Hair Scare Live Concert Videos, Plus Big Changes For KLT!!

Can you believe there's no weekend concert previews today? Still wrapping my head around that one. In today's pandemic-free news post, we're focusing solely on Michigan topics, so let's kick things off by belatedly looking at the final known public videos from The Hair Scare Live at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd! One more YouTube user posted footage from that night onto their channel, namely attendee Carter Barsalou, who filmed two of the bands that night, though if you want footage of Kix's set, there's a fair amount from other attendees online. One of Carter's videos is of headliner Tom Keifer tackling his old band Cinderella's classic song "Shake Me". This is a solid rendition that was well filmed from the floor, though attendee heads can take up a lot of space, and the camera zoom can be somewhat choppy. Nice to see one more video of Tom & crew, so check it out below!



Carter's other video from Kewadin Casino last month was of opening Los Angeles hair metal band Faster Pussycat covering The Supersuckers' "2003 song "Pretty Fucked Up" (they titled it, not me!) A surprisingly modern song to cover at a 1980s hair metal throwback concert, it still seems to have gone over well, and drinking songs never go out of style! Unfortunately, Carter filmed this one from a vertical angle, but in this concert-devoid quarantine we're in, this may be the last Dreammakers Theatre metal show we see for a while, so savour all of the footage we can get! Give it a look below as well!

Finally, I wanted to close today with some news that doesn't directly affect the local FM radio market, but given the reach of the station in question, it is relevant for a number of listeners. Since 1991, Kalkaska-based rock radio station KLT has aired a simulcasted feed in Petoskey at WKLZ 98.9 FM, which did often reach Sault Ste. Marie with a fringe reception, and from my experience, picked up better here than Rock 105 or the modern day Classic Rock: The Bear. Well, in December, then-owners Northern Radio of Michigan agreed to sell WKLZ to the Educational Media Foundation, who plan to turn 98.9 FM into a Northern Michigan affiliate of their contemporary Christian radio network K-Love (keep in mind, the E.U.P. and Sault Ontario already have six Christian stations on FM & AM.) If you are so inclined, click here for details on the WKLZ sale. That said, KLT isn't gone from this part of the state!

Last month, Northern Radio of Michigan (who already failed to close a sale of KLT to Blarney Stone Broadcasting in 2016) struck a deal to sell KLT to regional radio giants Midwestern Broadcasting, complete with new digs at their Traverse City headquarters, staffing changes (Omelette's back on in the mornings!), and a new simulcast signal to replace WKLZ. Now, their main WKLT signal at 97.5 will also broadcast in Boyne City at WBCM on 93.5 FM, which had previously served as a simulcast of Traverse City country station WTCM. The rebroadcaster signal swap is similar to what happened with The Bear's tip-of-the-mitt feed two years ago (moving from 97.7 FM in Cheboygan to 95.3 FM in Tuscarora Township), and like then, the new signal isn't a positive for Soo listeners. Boyne City is slightly south of Petoskey already, but according to Radio-Locator's predicted coverage maps, 93.5 FM has a weaker signal, and it's estimated fringe reception doesn't even make it to De Tour Village, which may complicate things for existing northern fans.

I was able to pull KLT on 93.5 FM this morning, albeit with very staticy reception, so it can be done with the right equipment and location. Honestly, KLT's coverage range is now very comparable to Rock 105 and The Bear in terms of it's E.U.P. reach, but the strongest signal from it's originating tower belongs to Rock 105, so I expect you'll have the best luck of pulling 105.1 FM locally going forward. In any event, KLT is still worth a listen for local fans who want a playlist that's more classic-oriented than Rock 101, so click here for much more on the KLT sale and other recent radio changes downstate, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Hair Scare Live Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

We covered the first half of known public videos from The Hair Scare Live last Sunday, so why not wrap things up from that sold-out concert one week later? Most of today's videos will come via videos posted on or shared to The Hair Scare's Facebook group in the days following the event, but we will have a couple from YouTube to share in an upcoming post. Today's footage starts with Troy & Annette Chandler (of the Troy's Trail charity walk), who are ardent Hair Scare fans and combined to share 8 videos from the sold-out Dreammakers Theatre concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd onto the group. In descending order, let's start with Troy's video of headliner Tom Keifer and his solo band covering his old group Cinderella's classic song "Shake Me". Despite a vertical camera angle that's often half crowd heads, Tom and crew sound solid and energetic, so hair metal fans will want to check this one out!

