Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Plastic

Here is our first Defunct Local Band Profile of 2023, as we're again looking at a randomly selected inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past, in order to spotlight their run for current readers! Our rotation brings us to Sault Michigan to kick off the year for a talented but short lived group from the mid-2010s, so here's what you should know on them!

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Plastic

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Genre: Grunge/Alternative Rock

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

Zac Crook (Half Stupid), vocals/guitar
Matt Williams (Half Stupid), bass
Aaron DePalma, drums
Nick Moreau (Cherubic Red), bass
Paul "Dorothy" Burns (The Zippnutts), drums

Audio/Video: Plastic teased working on demos in 2014, but as best as I can tell, they never posted any of them on for public consumption unless reworked as solo songs by frontman Zac Crook ("Be My Angel" did get released as such). Live videos can principally be seen on Zac's YouTube channel, which primarily covers his solo career now, but also dips into Plastic and Half Stupid live clips, with all of his Plastic videos coming from their sets at the 2013 & 2014 LemmaFests outside of Dondee Lanes. These include Zac, Nick, and Paul playing "Be My Angel" and covers of Black Flag & Stevie Wonder in 2013, and this 2014 video shot by Wayne Kozeyah featuring two originals and seven eclectic covers!

Info/Analysis: Debuting at LemmaFest in June 2013, Plastic were effectively the successors to mid-late 2000s local grunge trio Half Stupid, if boasting a more diverse setlist. Plastic quickly became a common sight at local concerts in late 2013 at venues like The Merchants Bar and Dan's Place (now The Brickyard Bar & Grill) in Rudyard, while almost opening for The Misfits in Detroit that September. The band dialed back live dates in 2014 to work on demos, but they returned at that year's fourth & final LemmaFest. Plastic changed their name to The Spendthrifts later that summer, but undertook no major public activity as such, falling inactive by 2015 (a one-off Misfits-heavy reunion in 2018 as "Das Spööky" aside). Frontman Zac Crook has since focused on solo music that shares thematic similarities to his heavier band work, while he has also owned Crooked Music (the former Grooves Music) on Ashmun Street since 2017.

While only publically active for about one year, Plastic left a good impression with their more mature but still hard-edged brand of alternative rock, with their suprisingly diverse covers often dipping into some bluesier territory to good effect, and seeing Misfits love across the river was neat! It's a shame that Zac and company didn't fully exist past 2015, but Plastic do feel like a bridge between Half Stupid and his eclectic and sometimes jazz-inflected solo material (on sale at Crooked Music and on Bandcamp), so don't bypass Plastic's extant videos to see what they brought to the table!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll return to Sault Ontario next month for the first time in 2023, and our latest random selection is quite a band, namely inactive local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers! Look for this profile on or around February 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nameus), New Solo Cover Videos, And Much More!!

After a few quiet days, we are back with a new news post on this Tuesday, and below, you'll find some assorted recent news and notes, a pair of new solo covers recently uploaded to YouTube, and to kick things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Here's what you need to know!

New and online page-less local hard rock cover trio Nameus (yes, that is still their name) will headline The Rednecks Saloon's New Year's Eve bash on Saturday, December 31st! Announced well in advance thanks to it's seasonal trappings, this union of Mourning Wood's Terry Eaton & Steven Flint with Terry's ex-Carbon Black bandmate Travis Sharpe will tackle a set of 1980s hair metal and similarly retro covers for the occasion, so if you're a fan of Mourning Wood's heavier material, and/or Travis & Terry's long band history together, don't bypass Nameus at the former Nicolet Tavern to send out 2016! As this is a special event, these is a special $15 cover charge on December 21st, though there will be a buffet and champagne included with admission. You must be 19 or older to attend, and doors will open at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Though the wait continues for the band to launch an online page, post public media, or announce a final name (I find Nameus is too close to the existing Gnaeus as it is), they are a good choice to headline Rednecks' New Year's party, as fans should know their talent from older bands and Nameus' first two weekends at this venue! Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, we have a couple of new cover videos for your delectation, starting with the newest video from Stegadeth/ex-Jack Spades guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! Her first video posting since the summer, Tiffany covers Gob's "Give Up The Grudge" in this clip, she definitely has the song down, and while the video's audio quality is somewhat tinny, I blame that on the camera. Solidly done, so give it a look below, and keep your eyes peeled for Stegadeth's next shows!



