It's time for our St. Patrick's Day weekend concert previews! I know many of you are awaiting coverage of both Shit Liver's new album and A Dire Setback's recent debut CD-related announcements, but with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on, I've gotta hold them until our next news post. Don't worry, they are coming! On the hard rock side of the spectrum, there's not a decent amount of shows to partake in with green beer in hand, so here's what you should know for this weekend! (Updated at 6:01 PM)
Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Sportsman's Lounge at Dondee Lanes for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via it's Facebook event page last night, with the venue's Facebook page previously doing the same yesterday morning. These will be Banned's first shows at the Dondee in over three months, and their first anywhere since rocking Hessel last month, so if you're overdue for another night or two of Alex, Don, and Wayne's hard rocking favourites, you know where to be TONIGHT and/or TOMORROW! Note that a comment on their Facebook page heavily implies that they'll be performing at the first annual Michihistrigan Rendezvous event in Gould City over the Father's Day weekend in June, but remember that the Lower Peninsula is outside of our coverage range.
As usual for Banned's stops at The Dondee, TONIGHT & TOMORROW's shows are 8:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charge, and make sure to bring your green clothes and Irish spirit for presumed holiday festivities! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Banned live!
Next up, Elements bandmates and Jack Spades alumni Rob Speers and Jesse Cook will bring their acoustic hard rock show to The Rockstar Bar in Sault Ontario as part of their St. Patrick's Day festivities TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Rob did plug it at the end of Jack Spades' set at the Archelon show this past Saturday, but it was only announced online via it's official Facebook event page yesterday. Three weeks removed from their last show of this nature, this will be Rob & Jesse's first Rockstar Bar stop in a month, but this time, the luck of the Irish will be upon TOMORROW'S concert, given the holiday trappings! As such, expect green beer (of course), some form of prize giveaways, and even lreprechauns themselves? Of course, in terms of the music, expect more unplugged cover favourites from Rob & Jesse, plus guest performers, and the venue did hype up that you can "bring your guitar and join in the fun!"
No cover charge was announced for this 11:00 PM, 19+ event TOMORROW NIGHT, but given the seasonal trappings, have cash on hand just in case. Visit the above links for more details, and here's "The Kariokeheads" live!
Moving to previously announced concerts, fans can also check out prolific local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison as he returns to Gliss Steak & Seafood for two more matinee headlining gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Keeping up with his busy schedule of shows there, and fresh off of his minimally advertised Mark's Breafast Plus shows earlier this week (including one yesterday, apologies for missing it here), Tym's latest stops at The Quality Inn's house restaurant should provide more of the same acoustic hard rock classic action, so don't miss out on these next two supper-time gigs! Note that the Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page advertises Tym as playing at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill tonight, but neither he nor the venue have otherwise confirmed that. If either does, we'll edit this post! As usual for Tym's Gliss stops, expect 6:00 PM start times, and no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!
This post originally ended with a preview of a New American Pub show THIS SUNDAY NIGHT to have been headlined by Louisianapunk trio Layden & The Lion, but it as confirmed this evening that they had to cancel their tour for unspecified "personal reasons". Our source is co-promoter/performer Jackson Reed via a share of the now-updated Facebook event page. Hopefully all's well in Layden and company's camp, it would have been nice to see them in town! Unusually, their exit means that the entire original lineup has dropped out of this show, as planned openers Telephone & Address and Greg Callaghan has previously dropped out for unannounced reasons too, leaving their spots to be filled by Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle, folk/pop artist Shae Tull, and the aforementioned Jackson Reed (who is also Telephone & Address' new drummer.) The show will go on though on Sunday night, and while it no longer contains no punk acts, consider a trip to The New A at 8:00 PM for the indie and folk rock on display! The $5 cover charge and 19+ age limit remain intact from earlier incarnations of this show.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
As promised, our 3 Day Millionaires previews are in this post, but we've loaded it with some more big news, including a handful of unfortunate deletions from our band links, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one involving a debuting group, and the other involving a touring band from afar and a local band's new lineup addition! Here's what you should know!
We have a new-ish classic/hard rock cover quintet to add to our active band links, and they are Fluid 5ive! This band actually publically launched via their Facebook page back in September 2016,
and while they have yet to play their first live concert, that will be
rectified soon, as their public debut will be with a one-nighter on
Saturday, February 24th at The Rockstar Bar!
Fluid 5ive's current lineup features a few familiar faces for long-time
fans of local rock bands, including former Five Below Zero singer Colin
Nelson (who even plays saxophone occasionally), guitarist Joe Miller,
bassist Pierre Anthony, former Route 69/Swamped drummer Jeff Pennett,
and Rob Irving on the keyboard. As well, ex-Flat Stanley bassist Mark
Brandow was in their original lineup before departing by last summer,
but that's as publically "fluid" as their lineup has gotten. As of their
launch, Fluid 5ive teased covers of everyone from AC/DC and Aerosmith
to Van Halen and ZZ Top, and even acts like Blackfoot and Henry Lee Summer.
This band aims to primarily play "select cover tunes not usually played in
bars" and if that holds true, fans should get a unique spread of music
when they hit The Rockstar Bar in just under one month's time! Expect no
cover charge for this 19+ show, and while there is an advertised start
time of 8:00 PM, I'd gamble on closer to 10:00 PM that night. Visit the official Facebook event page
for more details on this show, and the above links for more on Fluid
5ive, and hopefully some media of them performing turns up soon!
Next up, here's another new show announcement for later this year, as local post-punk/acoustic project Telephone & Address will hit the stage for the first time in 2018 with a set at The New American Pub on Sunday, March 18th! Though they're the advertised headliners, touring Louisiana acoustic punk trio Layden & The Lion will take the middle slot for this concert in their local debut, and their indie-influenced yet gritty originals should be a fine compliment, so be sure to check them out in advance! This will be Telephone & Address' first announced live set since August, and first since expanding to a duo, as Chris has enlisted local folk musician Jackson Reed to become their permanent drummer. Jackson had guested with Telephone & Address for their new songs that same month, but confirmation that he's now an official member didn't hit the wires until Tuesday on their Facebook page. Hopefully the guys maintain a similarly solid chemistry live!
No word yet though on what this means for Telephone & Address' yet-released album "Monster", which was recorded before Jackson joined. Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan will deliver some entertaining acoustic renditions as an opening act for this concert, promoted by Jackson's own agency Ears & Eyes in association with Six, Two, Oh.. An early 8:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ event, which has a $5 cover charge. Fans of acoustic rock and punk should definitely check this one out on March 18th, so check out more details at the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for potential updates on this concert if they roll in!
Also today, here's our previews of TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT's concerts from local classic/hard rock cover veterans The 3 Day Millionaires at The Rockstar Bar! Unusual as a double header at this venue for The Millionaires rather than a one nighter, this will be just the second concert weekend of the year for this band, so if you missed them at the Reggievelt two weeks ago, here's your next best bet! The 3 Day Millionaires lineup is well tested and very skilled, so look for some entertaining cover action tonight and/or tomorrow! As usual for their Rockstar Bar trips, there are 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges in effect, and while the Facebook event page lists an 8:00 PM start time, the poster pictured here confirms that they'll be starting at 10:00 PM both nights, so don't come down too early. See the above links for more details, and here's The 3 Day Millionaires live at this very location last year!
