Now, let's round out this weekend's concert previews with the remaining hard rock concerts that we couldn't fit into yesterday's post! To fill out the post, there's also a new video from a new local band to check out, but here's what you should know for remaining hard rock concerts this weekend in loose chronological order!
We'll start this preview post at The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, where Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return for a pair of shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their De Tour Village gig this past weekend, this will be the Monkey's Uncle successors' first concert weekend within an hour of the Soo since April at the St. Ignace Kewadin, having taken the last two months off "to update some music and find some new music to keep interest alive in the band", as per their Facebook page in May. If this lines up with projections, expect some new setlist selections at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend, and hopefully Highway 63 deliver strongly in their return from their spring break! As usual for Highway 63's Kewadin stops, expect 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!
Next up, let's head back to Sault Ontario for a LopLops Lounge concert taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, wherein local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! The first of four July shows from The Din during their "Summer of Din", this will be their first LopLops stop since their short-handed (and short notice) acoustic gig last month, while this will be Bizotic's first LopLops stop in around 4 months, and the second show in as many nights for the Sounds From The Green Room successors, having also opened for Vaultry tonight at The Canadian. Solid and fast-rising bands, so don't miss out on either tomorrow at LopLops! As for SIANspheric, while I wouldn't consider them a "hard rock" band, they have been making waves with their ambient drone & experimental originals over the past two decades, and they should be a unique attraction for fans at LopLops tomorrow, so don't overlook them!
Note that The Din teased the launch of their new "Dinsider" mailing list for exclusive offers, early media access, and news on the Facebook event page (you can be among the first to sign up tomorrow), while the band may be debuting one or two new songs with this set, so keep these nuggets in mind! A $5 cover charge is in effect tomorrow night for this 19+ concert, which has a 9:00 PM start time. Whether you want creative space rock or new alt-hard rock originals, you have options tomorrow at LopLops, so see above for more details, and here's The Din live!
Lastly for this weekend's concert previews (barring something on extremely short notice), we'll head to The New American Pub, where Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing their live-tested brand of "grinding power violence" to the Soo, Uncle Ray's fast and ferocious originals should deliver nicely for fans craving some extreme metal action this weekend, so give them a listen in advance of Sunday's concert! Local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA will co-headline in their second show of the summer and first New A stop in over 3 months, and fans will surely be out for their crushing and slow blend of heavy metal on Sunday! Opening the show are local grind/punk duo Them in their first public concert appearance of the year, and hopefully Tyler & Anthony can set the tone nicely in a rare set of theirs!
Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. In a busy concert weekend, this is (pound for pound) the heaviest show of all in the Soo, so don't miss out on the brutality at The New A on Sunday night, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Uncle Ray live!
Finally, here's a new cover video from newer local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded! After almost a month off from public updates, this new video of the guys covering Pop Evil's "100 in a 55" was posted to their Facebook page on Tuesday, so what should you know? An acoustic rendition sans bassist Justin Gottwald & drummer Dylan Newman, the sub-2 minute clip isn't badly done, and has a nice casual feel, almost as if you'd expect a campfire betweem them. Justin's melodic singing fits well, and Shane & Ryan have the guitar down nicely, so give this new Halfway Loaded video a look below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!
After a quiet Monday, we are back with a new news post this morning featuring more recent concert videos to check out, and leading off, a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, so here's what you need to know!
Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut on Sunday, July 9th when they headline at The New American Pub! Specializing in ferocious yet short original songs, Uncle Ray's brand of "grinding power violence" has left a good impression on Southern Ontario fans, and hopefully they bring the same intensity to The New A later this summer, so give them a listen! Local support will include local doom metal trio AlgomA in their second local show since the end of their European tour run. With a very intriguing new album in the works from AlgomA with another notable band (more on that shortly), the second half of 2016 should be very eventful for them, so stay tuned! The other opening act will be local death metal duo Them, in their first publically announced concert of the year, not having played live publically since opening for Dumpster Mummy last fall (apologies for missing that show in previous references to their stage hiatus.)
Solid choice, and hopefully Tyler and Anthony can pick up where the left off in seven weeks' time when they open for Uncle Ray at The New A! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!
Next up, local funk/improv/hard rock quintet Gianni Gagoots' second show under their Like Ten Productions promotional banner will take place on Saturday, September 2nd when they open for Montreal jazz/rap/funk trio The OM Sound at The New American Pub once again! Fans may remember seeing the Gagoots open for this band at The New A back on December 30th during Six, Two, Oh.'s Holiday Funk Show, and it's clear that The OM Sound left an impression on attendees with their "hip-hop/electro/jazz funk" stylings, so if you like said genres and want another sampling, here's your Labour Day weekend booking, with some harder edged instrumental jams from the local openers to kick things off! More details may be forthcoming (the show isn't for over 3 months, after all), but expect a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details in the interim!
Finally for today, we actually have a few more videos from last week's Alter Bridge concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino to acknowledge on here! Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! Five come from Infathom manager Michael Cole's YouTube channel, as he belatedly followed Wednesday's "My Champion" video with five more clips uploaded yesterday. Five day delay or not, it's great to see these! Michael's new videos are of the Orlando hard rock quartet playing their songs "The Writing On The Wall", "Come To Life", "Farther Than The Sun", "Addicted To Pain", and as embedded below, "Ghost Of Days Gone By". Filmed at a similar angle and quality as seen previously from Michael, these videos have a great angle of the band, but slightly muffled audio. Check them out above & below, and if more videos turn up on YouTube, we'll try to acknowledge them!
Lastly, promoters Allstar Promotions's Facebook page shared two videos from owner Dave Atkinson's personal Facebook page last week that feature Alter Bridge doing their soundcheck before the show proper began! The sub-2 minute clips (one linked here) feature instrumental performances before doors officially opened, though gathered onlookers do applaud and cheer after songs wrapped up. This is a very unique way to view this concert, especially when you combine the empty seats and lack of vocals, and diehard fans will definitely want to check these out above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the month rolls along! Thanks everyone!
I wasn't expecting to have a new news post today, but given our busy Thursday and some new notes on a recent sad story and a late notice lineup change for TONIGHT'S battle of the bands, I thought I should get another up tonight. Today, we also have album updates (including a surprise release) from two Mike Haggith-featured projects, but first, here's some follow-up on a well liked local musician's recent passing.
Former local metal/hard rock drummer Ray Brown's obituary has been posted onto SooToday at this link, where it confirms that his funeral will be held on Saturday at 2:00 PM at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre, with visitation taking place Friday from 6:00-9:00 PM and Saturday from 12:00-1:30 PM, and cremation and internment planned at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. The obituary also adds that memorial contributions to the Algoma Residential Community Hospice and the Sault Area Hospital Cancer Care Fund would be appreciated, and he's survived by his fiance Candy, two brothers, and four nieces & nephews, among other extended family. I'll also note that his former The Chosen bandmate Taryn Bugyra has launched this Facebook group as a memorial to him, with the hope of obtaining pictures of him for use at his services, so if you have any pictures of Ray, join the group and share them if you want.