Also, here's the newest solo vocal/guitar cover by ex-Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison! The former Sault Michigan hard rock staple posted this surprising cover of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "Tracks Of My Tears" onto his YouTube channel yesterday. Very out of left field choice for a cover, but in his hands, it doesn't sound like a Motown standard, for better or worse. If anything, this song is a great workout for his vocal range, and though the beard says otherwise, he's hitting high notes better than I've ever seen him do! I don't see the point to the orangey filter though, but Ryan's definitely growing as a singer & guitarist, so give his new cover 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 name:

• Sault Ontario doom metal trio AlgomA will take a road trip to Quebec for headlining shows in Montreal and Quebec City this weekend! These are a bit of a surprise announcement given that they barely got a week's notice, but good luck to the guys as they bring the sludge to la belle province, and visit their Facebook page for full details! No word on if there will be any progress towards the release of their split with Hooded Menace this weekend though, but remember that it was teased to come out this month, and the specific date is still not announced.
• This may mean something or nothing, but defunct Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio The Spendthrifts quietly changed their name back to Plastic on their Facebook page last month. A reason for the name reversion wasn't announced, but Plastic accomplished little publically under the Spendthrifts name before falling inactive in late 2014, and given that they've posted nothing since becoming Plastic again, it may have just been a posthumous acknowledgement of the name they had their successes under. Keep an eye out just in case they do re-emerge, and check out frontman Zac Crook's solo project for his recent music work!
• Din frontman Mike Haggith posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday to look for a band to open for one of Nameus drummer Steven Flint's local bands at The Rednecks Saloon on SATURDAY, as The Din can't due to work obligations. He didn't specify which of Steven's bands is headlining, but it's not The Band Camp Rejects, as they were never playing on Saturday, and the band in question curiously is only playing two sets, hence the opener search. If you're interested in opening, message Steven at this link or above, and stay tuned for formal public details on this show, assuming it fits our coverage range!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Halloween Party), A New Video, And Many Assorted Updates!!

With a new week in full swing, here's a packed news post for your Monday, including lots of assorted recent news & notes, a new jam video, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the end of October! Here's what you should know!

For the third time in four years, The Algonquin Pub will host J.D. Pearce's 11th annual Halloween Party on Saturday, October 31st! Yes, this show was previously covered on here, but we hadn't officially called it as a concert because the venue wasn't confirmed yet, which J.D. announced on the Facebook event page on Saturday. Fitting choice, seeing as (save for 2013 at The Rosie), this long running Halloween concert event has found a good home at The Gonq, so keep the familiar venue in mind! No word though on if this will be considered as an official Gonqshow series event, as it's currently slated to wrap up the week prior at the Ripcordz concert. A previously announced, the lineup will take on an all-tribute band theme for the first time since 2008, with Toronto extreme metal quartet Caym tackling Metallica, and two local tribute bands (identities to be determined) covering The Misfits and a hybrid of Rancid & NOFX songs.

It's very likely that J.D. will front the Misfits tribute, but will they be existing local bands, or one-off tributes for the occasion? A presentation of Tidal Records, this Halloween party will have a $10 cover charge, 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and presumably, a costume contest with prizes, so be sure to check the above links for more details! This is a great event for the Halloween season, so stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, here's an almost 22 minute new jam session video from local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back! Uploaded to drummer Nathan Sauve's YouTube channel on August 9th (and shot the previous day), the video is somewhat unique among Bad Back jam videos in that frontman Jamie Vincent does not appear to sing at all for the duration, even though there's a microphone to his left (I wonder why?) More of a freewheeling jam that sounds at least partially improvised, it's a solid listen, but that glare through the window is a little much in terms of video clarity. Give it a look below, and don't miss Bad Back TONIGHT at The New A!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, including two more inactive band notes. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades have been confirmed as the final opener for the Diemonds-headlined concert at The Rednecks Saloon THIS FRIDAY, as per recent updates on the Facebook event page. This is a bit surprising given that the band previously said they wouldn't play live again until their split CD release party, but they're a fitting choice, as J.D. Pearce & Tiffany Stocco opened for Diemonds with T-Rex Manning two years ago! Stay tuned for our preview of this show later this week!
• Frightlight alum & ex-Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking frontman Jeff DeRose is looking for a drummer for his new "rock/punk/metal" band, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Friday. Despite his own drumming background, he's on bass for this band alongside musicians named Mike and Ryan, last names to be confirmed (possibly Ryan McLaughlin from F.F.S.H.?) If you're interested in trying out, message Jeff above or at this link!
• Apologies for this being so late, but newer local grunge/punk duo The Red & Black (featuring Telephone & Address' Chris Shoust & drummer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda) made their live debut at the IRN-headlined concert at The New American Pub on June 21st! Promoters never confirmed that The Red & Black were playing, or if they replaced or played alongside Telephone & Address that night. According to their Facebook page, Damjan came in from Wawa (where he's lived recently) for the show, and it apparently went well despite the two not jamming together any time recently. Good to hear, and hopefully there's more to come!
• We have moved Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio The Spendthrifts to our inactive links due to a year's inactivity, albeit under their original name Plastic, as they were active far longer & accomplished far more under that name. The Half Stupid successors played a number of notable local concerts after debuting in 2013, but after drummer Paul Burns moved that fall, the band only played at last summer's LemmaFest, before changing their name & falling inactive. I liked what Plastic were doing, but hopefully they turn up again, and best of luck to Zac, Matt, Aaron, and Paul in the future (also, check out Zac Crook's active solo project at this link!)
• After less than a year as the Chinese buffet restaurant Waterfront Legend, the former Docks Riverfront Grill at 89 Foster Drive has change themes once again, and is now The River Cookhouse with a more general menu, though there are plans to bring back the Chinese buffet as a weekend attraction. This new SooToday article on the changes notes that the nightclub area formerly known as Club Current (or Club 89) will now be used as a hall for event hosting like weddings and banquets, which would presumably end concert bookings there if that goes through. Disappointing, but hopefully the new focus does well for them!.
• We've also moved Sault Michigan hardcore band When All Fell Silent to our inactive links, as they haven't posted an update since last summer's name change, after previously going as Angelic Genocide, The Eleventh Hour, Changing You For Better Days, and One Hour Till Dawn at varying points (we'll list them as The Eleventh Hour, which they were the most active under.) Active since 2012, this band has ambitious plans for albums & shows, but like most young extreme Sault Michigan metal bands of recent years, they sadly weren't able to get far off the ground. Best of luck to Sean, Josh, the Josephs, and other former members in the future!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gob, Endast, And K'Man & The 45s), And More!!

