Our busy July at the SMS continues tonight with another news post, and today, we have some Sault Michigan/St. Ignace concert venue details & changes, new concert videos from a recent hardcore punk show, and a preview of a major metal concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall at a new location for our coverage!
Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven have two more St. Ignace stops lined up this year, but not at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. If you've followed Driven in recent years, you'll know that one of their favourite area venues is Timmy Lee's Pub, "the U.P.'s official welcome center", which has hosted live music frequently in recent years (and we'll talk a bit more about the venue itself in a bit), but Driven will return to Timmy Lee's Pub at 748 West U.S. Highway 2 in St. Ignace for a concert weekend on what should be August 31st & September 1st! Their schedule says September 1st & 2nd, but that'd mean they were playing Saturday and Sunday, which I think is wrong, but if my assumption is what's wrong, I'll correct that on here! These join shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino at the end of that month as well. Also, note that I missed Driven's shows at Timmy Lee's this past weekend, but with the news and posts we've been swamped with this month, I'm regrettably not surprised. Apologies to Driven & their fans for the missed dates, but don't miss their next St. Ignace stops in 2012!
Their upcoming shows at Timmy Lee's should have 9:30 PM-ish start times and 21+ age limits, while a cover charge hasn't been announced. Check the above links for more details! It's good to see Driven coming back to St. Ignace more this year, so stay tuned for more on their next local trips on the site as I hear of it!
We'll get back to some Sault Michigan venue news in a second, but first, here's a big Sault Ontario concert preview, as 3 Inches of Blood are coming to The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! In their at least second show here (having rocked the Soo circa 2003), this very popular and talented Vancouver power metal quintet will bring their fast paced power metal sounds (with occasional death/hardcore flourishes) to what should be an impressive crowd tomorrow at The Rosie, including material from their new album "Long Live Heavy Metal"! Also of note: their current bassist is Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad alum Byron Stroud, which is notable in & of itself! Joining them on their Long Live Heavy Metal Canadian Tour are Charlotte, North Carolina thrash/death metal quintet Wretched (not The Wretched as some local press have called them), and they'll be sure to melt faces with their hard hitting blend of metal sounds and venomous lyrics tomorrow as well! The local openers include local melodic death metal notables The Bear Hunters and Battle For The Blood winners Winkstinger, both of whom will have some diversely entertaining originals for their fans at The Rosie tomorrow night, so be there early so you don't miss them!
Admission will be $10 if there are any tickets left at the door, which isn't a guarantee. At last word, tickets were still available at The Rosie and at Music Depot, while The Rad Zone's supply was sold out, so if you don't have your ticket yet, there's your options! This will be a 19+ event, and the doors open at 9:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be quite a huge concert, and hopefully I'll see you guys all there for it! While I admittedly find the vocals for 3 Inches of Blood to be very forced, their music quality and talent is top notch, and I wouldn't miss this show for anything, and the openers will bring their own brutality as well! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's 3 Inches of Blood's music video for their new song "Metal Woman"!
Thirdly tonight, here's some new videos from a recent concert, namely Maximum RNR's local return at The Rockstar Bar on June 30th! The 705 Video Magazine's Fred Kember shot 3 videos of the Toronto hardcore punk quintet's latest local concert that were uploaded to the 705VM YouTube channel the day afterwards, and though the same scratchy audio problems that plagued their Garden of Bedlam videos are back here, they give a nice quality look at Maximum RNR in action, especially for frontman (and Sault native) Diamond Brent Panther's on/off stage intensity! When I said he's his own mosh pit, I meant it, and you can see proof in this video, this video, and the one below (not sure of the song titles, they didn't mention them live), so give these videos a look above and right here!
Finally for today, here's the Sault Michigan venue news I alluded to above! First, in terms of Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace, it's definitely a popular bar from what I can tell, and they also have a full menu and TVs for sports events, so it seems like a nice enough location, even being featured in the Yooper Bars book from last year, and having merchandise for sale! Regulars will know better than I for it's appeal, but check out their website and their Facebook page for more! Also of note: their Facebook page includes rare live photos of defunct local hard rock band Splitshot (pictured) from a May 2011 show there with their original lineup, and it's good to finally see the guys live over 6 months after they broke up, even as photos! Finally, we've added both Timmy Lee's & the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino to our Sault Michigan (and area) concert venue links at the bottom right, while moving two to our Other Local Metal Links, those being The Savoy Bar & Nightclub and Zim's. Neither have hosted a metal/hard rock show in over a year that I've heard about, so to keep the concert venue links current, I moved them out of that section, but if I hear of one or both returning to active metal/hard rock booking, I guarantee I'll move them back!
That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Rosie tomorrow night for 3 Inches Of Blood, and if I can get some stories for a new news post tomorrow, I'll get one up! Thanks everyone!
Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian readers! Today's post is mostly focused on our review of a major metal show last night, but also read on for news on a recent radio appearance by a prominent area band and some updates to one of our special feature series, so here's what you need to know!
Let's start with my review of last night's Maximum RNR concert at The Rockstar Bar, and before we get to their set, just letting you guys know that there were no opening bands. As you may remember, The Billy Bastards dropped out for personal reasons, and though there were rumours of The Valentine's Day Massacre jumping in late, none ended up playing support, so we got a 100% dose of Maximum RNR last night. That said, they owned the stage from top to bottom with their hardcore punk assault, and much of that was thanks to frontman Brenton Ellis, a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther, who made the stage his own in his first hometown show in over 16 months! Remembering back to the last time I saw him sing locally (Detroit's last local show in December 2009 at the old Coch's Corner), I knew he'd be full of energy, but he seemed to be a one man mosh pit yesterday, owning the floor with loads of unleashed movement and aggression, and his gast tank was still full by the end of their first set! Let's just say that if you can perform so hard that your jeans fall off during a song, then that says something! The rest of the band deserves kudos too for their fast and hard hitting performances, which may have been a bit overshadowed by Brent's stage presence, but we saw the talent there!
Keith Maurik & Keith Carman played some awesome hardcore punk riffs during their set, even with some entertaining solos, and in his first local appearance with Maximum RNR since joining the band, Curtis Faux rocked some solid bass lines for his hometown brethren! Mike Childs' drumming was on par too, and on originals like "Trust Us", "Turmoil", and "Deep Inside The Tracks", they left nothing behind to rock the Rockstar Bar crowd! I'm a sucker for bands who don't just stand there and play, and just let loose with energy, and Maximum RNR delivered that well (aside from a way too long break between sets.) Though these guys definitely fill the void that Detroit's inactivity left thanks to their common members and similar sounds, Maximum RNR are honestly a step above for overall quality & notoriety, and they delivered one of the heavier concerts I've seen at The Rockstar Bar! Great mix of fast paced old school hardcore with a punk sensibility and swagger, and now I don't have to be so bitter about missing their show at the old Foggy's last year (stupid cold.) I did get photos, so click here to check them out or visit our Facebook page! And here's my video, of Maximum RNR playing their short originals "Attack Panther" & "Cutthroat", complete with broken beer bottle action in between!
