LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (BookcluB & Dos Amigos!!)

Here's a surprise second post for your Friday night reading, which is devoted to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning a big day for live music and downtown festival action TOMORROW, so what all can you expect?

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will return to Forty-Five Social TOMORROW as part of their second annual Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam! Apologies for the short notice, their involvement was announced by the 117 Spring Street barber shop's Facebook page last week, but Dos Amigos proper have not updated their Facebook page whatsoever since August. Given that, who knows what Dustin and Mikey might have been up to in recent months, but it's good to see them playing a publically advertised concert again! The Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam again coincides with the annual Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer on Queen Street East and the Downtown Plaza, which Forty-Five Social booking three solo artists to play alongside Dos Amigos TOMORROW. Amazingly, the lineup from 2025 returns intact for 2026, just with a shuffled lineup order, so look for folk musician Matthew (or Matty) James at 9:00 PM, veteran local staple Jay Case at 7:00 PM, Dos Amigos at 4:00 PM, and country musician Marty Frolick at 2:00 PM.

Each act has a two hour timeslot TOMORROW, with the 6:00 PM hour seemingly serving as an intermission. While there is no stated age limit for this outdoor concert, use common sense, as this is taking advantage of Beerfest, and there is no announced cover charge at Forty-Five Social. As seen in this Facebook video, the Parking Lot Jam will take place under a tent in the titular lot, but just in case, 9&10 News has a heavy chance of rain and thunderstorms during Marty's opening set, but precipitation odds will drop for Dos Amigos and it should dry up for Jay and Matthew. Temperatures are projected to start at around 18° and will drop to around 11°. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dos Amigos live!

Next up, this won't be all for Mikey Hawdon and Dustin Jones TOMORROW, as the ex-Inner City Surfers bandmates will join their current alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB at the Downtown Plaza for the Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer's proper concert program! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only learned of BookcluB's involvement via Dustin's personal Facebook page yesterday (they haven't updated their Facebook page in three months, and I have not seen LopLops, Beerfest, or You Belong SSM announce a music schedule). Just a half hour after Dos Amigos wrap up outside of Forty-Five Social, they'll join the full band at the Plaza for what appears to be a headlining set at 6:30 PM, which will notably be one of (if not) their first gigs since adding former Hails guitarist Carmen Muto to their lineup, replacing the relocated Brandon Ruch. This was confirmed via Rotaryfest's website in their Stage 1 writeups for this year.

We'll have more on Rotaryfest 2026 on the SMS soon, but Carmen is a welcome (if surprising, given Hails' sound) addition to BookcluB, giving them a new young gun on guitar! I don't know the format for the Festival of Beer's music schedule TOMORROW, but if it's similar to last year's schedule, you should expect three more bands and two DJ slots from noon onward, with BookcluB likely playing for an hour. Queen Street East will be closed from 8:00 AM-10:00 PM from Brock Street to Spring Street, and attendees can expect loads of craft beer companies and brewers selling their wares for the occasion, while a food truck festival will debut at the Plaza as part of this LopLops-curated festival. Lack of a full band schedule aside, click here and visit the above links for more details on what to expect! There will be two further Queen Street closures TOMORROW for other well timed events.

Outspoken Brewing will host their Night Shift party from 5:00 PM-2:00 AM with Queen closed from Elgin to Bruce Street, though they are only hosting DJs for music. Meanwhile Queen Street will be closed from Bruce to Dennis Street for a special rooftop concert at Village Media's headquarters featuring Steel Rock & The Pine Tones (Superior Heights & White Pines' student rock bands) and local Filipino band Bituin, so there's a lot going on downtown! Alas, those rainy weather forecasts remain very much a factor for anything going on until 6:00 or so, so be prepared. General admission tickets for Beerfest cost $35, but click here for all ticket package tiers if you're still needing to buy tickets online. I do hope that the weather cooperates for the majority of TOMORROW'S Festival of Beer and related downtown events, so whether you're in it for the beer or the music (or both), see above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bookclub live at the Downtown Plaza!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this weekend! Thanks everyone! 

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Halfway Loaded

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, again letting us spotlight a randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past and all of their publically known accomplishments therein! This month's band didn't get too far off the ground despite a lot of promising videos, but their existence did portend bigger things for their singer and lead guitarist, so here's what you should know on them!

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Halfway Loaded

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Hard Rock

Lineup:

Justin Grayson (Fort Creek, Tattoos & Scars), vocals
Shane Biron (Fort Creek, Tattoos & Scars), guitar
Ryan Mazzapica, guitar
Jesse Gottwald, bass
Dylan Newman (Mustang Sally), drums

Audio/Video: While Halfway Loaded never played a true public concert, they had a surprising amount of rehearsal and jam session videos online. Their Facebook page has over a dozen performance videos, including some acoustic videos of Justin & Shane foreshadowing their later work in Tattoos & Scars, while a handful of acoustic covers with them and Ryan also made their way to Shane's YouTube channel (later re-appropriated for Tattoos & Scars). Bands like Thriving Ivory, Slipknot, Oasis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Saving Abel, Pop Evil, and Seven Mary Three were covered on video, but here's the full band covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush"!

