Livestreamed Facebook Performance Videos From Local Artists & More Updates!!

Let's keep this string of new SMS posts going with one mostly devoted to a run of recent live performances that you may have seen pop up on Facebook in the past few days, but to round things out, I do have a handful of recent news and updates. Here's what you should know!

Some readers may recall seeing Facebook advertisements for an event called Coronafest that took place yesterday, which was basically a social distance-friendly "concert" featuring live-streamed Facebook videos of performances by an assortment of mostly Ontario-based musicians. This was actually the brainchild of ex-Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan, who currently lives in Sudbury and performs there as a solo artist. Brian, his wife Krista, and his former Renegades bandmate Jason Wysynski (with a DJ set) were among the array of Coronafest performers, and though most do not have obvious local hard rock/punk ties, there's a lot of quality talent to see there! The best known local name here is former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison, who contributed a half hour-ish set yesterday at 6:30 PM, with help from his fiancee Shelby Kerns and some nice stage lighting to spruce up the at-home setting.

The first video (embedded below) features Cory playing original songs named "Breaking Free", "Enjoy the Ride", "Ashes Fall", "Wasting Away", "Take The Heat", and the tenatively-named "Believe", which cuts out mid-song due to his phone suddenly disconnecting. He finished "Believe" in the second video (uploaded from Shelby's phone), before closing with "Rule the World" and a viewing angle flip. Cory's vocal & guitar work here was solid as ever, and this array of newer originals sound ready for a true live concert stage! Strongly done with good humour in peculiar circumstances, so give his and other Coronafest performers' videos a look above & below!

Next up, this was not all for live-streamed Facebook performances from familiar faces lately, as local punk trio Redundant had their own "concert" of sorts on their Facebook page on Friday! Prefaced by this short video where frontman Justin Langlois plugs their upcoming jam at 7:20 PM that day (fans had 22 minutes notice to tune in), we were soon treated to a half hour video featuring Justin, Andrew, and Rick in their headquarters, so what's on offer here? After 3 minutes of setup, Redundant tackled Nirvana's "Molly's Lips", their original song "That December", a brand new cover of Katrina & The Waves "Walking on Sunshine" (seriously), more covers of Weezer's "El Scorcho" (sans "No Scrubs" interlude), Rise Against's "Swing Life Away", Operation Ivy's "Knowledge", and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and their own standby "What Will You Do". The audio quality is very rough, and the vertical camera angle is unfortunate, but it's nice seeing Redundant back at it!

Of course, Redundant were supposed to be preparing for their Toronto road trip this coming weekend for the Bout Music Festival competition, obviously cancelled due to the coronavirus, but at least local fans can see this video! That said, I am surprised that they only played two original songs despite having three more on their debut EP, but in spite of their recent break, the guys' chemistry is undeniable, and everyone kept their social distance for the set! Give Redundant's own livestream set a look below!

Also in the realm of recent live-streamed videos from familiar local bands, acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns recorded one of their own last night for their Facebook page, albeit not part of the Coronafest lineup. This 34+ minute video features singer Christina Speers and her husband/guitarist Rob in a rare duo appearance, with no sign of Jesse Cook (it's not clear whether that's due to social distancing or not.) According to Christina at the start, The Stallyns were planning to play an actual concert in an actual venue this weekend to celebrate Rob's birthday on Tuesday, but COVID-19 had other plans, so this home-shot video is a substitute, complete with a few fan-requested songs. In order, the Speers' can be seen covering Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved", Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss" & "Wishlist", Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You", Madonna's "Material Girl", Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Radiohead's "Creep", and Dorothy's "Shelter".

The first three songs and the Green Day cover have Rob on sole lead vocals, while the rest have Christina taking the lead or in a full-on duet. This is the most casual and laid back of today's three live-streamed videos embedded on the site, but the audio quality holds up, and the covers are well done, even the ones that were clearly not established in their set, like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." This coronavirus stuff has thrown so much out of whack locally, but this will help tide Wyld Stallyns fans over in the interim, so give it a look below, and hopefully we hear more from them in the near future!



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

• On February 8th, local guitarist Michael McCormick posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group looking to join a rock band. He has 5 years of experience, and while he's influenced by The Eagles, Guns N' Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Motley Crue, he's open to playing anything. This may not be the best time to jam and rehearse with new musicians in the social distancing era, but if you want more details, message Michael at this link or above!
• Local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters announced on their Facebook page on March 5th that "we're back" and that a show announcement was "coming soon." Alas, "soon" may be delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19, but this is still a notable announcement because this theoretically means that they are planning to play their first non-benefit or Halloween concert this year, and aren't just a seasonal band. Fingers crossed that we see Jules and company out there soon!
• The Steel City Nerdcon at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on April 26th has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, as per promoters Steel City Events' Facebook page yesterday, which is disappointing but not unexpected news. This is relevant to the SMS because Steel City Events is co-promoting that night's First Jason concert at The Canadian, and frontman Ari Lehman (the first Jason Voorhees) was going to be the featured guest at Nerdcon. As of this writing, the First Jason show has not been publically cancelled, but things aren't looking great for it. We'll keep you posted!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Mikus

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the SMS, as we are again profiling a YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists and/or concerts, in order to spotlight the content within for current readers! This month's randomly selected channel looks at a prominent local band and frontman from the mid-2010s, so here's what you should know!
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Mike Mikus (http://youtube.com/channel/UCnO7KLoXWIEk2JbtCYV_-vQ)

Owner: Local/Montreal rock solo musician Mike Mikus, previously billed as Michael Mikus in his old local alternative bands The Pixo Control and The Fever Tops

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 21st, 2015; Videos uploaded from two days afterward through April 2018

Channel Summary: Originally utilized as the official YouTube channel for his mid-2010s grunge/hard rock trio The Pixo Control, Mike transitioned it to serving as his new alt/indie rock solo project's channel in the fall of 2016 after he folded the band. 12 of the channel's 20 Pixo Control videos contain the songs from their only album "Probably Not", alongside teaser clips, studio vlogs, a live video, and their only music video. The seven solo videos of Mike's include four music videos, two teasers, and one live video.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is definitely worth watching for fans of Mike's most prominent local projects, whether you like The Pixo Control's more aggressive material or his more varied solo songs, and there's a lot to enjoy on both halves here! However, the channel has only seen sporadic usage since Mike moved to Montreal in mid-2017, coinciding with his own slowdown in public activity in the late 2010s. Also, note that the channel does not include any 2013-2014 musical content of his, but Michael's prior YouTube channel does cover his band work in that time period.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

The Pixo Control // First Vlog: The first video on the channel was the first of two vlogs from April 2015, in which The Pixo Control went to SooToday & Local2's Village Media headquarters to do a photo shoot with Dan Nystedt for their label Tidal Records. The band was represented here by Michael alongside future Vol. frontman Steve Edwards on bass, as well as Keeghan Rosso on drums. The vlog features the guys taking part in the shoot, as well as jamming some songs from "Probably Not", and having fun and killing time at the studio, and it's a fun watch for fans of their original lineup!

