LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Faps), New Videos, And Much More!!

Before we begin this news post, I want to apologize for a missed concert, as Tym Morrison played a short notice concert at La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing on Sunday, which Tym only posted the Facebook event page for that afternoon. As such, we didn't hear about it until it was far too late to cover on the SMS. Profuse apologies, we'd have covered it had it even had a day's notice, but hopefully it was a solid concert! Now, we have some assorted recent updates, new videos from each side of the border, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Saskatchewan noise-punk duo The Faps will return to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert on Wednesday, October 3rd at LopLops Lounge! This will be The Faps' fourth local appearance, after headlining at The New A in 2014, before playing here twice last October, including one show at LopLops, so Blair and Skyler's brand of "post-gar(b)age-punk" is not foreign to Sault audiences. Expect another hard hitting night of minimalist noise rock originals from this entertaining live outfit in just over two weeks' time, whether you've seen them locally before or not! Local rapper Conika will open in a rare LopLops appearance, and while she may seem like an atypical choice to open for a punk headliner, Conika actually opened for The Faps in their 2014 show here, so this is nothing new, and she should put in a solid performance! No other openers have been announced at press time, but past Faps shows here have always had at least three bands, and like those concerts, this is a presentation of Six, Two, Oh..

This stop on The Faps' Grimelda Goes East Tour has a $5 cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and an advertised 9:00 PM start time. The Wednesday scheduling is unfortunate for many potential attendees with work or school in the morning, but if you can swing a LopLops trip on October 3rd, you'll get a solid night of post-punk action with some local rap for good measure, so visit the official Facebook event page for current details!

Next up, are you still wanting some details on Awokest, the mystery band playing TONIGHT'S Truth Of All Death concert at The New American Pub? Well, we know a little more now, as concert promoter Chase Wigmore plugged Awokest in his newest Facebook page posting, so what can be said on them now? Well, Chase said that they're a one-man grindcore band led by a musician with the stage name "Dick Jerkins" (I'll ignore the obvious innuendo there.) I can't confirm his identity otherwise, but that name is also used for his personal Facebook page and YouTube channel. On the latter, Dick posted a free EP named "The Tweakening", which features six (often short) songs with titles like "War Machine" and "The Great White Flail", among other more provocative names. While there's no public ties to that label, the music on display here is definitely Blood Shed-esque, but Awokest stand on their own with a bass-heavy, techno-tinged attack and black metal-styled vocals.

It'll be interesting to see how they do TONIGHT at The New A, and hopefully glean some more information on Awokest and/or Dick afterward, but give "The Tweakening" a listen below, and click here for more details on TONIGHT'S concert! (For the record, Awokest don't have a known public online page outside of YouTube, but if one surfaces, we would add them to our band links. Stay tuned in case they expand their online presence!)



Also today, here's some new videos from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's Facebook page, as live-streamed there yesterday morning! Aside from an intro from keyboardist Craig Harrison on the first video, these primarily feature guitarist Luke Bernard (who you may recognize from guest spots in a few Theatre of Night Facebook uploads back in May) alongside pre-recorded orchestral tracks, with Luke even playing his acoustic guitar on his lap in the second clip. While not heavy songs, they're well done for fans of Theatre of Night's classical side, and is Luke joining their Christmas tour? Give these clips a look above and 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:

• Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned's remaining 2018 concerts at the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos have all been cancelled, as per a post on the band's Facebook page yesterday. According to Banned, Kewadin told them that they are "going in a different direction", a reason that I honestly never liked, as it tells you precisely nothing. Regardless, only four publically announced E.U.P. Kewadin gigs (September 28th & 29th and December 14th-15th, all in the Soo) have to be removed from our concert calendar. This is disappointing, but hopefully Banned can be a part of the "different direction" down the line!
• J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party concerts (a.k.a. The Howling) have quietly been moved back to The Algonquin Pub in Sault Ontario, after original event advertising listed the shows as being held at Soo Blaster. A reason for the relocation wasn't announced, but given that the post-Coch's Halloween parties (2013 aside) have all been held on a floor of The Algonquin Hotel, this just makes things more familiar for long-time attendees. See above for more details on this year's parties, including a new event poster from Frightlight guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe!
• Local/Thompson hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith announced the track listing for his new solo album "Bridges" via this photo on his Facebook page on Thursday. The album will feature 10 songs, including all of the Manitoba-era original tracks he's publically shared or previewed (except "If Only You Could Hear Me"), as well as two newly revealed titles, namely "The Catalyst" and "Blue Highway". It sounds like things are going well on the mixing and editing front too, so keep tabs at the above links for continued updates on "Bridges"!

