The Return Of Mikey & His Uke, Realignment Project Updates, And A New Live Video!!

Before we begin this Thanksgiving post, I wanted to apologize for missing Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson's solo acoustic concert at The Dive Gastro Pub on "Think It Over Thursday". I profusely apologize for missing this show in last week's previews, but alas, The Dive only announced that Greg was even playing on 3:26 PM that day, and Greg still doesn't have a solo social media page dedicated to his Ranting Rockstar persona/gigs (even on his personal page, this didn't get an early plug). Hopefully the show was a hit, and I'd have happily covered it had it had even a day's notice! Now, here's some recent updates and videos from a few local acts, including a surprise return!

After a nearly two year long hiatus, Mikey & His Uke are back! We last heard from the local/Toronto punk supergroup project when Mikey Hawdon concluded his "Dookie" 30th anniversary series of Green Day covers in November 2024, but the BookcluB/Dos Amigos frontman surprised us by posting a brand new remotely-filmed cover of The Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You" onto their YouTube channel last week. For their big return, Mikey sure got a stacked lineup of musicians from afar for this cover, including Bangles guitarist Vicki Peterson on vocals, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, and former Runaways bassist Jackie Fox (a 4 day champion on Jeopardy!) on backing vocals. As usual, Mikey starts off strumming his ukelele before dropping the pretense and playing rhythm guitar. The cover is very sound, and everyone performs well with some unique levels of staging!

The biggest variance here compared to past Mikey & His Uke covers is that three performers actually appear on camera together. Vicki starts off singing alone outside, then Jackie joins her, and when they go inside, Steve has moved from performing in a dark theatre to playing on the couch, where the ladies join him for the back half of the cover. Good stuff with some suitably huge star power, so check out the "Bohemian Like You" cover below, and Mikey & His Uke are back in our active band links! Here's hoping we're not waiting until 2028 for the next video!

Next up, here's the latest from local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's Facebook page, so what has Matt Hicks has been up to in the past couple of months? Much of that time was spent working on their second full length album, and in the most substantial teaser video from the sessions in that span, Matt posted this video on August 14th of a new song in progress via his tracking computer. He gave what appear to be lyrics for the song in the description, but what we hear is just the bass and drum tracks for the then-unfinished song. Sounds good to me for what it is! As of August 19th, the album was 75% done, and six days later, Matt posted this amusing video that shows an insight into his alleged "creative process". Vertical or not, I have a feeling that there is some real basis to the scenarios presented! Songwriting for the album was still ongoing on September 2nd, and by the 14th, he was tracking vocals for songs then in progress.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Matt announced on the 18th that he was already working on demos for T.R.P.'s third full-length album, and you can't knock the hustle! Back to album #2, post-production had begun by the 23rd, and five days later, he showed off some expansions to his home studio in this video soundtracked by a Motley Crue song. Last week, Matt confirmed their second album was done, and he confirmed on Friday that the album will be named "Signal Decay", with a release lined up for December. This is on par with the release timeframe for The Realignment Project's first full-length album "Long Cold Winter", which also came out two months after its sessions ended. In the interim, Matt posted this teaser video on Facebook featuring a groove metal-inspired instrumental section of one of the new songs. As usual, I'll hold comment pending our review of the full song and album next year.

Even with the focus on full albums as opposed to EPs in the past year, Matt works at such a busy and prolific pace, and it's good to see him getting "Signal Decay" done and prepped for release already! One assumes this is still through East London Recordings and will turn up on major streaming services, Bandcamp, and via ElasticStage print-on-demand physical copies like before. Give the teaser a watch below, and stay tuned for more soon!

Finally for today, here's a new video discovery from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown! The band proper has been publically dormant for over three months, but I came across this during our profile on guitarist Jaxon Massaway's YouTube channel, and it presumably slipped my notice because it is a "Short" video (re: vertical, brief, and classed separately than regular videos, though it is embeddable here and isn't temporary like a Facebook "Story"). This comes from their set opening for Born Of Osiris at The Vernors Room at The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac in May 2024. It's a borderline drum-cam video (Jaxon was still HLTC's drummer here), but it's not super well positioned for that purpose, and you can only see Nathan, Christian, and Blaze (debuting with the band as a one-off DJ here) from behind, and Brandon isn't in frame at all. It's a promisingly heavy performance, just a poor angle, vertical, and way too short. Still, give it a look below!

That's all for today, but enjoy your Thanksgiving, turkey, and football on the Canadian side of the border, and we'll be back with more news and notes on the SMS later this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews, Part 1!!

This is an unusually busy weekend for concerts at this time of year, so much so that I'll have to break up our hard rock/punk concert previews into three posts! Today's will look at bands playing tomorrow and/or Saturday in some description, but larger events on Saturday (namely Oktoberfest, Punk Rock Fiesta, Quite Frankly, Curtis McKenzie, Dos Amigos, and shows in the EUP) to follow. We're on it, and we're starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know to start things off!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (7.3?) will reportedly return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have not been publically announced on social media by the band or venue, and I only learned about the shows via personal Facebook postings. Soundcheck most recently rocked the Queen Street East tavern early last month, with this being their second weekend there with their current lineup. Should be a fun weekend for classic and hard rock cover action, assuming the personal Facebook postings are accurate! This AI-generated image was made by Reggie's for their shows there in May, but intentionally or not, it's not dated so it can be reused (though if the guys really have tacked 7.3 onto their name, why not make that official on their public social media pages? They should use social media more regardless.)

TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges, and the shows were not advertised as "epic crossovers" with their sister band Separate Wayz, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't turn up. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, a packed weekend at the resurgent Rockstar Bar kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT with the one-off supergroup Hard Rock Review taking the stage there! For one night only, staples of local hard rock bands of the 1990s will join forces for a night full of 1980s-leaning rock covers, and for recent SMS coverage's sake, the most familiar names here will be (former?) Dodge This/Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer and Flathead Ford/ex-Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano. Good to see Jay in a plugged in band again after way too long! Bassist Robert Iacoboni (who later made his way to Taiwan in his extensive musical journey) and drummer Jeff See will round out their full lineup, but Robert's friend Dallas Crockett (of the Kelowna-based AC/DC tribute band High Voltage) will guest for a six song mini-set of AC/DC hits. Dallas isn't local, but his guest turn will add some zest to the proceedings!

One night before punk reunions take place at the same venue with Punk Rock Fiesta (preview coming tomorrow), Hard Rock Review will have no announced cover charge tomorrow night, but bring cash just in case given that most of the performers are living out of town. This is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 8:00 PM. Obviously, I have no videos of Hard Rock Review (shouldn't it be "Revue?") to preview the show with, but the Facebook event page lists bands that the guys will be covering, and with the talent on display, fans of this era of local hard rock bands should have a blast tomorrow night! See above for more details on the Hard Rock Review's debut!

Also taking place TOMORROW NIGHT is the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! While the band did announce the shows last month as part of their slate of (at least) three October gigs, the shows have been confirmed anew via the venue's October concert calendar, and we'll address its unaddressed hard rock shows in an upcoming post. After skipping this central nightclub last month, fans will get to see Generations back there tomorrow, and hopefully their classic and hard rock covers go over well as usual! As The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly, country singer/guitarist Jeffrey Wright is headlining there on Saturday. Tomorrow's concert will be an 8:00 PM affair as usual with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Generations live!

This was shot at their Gateway Casino concert last month, and was uploaded to guitarist Joe Miller's personal Facebook page before being shared to the band's Facebook group. It features him, Valerie, Pierre, and Tony covering Amanda Marshall's "Let It Rain", which I don't recall them covering in past media. Not badly handled, and Valerie's voice is more than up to the task of this mid-1990s slice of Cancon. Well filmed and horizontal to boot, so give it a watch below, and don't miss them at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow!

Finally for preview post #1, we'll go west to Beck's Bar, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT! Just Saturday though, as despite their website still listing the Sunday matinee for an "uncorked" concert, Beck's has since confirmed on their Facebook page that Curtis McKenzie is playing that day instead (preview forthcoming). A reason for the switch was not announced, but hopefully it's just a simple scheduling conflict. The full electric Bone Yard 225 experience awaits on Saturday though, with this being their first full plugged-in ("corked") concert since their one-off with Spencer Pine early last month, and their first typical weekend nightclub gig in city limits in two months. Now that the fall season is firmly in place, "the dirty three" should have a solid night of hard rocking covers and originals in store for fans at the Goulais Avenue nightclub on Saturday!

If you want to see your local 225 in "uncorked" mode, their next acoustic gig will be next Friday at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub. Saturday's concert is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cove charge, so see above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Queen: It's A Kinda Magic Preview, Recent Concert Fallout, And More Updates!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that the Led By Zeppelin concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 30th, exactly 20 weeks after the original September 12th date was cancelled the day of the show (the band has since confirmed on their Facebook group that guitarist Kelsey Irwin was admitted to Sault Area Hospital that day with a kidney infection). All tickets for the September 12th event will be honoured in January if not refunded, and click here to buy tickets anew. Glad to hear that Kelsey is on the mend, and hopefully there's a solid turnout in four months! Now, here's a concert preview, recent concert details, and some more assorted notes!

We'll start today with a mid-week concert preview, as Australia's own touring tribute favourites Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the aforementioned Sault Community Theatre Centre TOMORROW NIGHT! While the most recent Queen tribute concert here was the England-based Majesty at The Machine Shop in March, tomorrow's headliners are the best known locally, as Queen: It's A Kinda Magic have previously played at the former Kiwanis Theatre three times, including in May of last year. Post-pandemic, QIAKM have been a reliable draw at White Pines with their proficient take on the Queen back catalogue with presentation to match, and despite the mid-week timing, hopefully they deliver another kinda magic tomorrow! This show takes place at 7:30 PM, and tickets are on sale at this link, at the Station Mall box office, and presumably at the door for $75 (adults).

Kids 13 and under will cost $45 each. Warren and crew always draw good numbers here, but there are still tickets available from the 11th row and back (center section) and the second row and back (left and right sections), with no gallery seating once again. If you love Queen's diverse and often heavy range of classic singles, don't miss out on tomorrow's action, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic live!

