LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Re:Born), Plus More Assorted News & Notes!!

Let's tackle some more overdue news and notes in tonight's post, mostly reflecting a lot of updates from a prominent heavier local band, but we have some assorted notes to round things out. Here's what you should know!

In an extended Facebook page posting on Tuesday, local power rock quartet Re:Born announced a number of upcoming concerts in conjunction with some big band news, so what can be said therein? Firstly, their next concert will take place on Saturday, June 29th (one week from today) when they headline at The Rockstar Bar, but there's an ulterior motive here. The somewhat short notice gig will serve as a send-off for guitarist Blair Burch's son Cory, who is moving out of province next month, ending his lengthy tenure as a roadie, filmer, doorman, and overall supporter of Re:Born, Project 421, and their respective concerts. Cory's not a musician (that I'm aware of), but he's a good guy and very encouraging and helpful at concerts, even if his dad's not playing, and this is a nice way to throw one more big bash before he heads west, so hopefully there's a good turnout next week! Re:Born will not be the only band on the 29th, as at least two mystery local bands will be hitting the stage as well, now that they've been shaken from the tree.

No public word on their identities as of yet (we'll let you know if something is said), but the Facebook event page does strongly hint that jamming and a looser, more casual atmosphere will be present, especially as they're calling this "a party that happens to have a stage." Given the occasion, this concert has no cover, but a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit remain in effect. Hopefully this bash can help give Cory the best possible send-off, so visit the above links for more on this show in particular!

Next up, here's another new Rockstar Bar show for Re:Born this summer, as they'll be back at this venue on Saturday, July 20th in honour of drummer Brandan Glew's birthday! This looks to be more of a traditional concert than next week's party, but hopefully there's a great turnout again to help give Brandan a great night for the occasion! This show notably takes place on the last night of Rotaryfest, so if you find that day's music lineup at Clergue Park to be lacking for hard rock and punk acts, this show may help remedy that. In fact, two bands that played Stage 2 last year (alt-punk trio A Dire Setback & funk/hard rock quartet The Elements) will play support on the 20th, so cast your gaze to The Algonquin Hotel to see them next month instead! Notably, this is A Dire Setback's first announced concert set of 2019, following the completion of their CD recording sessions, and it's great to see them back at last, though for full disclosure, A.D.S. themselves have not confirmed this date publically at press time.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this concert, presumably also having a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit, though it doesn't have a Facebook event page (yet?) This should be another fun concert as we get deeper into the summer season, so visit the above links for full details on this event!

One more show was announced in the above post (an apparent set as part of the Loud & Proud concert at The Bushplane Museum on July 21st during this year's Pridefest), but given that organizers have not publically announced details at press time, I will defer a write-up here until more comes out beyond Re:Born's involvement. The other breaking news from Re:Born's Facebook page earlier this week is that they have officially parted ways with guitarist Frank McGillivray. Back in November, the band announced that Frank would be taking a hiatus from the band until April due to work commitments out of town, but he ended up more or less moving there permanently, hence the belated confirmation of his departure. After being a member of Project 421 throughout their run, Frank & Blair launched Re:Born last year, with Frank playing at their first three concerts, though aside from early jam videos with new singer Elly McWatters, he never played a public show with the current lineup before he headed north.

If there are plans to replace Frank in Re:Born, they weren't stated on Facebook, but remember that they've been playing as a four-piece all year without the need for a fill-in guitarist. It's a shame to see Frank leave, as he is a kind person and a very strong musician, and he was always good to discuss politics and philosophy outside of a band setting. Of course, we wish him the best, and hopefully we'll see him on stage again down the line!

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

• After two years in the old Grooves Music building at 540 Ashmun Street, Sault Michigan music store Crooked Music is packing it's bags... for 539 Ashmun Street, taking up residence in a spot beside Austin Oak Tobacco & Cigar starting in August. Whether the move across the road is due to increased space, better rent, or another factor isn't clear, but the "Abbey Road" parody image on their Facebook page is clever! Hopefully this move is the best move for all parties, and luckily, customers won't have to go far for the new Crooked Music locale in a couple of months!
• Remember how Kewadin Casino was going to have a battle of the bands in Sault Ste. Marie last week to find an opener for the Great White concert in Manistique on July 27th, with entry open to any U.P. bands local to their five casinos? Well, the battle was cancelled outright on June 12th, citing a "lack of participation" as the reason. No word on how they'll pick an opener now, but Manistique is outside of our coverage range anyway. Very disappointing, but maybe a battle this ambitious was too complicated for it's own good?
• Sault Ontario acoustic hard rock duo Tattoos & Scars are looking for a second guitar player to join the group, who they describe as "a southern rock/rock band." We haven't heard a whole lot from Tattoos & Scars (or Halfway Loaded) as of late, but maybe finding a new guitarist to join Justin & Shane will help speed things along? There is some interest, but if you'd like more information, message Tattoos & Scars above or via their Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!

