LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), One More Concert Preview, And More Recent Updates!!

Well, how does one more weekend concert preview post sound for the Canada Day long weekend? Along with some new live videos and assorted updates, we have one more show accidentally omitted from our existing previews and a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know on this Saturday afternoon!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will reportedly play at The Dive Gastro Pub THIS MONDAY NIGHT for a special Canada Day matinee concert! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue's Facebook event page this morning. This will be Tym's second show at The Dive in a five day span, following his "Think It Over Thursday" date inside the former Low & Slow, of course bookending yesterday's Mike Case Memorial Stage gig and today's Misty's Fifties matinee. However, MONDAY'S concert will be a "Patio Play" event on The Dive's outdoor patio, much like their Saturday bookings. Hopefully Tym provides an entertaining soundtrack of classic and hard rock hits for fans at the Queen Street East nightclub on MONDAY EVENING! This show has a 5:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover.

Weather-wise, The Dive indicated on the event page that "it looks like the weather will be on point", and while it's too soon to see an hourly forecast for MONDAY EVENING, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather with no chance of rain and a high temperature of 22°. If that holds, "on point" would be accurate for most, especially given that rain is likely on Tuesday in the current forecast! Visit the above links for more on Tym's holiday weekend capper on MONDAY, and here he is live!

Next up, here's one more weekend concert preview that I neglected to include when we covered this band's Water Tower Pub show last night, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will hit the road for nearby Echo Bay (just outside of town) TONIGHT! This concert will see Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen serve as musical entertainment for this year's Elks Bay Days Slo-Pitch Tournament, with the Soundcheck concert being inside The Elks Lodge at 96 Church Street as the musical entertainment after day #2 of this year's Elks Bay Days Slo-Pitch Tournament! Despite the trappings of being linked to a baseball tournament, this is publically attendable, so if you're in Echo Bay/just east of the Soo, you may want to head to The Elks Lodge to enjoy their hard rocking classic and country covers tonight! Unless registered for the tournament, this is free with a 9:00 PM start time and no stated age limit. 

Be advised that Soundcheck had teased playing at a Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road tomorrow afternoon as well, but I have not found any public advertising or references to it on social media beyond what the band said on their Facebook page over a week ago. That doesn't mean that there won't be a car show with Soundcheck playing (they haven't always had high online advertising), but I'm erring on the side of caution by not including it here given the lack of promotion. Stay tuned in case something is confirmed, but to preview their Echo Bay gig tonight, here they are live!

Also, we have some new videos of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to share! A day after we previewed their late notice gigs at Jay's Piston Broke Pub yesterday and TONIGHT on the SMS, frontwoman Valerie Powley posted four videos of the band at a recent private stag & doe booking to their Facebook group on Friday, so what can you see here? The videos include Generations covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Refugee", Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy", The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" (with bassist Pierre Anthony on lead vocals), and as embedded below, Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker". Unfortunately, these videos do suffer from a vertical orientation, a tight side-stage angle that completely cuts drummer Tony Santoro out of frame, and Pierre and Tony K. often being out of frame or blocked from view. Also, aside from the Sheryl Crow cover, these are all under a minute long.

However, the audio quality from the filmer's camera is really strong, and Valerie's powerful vocals are put to good display on the three songs that she sings lead on, none of which are frequently filmed from what I know, and it's nice to see things a little heavier as such! Check out all four of Generations' stag & doe videos above and below, and don't miss them all back at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

 

