The Gnar-BQ Concert Review!!

It's time for our latest concert review at the SMS, as I went to yesterday's Gnar-BQ outdoor concert/skateboarding event at the Queen Elizabeth Park skatepark! In terms of the event itself, it was basically a half-sequel to Tidal Records' Go Skateboarding Day event in June, with a similar lineup and presentation to that event, just slightly pared down. Hot dogs & water were available on donation, Tidal Records and the bands had merchandise on sale, and there was a good (if up & down) turnout of skaters, bikers, scooter riders, and more taking in the skatepark, and everyone looked like they had fun! You may have even seen a few familiar musicians hit the ramps as well, if you kept an eye out. Before the bands fully began, members of The Din and K.I.C.K. joined forces during the tuning and set-up for an impromptu cover of Gnaeus' "Lovers", and it didn't sound too bad! It'd be nice to see bands cover other local bands more often, and Mike handled the vocals well!

The first band up yesterday was local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., who showed why they won this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands with a strong set of original material! Playing a series of original songs like "Highway 17", "Stranded", and "Burning Desire", complete with their fan favourite cover of The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face", the Keep it Cool Kids had a solid set that lived up to their past reputations, with Simon Shearsby's melodic vocals and Tyson Letang's strong guitar work matching up well! Very nice chemistry with the guys, and they kept the stage banter up well (complete with full song introductions) but they could have been a little more animated on stage, and I will say that, at times, their music didn't seem like the typical "skateboarding music". K.I.C.K. are definitely continuing their local rise, and hopefully they maintain their skilled material!

Second up was local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, who preceded their set with a surprise rendition of The Tragically Hip's "Blow at High Dough", which was a nice surprise, as you don't often see local non-cover bands tackle The Hip! Otherwise, fans saw The Din play basically their entire debut studio album "Give In To The Din", whose release concert was actually their last live appearance before The Gnar-BQ. If you're familiar with Mike, Tammy, and Brandan, then you'll know that they delivered a fun and high energy set yesterday, with strong grasps on their familiar material, and Mike and Brandan had some funny banter, Tammy laid down some solid guitar solos, and everyone had fun with the extended jam at the end of "A Drive Through the Peninsula". Quality set, and hopefully The Din delivered similarly at LopLops last night too!

Rather than play briefly between each band, Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson took the stage for a full hour-long set after The Din wrapped up, and kept the music flowing with lots of vinyl mixing and spinning for the occasion! The theme appeared to be "weird" music, with DJ Seith indicating that many of the songs being spun were weird finds of his from vinyl record purchases, and as a result, I didn't know most of the sampled material (though Run DMC came up late though during a rap section, and at least one band was an act Seith had seen at LopLops.) Given the nature of DJ Seith's live performances, you can't entirely be sure what you'll hear, as he can mix any two songs together, but he knows what he's doing and makes them work into some fun mixes, and attendees seemed to enjoy his set! Don't bypass DJ Seith for some creative turntable action!

After the removal of the tent atop the ramp (I wonder why?), local post-punk quartet Gnaeus hit the stage as headliners, bookending this show with each VM Radio Battle winner!  Playing a mixture of original songs from their debut album "Meditations" like "Fire", "The Edge", and "Circles", Gnaeus also broke out their new original "Electricity" and what appeared to be a cover of The Gorillaz' "Tomorrow Comes Today" (nice to see them tackle some new covers!) Gnaeus were on form from past shows, with Matt Fronzi a solid presence on bass, Aaron Alessandrini reliably good on vocals and guitar, and Alex Proulx continuing to come into his own on drums! I think the guys have been more energetic and loose in concert than they were last night, but Gnaeus delivered their usual punk/arage hybrid effectively, and here's hoping we see more from them soon!

Overall, this was a fun concert for both music fans and skateboarders alike, and while I wish more of the former had turned out, it was a good time! Despite what the bright sunny day and my mildly sunburnt face would tell you, the weather was fine and not hot at all, and against fears of the sun + tented stage causing my pictures and videos to be too dark, they turned out fine once I saw them without sun glare. You can check out our photos at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's K.I.C.K. playing "Drift", The Din playing "Alleyways & Apartments", 4 early minutes of DJ Seith's set, and Gnaeus playing "Electricity"!









I hope you guys liked this concert review, and if all goes well, our next one will be for THIS WEDNESDAY'S Castle concert, a preview of which will likely be in our next news post! That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Finals Recap!!

At last, here's our recap of Wednesday night's VM Radio Battle of the Bands final round, and apologies again for the delay, our K.I.C.K. video upload failed twice before finally making it onto Facebook. After two weeks of intense action from 5 local bands (plus a fun guest set from Jack Spades), the contest came to a head at The Canadian Nightclub on Wednesday, and aside from the obvious high stakes, the only differences from the semifinals were in the presence of more sponsor prizes and promotional papers from The Din and K.I.C.K. on tables at the venue. Also, Tidal Records' Dustin Jones was back behind the judges table on Wednesday after being absent from last week's semifinal due to personal commitments, but as both of last week's bands advanced to the finals, he still got to see everyone compete! Wednesday also saw the best turnout of the month for attending fans, but what did everyone see? Here's what you should know!

After a random drawing coincidentally gave us all 3 bands in alphabetical order (all playing 9 songs, no less), local alternative hard rock trio and week #1 winners The Din opened the finals with a set of mostly originals like "We Met As Surrogates" and the debuting "Differences", plus covers of The Barenaked Ladies and The Beatles, with only 4 songs repeating from their semifinal set. The Din received another good reception, with Mike Haggith & Tammy Hill exploring their surroundings well during their set, but did they do enough to win their first battle of the bands? Next was local hard rock quartet (and week #2 wild cards) Eclipse, who played 5 originals like "Crywolf" and "Rebel From Above" (a renamed revival of Curtis & Daniel's old band Punch's eponymous song, and also played by Haggith), which were bookended with four covers from bands like Genesis and System of a Down. Breaking out their smoke machine once again, Eclipse had a strong set, including 4 songs not played last week, and they too had a good reception!