Finally for today here's three assorted shorter news items, all relating to deletions from our inactive Sault Michigan band links due to Facebook pages being taken down. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I have deleted Pickford hard rock quintet Beyond the Surface from our band links due to the closure of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point in the past year or so. Featuring ex-Unleashed frontman Eli Reilly, Beyond The Surface ran from 2010-2011, primarily playing at Pickford High School events and regional talent shows. The guys were talented for their ages, and hopefully everyone is staying active in music in some form!
I have also removed defunct local hard rock band The Bottom Line from our band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point in the past year. A union of Highest of Fives and future Ten Kings bandmates, The Bottom Line only played a handful of community events in mid-2014 before going their separate ways, and while I hate seeing another band page vanish, they admittedly weren't around for very long. Don't miss guitarist Joe Jenkins with Project 906!
Lastly, I have removed local metal solo project East Branch from our
band links once again, as their Facebook (and only online) page was
taken down once again. The page had initially been de-activated in 2014
before being resurrected last year, but no new public updates followed,
and the page was gone again at press time. Hopefully J.R. returns with new music down the road!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next, plus this month's CD review in short order as well! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we continue our monthly feature series spotlighting a defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band, so current readers can learn more about them and check out their material! As usual, this month's band was randomly selected, but what a random selection we have this month, as they're among the highest profile bands that we've looked at in this series, and they've definitely been missed in recent years, so read on below for what you should know! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lion Ride
Genre:Metal/Classic Rock/Punk
Hometown:Sault Ste. Marie/Toronto, Ontario
Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics)
"Lionel Itchy" Nathan Sauve (Bad Back, Fuller), bass "Diamond Brent Panther" Brenton Ellis (Detroit, Maximum RNR), bass "The Italian Stallion" Marc Muto (Bondar, The Hangdowns), drums Audio/Video: Lion Ride released their only EP, entitled "Awesome", in July 2008 with their original lineup, and while it's now out of print, it can be streamed on Bandcamp and Spotify, and bought on iTunes, so be sure to check it out if you haven't already! Outside of this disc, their originals "Lazer Lover" and "My Baby's Bad" exist as studio recordings that didn't make the cut for "Awesome", while a second CD had recording sessions in the early 2010s that were never completed before their breakup, though the four recorded songs can be streamed on YouTube. Numerous live concert videos from Lion Ride's run, including via the official YouTube channels of the band proper, frontman Mikey Hawdon, original bassist Nathan Sauve, The Sault Metal Scene, and others, so be sure to check them out, and here's Lion Ride playing one of their heaviest songs "Slapdance"!
Info/Analysis: Launching in February 2007, Lion Ride debuted their metal & punk hybrid sound at the former Foggy Notions that July, and they soon commenced with numerous concerts both locally and in Southern Ontario, where some members resided during the band's run. Continually maintaining the use of animal-influenced stage names (and sporting a glam-influenced look in their early days), Lion Ride's core lineup remained stable during their run, save for two bassist changes and a 2009 drummer switch. Along with the release of their "Awesome" EP, Lion Ride finished a point out of first at The Kiss Battle of the Bands in December 2009, competed at similar events in Southern Ontario, headlined their own Ontario tour runs, and remained a popular headlining attraction in the Soo until their final concert at The Rockstar Bar in July 2011. The band announced their breakup the following February due to personal commitments, though most members remain active in music.
Lion Ride were always a fun sight at local concerts, with their experienced & familiar lineup delivering a high impact sound and plenty of catchy & often heavy originals that kept fans moving! They had great chemistry, with Mikey's punk-tinged vocals and Marco & Mark's strong complimentary guitar work carrying them through the years, and they easily transferred that enthusiasm to their studio recordings as well, though it's a shame they only released one CD. The guys didn't close the door on a potential farewell show when they disbanded, so hopefully we see Lion Ride back in some form or another when the time is right, and check them out above! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll head to Sault Michigan for the second time in 2016 when we look at defunct local hard rock band Monkey's Uncle (formerly Jager), whose lineup featured future members of Highway 63! I project there being enough to fill out a full profile, so look for that on or around March 10th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly feature post to take a look at 1-3 YouTube channels with at least a 50% concentration of metal, hard rock, and now, punk videos! Thanks to our full punk integration that began last month, we now have our biggest selection pool yet for YouTube channels to randomly select from (219 as of today, and counting!), and hopefully we'll have much more on the punk side of things to come as we close in on 2015! This month's random selection comes from a recently prominent drummer and his local music work both recent and dating back to the mid-2000s, so read on below for this month's profile!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- suavij's channel (http://www.youtube.com/suavij)
Owner:Bad Back drummer Nathan Sauve, also known from previous work with bands like Fuller and as Lion Ride's original bassist (under the stage name "Lionel Itchy")
Channel Timeline:Launched on July 16th, 2007; Videos posted from that week through November 2013
Channel Summary:Coinciding with the early days of Lion Ride's run, Nathan's original YouTube channel covered his late 2000s local band work originally, including 6 early Lion Ride videos, 3 live Fuller concert clips from their earlier run, and 7 solo drum performance videos, with his early content rounded out by this solo audio track from 2009, a live video of a Sexual Vigilantes concert in the Soo the previous year, and two jam videos from a short lived band named "Loud Shirt Aaron & The Plain Looking Crew". After a 4 year hiatus from new video postings, Nathan uploaded 7 videos of his current band Bad Back live in November of last year, though he's since focused newer uploads towards his new solo YouTube channel.
Why Should You Watch: You should check out Nathan's original channel as it covers a lot of diverse ground relating to his local music work since the mid-2000s, and the videos are all generally well recorded also! It's better than it was too, as Nathan un-privatized his Lion Ride videos (plus the Sexual Vigilantes clip) in 2012 after a stretch where they were unavailable for unannounced reasons. His drumming and bass skills are present throughout, and there's a fun carefree spirit on most of these as well, so don't bypass his old channel (though remember, he's focused on his new channel linked above for newer Bad Back footage.)
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Fuller - Love Is Always: Uploaded at least a year after their breakup, Nathan posted three videos of his older alternative/punk trio Fuller onto his channel in September 2007 from an undated concert at The Oddfellows Hall. Then also featuring Bad Back bandmate Jamie Vincent on vocals & guitar alongside Nathan's then-Lion Ride bandmate Mark Rand on bass, the uploaded videos include Fuller playing their songs "Batteries", "Dance Jamie Dance", and below, "Love Is Always". Though far lighter in sound than Nathan & Jamie's more recent work, Fuller's energetic indie punk sound had a solid audience in their heyday, and you get a good sense of that on these videos, albeit with muffled sound and somewhat washed out colour. Nice glimpses at Fuller in their heyday though, and worth checking out to see the guys' older material!
