A New Punk Band Discovery, New Local Concert Videos, And Much More!!

Let's dive back into some general and more varied news and notes for this third post of the month, so what's in store? Assorted recent notes, a milestone video of ours from our early months at the SMS, and some spring concert footage, but first, here's a new addition to our inactive band links!

We have a "new" local band to add to our band links, and they are F.F.B., a defunct punk trio who have quietly re-emerged in the past year with posthumous plans! We've acknowledged F.F.B. (acronym meaning unclear) on the site before, but only now do they have enough public information to make it fit on the site. Active for a 4 month span in 1999 and 2000, F.F.B. were distant predecessors to the inactive punk/grunge duo The Red & Black, with singer/guitarist Chris Shoust (Telephone & Address) and drummer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda joined by Kyle Grawbarger (instrument unclear, possibly bass?), who isn't familiar from recent local bands. The band reportedly only played 4 shows during their brief run, with at least one being in Sault Michigan before the border tightened up, and they apparently recorded 16 songs, including originals and covers from bands like The Misfits, The Exploited, and Minor Threat.

Chris has teased releasing F.F.B.'s surviving material as far back as 2011 via their posthumous Facebook page, and the guys apparently agreed to release a film about this band last November, but  nothing has stated since. It's hard to comment on F.F.B.'s run personally, as their songs aren't known to be available yet, and I was 10 years old during their heyday, but stay tuned in case some archive material and/or that teased film make their way online!

Next up, here's some recent concert videos from prolific local concert filmer Chris Paci's YouTube channel, and yes, we'll touch on his last Hedley video later this week! Chris was in attendance for the Motherfuckers-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall on April 30th, but for one reason or another, the three videos that he shot that night weren't posted online for two months. Better late than never! His videos (all of the headlining Calgary hardcore punk band) include this short song, and this similarly quick number, but embedded below are multiple songs from The Motherfuckers' set. I admittedly am having trouble titling these (especially as they sound so similar to multiple tracks), but blame that partly on the muffled audio through the camera. Chris got solid footage though, and from a pair of angles, so give his videos from this all ages punk concert a look above & below!

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

• Oshawa "death punk" quartet Black Cat Attack have been forced to drop out of THIS FRIDAY'S concert at The Rockstar Bar due to unspecified van troubles, as per promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page on Friday. Disappointing to be sure, but the show must go on, as B.C.A frontwoman Valerie Knox's other band, Toronto grunge/punk quartet The Anti-Queens (who were already opening) are now the headline act, while classic metal quintet Project 421 have been added as a late opening band in their place (not punk, but their talent speaks for itself), and admission has been halved to $5! See above for more details!
• In a minor update stemming from their recent studio track postings on their Bandcamp page, the album cover for the apparently self-titled debut EP from local hard rock quartet Long Shot is featured on Bandcamp too! It's simple (pictures of the guys on a white background with their logo), but it'll get the job done if it is indeed final, so check out their EP's current content above!
• We missed this when we originally covered the apparent upcoming cassette album from Telephone & Address, but when BGP Tapes owner, musician, and Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter revealed the plans for "Are You Or Have You Ever Been?" on his blog The Tinderbox, he suggested that it would be a split, with side B focusing on his new experimental rap duo The Leash Kids. Again, Telephone & Address haven't acknowledged these (or any other) album plans lately, but this would be an interesting release, so keep watch for updates!

Finally for today, I wanted to share an archive video find that has never been featured on the SMS before, despite being the earliest surviving concert video that I have ever shot. This comes from the Skid Row Battle of the Bands/skatepark fundraiser at The Speak Easy on April 27th, 2008, during the first year of The Sault Metal Scene's run, and it's of defunct hard rockers Sense of Truth playing their early original "Anything At All" during their battle winning set! Represented by singer/guitarist Cory Murchison (Skeyes of Seven), guitarist Steve Myers (The Wild Iris), bassist Patric Belanger (who left the band by year's end), and drummer Ryan "Kev Riain" Haryett, the guys definitely delivered their A-game in what was their live concert debut! At this point, I was using a low quality cell phone camera (certainly not an iPhone), hence why the video quality is hideous and it's only 15 seconds long, but hey, for better or worse, it's a milestone for us.

This was originally featured on my personal Facebook page, where it attracted virtually no attention, but I have given it some extra life eight years down the road, namely by having the video fade in & out, and by replacing the extremely scratchy original audio with synced audio from Cory's own footage of Sense of Truth playing this song at the battle (all credit to him & that video's original filmer!) It's just 15 seconds of low quality cell phone footage, but it's our first toe in the water in terms of filming concerts, so check it out below, and of course, check out Cory's video above for the best view of this performance!



