Defunct Local Band Profile Series: NoXcape

In what might be our last post before The Ripcordz rock The Algonquin TOMORROW NIGHT, we have this month's Defunct Local Band Profile for you guys! In what's becoming too much of a trend recently, I misjudged the amount of extant information for the first band of what we were projecting to be a double band installment (mainly because I admittedly forgot about their earlier run & media under a different name), so to make up for that, this month's planned second band (Starlit Sins) will lead off a double profile next month. We'll address that in a bit, but now, here's this month's profile on an inactive metal, hard rock, or punk band from the area, in this case, a short lived modern rock outfit from the E.U.P. featuring some familiar faces!
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NoXcape

Genre: Modern Rock

Hometown: Pickford, Michigan

Members: 

Donny Newell (Exiled, Absolute), vocals/guitar

Ben Huyck (Absolute, Riot! By Night), guitar

Joey Beairl (Shift, Krosswalk, Kickback), guitar

Bill Spence (Absolute, Riot! By Night), bass

Justin Lawless (Exiled, Absolute), drums

Nick Landreville, vocals
   
Audio/Video: Though there are technically no NoXcape videos or audio recordings online in a public form, Nick & Ben (under the band's first name MK-Ultra) recorded six studio originals that were posted onto their Reverbnation page in early 2011, which pointed to a nu-metal sound (including some rapped vocals) that likely didn't carry over in full after then-singer Nick Landreville left the band. The songs include "Randy Pausch", "Limboc Resonance", "Tribute", "The Other Side", "Memories", and (as embedded below via a new YouTube upload), "Victim of the Game", so give it a listen below, and hear more at the MK-Ultra Reverbnation page!



Info/Analysis: Formed under the name MK-Ultra circa January 2011, this band soon got to work recording studio material and building a full lineup, who eventually debuted at Dan's Place in Rudyard that August under a new name, NoXcape. Shortly afterwards, singer Nick Landreville left the band and was replaced by Donny Newell, essentially reforming the prior local band Absolute, albeit alongside Shift's Joey Beairl on second guitar. NoXcape played a few extra gigs through the fall at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan, but aside from a cryptic post saying "Ready?" in February 2012, no formal updates followed. NoXcape are believed to have quietly disbanded shortly thereafter, though you can now see Donny & Justin in the active regional hard rock band Exiled. I'm not sure what happened to NoXcape, but given the guys' chemistry and prominence with Absolute, I have to imagine the newer band brought more of the same! Their MK-Ultra sound was admittedly dated given it's rap and funk-metal leanings, but they had good energy on them and played the part well, and hopefully everyone stays active in music!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As previously indicated above, November's installment of this series will be a double installment with the short lived Sault Ontario punk band Starlit Sins leading off, but I have an announcement to make regarding our band selections. Due to our addition of punk bands to our band links this summer (of which only one was based in Michigan), our band totals are noticeably larger on the Ontario side of the border, so after 50 bands randomly picked in a 1-1-1-1-1 format for every 5, we'll be returning next month to our original 2-1-3-1-2-1 format for every 10, in order to spread out profiles more evenly. This will drop Sault Michigan bands' frequency in the series from 40% back to 30%, but this way, we won't risk exhausting E.U.P. metal/hard rock bands too quickly, so they'll continue to be a solid presence in the months to come, likely next in December or January!

As for next month's second band, which will begin our first new 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle, we hope to look at Sault Ontario alternative/punk trio Glunk! (another one of our recent punk band additions), who don't appear to have much surviving info, but I've been wrong on that before. In any event, look for our next defunct profiles (including Starlit Sins) on or around November 10th, and we'll see you guys at The Algonquin Pub TOMORROW NIGHT for The Ripcordz as we celebrate The Rad Zone's 30th birthday! Thanks everyone!

News From Garden of Bedlam, MK-Ultra, A New Sound Company, And More!!

Our post marathon begins today with two news posts, and we'll start with a general one today! In this post, we have a new local sound company, the latest news from a Sault Michigan hard rock band, and this week's classic video, but first, here's another new video that I recently came across on YouTube!

On Monday, you may remember when I shown you guys a new high quality Garden of Bedlam concert video filmed by CML Productions' own Rick DellaVedova. Well, Rick's uploaded some more videos there, including a black and white version of the "New Rain" video from yesterday, with the colour version deleted. Why? I don't know, maybe he liked the black and white version more, but regardless, I changed the link on Monday's post to keep it accurate. Aside from that, Rick has uploaded a few new videos onto his YouTube channel for us to check out, including a short video of Crank Sound Distribution at work during a Garden of Bedlam show at Foggy Notions, and one cool classic video I'll be featuring later in the week, but there are three other Garden of Bedlam videos worth discussing! Two come from what looks like the sound checks for a Foggy Notions show last year, judging by the small crowd, crates on the floor, and visible daylight. They're of the band playing their songs "New Rain" & "Shallow", and everything looks and sounds real good! They also include some scattered discussions with the sound guys too, if you're interested in that!

