A Concert Cancellation, Mikey & His Uke's Newest Covers, And More!!

I hope everyone is staying warm and off the roads on this very snowy Friday! Regarding this weekend's concert previews, the ones covered yesterday appear to be on as scheduled, but we do have a cancellation to note, as local hard rock quartet Half Past are not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow, as per an update to their Facebook page's post about the concert this morning. A reason for the postponement was not announced, but Shooters itself is opening late today. The weather forecast could be to blame, I don't 100% know, but Half Past have promised that there is a "new date to come". Hopefully all is well with the guys, and we'll let you know when this show is re-booked! While there have been a few other announced concert cancellations (especially tonight), hard rock shows covered in yesterday's weekend concert preview post are not visibly affected. Keep tabs with the bands and venues for clarification on this weekend's shows!

Now, let's dive into a new video and more on this snow day, starting with the long awaited conclusion of local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie"! It took almost two months after the previous cover to get the final song up, but the series is ending in style by tackling both the final credited song and the bonus track all in one video! For the last credited song, Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon (on guitar after dropping the ukelele pretense once again) is joined to play the deep cut "F.O.D." by Flatliners frontman Chris Cresswell, while Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot handles bass for the eighth and final time here, and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer returns to the kit as the house drummer of the "Dookie" series (and wearing a Toronto FC jersey for a change!) How is "F.O.D." filmed this time?

We get a little more variance visually here, as the softer acoustic opening verse is seen in monochrome, before going full colour when the song shifts into punk territory, though Chris continues playing acoustic guitar. Also, while Chris handles the opening, everyone else is seen either waiting patiently or setting up for their parts, which is cute! After "F.O.D." ends, we get to watch a sped up video of Mikey and his family putting together a jigsaw puzzle of the "Dookie" album cover while a caption scrolls across the screen thanking everyone for watching and supporting the series... but we're not done yet! The hidden bonus track on "Dookie" was "All By Myself", an acoustic song performed by drummer Tre Cool, and Mikey & His Uke didn't forget about that one! Here, Mikey takes on lead vocals and plays ukelele straight through for the only time in the "Dookie" series.

Guesting here are Vincent Hidalgo and Brad Magers from the Los Angeles punk band The Bronx and, more notably given how this cover was handled, their mariachi side project Mariachi El Bronx (and to that end, Brad is playing trumpet). No Darren here, nor any prior bassist. Two kids also join in banging pots on their heads, while Vincent plays guitar while lying on the floor. Nice little throwback to the early Mikey & His Uke covers here, with a Mexican twist, while "F.O.D." delivered the punk goods with solid vocals from Chris, so you get a good end to this lengthy series! Check both covers out below, and stay tuned for more from Mikey & His Uke!

Finally for today, I wanted to shine a spotlight on a local musician who needs help at a trying time (normally, I don't talk about musicians' personal lives here but I'll make an exception for stuff like this). As some of you may know, former Destroilet drummer Matt Waples was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year that may have spread to his adrenal gland, and he is having surgery to remove the cancerous testicle next month as well as chemotherapy. He has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $8,100 to cover travel expenses to Toronto and back as well as to cover the donation of sperm to be frozen in the event that he decides to become a parent in the future. Matt's fight was covered in this Sault Star article by Jeffrey Ougler earlier this week, where he outlined his goals to start a fully fledged graphic design business (local musicians know Matt's work with Sonigraphix well from posters, logos, and merchandise).

The article has candid remarks about Matt's cancer and what he has been through this year, and he has been similarly open and honest on social media. As of this writing, $2,925 has been raised, and hopefully more comes in soon, especially given how rapidly things are changing with his condition. Matt's a good guy, a strong drummer, and a talented graphic artist, and I hope things work out optimally for his health so he can get back to living how he wants without pain and worry. Click here to read more on Matt's cancer battle and to help him reach his financial goals, and we all hope that he gets well soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie), New Videos, And Much More!!

I hope everyone is having a good Monday so far! Today's post features new videos, updates from a prominent local hard rock musician, some assorted recent notes, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this summer, so here's what you should know!