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

New SooToday Videos, Plus More Recent Video Uploads!!

The last few days have been relatively quiet on the SMS, but I have an unwritten rule to try and ensure that we don't go three days on the site without a new post, so let's keep that up before I tackle my 27th birthday celebrations! Today's post is devoted to recent video postings from and featuring local artists, so here's what you should know!

We'll start with a pair of (sadly unembeddable) videos from local news website SooToday with metal & punk relevance, starting with the newest episode of Tuned with Donna Hopper, as posted online on Sunday! The second straight episode taken from last month's Motherfuckers-headlined show at The Oddfellows Hall, this one focuses on the Calgary hardcore punk headliners, with Donna interviewing frontman Dan Izzo and bassist Sean Hunter outside of the venue about Calgary's punk scene, their influence on Canadian punk music, their newest material, and what they know about Sault Ste. Marie, as interspersed with performance clips from their set. Not a bad interview, and the guys keep things light before their ferocious set, so give it a look above! The other new SMS-relevant SooToday video covers Darren Emond's Iron Maiden comic book launch at The Rad Zone earlier this month, so what should you know on it?

Darren is interviewed by an uncredited & unheard SooToday reporter about how he got on board with the Iron Maiden comic, his background and artistic endeavours, the reception of the comic so far, and his positive experiences in working with a band he loves, doing what he loves. Featuring some shots of his artwork in between, this gives Darren some nice press, so give it a look above, and pick up your copy of the Iron Maiden comic book A.S.A.P.!

Next up, here's some updates from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din's Facebook page, including reveals that they now have buttons for sale (check out their next concerts to see if they're available), they're now on Snapchat, and yes, that they have new Facebook videos to check out! One video was uploaded on May 17th (apologies for the two week delay) where The Din noted that they, at the time, were close to hitting 300 likes on Facebook. In it, they try and hit 300 likes on their own with a real foot race between band members, and without spoiling who won, they came to the conclusion that they needed our help to hit the milestone. The campaign worked, as they surpassed 300 just 12 hours later, and currently sit at 320! Another video followed last week where guitarist Tammy Hill jokingly came up with an idea for the band's merchandising plans that involves bobbleheads. I'll let you watch it to see what it entails!

Embedded below though is The Din's newest Facebook video, this time just previewing the studio version of "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device" from their forthcoming debut studio album "Give In To The Din", with Tammy manning the controls at the computer. This should serve as a nice teaser as the album sessions slowly march along, so give it a look below, and see much more from The Din above!



Also, here's a video from Boot Hill Crooners/ex-Inner City Surfers guitarist Dave Bahun as part of a big contest that he's entered! A cover of Randy Bachman's new song "Heavy Blues", this comes from a Vintage Guitar Magazine contest where guitarists are challenged to supply guitar tracks in place of Peter Frampton's on the song in a YouTube video. Randy himself will choose the winner on Friday, who will receive a $4,000+ D’Angelico guitar & Supro amplifier, a pre-video endorsement from Randy, and a trip to rock out with him in New York City. If you know Dave's talents, you'll know he handles this blues rocker well, so be sure to check it out below, and best of luck!



Finally for today, dormant local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam are the source of background audio in this new skateboarding demonstration video from local music/skate shop The Rad Zone! Uploaded to their YouTube channel on Sunday, the video showcases three young local skateboarders (among them, Garden of Bedlam drummer Derek Turner's son Dylan), as set to their studio track "New Rain". Solid footage of the kids delivering some quality tricks, and while this doesn't directly indicate new activity from Garden of Bedlam, it's nice to see them featured here! Give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), Shit Liver Updates, And New Videos!!

We have a lot of stories to clear out on the site this week, so let's get that rolling with a new news post on this Monday morning, including some new videos related to this past weekend's concerts, overdue notes on a local band's recent SooToday coverage, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock cover quartet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Motel & Tavern in nearby Eckerman for their second show there on Saturday, May 28th! Marking their first announced concert since last night's Bay Mills Bands Together fundraiser in Brimley, this show comes a little over a month after their debut at The Strongs Tavern (at 28952 M-28), which the band heavily praised post-show, so hopefully the good vibes and hard hitting tunes continue there next weekend! Like last month, Project 906 will be rocking out at 9:00 PM next Saturday, you must be 21 years of age or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from the Ten Kings successors when announced!