Unfortunately, these videos can not be embedded on external websites due to their privacy settings, but don't blame the Chandlers, as the Hair Scare group video they didn't shoot is also blocked from external embedding, so it looks like this is a group setting. Very disappointing, but I'll link everything so you guys can watch them there! Next up, Troy filmed three videos of Maryland hair metal icons Kix playing three songs, including "Don't Close Your Eyes", "Blow My Fuse" (with lots of crowd involvement), and "Cold Blood". These videos were filmed in landscape mode, which improves the quality, but "Blow My Fuse" was unfortunately uploaded sideways. Aside from that, these capture Kix's retro glam metal stylings very well, both heavy and light sounds alike, so give these a look too! The Chandlers' only video of Los Angeles rockers Faster Pussycat was via Annette, who shared a clip of them playing their ballad "House of Pain".

Another vertical upload, you do see more of the stage this time, but based on Chris Paci's videos of their set, I think their upbeat metal songs suit them better. Judge for yourself at the above links! Attendee Mike Nicholson also filmed Faster Pussycat playing "House of Fire" in his own video on the Hair Scare group, which runs for only 40 seconds or so, and has a much sharper angle of the stage, not helped by the vertical angle and slightly rougher recording. The music sounds good while it lasts, and it's nice to have an alternate perspective! Back to Annette's uploads, she prefaced the concert clips with three pre-concert videos, specifically from The Hair Scare's live pre-show episode on Rock 101, which aired at 4:00 PM that day so as to not conflict with the concert. One clip is just of them sitting outside the theatre while host/MC Scott Cook is mingling with fans during a song, but the other two feature Scott interviewing members of the two opening bands.

The first 30-ish second-long video includes Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe and guitarist Sam Koltun talking about Sam joining the group last year, while the longer second clip sees them discuss their touring in Wisconsin (nearer to Rock 101's sister stations in the Western U.P.) and their trip to the Soo, but 80 seconds so in, Taime and Sam swap out for Kix frontman Steve Whiteman and bassist Mark Schenker, who talk about their own trip here, how they have maintained their sound, and their favourite newer bands, among other topics. It's not every day when you see public video footage of a Rock 101 broadcast, let alone not in their regular studio, but it's very neat to see Scott interviewing performers that night, and you can tell he's a huge fan of the music, which will be readily apparent to Hair Scare listeners on Saturday nights, of course. Kudos to Annette and Troy for all of the solid video footage during and before this concert, and check out theirs (and Mike's) videos at the above links!

We do have a couple more YouTube videos  to touch on this week, which I can absolutely embed here (as far as I know), so look for those in the coming days, and for other news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Hair Scare Live Concert Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

March is here, so let's kick things off with an all-video post from a major recent concert, namely the Hair Scare Live event at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd! This special concert sold out, proving how big of a draw hair metal is locally, and having branding and co-hosting ties with the popular Rock 101 show never hurts in this regard! This was a Saturday nighter, same as the radio show's regular airtime, so Rock 101 and host Scott Cook got around that by broadcasting The Hair Scare at a special early start time of 4:00 PM that day, live from the casino. Smart move, and if you went to the concert, it meant double the glam metal action! There's a lot more to see from both YouTube and the Hair Scare Facebook group in the coming days, but for now, let's take a look at the always prolific Christopher Paci, who posted sixteen videos on his YouTube channel last week, so what can you see here?

Half of Chris' videos come from former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer's headlining set (his first local appearance in nine years), and they include Tom and his solo band playing his original songs  "It's Not Enough", "Rise", and "Hype", as well as covers of Cinderella's "Somebody Save Me", "Nobody's Fool", and "Gypsy Road", plus a long video featuring two back-to-back Cinderella songs, namely "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" & "Shake Me". Embedded below is Tom's first song, an original named "Touching the Divine". Chris has a good angle of the stage, if a little jittery, but the over-exposed stage lighting can be a drawback at points. Musically, Tom and crew sound good for hair metal fans, and he can still hit high notes pretty well! Fans seemed to like the new originals as well, which is good to see, though of course, bigger Cinderella hits seemed to get the best response. Check out all of Tom & crew's videos above & below!



Next up, Chris filmed Maryland hair metal veterans Kix playing five original songs, including "Midnight Dynamite", "Love Me With Your Top Down", "Don't Close Your Eyes", "Blow My Fuse", and as embedded below, "Girl Money". To my ears, Kix sound the closest to their 1980s sound of the three bands at The Hair Scare Live, and they deliver a strong melodic performance with energy, and what more could you ask for at a hair metal concert? Give Kix's videos a look above & below, and look for more on the site soon!



Finally, Chris got three videos of opening Los Angeles hair metal quintet Faster Pussycat playing "House of Pain", two songs in one video ("Bathroom Wall" & a cover of The Supersuckers' "Pretty Fucked Up"), and as embedded below, their set-opener "Jack the Bastard".  A little harder edged than the bands ahead, Faster Pussycat sound solid for genre fans to help kick things off on the 22nd, so check out these videos above & below as well!



Thanks again to Chris for his great work filming these once again, and while there are much more to come, that's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hair Scare Live), New Videos, And Music City SSM Updates!!