• I have sadly removed local death metal band Kaepora Gaebora (a.k.a. Exploring Detritus) from our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook page (their only formal social media page) at some point in the past three months. The subject of our Defunct Local Band Profile from March, Kaepora Gaebora (led by ex-Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere) peaked as a live band in early 2016 but struggled to otherwise get off the ground, including in their 2022 relaunch. I wish they'd have left the Facebook page up, but hopefully we hear more from ex-members soon, and don't miss drummer Anthony Boudreau in HeadFirst!
• Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have quietly dropped out of Giovanni's Italian Festival at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on July 27th, as per their exclusion from the full performer lineup and the band's removal of the gig from their website's calendar. A reason for their withdrawal was not announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and they are still playing at a Giovanni's sponsored event next month, namely the COPPA Soccer Tournament next Saturday! Veteran classic rock quartet RPM have replaced Silent 9 in the 4:00 PM timeslot at the Italian Festial.
• For the first time, Rotaryfest will feature a Stage 3 in 2024! Nicknamed "Wild Beats", the third stage will take place at the Downtown Plaza on Friday, July 19th only, and will feature three EDM artists/DJs, perhaps taking inspiration from The Northern Vibe Festival's hosting of separate Forest and River Stages for bands and DJs (two of the three performers are indeed playing in Ophir in August). Obviously, this doesn't cross the SMS' music genre radar, but it'll be interesting to see how Stage 3 does, as opposed to prior attempts to counter-program the festival (remember The Bottoms Up Lounge's old "Secret Stage"?)
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: id iota & kaepora gaebora

A day early for a change, here are this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Continuing our monthly spotlighting of YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts, this month's first randomly selected channel only had two videos period, so I had to pick another with a single video to round things out. Both take us to contemporary local bands of the mid-2010s, so here's what you should know on each of this month's channels!

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id iota (http://youtube.com/@idiota9153)

Owner: A member of 2015-2019 local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota, exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 30th, 2016; Videos uploaded in January and May 2017

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Id Iota, it features just two videos, namely an upload of their sole EP and a teaser video for an upcoming concert.

Why You Should Watch: There's not a lot here in hindsight (they used their Facebook page far more for video uploads, before and after early 2017), but their EP will draw fans from their original run, and the teaser video was amusing! Fans of theirs would be best served to check out their Facebook uploads and supplement the EP alongside, but hopefully we haven't heard the absolute last from Id Iota!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

id iota - Maudlin Fair (Full EP): Nine months after its release in April 2016, Id Iota posted a free YouTube copy of their debut and only EP "Maudlin Fair", which was recorded at guitarist Dustin Goodall's own Unsalted Audio and mixed by Joao Carvalho Mastering in Toronto. Featuring Dustin alongside singer Christian Lemay and drummer/studio bassist Blair St. John (this was recorded between a bassist change), the four included songs are "California Wasted", "Permanence In Pencil", "One Cent Vaudeville", and "Bitter Tea". This was a solid EP featuring laid back and grungier material in about equal measure, and while this free copy is handy, consider buying it on Bandcamp to support their work, if eight years later!

May 12th!: Cross-posted to their Facebook page, Id Iota's final video on YouTube was this promotional clip for their set at Soo Art Rocks, a mash-up event of live musicians and visual artists held by Live705 at the former Canadian Nightclub in May 2017 (read our review at this link). The 46 seconds-long clip sees Dustin calling his bandmates (including then-bassist Dan Linklater) and Sell This!/ex-RedD Monkey cellist Pete Mozarowski (who guested with them at Soo Art Rocks) to remind them about/summon them to the show, in a very dramatic fashion, while the recipients are in varying degrees of unreadiness for the call. Amusing hype for their headlining set, and Dustin's announcer voice is strong! The clip ends with a few seconds of the guys (and Pete) performing at The New American Pub in April 2017, but as far as I know, that video was never separately posted in full.

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kaepora gaebora (http://youtube.com/@kaeporagaebora8159)

Owner: A member of 2015-2017 & 2022 local death metal band Kaepora Gaebora (later known as Exploring Detritus), exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 8th, 2016; Only video posted that same day

Channel Summary: Kaepora Gaeboara (who, as the caption notes, still thought they were a band) posted a sampler jam session video to their brand new YouTube channel, in what would be their only substantive act there. Labelled as "day 210" (possibly hinting at the time since they formed), the band at the time featured singer Joey Graham, his old Undead Warriors bandmate Dan Souliere and Bring The Misery alum Daeson Lesage on guitar, Jeph Brown on bass, and ex-Gates of Winter/RedD Monkey drummer Kevin Overton. This isn't very long, and the audio quality can be a little harsh, but this group of local metal veterans delivered the extreme goods on this clip, and it's a shame that Dan could never get this project that far off of the ground!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around July 26th when we look at a single randomly selected YouTube channel, and it's another official channel of a local band, namely active(?) death metal quartet The Bear Hunters' channel WeAreTheBearHunters! Look for that then and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Kaepora Gaebora

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again give a look at a local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past, as randomly selected from our band links! This month's selection is a recent-ish extreme metal group featuring many familiar faces in their lineups that never got that far off the ground despite their promise on paper, so here's what you should know on them!

