LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Still Of The Night & Stiffler's Mom), New Videos, And More!!

Here's a new news post for your Saturday afternoon, and while we had planned to put this up tomorrow, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so let's lead off with that! Also today, we have another new show, some new live concert videos, and more assorted notes, so here's what you should know!

Local hard/party rock trio Stiffler's Mom will hit the stage TONIGHT for one night only at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band only acknowledged the show on their Facebook page this afternoon, and the venue's Facebook group only confirmed the show online today as well. A one-nighter due to last night's show from newer dance rock cover band The Killer Hooks (featuring Gsis Murphy & Midpoint alumni), this will mark Greg, Mike, and Jon's first show together since rocking Rotaryfest's main stage last month, and their first announced Rockstar Bar stop since the spring. Stiffler's Mom should be raring to go with their fan favourite covers and high energy TONIGHT, so don't miss out at The Rockstar Bar on this fairly quiet weekend for hard rock shows! There is no announced cover TONIGHT, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a 10:30 PM start time is likely. See above for more, and here's Stiffler's Mom live!



Next up, here's another new show announcement for The Rockstar Bar, as Southern Ontario-based Whitesnake tribute band Still of the Night will rock Sault Ste. Marie for the first time on Saturday, October 1st! Self-described as "Canada's premier Whitesnake tribute", Still of the Night definitely provide a faithful take on the David Coverdale-led band's classic material, and given how well attended The Rockstar Bar's tribute concerts usually are, this one should be in the same vein! Of course, many local fans did see the real Whitesnake in Sault Michigan in August 2011, but if you've missed them in the past 5+ years, this is the next best thing! Like the venue's other tribute shows, there will be advance ticket sales at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, but prices have not been announced yet (for reference, this year's cancelled Hells Bells show cost $12.) A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ event, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also today, here's some new live videos of Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned from a private out of town function last night! Uniquely streamed live to their Facebook page during the show, these were filmed at an event for Northwind Services in Iron River, which is in the Western Upper Peninsula. One video is a cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", notably featuring bassist Wayne Lawrence on lead vocals, but embedded below is their cover of Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box" with guitarist Alex Traynor in his regular singing role. Dancing attendees can get in the way of the band at times, and the square dimensions are a little Instagram-ish, but Banned sound reliably good and diverse on these clips, and had I known that the band was experimenting with a live stream, I'd have acknowledged it on here beforehand! Give the videos a look above & below, and best of luck to Banned as they complete their tour run in Gould City tonight!



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

• Stemming from yesterday's YouTube Channel Profile on this band, we have sadly deleted Sault Michigan hard rock trio Division of Sanity from our inactive band links due to the closure of their Facebook page in the past year. Though the band still has an online presence via YouTube and Soundcloud, that was their only formal band page, so I reluctantly had to delete them from our listings. Division of Sanity had promise, and hopefully Caine, Myke, and Gabe return in new projects down the road!
• Sault Ontario goregrind/cybernoise solo project Malignant Neoplasm have resurfaced with a new digital EP! The Tyler Gibson-led studio act hadn't publically surfaced since "Kittens Have Crustys" was released over a year ago, but you can buy their newest 4 song release on a "name your price" model at their Bandcamp page, though note that the cover art and song titles may be seen as offensive. Give it a look if you want, and Malignant Neoplasm are back in our active band links!
• THIS THURSDAY'S SNFU concert at The Rockstar Bar now has in-person ticket sales for $20 at both The Algonquin Hotel's front desk & at The Rad Zone, so if you didn't want to or couldn't buy yours online, keep both of these physical options in mind before next week! Also, promoter J.D. Pearce noted on the Facebook event page that this is the "last show" that he has booked for this year... no Halloween party? We'll keep you posted!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news & notes next week! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: DivisionOfSanity's Channel