Next up, remember how Brimley metal trio Half A Man were interviewed on Rock 101 over the LemmaFest weekend? Well, the audio of the full interview is now online via frontman Erik Rintamaki's YouTube channel, so now we can all check it out! The interview was conducted on June 22nd during "Scott & Brian In The Morning", and in the interview, hosts Scott Cook & Brian Davie talked to Erik, Gary Croad, and Mikey Bishop about their involvement in LemmaFest and their relationship with & memories of Mike Lemma, the proceeds from the event and merchandise sales, how Half A Man and its members started out in both music & the band, the story of how their name was decided, details on how to attend LemmaFest, the idea of maybe having an all-star jam at the event, and even what name Monkey's Uncle have now! They also played part of Half A Man's song "Drunk" on air, and Scott & Brian made some appropriate comparisons to Black Label Society as a result. It's great to hear the guys from our local rock radio station give Half A Man & LemmaFest some due praise and attention, though I'd have liked to have heard plugs for the other bands that played last night.
Still, this is an awesome interview and I hope Rock 101 does more with local rock musicians and talent in the future! It's a solid listen (and accompanied by more random LemmaFest photos in a slideshow), so check it out below, and stay tuned for more Half A Man news and notes!
And finally for today, here's the first of some long overdue updates to one of our special feature series at the SMS, that being our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series! In our profile of the Skid Row Battle of the Bands, I edited some details on concert venues mentioned in the post, while I also replaced the now-inactive Groove Committee with new local hard rock band Skeyes of Seven in the list of newer bands with battle alumni, just to keep things more current and prominent for the listed groups. Our profile of the 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands was updated to both note the expiry of a source photo album related to Kyle McKey's work with many of the competing bands at Case's Music, while I also edited the alumni for the membership for two of the credited newer bands with battle alumni, those being the local death metal bands Social Suicide & March Into Regression (the former Bring The Misery.) That profile, along with those for each battle that Bring The Fallen were in, have been updated for M.I.R.'s name change and lineup additions in that section, including that their new harsh singer is definitely Josh Stephney, marking his return to vocals for the first time in over a year. There's much more updates to come, so stay tuned for more updates on our battle of the bands profiles!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post and this month's Where Are The New Albums? post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
It's time to preview this weekend's concerts, but before that, note the banner at the top of the site. Our 5th anniversary is fast approaching, and this year's anniversary surprises come in the form of expansion. How much, how far, and to what? The banner has clues, but the first stages will be revealed on Wednesday, so stay tuned then! As for today's post, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend across the river and TOMORROW at a local fundraiser that may interest some of you guys, along with previews of the other metal/hard rock concerts tonight & tomorrow, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 3:28 PM) I apologize for the short notice on these shows, but I literally only just heard about them a couple of minutes ago. Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Corner Pub Bar & Grill TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for their first concerts since LemmaFest! Drummer Bob Helsten only just announced the shows on his personal Facebook page this afternoon, but with no online pages, it's better late than never to hear word! Apparently, both shows will be outside The Corner Pub, possibly on a patio there, though I'm not sure why this is the case, as The Corner Pub does have an indoor stage. Maybe there's a conflicting event this weekend? No matter the case, Powerslug will bring their talented brand of hard rock back to the live stage tonight and tomorrow, so don't miss them! Admission should be free for both nights, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time seems likely. For more details, visit the above links! Powerslug should deliver some great hard rocking tunes all weekend long, so don't miss them across the river, and for a preview, check out this Facebook video (which I can't embed here) from their Ludington concert weekend earlier this month!
Also in new shows, local classic hard rockers That's Chester are the headlining entertainment at this weekend's Ride For Sight event in Sault Ontario! This long running charity fundraiser for blindness has brought motorcycle riders out on the road for a great cause since 1979, but only this year is it finally debuting in Sault Ste. Marie, so click here for all the details on this great event and how you can support the cause or ride your bike with everyone else! In That's Chester's case, they'll be performing at 9:00 PM TOMORROW NIGHT at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion to close out the Saturday, and they're among three local acts playing this weekend, including local country band Asylum Country tonight and the new local country band High Road (featuring ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino) tomorrow at 4:30 PM. The music is more spread out than you tend to see, but there's plenty of Ride For Sight events happening before and after the bands on Saturday, so it'll all flow! Note that "Social" is credited alongside the bands for entertainment, but I have no idea if that refers to anything musical. As best as I can tell, That's Chester's set under the tent downtown has no admission charge or age limits, and I don't think it's restricted to just Ride For Sight participants. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page!
It's great to see That's Chester supporting such a great cause, and it'll be interesting to hear them play at the Pavilion, which is definitely a change from their usual concert spots! I apologize for the short notice on this show too, I only just heard about it yesterday. If you're up to support a great cause, check out some cool motorcycles, and hear some solid local music, head downtown for That's Chester at Ride For Sight tomorrow night! For a preview, here's That's Chester covering Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at Docks a few years ago!
Now to the rest of the weekend previews that we knew about before, starting with a stacked metal concert TONIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub, as five high profile metal bands are coming to melt our faces! Toronto death metal standouts Hallows Die will return to the Soo as headliners, which is bound to interest fans disappointed by their two song set at the Ypres Metal Fest in April, so be prepared for their brutal and melodic take on metal tonight! They're local favourites from a reason dating back to their shows here last year, so don't miss them! Opening for them, we have four notable Northern Ontario metal bands, those being Sudbury improv/comedy death metal trio 85 Pound Poutine (likely featuring Wolven Ancestry's Mark Howitt under a stage name), Sudbury blackened death metal quintet Before The Black Gates, North Bay death metal quartet Buried Out Back (featuring Empyrean Plague guitarist Dave Strba), and local death metal notables The Bear Hunters (guitarist Mitch Sirie is promoting this show), which adds up to a stacked lineup of Ontario metal! Of the openers, 85 Pound Poutine should be very amusing (especially if you can decipher death growling), and B.T.B.G. are a long time coming for a local show, and they should do great, as they're rising fast in their genre!
As for the other bands, Buried Out Back are a group I need to hear clearer audio from, but the videos I've seen show a brutal death metal sound and nice intensity, so they should compare well! And The Bear Hunters, we know very well locally, so I'd expect nothing but the best from them tonight! Also note that this concert does have the feel of an unofficial continuation from the Ypres Metal Fest thanks to it's same venue & familiar lineup (only Before The Black Gates don't have alumni from the event), so if that's some extra incentive to go, keep it in mind! Admission is $10 at the door for tonight's show, it is ALL AGES like other recent metal shows at The Canadian, and everything starts at around 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome concert, and I will not miss it for anything, so I hope to see you guys there for all of the Ontario metal mayhem at The Canadian tonight! Check out all of the bands above, I'll see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Hallows Die's opening songs from their set at what's now Coch's Corner last fall!