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Kaepora Gaebora (previously known as Debt To The Heirless and later renamed to Exploring Detritus)

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Death Metal

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)

Dan Souliere (Bring The Fallen), vocals/guitar
Mitch Sirie (The Bear Hunters) vocals/guitar
Ryan St. Pierre, guitar
Justin Lam (The Bear Hunters, Jack Spades), bass
Anthony Boudreau (HeadFirst, Them), drums

Joey Graham (Ashoka At The Show, The Undead Warriors), vocals
Daeson Lesage (Bring The Misery), guitar
Jeph Brown, bass
Kevin Overton (Gates Of Winter, RedD Monkey), drums

Audio/Video: During their original run, Kaepora Gaebora wrote original songs with names like "Evolution By Force", "Misinterpreting The Deity", and "ABCDEFG", but I can only find two surviving videos from that era, including this 43 seconds-long jam session clip featuring their main 2016 lineup. For their 2022 relaunch, the since-renamed Exploring Detritus posted a bunch of jam session and rehearsal videos to their Facebook page, and even posted some (largely identical) content on TikTok and Instagram, but nothing advanced to a public reveal of a song name, let alone new concerts. Here's the then-Kaepora Gaebora playing their original "Death Spins" at The Oddfellows Hall in 2016!

Info/Analysis: Publically launching in the fall of 2015 as Debt To The Heirless, this new death metal band united veterans of the late 2000s and early 2010s local metal scene, taking their Kaepora Gaebora moniker in January from the wise owl in the Legend of Zelda video game series. Debuting at a house party in April 2016, the band's eventual permanent lineup (Joey, Dan, Daeson, Jeph, and Kevin) would play twice that spring at The Oddfellows Hall, opening for The Motherfuckers and at Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger's birthday concert. Last seen opening for Foam at The New American Pub in June, the band went silent on social media until changing their name to Exploring Detritus that December, but updates slowed again and ceased in mid-2017. After some false starts, Dan Souliere relaunched Exploring Detritus in April 2022 with a brand new lineup.

Despite bringing back original drummer Anthony Boudreau and adding Bear Hunters alumni Justin Lam & (briefly) Mitch Sirie to their lineup, the revived Exploring Detritus only advanced as far as jam session videos, and last posted to Facebook that July. Regardless of name, Kaepora Gaebora were a promisingly heavy group that helped give a nostalgic comeback to some regulars in the scene, with a solidly heavy base and a welcomed focus on original material, and it's a shame that they didn't last longer either in the mid-2010s or in 2022. Follow the reunited Bear Hunters and HeadFirst to hear what most of their last lineup is up to nowadays, and hopefully Dan tries to launch another metal band in the future!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around April 10th when we profile another randomly selected defunct local band, and this time, it will 2013-2015 all-female hard rock band The Danger Cats! Look for that profile then, and for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

Updates To Our Band Links, Plus Chase James Wigmore Updates!!

Let's do some catch-up in today's post via long overdue updates from a talented local solo musician, and leading off, house cleaning notes on our active band links, so here's what you should know!

We have two bands to remove from our active local metal/punk band links today, the first being local death metal band Exploring Detritus, who have been returned to our inactive band links due to over a year's inactivity. Four years after the former Kaepora Gaebora fell inactive, guitarist Dan Souliere and original drummer Anthony Boudreau surprisingly brought the group back in April of last year, but Exploring Detritus never progressed past jam session videos despite some very promising lineups, last posting on their Facebook page in July 2022. Extreme metal hasn't been super prominent among local bands post-pandemic, but hopefully we hear more from Dan, Ryan, Justin, and Anthony soon, and don't miss brief frontman Mitch Sirie in his array of current projects, including his and Justin's recent Bear Hunters revival! As their only live gigs were under the Kaepora Gaebora name, they are listed on the SMS under that name anew.