In our second post of this Thursday, we have THREE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all revolving around notable out of town bands coming back to our area to rock the Soo to it's core, and whether you love metal or punk, at least one of these shows should appeal to you! We also have some assorted other notes to cap this post (including a band name change), so read on below for what you need to know, with the shows outlined in chronological order! Also, check out this weekend's Sault Ontario concert previews in the post below this one!

Remember how local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has been teasing a concert on Wednesday, August 27th to be headlined by Montreal thrashcore quintet Endast? Well, it's now confirmed, though he's not visibly the show's promoter anymore, with Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie launching this Facebook event page for it yesterday, so what do we know now? Well, the concert will take place at The Rednecks Saloon, who recently hosted a Bear Hunters-headlined metal show, and have a good relationship with Mitch through his recent work with Beaumont Avenue and Urawk, so the old Nicolet Tavern is a better fit than you may think! Of course, Endast's brutal technical metal originals have been missed since they last played in the Soo (way back in 2010 at the former Foggy Notions), and it will be awesome to see them back on the local stage again after so long during their 10th anniversary tour! There will also be two local opening bands to be announced, and we'll let you know when they're confirmed. Note as well that I think this will be the first local metal show with an out of town headliner that Mitch has put on since the end of his regular promotion run in mid-2012, so it's great to see him back promoting shows like this again!

Also, note that Endast's own Facebook page hypes their show on the 27th as taking place at The Townehouse in Sudbury, but that venue's own website lists a different band that day, so I assume there was a scheduling mixup. Admission is FREE for this 19+ show, and there's an announced 10:30 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! We await the full lineup announcement, but Endast were fan favourites from their last local stops, and hopefully they're in fine heavy form on August 27th at The Rednecks Saloon! Stay tuned for updates!

Next up, remember how we noted on the site the other day that the aforementioned J.D. Pearce was planning to host an after-party at The Rockstar Bar for after the now-postponed Misfits concert on Tuesday, September 18th? Well, the after-party is still on as it's own standalone concert now, and like before, it will be headlined by Montreal ska punk quintet K'Man & The 45s! Last seen at the former Roosevelt Hotel in October, this energetic and fun band are well known for the ska renditions of The Ramones, and for their array of original material too, and you'll definitely want to check out their well-traveled and liked sound at The Rockstar Bar next month! Like in October, their opening band next month will be local all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats in their first announced show since opening for Late & Loud at the same venue, and if their entertaining live attack got them this high profile slot last fall when they were brand new, imagine how they'll perform this time around! Also like at last year's show, there will be a $7 door charge and 19+ age limit, while everything will start at around 9:30 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Ska punk isn't something we've had a ton of locally in recent months, so if you're up for some reggae infused high energy rock (with Ramones covers!), you won't want to miss this show on September 18th, and if you're still bummed about The Misfits' show, this might help fill in the gap! Keep an eye out for more!

Lastly for the new show announcements, but certainly not least, Juno nominated Langley, B.C. punk quartet Gob will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario themselves on Wednesday, October 29th when they themselves headline at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at the former Outback at Sault College way back in January 2009, fans will surely remember Gob for classic songs like "I Hear You Calling", "Give Up The Grudge", and "Soda", and their own high spirited pop punk sound has earned them a very strong following of their own over the past 20 years, so it's well overdue for them to play the Soo again (also, note that frontman Tom Thacker is Sum 41's guitarist, in case you're a fan of theirs too!) Joining Gob on tour and at this show will be Oakville pop punk band Seaway, whose own energetic & melodic sound should add well to the proceedings as well, so check them out to see what you think! The local openers will include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (fresh off of opening for The Ripcordz in early October) and local punk trio Redundant (in their first announced gig since last month's Bear Hunters show), so come early for them also!

