75 straight days of Sault Metal Scene posts, now there's a neat milestone! My 31st birthday is tomorrow, and while I am planning to take the day off from the SMS as usual on May 31st each year, I may keep the streak going with an auto-post of some kind. In the meantime, we have some new videos from across the river, some assorted short stories, and some long overdue coverage of a local internet radio station, so here's what you should know!
I have slacked long enough on recent on-air appearances and rotation from local hard rock and punk musicians on new local internet radio station The Borderline Radio, so let's look at what they've been airing in this regard! Earlier this month, The Borderline added Mike Haggith's new album "If Ever Comes The Day" in full to their rotation (before it's release date, even), and Mike was interviewed by Mike Severin on Sev's Cellar on May 12th. Similarly, A Dire Setback's self-titled debut album got a full playback premiere on The Borderline late last month, though I don't believe they were interviewed on air. On May 19th, Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce (credited under his Frightlight stage name Johnny Pints) was interviewed for an episode of Sev's Cellar, while Fluid 5ive frontman Colin Nelson was interviewed by "driver" Mike Robillard on The Taxi Passenger Revue on April 13th. Of course, visit the Mike's Lunch Music Facebook group for more episode and playlist descriptions from this year.
Of course, the heavily local-centric rotation on The Borderline is a huge calling card for it, and if you love the idea of local music almost 24/7, you will definitely want to tune in at this link! In fact, they just played a song by defunct hard rock quartet Redefined on there (I still have to find a copy of "Risk & Uncertainty" one of these days.) Unfortunately, the station still doesn't have an outlet for on-demand copies of old shows, and I don't believe they're on a TuneIn Radio-esque service yet, but maybe in time.
Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan to look at the last hard rock cover videos on Paradise Excuse frontman Mark Bowen's YouTube channel that we hadn't looked at yet! Last August, Mark uploaded a whopping thirteen videos of his eponymous Mark Bowen Band playing outdoors at the Wood-Dock Music Festival in Mackinac Island. This newspaper clipping from a later event seems to confirm that Mark is joined here by his Paradise Excuse bandmate Jason Haske, plus drummers Donny Sorenson (on the full kit) and Matt Myers (on the hand drums). Their wildly varying set on this day included renditions of Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger", The Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut", The Eagles' "One Of These Nights" & "Hotel California", Bob Seger's "Night Moves", Van Morrison's "Moondance" in two chunks (seen here & here), Pery Ribeiro's "The Girl From Ipanema", Dean Martin's "Sway", Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", ...
...James Brown's "I Feel Good", and as embedded below, Greta Van Fleet's "You're The One I Need". It's a shame that there's not more of a consistent crowd near where the band's set up, but the filmer did get some different angles of the guys in action, and the audio's nice and clear! While this isn't an optimal showcase for fans of Mark's heavier side, the performances are solid overall and very fan friendly, so give these a watch above and below!
Lastly from Mark's heavier videos we haven't looked at yet, he posted this video of him "shredding with low gain" back in August 2018. If you're only familiar with him fronting cover-centric bands, this nicely controlled guitar solo is a nice showcase of his skills, and it'd be interesting to see him post more clips like this! Give it 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:
I have moved Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal back to our inactive band links, as they have not issued a public update since (self-deprecatingly) promoting an album release on their Facebook page on May 26th of last year, which has been their only public update of any kind since releasing their free "Blood of the Devil" album in February 2017. Hopefully we hear more music from Austin down the road, but follow Tyler's ongoing prolific work at Blood Shed Productions to see what he's working on!
In their first Facebook page post since hyping a live-stream in March that never came, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades announced on May 18th that they have "got some lineup news coming, and we are stoked!" They have not offered specifics yet, but note that Tiffany does still live out of town, and I have read personal Facebook postings in the past week alluding to another band member moving from the area. We'll let you know what's changing in the Spades camp when it goes public!
Former Caveman Morrison/Half Past bassist Ryan Disano (Bryan Dychanno on Facebook) is looking to join or form a local band with a regular practice schedule, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on May 18th. I won't get into any social distancing arguments here, but he is a solid bassist, and if you're interested, message Ryan at this link or above for more details! Note that comments there asked if he'd be interested in rejoining a reunited Winkstinger, but that band has not publically returned otherwise.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post either tomorrow or on Monday! Thanks everyone!
As promised on the site last week, I wanted to touch on live hard rock and punk cover videos from Sault Michigan rock band Paradise Excuse and their frontman Mark Bowen that have been posted onto his Facebook page and YouTube channel in the past year+, so that's what we are doing today! We'll start in reverse chronological order on Facebook with a live solo set he played at Mission Point Resort in Mackinac City (just outside of our coverage range) in late August of last year, where he covered Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", Nat King Cole's "Stardust", and as embedded below, The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These". I get the sense that this was an intentionally reserved setlist given the locale, and while these are short videos, they are well done and have nice melodies! The lighting could be better though. Give these videos a watch above and below, plus this clip of him and bandmate Jason Haske covering Rod Stewart's "Ooh La La" there two weeks later!
Next up, let's stay in Mackinac Island for his evening performance on a boat from earlier that same month. I am 99% certain this was when Mark travelled there for a set at last year's Wood-Dock Music Festival, and he was joined by Mackinac musician Paul Bedour both on the boat and at a nightclub set that weekend. Across YouTube and Facebook, Mark & Paul were filmed for covering Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", The Cure's "Lovesong", The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face", and, in two chunks, Sublime's "Santeria" (the first half is embedded below, part 2 is linked here). These are lively covers that suit the venue, and fans are receptive, so give them a look above & below!
We do have some proper videos of his band Paradise Excuse to share here as well, courtesy of a weekend set they played at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino at the beginning of August 2019, and while some of them are on Facebook, a whopping twelve clips are on YouTube. Here, you can see Mark, Jason, and Brian cover Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", The Go-Gos' "We Got The Beat", Prince & The Revolution's "Kiss", Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally", Niall Horan's "Slow Hands", ZZ Top's "Tush", AC/DC's "TNT", Greta Van Fleet's "You're The One I Need", Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey", Bruno Mars' "Locked Out Of Heaven", Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite", and as embedded below, Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me". Paradise Excuse can sure play anything based on the diverse songs on offer here, and in spite of a surprisingly quiet floor, they have a solid batting average here, aided by Mark's distinctive vocal range. Give them a look above & below!