Next up, let's clarify some missing aspects of the third and final Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East from September 17th between Dennis and Gore Street! Organizers never specified exactly who was playing on which of the two stages and where, but based on photos from the City of Sault Ste. Marie's Facebook page and personal videos, I can confirm that the de facto "Dennis Street Stage" was in front of the THRIVE Child Development Center at 126 Queen, across from CINTAS. That's where country singer/guitarists Brian Tremblay & Jeffrey Wright played, as well as headlining jazz cover band The Hustle Brothers, who must have been moved there late, as frontman Jay Case had signalled in a personal Facebook comment that they'd be on the Gore Street Stage instead. Speaking of the "Gore Street Stage", that was located in front of Second Hand World, and featured Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band with "Just" Tom Peer opening, like last month.

In media that I am able to see from the street party, there was no third act at the corner of Queen & Tancred ("and more!" or otherwise). If you know where to look, you'll see some good quality video and photos of the musicians and the varied family entertainment, though as best as I can tell, all of the videos are on personal accounts, not public pages. Big Finish Band guitarist Chris Nielsen had a fun time from what I saw though! See above for more on what is public from this month's street party!

Now, let's look at some of the fallout from the Dale Corcoran tribute concert at The Rockstar Bar on September 19th! We didn't cover the event as a formal concert here because there was no official band lineup (things were implied to be jam/freeform heavy), but bandmates of his from groups ranging from the heavier 1980s bands Riggy Zomba and Vandyl to the country-leaning Southern Guns & Hillbilly Heartbreakers performed in Dale's memory. Crank Sound Distribution was on hand for this well attended event, which was loaded with familiar faces to local music fans of the era. A number of personal postings have media from the night, but embedded below is a video shot by Headrush bassist John Amendola for his band's Facebook group of musicians that night covering Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers". It's rare hearing 1980s Deep Purple on a local stage, so kudos to all involved for not going with an obvious pick!

Clearly, John didn't know who everyone was on stage for this song, which goes along with the loose jam night feelings, but there was a lot of praise for the singer, who nailed this song!  Good stuff, and I'm sure Dale would have been proud of all of his friends and old bandmates coming together like this, so give the Deep Purple cover a watch below!

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

• Despite announcing that they'd be hosting five final shows back in July, local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows' reported last concert took place this past Thursday at Broers Jansen, headlined by Indiana alt-country musician Jess Jones. While the finality isn't mentioned on their Facebook page, the former Dryer Fire confirmed it in a Facebook "Story". If the other three teased farewell concerts were indeed cancelled, it is unfortunate, but best of luck to Nicole in the move and whatever comes their way next!
• Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing have dropped out of this Saturday's Punk Rock Fiesta concert at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar. On the Facebook event page yesterday, the band revealed that guitarist John Hajdu is recovering from severe pneumonia, and they failed in attempts to secure a short-notice fill-in guitarist for this weekend. Promoter/PROD guitarist Christian Foisy confirmed that Random Killing will return for the planned second Punk Rock Fiesta next year, and Random Killing merchandise will still be on sale on Saturday. Our best thoughts go out to John as he recovers, and hopefully we see Drool and crew back in 2027!
• In the newest video on their Instagram page (which I am unable to embed here), Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids classical metal band Theatre of Night teased that there are "good things to come for the holiday season...", while showing off keyboardist Craig Harrison's tracking computer setup with an instrumental solo in the background. The caption didn't need to be hard-coded on top of the video, but what are Theatre of Night teasing? They have a new Michigan-based singer and bassist, so a Christmas tour seems likely, but could new studio material be coming as well? Stay tuned!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, Crush Updates, And More Recent News & Notes!!

As we wrap up the busiest month (for post count) in the 19+ year history of the SMS, here's one more news post for the end of August before we go into autumn, and it includes updates from an EUP hard rock band, clarifications on who played a recent all-day charity concert, and some assorted shorter updates, but we'll lead off with a debuting supergroup that will be intriguing for many local punk and hard rock fans! Here's what you should know!

We have a new local punk band to add to our links, and they are Dead II Society! While their Facebook page was only launched yesterday, they were one of the two mystery bands announced for October's Punk Rock Fiesta at The Rockstar Bar (we are still waiting for details on The Baby Rails). Self-described as "an outlaw punk rock (band) specializing in loud, high energy, foot-stomping songs", their lyrics are planned to revolve around members' personal lives, health, and relationships. The band features former Garden of Bedlam/Changing Lanes singer/guitarist Erik "Buzz" Boissineau alongside former Northwest/Terminal guitarist Mike Yakasovich, veteran local bassist Andrew Torgerson (most recently seen down south in The Epifats and Grant Boyer's backing band), and Billy Bastards drummer Charlie Yanni (he will be pulling double duty with both bands on October 3rd).