Promoted again by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this show is a 19+ affair, will start at 9:00 PM, and has a ticket cost of $20 ($25 if you want a copy of Gob's new CD "Apt. 13" with admission.) Online tickets go on sale at http://www.brownpapertickets.com starting at midnight, and there's only 150 available, so act A.S.A.P. to ensure you have your ticket! No word yet though concerning local in-person ticket availability. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's been over 5 years, but it's great to see Gob coming back to town, and hopefully there's a great turnout for this show, right in the thick of the Halloween season! Stay tuned for updates on this show as well, and get your tickets before they're gone!

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

• In advance of their second return home to play at the private Das Bunkerfest event in Garden River on Sunday (which we'll mention on the site tomorrow), local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver will be among the performers at TONIGHT'S Endast concert in North Bay, which will also feature recent local metal performers Buried Out Back. Pretty cool, so give it a look if you're in that area, and hopefully the guys make some new fans!
• The Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio formerly known as Plastic have settled on a new name, as they've quietly announced The Spendthrifts as their new moniker. A reason for the change still hasn't been announced, but with a recent bassist change and the common simplicity of the Plastic name, this might have been a good fresh start. Other than the name change, there's been no public band updates in over a month, so we'll let you know when more comes out from The Spendthrifts!
• The newest episode of Local2's music spotlight video series Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Monday, and while it mostly focuses on non-metal/punk events like the recent Strumbellas show and the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury, it does plug the upcoming Random Killing "Hardcore Homecoming" show on September 13th at The Rockstar Bar in the concert calendar segment, while a 5 second clip of Beaumont Avenue's set (their last as The Suicide Kings) at Musicfest XXI can be seen at the end of their segment. Solid episode, give it a look if you want above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan concert previews and some notes on Das Bunkerfest tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tantrym Tyme) & Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get into this weekend's previews, I wanted to apologize for a few missed gigs during The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in Sault Michigan's Summerfest concert series, as local hard rock trio Power Slug returned to play there on both July 11th & 12th, as well as last Friday (as Infathom only played on Saturday.) My sources are the band & venue's Facebook pages, though note that Power Slug never plugged the shows in advance on Facebook. Our sincere apologies for missing them, hopefully they were all hits, and best of luck in Grand Haven tomorrow night! Now, today's post is otherwise devoted to this weekend's Sault Michigan-area hard rock concert previews, so read on for them, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme will be playing outdoor sets TOMORROW & SATURDAY as part of this year's Downtown Days in Sault Michigan! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced their involvement on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Though not their first live appearances of 2014, these are (surprisingly) the first shows that the band has plugged on Facebook since September, so if you've missed hearing about the former Abstract's local dates online, here's two! Tantrym Tyme's sets this weekend are among the live entertainment at Downtown Days, a yearly weekend featuring sidewalk sales from local merchants, stores, and vendors, alongside kids and family entertainment, food and refreshments, and even car & motorcycle shows, so click here for full details on the non-musical events! Tantrym Tyme's set will very likely be taking place outside or near Harmony Health Foods at 217 Ashmun Street, which is on the corner of Ashmun and East/West Portage Avenue.

As you may know, Harmony Health Foods is owned by (I believe) drummer Ethan Twardy's father, and they've long supported Tantrym Tyme, so the connections are obvious! The guys will be playing at 12:00 and at 3:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday, this is absolutely ALL AGES with no cover, though I'm unsure if there will be other live hard rock bands this weekend. For more details, check the above links! The lack of recent online posts from the band has been strange, especially for helping miss shows like one at the Kinross Speedpark on July 11th (apologies for missing it), but hopefully there's a great turnout for their strongly developing metal renditions this weekend! Keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Tantrym Tyme live last year!



Moving to previously announced shows, local alternative hard rock trio Plastic are scheduled to make their Savoy Bar & Nightclub debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they conclude the venue's outdoor Summerfest series on it's 6th and final weekend! However, two things will be different from their return set at LemmaFest, one of which being an apparent new member, as frontman Zac Crook's former Half Stupid bandmate Matt Williams has apparently signed on as their new bassist, replacing Nick Moreau. The news was quietly announced on their Facebook page at some point this month, and while a reason for Nick's departure hasn't been stated yet, keep in mind that his personal Facebook page currently lists him as living in Traverse City, so that could be related. Hopefully all is amicable, and best of luck to Nick, but it's nice to see Matt & Zac back together, and it will be interesting to see how things shape up live! Also, Plastic's name on their Facebook page was quietly changed to "Currently Nameless" yesterday, which implies the end of the Plastic name, but why?

This could mean anything from a name conflict, the name belonging to Nick, a move in a new direction, or maybe even actually changing their name to "Currently Nameless", but we'll let you know when/if something is clarified regarding their name! (The former) Plastic's new lineup will be playing in the parking lot of The Savoy tomorrow & Saturday at 10:00 PM, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover, though keep in mind that the band has not acknowledged these shows since they were announced last month. If still on, these should be intriguing shows for hard rock and alternative fans, so don't miss it, and here are the guys at LemmaFest last month!