  

The Pixo Control // Live at The New A Pub: As covered in The Pixo Control's second vlog, they were among the local openers for Edmonton rock band The Archaics' first of two gigs at The New American Pub in June 2015. The video proper does not feature any full songs, but instead strings together chronological segments from their set that night, and it's a well edited 15 minute clip with a great interior look at The New A. The Pixo Control sound great in one of their last shows with this lineup, and look for then-Six, Two, Oh. promoter Jamie Vincent talking to Michael at the beginning.



The Pixo Control // Scratch (Official Video): The channel's last & most popular Pixo Control upload (and one of that band's last major acts) was their music video for their song "Scratch", which was uploaded in March 2016, three months after their CD dropped, with this teaser clip also preceding it. By this point, producer and Free Beer/Id Iota alum Dustin Goodall had taken over on bass. This is a very straight-forward performance clip (shot by Sudbury's Here Kitty Kitty Productions) with lots of fast edits and cuts as they play this suitably fast and heavy number. The song's great and the video's a nice fit, though Mike's more conceptual and irreverent solo music videos (starting with "Drowning Crown" that September) signified a major shift in tone & approach for his future material.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return for it's last 2019 installment on or around Boxing Day, as we'll spotlight another randomly selected YouTube channel, namely local grindcore trio Shit Liver's official channel! Watch for that next month, and for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood), The End Of The Pixo Control, And More!!

Before we tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to touch on at the SMS, so let's cover that beforehand! To round out the post, we have some assorted recent updates, a new video, and a surprising band breakup, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show yesterday via it's official Facebook event page. Playing their first concert at the former Nicolet Tavern since the short handed "Phil A. Show" weekend at the end of July, Mourning Wood are positioning this show as an after-party of sorts for tonight's Dolly Parton concert at The Essar Center, even (jokingly?) suggesting that Dolly might show up at some point. This seems to imply a more country-focused set TONIGHT, but come on out, as they should at least have a few heavier songs! Note that this is a one-nighter due to last night's Water Tower Pub show from drummer Glen Thomas' 1960s-themed classic rock band The Peace Vibe. There is no announced cover charge for TONIGHTs 19+ show, which starts at 10:00 PM. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, it looks like local alternative/ grunge trio The Pixo Control have disbanded. The surprising news comes after frontman Michael Mikus renamed their Facebook page after himself (as "Mike Mikus") on Thursday, indicating that he's transitioning to work as a solo musician. A reason for The Pixo Control's apparent demise hasn't been announced publically, but there had been rumours about their next moves & possible member departures since their two-man acoustic set at The Tech in May, which the guys had said would be their last gig "for a while" at the time. Now, Mike has launched a solo website affiliated through final Pixo Control bassist Dustin Goodall's recording studio Unsalted Audio, and his first solo music video "Drowning Crown" can now be seen via his YouTube channel. The song is much poppier & lighter than The Pixo Control's originals were (he describes the new genre as "cock & soul"), and to further signify the shift, Mike tears off a Pixo Control t-shirt at the beginning of the video.

There appears to be a calculated plan here to move on to a lighter & more carefree sound in Mike's new solo work & the new video, where he dances down Queen Street East in his underwear, then jams the song in an alley with an eclectic crowd. It is a fun video, but I hope he doesn't completely erase The Pixo Control from memory, as they've been a strong, exhilarating live band since their 2013 debut, and "Probably Not" was a very solid CD itself! Of course, I wish Mike all the best with his new solo career, which seems to be starting on the right foot, and hopefully we hear more from Dustin, Keeghan, Steve, and Matthew in the future as well!

Also today, here's a new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din! Entitled "Our Diniversary" (in honour of the first anniversary of their current lineup's formation), this was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Thursday, as well as their Facebook page. The clip compiles assorted footage from high profile concerts that The Din played in the past year (largely at The Tech, which is now in our concert venue listings), as well as portions of their comedic Facebook videos, as set to studio versions of songs from "Give In To The Din. On the one hand, the video includes exclusive footage from some recent concerts that have yet to see the light of day in other public formats, but on the other hand, it reuses certain clips multiple times despite it's 2 minute runtime, and the backing audio sync isn't lined up consistently with the visuals. Still, this is definitely worth checking out for Din fans, so 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 or event name:

• Troubled Mind frontman Mike Vincent has posted three more instrumental studio recordings onto his Bandcamp page towards his planned second solo album! Entitled "Chapters of No Light, "Phases of Pain", and "We're of Nothing", these are intended for a double album named after the latter song, according to personal Facebook postings. Though currently without vocals, the songs are well written and heavy, and showcase Mike's progression as an artist, so check them out above! However, the usage of provocative historical pictures on his Bandcamp page might offend some listeners.
• In their first Facebook page post since July, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory revealed that they'll "be playing a crushing show" on Friday, October 28th, and would have more details soon. This is the first I've heard of a concert on this date, but what could they be getting at? We'll let you know when more is announced from the band or this show's promoters!
• The annual Toystock fundraiser concert is coming back for a fifth installment on Sunday, November 20th! Promoters Maxx Entertainment revealed in their Facebook page's new cover photo that it will return to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road for a second straight year, and it willl once again have 10 bands across 10 hours, with donations to Christmas Cheer again being the primary goal and entry method. No bands have been publically announced yet, but message Maxx Entertainment above if you want in for Toystock V in two months' time!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile either tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!

Toystock 2015 Video Showcase!!

