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!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nudge), Woods Of Ypres In The Sault Star, And Much More!!

Let's clear out most of our remaining news on this Sunday afternoon, so what's on tap today? Among some assorted shorter news stories, we have new solo performance videos, the latest Haggith updates, and information on a major news article relating to a recent big story in the scene, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this coming weekend!

Marquette/Ishpeming hard rock quartet Nudge will make their first Sault Michigan stops of 2013 this coming Friday and Saturday at The Satisfied Frog! As quietly announced a couple of days ago, these will be their first local gigs in 4 months, and they should have some solidly entertaining sets of covers and originals for their fans in the area once again! This will also be just their third local concert weekend with former Gin Blossoms drummer Scott Kusmirek in the fold, and I've heard great things about him with Nudge, so hopefully the good vibes continue this coming weekend! Both shows have 10:00 PM start times and 21+ age limits, while there's no announced cover charge. Note as well that no solo acoustic gigs have been announced for Wednesdsay or Thursday at The Frog, unlike their 2012 local dates, but keep an eye out just in case. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Nudge back in the area, and hopefully their local contingent of fans go wild both nights for their entertaining hard rock performances! If any updates come in, I'll have them here!

Next up, the recent news of Woods of Ypres' Juno Award nomination have attracted some more local news coverage via this article from The Sault Star! Wrote by Michael Purvis and entitled "Juno-nominated album is son's legacy, says mother", it was posted online on Wednesday (and likely included in the Thursday issue of the paper.) It focuses on the defunct local metal band's album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and it's nomination for a Best Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year Juno last week, and it features remarks from late frontman David Gold's mother Esther, final Woods guitarist Joel Violette, and myself on the album & nomination. I encourage you guys to read the article, but it offers some nice insights from those who Michael talked to, including Esther's response to Woods of Ypres' Juno nomination, the recording process for "W5", and the lyrical themes now that David has passed away, among others. The article also reveals that the Gold family have already booked hotel rooms in Regina to attend the Junos on April 20th-21st, and Joel also plans to be there.

It's a good article overall, with some interesting thoughts and statements on Woods of Ypres & David Gold's impact and musical legacy, so check it out at the above links, and stay tuned for further updates as we inch closer to the Junos in April!

Thirdly, here's the latest news from Sault Ontario grunge quartet Haggith! On Thursday, the band unveiled the final track listing for their projected third studio album "Deuce" via an image file, so what tracks are coming on it? Alongside the previously announced "Leon the Janitor", "75", and "Safe on the Outside", the album will also include recent live track "Loverbeam", an already implied untitled song, a cover of the Mike Haggith solo track "To Whom This May Concern", and new songs named "That Cold Winter Breeze", "Clifton Hill", and "To Stay Alive", though "Public Enemy" curiously did not made the cut, despite being plugged on their Facebook page on Thursday as well. To promote the planned album, Haggith have posted some new media files on Facebook, including acoustic variants of "75" & "Clifton Hill", and both work to the strengths of their main performers (without giving anything away), so check them out above! Plans are for "Deuce" to be released in the spring (possibly as soon as next month), so stay tuned to the above links for all current updates!

Also today, relocated local musician Ryan Harrison has uploaded some new solo performance videos onto his YouTube channel to check out! The RedStone Riot/ex-Elipzis bassist and former Riot! By Night frontman posted acoustic vocal/guitar covers of Paolo Nutini's "Last Request", Story of the Year's "Anthem of our Dying Day", and (as embedded below) Breaking Benjamin's "Breath" onto YouTube yesterday, and all are part of his "pajama sessions" that he started last fall from his current Muskegon home base. The new videos are similar in vein to his past solo covers (albeit at an oddly placed camera angle where his guitar playing isn't visible), but overall, his singing and guitar work are on form! Vocals are a bit scratchy at points, but overall, pretty good stuff! I'd be curious to see Ryan do some plugged in electric material like this, or at least some heavier covers in general, but give his latest "pajama sessions" covers a look above & below!



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

• Former Fingerbone/Pisstanks bassist Charles Gibson is looking to re-enter a local music project, and if anyone's willing to jam, send him a message on Facebook at this location! Charles originally posted about his search on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday, and his talents would be nice to see active again locally!
• I've moved Pickford hard rock quintet NoXcape to our inactive Sault Michigan band links due to a year's inactivity. The Absolute/Riot! By Night successors last updated their online pages a year ago yesterday, and they hadn't plugged any announced shows after September 2011, so they likely parted ways last year. NoXcape had promise from the members' past band work & chemistry, and hopefully the guys come together for another project down the road!
• Two weeks ago, cellist and former Woods of Ypres guest studio performer Raphael Weinroth-Browne uploaded his cover of the "Woods V" song "Adora Vivos" onto YouTube at this location, so give it a listen! It's from the forthcoming "Heart of Gold" tribute album, and it's similar to the Australian cello cover of "Allure of the Earth" in some ways, so check it out, and stay tuned for album updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Line Drawn on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nudge), Weekend Concert Previews, And New EP Updates!!

Let's keep the news coming for this Friday morning, including for this weekend's local metal & hard rock concert previews! I only know of two metal shows this weekend, both in Sault Ontario within seconds of each other, but we'll get to them in a bit. We also have details on a couple bands' EP recordings, a quick note on the status of a Sault Michigan band, and leading things off, two more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know! (EDITED: 8:28 PM)

Marquette hard rock quartet Nudge will make their first stops in Sault Michigan of the new year on February 3rd and 4th at The Satisfied Frog! These concerts are replacing scheduled shows by local hard rockers NoXcape that were booked there last year, and I'll have more on what I know of their status in a second. These will be Nudge's first local concerts in almost three months and their first stops in Sault Michigan with new drummer Tim Rousseau, who replaced Eric Schlumpf in the band last month. If you're in the market for Nudge's brand of modern hard rock covers, you'll wanna be at The Frog in three weeks! These shows have no announced cover charges, 21+ age limits, and likely 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit Nudge's Reverbnation page, and thanks to frontman Danzo McCracken for alerting me to the new concerts! It's great seeing Nudge back in town for some concerts, and hopefully they're big hits as usual, thanks to their exciting and hard hitting modern rock covers! Stay tuned for more on Nudge and any future local dates they may have as they come in!