Indie/acoustic rock quartet (and week #2 winners) K.I.C.K. closed the night with a set that didn't stray too far from last week's song selection, with only 2 songs replaced, but they won over attendees with originals like "Silently Screaming" and "HWY 17" (which even got a few slow-dancing couples!), plus many fan favourite returning originals and their OneRepublic and The Weeknd renditions. The Keep It Cool Kids got a strong response and seemed to be having fun, complete with a surprise introduction by last year's winners in Gnaeus, but did K.I.C.K. win it all this year? After their set, judges Rob Speers, Dustin Jones, and myself convened to add up scores and determine individual award winners, and while I again won't publically reveal the final tallies, I will say that we didn't universally agree on our first place picks, though one judge had two of the bands tied.

And also, I'll confirm that the winning band edged out second place by just three points, making this (at least) the fourth judged local battle since 2009 where the winning band won by 3 points or less. If you ever wanted a sign as to how talented and competitive local artists can be, this is it! Now, here are the final results, courtesy of MC/promoter J.D. Pearce, plus the winners of this year's individual awards:

1st Place: K.I.C.K.

2nd Place: The Din

3rd Place: Eclipse

Best Vocal Performance: Curtis McKenzie (Eclipse)

Best Guitar Player: Tammy Hill (The Din)

Best Bass Player: Fred Dunn (Eclipse)

Best Drummer: Aaron Dunn (K.I.C.K.)

Best Song: K.I.C.K. - "Wanted"

After three weeks of hard fought battling, K.I.C.K. edged out The Din to claim their first battle of the bands victory in their first try, so congratulations to Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron are absolutely in order for their strong and fan pleasing performances this year! It is a coincidence that K.I.C.K. were, like Gnaeus last year, the last band in both of their battle sets, and narrowly defeated a heavier band by a small margin to win the battle? If anything, it shows how talented each band is, and how much potential the scene has! Like they did at the Speak Easy Battle earlier this month, The Din and Eclipse both finished in second & third place, but considering that The Din and 3/4ths of Eclipse (in Project 421) didn't place or make the finals in either of last year's battles, they won big from their huge turn-arounds this year alone, and Eclipse were competitive in the totals too! There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of! As for Stereo North and Heavy Head, the fourth & fifth place finishers from week #1, I do want to thank them for their entertaining sets too, they showed a lot of talent and promise!

As for the awards won last night, K.I.C.K. picked up $500 for their victory (if they won anything else for first place, it wasn't announced), while there was again no announced prize for second or third place. Curtis McKenzie overcame his cold to receive a $100 Rad Zone gift card for his second straight Best Vocal Performance award (he won with Haggith last year), while The Din's Tammy Hill & Eclipse's Fred Dunn each received a Case's Music prize package for their Best Guitar & Bass Player awards. K.I.C.K.'s Aaron Dunn matched his brother Fred with a Best Drummer award, winning a custom drum skin from Maxx Graphix, while K.I.C.K. won recording time at Tidal Records for "Wanted" as the Best Song. The Most Energetic Band and Best Fan awards didn't return from last year's battle, while the Fan Favourite Band award was apparently scuttled due to a virtual tie among the fan vote, as per J.D. in a personal conversation on Wednesday.

Overall, this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands was a great time, both for the fun of this style of event, and for my return to local concerts after 6 months away due to (ongoing) family health matters, and hopefully it won't be another 6 months before I see another live concert! Huge thanks go out to J.D. for inviting me to be a judge at this year's battle once again, it's a privilege that I was more than happy to accept, and if the call comes for next year, I'll be ready to serve if at all possible! Thanks as well to Dustin, Rob, and last week's guest judge Christian Lemay for their input, support, and professionalism this month, you were great judges once again, and I'd be happy to work with you guys again if the situation arises! Of course, thanks to all of the aforementioned sponsors who put this year's battle on (including Village Media and Labatt Breweries), and to The Canadian Nightclub proper for being a great host venue once again!

As for our videos from the battle finals, I kept up my tradition dating back to 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle by filming each finalist band's first two songs (it's the finals of a multi-night battle, they deserve the extra song!), and after some unforeseen delays, each track is now online on our Facebook page! There will be more media coming from Village Media's local news sites (SooToday and Local2), but in the meantime, here's The Din playing "In Search of the Perfect Moment" & "Cowardly Hearts Beneath The Stars", Eclipse covering System of a Down's "Hypnotize" & Billy Talent's "Fallen Leaves", and K.I.C.K. playing "Burning Desire" & "Stranded"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, more news, and this month's CD review in short order! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Reanimator & Gnaeus), Highway 63 Concert Previews, And A New Video!!

Before we post our recap of Wednesday's VM Radio Battle of the Bands (apologies for the delay, the K.I.C.K. video upload has been very problematic), let's tackle some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, our last concert previews for this weekend, and a new video from a finalist at said battle! Here's what you should know!

Montreal thrash metal quintet Reanimator will make their local concert debut when they rock The New American Pub on Sunday, April 24th! Sure to impress fans of old school thrash metal and it's new wave, Reanimator's brutal and fast paced originals have laid waste to many stages since their 2005 debut, so prepare yourself for April 24th if you've missed seeing a touring thrash metal band in the Soo! Reunited local death/thrash metal trio Pillory will open this show in their second announced concert of the year, and first outside of a battle of the bands, so if you haven't seen Robert, Jordan, and Bret's new originals, be at The New A early to take in Pillory's onslaught! A third local opening band is to be announced, we will let you know when that comes out. A presentation of Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solidly heavy show, so see above for more info, and stay tuned for update!