Dead II Society are working on original music for major streaming services and Bandcamp, and your first teaser is this video featuring an instrumental track and silent footage of the guys meeting up and jamming. Their first single and full-length video (presumably both for this song) premiere on September 16th, 2½ weeks before their Punk Rock Fiesta debut. Sadly, the video is both vertical and black & white, aspects that I hope don't translate to what we get in two weeks, but it's great to see this promising band full of established names making their debut shortly, and it'll be interesting to hear how Buzz's long-teased original punk songs turn out! See more from them above and below, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, let's bolt across the border to Sault Michigan for the latest updates from local hard rock trio Crush! It's been a few months since we last talked about Tarnished's original-heavy splinter group, who haven't played a local concert in over four months (or downstate since May), but they haven't been completely idle. After jokey posts, AI-generated memes, and more love for Big Boy restaurants over the summer, they have announced two tour dates for September on their Facebook page, one being a show on Friday at Bemo's Bar in Bay City (3½ hours south of here, outside of Saginaw). Best of luck on the road trip for sure! The other gig is technically outside of our coverage range (an hour's drive from the Soo), but it will be their closest show since April at The Merch, and it will see Alex, Josh, and Iggy open for their friends in Rose City metal band Tribe989 at Bates Corner Bar & Grill in Gould City on Thursday, September 24th.

Hannahville "rez metal" band Ghidora (who Heavy Lies The Crown fans will know well) are also playing this show 90 minutes west of the Soo. If you can make the drive to western Mackinac County, this show may be of note, and despite Gould City being pretty small, they can book big names at Bates Corner (Buckcherry played there earlier this month!) Click here for details on the Gould City concert. Lastly, they posted this short teaser video for the Bay City show on Friday, with Iggy promoting it from an... unexpected place, while the caption at the end notes that Crush have been busy in the studio recently working on original material. Hopefully we hear more soon, so get Crushed above and below, and I hope next month's shows go well!

Also today, here's some clarification of the lineup for Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Sault Ontario on August 5th! The advertising for the event had conflicting details on who was and wasn't playing, but organizer Paige Dennie listed off performers in a personal Facebook post shared to Maddy's Facebook page the next day to thank everyone for volunteering. Ten acts ended up playing the Wednesday outdoor-ish concert under the big tent, with this AI-generated poster being accurate to the final bill aside from omitting Tex Riviera & The Relix Ride for one reason or another (not only did they play, they were up first!). The acts that dropped out (both for unannounced reasons) were solo musicians Arin Karki and Leslie Cook, with Tym Morrison being a last minute replacement for one of them. Of note, Jason Taillefer's sister Kelly guested for part of his solo set, which was implied to be keyboard-heavy.

Paige noted that 5 Dollar Bribe donated their drum kit and PA system for the day's full band's to use, which was nice of them, while TNT singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe helped with sound and managing set changes, and Bone Yard 225 were the headliners. It does sound like things went well, and Paige was very appreciative of everyone helping out, both from the concert aspect and towards supporting the dog rescue charity itself, so visit the above links for more on what went down four weeks ago!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for our short-form story blocks, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

 

• A memorial concert for late local musician Dale Corcoran will be held at the resurgent Rockstar Bar on Saturday, September 19th! Proceeds will go to his widow Clare for her own recent expenses, and the show is implied to largely be an informal and unrehearsed jam featuring friends and former bandmates rather than something with firmly scheduled and advertised bands (though I'd assume that we'll see members of Tex Riviera & The Ride). Could we see throwbacks to his local metal and hard rock work of the 1980s? Tickets cost $20 + processing fees at this link, and I do hope that this celebration of life is a huge hit across the board!
• I apologize for missing this among our backlog clearout, but a demonstration named Navigating the Modern Music Business As An Independent Artist was held at The Art Hub At Spring this past Tuesday. Hosted by local musician and manager Ryan St. Pierre of The Lonely Listeners Club and the upstart music management program Lisinin, the program was to promote his work and help encourage independent artists to explore today's music industry and better network in music communities. All are definitely good plans to help aspiring musicians in their career, so click here for more on what went down last week, and what Ryan continues working on!
• The performance order for the aforementioned Punk Rock Fiesta at The Rockstar Bar on October 3rd has been unveiled via this poster shared on the Punk Canada Facebook group two weeks ago! The running order is mostly what you'd expect given band notoriety, with everyone but headliners Random Killing having a half hour timeslot (the debuting Baby Rails lead off at 6:30 PM), but local crossover thrash trio Hails will surprisingly get the 10:30 PM co-headlining slot over the Billys and Fist Magnet reunions. This will be a huge show no matter when bands are on, so visit the above links for more on what to expect in just over a month!

 

That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERS (Fefe Dobson & Greg Simpson), One More Weekend Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

On this Friday night, let's wrap up what might be the last mega busy concert weekend until Halloween season, with a couple of linked unpl... "uncorked" concerts ahead (one a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), along with another big new show and some newly found live concert videos. With all of that now outlined, here's what you should know!

Just over a week after rocking The Dive, Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will return to Beck's Bar for another acoustic matinee concert on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Beck's weekly schedule announcement on their Facebook page on Monday, and remember that Greg doesn't have a social media page dedicated to his "Ranting Rockstar" persona/solo act where he can announce shows in advance. SUNDAY'S concert is effectively a re-booking of a briefly advertised show that Greg was supposed to play at Beck's this past Sunday, only to be replaced by Whiskey Hippy for unannounced reasons. Did Beck's err on the date, or did Greg legitimately withdraw/have to reschedule? Regardless, you have another block of "uncorked" southern and hard rock covers in store at the former Vibe Lounge to go along with the weekly euchre tournament!

