YouTube Channel Profile Series: Brendan Garlick

It's now time for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2024! This monthly feature series is back for another year of shining a spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts, and this time, we've randomly selected a bountiful channel for fans of the indie rock scene of a decade or so ago. Here's what you should know for this month!

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Brendan Garlick (http://www.youtube.com/@brendangarlick43)

Owner: Former Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick, currently known as the owner of local concert promotion agency Sault Noir

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 30th, 2013; Videos uploaded from December 2014 until August 2015

Channel Summary: Brendan's channel is almost entirely devoted to fifteen videos shot at the first two Lopstock concerts that he co-promoted at LopLops Lounge in 2014 & 2015, including the full set of every band from Lopstock II (except that year's opening band Id Iota), and videos from four acts that played at this "bohemian conclave" the previous year. Brendan's last (and sole non-Lopstock) video is still from a LopLops concert, this time featuring inactive indie rock band Great Chamberlain in mid-2015. 

Why You Should Watch: This channel is a great watch for fans of the local indie music scene in the mid-2010s, with some heavier flourish among them, and while none of these bands had staying power into 2024, there's a lot of talent and familiar faces to be had, as well as the featured sets by two touring acts (The Galacticats and Kirby) at Lopstock in 2015! Despite its ample usage at the time, Brendan has not visibly used this channel since 2015, roughly coinciding with his departure from Gnaeus and eventual spell living out of town. The revived Lopstock III from last year had ample video coverage as well, but via SooToday and not on Brendan's own accounts.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

The Pixo Control - Reasons (Live): In a few respects, defunct local grunge/hard rock trio The Pixo Control were the stars of Brendan's channel, garnering the longest full-set video from Lopstock II and three of the seven videos from Lopstock I, with two of those being his most watched videos period. Of them, his first video (of them playing "Reasons") is by far the most popular video on offer. Filmed by Jason Lloyd (as with the other videos posted from 2014), The Pixo Control were represented here by singer/guitarist Michael Mikus, future Skinbox frontman Steve Edwards, and drummer Keeghan Rosso. The camera-work is excellent with nice quality audio of this very grungy and hard hitting original, so it's easy to see why this video caught on at the time, and it's a shame that The Pixo Control didn't last longer! Watch for edited in bits of LopLops' interior and some attendees in the middle of the video.

Caroline Divine - Lopstock II: One of the heavier bands at Lopstock II in June 2015 was the recently debuted Caroline Divine, a hard rock/power pop band featuring Frasiers alumni Anthony Marcello, Brenden Fitzgerald, and Devin Williamson, all later of Jesse Merineau's live band. Caroline Divine proper only graced local stages in 2015 (gigs with Jesse aside), with Brendan Garlick's 40 minutes long full-set video being the best extant video from their local run in terms of audio. The stationary angles used for the bands on this night were largely the victim of obscured vantage points due to fans on the floor, which is unfortunate, but Caroline Divine had a tight and energetic sound on their original material, and it'd have been nice to see them exist on their own in 2016 and beyond!

Gnaeus - Lopstock II: Brendan's sole channel appearance as a member of a band comes via his set with defunct post-punk quartet Gnaeus at Lopstock II, where he was joined by singer/guitarist Aaron Alessandrini, future Far From Fine bassist Matt Fronzi, and synth player Brad Irwin (now also of Skinbox). Their 45 minute set includes their songs "Lovers", "Exercise In Self Awareness", "Fire", "Crave", "Mountains", "Circles", their cover of The Cold War Kids' "Hang Me Out To Dry", "The Edge", "Lacking", "When You're Gone" , and "The Sound". This included every song from their 2016 album "Mediatations" except "Calling Out", plus the non-album cuts "Crave" & "Lacking". Attendee heads remain a liability towards actually seeing Gnaeus in full, but this is a strong performance from the peak of Gnaeus' local run, and they got a deservedly strong reception from the fans!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Our next randomly selected channel in this series will be that of YouTube user justfrenchie, which primarily features old Scary Uncles videos, so look for that on or around February 26th, and for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Pixo Control

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, again continuing our monthly spotlight of local metal, hard rock, or punk bands from the past, all as sourced from our inactive band links! This month's randomly chosen band was a high profile rising group in their day that should still have recongnition from many readers, so here's what you should know on them!