Next up, the winners of both last year & this year's VM Radio Battles of the Bands will unite for a special concert on Friday, April 29th at The Rockstar Bar, as local post-punk quartet Gnaeus and indie/acoustic rock quartet K.I.C.K. will join forces! Jokingly titled "Summer BASH!" despite taking place in the spring, this will be K.I.C.K.'s first announced concert since Wednesday's VM Radio Battle victory (more on that in our next post), and will mark Gnaeus' first concert of the year, plus the debut of their new lineup, as the band has parted ways with drummer Brendan Garlick. His departure is due to his move to Whitby for personal commitments in February, and while bassist Matt Fronzi confirmed to me that they have found a replacement, the band has yet to publically reveal his identity. Brendan is a solid drummer and a nice guy, and it'll be odd not seeing him behind the kit, but best of luck to him in the future, and we'll confirm their new drummer's identity when announced!

Note as well that the Facebook event page and event poster both credit John "DJ Fuels" Wardlaw as also performing on April 29th, but his set will actually be taking place downstairs at The Algonquin Pub concurrently with the bands upstairs, so if you prefer some turntable mixes, it's only a floor down! A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has a special admission fee of $10. This union of local battle of the bands winners will be a fun time for fans of these two friendly groups, who should compliment each other well next month, so see above for more details!

Also today, here's our last known concert preview for this weekend (barring anything on super late notice), as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 are scheduled to rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their last advertised shows in St. Ignace, this union of Jager, Analog Deficiency, Power Slug, and Hair Trigger alumni should have a solid weekend of familiar covers in store for fans this weekend, so don't miss out if you want some hard rock action this weekend in the E.U.P.! Note that the band hasn't plugged any concerts in advance since early last month, but we have seen nothing to indicate that these shows are off, so don't read into anything unless stated otherwise. These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Highway 63 live!



Finally for this post, here's the newest video from local alternative hard rock trio (and VM Radio & Speak Easy Battle runners-up) The Din! Posted to their Facebook page prior to Wednesday's final round of the VM Radio Battle, it's a short yet amusing video of a very "energetic" Mike Haggith and Brandan Glew prior to loading their gear for the event. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for our battle recap later today! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Finals Preview!!

After two weeks of intense action from five talented local bands, this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub will conclude TOMORROW NIGHT with the final round, where this year's remaining three bands will collide for their first battle of the bands title, so here's our extended finals preview! Like in the semifinal rounds, the finalist bands will play half hour-ish sets for attending fans, with judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself scoring them on the same criteria as in past weeks, but the stakes are ever higher! Not only will the grand prize winners be announced tomorrow, but individual awards will again be given out in varying categories, with Village Media, Tidal Records, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries among the presenting sponsors to look out for. Given how well the semifinals went, tomorrow's finals should end things with a bang, so here's some info on this year's three finalists!

The Din: After defeating Stereo North & Heavy Head in March 9th's semifinals (and finishing in second place during the next day's Speak Easy Battle), local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will look to claim their first battle of the bands victory tomorrow in their fourth try. Their new lineup has steadily impressed fans so far in 2016, but can Mike, Tammy, and Brandan claim first place tomorrow night, and make everyone give into The Din?

Eclipse: Less than a week removed from their third place run at the Speak Easy Battle, newer local hard rock quartet overcame frontman Curtis McKenzie's cold by punching their finals ticket as the wild cards after a strong performance last week. With the battle title, and a possible repeat Best Vocalist Award on the line for Curt, can he, Daniel, Fred, and Chris "eclipse" their other bands' past battle runs with their first battle victory tomorrow?

K.I.C.K.: Making their local battle of the bands debut in style last week, the Keep it Cool Kids defeated Eclipse to move on to tomorrow's finals, impressing fans with their acoustic-tinged indie rock sound and surprise covers. A rematch with Eclipse awaits tomorrow night, but The Din are also in the mix, and it's anyone's guess who will win out tomorrow, but can Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron kick their way to the VM Radio Battle crown?

Tomorrow's action also sees a rematch between K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn and his brother, Eclipse bassist Fred Dunn, while the dynamic between Din frontman Mike Haggith and Eclipse's Curt McKenzie and Daniel Horton is well known locally, as they were all in The Din's original lineup, and most notably, were bandmates in the band Haggith. The guys are on good terms, but keep that matchup in mind, especially if you miss Haggith! Of course, this year's winning band will receive a large cash prize and other prizes to be announced tomorrow, and while the rest of the individual prizes (and potential 2nd/3rd place awards) aren't announced online, you can see some of the individual awards laid out at the venue tomorrow night. As I said last year, I hope all 11 performers tomorrow will bring their A-game, leave it all on the stage, and deliver the best performance possible to win over fans and judges alike! You all worked hard to make the podium, now do what you can to reach the top of it and seize the day tomorrow night!

For attendees, tomorrow's finals have a special cover charge of $10, unless you previously bought tickets for the finals/full battle. Everything starts at 9:00 PM, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome final round, especially given the talents they have and the performances they put on in the semifinals, so don't miss out on the action! For a preview, here's our videos of each of this year's finalists, and we'll see you guys at The Canadian TOMORROW NIGHT! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands Recap (Night 2), Plus Our Review Of Jack Spades' Set!!