As for NoXcape's status, I'm starting to really question if they're even an active band anymore. They last made a real band update in September, they never promoted their announced New Year's Weekend concerts at The Frog (which I doubt took place now), and we know about their shows next month being off already. I'll assume they're active until proven otherwise, but I have my eyes peeled in case anything about a possible breakup is said publically, which I haven't seen yet. Stay tuned!

Now to this weekend's concert previews, and first is Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's second Saturday afternoon show in his current weekly arrangement at Bossy's Pub N' Grub! After a successful launch to his new weekly solo series last week, Tym will be back at the Pim Street bar/restaurant TOMORROW AFTERNOON with a set full of acoustic hard rock covers for his fans, so if you've missed his Service Grill gigs (or Caveman Morrison), definitely take note of tomorrow's entertainment! There's no cover charge, I don't believe there's an age limit given the time of the show, and unlike his Bossy's debut last weekend, tomorrow's concert will reportedly start at 2:00 PM, not 1:00 PM like last week. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a fun set of acoustic metal covers, and with Bossy's being close to my place, I believe I'll swing by tomorrow afternoon to give Tym's solo show a long overdue review at the SMS! I haven't seen him live solo since 2009, it's been waaaaaay too long, so this is as good a day as any! Hope to see some of you guys there, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" at what's now Feedback in 2010!



Also tomorrow on Pim Street is some hard charging punk & metal action just seconds down the road at The Canadian Nightclub, and opening this concert is local horror punk quintet Frightlight! This will be their first concert of 2012, and their first show in almost three months, but there's some extra differences tomorrow as well. Reportedly, their set tomorrow will be entirely comprised of Misfits covers, with no originals, which should be interesting, and you know from their past gigs that they do Danzig and Graves-era Misfits songs really well, so there's nothing to fear! Also, Frightlight's lineup will look different tomorrow as well, as new drummer Chris FreakNStein will not be with the band for this concert. A public reason for his absence hasn't been made, but hopefully nothing bad happened! That said, his spot behind the drumkit will be filled by guitarist (and Caveman Morrison/Redundant drummer) Rick Styles, which should work out well! On guitar in Rick's place tomorrow will be frontman Johnny Pints' T. Rex Manning bandmate Tiffany Stocco, who should do well tomorrow, but check out some of her solo guitar covers at this location! My source the above information is Rick's personal Facebook page. That all said, Frightlight are opening for a notable band with a prominent local musician in their Soo debut, that being Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Merves, who are fronted by Mikey Hawdon of Lion Ride fame!

Rocking alongside Maximum RNR, Teenage X, and The Doubts alumni, picture Mikey fronting The Ramones and you'll get a good idea of The Merves' entertaining sound, so if you like Lion Ride or The Ramones, you'll definitely wanna stick around for their headlining set! Admission is $5 at the door, you must be 19 to attend, and doors open at 10:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sure, this is more of a punk leaning show given Frightlight's setlist tomorrow, but The Misfits can be very heavy, and there's plenty of talent to go around! It's great to see Mikey back home for a concert, and you know that The Merves will deliver a high energy set of Ramones classics, and Frightlight will be sure to set the tone well in their return! Plus, this concert is just seconds from Bossy's, so if you live in the area, you'll have no trouble getting to both concerts, like I plan to do tomorrow! I'll see you guys tomorrow night at The Canadian, and for a preview, here's Frightlight covering two Misfits songs at The Rosie in June!



Finally today, here's some updates on a couple local bands' EP plans. First, remember how Sault Ontario death metal quintet The Bear Hunters began recordings towards their debut EP named "Bloodthirst" in May? Well, they finally mentioned said plans again on their Facebook page on Tuesday, announcing plans to actually begin recording demos. Why did things stall last year after announcing "Bloodthirst" eight months ago? I don't know, but according to guitarist Mitch Sirie's personal Facebook page, the band wants to set up an online store of some type to sell the demo when it comes to that point, with hopes to use it to get a grant to record professionally in the future. As more updates come out on their EP/demo, I'll let you guys know! The other update that I have is that new Sault Michigan metal quintet Hoist The Sails have already begun work on their own debut EP, and have kept fans updated on it via their Facebook page. An honestly very promising 63 second clip of an original song was posted at this location that indicates a death metal sound, and from what I can hear, they sound proficient and brutal! I can't embed it here (it's a Facebook video), but check it out! Apparently, at least one song is finished and needs to be mixed, but it will be posted online when that process is done. Sounds good to me, so stay tuned for updates on Hoist The Sails' planned EP, and much more at the above links!

That's likely all for today, but I'll see you guys TOMORROW at Bossy's & The Canadian, and if there's enough news for a new news post before our next concert reviews, I'll make sure to get it up! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & Powerslug), New Year's Weekend Concert Previews, Plus The End Of Splitshot!!

It's time for our final concert preview post of 2011, and though the Sault Ontario side of things is surprisingly quiet for metal concerts, there's some hard rocking for you guys to take in in Sault Michigan to send out 2011 and welcome 2012 with! So that's the focus today, but there's also some lineup details for one band and a note on one ending their run outside of town this weekend, so let's kick things off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!!

Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to the Sault Michigan stage on New Year's Eve to rock Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) and send out 2011 in style! This New Year's Eve job (as they often call their shows) will be their first since their Pickford concert over Halloween weekend, and their first since confirming their new lineup (who I'll have more on in a second), but the music should be as varied and hard rocking as ever! As far as I can tell, they won't be playing at The Bird tonight, this is a one night only deal this weekend. They'll be on at 10:00 PM tomorrow night, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Banned back on stage, and hopefully they rock The Bird all night long as they welcome 2012 with their fans! And as for their lineup, Banned have added singer/keyboardist Mike Straw to their lineup, and enlisted bassist Jim Pentland to replace the departed Alex Schrovenwever, officially making them a quartet. The new members were quietly added to their Facebook page's lineup at some point in the past two months.

No word on if they played with Banned at the Pickford show in October, and I'm not familiar with either Mike or Jim musically, but hopefully they complement Alex & Don Traynor well for the new lineup, and go see them all rock The Bird tomorrow night! For a preview, here's Banned covering AC/DC's "TNT" in Sugar Island in August!



Also new this weekend, local hard rockers Powerslug will return to the stage to rock Dan's Place in nearby Rudyard for New Year's Eve! No word on if they're playing tonight, I haven't definitively heard either way, so I'll assume they're only playing tomorrow. My source for this new gig, Powerslug's first since their Kewadin Casino weekend earlier this month, is guitarist Chris Gurnoe's personal Facebook page, and apologies for the short notice. As expected, nothing was posted on the old River Witch Facebook page, which was deleted from Facebook anyway earlier this month, so I've deleted it from our band links, but if Powerslug ever launch a new official band page, I'll be sure to let you guys know! This talented quartet will likely be on at around 10:00 PM tomorrow night, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and I'd recommend calling Dan's Place to see if Powerslug are playing tonight or not before risking a drive out to Rudyard in case they are doubling up this weekend. Go check out their hard rocking sounds this weekend at Dan's Place, they'll be sure to impress, and I'll try to keep tabs on future Powerslug updates as they come in!

Now to the New Years Weekend shows we already knew about, starting with local hard rock quintet Swayze Train's debut at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! We've seen this talented band from members of Electric Motor Fish, Clownsack, The Slackjawed Rats, and Insipid Brutality numerous times in the second half of 2011, and now they'll finally land at The Rapids Lounge tonight & tomorrow night to ring in a new year with some solid hard rock and metal covers! I wish I could show you guys how they sound or look in concert (hopefully some media will come next year), but don't sleep on Swayze Train, they're one of the more promising new bands in Sault Michigan, so don't miss them! They should also be on at around 10:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, there's no announced cover charges, and once again, you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details, and definitely consider seeing this talented quintet at The Rapids Lounge this weekend for your year-end hard rocking needs!

Lastly for announced Sault Michigan-area hard rock shows this weekend is the announced return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to The Satisfied Frog tomorrow night & Saturday night in their own New Years Weekend bash! Now, I want you guys to take these shows with a grain of salt, as I've heard extremely little from NoXcape since September regarding a real band update, and though their Reverbnation page still lists these shows, it's possible it's just scarcely updated. As far as I can tell, they're still together, and unless I hear otherwise, I'll treat these shows as on, but be wary in case there's nothing going down at The Frog from them this weekend. If NoXcape are indeed returning to the stage this weekend, they'll be on at 10:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Hopefully NoXcape are playing this weekend, as their Absolute & Shift pasts indicate a solid hard hitting sound, but if I hear anything otherwise, I'll let you know. For now, consider these shows at The Frog tonight & tomorrow!

And finally today, though this is just out of our local range, I wanted to bring these up as they're the last chance you can see this local band before their breakup. Local hard rock quintet Splitshot are breaking up following the conclusion of their concert weekend at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace tonight & tomorrow night, as previously indicated by bassist Kyle Beaumont to me in an e-mail last month. I find it a bit odd that their last shows aren't local, but St. Ignace is only just an hour away, and if you wanna see them one last time before Splitshot parts ways, it won't be a huge drive. Of course, 3/5ths of Splitshot will begin to devote their musical focus to Trail's End next year, but Splitshot will be remembered for giving us a lot of great hard rock sets from their fall 2010 inception through the end of this year, and though the lack of posted audio or video from their sets was always a disappointment, their talents spoke for themselves live. They filled the gap between Nixxon Dixxon and Trail's End nicely, and they'll be missed locally! I'll likely be moving Splitshot into our inactive band links early in the new year, but go check them out in St. Ignace this weekend, and make sure to see most of their lineup with Trail's End next year!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of Garden of Bedlam's "Everything Will Die" and our look back at 2011 below! Thanks everyone!

Sault Michigan Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

With a typically stacked Halloween weekend for concerts, I've been left no choice but to separate this weekend's concert previews by city, and because I'm waiting for additional confirmation on a pair of dates in Sault Ontario, we'll start the previews with the Sault Michigan metal and hard rock shows over the next two nights! If you want to know where the heaviest Halloween shows are across the river, this should tell you, though a couple of the shows are kinda iffy on their statuses. That said, here's what you need to know for the announced Halloween weekend shows across the river!

First for Halloween weekend metal concerts in Sault Michigan is the return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to the concert stage tomorrow night and Saturday night! These are the first scheduled concerts for the band featuring the classic Absolute lineup and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl in over a month, but they're listed on band pages to return to The Satisfied Frog for two hard hitting Halloween weekend shows over the next couple nights! I'm slightly concerned though, as band pages have not been updated since September, and there's been no advance promotion for these concerts in recent weeks, so part of me is worried that these bookings are or were in jeopardy. Unless I hear otherwise though, I'll treat these shows as still on, but I'll keep tabs on them! That all said, there's no announced cover charge for either night, you must be 21 to attend, and I imagine they'll be on at 10:00 PM or later for both shows. For more details, check the above links!

