LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned), The End Of Dismembertainment, And More!!

We're back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, but of course, remember to never forget the tragic events 11 years ago today, and please pay your respects for the sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms if you can! On the SMS front, we have news on a new Sault Michigan metal band's new name & latest lineup news, the likely end of a local concert promoting agency, and a new video from a notable Eastern U.P. hard rock band (along with a strangely high amount of talk relating to Sault Michigan-area musicians named Alex), but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this coming weekend across the river and updates relating to their lineup, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY at Todd's Tavern in nearby Moran, Michigan! One weekend after a packed weekend in Gould City and at the Sault Riverview Music Festival (more on that in a bit), the Traynors & company will rock the former Bullwinkle's on Saturday night (yes, the date is 100% confirmed this time) for what should be an entertaining night of hard rock covers & originals! Admission should be free with a 21+ age limit, and an oddly early start time of 8:00 PM is advertised on their Facebook page. Todd's Tavern is quickly becoming a favourite stop for Banned's widely varying Eastern U.P. gigs, so take a drive down to Moran (20 minutes from St. Ignace, an hour from the Soo) on Saturday to rock out! Also in Banned news, I can confirm why guitarist Alex Schrovenwever was absent from their Rock Till You Drop battle set last month, as it looks like he moved to Marquette for college last month, as per postings on his personal Facebook page. I don't know what this means for his Banned status, but he is still listed in their lineup, and enough local bands have stayed active with a member out of town for an extended period for us to not assume the worst. Best of luck to Alex in Marquette though, and hopefully we'll see him back on stage with Banned sooner or later!

With that said, Alex Schrovenwever was definitely absent for Banned's Sault Riverview Music Festival sets this past weekend, but they kept at it to rock City Hall as part of this new local music festival, and we have video footage of Banned in action during their set on Friday night! This is of most of their still-local members (singer Mike Straw is absent) playing a brand new original song named "Cocaine Riot", as filmed by Ashley Traynor and uploaded to her YouTube channel on Sunday, but how does it look & sound? It has a nice classic hard rock sound, and it's melody & groove are better to me than on their other available originals, but it's not a shredding metal track. Lead guitarist Alex Traynor provides vocals here and uses them to maximum effectiveness with some extra grit & nicely ranged falsetto parts late, and everything comes out well here! You can tell it's later in the day though by the brightness of the video, and some extra lighting would have been nice, as well as the crowd reaction after the song ended. Check out Banned's newest original below, and go check them out in Moran on Saturday night!



Next up, I wanted to note on here (if you guys hadn't already heard) that Sault Ontario concert promoting agency Dismembertainment is more or less defunct now. The company ran by local promoter/guitarist Rich Moreland hasn't put on a show since May, and while I won't go into major details on what's happened since, Rich left town this past weekend for work opportunities in Alberta. He's of course well known for booking all kinds of metal & punk concerts in Sault Ontario since bringing Behemoth here in 2005, featuring notable bands like Kittie, The Dayglo Abortions, Napalm Death, Cattle Decapitation, Novembers Doom, Fuck The Facts, Wolven Ancestry, and Beyond Within, just to name a few. In the last couple years, he ramped up on bookings, including starting the Roosevelt Hotel metal nights in November 2010 & promoting 37 installments of that series, formally launching Dismembertainment in March 2011, briefly owning what's now Coch's Corner under the Feedback name late last year, and helping organize the massive Ypres Metal Fest in memory of the late David Gold this past April. Also, you're bound to remember him as a musician too, including a notable stint as a guitarist in Time of Ruin in the late 2000s, and many guest vocal appearances with assorted local bands.

It is disappointing to see Rich move, as he did wonders for the scene in the 7 years that he promoted local concerts! I know the response and turnout for some could be hit & miss, but he went above and beyond to give us tons of brutal metal concerts, and a Dismembertainment/Rich-promoted concert tended to be the heaviest event going down on any given week! I know I'm grateful for all he's done, and hopefully more locals can pick up the slack to ensure more major bands stop here for more than just sleep. That said, I hope Alberta works out for him, as Rich is a nice guy and has the talent & drive to go far if he has the opportunities available for him, so best of luck to him out west, and hopefully this won't be the last we'll hear from him in metal!

