LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Spun), An Inactive Band Note, And New Videos!!

Before we post our review of last night's Live705 Easter Bash, here's a new news post for your Easter Sunday, as we tackle some recent topics and discoveries in the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes! Today, you'll find a recent concert teaser clip, a Wayne's World homage for a great cause, and a reluctant band move to our inactive links, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Marquette hard rock quartet Spun will make their local concert debuts with shows at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan on Friday, May 5th & Saturday, May 6th! In case you're not aware, Spun are basically the successors to fellow Marquette rockers Nudge, who frequented The Frog during their decade-long run, and it's great to see Tim Prisk, Bob Libick, and Bob Crawford back together on a local stage! As best as I can tell, Tim is the band's primary lead singer, with Doug Pennala enlisted as their second guitarist in place of ex-Nudge frontman Danzo McCracken. Nudge fans will be right at home with Spun, whose setlist and genre ranges are very similar, and they should fit in fine at The Frog next month, hopefully the first of many shows to come out east! You can take in Spun on May 5th & 6th at 9:00 PM, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and check out Spun above to hear what's in store for their first local stops!

Just as a related reminder, Danzo and ex-Nudge drummer Tim Kusmirek have since launched a new band named Reality Bites that play 1990s rock covers, though not as hard rock-focused as what Nudge or Spun play. Reality Bites are actually releasing an original CD soon, and have played here multiple times since launching, including at The Frog and at Kewadin Casino lounges. Keep Reality Bites in mind to see what Danzo and Tim are up to!

Next up, we have a band to soon move to our inactive band links, they being Sault Ontario punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards. Public updates last came to their Facebook page one year ago this coming Tuesday in a post hyping that they hit 400 likes, and beyond that, The Billys have only played one public concert since the end of 2013, when their full quintet lineup travelled to Ophir to perform at the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in August 2015. Over their decade-long (though increasingly sporadic) run in the local scene, The Billy Bastards became a fan favourite sight with fans of punk and country alike, notably headlining The Rockstar Bar's first ever concert, opening for notable local and out of town acts, and competing at 2009's Kiss Battle of the Bands (in which many fans still think they should have made the finals.), Their three CDs were all popular releases locally as well, if elusive to find online in a full copy, but hopefully we can review one on here soon.

While I'm not an ardent fan of country music, The Billys melded it with punk as well as you can imagine, giving the punk swagger and aggression to their originals in a way that worked with fans of either genre, as attendance of their packed concerts will attest! Given the band's late-era nature, a reunion set could occur at any time, but for now, best of luck to Aaron, Greg, Paul, John and Charlie in the future, and don't miss John with Destroilet!

Closing with new videos,  here's a charity video of Case's Music employees covering Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" a'la Wayne's World! Part of the ARCH Hospice's Cartime Karaoke Challenge where local businesses and teams sing karaoke in a car a'la the popular James Corden segments, this video features Case's Music staffers Carrie Suriano, Jake Rendell (Machines Dream), Josh Norling (The Elements), and Jenny Gauvreau (Honest Job) alongside Cartime Karaoke host and LopLops bartender Leo Moore, who picked them up and drove for the duration. Competing teams will have a final faceoff at Dragonfly Day on June 17th downtown at the canal, so click here for full details on the event and how you can donate or attend. Dressed the part with flannel shirts, ball caps, and even drum sticks and a mini-keyboard, this is a fun rendition that overcomes a slightly nervous and uneasy opening, and it's well worth checking out whether you're a fan of Case's Music, Queen, Wayne's World, or The Late Late Show, and you can check it out below!



Finally, here's an amusing teaser video for last night's Electric Church headlining set at Live705's Easter Bash, courtesy of their Facebook page yesterday afternoon! Apologies for this being late on here, it came when we didn't have time to rush a post to include it. The clip features the fathers of frontman Spencer Pine and bassist Elijah Nielsen hyping the show in lieu of their sons, and while some of the information is a little muddled, this is an amusing and unexpected way to hype the concert! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for our review of the show proper next!