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The Pixo Control

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Grunge/Alternative Rock

Lineup (Members not in their last full lineup in italics):

Michael Mikus (The Fever Tops), vocals/guitar/studio bass
Dustin Goodall (Id Iota, Free Beer), bass
Keeghan Rosso (Xeno), drums

Anthony Marcello (Jupiter Marvelous), bass
Steve Edwards (These Magnificent Tentacles), bass
Matthew Thibert (Vol.), drums

Audio/Video: The Pixo Control released one studio album, namely November 2015's "Probably Not", which did have a physical CD print run and remains available to buy on Bandcamp for $9.99. Though their Facebook page was sadly taken down, a sizeable amount of YouTube videos remain from their run via Michael's (formerly the band's) YouTube channel and his earlier solo YouTube channel, including audio from the album, live performances, early demos, vlogs, and promotional clips. Numerous other YouTube users have videos from Pixo Control concerts, and I have filmed them for our Facebook page too. There's a lot to take in, but here's their music video for their song "Scratch"!

Info/Analysis: Publically launched in October 2013 and briefly known as Junkie Nation, The Pixo Control succeeded Michael's prior band The Fever Tops, and debuted on stage in December 2013 with gigs at both public venues and Superior Heights Collegiate. The Pixo Control played live frequently in 2014 & 2015, including sets at events like Rotaryfest, The Emergency Festival, and Go Skateboarding Day, plus opening slots for bands like Treble Charger & The Rebel Spell, and even a Nirvana tribute turn as Like A Pisces at the Gore Street Cafe's Fishbowl Festival. Michael was the band's only constant band member, with Steve and Keeghan completing their longest lasted lineup. After "Probably Not" mixer Dustin Goodall took over on bass in the fall of 2015, The Pixo Control released their CD and played their final gigs into the spring of 2016, with Michael dissolving the band that fall in order to launch his own pop rock solo project as Mike Mikus.

Despite the changes, Mike enlisted Pixo Control alumni in his backing band, and even included a few unreleased songs of theirs on his 2017 solo album, but he moved to Montreal that year and his musical activity drastically slowed down in kind, here or there. I enjoyed The Pixo Control's throwback yet modern sound and freewheeling intensity on songs like "Tall Ships" & "60", and Michael's commanding presence helped throughout their different lineups! It was good to see a band flying the grunge flag locally, and it's a shame they didn't last longer, but don't miss members' current projects!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As the first randomly selected band for next month have no videos and minimal documentation, I added a Sault Michigan band in a similar state to round things out, also randomly. As such, we'll be looking at mid-2010s Sault Ontario punk/alternative duo The Red & Black and early 2010s Sault Michigan hard rock band Swayze Train! Look for all of this on or around September 10th, and for a new post  tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Mikus

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

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

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

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

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

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

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

  

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



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


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

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

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

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



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

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

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



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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E & Project 906), Plus Fallout From The Sky's The Limit!!

Before we dive into another slate of weekend concert previews, here's some news and notes for your Wednesday morning, and it includes some fallout, updates, and videos from a major recent all ages concert, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this summer in the E.U.P.!

Sault Michigan hard/blues rock cover quartet Project 906 have announced a pair of new concert dates for this summer, as they'll return to Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley for Saturday nighters on June 11th & July 16th! Both were announced via Facebook event page launches on Monday, and will mark the Ten Kings successors first shows at Pickles following THIS SUNDAY'S Bay Mills Band Together fundraiser. Project 906 have been hard at work recently in concert and for their overall experience (even getting lots of stickers ready to give out), and while these are sadly one-nighters with no Friday gigs, don't miss Project 906's entertaining & often heavy covers in Brimley once again over the summer! Both shows are at 10:00 PM with no announced cover, and both are 21+ events, so click here & here for more details, and Pickles is now in our active Sault Michigan concert listings!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E have announced their next three concert weekends, as they'll return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 8th & 9th, and on August 19th & 20th, with returns to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino sandwiched in between on July 22nd & 23rd! Not yet announced on Kewadin's entertainment page (which doesn't list anything past June yet), thee July gigs in St. Ignace will be 415E's first announced shows since April, while the new Sault shows will be their first at The Rapids Lounge in almost a year, so if you've missed the Hubbards, Dave, and Mitch in the Soo lately, keep those shows in mind! 415E haven't been a terribly frequent sight on local stages recently, but these summer weekends should help remedy that, and as usual, there are 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits in effect. Visit 415E's Facebook page for more details!

We'll close today with new videos and related updates from The Sky's The Limit fundraiser concert at The Tech last week, so what should you know from the event? Algoma Family Services posted a bunch of photos from the mental health awareness show onto their Facebook page after the event, which confirms that there were at least eight acts on the bill, with The Pixo Control, The Din, Electric Church, and White Noize joined by indie/electronic rockers Aldous, and at least three bands comprised of youth musicians, though the photos don't confirm the performers' or bands' identities. Pictures confirm that the show took place in the theater of the former St. Mary's College (which makes logical sense), there were on-stage hosts to introduce & interview acts, and even some beach balls passed out for attendees to pass around, and it looks like this was a fun event for a great cause! Crank Sound Distribution were on hand to provide sound, and yes, we do have a few videos to share from the concert, including one Facebook video of headliners The Pixo Control's two-piece acoustic set, so what should you know on it?