The Ranting Rockstar will be on stage SUNDAY at 3:00 PM, this is a 19+ concert, and there is no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, we'll have more from Greg this weekend in a bit, and for a preview, here he is live earlier this month!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will play their second show of the fall on Friday, September 18th, when they open for Toronto pop rock musician Fefe Dobson in a FREE concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! We'll have Wolf Fest details when someone firmly posts the lineup outside of "Stories". This show takes place during the third annual Vivid Art Festival (successor to the Summer Moon Festival), a yearly celebration of the arts and culture, and while full details are forthcoming, this concert is the main attraction this year. I could have swore that Fefe Dobson had played here previously, but you may recognize her for hit singles like "Bye Bye Boyfriend", "Don't Go (Girls & Boys)", and "Stuttering", and her early material frequently crossed the pop punk line, with many Avril Lavigne comparisons, for better or worse. If you watched MuchMusic frequently in the mid-late 2000s, this will be a huge throwback!

Also playing this date are Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise, who you may recognize from last year's Poutine Feast and 2022's Northern Vibe Festival, and it'll be good to see them back in our area! Presented by Kiss 100.5 (a better fit than 104.3 The Fox when you consider her newer material), this is an ALL AGES and FREE concert at 7:00 PM in three weeks, and it should be a fun mix of pop and rock with (hopefully) agreeable temperatures, so visit the above links for more on this concert!

Next up, let's finish up this weekend's concert previews with a show that had lots of advance notice, as the aforementioned Greg Simpson will be joined by Alex & Warren for an "uncorked" concert with their southern/hard rock band Bone Yard 225 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub! While all of their shows at this Great Northern Road venue are acoustic in spite of electric bands playing there often, this will cap off their summer season schedule ("end of summer" bash in Echo Bay next month acknowledged), and comes three weeks after their Algoma Tree Services gig, and almost three months after their last Water Tower Pub booking. Hopefully things go well for the guys tomorrow before Greg disembarks and heads west for his Beck's matinee on SUNDAY! If you're curious, the band who replaced Soundcheck tonight (due to them jumping to the full Jay's weekend) was North Channel Sound.

Tomorrow's show at The Water Tower Pub is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you prefer seeing the guys in local nightclubs, this is your last (scheduled) chance for over a month, so don't bypass this one! See above for more details, and for a preview, I found three new videos of your local 225 at The Water Tower Pub in May 2024! These were shared in the comments of this photo on Bone Yard's Facebook page from earlier that day, and they were filmed by attendee Wanda Wanda. Alas, all three are short and (sadly) vertical, but they include the guys covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" (with Alex on vocals), Pink Floyd's "Young Lust", and as embedded below, their staple cover of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show's "The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'", as it is the only video to exceed 46 seconds in length. Orientation and duration aside, these videos all suffer from deep/hazy blue lighting, but this isn't an isolated problem re: videos shot there.

If you have to shoot vertically, this was at least optimal to get all three guys in frame, even if Warren is very much in the background. The audio quality isn't bad from what we hear, and these are well handled covers, but you should expect nothing less from Bone Yard after over 15 years. Give Wanda's videos a watch above and below, and apologies for missing them for this long! Videos explicitly posted in/shared to comments can be tricky!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Hard Rock Revue), Fort Creek Updates, And Much More!!

Here's another packed news post to check out on this Tuesday evening, and here, we have some recent assorted updates, a look at a unique concert from earlier this month, and big lineup changes from a local hard rock band, but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

The day before the Punk Rock Fiesta goes down in October, The Rockstar Bar will signal their return to hosting regular public concerts on Friday, October 2nd when they host the one-off Hard Rock Review! This is a supergroup of veteran local rock musicians led by Dodge This singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer in his first local concert appearance with a plugged-in hard rock band since Phatstick broke up in 2012, so that alone will be a pull for many. Other 1990s local rock veterans will join him here, including guitarist Jeff See, bassist Robert Iacoboni (later seen in Master Steven and the Taiwanese Pink Floyd tribute band In The Flesh), and former Gsis Murphy/Fort Creek drummer Anthony Fabiano, so local rock fans who were around then should be quite interested! As well, they will have a guest singer for six songs, namely Dallas Crockett, a friend of Rob's who sings for the Kelowna-based AC/DC tribute band High Voltage.

Dallas isn't local, but it will be interesting to hear how he does on six AC/DC classics during his planned guest spot in October! Hard Rock Review (isn't "Revue" more accurate in this context?) are advertised to play a 1980s-leaning hard rock set on October 2nd, including acts like The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Journey, The Cult, and even "a couple of one-hit-wonders". Doors open at 8:00 PM for this 19+ concert, and an admission fee or potential ticket sales are not known yet. The first weekend of October is shaping up to be huge for fans of hard rock and punk of the past, and an ideal way to kick off The Rockstar Bar's full relaunch as a proper concert venue, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, we have some big lineup news from local southern hard rock band Fort Creek, who announced two new additions to their ranks via their Facebook page on Sunday! First, they have enlisted Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse to replace the long-since departed Robin "Bones" Lee. Art is a good fit based on his musical background, though does him joining Fort Creek mean anything negative for Half Past's status? That band has yet to play live this year following drummer Johnny Amendola's departure and move to Soundcheck/Separate Wayz, but we'll let you know if anything is clarified from their camp! Meanwhile, in a surprise, Fort Creek have also brought in former Stillbroke/Borderline Divine alum Sam DeDominicis as their new drummer, replacing Phil Greco. A reason for Phil's departure was not announced, though if you recall Bones and Anthony's quiet departures in 2023, this won't be shocking.