Next up, here's the latest from Sault Ontario/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, who were profiled in this SooToday article on May 2nd by Donna Hopper (apologies for the delay), so what should you know within? Largely taken from the band's opening set at The Motherfuckers-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall on April 30th, the article features interview remarks from all three band members, where they discuss the benefits of their move down south, their love & passion for their music, and their bluegrass side-project Dirtfight, which features the guys alongside fiddler Matt Alvarez, who is a singer & guitarist in the St. Catharine's experimental punk collective Life Problems.You may have seen Dirtfight at The Gore Street Cafe on May 2nd, as well as at an open mic night during that stretch of Shit Liver's tour. Dirtfight are an interesting band for bluegrass fans, and they're solid in that genre, so give them a look for Josh, Mike, and Matt's other musical side!

Note that the article credits Shit Liver's formation as 2006 (presumably referencing their predecessor punk band OBCD's debut), but it's a solid article on a deserving band, and Donna got some more great photos at the show! Nine of Shit Liver, and six each of The Motherfuckers and fellow openers Jack Spades are included, and while they're all in black & white (and don't feature any shots of Winkstinger or Rotopsy), Donna got excellent clips as always, so give them and the full article a look at this link and/or above, and good luck to Shit Liver as their Canadian tour marches further west!

We'll close today with new videos, including a new Facebook video of local classic metal quintet Project 421's headlining show at The Rockstar Bar on Friday! Filmed by frontman Curtis McKenzie's girlfriend April Bryant, and shared from her personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page on Saturday, this is of Project 421's debuting cover of Metallica's "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" from their first set that night. A subsequent share by guitarist Blair Burch notes that there's "only one real screw-up", but he'd take it, and for a first playing, it sounds good! The video clarity isn't perfect, and Curt is hard to hear vocally, but it's a solid clip, so give it a look below!



Finally, here's a video that is admittedly late (my apologies!), but with the recent backlog on the site, we couldn't get it on here in time. Posted on Friday afternoon to their Facebook page, this is a preview video for local alternative hard rock trio The Din's LopLops Lounge debut on Saturday (where they opened for Sudbury's Sulfur City.) Shot at the venue on Friday, frontman Mike Haggith announced that their LopLops set would be all-original, before declaring that they were writing a new song (with guitarist Tammy Hill on piano), but I'll let you watch to determine what the "new song" is. Lighthearted promotion for what appears to have been a successful concert, so give the video a look below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, as we continue to clear out our news cache! Thanks everyone!

Motherfuckers Concert Review!!

To kick off the month of May in style, here's our review of last night's Motherfuckers-headlined all ages concert at The Oddfellows Hall! There was a medium attendance at best, peaking for the headliners, but it was a lively crowd that saw a number of moshpits and dancing, particularly during Shit Liver's set! Opening last night's show was local goregrind duo Rotopsy (replacing Kaepora Gaebora) in their first Oddfellows Hall concert in a year or so, and they laid down some entertaining originals for early fans! With originals like "Swamp Donkey", "Grinded Live In Your Faces", and "The Funky Track", Dylan Taylor and Tyler Gibson lived up to their prior musical reputations, and it's nice to see Dylan vary his vocals a bit more, but my big takeaway from their set was a lack of energy. Maybe it's their recent stage hiatus, or just playing early, but the guys weren't as animated or bouncy as usual. Still, Rotopsy were what the doctor ordered for grind lovers!

Next up last night were reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger in their first public concert appearance in almost three years, and their debut with new singer Keith Gagnon and bassist Andrew MacDonald, so how'd the new Winkstinger sound? There's work to do, but it's great to see them back! Best known otherwise as Free Beer's drummer, Keith has a screaming voice that is in the same spectrum as Alan Wells had, but with more of a punk edge, and he fits well here, but definitely relied too much on lyric sheets and bending down to read them mid-song. Andrew's a welcome sight back on bass, as Scary Uncles fans will attest to, but he mostly spent the set looking to the side and not moving around a lot. Playing a mixture of familiar originals from their first run and covers (a'la their 2012 shows) like Pantera & Anthrax(!), the guys generally delivered a fun set, and Jesse & Jonas still have excellent chemistry, so hopefully Winkstinger keep at it!

The middle set went to local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver in their first local concert appearance of the year, and they laid down a brutal set in their homecoming stop during their current Canadian tour! If you've seen Shit Liver before, then you won't be terribly surprised at what lied within their set, which saw them play many older and newer originals like "It's Not My Problem", their own self-titled song, and "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops", and with Josh, Mike, and Matt's triple threat of guttural vocals and intensity (plus guest vocals by Johnny Belanger), how can you go wrong? Attracting the busiest moshing of the night, Shit Liver largely let their music do the talking, complete with some samples for introductions (like an Emergency Alert System warning), and the guys kept their energy high along with their intense material, so hopefully we see more from Shit Liver soon, and don't miss their folk side project Dirtfight's local stops this weekend either!