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

R.I.P. Luke LeBlanc (1972-2015)

The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences out to the family and friends of former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc, who reportedly passed away last week from serious medical complications, at just 42 years of age. Luke is survived by his daughter Shaun, his parents, three siblings, and six nieces and nephews. His obituary was posted on SooToday yesterday, where it was revealed that his services will be held this Thursday at The O’Sullivan Funeral Home at 7:00 PM with Reverend Eric Pannike presiding, and visitation will begin at 5:00 PM. Luke's family is requesting that donations be made to the Canadian Mental Health Association or the charity of your choice. In the local music scene from recent years, Luke is best known for fronting defunct local hard rock band Half Past from 2009-2011 during their local peak and brief CD plans, before his departure from the band in February 2011, largely remaining outside of major public music work after that.

From when I knew Luke during the Half Past days, he was a funny and personable guy, and a very talented singer, and hopefully that's what people who knew him can look back on despite some of the troubling stuff we'd heard in recent years. He had musical gifts that it's a shame were never fully fleshed out, but hopefully he's at peace now, and I hope his daughter and family are staying strong at this difficult time. Here's a video of Luke covering Tool and Helmet songs at the former Foggy Notions in 2010, and R.I.P. Luke, you will be missed!

Shinedown Concert Preview, Cancer Fundraising For Luke LeBlanc, And A New Video!!

Finally, here's our fourth and last post covering this very busy weekend in hard rock and metal concerts, as arguably the biggest of the weekend is going down tomorrow night! Our extended look at that leads off today's post, but we also have news on a local musician's major cancer fight, and a recent live concert video, so read on below for what you need to know!

In the second of two major concerts from Allstar Promotions this weekend at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino (following TONIGHT'S Daughtry concert), multi-platinum Jacksonville hard rock quartet Shinedown will make their Sault-area debut TOMORROW NIGHT! Touring in support of their new CD "Amaryllis", Shinedown have been one of the most successful modern hard rock bands of recent years, with hits like "Second Chance", "Save Me", and "Bully" keeping them as staples of rock radio, and they have a lot of popular and memorable songs that are sure to strike a nerve tomorrow night! They'll be joined by Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring two members of Egypt Central) as openers for tomorrow's show, and their energetic and upbeat hard rock sound should suit them well as they hit the Soo themselves! Note however that Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar) will NOT be opening this show anymore, as per their Facebook page last week. A reason was not announced, but note that Allstar Promotions never publically confirmed that they were playing.

Disappointing news to be sure, especially knowing Fifth Way's local familiarity and talents, but no matter why they're out, they WILL still be opening for Tesla on July 27th (one week from today), so keep that in mind! The Shinedown concert (which is ALL AGES) will go down at 7:00 PM TOMORROW, and as of this writing, only a handful of center section tickets (mostly in the fourth row) were available, so this is a near-sell out. If you want to try for tickets, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the Kewadin box office! Also, I have no idea on the protocol for a potential meet & greet, so call ahead just in case. Check the above links for more details! This should be a very successful concert, especially knowing Shinedown's popularity and success in recent years, so if you have tickets, have a great time! Myself, I don't mind a few of their songs (like their "Simple Man" cover), though I admittedly find a few of their songs overplayed, but they have a lot of talent, so don't miss their local debut TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Shinedown's video for their newest single "Unity"!



Next up, another fundraising campaign has been launched to help raise money for former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc's battle with cancer. Launched by Denise Armstrong on May 21st on the website GoFundMe, the links above explain that Luke and his family need financial assistance to help him at this time of need, along with noting that the cancer has spread to his stomach, spine, kidney, and one eye. The main goal is to raise $20,000 for his fight and related expenses, though as of this writing, only $120 had been donated. Luke's a very nice guy, and I commend him 100% for his brave battle with cancer in the past year, as well as keeping his trademark sense of humour through every up and down! He's also a talented singer, as Half Past fans and his old bandmates should attest to, but right now, his health is what's most important. If you can even donate a few dollars, that would mean a lot to Luke and his family right now, so keep this fundraising campaign in mind, click here for information, and help out if you can! Get well soon, Luke!