Info/Analysis: Publically launching in November 2016 under the name Too Far Gone, Halfway Loaded were seen at a handful of open mic nights at Coch's Corner in late 2016 but otherwise made their brief presence known from their aforementioned rehearsal and jam videos, not helped by their members largely being unfamiliar from past local bands at the time. After playing a private event in June 2017, their announced a planned name change to The Twin City Saints in August, but that never visibly went through. The band continued posting cover videos and photos of their gear through January 2018, but updates largely ceased afterwards, with the band citing life & work commitments for their lack of posts that October, and further postings were only made to promote Justin & Shane's new acoustic side project Tattoos & Scars and their brand new southern hard rock group Fort Creek in mid-2019.

While the pandemic delayed Fort Creek's debut as a public act until 2021, they have superceded Halfway Loaded in every way, and it's great to see that Justin & Shane finally got a live band off the ground! Halfway Loaded were certainly less southern rock-based than Fort Creek, but the similarities are obviously there, and while Justin & Shane now have more recognizable bandmates, Ryan, Jesse, and Dylan were talented components of the earlier group, who had a good and melodic handle on modern hard rock, and would have been an asset on local stages in the late 2010s! Follow Fort Creek and the recently relaunched Tattoos & Scars to see what Justin & Shane are up to nowadays!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around October 10th, and we have quite a big band to be randomly selected for next time, namely local acid jam/power pop/hard rock trio The Din! Look for that next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, Offspring/Sum 41 Concert Preview, And More Updates!!

Here's a new news post for your Monday night reading, and while it mostly focuses on a major concert preview for tomorrow night, we also have some assorted recent updates, and leading off, a new addition to our local band listings. Here's what you should know!

We have a new local band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely a new southern/hard rock quintet named Fort Creek! Named after the local conservation area, this group stems from local acoustic hard rock duo Tattoos & Scars' search earlier this year to find musicians to join that project, though it appears that this is a separate band, given that Fort Creek have quietly had their own Facebook page since May. Time will tell if Tattoos & Scars will be the Bearded Lounge to Fort Creek's Bone Yard, but in any event, both bands feature singer/guitarist Justin Grayson and guitarist Shane Biron. Their lineup is rounded out by rhythm guitarist Matt Sibilo (ex-Redefined, Scary Uncles, et al.), former Thin Ice/Soundcheck bassist Robin "Bones" Lee, and Griphook/ex-Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano. As it turns out, they made their live debut at an open mic night at Reggie's West last month, with pictures to boot, though we have never considered open mic nights to be true "concerts" for our purposes.

If you want to hear Fort Creek in action, this video of the guys jamming Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" was posted on Facebook, but it only shows Justin, and it runs for under 30 seconds. Robin's YouTube channel has audio recordings of the guys covering Radiohead's "Creep" and, as embedded below, Thriving Ivory's "Angels on the Moon". We haven't gotten a massive look at their southern rock side yet, but Fort Creek have a very talented lineup with hard rock chops, and they're already further along as a live band than Halfway Loaded were. Give Fort Creek a look above & below!

Next up, here's our preview of a very special Tuesday night concert going down TOMORROW at GFL Memorial Gardens, as California punk legends The Offspring and Ajax, Ontario punk quintet Sum 41 will join forces for a night full of hit and fan favourite songs! This will be The Offspring's local concert debut, and with songs like "Come Out & Play", "Original Prankster", "Hit That", and many more in their repertoire, their upbeat punk hits should attract a great reception at the former Essar Centre tomorrow! Meanwhile, this will be the first local stop for Sum 41 in 15 years, having last came through when they headlined at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion in September 2004. As any MuchMusic watcher should know from years gone by, Sum 41's classic songs like "The Hell Song", "In Too Deep", and "Pieces" still hold up today, as do their newer songs, and it's great to see them back! This will be their first local gig with Gob's Tom Thacker on guitar or with Frank Zummo on drums.

Finally, English alternative rock trio Dinosaur Pile-Up will open in their own local debut, and with their own single "Back Foot" climbing on the rock radio charts and getting airplay on Stingray Loud, they should set the tone well with the grunge-inspired original attack before the punk sets in! An Invictus Entertainment Group production presented by Rock 101, this ALL AGES & 7:00 PM concert still has floor and bowl seats available at this link, at the in-person box office, and at (705) 759-5251, though the price remains $90 for most seats and $67 for the upper back bowl, minus service fees and taxes. The steep cost will scare off some fans, but hopefully this show is a huge hit to encourage more punk and alternative bands to come to the Gardens! With all of the hit songs and Rock 101 standbys from both bands, I know this will be a great concert, so visit the official Facebook event page for complete details, and here's The Offspring live!