There's more from a Mark Bowen Band performance that summer to touch on (at least), but let's close with one more Kewadin video from Paradise Excuse, this time at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace branch in March of last year, where the guys covered Temple of the Dog's "Say Hello 2 Heaven". Despite the filmer's close placement to the stage, I wish they didn't capture so much of the table. That aside, this is a well done cover with great vocals and strong instrumentation, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from Mark and/or Paradise Excuse on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Media is now up from Friday night's Vaultry/Coach Bombay concert at The Canadian, courtesy of our Facebook page, but with a lot of backlogged recent stories to touch on, I thought I'd slide in one more post before our review makes the site. Leading off today, we actually have a videos to share from one of the local bands that played on Friday night, as publically shared to that concert's Facebook event page in the lead-up to the show, so what should you know? The clip is of local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback playing their song "Forget This Memory" at The Asylum in Sudbury last month, which was another personal upload from frontman Larry Babic's wife Karen's personal Facebook page, but it was later publically featured by the band on the event page. Much like their earlier "Everlasting Despair" video from this show and camera, the guys sound good and are framed nicely in the clip, but the blue/green lighting remains unfortunate. Give this "new" A Dire Setback video a look below, and see more from Friday night at the above links!
Finally for today, here's nine assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Sudbury country musician Andrew Hyatt is replacing The James Barker Band as the opening act for the FREE Tea Party concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on July 16th (one week from today), as per the official Facebook event page last month. A reason for the change wasn't publically announced, but The James Barker Band are still affiliated with the Ontario Government's ONTour concert series, having been moved to the Kenora show on August 10th as that event's headliners (source here.) I'm not familiar with Andrew, but country fans will still have something to look out for on the 16th!
This is admittedly a very late acknowledgement (apologies for letting this slip through the cracks), but local alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic played a pair of shows in Wawa over the June 9th weekend at the Lakeview Hotel, opening for former New American Pub headliners The OM Sound and a joint set featuring former Bizotic drummer Kevin Overton and local pianist extraordinaire Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda. Hearing about an SMS-fitting show in Wawa is rare, but hopefully everyone had a blast, and that more big shows head north in the near future!
Gates of Winter are alive! Though they still haven't posted a Facebook page update since January of last year, bassist Steve Furgiuele noted in a post on his Instagram page on Thursday that he is currently writing for the local progressive death metal band as well as working with an Edmonton-area folk artist, and while he acknowledged that "the love (of music) faded" recently, it is back, and he has been exploring music theory and jazz bass as of late. Very encouraging to hear, and hopefully "Perihelion" will finally come out in the coming months! And yes, Gates of Winter are back in our active band links too!
Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades have revealed in recent Facebook page postings that they're soon announcing plans to work with "a rad local company" called the "Wolves from the North" on some sort of project involving regional punk rock and "one of our favourite things". I have no idea what this is referencing, but stay tuned to band pages and the SMS when updates roll in, apparently this week! For what it's worth, a personal Facebook re-post of this cryptic status tagged Jack Spades band members as well as former Essar Center events manager Trevor Zachary.
Veteran local guitarist Mark Bajona is looking for "good creative musicians" in the 30-60 years old range for a new symphonic rock band that he's working on, ideally including a keyboardist. Mark cited Deep Purple, Genesis, and Yes among his influences, but also wants the band and musicians in it to "sound new with your own identity." The band he has in mind would specialize in original material, and he doesn't want to play covers. If you're interested in more details, message Mark via his wife Brenda at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last month!
It's official: Local death metal trio Pillory are working on their second CD! After studio Unsalted Audio teased in March that their sophomore effort was in pre-production, the band proper began quietly posting about recording sessions on their Facebook page back in May, with plans appearing to be for a nine song album. Bret Shuttleworth's drum tracking was completed as of Friday, and after editing, guitars and bass are coming next. It's great to see that Pillory are finally recording a new CD, and look for them (and Gates of Winter) in next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post!
Local guitarist Shane Bromfield is looking for musicians to jam and songwrite with, perhaps towards a band, with Tool listed among his diverse influences, such as Mac DeMarco, Oasis, and Radiohead, while he also cited Dimebag Darrell as a guitar influence in a prior Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from 2014 (source here.) If you're interested in jamming with Shane, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted group post from last month, and click here to see him cover Jeff Beck at a CASS Cafe event two years ago!
Toronto-based drummer Terrance Pettitt is looking for work locally next month, November, and/or December, and can play anything from metal to hip hop. Local fans may recognize him as the drummer for Toronto hardcore band Liferuiner, who opened for Dead & Divine here in August 2012. If you'd be interested in working with Terrance in the given months, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last month, and give his solo drumming videos a look at this link!
If you've noticed a listing on LopLops Lounge's website's concert calendar for a Treble Charger concert there on Thursday, July 27th, you're not crazy, as I saw it also. However, for a show of the scope teased there (full band, upcoming tour and CD, $25 tickets), it is very odd that there hasn't been any extra public advertising for it yet, unless the lack of promotion is by design. As a result, I'm waiting for further public acknowledgement before covering it here, so stay tuned when/if that comes in!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Vaultry concert review next on the SMS! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here's our last weekend concert preview post for this weekend, tackling Saturday night shows including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! To round things out, we have some archive video discoveries for you punk fans, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will rock The Rednecks Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT as an afterparty for the well-advertised Garth Brooks tribute show that they're involved in! Apologies for the short notice, the Rednecks show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page earlier this week (though it at least got a public announcement, unlike last week's Reggie's Place shows.) Rocking the former Nicolet for the second time in three weeks, TOMORROW'S show is basically an epilogue to local country musician Mark Tarantini's anticipated Garth Brooks tribute concert at The Tech tomorrow, in which the members of Mourning Wood will perform backing music, though the tribute show itself is not advertised as a Mourning Wood concert. For full details on that event, visit this link, especially if you love country music! Afterwards, Mark will rejoin Mourning Wood as a guest performer for some jamming at Rednecks, so keep this in mind!
While this will likely be similar to the band's country-themed Rotaryfest set last year that Mark guested on, I imagine it won't be wall to wall Garth Brooks like at The Tech, but what exactly will they play? Be at Rednecks TOMORROW to find out! This is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood (and Mark) live last year!