Former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will bring his revived solo act back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a third time on Thursday, August 8th! Unlike his two shows there earlier this month, Curt's show in August will be indoors as part of the former Low & Slow's "Think It Over Thursday" series of acoustic musicians inside the 648 Queen Street East nightclub. Hopefully Curtis' brand of hard rock and grunge covers go over just as well the third time out, so keep this show in mind, especially if you can swing coming out on a work night! Note that Curt has shared his setlist from his two Saturday patio gigs at The Dive onto his Facebook page, where he has played three sets a night of 11 or 14 songs apiece. No originals from his past bands, but fans of them won't be alienated by what he's covering! This is a 6:00 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details!

Next up, let's stay at The Dive for one of the first videos on their Facebook page from one of their acoustic concerts, specifically from their "Patio Play" outdoor show on Saturday, June 15th headlined by former Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer! Of course, Jason has resumed playing solo shows this year after a four year hiatus, last seen unplugged at The Rockstar Bar in 2020. The Dive's live-streamed video is of him covering Shinedown's "Symptom Of Being Human", a song that I'm honestly not a fan of, but the 29 second clip is well shot with good quality, and it's nice to see video of him performing again! Is this indicative of a hard rock-leaning set in this day and age? Not yet sure, but check it out below!

Also today, let's look at Curtis McKenzie's old bandmate Mike Haggith, so what has he been up to from Barrie as of late? Along with sharing this picture of the Barrie-based musicians' jam space Just Some Noise (no word on if he's working on full band shows down south or not), Mike confirmed that his local live backing band for summer festivals (Northern Vibe among them) in this photo, and while the instrumentalists were already confirmed via jam videos earlier in the year, Mike will 100% welcome back ex-Re:Born singer and 2023 Soo's Got Talent finalist Elly McWatters as a backing vocalist too! Note that in his recent full band shows here, Elly has only sung on select tracks later in the set. Barring an interim announcement, you'll next see Mike and crew at Rotaryfest next month, and hopefully his knee cooperates this time! We do have a new video to share, but it's not what you may be thinking!

On June 13th, Mike (a known baseball fan) was asked to sing "O Canada" before an Intercounty Baseball League game between his adopted hometown Barrie Baycats and the Brantford Red Sox, and Baycats games are live-streamed for free on their YouTube channel! Now, that game was postponed early on due to rain, but Mike's anthem performance made it into the stream beforehand (he walks out at 4:48, and is introduced at 5:30). Mike sings well here, and his deep voice does translate nicely to the anthem, so it's an interesting watch, even if they only got to play ball for a few minutes! 100 copies of his CDs were also to be given out to fans in the stadium. Check out Mike singing "O Canada" 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: 

 

• In promotional images for Saturday's It's The Pits festival in Leeburn on the Facebook event page, the one for local crossover thrash/punk trio Hails features individual photos of four members, the extra one being guitarist Mikhal Muto's brother Carmen, who guested with Ha!ls at The Distraction last month and with Mikhal & Keeghan's other band Vanity First in April. That image aside, Hails have not confirmed Carmen's status with the band on their own social media accounts, but if he's only involved part time like with Vanity First, they could always list him on their Facebook bio with "Rip It Sometimes"! We'll let you know if we get clarification!
• SooToday contributor Chris Belsito interviewed Saultite metal guitarist Matt Hanchuck for this article late last month! There, Matt talked about his local upbringing before moving to Thunder Bay in the early 2000s, leading to discussion of his day jobs since and his more recent work as the guitarist in the higher profile metal bands Wreck-Defy and Gutter Creek (oddly, his show with Gutter Creek at Soo Blaster in September 2022 was not mentioned). Good article that fills in what Matt has been up to in the past decade musically, and it's be great to see him play another show here!
• Minnesota hair metal band Vixen (who are among the openers for Ace Frehley at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 20th) have announced the addition of Rosa Laricchiuta as their new lead singer, replacing Lorraine Lewis (click here for details). A native of Montreal, Rosa finished in third place on Quebec's version of The Voice (La Voix) in 2015, and later had stints as a vocalist with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and The Headpins, so she definitely has the chops! Lineup changes for touring bands with announced dates here are not common, but hopefully Rosa will add to the experience for Vixen fans in St. Ignace, Michigan next month!