Finally for today, here's the latest updates from the new Sault Michigan hardcore band Angelic Genocide... or, what used to be them. Last week, they changed their name to The Eleventh Hour (Lamb of God reference?), and though a reason wasn't announced for the change, they did refer to the Angelic Genocide name as their "last idea at a band name", for what that's worth. I actually like the new name better, so hopefully it sticks for them, and hopefully they'll update their logos & Facebook page URL soon to match it! Also in recent news, The Eleventh Hour appear to have quietly parted ways with bassist Alex Boyer, as per his removal from their lineup on Facebook. Again, a reason for this hasn't been announced, but Alex does still list himself as a band member (on vocals, no less) on his personal Facebook page, though that might be an old posting to begin with. Still, if he is indeed gone, best of luck to Alex in the future! The Eleventh Hour do list the bass spot as vacant now, so if you live in the Sault Michigan area, it's worth giving the guys a shout if you wanna try out, so visit the above links! Finally for Eleventh Hour updates, the band indicated on Wednesday that they're working on a new original song named "The Weeping Angels", so stay tuned for updates on that and more from The Eleventh Hour as it all comes in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, including some news on upcoming album releases, hopefully our "Yooper Bars" book review, weekend concert previews, and more! Thanks everyone!

Sault Riverview Music Festival Preview, New Banned Videos, And Evans Blue Concert Updates!!

Today's news post is 100% devoted to the Sault Michigan area, as some big news across the river has came my way in the last little while, so what's on tap? We've got plenty of news & updates on a major upcoming tribute concert, and new videos from a recently prominent hard rock band, but first, here's our only 100% verified concert preview of the weekend, concerning the first installment of a new local music festival!

TONIGHT marks the debut of The Sault Riverview Music Festival, a two day family event on the north lawn outside of City Hall at 225 East Portage Avenue, and it will feature lots of Sault Michigan-area musical talent and family activities, so here's what you need to know! All proceeds from this event will go towards the Chippewa County Hospice, and aside from the music, you'll get events like beer & concessions tents, music workshops, family games and activities, a fish fry, a 50/50 draw, and even a chance to meet members of the Soo Eagles hockey team, so click here for all details on the event, or look at the poster on your right! As for the schedule of bands, I know most of the performers, though likely not all, as I can't find a full itinerary. According to the poster, local hard rock veterans Monkey's Uncle, young metal quartet Tantrym Tyme (the former Abstract), and Kinross hard rockers Banned (more on them in a second) will be playing TONIGHT alongside local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen and likely at least one more act. In terms of times, their respective Facebook pages indicate that Tantrym Tyme will open tonight's music lineup at 5:00 PM, while Banned will play at 7:00 PM, but I can't confirm the rest of the times at present.

TOMORROW'S lineup will indeed include a metal band, as despite what the poster tells you, Banned will be on both nights! Their Facebook page states that they'll be on at 3:00 PM tomorrow afternoon, joining fellow Friday crossovers The London Gentlemen, plus some unique acts, including that band's Mike Russo & Steve Sivret in their acoustic project Fallen Heroes, local southern rockers Bittermoon, a band named Omega Rock (can anyone confirm who they are or what they play?), and The Grooves All-Stars, a band likely comprised of staff & instructors at local music store (and festival sponsors) Grooves Music. As well, local acoustic pop duo Missy & Chelsea indicated on their own Facebook event page that they'd be playing tomorrow as well at 6:30 PM (though they're not mentioned on event advertising.) If I hear any updates to the lineup or schedule, I'll try and let you guys know! Admission is FREE for this ALL AGES event, and the music starts at 5:00 PM today and 12:00 PM tomorrow, with both schedules running until 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! It's great to see this new festival launching, and hopefully lots of money is raised with the entertaining bands and family entertainment going down, so if you can make it to City Hall today or tomorrow, check everything out!

For a video preview of the festival, we're in luck, as the aforementioned Banned have a few new videos online to check out! A few days ago, frequent filmer & family member Ashley Traynor uploaded three new videos to her YouTube channel of Banned at summer 2012 concerts, so if you've wanted to see them in action again after a few months without new footage, these should work! One is from their set at the Chippewa County Fair's Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands on August 30th, where 3/5ths of the band ("occasional" singer Mike Straw & guitarist Alex Schrovenwever are absent) played their original song "Plaid Girl"! I'm not sure why they were shorthanded, but it's a solid performance, if feeling empty compared to their earlier video of this song from a Gould City concert in May. I'm still not 100% sure on who won, but this video is of good quality and shows the present members of Banned in good form, so check it out at the above links! However, the other new videos are of Banned's full quintet lineup at a concert set of some type on July 28th (I have no idea where, but it's outdoors), and they feature drummer Don Traynor singing lead on covers of The Rockets' "Oh Well" and, as embedded below, AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie"!