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

• Back on July 31st, a 20 year old punk/metalcore guitarist named Brett Macchio posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group regarding a search for players (presumably a bassist and/or drummer) for a local band that he's working on. At the time, Brett had found a singer, and he has a handful of live experience from a high school band, plus some songwriting work since then. I'm not familiar musically with Brett, but if you want more information, message him at this link or above!
• Local Distillers tribute quartet Coral Fang will join frontwoman Tiffany Stocco's Volbeat tribute band The Guitar Gangsters for their Sudbury road trip on November 29th! This will be their first out of town gig, their first anywhere since Go Skate Day in June, and just their fifth show total. It's great to see that one of Tiffany's pre-existing cover bands will survive despite her move out of town, but will we ever see Poison Girl again? See above for more on the Sudbury concert at The Asylum!
• I have moved local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, coupled with members Justin Grayson & Shane Biron launching the aforementioned Fort Creek as their apparent primary band. Active since 2016, this promising quintet never advanced beyond open mic nights and private gigs, but follow Fort Creek to see what Justin & Shane have in store, and best of luck to Ryan, Jesse, and Dylan in the future!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Tattoos and Scars & 3 Day Millionaires

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and punk artists and/or concerts! As usual, this month's channels were randomly selected, and due to the first only having two distinct kinds of videos, I picked one more channel randomly with only one distinct video type to round things out with. We have a solid subsection of hard rock covers to focus on this month from two bands not seen as of late, so here's what you should know!
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Tattoos and Scars (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3SK_ofDsQH408Qfsy0fy5Q/)

Owner: Halfway Loaded/Tattoos & Scars guitarist Shane Biron

Channel Timeline: Launched on December 23rd, 2015; Videos posted from that day through May 2017

Channel Summary: This is (was?) the official YouTube channel for local hard rock band Halfway Loaded, and it features 8 videos of their in-studio jam sessions, six in a sit-down casual format and two in more of a full band presentation. Despite being launched under Halfway Loaded's name, and only featuring videos of that band, it has since been renamed to Tattoos & Scars, reflecting their acoustic side project duo that has seen more recent activity.

Why You Should Watch: As Halfway Loaded have only played private gigs and open mic nights to date, this is one of the few extant public sources to check out fuller versions of this band on video, and there is promising stuff here from this talented group that deserve a more active and prominent shot! While the "Tattoos and Scars" channel name is a misnomer at present, you can check out videos of Shane & Justin in an acoustic setting via pre-launch videos on Halfway Loaded's Facebook page.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Simple man-Lynard Skynard/shinedown (cover): Six of Halfway Loaded's videos (all but one from late 2015-early 2016) feature Shane, singer Justin Grayson, and rhythm guitarist Ryan Mazzapica jamming hard rock covers in a laid back acoustic setting. These include renditions of Thriving Ivory's  "Angels on the Moon", Slipknot's "Snuff", Theory of a Deadman's "Santa Monica", Seether's "Broken", and Saving Abel's "The Sex Is Good", but featured here is their first & most popular video, a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", in what was allegedly just their second time playing together. Despite an unideal camera placement (admittedly improved on later videos), this southern rock ballad is well handled across the board, and their comfort and talent was expanded on in the covers linked above!



Monster truck - Dont tell me how to live (cover): The other two videos from March 2017 are of Halfway Loaded covering Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome" and, as embedded below, Monster Truck's "Don't Tell Me How To Live". In these videos, Halfway Loaded are represented by Justin & Shane alongside ex-bassist Jesse Gottwald and former Mustang Sally drummer Dylan Newman, with Ryan absent on both. The covers are faithful, solid, and nicely fleshed out, but Ryan's absence is noted, and the camera placement isn't great again, with Justin's back to the camera, Dylan largely obscured, and lighting sometimes being a detriment to the view. Hopefully Highway Loaded resurface in the near future, there's something here!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Day Millionaires (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj2loBcCI2TPi317M3QffkA/)

Owner: A member of 2016-2018 local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires, specific identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 3rd, 2017; All videos posted that same day

Channel Summary: The 3 Day Millionaires' channel solely features videos from a Rockstar Bar concert of theirs from November 2016, featuring singer/bassist Steve Dowding (Boxcar Junction), guitarists Jeremey Salatuk (Wishbone) & the recently debuted Bill Brouillard (Sneaky Pete), and drummer Scott McLurg (Turner Up.) The videos feature The Millionaires covering Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box", Don Henley's "Boys of Summer", Radiohead's "Creep", Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", and in one lengthy 3-song video, Candlebox's "Far Behind", Oasis' "Cigarettes & Alcohol", and The Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep" (with Scott on vocals.) Featured here is their most popular video, a cover of The Flys' "Got You Where I Want You". These are well performed covers from a good stationary angle, if suffering a bit in vocal clarity, so fans of The 3 Day Millionares 2+ year run should be right at home with these clips, and hopefully they resurface down the road!
 
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around June 26th when we spotlight one randomly selected channel for a change, namely The Canadian, the slightly incorrectly named channel launched by Live705 featuring some 2016 videos from early concerts of theirs!  Look for that then, and for more news and this month's CD review on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, A New Band, And More!!

In the last concert weekend before the 2018 holiday season truly begins, things are relatively quiet, but we do have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, an apology for a missed show, a new live video, and some assorted shorter items to fill things out! However, let's kick things off with a new local unplugged rock band featuring a couple of familiar faces!

We have a new local hard rock duo to add to our active local metal band links, and they are Tattoos & Scars, a new acoustic side project from members of Halfway Loaded! As announced in a post on that band's Facebook page on Halloween, singer Justin Grayson & guitarist Shane Biron have formed this new project while Halfway Loaded proper continue their ongoing dormant period due to personal life and work commitments. Tattoos & Scars proper are described on their new Facebook page as an "acoustic act... covering everything from classic rock to whatever we feel like playing." Old and new videos were teased to be uploaded there, and while that has yet to pan out, we do have clues as to how Justin and Shane sound together. One of their pictures features them dressed up as two of their big musical influences ("All Hope Is Gone"-era Corey Taylor and Zakk Wylde), while you can see Justin & Shane cover Thriving Ivory, Slipknot, Oasis, and Lynyrd Skynyrd songs on Halfway Loaded's Facebook page.