The outpouring of condolences and memories has been really nice to see, and though I won't pretend to have known him, it does reinforce all of the good things I have heard from his friends and bandmates. I hope the funeral on Saturday continues the recent good feelings, and I send nothing but the best out to Ray's family and Candy at this difficult time. R.I.P. Ray!
Moving to some lighter recent stories, a band has dropped out of TONIGHT'S Viva La Battle at The Canadian Nightclub, that being debuting "secret" band Keep It Lit. Promoter J.D. Pearce confirmed on the Facebook event page this afternoon that a band member broke their hand, and though I'm not sure which member it was, note that Keep It Lit's intended secrecy prior to their debut hasn't noticeably bowed despite their exit from tonight's battle of the bands. With their withdrawal being so short notice, a replacement band will not be secured (making this the smallest battle of the bands in recent memory), but J.D. did note that the remaining bands can play up to 45 minutes in their set now if they want. Disappointing news to be sure, especially knowing Keep It Lit's lineup and sound descriptions, but hopefully they'll have some public news or a new show date sooner or later! With that said, we still have The Bear Hunters battling with the debuting North West and Punch TONIGHT to earn the right to open for Fuckface Unstoppable at The Canadian next month, so don't miss out!
With one less band, there's now a 66% chance that a Suicide Kings member will win their second straight battle tonight, but will North West throw a wrench into those odds? Find out TONIGHT, and you can help win by entering your ballot! First band goes on at 9:30 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and the cover charge is $5! See you guys there!
We'll close today with some news relating to albums featuring prolific local hard rock musician Mike Haggith, starting with the latest from Mike's new band, local funk/metal/jam trio The Strange Coyotes! The Project Legion successors recorded a live in-studio album at PaperClip Productions a few days ago and released it to their new BandCamp page
last night after some editing and trimming, and a YouTube upload of
said tracks is also planned. With 7 songs spread across 27 minutes, the
self titled album features all originals by The Strange Coyotes, and I don't think any of
them are expanded versions of Chase Wigmore or James Watterworth's
existing original songs. I'll note that like defunct Sault Michigan band Insipid Bruality's posthumous album, this is up on a name your price model, so while you can buy it free, I'm sure the band would appreciate if you paid a sum for the album! Knowing that it's on sale, I'll confirm that a review of "The Strange Coyotes" is now likely, but when can we expect it on the site?
Probably not until next year, as I've reserved this month for SweetKenny's "Perception", and I tentatively have Haggith's "Apocalypse II" planned for next month to go along with their impending demise (if it does come out for sale, of course), but stay tuned for it in early 2014, and give The Strange Coyotes' self-titled original debut a listen above!
Finally for today, here's some announcements on his upcoming 48th solo album! As per his solo project's Facebook page yesterday, tracking & mixing is underway for this album, which will be called "A Place Of Our Own" (album cover on your right), which will be a concept album. It replaces his original planned next CD "The Tower", which is now on "an indefinite hiatus", though he's pushed back planned album ideas before, so I wouldn't immediately assume that it'll never surface. A release date and samples/indications of the album's sound are yet to be confirmed, but Mike tentatively pointed towards a possible completion date in February 2014. I'll note that if "A Place Of Our Own" comes out on time from that projection, we won't review it (or "The Present Din" if it's heavier) until at least April, as it'll be within our 6 month buffer from our review of "Neighbourhood Watch II", but I fully expect to review a new Mike Haggith album by mid-2014, so stay tuned for updates on it and Mike's other solo work as it all comes in!
That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian for Viva La Battle! Will The Bear Hunters, North West, or Punch earn the right to open for Bam Margera next month? Find out tonight, and stay tuned at midnight for a special look back at a popular former local concert series that recently celebrated it's third anniversary. Thanks everyone!
The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family and friends of former local hard rock drummer Ray Brown, who lost his battle with cancer yesterday, just a month shy of his 42nd birthday. Details on his arrangements and services have yet to be announced, but we'll have them here when/if they're publicized. Ray had been fighting cancer of the lungs and liver for much of the year, which led to a great outpouring of support and condolences from his friends & colleagues, including a successful benefit concert at The Verdi Hall last month that he thankfully was able to attend. A well known metalhead & musician in the area, Ray had played drums in a number of local bands in the past, including stints with The Chosen (alongside Frightlight, Lucky 13, and Cherry Crush alumni) and the Wishbone predecessors Saint Mizry, among others, and he had jammed with his musician friends often in recent years as well. I never knew Ray personally, but I've never heard a bad word about him as a person or a musician, and from what I've learned since I learned of his illness, he was a funny and very kind guy who touched a lot of lives.
Just for privacy's sake (and because others can speak to Ray's qualities and life way better than I), I'll leave you guys with this song posting from his friend and fellow veteran local drummer Glen Thomas, who posted this song named "God Knows Why" by Ray's old band Saint Mizry onto his YouTube channel last month. Ray's heyday in local bands came before concert videos became more common, but this is a nice sampling of his drum talent, and hopefully there's some more media of his music work floating around! Stay tuned for details on his arrangements if they come out, and R.I.P. Ray, you are not forgotten!
In this Friday night auto-post (apologies if anything major isn't up yet, it's coming!), we have some assorted recent news and notes, a new live concert video, and a preview for a Sunday night concert in Sault Ontario, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!
Toronto hard rock quintet Diemonds will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario on Thursday, November 21st at The Algonquin Pub!
Last seen locally at the old Coch's Corner in the summer of 2009, this
female fronted outfit have a fun and sleazy swagger that should fit in
well for their next local stop, and after missing their 2009 show until
after it took place, it's nice to get a rain check to cover it fully on
here! Local all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats
will open the show in their fourth full concert appearance (and first
at The Algonquin since debuting there last month), and they should be a
solid fit as they continue to carve a local name with their entertaining
and growing sound! The Facebook event page
still hypes bands to be announced, and if any do get added, we'll let
you guys know. Promoted by Frightlight/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce
(in his first Algonquin Pub show in over 4 months), admission will be $5
with a 10:00 PM start time, and you must be 19 to attend. Check the
above links for more details!
It's great to have Diemonds
back in town after such a long wait, and hopefully there's a big turnout
next month for their return, and for The Danger Cats too! Stay tuned
for updates as they roll in!