Next up, local pop punk project Forever Will Be have sadly been deleted outright from our band links, as they no longer have a formal social media page centric to the band. As it was, their now-deleted Facebook page was scarcely updated, with project leader Ryan McLaughlin primarily posting Forever Will Be updates on his/their label Relentless Audio's Facebook page. That said, Forever Will Be proper are likely still active, with Relentless Audio last posting about the project in December, so even without a proper band page, hopefully we hear more from Forever Will Be soon! Note that Relentless Audio did post two Facebook videos in February to demonstrate what Ryan can do with his computer programs to make songs sound better, including this clip of him improving the quality of "Acolyte" by the inactive Cambridge, Ontario metalcore band The Intake Of Glass, but the other video didn't produce a song match on Shazam.

We'll close today with some the latest media and updates from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase Wigmore! We haven't posted much about him since the winter, the Darsombra show aside, but back in February, he posted the second part of his trilogy of "The Pit" songs under the project name Manitou, as uploaded to his "Jason Walker" YouTube channel. Part 3 was belatedly uploaded in April, and while not extreme metal, these marry his guitar prowess and alternate influences fairly well, with part 2 dipping into Black Lodge Masters-esque techno stylings, and part 3 even had clean singing layered into the track. Effectively done and accentuated with trippy visuals, so don't bypass them (or part 1!). On April 5th, Chase noted that he'd been practicing and playing a few open mic nights, but had largely been "chilling out on music" in recent months.

His long-gestating and allegedly "last" solo album "The Chaotic Rite" is 75% complete, and Chase noted that it will only run 25-30 minutes (a big drop from the prior rock opera teasers for the former "Story About A Kid Named Todd"), but his aim here is to focus on quality over quantity. His planned book on the guitar "Ars Cithara" is "mostly done" but was then on a break, still needed to be edited & restructured, and could be split up into a trilogy. Basically, Chase wanted to take time to "step back and become a human being again" rather than "focusing 95% of my time in music", but he hopes to release both by year's end. Fingers crossed! Four new non-Manitou videos have been posted online in mid-2023, including this trippy animated piece on his Facebook page set to ominous techno music (is this AI art?), plus a new original song named "From Beyond The Clouds" featuring dark but cleanly sung vocals.

While not extreme metal, it's certainly an intense and well layered song with some eerie background effects that are accentuated by the images of forests and bad weather, so give it a listen above! The others have Chase performing unplugged on camera, including his older original drinking song named "Running Out Of Beer" and, as embedded below, him playing his song "The Guilt & Shame Of Being" from his most recent album, last fall's "We Are All Going To Die". This one is heavily filtered in monochrome and layered with dark imagery, but both songs play into Chase's live free-wheeling intensity and passion, and it's good to see him rocking out, so check everything out for yourselves above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

New Videos, The Return Of Exploring Detritus, And More Recent News!!

News has been piling up as of late, so let's clear some of that backlog on this Saturday afternoon, including a surprise band reunion, a few new videos, and teasers of a local band's upcoming plans here & in their new hometown. Here's what you should know!

Did you miss local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's local return gig on Tuesday night at the Mane St. Cafe? Never fear, as Mike live-streamed the whole thing to his YouTube channel! The 2+ hour video features Mike playing every single song from his two Thompson-era studio albums front to back (except for "This Page Intentionally Left Blank", which he did not actually play on), and he helpfully tagged each song by it's start point in the video at this link if you want to jump to a specific one! During the intermission (fittingly after his play-through of "If Ever Comes The Day"), Mike does talk directly to live-stream viewers and features a cameo from Bizotic/No Arrow alum Brad Griffth (a.k.a. Gortium85), while his encore featured two new songs for his next planned album, namely "I've Seen It Before" & "To Be With You". Of course, expect lots of casual and jokey banter between songs too!