Cocaine Crazy - Lion Ride: Courtesy of his tenure as Lion Ride's original bassist alongside singer Mikey Hawdon, guitarist Mark Rand & Marco Pedalino, and drummer Marc Muto (a.k.a. Mikey Lion, Marky Lion, Marco Lion, and The Italian Stallion.) Nathan's videos come from shows at the former Foggy Notions in late 2007, including videos from their live debut that July of "My Baby's Bad", "Lazer Lover", and "Cocaine Crazy" (this channel's most viewed video), and of "Cocaine Crazy", "Sneak Attack", and "Slapdance" from their show there that December. The latter three are all full concert videos with the actual audio, with dark lighting and mixed audio quality, but the first three are edited as music videos from The 705 Video Magazine using audio from Lion Ride's early studio demos, which are notable in part because "My Baby's Bad" & "Lazer Lover" didn't make it to the "Awesome" EP the next year, which "Lionel Itchy" did play on. Well put together, and a great early glimpse at Lion Ride's excellent live concert experience, though click here to see Nathan play "Slapdance" in a solo video too!
bad back - drum my way home (live): Nathan's last videos on this channel come from their all ages show at The Moose Lodge last fall where his current band Bad Back opened for Biipiigwan. Capturing most (if not all) of their set that night, the videos include their songs "Party Bus", "Two Tongues", "#1 Hit Single", "Lung Bucket", "Breeding Weak", "Oh (Nothin' In My Pocket)", and (as embedded below) "Drum My Way Home". Presumably as an attempt to lighten the videos, the colours are incredibly washed out, but Jamie & Nathan are up to their usual recent tricks with an aggressive minimalist set that alternative and hardcore fans should take to (but Fuller fans should tread with caution, Bad Back are very different.) Remember, for newer videos of Bad Back in concert, visit Nathan's new channel linked above!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month, through 100% random selection, we'll be looking at multiple channels for the first time since March (2 in fact, for just the second time in 2014), so what's coming next? Sault Ontario punk trio The Northern Tragedy's channel (featuring videos from two of their shows), and to fill things out, we're adding YouTube user filghtmaster's channel, which features one Bring The Fallen concert video! Watch out for all of this on or around September 22nd, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!
Keeping with recent news updates, we have a bunch of stories to cover on this Saturday morning at the SMS, so what's on tap? Today, we've got news on studio material from a prominent local hard rock band, another newer act's newest lineup changes, and a glimpse at what would have been for an unreleased album, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month across the river!
Kinross hard rockers Banned have announced yet more upcoming concerts, as they'll return to Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan over St. Patrick's Day weekend! As revealed on their Facebook page on Thursday, this will be Banned's first concert weekend at the local bowling alley/concert venue since their Dondee debuts last month, and they should have an entertaining set of hard rock and classic rock covers and originals in store on March 15th & 16th! Plus, if you're a partying type, this is a perfect weekend to have a drink or two (or more), so why not partake in that revelry with some hard rocking music as well? Both of these shows likely have no cover charge and a 21+ age limit, while 8:00 PM start times are advertised. Check the above links for more details! Hopefully Banned's possibly new lineup rocks out well over the St. Patty's Day weekend, and of course, don't miss them TONIGHT at Todd's Tavern in Moran!
Next up, here's a cool new posting from prominent defunct Sault Ontario/Toronto metal quintet Lion Ride! A year after their disappointing breakup, the band uploaded all four studio tracks from their unfinished second album to their YouTube channel on Wednesday to check out as part of one single upload! In order, the songs are their last 3 originals "Snail Trail", "Bang Bang, Bye Bye", "Stick It In", and their cover of The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited", and these were all recorded in 2010 at BWC Studios in Toronto with producer Greg Dawson. Though we've heard most of these studio tracks already from MySpace & YouTube postings, this has the first publically available studio copy of "Bang Bang, Bye Bye" (barring soundtrack uses) that I know of, so this upload is notable on that basis alone! Note as well that the band's labelled the songs as their "final EP", but if there's an official paid release planned for the tracks, I haven't heard of it (nor am I sure if the used image was planned to be the album's cover.)
It's great to hear the studio copy of "Bang Bang, Bye Bye" in full finally, and it flows nicely with Lion Ride's other 2010 tracks, which would have been a great base for a studio album! It'd be interesting to see all of Lion Ride's studio tracks (including the "Awesome" EP, "Lazer Lover", and "My Baby's Bad") grouped together as a summative 12-track full length album from their local run, but given their breakup, that's a longshot idea at best. Check out all four of Lion Ride's last songs below, and cross your fingers that we'll get that farewell show (or any type of reunion) at some point down the road!
Thirdly, remember Sault Ontario hard rock notables Sailor's Tongue? We've heard very little from them since their return to the live
concert stage at Rotaryfest last year, but they are still alive, and
they're even working on new material! As posted on drummer Dean McKey's SoundCloud page over the past year (though the newest songs went up on Wednesday), the new songs are entitled "Shadow", "Out of the Woodwork", "Wired For No Sound", and "Float", and I believe they feature their current lineup, including singer/guitarist Kyle McKey, guitarist Liam Seymour, and bassist Jeff Brown alongside Dean on drums. According to a Facebook page comment reply in December, Sailor's Tongue are hoping to have a new record out this year, so I assume these new songs would go towards that. Assuming that's the end goal still, I won't give an in depth review of the tracks, but they remind me of Sailor's Tongue's earlier work, all showing a heavy groove and audible classic rock influences, punctuated with Kyle's unique clean singing tone!
I recommend checking out Sailor's Tongue's newest original songs at this location, and stay tuned for any possible updates from their camp, including hopefully a return to the stage sooner or later! They're a talented band for sure, and they hit some big heights way back when, and it'd be great to see the guys ascend the ladder in full in 2013 and beyond!
Finally for today, here's the latest news from newer Sault Ontario hard rock band Unbound! In the past week or so, the band quietly updated their lineup on their Facebook page,
which was a likely necessity following the sudden passing of singer
Justin Fratpietro last month, but how does the band look now? It's been
confirmed that bassist Kevin D'Orazio has taken over lead vocal duties
with Unbound going forward, while also trading his bass for the rhythm
guitar (similarly to State of Misery's
brief quintet run in 2011.) Though we've seen him do backup singing
live, he's somewhat of an unproven commodity as a lead singer, but
drummer Nick Kainula has spoken well of Kevin's vocals to me, so we'll
have to see how he does in concert! As a result of Kevin's move to vocals
& guitar, Unbound have also added Christopher "Nessy" Neveau as
their new bassist, returning them to a quartet lineup. Christopher's
likely best known for his mid-2012 guitar work with March Into Regression & With Blood Builds Character
alongside Unbound lead guitarist Ray Cowan, and though I'm not familiar
with his bass skills, hopefully he adds well to their new lineup!
Other
news is forthcoming on Unbound's future, such as their live debut and
any Justin Fratpietro tributes, so keep an eye out at the above links,
and hopefully the guys make a huge splash in 2013 as I'm sure Justin
would have wanted! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news & notes soon,
including this month's newest poll and last month's poll results on
Monday! Thanks everyone!