That's all for now, but once again, look for our review of Live705's Easter Bash on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Internet Radio Station, New Videos, And The Suicide Kings + Karaoke?

I'm back from St. Joseph Island a day earlier than expected, so we have a new news post for you guys today covering stuff missed over the break! In this post, we have new videos from both sides of the border, an intriguing new live karaoke project from some familiar faces, and first, news concerning a new addition to our local radio roster that you might find intriguing, so read on below for what you need to know, and make sure to read our Jack Spades EP review and 5150DOA YouTube Channel Profile that both went up as auto-posts over the last few days!

If you've been following SooToday recently, you may have noticed that two of their recent polls related to music, specifically one poll about if you'd listen to a local internet radio station, and a follow-up relating to readers' musical preferences (country & rock ran away with almost 60% of the votes combined.) Well, the polls weren't just hypothetical, as SooToday's Facebook page has revealed that their parent company Village Media is currently developing an online streaming radio station called VM Radio! Plans are for it to have a local focus and planned airtime for local original music, so if you're interested in submitting your own music for consideration on this station, drop them off at 642 Queen Street East (or via the mailing address on Facebook), or e-mail digital copies to arts@sootoday.com. No word on a launch date, programming details, or anything similar yet, but we'll keep you posted, especially in regards to possible hard rock/metal inclusion!

This won't be the first internet radio station founded in the Soo (Energy Rock Radio launched here before moving to British Columbia), but a local news-backed station that could serve as an alternative to the current FM stations would be a nice addition! Myself, I'd like to see a variety for everyone so that it attracts as wide an audience as possible, but keep an eye out for how VM Radio shapes up in the coming months!

Next up, while not technically a new local band in the traditional sense, all 4 members of local hard rock band The Suicide Kings (Mike Gaetano, Steven Flint, Mitch Sirie, and Ben Boudreau) have announced a new live music project named URawk that will serve as the hosts of Sault Ontario's first ever karaoke night with a live backing band rather than pre-recorded tracks! Covering genres from metal to country, they have a wide setlist ready for fans to come on stage and sing along with, while you can also request songs for the guys to learn in advance of one of their live appearances, and cash prizes are also planned. Current plans involve Urawk hosting live karaoke nights at The Rednecks Saloon (the former Nicolet Tavern) each Thursday at 10:00 PM for the foreseeable future, though no word yet on if we'll see them at other venues or on other days. Their debut night will be on Thursday, June 26th, and their wide ranging setlist (which has a number of metal songs, but doesn't emphasize them) is sure to grow, especially if URawk takes off!

No word yet on what roles Mike will serve with URawk, especially as the emphasis is on karaoke singers to sing with the band, but Mike is a guitar player too, so he could take on that role if need be. I've heard of the live band karaoke concept in bigger cities, and I'm very curious to see how well it goes, as this could be a way for many local music fans to let out their inner rock star without the band commitment, or maybe test the waters to get involved in a band further! You should know how talented The Suicide Kings are, and hopefully they bring the same intensity and focus to URawk, so keep their debut in mind next month!

We'll close today with new videos, including a new preview video relating to Sault Michigan-area label Werehold Records' next Friday the 13th music posting spree next month, this time courtesy of label owner & Life's Eclipse frontman Jason Mills! Posted to the label's YouTube channel on Friday, this is a 39 second clip of Jason playing guitar for a new Life's Eclipse original that will be unveiled on June 13th, playing overtop backing programmed drums. Short, but it's a nice tease for the new material to come, so give it a look!