Now to the only Sault Michigan metal/hard rock shows that I know of this weekend, as Marquette hard rockers Nudge are back in town TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for another weekend engagement at The Satisfied Frog! Continuing on a recent schedule of playing in the Soo every four weeks, this entertaining cover quartet will be sure to rock The Frog as well as they ever do, and hopefully a good crowd came out for frontman Danzo McCracken's solo shows there over the last two nights! As usual for Nudge's local stops, they'll be on tonight & tomorrow at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like another fun weekend from Nudge, and it's always good to see them keeping up a more frequent local schedule than we've been used to in recent months! Their hard rocking covers always pull in a good crowd and response, so don't miss Nudge at The Frog this weekend! For a preview, here's Nudge covering an Ozzy Osbourne classic at a show a few years back!
And finally, brace for impact at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow night, as Maximum RNR are coming back to Sault Ontario! The prolific Toronto hardcore/punk quintet will play their third ever local concert tomorrow, though it will be their first show here outside of the former Foggy Notions, where they previously played in 2002 & 2011, though it'll just be their second with Saultites in their lineup. As you may remember, ex-Lion Ride bassist and former Detroit frontman Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis has sang with Maximum RNR since 2010, and they've since been joined by his longtime bandmate (and fellow local talent) Curtis Faux on bass, after replacing Davey Dee in the band last summer. Their relentless energetic hardcore sound will be sure to bring a much needed dose of heavy music to The Rockstar Bar tomorrow, and old Detroit fans will be right at home with Maximum RNR, so don't miss them! The openers for this show were slated to be local country/punk favourites The Billy Bastards, but they revealed on the Facebook event page yesterday that they had to cancel. A reason for their withdrawl wasn't publically revealed, but I heard that frontman Aaron Gibbs became a father a couple days ago (congratulations!), so that could be related. A new opening band is apparently in the works though, so stay tuned to the SMS for updates on that front!
Admission will be $5 for tomorrow's concert, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is listed. Check the above links for more details! It's great to see Maximum RNR back in town, and I definitely will be there to check them out finally! I was too young in 2002 and was sick last year, so I especially don't wanna miss this show! Stay tuned for updates on the opening band, prepare for some great hardcore/punk (and lots of quick but intense songs), and for a preview, here's Maximum RNR's current lineup playing three songs live last summer!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Hallows Die concert review and our review of The Harsh Heads' CD tomorrow, and much more as we enter July! Thanks everyone!
Let's mix stories from both sides of the border into this post after a stretch of nationally separated posts, so here's what's in store! Today, we have this week's classic video, a new local band's new drummer, and leading things off, lots of new media from a pair of bands' recent sets at a notable local music festival! Read on below for all the news, and check out this month's Saultites in Out of Town Bands Profile on RedStone Riot in the post below this one! (Updated on Thursday at 1:37 AM)
Most of Brimley metal trio Half A Man's set from LemmaFest this past Saturday is now on YouTube to check out! Frontman Erik Rintamaki uploaded four video files featuring the audio from their festival-opening set outside of Dondee Lanes onto his YouTube channel over the last few days, which make up the first new live concert media of Half A Man since their last shows as a quartet last spring! Note that these are accompanied by photos of the band and related images, including plenty from LemmaFest (even the other bands), which will hopefully make up for the lack of video footage somewhat. The first video, which is embedded below, features their originals "Slow Rock 75", "Cripple", and "Drunk", while the second video features a cover of Prong's "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" and their originals "Don't Blame Me" and "Bad Way". The third video features Half A Man playing "Die In Disgrace" and their new songs "What If" and "Reborn", and the final video features the guys playing another new song "Clear", their Mike Lemma tribute song "Goodbye", and their original "Life Goes On", so click each of the above links to hear most of their LemmaFest set!
It's great to hear their set, and they sound really heavy here, even despite the lack of a second guitarist! If there was any stage rust, their show at The Bird on Friday probably shook it off. Video footage aside, I only really have two complaints: The crowd sounded extremely small (they were the first band though) and the recording doesn't include their set openers "Freedom Ride" & "Release Me", but the vast majority is still documented! It's awesome to get some media from any band at LemmaFest, let alone of this length, and their gritty and very heavy material should definitely get some due notice! Also in new LemmaFest videos: Infathom guitarist Sean Hayes posted two videos of the Munising metal band (well, 4/5ths of them) from their LemmaFest set onto his personal Facebook page, which are the first videos of a metal band I've seen from either year! As Facebook videos, I can't embed them here, but they're of Infathom's covers of Pantera's "Domination" and Shinedown's "The Sound of Madness", so click the above links or here to check them out. They sound very heavy and a nice change of pace, but there was some timing issues on the Pantera cover.
Solid stuff, and hopefully they play here again sooner rather than later, so check all of the above videos out, and the first recordings from Half A Man's LemmaFest set below!
Next up, new local hard rock band Skeyes of Seven have announced the addition of Cherry Crush drummer Jonny Amendola to their lineup, replacing Chris Thompson. The band confirmed his addition to their lineup on Monday on their Facebook page, and they've indicated that he will be with the band for their debut performance at the Anvil concert at The Canadian Nightclub on July 25th. Jonny is perhaps best known locally for his work with Cherry Crush (alongside his dad, veteran local bassist John Amendola), but you may also remember a well publicized campaign earlier this year to see Jonny join a metal or hard rock band locally, which eventually helped lead to a brief stint as Acention's drummer, but hopefully joining Skeyes of Seven will lead to some big things for him! Playing with members of notable bands like Sense of Truth, Half Past, and Tripod the Dog can only help, and his talent from the YouTube videos we've seen of his drum covers is clear as day, so check his work out above, and buy your Anvil tickets A.S.A.P. at The Rad Zone, Music Depot, and The Canadian's front desk for $20!
And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! This week, we're focusing on a band that's not local for a change, but seeing as they have Saultites in their lineup and are returning to town on Saturday night, it makes sense to post a new video of theirs onto YouTube, and the band in question is Toronto hardcore/punk quintet Maximum RNR! The band currently featuring former Detroit/The Labour Of... bandmates Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis and Curtis Faux have played here twice in the past, but their first stop with any local members was on February 19th, 2011 at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner), in one of the last major metal shows under the Foggy's name. Featuring their 2010-2011 lineup (including ex-bassist Davey Dee, as Curtis hadn't joined yet), they melted many faces at their show here last year, and while I missed the show with a cold, I heard awesome things from it! One video from the concert has surfaced online that I can tell, which was shot by Brent's former Lion Ride bandmate Mikey Hawdon from a unique angle: Behind the band on stage, which gives an awesome view of a huge crowd, and though we don't see the band from a typical position, their fast paced hardcore sounds come through somewhat on this camera, even if the video is short!