Next up, here's the last currently advertised hard rock concert going down this weekend in the area, as local alternative hard rock trio The Din will return to LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT to open for local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau! The second of two shows tomorrow from this fast-rising band (joining their afternoon Gnar-BQ skatepark set), The Din will rock LopLops for the first time since May's Sulfur City concert, and will be reunited with Jesse for an unofficial rematch of this year's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, where Jesse and The Din finished first and second respectively. Though not a metal artist, Jesse is a skilled singer/songwriter, and don't bypass him tomorrow, especially as this is both his first headlining concert and his last announced show before hitting the studio to record his debut CD! His personal Facebook page notes that he'll be playing with a full band, with Caroline Divine bandmates Brendan Fitzgerald and Devin Williamson tagged in the post alongside guitarist Mitchell Nielsen, so I imagine they're filling things out a'la the Speak Easy Battle.
For what it's worth, Caroline Divine frontman Anthony Marcello apparently moved to Ottawa for college this summer, hence his absence from this show, but as of this writing, I can't confirm if Caroline Divine are still a functioning band outside of backing Jesse up, and if so, if Mitchell replaced him. We'll let you know if we hear anything, but good luck to Anthony at school! Tomorrow's LopLops show (promoted by Jackson Reed at Ears & Eyes) is a 19+ event at 9:00 PM with a $5 cover charge. This should be a fun show for genre fans & those who have gave in to The Din, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Din live!
Finally for today, here's some new archive video finds from inactive local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers! These come courtesy of YouTube user kierpaso, who appears to be based out of Prince Edward Island, as his videos are mostly from the province, with around 10 videos coming from Surfers performances there during their 2007-2008 tours. Half are from shows at the former Brennan's Pub in Charlottetown, but the other five are post-show, middle-of-the-night jam sessions that frontman Dustin Jones & bassist Brad "Example" Lacell (on acoustic guitar) held at kierpaso's kitchen, a.k.a. "Beater One". The jam videos are mostly of John Prine covers ("Souvenirs" x 2, here & here, "All The Best", and "In Spite of Ourselves") while one is of Bill Houston's folk song "The King of White Otter Lake". Though you get a sense that the guys are tired (Dustin in particular), these are well done covers, and it must have been cool to get to see them play all to yourself! Check out those covers above, especially if you love John Prine!
kierpaso's other five videos are from the concerts proper, but be warned that these are all black & white clips (or more accurately, black & bluish-gray.) Two come from October 2008 in what was apparently the last show ever at Brennan's Pub, where The Inner City Surfers covered The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and The Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated", both notably with drummer Mikey Hawdon trading places to sing lead vocals. Fun covers with a nicely packed crowd, and the guys make The Stones work for them in particular, so don't bypass them, particularly if you love Lion Ride, The Fairmounts, et al! The other three come from their April 2007 concert in Charlottetown, P.E.I. (the same show that preceded the 4:00 AM jam clips), where The Surfers covered "Satisfaction" with Mikey singing too, Poison's "Fallen Angel", and as embedded below, their original song "Here's To The Days".
Though I'm not sure why it took me this long to find kierpaso's channel and share his videos here, these are a nice window into The Inner City Surfers' touring heyday, and despite the lack of colour, they have solid sound and nice close angles of the band in action! If only he'd filmed more of their originals... check out "Here's To The Days" below, and stay tuned for more!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes next week, and we might just see you guys TOMORROW at the Gnar-BQ! Thanks everyone!
As the 26th of the month is today, we have this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile now up! As always, this monthly feature series looks at a hard rock or metal band that's not based locally, but has featured a Sault Ste. Marie resident (past or present) in their official lineup at any given point, so readers can know more about them and their sound! This month's band was selected in part because they just played at The Rockstar Bar a few weeks ago, and they have a familiar name up front, so here's what you should know! (Updated on November 27th)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Merves (Toronto, Ontario)
Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)
"Amy Merve" Amy Zuchetto (vocals) "Mikey Merve" Mikey Hawdon (vocals/guitar)
"Philly Merve" Phil Page (bass/vocals)
"Andy Merve" Andrew McMullen (drums) Keith Carman (guitar) Mark Rand (drums)
Local Info: Local music fans will surely recognize Merves singer/guitarist Mikey Hawdon (a.k.a. Mikey Merve) and ex-drummer Mark Rand for their contributions to the local music scene in the past decade and beyond, perhaps most notably Mikey's drum work with The Inner City Surfers and his & Mark's roles in the defunct local metal quintet Lion Ride, both of which became very popular and successful sights in the area, releasing well recieved CDs with both in the process! You also might recognize both from Bin Hawdon &nd the Taliband and Detroit, among numerous other projects both locally and in Southern Ontario. Today, you can catch Mark on bass in the Peterborough hardcore punk band Cross Dog, while Mikey juggles The Merves, original Toronto punk band The Fairmounts, and locals Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide among his active bands, so follow their current work above!
Band Bio: Launched circa early 2010, The Merves were one of two punk tribute bands fronted by Mikey Hawdon in the early 2010s (joining the inactive Green Day tribute The Dookies.) Initially featuring Mikey and Fairmounts bandmate Phil Page alongside Mark Rand and Maximum RNR's Keith Carman, The Merves have became a steady sight at Southern Ontario concert venues since, largely at solo headlining dates. After Andrew McMullen (also of The Fairmounts) replaced Mark in 2011, and the departure of Keith that year, The Merves made their local debut at The Canadian Nightclub in January 2012, and they've followed that with annual January dates in Sault Ontario, plus a return weekend earlier this month. In an added twist for hard rock fans, The Merves enlisted Amy Zuchetto in late 2013 as a singer for Joan Jett & Runaways songs, making The Merves a dual cover band for future gigs, which have been well recieved, so keep an eye out for their next shows!
Whether you're a fan of The Ramones or Joan Jett, The Merves should entertain with their proficient tribute to both acts! Admittedly, Mikey is not a close vocal match to Joey Ramone, but he has a lot of spirit and knowledge of that half of their set, and fans of Mikey's other fronted bands shouldn't have much to worry about! It helps when he has so much chemistry with Andrew and Phil from their other bands, they're solid in their roles too! In terms of their original lineup, I think they sounded a bit more cluttered with two guitarists, especially when The Ramones didn't have two at once, but Keith and Mark fit in talent-wise. Amy's vocals bear more of a similarity to Joan Jett, and she adds an extra element to their live set that shakes things up well, though in videos that I've seen, she could be more animated on stage. The Merves are definitely on the rise, and well worth checking out, so stay tuned for word on their next Sault Ste. Marie dates!