It's now time for our last monthly feature post of the summer, courtesy of this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series looks at 1-3 randomly selected YouTube channels with at least half of their posted content being relevant to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists & shows, so we can spotlight their content and encourage readers to subscribe to them! This month's random channel features a defunct band from the Sault Michigan area that showcased a unique sound during their brief run in the early 2010s, so check out this month's profile below!
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DivisionOfSanity's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/divisionofsanity)

Owner: Former Division of Sanity singer/guitarist and local solo artist Caine VanderMolen

Channel Timeline: Launched on February 21st, 2013; Videos posted from the following month until July 2014

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for defunct Sault Michigan hard rock trio Division of Sanity, their postings include an introductory video, three live concert videos, five studio demos, four vlog entries from Caine, a jam session clip where Caine & Half Stupid/Plastic alum Zac Crook jammed the sampled songs from Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" in their separate original forms, and the planned first installment of a "T-Fat Talks" webseries where Caine and ex-drummer Nick Morgan talked about random topics.

Why You Should Watch: Give Division of Sanity's channel a watch primarily as it's by far the best remaining source of the band's material and news, especially with the quiet deletion of their Facebook page in the past year! However, their channel only features video footage from one late concert of theirs, and it hasn't been visibly updated since July 2014, shortly before the band fell inactive, in case that affects whether you subscribe or not.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

1st Vlog -New SD Card-: Four of Division of Sanity's first nine videos are solo vlogs hosted by Caine VanderMolen to bring fans up to date on their current activity, and while intended to be weekly, the series only ran infrequently between March and May of 2013. All are brief, with none exceeding two minutes, but you can watch the other three here, here, and here. The first and longest vlog features Caine discussing his recent purchase of a larger SD card, plans to record jam footage and post more original material, and more, ending with a portion of their song "Time" in it's early acoustic form. Nothing shocking here, but they do provide much of D.O.S.' now minimal surviving public postings!



Seasons featuring Bob on drums: Division of Sanity posted five studio demos to their YouTube channel through February 2014, four of which included "The Start Again Feel", "Time", their own self-titled song, and the instrumental "Just Listen (Slow Song)", all harbouring an acoustic style sans drums. The other song, entitled "Seasons", featured Creepy Little Coffee People/I.S.O.M. frontman Bob Helsten on guest drums, joining Caine and bassist Myke Young (ex- Exiled). By far Division of Sanity's most popular video since it's upload in April 2013, this is a lighter, more indie rock-inspired number than they were known for live, but it's well mixed and performed, and you get a good sense of Caine's deep, John Mayer-esque vocals! For much more audio recordings (and select covers) from Division of Sanity, visit their Soundcloud page & Caine's old solo YouTube channel.



Lemma Fest-Division Of Sanity-Division Of Sanity: This channel's last three videos come from Division of Sanity's set at the (to date) final LemmaFest from June 2014 outside of Dondee Lanes, also one of their own final concert appearances. Shot by prolific local filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah of W.K. Media, he filmed Division of Sanity playing "Seasons", "Isn't What I Said", and as embedded below, their own self-titled song. Now featuring Gabe Nunez on drums, this is among Division of Sanity's heavier songs, and it's a well played grungy track that shows a lot of potential, and while the vocals may be an acquired taste for some, I'd like to see them come back in the future if the cards fall the right way! Check out more of Wayne's excellently filmed videos from the final LemmaFest at his YouTube channel, including his summative video of the festival which has extra overhead angles of this song, plus their song "Glare" that wasn't featured on the band's own channel.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be looking at two videos due to the first randomly selected channel only having two videos total, both distinct ones at that, so we added one with only one video type to round things out. With that said, we'll be looking at former State of Misery frontman Steve Rhodes' channel (featuring two videos from his later local metal bands) and Billy Bastards guitarist Paul Michael Stos' YouTube channel (featuring six videos from one of their headlining gigs), so look for them on or around September 26th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63), New Rockstar Bar Videos, And Inactive Band Notes!!