In the scattered videos that I've seen of Halfway Loaded, I've detected solid promise, whether it's the above Shane & Justin acoustic clips or with other band members, and the guys are a nice complimentary pair on the above covers! It'll be interesting to see if Tattoos & Scars prove to be more active than Halfway Loaded have been in the past year, but follow along at the above links, and stay tuned for more when it rolls in!

Next up, let's dive into this weekend's quiet hard rock concert weekend, starting with another busy weekend for ex-Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who will return to Gliss Restautant for matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, which sandwich a newly announced return to Room 21 TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on the latter concert, it was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Monday. The Gliss gigs will mark Tym's third weekend since the resumption of his long-term arrangement at the downtown restaurant following it's move from Bay to Spring Street, so if you haven't seen the more intimate, hotel-independent location yet, this could be your chance to do so! As for TOMORROW'S Room 21 return, this will be Tym's first show there in two months, though I cannot confirm if there will be a Fishbowl or Finger Food Friday theme for this one. If you want a more typical nighttime setting for Tym's varied and often heavy cover selection, consider a trip above Low & Slow TOMORROW NIGHT!

Both of this weekend's Gliss shows are 6:00 PM matinees with no stated age limits or cover charges (but mind the locale), while TOMORROW'S Room 21 gig is a traditional 10:00 PM affair with no cover, but a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!



Also this weekend, here's a previously announced show taking place THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will hit the stage for one night only! Last seen over the Halloween weekend, this will be the Mourning Wood successors' first stop at The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs nightclub since the summer, and will ostensibly serve as a preview of their Toystock set next Sunday. Fans of this veteran hard rock band should find a lot to like with their accessible blend of classic hits, so don't miss out on all of the action on Saturday! This is a 9:00 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new live video of Soundcheck in action from... Saturday, November 3rd at The Esquire Club!? Yes, it appears that they did in fact play there two weeks ago, despite the show(s?) receiving no online advertising from the band or venue.

Assuming this was a public booking, I profusely apologize for not covering it on the SMS two weeks ago, but if the band or venue had plugged it in advance, we wouldn't have missed it! We can at least see how one song went that Saturday, as this video (shared from drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page onto their own page on the 5th) features the band, with Paul Belair back on bass, covering Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". Interesting song choice that they effectively add a classic rock sheen to, and while the grainy purple lighting doesn't help, Soundcheck sound on their game with this rendition! Give their Alanis cover a look below!



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

• The aforementioned Halfway Loaded have quietly parted ways with bassist Jesse Gottwald, as per his removal from their Facebook page's advertised lineup. A reason for Jesse's departure wasn't announced, but his personal Facebook page implies that he moved to Southern Ontario for work reasons earlier this year. Best of luck to Jesse in the future, and hopefully he surfaces in a new project down the road! A new bassist has not yet been announced, but they've only posted on their Facebook page once since January.
• While still advertised on the Facebook event page as "Jeff & Friends", the Toystock set from Country 104.3 DJ Jeff McNiece next Sunday is apparently now considered to be from his band The Jeff & Jeff Show, who played at last year's Toystock as well. Our source is Jeff & Jeff's Facebook page, and this now means that 7 of this year's 10 bands are returnees from past Toystock installments. Just a bit of clarification for next weekend's roster at the Northern Grand Gardens, and look for our preview next week!
• In their first Facebook post since their singer change, Re:Born guitarist Blair Burch announced this morning that fellow guitarist Frank McGillivray will be largely absent from the band until April due to out of town work commitments. He will not be replaced, with the power rockers jamming as a quartet and working on both new material & live sets in the interim, and with Frank contributing where able. This is a disappointing bump in the road, but hopefully things progress how they're meant to over the winter, and that the full new lineup is back with a vengeance in the spring!

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

New Video Performances, Plus More Assorted Stories!!

After a quiet weekend for updates to the site, we are back on this Monday morning with a new news post, so what will you find today? Some assorted shorter stories from the past few days, and a handful of new videos, including a solo project's new song, new jam session clips, and leading off, here's the newest video from local/Windsor/Thompson, Manitoba solo musician Mike Haggith's Facebook page! Another solo performance of a new original song, this one is called "The Nature of the Times", and it's an alt-rock number with Mike singing at a soft, higher register than we tend to see from him. Leisurely paced but well performed, this should be welcomed for fans of Mike's more reserved solo music of the past, so give it a look below, and hopefully we see much more from Mike's solo project in the near future!



Next up, here's another new song from Sault Michigan metal solo project The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, courtesy of label Werehold Records' YouTube channel! Uploaded on Friday, the song is entitled "Horrible Laughter", and features project leader Jason Mills playing on his 9 string guitar. It's not a terribly long song, but it's a brutal and technical instrumental that serves as a good early showcase, and the rhythm section pounds along well in compliment! Give the newest 1,000,000,000's Who Died song a listen below, and hear more from them above!