Posted onto Facebook 5 days after this show, you can see the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150114592587993. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Maximum RNR and Mikey, I'm just trying to share this video with a wider audience like it deserves! This is a nice unique video of Maximum RNR delivering their maximum rock n' roll to their Saultite fans, so check it out below, let me know the title of the song if you have it, and stay tuned for Round 3 on Saturday night at The Rockstar Bar, with our preview of that show coming tomorrow or Friday!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews, more news, and our review of The Harsh Heads' album by the end of the week! Thanks everyone!
The news keeps on coming, and we've got some big stuff to talk about today! In this post, we have assorted stories from some young local bands, some more "Woods V" reviews, how you can see a recent metal-relevant Shaw TV interview online, and your first glimpse at an upcoming local metal EP, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that marks some familiar faces' return to the Soo!
Toronto old school hardcore punk quintet Maximum RNR are coming back to Sault Ontario at the end of this month for their third local appearance! The band fronted by former Saultite & ex-Lion Ride bassist Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis will hit The Rockstar Bar on June 30th for their first local concert date since their February 2011 headlining gig at the future Coch's Corner, and you know this should shape up to be a huge concert! My source is their official website's concert listings, with this very nice poster for the event also posted on the band's Facebook page. Notably, this will be Maximum RNR's first Sault Ste. Marie stop since Brent's former Detroit & The Labour Of... bandmate (and fellow Saultite) Curtis Faux replaced Davey Dee as their bassist, so if you've missed Brent & Curtis on stage locally in their various projects, keep this June 30th gig in mind, especially as Maximum RNR's current sound will be very familiar to Detroit fans! The openers will be local country/punk favourites The Billy Bastards in their 2012 debut, which will return guitarist John Conway to an opening slot for Maximum RNR, having opened for them with Destroilet last February. It's about time that The Billys returned, as you know their unique and fan friendly sounds will attract lots of notice!
Admission will be $5 for this concert, it will be a 19+ event, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links! It's great to see Maximum RNR schedule a return to the Soo this month, and hopefully I can make it for this Saturday night show! I missed their last show here due to a cold, but I don't intend on being absent this time around! The Rockstar Bar doesn't tend to have a lot of hardcore-leaning bands, but it's a very nice venue that's familiar to the performers, and hopefully this show is a huge hit! Stay tuned for updates on Maximum RNR's show at the end of the month as they roll in!
Next up, here's some more recent news from local classic metal quartet Late & Loud! In recent days, they've been making more out of their Reverbnation page than some other local bands do, including making some interesting blog posts and uploading some new samples from their upcoming debut demo/EP! This includes 36 second-long samples of 4 tracks and a full copy of their original "Whisper of the Damned", and while I won't give any detailed assessments yet (wait for the full review), the recording quality is better than I expected on first listen! Check the above links to hear the new audio clips (and full song), but when could we possibly see this EP? According to posts late last month on Late & Loud's Reverbnation blog, they're working on a release date for the EP and are looking into an iTunes release, while they're hoping to play a show at The Canadian Nightclub "mid-summer" with an opening band to be announced. If the album is out by then, the first 10 to be made public will be autographed by the band members. It looks like Late & Loud have a lot of stuff in the works for the summer once their little live break wraps up, and hopefully by next month, all of the excitement will be more public for us to take note of! Stay tuned for more Late & Loud news as it comes in, and check out the new audio clips!
Also today, remember last month when the Shaw TV interview piece with local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam ran on Channel 10 for local Shaw Cable customers? Well, it's televised run has ended, but never fear, as Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie's YouTube channel now features an upload of the 5 minute feature, so you can now check it out at your leisure online! Of course, this was shot at and around their May 12th headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar, and features clips of Garden of Bedlam playing three songs interspersed with a wide range of interview footage addressing many topics relating to the band. The only real new item I have compared to when we originally covered this interview was that this was indeed produced by former local punk singer Christian Lemay, despite the lack of voiceover audio that we're used to from his last metal-relevant interviews for Shaw TV's local branch. I actually have some more local press-related videos to share from the May 12th Garden of Bedlam show to share on the site later in the week, but for now, give their Shaw TV interview a look below!
Fourthly, here's a few more reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! Well, the first one apparently is more of a "first impression" rather than a critical opinion, but Apoch from the website Apoch's Metal Reviews gave a mixed-positive assessment on first listen of "Woods V", and though he had many faults for the album's mood and similarities to some other artists, he liked the growth Woods of Ypres were showing on this album, and it's interesting to see a writeup on the album without referencing David Gold's passing. Click here to check it out! In February, "Chris" from the website Metal Psalter gave "W5" 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "the perfect goodbye to David Gold", and called each track "a little trek" to the soul, and despite the missing star, he was mostly very complimentary and diverse with his opinions. Nice review, so check it out at this location! Finally, Martjin Welzen from Mass Movement Magazine gave "Woods V" a positive, but brief review in February, calling it a "great" and "pure Woods of Ypres record", while also complimenting the more upbeat sounds and insightful lyrics compared to "Woods IV". Short, but worth checking out, so click here to do so, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews sooner or later!
And finally, here's a few assorted shorter stories from the last little while, all of which revolve around younger high school-age bands from the last year or so. As always, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:
Local musician Aaron Desmoulin is looking for high school-age musicians for a hard rock project he's starting up, possibly to write original songs. He can sing & play bass, he has a room set up to jam in, and he's interested in playing Guns N' Roses or Motley Crue-esque hard rock. If you're at all interested, contact Aaron A.S.A.P. at this location or via his post on Sunday at the Musicians Wanted Facebook group!
I'll likely be moving Pickford hard rock outfit Beyond The Surface to our inactive band links tomorrow due to a year's inactivity. The Sault Michigan-area band featuring Unleashed & Focus alumni haven't been visibly active since a year ago tomorrow, when they uploaded a new photo to their Facebook page. They had promise & some successes at area talent shows, so hopefully they (or their members) pop up again in the near future!
Apparently, local/North Shore metal quartet Crimson Crusade played a set of some type yesterday at the Ho Shin Sool Martial Arts Centre on Korah Road. Odd on the surface, but I assume one of the band members trains there. From what little I know, it wasn't a publically available "concert", so I didn't call it on here, but hopefully it went well, and check the above links for more on Crimson Crusade, including their current setlist!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews tonight or early tomorrow, along with this week's classic video and that second archive Woods of Ypres magazine interview! Thanks everyone!
Hello there, metalheads! April's already off to a quick start, and today, we have some news that's mostly backlogged stuff that I'm finally able to stick in a post, though there are some new stories! Today, we have stuff from Frightlight, Half A Man, Sativa Rose, and some shorter stories from the past while, but kicking things off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!