Co-headlining last night was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their second Oddfellows Hall concert of the spring,  and they were up to their usual tricks with a fun set of original favourites, plus some late-set covers! Playing eight originals (like "They Live", "Motorwolf", and "Negative Headspace") plus Turbonegro and Ripcordz renditions, everyone played to their usual forms, with Jesse Cook showing no ill effects from his dual sets that night, J.D. Pearce exploring the stage effectively with solid vocals, and Justin Lam's bass work was as strong as ever! Things did seem a little rushed during Jack Spades' set (possibly thanks to delays from earlier in the day), but it's always fun seeing Jack Spades in action, and fans definitely seemed to enjoy their continued jacking of the planet!

Finally, your headliners last night were Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers in their local debut, and they delivered an explosive set to close the night, with a strong crowd taking in the intensity! Playing songs like "Relentless", "I Wanna Be A Cop", and "Old No. 7" during their set, the guys lived up to their reputation, with the heavily tattooed Dan Izzo highly animated and in-your-face during their set, and Matty Pissoff's guitar riffs & melodies kept the intensity rolling throughout! The vocals could be a little hard to hear at times, but the band seemed happy to rock out in the Soo for the first time, and with lots of road and studio experience under their belts, you know that The Motherfuckers lived up to the hype! Hopefully they come back through our area in the future!

Overall, this was an entertaining concert for metal and punk fans alike, and kudos to J.D. Pearce for putting on another great show, and successfully migrating it from The Algonquin Pub during their ongoing renovations! You can check out our photos at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Rotopsy playing "Lesbian Luxuries of a Lobotomy Factory", videos of Winkstinger and Shit Liver playing original material (let us know if you can help title them!), Jack Spades playing "Fear Corps", and The Motherfuckers playing "We Need More Beer" and "Once A Pig, Always A Pig"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates soon, and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Blessed, Grave Party, And Mourning Wood), And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today's post will see the last of our weekend concert previews, barring any late notice confirmations, but first, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including SHORT NOTICE ones), so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club for a pair of headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced these shows yesterday via their Facebook event page. Last seen at The Rednecks Saloon two weeks, ago, this will be the first concert weekend for this veteran fan favourite band at The Esquire Club since early February, so keep these shows in mind if you've missed this union of Hollow, Suicide Kings, Rainhorses, and Flat Stanley alumni at the Second Line West venue lately! As usual for Mourning Wood's local concerts, there are 9:30 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live earlier this year!

Next up, here's a pair of newly announced shows with lots of advance notice, both at The New American Pub, starting with the local concert debut of Vancouver post punk quartet Blessed on Saturday, May 21st! Fans of Northwest or Gnaeus should dig this band, whose indie-tinged punk originals have taken them to a strong following in recent years, and with a new EP in tow, don't miss out when they hit The New A next month! Local openers will include Brash Gash, a newer local band who you may recognize from a set at the Fishbowl Festival at The Gore Street Cafe. Honest Job's Drew Armstrong is in their lineup, and you may remember them as the band with the elaborate fish mask, but we don't have any other details on their lineup or sound as of this writing. We'll let you know when/if anything is announced! The opening act will be local acoustic punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address, and Chris should have some strong unplugged originals in store in three weeks' time!

A presentation of Six, Two, Oh. (whose next punk rock bingo installment will be covered in our next news post), this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. This should be a fun time for indie and punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Six, Two, Oh. soon!

Also, one of the two recently teased Blood Shed Productions-promoted metal shows has officially had it's venue confirmed, as Winnipeg punk trio Grave Party will make their local concert debut on Monday, June 20th at The New American Pub! This skate punk trio have a lot of fun songs that should attract a good audience at The New A next month with originals from their newest EP "For Dummies", so be sure to give them a listen to see what Grave Party have to offer! Though they are the nominal headliners, Coyote Speedfreaks mainman Chase Wigmore is listed to play after them in a solo set, marking his long awaited return to the stage, and it'll be good to see him back in June! Blood Shed co-founder Tyler Gibson's two local grind/death duos (Rotopsy & Brutally Fatal) lead the opening lineup, with the latter playing their first announced concert of the year in the process, while rap sets from Mikey Thomas and (jointly) Phat Boii and Miracle Man will precede them.

The show will be opened by Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell with a set of folk/indie rock numbers, so come early for his set too! A $4 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert (a rarity for a Blood Shed-presented concert event, which are usually all ages), and a 9:00 PM start time is in effect at The New A on June 20th. This should be a fun concert for fans of Blood Shed's goregrind, rap, and alternative acts, with Grave Party delivering some solid skate punk as well, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details!