It's time for something we haven't done much lately, that being a local metal video showcase! Lately, our video-heavy posts have been attached to reviews or concert previews, but today's just came together naturally, so what's on tap? We have a new acoustic video from a local hard rock band, that same band's drummer's newest archive album upload, this week's classic video, and a version of a local metal band's song that you may never have heard before, so let's kick off this all-video post!
We'll start with this new video from local grunge quartet Haggith, and while a planned upload of their entire Zombie Walk afterparty set has yet to occur, they're whetting fans' appetites with this acoustic rendition of their song "Sandman"! Uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, this is of Haggith guitarists Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton playing "Sandman" at their studio PaperClip Productions, and it's an interesting softer rendition that they have a solid handle on! I'd have preferred more reserved singing from Curtis to match this version's mood better, but it's still worth checking out, so give it a look below!
Also in Haggith-related videos is another full album upload from drummer Mike Haggith's solo project! Posted as one long file onto his YouTube channel last week, this is of Mike's 42nd solo album "Laps In A Lake Of Fire", which was mainly recorded at what's now Galactic Records & later released in December 2010 under the band name The Thorns, which was an older Windsor-based band of his. A darker, shorter, and more introspective album than some of his recent output, this was among Mike's first solo releases since moving to Sault Ste. Marie, and it's also worth hearing, so give it a listen below, and if you like what you hear, support Mike's solo work and buy it for between $3.50 & $5 at this location!
Thirdly today, I wanted to share a Woods of Ypres song that, in this form, I don't think many people have heard. As you may know, their last recorded studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" came out this spring in multiple formats, and though the track listing was generally consistent, the album's limited edition vinyl release did have an exclusive track. On the second disc on the vinyl pressing, there was an alternate mix of "Finality" by "W5" producer Siegfrιed Meier, which has never been officially released by band and label sources through other media formats. While I own "Woods V" on CD, I don't have or play vinyl records actively, but I was curious to hear the producers' mix of "Finality", so I tracked it down after some searching & I thought I'd share it with you guys! The two versions are very similar, and seem to use the same vocal track, but Siegfrιed's alternate mix does have subtle differences that a cursory listen might not catch, including a more reserved & less guitar driven sound, and a slightly shorter arrangement, running 17 seconds less overall.
This is an interesting version of "Finality" for sure, and it takes this very morose and dark song into a bit lighter and more intricate territory than the original version had, almost as if it could be easily adapted to an unplugged setting. Kudos to Siegfrιed & Joel for including this on the album, even if on a limited basis! I encourage you guys to buy the vinyl copy of "Woods V" at this location if you collect vinyl or want to own every track from the album, but for the sake of wider exposure for the producer's mix of "Finality", I've uploaded it to our YouTube channel, and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit goes to David, Joel, and Siegfrιed for this song, and feel free to stream it below!
And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! With former Lion Ride frontman Mikey Hawdon returning home for a set with one of his current bands (Toronto punk quartet The Fairmounts) for this Saturday's Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub, I thought it'd be fitting to focus this week's video on Lion Ride again! This previously Facebook-exclusive video comes from a concert on July 21st, 2008 at The Salt Lounge in London, just days after the band's CD release show in the Soo for their "Awesome" EP, and the song played in this video is "Trust" from that same disc! Lion Ride's original & EP lineup was present here, including Mikey on vocals, Mark Rand & Marco Pedalino on guitar, Nathan Sauve on bass (in one of his last live appearances with Lion Ride), and drummer Marc Muto, and they show good chemistry and energy as we've come to expect from their concerts! The video quality is similarly good, but the audio is somewhat muffled, and attendee heads do create some black voids occasionally. Also, as a side note: Lion Ride's openers at this show were Toronto emo band The Labour Of..., whose bassist Brenton Ellis took over for Nathan in Lion Ride that fall!
Uploaded to Facebook over a year after this show by attendee Christopher Wakefield, you can see the original video at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=550561685717. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Christopher and Lion Ride, I'm just trying to share this video with a deserving wider audience! This is a solid early video of Lion Ride in action, so check out this 2008 rendition of "Trust" below, and go see Mikey get his punk on with The Fairmounts on Saturday night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, along with weekend concert previews and more! Thanks everyone!
It's time for another post at the SMS, and today's updates aren't anything too major or groundbreaking, but all have some cool and notable stuff to discuss, so what's on tap? We've got updates to some recent monthly feature posts, a new video from a local guitarist, and some new Haggith updates, but first, here's some recently restored videos of a prominent local metal band!
First up today, I wanted to share some videos that recently returned to the internet with you guys! Fans of defunct local metal quintet Lion Ride may remember that in the late 2000s, original bassist Nathan "Lionel Itchy" Sauve had uploaded a few videos from his tenure with the band onto his YouTube channel, but in 2010, he quietly privatized them for unknown reasons. Well, luckily for Lion Ride fans, he's made them public again, so I thought I'd properly re-address them! The videos, which come from Lion Ride's 2007 glam-influenced beginnings, include three videos each from their debut concert on July 7th of that year & a later gig on December 28th, both of which took place at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner.) The debut concert clips, which appear to have been filmed for the 705 Video Magazine, had early studio recordings dubbed over Lion Ride playing their songs "Cocaine Crazy", "Lazer Lover", and "My Baby's Bad", while the December videos (of them playing "Cocaine Crazy", "Sneak Attack", and "Slapdance") were by a different filmer and left in the original audio.
It's great to see these videos back online, and kudos to Nathan for bringing them back for fans to check out! The videos from the second concert are of worse quality and have a further away angle, but they're nice early performances of some Lion Ride standards! The videos from their debut show are definitely of better quality (I'm curious to hear the original audio though), and it's good to hear songs like "Lazer Lover" & "My Baby's Bad" again, especially knowing that they were later phased out of Lion Ride sets. I've embedded the video of Lion Ride playing "My Baby's Bad" at their first show below, but check out the rest of the 2007 Lion Ride clips out above, and thanks again to Nathan for making these public again!
One more related note, as among Nathan's returning uploads was a video of Toronto metal project The Sexual Vigilantes (featuring Maximum RNR's Brenton Ellis & Curtis Faux) playing their original "Motorbike The Song" while opening for Lion Ride at Foggy's on December 28th. For that set, they were joined by Lion Ride members/ex-Detroit bandmates Mikey Hawdon & Mark Rand on drums and bass, and it's of decent quality & a solid glimpse at what I think was the SXVGLNTES' only local concert! We've featured it on here in the past, but check the above links to give it another look!