Next up, here's the first new videos from The Big Loonie Bus Show at La Cucina in Echo Bay last week, starting with local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade's entire set! Uploaded by 62nd Chamber Productions' YouTube channel yesterday, this gives us our first clear view of La Cucina (white interior with a hockey jersey motif by the stage), but the stationary camera's at a high side-stage angle for some reason, so while the view is close, we only see the band's upper body and not much else. The video captures 30 minutes worth of action, including their songs "Here We Lay", "Pillage", "For Him", "Crimson Crusade", "Reality", "Vanquish The Tyrant", and "Lost Memories", closing with a cover of Death's "Pull The Plug", so click each song name to go straight to it! Crimson Crusade sound as great and brutal as usual, though I am sort of surprised that songs from their EP like "Left For Dead" and "Consumed" were snubbed. Check out Crimson Crusade's full Echo Bay set below!
Also from Echo Bay, here's a video from an act who you might be expecting. As you may remember, a secret special guest was hyped by promoters Oh! Right Arm! Promotions in the lead-up to the event, but the original planned act fell through for unannounced reasons (no word on who they were either, but my guess was a BeeFMouTH reunion.) Regardless, promoters felt obligated to ensure that there would still be a secret act to play at La Cucina last weekend, so they signed on local musician Chris Shoust's acoustic/grunge solo project Telephone & Address to play the Big Loonie Bus Show, and 62nd Chamber Productions filmed his set and posted this 15 minute video onto their YouTube channel on Wednesday! Alternating between stationary black & white shots and more psychedelic filtered & mirrored effects (but all from the side-stage angle), these continue with Chris' lo-fi original recording style, but all still retain the grungy outsider feel that would definitely be interesting to hear expanded to a full band.
Check out Telephone & Address live in Echo Bay below, stay tuned in case there's more fallout from this show, and watch for some more recent Telephone & Address video discoveries! (Also, note that Telephone & Address' Facebook page has been deleted for unknown reasons, but I've since replaced it with Chris' website again for their link in our active Sault Ontario band links.)
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, venue, or event:
I've replaced the link for the now-closed Bottoms Up Lounge in our inactive Sault Ontario venue listings with their Facebook page, as their website has been shut down. The Queen Street bar/acoustic venue's been closed since June, so this won't be a major change, but I wanted to give the heads up!
Sault Michigan solo guitarist Mike Libertoski has posted a rough demo of his/Galactic Alignment's original song "Abort the Export" onto his SoundCloud page, featuring vocals! They're done by his Toast bandmate Bob Helsten (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone), who used to sing with I.S.O.M. & End of Existence, among other projects. His growling vocals fit really nicely on this technical death metal track, so give the new version a listen above!
In terms of lineup notes from the Ray Brown benefit concert last week at The Verdi Hall, I can now confirm some additional performers, including that Mike Case's Junior Rockers (featuring ex-Jack Spades drummer T.J. Case) apparently replaced Redundant on the bill, and Ray's former The Chosen bandmate Taryn Bugyra sang guest vocals during Lucky 13's set. My source is performer Valerie Powley's photo album on her personal Facebook page, and I hope the event was a huge hit for Ray!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!
In our second post of the day, we're previewing this weekend's slate of metal & hard rock concerts! All are in Sault Ontario (at least, for ones that I can confirm at present), but if any across the river (or any short notice ones in general) turn up, we'll have them here tomorrow or Saturday! There's a pair of big multi-band concerts with very different aims and sounds in store, but we'll start with a new acoustic solo gig, so read on below for the previews, and check out this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles in the post below this one! (Updated on Friday at 12:18 AM)
Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill ("Roadhouse" is officially one word now) TOMORROW NIGHT! Despite earlier word confirming tomorrow's date, this show was publically advertised on it's Facebook event page as taking place tonight, but it's since been confirmed there that this is a Friday night show as usual, so apologies for any confusion! Tym's acoustic hard rock and metal covers are always a welcome sight at a local venue, and if you can't make the Ray Brown benefit tomorrow night (more on that in a second), you can still see Tym somewhere in the next few days! TOMORROW's show has a 19+ age limit, and there isn't an announced cover charge, but for more details, checl the above links! Keep the return of Tym's solo act in mind for tomorrow night if you're up for some acoustic rock action in the East End, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Heart's "Alone" at Mill Square!
Also this weekend, a variety of local musicians will gather for a bittersweet benefit/tribute show TOMORROW NIGHT at The Verdi Hall to honour local drummer Ray Brown (formerly of The Chosen and some past heavier local bands), who is currently battling cancer in the lungs & liver, and was given only a few months to live last month. As a result, his friends and fellow local musicians have banded together to help raise money to cover his final expenses, and to help him and his family out and honour him as a person and musician. A pasta dinner will be provided for attendees at 7:00 PM tomorrow, while there will be raffles, a door prize, and games to help the cause, so visit the Facebook event page for full details on the non-musical entertainment. Confirmed bands for tomorrow night include local rock cover band Boxcar Junction
(formerly Cleveland Steamer), newer local hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies, alternative hard
rockers Lucky 13, fellow hard rock quartet Griphook,
Obsession singer Valerie Powley and some unidentified friends, and
the aforementioned Tym Morrison (who will also be playing in between breaks.)
Local punk trio Redundant were also confirmed initially for the event, but have dropped out due to drummer Rick White's ongoing recovery from last month's hospitalization. His brother & bandmate James had suggested that his other band Caveman Morrison could fill in, but this hasn't been confirmed by event organizers. Also note that this event was moved from The Canadian Nightclub last month following the major flooding that took place there, and it was bumped from Saturday to Friday due to The Verdi Hall not booking events on the actual Thanksgiving weekend. Advance ticket sales closed yesterday, but you can still get one at the door for $25 IF you inform an administrator of the Facebook event page linked above so they can hold your ticket (also, there's no announced age limits.) Check the above links for more details! I don't know Ray personally, but I know he's a very talented musician and a good guy who's been hit hard by cancer, and it's just sad that news like this is what draws everyone together.
I just hope it's a huge success to help his family through a very trying time, and I know Ray will enjoy and be grateful for everyone's help as a result! On the musical side of things, this event really reminds me of Toystock from last year given it's base of veteran cover bands, so there should be a solid assortment of proven talent to entertain everyone and give Ray his due! Check the above links for more details on this very special event, and for a preview, here's Lucky 13 covering The Stone Temple Pilots last year!
