LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Darwin Project, One Bad Son, The Thrill Junkies, And Banned), And More!!

(Updated at 12:57 PM) The news keeps on coming, so what's in store for today? Mostly LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the fall, including a live debut, an out of town package, and a pair of Sault Michigan-area shows, but we have some assorted other notes too, so read on below for what you should know, starting with the new shows in rough chronological order!

I apologize for the late notice on this, but Cheboygan hard rock notables The Darwin Project will return to The Corner Pub Bar & Grill in Sault Michigan TONIGHT! This show (which isn't on their Reverbnation page's schedule) was only just announced on their Facebook page this morning. Unless I missed any in the interim, this will be their first local stop in over a year, last playing a parking lot party at The Corner Pub in August 2012. At least this time, I heard about the show before it happened, so we can get a late push for it! With a growing profile, their "Beautiful" EP, and numerous Michigan and midwestern US dates under their belts in recent months, it'll be great to have The Darwin Project back in the Soo TONIGHT, so keep it in mind if you're across the river! A 9:30 PM start time is in effect, there's no cover charge announced, and you must be 21 to attend, though I'm not positive on if this will be an outdoor parking lot gig again or not. Check the above links for more details, don't miss the return of The Darwin Project TONIGHT, and for a preview, here they are playing their song "Saviour" live in Alpena in April!



Next up, local classic/hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies will make their Sault Ontario debuts this month with at least three shows, including their first ever stops at The Nicolet Tavern one week from today, followed by their Roosevelt Hotel debuts on September 20th & 21st! Though the band previously played in Spanish as part of the Rock N' Roar festival & their connected battle of the bands, these will be our first live local glimpses at this new band, who feature 4 of Turner Up & Havadder's collective 2012 members, alongside Redundant's Justin Langlois on bass. There's been a lot of advance hype for this new band (especially if you didn't see them in Spanish), but I'm hearing very good things for their heavier cover blend and their reported original intentions, so keep their Soo debut in mind! Both next weekend's Nic show and their Rosie dates have 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits, so click here & here for more details, and stay tuned for updates from their camp as they roll in!

And just for reference sake, Havadder have been resurrected with a new lineup, with longtime singer/guitarist Jason Roy joined by guitarist Jamie July, the returning Lucas Bugyra on bass, and Jack Spades/Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case. Nice to see Jason keeping Havadder alive, and stay tuned in case they have some metal or hard rock covers to feature on here!

Also in September concerts, Kinross, Michigan hard rockers Banned have announced their next local gig, though not for this weekend, as they'll return to Todd's Tavern in nearby Moran on Saturday, September 14th (one week from tomorrow!) This will be their first announced stop at this regular venue for them since May, so if you've missed the Traynors and company in Moran, keep next weekend's show in mind! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and there's an earlier start time of 8:00 PM for it. Click here for more details on it and their other upcoming dates, including their previously announced Sault Kewadin stops on the 20th & 21st, and (in a completely new alert) a show in... Grand Rapids?! Yes, they'll play their furthest "job" yet on September 28th when they play at The Last Chance Tavern & Grill in Michigan's second largest city, so check the above links for more info on this huge opportunity! I have no idea how that came about, but best of luck for sure, and keep an eye out for this varied band's next news!

Finally in new heavier concert announcements, Saskatoon/Vancouver hard rock quartet One Bad Son will hit The Rockstar Bar on Friday, October 18th as openers for Toronto rock supergroup Crash Karma! Almost 3 years after their first local stop at The Canadian, Crash Karma (featuring Our Lady Peace, Tea Party, I Mother Earth, and Zygote alumni) have a wealth of experience and talent under their belts, so don't miss their material and entertaining live show, especially if you love 1990s Canadian rock music! However, One Bad Son will inject a heavier edge into the proceedings like Desperate Union did in 2010, with a 1970s southern rock flavour to add to their hard modern rock sound, and they should be a welcome sight at The Rockstar Bar next month as well! Tickets are $12 in advance at The Rockstar Bar/Algonquin Hotel or at The Rad Zone, while they'll cost $16 at the door. This event is 19+, and doors will open at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great concert for rock fans, with a little hard rock to go around, so keep it in mind for next month, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

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

• Frightlight guitarist Rick "Styles" White is opening guitar lessons classes at Superior Hodge Podge at 138 Gore Street on September 15th! The basic rate is $15 for each half hour, but you can save a bit if you sign up early, so call the shop at (705) 450-1255 or message Rick at this link if you're interested in learning how to play guitar!
• Redundant bassist (and current Frightlight guest performer) James White is looking to write stuff for a new local music project, but any other specifics are vague. This could be intriguing if it does lead to new original material, so message James at this link if you're interested, or check out his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Sunday!
• In a recent interview with the women's metal webzine Sonic Cathedral, Theatre of Night singer Gaby Koss briefly discussed her work with the local classical metal band among her numerous other foreign music projects, and there's some good discussions about her varied & prolific singing work there, so click here for the full article! (Note that it's shared with one of her collaborators in other projects, Carlos Mosquera.)