Saying that these shows go down as scheduled, I'd expect NoXcape to rock The Frog with some awesome covers and (maybe?) originals, so keep these shows in mind for your Halloween weekend plans! Though there's no videos of NoXcape to my knowledge, get a preview of their sound by clicking here to see old Absolute videos from their heyday!

Next on the weekend schedule across the river, it's two metal bands for the price of one at The Merchant's Bar for their Halloween bash, as local hard rock acts Scofflaw and Powerslug will join forces for two consecutive nights! The two bands, who both share drummer Ivan Schliska, will play their first joint gigs since LemmaFest (when Powerslug was still River Witch) this weekend, and look out for some different but always entertaining varieties of hard rock from both bands over the next two nights! The Merch has Halloween plans for the weekend as well, including a Halloween costume contest for $100 on Saturday and Halloween-themed drink specials, so keep those in mind for if you head there this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and though the announced start time is 7:00 PM, I expect the bands wouldn't actually take stage until after 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Scofflaw back, and it gave us more and fuller concerts for the holiday weekend to boot, so hopefully their grungier hard rock style and Powerslug's newer covers mesh well this weekend! Go see the two bands rock The Merch if you can, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their song "Love Destroyer"!



The other metal/hard rock Halloween weekend shows that I know of across the river take place just outside of town, but they're certainly not far from Sault Michigan, so keep these shows in mind! Firstly, local hard rock quintet Splitshot will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan tomorrow night & Saturday night! The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde (along with Dave Menard and Kyle's dad(?) Gary) will play for what could be the first time at the Barbeau restaurant & concert spot this weekend, and yes, there'll be lots of Halloween stuff going on this weekend as well, including a costume contest on Saturday night as part of The Cozy Corners' own Halloween party! And yes, Splitshot are sure to have lots of hard rock covers in store for you hard rockers, so don't forget about the music! There will be a 9:30 PM start time both nights, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Though I still can't tell you much about Splitshot's sound, they'll be sure to rock you guys all weekend long, especially for the Halloween party on Saturday night, so keep these shows in mind as well for your weekend plans!

And finally, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford, Michigan on Saturday night only for that bar's own Halloween festivities! This show was originally scheduled for tomorrow night, but the band confirmed it was moved to Saturday last month, so don't get thrown off! Now, I'm slightly wary of this concert's status too, for a couple of reasons. Banned still haven't announced a replacement for bassist Alex Schrovenwever, who left the group a few weeks ago, and the status that confirmed this show was deleted from their Facebook page. However, other statuses there still reference it, as does the promo video that guitarist Alex Traynor's sister Ashley uploaded two weeks ago, which is still online without changes. Are they playing on Saturday, and if so, who'll be playing bass? I can't say for the latter (former live guest bassists Steve Jacobus or Eric Cairns are good guesses), but with no official retraction of the date, I'll treat this show as on unless I hear otherwise. If they're on, they'll hit the stage at around 10:00 PM, a Halloween costume contest with prizes is planned, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details!

If Banned are indeed rocking The Sundown Lounge this weekend, they'll deliver some great hard rock covers for sure, so head to Pickford on Saturday night if you know they're playing and wanna rock out for the Halloween season! For a preview, here's Banned covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock N' Roll" in Pickford last month!



That's all for now, but our next post should have Sault Ontario weekend concert previews, so stay tuned for all that! Thanks everyone, and have a spooky good weekend of Halloween concerts!

Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, A New Half Past Video, And More!!

As promised, here's my Sault Michigan concert previews for this weekend! I only know of 4 shows by 2 bands of a heavier genre across the river this weekend, but with the amount of concerts this weekend, I thought it'd be best to split them up to not go into overkill. To fill things out, I have a new video from a local band and some more shorter news stories at the end, so stay tuned for those! Now, here's what you need to know for your Sault Michigan hard rock concertgoing this weekend!

Pickford hard rock quintet NoXcape will return to The Satisfied Frog this weekend for two heavy nights of covers! This will be the band's second set of shows with Donny Newell on vocals, and first since officially confirming him as an official band member, so old fans of Absolute will sure want to take note of that! Should be some solid shows this weekend, NoXcape have obvious talent from the members' past bands, so definitely check them out on Friday or Saturday night! There does not appear to be a cover charge either night, you must be 21 to attend, and both shows have 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit NoXcape's Facebook page to see both nights' respective event pages! Don't miss NoXcape at The Frog this weekend for some great hard rock covers, and for a taste of what to expect, check out Absolute videos and audio clips at this location, seeing as both bands are almost identical!

Also this weekend, hard rockers Monkey's Uncle are scheduled to return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino once again! That said, while they're listed as playing at Kewadin on Friday & Saturday night on both their MySpace page and on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, I should note that singer/guitarist Donny Newell is also booked for this weekend with NoXcape at The Frog, so what's happening with Monkey's Uncle's shows? Chances are they'll just play as a three piece, seeing as they did that frequently without issue before Donny joined, but even if that's incorrect, Monkey's Uncle pages don't get updated frequently enough for anything official to be stated. So with that said, I assume they're still playing this weekend, but if I hear different, I'll let you know! This weekend's shows should have 9:00 PM start times, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Should be good no matter what lineup is playing, so make note of Monkey's Uncle's likely shows this weekend at Kewadin! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Nickelback's "Figured You Out" circa 2008 in St. Ignace!



Now to some news, and first, here's a new YouTube video of Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Half Past in action! It's sort of half new and half not though, as we've seen this video before, just not in this state. As you may remember, five videos of Half Past's set at Hempfest this year were uploaded onto their Facebook page shortly afterwards, one of which was a cover of the Silverchair instrumental "Madman". Drummer Chris Thompson took the original video, applied some effects and an intro to it, and uploaded it to his YouTube channel this morning, but how does it look now? It's now zoomed in more to focus on the band, and the colour is grayscaled, with varying effects also put on to invert colours, make everything blue, and make the video rotate and swirl around a bit. Doesn't look too bad, and I think this kind of editing works better for an instrumental than a song with vocals, so good choice on Chris' part! Check out this new version of Half Past's Silverchair cover below, and stay tuned for more Half Past news as I hear it!