Before we get this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post up on the site, here's our first of two posts spotlighting videos from this year's fourth annual Toystock fundraiser concert, which took place this past Sunday at The Grand Gardens! By all accounts so far, it was a hit for music fans, supportive donors, and families alike, with $1,300 raised and numerous items donated, and you get a sense of the success in the videos posted by Sault Online's Mike Caruso over the past couple of days to his YouTube channel, as he filmed every band (and more) during the event. Kudos to him as usual, especially as I couldn't make it this year (fingers crossed for 2016!) He started his uploads with two summative videos featuring abbreviated clips of the full videos he posted afterwards (part 2 is here), but part 1 (which is embedded below) includes an interview with Toystock promoter/performer Greg Simpson and clips of the Bocturoc Academy of Music students that opened the show, though they curiously didn't get a full separate video of their own.

The video begins with the interview, where Mike asks Greg about what keeps bringing everyone back for each year, Toystock's origins, and how it's grown over the years. Nice & casual interview, if short! The second half is of the Bocturoc students' set, and rather than playing as a full band, they played separately in solo showcases. Good developing skills from the first four, but the biggest surprise is that Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus is filmed last playing the band's original "Land of the Moles"! No word on if he has Bocturoc ties, or if he just happened to be available, but it's nice to see him back at Toystock, so give everything a look below!



The next three bands filmed by Mike were not filmed playing a hard rock or metal song, but there's a lot of talent to be had, and as usual for his videos, the quality is excellent with a nice band setup at The Grand Gardens! Note however though that the audio quality can noticeably jump at times when the camera angles change. In chronological order, these videos include local country trio The Algo Rhythms playing an apparent original song (if it's a cover, the lyrics don't match anything I found online), all-female classic rock quintet Domina covering Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up", and blues rockers Mojo covering Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me", so give all of these a look above! The next hard rock video comes courtesy of classic/hard rock cover trio Mourning Wood, who covered The Black Crowes' "Hard To Handle" to open their second Toystock set, and they sound predictably good, with Terry Eaton handling vocals and lead guitar nicely!

In case you're wondering from the early footage, guitarist Steven Flint is there, he comes on stage 75 seconds in (presumably, he was working on their sound, as his & Terry's company Twin City Sound were covering that for the event.) Well done as usual, so check their video out below!



Mike's next two videos are actually not of advertised performers, with one being of a young child attendee named Keegan McAlister playing a brief drum solo in between bands. Not bad for his age, hopefully he keeps at it! That's followed by a short clip of local beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, who also played unadvertised last year, and among others, he does do a beatboxed version of "Jingle Bells" in his video. As fans of his will come to expect, he's quite good at what he does, it's too bad his video's not longer! Next for the heavier performances is local classic/hard rock quartet Havadder covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "You Wreck Me" in their Toystock debut, and while I prefer some of their more aggressive covers, they make this classic rock favourite look easy with their strong performance! As before, give their Toystock video a look below!



We'll close this post with the debuting local rock trio Under The Influence, featuring Turner Up/Wishbone alum Brent Royer alongside guitarist Mike Muto & bassist Ryan Bell, so what can we say now about them? It's too early to know if they'd fully fit our coverage on the SMS (especially with no online pages yet), but we have a good first sign early, as their Toystock video is a cover of The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary"! There are some rough patches in this video, and I think Under The Influence could use a second guitarist to fill things out, but they definitely have promise, and Brent seems to handle simultaneous vocal & drum duties well! Give their video a look below also!



That's all for now, but we will touch on Bone Yard, Gnaeus, and The Rude-Offs' videos in the near future, so look for them then, plus other Toystock fallout that we come across, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post later today! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Michael Mikus) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

As we slowly get more posts up on the site after some busy personal commitments, here's the first of our concert previews for this weekend! We'll touch on potential late notice confirmations and Sault Michigan shows tomorrow, so don't worry, they're coming! Now, here's what you should know, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus will play a rare solo acoustic concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at the Dish Espresso Bar & Cafe when he'll open for Winnipeg folk/pop musician J.P. Hoe! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via the official Facebook event page on Tuesday. Though advertised as a Pixo Control concert therein, the description indicates that Michael is playing solo, so fans will have to wait until the "Probably Not" CD release party at LopLops on December 12th to see the new lineup in action, but it's nice to see Michael back on a concert stage for the first time since the summer, and I'd have to assume that we'll get some unplugged renditions of songs from the album on SATURDAY! As for J.P. Hoe, he is a talented singer and guitarist whose alternative and folk originals should find an audience this weekend, so keep him in mind if you're a fan of his genres! Also, this show is being promoted by Jackson Reed and Ears & Eyes, and it's nice to see him promoting again!

This show takes place at Dish Espresso Bar & Cafe at 740 Queen Street East, which is less than a block from Coch's Corner, in case you're not familiar with the venue (which largely hosts acoustic performers.) Doors open at 7:00 PM, admission is $10 at the door or online at this link, and given the timeframe, I don't believe there will be an age limit in effect. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss Michael's solo teaser of The Pixo Control's CD release party next month! Here's The Pixo Control's stripped down Bare performance as a preview!



Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with a look at prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concerts at both Gliss Steak & Seafood and The Harp Bar & Grill are advertised to march on this weekend, with acoustic matinees at the former TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, and regular nighttime unplugged shows at the latter TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though not yet announced on Facebook as of this writing, the shows are confirmed on his website. A regular weekend of five shows following last weekend's UFC-shortened round of four gigs, Tym's skilled and crowd-pleasing blend of hard rock covers should find solid audiences at both the downtown restaurant and central pub this weekend, so keep all five of this weekend's shows (including TONIGHT'S Gliss matinee) in mind!

The Gliss shows have no age limit or cover, and 6:00 PM start times, while the Harp shows are 19+ with no cover at 10:00 PM. See the above links for more details, and here's Tym live a few years back!



Also, the long anticipated celebration of life/benefit concert for late Chronic Demonic singer Sabrina Pelchat will go down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rednecks Saloon! After her sudden passing last month, her friends and colleagues (including promoter Bri Sunshine) will get together at the former Nicolet Tavern to honour her memory and raise funds for her family to help cover final services from earlier this month, which is a great gesture! The lineup will include local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters headlining at 1:00 AM, and they'll be joined by local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA (in their Rednecks debut) at 12:00 PM, classic metal quintet Project 421 (replacing Destroilet) at 11:00 PM, and "the original crash band" Sykotyk Rampage opening in their own Rednecks debut at 10:00 PM. Solid lineup for this benefit, and don't worry about all of the construction in front of the venue, everything's still a go with no changes to the scheduling or location! If you can't make the benefit, and would like to donate to the Pelchat & Lavoie families, use PayPal at benefitforriina@gmail.com.