The video proper is filmed from a side-stage angle, primarily just focusing on Mike, but the audience sounds receptive in the cafe, and long-time fans of Mike's local music in the 2010s will definitely have been happy to see him back on stage after a 2+ year pandemic-assisted break, if unplugged! Also, this did not replace his monthly live-streamed concert on Facebook, that will actually take place on Wednesday with guest Southern Ontario musician Nick Powell, his first interview guest who's not from the Soo. Tune in at 7:00 PM then, and check out Mike's local return concert below!

Next up, here's a band reunion I did not see coming, as local death metal group Exploring Detritus have reunited! Better previously known as Kaepora Gaebora, readers may be familiar with them from their mid-2010s run which saw them play at a handful of live gigs in 2016, notably opening for Foam at The New A, and also featuring at Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger's birthday show at The Oddfellows Hall. After changing their name to Exploring Detritus that December, band updates drastically slowed down in 2017, and they fell inactive in 2018, hence why I didn't expect that they'd suddenly return like this! Assuming the same members from their original run have stuck around, Exploring Detritus likely still feature ex-Undead Warriors drummer Joey Graham on vocals, former Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Soiliere, and bassist Jeph Brown, but they have confirmed two changes.

Joining Exploring Detritus 2.0 is new second guitarist Ryan St. Pierre (replacing the already departed Daeson Lesage), while former Them drummer Anthony Boudreau has rejoined the group to replace Kevin Overton, after being this band's original drummer when they launched as Debt To The Heirless in 2015. A reason for Kevin's exit wasn't announced, but again, it's been 4+ years. After announcing their return & plans to write new original music on their Facebook page on Thursday, they shared this video of Anthony working on a song of theirs. What we hear sounds promising, if isolated, so stay tuned for much more on Exploring Detritus' surprise reunion when it comes out!

Also today, here's some more recent updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT! A press release about the band went to the website Rock & Roll Canada yesterday, which does acknowledge that they used to be known as Jack Spades, but aside from listing Frightlight as another band of J.D.'s, there's no mention of the Soo here. According to the press release, Spades GT have new songs in their setlist that are planned for inclusion in a full length album coming "later this year", but they have yet to confirm if recording sessions have begun or not. Upcoming shows are also listed, and while they were mostly already known, Spades GT did reveal that they'll be "co-headlining" the Northern Vibe Festival in nearby Ophir this year! Of course, J.D. curated the lineup for last year's River Stage, where Frightlight played as a featured band after their own lengthy hiatus, so this all lines up pretty well!

No word on performance dates yet (be advised that organizers never released a full schedule for the bands last year), but this year's installment takes place from August 26th-28th, and last year, Frightlight headlined on the Friday. Regardless of day, this will be (Jack) Spades' first local concert in almost three years, so fans won't wanna miss out, and stay tuned for Northern Vibe updates when they roll in!

Finally for today, remember how local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's new original song "Long Hair (Longer Nights)" was recently used as bumper music on Hockey Night In Canada? Well, it kinda happened again during the Toronto Maple Leafs' home game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, as the song was played over the public address system during a play stoppage late in the second period! If you were watching the game on TSN4, you may have recognized the song, and a band member (I assume) filmed the moment for this video, exclusively uploaded to their Twitter page. At the time that The Northwest came on the P.A., Toronto led the game 2-1, and they eventually won 5-2. More solid provincial exposure for The Northwest, and if you want info as to getting your own music considered for similarly related usage, contact them for details, as they got on somehow. Give their latest NHL TV appearance a watch below!

Hey @MapleLeafs you know why you won tonight eh? It’s because you played our song Long Hair (Longer Nights) during the second period. I mean I’m not saying it’s a good luck charm buuuttt… @Sportsnet @hockeynight #longhairlongernights #thepackisrunning #thewolvesarehowling pic.twitter.com/squDkVPFzb

— The Northwest (@thenorthwest705) April 20, 2022

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood), Skeyes Of Seven Updates, And Much More!!