 

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

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Our Place Or Yours

It's now time for our monthly Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, as we once again take a look at a metal, hard rock, or punk band that's not based in the Soo area, but just happen to feature a Saultite in any of their past or present lineups! This month's installment takes a look at a rising young band from Southern Ontario featuring a guitarist who made a big solo impression locally in the early 2010s, so here's what you should know!
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Our Place Or Yours (London, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics. This information is incomplete. Let us know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Tyler Seguin (vocals)
Jonny Grimm (guitar)
Matt Parr (guitar)
Jordan Cope (bass/ex-guitar)
Clark DeCaluwe (drums)

Adam Dos Santos (guitar)
Justin Demolo (bass)
Jake Leal (bass)
Mike ????? (?????)

Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ourplaceoryours
Official Twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/ourplaceoryours
Official Bandcamp page: http://ourplaceoryours.bandcamp.com
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/ourplaceoryours
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/ourplaceoryours

Local Info: Though he had no substantial live band work while living here, current Our Place Or Yours guitarist Matt Parr lived in Sault Ontario in the early 2010s, during which he recorded djent and progressive metal material with his Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe solo project, including a self-titled debut album in December 2013. Matt would move to London early the next year, but can now be seen making waves with Our Place Or Yours!

Band Bio: Launched under the name New Age Sin in early 2012, Our Place Or Yours would play their first show that May, and soon began playing numerous gigs in the London area, while beginning studio recordings that summer. The band released their debut EP "Ruins" in April 2013, and later signed with Brutal Tooth Foundation Records that same year, while Matt Parr joined the band the following summer shortly after moving to London. Since debuting, Our Place Or Yours have opened for the likes of D3athcharg3r, Forever Cadence, and Something You Whisper, and placed second at a regional battle of the bands in February. While the band has yet to announce new studio recordings with their current lineup, Our Place Or Yours' first EP delivers a hard hitting and enthusiastic post-metalcore sound with some progressive hints that should get fans of hardcore music going!

Not to be confused with the NHL star, Tyler Seguin has an aggressive raspy scream that suits the material, and while we can only compare live videos so far, Matt seems to fit in well with his skilled guitar background! Jonny Grimm handles the guitar nicely as well, an O.P.O.Y.'s originals show a maturity while still having a modern sensibility that fans of As It Stands should like! It'd be nice to see Our Place Or Yours live in the Soo down the road, but give their material a look and/or listen at the above links, including this video of them covering a Beartooth song last fall!


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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 plan on looking at Toronto-based Green Day tribute band The Dookies (who are fronted by prolific local punk musician Mikey Hawdon), so look for that on or around May 26th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for news, previews, and this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Havadder), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Now on the site, we're mostly focusing on this weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews in our area, but we also have a new performance video to check out at the end, so let's kick things off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Local classic/hard rock quartet Havadder will return to The Rednecks Saloon for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, frontman Jason Roy just announced these shows on their Facebook event page on Tuesday. That link indicates that last month's fill-in performers (former bassist Travis Sharpe & Flat Stanley drummer Glen Thomas) will return this weekend as "special guests" alongside former Amethyst drummer Phil Temporao, though given that all current Havadder members are confirmed attendees, this will likely be the band's first live weekend with their full current lineup since July. Havadder are also teasing new covers to debut in their set this weekend, so keep that angle in mind if you're at the former Nicolet Tavern for the action! There's no announced cover charge for these next two gigs, you must be 19 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times are announced. For more details, check the above links, and for a preview, here's a new video discovery of Havadder from earlier this year!

Courtesy of guitarist Jamie July's YouTube channel in March, this is a sample video of clips of the band covering numerous songs at a Rednecks Saloon concert, though given the poor audio quality, it's hard to pick out the songs, especially early on (though you can hear Jamie sing lead on some.) Shot from a side stage angle, it's a nice glimpse of the current lineup, if you can get past the muffled covers, so give it a look below, and have at her this weekend!