A $10 cover charge is in effect for this concert, and you must be 19 or older to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page and the above links! While it is still a little odd that more of her old bandmates aren't playing, it's great to see so many local bands joining forces in Sabrina's memory, and she is still missed by many in the local scene! Hopefully there's a great turnout, and again, use PayPal to donate if you can't attend! Check the above links for more, here's The Bear Hunters live earlier this year, and R.I.P. Sabrina!



Finally for today's previews, we'll head to The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Havadder will return for a solo headlining concert! Receiving unusually early notice via the venue's Facebook group a couple of weeks ago, this will be Havadder's first show at The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs bar in about a month, and first anywhere since their Halloween gig at Studio 10, so if you want to see Jugga and company before their Toystock debut, here's your chance! Note that this is definitely a one-nighter, as the venue's hosting a dance club night tomorrow (though curiously, not from the Rockstar Republic crew, who recently announced a hiatus.) Like usual for cover bands at The Rockstar Bar, there's a19+ age limit, 10:30 PM start time, and no announced cover charge (but bring cash just in case.) Click here and visit the above links for more details, and here's Havadder live last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates and concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Emergency Festival Fallout, Sykotyk Rampage & Tantrym Tyme Updates, And More!!

Let's tackle most of our backlogged news on the site today, including some assorted recent notes, bug updates and news from prominent bands on each side of the border, and first, some extra fallout from a recent local concert festival, so here's what you should know!

Here's some more notes relating to last weekend's second annual Emergency Festival, including the anticipated new episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper! In this episode, Donna (who also MCed the festival) talks with festival founder/LopLops owner Stephen Alexander after the conclusion of the festival about how the festival went overall, how Stephen decided on the lineup, and what plans they're looking at for 2016's installment. He didn't address the Downtown Association issues and related move to Rocky DiPietro Field in the interview other than to say that this was the first year that they ticketed the event, but he expressed hope that the festival will get more local sponsor support next year and allow them to get even bigger acts from out of town (no word though on if it will move back downtown next year.) I did find it interesting that Stephen noted that the local bands were partly chosen as they hadn't had a chance to play the festival last year, even though all but Northwest did (maybe he meant the main stage?)

As for footage from the festival, there is some unique footage in the Tuned episode not previously seen in the prior Local2 video from the event, including clips of headliners The Fast Romantics at the start, and every band sans Gnaeus at the end (though muted Gnaeus clips can be seen during the interview), so if you were hoping to see footage of The Pixo Control, Northwest (well, just Marc Santos), and The Poor Young Things, here you go! Quality episode, especially if you attended the successful sophomore installment of The Emergency, so give it a look above! Remember, we can't embed Local2's videos here.

Next up, here's the first video that we've found from Friday night's first annual Superior Festival at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, though surprisingly, it's not of one of the out of town headliners. This is actually of young Sault Michigan metal band Tantrym Tyme covering Black Stone Cherry's "Lonely Train" and Alter Bridge's "Metalingus" at the end of their set, as per their Facebook page yesterday, but the video appears to unveil the band's new lineup, as they've finally found a replacement for the already departed Quinton Jacobson. Though their sporadically updated Facebook page doesn't confirm his identity yet, personal Facebook postings confirm that the new guitarist is Grooves Music instructor Michael McLeod, giving the band a quartet lineup and a long haired member once again. I'm not familiar with Michael from other local bands, but as he is a guitar instructor, you know he has the chops, and he sounds pretty good from what I can tell in the video!

As for the video itself, it's filmed on the vertical cell phone camera angle, close to the corner of the stage. The guys are on form, handling the songs with relative ease, and the double guitar attack helps fill out their sound again! Also, singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen is sounding more and more like Ten Kings' Brandon Carr as his voice develops! Give this new Tantrym Tyme video a look below, and stay tuned for more from the guys when posted!

Also, here's the latest from the original crash band, "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage! First, the veteran rockers will return to the stage for the first time in four months (and only the second time this year) on Monday, September 21st when they will join The Bear Hunters as openers for Mexican death metal band Evilheart at The Algonquin Pub! While not yet confirmed by promoters, they'll reportedly replace The Apocalypse Afterparty on the lineup for unannounced reasons (though note that they still haven't publically clarified their new lineup either.) Nice to see Sykotyk Rampage hopping on the Gonqshow train, and don't miss their creative crash rock next month! Also, Sykotyk Rampage have posted two new "albums" onto their Reverbnation page in the past month, those being "Kalos Kagathos" (an ancient Greek term for a military ideal of personal conduct) and "Soaked To The Nipple" (they titled it, don't shoot the messenger!), bringing their official discography to 54 albums.

Though the band no longer releases sale copies of their albums (these and other recent "albums" are all available as free streams), the fun, improvised, and irreverent nature of Sykotyk Rampage's albums come through as usual on these albums and other recent works, so if you like puppies snoring and stars decaying, give Sykotyk Rampage's newest material a listen above, and see them next month at The Gonq!

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

• After some prior uncertainty about it's status, local music instrument/lessons store Music Depot has apparently closed it's doors permanently. While the sign in the door of the Gore Street business still says "Closed until further notice" (as it has since December), it's Facebook page was quietly deleted this year, and Google Maps lists it as "permanently closed", joining Colosimo's Music Store & Sault Michigan's Steve's Music Center in local music store closures in the last two years. Disappointing for fans, but at least we still have four other regional music store options!
• Local classic metal quintet Project 421 have launched an official YouTube channel, and they've already stocked it with lots of videos from their concerts! Created by bassist Daniel Horton, I believe we've featured or acknowledged every video on the channel on the SMS in the past, so there's nothing brand new there yet, but it's a nice convenient spot for their videos, so check it all out above!
• Ex-StrykerGC frontman Troy Isaac Kulka is looking to join or start a new local band project, as per his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Tuesday. He sings and plays guitar, is in a place where he can focus more on music, and while he shared the StrykerGC Reverbnation page as a sample of his work, he described it as "a home recording project" that "was just a learning experience", and he's not requiring the songs to be played in his next work. Troy's a talented music veteran, so give him a shout above or at this link if you want to jam with him!

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

Bear Hunters Album Updates, New Videos, And More Recent News!!

Before we tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, here's some recent news and notes for your Monday afternoon, including assorted shorter notes, new video postings, and first, here's some big updated for an anticipated new CD!