The quality's good on these, but the location's still a mystery, and I still think Mike should get chances to sing lead more often, even if his band status is just occasional. Don's vocals don't sound as powerful as I remember from earlier Banned videos, but the guys have talent and it shows, so check out their cover of "Whole Lotta Rosie" below, and go check out Banned this weekend at the Riverview Festival and (if you're up for an hour+ drive) the Michihistrigan Bar in Gould City on Saturday night!

Next up, here's plenty of updates relating to the Evans Blue-headlined benefit concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on September 29th! The third band has been confirmed for this show, and they are Detroit hard rock quintet Fifth Way, who will return to the Soo Kewadin for the first time since opening for The Gin Blossoms there in April! Local fans are bound to recognize Fifth Way for their frequent stops here in recent years and for featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar, so prepare for some great modern hard rock from them in their return! Also of note, this will be Fifth Way's first local concert with new bassist Victor Wooten, who replaced Mike McMann in the band earlier this summer. Also in recent concert news, it has been revealed that proceeds from this concert will also go to The Kim Rogers Scholarship Fund, in memory of the late Kim Rogers, a local student who passed away in a snowmobile accident in 2010. It's great to see Allstar Promotions and others associated with the event remembering Kim again for this show, along with The KDR Foundation in memory of the late Kelsey Raffaele, and hopefully funds raised at this show can help both causes just as they did at the 2010 Pop Evil benefit show here!

Now, with that said, how can you support the cause before seeing Evans Blue, State Your Cause, and Fifth Way on the 29th? Of course, tickets are now available for just $10 at 1-800-KEWADIN, online at this location, in person at the Kewadin box office, or at Allstar Graphics on 822 Ashmun Street, who are also owned by Allstar Promotions manager Dave Atkinson. There are plenty of tickets still available in close rows and back, but like at the 2010 Pop Evil show here, there is a huge charitable push to enable this show to be sold out and easy to attend. Local radio stations such as Rock 101 and 99.5 Yes FM are hyping this as well, and the aim is for local businesses and even non-attendees to buy tickets for the cause, so they can be freely distributed to local schools and attendees who will go. The radio stations are also pushing for people to beat or match tickets purchases, with the person who buys the most tickets recieving a $100 gift card for Allstar Graphics. For full details, click here or the above links, and read this article from The Soo Evening News a few days ago! The wheels are in motion to raise a lot of money and awareness in Kim & Kelsey's names, so whether you're a charitable citizen or wanna rock out, you'll be helping the greater good, and on a great ticket bargain, so follow the campaign at the above links, and stay tuned for updates on this show as I hear of them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news hopefully this weekend and our next two Defunct Local Band Profiles on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sault Riverview Music Festival) And Lots Of Sault Michigan News & Notes!!

Today's news post is entirely dedicated to Sault Michigan, partly thanks to new stuff I bought and learned on a trip I made there this morning! Though mainly to set up some stuff for classes, I bought a book I'm touching on in this post, and stopped by Grooves Music where I bought a CD by a Lansing metal band named Genocya (featuring Saultite Matt Cunningham) who you'll hear more about on the site this fall, and I got some concert information there for a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in this post as well! Along with news on a local concert from the 1990s that you can buy, and some more assorted notes, read on below for today's all-Sault Michigan post!

A new local music festival is going down next weekend, and it's The Sault Riverview Music Festival! Presented by The Sault Events Inc., this family festival will see all of it's proceeds going towards the Chippewa County Hospice, and there will be plenty of non-musical activities going down on September 7th and 8th, including beer & concessions tents, family activities and games, a 50/50 draw, and a fish fry, so click here or look at the poster on your right for more details! As for the bands, while a full schedule hasn't been posted, the Friday schedule does feature three local hard rock bands, those being Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle, Kinross classic hard rock cover quintet Banned, and young local hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme (formerly known as Abstract!) They'll join local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni) on the Friday lineup, while the bands on Saturday the 8th don't lean in a heavy direction. The Saturday bands include The London Gentlemen again, plus members Mike Russo & Steve Sivret's acoustic band Fallen Heroes, along with local southern rock band Bittermoon (featuring Monkey's Uncle alum Jim Belleau), a band named Omega Rock that I can find nothing on (can anyone help?) and The Grooves All Stars, who I believe are a band comprised of employees at local music store/festival sponsors Grooves Music. More bands are possible to be announced, so stay tuned in case I hear anything!