Also today, here's a couple of new jam session covers from Sault Ontario hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded (the full lineup, no less!) Uploaded this weekend in their first videos since the fall, these covers are of The Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" and, as embedded below, Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome". Though Dylan is basically obscured from view in each video, these are solid clips that showcase Halfway Loaded's solid talent base, and Justin Grayson's vocals fit each's sound very well! The audio's a little muffled, but not bad at all, and it'll be interesting to finally see Halfway Loaded on a public concert stage! Give these videos a look above & below!



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

• In our inactive band links, defunct local power pop/hard rock trio Caroline Divine are now listed under their Twitter page due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook page (I wish bands wouldn't do that.) Active primarily in 2015, Caroline Divine fell inactive in 2016 for purposes other than backing up Jesse Merineau in his full band concerts, with 2/3rds of the band still playing with him, so hopefully the guys continue to see success there! For what it's worth, their Twitter page links to their blank Bandcamp page, implying that they would have posted their unfinished debut EP there.
• I have restored inactive local music promotion/photography company For The Music Inside back to our "Other Local Metal Links", as despite their Facebook page's deletion, they still have an active Twitter page with local concert coverage from 2014, plus later activity in Southern Ontario through 2016. Good to see F.T.M.I. live on, somewhat, so check them out above!
• We have removed defunct local hard rock quartet Punch from our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page, though I have no idea if it was deleted for the same reasons as the Facebook page of successor band Eclipse, who later took on Punch originals. A union of Haggith & Suicide Kings bandmates from late 2013 to early 2014, Punch were a promising band with a stacked lineup, and while I hate seeing another Facebook band page deleted, they admittedly weren't around for all that long. Don't miss Daniel and Steven with Jack Spades & Soundcheck respectively!

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

An Inactive Band Note, A Surprising Lineup Departure, And New Videos!!

Now is a good time for our first concert preview-less news post of December 2017, so what can you take in here? A pair of new videos from each side of the border, and a disappointing departure from a prominent local band's lineup, but first, here's some notes on a band who have sadly passed our one year threshold for new activity!

We have a band to reluctantly move to our inactive band links, and they are veteran local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage. While nothing has been publically announced regarding their status, the band last posted anything online one year ago on Friday with the release of their free album "Sanctuarium", while they last played a live concert set at last year's Soo Zombie Walk festivities (their only local show of 2016 as it was.) Notable as the longest active band covered on the SMS, Sykotyk Rampage were notorious for their style of alternative and blues-tinged hard rock dating back to their 1982 inception, though many fans will be most familiar with their work since the late 2000s as both an extremely prolific studio band (improvising songs for their numerous albums) and as a unique and entertaining live outfit, re-learning many old originals for their concert sets. These included such concert events as the Zombie Walk, the Swampstravaganza, the former Rosie metal nights, and even four recent battles of the bands, among many others.

While admittedly an acquired taste for many, I enjoyed Sykotyk Rampage's wide ranging and totally original style and approach, with a great sense of humour, ribald attitude, and unique approach to both songwriting and album releases (it'd take eons to listen to all of their songs), all benefiting fans of the Becker brothers and company over the decades. The guys are also extremely friendly and cordial over the years, and I hope we haven't seen the last of their brand of crash music, but best of luck to Paul, Dirk, Shane, Tony, Brian, and early bandmates in the future!

Also, we have a major lineup departure to note from a noted local punk band, as A Dire Setback have officially confirmed that they've parted ways with singer Larry Babic. This had been rumoured for about two months now, especially with his split from Live705 already being public, but the band only confirmed his leaving the band via a post on their Facebook page this morning. A Dire Setback didn't go into details on Larry's exit (simply saying it was "due to unforeseen circumstances" and that they had came "to a crossroads"), and while I have been told more in private conversations back in the fall, I won't go into any extra detail publically unless the band or Larry do. This is definitely a disappointing announcement, as Larry is an effective and talented singer that fit right in with A.D.S., but hopefully we see him in a new band at some point! According to A Dire Setback's Facebook posting, they will be continuing as a three-piece band, and their first show back will indeed be at the Guy Thiffault memorial concert at The Canadian Nightclub on Wednesday, December 27th.

While they haven't specified who is now singing lead for A Dire Setback yet, my money's on guitarist Chris Nielsen, given his prominent backing vocal work with the band already, but I could be completely off base. In any event, we'll know by the 27th, so don't miss the new look A Dire Setback's return over the holidays, and stay tuned for more from them and Live705, plus Larry's future work in bands and promotion!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new cover performance clip from local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded's Facebook page! Uploaded last week, this is of singer Justin Grayson and guitarist Shane Biron acoustically covering Stone Sour's "Imperfect", and it's a good rendition which gives Justin a nice vocal showcase! I also like that they didn't go the obvious route for a Stone Sour cover compared to their better known slower tracks. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Halfway Loaded!



Finally, here's another new Facebook video from last month, courtesy of Sault Michigan music store Crooked Music's Facebook page on November 3rd! Apologies for the delay, this one really fell through the cracks. This video featured store co-owner/former Plastic frontman Zac Crook testing out a vintage Fender Bassman amplifier from the 1970s with a Reverend Sensei 290 guitar that was presumably in stock at the Ashmun Street location last month. Not a heavy performance on it's own, but some pleasant picking with a quality setup, so give it a look below, and make sure to stop in to Crooked Music on Saturday for their Christmas Open House, with 10% sales storewide!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week, plus our final CD review of the year very soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Incredible Woman), The Faps Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Here's another news post for your Saturday morning reading, so what's contained in this one? A few assorted recent notes, some new videos, and a special Monday night concert preview, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for early next month!