Just four days away from their debut concert, local hard rockers Sneaky Pete have already announced their second show, which will take place on Saturday, May 7th at The Roosevelt Hotel! The band officially announced the show on Saturday night with a status update on their Facebook page. Full details haven't been announced as of today, and there's no Facebook event page yet either, but I suspect it will have a 10:30 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit, much like their debut show on Friday night at The Rockstar Bar. It's great to see bookings for Sneaky Pete after so long, and hopefully they have much more in store than just a show a month! I've heard promising things from these talented local veterans, and they should deliver a fun night of hard rock on Friday and next month! Check out the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more Sneaky Pete news as I hear it!
Next up, here's a lineup update for a local metal band! Sativa Rose have announced the addition of guitarist Anthony Orazietti to the band, officially making the band a quartet. I don't know exactly when he joined (I'm assuming last month) but he was added to the lineup on their official Facebook page at around the same time as when they added some amusing changes to their band info. I'm not aware of Anthony's musical background before joining Sativa Rose, but bassist Adam Veale highly praised him to me in recent e-mail conversations, so I have faith that this will work out! They're smart guys, and they know this will only add to their sound! With that said, Anthony will make his live debut on Saturday night at The Sewer Swampstravaganja all ages concert at The Oddfellows Hall, so if you're curious how Sativa Rose will sound with two guitarists, you'll find out on Saturday! Sounds good to me, and I'll be there on Saturday to tell you how Anthony does with the band! Stay tuned for more from Sativa Rose as it comes in!
Thirdly, here's the latest from Brimley hard rockers Half A Man, who've been keeping very busy lately! Firstly, the band have announced that they are now signed to Blackened Moon Records, the label that drummer Mikey Bishop's Lansing black metal band Summon are signed with! Details on the signing are kinda sparse, but the band are planning to record their debut album very soon, and release it through Blackened Moon Records afterwards, with attached CD release shows in both Sault Michigan and Lansing. Sounds good, hopefully we hear some concrete recording details soon! As well, the band have announced brand new t-shirts that honestly look better than the ones they were previously selling, and as you can see on your right, those are all the details on them! The shirts go for $15 or higher for larger sizes, and you can call (906) 440-8712 for ordering details! Plus, I assume you can buy these at their Merchant's Bar concert on April 16th. It sounds like Half A Man have things under control, and hopefully these big plans follow through, they deserve it! Check out the above links for more from Half A Man!
Fourthly, here's the latest from local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight! The band recently launched a brand new Facebook page, presumably to replace or compliment their Facebook group, and it does feature some new band information! A ton of concert photos have been added to the page, which you can check out at this location, and they include album "title cards" and assorted photos that aren't even necessarily of Frightlight. Good shots though! The page also includes what appears to be an updated stage name for drummer Jeff De Rose, as he's now credited as "Mr. Bates" rather than "The Count". I'll assume this is a reference to Norman Bates from Psycho, and maybe this will be a future on-stage costume theme? Check the above links for more details on their new Facebook page! As well, remember their Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands campaign to make it to the Vans Warped Tour stop in Mississauga in July? Since March 21st, they've catapulted from 22nd to 8th in the voting, and are only 856 votes away from the top 5! I'm very happy for Frightlight for getting this far, and I've been voting the whole way through, so let's help get them further in this contest! Click here to vote, you must have a free account though. VOTE TODAY!!
And finally, here's three shorter news stories from the last while, in alphabetical order by band/website name:
In case you haven't heard, Motley Crue tribute band Crued are looking for openers for their show on April 30th at The Canadian Nightclub. If you or your band are interested, click here! This seems like it'd be up Browbeat 101, Dirty Virgin, or Sativa Rose's alley, but who knows who could get the gig? If an opener is announced, I'll let you guys know who it is!
This is over a month late, but SooToday's Friday Hot Shot from February 25th was of Maximum RNR guitarist Keith Carman during their local concert six days earlier at Foggy Notions! Nice picture, thanks to Donna Hopper for taking it! Click the above links to check it out!
If you noticed that our "Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profiles" list on the SMS was longer lately, it's because I visibly separated the links so that each profiled band gets their own link. The posts aren't altered, but now the last band alphabetically each month isn't listed last for each link. So if you were wondering what happened, there you go!
That's all for today, but I have much more tomorrow (maybe earlier?), so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!
Our special feature posts keep coming in, and as I promised, our next one is tonight! In our ongoing series on bands who feature Saultites but aren't from here, we've explored many bands and artists, and today, we're focusing on a band featuring a local musician that's both a year after our first series entry on their out of town work, AND in the lead-up to their next local concert! So here's what you should know, and as always, if there's anything wrong, missing, or in need of editing, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 26th, 2014)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maximum RNR (Toronto, Ontario)
Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics) Keith Carman (lead guitar) Keith "KK Mauronik" Maurik (rhythm guitar) Curtis Faux (bass) Mike Childs (drums)
Louis Durand (vocals) Gymbo Jak (vocals) Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis (vocals) Mike Sidney (bass) Davey Dee (bass)
Local Info:Two Saultites reside in Maximum RNR's most recent full lineup, those being longtime bandmates Brenton Ellis on vocals & Curtis Faux on bass! They've been a part of numerous bands (local or not) in recent years, notably the Toronto indie punk band The Labour Of..., comedy metal project The Sexual Vigilantes, and the inactive local hardcore punk band Detroit, who sound very similar to Maximum RNR! You'll also be sure to recognize Brenton from his work as the former bassist in Lion Ride from 2008 to 2010, the late 1990s punk band The Bombed Squad, and currently as Destroilet's co-lead singer, while Curtis can also be seen in the Toronto bands The Cola Heads & Chainbreaker, so both have lots in the works!
Band Bio:Brenton Ellis joined Maximum RNR in the fall of 2010, replacing former Dayglo Abortions frontman Gymbo Jak in the band. With Maximum RNR, he still utilizes his "Diamond Brent Panther" stage name from the Lion Ride days. The next summer, Maximum RNR enlisted Brent's longtime bandmate Curtis Faux to replace Davey Dee on bass. Maximum RNR formed in 2002 in the Toronto area, and have toured and recorded frequently ever since, including a show at Foggy Notions in Sault Ontario with their original lineup in September 2002. The band's back catalog includes a number of seven inch vinyl singles, giving an old school flair to their musical output. As a result, they only have three official non-compilation CD releases, including June 2013's "Rough Side of the Dial". The band operates without major label support with mostly self-promotion to spread the word on the band, which has given them a noted cult following! They've played hundreds of concerts in the past 9 years, including some gigs in Europe. The band's lineup remained mostly stable through 2009, with numerous lineup changes leading to their current lineup's debut in 2011. Describing their sound as "ham fisted rock n' roll", their punk/metal attack continued to draw crowds through mid-2014, including two stops in the Soo in recent years, so check them out if you can!