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news & notes soon! Thanks everyone!

Crash Karma/Desperate Union Concert Review, Plus More News!!

As promised, it's time for my review from last night's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! That's the main story today, but I have some extra shorter news to include at the end, so stay tuned for that! But now, here's my review!

Firstly, I want to thank Jay Perron for the complimentary tickets for the show! Very nice of him! Despite doors opening at 9:30 PM last night at The Canadian Nightclub, nothing got started until an hour later, and while I waited for some friends that I promised tickets to, I believe I overheard some troubling things about the show's status from some staffers near the tour buses. I don't know specifics, but nothing bad happened, except maybe a bit of a delay. Your openers were Desperate Union, and they weren't bad at all! For kids this young, they show a lot of talent and are sure to grow into something special as time goes on! Their sound reminds me of a lot of radio hard rock bands, but they put their own melodic spin on things, and it works out well for them! Singer/guitarist Alen Worsoff has a nice voice that works well in heavy and soft ways, though I imagine he'll get better and deeper with age! Good stage presence too, and he seemed very grateful and happy to be there, along with the rest of the band! Drummer Jason Pierce, despite an odd stage placement on the far left, really impressed me with his movements and energy on the drums, while guitarist Adam Spears and bassist Kyle Teixeira both performed well on their respective instruments!

I especially liked their songs "Don't Forget Me (Angel)" and "Black & White Lies", but I do think they could stand to ramp up their heaviness and include some guitar solos. Even still, they performed a solid concise set, and they show tons of promise! Big things are likely to come to these guys, and their radio hard rock style will find lots of fans, including hopefully lots of people at last night's show!

Your headliners were Crash Karma, the Toronto pop rock supergroup featuring a number of 1990s Canadian rock veterans! Former I Mother Earth singer Edwin, ex-Our Lady Peace guitarist Mike Turner, and Tea Party drummer Jeff Burrows joined together with bassist Amir Epstein of Zygote to form this supergroup, and they delivered a good set, though I do have reservations. Their set included ten songs from their self-titled debut album, along with four classics from the members' past bands, and you know something? I honestly enjoyed their covers more than their originals. This is NOT a case of me liking what's familiar, but the Crash Karma material seems a bit too light and standard compared to what I was hoping. But when they busted out "Superman's Dead" and "Temptation", I was right at home, and they delivered on all accounts! But the new songs didn't do as much for me, though they were all very well played. I admit I was more into the Brian Byrne era of I Mother Earth, but Edwin's voice was in top form last night, as was the rest of the band! Amir Epstein deserves credit as well, his bass work was really good, and his playing style (high on his chest) was unique too!

Good stuff all around, but I wouldn't really call them "hard rock" on the basis of the Crash Karma material. But these guys are very talented, and this truly is a supergroup, so they are worth checking out! Good solid alternative pop rock, and you'd have missed a good show if you weren't there! My metal tastes did lean slightly towards Desperate Union though, but it was fun! Yes, I got photos, so click here to check out my Desperate Union shots, or visit the SMS' official Facebook page! Note that the Crash Karma picture above was NOT taken by me, I'll replace it with one I took tonight when I get home. And yes, I have a Desperate Union video, so here's the band playing their song "Black & White Lies"!



To cap off today's post, here's three smaller news stories that I've missed over the last while! As always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Garden of Bedlam have launched a brand new Facebook page! This is separate from their Facebook group, and is pretty sparse for updates so far, but it does feature a cool lengthy biography on the band and a full resolution copy of the poster for their concert on FRIDAY at The Rockstar Bar! Become a fan today by clicking here!
• When going through band links on the SMS the other day, I discovered that the website for defunct local metal band Renderware has been closed. This doesn't appear to be the band's doing, as it was hosted on Geocities, which has been shut down. The same thing happened to The White Knights' old page. Never fear, as I've replaced the link with their MySpace page, so they won't be deleted from our listings! Make note though if you notice it's gone.
• I received an e-mail recently from Riverin singer/drummer Matt Hicks. Apparently, the call for live backing musicians for their upcoming debut concert has not produced a whole lot of interest, so he was wondering if I could help get the word out again. If any of you guys play bass, drums, or keyboard, or you know someone who does, contact Riverin's members at this location for details and song previews! They deserve some great musicians, and the sooner they get them, the better!
  

That's all for today, but I have more assorted news to come very soon, so be on the lookout! Thanks everyone!