The Merves don't have recorded material beyond live concert audio & video, but Mikey, Andrew, and Phil have recorded and released original material with The Fairmounts, so follow that band to hear what they write together! The Merves have assorted concert audio on their MySpace page linked above and through numerous YouTube uploads, but the best sources from both their pre-Joan Jett and current eras are Mikey and Andrew's individual YouTube channels, so check out both for much of their live show videos, and here's their cover of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You" in Sudbury!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a long overdue look at Alpha Trion, the current Vancouver metal project from Sault Ontario native Jon Morrison, who some may remember from a brief stint as a session drummer with Gates of Winter! Watch out for that on or around May 26th, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
A day late due to some holiday commitments, but here's this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Back to our usual schedule this month, we're of course taking another look at a hard rock/metal band that's not based in the Soo, but has featured at least one past/present Sault Ste. Marie native in any of their lineups. This month's selection has an alum that will be familiar to many recent punk & metal fans, so check out this month's profile (and our last of 2013 in this series) below! (Updated on November 27th, 2014)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Lumbermen (Peterborough, Ontario)
Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)
Bryan Reid (vocals/guitar)
Mike Galley (guitar)
Colin Kennedy (guitar)
Steve Kerslake (bass)
Mikey Reid (drums) Mark Rand (bass)
Local Info: The Lumbemen's original bassist was prolific local punk/metal musician Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion), who's been a mainstay in bands from here and in Southern Ontario for years now! Currently well known as the bassist in the Peterborough hardcore trio Cross Dog (alongside former Lumbermen bandmate Mikey Reid), Mark's also made waves as Lion Ride's rhythm guitarist, along with roles in out of town and local bands like Detroit,Bin Hawdon & The Taliband,The Merves,hackthemodem, Pumpkinseed, Kidshit,
Bondar, Fuller, DDPBB, The Mark Rand Band, and at least two different solo projects, with Mark honing skills as a vocalist, guitarist, and/or bassist in them all! Though he's lived in the Peterborough area for a few years now, Mark still plays the occasional local date, most recently with Cross Dog in September 2013.
Band Bio:The Lumbermen were launched in August 2011, and made their live concert debut with a headlining show that October. Shortly afterwards, the band began work on their self-titled debut EP, which was released in February 2012 with 3 original songs, including the first single "Propane & Rodeos". A number of big events took place through that fall (including opening for Nashville Pussy and holding a music video screening party) before taking a break through this spring, during which original bassist Mark Rand was replaced by Charming Ruins drummer Steve Kerslake. After their new lineup debuted in April, The Lumbermen have been hard at work with big new concerts, a new single and music video for their song "Ego", and more, so hopefully we hear more from them in 2015! The Lumbermen's sound leans towards a southern-tinged hard rock sound that has a gruff but energetic feel that gives a unique element to their scene, and I like what the guys are doing with it!
Some of The Lumbermen's songs have a laid back casual feel while retaining some grit, which is an interesting contrast that works in it's own way, and Bryan Reid's vocals fit this style very well! I will say that I think The Lumbermen are best experienced live rather than in studio, as the concert videos that I've seen show a much angrier and carefree style that studio work doesn't capture. Mark's bass playing was very good when he was in the band, and while I have yet to find much media of the current lineup, hopefully Steve fits in! I like The Lumbermen's gritty and raw style, and I'm curious to hear more from them, but for now, check out their live videos and debut EP at the above links, and here's their music video for their first single "Propane & Rodeos"!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! To start this series' 2014 run, we'll be looking at Curse The Witch, the Kitchener alternative/hard rock band featuring Hollow/Carbon Black drummer Vinnie Milosevich in their current lineup! Watch out for that on or around January 26th, and I'll see you guys at The Algonquin Pub TONIGHT for Garden of Bedlam & Destroilet! Thanks everyone!
I'm sorry for this being a day late (I'm spreading out posts a bit due to the slow stretch we're in), but here's this month's last feature post, our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As usual, posts in this series look at a band that is based out of town, but does/used to feature one or more Sault Ste. Marie-area residents (past or present) in their lineup, basically to give the band some deserved local exposure! This month's selection is to time in with their local debut in two weeks, and there's a very familiar face within, so read on below for this month's profile, and if something's missing, let me know! (Updated on November 27th, 2014)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cross Dog (Peterborough, Ontario)
Lineup: (Saultites in RED)
Tracy Aáµ´henden (vocals) Mark Rand (bass)
Mikey Reid (drums)
Local Info: Cross Dog is the newest project from prolific Sault Ontario native Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion), who's played in various hard rock, punk, and hardcore project both locally and in Southern Ontario for many years! You may best remember him recently as Lion Ride's rhythm guitarist from 2007-2012, but he's also had roles as guitarist, bassist, and occasional singer with bands like Detroit,Bin Hawdon & The Taliband,The Merves,Fuller, hackthemodem, Pumpkinseed, The Lumbermen,Kidshit, Bondar, DDPBB, and The Mark Rand Band in the past decade, along with leading at least two solo projects. Though now living in Peterborough, he's still seen fairly often in the Soo for concerts!
Band Bio:Though quietly launched last year, Cross Dog first appeared with public online pages this spring, and they recorded their debut self-titled album this year as well, releasing it last month. The band made their live debut in Peterborough on July 6th alongside The Saigon Hookers, and have since played at and scheduled a bunch of other Ontario concerts, including their local debut at the Dayglo Abortions concert at the former Roosevelt Hotel on September 9th, and shows opening for the likes of The Misfits, Fuck The Facts, and Public Animal through 2014, with much more to come. Uniquely for their genre, they feature no guitar work in their shows or studio recordings, but their female-fronted hardcore punk blend comes through well even without! Picture Detroit, The Fury, and Die Mannequin blended together, and you'll have a good idea! Tracy's vocals have the right aggression and attitude for the material, Mark's bass work is solid and full enough to forget about the guitar's absence, and Mikey's drumming fits the songs well and gives a good rhythm!
Hardcore punk fans will have nothing to worry about with Cross Dog, who pack enough fast paced aggression and unique qualities to attract deserved attention, so don't miss them live! A solid amount of YouTube videos from their short live run are now online, but embedded below is this music video for their song "Black Hole", so give it a look, and stream and/or buy their debut album at their BandCamp page linked above!