With an extremely SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to touch on, here's one more news post for your Saturday, but check out this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post from earlier today below! To fill things out, we also have some recent performance videos, and some assorted news and updates in this post as well, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to Reggie's West (the former Roosevelt Hotel) TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! Profuse apologies for missing last night's show, and the short notice for TONIGHT's, we only first heard about them via members' personal Facebook pages last night, too late to rush a post, but we did acknowledge them via our Facebook page. Typically, Mourning Wood only snubs their downtown Reggie's shows for public online promotion, but also, note that they haven't played at "The Reggievelt" since April (that I know of), so this is a recently unique weekend in & of itself. Drummer Glen Thomas indicated on his personal Facebook page that this would likely be Mourning Wood's last concert weekend of 2016, so if you want one more chance to take in their classic rock & often heavy covers, you know where to be TONIGHT!

There is no admission fee for this show, which has a likely 10:00 PM start time and a 19+ age limit. Check the above links for more details, here's Mourning Wood live, and apologies again for missing last night's show, we'd have covered it on here had we known about it even a few hours sooner!



Next up, here's a pair of new videos from local hard rock band Skeyes of Seven! If you recall their live-streamed performance video from their Facebook page from November 6th, then you'll get the idea from these two, as the Sense of Truth successors did two more live in-studio videos of this kind last month! Apologies again for not covering these on here sooner, it's tough when they don't give any advance word before going live that they're even doing this. Unlike their first live stream, these are in an acoustic setting with the guys (save for singer Cory Murchison) playing while seated, and the continued lack of a drummer doesn't hurt in this format. However, both videos do feature four performers, as an uncredited guitarist is seen playing beside bassist Alain Fletcher in both clips. He's a solid player, and has a beard to match, but who is he, and is he a new permanent band member? If we get any confirmation, we'll let you know!

The latter video features Skeyes of Seven covering Led Zeppelin's "Going to California", though note that I had trouble playing it with audio on the Firefox browser. The earlier video (embedded below) features Skeyes of Seven covering three songs, namely Incubus' "11 AM" & "Mexico", and Tool's "Schism". These are solidly performed covers in a more reserved setting, with Incubus working well in particular, but "Schism" needs electric instruments for maximum effectiveness. Give that live stream video a look below, and stay tuned for more on Skeyes of Seven!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, venue, or event name:

• New local alternative punk quartet A Dire Setback have been named as the local openers for the Blood Guy-headlined punk rock bingo concert at The New American Pub on Tuesday, December 27th! Our source is the official Facebook event page earlier today. It'll be nice to see this promising new band in their New A debut and first union between Six, Two, Oh. and Live705, so look for them then!
• In an update to one of the photographers in our link section of them (specifically, ones that have/do photograph musicians), we have updated the link for Brian Tremblay Photography, as the previously linked page now just says that he left photography and moved on to another career... but this website implies otherwise, with portfolios, contact info, and everything else at the ready. In any event, our photography links are all fine again now!
• Sault Michigan concert venue The Corner Pub Bar & Grill closed at some point last year (complete with Facebook page deletion), and it's site at 100 West Portage Avenue was re-opened in March as the 1668 Winery & Lockside Brewery. The venue is still hosting live music, but from what I've seen, 1668 Winery leans towards acoustic acts (among them, Half Stupid alums Zac Crook & Matt Williams.) The Corner Pub was a popular venue for hard rock bands in it's heyday, and while we hadn't covered a show there since 2013, hopefully the winery can host some heavier music down the road! As a result, we have removed The Corner Pub from our venue links.
• Sault Ontario death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora have quietly changed their name to Exploring Detritus, as per their Facebook page yesterday. A reason for the name change (their second, after launching as Debt To The Heirless) wasn't announced, but for what it's worth, this band hasn't played live in almost 6 months. The new name isn't bad, and hopefully this is a sign that the guys will play live again soon! For the record, "detritus" is a Latin term used to describe waste or debris in various contexts, often organic matter.
• Former Blackberries frontman Norm Rosteck is looking for a drummer for a three piece rock band that he's forming, which would play both originals and covers from the likes of The Damned, The Black Crowes, and The Black Keys, among others ("old punk" was also a cited genre to tackle.) If you're interested in trying out, message Norm at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from November 25th!
• Blue Chinese metal crash punk veterans Sykotyk Rampage have released another free "album" to their Reverbnation page! Entitled "Sanctuarium", it's considered the band's 60th album, it uniquely features 6 songs that all run for at least 8 minutes in length, and the band describes it as "a cult religious fusion metal thought control experience." You could call this one of their most experimental yet least provocative collections of songs yet, so give "Sanctuarium" a listen above, and headphones are recommended!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes next week! Thanks everyone!