Closing at the Kewadin Casino branches, we'll head down to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local classic/hard rock notables 415E are scheduled to return to the stage for a weekend full of hard rocking originals and covers TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Featuring Nixxon Dixxon alum Chris Hubbard and former Splitshot frontman Dave Menard, fans are accustomed to both of their talents from recent gigs, and hopefully their Van Halen-influenced sound goes over well again in their first St. Ignace shows in two months! Note that the band has finally confirmed the departure of bassist Jack Slater and drummer Devin Anderson via their removal from their Facebook page's lineup, following their absences from 415E's 2014 gigs, which appear to have been played (at least in part) as a duo. I know their exits partly stemmed from college commitments out of town, but they're still busy with The Highest of Fives, so best of luck to Devin & Jack there and beyond! 415Es's shows this weekend have 21+ age limits, no announced cover, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's 415E's full original lineup last year!



Finally, we head back to Sault Michigan for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin Casino, as new local modern/hard rock cover quartet Full Throttle will be playing their third and fourth concerts! Remember, this band succeeded members Ryan Kitzmiller, Joe Jenkins, and Will Storey's now defunct band The Bottom Line earlier this month, but are a different band than the original 2012-2013 Full Throttle, whose first lineup also featured Ryan & bassist George Belleau of the current version. Fresh off of a successful debut at The Rapids Lounge last weekend, the guys are hoping for an even bigger turnout and reception tomorrow & Saturday, and just in case they aren't playing elsewhere before September 26th, don't take these shows for granted for a new/old taste of Full Throttle! 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits are to be expected, so check the above links for more details, and we'll let you know if a public video turns up to preview them with!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a stacked new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Power Slug & Plastic), Plus More News From Sault Michigan!!

Before we post our first introductory post to the first of the punk bands in our expanded SMS coverage, here's another new Sault Michigan-centric post on this Friday evening, as the steady news from across continues to come in! On the Yooper side of things, we have some recent video finds, the latest from a local metal band, and first, SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for THIS WEEKEND and some for next month, but check out our big announcement for our 7th anniversary in the post below this one!

According to their newest Facebook page (which I only just discovered yesterday), Sault Michigan bar/venue The Savoy Bar & Nightclub will welcome local hard rock cover trio Power Slug back TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only recently announced, and not by Power Slug themselves, but hopefully they'll say something on their Facebook page soon. Fresh off of their Manistique show on June 21st, Power Slug will not be playing inside this recent favourite venue of theirs this weekend, instead playing outside in The Savoy's back parking lot, as part of the venue's "Summer Fest" series, which sees bands playing outdoors on weekends over a 6 week span through early August (classic rock cover quartet Ricochet kicked things off last week), and Power Slug should keep the good vibes going with their hard hitting setlist this weekend! 10:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges are in effect, so check the above links for more details!

Though not a unique concept for Sault Michigan (The Corner Pub often hosts bands on their outdoor patio), this will be a nice change of pace, especially given the running series theme for the summer, and hopefully there's a solid turnout this weekend for fans to chug their mug along with Power Slug! Keep these shows in mind for TONIGHT and TOMORROW, and here they are inside the Savoy earlier this year!

As for future weeks of the Savoy's Summer Fest, we don't yet know the other bands playing in July (we'll let you know if a hard rock band plays, or if Power Slug comes back), but we know who's last on August 1st & 2nd, as local alternative hard rock trio Plastic will rock the Savoy, or, outside of it! Announced late last month, these will be Plastic's second & third gigs (and first as headliners) since the addition of new drummer Aaron DePalma, and they'll also be their first solo shows at a local bar since rocking The Merch last September, so keep both those angles in mind, especially if you missed their LemmaFest set! Barring a new show announced in the interim, you can see Plastic's creative and hard-edged covers & originals next month at 10:00 PM both nights, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charge also in effect. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page, and don't miss these shows as part of The Savoy Bar's Summer Fest!

Next up, here's the latest from local classical metal band Theatre of Night, starting with confirmation that the band has indeed parted ways with drummer Greg Giles. Keyboardist Craig Harrison told me in a recent Facebook e-mail that he amicably left due to scheduling conflicts and to pursue his own projects, though it's unclear yet whether they include the artistic work and side project band that he had once plugged on their website. Craig said that they will seek a replacement for future gigs, though no word on if they'll use a live drummer for future studio work yet. Disappointing news, especially knowing how good Greg was his brother Steve and Craig in this and other recent bands, but best of luck to him for sure! Craig did confirm that they are still working with German singer Gaby Koss on upcoming music, and she will be recording new vocal tracks in the fall. Theatre of Night's website has recently also had a streamlined overhaul featuring less info but more emphasis on material, though curiously, there's no mention of their second CD "The Dawn's Early Light" outside of press quotes.