We're back for a surprise second post today, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of, but be sure to check out this morning's Emergency Festival preview post (with notes on the Downtown Association surviving) in the post below this one! Today's second post also has new Rockstar Bar-related videos, and a bunch of notes regarding bands moved to our inactive band links, so here's what you should know! (Updated on Saturday at 12:19 AM)

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will return to The Satisfied Frog for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the very short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page yesterday, and The Satisfied Frog doesn't have their own Facebook page (that I know of) to plug concerts. After taking almost a month off, these will be Highway 63's first local concerts outside of the Kewadin Casino umbrella since their Frog debuts in early April, and hopefully they can keep the good will going with another entertaining weekend of hard rock classics! There's no announced cover charges this weekend, you must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, we have a new Facebook video to share of the Monkey's Uncle/Sir Charge successors in action, so what should you know about it?

Filmed by attendee Wendi Clement and shared by the band on their Facebook page, it's of the Switzers and company covering Boston's "Peace of Mind" as their closing song at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 18th. Sadly, it's not of the full song, but you get the unique visual of the band getting closer and closer in view as Wendi approached the stage early on, and it's a solid cover of this classic rock standard! Give it a look below, and don't miss Highway 63 at The Frog TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT!

Next up, the newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper is now online, as she was there for the mayhem at last month's SNFU concert at The Rockstar Bar! Bookended and interspersed with video footage of SNFU's set during this Gonqshow event, Donna interviews SNFU founder & frontman Ken Chinn (a.k.a. Mr. Chi Pig), who reveals that he's actually watched Tuned episodes in the past! The interview itself features discussion about how he feels about seeing himself on video, and his thoughts of the documentary "Open Your Mouth and Say... Mr. Chi Pig", but it's less of an interview and more of a candid conversation that, while polite and fun to listen to, does contain some adult language. Of course, there's bloopers during the credits, and it's a fun watch, so give it a look at the above links! Remember, I can't embed the episode here, as Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding.

Note that three other recent Tuned episodes are from the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury and don't contain local bands, a point that Donna asks the organizer about in this episode, so give that and others a look also, but note that this festival isn't known for being a metal or punk hotbed.

Also today, here's a new Facebook video from newer local pop punk quartet Stereo North! As uploaded to their Facebook page, this is of the guys playing their original "Fall Before Me" at The Rockstar Bar, on August 8th, though there was some initial confusion regarding the filming date, as their Facebook page says it was posted at noon that same day, hours before the show took place. Well, it turns out that the video was filmed at last week's concert, and was posted on Wednesday, but the band gave it a retroactive date of the 8th for one reason or another. Thanks to Blair Burch of Project 421 (who also played that night) for clearing up the confusion! As for the video itself, it's got solid quality and the band sounds good, but it was filmed on a very high stationary camera that didn't have the stage at a center angle, so it's not the optimal viewpoint for the performance (and the black & white backdrop is a remnant of the previous night's Rockstar Republic event.) Still, give this new Stereo North video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all related to Sault Michigan-area bands that we've moved to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity (there's more to come too.) As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• We've moved Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio Division of Sanity to our inactive band links, as they have not posted a public update on any of their pages since plugging their Sault Summer Arts Festival set on August 5th of last year. Active since 2012, Division of Sanity released some demos and played frequently at special outdoor events, and though I'm not sure what happened to them, they had a unique sound that was a nice change of pace! Hopefully the guys turn up again soon, and best of luck to Caine, Myke, Gabe, and other former members!
• Also moved to our inactive band links is Drayton Fever, the Soo/Paradise-based thrash solo project from Half A Man alum Doug Reed, as they haven't been the subject of any new postings or media since label Werehold Records' Friday the 13th postings last June. Active off & on since 2008, Doug had good ideas and talent to take Drayton Fever far, with brutal demos to boot, and hopefully he revisits the project down the road!
• And we've also moved local hard rock duo Lift The Broken to our inactive links, as they haven't posted on their Facebook (and only online) page since last July, ironically in a status that said they were "back to work." A young band that was only around for a few months, they played at least one open mic set at Biggby's Coffee in Sault Michigan, but nothing major followed. Hopefully Carol & Nathan stay active in music, their postings seemed encouraging!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, and remember not to miss The Emergency Festival! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Grinded Live In Your Ears & Division Of Sanity), Haggith's New Bassist, And More!!