The video I'm embedding here though is of Garden of Bedlam playing "Shallow" at last year's Rotaryfest, which sounds awesome and the crowd adds to it greatly! Rick gets some great angles of the band too, great work as always! Check the above links for all of Rick's new Garden of Bedlam videos, and here's "Shallow" from Rotaryfest!



Next up, here's some long awaited news from Sault Michigan hard rockers MK-Ultra, who we first told you guys about in January! Firstly, MK-Ultra have announced the addition of bassist Bill Spence to the band, reuniting him with his former Absolute & Riot! By Night bandmate Ben Huyck. Good choice, Bill & Ben had chemistry from the Absolute material I've heard! MK-Ultra are still looking for a rhythm guitarist and (maybe) a drummer to round out their lineup, so if you or someone you know are at all interested, shoot the band a message on Reverbnation, MySpace, or on their brand new Facebook page! Yes, they're on Facebook as of February 28th, where they've announced plans for a future CD of some type, a logo contest with a free CD as the prize for the winner, and plans for live shows beginning in June! They also hinted towards a new drummer already being found in their last Facebook update, saying that "Justin" will be laying down some drum tracks soon. My first thought was former Absolute drummer Justin Lawless, but I don't know enough to assume either way. Sounds good overall, hopefully MK-Ultra's plans fall into place, we'll be watching! Check out their material and band news at the above links!

Thirdly, here's a story I've pushed back far too long, as you guys (especially band members) should know about it! Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher & bassist Arthur Lacasse have started a new live sound reinforcement company named Double A Sound, which will eventually give a more professional quality sound to concerts and events. They're not ready to go yet, but they have lots of gear ready to help make your band sound at it's best! When they officially start doing sound at local concerts, their rate will be $200 for shows featuring one or two bands, with an additional $50 for each added band from there (i.e. $250 for 3 bands, $300 for 4.) For all current details, visit their official Facebook page! I think this a great move by Al & Art to give bands another option for professional sound at their shows, and though I don't know how their prices and gear would stack up to Crank, for example, I have faith that Double A Sound will make their presence felt once they start doing sound at some local concerts! Check the above links for all you need to know from Double A Sound, and I'll keep you posted if some big updates come out!

And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! This is both our longest and oldest classic video so far, and it's a good one, so here's what you should know! As Half A Man are rocking The Bird in Sault Michigan on Sunday night, I found it fitting to post a video related to them again, but this time, of frontman Erik Rintamaki & drummer Mikey Bishop's mid-1990s local band Lower S.E.S.! Their posthumous MySpace page is full of 20 minute+ concert videos from their heyday, but I figured I'd start small for classic uploads with their 20 minute set from the battle of the bands that they won in 1994 at The Tumble Inn in Eckerman, Michigan! The video features their entire set, including their introduction, and it has the band's classic lineup covering Slayer's "South of Heaven" & "Seasons in the Abyss", Nirvana's "Rape Me", Pantera's "Becoming", Korn's "Blind", and their own original song "Bold"! I broke up the set into five videos (the Slayer covers are combined) and uploaded them to the SMS' YouTube channel earlier today, but you can check out the original unbroken video at http://myspace.com/lowersesband/videos/battle-of-the-bands/60189504. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! Lower S.E.S. were a great band and they deserve wider exposure like this, even if it's been 16 years since they broke up!

This was filmed by an attendee on what appears to be a tape camcorder, so I apologize for the quality, which isn't as clear as it would be on a digital camera, but remember, this was 1994. The band sound good when they're clearly audible, and they have a good grasp on the covers, but it'd be cool to hear a few more originals, and more guitar solos from Andy Nash. His solo on the Pantera cover was nice, but I wish we'd have gotten them more! I hope we'll find more classic videos from the 1990s in the future, Lower S.E.S. deserve all the kudos in the world for posting these videos online! So here's their Slayer covers, but check the above links for the rest of this 20 minute battle of the bands set!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Woods of Ypres-centric post later tonight chock full of new concert videos! Thanks everyone, and remember, we review Destroilet's EP TOMORROW!

A New Local Band, New Shit Liver Videos, And More News!!

Well guys, we're ending January with a 30th news post, just the third time we've hit that mark since this blog was launched! This is a collection of cached news stories from the past weekend and some new stuff that I came across, including an apparent exit from an upcoming concert lineup, a local artist's new page & material, a local band's new YouTube channel, and more, but leading things off, here's a new local band!