Finally for the known hard rock concerts this weekend, a rare concert on the outskirts of Sault Ontario goes down THIS SATURDAY when new local concert promotion agency Oh! Right Arm! Promotions host The Big Loonie Bus Show, a metal concert at La Cucina (the bar underneath Bucci's Place) in nearby Echo Bay, right near the big loonie! As recently hyped with video interviews with half of the announced bands, the bands playing on Saturday include local sludge/stoner metal trio AlgomA (in just their fourth show & third public concert), popular local death metal quartets The Bear Hunters & Crimson Crusade, and local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet (in a rare show for them with no out of town headliners), while the Facebook event page still hypes a "special secret attraction" to perform as well. Note that most of the bands have new material to debut, so there's more reason to attend! Besides the unique location in Echo Bay (40 minutes east of the Soo), another unique angle is that promoters will be renting a bus to trek fans to and from La Cucina for free on Saturday night!
Drop-off and pick-up will take place outside of the Station Mall Wal-Mart and at the front entrance of the Wellington Square Mall (the earlier Wendy's/Tim Hortons spot on Great Northern is no longer planned), so if you can't/don't want to drive, or want to take a unique ride to and from this very heavy show, keep it in mind! Tickets for this 19+ show (complete with a chocolate loonie) are still available at The Rad Zone or through AlgomA members (with free delivery!) for $10, but the price jumps to $11.50 at the door, regardless of your method for getting to Echo Bay. For more details, and to get your tickets, check the above links! I know Oh! Right Arm! are really hoping that this show's a huge hit, and will encourage more concerts in Echo Bay, so take advantage of the unique location and the party bus to not miss out! Besides, with new material and that surprise band, why not go? I've got family coming up from London that night, so I can't confirm my attendance yet, but make this show a hit, the promoters deserve it and they've put in a lot of work to make this a brutal and unique concert! For a preview, here's AlgomA live at The Rosie in June!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and any late notice concert alerts shortly! Thanks everyone!
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Today does mark a certain spree of new song postings from Sault Michigan-area label Werehold Records (along with recent tradition), but we'll have that on here tomorrow just in case the song uploads aren't done yet. Today, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next week and next month (including long awaited confirmation of bands for a major event), some details and information relating to another upcoming concert, and some new song postings, so read on below for what you need to know!
Sault Ontario hard rock cover quartet Griphook will return to the stage on Friday, September 20th (one week from today) at The Nicolet Tavern! This talented veteran outfit (featuring Flat Stanley, Bigsuit, Hollow, and Gsis Murphy alumni) had been taking a break of sorts since their Rotaryfest weekend gigs two months ago, but it's great to see the full band (rather than the one-off trio "The 7 Year Itch") back at it for another concert next week! For the record, this is their first Nicolet Tavern appearance in 4 months. There's no announced cover charge for next week's concert, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Griphook back after their oddly long break, so don't miss their varied hard rock covers at The Nic next Friday, but if you can't make it, where else can you see them this fall?
We can see them as well at the Ray Brown benefit/tribute concert at The Verdi Hall on Friday, October 11th, as they're on the newly announced lineup for the event! As revealed by event co-organizer Donna DeSimon on the Facebook event page, Griphook will be among 7 bands (mostly cover acts) on the lineup, and in listed order, they include local punk trio Redundant, notable rock cover band Boxcar Junction (formerly Cleveland Steamer), new local hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies (in just their fourth announced local show), alternative hard rockers Lucky 13 (in their first gig in 2 months), the aforementioned Griphook, Obsession singer Valerie Powley "and friends" (identities unclear), and Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison in a solo acoustic set, while he'll also have short performances during breaks. Nice diverse lineup, and with a solid selection of hard rock bands too! Of course, this event is in honour of veteran local drummer Ray Brown to help raise funds for his final expenses, as he was not given long to live by doctors due to his cancer battle, so come on out to pay support!
Remember, this event has been moved from The Canadian due to Monday night's flooding, and it's now on the Friday rather than Saturday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Tickets are now on sale for $25 at The Rad Zone, along with Superior Hodge Podge & The Music Depot on Gore Street, or through event hosts credited at the event page, but get yours A.S.A.P., as only a few will be at the door. Check the above links for more details on the musical and other events (including dinner and prizes), and best of luck all around to Ray and his family!
Next up, here's the newest updates concerning the Hydra's Teeth-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub one week from today! The Facebook event page now has an event poster that outlines entry details and the bands, while Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie confirmed there that his band's label PaperClip Productions will provide the evening's lighting and sound. That should work out well, they have a good setup! As for the opening band that night, all-female rock band The Danger Cats, here's what we now know on them! They launched in April but only recently posted a Facebook page, and their lineup includes Summer Stevens on vocals, Paula D'Agostino on guitar, Jamie-Lynn VanSchooneveld on bass, and former Lazer Queen frontwoman Kate Drew on drums. However, all 4 members use alliterative stage names relating to big cat species (similarly to most of Lion Ride), so they're credited on Facebook as Summer Snow-Leopard, Paula Panther, Jamie Jaguar, and Kate Kougar.
I know a bit more on them given that my mom works with Jamie (and Paula formerly too), so I can confirm that some members are still gaining experience on their instruments, but they do cover at least some heavier songs, so come on out next week to support them! Compared to Sault Michigan, Sault Ontario tends to lack for women in rock bands, so hopefully The Danger Cats have a successful debut next week to help change that up! Stay tuned for updates if they come in!
Finally for today, two new songs from local grindcore solo project Brutaly Fatal were uploaded to their label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel yesterday! Entitled "Shank Shock" and "Acidic Sky's" (which is the title track of their demo), the songs still show Austin McCrae's growling and bass skills fairly well, but the absence of a full band is still all too clear, and it'd be nice to see Austin enlist other band members to fill out these promising tracks. Check out "Acidic Sky's" below, and stay tuned soon for more updates on Blood Shed Productions' grind artists!
That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for our recap of today's Friday the 13th uploads from Werehold Records! Thanks everyone!
Before we preview this weekend's metal & hard rock concerts, we have a new news post that's half good news and half bad. The good news comes from new song postings (including from a brand new album), but we'll start with bad news, as a local concert spot got hit hard by recent inclement weather once again, so read on below for what you should know!
Pim Street bar/concert venue The Canadian Nightclub has been hit by major flooding once again, thanks to the local rainstorm on Monday night. This is deja vu for sure, as The Canadian was flooded under very similar circumstances in July 2011, so while there isn't as much shock value given that this happened before, it's still very disappointing knowing that they'll be closed and employees will be out of work for an indefinite time period (for reference, the 2011 flooding led to 7 weeks of renovations before it's return.) In fact, The Canadian just re-opened after cosmetic renovations on August 1st, so this is weird timing for a flood to cause more work to be done. The Canadian's Jay Perron shared photos of the new damage with SooToday via this article, and the flood waters look comparable to what happened 2 years ago, but like then, I'm not in the position to estimate damages or cost of anything. Despite being on the hill, The Canadian's not in a great spot in terms of flood risk, but I hope they can bounce back from this stronger than ever, as it's a nice venue with friendly staff, and if they can overcome this once, they can do it again!