Apocalypse Afterparty EP Updates, Plus New Kiss & Kaepora Gaebora Videos!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing two shows from Sault Michigan-area blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 for coverage on here, as they played at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley on August 27th and then at The Strongs Motel & Tavern this past Saturday. The band only plugged each show once via their Facebook page, but regardless, I should have found out about them at the time, so I profusely apologize for not plugging them here. I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen again, and hopefully the shows were great! Now, this post features some interesting album notes and new videos, so let's get things rolling!

Remember how Sault Ontario rap/metal project The Apocalypse Afterparty were ramping up teasers & postings regarding their debut EP "Bufflesnort"? Well, we can confirm much more on it now, as I was delivered a premium press kit yesterday by the band. How premium are we talking? Well, how about having the EP contained in a floor tom drum that was played by ex-drummer Steve Mozarowski (a.k.a. X) at last year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands semifinals!? Lying under the drum skin was a Blackberry Bold 9900 phone with charging cable, earplugs (presumably for my protection), plus a piece of paper detailing how to access the "Bufflesnort" EP on the phone. On this basis alone, The Apocalypse Afterparty get a 20 out of 10 for creativity! Apparently, the band are distributing the album in four formats: Online file downloads, USB sticks (in lieu of CDs), standalone cell phones, and a "premium phone" (a nicer cell phone with special packaging), which is what I received. The phone copies are on a limited basis to friends, diehard fans, and media, as far as I know.

Similarly to the setlists & manifestos distributed to judges at last year's battle, my Blackberry included a creative text document explaining the band's aims, sound, and influences, along with instructions on how to import the EP to your computer from the phone. The document says not to share, presumably to maintain it's secrecy, but if you get a phone with said file, it's a fun read! I had to import the EP to my computer via Bluetooth as it wouldn't recognize the phone via USB, but I have them now, so what can I confirm about the tracks? "Bufflesnort" contains four songs, including the previously revealed cover of Saul Williams' "Reparations (List of Demands)" with the new title "Better Than The Hives Did It", but the three originals are entitled "4th Liner", ".500 Hockey", and "Lace 'Em Up", maintaining the hockey theme from the five album covers. It should be noted that songs from The Apocalypse Afterparty's predecessor band The Fury like "Rebel Scum" & "The Crowd" are not on this EP, even though they played them live, and "The Crowd" was recorded for the EP in it's early stages.

As for the band's drummer position, I might as well note that tracks on the EP were performed by frontman Z, ex-drummer Amber McKay, and someone named "Sven" (full identity unclear), but it's not clear who is on what song. "Bufflesnort" hasn't been officially released yet, but this unique release method and pre-promotion definitely has fans talking, and I definitely have never received an album inside of a concert-used drum before! "4th Liner" is the second publically revealed song from The Apocalypse Afterparty's social media pages, so check it out via the above links and "songwriter" Paul Stanghetta's YouTube channel below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Next up, here's a new concert video find from Kiss' outdoor headlining show at Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan in July 2007! I have double checked, this is neither a video we covered on the SMS before, or a re-posting of a currently available YouTube upload, so if you're a fan of the New York hard rock legends, don't bypass this video! Uploaded by YouTube user Spacemanacelive last month as part of numerous other Kiss tour video postings, this was filmed right near the front of the stage, and it features Kiss playing their first three songs of that show ("Detroit Rock City", "Deuce", and "Makin' Love"), so visit each individual song title to see a specific track. Though the video is fairly shaky at points, the audio is nice and clear, and it's great to see this footage at last! Watch out for the explosions during "Detroit Rock City" though, especially if listening with headphones. You wanted the best, you got the best, so enjoy the best below, and hopefully more videos turn up from their Soo dates!