St. John's, Newfoundland post-punk quartet Incredible Woman will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 4th when they headline at LopLops Lounge! A unique band whose sound ranges from aggressive noise punk to indie and new-wave inspired melodies, these guys should deliver a fun set at LopLops in two weeks, in the second show of their Canadian tour next month, so keep this one mind! No opening bands have been announced at press time, and it's unclear if any will be added. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for Incredible Woman's local stop early next month, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a $5 cover charge is likely. This should be a solid concert for punk fans to take in, and is it wrong that I detect a Smiths influence on some of their originals? Don't miss out on all of the action as Incredible Woman hits LopLops on November 4th, and stay tuned for potential updates on this concert if they roll in!

Next up, here's our preview of a special post-weekend concert taking place THIS MONDAY NIGHT, as Saskatoon noise/punk duo The Faps will return to our area for a headlining concert at The New American Pub! An unusually quick encore, this show comes just under two weeks after Skyler & Blair opened for K-Man & The 45s here, but this will mark their first local headlining date since their 2014 stop at The New A. Whether you saw The Faps here before or not, they're worth a listen for a blast of minimalist noise, garage, math, and punk intensity, so don't bypass them on Monday if you can help it! Opening bands were quietly confirmed for this concert just over a week ago, and they will include extreme death metal quartet Winkstinger and Destroilet co-lead singer Brenton Ellis' Slumshine project, though the latter still has no public hints as to genre and sound yet online. Come out to The New A on Monday to hear Slumshine for yourself, plus some of Winkstinger's brutal original onslaught for good measure!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who also put on The Faps' two prior local gigs),  this 19+ concert has an early start time of 8:00 PM due to the Monday scheduling, and while the cover charge is listed at $5, a "pay what you can" model is also being advertised. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this stop on The Faps' Good Tour, and here they are live!



Also today, here's the latest from local hard rock band Halfway Loaded, who we have reverted to that name in our band links, as their announced name change to The Twin City Saints has had no public follow-through. If the name does publically change in the future to that or another name, we'll switch it back! After taking September off from public postings on their Facebook page, Halfway Loaded resurfaced with two new videos last week courtesy of guitarist Shane Biron, including this 10 second clip of him playing a pentatonic riff (it's really solid, albeit short!), but embedded below is a longer black & white video of him covering  Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". Shane and/or the band are "thinking of giving this one a go", and while I'm not a Bon Jovi fan, he plays this one well and with a good tone, even in monochrome! Give Shane's new videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more from Halfway Loaded when it rolls in!


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

• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie is looking for production companies or people that can press physical CDs for smaller or local bands, preferably ones in the Sault Ste. Marie area. While one presumes this search is meant for The Bear Hunters' sophomore album "The Dead Testament', Mitch wasn't specific in the posting. If you want to help, message Mitch at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!
• In another Musicians Wanted group posting from Thursday, Obsession drummer Steve Porco  noted that he's looking for one or two guitarists (preferably one with vocal ability) for a new acoustic band that he's working on, with acts like Bob Seger, Collective Soul, and Kiss cited for covers. Steve has a female lead singer, bassist, and drummer already enlisted, and he doesn't want someone with an ego. No word on if this is an Obsession side project or entirely separate, but if you're interested, message Steve at this link!
• Today's ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk does not appear to be featuring music as a main component for the first time since year #1. While live music of some kind will take place at The Pita Pit mid-walk, the Facebook event page no longer lists music in the pre-walk activities, there's no advertised afterparty again, and the Pita Pit performer(s) have not been announced publically. Disappointing, but hopefully the walk is a hit as usual, and that the zombies get their fill of brains! For what it's worth, Sykotyk Rampage (who played the last 6 Zombie Walks) curiously haven't made a public statement since December of last year.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on The Sault Metal Scene over the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Diamond Head Concert Preview, Winkstinger's New Frontman, And Much More!!

The fall months are upon us, so for our first post of September 2017, we're tackling a big concert preview for tomorrow to round our our Labour Day weekend previews, but also, there's some assorted recent updates, some new concert videos, and a big lineup change to take note of as well. Now, here's what you should know!

TOMORROW NIGHT will see one of the most influential metal bands to ever play in Sault Ste. Marie, as legendary British metal quintet Diamond Head will make their first ever local appearance with a headlining set at The Rockstar Bar! One of the linchpins of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Diamond Head will be ultra familiar to many metalheads for their influence on newer acts like Metallica (who have covered a number of their songs), so it'll be a thrill to see them on a local stage tomorrow! Only two local opening bands are slated to play tomorrow night, including local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first date since last month's Ontario tour run, while classic metal quartet Project 421 will play an exceedingly fitting set to kick things off! I wouldn't expect to see them cover "Am I Evil?" tomorrow with Brian Tatler and company likely to play it themselves, but this is a huge platform for 421 as they continue their resurgence, so don't miss them either! Prior indications of a third local band have since been removed from the Facebook event page.

Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, advance tickets are likely still available for $22.50 at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, online at this link, and potentially through opening band members, and while a price hike at the door isn't indicated, have extra cash on hand just in case you chance it. This is a 19+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. This is a can't miss show for classic metal fans, so if you can help it, get down to The Rockstar Bar tomorrow for what promises to be a great night of NWOBHM action over the Labour Day weekend! For a preview, here's Diamond Head live earlier this year!