Moving to previously announced concerts, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will enter his 41st straight week of acoustic solo concerts at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Now over nine months into his ongoing run at the former Madison's Pub, Tym will once again host and play at their Friday jam night tomorrow before headlining his own solo concert on Saturday, and his talented unplugged hard rock covers will not be in short supply on either night, so if you're up for a quieter but still rocking night of music, keep his Harp returns in mind for this weekend! Like the Havadder gigs, admission should be free for this weekend's gigs, you must be 19 to attend, and there are announced 10:00 PM start times each night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be another dependably strong weekend in Tym's Harp arrangement, so don't miss out on this weekend's central entertainment, and here he is at Mill Square last year!



Last but certainly not least for this weekend's heavier/punk concerts is Hardcore Homecoming at The Rockstar Bar, a hardcore punk concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT to be headlined by the long awaited return of notable Toronto punk rockers Random Killing! Fronted by the Soo's own Andrew "Drool" Kiteley, some readers may remember Random Killing fondly from a number of high profile local concert appearances in the 1990s, but it's been some time since they've grace a local stage, so get ready for an intense homecoming for Random Killing and their hard hitting punk classics on Saturday! Support will include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in their first local concert appearance since May's EP release show), local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet (making their first live appearance of 2014, shockingly), the Soo debut of London hardcore punk quintet Gatgas (a homecoming of their own for Saulites Bob Bromley Jr. and Garry Ingram), and local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements (also returning to the local stage for the first time since May), so we have a stacked lineup for sure at Hardcore Homecoming that's full of bands that we haven't just seen!

Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this show has a 9:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit, and tickets are $15 in advance at the Algonquin Hotel or Rad Zone, or $20 at the door. Quantities are limited, so get yours A.S.A.P., and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This should be an awesome concert, and while I'm too young to accurately speak on Random Killing's prior local shows, I've heard the great stories, and hopefully they deliver a great blast of punk rock on Saturday night! Besides, how often do bands that have appeared on Sesame Street come here? Come on out to welcome Andrew, Bob, and Garry home, and for a preview, here's Random Killing's video for "Patios & Beer"!



Finally for today, here's a new guitar/bass cover video from Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe guitarist Matt Parr! While currently busy with his London-based metal band Our Place Or Yours, he uploaded this double track cover of Enter Shikari's "Sorry, You're Not A Winner" to the H.M.M. YouTube channel on Tuesday. Solidly done and accurate to the original from what I can tell, but the tone of the tracks seems a bit off to me. Give it a look below though, keep an eye out for some amusing lyric cards, and visit the H.M.M. Soundcloud page to hear his new song idea "Formlessness", which is a nice heavy tech-metal instrumental that hopefully gets fleshed out further!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a likely new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (That's Chester), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

This weekend's concert slate for metal, hard rock, and punk shows isn't too full, but there's some interesting events going down, so we'll touch on those in today's post, but at the end, we have new solo metal cover videos to showcase as well! Now, here's what you need to know!

Sault Ontario classic hard rockers That's Chester will return to the local stage TOMORROW NIGHT for a one night only gig at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, a Facebook event page was just launched for this show yesterday, though there was marquee advertising for it outside the Algonquin Hotel as early as Wednesday. Though they've played at least one private gig in the interim, this will be That's Chester's first public show since March at the same venue, and since the posting of their 10th anniversary videos in May, so here's your first opportunity to rock out with the guys since they marked the milestone! You can enjoy their classic hard rock covers and fun times TOMORROW at 10:30 PM, there will likely be a $5 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, check the above links! Since returning from their short breakup, we haven't seen That's Chester as frequently on stage, so don't bypass tomorrow's show just in case, and for a preview, here's their second 10th anniversary video covering the current Greg Simpson era, and featuring lots of pictures & audio clips!