I can safely say that if you liked Detroit, you'll love Maximum RNR! Their songs effectively ride the line between hardcore and punk, and are hard hitting, raw, and well played! Many of their songs are rather short (some clocking in at under a minute), but for bands of their style, this is something I've come to expect. Brent's aggressive punk-tinged singing will be familiar, and he was a great addition to the band, in a similar vein to original singer Louis Durand, though former singer Gymbo Jak's voice was heavier and deeper, so metalheads will probably take to his singing style more. It's all good though, and Brent & Curtis are fine additions to the Maximum RNR arsenal, with Brent giving them an intense one-man moshpit fury at live shows! Their songs are generally brutal, the guitar work from the two Keiths is a true standout element musically! With mostly vinyl singles, there isn't a high number of Maximum RNR originals, but if you enjoy aggressive old school hardcore punk, you'll get a kick out of these guys, and if you were at any of their local shows, you'll know why!
Maximum RNR's internet pages (linked above) have a high number of their original material, including their last album "Rough Side of The Dial" with Brent & Curt, so click here to buy it! Many old albums are out of print though, but click here for details on their releases' availability. There's a healthy number of videos on YouTube of the band in action, and now, plenty with their local-infused lineup, including this video of them playing two songs at a British concert!
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Hope you guys enjoyed this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month, we're going to focus on a band that we briefly mentioned on the SMS last summer when we discussed one of their old bandmates' local work. The band in question is Buster Cherry from St. Thomas, Ontario, featuring former Carbon Black alumni Terry Eaton and Vince Milosevich! Never hurts to explore all avenues of local metal alumni, and I better talk about them while I have them in mind! Watch out for this profile between March 10th and 16th! That's all for tonight, stay tuned for (hopefully) our next CD review and our new poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Here's a long post for your Thursday, and our first of two today before we unveil our next special feature post! Today, we'll mostly devote our time to previewing the local metal and hard rock concerts taking place between tonight and Sunday, to go over what you should know for your concertgoing this weekend! I don't know how many of these (if any) I can attend, given that my cold is still hanging on, and I don't want to annoy people with persistent coughing, but time will tell! Remember that the planned all ages show featuring As It Stands and Changing Waves and headlining out of town pop rock bands has been cancelled, so that's why it's not featured below. But before we get to the previews, here's some short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!
Motion Carried, the new hard rock trio featuring local music scene veterans Justin Langlois, Jamie Whalen, and Rick White, will be playing a short notice concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Foggy Notions! This will be their first "standard" concert following last weekend's gig at The Grand Theater after The Vagina Monologues, and it was only just confirmed on Facebook this morning. No other bands are scheduled for this show, which has a 10:30 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Motion Carried have no posted audio yet, but if I were a betting man, I'd assume their sound would be similar to a heavier version of The Scary Uncles, but I can't say for certain. There's lots of talent to go around though, and I imagine they'll put in a fun night of music tomorrow! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and I'll have more on Motion Carried as it comes in! Remember, this show is TOMORROW at Foggy's!
The other new shows I have today I literally JUST found out about. I was going to alert you guys on Facebook to this finished post, but when I flipped back to Facebook, here they were, new shows, so here's what you should know on them! Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot are playing at The Bird TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! The band literally just announced the shows on their Facebook page at 5:24 PM, so their short notice status is exactly that. Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges for both of their shows this weekend. Sounds good! Remember, Splitshot is the new band featuring half of the former Nixxon Dixxon lineup, so you know they have sufficient talent! I still haven't heard or seen anything by them yet, but I believe they'll have a set full of classic hard rock and metal covers in store, likely similar to old Nixxon Dixxon setlists. If I hear more on them, I'll let you know, but get a glimpse of Splitshot in action by heading to The Bird tomorrow or Saturday night! Good luck to them, and apologies for the short notice again!
Now to our previews for shows we knew about beforehand, and we'll first head to The Roosevelt Hotel, where they bring you the latest metal night at The Rosie! Three more young local metal bands are back TONIGHT to devastate the crowd, including a band each from the last metal and punk nights there, and one new entry! Tonight's headliners are The Bear Hunters, who opened the last metal night two weeks ago. Look for a hard hitting blend of melodic death metal (and maybe some "Squirrel Buddy") from this fast rising young group! Playing support tonight is Shit Liver, fresh off last week's punk night at The Rosie! Their unique sound that mixes grimy crusty punk and death metal will be sure to turn heads as it always seems to do in concert, so be prepared for them! Opening tonight's show are local hardcore quintet Changing Waves, in their first ever 19+ concert. Despite the cancellation of their Oddfellows Hall show, you can see them rock out tonight at The Rosie, as they continue to make a name for themselves in the local scene! Solid and very talented hardcore band, watch out for them going forward!
Like all past metal nights, this show should have a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:30 PM start time. For more details, click here! Sounds good, hopefully I'm feeling up to coming out for this one! Colds suck, I don't recommend catching one. Still, it's gonna rock, so make it out if you can! For a preview, here's The Bear Hunters playing, what else? "Squirrel Buddy"!
Next up, we'll head to Heyden for Tym Morrison's latest solo acoustic concert! With his weekly concert arrangements now taking place bi-weekly at two sort of far off concert spots, you'll likely need to make a bit of a trip to check out his solo shows, but trust me, they're worth the drive! Tomorrow night, Tym returns to The Big Cheese for a night of acoustic solo covers that will be sure to impress, and should help tide fans over while we wait for Caveman Morrison's return! So head on out to The Big Cheese on Highway 17 North tonight around 10:00 PM to enjoy some live music! I believe this is a 19+ show, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good concert, and really, what's an unplugged concert gonna hurt? It'll still rock, just go out and see! For a preview, here's Tym covering Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" last year at Foggy Notions!
Now we'll head to The Rockstar Bar for a weekend set from a frequently seen local band! Turner Up are back to deliver some classic hard rock to their fans tomorrow night and Saturday night! A constant presence at many local bars and concert spots, these talented local music veterans will be sure to entertain with their diverse setlist of classic hard rock covers that get heavier as the night progresses! As is standard for a Turner Up concert weekend, they'll be on at 10:30 PM on both nights, you must be 19 to enter, and there's no listed cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good concert weekend as always, hopefully Turner Up "turn up" the dial and get the crowd going all night long! Check the above links for more details, and for a video preview, here's Turner Up covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone"!