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I hope you guys liked this month's out of town profile! Next month in this series, we're gonna look at a band who used to feature a Saultite (but is still active), that being Kitchener metal project Malicious Side Effect, whose guitarist at one point was Machines Dream/Blues Harvest's Keith Conway! That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, I've decided to postpone this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile to tomorrow just to keep the news rolling along, as we're already behind for news, and with a review of last night's Striker concert also imminent, I don't wanna keep these stories falling behind. Today's news post is 100% Sault Michigan-centric, as we're recapping the fallout and videos from the third annual LemmaFest from this past Saturday outside of Dondee Lanes for the entirety of this post! From what I have heard & read, this year's event was another success, with over $960 raised from attendees, the vast majority of which is going to the Ross family to help their son Hunter through his recent medical battles (though some will also go to LemmaFest 2012 performer Caitlin LeBlanc so she can audition for American Idol), so hopefully the money is used well all around! Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki also got a bunch of photos of the bands and fans (though not as many as last year), so click here to see the full album, which features pictures from Tantrym Tyme, Scofflaw, Mark Bowen & friends, and RamWagon's sets! Also to note, the tarp over the stage from last year was not back for this year. As more fallout and major news comes in, I'll be sure to let you know!
In terms of videos, we'll go in rough chronological order by performance, starting with young local metal/hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme, who were filmed for at least two cover songs on Saturday! Those were Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" & Black Stone Cherry's "Lonely Train", but both were uploaded to their Facebook page, not YouTube, so they're unembeddable here. The audio quality on each is pretty good, though the video quality seems jittery, despite the camera not moving much. Check them out at the above links, and hopefully there's more of their set around somewhere!
Now we move to the YouTube-uploaded videos from LemmaFest (at least, the ones I've found), starting with this clip of local metal trio Scofflaw playing their song "Burn One" on Saturday afternoon! One of the few live concert videos I've seen of them (as opposed to jam session clips), this comes courtesy of the YouTube channel of attendee Wayne Kozeyah, who also added a title bug, credits, some interesting video effects, and a picture of Mike Lemma to the footage, which tend to be nice additions. This song in particular reminds me of a more conventional Sykotyk Rampage, and the now short-haired Jeff Barnes has some solid raspy (yet melodic) vocals and a nice guitar solo to add to the track! Catchy song to be sure, so give this new Scofflaw video a look below, and stay tuned in case they have more shows planned this year!
Following Scofflaw at LemmaFest was local singer/guitarist (and regular Merchant's Bar performer) Mark Bowen and "friends", but who were the friends? A drummer named Larry (I can't source anything else about his identity) and at least two guest bassists (Scofflaw & Dirtbag In A Dress' Barney Gravelle, and the aforementioned Erik Rintamaki), with Erik's YouTube channel providing us with 3 videos from Mark's set featuring 6 different covers, as uploaded on Sunday! Only one video & song features Barney on bass (a cover of Sublime's "Scarlet Begonias"), while a lengthy second video features Mark, Erik, and Larry covering Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", Rehab's "Bartender Song (Sittin' At A Bar)", Adele's "Someone Like You" (yes, you read that right), and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". The video embedded below though (and the only metal cover that was uploaded) features Mark and friends covering Black Label Society's "The Blessed Hellride", so how does everything sound?
You can tell that some songs aren't ones that Larry and the bassists know, but Mark has a solid melodic voice and guitar ability, and he has good chemistry with the guys, including Erik (a former bandmate of his.) I assume he added well to Bucksaw when he was in that band, and the friends do adapt well on songs they're not as familiar with, especially on such a diverse assortment! Check out Mark Bowen & friends' performances above, and here's their surprisingly good cover of "The Blessed Hellride", complete with effortless lower register singing!
Transitioning to the end of the night, here's a video of announced headliners Half A Man playing their original song "Freedom Ride" at LemmaFest! As you may know, this was the Brimley metal trio's first live concert since last year's LemmaFest, so how'd they do after such a long hiatus? They sound as heavy as ever, and there's no visible stage rust, so fans shouldn't be disappointed! If anything, I'd like to see Erik and Gary Croad move around more, and I lament the fact that the video cuts off before the song ends, but it's great to see Half A Man back it, and hopefully we're not waiting another year for their gritty and very heavy original sound! Give their performance of "Freedom Ride" a look below!
Finally for today, as you may remember, Half A Man split their set at LemmaFest with the debut of the former Bucksaw's new lineup, sound, and name (Dirtbag In A Dress), and they got a lot of time to rock out! In fact, Erik filmed Ryan, Bill, Barney, and Mikey playing 12 songs across 4 videos (two other uploads are less than 10 seconds each and fairly unneeded), so here's what you should know on each! One video features just one performance (a cover of Young The Giant's "My Body"), while another video features D.I.A.D. covering The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" (albeit cut off at the beginning), Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out", and The Refreshments' "Banditos". A third video has the guys covering Lady Antebellum's "We Owned The Night" (also cut off at the start), The Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You)", and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" (the latter two with Mark Bowen providing guest backing vocals), but there's one more featuring Dirtbag In A Dress playing hard rock covers!
The last video (which is embedded below) features covers of Alice In Chains' "Would" (also with Mark Bowen helping on vocals), Seether's "Tonight", Jason Aldean's "She's Country", Velvet Revolver's "Slither", and The Foo Fighters' "Everlong", so how does Dirtbag In A Dress sound overall? Pretty good, the guys have chemistry, and Ryan Franklin's voice suits their more rock-based covers (and they definitely de-countrify the country songs, if that makes sense!) Very diverse, but I assume solo shows will have more metal covers, lining up with what Mikey told me. There's a good workman-like rock sound here with a hard edge, so check out Dirtbag In A Dress' heaviest covers and more below!
I'm not done with the LemmaFest videos, as debuting local rock band Plastic have a pile of videos from their set on frontman Zac Crook's YouTube channel, including hard rock covers, but this post is already longer than I'd probably like, so I'll wait to touch on them so they don't get lost in the shuffle. That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for our Striker concert review, especially if you're on the Ontario side of the border! Thanks everyone!
Now it's time to clear out the news desk a bit more by sharing a few stories that got lost in the cracks over the past little while. With all those concert reviews and the end-of-year special posts, I am admittedly behind on new stuff, so that explains the high amount of posts so far to start 2011. Things should get back on a normal pace soon, but first, here's some assorted stories from the last week or so! Because all could feasibly be a top story (except the last paragraph), I'll organize our first four in alphabetical order by band name. So, let's get things started, but remember to check out our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post from this morning immediately below!