Fort Creek were recording their long-awaited debut album at Phil's own Jettison Studios though, so does this signal anything bad re: the album sessions, or will he still work with the band behind the scenes? Again, we'll let you know! We last heard from Sam when Borderline Divine teased a reunion in 2016 that never got off the ground (the former Stillbroke last played live in 2012), so it's been a while regardless, but it's great to see him in a new local band after all these years, let alone Justin, Shane, and Bill having a full lineup again after almost three years! Stay tuned for more from Fort Creek in live and studio contexts hopefully soon!

Now to the oldest topic in our backlog that we hadn't yet covered in an SMS post, namely fallout from this year's Government Bay Barge Bash in Cedarville, Michigan! As you may recall, three bands play this annual Les Cheneaux Islands summer concert on a floating barge in Government Bay, with swimming and boating to the event and the stage encouraged among the revelry, and for the rain-delayed event on August 2nd, their official Facebook page did get two videos highlighting what went down four Sundays ago. One features quickly cut clips from the Barge Bash, including very brief looks at The Mark Bowen Band's set. Alas, this video is both vertical and 14 seconds long, but it is an effective teaser! The longer of the two captures Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore covering (as best as I can tell) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream" for 51 seconds.

Shared from attendee William Maloney's personal Facebook page, he panned the camera around in a circle, and you can see that the barge isn't that far from shore, so you can walk around in the water (just don't slip!). The aesthetics alone make this video worth a watch, as you don't often get concerts where boats are parked so close to the stage, let alone the wide forest sightlines, so if you don't mind getting a little wet, this deserves more attention as a summer destination concert. Sadly, no public videos of Project 906's headlining set that I am aware of, but see above for more from this year's Barge Bash, and here's to another big one next year!

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

 

• Local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow have added a new gig to their calendar, but it will be on the road this Saturday at the Jerk-N Depot in Alanson, which is 90 minutes south of here (give or take Mackinac Bridge traffic) and 20 minutes northeast of Petoskey. According to the band's AI-generated poster, this is a "last minute add on show" due to a previously scheduled band cancelling. This will now be just the second gig since the former Unfortunate Sun rebranded as Nate's Chow, and while anything in the Lower Peninsula is out of our coverage range, hopefully things go well on Saturday night!
• While we await confirmation of who their new bassist is, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Separate Wayz shared videos of their "epic crossover" gig in Chapleau with their sister band Soundcheck via this batch post on their Facebook page last week! Unfortunately, both videos are 7 seconds long and do not have audio whatsoever, but from what we can see, it looks like a lot of fun was had by the bands and fans alike at the Gold Rush Nationals, and stay tuned for more from both bands!
• Former Spades GT bandmates J.D. Pearce, Matthew "Fang" Voros, and Sean "Skull" MacNab will reunite for the first time since their abrupt dissolution in December this Thursday at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie, when they play a one-off Misfits tribute set as Fiend Club! This show is an all-tribute band affair featuring six bands, mostly punk and emo ones, plus the amusingly named headliners Rage Against The Poutine. Matthew and Sean have remained active this year in their psychobilly band The House of Haunt, and it is good to see J.D. (a.k.a. Johnny Pints) back on stage again with them, but could this lead to more in some fashion?

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Greg Simpson) And New Videos!!

Today's post is half devoted to wrapping up our look at a local musician's recent original music output, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

Despite the cancellation of his planned Beck's Bar matinee gig tomorrow, you can still see Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson live this weekend, as he will be rocking The Dive Gastro Pub with a solo acoustic concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Greg only announced this gig via his personal Facebook page earlier this evening, and at press time, The Dive has not corroborated this booking. As per Greg's post about the "uncorked" concert TOMORROW, this concert will be indoors in "the naughty corner" rather than on the patio, but regardless, if you like Bone Yard's acoustic concerts and enjoyed Greg's past solo dates (at The Dive or otherwise), keep TOMORROW'S concert in mind for some more entertsaining southern and hard rock covers! The Ranting Rockstar takes the stage at the former Low & Slow TOMORROW at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Greg live earlier this month!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only (as usual there) on Saturday, September 12th! Drummer Tony Santoro newly announced this show on their Facebook group on Monday, and it marks their first show at the downtown casino since early August. Generations have been taking a few weeks off from the stage this month, aside from some fill-in gigs by Pierre and Tony, so if you've missed their, Valerie, and Joe's tried and tested batch of old school covers, go check them out next month (and this fall!) We already knew about their Reggie's Place gigs next weekend, so look for more in next week's round of weekend concert previews. The Gateway Casino show in three weeks is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and look for more from Generations on the SMS next week!