We'll start with some new updates from local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, as per guitarist Mitch Sirie on their Facebook page early this morning, so what should you know? In terms of last night's Golers show at The New American Pub (apologies for missing it, blame personal family matters), the guys debuted two new songs during their set, including a track named "The Wrath of Angmar" (which appears to reference a kingdom in The Lord of the Rings), and a black metal parody named "The Forest of Forests". Hopefully someone got video of both! Mitch also noted that the former will be on their planned second CD "The Dead Testament", which will also have a closing title track of the same name that has yet to be completed. The first three songs will, in order, be "The Void", "The Omen", and "I Fear No God", but the track listing order for the rest is to be determined. Title track included, there are just 3 songs left to be unveiled live, though it's unclear whether "The Forest of Forests" will be one of them or not.

Mitch noted that they take their time writing their songs, rather than writing a handful of singles and adding filler for the rest, and he sounds proud of the work the guys are putting in! Plans are still to begin recording sessions on "The Dead Testament" next month and release it during the winter, so check the above links for complete current details on The Bear Hunters' highly anticipated new album!

Next up, here's a newly discovered solo performance video from Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus, courtesy of local music/culture community Ears & Eyes' YouTube channel last summer, and it's of him covering the 1960s rock classic "Twist & Shout", which is frequently seen in full Pixo Control concerts. Uniquely filmed outside, this solo cover is done in the same style that Pixo Control fans know from concerts, as it's slowed down into more of a jam style, but it's abbreviated from the lengthy version fans hear in live concerts.  Solidly done, and a bit of a window into how this would sound in an acoustic setting, so give it a look below!



Also, here's the newest released cover from new local atmospheric black metal duo Dullahan, this time a cover of Absurd's "Pesttanz"! Set to World War II video footage (don't worry, there's nothing offensive), this was uploaded to their YouTube channel last week, and can also be heard on their Bandcamp page. It's a little repetitive in this form, but Dullahan have talent and they show it on this cover, so give it a listen below and above!



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

• An upcoming episode of Local2's stripped down music performance series Bare will apparently star Inner City Surfers/Role Models bandmates Brad "Example" Lacell & Dave Bahun as featured performers, as per personal Facebook photos showing them on playing on the Bare set. Is this a sign that Brad Example & The Role Models are alive, or is this a solo or new project? Hopefully we find out more when this episode is posted in the coming weeks!
• On Saturday, Detroit punk trio Heroes of Charlotte posted this jam session video of them playing their song "Goodbye", which begins with a shoutout to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, as they can't make the Superior Festival (now on August 21st) that they were originally booked for, but hope to see us soon. I'm not sure if they meant that they couldn't make the original Saturday date or the rescheduling, but it's nice of them to acknowledge that they couldn't play, but wanted to, and hopefully they can at some point!
• Local musician Tammy Hill is looking for a drummer for her new "classic rock/punk/pop" band, who reportedly already have original material and want to do some recording and play live (no word though on if this is the same band she was looking for members for in February.) If you or someone you know are interested in trying out, message Tammy at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this morning!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles next! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2014 Video Showcase (Part 2)

Earlier today, we shared the first half of our look at Sault Online correspondent Mike Caruso's videos from this year's Rotaryfest stage at Clergue Park, all as uploaded to his YouTube channel over the last few days, so let's touch on the second half of the videos in this post! You can see videos from the first half of the event (including hard rock covers by KT, Kyle, and The Pocket, Beaumont Avenue, Stiffler's Mom, and Domina) in the post below this one, so give them a look if you want! Focusing on the majority of Saturday's bands today, let's start with the second of two straight all-female bands that day, as hard rock quartet The Danger Cats made their own Rotaryfest debut! Mike filmed them covering The Kinks' "All Day & All Of The Night" (with some gender-related lyric changes), which is a well done rendition, but Kate Kougar's vocals are generally too quiet. Solid performance, so give The Danger Cats' Rotaryfest video a look below, and I think there might be at least one more clip floating around too, so keep an eye out just in case!



Right after them was local classic rock cover quartet Obsession (featuring Domina frontwoman Valerie Powley) as they covered Nazareth's "Turn On Your Reciever", and they did a fine job as usual! The band (who finally have their own Facebook page) have always shown clear skill when doing heavier covers, and having vocals like these never hurts on this quality cover! If you're curious, the guest backing vocalist is Alandra Brooks, who you may recognize from Mike Case's junior rock camp bands. Check out Obsession's Rotaryfest video below!



Mike's four videos following Obsession were of classic rockers Mid Life Crysis covering Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", Spyder's Web covering the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic "Who'll Stop The Rain", country quartet Summer Thunder covering Darius Rucker's "Wagon Wheel", and one-off Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute band Free Falling covering The Travelling Wilburys' "End of the Line", so give each of those songs a look above! The closing bands were both hard rock performers, with the last local band of the 2014 Rotaryfest being Griphook, whose Rotaryfest video might be their first public clip with new singer/guitarist Joel Syrette in place of Jim O'Leary. However, guitarist Brian Oja provides lead vocals on this cover of Bad Company's "Rock Steady", and he handles it very well, hitting the higher chorus notes with ease! Very nice cover with good energy, and is it surprising that Griphook were Saturday's only local band with an all-male lineup? Check out their Bad Company rendition below!



Lastly for Mike's Rotaryfest videos (which are awesomely shot, save for some audio quality jumps at some camera angle switches) is this video of headliners Michael White & The White paying tribute to Led Zeppelin with a rendition of "Black Dog"! The veteran Toronto-based Led Zeppelin tribute sound good here, and while you may notice that Michael's vocals don't sound that much like Robert Plant's original singing on this song, it does bear resemblances with how this song sounded at their "Celebration Day" reunion show from 2007 (click here for proof.) Well done cover that Zeppelin fans should enjoy, so give it a look below!



I hope you guys liked our look at Sault Online's Rotaryfest videos, and as teased above, I believe there's at least one more from The Danger Cats to share in the coming days as well! That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Sault Ontario Hard Rock Concert Previews, Including Rotaryfest!!