As a result, all events at The Canadian through early October will either be cancelled or relocated. If the renovations take 7 weeks again, it'd re-open in time for Halloween, but that's a personal guess & nothing else, as I don't know the extent of the coming work. In terms of announced SMS-coverable events there, the only one that's been affected by the flooding is the Ray Brown benefit/tribute concert that was scheduled for October 12th. Instead, it's been relocated from The Canadian to The Verdi Hall at 455 Queen Street West, and it's also been rescheduled to Friday, October 11th, as no local banquet halls are booking events that Saturday due to the Thanksgiving break. Nothing else has changed, so click here for all current details & for info on playing or donating prizes! I'll also note that according to Haggith's Facebook page, the Hydra's Teeth-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub next Friday was indeed originally scheduled for The Canadian, but was moved for unknown reasons before the flooding ever happened. Stay tuned for updates on the flooding and any other related news as it comes in, and best of luck all around!
Now to some happier news, starting with Haggith drummer Mike Haggith' latest solo album, which is now available on his YouTube channel and Reverbnation page for free streaming! Like his last few solo releases, there has been changes between their last public updates and first full unveiling, so what's different? His 47th album has had the name "Where It Ends" demoted to a subtitle, and it's now called "Neighbourhood Watch II: Where It Ends", a reference and acknowledgement to his 2012 album that many songs originally were planned for. A new album cover is planned as well, and though it has yet to be unveiled, this was the original prototype. The album still has 11 songs, but the track order has been altered, and four songs have been replaced, with "Miss 76", "Lacking Common Sense" (formerly "Stalking Booze & The Raptor"), "Solitude", and "Goodbye" replacing "The Curse (of 13)", "Fading", and his covers of "The Man In Green" and "The Trip". No reason for the song changes was announced, but this is par for the course for his solo work, and the dropped songs could be on his next CD "The Tower".
Somewhat softer & more orchestral than the first "Neighbourhood Watch", a full paid release is planned for "Neighbourhood Watch II: Where It Ends" (including physical pressings), but details and information on that front is not yet out. If the paid release comes out in the next month or so, a solo Mike Haggith album will likely be our next CD review subject (either this or "The Present Din"), so keep an eye out, click here for more information, and visit this link for the whole YouTube playlist of the album! Embedded below is the first song, "Grace", and stay tuned for info on the full paid release!
Finally for today, here's a bunch of new audio uploads from defunct local grunge trio No Arrow! Ex-frontman Dann Pichette (who currently lives in Terrace Bay) recorded these at some point (with him on vocals & all instruments), but only just posted them on his YouTube channel on Saturday. The songs include originals named "Trial & Error", "System", "Rehashed Acid Reign", "Question Mark", "Far", and "Bleed Out", along with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", so click each link to check them out! I saw Dann make references online to these being part of an "album", but like "Souls For Sale", it's never seen a full paid release. These are solid overall, and they fit with No Arrow's past and more prominent original work, so grunge/alternative fans should get a kick out of these songs! (Note that "Rehashed Acid Reign" is an extended instrumental composition that's hard to describe.) I think No Arrow are still very underrated, and given the grunge resurgence of the past year, it's a shame they're not around to capitalize on it! One of the better tracks "Trial & Error" has been embedded below, so give it a listen!
That's probably all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for at least some of this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews! Thanks everyone!
Back to the news on this Wednesday morning, so what's in store today? Not the new concerts some may have been expecting (we're saving those to tie in with this weekend's concert previews), but we do have a bunch of recent assorted updates, the latest from a newer local metal band, and leading off, a very special tribute event coming sooner than you may think, so read on below for details!
A benefit/tribute concert has been announced for Saturday, October 12th at The Canadian Nightclub that will be in support of local musician Ray Brown and his family. Ray (who plays drums and has been in heavier local bands in the past) has been battling cancer in the lungs and liver for the past few months, and according to the Facebook event page, it's estimated that he only has two months left to live. As a result, his family and friends are coming together to help Ray and his family out with this event, that will hopefully help cover some of his final expenses. The benefit will feature a pasta dinner, door & raffle prizes, and musical performances from artists to be announced, though all will be donating their time in honour of Ray. The benefit will be held at 7:00 PM that night, tickets will be $25 through administrators of the event or at the door (I assume), while age limits haven't been announced. Check the above links for more details! I don't know Ray personally, but we have a lot of mutual friends, I've heard good things about him as a drummer and person, and no one should have to go through this at just 41 years of age.
It's too early to say if I'll be able to attend, but I definitely wish him and his family the very best at this difficult time, and I hope the event is a huge success for them! In terms of bands, while no one is confirmed, a handful of local musicians (including Obsession's Valerie Powley) are among the event hosts, so keep that in mind just in case. Stay tuned to the SMS for updates as they roll in, including for potential heavier bands!
Next up, here's the latest updates from newer local classic metal band The Hydra's Teeth! The group featuring Late & Loud, Sativa Rose, and Startlefish alumni are hard at work on both their live debut and some studio work as per their Facebook page on Monday, so what should you know? In terms of their first concert, they apparently have a date lined up for later his month at The Canadian Nightclub, and they'll share the bill of local grunge quartet Haggith and a "brand new band" of some kind, though no hints were dropped on their identity. As more official word comes in, we'll have it here! The other news is that The Hydra's Teeth are apparently writing a pile of original material, with 10 songs written and another 10 in the works. From what I can tell, the band is hoping to do studio work very early and get it out to the public A.S.A.P., which isn't entirely foreign, as Brendan Christie & Benn Garside began EP work early in Late & Loud's run also. We'll have to see how this all shakes out, so keep posted here and above!
Finally for today, here's six assorted recent news items, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
Have you seen a poster for an event named "Anti-Capitalist TacoFest"
on Facebook in the past week that featured acts like Shit Liver,
AlgomA, James Watterworth, and ex-Chronic Demonic singer Sabrina
Strange? As best as I can tell, that was a private event in Garden River
(I think) last month, but I wanted to address it just on the basis of
getting an undated poster for it after the fact, let alone one for a private concert.
Hopefully it went well though!
Former Lazer Queen/Apocrytha singer Kate Drew is looking for a drummer and bassist to complete a new "rock/alternative" project she's started, which would practice 1-2 times a week and play covers & originals. Applicants must have professional gear and would apparently play out of town gigs on weekends. Sounds intriguing, and Kate has some heavier experience, so if you're interested, message her at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
AlterWhite mainman Mike Matthews is looking for a rock influenced guitar player for a music project he's working on, though no word yet on if it's to replace Kevin McCarthy in AlterWhite, or for a completely new project. If you're interested in trying out, message Mike at this link or visit his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from August 29th!
Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison updated fans to the band's current status on their Facebook page on Monday, where he revealed that drummer Jonny Amendola is recovering from surgery to repair a leaking heart valve last month, but he is back playing the drums and is regaining strength every day. In the interim, the band has been writing new original material and hope to record it A.S.A.P., so stay tuned for updates on that & their next concerts, and it's great to hear Jonny's recovering well!
Defunct local classic/hard rock band Turner Up's Facebook (and only online) page has been deleted in recent weeks. Though a reason hasn't been announced, it's likely to focus on their successor band The Thrill Junkies, who feature 4/5ths of their last lineup. While it is disappointing to lose the page, there was little there beyond some band photos and older event posts, so no Turner Up videos were lost. Keep an eye out for The Thrill Junkies' Soo debut!
A poster for the Walk & Rock Against Bullying event outside City Hall in Sault Michigan on August 14th is now out, which confirms event sponsors and some non-musical events, but it also lists "...and more!" after the already announced bands. Are more bands being added, or will there just be some special guests? If we hear anything, I'll let you guys know!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
In our 27th straight day of SMS updates, we've got some more news and videos to share today, including some new solo covers & new material from separate local projects. However, we'll lead off today with a bunch of stories from a newer local metal band, including their first live concert video, a guitarist departure, and a familiar name change, so here's what you need to know!
Let's start with some news from the newer local metal band known as Unbound, starting with the news that they have changed their name yesterday. As revealed on the Facebook event page for their show in Thunder Bay on Friday, the name change is to avoid confusion & conflicts with a prior Thunder Bay metal band named Unbound, whose name late singer Justin Fratpietro got permission to use as inspiration for the local band's name. Good move on the surface, as you could tell that there was some questioning of a "new" Unbound playing there, and hopefully everything's smoothed over! As a result, the band's new name is With Blood Build Character... wait, haven't we heard that before? You may remember last summer when a band of that same name was formed by the non-drumming members of local hardcore/death metal band March Into Regression (Jeremy Hannah, Ray Cowan, Christopher Neveau, and Tyler St. Amour), but they only played one show in August before going inactive. Since then, Christopher & Ray joined the former Unbound, and it looks like Christopher had the W.B.B.C. name to give to this new band when the time arose!
Note that aside from the name & common members, these are definitely two different bands, as the current W.B.B.C. don't play hardcore songs, and they were initially formed under a different name. Personally, I find the new/old name is a downgrade, as it's grammatically awkward (shouldn't it be "...Builds
Character"?), and it was initially conceived for a different style of
metal band, but at least in this case, members have the rights to this
previously used name!
It also looks like they've already split with lead guitarist Ray Cowan at some point in the past week, as per his removal from W.B.B.C.'s Facebook page's lineup recently. A reason wasn't announced, but hopefully things are amicable, and best of luck to Ray in the future, as he's a very talented guitarist! With his departure, their lineup currently lists Christopher Neveau back on guitar, with frontman Kevin D'Orazio on vocals only, and the bassist position is empty. If there's a member search on the horizon, I'll let you guys know! Finally, the former Unbound made their live debut two weeks ago at Pier 61 in Thunder Bay two weeks ago, and the first video from their debut is now online to check out! Normally, I wouldn't plug this, as it's a personal Facebook video, but with no other glimpses of 2013 work yet, I wanna spread the word until something public & embeddable pops up. Uploaded by attendee Kiko Tommasini, it's of With Blood Build Character playing an original song named "Pound It Back", and it seems to be influenced by groove metal bands like Prong or Pro-Pain, which is cool to see from a Sault Ontario band!
Kevin D'Orazio has the right vocal aggression and tone for the material, but he needs to get a bit more diverse and less monotonous in my opinion, and the song is somewhat repetitive. Their stage presences could also be a bit looser, but overall, I like where the new With Blood Build Character is going, and hopefully they play more local shows than the first version did! Stay tuned for more updates!
We'll close today with some new videos, including one and some extra updates from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! Oddly, none of their recent news have been about their planned third re-recording of "Christmas Night", instead focusing on different new projects, possibly leading to a new EP that they hyped on their Facebook page on March 17th. Though it's possible concept or theme isn't known yet, could it be classical covers? They already posted one Mozart sonata in a metal style, and on Friday, they posted their cover of Mozart's "Symphony No. 25" onto their Reverbnation page, and it's predictably good as a metal rendition! It's not as familiar as Mozart's #11, but give it a listen above for some quality classical metal! The other new posting is a video previewing a re-recording of their 2011 original "Uthgar's Last Stand" (not "Ulfgar's Last Stand" as it was called then), though I'll note that their Facebook page is crediting it as a "brand new" song.
Posted to their YouTube channel on Thursday, it features two short samples of the re-recorded track, which will reportedly feature vocals from singer Gaby Koss when it's completed, along with footage from what looks like their recording studio. It sounds like it will be an improvement, but of course, stay tuned for updates as they come in, and check out their new sample video of "Uthgar's Last Stand" below!
Finally for today, here's a new solo cover from Valentine's Day Massacre bassist Adam Veale! Yes, he's getting in on the solo video action, as he's been featured in two filmed covers on his dad John's YouTube channel within the past 4 months. Featuring him on vocals & acoustic guitar from his current London homebase, the covers are of The Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" and (as embedded below) The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today", and they amount to the first videos of Adam singing that we've seen since before Sativa Rose got a full time singer. The Pumpkins have heavier stuff, but I think Adam's vocal range suits softer material like this better, and he does display some guitar talent in the process! See if you like Adam's solo clips above, and his cover of "Today" is below!
That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at 180 Gore Street TONIGHT for Soul Killing Female, the debut of AlgomA, and Honest Job! ALL AGES, don't miss it! Thanks everyone!
Well guys, we're a day late this month for our latest YouTube Channel Profile (thanks to forgetfulness and my rush to get the Battle of the Bands recap up), but the series isn't stopping, and we've got some quality videos to look at today! In this monthly series where we profile YouTube channels with at least a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, we're profiling two (not one or three) channels for the first time in this series, as the first channel I randomly selected only had two videos, so I needed one more to fill things out. Read on below for all you need to know on these coincidentally Sault Michigan-centric channels! (Updated on August 28th, 2013)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- genesyco's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/genesyco)
Owner:YouTube user & likely Sault Michigan resident genesyco (real name unknown. His first name is likely Gene, but that could be a Kiss reference, given his uploaded videos)
Channel Timeline: Launched on January 28th, 2006; Videos posted on July 21st, 2007
Channel Summary: One of a few YouTube channels featuring videos from Kiss' headlining concert at Kewadin Casino on July 20th, 2007, both of the videos posted here were ripped from Donna Hopper's review of the show on SooToday shortly after it was posted, and you can view the original videos at the above links. Despite originally being from an outside source, and not knowing who genesyco is, it's good to see him put these videos on YouTube for a wider audience, as each video has attracted at least 19,000 hits!