There's not a lot to say, as it's oddly of Michael & Dustin's opening preparation prior to their first song, which appears to be an acoustic version of "Tall Ships". A comment by co-organizer/local bassist Marc Williamson thanked them for honouring their commitment, which spoke to their professionalism, though if it doesn't relate to playing on despite drummer Keeghan Rosso's inavailability, I'm not sure what it references. The band also noted that they "will go bye-bye for a while now", alluding to the live concert break that they're taking, but we still don't publically know why or for how long. In any event, give The Pixo Control's Sky's the Limit video a look below!



Finally, here's the latest from fellow Sky's the Limit performers The Din, so what have the local alternative hard rock trio been up to? Their latest Cover of the Month aside (which we'll tackle separately in an upcoming news post), The Din recently stopped by Tidal Records' own Mission Control Studios to record an unidentified song for their forthcoming debut album "Give Into The Din", with photos from the session now available to check out on their Facebook page. It's a little odd that they'd break from Pretoria Hill Productions for one song, but Dustin Jones' work at Mission Control Studios speaks for itself, and remember that frontman Mike Haggith split some of his solo albums between Galactic Records & PaperClip Productions, so spreading the wealth isn't a foreign concept for him. As for their Sky's The Limit video, Mike's girlfriend Brandi Martel filmed The Din's entire 15 minute set, with the video posted to The Din's YouTube channel the next day, so what can you see within?

The band only had time to play 4 songs last week, including "75", "Flux", "In Search of the Perfect Moment", and the debuting "Alleyways & Apartments", the reveal of which was teased by The Din online prior to the show. The video closes with a brief post-set interview where an event host interviews The Din live about their formation and evolution, why they wanted to get involved with this concert (Mike, in particular, has a personal connection), how music can influence them, and how to use their music as part of the mental health conversation. Well put, well shot, and well performed all around, The Din were a solid & energetic addition to this concert, so give their set a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 3 Day Millionaires & Tym Morrison) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With a busy concert weekend ahead, let's dive right in with our first concert preview post of the weekend for you hard rock fans, and to start, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some SHORT NOTICE), and a preview of a special concert taking place tonight! We'll touch on additional Friday-Saturday shows and Sault Michigan-area events in our next post, so don't worry, they're coming! Now, here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will be rocking out at The Park Grille on Industrial Park Crescent for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed the show via their Facebook page on Monday. Though not stated through their own advertising, The 3 Day Millionaires are replacing Mourning Wood at The Park Grille TOMORROW, who had been advertised for May 6th on the venue's poster plugging their spring run of live music. No word on why Mourning Wood are out, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and we'll let you know if they have any shows this weekend! For reference, The 3 Day Millionaires are advertised to return to The Park Grille next Friday too... perhaps the bands switched dates? In any event, The 3 Day Millionaires are fresh off of their Rednecks gigs last week, and they should continue to ride their recent momentum with more hard rock favourites TOMORROW NIGHT!

There's no announced cover charges for TOMORROW's show, which has an early start time of 8:00 PM (not 8:00 AM, as the Facebook event page lists), so be sure to check the above links for complete details, and here's The 3 Day Millionaires live earlier this year!



Next up, we'll add Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's slate of May acoustic concerts to our listings, as the prolific hard rock singer/guitarist is expected to rock Gliss Steak & Seafood once again TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, with weekend matinee shows likely following on May 13th & 14th, 20th & 21st, and 27th & 28th! Again, apologies for the short notice regarding this weekend's gigs, we were waiting for Facebook confirmation of them, which came via this weekend's Facebook event page on Tuesday. Now 10 months into his successful run of solo concerts at The Quality Inn's house restaurant, Tym should have more entertaining covers in store for fans and patrons this weekend, so keep all of this month's shows (including TOMORROW'S & SATURDAY'S) in mind if you're up for some unplugged cover action downtown! There are no announced cover charges or age limits for these 6:00 PM shows, so see above for more details, and here's Tym live!