Next up, here's a big lineup change, as reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger have added Twistory frontman Josh Amendola as their new singer, replacing Keith Gagnon. Though not yet announced on the band's sporadically updated Facebook page, Josh debuted with Winkstinger at The New American Pub last week, and later confirmed his addition to their lineup on his solo Facebook page on Tuesday. A reason for Keith's departure has not been publically announced, though whether his band status factored into their year+ long hiatus is up for debate. Best of luck to Keith in his recent solo work though, he's a talented musician in multiple roles! Josh's debut with Winkstinger wasn't without it's hang-ups, as last week's concert saw the late drop-out of Saskatchewan grindcore band Dour after miscommunication with promoters, though the local bands played on, and hopefully Dour try to play here again here during a future tour!

No word yet on how Josh sounds with Winkstinger, or if he's bringing back rhythm guitar to their live repertoire, but it'll be interesting to hear Winkstinger material with a harsher death metal vocalist compared to Alan and Keith's higher screaming work. Stay tuned for more on Winkstinger's new lineup when it rolls in, and don't miss their next live appearance at the Oh!No 2017 Music Festival in Leeburn next week!

Also today, here's our first known video footage from this year's Rudyard Musicians Festival, courtesy of Sault Michigan alt-metal quartet The Karstens' set two weeks ago! Posted to their YouTube channel on Sunday, three videos were uploaded of the online page-less band's set at Rudyard Township Park, including a cover of The Stooges' "Down on the Street" and, as embedded below,  The Deli Creeps' "Binge & Grab". The Karstens deliver some solid performances in these videos, tackling bands you don't often hear in this area, and while dark, I like how the lighting adds to the mood of the songs! Note that the Stooges cover isn't filmed from a stationary angle, so while that video gets a closer look at the band, it's also a shakier view at the same time. The other video from the show is a 30 second clip of their rendition of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", uploaded to show vocal disparity between monitor and P.A. vocals that night, and it has a good chaotic sound from what we hear. Give these new Karstens videos a look above & below!



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

• Sault Ontario hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded announced on their Facebook page on Wednesday that they've changed their name to The Twin City Saints. The band cited "some thinking" and throwing around "a lot of names" as contributing factors, though this isn't their first name change, possibly debuting as "2 Far Gone". The new name, if it sticks, isn't a bad one, but will it conflict with Twin City Sound & Entertainment? Time will tell, but stay tuned for more on this newer band as it rolls in!
• Former Frightlight drummer Jeff De Rose is looking for "a bass player with punk rock abilities", presumably for a new band project he's working on. Jeff's been missed in local bands, so hopefully he finds someone, but if you or someone you know are interested in trying out on bass, message Jeff at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• SooToday's Donna Hopper posted a promotional article onto the local news website on Sunday as coverage for next weekend's Oh!NO 2017 Music Festival in nearby Leeburn, so what's new to learn in it? Co-promoter Jamie Vincent is interviewed for the article, where he notes the festival's inspiration came from other regional music festivals in outskirt towns, plus noting how certain out of town bands signed on, as well as future goals and extra ground rules. Also, "Robbie's Church" is now a residence, but it was a church. Nicely detailed and laid out article, so visit the above links for much more on next Sunday's ambitious festival!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

More Weekend Concert Previews, Plus A New Halfway Loaded Video!!

Now, let's round out this weekend's concert previews with the remaining hard rock concerts that we couldn't fit into yesterday's post! To fill out the post, there's also a new video from a new local band to check out, but here's what you should know for remaining hard rock concerts this weekend in loose chronological order!

We'll start this preview post at The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, where Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return for a pair of shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their De Tour Village gig this past weekend, this will be the Monkey's Uncle successors' first concert weekend within an hour of the Soo since April at the St. Ignace Kewadin, having taken the last two months off "to update some music and find some new music to keep interest alive in the band", as per their Facebook page in May. If this lines up with projections, expect some new setlist selections at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend, and hopefully Highway 63 deliver strongly in their return from their spring break! As usual for Highway 63's Kewadin stops, expect 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



Next up, let's head back to Sault Ontario for a LopLops Lounge concert taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, wherein local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! The first of four July shows from The Din during their "Summer of Din", this will be their first LopLops stop since their short-handed (and short notice) acoustic gig last month, while this will be Bizotic's first LopLops stop in around 4 months, and the second show in as many nights for the Sounds From The Green Room successors, having also opened for Vaultry tonight at The Canadian. Solid and fast-rising bands, so don't miss out on either tomorrow at LopLops! As for SIANspheric, while I wouldn't consider them a "hard rock" band, they have been making waves with their ambient drone & experimental originals over the past two decades, and they should be a unique attraction for fans at LopLops tomorrow, so don't overlook them!

Note that The Din teased the launch of their new "Dinsider" mailing list for exclusive offers, early media access, and news on the Facebook event page (you can be among the first to sign up tomorrow), while the band may be debuting one or two new songs with this set, so keep these nuggets in mind! A $5 cover charge is in effect tomorrow night for this 19+ concert, which has a 9:00 PM start time. Whether you want creative space rock or new alt-hard rock originals, you have options tomorrow at LopLops, so see above for more details, and here's The Din live!