Why Should You Watch: Because these are a more convenient source to check out two nice videos from Kiss' show at Kewadin Casino in 2007, and being a notable and well attended concert, there's a definite audience for them! They're also notable for being older SooToday-filmed concert videos, something that they don't do frequently anymore at reviewed shows. Note that genesyco hasn't uploaded a new video since these Kiss videos were posted, but he still actively uses the channel for personal needs.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out: kiss live 07/20/07: Originally titled "KISS Video Hightlights" on SooToday, this 2:38-long video features a montage of clips from the concert, fans in attendance, merchandise tables, and portions of the opening songs from their set that night. The video quality is pretty good, though I'd have liked to have heard real audio of the fans prior to the actual concert footage, and some clips of the opening bands (Clownsack among them) wouldn't have came amiss. Still, this is a nicely compiled collection of footage from Kiss' first local stop in 2007!
kiss backstage at Sault Ste. Marie 07/20/07: With over 45,000 views, this is by far the most popular of the two genesyco/SooToday videos from the 2007 Kiss concert, and like an earlier video from the old Kewadin Casino YouTube channel, this is from the pre-show ceremony where Kiss received the key to the city of Sault Michigan! Entitled "Exclusive Footage" on SooToday, look out for City Commissioner (and ex-Rock 101 DJ) Ray Bauer hosting the proceedings, and also look out for footage from the meet & greet with Kiss at the end of this solid video that shows Kiss' popularity and influence well!
Channel Timeline: Launched on March 20th, 2011; Only video posted that same day
Channel Summary: This is the official YouTube channel for inactive Sault Michigan hard rock band Elements of Madness, but it did not prove to be actively used for band-related material compared to Cody's personal YouTube channel, which features at least five videos of his solo guitar work, including a second copy of the only video on the actual Elements of Madness channel. Entitled 'Guitar for "Falling"', it's of Cody playing a "work in progress" acoustic riff towards their original song "Falling", and though there's little to go on, it sounds like it could be promising if expanded on! Definitely follow the above links for more band-related videos, and click here for another solo portion of "Falling" from Cody's personal channel!
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I hope you guys enjoyed this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, and hopefully we'll be back on time for a May 22nd posting next month! What channel are we looking at next though? Through random selection, I've chosen the YouTube channel of Ashley Traynor, the sister/daughter of Alex & Don Traynor from the Kinross hard rock quartet Banned! She's filmed over a dozen videos of Alex & Don's live concerts (Banned or otherwise) since last year, and this should supply a solid profile next month as our run of Sault Michigan-centric channels continues, so watch out for this profile late next month! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news shortly! Thanks everyone!
As promised, it's time for our last YouTube Channel Profile of 2011, and for the first time in our newest monthly feature series on the SMS, we're focusing on multiple YouTube channels! The first one I randomly chose to profile this month only had one video, so I added extra channels until we had enough to fill a full post with three featured videos, so it's a triple assault of YouTube channels you guys should know about! Below, you'll find out about what each channel offers, the people connected to them, the videos' qualities and contents, and more, so let's start with our first of three profiles below! (Updated on February 4th, 2013)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- joeybeairl's Channel (http://youtube.com/user/joeybeairl)
Channel Timeline: Launched on October 4th, 2007; Only video posted in September 2008
Channel Summary: Despite his impressive resume, the only video on noted local guitarist Joey Beairl's YouTube channel is not of one of his bands. Instead, it's of the inactive Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Unleashed, who were a product of his local Guitar Studio rock camp, which has produced a number of young local bands! Notably, Unleashed's lineup in this video included Joey's stepson Isaac Terrian on vocals, along with 415E/Highest of Fives bassist Jack Slater on guitar, Maddy Lama on bass, and Tantrym Tyme's Jacob Hotlen on drums. Joey's posted video is of an Unleashed performance at a Guitar Studio concert at The Soo Theater circa September 2008, where Unleashed covered Pop Evil's "Somebody Like You"! It's a good cover, and the members of Unleashed show talent for their young ages, though Isaac's singing isn't too varied, and their stage presences are kinda stiff. That said, they were kids in this video, and you know they've gotten better and more confident since! Nice work from Unleashed overall, and their only video that I know of is worth a look if you like listening to young local talent!
Owner:YouTube user & likely Sault Ontario resident bigphatwilly (real name unknown, first name likely a form of William)
Channel Timeline: Launched on June 23rd, 2006; Videos posted in September 2010
Channel Summary: Though I know nothing definitive on the identity of bigphatwilly, I do know that Willy was in attendance for Kiss' headlining concert at The Essar Center on August 10th, 2010. He filmed at least two videos there, which were uploaded onto his YouTube channel three weeks later. Though far from the stage & featuring staticy audio, Willy had a nice angle of the action, including a video of frontman Paul Stanley's zipline voyage into the crowd leading up to their performance of "I Was Made For Loving You"! He only captured the first minute of the song, but the video gives a nice glimpse of Paul's flight over the Kiss Army, so it's worth watching on that basis! However, Willy did film a full song at the show, as seen in his video "KISS - Detroit Rock City - Sault Ste. Marie, ON", where the hottest band in the world played one of their signature classics to their fans in the Soo! Same quality as the first video, and the audio really suffers when it gets noisier, but for a good look at Kiss at The Essar Center last year, feel free to lose your mind in "Detroit Rock City"!
Owner:Nathan Wright, an area web-site administrator & likely a past or present employee of Kewadin Casino and/or related holdings
Channel Timeline: Launched on July 25th, 2007; Only video posted in September 2007
Channel Summary: Presumably launched as an official YouTube channel for Sault Michigan casino/concert venue Kewadin Casino (though later supplanted by a new channel in 2010), Nathan only uploaded one video onto this Kewadin YouTube channel, that being of footage from hard rock legends Kiss' first stop in the Sault area on July 20th, 2007! Entitled "Kiss Live at Kewadin Casinos in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan", the video features three minutes of footage from when Kiss received the key to the city from City Commissioner (and ex-Rock 101 DJ) Ray Bauer, followed by 30 second clips of the band's opening songs ("Detroit Rock City", "Deuce", and "Makin' Love") at that huge outdoor concert. The video quality's nice, and it's great to see legends like Kiss getting some formal recognition from the city during their first local appearance! Though this channel is inactive and not the primary Kewadin YouTube channel anymore, this video is still a must watch for Kiss fans to relive their 2007 show at Kewadin Casino!