We'll start with Sault Michigan hard rockers Bad Side, and this is stuff that I had previously referred to in our post where we looked back at 2010, but I never devoted an actual news post section to it. It appears that the band has officially decided to break up. There's never been an official statement to that effect, but the fact that they produced a graphic of a Bad Side tombstone (with the year of death being 2010), that about says it all. Honestly, this isn't too surprising, when you add things up. The band went on a hiatus in late 2009, cancelling scheduled local dates in the process, and following the firing of singer Melissa Krahnke and guitarist Jason Mapes from their radio jobs at Yes FM and The Bear last year, both of them moved from the area. Jason now lives in Nashville, where he's working on a solo album with other former Bad Side members, and Melissa now lives in Pennsylvania, where she works at the the radio station 98.5 KRZ. So their shows this past summer in Milwaukee were basically their farewell gigs, which is odd when you consider that you'd think their last shows would be local. Even still, they had a great five year run that produced many memorable concerts and three albums, and add one more thing to that: a retrospective DVD/CD combo!
According to the band's Facebook page, it will be titled "Live After Death", and it will feature the band's music videos along with live videos, demos, interviews, and more! A video showcasing the intro of the DVD was also posted, which you can watch at this location! Good stuff, it appears to be a performance from their Milwaukee Summerfest show. It's still a shame to see Bad Side breaking up, but you never know what might happen down the road, and as updates come in for "Live After Death", I'll let you all know!
Next up, here's a new locally-related video from a metal band that came through town last summer! You may remember on August 11th when Toronto instrumental progressive metal trio The Isosceles Project played at The Canadian Nightclub as openers for Skull Fist. Well, here's a side you don't see from many bands who play here, as the band posted a new installment of their tour blog onto their official YouTube channel! It's almost 8 minutes of what appears to be the post-concert party and gathering that the band had with fans and band members! There's lots of swearing and alcohol to go around, so if you're easily offended, don't watch. It is however mostly talking amongst the band and other attendees about the concert and such, so if you're expecting live concert clips or road footage, you won't find it. It's a good video though, and this is the kind of stuff you might have been a part of before with other local bands, and parts are amusing too! Check it out below, and fingers crossed that The Isosceles Project come back through here one day, they're an awesome band!
Next up, do you remember in December 2009 when local photographer Curt O'Neil posted photos from the Kiss Battle of the Bands onto his official website, specifically of Lion Ride's sets? Well, I did mention in my review of Lion Ride's show last week that he was snapping pictures at this most recent show as well, and a sneak peek at his shots is now online! Five photos are now up, one each for Mikey, Marky, Marco, Iron Mike, and Carmine, and they're all great quality! Makes me want to see the rest even more! I didn't mention this in my review, but Curt got special on-stage access for some photos, which led to shots like this one of Mikey Lion singing right in front of the crowd! Who's that guy on the far left though? He doesn't look very metal. There's a lot more photos from Curt to come, and Donna Hopper too, so when the rest make it online, I'll let you all know! For now, click here for Curt's first photos from the Lion Ride concert, and I've also added Curt's website to our "Other Local Metal Links" list on your left!
And next, we have the latest news and notes from Woods of Ypres! Again, this is stuff I had referred to in the past, but never devoted proper attention to. It has been announced on Woods of Ypres' Facebook page that their 2009 CD "Woods IV: The Green Album" will be reissued by their new label Earache Records on CD and vinyl on March 14th. Nice to see W4 get a wide release like this, as it is a great album (if depressing at parts), but this likely will spell a delay for "Woods V: You Were The Light", which David alluded to in his Governor's Ball interview. After all, if they put two Woods of Ypres albums out in the same timeframe, one (or possibly both) would suffer in sales, so it makes sense to stagger them and devote attention to one at a time. So we'll likely have to wait until the summer (at the earliest) for "Woods V", but it should be worth the wait! With that said, the band has a few more independent copies of Woods of Ypres' independent back catalog for sale, so if you want information on how to snag these albums, click here! And finally, the metal blog Antivenin included "Woods V" on their list of the most anticipated albums for 2011, including references to the reaction over their "breakup". Check it out at this location, and stay tuned for more Woods of Ypres news as I hear it!
And finally, here's some updates I made to recent special feature posts on the SMS. I've made many of them date accurate to reflect this new year we're in, but the following are just factual edits or additions. Our Defunct Local Band Profile on M7K now reflects guitarist Mike Vincent's most recent work in The Bear Hunters. From our GarageBand Profile Mini-Series this past summer, I edited the Recognition and Sin Stereo profiles to reflect the removal of their iLike pages as "band pages", as they aren't really. Also from that series, I edited the Gates of Winter profile to reflect the addition of Jon Morrison on drums, but I did specify in the profile that he was not a band member when GarageBand was active, and he was only added to make the page accurate at present, as the band are still together. Finally, I edited our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand's solo project, as he is now going by his real name for his solo work, instead of his Lion Ride stage name Marky Lion. With that said, I also made it date accurate to refer to the fact that his show with The Mark Rand Band last month has came and went. As more edits become necessary, I'll have them for you!
That's all for tonight, but I have a big update concerning our poll tomorrow as well, which has to do with "ballot stuffing". Details are coming tomorrow, along with more news, so stay tuned!
And now, it's time for our final concert review of 2010! I've been to 36 local metal/hard rock concerts this year, and fittingly, we end the year in much the same way we ended 2009: An old school hardcore concert at Coch's Corner featuring a punk opening band, Destroilet, and a headlining band featuring Mark Rand and Mikey Hawdon! I just realized how coincidental that all turns out to be. So here's my final concert review of 2010!
First off, thanks to Destroilet for the free t-shirt and Justin for the Scary Uncles pin, that's way too nice of you guys! The opening band was local punk trio The Scary Uncles in their long awaited return show, and maybe their farewell too? Band members had hinted that this could also be their last show too in online postings leading up to the performance last night, but unless you read them, you wouldn't have been able to tell, as they made no mentions of anything final. Having not seen The Scary Uncles in ages, I kinda went into this fresh, but I did have Monday's Reagle Beagle set as a reference point. Well, with the full band present, I must say, The Scary Uncles did pretty good! I forgot to mention this before, but Justin Langlois actually has a edgier and deeper voice live than on the studio material I've heard from them, and on every song, his guitar work gave everything a nice straightforward punk sound that we honestly don't get much here. Andrew MacDonald's bass work was as solid as ever, and Mark Mullin's drumming was pretty good, and you can tell he knew the material! Though mostly original songs (sans "Labatt 50", oddly), some covers from the Reagle Beagle show survived, including Nirvana and Johnny Cash. Good stuff all around, they're an underrated punk band with a great sound, and I hope this doesn't turn out to be their final show!