Moving to previously announced concerts, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement enters it's 37th week with two more solo acoustic gigs at The Harp Bar & Grill TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Yes, Tym's successful run at the former Madison's Pub is back this coming weekend, with the usual hosted open mic night (with solo performances) tonight, followed by his usual solo acoustic hard rock hits tomorrow, so you'll be in good hands either night with his talented and lengthy repertoire of covers this weekend, especially if you're in the central part of town! Like usual, Tym will be on this weekend at around 10:00 PM both nights, there's no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 to attend. Check the above links for more details! This should be another solid entry in this successful relationship between Tym Morrison and The Harp, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here is is covering Extreme's "More Than Words"!



Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head across the river for Kinross, Michigan hard rock trio Banned's return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of a busy weekend in Hessel & Sugar Island, these will be their first public dates at the Soo Kewadin in four months, though they did play at a wedding there last month. After a stretch of scattered activity, it's nice to see the Traynors and Jim rocking out more to their usual paces again with their varied hard rock and classic rock covers & originals, so keep their shows in mind for this weekend! For reference sake, these shows bookend singer/guitarist Alex Traynor's radio appearance & interview on The Gentleman George Show on WSOO Radio Soo (1230 AM) tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, so tune in if you can! There's no announced cover charge at The Rapids Lounge, both shows will begin at around 9:00 PM, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Banned playing "Cocaine Riot"!



Finally for today, former local metal guitarist Matt Parr (founder of the Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe solo project, now of the London metal band Our Place Or Yours) uploaded two cover videos onto the H.M.M. YouTube channel over the last few days! His first cover videos in 2 years, these are of him playing Horse the Band's "Arrive" and (as embedded below) The Melvins' "Hooch", both featuring him on vocals & bass along with the original track, with compressed videos of each track featured on screen. Very solid and faithful to the originals, Matt's skill is on fine display here, though the recording quality could be a little cleaner audio-wise. Check out Matt's cover of The Melvins below, and see more above!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, plus a new defunct punk band feature as well! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tantrym Tyme) & Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get into this weekend's previews, I wanted to apologize for a few missed gigs during The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in Sault Michigan's Summerfest concert series, as local hard rock trio Power Slug returned to play there on both July 11th & 12th, as well as last Friday (as Infathom only played on Saturday.) My sources are the band & venue's Facebook pages, though note that Power Slug never plugged the shows in advance on Facebook. Our sincere apologies for missing them, hopefully they were all hits, and best of luck in Grand Haven tomorrow night! Now, today's post is otherwise devoted to this weekend's Sault Michigan-area hard rock concert previews, so read on for them, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme will be playing outdoor sets TOMORROW & SATURDAY as part of this year's Downtown Days in Sault Michigan! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced their involvement on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Though not their first live appearances of 2014, these are (surprisingly) the first shows that the band has plugged on Facebook since September, so if you've missed hearing about the former Abstract's local dates online, here's two! Tantrym Tyme's sets this weekend are among the live entertainment at Downtown Days, a yearly weekend featuring sidewalk sales from local merchants, stores, and vendors, alongside kids and family entertainment, food and refreshments, and even car & motorcycle shows, so click here for full details on the non-musical events! Tantrym Tyme's set will very likely be taking place outside or near Harmony Health Foods at 217 Ashmun Street, which is on the corner of Ashmun and East/West Portage Avenue.

As you may know, Harmony Health Foods is owned by (I believe) drummer Ethan Twardy's father, and they've long supported Tantrym Tyme, so the connections are obvious! The guys will be playing at 12:00 and at 3:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday, this is absolutely ALL AGES with no cover, though I'm unsure if there will be other live hard rock bands this weekend. For more details, check the above links! The lack of recent online posts from the band has been strange, especially for helping miss shows like one at the Kinross Speedpark on July 11th (apologies for missing it), but hopefully there's a great turnout for their strongly developing metal renditions this weekend! Keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Tantrym Tyme live last year!