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I hope you guys enjoyed this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! A bit different than our first bunch of posts in this series, but hey, I expected this knowing the amount of YouTube channels with a minimal amount of local metal-relevant videos. Next month though, we're getting back to normal with a one-channel profile to kick off 2012, as we're gonna look at Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Borderline Divine's old YouTube channel! (Technically, it's Stillbroke's channel, but it hasn't been updated since way before their name change.) Still, there's some interesting stuff there from Stillbroke's last year before activity slowed, so look out for this next YouTube Channel Profile on or around January 22nd!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, concert previews, and Christmas surprises later today or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
It's official: I'm back home tomorrow! Before that though, we have some big news today, including some notes relating to some local band pages, a new video, and two disappointing guitarist departures, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!
As you may recall, I discussed some new Monkey's Uncle concerts at Kewadin Casino in yesterday's post, which will feature new singer/guitarist Donny Newell in their new quartet lineup. Well, Donny sent me an e-mail yesterday with some more show news, so here's what you should know! Monkey's Uncle will play at The Bird (a.k.a. Golanka's Bar) next weekend for shows on May 13th and 14th, in what I believe are the first shows with the band's new lineup! Donny said they may be playing there on an additional upcoming weekend, but I'll wait for more confirmation before saying it's a go. These shows should have 21+ age limits and 10:00 PM-ish start times, and there's no announced cover charge. Though these are the first Monkey's Uncle shows we've heard of from The Bird since the Jager days, I do believe they played there often during their period of not updating their MySpace page, for what that's worth. Also, The Bird's Facebook page has nothing on the shows yet, but I'll keep you posted if something comes up! Sounds good to me, hopefully the new lineup delivers at The Bird this month as well! Stay tuned for more Monkey's Uncle news as I hear it!
Next up, here's some disappointing news relating to the departures of guitarists from two local death metal bands. Firstly, State of Misery have parted ways with lead guitarist Ray Cowan. Ray was the band's lead guitar player since their inception late last year, playing with them at all of their shows through this month. This is the news that I hinted towards in yesterday's post, but now I have some actual information I can tell guys about. Through e-mail correspondence with drummer Nick Kainula, I was told that Ray left for personal reasons, although what those all could be wasn‘t known. As such, the band are indeed taking a break for a few months to regroup, write new material, and find a replacement guitarist. Band pages have yet to be updated to reflect Ray's departure, and though nowhere is a guitarist search promoted, give them a shout at this location if you're at all interested, cause you never know! This is disappointing to hear, especially given Ray's talent, which was crystal clear at their shows, but hopefully his reasons for leaving are truly for the best right now. It'll be odd not seeing State of Misery around for a few months, but they'll be back in full force soon, I hope. And, of course, best of luck to Ray, hopefully he pops up in a new band soon!
As well, The Bear Hunters have parted ways with rhythm guitarist Mike Vincent. Mike has played with The Bear Hunters at every concert since their inception, after replacing Andres Duchesne in the band last fall. The split is completely amicable, and as Mike personally stated on drummer Johnny Belanger’s personal Facebook page yesterday, he’s leaving due to his own family commitments & his own schedule. He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to hold the band back either. That said, The Bear Hunters are now actively searching for a new rhythm guitarist. Prospective guitarists must be show ready with their own gear, have some lead guitar ability, and be able to play in Drop A tuning. Send your serious inquiries via e-mail to either Johnny’s page linked above or guitarist Mitch Sirie’s Facebook page, and leave your phone number for call backs. The aim was to have some tryouts later today, so keep that in mind. This news is unexpected & disappointing, but I’ve been a friend of Mike’s since high school, and I know that he has a lot on his plate personally. If this is what‘s best for him, I‘ll be supportive! Besides, he’s still in Skull After Betrayal and his own solo project, so don’t forget about them! Best of luck all around, hopefully The Bear Hunters (and State of Misery) bounce back soon!
Now that the bad news concerning guitarist exits is out of the way, let's revert to good news, as we have a new concert video to share! A new video of As It Stands from last month's Dead & Divine concert at The Oddfellows Hall was posted on YouTube on Tuesday! This was posted by YouTube user Micaela Hurley, who's posted scattered concert videos on her channel, including one of Bring The Fallen from last year. This new As It Stands video features clips from many of the songs that the band played at the show last month, though some informal chitchat with guitarist Garrett Masters is included at the beginning. It would have been nice to see video of full songs, but still, this is some of the best quality video I've seen of As It Stands since their return last year, and the audio holds it's own too! Good stuff, and the band look in top form during their set, so definitely check out this new As It Stands video out below!
And finally, here's some news for those of you who use or visit Facebook groups used by local bands. Facebook recently announced that they are planning to archive all groups made in the "old" format and convert them to the new format. The old groups, which were bascially predecessors to Facebook pages, are still used by bands like Caveman Morrison & Sense of Truth, click on their names to check them out. However, Facebook's changing all their old groups to make them all follow the new format, which is designed for use in smaller circles and social groups. An example of a group in the new format is State of Misery's group, if you want an idea of what your old groups will look like eventually. With the changes, the "recent news" section, info box, and assorted minor aspects will be removed upon upgrading, but you'll get some new additions to your page, like synchronized chat with members. You'll also lose all of your group members, and you'll have to add new ones as a result afterwards. So, if you run a Facebook group, what do you need to do?
If your group is actively used, you can upgrade right now at the top of your group's main page, and if you don't, it will eventually be archived into the new format regardless. The upgrade option is only visible to admins of pages that have enough recent activity for it to be a good candidate for conversion (unlike our old Facebook group.) In case you're worried, NO GROUPS ARE BEING DELETED, just archived! Facebook also stresses that if you want to promote a business (like a band), they recommend a page, not a group, so make note of that. This news is somewhat inconvenient, as there's no way out of it, but I can understand Facebook wanting a more united group format across the site, so we have to make due. Click here for more information, and make the right choice for your Facebook presence if you use an old group!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for the launch of the SMS March Mayhem tournament finals later today! The polls close at around 6:00 PM tonight to ensure that a full week of voting took place. Who are the final two bands? Find out tonight! Thanks everyone!
Next up, let's head back to Sault Ontario for a LopLops Lounge concert taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, wherein local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! The first of four July shows from The Din during their "Summer of Din", this will be their first LopLops stop since their short-handed (and short notice) acoustic gig last month, while this will be Bizotic's first LopLops stop in around 4 months, and the second show in as many nights for the Sounds From The Green Room successors, having also opened for Vaultry tonight at The Canadian. Solid and fast-rising bands, so don't miss out on either tomorrow at LopLops! As for SIANspheric, while I wouldn't consider them a "hard rock" band, they have been making waves with their ambient drone & experimental originals over the past two decades, and they should be a unique attraction for fans at LopLops tomorrow, so don't overlook them!