On the subject of bands playing a full weekend, let's head back to The Roosevelt Hotel, where local hard rock trio Browbeat make their long awaited return to the local stage! They'll be at The Rosie tomorrow night and Saturday night in what amount to their first concerts in four months! These will also be their debut shows with new drummer Johnny Belanger, who replaced Rick White behind the drumkit late last year, and add to a busy weekend of three concerts that Johnny's playing at The Rosie this weekend! (He drums for The Bear Hunters tonight as well.) It's been a while for them, but the videos we've seen show promise for their chemistry and overall sound! Get more details at the official Facebook event page, but disregard the lack of a listed Saturday show, they'll be there that night too! It's great to see Browbeat back, especially with the work and effort that Dutch and company have put in to get back on stage, and they should knock it out of the park this weekend! If health permits, I hope to be at The Rosie on Friday night, but time will tell! Check the above links for more, and for a preview, here's Browbeat's current lineup playing their original song "Days Gone By"!
Now to the Saturday night concerts, and there's a pair of high profile shows taking place that night in Sault Ontario, and we'll start at Foggy Notions! That night promises a great mix of punk and metal featuring two hard hitting local bands and an out of town band with a local connection! The headliners are Toronto punk/metal quintet Maximum RNR, who currently feature Sault Ontario native Brenton Ellis (a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther) on vocals! I believe this is his first local concert appearance since his last local show with Detroit in December 2009, and if you miss Detroit, I bet you you'll like Maximum RNR's sound! I'll elaborate more on Maximum RNR as a whole in TONIGHT'S Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on them, so stay tuned for that! The opening bands include local horror punk metal band Frightlight and old school hardcore outfit Destroilet, both of which are making their first live concert appearances of the new year! Great to see them back out there, they'll impress with their punk/metal hybrid sounds as well, but believe me, all three bands have their own unique styles! Doors open at 10:00 PM, there is a $3 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!
This should be a great high energy concert featuring lots of local talent, and I sense some moshpits and lots of beer will be had! If I'm better by Saturday, I'll definitely be at Foggy's for this show! For a video preview, I couldn't find any decent videos of Maximum RNR live with Brent singing, but if you like short fast paced hardcore punk songs, you'll enjoy them! Check their Reverbnation page out to hear some of their originals and see what you think! The ones without Gymbo Jak on vocals will likely be closer in line to what you should hear on Saturday!
One more Sault Ontario hard rock concert this weekend, and if you love tribute bands and classic metal from the 1980s, then take note of this show! On Saturday night at The Canadian Nightclub, 5150: Tribute To Van Halen will take the stage to lay down some Van Halen classics for the fans who come out! And before anyone asks, they do David Lee Roth AND Sammy Hagar era material, so all bases are covered! Frontman Steve Stanley isn't a dead ringer for either VH frontman, but he pulls off both very well, and that's hopefully good enough! Plus, 5150 features members of some locally familiar tribute bands like Gunz N' FN' Rosez, Destroyer, and Second Coming, so you know they have the chops! This show will have a 10:00 PM start time on Saturday night, I imagine there will be a cover charge of $5 or less, and you must be 19 to attend. For full details, click here! If you're a Van Halen fan, no matter which era, you should definitely head out to The Canadian on Saturday night! You won't be sorry, these guys are good! I imagine the vocals could be a sticking point, but hearing a carbon copy of David or Sammy might compromise the setlist. The whole band is really good, try to check 5150 out this weekend! For a preview, here's a 5150 promotional video featuring clips of many of their live Van Halen renditions!
We'll finish today's extra long preview post across the river, where a couple more shows that I know of are taking place that should interest you heavy music lovers! One will take place in nearby Rudyard, Michigan on Saturday night, as Cheboygan hard rockers The Darwin Project return to the area for a show at Joe's Bar on West Main Street! With no shows in Sault Michigan itself announced until April, you might want to head out to Rudyard tonight just in case. They've been growing in profile in recent months, and I heard they recently released a CD and got some radio press on Real Rock 105.1 (which picks up locally on better radios), so they've gotta be riding high right now! This show has a 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. For more details, check the official Facebook event page! Their brand of radio hard rock has won them lots of fans, and rightfully so, and you'll be glad you saw them if you make it to Rudyard on Saturday! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Darwin Project playing their song "The Dark" in Traverse City last month!
Finally, Sault Michigan metal quartet Hammerspace return to the stage on Saturday night just one week after rocking Zim's! This week though, they'll be at The Merchant's Bar for a night of metal mayhem! Details on this show have been scant, but there are no additional bands, it is 21+, I'd expect a 10:00 PM start time, and there's no announced cover charge. This is their third concert since they re-emerged as a four piece following some short lived runs with a standalone frontman, and I have heard good things about them on the whole as well! They have a good grasp of their progressive metal covers, and they should deliver a good night of music on Saturday! For more details, click the above links and The Merch's event page for this show, and visit their Reverbnation page for some newer instrumental demos of the songs you're likely to hear on Saturday! No videos yet that I know of, but when some pop up, I'll let you guys know!
That's all for now, hopefully you guys can hit some of these shows! Health permitting, I hope to be at some this weekend, but if I can't, I'll send my best regards, and make sure you guys get out this weekend yourselves! Stay tuned TONIGHT for our newest Saultites in Out Of Town Bands Profile on Maximum RNR, and of course, our new poll and my review of "...Bad Things Come In Threes" tomorrow if possible! Thanks everyone!
Well guys, we're ending January with a 30th news post, just the third time we've hit that mark since this blog was launched! This is a collection of cached news stories from the past weekend and some new stuff that I came across, including an apparent exit from an upcoming concert lineup, a local artist's new page & material, a local band's new YouTube channel, and more, but leading things off, here's a new local band!
I literally just found out about this band an hour or so ago, and it's a new hard rock project from Sault Michigan named MK-Ultra! Only two members exist in the project currently, including former Absolute & Riot! By Night guitarist Ben Huyck and Nick Landreville, who I think is the project's singer. I assume Ben and/or Nick are handling extra instruments as well for the time being, but they are on the hunt for a second guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Nice to see Ben back in a band, I liked Absolute and he is a good guitar player! Launched earlier this month, MK-Ultra play a radio hard rock style featuring a mix of everything from rap metal to more Red Hot Chili Peppers inspired stuff to softer ballad material, and they definitely give off a nostalgic late 1990s vibe! As someone who grew up listening to "nu metal" before getting into heavier stuff, this is an unexpected and nice surprise! Nick's got a good voice for this style, and Ben's guitar work is solid as I would expect! It'll be interesting to see what MK-Ultra have in store next, so check them out at their official MySpace and Reverbnation pages, featuring six original songs, and contact their MySpace if you want to try out for a vacant band position!