Finally, here's a new concert video find from newer Sault Ontario death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora! Filmed at The New American Pub on June 19th when they opened for Foam, bassist Jeph Brown uploaded this video of the band playing their original song "Misinterpreting the Deity" to his personal Facebook page, then shared it to the band's Facebook page afterward. Though unfortunately filmed on the vertical cell phone camera angle, it's a solid little clip that captures Kaepora Gaebora in good & brutal form! I'm unsure where they've been in the past 3 months (they never even plugged this show on Facebook), but check out their newest video footage below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Astral Gunk, The Din, And Mourning Wood), And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's our second weekend concert preview post for this weekend, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including some on SHORT NOTICE), plus a few more new shows for next month to fill things out! With that said, here's what you should know for this weekend & beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will reportedly return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, after previously playing there yesterday too! Apologies for the short notice, and for missing last night's show, we only got wind of the shows yesterday via members' personal Facebook pages (and remember that Mourning Wood never announce Reggie's Place shows in advance publically for one reason or another.) Playing their first solo shows in almost a month (though they played at the Redneck Rock Bash two weeks ago), these will be Terry, Steven, Paul, and Glen's first dates at the original downtown Reggie's since the May 7th weekend. I wish they'd plug their Reggie's shows publically, but fans should take to Mourning Wood again TONIGHT & TOMORROW, and I hope yesterday's show went well! There's no announced cover charges for these 19+ shows, which have 9:30 PM-ish start times. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, here's some more new shows coming up next month, including a unique event at The Gore Street Cafe on Wednesday, July 6th that will be headlined by Sackville, New Brunswick "punk gnar-wave garage psych" quartet Astral Gunk in their local debut! A talented genre-melding blend of old school punk rock and multiple retro-leaning genres have blended into a strong chaotic attack that should provide a solid capper on July 6th, so be sure to check Astral Gunk out! Opening will be The Leash Kids, the pageless experimental/rap duo from venue co-owner Sam Decter and rapper Mikey Thomas that debuted at Redneck Rock Bash II earlier this month, and while they're not a perfect genre match, they should deliver an entertaining opening set! A "pay what you can" event like most Gore Street Cafe shows, this is an ALL AGES event, and the show will start at 7:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for any further details!

In another new concert, local alternative hard rock standouts The Din and Id Iota will hit the stage at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, July 16th at the venue's second straight Rotaryfest Stage 2 afterparty show! Though not 100% stated on the Facebook event page, this strongly hints that the two bands will be making their first appearances at Rotaryfest's all-original second stage this year, joining Gnaeus & K.I.C.K. on the bill, but we await finite information on the date and schedule from the festival before plugging that on here. In any event, it's great to see the former Second Stage promoters hosting another afterparty, and The Din and Id Iota are a nice compliment with lots of talent between them! For reference sake, while we've seen The Din often since, this is Id Iota's first announced local concert since their local CD release show in April, but the band did play a private family event last month.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ show, which starts at 9:00 PM, but remember, the two bands are likely for the Second Stage, so if you want to see them earlier, outdoors, and without age constraints, head down to Clergue Park beforehand! Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more on Rotaryfest soon, plus The Din's next show on Tuesday!

Finally for today, here's our likely last concert preview of the weekend, as London sludge/punk trio Foam will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT when they headline at The New American Pub! Fans of sludge metal and noise rock should take to Foam's grungy, brutal sound on Sunday during this stop on their "West Toast Tour", so don't miss out if this sound is up your alley for your weekend plans! Newer local death metal duo Twistory (featuring Pillory & Faceityoureametalband alumni) will provide some of their own brutality as openers, so if you haven't seen them yet, keep their set in mind! New local death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora (featuring Bring the Fallen and RedD Monkey alumni) will kick off the show with their own metal assault, so don't be late for them either! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's, despite it's short length, the only Foam concert video that I could find!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, updates, and concert previews soon! Thanks everyone!