And finally, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, venue, or publication name:

• Still curious as to how The Canadian Nightclub looks following the July flood and the seven-week-long renovations? YouTube user Jesse Souliere has you covered thanks to this video from one of the opening week dance parties that the Pim Street bar held this month! It's filled with techno music and dance party lighting, but it's a taste of what it now looks like on the interior. Promising, but we'll have to see how it looks for concerts! Stay tuned!
  
• I've replaced the link for local newspaper The Fresh Magazine in our Other Local Band Links due to the fact that their website is currently offline. Don't know why, but I'll assume the domain name wasn't renewed. The Fresh Magazine lives on though, so keep an eye out for their next issues! Their new link on the SMS is for their Facebook group.
• Newly reunited death metal quintet State of Misery have launched a new band page on the Canadian music website BandMix! Nothing "new" is posted there, but it does say that the band are releasing a demo "this year." Time will tell, but fingers crossed! Check the above links for more, and also check out Mike Cliffe & Neno Jovanovic's BandMix profiles!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next poll on Sunday and more news as we hear it! Thanks everyone, and go see Thekillingfield and/or Late & Loud TONIGHT!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sneaky Pete & NoXcape), End Of Existence's Breakup & Return, And More

Alright, it's time for some more news at The Sault Metal Scene, and we have some big stories today, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, a very surprising band breakup, and some brand new Facebook groups, so here's all that you should know!

After laying low throughout the month of August, local hard rock cover band Sneaky Pete are returning to the stage THIS SATURDAY for a one night concert at The Rockstar Bar! The talented quartet will return to the site of their debut concert with new material in hand, so definitely consider checking out Sneaky Pete on Saturday night! Who knows, there might be a sticker in it for you? This concert will start at 10:30 PM on Saturday, you must be 19 to attend, and though there's no announced cover charge, bring cash just in case. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to finally see Sneaky Pete back out there, and hopefully a great crowd turns out! I'll be out of town, but go check them out if you can, and get sneaky at The Rockstar Bar!

The other new shows I have today are courtesy of Pickford metal quintet NoXcape, who will return to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan for at least 8 dates through February! The new local quintet featuring the classic Absolute lineup and former Shift guitarist Joey Beairl will rock The Frog on September 16th and 17th, October 28th and 29th, December 30th and 31st, and (in our first confirmed metal concerts of 2012) February 3rd and 4th! Nice to see them on stage for the Halloween and New Year's weekends, and it's always nice to get verifiable advance word on these shows! However, I will note that the shows on the 16th and 17th of this month conflict with scheduled dates from singer Donny Newell's other band Monkey's Uncle that weekend at Kewadin Casino, so I don't know what will happen with that. If I hear anything, I'll let you know, but I'll treat both as on for now. All 8 new concerts have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 21 to attend any of them, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit their official Reverbnation page! Sounds like the guys in NoXcape have things well in hand for the next while, and hopefully some more area dates turn up soon! Stay tuned for more from NoXcape as I hear it!

(EDIT: 12:40 PM) I originally reported on here that Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal quintet End of Existence had surprisingly broken up yesterday after the band unexpectedly began closing, renaming, and privatizing their online pages and accounts, some of which stated "RIP END OF EXISTENCE" on them. My word, I wouldn't lie about this. However, everything seems to be restored and back in order across the board, with no explanation given as to the brief breakup or sudden return today, though their Facebook page now says "the waters are receding" in the About section. Does this mean that they did briefly break up, but cooler heads have prevailed? I don't know enough about it to say, but nonetheless, I'm glad to see that End of Existence are alive and well! I always hate to see bands with promise like they have split up, and it's even more disappointing when the band in question takes down any trace of their existence (no pun intended) after the fact. Hopefully things will be all well for the long term, as I know I'm not alone in hoping for End of Existence to hit the stage in the future! Stay tuned for more (hopefully good) news from End of Existence as it comes in, and yes, they're back in our active Sault Michigan band links!

And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories all relating to new Facebook groups from local concert venues. As always, these are in alphabetical order by venue name:

• The Canadian Nightclub on Pim Street now has a new Facebook group (launched in May) to replace it's old one due to it's planned archival in the upcoming Facebook group format changeover. Nothing major is posted there yet, but keep an eye out, as I've heard rumblings that The Canadian could be back in operation soon following the major flooding that took place last month!
• Coch's Corner on Bay Street has their own new Facebook group as well, as launched on August 17th. Owner Paul Coccimiglio confirmed on there that he plans to "scrap" the old group, but a reason wasn't given beyond that. Again, there's little there in terms of bar events and concerts, but keep an eye out, as you never know what will be announced!
• Foggy Notions on Queen Street launched a group called "Foggy Events!" in June to update people on upcoming events, shows, and theme nights, though it is separate from their existing general page. Since then, it's plugged Frightlight & As It Stands shows there, so definitely join up and stay in the loop for future events at Foggy Notions!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Late & Loud), Searchmont Festival Updates, And Much More!!