Finally, here's our last announced concert preview for this weekend, as Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT with a headlining set at The Oddfellows Hall! This veteran outfit should lay waste to the stage with their fast paces, attitude fueled punk attack during this stop on their Classless Society Tour, so don't miss out tomorrow! The Motherfuckers are on at 10:00 PM, while local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will return to the stage as co-headliners at 9:30 PM (just a half hour?), as they continue to jack the planet! Local/St. Catharines' grindcore trio Shit Liver will come back home for their first local concert appearance of 2016 when they rock The Oddfellows Hall for the first time in about two years, as they continue the early stretch of their Number Two Tour, so be sure to welcome the guys home in time for their 8:30 PM set! Reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will play their first show in almost three years tomorrow night with a set at 7:45 PM, which will also see the debuts of new singer Keith Gagnon and new bassist Andrew MacDonald, so don't be late so you can welcome Winkstinger back!

The planned late openers were to be new local death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora, but they were quietly removed from the Facebook event page on Wednesday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing bad happened, as they sound very promising! They've been replaced by the aforementioned Rotopsy in their first Oddfellows set in over a year, so be ready for their goregrind attack tomorrow! Moved from The Algonquin Pub due to ongoing renovations there, this now-ALL AGES event starts at 7:00 PM, and it has a $10 cover charge. This should be a great show, so check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Motherfuckers live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of AlgomA & Chronobot's vinyl split EP next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned, Eclipse, And Telephone & Address), And Motherfuckers Concert Updates!!

Before we dive into this week's concert previews, here's a new news post for your Wednesday morning that is full of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month and beyond! We'll end things with updates on a closer upcoming show that has a new venue and lineup addition to take note of, so here's what you should know for this morning!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned have announced a few more regional concert dates via their Facebook page's newest cover photo, and they start with their debut at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Friday, May 7th! Banned will follow Project 906 as recent hard rock bands to play at this relatively new entrant into local hard rock concert promotion, though as a a unique waterfront pub, this should be a neat backdrop as Banned expand their reach into a new venue, so keep this in mind for next month! The other new regional shows (Manistique Kewadin gigs aside) come at the two regional concert-hosting Kewadin Casino branches, with Alex, Wayne, and Don now booked at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on September 9th & 10th, and at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on October 21st & 22nd. However, note that these shows are beyond Kewadin Casino's current calendar on their entertainment page.

Next up, do you miss this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands? Well, you're in luck, as every band except The Din is reuniting for a huge concert at The Rednecks Saloon on Friday, May 20th during the Victoria Day long weekend! Despite losing the battle, hard rock quartet Eclipse are the advertised headliners for the show (possibly as it's a self-promoted event), with the victorious indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., pop punk favourites Stereo North, and newer hard rock/power pop quartet Heavy Head also in tow, and this is definitely a solid lineup! While fans have seen K.I.C.K. and Eclipse since the battle wrapped up, this will be the first concert since for Stereo North, and second for Heavy Head (more on their first show back on Friday), so it's great to see both back out there! There is NO COVER for this 19+ show, which will start at 9:00 PM on the 20th, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details! As a possibly related note, Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton revealed on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Friday that they're looking for a new bassist to expand their lineup to a quintet A.S.A.P.

This seemingly indicates that Fred Dunn intends on moving to guitar full time, but the band hasn't otherwise confirmed that. Eclipse jam twice weekly on Thursdays & Saturday nights, so message Daniel at this link or via his group post from Friday if you're interested in joining this modern hard rock quartet! Will we see a new bassist debut over the long weekend? Stay tuned for details on that and this solid show over the coming long weekend!

Lastly for today's new concert announcements, local acoustic punk solo act Telephone & Address will return to The Gore Street Cafe on Wednesday, June 29th at the opener for Calgary indie/jazz rock quartet Fox Who Slept The Day Away! Harbouring a psychedlic-tinged soft alternative sound, Fox Who Slept The Day Away should attract a good response at the laundromat this summer, and Telephone & Address' unplugged punk/grunge originals will set the tone well! Now, this show is actually one of at least five concerts taking place at The Gore Street Cafe from June 16th-29th during what's advertised as The Fortnight Festival (alluding to it's two week length), and while much more information is coming, this appears to be a spiritual sequel to The Fishbowl Festival that The Gore Street Cafe put on earlier this year. Is this just a two week run of concerts, or will we see more varied community and art events again too? And will there be some more events with hard rock/punk acts? We will let you know when promoters announce more details!