Let's tackle some more recent news and notes as we begin winding down the month of October, and we're roughly splitting things between the twin Saults today. Here, we have some new videos from acts on both sides of the border, updates on ambitious music plans in Sault Ontario, and leading off, a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for you 101.3 FM listeners on Saturday nights!

Former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for a special headlining concert on Saturday, February 22nd! Fans last saw Tom on a local stage when he and Cinderella rocked this venue in April 2011, and while Cinderella proper disbanded in 2017, he has a full solo band now and new original material with them, so look for new songs and his old classics like  "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" & "Nobody's Fool" early next year! Support will include Maryland glam/hard rock quintet Kix in their apparent local debut, who will bring a repertoire of classic songs like "Don't Close Your Eyes" & "Girl Money" to the table in February, so genre fans should be right at home with their set! Los Angeles hair metal veterans Faster Pussycat will round out the bill on this night, and with songs like "House of Pain" and "Nonstop To Nowhere", they should set the tone very well in four months' time!

Notably, this concert is branded as "Hair Scare Live", after the popular Saturday night hair/glam metal show on Rock 101, who first announced this concert this past weekend, and have the exclusive pre-sale ticket code on air. Very cool for Scott and company to get the show's name on a concert very much up their alley! This all ages, 8:00 PM show has tickets going on sale on Halloween at 10:00 AM, with general tickets starting at just $25, and you can get yours then at this link, the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. You couldn't ask for a more Hair Scary show than this, so rock the winter blues away at this one, and visit the above links for full details!

Next up, let's continue playing catch-up with local classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook video postings that we missed covering on the SMS this year, now focusing on their Facebook group! Generally, this is where keyboardist Craig Harrison shares videos originally posted on his personal Facebook page, rather than brand new exclusive content. On April 28th, Craig shared this video featuring their original (and non-seasonal) instrumental named "The Drowning", which first went on Reverbnation back in 2017. Described as "a somber anthem of beauty & sadness", this has a delicate ethereal sound that suits their classical ties well, and Steve's guitar work is really solid, so fans should give it a listen if they haven't already! On June 9th, Craig shared a video of singer Rachel Mender beautifully covering Evanescence's "Hello" in studio, and it's got very strong emotion to it, possibly inspired by her then two month-old son Grey's major health battle (click here for information.)

Best of luck to Rachel & Ryan at this difficult time, no parent should have go through something like this! We'll wrap for now on a happier note, namely this video Craig shared from August 20th of Rachel tracking vocals in studio for Theatre of Night's version of "O Holy Night", complete with another shot of the monitor as things get recorded. Short by excellently done as usual, it's nice to hear an isolated vocal track recording (which isn't common for heavier bands to show off around there), so give that video a look below!

 

Moving back to Sault Ontario, remember how local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty ran a private venue named Mellow D's Underground that hosted a handful of concerts in early-mid 2017? Well, it returned in a new (private) location on Friday at a Halloween party that the Soo's Got Talent third place finishers headlined! The band never acknowledged the show (entitled "The Spooktacular Soiree") publically until yesterday via their Facebook page. The A.A. shared the stage on Friday with hip hop acts, including Killabeatz, Kodex, ex-As It Stands frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent, and Conika, who filmed this video of Paul, Alice, and Amanda covering Lorde's "Tennis Courts." Lighting is what it is given the location, and the video only runs for 63 seconds, but it's a lively and intense rendition as you might expect, and this seems like a fun way to bring Mellow D's back after a 2+ year hiatus! Give this video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally, remember the discussion of "Music City Sault Ste. Marie" and an event with music industry professionals (including Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori) at The Water Tower Inn two weeks ago? Well, here's what we know about that, though you can get more technical details via the SooToday articles linked here & here. In a nutshell, representatives from numerous municipal and arts organizations have came together to help build up Sault Ste. Marie & it's music industry to become a true "music city" and a full destination for tourism, jobs, city development, and artistic growth therein. London was cited as an inspiration, based on the economic activity, publicity, and tourism there following their hosting the Juno Awards in March, with the Soo hosting the Junos cited as a potential goal. The involved groups and sponsors hosted the "Mastering of a Music City" event on October 17th, outlining their vision and what we could take from London's example, followed by a networking session.

I'm all for bolstering the Soo's music community, it'd be a huge boost for local recognition and tourism if done right, and we have loads of musical talent here, past and present! This is a tricky market in some respects given how Sault Michigan largely controls local radio, and as such, Canadian acts often don't have the same visibility. Maybe that could be addressed via Music City SSM? The Junos is a lofty goal, especially as they haven't been held in a venue as small as the Gardens since 1994, but it sure would be cool to have them here. Visit the above links for much more on these plans, and stay tuned for more news on the site this week! Thanks everyone!