Next up, here's the latest updates from local grunge quartet Haggith! Firstly, we now know a bit more on their Sault Ontario debut at The Roosevelt Hotel on September 13th via some new photo uploads onto their Facebook page, so what can we confirm? Well, new bassist Caleb Cachagee did indeed play with them for their first set, and singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie dropped the guitar to focus on singing for at least one song. As well, the full setlist from their Rosie debut was also revealed via this photo, so we now know that they played every song from their forthcoming debut album "Dragon Joy Ride" (except "Sandman"), along with non-album originals "Leon the Janitor" & "Public Enemy", and covers of Cheap Trick's "Reach Out" & The Stone Temple Pilots' "Vasoline" (the latter of which was their encore.) Solid stuff from what I can assume, but I wonder if any videos of their Rosie appearance are floating around? Also, Haggith are looking for input on what formats you'd wanna see "Dragon Joy Ride" released on, so would you want the album digitally? On CD? On cassette, even? Give feedback at this location, and stay tuned for more news and notes from them as it rolls in!
Also in the news, local guitarist/Audiofumes podcast host Mike Cliffe uploaded another new solo performance video onto his YouTube channel yesterday! Entitled "Monday Morning Mayhem", it's a 4:16 solo hard rock instrumental that thankfully has better lighting than Mike's last performance clip! Solid hard rocker with some progressive touches and nice backing instrumentation, and it feels like a song you could race cars to! Check it out below, and also be sure to check out Mike's AudioFumes podcasts as well!
Let's get a new news post up on the site to cover some other recent news! I'm going out of town tomorrow afternoon, so updates may be slower over the coming week, but I fully intend to have weekend concert previews and more news on the site over the next little while, so don't miss a thing over the coming days! So for today, we have news on a local concert venue's reopening & new home, the ultimate fate of one of our former rock radio stations, some new "Woods V" reviews, and this week's classic video, so here's what you need to know!
The new Coch's Corner is officially open for business, as of yesterday! The local bar & concert spot is now operating at it's new home, at the former Foggy Notions location at 708 Queen Street East, two months after they left the old Days Inn location on Bay Street, as per a bunch of recent postings on Facebook (though note that Coch's Corner's Facebook group has yet to publically confirm the news.) From what I understand, the bar is fully operational except for the restaurant, which isn't running yet but will be implemented. I have yet to see the newly renovated location to figure out how different it looks, or if there will still be a stage for bands, but you guys know I'll have more on that as I hear of it! The re-opening ends an almost 6 month hiatus for public activity at 708 Queen, following the end of Foggy's brief successor Feedback in January and the lease transfer, and it's good to finally hear that Paul and the rest of the staff are back up & running! Coch's and Foggy's fans should definitely be amped for the re-opening, and even if it'll be different given the merger of sorts for the two bars, hopefully Coch's Corner can avoid the noise complaint concerns and other petty things that hung up the previous bars at that spot. Stay tuned for updates as I hear of them, and head to the newly open Coch's Corner's new home tonight if you can!
Next up, I wanted to fill you guys in on what happened to a local radio station that had a lot of metal and hard rock relevance during it's run. As you may remember, Classic Rock: The Bear (WIHC, 97.9 FM) served the Sault Ste. Marie/Newberry, Michigan radio market for 8 years from 2002-2010 before Northern Star Broadcasting left the Upper Peninsula and sold most of their U.P. stations to Sovereign Communications, who now own most of the non-religious stations in the area. WIHC was the only U.P. station left out of the sale to avoid going over FCC limits for regional station ownership, but Northern Star Broadcasting took 97.9 FM dark in February 2010, as the station wasn't financially viable and was operating at a loss (source here.) We got the station back (sort of) a few months later when WLJZ (94.5 FM) out of Mackinaw City switched from a country format to a Bear simulcast, returning heavier music to that frequency, which once hosted the modern rock station The Zone in the mid-2000s. Better radios here can pick up The Bear on 94.5 FM, so it's worth scoping out to see where and if you can hear it here! That said, what ever happened to WIHC out of Newberry?
Well, it's back on the air, but in a very different format than what we remember. In November, West Central Michigan Media Ministries bought WIHC from Northern Star for $150,000, and they brought it back in March as Strong Tower Radio, a religious talk station simulcasted from Cadillac, making it the fifth Christian-based FM station in the Twin Sault markets. Click here for more info. I hardly see the need for that many religious radio stations in such a small market area, but at least this one seems to be talk radio based, so it is some variance from the four Christian contemporary music stations here. I hope the new format is a success for the owners and for the more religious radio listeners around here, but it still would be nice to hear even one more rock-ish station locally. Check the above links for more on the saga of 97.9 FM over the past couple of years!
Now, here's some more reviews of Woods of Ypres' last recorded studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", which is still attracting lots of critical notices! In January, Tom Dare from the metal website Thrash Hits gave "Woods V" a score of 5 out of 6, calling the songs "bloody good", though emphasizing the difficulty it takes to listen to the material given what happened to David Gold and the lyrical content. Nice insightful review, though filled with quotes, so check it out at this location! The following month, Khalil Mikael from the blog Melodic Reviews gave "Woods V" a 98% rating, highly praising it for it's brilliant instrumentation, musical variance, and philosophical lyrics, though I don't know if I agree with the HIM comparison on "Death Is Not an Exit". Another solid review, so click here to give it a look! Finally for today, "Khelek" from the website Metal Reviews gave this album a surprisingly low rating of 30%, criticizing Woods of Ypres for playing it safe, dumbing down their existing sound (he gave "Woods IV" 60%) into what he thought was a bland & monotonous style, and only recommended "W5" to existing fans. I applaud his honesty, but I'd say that he didn't really get into the right mindset to appreciate the album's mood. Still, check out his review at this location, and if you can't see the text, press Ctrl & A on your keyboard! Stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews in the near future!
And finally, here's this week's classic video! With a light upcoming weekend for shows that I can project, we're dipping into the general archives once again for this latest video, which is of the former local metal quintet Lion Ride! The local/Toronto standouts brought their high impact blend of punk and metal to many concerts during their 5 year run, and this video comes from an earlier show of theirs on Boxing Day 2008 at the old Coch's Corner. One video from the same filmer is already on YouTube via frontman Mikey Lion's YouTube channel, of Lion Ride playing "Lock Me In" at this concert, but the other video is new to YouTube, and it's of Lion Ride playing their song "Slapdance"! Lion Ride's 2008-2009 lineup is represented here, including Mikey on vocals, guitarists Marky & Marco Lion, then-new bassist Diamond Brent Panther, and original drummer Marc "The Italian Stallion" Muto (in what may have been his last local show with Lion Ride.) The audio quality is this video's main downfall, as it's very distorted on the verses & choruses, which almost completely drowns out Mikey's singing. That said, the video quality isn't bad, and it's shot from a decent angle, with the guys making the most of the tables at the old Coch's!
This video was shot by a concert attendee and was uploaded to Facebook two days after the show at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=54331212992. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Lion Ride, I'm just trying to share it with a wider audience! Audio issues aside, their talents are visible and their energy is top notch, so give this new old Lion Ride video a look below!
That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for news and previews in the next little while! Thanks everyone!