As you may remember, last night was the second and last semifinal of this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so like last week, here's our recap post from last night's action! Everything had a similar setup from last week's first semifinal, though Case's Music & The Rad Zone both had banners up on stage after none were put up last week. The judging panel also looked a little different compared to last week, as Tidal Records head/Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones was unable to attend night #2 due to outside commitments, so Id Iota frontman/Tidal Records skate team member Christian Lemay filled in as a guest judge. As far as I can tell, this was his first judging role at a battle of the bands, though he competed in at least two with his old band Free Beer. Christian filled in nicely, and also filmed some of the performances last night for his personal Facebook page, so visit his personal Facebook page to give them a look if you're a friend of his!

Also, just as an aside, Dustin Jones and The Rising Tide will play their first announced show of the year TONIGHT at Peddler's Pub in Sudbury! In lieu of recent live drummers Clint Wilson or Cooper Hannahson, The Tide have enlisted The Lake Effect's Chris Johns to fill in behind the kit tonight, as per personal Facebook postings. He's a fitting choice given their own Tidal Records ties! Click here for more details, and hopefully we see The Rising Tide back on the local stage soon!

After a random drawing, the first band competing last night was newer local modern/hard rock quartet Eclipse, who played a 9 song set including 5 covers (from bands like System of a Down and Led Zeppelin) and 4 original songs, including the brand new "Crywolf" (no space) and three songs recycled from Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton's old band Haggith ("Metal Cage", "Wasted", and "Silver Bullet".) Though Curt's voice was affected by a cold, they got a good reception from attending fans, and the smoke machine didn't hurt at all, but did they advance to next week's finals? The last competing band was local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in their battle of the bands debut, and they played a set of 7 original songs (like "Drift", "Burning Desire", and "Time It Out") and covers of One Republic and The Weeknd, with a brief Justin Bieber(?!) aside in the former!

Featuring all four band members in bandanas, K.I.C.K. seemed to win over the crowd, though they didn't have as many fans on the floor as Eclipse had. Before we get into the final scores from last night, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades took the stage for their second concert of the year, and as they weren't competing in the battle (frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting the event), I got to shed my judge label for their set, making this my first proper concert review with photos since September! Jack Spades played original songs like "Motorwolf", "To The Left", and "Frederick" alongside Ripcordz and SNFU covers, and while the fan turnout on the floor wasn't terribly high, J.D. came out onto the floor to interact with fans and sing with his usual punk-tinged aggression!  Everyone was on form last night from when I last saw Jack Spades, with Justin Lam strong on bass as usual, and Jesse Cook laid down some solid guitar solos throughout!

It was nice to get back into the concert reviewer mode for Jack Spades' set, and fans seemed to enjoy everything! Also, J.D. noted that their first song last night, "Crossroads", was filmed at their Speak Easy Battle set last week by guest judge Christian Lemay for an upcoming Shaw TV segment, so we'll have to see how that turns out when it airs! As for last night's battle results, judges Rob Speers, Christian, and myself tabulated the scores after K.I.C.K.'s set, and while I won't reveal individual scores, I will say that we all agreed on who won, so who won last night's semifinal?

....K.I.C.K.! Yes, the Keep It Cool Kids have punched their ticket for next week's finals, giving this quartet a guaranteed podium finish in their first local battle! Not bad considering that the guys haven't been in any recent battles in this or another band, and we'll see how they do next week! As for the wild card spot, who will join K.I.C.K. and week 1 winners The Din in the finals? ....ECLIPSE! That's right, we're in for a finals rematch of last night's competitors (and of siblings Aaron & Fred Dunn), and Eclipse are guaranteed to at least match their 3rd place finish in last week's Speak Easy Battle! Curtis and Daniel could also match or better their 2nd place run in 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle with Haggith, and the finals will see them face their former Haggith/Din bandmate Mike Haggith, so there's an interesting wrinkle for the finals as well! As for the other results, I'll confirm that Stereo North were the second place band last week, and Heavy Head were third, so you can fill in the overall rankings from there given the amount of bands.

Someone is guaranteed their first battle of the bands victory next week, so be sure to attend the VM Radio Battle of the Bands finals on Wednesday between The Din, Eclipse, and K.I.C.K.! That show will be at 9:00 PM with a special admission fee of $10 unless you already have your full pass for all nights of the battle. It'll be a great night, so definitely consider coming out, stay tuned for some extra videos from last night, and thanks again to Christian for filling in last night! You were a great judge, and hopefully we get your input next week in some form! As for our media, click here for our photos of Jack Spades' set, and for our videos, you may notice a slightly different angle on the competitors' videos, as I had to get a new tripod to mount my camera with after my original tripod was lost at the venue last week. My new tripod is much better and more customizable though, as you'll see for our Jack Spades video, where I experimented with it's panning and expandable size.

I might play around with a special angle for the finals next week, but we'll approach that then, and as for our videos, here's Eclipse covering Seether's "Remedy", K.I.C.K. playing their song "Wanted", and Jack Spades playing both "Rise" & "Breakneck Speed"! That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our newest poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night #2!)

TOMORROW marks night #2 and the last semifinal of this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so here's our extended preview of tomorrow's action! As you may remember, last week saw The Din defeat Heavy Head & Stereo North to claim the first of three spots for next week's finals, and the full field will be determined tomorrow, where they'll be joined by tomorrow's winning band and the highest scoring runner-up band as a wild card finalist. Like last week, judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself will score competitors on their originality, stage presence, musicianship, crowd reaction, and professionalism, with huge prizes and promotion from Village Media, Tidal Records, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries awaiting, so don't forget about the stakes at hand! With only 5 band registrations this year, this last semifinal sees a head-to-head battle between just two local bands, so here's what you should know about tomorrow's competitors!

Eclipse: Fresh off of their third place finish in Thursday's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, this new modern/hard rock quartet (featuring 3/5ths of Project 421) will look to see if lightning can strike twice to send them to the VM Radio Battle finals next week, where members Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton could be faced off with their old band The Din, fronted by their ex-Haggith bandmate Mike Haggith. Will Eclipse punch their finals ticket tomorrow?