Finally for today's previews, local alternative/grunge favourites The Pixo Control will headline a special fundraiser concert called The Sky's The Limit at The Tech (the events center at the former St. Mary's College/Lakeway site) TONIGHT! Hosted by Algoma Family Services as part of Children's Mental Health Week, The Sky's The Limit is designed to bring awareness and funds to children's mental health in the district, with all proceeds going to the cause, so hopefully there's a great turnout as a result! The Pixo Control's headlining set will be a special acoustic performance sans drummer Keeghan Rosso, so if you've missed the band's early shows of this format, be at The Tech tonight for Michael & Dustin's unplugged side! Oddly, organizers still haven't publically announced the opening roster (which was largely culled from in-person auditions last month), but a selection of local musicians aged 29 or younger will take the stage tonight. Based on artist confirmations, we know some of them, including alternative hard rock trio The Din, who have teased the debut of a new original tonight!

The other act that we can confirm is a student band led by Spencer Pine whose audition video can be seen at this link, and if their other videos (of blues rock covers from a school event) are anything to go by, their name is Electric Church, referencing the Jimi Hendrix song. They're talented, hopefully they put on a good set! Local Christian rapper Tristan "White Noize" Goslow was previously advertised too, but his online pages have quietly been deleted in the past couple of weeks, so read into that however you will. If there's any late confirmation of additional performers, we will let you guys know! An ALL AGES event, The Sky's The Limit begins tonight at 7:00 PM, and while it's not explicitly clear where in The Tech this is being held, I imagine it'll be well marked or perhaps more obvious if you attended school there. Admission is $5 for single attendees or $20 for a family of presumably 5 or more, while advance tickets were available at the Algoma Family Services reception desk at 205 McNabb Street, The Rad Zone, and even the A.F.S. offices in Wawa & Elliot Lake.

Also, it's worth noting that The Pixo Control called this their "last gig for a while" on their Facebook page yesterday, though they did not elaborate on why, or for how long. Hopefully it's just as simple as working on new songs or in studio! Though I wish promoters had elaborated on the full lineup, The Sky's The Limit should be an entertaining concert to help the children's mental health cause, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Pixo Control's acoustic side from n early Bare episode!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Today's SMS post is 100% devoted to new videos from local artists, so let's begin with this teaser video for TOMORROW'S Sky's the Limit mental health fundraiser concert at The Tech, courtesy of performers The Din! Posted to their Facebook page on Monday, the video starts with drummer Brandan Glew outlining the show, location, and what to expect (complete with scrolling ticker), while noting that they'll debut a new song at the show. Mike Haggith & Tammy Hill give a demo of it next, and while I won't spoil it, it is a cover, and a flute comes into play! The irreverence continues with Brandan noting that his bandmates were missing, before we find out what actions Tammy takes to rectify the alternative power trio's absence from the concert poster. Cute video, if a little disjointed, but it's good press for this concert, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for our preview of this show next!



Next up, here's another new cover from ex-Elipzis bassist/Riot! By Night frontman Ryan Harrison's YouTube channel, this time of the Sault Michigan native covering R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion", which he described as one of his favourite tunes. Edited in post to make the video black & white with a dream-like filter, the song is slowed down from the original, and features some vocal distortion, but it's not badly handled, so give it a look below!



Also today, I wanted to give a long, long overdue acknowledgement to an extremely prolific Instagram page from a fellow Sault Michigan-area artist, that being Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins, who has posted dozens upon dozens of solo performance videos (and select band videos) there since 2014. Joe has shared a few of these as YouTube channel uploads too, but the lions share of his solo uploads are on Instagram, and I believe this is also the only public page where you can see footage of his recent defunct band Ten Kings anymore, so keep that in mind! Though this originally began as a personal account, Joe has actually developed a sizable following on Instagram, with 888 followers there to check out his assorted guitar videos, including covers, demonstrations, and original pieces alike, and even singing on a few! There's way too many to individually address and link to on here, but if you know Joe's recent band work and YouTube content, you'll know what talent and skill he has!

Be sure to check out and/or follow his Instagram account above, stay tuned for updates on Project 906's benefit fundraiser in Brimley next weekend, and here's Joe's newest video from last week, of him playing around with his new loop switcher pedal, which you may see used in concert!

A video posted by Big Joe Jenkins (@bigjoeguitar) on Apr 27, 2016 at 11:45am PDT

Finally for today, here's a video that is admittedly two weeks late, but I thought it was worth acknowledging on here, if only for the oddity factor. This is a video that Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus filmed to promote their LopLops Lounge concert (Id Iota's EP release show) on April 21st, which was shared on the venue's Facebook page that same day. Presumably for humorous effect, the 14 second video is strictly focused on Michael's mouth, with him using a comical higher-pitched voice to plug the show, bands, and EP. It's definitely different, so give it a look below, apologies for this being so late, and stay tuned for our Sky's The Limit preview!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!