Yes, we have more David Gold tribute concert fallout to get to (including new videos and updates from both the Toronto event last Thursday and the local concert on Saturday), but I wanted to squeeze in some more assorted news and notes from the last while tonight so it didn't get pushed back further. The new bands post from this morning (check it out below this post) also didn't help for these stories, but we've got a lot of notable stories tonight, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, a new page from a formerly local band, a defunct quintet's newest song, early updates on a local concert festival, and lots of assorted news and notes, so here's what you need to know!
Three weeks after their current lineup debuted at The Nicolet Tavern, popular local metal trio Caveman Morrison will return to the Albert Street venue next weekend for two more concerts! These come one week after their next shows this weekend at The Roosevelt Hotel, and it's good to see Tym and company staying busy! Note that the Friday show next weekend conflicts with drummer Johnny Belanger's scheduled appearance at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands with The Bear Hunters, though I assume he could play at both if The Bear Hunters' set was early enough that day. If I hear any updates or changes to the status of either band or Johnny's involvement next Friday, I'll let you guys know! Admission should be free for both of Caveman Morrison's shows on April 20th & 21st, you must be 19 to attend, and they both have likely 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's good to see Caveman Morrison bringing their hard rock and metal covers to some more gigs this spring, and hopefully this trend keeps up! Stay tuned for more updates!
Next up, here's a newly posted Lion Ride song! No, they haven't reunited following their February breakup, but on Monday, a studio version of their Pointer Sisters cover "I'm So Excited" was posted onto their reactivated YouTube channel! It's cool to see a new video posted there after almost three years, but it's even cooler to hear a new song from the prominent local metal quintet, even if posthumous! A frequent addition in their later concert setlists, I assume this is the fourth song that they recorded at BWC Studios in Toronto in 2010 towards their unfinished second CD (joining "Stick It In", "Snail Trail", and the yet-to-be-released "Bang Bang, Bye Bye"), though this could be a bonus cover for all we know. It's good to hear this in full studio quality, and it sounds nice and energetic like I expected, though hopefully the remaining material from their 2010 sessions are posted online soon as well! Check out Lion Ride's cover of "I'm So Excited" below, and I never noticed that Jessie Spano was a Lion Ride fan before! Maybe I should watch more Saved By The Bell.
Thirdly, a formerly local metal band has finally launched a Facebook page, that being Sue Inside! The band best known for their duo appearances at local battles of the bands in 2008 & 2009 have mostly kept their online presences to just CBC Radio 3 & YouTube since relocating to Southern Ontario, but it's good to see them launch what I assume will be an outlet for more frequent band news! Now credited as also being from London (drummer Jeff Vogel's current home), their new Facebook page mentions that their music is "for the mind", and that they're working on music to start gigging, something they've done rarely at best since moving from the Soo. Lots of photos of both their current & older lineups (including bassist Adam Veen) are posted there, along with links to their new SoundCloud page, featuring two new original recordings! Both aren't brand new, but they include their acoustic instrumental "Hermit" and their groove metal track "Caligula", both of which are good for their respective genres! "Hermit" is closer to their most recent work from frontman Shane Fraser's YouTube channel, but "Caligula" has a solid catchy metal sound that I'd love to hear more of, and their current incarnation sounds good here! Solid work, so check out the latest from Sue Inside at the above links, and I'll have more as it comes in!
Also in the news, are you guys curious about helping out or participating in this year's LemmaFest? After the successful debut for the Michael Lemma memorial concert festival last summer, a second installment is scheduled for June 23rd outside of Dondee Lanes, and updates are coming in via their official Facebook page. That said, a meeting will be held TOMORROW NIGHT at the Dondee at around 8:00 PM, and Gary Hatch from Grooves Music will be on hand to answer questions relating to the bands and what will be provided. Organizers are hoping that band members interested in participating will come to voice their opinions and ask questions, so if you wanna be a part, I'd say come to the Dondee tomorrow night at 8:00 PM! As for the lineup as it currently stands, only two bands have been 100% confirmed, those being Brimley metal quartet Half A Man and local cover rock band Chump Change, both of which feature alumni from last year's LemmaFest (Infathom's Dillion Semasky and Bucksaw's Jason VanLuven.) As well, former local musician David Waite (From The Ashes of Angels) has voiced interest in coming home to play at LemmaFest this year with his Colorado acoustic project Jibber N' The Beanie, but they have not been confirmed by organizers yet.
Hopefully LemmaFest gets another solid lineup of Michigan talent this year, so that this year's event can be bigger & better like they're striving for! As a point of reference, last year's LemmaFest featured 10 bands, and they included heavier acts like the aforementioned Infathom, the since-disbanded Swayze Train & Great Bodily Harm, and the still-active Powerslug & Scofflaw. Will we see some of the above performers back this year? Time will tell, but as more LemmaFest updates roll in, I'll absolutely have them here!
And finally for today, here's some assorted stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:
Former Banned bassist Alex Schrovenwever rejoined his former band on guest guitar & vocals at their most recent "job" on March 17th at The Bird in Sault Michigan, as cited from their Facebook page. As far as I can tell, this was a one-off appearance for this concert, but at least it seems to indicate that Alex's departure from Banned last fall was amicable. Stay tuned for more Banned updates as they come in!
Kincheloe metal band Chained Memories have announced the addition of Mikaela White as their new bassist, replacing Sean Roush, who has since replaced drummer Mike Rynberg as their primary singer. The news was confirmed last week on their Facebook page. I'm not familiar with Mikaela musically, but hopefully she'll add to the all of the talented female musicians in the Sault Michigan area!
I've edited our YMCA Battle of the Bands profile to note some more things about 4th place finishers Operation: Killdozer, notably that their guitarist was Winkstinger's Jesse Cook, and that half of their lineup moved on to Winkstinger the following year. I also added a link to a video of Operation: Killdozer playing their original "Pieces of You" at that March 2009 battle. It's not new, but I only recently found the link again. The quality isn't great, but note that the song sounds very similar to Winkstinger's original "Where'd We Go Wrong", which doesn't seem to be a coincidence!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more David Gold memorial concert fallout and weekend concert previews shortly! Thanks everyone!
As expected, it's time for our fourth of seven profiles in our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series, and the series peaks in quantity (and arguably quality) with today's entry, as the biggest local battle of the bands in recent memory is getting the spotlight! Like the previous three weeks, this post will outline what happened, who won, and the whereabouts of the bands and performers at this battle of the bands, along with more facts, trivia, and notes relating to it and the events surrounding it. Read on below for this week's profile, and e-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com if there's anything missing or incorrect! (Updated on February 23rd, 2016)
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The Kiss Battle of the Bands (November 30th-December 2nd, 2009)
Background: From November 30th to December 2nd, 2009, a huge battle of the bands was held at The Canadian Nightclub, where 20 bands gathered over three nights to compete for the chance to open for Kiss at their headlining show at The Essar Center on December 15th, 2009, though it was later postponed to August 10th, 2010 due to inclement weather. This huge opportunity was held in cooperation with local radio station Rock 101 and Kiss' touring company AEG Live. Of the 20 bands who signed up, 10 each performed on the first two days, with performance order determined in a secret random drawing before the event. Each band received a 10 minute timeslot to perform two original songs, with no covers allowed. A judging panel chose 5 bands each night to advance to the finals on December 2nd, with 75% of the voting based on their performance, talent, and entertainment level, and 25% based on audience reaction. The finals on December 2nd were formatted and judged on similar criteria (though the band order was announced for the finals), after which one band would be chosen as the winners.