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

A New Local Punk Band, Project 421 Updates, And Much More!!

Today's news post is full of shorter recent items, but we also have some details on what's been up with a popular local band recently, and first, here's a new local hardcore punk band to add to our band links, and they are called Programmed To Fail! Note that they spelled it "Programed" with one M, no word yet on if that's intentional. This is actually the band who formerly went as The Transjenners (presumably referencing Caitlyn Jenner), and who had recently deactivated their Facebook page for unannounced reasons, but now it's back with the new, less-topical name. As of this writing, we don't know a lot about Programmed To Fail (including who all is in the band), but they do have a Soundcloud page under their original name that has a short original song named "We Push Back". Running for just 74 seconds, it has the requisite intensity, but it's staticy, ends abruptly, and has very loud vocals. I'm curious to hear more from Programmed To Fail though, so check them out above!

Next up, here's the latest from local classic metal quintet Project 421, who clarified their recent inactivity and concert removals via their Facebook page two weeks ago (our apologies for the delay, I only saw the personal Facebook posting about this at the time.) In a nutshell, guitarist Frank McGillivray's daughter Casey has been brought to the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto due to abdominal tumours, and while she has undergone surgery, they were awaiting further details on her prognosis as of February 7th. As a result, the band is hoping to host a benefit show (date & venue unclear) for Frank's family in order to cover medical costs, and are looking for bands and a P.A. system for said event, though the posting notes that Project 421 themselves likely won't be playing if it happens. This is definitely sad news, but our best wishes and thoughts are with Casey, the McGillivray family, and all affected by this, and hopefully she gets well soon!

And if you're interested in helping out towards the proposed benefit concert, message guitarist Blair Burch at this link for details! Hopefully we see Project 421 back on stage when the time is right, but family comes first, and if you want your fix in the meantime, remember that Curtis, Daniel, and Chris are also in Eclipse! Stay tuned for more when it's announced!

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

• Remember how the Facebook event page for last night's Like A Pisces Nirvana tribute concert at The Gore Street Cafe replaced the individual performer names with the monikers "Brash Gash" & "Insoosticide"? Well, those weren't just stage names, as they were actually (one-off?) bands that played the event alongside The Pixo Control, presumably with some of the same performers that were previously listed, with a shared photo showing Brash Gash's frontman wearing an elaborate fish mask. Very intriguing, we'll have to see if these bands prove to be more than one-offs!
• Newer local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse are the fourth publically confirmed band for next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands (as per the Facebook event page), joining The Din, K.I.C.K., and Stereo North on the bill! Eclipse are also the first band confirmed to be playing next month's Speak Easy Battle, but can members improve on their performances in last year's battles with The Din, Haggith, and Project 421 come next month? Stay tuned for much more on both events!
• Speaking of Haggith, the defunct local grunge/hard rock quartet revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they're giving fans the chance to bring the band back for a reunion concert (date and venue undetermined), but only if they get 500 shares/likes on the aforementioned post by May 10th. If this campaign gets that far, the 475th person to share or like the post will win a gift package of band merchandise. It'd be nice to get full closure to their run, so visit the above links to help support the reunion campaign!
• Local drummer John Ethier is looking to jam some "fast punk" with other local musicians. There's some early interest, but if you'd like more details, message John at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this past Monday!
• Local classic/hard rock quartet Mourning Wood's special evening show at Cocina Del Diablo this past Thursday (as "Jukebox") was held without guitarist Steven Flint for unannounced reasons, as per personal Facebook postings by band members. Hopefully "Jukebox" had a great show despite Steven's absence! Also, just to clarify, last night's New American Pub gig was apparently an 8:00 PM show (not 6:00 PM, but still unusually early.)
• The original crash band (Sykotyk Rampage) have posted their newest free "album" onto their Reverbnation page! Entitled "Messa-Chords", it was released last week, is considered their 56th album (and first of six this year), and is an instrumental release with all song titles starting with the letter B and consisting of four words, with all but two having at least two words starting with B. It's up to their usual creative standards, so give it a listen at the above links!

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