A big weekend is upon us for the local concert calendar, as this year's Rotaryfest will unite plenty of local cover bands to the stage at Clergue Park! Though not the only hard rock shows this weekend, we'll get to one extra in Sault Ontario in a bit, and our preview of Sunday's Music & Art Dockside Festival featuring The Bottom Line will come in our next news post, so don't worry, that's not forgotten! This year's installment of Sault Ontario's summer festival occurs from TODAY through Saturday, and for all of the details on this year's wide ranging family activities and events, visit the official Rotaryfest website and this year's program at this link and via the hard copy that came in last week's copy of the Sault This Week! Sadly, this year's music schedule has been pared down from past years, with the Friday lineup at Clergue Park being slashed in length from past years, and the Second Stage being put on hiatus for 2014, but there's still lots of action from this year's 19 bands, and if you enjoyed past main stage lineups, you'll be glad to know that 12 of last year's bands are back for encores!

We'll start by acknowledging TONIGHT'S lineup, which like past years, has an abbreviated lineup, an emphasis on jazz bands, and has no acts that'd fit for SMS coverage. Tonight's acts include headlining classic rock band Coverfly at 9:45 PM, with new jazz quintet The Jaztecs co-headlining at 8:30 PM, returning jazz veterans The Bob Jenkins Band (who have played the last 15 Rotaryfests) at 7:15 PM, and new local country band Crossroad opening at 6:00 PM. Talented lineup, so don't miss these bands if you love these genres!

TOMORROW'S abbreviated Friday lineup also starts at 6:00 PM, but it has one extra band and runs an hour or so longer, and there's lots of familiar faces! Headlining the Friday lineup once again are local country rock quartet Thin Ice (with special guests) at 10:00 PM, whIle classic rock quintet Mustang Heart will also return to co-headline at 9:00 PM. Two hard rock bands are on tomorrow's bill, including local party/hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom (tomorrow's only band that didn't play last year's Rotaryfest) at 8:00 PM, and local hard rock standouts Beaumont Avenue (still credited in the program under their old Suicide Kings moniker) at 7:00 PM, and both should have their own diverse cover sets to entertain fans with! For reference, this will be Stiffler's Mom's first Rotaryfest set since their reunion, while Beaumont Avenue will likely be playing as a quartet tomorrow, after featuring guest bassist Brandon Uhl last year.

Tomorrow's opening band will be local pop rock cover quartet KT, Kyle, and The Pocket at 6:00 PM, which might be the closest fans will get to a Sailor's Tongue show this year based on their lineup, so keep that angle in mind! Like tonight, tomorrow's stage lineup is FREE & ALL AGES, and there's some very talented bands to check out, so don't miss tomorrow's lineup, and keep the early evening in mind for hard rock! For a preview, here's Stiffler's Mom covering Ozzy Osbourne live at Toystock!



In a brief detour to a non-Rotaryfest event, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will continue his ongoing weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW with another solo concert/hosted jam night! Entering his 33rd straight week at the former Madison's Pub, this will be the second weekend out of three where he's only playing on the Friday rather than the Saturday, but unlike the UFC screening two weeks ago, it's not yet public why he's not playing this Saturday (likely an outside booking, we'll let you know if we hear anything!) Either way, Tym's got some solid hard rock cover action going down tomorrow night at The Harp, so if you're not completely satiated from Rotaryfest's stage, go see Tym! Is it strange that he hasn't played Rotaryfest recently, especially given his cover knowledge? There's no announced cover charge tomorrow, you must be 19 to attend, and Tym should be on at around 10:00 PM. For a preview, here he is covering Journey at The Harp last year!



Heading back to Rotaryfest to close this preview post, the stage lineup at Clergue Park THIS SATURDAY is both the longest, most varied (with 4 new bands), and has the most hard rock bands, with this year's out of town tribute headliner being Toronto based Led Zeppelin tribute band Michael White & The White! An acclaimed tribute that's been active since 1979, Michael and his band provide an authentic and very strong version of Led Zeppelin's classic material, so don't miss their set at 10:15 PM on Saturday! Co-headlining are local hard rock cover quartet Griphook, who will end a three month hiatus to rock Rotaryfest for a second straight year at 9:00 PM, so get ready for their entertaining set! Presumably one-off Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute sextet Free Falling will play at 8:00 PM, preceded by country cover favourites Summer Thunder at 7:00 PM, and a trio of returning classic rock bands (Spyder's Web, Mid Life Crysis, and Obsession) at 6:00, 5:00, and 4:00 PM.

A pair of all-female bands (and Rotaryfest newcomers) will play on Saturday afternoon too, with hard rock quartet The Danger Cats playing a rare all-cover set at 3:00 PM, so come early for their exciting sound, especially if you missed them on Tuesday! A mysterious new quintet named Domina (information hopefully forthcoming) will play at 2:00 PM, while R&B veterans The Reptiles will open on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Nice and diverse lineup, with lots of entertaining styles to go around, so keep Saturday in mind too, and remember, FREE & ALL AGES! For a preview, here's Michael White & The White playing Led Zeppelin classics in 2012!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news soon, plus another punk band feature, and this month's poll! Thanks everyone!

Archaics/Danger Cats Concert Preview, Plus More Recent Updates!!

With a new week upon us, we'll touch on news and updates today, so what's on tap? More new jam session videos from one local band, the likely inactive status of another, and some assorted recent notes, but first, here's a preview for a special Tuesday night concert!

Another intriguing new concert from Oh! Right Arm! Promotions goes down TOMORROW at The New American Pub, and it will be headlined by Edmonton garage rock quintet The Archaics! An interesting band that has an old school laid back sound with enough alternative themes to compliment their swinging originals, you should definitely give them a listen and see if they're your cup of tea! Hard rock fans will want to check out the local openers though, and they include local all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats in their first ever New A appearance and last show before their Rotaryfest set on Saturday, and co-promoter Jamie Vincent's hardcore grunge duo Bad Back in their first show since their Cochrane road trip, with both adding their own hard hitting and diverse angles to this Tuesday nighter, so don't miss out! The first SMS-fitting show at The New A of 2014 that we've heard, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and 9:00 PM start time tomorrow, so for more details, visit the Facebook event page! Very wide ranging show to be sure, but there's tastes to cover many preferences, so keep it in mind for tomorrow, and here's The Danger Cats at Docks!



Next up, I've reluctantly decided to move local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity threshold yet, the band has been on a declared hiatus since shortly after their Devil's Night show at The Oddfellows Hall last October without a hint of a return, members Robert Sartini and Devon Lucier are largely focused on Pillory now, and Robert himself called Crimson Crusade inactive on his Gorrifier solo project's Reverbnation page, so things don't look good for the near future. Active since early 2010, the band's early lineups made scattered appearances at Soo and Central Algoma venues before firmly engaging in major local shows in late 2012. You may remember them from opening for bands like Skeletonwitch & Warsenal last summer, along with releasing their EP "Upon The Eve Of War", and their Death-inspired sound was a shot of energy into the local scene! I always enjoyed their later sound, and hopefully this isn't the absolute end of them, but best of luck to Devon, both Roberts, Riley, and other ex-members in the future!