Finally for this post, let's conclude our look at Tym Morrison's recent original solo music from his YouTube channel! Six songs (with videos) were left to look at after our all-Tym post, and in this case,  all six songs/videos here reference socio-political issues and opinions that may be seen as divisive, so I won't comment on the bulk of the lyrics or views here (this isn't that kind of site). Also, remember that Tym uses some AI-generated imagery in his videos, but he wrote and sang every part of the actual songs, give or take some spoken word sections from included videos. All uploaded 2-3 weeks ago, the oldest of the six videos is for "The Harvest", referencing the joyous harvests as seen in the Bible, but the video imagery gets heavier than the song, let's say. Musically, it showcases his guitar skills well, but it's deceptively laid back and mid-tempo. Next is "Save The World", which is about his view on vaccines, and that's all I'll say there.

The song itself is livelier and a little heavier with fuller guitar riffs but it can be a tad repetitive structurally. Lyrically, the next song ("The Right Side Of History") is very much on the same track for its messaging and video content. Musically, it is the heaviest of the three songs yet with strong guitar soloing and energetic, melodic singing, so fans of his older metal material will enjoy the instrumental aspect! "Declassified" focuses on Tym's take on political corruption and declassifying government documents, and this song has an Iced Earth vibe to it at points (if that's fair) with well programmed percussion and good melodies. "The Calm Before The Storm", is about child trafficking, and it goes from there. In terms of the music, it's an intense 1980s-inspired metal song that old Hollow and Carbon Black fans will like on that basis.

The last of the six songs is "COVID-19", and you can guess what that song is about from the title. Tym's vocals come off a little like early-1990s Dave Mustaine with how he approaches the verses here, and while not his fastest or most freewheeling original, it gets the job done as a composition. Tym's songwriting and vocal abilities are definitely present across these songs, but all deal with political, social, or public health content that I really don't want to get into here, so just keep that in mind whether you'd be inclined to agree with the viewpoints or not. Give them a listen/watch above if you want, and that's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this weekend as our backlog shrinks down! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Punk Rock Fiesta & The Reeves!!)

Before we look at a (somewhat thankfully) quieter batch of weekend concert previews, here's a news post devoted to two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the fall with touring headliners, one being particularly notable for its band reunions and implied status as a first annual punk festival, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday evening!

Local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will make their debuts at The Art Hub At Spring on Saturday, September 5th when they open for Saskatoon indie rock band Autopilot in their local debut! First teased on The Reeves' Facebook page last week, the headliners aren't a hard rock band, but if you like alternative and pop rock of the kind you used to see at LopLops, you'll take to Autopilot's melodic original sound with some unique flourishes (they even use a bow to play the guitar here and there!) For the local openers, this will be both bands' second show of the year, following The Reeves' set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and The Spaceship Opening's Blaster Powerhouse gig at the start of the month, and they should set the tone well with their hard rock originals! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis, this is far from his only collaboration with The Art Hub (actually located at 504 Queen Street East), so stay tuned for more on what he's cooking up there.

The first SMS-covered concert at The Art Hub At Spring since the Shae Tull/Pet Retina gig there in May 2025, this all ages concert on Autopilot's Name That Tour! will have doors opening at 6:00 PM, and admission will be $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like an intriguing spread of sounds for fans of original rock music, if at a somewhat more intimate locale, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will return to the Soo for the first annual Punk Rock Fiesta on Saturday, October 3rd! Ostensibly intended as a major annual local hardcore punk concert, this is the brainchild of new local promoters BCDR Productions (BCDR = Bush Core Drunk Rock), led by former Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, who co-promoted the Fist Magnet/Room 206/Spigots concert in at Soo Blaster in December. That's where we last saw Random Killing in town (opening for The Dayglo Abortions in May 2023), but Punk Rock Fiesta will instead mark the grand return of a multi-band concert to The Algonquin Hotel for the first time since they paused hosting normal live bands in mid-2022 after some lean times there post-pandemic. We have seen the occasional Silent 9-headlined charity event there at The Rockstar Bar upstairs, but it is great to see them hosting a proper multi-band concert again after over 4 years! Here's hoping for some more!

As best as I can tell from the mildly conflicting marketing, this will be at The Rockstar Bar, not the downstairs Algonquin Pub (though some posts just say it'll be at The Algonquin Hotel). Of course, it will be great to welcome Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley back to the Soo this fall, and they're no strangers to The Rockstar Bar (headlining there twice in the 2010s), so hopefully there's another packed turnout of punk fans for their intense original back catalogue! The performance order is not clear based on how the bands are ordered on both the official (not AI!) poster and the official Facebook event page, but there will be two more big band reunions here, including the return of 1990s hardcore punk staples Fist Magnet, who we last saw at the aforementioned Blaster show in December. No word if their lineup will be Garry, Andrew, Dave, Christian, and John again, but keep note of this set in less than two months!

Perhaps more surprisingly, local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will reunite for their first gig since the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in 2015 on this night! The band had hinted at reunions off and on over the past decade among posthumous hype for t-shirts and their music on streaming services, but that picture of 4/5ths of the band together in May on their Facebook page must have been a good indicator! I will treat this as a one-off reunion unless otherwise confirmed, but it will be great to see their cowpunk originals back this fall! Local crossover thrash trio Hails will make their Rockstar Bar debut on this night, as will newer local punk quartet PROD ("punk rock overdose"), who debuted at the December punk reunion concert but hadn't been seen since. Featuring three members of the Fist Magnet reunion lineup, hopefully they have a big return in their own right after 9 months away!