One more news post before we preview this weekend's metal and hard rock shows, and we have some cool news to share today, including the latest from Mike Haggith's solo project, the newest updates to a debuting local festival, lineup changes in a new Sault Michigan band, and another group across the river looking to open for a band you wouldn't expect, but today, we'll begin with a long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local classic metal quartet Late & Loud are back! After a longer than expected hiatus that started in late April, the talented local band will hit the stage for the first time in 4½ months as headliners at a pub night at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on September 15th! Apparently, the pub night itself has a "Heroes vs. Villains" theme, so I assume costumes of heroes and villains in popular media will be a frequent sight, so if you go, take note of the theme! As for Late & Loud, they'll be on at 9:00 PM for this Thursday nighter, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. I don't know if there's a restriction for Algoma students, but I can't see it. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I have to say, it's great to see Late & Loud back after missing the whole summer, but hopefully they're re-energized and ready to go for the fall! They're talented guys, and hopefully they have lots of big plans and shows in store for the rest of the year, so stay tuned for more on Late & Loud as news comes in, and go see them at The Speak Easy in three weeks!

Next up, here's the latest on next month's Searchmont Music Festival, which is quickly seeing a more stacked lineup! The September 10th fundraiser event has confirmed the structure for the bands, with the indoor portion lasting from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM and consisting of a 1960s themed dance, and the outdoor part taking place from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM with acoustic performers and bands that don't fit the 1960s theme. The indoor portion will feature the previously announced Moondance, Al Davis Band, Trippy Hippies, and Dirty River Band for a night of 1960s, blues, and R&B hits, but what about the outdoors portion? We'll get our death metal with The Bear Hunters, but a bit more metal will take place, as Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will play an acoustic set on Saturday! Good to see, he should do great at the festival! Also newly confirmed for the Searchmont Festival: Local punk trio Redundant, folk pop quartet Emma + Robot, acoustic folk duo Tea With Lincoln, and solo artists Frank Bock, Tea With Lincoln's Deven Creagh, Mark Dunn, Guy Smith, Joseph Kargianakkis, Britta Wolfert, and Rick Charbonneau, with more to be announced! Of course, these acts join the previously announced Green Cafe, Douglas Cousineau, and Rusty McCarthy at the outdoor stage.

Also for this festival, tickets are now on sale for $10 each at The Duke of Windsor Sport Shop on Queen Street East, Velorution on Old Garden River Road, and The Rad Zone at The Wellington Square Mall! Sounds like a lot of fun with great music, and a bar, prizes, overnight camping, and a barbeque to add to it all! Stay tuned to this location and the SMS for more updates!

Also in the news, Sault Michigan-area metal quintet NoXcape have officially announced the addition of Monkey's Uncle/ex-Absolute singer Donny Newell to the band, replacing original frontman Nick Landreville. The band quietly added Donny to their lineup on their Facebook page recently, and though they didn't officially comment on the singer change, Donny told me in an e-mail that Nick left for personal reasons. I held off on immediately announcing a lineup change as there was a chance that this would be temporary only, but it looks like Donny's rejoining his old Absolute bandmates (all of them, in fact) with this latest band! Of course, it's not an Absolute reunion, as it's a completely different band with an additional member (guitarist Joey Beairl), but if you enjoyed Absolute in their heyday, you've gotta like this news! Best of luck to Nick though, and if you wanna hear some old singing material of his, click here for some old MK-Ultra demos! The other news I have on the NoXcape front is that they've posted a bunch of photos of their Satisfied Frog shows from this past weekend at this location, so give them a look, but no songs or videos are up yet. Stay tuned for more from NoXcape as I hear it!

Fourthly, here's the latest news from local solo artist Mike Haggith! The prolific singer & guitarist has officially announced that his next album (his 45th solo album overall) will be entitled "410 To Scotland", as renamed from the previous title "Space 82". The plan is for this to be a "very good rock album with a heavy piano influence", which should be interesting to hear! The full track listing and information on the album are now posted on it's Facebook discography page, so check it out! Along with the previously announced song "(Who Owns) Space 82", the album will feature a mixture of new studio songs, a couple older and re-recorded tracks, and covers of two songs by Kincheloe alternative project The Black Hole Suns, which should all add up to an interesting release when it comes out on December 1st through Rotten Records! This should be good, so stay tuned for album updates, and yes, we'll cover "410 To Scotland" in next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Also, Mike's uploaded a bunch of his solo and S.C.A.R. albums to his Reverbnation store, so if you're behind on his newer releases, head there! All of his solo albums from 2009 and onwards are available except "For My Fallen Angel", along with his "Live At The Outback" release, two S.C.A.R. albums, and a compilation CD named "Rotten Gems" that's not on his Facebook discography, so definitely consider picking some up today!

And finally, though they have yet to take the stage, Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids epic metal quintet End of Existence have entered an online contest to open a big (yet out of character) concert that will be streamed live on Facebook! The band have entered the "Center Stage" contest through Charter Communications to have a chance to open for (believe it or not) Las Vegas pop punk band Panic! At The Disco! Odd, but you know what? If End of Existence won, they'd deliver a heavy dose of metal like they'd never experienced, so it could be beneficial to their audience! End of Existence can move on in this contest if they are the most voted band in Michigan, and you can vote for them by visiting this link, registering for a free and painless account, and clicking "Vote Now". You can vote once a day, and if they're picked as a finalist, they'll move to a final voting period in late September, with the winner opening for Panic! At The Disco in Madison, Wisconsin on October 15th, along with a $25,000 prize package. The thought of an epic death metal band opening at this kind of show is amusing, but they're talented enough to do it, so let's see some support for the guys to move to the next round and win this thing! Even pop punk fans need a good face melting sometimes!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews in our next post, including a huge Roosevelt Hotel metal night and Whitesnake's headlining concert at Kewadin Casino! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Full Circle) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to preview this weekend's concerts, but first, I would like to apologize for a missed concert. Apparently, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison played a short acoustic set at Blueberry Hill Resort in Goulais River this past Saturday afternoon before his scheduled gig at Service Grill Pizza, and it completely slipped me by. That said, I apologize to Tym and anyone who would have been affected for the error! Now as for this weekend, if Tym's Service Grill Pizza arrangement is continuing, there hasn't been announcement about it yet, but I'll let you guys know if I hear anything! For now though, we have six concerts through Saturday to get to, starting with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local classic hard rock quartet Full Circle are back this weekend for a pair of shows at The Nicolet Tavern! These shows were previously unlisted on the now-deleted Turner Up Facebook group (which listed gigs through September), so they are very likely a newer addition to their busy schedule. I apologize for the relative short notice, but a Facebook event page for the show was only created for the shows earlier today. The Nic is a frequent stop for this talented local band, so definitely consider going to see Full Circle on Friday night or Saturday night! Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 19 to attend either night, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links! Should be another good weekend of classic hard rocking from Full Circle, hopefully a good crowd turns up both nights! For a preview, click here and move to 13:20 of the video to see Full Circle cover of Heart's "Alone" from their set at this year's Rotaryfest!

