concert review (Caveman Morrison?), so here's what's on tap this evening! We've got the latest news from an area radio station, a cool new classic concert video from a decade ago, and the latest news on Garden of Bedlam's Boxing Day return, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next year!
The first metal/hard rock concert of 2012 in Sault Ontario is now confirmed, and it involves the return of Frightlight to the local stage! The horror punk/metal quintet will re-emerge after an almost 3 month break to open for Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Merves at The Canadian Nightclub on January 14th in what should be a very interesting concert! This will be Frightlight's second local appearance & third show overall with new drummer Chris "FreaknStein" Thompson behind the drumkit, and I think it will also be their first concert ever at The Canadian Nightclub as well. You know their high impact brand of punk & metal will go over really well next month for this concert, as they've been missed around here! As for The Merves, they feature Lion Ride's own Mikey Hawdon on vocals & guitar, and it's nice to see him back in town! With the break since the last Lion Ride show here creeping up on 6 months, this could fill the gap well while we wait. For reference, The Merves also feature Maximum RNR guitarist Keith Carman (a bandmate of ex-Lion Ride bassist Brenton Ellis) & Mikey's Teenage X bandmate Phil Page on bass, adding to the local ties. By all accounts, their Ramones covers should get fans moving and rocking out all night next month, so don't miss them!
This concert is a 19+ event, there will be a $5 cover charge, and doors open at 10:00 PM on January 14th. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a fun night of punk rocking with some metal sprinkled in, and it'll be nice to see Mikey fronting a band locally again, even if it's not Lion Ride! The Canadian is right near my place, so hopefully I can make it out, and stay tuned for updates if they come in!
Next up, more official details are now out for Garden of Bedlam's CD release show at The Canadian Nightclub on Boxing Day, courtesy of this Facebook event page! Doors will open at 10:00 PM on December 26th for this event, there will be a $5 cover charge to enter, and as previously expected, it is a 19+ event. As well, Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand to ensure an awesome sounding concert from start to finish, so there's no worries on that front! However, like most of Garden of Bedlam's headlining concerts over the past year and a half, there is no announced opening band, in case you were wondering. And of course, Garden of Bedlam's first full length album "Everything Will Die" will officially be released on that day, though other release details (i.e. the album's price and where locally & online you can buy it) have yet to be officially confirmed by band sources. Check the above links for all current details on Garden of Bedlam's CD release show! Sounds good to me, I wish I could be there to rock out with all the fans and reap the rewards of the new CD! Hopefully I'll get it by the end of the month, but if not, stay tuned in January for my review of "Everything Will Die", and keep an eye out for more band updates!
Also new today is a new classic YouTube video upload by former BeeFMoutH member Boyd Rendell, who posted this almost 23 minute long video of Victoria, British Columbia grindcore band Iskra playing live at Foggy Notions (now Feedback) in the early 2000s on his YouTube channel! I couldn't reliably date this video beyond what Boyd put in the video comments, so it could be anywhere from 2000-2003. The video quality isn't high (likely from a VHS camcorder), and the audio has a muffled quality to it, but Iskra sound very heavy and brutal here, and there's a solid turnout of fans from what I can see! I'm not familiar with Iskra, but I know they'd fit in well here for a metal show if they ever came back, so take in this classic 23 minute video of Iskra grinding up Foggy Notions in the early 2000s below, and thanks to Boyd for uploading this!
Finally for today, are you a current student at Lake Superior State University in Sault Michigan? Are you interested in working as a DJ next semester, possibly for a metal show? Then WLSO: The Sounds of Lake State (90.1 FM) are looking for you! On Wednesday, I received an e-mail from current WLSO station manager Mark Collins, who told me that WLSO are searching for DJs for the spring 2012 semester, and he added that they'd love to have a metal show on the schedule. Preferably, Mark's looking for someone with a deep knowledge of metal that could play interesting, obscure, and brutal material on air. Other details, like times, format, and radio-related questions would probably depend on your schedule and preferences. So if you're gonna be an LSSU student next semester, and are at all interested in DJing (metal or otherwise) starting in mid-January, shoot an e-mail to Mark at endless.summer.radio@gmail.com! Metal's always had a presence at 90.1 FM at varying times with varying DJs, and it's be great to see it continue next semester, so if you're at all interested, give Mark a shout! Also, WLSO's website has had a major facelift complete with a new design, reversion to an old station logo, a new forum, a now playing list, a calendar, and much more, so check the above links for all the current details from 90.1 FM, The Sounds of Lake State!
That's all for today, but I might see you guys TONIGHT at Feedback for the Caveman Morrison concert, and either way, a new poll and last month's poll results are on the way tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!
Next up, here's some new concert video finds from three local metal bands during 2016 tour dates in Sudbury! These all come from Sudbury concert venue The Asylum (co-founded by Wolven Ancestry frontman Mark Howitt), whose new YouTube channel is the site of a spree of recent uploads from shows there, with six of those videos being of Sault Ste. Marie talent, so what should you know about them? Three are of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's headlining show at The Asylum on April 29th, and they include their songs "Helen Kellers", "It Won't Change" (focused on drummer Matt Baic on a vertical camera angle), and as embedded below, the guys playing their self-titled song, "You're Scared", and "Fabricated Nonsense" one after the other. The videos can be a little dark, and fans' heads get in the way until the filmer gets closer to the stage, but Shit Liver sound ferocious as usual, so give their Asylum concert videos a look above & below!