Next up, local grimecore trio Shit Liver have launched their own YouTube channel! It was started on Saturday, and it already features 11 videos from their most recent concert at The Rosie on January 21st! I don't know for certain who filmed the footage, but I saw the guy recording them on the right of the stage, and he got some very good footage! Much better than my camera is equipped to film, as he had a camcorder, and it can zoom during a video as well. I do question why three of the videos are filmed in sepia tone, but besides that, I can't complain about the quality! The videos include covers of Dystopia's "Self Defeating Prophecy" and "Backstabber", Rudimentary Peni's "Cosmetic Plague", The Capitalist Casualties' cover of Antischism's "Greedy Bastards", The Dead Kennedys' "Forest Fire", and GG Allin's "Bite It You Scum", as well as originals "Survival of the Shittest", "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe", "Contribute or Perish", and "Sewer Livin'", and two videos of some jamming from last call (here and here)! I'm a bit surprised that the same camera's footage of their self titled song and "Speak of Weak" didn't make it here, but hey, these are still a lot of good quality videos!
However, if you didn't like Shit Liver before, these probably won't change your mind, but if you wanna check them out, the links are above! Check out their channel at this location, and here's one of the videos, of Shit Liver's originals "Contribute or Perish" and "Sewer Livin"!
Thirdly, Sault Michigan solo artist Mike Libertoski has posted two new original songs on his new Reverbnation page! If you've followed Mike's original material, you'll likely know that his styles vary widely from death metal similar to his old Slackjawed Rats work to soft acoustic material, but in the case of these newest songs, Mike's absolutely going in a heavy direction, and I'm really impressed! Very technical work and extremely heavy, I'd love to see this live with a full band! "Demo 1" in particular fits this vibe, and while "Demo 2" is overall very similar, the first track has more intensity and speed in my opinion, and less jazzy sections to kill the momentum. All I'd really add is more of a solo section on both, but no matter. Mike's very talented, and you guys should definitely check out his new tracks! I don't have much else to add, but thanks to Mike for the MySpace e-mail alerting me to these demos! Check the above links for more!
Fourthly, it appears that one of the announced bands for this Thursday's metal night at The Roosevelt Hotel is now off the bill. Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere posted on the Metal Nights at The Rosie Facebook page that the band won't be able to play on Thursday. No reason was given, though I imagine that bassist Nolan Rainville's latest excursion out of town is linked. I honestly would have thought that the band would have enlisted Mike Kyle or Chris Morphet to fill the vacancy again on Thursday, but now the band appears to be completely out. With that said, the promoters haven't confirmed or acknowledged this yet, so a new band to join For All That Is Lost and The Bear Hunters on Thursday has not been confirmed. I'll keep you posted as I hear more! Also on the note of metal nights, I can finally confirm which band named Skepsis is coming to The Rosie on February 17th, and it's the indie punk band from Montreal. Honestly, they're not metal at all, so it is a bit confusing that they're apparently playing here on the likely next metal night, but we should hear more on that in the next while. Thanks to Rich Moreland for clearing up which Skepsis this was, cause there really was a bunch of bands with that name!
And finally, we'll close today's post with three shorter news stories, in alphabetical order by band name:
I told you guys about The Bear Hunters' YouTube channel for the videos from their concert on Friday that I filmed, but there are two extra videos there as well! One is their instrumental demo of their song "Collapse The Sun" and the other is "Squirrel Buddy" from guitarist Mitch Sirie's April Eyes project! This will apparently be played live by The Bear Hunters in the future, and it's quickly gotten a cult following, so stay tuned for it's live debut!
SooToday posted an event page for February 19th's Maximum RNR concert at Foggy Notions onto their entertainment page at this location! It features a band bio and basic concert details, but doesn't really share anything new. I'm surprised nothing's added about frontman Diamond Brent Panther's local past, but it's still a good read, so give it a look! See you guys there!
Woods of Ypres are retuning to Northern Ontario in March for a set at this year's Sudbury Metal Feast at The Serbian Center! They'll play on either March 11th or 12th, a final date has not been confirmed yet, but dates are supposed to come in tomorrow. Sounds good, hopefully a Sault Ste. Marie date will follow! I'll keep you posted with Woods of Ypres news as it comes in!
That's all for today, and I'll be back with new news hopefully in the next while, but our next post could be our February update of our "Where Are The New Albums?" series, which will go online on Wednesday! Stay tuned!
Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven have two more St. Ignace stops lined up this year, but not at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. If you've followed Driven in recent years, you'll know that one of their favourite area venues is Timmy Lee's Pub, "the U.P.'s official welcome center", which has hosted live music frequently in recent years (and we'll talk a bit more about the venue itself in a bit), but Driven will return to Timmy Lee's Pub at 748 West U.S. Highway 2 in St. Ignace for a concert weekend on what should be August 31st & September 1st! Their schedule says September 1st & 2nd, but that'd mean they were playing Saturday and Sunday, which I think is wrong, but if my assumption is what's wrong, I'll correct that on here! These join shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino at the end of that month as well. Also, note that I missed Driven's shows at Timmy Lee's this past weekend, but with the news and posts we've been swamped with this month, I'm regrettably not surprised. Apologies to Driven & their fans for the missed dates, but don't miss their next St. Ignace stops in 2012!
We'll get back to some Sault Michigan venue news in a second, but first, here's a big Sault Ontario concert preview, as 3 Inches of Blood are coming to The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! In their at least second show here (having rocked the Soo circa 2003), this very popular and talented Vancouver power metal quintet will bring their fast paced power metal sounds (with occasional death/hardcore flourishes) to what should be an impressive crowd tomorrow at The Rosie, including material from their new album "Long Live Heavy Metal"! Also of note: their current bassist is Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad alum Byron Stroud, which is notable in & of itself! Joining them on their Long Live Heavy Metal Canadian Tour are Charlotte, North Carolina thrash/death metal quintet Wretched (not The Wretched as some local press have called them), and they'll be sure to melt faces with their hard hitting blend of metal sounds and venomous lyrics tomorrow as well! The local openers include local melodic death metal notables The Bear Hunters and Battle For The Blood winners Winkstinger, both of whom will have some diversely entertaining originals for their fans at The Rosie tomorrow night, so be there early so you don't miss them!
Finally for today, here's the Sault Michigan venue news I alluded to above! First, in terms of Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace, it's definitely a popular bar from what I can tell, and they also have a full menu and TVs for sports events, so it seems like a nice enough location, even being featured in the Yooper Bars book from last year, and having merchandise for sale! Regulars will know better than I for it's appeal, but check out their website and their Facebook page for more! Also of note: their Facebook page includes rare live photos of defunct local hard rock band Splitshot (pictured) from a May 2011 show there with their original lineup, and it's good to finally see the guys live over 6 months after they broke up, even as photos! Finally, we've added both Timmy Lee's & the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino to our Sault Michigan (and area) concert venue links at the bottom right, while moving two to our Other Local Metal Links, those being The Savoy Bar & Nightclub and Zim's. Neither have hosted a metal/hard rock show in over a year that I've heard about, so to keep the concert venue links current, I moved them out of that section, but if I hear of one or both returning to active metal/hard rock booking, I guarantee I'll move them back!