Now to the previously announced shows, and first, it's the 29th Roosevelt Hotel metal night taking place tomorrow night at The Rosie! For a second straight week, an out of town metal band is headlining, that being Vancouver progressive death metal Abriosis! These guys have a very brutal and technical style of death metal to melt faces with, and you certainly won't want to miss them tomorrow night when they rock The Rosie on the next stop of their Canadian Rapture Tour! Two opening bands have been confirmed, including the return of Desbarats death metal band For All That Is Lost! After a month away from playing shows in the Soo following the departure of guitarist Allen Piche, the now four-piece F.A.T.I.L. will return to The Rosie to play their own hard hitting brand of metal once again! Finally, local hardcore quartet Changing Waves will open the show with their own fast rising hardcore sounds that you sure won't wanna be late for tomorrow night! This show will have a $5 cover, you must be 19 to attend, and Changing Waves will kick things off at 9:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like this will be a brutal night of metal, and with quality bands like these, you won't wanna miss it! For a preview, here's Abriosis playing their song "Idol Fixation" in Vancouver in 2008!



Now we'll take a brief detour to Sault Michigan, where a new local band will make their first ever appearances in Sault Michigan itself! Fresh off of their debut in Rudyard earlier this month, new local hard rockers NoXcape will take over The Satisfied Frog this Friday and Saturday with their own brand of modern hard rock hits! I should note that I received an e-mail recently from Monkey's Uncle singer/guitarist Donny Newell where he said that he'd be filling in for Nick Landreville on vocals this weekend due to Nick's apparent departure from NoXcape, but band pages have not confirmed any possible lineup changes as of today. Keep that in mind though! The shows start at 10:00 PM both nights, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Should be a good weekend of shows, and if Donny is indeed singing, it'll be cool to see a mini reunion of Absolute of sorts this weekend! No videos yet though, but go see them this weekend, they should deliver!

And finally for this weekend, local horror punk quintet Frightlight are playing an outdoor set on Saturday evening at this year's Art In The Parking Lot event! This is an annual outdoor art exhibition where local artists can display and sell their original artwork at 69 Church Street behind the The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Museum (also near The Rockstar Bar and Anchors Away for reference.) Though the focus is on local artists and their work, there will also be children's activities, food on sale, and live performances from local musicians and entertainers! Frightlight will be joined by cello punk rockers RedD Monkey, DJ Selectah Sensi Tree & DJ Spruceau from The Level Five Sound Tribe, experimental performances from the Michael Burtch & Alison Huot studio, and local fire spinners! Frightlight themselves will be on at 7:00 PM, though Art In The Parking Lot runs from 4:00 PM-10:00 PM. Admission is free, and it is absolutely an all ages event! For more details, visit the above links and the event page for Frightlight's set! Sounds like a fun event, and why not support local artisitic talent? Great music too, so definitely consider heading down to Church Street on Saturday for Art In The Parking Lot! For a preview, here's Frightlight playing "They All Float" at The Oddfellows Hall in April!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow as we reveal the results of last month's poll on your favourite concerts of 2011, and kick off our next poll! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (NoXcape), Plus News From Banned, Changing Waves, and Woods Of Ypres!!

More news for your weekend, in what's turning out to be a fast start to the month of August! In what's likely my last post before I go see the Hollow reunion tonight at Bossy's, we have a new video from Banned, more assorted news from Woods of Ypres, and news on the lineup at next weekend's Smeltzer reunion show, but first, here are some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Edited on Saturday at 3:34 PM)

Their debut show hasn't even happened yet, but new local metal quintet NoXcape have already announced their next concerts! The band featuring former members of Absolute and Shift will make their first ever appearances in Sault Michigan itself in two weeks when they rock The Satisfied Frog on August 19th and 20th! The shows were recently posted on the band's Reverbnation page, so that's my source. Both shows should be 21+, a 10:00 PM start time is listed for both nights, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Nice to see this talented new local band with some truly local shows on the horizon, I know they'll do great in two weeks at The Frog! Of course, before that, head down to Rudyard TONIGHT to see NoXcape's debut show at Dan's Place! I'll keep you guys posted when more NoXcape news comes in!

Next up, here's the latest lineup news as it pertains to Friday's Smeltzer reunion concert at The Oddfellows Hall, featuring local metal bands! The final band has been announced for the six-band lineup, and they are local hardcore quartet Changing Waves, fresh off their show at The Rosie this past Thursday! They are replacing Winkstinger (who were briefly advertised for this show last month) on the official lineup. Solid addition, never hurts to get some hardcore into an all ages show! The lineup for this show is now complete, and the official event poster on your left reflects that (and in case anyone asks, "The Quick Acting Pain Reliever" is not a band, it's a retro advertisement reference.) The official schedule is also out now for this concert, and it runs down like this: Smeltzer are headlining at 10:45 PM on Friday, with frontman Steve Mozarowski's current main band RedD Monkey preceding them at 10:00 PM. The Bear Hunters are the highest placed metal band at 9:00 PM, with returning grimecore trio Shit Liver on at 8:30 PM, indie rockers The Tenagens at 7:45 PM, and Changing Waves opening the show at 7:00 PM. The lineup is tentative, however, so changes in order or bands could be coming. Stay tuned to the SMS for more details, and hopefully I'll see you guys there!