The last two bands are debuting bands named Dead II Society and The Baby Rails, neither of which has an online page or public information yet. I believe I know who one of the bands is, based on an intriguing recent personal Facebook video, but if true, I don't even know which of the two bands they're supposed to be. Stay tuned for more updates! Punk Rock Fiesta goes down on October 9th at 6:00 PM, it is 19+, and tickets go on sale on Friday at The Rad Zone (I don't know if there will be availability online or through the local performers). This will be a must-attend concert for hardcore punk fans this fall, so visit the above links for current details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hells Bells & Tym Morrison), More Concert Previews, And Recent Updates!!

Tonight's post wraps up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the major exception of Toystock, which gets an extended look on the SMS tomorrow! For now, we also have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus recent updates, so here's what you should know! 

Joining his previously announced Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club concert TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will also rock Misty's Fifties TOMORROW with a matinee gig prior! Apologies for the short notice, I had held off on adding Tym's end-of-year gigs to our listings when there weren't any other concerts of note to add to our listings, but I forgot to add them before tomorow's was short notice. In terms of Tym's lengthy relationship with Misty's, fans will be able to catch the former Caveman Morrison frontman at the Second Line West nightclub TOMORROW and then thrice next month (December 6th, 20th, and 27th), all also Saturday matinees. Busy end of year for Tym, so don't miss out on his final four Misty's gigs this year, not to mention tomorrow night's Eagles Club show, as he plays his final double header of 2025, so he'll be heading to Steelton after things wrap up at Misty's.

Tym ends 2025 back at The Eagles Club on New Year's Eve, for the record. TOMORROW'S and next month's Misty's shows are all 4:00 PM events, tomorrow night's show at Aerie #3991 is at 8:00 PM, the Misty's gigs are likely 19+, and none have an announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more on Tym's year-end acoustic hard rock cover shows at both venues, and here he is live!

Next up, Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, April 10th at The Sault Community Theatre Centre! One of a handful of different AC/DC tribute bands to play here over the years, local fans will have last seen them as original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans' backing band in May 2019 at The Rockstar Bar, where they also played an opening set on their own accord, but they last played a full headlining date of their own here in 2015. Definitely moving up in the world to book the former Kiwanis Theater, and it will be interesting to see how big of a crowd packs White Pines for their brand of high voltage rock n' roll in the spring! This show has a 7:30 PM start time, it is definitely all ages, and tickets are now on sale for a flat $45.20 at this link, with all rows having seats available at press time. Visit the above links for more on Hells Bells' return next year!

Also, let's resume this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Soo Blaster, where local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will once again be the rock outliers on an otherwise all-hip hop concert TOMORROW, this time headlined by Guelph rapper Robbie G! This is effectively the sequel to Robbie G's shows here in April and in 2023 that The A.A. also opened for, not to mention the Tech N9ne, Madchild, and Afroman shows where Robbie and the band's paths also crossed. Clearly, these rap bookings for The Apocalypse Afterparty are going well, and hopefully they carve out another solid niche and make some more cross-genre fans tomorrow night with the double bass attack! Paul, Amanda, and Mikhal remain unacknowledged on the Facebook event page despite ample social media promotion on personal accounts (clearly they are the "& more"), but former As It Stands/Sault Side Squad frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent is hosting.

Also performing tomorrow are Southern Ontario rappers M For The Movement with Capital "A" Plus and Lumberjack Pat, local MC Bold Noize, unspecified rappers from No Filter Records, and KG Tha SunGod. This is an all ages concert taking place tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and base tickets are $20 at this link or at the door, with VIP packages also available. If you like rap, there will be a lot of strong MCs here dropping rhymes, with a bit of a rock chaser from The Apocalypse Afterparty, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the band live!

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

 

• Sault Michigan hard rock trio (and Tarnished's all-original side project) Crush's most recent concert was out of town, as they opened for Tribe989 at Benet's Benefit Ride at the Bluegill Festival Pavilion in St. Helen (2 hours south of here) on November 8th. Not a lot was said about it on social media from what I found, but hopefully Crush and crew had a great show for the cause! 
• In a post on their Facebook page on Wednesday, The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs nightclub The Rockstar Bar revealed that they're looking for a DJ to work weekends there, and to send contact information if you're interested. Comments inquiring if the 864 Queen Street East venue was re-opening were not denied, so could we be seeing The Rockstar Bar opening to normal service for the first time since the summer of 2022? They spent the past 3+ years only hosting occasional private and ticketed events, as Silent 9 know well. This is encouraging news for sure, so we'll have to see what The Rockstar Bar has in store for 2026!
• I have replaced the link for 2012-2018 local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven from their (sadly) now deleted Facebook page to their still-up Bandmix page. Successors to the late 2000s hard rock band Sense of Truth, Skeyes of Seven had a lot of promise and solid original material, but only played five sporadic concerts. Don't miss Cory in Bullet Train or Alain & Johnny in Half Past nowadays though!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Toystock preview on the site next! Thanks everyone!