Then, Destroilet hit the stage for just the third time since their 2009 inception, and like in my first time seeing them late last year, I was impressed by their sheer energy and aggression! They ripped into a setlist chock full of old school hardcore covers from bands like Good Riddance, Gang Green, Assjack, GG Allin, Bad Religion, and even some classic local bands like Fist Magnet! There was a few originals thrown in as well, but each song followed a similar vein. Mike Hull and Christian Foisy contributed loud, aggressive, and unforgiving vocals for each song, with Mike expounding much energy as he moved about the stage and gave each song it's deserved aggression. Their sound isn't going to win points for technical brilliance, but you know what? It's old school hardcore, they're not trying to do that with their music. Matt Waples was solid on each song on drums, Adam Larocque's bass was loud and unforgiving, and the guitar work accomplished exactly what it set out to do, even if many of John Conway's solos sounded the same on each song. They played a rocking set packed full of hardcore insanity with little room for a break, and if you judge them on the atmosphere and the intensity of their live show, you'll have come away from Destroilet's set satisified, like I did!
Following their set was your headliners, the debuting Mark Rand Band! Remember, this is the six man hardcore supergroup that gave Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand's Toronto-based solo project life on the live stage. Mark informed us during the set that the six of them ("Brown" Dave Brunton was absent) had only first jammed an hour before the concert. You could see hand written tabs on the floor for some of the members, but once the old school hardcore assault began, we didn't notice or care about any musical screw-ups! We heard Mark's fast paced (and very short) original songs like "Nine To Five", "Question", and "Minimum Wage", among many others, plus a cover of Minor Threat's "Small Man, Big Mouth" to cap off the set! Because the performed songs were from Mark Rand's solo project, let's talk about him first, and as it turns out, he'd make a great frontman if he did this more! He has a hard edged singing voice with a punk edge, and he has the screaming down as well, not to mention a distinct willingness to involve the audience and get everyone singing along! I wish I had a better grasp of the lyrics going in! Again, given the band's relative inexperience playing these songs together, you can't rate everything on a normal basis, you just have to gauge it on it's own terms.
Mikey Hawdon's drumming stood out to me, as it often does, and the three pronged guitar attack from Marco Pedalino, Nebraska Arms' Dave Prendergast, and ex-Renderware guitarist Marc Lafrance ensured devastating riffs on each song, even if they had screw-ups here and there! Guy Thiffault of Nebraska Arms also was pretty good on bass, it'd be cool to hear him play heavier stuff more! Despite the bribery of Jager shots to get people on the floor for their set, everyone was ramped up for The Mark Rand Band's dozen of aggressive fast paced songs, amidst some of Mark's trademark humour, including many funny self-deprecating shots at themselves and the other bands! If someone came last night to grade them on musical abilities, they might not get a high score, but again, they had only first jammed AN HOUR before the show, so what do you expect? This was a show where you went for the overall sound and the old-school hardcore environment, to get drunk and have a good time. On that basis, The Mark Rand Band scored very high, and if they play another show, they should be even better with more time to prepare! I had fun, and overall, that's what matters. As always, I got plenty of pictures, so click here or visit the SMS' Facebook page to check them out!
And yes, I have videos too, two songs on each video due to the short lengths of the material. So here's Destroilet covering Gang Green's "Let's Drink Some Beer" and Good Riddance's "Cages", and The Mark Rand Band playing Mark Rand's solo songs "Day Waste" and "Christ Almights"!
That's all for now, but stay tuned tonight for previews of the New Year's Eve metal/hard rock concerts that I know of, and some more news from the last little while! Thanks everyone!
As promised, it's time to preview some upcoming concerts! It's not often where we dedicate a post to just mid-week concert previews, but as is usually the case during the holidays, there's a lot of shows going on! In the next three days, we have four concerts with metal and hard rock bands to mention, and before anyone asks, I will be at ALL FOUR of these shows! I know I've missed a bunch lately, but blame homework, my Detroit trip, family holiday commitments, and my lost camera charger for that. I'm in the clear this week, and you'll see a lot of concert reviews this week, you have my word! Now, let's get previewing!
We'll start with tomorrow's concert, appropriately titled "The Nightmare After Christmas Party"! I should note that there has been a quiet lineup change to this show since it was announced, but we'll get to that in a second. A few recently prominent local bands will hit the stage for this concert tomorrow night at Foggy Notions, including headliners Frightlight! Over a month after their last show at The Oddfellows Hall, the local horror punk/metal quartet are ready to rock with their brand of Misfits and horror movie inspired music! Hard to believe this will be my sixth time seeing them live this year! Also on the bill is local hardcore metal band WinkStinger, sharing the stage with Frightlight once again! They've made a huge impression over the past two months with their fast and brutal metal attack, and they'll definitely leave a deep impression on fans at Foggy's tomorrow night! Now the original third band was supposed to be the returning Scary Uncles, but according to the Facebook event page, they've been replaced by local/Toronto classical/punk trio RedD Monkey, adding to a busy stretch of three shows in four days for them. No word on why the change was made, but good news for Scary Uncles fans, as frontman Justin "Frenchie" Langlois will be playing a solo set tomorrow as well! I'm not sure what sound he'll take on, but no matter what, it'll be nice to see him back on stage! Plus, you'll get a chance to see The Scary Uncles on Wednesday too, so not all is lost! Check the above links for more on the scheduled bands!
This show will be at Foggy Notions tomorrow night at 10:00 PM! There is a $3 cover, and you must be 19 to enter. $3 is a good value for the four acts you'll get tomorrow, and if you're in the post-Christmas blahs, why not rock out at Foggy's? I'll be there, and you all should come too! Get more details and previews at the above links, and for a video preview, here's Frightlight playing their song "She Screams" from their Foggy Notions show in October!
Now to the metal shows on Tuesday, and it's a packed night, with eleven bands playing at two venues, including four hard hitting metal bands to ensure everything has an appropriate edge! And first, it's a HUGE all ages local concert at The Oddfellows Hall, entitled "Soo Music Mash-Up"! No less than EIGHT bands are scheduled, so let's go through who to expect! Your headliners are local metalcore quintet As It Stands, returning to The Oddfellows Hall for the first time since their reunion! Expect a hard hitting set of intense hardcore from this talented band, who've quickly returned to prominence in the local scene! Two more metal bands are scheduled, including death metal rockers Bring The Fallen (ignore the poster, they're on and they're fifth on the bill), and new local hardcore band Changing Waves immediately before them! After a bit of a gray area on Bring The Fallen's participation, it's awesome to see them bringing their brutal death metal sound to this concert, with intense moshing sounding very likely as a result! As for Changing Waves, it's great to see them back on stage after a solid debut, though I'd still like to know more about them! Though the rest of the bands aren't "metal", there is lots of solid and entertaining music to be had, so here's the other five bands scheduled for tomorrow!