K.I.C.K.: Joining Heavy Head as the only battle newcomers in the field, local indie/acoustic rock quartet K.I.C.K. (short for the Keep It Cool Kids) have been active since 2012, and feature alumni of Cowboys & Indians, State of Misery, and Starlit Sins in their lineup. Somewhat of a dark horse this year among their otherwise plugged-in brethren, can Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron move on to next week's finals? Support them via their own Facebook event page for the battle!

With an uneven number of bands this year, the third band slot tomorrow will be filled by local punk/metal quintet (and fellow Speak Easy Battle competitors) Jack Spades in their second concert set of the year. A non-competitive set due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional involvement in this battle, look for some familiar faces in their lineup from past battle runs with bands like T-Rex Manning, The Bear Hunters, and Heavy Head, so prepare for a fun set of punk and metal intensity from Jack Spades!

Also, an added wrinkle was noted to me last week by Project 421 guitarist Blair Burch, which is that Eclipse bassist Fred Dunn is the brother of K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn! It's not often that you see siblings compete against each other in a local battle of the bands, so we'll have to see how things shake out tomorrow on that basis! Remember, tomorrow's winning band is guaranteed to face The Din in next week's finals, and the highest scoring of the two runner-up bands will be back for a second chance in the finals as well, but will last week's second place band return, or will both Eclipse & K.I.C.K. get a finals encore? Be at The Canadian TOMORROW to find out! Huge prizes for competing bands and individual performers await next week, and you can see who gets there tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, with a $5 entry fee at the door (unless you already have tickets for the full event.) For full public details on the ongoing VM Radio Battle, visit the official Facebook event page!

While a little more compact than most local battle of the bands one-night lineups, an exciting competition lies ahead tomorrow, so will Eclipse ride the momentum of last week's Speak Easy Battle to the finals, or will K.I.C.K.'s acoustic indie rock win over the judges instead? Be there for all of that, plus a guest set by Jack Spades, TOMORROW NIGHT, and I'll see you guys there! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (VM Radio Battle Of The Bands 2016)!!

The final schedule for next month's second annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub has finally been announced, as per the Facebook event page, so what should you know? After a quieter than expected number of registrations (down from 11 to 5 this year), organizers have contracted the battle from three quarterfinal rounds to two, which means that the battle will now start on Wednesday, March 9th rather than this coming Wednesday. It will still be a multi-night, structured event with semifinals on March 9th & 16th, with the finals taking place as scheduled on March 23rd. Thousands of dollars await in cash & prizes for competitors next month, with VM Radio, Tidal Records, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Labatt Breweries, Maxx Graphix, and The Canadian proper providing numerous prizes for bands and individual performers alike, just like last year! Though this year's lineup is much smaller, there are 5 talented bands competing in what should be a wide open contest, so here's the semifinal rosters!

The first semifinal on March 9th will welcome three bands to the stage, including the only two returning bands from last year's battle, and they include alternative hard rock trio The Din, new local pop/hard rock quartet Heavy Head, and pop punk quartet Stereo North! The Din are the most battle-tested band in the field, having competed in last year's VM Radio & Speak Easy Battles, but with new guitarist Tammy Hill now in the fold, will the former Mike Haggith & The Din prove that the third time's a charm with a finals run next month? Stereo North made a huge impression in last year's VM Radio Battle by being a part of the ultra-close finish in their second show, but can they build on that with a semifinal win for this year's event? Similarly, March 9th's semifinal is Heavy Head's second ever concert, but with a lineup full of high placing battle alums from the likes of The Suicide Kings, Haggith, and Winkstinger, plus Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger (the only finalist back this year), can Heavy Head deliver another deep run in 2016?

The second semifinal on March 16th will only see two competing bands, but as one is a battle newcomer and the other only debuted in the fall, there will be some extra new blood in the finals the following week! One is local modern/hard rock quartet Eclipse, who feature members of The Din, Haggith, and Project 421 from last year's battles in their newest collaborative project, but this will be their second battle appearance (as they're in March 10th's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands.) Can Eclipse pick up where Project 421 left off last year and move onto the finals, and can both of Daniel Horton's entered bands end up in the finals when all is said & done? The other competing band is acoustic/indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., which will see the first ever battle appearance from this union of Cowboys & Indians, State of Misery, and Starlit Sins alumni. Can The Keep It Cool Kids deliver a big first impression on the battlefront next month?

Much like with last year's guest Pixo Control set, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will play a guest set at The Canadian to fill out the March 16th lineup, and while this is a non-competitive set (as frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting and co-organizing this battle), you can see Jack Spades compete against The Din, Eclipse, and Heavy Head at The Speak Easy Battle on the 10th. Jack Spades are a natural fit, and they should jack the Canadian (and the planet) on the 16th, so don't miss out on their set either! As was the case in 2013 & 2015's multi-night battles, a wild card slot awaits the highest scoring runner-up band during the semifinals, and remember that being a wild card finalist doesn't mean anything negative come the finals, as Gnaeus won after being wild cards last year. The three finalists will compete for the top $1,000 prize and much more in the finals on Wednesday, March 23rd, so who will earn the right to compete for the championship? Be at The Canadian next month to find out!

Cover charges of $5 for the semifinals and $10 for the finals were originally announced, along with $15 passes for all nights of the battle, which has nightly start times of 8:00 PM and 19+ age limits. Though the lineup is smaller than last year's, there's a lot of local talent, familiar faces, and intriguing newer artists, and with last year's finalists largely working in studio right now, the field is wide open! Stay tuned for continuing updates on this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands as they come in, and don't miss out on March 9th, 16th, and 23rd! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and features soon! Thanks everyone!