We'll close today with some new videos, including more full jam session videos from the aforementioned Bad Back! Uploaded to drummer Nathan Sauve's new YouTube channel over the last few days each video runs over 58 minutes (with the one embedded below crossing an hour!), so fans of their blistering hardcore and grunge sound should be right at home! The 58 minute jam video isn't labelled to reflect what's played (and the camera died at one point, hence an obvious cut), but the longer "anti-corporation protest jam" below features numerous originals like "Party Bus" and "Shirt Tucker" alongside cover segments from the likes of NOFX and Tom Petty. Similar camera angle and quality as before, and a great material source for Bad Back fans, so watch the full jams above and below!



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

• Local/London solo metal project The Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe have been staying busy despite founder Matt Parr's burgeoning band work in Southern Ontario, with 7 new song postings on his Soundcloud page in the past few months! Including some song ideas, an Alexisonfire cover, and a collaborative track, among others, his high production values and progressive talents are clearly visible in his recent work, so check out the new H.M.M. songs above!
• Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus got some cool exposure last August when he was interviewed and featured in a Sault Star article by Brian Kelly! Focused around his then-work with The Fever Tops and their appearance at that month's Art In The Parking Lot event, the article also addresses his musical history and AC/DC's influence on him. Nice interview, kudos to Brian for giving Michael the spotlight! (Note that you'll have to watch a short ad video to read this article online.)
• Defunct local blackened doom metal standouts Woods of Ypres' debut EP "Against The Seasons: Cold Winter Songs From The Dead Summer Heat" is finally getting the Earache Records reissue treatment, completing their run of pressing the band's main back catalog (no word on if they'll ever do anything with their unreleased material or vinyl singles.) CD and vinyl copies with appropriate package deals & colours can now be pre-ordered at this link, with "Woods I" being re-released on July 28th, so check above to get your copies and see what packages are available!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and punk band additions this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest), Plus The End Of The Second Stage?

After a longer than expected delay for the announcements, the full music schedule for this year's Rotaryfest is now official, so this post is headlined by a related LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the Friday and band additions for the Saturday! We also want to address the status of the Second Stage in this post as well, but we'll leave that for the end. As revealed via the online copy of the official program on their website, the all-cover stage at Clergue Park will run from Thursday, July 17th to Saturday, July 19th concurrently with Sault Ontario's annual summer festival, so who's planned for 2014, and who's coming back from last year? Let's start with the Thursday lineup, which like in past years, is shorter and continues (in part) the jazz theme of past years. As such, that day's lineup includes new country cover quartet Crossroad (no relation to Sault Michigan's Crossroads), veteran jazz sextet The Bob Jenkins Band, new local jazz collective The Jaztecs, and classic rock notables Coverfly, so check above for more details! Thursday's bands begin at 6:00 PM, and both Coverfly & The Bob Jenkins Band are returnees from last year's Thursday lineup.

This year's Friday lineup is noticeably slashed from previous years, with bands beginning at 6:00 PM as well after generally beginning in the afternoon in past installments. Still, there are five bands rocking on July 18th, including two hard rock bands, so who's playing? Then highest slotted heavier band (and only one that didn't play at last year's Rotaryfest) is veteran cover/party rock trio Stiffler's Mom, who I believe are playing Rotaryfest for the first time since their reunion, though frontman Greg Simpson has played many recent installments with bands like That's Chester. Nice to see them bringing their entertaining hard rock classics to Rotaryfest once again, so keep their set in mind! The newly renamed Beaumont Avenue (still labelled under their old name The Suicide Kings) will play their second live set since the name change right before them as well, and though their originals will be shelved for the evening, look for an explosive set of hard rock favourites from Beaumont Avenue on the 18th!

The Friday lineup will be headlined for a second straight year by country rock cover quartet Thin Ice (complete with guests) at 10:00 PM, with classic rock quintet Mustang Heart playing at 9:00 PM, Stiffler's Mom & Beaumont Avenue playing at 8:00 & 7:00 PM respectively, and the returning pop rock cover band KT, Kyle, and The Pocket at 6:00 PM, so check the above links for details on the shortened Friday lineup!

The Saturday lineup was already partially announced via the splash on Rotaryfest's website of Toronto-based Led Zeppelin tribute Michael White & The White headlining, which continues the tradition of an out of town tribute band headlining on the Saturday, but now we know the local bands! The last day maintains the lengthy lineup of past years, and fans of prior Clergue Park stages will like the familiarity, with only 3 of the 9 bands not present last year. Michael White & The White will be on at 10:15 PM, with local hard rock cover quartet Griphook returning with new frontman Joel Syrette at 9:00 PM, and all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats will make their Rotaryfest debut with an all-cover set at 3:00 PM! Nice to see both bands playing this year, and it should be interesting to see how the girls do on the big stage! Before Griphook's set, a (one off?) Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute band named Free Falling (whose lineup is 100% locally comprised) will take the stage at 8:00 PM, with country cover quartet Summer Thunder on at 7:00 PM, and classic rock veterans Spyder's Web, Mid Life Crysis, and Obsession playing at 6:00, 5:00, and 4:00 PM respectively.

Early afternoon bands before The Danger Cats include a somewhat mysterious new rock quintet named Domina at 2:00 PM who have a female singer, but I can't verify much else (we'll let you know if we hear anything!), while R&B big band The Reptiles will once again open the day at 1:00 PM. Like in past years, admission is FREE for all three days, this is an ALL AGES event, and set times are listed above. Check the above links for more details on Rotaryfest's musical entertainment, along with the non-musical events that will be fun for all ages as usual! Though 12 of this year's 19 bands are returnees from 2013, and the Friday lineup is visibly shorter, there's a reliable familiarity to this year's lineup, and it's nice to see over a quartet of the bands crossing over into hard rock! Michael White & The White should deliver the goods for you Led Zeppelin fans as well, so don't miss out on all of the action downtown at Clergue Park in two weeks!