Finally for today, here's a new video from the second Golers concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th! Filmed by AlgomA singer/bassist Kevin "Marty Chase" Campbell & posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the Vancouver crossover/thrash band playing their original song "This Is Not A Test", as filmed on a stationary camera on one of the long tables near the stage. Good angle of this short original track, and the audio quality's solid, but the video is fairly dark. Still very solid, so check out this new Golers concert video below!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for Bushplane Musical Madness II, and if weather and timing permits, you might spot me at the Tenaris Second Stage in the evening before or during Sailor's Tongue's set, especially with their hyped CD availability! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Garden Of Bedlam), A New Local Metal Project, And How You Can Help A Local Musician!!

We have quite a busy week in store at the SMS, one that will push our streak of consecutive days with SMS updates to at least 54 on Saturday (barring computer meltdown), but what's in store today? A regular news post, more or less, including a new local band and recent updates from their label/studio, along with fundraising to help a local hard rock musician through recent medical & financial issues, but first, here's a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT marking two talented metal bands' long awaited returns to the concert stage, so here's what you need to know!

Garden of Bedlam will finally play their first show of 2013 next week, when they return for a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar on April 26th! Last seen there (or anywhere) in late October for The Rad Zone's birthday bash, this prominent metal quartet have been missed in recent months, and the guys are very anxious to get playing again, so don't miss Buzz, Josh, Evan, and Derek back on stage one week from Friday! Might there be some new material or covers in store come next week? However, unlike their past Rockstar Bar gigs, this won't be a solo concert, as Garden of Bedlam have an opening band next week who've been waiting even longer to play another show, that being local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven! You may remember them as the opening band at last July's Anvil concert at The Canadian (also featuring Garden of Bedlam), but they've been in a nine month break from new concerts since, though that has helped lead to writing at least 6 original songs according to their Facebook page. Featuring Sense of Truth, Half Past, Tripod The Dog, and Cherry Crush alumni, how will Skeyes of Seven do in their first Rockstar Bar appearance and second live show? We'll find out next week!

This show (which was previously advertised on marquee boards inside The Rockstar Bar, but not officially confirmed) will take place on April 26th at 11:00 PM (with doors opening at 9:00 PM), you must be 19 to attend, and I'd assume a cover charge in the $5 range would be in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a huge concert, even with the sorta late notice, and it'll be great to see both bands back at it after too long of a break! I'll definitely see you guys there, so don't miss the returns of Garden of Bedlam and Skeyes of Seven next week!

Next up, we have a new local metal project to add to our band links, and it's Brutaly Fatal, one of the recently launched metal/goregrind projects from upstart local label/studio Blood Shed Productions! As previously alluded to on here, Brutaly Fatal (which appears to be misspelled intentionally) is a solo project led by label co-owner Austin McRae (who handles vocals & bass), and though it appears to have been active since late last year, their Facebook page has only been up for a week. Since the project's launch, Austin has released one demo named "Acidic Sky's" (which can be bought by request through the links above), though like the other Blood Shed releases, I think it's essentially a hand written demo in a paper sleeve. Future plans include at least one more full length disc this summer, and a split release with fellow Blood Shed artist Crucify The Whore (more on them in a bit), which I'll try to keep you guys updated on! Brutaly Fatal's only posted media so far is this unembeddable Facebook video for their song "Fall", and while this song does sound very unfinished, I think Austin's work is probably my favourite of the goregrind projects through Blood Shed Productions that I've heard!

Austin has growling ability and bass skill, but I'd like to see him fill out the project with other musicians and see where it goes. Since I found the Blood Shed Productions artists, I've wondered why they don't just band together and make a full goregrind/death metal band, rather than a bunch of incomplete sounding solo projects, but maybe there's a method to the madness that I haven't heard yet. Give Brutaly Fatal a look above, and they're now in our Sault Ontario metal band links!