The website even lists a handful of gigs that the band played in 2012 (which I don't even remember being announced), and it includes recent Reverbnation uploads, the newest of which being the symphonic instrumental piece "5th Movement in E Minor" that holds up with their other recent recordings. Though the winds of change surround Theatre of Night's recent output, the future looks bright, so keep an eye out for updates!

Finally for today, we'll close with some of the older videos on local hard rock trio Division of Sanity's YouTube channel, now that they're the newest Sault Michigan band in our links! Videos dating back to March of last year are posted there, including an introductory video, 4 very brief vlogs from frontman Caine VanderMolen to update band news at the time (though none have been posted since last May), and five studio demo tracks, those being of the songs "Just Listen", "Division of Sanity", "The Start Again Feel", "Seasons", and "Time", so click each link to hear those! The other videos include a loose interview with Caine from last April about a variety of topics, and as embedded below, this video from last March featuring both Caine (on drums) and Plastic frontman Zac Crook jamming covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Warren Zevon songs, and it's an interesting clip, though the camera is from right behind Caine, with his shoulder area taking up much of the video's right half.

Solid videos all around, though the vlogs are short, and the early demos are mostly of the acoustic minimal vein that LemmaFest attendees didn't see. Division of Sanity have a solid modern rock sound and very distinctive vocals, so be sure to catch them at some of their upcoming dates that we'll touch on next week, and here's Caine and Zak from Plastic jamming last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our first of our introductory posts to the punk bands now covered on the site! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Band, Plus New LemmaFest Videos!!

In the last post of our sixth year of existence, we're 100% in Sault Michigan for tonight, as we have a "new" band to profile and add to our full coverage, plus lots of videos at their most recent show from them and other bands, so read on below for what you need to know, and check out this weekend's concert previews (including some late notice gigs and a band name change) in the post below this one!

We have a new area hard rock band to add to our active band links, and they are the Sault Michigan trio Division of Sanity! Active since the spring of 2012, it took us so long to add them on here partly because most of their posted material was acoustic, and I was looking for some more evidence that they'd play hard rock either in studio or live, and we got that via their set at LemmaFest at the Dondee last month, but we'll touch on that in a bit! Division of Sanity's current lineup features singer/guitarist Caine VanderMolen (a recent local solo musician), guitarist/bassist Myke Young, and drummer Gabe Nunez, while a drummer named Nick Morgan played with the band in 2012, and Power Slug drummer Bob Helsten guested on some of their demos in 2013. A $3 demo CD is available through the band (and presumably at their live shows too), but it's contents aren't clear online. Caine's solo gigs aside, Division of Sanity's first show (I think) was at the Soo's annual Arts & Music Festival last August, but they only began regular area concert sets this summer.

We'll cover some of their announced upcoming gigs next week, but how about Division of Sanity's sound? As you may have seen at LemmaFest, Division of Sanity's live form is a hard/modern rock, possibly most distinctive by Caine's deep raspy singing voice, which reminds me of John Mayer at times, though everything is softer and lighter on the band's older acoustic demos. It will be interesting to see how Division of Sanity progress, including on if some more of their hinted metal ties come to the forefront! Older demos of theirs can be streamed at the band's YouTube channel, their BandPage on Facebook, and on Caine's SoundCloud page (the latter of which featuring select covers), and while their sound varies, there's talent present throughout! Their YouTube channel also features some interesting vlogs from Caine from last year, as well as some other content we'll share in the coming weeks, but now, to the LemmaFest videos!

Filmed by Wayne Kozeyah and uploaded to the D.O.S. YouTube channel yesterday, the videos include their originals "Seasons", "Isn't What I Said", and (as embedded below) their self titled song, and while the guys could be a bit livelier on stage, these showcase what I assume is their optimal live sound, so check everything out above and below, and stay tuned for more on Division of Sanity in the near future!

Also from Wayne Kozeyah, he uploaded this video onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, which features video footage of 4 of the bands at LemmaFest last month! Nothing was included here from Infathom, The Bottom Line, Caitlin LeBlanc, or Mike Kowalski's sets, but the other bands are all featured, so what's present? In order, the video starts with two covers that we've already seen from Wayne's camera(s), those being alt-rock trio Plastic covering Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and The Misfits' "Return of the Fly" (as previously seen on their channel.) After Mr. Fister's cover of Black Sabbath's "Fairies Wear Boots" (also first seen here), we get a new cover from the Bucksaw successors' set, that being of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" that to me actually outshines the Sabbath cover, and sounds tighter overall! The third portion features Division of Sanity's self-titled song featured above, but here, it features an overhead camera angle to capture more of the crowd than Mr. Fister's did, which is a double edged sword as it highlights how few fans were close to the stage.