Lastly for today, some of you may be wondering about the Tenaris Second Stage on Queen Street East, which has given local original artists and select out of town indie/folk acts their own Rotaryfest presence since 2005, and would have held it's 10th annual installment this year. Well, we can sadly now confirm that the Second Stage is on hold this year, as per a new Sault Star article by Brian Kelly that was posted online yesterday, and will presumably be in the paper too. In the article, Rotaryfest events manager Carolyn Bunting O'Connor said that leaner sponsorship support and a lack of money are to blame for the Second Stage (and the busker showcase Cirque du Rotaryfest) being shelved for 2014, though she hopes both will come back in 2015. She added that they're upset about the Second Stage not taking place this year, and while the idea of hosting some original bands on the Clergue Park stage this year was suggested, they only 100% decided to cancel the Second Stage a few weeks ago and were trying to get it going until then, so there wasn't time. In it's place, Tenaris will sponsor children's & science events for this year, though it's not clear whether it's due to or a cause of the Second Stage's break.

Also, LopLops Lounge (who put on and organized the Second Stage) are hosting a downtown music festival named The Emergency on August 9th that has a similar performer and arts lineup to what the Second Stage may have had, but it's not directly stated whether this is a "replacement" event or just a new concept. Check it out above though! Hopefully this is just a one year break, as it was a great outlet for the original bands that many wish were on the Clergue Park stage! There may have been a high focus on indie, folk, and roots bands, but it seemed like a working formula, and maybe The Emergency can help pick up the slack! Still disappointing, but go support the main stage to keep the music coming! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and profiles this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Ripcordz, Rotaryfest, And The Thrill Junkies), And 415E Concert Previews!!

Apologies for the slow pace of recent posts on the site, things have slowed down a bit lately, but we're back today with lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including the first Rotaryfest band confirmation, a big hardcore punk show for the fall, and an upcoming charity event featuring a notable returning band! Of course, a weekend is upon us, and we do have a pair of shows to preview as well today, but any other hard rock shows this weekend (including possible Tym Morrison dates at The Harp) will likely be short notice confirmations, and we'll address those if/when they're announced. Now, to the new shows in chronological order!

Local hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies will return to the stage one week from tomorrow as part of the musical entertainment at this year's second annual Algoma Ride For Autism event! Last seen on stage in January at the former Roosevelt Hotel, this will also mark their first live concert appearance with their new lineup, as they added Frightlight guitarist Rick White to their lineup as their new drummer in the spring, replacing the already departed Scott McLurg. The Thrill Junkies' Facebook page says that Rick's a great fit and that he's been working hard to get up to speed with their set (playing with Redundant bandmate Justin Langlois can't hurt), so look out for an entertaining set next Saturday from these talented veterans! The Thrill Junkies' set will be as part of the musical entertainment at the Algoma Ride For Autism, which will be held at Runway Park on Airport Road, making this the first verified show there with a hard rock band that we've covered on here since the Bell Border Jam in 2008.

Obviously a fundraiser for autism research, this ALL AGES event will feature a motorcycle rally around town that will end at Runway Park, which will be hosting live music, food, prize draws, family events, and much more, so click here for all details on the event as a whole, and for details on how you bikers can participate in the rally! For the Runway Park events, I have not seen a stated cover charge, but events take place from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and I can't confirm The Thrill Junkies' timeslot yet, nor other musical performers. Much like the blindness rally Ride For Sight, I hope the Ride For Autism is a huge success, so keep an eye out for extra info, including on the musical performers next weekend!

Next up, we have our first concrete confirmation for this year's Rotaryfest performers, as The Stage at Clergue Park will be headlined by Toronto Led Zeppelin tribute band Michael White & The White on Saturday, July 19th! Continuing the usual trend of having an out of town tribute band as the headline act for our local summer festival's main stage, this veteran tribute band has been played thousands of shows since 1979, and have built up an extensive resume and skill level that Zeppelin fans should take to next month, so don't miss out on Michael White & The White this year! The band was confirmed via the banner image at this link, but Rotaryfest has yet to confirm the full main stage lineup. Like past years, I expect it to be all cover bands (any with originals won't be playing them there), with a jazz/blues focus on July 17th and a variety of bands on the 18th and 19th, and while both The Suicide Kings & The Danger Cats had applied to play this year's event, we have no finite local band details yet that are publically sharable.

In any event, this year's stage will have no age limits or cover charges, and Michael White & The White will likely be headlining at 9:00 or 10:00 PM on the 19th. Check the above links for current details, and we'll keep you guys posted on the full main stage lineup as it comes in! (Just in case anyone's curious, I have heard negative reports regarding the return of the Second Stage this year, but I'm waiting for official confirmation before detailing it too much on the site.)

Lastly for new shows, it's official: The Ripcordz are coming back to the Soo this fall! Last month's teased show will take place on Saturday, October 11th when the Montreal hardcore punk legends return to The Algonquin Pub (the site of their local return show last spring), in their first Sault date here since promoter J.D. Pearce's Halloween party last fall! For clarification, I don't expect this to be J.D.'s next Halloween show, it's two weeks too soon. Fans will be sure to welcome The Ripcordz and their well received and intense hardcore punk originals back to our area this fall, as we've done numerous times in the past, so don't miss out on what should be a packed house in October! As it currently stands, the lineup for this show will be almost exactly the same as it was last fall, as local metal/punk quintet Jack Spades and hardcore punk standouts Destroilet are signed to open, and both are fitting choices, so be there early for their sets! Note that the Facebook event page also says "TBA" for the lineup, so another band could be added.

This 19+ show will have a 10:00 PM start time, but ticket prices and availability aren't public yet, possibly as the show is still 4 months away, but we'll let you guys know when something is announced, and check the above links for more details! This should be another awesome show, as anyone who's seen The Ripcordz' 2013 Sault shows should attest to, so keep it in mind for your fall concert plans, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

We'll close today with previews of Sault Michigan hard rock band 415E's next live shows, as the former Hubbard-Menard band will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT! Remember, this weekend's shows replace former Peril concerts, after 415E's originally announced Soo Kewadin gigs next week were bumped up to this weekend. Fresh off shows in St. Ignace last week, this should be another fun weekend of Van Halen-influenced covers and originals from this talented local band, so don't miss out on the action! Note that this new picture again implies that recent gigs have been as a duo without live bass or drums, so keep that in mind for this weekend. Admission should be free, a 9:00 PM start time is likely, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, check the above links, enjoy 415E's hard rock and classic metal sounds, and here's their full lineup's cover of The Stone Temple Pilots as a preview!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates and news and such in the coming days! Thanks everyone!