Also in updates from the Blood Shed camp, fellow label artists Crucify The Whore & Tomgrindy (both featuring Blood Shed co-owner Ringsnaps Gibson) have been among the acts hard at work on new music to be put out through the label, alongside signed horrorcore/rap artists. Among the plans are C.T.W. split albums with both Tomgrindy & the aforementioned Brutaly Fatal, and a full Tomgrindy demo, and while it remains to be seen if these will have full proper packaging, there are photos on Blood Shed Productions' Facebook page hinting towards more detailed artwork and possible hard cases on future releases. Via the C.T.W. Facebook page, the artwork for their split disc with Tomgrindy, likely titled "Grindshed", is also posted (albeit on a sideways angle.) As for new material, a few new videos have been posted onto the Blood Shed Productions YouTube channel in the past week or so, including Crucify The Whore's debut demo in full (whose title & art may offend Amanda Todd supporters), and a short teaser for "Grindshed" that actually features some video footage!

Featuring Ringsnaps introducing the material (including a barely visible track listing), the included song (which band is unclear) is an incomplete instrumental take, but despite a muffled quality to this recording, it sounds somewhat fuller musically than earlier songs from either project did. We'll have to see how the new material turns out, but for now, give this preview video of the planned C.T.W./Tomgrindy split demo a look below, and stay tuned for updates from Blood Shed Productions' death metal & goregrind artists!

Finally for today, a local musician needs your help with a major medical battle, so here's what you should know! As some of you may know, former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc has been battling kidney cancer in recent months, and according to a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group by his friend Zenith Lillie-Eakett on Friday, his current treatments are considered too experimental by OHIP to be covered, and related struggles are contributing to financial issues. To help with his bills, local artists are coming together to raise money to help out through a campaign on Etsy being led by local craft/clothing company Washboard Bill's Wonder Emporium, where any purchases on Etsy (which were all donated) will see all proceeds go to helping Luke at this time of need, including straight donations through "good vibes" and "bear hugs". We don't usually talk about personal matters of local musicians on here (good or bad, we're not TMZ), but when it comes to helping someone in the local scene in times like this, it absolutely has to be mentioned, so please consider buying something to help him out!

Luke's a talented singer (as he proved with Half Past from 2009-2011) and a very funny guy, and he deserves many kudos for his positive outlook and his hard fight so far! It'd be nice to see old bandmates & friends of his organize a benefit concert too, as I imagine that would be a big help for Luke's treatments and bills right now, but if you can help out in any way, buy or donate something on Etsy to give Luke a hand, and hopefully he'll beat cancer before you know it! Get better soon, Luke!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for our preview of Wednesday's last night of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Semifinals tomorrow! Who's competing, what's at stake, and what do attendees need to know? Find out tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sneaky Pete), New As It Stands Songs, And New Videos!!

Sorry this post is later than hoped, yesterday wasn't my day. A lot of (pardon my language) shit happened yesterday and this got pushed back as a result. I ended up missing the metal show at The Rosie, which I was NOT thrilled about, but I will make it up to you guys! I plan to hit another show this weekend to make up for missing Thursday, though it probably won't be the We, The Undersigned show on Sunday because it's an important school night for me. I'll be out somewhere tomorrow, so I'll get back on track one way or another! So today, we have a lot of notable news to share, including two new videos, brand new songs from a prominent local band, and kicking things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Over a year after their local launch, hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete have FINALLY announced their first ever concert! On April 8th, the band featuring veteran local musicians Bill Brouillard, Mario Carlucci, Sean Berlinguette, and Mike Oakley will descend upon the stage at The Rockstar Bar for a night of classic and modern hard rock covers! It's about time, great to see them finally taking this step! With everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top in store, this show should be worth hitting, so make note of it! A 10:30 PM start time has been announced, there's no known cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I imagine the long wait for Sneaky Pete to debut has been a long time, but if you've been excited for their debut and wanna enjoy some good hard rocking music from this talented foursome, you know where to be on April 8th! Hopefully I can make it to this show, and you guys should consider it as well! Stay tuned for Sneaky Pete updates as they come in!