The second Division of Sanity song that Wayne included here actually isn't linked above, rather a different original named "Glare", which has a faster edge to it than the other videos that Wayne shot of their set, so give that song a look too if you're new to this band! The video closes with footage of Nightmare Grin (complete with the same camera angles) covering Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" & Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", complete with a highlighted fan dancing near the end. Nice to get higher quality footage of Ryan, Bart, and company here, and while the GNR cover is slightly out of Ryan's vocal range, there's a great spirit and energy on both covers, and it will be interesting to see what this band has in store next if they're not a one-off project! If this encompasses all of the bands that Wayne shot at LemmaFest, then he did a bang-up job with an awesome camera, and hopefully he keeps up the great filming work in the future, perhaps at LemmaFest 5? Check out the full 29 minute video below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for something big tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From The Alice Cooper Concert & LemmaFest!!

In what could be our last news post of the month (though this month's CD review is still coming by tomorrow), we're 100% focused on Sault Michigan this morning, as new videos from two recent major events are now online, with one clarifying a new (or renamed) band's sound, if only for one song, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 10:09 AM)

We'll start with the first new YouTube videos from Friday night's Alice Cooper concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as there's a lot more now online than you might realize! "MissOutDoors" was the first known YouTube user with videos from the show, and believe it or not, she uploaded 29 videos from the concert onto her channel on Saturday! However, I will note that of them, only 8 are longer than 2 minutes (and only three run for over 3 minutes), while another 8 videos are all under 1 minute, including two running for just 12 seconds. Despite the amount of incomplete & abbreviated videos, many do capture readily recognizable songs, such as "Feed My Frankenstein", "Welcome To My Nightmare", "Dirty Diamonds", and this surprising cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall", but be sure to check the above links to see all 29! MissOutDoors had a good central angle to capture everything, plus the on-stage theatrics that have became such a trademark of his sets, but it'd defeat the purpose to spoil them here!

Audio-wise, the songs do sound muffled and they may be hard to make out on the shorter clips, but these are solid videos otherwise, if chopped up a ton beforehand. Alice and company sound on form from other recent gigs, he's held up well! Embedded below is the longest of MissOutDoors' videos (of a straitjacketed Alice singing "The Ballad of Dwight Fry"), but be sure to check out the other 28 above!



The other currently known YouTube videos of the show come courtesy of the YouTube channel of user nottheonlyboy, who has shot concert footage at other E.U.P. events, but as far as I can tell, never in the Soo until yesterday. His videos include "Hey Stoopid", "Poison", "Feed My Frankenstein" and, as embedded below, Alice singing his classics "Hello Hooray" & "House of Fire", though note that his footage of "Hello Hooray" is incomplete. Filmed at a similar angle to MissOutDoors' videos (if more to the left), the audio quality on nottheonlyboy's videos is much clearer and louder, and he got some nice zoomed in shots of the band in action, so Alice Cooper fans should really like these videos! Check them out above & below!



We'll close today with new videos from the fourth annual LemmaFest outside of the Dondee last week, including 26 minutes worth of local alternative/hard rock trio Plastic's set that day! Shot by local filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah and uploaded to frontman Zac Crook's YouTube channel yesterday, this is all of a very nice quality on a largely stationary camera near the stage, but does the music match up? Edited into highlights with dead air between songs clipped out, the songs include covers of The White Stripes' "Ball & Biscuit", Stevie Wonder's "Boogie On Reggae Woman", and Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual", followed by their originals "Be My Angel" & "Butt Touchers" (I think?), and covers of The Misfits' "Return of the Fly" and the previously filmed cover of Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song", so click each link to go to the individual songs! Eclectic cover choices, but the guys effectively grunged them up like they did last year, and the excellent video quality doesn't hirt at all, despite some heads occasionally getting in the way! Awesome video, and a good sign for the future, so check it out below!



Finally, we have a video glimpse of the (sort of) new band named Mr. Fister that played at LemmaFest, so what do we now know? They definitely are either successors to or a renamed version of Dirtbag In A Dress (formerly Bucksaw), who were one of only two bands to play at the first three LemmaFests, and their lineup does indeed feature Blind Baby guitarist Bill Ogston, Scofflaw bassist Barney Gravelle, and Chump Change drummer Jason VanLuven (returning to replace Mikey Bishop.) Jason also appears to have taken over lead vocals from the departed Ryan Franklin, as seen in the video below, while Ryan wasn't replaced on rhythm guitar either. I have yet to see either a new page or an update to the old D.I.A.D. page to reflect Mr. Fister (including on if this was a one-off performance or not), but the aforementioned Wayne Kozeyah filmed the guys covering Black Sabbath's "Fairies Wear Boots", which he posted on his YouTube channel on Thursday, so how's this clip turn out?

Well shot from two different cameras (one overhead), the band sounds good on this cover, and while Jason's vocals take some adjusting to, they end up fitting well! I will nitpick about the overhead camera though, as it accentuates the lack of fans up front during this song, but other than that, this is a very solid rendition with nice guitar work, and it's nice to see the guys keeping some ties to all four LemmaFests via their participation last weekend! Check out Mr. Fister below, and I wonder if Wayne got any more videos, perhaps of Nightmare Grin?



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news this week, plus our review of Mike Haggith's newest EP by tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Album Release, LemmaFest Fallout, And More From Sault Michigan!