Lastly for this weekend's concert previews (barring something on extremely short notice), we'll head to The New American Pub, where Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing their live-tested brand of "grinding power violence" to the Soo, Uncle Ray's fast and ferocious originals should deliver nicely for fans craving some extreme metal action this weekend, so give them a listen in advance of Sunday's concert! Local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA will co-headline in their second show of the summer and first New A stop in over 3 months, and fans will surely be out for their crushing and slow blend of heavy metal on Sunday! Opening the show are local grind/punk duo Them in their first public concert appearance of the year, and hopefully Tyler & Anthony can set the tone nicely in a rare set of theirs!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. In a busy concert weekend, this is (pound for pound) the heaviest show of all in the Soo, so don't miss out on the brutality at The New A on Sunday night, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Uncle Ray live!



Finally, here's a new cover video from newer local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded! After almost a month off from public updates, this new video of the guys covering Pop Evil's "100 in a 55" was posted to their Facebook page on Tuesday, so what should you know? An acoustic rendition sans bassist Justin Gottwald & drummer Dylan Newman, the sub-2 minute clip isn't badly done, and has a nice casual feel, almost as if you'd expect a campfire betweem them. Justin's melodic singing fits well, and Shane & Ryan have the guitar down nicely, so give this new Halfway Loaded video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, SweetKenny's New Albums, And New Facebook Videos!!

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, we have a new news post for your Wednesday afternoon, so what's on tap? A pair of new videos from bands you'll be seeing on local stages this weekend, overdue coverage of recent album releases, and leading off, a new addition to our active Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local band to add to our listings on The Sault Metal Scene, and they are Halfway Loaded, a hard rock group from Sault Ontario! Publically launching under a different name in October, their lineup is comprised of musicians I'm largely not familiar with from prior local bands, including singer Justin Grayson, guitarists Shane Biron and Ryan Mazzapica, bassist Jesse Gottwald, and former Mustang Sally drummer Dylan Newman. So far, Halfway Loaded have only publically acknowledged concert sets at private events and at Coch's Corner open mic nights, but they have a surprising amount of videos online to check out already! Their Facebook page features acoustic videos of Justin and Shane covering Thriving Ivory, Slipknot, Oasis, and Lynyrd Skynyrd songs (plus two shorter clips, including one of Shane using a talkbox), while Shane's YouTube channel also features a number of Halfway Loaded clips, and a few solo covers we'll touch on in a future post.

Early jam clips from December 2015 and mid-2016 featured Justin, Shane, and Ryan covering the same Thriving Ivory, Slipknot, and Lynyrd Skynyrd songs (plus Theory of a Deadman & Seether), while newer postings feature renditions of Saving Abel, Seven Mary Three, and as embedded below, Monster Truck's "Don't Tell Me How To Live", though note that virtually all of these videos have at least one band member missing (Ryan in this case.) I can't make a full judgement on their full lineup yet, but they show a lot of promise on these videos so far, with Justin showcasing a solid voice, and Shane's got clear guitar talent too! Check out more from Halfway Loaded above & below, and I hope to hear more soon!

Next up, here's our belated acknowledgement and coverage of the two new solo albums from Dafter, Michigan hard rock guitarist Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton! Apologies for the delay in getting a formal write-up on the site outside of our review of the former album late last month. Released on February 28th and May 26th via Waterfall Records and considered his 20th & 21st official solo albums, they are entitled "Epic" & "Music Composed For Film", and as the latter's name would imply, these are intended for use as scores with movies, shows, or video games. Remember, score albums have been SweetKenny's focus in the past two years ("In Your Face" aside), so if you're familiar with his music, this won't be as surprising to know. I reviewed "Epic" last month due to it's heavier material, but neither contain a conceptual theme for one intended work like his prior score albums have tended to contain, and in the case of "Epic", there's even an alternate version of one song and isolated tracks from another, if you're so inclined.

These albums are available for around $10 each on Google Play and iTunes (though curiously not Bandcamp), and can be streamed for free at Ken's website linked above. Personally, I prefer SweetKenny's older thematic score albums to these, which are more varied and experimental, but he's continuing to showcase his musical range and talents with these releases, and hopefully they do get licensed for use in or as scores! Give them a listen and/or buy them at the above links!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a newly discovered live concert clip from Sault Ontario alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback! Live streamed from Live705's Easter Bash at The Rockstar Bar in April by attendee John MacLean for his personal Facebook page, this was only just shared publically on A.D.S.' Facebook page yesterday. The video features the guys playing their original song "Kicking & Screaming" (well, most of it), and it's filmed from a high and far angle, capturing a somewhat unique angle of the band and fans on the floor with solid audio to boot, so definitely give it a look below, and don't miss them TOMORROW NIGHT with CKY!



Finally, here's a new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din's Facebook page to hype up their concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT with Handsome Sandwich and Eclipse at The Rockstar Bar! The short clip features Mike Haggith parodying Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali's promo video for the now cancelled Machine Shop concert in March (which The Din were to have opened), and while I won't pass judgement on the original video or the protracted issues regarding that intended concert, it is a cute parody, if a little obscure for fans who didn't see Frankie's clip. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for our full preview of this concert tomorrow!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews (including CKY) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!