Next up, Sault Ontario hardcore quintet As It Stands have unveiled two brand new studio-quality songs, which you can now stream at their official MySpace page! Both songs were recorded at a studio in Stoney Creek during one (or more?) of their recent Southern Ontario concert trips. Not sure of the studio or producer on these songs, but the quality's up there with their last studio work, which was done in town with Miguel Gauthier last year. One of the new songs is "Conception", which has led off a few of their more recent sets. It's not their heaviest song, but I love the intro, and I'm impressed with how Justin Pregent's singing has improved to the point where he can sing alright on the choruses! John Mignacca's drumming stands out as well, it almost seems like the main instrument at parts! Good heavy song all around! The second song, entitled "Big Problem, Little Lock City", features Straight Reads The Line frontman Blake Prince on guest vocals. As It Stands have supported Straight Reads The Line before at a few concerts, so that's a good link there! The singing as a whole doesn't sound too distinctive between Justin and Blake, but the song's heavier than "Conception" and it has some good charging riffs! Solid stuff, I wonder if As It Stands' newest studio material will ever find a CD release? Click here to check the new songs out, and stay tuned for more A.I.S. updates!

Thirdly, here's one of two new videos to share! This is a new music video of sorts from local blackened doom metal quartet Woods of Ypres, and it's for one of the softer songs on the album, "You Are Here With Me (In This Sequence Of Dreams)"! The song, which features guest guitar by Ottawa classical musician Musk Ox, isn't even two minutes long, but the video below is over double that in length! The video was filmed by frontman David Gold in early 2008 while still in South Korea during his time there in Necramyth and as a teacher, and it's basically David's line of sight during a trip to what looks like South Korean temples in the middle of winter. I'm likely wrong or underinformed here, I'm just calling it as I see it. The camera work is a bit shaky, but remember that David's walking with the camera for the duration of the video. He gets some good footage of everything, but I wish he would have looped the song or something to help fill the time, as the last three minutes are almost silent save for background noise from the original footage. Nice work though, there's some very cool building designs in South Korea, and the song suits it! Check it out below, and more from Woods of Ypres and David's other bands at his official YouTube channel!



(Yes, I have more Woods of Ypres news to share soon as well, I just wanted to get the video on here first.)

And finally, here's this week's weekly classic video! A bit later than I'd have liked, but it's a good one! This week, we're tying it in with another performer at a concert this weekend, and this week, it's Tym Morrison! Videos of his solo acoustic concerts are hard to come by, but I did find one on Facebook from a concert at The Big Cheese in Heyden circa November 2008 (he's playing there TONIGHT as well, don't forget!) This is of Tym covering the Extreme ballad "More Than Words", with special guest Luke LeBlanc (ex-Half Past frontman) on guest vocals! They harmonize well on vocals, Luke's sense of humour is on display at the beginning, and Tym pulls this one off pretty faithfully to the original! This video was filmed by attendee John Wood-Salomon and he later posted it onto his Facebook page. The original video can be viewed at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=98424400435. Because Facebook videos aren't widely seen, and to help get this video well deserved exposure, I ripped it with Freecorder and uploaded it to our YouTube channel! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! John, Tym, and Luke did all the hard work, they deserve absolute credit for this video and performance! So check out our newest classic video below!



That's all for tonight, but I WILL see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for The Saigon Hookers and Brad Example & The Role Models! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sykotyk Rampage), Half Past News, And More!!

Hey guys, here's one more post before I return home to Sault Ste. Marie! Today, we have news from a local music site (or two), some upcoming concert updates, and a major lineup change in a local hard rock band, but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

A month after their successful return to the stage at the second Roosevelt Hotel punk night, local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage will return to The Rosie for the third punk night! This will be the first of two straight Thursdays featuring the "punk night" banner following the upcoming two week streak of metal nights there (more on those in a second), and given that it's taking place around St. Patrick's Day, Sykotyk Rampage are dubbing Thursday, March 17th "Sykotyk Paddy's Day" in honour of this show! Additional bands for this show have yet to be confirmed, but other prior punk night veterans could well return, so stay tuned for updates on that front! As with prior shows of this type, I'd expect no cover charge and a 9:30 PM start time, with a 19+ age limit as well. For more details, visit the Facebook event page! Sounds like fun, and yes, I should be at this one! I wanted to see Sykotyk Rampage this past Thursday, but with my Detroit trip, I couldn't swing it. Pencil me in as an attendee for this show, and you know this will fit the St. Patrick's Day theme well! After all, Sykotyk Rampage have tons of songs referencing alcohol and drinking, they'll fit just fine! Stay tuned for updates as they come in!