Before we touch on fallout from the Heart concert this past weekend, we have an all-Sault Michigan post on this Tuesday morning, including some fallout and updates from this past weekend's LemmaFest, some assorted recent notes, and first, news on a recent album release, so here's what you need to know!

Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock artist Kenneth Sutton (a.k.a. SweetKenny) released his ninth solo album "This End Up" last week, and our sincere apologies for being late to the party on this one! Self-described as a "heavy rock, beer drinking, bar band, high energy, fun album", this album features 10 songs (including instrumentals and tracks with vocals), with Ken promising freestyle playing and something for everyone to enjoy within! Like on most of his past records, Ken handles all instruments and vocals, with no credited guest input. Copies of "This End Up!" can now be bought on Bandcamp for $12, and while physical copies are likely in the works through CDBaby, he has yet to post sale copies there. In any event, you can stream all 10 tracks at this link, which also includes brief info on the songs' themes. Everything sounds good for this newest album (with SweetKenny's next CD "Amazonian" already in the planning stages), but when can you expect a review of "This End Up!" on the site?

Perhaps as soon as next month if all goes according to plan, as our review of Mike Haggith's newest solo CD is still in the works for this week(end), though I'll note that we have yet to review either "Ink" or "Cracks In The Wall" from his recent repertoire either. The latter is a bit old now for a "new" review, but I plan to listen to both of his 2014 albums to pick the heaviest for our next SweetKenny review, and we'll let you know when that's determined! Pick up "This End Up!" and more SweetKenny albums above!

Next up, here's some early fallout from the fourth annual LemmaFest, which was successfully held this past Saturday outside of the Dondee Lanes! While we await some extra lineup and sound confirmation from Nightmare Grin and Mr. Fister (plus the usual giant photo album), the first known concert video from this year's installment is now online courtesy of local alternative hard rock trio Plastic, so what should you know? Obviously, the tarp over the stage from 2012 didn't make a comeback, but aside from that, the staging was similar to past years. The video below was filmed by attendee Christy Nealen (and publically shared by Plastic yesterday from her personal Facebook page), and it's of their cover of Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song", so how does their new lineup sound? The audio quality could be a bit cleaner from the video, but the guys have a good handle on this classic, with Zac Crook's vocals fitting nicely, and Aaron DePalma fills Paul Burns' shoes well on drums! Check out the full performance below, and hopefully more videos turn up!



Also in the realm of LemmaFest videos, local filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah released his short documentary about LemmaFest and the late Mike Lemma at Saturday's event, but he finally gave the OK for fans unable to attend to check out the final product on YouTube, as per his post on the LemmaFest 2014 event page! Originally uploaded to his YouTube channel in April (albeit in a still unlisted form), this was produced as part of a course project at Lake Superior State University over the past year. Along with host bumpers & narration from Wayne, remarks from Mike Lemma's friends (including LemmaFest founder Scott Green) are included where they remember Mike and their time hanging out with him, their reactions to his sudden passing in 2010, and the inception and organization of LemmaFest the following year and beyond. Assorted clips of some bands from last year's event and scattered other gigs are featured along with numerous event photos, and for reference, Scofflaw's Barney Gravelle contributed a music piece named "Lex" for the film as well.

This documentary short is great to see why LemmaFest is such a well anticipated event, and it does a great job of selling it to prospective attendees, so kudos to Wayne on a job well done! It'd have been nice to get more remarks on Mike or the festival itself from the band members, but that's all I'd have recommended. I urge fans of LemmaFest to give the documentary a look below, and stay tuned for more on this annual event!



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

• Due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook page in recent months, I've replaced defunct local funk/hard rock band Clownsack's link on the SMS with their still-active MySpace page, which still features songs, videos, and photos of theirs from their mid-late 2000s heyday. They were a unique and entertaining band, hopefully they reunite at some point down the road!
• I've deleted defunct Pickford metal band Dust N' Bones from our local band links, as their Reverbnation page has been converted into a repository for the members of Theatre of Night's collective music ideas that aren't guaranteed to make it to official T.O.N. material. This isn't a Dust N' Bones evolution or officially a new band, just an apparent space for stuff they're working on in general, but there's some promising ideas, so give the new Harrison/Giles material a listen via the above link!
• Power Slug/Nose Dive drummer Bob Helsten (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone) has made his long awaited return to metal singing, albeit in a non-local project. The band is Astrogenta (a self-described "internet band" largely based out of the Ukraine), who actually added Orb to their lineup last October, and they're currently working on an album named "Distance Does Not Matter", which you can hear samples of (with vocals) at this link. Hopefully he finds some big success with Astrogenta, so keep an eye on them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow morning (featuring Heart videos), and I'll see you guys at The Canadian TONIGHT for Anciients, Havok, Wretched, Black Wizard, and The Revolution! ALL AGES, $20, don't miss this awesome metal lineup! Thanks everyone!