Now to some video-related news from Woods of Ypres! Firstly, the band now has an official YouTube channel through popular music video site Vevo, and you can check it out at this location! So far, the only video posted is of their music video for "I Was Buried (In Mount Pleasant Cemetery)", which we have seen from other sources, but hopefully it will fill up more soon! Maybe re-post the "Northern Cold" video? It's a thought! However, we also have a new remix of "You Were The Light" from guitarist Joel Violette to check out as well! The remix is titled "Accounting For Your Cruelty" (it's not a new song, thanks to "Findles" for the correction), and it's also very doomy and emotional under the remix effects, which are well done once again! E-mail David once again at davidypres@gmail.com for the master files if you want to remix this song, and hopefully people jump on this bandwagon, as I haven't seen too much in the form of new remixes yet outside of the ones Joel made. Good stuff, give the new remix a listen below, and apologies for my earlier error!



And finally for today, we have one more new video from Kinross hard rock trio Banned! Like the past two videos we've featured, this comes from the band's Music In The Park show in Rudyard last month, and was uploaded to YouTube by Ashley Traynor yesterday. I won't go too in-depth with it, as we mentioned videos from this show already when they were posted, but this is of Banned covering T. Rex's "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" with drummer Don Traynor (Ashley's father) on lead vocals. Good rendition, but the chorus is a bit more piercing than the original version. Nice to see more Banned videos though, so give this one a look below!



That's all for now, but if no new posts come by tonight, I will see you guys at Bossy's for the Hollow reunion show! Thanks everyone, keep it metal!

Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews And A Note On Our Band Links!!

As promised, here are the previews of this weekend's hard rock concerts in Sault Michigan! With such a high amount of concerts on both sides of the border this weekend in such a short span, I had to do it like this to keep things even and give the bands across the river the proper amount of attention. At the end, we have a housecleaning note concerning our band links as it amounts to the "active statuses" of bands we cover. Now, to the previews!!

Marquette hard rockers Nudge are returning to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan this weekend! They'll be there tomorrow night & Saturday night in their first local concert stops since their two consecutive weekends at The Frog in June to deliver two great nights of hard rock and metal covers! The band haven't been promoting these shows as vigorously as their last few local shows, but they're definitely on, so take note of them (as well as frontman Danzo McCracken's acoustic solo set TONIGHT!) Both Nudge shows will start at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 to enter, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Nudge should deliver some great tunes this weekend, as they are a very talented and hard rocking quartet who always leave an impression locally! Head to The Frog this weekend for the shows, and for a preview, here's Nudge covering System of a Down's "Violent Pornography" circa November 2008!



Also this weekend in Sault Michigan is the live debut of new local hard rockers NoXcape! The quintet featuring former Absolute bandmates Ben Huyck on guitar, bassist Bill Spence, and drummer Justin Lawless, plus singer Nick Landreville and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl will head down to Dan's Place in nearby Rudyard for their debut show on Saturday night! I've heard promising things about the full lineup, and judging by their past bands, they should do great in their first concert! It looks to have a 10:00 PM-ish start time and a 21+ age limit, with no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Always good to see a new band pop up, and hopefully NoXcape can go as far as possible! For a preview, check out some original demos featuring just Nick and Ben from their MK-Ultra days at this location! Very late 1990s vibe with this stuff, hopefully they keep this vibe going with NoXcape! Check them out in Rudyard on Saturday!

And finally for the weekend concert previews, Kinross hard rock trio Banned will make their first ever 21+ concert appearance this Saturday at The Sundown Lounge in Pickford! I'm not familiar with this bar in any way, but their address is 18664 S M 129, and I heard it's a nice establishment, so remember that if you go see Banned this weekend! The new and diverse group will have a solid slate of classic and hard rock covers for their fans at this show, and they proved to be entertaining and talented at their debut last month, so don't miss them! The show has a 9:30 PM start time, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above link for more details! Should be fun, hopefully they do great in Pickford this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering Bad Company and The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Rudyard last month!



And finally, here's a note concerning our band links on the SMS. As part of our page redesign last month, we started segmenting bands in the twin Saults by whether they're active or inactive/defunct by placing them in separate sections. In case you weren't sure, my criteria for if a band is "inactive" is if they either officially declare they've broken up (i.e. State of Misery), most of the band forms a new band in lieu of the older group (i.e. Out Of The Mouth Of Babes), or if a band goes one complete year without a visible sign of activity (i.e. Detroit.) As such, our band links have been basically accurate since the re-sorting, but this month, we're going to start moving a few bands to the inactive band links due to, well, inactivity. Three bands (by my count) will have been inactive for a whole year this month, and the first one we'll likely move to the inactive links will be The Issues, the punk/metal project from a few current members of Winkstinger. The last sign of activity from them that I can verify is a song upload to their Facebook page on August 5th of last year, and with nothing since, we'll likely classify them as "inactive" starting tomorrow. They're a very entertaining band though, give them a listen at this location!

The other two bands I have on "inactivity watch" for this month are from Sault Michigan, but we'll approach them as they come. I'm doing this to keep our band links relevant to the current state of the scene, so you guys know exactly which bands are active & alive and which bands are not, but are still worth checking out. That's all for today, but stay tuned tonight or early tomorrow for a HUGE post featuring an awesome LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, big news concerning a local band's next albums (how does SIX new albums sound?), and much more! Thanks everyone!