Trapt/Hinder Fallout, New Videos, And More Recent Updates!!

The news keeps coming in, and our streak of consecutive days with new posts will run until at least the end of the month, as tomorrow (day 34) will see our review of SweetKenny's new album, so keep an eye out for that! Today though, we have some more recent news and notes, including a few new videos, but first, here's some fallout from a major concert that took place last weekend!

Waiting for any videos or news articles from this past Sunday's Trapt/Hinder concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino? I've finally got some to share, including a rare Kewadin Casino hard rock concert review on SooToday! Oddly not from usual concert reviewer/photographer Donna Hopper, the review heaps praise on the three bands (including fan-friendly openers Acidic), though it mostly focuses on Hinder's headlining set and how well recieved it was by attendees, especially during "Lips of an Angel" and "Get Stoned". I've never been high on Hinder myself, but it shows that their sound has a large appeal, and if fans left happy, that's what matters! 11 photos were also included in the article linked above, mostly of Hinder, but there are three from Trapt's set and one of Acidic frontman Mike Gossard as well. As for videos, I've only found two YouTube channels with any, including two Hinder videos from YouTube user suffacation2 (who had previously posted videos from local Papa Roach, Buckcherry, and Billy Talent shows), so click here to check out two videos of Hinder's biggest hits mentioned above!

The other new videos are courtesy of YouTube user Autumn Beard, in what are her first local concert videos, and including videos of the same Hinder songs above (plus "Better Than Me" and "Get Me Away From You"), and two Trapt videos of their songs "Headstrong" and "Sound Off"! These videos are alright too, and centered well, though the videos have an odd blur effect when the camera moves, and people's heads do sometimes get in the way. Check out Trapt playing "Sound Off" below, and see more from the show at the above links!



Next up, here's a new video from new stoner/sludge metal trio AlgomA! This is of their set-opening original song "Fell Down A Well", complete with the projected video that was synched up with it at 180 Projects last weekend. Uploaded to their YouTube channel this morning, the video footage used is from the 1926 German silent movie "Faust", and the sample intro comes from a Charles Manson interview. Featuring Kevin "Marty Chase" Campbell on lead vocals, this recording (which is from a jam session and not their concert last Sunday) sounds pretty good, and it captures the vocals and individual performances clearer, which is good to have! I'd be curious to see their other songs with the videos synched up too, but for now, this works, so check out AlgomA's quality doom metal sounds below!



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 or store name:

• Sault Ontario music store Colosimo's Music has started a brand new Facebook page, so become a fan of it at this location for updates! Remember, this store opened last summer, and is located at 173 Spring Street (the original location of Case's Music before they moved.)
• Remember when a band named K.I.C.K. was scheduled for Toystock at The Canadian Nightclub in November, but later dropped out? As it turns out, they're an acoustic rock trio featuring Cowboys & Indians/Shore drummer Aaron Dunn that have been active since last summer, and they've been seen at a number of recent unplugged gigs. I know they're not metal, but I wanted to acknowledge the answer to a lingering question from our Toystock coverage, so now we know!
• Toast guitarist Mike Libertoski has uploaded a new 7 minute original instrumental named "Information" to his SoundCloud page on Tuesday, and it's an awesome sounding technical compositon with plenty of time changes and brutal solos and riffs, so check it out at the above links, and stay tuned for more from his solo work (and perhaps his most recent bands?)

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow in our likely last post of the month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Caveman Morrison), Throat Kick Preview, And More!!

Well, I'm back from Detroit and I have some local metal stories to share today, including a preview of a concert tomorrow night and the latest news from Woods of Ypres and The Eastgate Hotel, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Fresh off their new lineup's live debut this past weekend at The Outback, Caveman Morrison have booked a brand new concert for this fall, as they'll be back at The Rockstar Bar for the first time in months on October 1st! Just one show to my knowledge, but if they do end up playing on October 2nd as well, I will let you know! This show will have a 10:00 PM start time, there is no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to enter. For more information, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be another fun show from Caveman Morrison, who'll deliver another high energy night of heavy metal covers to patrons and fans at The Rockstar Bar to kick off October! But if you want your Caveman fix sooner, remember to check them out this coming Friday and Saturday when they play their first shows at Foggy Notions featuring new bassist Dutch Vanderploeg and drummer Johnny Belanger! I'll be there, and I'll have more on Caveman Morrison soon!

Next up, here's a preview of an upcoming concert, and though it is slightly short notice, it's a very promising show at a new venue, so at least consider going! Tomorrow night at The Vibe Lounge, two British Columbia bands will hit the stage for a concert that's sure to leave an impression! Your headliners are Prince George breakcore band Throat Kick, who have a heavy hardcore-style with a heavy electronic influence in many songs. Unique but moshable, they'll be sure to leave you wanting more tomorrow night! The other scheduled band is Vancouver groove metal quintet GFAP!, who have some nice breakdowns and throw in many different styles and sounds into their music, including some creative experimental touches! Hardcore fans will definitely want to be at The Vibe Lounge tomorrow night, this'll deliver some great stuff! This show will take place at 9:00 PM tomorrow night, there is a $5 cover, and you must be 19 to enter. Sure, it's short notice and in a venue far from most of the other concert spots, but you should have some good times at this concert tomorrow, so make it on out! For more information on this show and the bands scheduled tomorrow, visit the official Facebook event page and the links above! For a video preview, here's Throat Kick's music video for their song "Robot Attack"!