Moving to previously announced shows, local alternative hard rock trio Plastic are scheduled to make their Savoy Bar & Nightclub debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they conclude the venue's outdoor Summerfest series on it's 6th and final weekend! However, two things will be different from their return set at LemmaFest, one of which being an apparent new member, as frontman Zac Crook's former Half Stupid bandmate Matt Williams has apparently signed on as their new bassist, replacing Nick Moreau. The news was quietly announced on their Facebook page at some point this month, and while a reason for Nick's departure hasn't been stated yet, keep in mind that his personal Facebook page currently lists him as living in Traverse City, so that could be related. Hopefully all is amicable, and best of luck to Nick, but it's nice to see Matt & Zac back together, and it will be interesting to see how things shape up live! Also, Plastic's name on their Facebook page was quietly changed to "Currently Nameless" yesterday, which implies the end of the Plastic name, but why?

This could mean anything from a name conflict, the name belonging to Nick, a move in a new direction, or maybe even actually changing their name to "Currently Nameless", but we'll let you know when/if something is clarified regarding their name! (The former) Plastic's new lineup will be playing in the parking lot of The Savoy tomorrow & Saturday at 10:00 PM, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover, though keep in mind that the band has not acknowledged these shows since they were announced last month. If still on, these should be intriguing shows for hard rock and alternative fans, so don't miss it, and here are the guys at LemmaFest last month!



Closing at the Kewadin Casino branches, we'll head down to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local classic/hard rock notables 415E are scheduled to return to the stage for a weekend full of hard rocking originals and covers TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Featuring Nixxon Dixxon alum Chris Hubbard and former Splitshot frontman Dave Menard, fans are accustomed to both of their talents from recent gigs, and hopefully their Van Halen-influenced sound goes over well again in their first St. Ignace shows in two months! Note that the band has finally confirmed the departure of bassist Jack Slater and drummer Devin Anderson via their removal from their Facebook page's lineup, following their absences from 415E's 2014 gigs, which appear to have been played (at least in part) as a duo. I know their exits partly stemmed from college commitments out of town, but they're still busy with The Highest of Fives, so best of luck to Devin & Jack there and beyond! 415Es's shows this weekend have 21+ age limits, no announced cover, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's 415E's full original lineup last year!



Finally, we head back to Sault Michigan for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin Casino, as new local modern/hard rock cover quartet Full Throttle will be playing their third and fourth concerts! Remember, this band succeeded members Ryan Kitzmiller, Joe Jenkins, and Will Storey's now defunct band The Bottom Line earlier this month, but are a different band than the original 2012-2013 Full Throttle, whose first lineup also featured Ryan & bassist George Belleau of the current version. Fresh off of a successful debut at The Rapids Lounge last weekend, the guys are hoping for an even bigger turnout and reception tomorrow & Saturday, and just in case they aren't playing elsewhere before September 26th, don't take these shows for granted for a new/old taste of Full Throttle! 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits are to be expected, so check the above links for more details, and we'll let you know if a public video turns up to preview them with!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a stacked new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Genocya

Here comes one of our last monthly feature posts of October 2012, and it's our latest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As always, this series looks at a metal/hard rock band that, though not from the Soo area, does or did feature at least one Saultite in their lineup, and for just the seventh time in this series, the band is question involves a Sault Michigan-area native! They deserve a closer look from local metalheads though, so read on below for this month's profile, and if anything's missing or incorrect, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 26th, 2014)
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Genocya (Lansing, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Dane "Zuul" Brown (vocals)
Brad "van Satan" van Staveren (guitar)
Matt "Yukon" Cunningham (guitar)
Jim "Big Brown Bear" Albrecht (bass)
Tim "Speedbag" Sever (drums)

Randy Belden (vocals)
Jeff Keech (vocals)
Rick Leusby (guitar)
Kris Smith (guitar)
Dave Peterman (guitar)
Jake Bryan (drums)
Erik "Hamms Of Doom" Stroude (drums)

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/genocya
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/genocyametal
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/genocya
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/user/jimocya
Official BandCamp page: http://genocya.bandcamp.com

Local Info: The only Saultite in any of Genocya's lineups (that I know of) is guitarist Matt "Yukon" Cunningham. Public information on Matt's local past isn't in high supply, but from what little I know, he is originally from Sault Michigan, still has family in the area, and comes back home enough to drop off Genocya CDs at Grooves Music. He moved to Lansing at some point prior to 2008, where he currently lives and works, and of course, plays in Genocya!