Next up, here's a major lineup change for a local hard rock band that, frankly, I never saw coming. Yesterday, it was announced that Half Past have parted ways with frontman Luke LeBlanc. This news came just two days after the band returned to the stage for a very well recieved concert at The Rockstar Bar, making the news even more shocking than it would have been. The news was broken in a note on the band's Facebook page yesterday afternoon, and though a specific reason for Luke's departure wasn't stated, I can guarantee that the split was amicable. I do know why he left, but out of personal respect, I won't publicize it unless the band does. Luke originally joined Half Past (then known as Fingerbone) in mid-2009, replacing ex-Driving Dave Home frontman John Barber as the band's singer. With Luke up front, Half Past played some notable shows like the 2009 Coch's Corner Halloween Party and Garden of Bedlam's website launch concert last spring. I have to say, Luke leaving is a big shock, as he's a great singer and a funny guy who really added to Half Past over the last 16 months. Hopefully we'll see him another band in the future!

With that said, Half Past are now on the hunt for a new singer. If you'd be interested in auditioning to join Half Past, message the band at their Facebook page, or e-mail bassist Arthur Lacasse on Facebook by clicking here! Remember, Half Past play mostly modern hard rock songs, with some really exciting originals as well, and I imagine they'll be after the best candidate possible to front the band in the future! I'll keep you posted on their singer search as news comes in!

Thirdly tonight, here's the latest lineup news on three upcoming metal concerts courtesy of local promoter Rich Moreland, who deserves lots of props for the high volume of shows he's been booking in town! Firstly, THIS THURSDAY'S metal night at The Rosie's lineup is now complete, as local hardcore quartet Changing Waves will join As It Stands and Desbarats death metallers For All That Is Lost on the bill. My source is Rich's personal Facebook page, and it looks like Changing Waves will be headlining this Thursday as well! Interesting to note that this will be the third straight Thursday that Changing Waves will be rocking The Rosie, following the last punk and metal nights there, so if you're a fan of theirs, then you've gotta be excited! Then, there's the We, The Undersigned concert at The Vibe Lounge on Sunday night, which is also being booked by Rich. He confirmed on his personal Facebook page as well that local grimecore trio Shit Liver will be one of the opening bands on that show, with WinkStinger potentially being the second opening band, though this is NOT confirmed officially yet. Sounds good to me, hopefully The Vibe becomes a more frequent metal stomping ground!

Finally on the subject of WinkStinger, they may have been added as a third local opening band for the Woods of Ypres show at The Rosie on March 10th. Though event or band pages don't verify this at present, WinkStinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur posted a comment saying "With Winkstinger!" on a Woods of Ypres Facebook posting about the March 10th show. That suggests what you think it suggests, but until something more official comes out confirming or denying this, I won't get too much further. It'd be cool to see them playing too though!

Finally, here's the latest on two well known local music sites run by Flat Stanley/Wishbone drummer Glen Thomas, those being the music site The Barking Eye and his long-running (but often controversial) forum Freq's Music Planet. In his latest news posting on The Barking Eye, Glen announced that he's planning to shut down the Freq's Music Planet forum at the end of the year due to a lack of time to properly maintain the forum due to expanding musical commitments. He's planning to focus on writing, recording, and graphics more, but has said that he'll decide at the end of the year whether he wants to shut down the forum or give it to someone else. The Barking Eye news site itself may be shut down as well due to lack of interest. Things will operate as usual for the remainder of the year though. I'm sure some of you might not shed a tear if either leaves, but regardless of content, Glen does deserve credit for starting a message board like this, maintaining it for this long, and attracting a decent sized group of users without major promotion. I can attest to how hard it is to start and maintain a forum, my attempts at SMS forums crashed and burned. I hope Glen doesn't shut down Freq's Music Planet, as there's some interesting stuff there that shouldn't be deleted, and I think there are uses for it in some form. Time will tell though!

As for The Barking Eye, I wanna say a little something. A news site like that isn't easy to find an audience for, and I can attest to that. When the SMS started as a Facebook group, it never took off very far, but with time and patience, look at where we are now! Sure, readership isn't at an ideal level, but Glen's a great writer and knows a ton about the scene, and I know people would be interested in checking The Barking Eye out if they knew about it! That's just me though, but do check out the above links to see what's up at both sites!

That's all for tonight, but I hope your March has kicked off well! Our next post will be our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, so stay tuned for that, and more! Thanks everyone!