Thirdly today, here's the latest updates on Woods of Ypres! Nothing has came out about "Woods V" yet, but the first photo from what was hyped as their last photo shoot is now online! The shoot was conducted by Miguel Gauthier of Stereo Soul Studios, where the band recorded their last two albums, and the first of these photos can be seen on your right. Looks good, can't wait for the rest! Miguel's actually a very talented photographer, and he has dozens of great photos at his Flickr page to check out, including a couple featuring members of Garden of Bedlam! More on "Woods V" as I hear it! The other Woods note I had was about frontman David Gold's emigration from Canada. Some of you may still be wondering where exactly he went and why, but after clear statements failed to materialize prior to his flight overseas, the questions continued. Well, since arriving, David's shared many photos of his surroundings on his personal Facebook page, and though he never clearly says where he is (he lists his locations as "Brutalandiabad" & "so far from you") the photos all point to him being in Kuwait, an Arabic country near The Persian Gulf.

Probably the most telling is a photo of David outside of The Kuwait Towers, but out of respect for personal privacy, I won't link or embed anything here. I'm assuming he's found work there, possibly as a teacher like when he lived in South Korea, but hopefully he's not done with music after the release of "Woods V"! There, maybe that helps answer a couple of questions!

Finally today, here's some updates concerning the fate of former local metal concert venue The Eastgate Hotel. The offers to buy the unused building are still out there, mostly, but the original offer from Tomasso Petrucci has been withdrawn. The offer from Anna Yurkevich and Walter Jakubsky was ruled to be unacceptable due to their aim to have the building rezoned as a residential building. Lindsay Myles informally offered $30,000 to turn it into low income housing for people on welfare via fax, but it's not being considered. If City Council are going to approve of an offer to save it in today's Council meeting, the only one they'll consider is Robert Berto Jr.'s $17,000 offer for it, though he hasn't announced his plans for it if he gets it. Council could also demolish The Eastgate and sell the vacant lot, or accept an $80,000 offer from Algoma Insurance, which would see them demolish the building for their own purposes. Note that newer offers could be re-evaluated today as well. Read Elaine Della-Mattia's Sault Star article on the topic at this location. Also, click here to read an interesting editorial article about the Eastgate situation from The Sault Star's Doug Millroy.

It seems to me like they could have solved this problem a lot sooner than now, and today may not even decide what will happen to The Eastgate. I'd like to see it stay up in some fashion, and I'm sure many concertgoers from the 1980s and 1990s would love to see it remain where it is for nostalgic reasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if it got torn down. Algoma Insurance have the best offer monetarily, and there's no strange conditions mentioned, so if I was betting, I'd have my chips on them to win The Eastgate. Still, this could go a few different directions, and I'll have more as I hear it!

That's all for today, but I already have some assorted stories lined up for my next update, so stay tuned for that in the next day or two! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Throat Kick), Another New Show, Half Past's New Bassist, And More!!

Hey guys, I'm still in Detroit doing some family stuff, and I have some time tonight to update you all on some news from the local metal scene that popped up over the last little while! This may be shorter than I'd hope for a post, but better some than never, right? So here's what you need to know, starting with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

I apologize for the short notice of this show, I was only first alerted to it yesterday. Remember back in May when I mentioned that two metal bands from British Columbia, Throat Kick and GFAP!, were looking for a joint booking in Sault Ontario in September? Well, they got it, and they'll be in town on TUESDAY! The two bands will make their way to, oddly enough, The Vibe Lounge, which I can't recall ever hosting out of town metal bands like this. Great to see regardless! As I said, this show will be TUESDAY NIGHT, with a start time of 9:00 PM and a $5 cover. You must be 19 to enter, because after all, this is a bar. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Now I know this show is both short notice and a bit out of the way from most of the local concert spots, but seriously consider going! Both bands bring a unique style to the table! Throat Kick (from Prince George) have a electronic-influenced "breakcore" style that we certainly don't see often locally, while GFAP! (from Vancouver) have a more straightforward groove metal sound, and have a great intensity going for them! Check the above links for more on the bands and the show, and stay tuned for a preview of it tomorrow or Monday!

Now, the title above says that I have another new show, and yes, it is new with bands announced, but why am I not treating this as a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT? Because there's no venue announced, but when one is, I'll give it the proper treatment! But this is publically aware with Facebook event page in tow, so here's what you should know beforehand! On November 25th, California punk legends Total Chaos will play a concert in Sault Ontario! They're an awesome punk band, but how does this qualify for SMS attention? Well, check out who's opening! The scheduled openers include local horror punk/metal quartet Frightlight, local death metal band Bring The Fallen, and in their live concert debut, local grimecore trio Shit Liver! Also announced are Toronto-based classical/punk band RedD Monkey (featuring ex-Gates of Winter drummer Kevin Overton), and what could be another opening band, labeled as "(TBA/NO NAME)". A 7:00 PM start time is announced, but I've heard little since about venue or ticket details. Stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene and the above links for updates as they come in, cause this concert sounds VERY promising!

Thirdly, here's some long awaited news on a local band's bassist search! On Thursday, local hard rockers Half Past announced the addition of WinkStinger bassist Ryan Disano to the band, replacing former bassist Arthur Lacasse. Aside from WinkStinger, you may recognize Ryan from his work in bands like Time of Ruin and Caveman Morrison, who he played bass with briefly last year upon their local return. The news was announced on the band's official Facebook page on Thursday, with the band commenting that Ryan will bring a "style and intensity" that we're gonna love. This should be a great move, cause Ryan has some definite skills on the bass, and hopefully he fits in well with Half Past! After all, it's been five months since we last saw Half Past on a local stage, so the anticipation is building as we await their return! I'll keep you posted with more Half Past news as I hear it!