I literally just found out about this band an hour or so ago, and it's a new hard rock project from Sault Michigan named MK-Ultra! Only two members exist in the project currently, including former Absolute & Riot! By Night guitarist Ben Huyck and Nick Landreville, who I think is the project's singer. I assume Ben and/or Nick are handling extra instruments as well for the time being, but they are on the hunt for a second guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Nice to see Ben back in a band, I liked Absolute and he is a good guitar player! Launched earlier this month, MK-Ultra play a radio hard rock style featuring a mix of everything from rap metal to more Red Hot Chili Peppers inspired stuff to softer ballad material, and they definitely give off a nostalgic late 1990s vibe! As someone who grew up listening to "nu metal" before getting into heavier stuff, this is an unexpected and nice surprise! Nick's got a good voice for this style, and Ben's guitar work is solid as I would expect! It'll be interesting to see what MK-Ultra have in store next, so check them out at their official MySpace and Reverbnation pages, featuring six original songs, and contact their MySpace if you want to try out for a vacant band position!

Next up, local grimecore trio Shit Liver have launched their own YouTube channel! It was started on Saturday, and it already features 11 videos from their most recent concert at The Rosie on January 21st! I don't know for certain who filmed the footage, but I saw the guy recording them on the right of the stage, and he got some very good footage! Much better than my camera is equipped to film, as he had a camcorder, and it can zoom during a video as well. I do question why three of the videos are filmed in sepia tone, but besides that, I can't complain about the quality! The videos include covers of Dystopia's "Self Defeating Prophecy" and "Backstabber", Rudimentary Peni's "Cosmetic Plague", The Capitalist Casualties' cover of Antischism's "Greedy Bastards", The Dead Kennedys' "Forest Fire", and GG Allin's "Bite It You Scum", as well as originals "Survival of the Shittest", "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe", "Contribute or Perish", and "Sewer Livin'", and two videos of some jamming from last call (here and here)! I'm a bit surprised that the same camera's footage of their self titled song and "Speak of Weak" didn't make it here, but hey, these are still a lot of good quality videos!

However, if you didn't like Shit Liver before, these probably won't change your mind, but if you wanna check them out, the links are above! Check out their channel at this location, and here's one of the videos, of Shit Liver's originals "Contribute or Perish" and "Sewer Livin"!



Thirdly, Sault Michigan solo artist Mike Libertoski has posted two new original songs on his new Reverbnation page! If you've followed Mike's original material, you'll likely know that his styles vary widely from death metal similar to his old Slackjawed Rats work to soft acoustic material, but in the case of these newest songs, Mike's absolutely going in a heavy direction, and I'm really impressed! Very technical work and extremely heavy, I'd love to see this live with a full band! "Demo 1" in particular fits this vibe, and while "Demo 2" is overall very similar, the first track has more intensity and speed in my opinion, and less jazzy sections to kill the momentum. All I'd really add is more of a solo section on both, but no matter. Mike's very talented, and you guys should definitely check out his new tracks! I don't have much else to add, but thanks to Mike for the MySpace e-mail alerting me to these demos! Check the above links for more!

Fourthly, it appears that one of the announced bands for this Thursday's metal night at The Roosevelt Hotel is now off the bill. Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere posted on the Metal Nights at The Rosie Facebook page that the band won't be able to play on Thursday. No reason was given, though I imagine that bassist Nolan Rainville's latest excursion out of town is linked. I honestly would have thought that the band would have enlisted Mike Kyle or Chris Morphet to fill the vacancy again on Thursday, but now the band appears to be completely out. With that said, the promoters haven't confirmed or acknowledged this yet, so a new band to join For All That Is Lost and The Bear Hunters on Thursday has not been confirmed. I'll keep you posted as I hear more! Also on the note of metal nights, I can finally confirm which band named Skepsis is coming to The Rosie on February 17th, and it's the indie punk band from Montreal. Honestly, they're not metal at all, so it is a bit confusing that they're apparently playing here on the likely next metal night, but we should hear more on that in the next while. Thanks to Rich Moreland for clearing up which Skepsis this was, cause there really was a bunch of bands with that name!

And finally, we'll close today's post with three shorter news stories, in alphabetical order by band name:

• I told you guys about The Bear Hunters' YouTube channel for the videos from their concert on Friday that I filmed, but there are two extra videos there as well! One is their instrumental demo of their song "Collapse The Sun" and the other is "Squirrel Buddy" from guitarist Mitch Sirie's April Eyes project! This will apparently be played live by The Bear Hunters in the future, and it's quickly gotten a cult following, so stay tuned for it's live debut!
• SooToday posted an event page for February 19th's Maximum RNR concert at Foggy Notions onto their entertainment page at this location! It features a band bio and basic concert details, but doesn't really share anything new. I'm surprised nothing's added about frontman Diamond Brent Panther's local past, but it's still a good read, so give it a look! See you guys there!
• Woods of Ypres are retuning to Northern Ontario in March for a set at this year's Sudbury Metal Feast at The Serbian Center! They'll play on either March 11th or 12th, a final date has not been confirmed yet, but dates are supposed to come in tomorrow. Sounds good, hopefully a Sault Ste. Marie date will follow! I'll keep you posted with Woods of Ypres news as it comes in!

That's all for today, and I'll be back with new news hopefully in the next while, but our next post could be our February update of our "Where Are The New Albums?" series, which will go online on Wednesday! Stay tuned!