Prizes: The winners would initially have been recommended to Kiss' management as the local openers for their concert on December 15th, though it was later confirmed that Kiss would approve the winner of the battle no matter what. The winning band would also win 10 tickets to Kiss' concert at The Essar Center, along with a guaranteed photo with Kiss. Though no other prizes were offered for the runner-up bands, the second place band was guaranteed the opportunity to open for Kiss in the event that the first place act couldn't perform at the concert.
Results: The first night of the battle saw Blues Harvest, Flat Stanley, Garden of Bedlam, Nebraska Arms, and Stiffler's Mom advance to the December 2nd finals. The following evening, Gsis Murphy, Lion Ride, Nixxon Dixxon, Sense of Truth, and Wishbone moved on to the finals to complete the 10 band final round. After the final judges results were tallied, it was revealed that Garden of Bedlam beat Lion Ride by a single point to win the battle of the bands and the right to open for Kiss in Sault Ontario. Placements for the other 8 finalist bands and the 10 bands who didn't advance were not publically revealed.
Aftermath (Finalists): Garden of Bedlam successfully opened for Kiss with a half hour set at the new date of August 10th, 2010, helping solidify their place in the local metal scene. Since the battle, Garden of Bedlam have headlined numerous major concerts (including the Rotaryfest Second Stage in 2010 & 2012), played scattered out of town dates, and released their first full length CD "Everything Will Die" in 2011. Lion Ride continued their local success through 2011 with numerous Ontario concert dates, and recorded material towards an unreleased album in 2010, but they would ultimately disband in February 2012. Stiffler's Mom continue to play numerous concerts in the area to this day (save for a 2011-2012 breakup), while Flat Stanley are currently working on new studio material with guest singers. Blues Harvest & Wishbone stayed prominent with various local concert dates and recording sessions
towards new albums, though Wishbone broke up between briefly in 2012, and Blues Harvest have been inactive since 2013.
Sense of Truth played scattered live dates through May 2010 and recorded material towards their unreleased debut EP, before falling inactive and eventually parting ways in 2011. Nixxon Dixxon played numerous high profile dates in 2010 in the Upper Peninsula, including opening for Pop Evil & Vince Neil at Kewadin Casino concerts, before disbanding that August. Gsis Murphy & Nebraska Arms continued to play occasional local concerts through mid-2010, when they both quietly parted ways.
Aftermath (Non-Finalists): The Billy Bastards continue to play scattered local concerts to devoted crowds, releasing three well received albums in the process, while Sykotyk Rampage, though only occasionally seen on stage with frequency, have recorded dozens of new and unique albums since this battle. Caveman Morrison played live often until falling inactive in 2014, while Stillbroke played two more shows in early 2010 before entering a long period of inactivity, returning in late 2011 with a new lineup & name (Borderline Divine) before disbanding for good in mid-2012 after just three concerts. Dirty Virgin have only been seen since at one off Canadian Nightclub gigs in the spring of 2011 & 2012, and Huckster continued playing off & on through the summer of 2011, seemingly going inactive later that year. Bring The Fallen rocked local concert venues often until their dissolution in the spring of 2011 (save for a one-off reunion in July 2013), and both Middle of Nowhere and Tiny Trebuchet continued to play occasional local dates through their descent into inactivity in mid-2010.
Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Finalists; Metal/hard rock bands in italics):
415E (Chris Hubbard from Nixxon Dixxon) Bone Yard (Greg Simpson from Stiffler's Mom) Changing Lanes (Erik Boissineau from Garden of Bedlam) The Fairmounts (Mikey Hawdon from Lion Ride; based out of Toronto) Griphook (Anthony Fabiano from Gsis Murphy) Lucky 13 (Jeremey Salatuk from Wishbone) Mourning Wood (Glen Thomas from Flat Stanley) Northwest (Wayne Watkins from Nebraska Arms) Skeyes of Seven (Cory Murchison & Ron Baxter from Sense of Truth) That's Chester (Greg Simpson from Stiffler's Mom) The Wild Iris (Steve Myers from Sense of Truth & Jake Rendell from Blues Harvest)
Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Non-Finalists; Metal/hard rock bands in italics, ex-members indicated with an *):
Aggressive Acoustic (Brian Cattapan from Sykotyk Rampage; based out of Sudbury) Al Wood & The Woodsmen (Cliff Alloy from Huckster) The Bear Hunters (Josh Stephney from Bring The Fallen) Debt To The Heirless (Dan Souliere from Bring The Fallen) Destroilet (John Conway from The Billy Bastards) Frightlight (Rick White & Jeff Richards* from Caveman Morrison) The Ghost Town Cryers (Kyle McKey from Stillbroke; based out of Pembroke)
The Hustle Brothers (Jay Case & Cliff Alloy from Huckster) Redundant (Rick White from Caveman Morrison) Sailor's Tongue (Kyle McKey from Stillbroke)
Trivia:
At least three local bands who were reported to have signed up for this battle would later drop out of the event. Local producer Miguel Gauthier's pop rock project MBM was slated to be a part, but exited the lineup due to a failure to secure a full live lineup, and were replaced by Caveman Morrison. Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide reportedly signed up as well, though they had conflicting out of town tour commitments over that time period. Some sources also reported that drum & bass punk trio The Fury had signed up, and though they later confirmed they wouldn't be playing, they would finish second at the Algoma University Battle on December 1st.
Rock 101 DJ Mark SanAngelo was the MC for this battle of the bands, and he was joined by morning host Brian Davie for the final round. Both likely did some judging for the event too, but details on who exactly was judging the battle weren't revealed. Crank Sound Distribution also handled sound for the entirety of the battle.
Following their success at this battle of the bands, Garden of Bedlam celebrated their victory with a solo headlining concert at Madison's Pub (now The Harp Bar & Grill) on December 5th, and they were joined by fellow battle competitor Marco Pedalino (Lion Ride) as a guest guitarist for a couple of songs. Garden of Bedlam would use the battle experience as the topic of their original song "Three Days", which was performed at the Kiss concert the following August, and was later featured on their full length debut album "Everything Will Die" in December 2011.
Though rules for this battle stated that bands had to play only original songs and no covers, a few bands did play covers of songs that members played in other projects. Notably, Caveman Morrison (who generally play only covers) did two songs from frontman Tym Morrison's solo album, and Stiffler's Mom covered two songs by
their earlier metal band Sin Stereo in their opening round performance.
Dirty Virgin, who capped off the performers on the first night of this battle, were notably disqualified for attempting to play a third song in their set, potentially costing them a slot in the battle finals. This remains the band's last concert during their active period (and only show with drummer Dickie Blackstock), though they did reunite for one-off gigs in the spring of 2011 & 2012.