In any event, there will be at least four more shows during the Fortnight Festival, including the returns of notable acts like Rae Spoon and The Mayhemingways, with the F.W.S.T.D.A. show apparently closing the festival unless it's extended beyond a fortnight. An early start time of around 7:00 PM and no announced age limit are presumable from past Gore Street Cafe events, but admission fees for any/all events are not public yet. Things sound intriguing already though, so visit the above links for more info!

Finally, here's some updates regarding the Motherfuckers-headlined concert on Saturday, April 30th, starting with the news that it has been relocated from The Algonquin Pub to The Oddfellows Hall (and subsequently made ALL AGES), as per the official Facebook event page on Saturday. Promoter J.D. Pearce noted that the show was moved due to emergency renovations at The Algonquin, which are apparently what also forced the move of last week's Gorod/Bookakee concert, which he put on too. I don't know the specifics of The Algonquin's current renovation work, but hopefully things progress well there, and that we see more shows downstairs soon! With the move to The Oddfellows Hall, an additional band has been added to join The Motherfuckers and locals Shit Liver and Jack Spades on the lineup, and they are reunited extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, which will be a makeup of their cancelled set from the Gorod show. As such, this will definitely be Winkstinger's first public show since May 2013 (also at The Oddfellows Hall), and will mark the debuts of Keith Gagnon & Andrew MacDonald on vocals & bass.

It's great to see Winkstinger back so soon after their Gorod set had to be called off, but how will Keith and Andrew mesh with Jesse and Jonas for their debut? Find out next Saturday at The Oddfellows Hall (presumably at an earlier start time now), and remember that admission will be $10 at the door! That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next, and for more news in short order! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), More Weekend Concert Previews, And Shit Liver Updates!!

As previously indicated, here's our second weekend concert preview post for this weekend, and to keep things rolling and get caught up on stories, we'll double up by making this today's second post! Along with tour updates from a prominent local band, let's tackle the rest of this weekend's announced hard rock shows, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and see the rest in the post below!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for solo headlining concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via the official Facebook event page last night (though band members had referenced the shows, sans finite dates, on personal Facebook accounts back on Sunday.) With last weekend's Reggie's West shows in the rear view mirror, this talented veteran band will return to the former Nicolet Tavern this weekend for the first time in almost a month, and with Terry, Steven, Paul, and Glen's talents and chemisty, you know they'll be on point TOMORROW & SATURDAY! And, to Glen's benefit, the stage is clear of that wooden fenced-off section now, so keep that in mind too! As usual for their Rednecks shows, expect 10:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Moving to previously announced concerts, let's touch on this weekend's Tym Morrison concerts, as he'll be back at Gliss Steak & Seafood downtown for solo acoustic shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! The Caveman Morrison frontman has been a steady sight at The Quality Inn's house restaurant for many months now, and his entertaining unplugged hard rock covers should once again provide a solid weekend of entertainment for Gliss patrons, so keep them in mind too! In any event, these shows are 6:00 PM matinees with no announced cover charges or age limits, but like usual, remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and don't miss Tym's skilled and prolific mix of hard rock covers this weekend! Here's Tym live a few years back!



Lastly for announced concert previews this weekend, Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After playing their last couple of dates in Manistique at their Kewadin branch, the Traynors & Wayne will return to our area for the first time in over a month this weekend, though these mark their first St. Ignace dates since February. Though Banned haven't plugged these shows on Facebook lately, their talented blend of covers and occasional originals should find a solid audience in St. Ignace this weekend, so keep them in mind for your weekend plans in the E.U.P.! There's no announced cover charge for this weekend's shows, which begin at 9:00 PM, and have 21+ age limits. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Banned live!



Finally for today, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, who have announced their second Canadian tour! Taking place from April 24th through June 10th, the tour will send Josh, Mike, and Matt from Hamilton through Northern Ontario, then out west to Vancouver, before returning east, wrapping up the run in Quebec (once again, no Maritime dates.) Full details on select dates can be seen on local event pages for those shows that have been posted, but things are bigger and better than last year already! That said, are Shit Liver returning home to Sault Ste. Marie during the tour? Yes, as they've quietly been added as the last openers for the Motherfuckers-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, April 30th, as per promoter J.D. Pearce on that show's Facebook event page in the past month. Solid addition, and while Shit Liver aren't a hardcore punk band, they have a lot of punk influences, and should be a nice extreme opener at The Algonquin Pub at month's end!