Band Bio: Genocya were formed in 2002 by founding members Rick Leusby, Kris Smith, and Tim Sever, who soon formed a full band and recorded a pair of demos through 2004 with different lineups. The band's lineup has shuffled frequently during their run, with only bassist Jim Albrecht surviving through every full Genocya incarnation. In the mid-2000s, Genocya began a steady stream of concerts in the Lower Peninsula and Northern Ohio, opening for bands like Anthrax, Overkill, and Deicide in the process, until a mainly-inactive period throughout 2008 due to work schedules. Around late 2008, Matt Cunningham was enlisted on guitar to replace the departed Dave Peterman, and after the band enlisted singer Dane Brown the following year, their general current incarnation was formed. They've been hard at work ever since, including releasing their first proper full length album "Ever Descent" in 2011, and slowly expanding beyond the region for concerts, so keep an eye out for more big news and events from Genocya to come!

Genocya's blackened death metal sound has helped them get a rising profile in the Michigan metal scene in the past decade, and I can see why! Their early demos and their "Ever Descent" CD are full of a brutal mix of genres and styles, and their lineups show solid chemistry! If only the production was a bit better, their studio material often sounds muffled. The vocals needed to grow a bit on me for the most part, but their singers are more than capable for their material, though I think I prefer Jeff Keech's Death-inspired vocals the most. Tim Sever's drumming is brutal and very fast, and Jim Albrecht's bass playing is really good as well, while the guitar work of Matt & their other guitarists tends to be heavy and melodic equally when need be! As it currently sits, Genocya have a great thing going in extreme metal, and with some better production and fine tuning, their rise will be sure to continue, so definitely check them out!

Media of Genocya is fairly easy to find online and in town, especially as their full length album has been on sale at Grooves Music in Sault Michigan! Online, you can buy "Ever Descent" digitally through BandCamp & iTunes, and though their original demos are now out of print, they are floating around somewhat, so if you can find them, downloading wouldn't hurt! As for videos, there's a decent amount on YouTube, including their entire last CD, but be careful, as videos from an Italian metal band with the same name are on YouTube as well. The best place to see videos is the band's official YouTube channel, which features a number of recent live videos, including this 2010 clip of Genocya playing their song "Regretful Lust", so check it out below and more at the above links!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month, the series as you generally know it will take a short break so we can update and correct our past entries, as we've done over the past two Novembers. There's a lot to address, change, and mention, so look out for that post on or around November 26th, and our regular profiles will return in December, and I have bands in mind already for then. Stay tuned for more news shortly, including our review of TOMORROW'S 7th annual Halloween Party! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Assorted News And Notes From The Last While!!

This is our 25th post of the month already, and at this rate, we could approach last month's post record at this rate! Today's post is largely comprised of older stories that got pushed aside in recent weeks, but is well worth discussing! This includes a cool SMS concept logo, the latest from Lion Ride & Beyond The Surface, some new pages, and kicking things off, a new video! Here's what you need to know!

Veteran local musician Phil Temperao has uploaded a solo song onto his YouTube channel! Unlike the older jam session videos that usually featured him and Dennis Porter, this is a solo song that bears little resemblance to the older Meatplow (or whatever they'll be called next) videos. This is just a song named "Rain" under the project name "Sebastien 6". It features Phil on all instruments save for the lead guitar, which is actually provided by his brother Jose (a.k.a. Jose Wailz), who you may recall as Phil's old Amethyst bandmate! Compared to the more aggressive and industrial tinged songs from the full band, "Rain" is a lighter track that is still hard rocking, and shows off Phil's singing range. The guitar work's solid, but the song can be a bit repetitive, and if you prefer the material from the live videos with Dennis contributing, "Rain" may be slightly underwhelming in tone. It's a solid track though, and it's accompanied with some good shots of Phil and outdoor nature pictures. Recorded at Greentown Digital Studios this year, there's apparently more coming from this solo project, so keep an eye out! Check the above links for more, and here's "Rain"!