After the Kiss concert was initially announced in the summer of 2009, Lion Ride aggressively began an online campaign to be named local openers for the concert. When the battle of the bands was announced, Lion Ride pulled out all the stops, including bringing their stage banner and smoke machine for their energetic and high octane first round set, which helped encourage other finalist bands to bring band paraphernalia and merchandise to the final round. Despite falling a point short of victory, Lion Ride's appreciation of Kiss never faltered, and they frequently covered "Strutter" at later concerts.
Before their set on the second day of the Kiss battle, Bring The Fallen competed in and won the Algoma University Battle of the Bands at The Speak Easy, where they won the opportunity to open for fellow battle competitor Mikey Hawdon (Lion Ride) and his punk band The Inner City Surfers later that month, though they later had to drop out of that show. Battle success wouldn't repeat itself that day, as Bring The Fallen were not voted through to the Kiss Battle finals, making this their only loss out of four battles of the bands that they competed in during their local run. The band capped their battle career with a win at Downtown Showdown at
The Oddfellows Hall in May 2010, albeit with future Shit Liver bassist
Mike Kyle filling in for Nolan Rainville due to out of town commitments.
Though he didn't win the right to open for Kiss at this battle, Lion Ride drummer Mike Indovina still made it the local Kiss concert while serving as tour manager for Toronto pop rock quartet The Envy, who were named as a late opening band for Kiss during that stretch of their tour.
Some people noted that progressive rock band Wishbone played at this battle despite a threatened boycott that three unnamed local bands had levied on The Canadian Nightclub if Wishbone were to play at The Canadian in October 2009 as openers for Texas country metal trio Grady. This was due to inflammatory comments that then-drummer Glen Thomas had reportedly made against the three bands. However, Wishbone (and Glen's primary band at the time, Flat Stanley) competed at the Kiss battle without incident, and both bands successfully made the finals. No word on if any boycott ever happened as a result.
Sault Michigan quartet Nixxon Dixxon made their only live concert appearances in Sault Ontario at this battle of the bands before their breakup the following year, and these remain the most recent cross-border appearances by a Sault Michigan metal band at a Sault Ontario concert.
Three bands who competed at this battle (Middle of Nowhere, Nebraska Arms, and Sykotyk Rampage) would re-convene at The Soo Curlers Association's HeartStop Lounge the following February for the Sault College/Scotties Tournament of Hearts Battle of the Bands. Nebraska Arms (featuring two time battle finalists Wayne Watkins & Adam Sauve) finished in a strong second place, with Sykotyk Rampage in 3rd and Middle of Nowhere in fourth place. The winners of that battle were local folk rock outfit Blackwater.
Though they didn't compete in any other local battles of the bands, Lion Ride competed in two similar events in Toronto the following year. The guys finished in third place in The The Great Canadian T-Shirt Battle at The Hideout in March 2010 (winning recording time and adult paraphernalia), while they advanced to the semifinals of the annual Indie Week competition that October at The Hard Luck Bar. The winners of the latter event were defunct Toronto dance rock quartet These Electric Lives, who enlisted Lion Ride's Mike Indovina as their new (and final) drummer in late 2011.
A handful of performers from this battle were a part of the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th, 2012 at The Grand Theater. Wishbone (then featuring Flat Stanley's Tony Kajnar & Glen Thomas, plus bassist Steven Flint) scored a close third place victory, with frontman Dennis Duguay winning "Best Vocalist", while Bring The Fallen frontman Josh Stephney's newer band The Bear Hunters fell a point short of a third place tie. Sykotyk Rampage also performed at the event, though out-of-competition prior to and directly after the competing bands.
7 performers at the Kiss Battle competed at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands in April 2013, where Sense of Truth's Steve Myers & Blues Harvest's Jake Rendell took third place in the finals on April 24th with The Pesto Shirts (now The Wild Iris), while Bring The Fallen's Josh Stephney took fifth place as a guitarist with The Bear Hunters. Also, both Josh & B.T.F. bandmate Nolan Rainville (in the death metal band Giwakwa) competed against Sykotyk Rampage (now with Tony Briglio on bass) in the third semifinal on April 17th, though neither made the finals.
After an almost 4 year absence from battles, The Canadian Nightclub hosted the fan-voted Viva La Battle on November 13th, 2013, where Nebraska Arms bassist Wayne Watkins saw greater battle success as the singer & guitarist of his newer indie/punk quintet Northwest, where they finished in second place. Though The Bear Hunters won this battle, Josh Stephney did not compete due to moving to Brampton a few months beforehand, though he did play with them at the Bam Margera concert the following month, which was the first place prize at the battle.
A few performers at this battle have tried their hand at recent installments of the annual Rock N' Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish, Ontario in April 2012 & 2013, though none made the top 5 to earn a spot at the annual Rock N' Roar festival. They include Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano (with Griphook in 2013), performer Lucas Bugyra (with Havadder in 2014), and a reunited Wishbone in 2014 (though then with Jeff Gray on bass instead of Chris Smith.)
Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Sportsman's Lounge at Dondee Lanes for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via it's Facebook event page last night, with the venue's Facebook page previously doing the same yesterday morning. These will be Banned's first shows at the Dondee in over three months, and their first anywhere since rocking Hessel last month, so if you're overdue for another night or two of Alex, Don, and Wayne's hard rocking favourites, you know where to be TONIGHT and/or TOMORROW! Note that a comment on their Facebook page heavily implies that they'll be performing at the first annual Michihistrigan Rendezvous event in Gould City over the Father's Day weekend in June, but remember that the Lower Peninsula is outside of our coverage range.
Next up, Elements bandmates and Jack Spades alumni Rob Speers and Jesse Cook will bring their acoustic hard rock show to The Rockstar Bar in Sault Ontario as part of their St. Patrick's Day festivities TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Rob did plug it at the end of Jack Spades' set at the Archelon show this past Saturday, but it was only announced online via it's official Facebook event page yesterday. Three weeks removed from their last show of this nature, this will be Rob & Jesse's first Rockstar Bar stop in a month, but this time, the luck of the Irish will be upon TOMORROW'S concert, given the holiday trappings! As such, expect green beer (of course), some form of prize giveaways, and even lreprechauns themselves? Of course, in terms of the music, expect more unplugged cover favourites from Rob & Jesse, plus guest performers, and the venue did hype up that you can "bring your guitar and join in the fun!"
Moving to previously announced concerts, fans can also check out prolific local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison as he returns to Gliss Steak & Seafood for two more matinee headlining gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Keeping up with his busy schedule of shows there, and fresh off of his minimally advertised Mark's Breafast Plus shows earlier this week (including one yesterday, apologies for missing it here), Tym's latest stops at The Quality Inn's house restaurant should provide more of the same acoustic hard rock classic action, so don't miss out on these next two supper-time gigs! Note that the Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page advertises Tym as playing at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill tonight, but neither he nor the venue have otherwise confirmed that. If either does, we'll edit this post! As usual for Tym's Gliss stops, expect 6:00 PM start times, and no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!