This festival will take place outdoors at the grounds of City Hall at 225 East Portage Avenue, it's definitely all ages, and admission is FREE! Bands will be on from 5:00-10:00 PM next Friday and from noon-10:00 PM next Saturday, and check the above links for more details! This sounds like a fun family festival with lots of talented area bands, and hopefully it's a big success so it can return next year! Also, it's nice to get advance notice of a Monkey's Uncle show that isn't at Kewadin Casino, for what that's worth. Stay tuned for updates on the Sault Riverview Music Festival as they roll in!

Next up, I'm glad to finally note that I now have the book "Yooper Bars" that was released last year! I picked it up for $20 at the Lake Superior State University book store, and if you're unaware of it, it's a travel guide and collection of profiles of most of the bars and taverns in the Upper Peninsula. Written by local authors Randy & Kevin Kluck after an 8 month journey through the U.P.'s bars last year, and published by the Whiskey River Publishing Company in the Soo, it does feature a heavy dose of bars in Sault Michigan & the Eastern Upper Peninsula, including some references to metal bands & live concerts that go down at them! This includes 28 bars & taverns within our current coverage range, 10 more in Chippewa, Mackinac, and Luce County that we'll likely touch on in future SMS expansions, and dozens more in the central and western U.P.. Just on my first readings of it, I notice that it's not entirely comprehensive (the bars at Dondee Lanes & and at any of the Kewadin Casinos aren't covered, for example), and parts are now a bit outdated (i.e. Bullwinkle's Bar & Grill in Moran is now Todd's Tavern), but this looks like it will be a quality resource for barhoppers & revellers in the U.P.! That said, I'll leave full assessments until my formal review, but definitely get more info at this location, and pick it up wherever you can!

Thirdly today, does anyone out there wanna pick up a live video from the old Tumble Inn in Eckerman, Michigan? There's a glam metal band that is actually selling a full concert video from their show there in the 1990s, so here's what you need to know! Some of you guys may be familiar with the Phoenix, Arizona glam metal band Tuff, who may be best known for their ballad "I Hate Kissing You Goodbye" and their Kid Rock parody "American Hair Band", but back in their late 1980s/early 1990s heyday, they came through the area once with cameras in tow! Tuff played at The Tumble Inn on September 8th, 1994, and while online details of said show are minimal, you can purchase the full video of that concert by clicking here or here! The concert (and other past show videos) are $22 plus tax and shipping, which will tip the total cost to $30 and higher depending on where you're having it sent. I don't know whether the show will be on DVD or VHS, but this is an interesting offer, especially knowing how hard it can be to find 1990s concert videos from the Sault area, and I might have to take Tuff up on this offer and buy the Tumble Inn show for SMS uses! If you guys are interested, visit the above links, and check out Tuff online for some fun glam metal originals!

Finally for today, here's four assorted shorter stories across the river from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Local concert promoters Allstar Promotions have posted a photo album from the Buckcherry/Fuel concert at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on August 13th onto their Facebook page featuring shots of the headlining bands and the pre-concert autograph & meet and greet sessions! I wish they'd advertise the meet & greets more online, but everyone looks like they had fun, and for photos of The London Gentlemen's opening set, click here!
• One of the opening bands for the Evans Blue-headlined concert at the Soo Kewadin Casino on September 29th will be State Your Cause, an Ohio based hard rock quintet who have been opening for them on Evans Blue's current tour run. Local promoters haven't confirmed their addition online, but concert posters in town confirm their involvement. They have a solid radio hard rock sound and should fit in well for this special charity concert, so check them out at the above links! The other band isn't known yet, but my money's on a local band. I'll keep you guys posted!
  
• Defunct local hard rock quintet Swayze Train have quietly deleted their Facebook page. A reason for the page's removal isn't known, but the breakup in April is likely tied in with it. That said, as their Reverbnation page is still online (bare as it may be) and as we have online information on them still in good supply, I just replaced their link on our inactive Sault Michigan band listings. Stay tuned for hopeful updates on the members' next moves!
• I wanted to apologize for another missed concert, as young local hard rockers Tantrym Tyme apparently performed at this year's Sidewalk Sales event in downtown Sault Michigan last month, as per postings on their Facebook page. Bands generally play outdoors for free during this sales event at local stores, such as the recently inactive Free Refill, but these slipped me by, and I sincerely apologize for that! Keep an eye out for future proper concerts from them as I hear of them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our last posts of the summer (this weekend's concert previews and our Oddfellow CD review) tomorrow & Friday! Thanks everyone!