Next up, here's some long overdue news on young Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface. Firstly, they've announced that lead guitarist Eli Reilly is now be their full time singer going forward in addition to playing guitar, replacing Danielle Petingalo in the band's vocalist position. No reasons have been posted for Danielle's departure, but in all fairness, she hasn't been a credited member of the band since before I heard about them, so it just took a while for official confirmation. I don't know how Eli sounds vocally, but he can't sound too bad! With that said, the band have announced their next live gig, which will be part of a "spring concert" at Pickford High School on May 17th with the school band. I don't know enough about it to call it on the SMS yet as a "public concert", but keep it in mind, especially if you live in Pickford or attend Pickford High! They're a promising young band, and I am curious to hear how they sound in their current incarnation! Stay tuned for more updates at their Facebook page, and I'll try to stay more on top of them in the future!

Thirdly, here's a pair of new Facebook pages from some local metal bands! One isn't really "new", but I only discovered it a few weeks ago, so I gotta mention it. Sault Michigan hard rockers Intrepid (one of the many Guitar Studio rock camp bands) have had a Facebook page since August of 2009, and believe it or not, we've never mentioned it here! The page tells us some interesting details on the band from late 2009-2010, including a number of very brief and often ill-detailed statuses about their next shows, which ranged from local bars to talent shows to the Kewadin Festival! I'd have covered these for sure if I knew about them, but many were ambiguous and only hinted towards potential shows or gigs with no listed venue or date. The page also includes a bunch of live photos, though sadly, no concert video footage. Intrepid haven't updated this page since after a December talent show performance, but if you wanna get caught up on Intrepid, click here! The other news is that Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night have a Facebook page of their own, and though it only features synched news from their primary Reverbnation page, do check it out, as you'll still find out about their latest news!

Fourthly, do you want some new photos? How's about some new Lion Ride photos? Some professional quality photographs from around the time of their local show earlier this month at The Rockstar Bar are now online, including an extensive slideshow from photographer Jesse Nelson on his blog Family Tree Land! Loads of photos from before and after their concert, including the show itself, are included there, which are great quality but sadly unavailable in high resolution on the page itself. To view in larger and better resolution, click here to go straight to the original Flickr feed, you'll thank me later! Look out for cameos by members of some prominent local bands and a band member's mother in the front row, for example! The other photos will be coming soon from prominent local photographer Curt O'Neil, who's done some outstanding past work with Lion Ride concert pictures! This time around, he just did a formal photo shoot with the band, I think their first of this type with the current lineup. Though the fruits of this labour aren't visible yet, Curt did post one preview picture, and it's on your left, but click here for full resolution! Nice work, I can't wait to see more, so stay tuned for when they come online!

Finally, here's a cool little custom item I've been holding onto for a while! If you know me well, you'll know that I enjoy the art of logos, be they for sports, companies, or whatever, and I try to utilize appropriate designs in SMS artwork, logos, and page layouts. I'm not a professional, but I do what I can. That said, Destroilet drummer Matt Waples, who is a VERY talented graphic designer with Sonigraphix Design Solutions, sent me a concept for a new SMS logo last month based around the one we debuted in December. I thought now was a good time to share his work with you guys, as he deserves all the credit in the world for the work he does! I'm a fan of logo concepts on sites like Icethetics, so why not inject some of that here? If I remember correctly, I told Matt that this looked great, but it felt more like a Japanese action movie logo than a metal website logo, not that that's a bad thing. I find the M a bit fat and the flipped second S makes it look like "SMZ", but that aside, it's a damn good concept, and I appreciate Matt going out of his way to make this on his own free will! What do you guys think of it? Feedback is welcome, especially with the work Matt puts in! Check out his portfolio too at this location, outstanding work on logos and posters, and I added Sonigraphix to our Other Local Metal Links too!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes very soon! Thanks everyone!