Local experimental emo band The Crossed make a rare concert appearance tomorrow night as the co-headliners, right before As It Stands! I admit never being a huge fan of theirs, but The Crossed are very talented, and have a large and dedicated local following! Plus, one of their former bassists is Nathan Bouliane, who's played in a few metal bands and is providing lights at tomorrow's show as well! Local bass rockers The Fury are also on for tomorrow, right before The Crossed. They'll prove once again that guitars are not mandatory, as they bust out some high energy originals and covers like only The Fury can! Also, fresh off tomorrow's show at Foggy's, RedD Monkey take the stage for a set of cello-infused punk rock, which will definitely make a mark amidst the vast lineup! They're sandwiched between The Fury and Bring The Fallen. The opening two bands are the local indie/acoustic acts Tea With Lincoln and Ocean View, who'll both set the pace with some mellow indie rock! Tea With Lincoln are a newer local duo who've played many area shows, while Ocean View is the new acoustic solo project from promoter and former local hardcore frontman Jeremy Hannah. For more details on all of the announced bands for this concert, check out the above links!
Doors open at 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening for this ALL AGES concert! Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. If you still want to get advance tickets, contact Jeremy Hannah, Nathan Bouliane, Alice Rose, or Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere! This should be one packed, but fun night of music! Sure, it's not mostly metal, but there's quality AND quantity to be had, and it's worth checking out! I'll be there, and even if you're going to the show later that night that we're mentioning next, you'll have time to hit both, like I'm doing! For more details, visit the above links and the Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's As It Stands playing the song "Eeny Meeny Miny Ho" from their return show in August!
So, you want more metal for your Tuesday? How about some Lion Ride? Yes, after seven months away from the local stage, these local hard rockers make their long awaited return home for a headlining show Tuesday night at The Canadian Nightclub! With a new album still in the works, and loads of existing high quality originals in store, look for a triumphant return set from these guys on Tuesday! Hopefully a better crowd turns out than at their May 2-4 weekend show! Opening for Lion Ride on Tuesday night are two bands that may not seem like the best genre matches, but will still entertain! One is The Billy Bastards, the punk/country quintet featuring alumni of local metal bands like Destroilet and The Harsh Heads! They have a nice sense of humour and a good mix of Southern sounds with punk attitude, so they'll be worth keeping an eye on! The other opening band is The Pinecones, the local indie band featuring members of bands like Terminal and Nebraska Arms, including former Downfall guitarist Mike Yakasovich! I don't know much about their sound, but there's lots of talent in The Pinecones, so take note! For more details on the announced bands, click the above links!
The show is scheduled to start at 9:00 PM, though I have a hunch it might not actually begin until later. There's no announced cover charge, but bring cash just in case, as The Canadian Nightclub usually has one. And yes, it's 19+, but at least there's an all ages show beforehand! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's always notable when Lion Ride return home, and I'll definitely be at The Canadian following the Soo Music Mash-Up show! I might miss part of the openers at The Canadian depending on how long things go, but I'll be there at some point! Lion Ride's high energy brand of metal with a punk swagger will be sure to get a great crowd, and I hope to see you guys there! For a video preview, here's Lion Ride playing their new original "Stick It In" at their last local show!
And finally, while we're on the subject of Lion Ride, a special concert is taking place on Wednesday night at Coch's Corner, featuring a unique debut show of sorts from a new local band! Ironically taking place about one year after Detroit's last local concert, Lion Ride & Detroit's own Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion) headlines a local supergroup named The Mark Rand Band, who'll perform a set of his own solo original songs and covers! His Toronto-based solo project has given birth to loads of fast hardcore songs similar to his past Detroit work, while this local supergroup is ready to bring these songs to life on stage! His live band will comprise of guitarists Marco Pedalino (Lion Ride), Dave Prendergast (Nebraska Arms), and Marc Lafrance (Renderware), along with bassist Guy Thiffault (Nebraska Arms), and drummer Mikey Hawdon (Lion Ride, Inner City Surfers, etc.), with Talk Shit's "Brown" Dave Brunton credited for "alcohol", though his band contributions beyond that aren't known publically yet. Mark Rand will handle lead vocals on Wednesday, giving a live voice to his solo material! My confirmed source for this information is Mark's MySpace page! With that kind of a lineup backing Mark up, you know this will be an awesome show, but there's more to be said!
The opening bands include local punk/metal quintet Destroilet, one night after guitarist John Conway shares the stage with some Mark Rand Band members in his other group, The Billy Bastards! After their own seven month hiatus, Destroilet are back for just their third public concert, ready to impress with their loud and heavy style of music! Also scheduled are the returning Scary Uncles, two nights after frontman Justin Langlois' solo set at Foggy's in lieu of their original return show! Awesome to see them back, they'll be sure to give the fans a great set with their energetic punk sounds! This show takes place at 9:00 PM on Wednesday night, with NO COVER CHARGE and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This is shaping up to be a night to remember, featuring a literal local supergroup ready to rain down an old school hardcore assault on their fans, with two other very talented bands ready to rock as well! I will also be at this show, and hopefully you guys don't miss it, as who knows when The Mark Rand Band will be back? Check out all of the above links for more, and for a video preview, here's one of Mark's blistering original solo songs, "Question"!
That's all for tonight, but I will have more news very soon, along with our summative look at 2010 and a post on what to look out for in 2011, along with (of course) concert reviews, and previews of this weekend's shows around Thursday! Stay tuned, and I'll see you guys at Foggy Notions TOMORROW NIGHT!!
Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan to look at the last hard rock cover videos on Paradise Excuse frontman Mark Bowen's YouTube channel that we hadn't looked at yet! Last August, Mark uploaded a whopping thirteen videos of his eponymous Mark Bowen Band playing outdoors at the Wood-Dock Music Festival in Mackinac Island. This newspaper clipping from a later event seems to confirm that Mark is joined here by his Paradise Excuse bandmate Jason Haske, plus drummers Donny Sorenson (on the full kit) and Matt Myers (on the hand drums). Their wildly varying set on this day included renditions of Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger", The Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut", The Eagles' "One Of These Nights" & "Hotel California", Bob Seger's "Night Moves", Van Morrison's "Moondance" in two chunks (seen here & here), Pery Ribeiro's "The Girl From Ipanema", Dean Martin's "Sway", Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", ...