Finally, Pillory/Crimson Crusade guitarist Robert Sartini posted another solo guitar cover onto his YouTube channel on Wednesday! This time, he covered Dying Fetus' "Your Treachery Will Die With You", and though you can barely hear his guitar over the original backing track, he definitely knows this brutal death metal track well, and it shows in the clip! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from his channel and band work!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, plus this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: vflindall & sisuunicorn705's Channels

After a couple days marred by remembrances of two fallen metal musicians, we could use a pick-me-up post, so here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As always, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, so you guys can know more about them, the contents, and why you should watch and subscribe to each. This month, we're looking at two Sault Ontario-specific channels that, though not featuring the highest quality videos, are both notable in their own ways, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! (Edited on October 16th, 2013)
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vflindall's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vflindall)

Owner: YouTube user and Toronto resident V. Flindall (full identity not clear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 10th, 2008; Videos posted on January 14th, 2009

Channel Summary: Though not from Sault Ste. Marie from what I can tell, V. Flindall's YouTube channel consists entirely of 11 videos from a January 2009 concert at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto, which featured defunct local hardcore punk quartet Detroit! Capturing at least a half hour of their set, the included videos feature Detroit playing most of the songs from their 2008 demo "Let The Hammers Fly" (save for "Shithouse Ratt" & "KilloRama"), along with "Pyre Driver" & "Bloodlet" from their second/final disc "Brace For Impact", a couple of unreleased originals named "Inhuman Macheens" & "Earthbound", and covers of 7 Seconds & Minor Threat material. As Detroit were known for their very short original songs, four of the posted videos feature two songs each.

Why Should You Watch: I'd check this out to see one of Detroit's earliest concerts, and to enjoy their old school fast paced hardcore fury from a good viewing angle! However, these videos are not of the highest quality, with staticy audio, too warm lighting, and a visibly low resolution, with singer Brenton Ellis' vocals noticeably hard to pick out at times, so if you want higher quality videos, these might not be what you want. (If you want a higher quality alternative for live Detroit videos, try dnahahaha's YouTube channel.) Note as well before subscribing that V. Flindall hasn't used their YouTube channel in at least 3 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

DETROIT Lord, Beer Me Strength / Pyredriver '88 : It's hard to pick just one video of Detroit's originals from this channel, so I settled on the one with the most music, that being the third last clip from V. Flindall's uploads, which features Detroit playing their originals "Lord Beer Me Strength" & "Pyre Driver", the latter of which had yet to be released on CD. Brent, Curtis, Mark, and Mikey are in full brutality on the former song, while the latter sees their more punk influenced style, and Brent's on stage charisma & crowd banter are as good as you'd expect! If only the video quality was better overall.



DETROIT Walk Together Rock Together (7SECONDS): The most viewed video on V. Flindall's channel (and the last) is Detroit's cover of 7 Seconds' "Walk Together Rock Together", which is only slightly longer than most of their originals. The quality is similar to the other videos on this channel, but if you can get past the quality issues, the guys pump out a solid cover here, and their energy's on full display!


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sisuunicorn705's channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/sisuunicorn705)

Owner: YouTube user & likely Sault Ontario resident sisuunicorn705 (real name unknown)

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 8th, 2012; Videos posted from then through August 25th, 2012

Channel Summary: I'm not sure who sisuunicorn705 is, but kudos to her for making it to The Canadian Nightclub on August 24th, as ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was there for karaoke night! He was in Sault Ste. Marie that weekend to shoot scenes for the new movie "Swearnet" with cast members of The Trailer Park Boys, and while in town, one of his stops was at The Canadian, where he and Mike "Bubbles" Smith celebrated his early birthday with some karaoke, and 1:55 of their rendition of AC/DC's "TNT" is in this video! This is admittedly more notable for the circumstances of it all & seeing Sebastian locally in a non-concert setting, as it is cut short, and has VERY loud & staticy audio (so make sure to turn down your volume), but it's still awesome to see this! Note however that sisuunicorn705's only other video is of her cat talking to birds, which is cute, but has no music connections.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! So, what's coming up next month in this series? We're gonna take a look at former Amethyst/Meatplow drummer Phil Temperao's YouTube channel, which features three solo videos from early last year, including songs from his most recent project Sebastien 6, so look out for this profile on or around January 22nd! Stay tuned as well for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!