Lastly, Shit Liver posted this video to their Facebook page yesterday where the guys (just over a year after their first tour announcement video) did the same again! It features montage clips of the guys waking up, packing gear, and preparing the tour, including brief remarks to fans. Short but it gets the point across, so give it a look below, see above for more details, and don't miss Shit Liver at The Gonq on April 30th!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gorod & The Motherf*ckers), Plus The Latest From Mike Haggith & The Din!!

A new month is upon us, but first, we have an apology to note regarding a missed concert this past weekend, as hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison played his first ever public concert at Centro Sports Bar (formerly Chilly Willy's) at The John Rhodes Centre this past Saturday as part of the pub night during the Charity Hockey Classic there for the ARCH Hospice. As best as we can tell, it was a public event, but Tym never plugged the show publically that we found. Still, our apologies for missing it, we'd have plugged it had we known! Now, today's stacked post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, an upcoming new album of sorts, and more, so here's what you should know!

Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce (in association with Tidal Records) is back for his first non-battle of the bands concerts of 2016, with the first seeing French progressive death metal band Gorod headlining at The Algonquin Pub on Friday, April 15th! The second metal band from France in as many years to rock the Soo (following Benighted last spring), Gorod's brutal technical sound and intense stage presence should leave a strong impression on local metalheads next month, so don't miss this late stop on their Canadian tour! Montreal theatrical death metal outfit Bookakee (who memorably opened for Benighted last year) will join Gorod next month for another set that will surely entertain and maybe even shock fans once again, so check them out as well! Local support will come via punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in their first show of the year outside of battles of the bands), while the reunited Winkstinger will open the proceedings, and we'll let you know when more comes out on the extreme metal veterans' new lineup!

Note that fellow Montreal metal band Beyond Creation are advertised for only select dates on this tour, those all being in Eastern Canada. This show takes place on April 15th at The Algonquin Pub (not Algonquin College in Ottawa, that's a typo), and there's a 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and $10 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see this long-teased concert finally confirmed, and kudos to J.D. for getting this one booked, so keep it in mind for a blast of death metal come mid-April!

J.D. isn't done though, as he's also got something for punk fans next month, with a headlining concert on Saturday, April 30th at The Algonquin Pub featuring Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers! That's their name, don't shoot the messenger! Veterans of the Canadian punk scene dating back to 1998, The Motherfuckers' explosive blend of fast-paced punk should be just what the doctor ordered as we get back into the swing of regular original concerts over the spring, so if you want some live punk rock, be at The Gonq at the end of next month during this stop on their Classless Society Tour! The aforementioned Jack Spades will open this concert as well, but at least one more band is to be announced, so stay tuned for updates on that front. Like for the Gorod show, this is a 19+ affair with a 10:00 PM start time, but the cover charge for this one is just $5. Sounds like a fun blast of old school punk, so check the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on both shows!

We'll close today with new videos, all concerning local hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith's active projects! In the last few days, Mike has posted two new studio versions of his solo original songs "Limb Coast" and, as embedded below, "Room 822" onto his YouTube channel, which are both planned to go towards "Neighbourhood Watch Revisited", a completely re-recorded version of his 2012 CD "Neighbourhood Watch", which I believe Mike had talked about doing in the past. On these new copies, Mike is joined by Din bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, as well as former guitarist Curtis McKenzie (nice to see them working together again!), so if you miss the 2015 version of The Din, pay extra attention here. Pending a possible review of the re-recorded album, I won't review the 2016 versions here, but in terms of the differences between versions, the new songs are longer, have better production, but otherwise are similar in structure. We'll let you know when more comes out on the re-recordings, but give Mike's first two "Neighbourhood Watch" re-recordings a listen below!



Finally, here's the latest from the aforementioned The Din, whose second installment of their "Cover of the Month" video series was posted online yesterday! Uploaded to The Din's YouTube channel yesterday, this is of the alternative hard rock trio covering The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment", complete with Mike & Brandan re-enacting the spoken word intro of the original song to kick things off (albeit with a "mic drop" for good measure.) Well recorded and filmed, fans of Mike's band work should enjoy this cover, so give it a look below, and don't miss The Din at next week's battles of the bands on Wednesday & Thursday!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Breaking The Fourth Wall & Marky Lion) & Woods Of Ypres Updates!!!