And finally for today, it's finally official: Recording sessions for Garden of Bedlam's upcoming full length LP have FINISHED! After delays from the Kiss concert and some personal ailments, Buzz has wrapped up all of his vocal tracks for what is tentatively titled "Everything Will Die" a few days ago, and he announced the recording sessions' conclusion on the band's Facebook group on Thursday! Great to hear, I can't wait to hear the finished product! That's all for today, but I will have more very soon, be it when I get home or not! Stay tuned!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Breaking The Fourth Wall) & Five Bands Looking To Play Here!!

Some big updates today, mostly of the concert variety! The bulk of today's post comes from FIVE new bands that want a local booking! Well, three, but one need help again to secure a date I'd already posted here about. I'll give you all the details in a second, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Montreal hardcore band Breaking The Fourth Wall are coming back to Sault Ontario! A year after their planned show with Constructed Apocalypse quietly evaporated without notice, they will make their long awaited local return on July 30th at The Oddfellows Hall! Good, bookings there are picking up! Joining them are Calgary metalcore group Fall City Fall! This reminds me of some of the shows we used to get so often at The Oddfellows Hall from 2008 and earlier, maybe this is a sign of things to come? Well, that depends on how successful this show is. Click on the band names above to check out their material on MySpace, solid stuff from both bands! And the lineup doesn't end there, as local openers are needed! If you or your band would like to open at this all ages hardcore show, message Jasmin Nott at this location to show your interest! Start times and cover charges will be announced next week. Promoter Nathan Bouliane (Lorax/ex-As It Stands bassist) is hoping to bring lots of lights and a smoke machine to help make this show as good as possible! Sounds good to me, as soon as I hear more on this show, you'll be sure to find out here!

And now, pay attention, anyone who might wanna help these bands! FIVE more bands are looking for help getting a booking in Sault Ontario, and I'm always willing to help out, so I'm gonna tell you what you should know about these bands and how you can contact them! This goes for concert promoters, venue workers, and local band members who might want to play with them at a show, if you like what you hear and would like to help them get a show here, take the initiative! So, here's what you should know!

Firstly, we have a band I plugged a few months ago for a show here in July, but apparently had an issue with their planned promoter falling out. I won't say anything else about why here, but the band really would like to play here, and I've helped them in the past, so I've gotta try again! They are Aquila, a metal band from Windsor, and frontman Mark Arruda recently sent me a MySpace message seeing if I could help them with a date here for either July 6th or 7th. Trust me when I say this, Aquila kick ass! Very heavy band with some good thrashy qualities, and your head will sure be banging if you see them live! I'd love to see them here, and hopefully someone out there does too! Time's running out to lock up an Aquila show here on this tour, so if you can help in some way, send the band an e-mail through their MySpace page to show your interest, and check out their material! They really wanna come here, can you help?

Secondly, we have a band that I first heard wanted to play here today! They are The Great Sabatini, a progressive sludge metal band from Montreal, and if you want some slow grinding doom-ish heavy metal, this is what you'll be looking for! Very down-tempo and methodical, but very heavy, it's definitely something we don't see here often! The band itself actually didn't contact me, I was actually e-mailed by a booking company they're represented by, Tugnut Booking out of Cambridge, Ontario, and they're hoping to get The Great Sabatini booked here for...Halloween! Yes, Sunday, October 31st, and I was told that they always have trouble booking here for tours. If nothing else, this would be a unique show for here, and fitting too considering the night of it! Doom/sludge metal fans take note, if you want to help get a booking for The Great Sabatini here in Sault Ontario on Halloween, e-mail Tugnut Booking at this location! Click the above links to check them out too!

The other three bands I'm plugging concerning their search for a Sault Ste. Marie booking came to my attention me via e-mail, and in the case of this band, we've seen them here before! They are Fredericton, New Brunswick punk/thrash trio Hard Charger, and you may remember seeing them at a headlining show at The Oddfellows Hall in July 2008 with various local openers, including an early version of Bring The Fallen! I got an e-mail from drummer Tom Blizzard a few days ago, and he told me that Hard Charger would like to play here again on Wednesday, August 4th. I'd be up to see Hard Charger again! Despite a bad turnout for the 2008 show, I was impressed with their raw energy and mix of styles! I of course gave him some contact info, but if you'd like to help Hard Charger get a booking for here on August 4th, e-mail Tom at struggles999@hotmail.com or by messaging them through MySpace! There, you can check out some of their songs, lots of short, but heavy and relentless death/thrash/punk that will be sure to get a crowd moving! Want Hard Charger back? Then e-mail them and see if you can book them or help at all!

Finally, we have a double bill of bands hoping for a show here! Prince George, British Columbia electronic metal band Throat Kick (pictured) and Vancouver metal band GFAP are hoping to play in Sault Ontario on their upcoming Canadian tour! Looks like the show might be in September, but a specific date wasn't given, so there may be some flexibility here! The bands are both solid, Throat Kick have kind of a "breakcore" vibe and lots of electronic influences, interesting mix! GFAP are more straightforward groove metal with nice aggressive vocals, I'm really digging them too! Throat Kick frontman Kyle Pigeau e-mailed me today looking for some help to get both bands a show on their upcoming tour, anyone out there wanna help out? E-mail Kyle at kylepigeau@gmail.com or message either band at their above MySpace pages to offer your help to bring them here for a show! They're good bands, they just need a venue, or local openers, or a promoter, or something!

There's got to be someone out there that can help out these bands for a local booking of some type! We need more shows here, and if no one shows any interest, then these concerts won't happen! Even if you're just a local musician that would wanna play with them on that date, that would help! If you're interested in booking one of these bands for a show on the dates they'd like, playing with them on said show, or bring them to your venue, PLEASE e-mail them today! Let's bolster the scene with more concerts!

That's all for now, I don't know if I'll have a post tomorrow or not, it's actually my 21st birthday tomorrow so I could be busy, but I do have some cool things on the newsdesk to share, so keep an eye out, you may see something tomorrow!