Hey guys, here's a big update before tonight's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! Today, we have updates from Woods of Ypres, Garden of Bedlam, and more, but first, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! (Updated Monday at 12:41 AM)

Firstly, it's metal night at The Rosie, as four of hard hitting metal bands hit The Roosevelt Hotel on THURSDAY NIGHT! Sorry about the short notice, this only just recently came to my attention, and the full details didn't come until the other day. Your headliners are Montreal experimental/Christian metal band Breaking The Fourth Wall, over three months after their last planned show here in July! This time, they should actually be here, so if you like their brand of extreme hardcore music, then you know where to be on Thursday night! There are now three local opening bands, one of which is local hardcore quintet As It Stands! We haven't heard a lot from them since September, but they're back at The Rosie for this show, where they'll unleash some more of their newest originals! And fresh off of their headlining set at the Coch's Corner Halloween party, local extreme metal band WinkStinger will also be opening! Great to see them back as well, especially with the volume of recent bookings! They're a band to watch out for, trust me! And also, promoter Rich Moreland confirmed early on Monday that local death metal band Bring The Fallen will be on the bill, in their first live concert appearance in six months, and first with bassist Nolan Rainville in nine months! Expect some hard hitting death metal from these guys, and it's great to see them back!

Doors open at 10:00 PM on Thursday night, there is no listed cover charge, and you must be 19 to enter. This should be one heavy night at The Rosie, and it's part of their continuing effort to shake the image of being "just a country bar", so make note of that going forward! These are four high quality metal bands that promise to deliver a moshworthy good time, so try and make it out on Thursday if you can! For more details, visit the Facebook event page or The Rosie's brand new Facebook page! Oh, and yes, Andrew Chiarello appears to have rejoined Bring The Fallen, as the band deleted the postings about wanting a new guitarist from their Facebook page. Great news!

Now, to the second new show! Remember in September when I profiled Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion) in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile? Well, I had said in my initial post that the solo nature of the project may restrict activity beyond the studio. How wrong I was. In a Facebook note posted earlier today, Mark announced that he's formed a new band featuring his local friends that will bring his new solo recordings to the live stage next month! This new band is entitled Marky & The Motherfuckers, and will feature members of local bands like Lion Ride, Detroit, Renderware, The Inner City Surfers, Nebraska Arms, The Hangdowns, Bondar, and Talk Shit! A clear list of who "The Motherfuckers" are is not provided, but he did tag six people in the note: Mikey Hawdon, Marco Pedalino, Guy Thiffault, Dave Prendergast, Marc Lafrance, and "Brown" Dave Brunton, who are all in one or more of the above bands. Could they be The Motherfuckers, or are they just friends he tagged for them to read it? Time will tell! Either way, Marky and his friends will assemble for a concert next month, which will take place on December 29th at Coch's Corner! There will be an opening band to be announced, there's no listed cover charge, it'll likely be 19+, and it all starts at 10:00 PM that night. Get more details at the above links, including his official MySpace page, which has it's own event page as well!

This will be your first chance to see Marky play his very solid hardcore solo material in a live setting, and it'll be cool to see what could essentially be a local punk/metal supergroup of sorts taking the stage! Hopefully I can make this show, and as I hear more on it, I'll absolutely have it here!

Finally today, here's the latest news from local doom/black metal rockers Woods of Ypres! Firstly, here's the most exciting news: David Gold's coming home a lot sooner than we expected! As revealed in a posting on the band's official Facebook page, his journey there is coming to an end, and his personal Facebook page confirmed that he had just 40 days & 40 nights left there as of yesterday, leaning towards a return to Canada in mid-December. He thanked the band's new label Earache Records for that, but didn't specify what they did to help expedite the process. Either way, he's coming home sooner, and the band can get going again sooner, so all will be well! He also said that upon his return, he will be moving back to Toronto, so Woods of Ypres will likely be based out of there again upon his return. And before anyone asks, that does NOT mean we'll stop covering them, as they were based out of the Sault for almost three years, so they're still considered a local band regardless of their current locale. He closed the update by saying that we should see Woods of Ypres back on tour by May 2011. I can't wait, hopefully they come to the Soo again! Before we finish, here's three more quick Woods of Ypres notes

• Carl Begai of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles posted a blurb about Woods of Ypres' recent label deal and fake breakup in this month's "Only In Canada, Eh?" post on his personal blog. Nothing we haven't heard before, but it's nice to see the extra exposure!
• The heavy metal blog Hook In Mouth included Woods of Ypres' "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)" and "Northern October" by David's side project The Northern Ontario Black Metal Preservation Society in a post last week detailing their Halloween soundtrack! Nice fitting comments for both songs, check out the post at this location!
• On the topic of their albums, there are still independent Woods of Ypres albums for sale, get full details at this location! Also, note the newest post, where David asks about our thoughts towards a double green vinyl release of "Woods IV". Wanna see it? Then comment!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for my review of tonight's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! I have more assorted news stories to get to as well, so watch out for those as well! Thanks everyone!