Though I'm out of town until tomorrow, there's still news and notes to cover at the SMS! Today, we have new drum cover videos, the reveal of Haggith's big surprise, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TOMORROW and next week, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock trio Division of Sanity will apparently be among the live entertainment at TOMORROW'S 42nd annual Sault Summer Arts Festival! Apologies for the short notice, we only just heard about their involvement this weekend. Presented by the Sault Area Arts Council, this annual family event features sales and exhibitions of the work of regional artists and craftmakers, along with free children's activities, food vendors, and other live entertainment, so for full details on non-musical events tomorrow, click here! Note however that festival-specific sites haven't plugged the band roster, so I'm unsure of the other musical performers, but Caine & Myke played this event last year too. They'll fit well with their unique rock originals, keep this event in mind for some Tuesday music action! Being held on the grounds of City Hall at 225 East Portage Avenue, this is a FREE AND ALL AGES event, with bands playing between 12:00 & 8:00 PM (though I'm unsure when D.O.S. are playing.)

For more details, visit the above links! This should be a solid showcase for Division of Sanity, so consider a trip down to city hall for the arts and for the music tomorrow! For a preview, here's Division of Sanity at LemmaFest!



Next up, a newly announced concert goes down in exactly one week, as Blood Shed Productions are hosting a second annual "Grinded Live In Your Ears" concert at 110 Pentagon Boulevard, and unlike most of their house party events, this one is publically advertised and attendable! As you may remember, the label (in association with local promoter Tyler St. Amour) hosted a show of this name last August, in what would mark the formal live concert debut of many of Blood Shed's then-roster of artists, and we're seeing similar things this year, though only flagship grind project Crucify The Whore are returning from last year. The likely headliners are Blood Shed owner Tyler Gibson's goregrind duo Rotopsy at 10:00 PM, with C.T.W. preceding them at 9:00 PM, and label-signed rapper Phat Boii opening at 6:00 PM, but in a surprise, an apparent Brutaly Fatal set is listed at 8:00 PM. Now, you may remember that there were two Brutaly Fatals led by Austin McCrae (the original solo death metal version that became Re-Born, and the later doom metal band that became The Revolution), so what does this mean?

While it's great to see what looks like a return to good terms with Blood Shed, does this indicate a return of the original Brutaly Fatal next week, or did they mean The Revolution? Hopefully we get confirmation soon! This ALL AGES event has an announced 5:00 PM door opening time, and there's no announced cover. Click here for more details! It's hard to believe that Blood Shed Productions have been around for close to two years, and hopefully this show is a success as they push on through the rest of the year! Stay tuned for updates when & if they come in!

Also, remember how local grunge & alternative quartet Haggith were teasing "a big surprise" for their set at the Late & Loud farewell concert at The Rockstar Bar on Friday night? Well, it looks like we now know what it was, as the band has added Redundant/Caveman Morrison bassist James White to their lineup, replacing Caleb Cachagee. Making his debut with the band on Friday, the news was otherwise announced on Saturday via their Facebook page. A reason for Caleb's exit has yet to be announced, but fans may remember that there were brief discussions of a bassist switch last fall before their initial breakup, so the same issues may have recurred. Hopefully things are amicable though, and best of luck to Caleb for sure! This is definitely a surprise announcement, but fans will know how talented James is from his past and recent band work, so hopefully this bolsters Haggith well for the future! No word yet though on if he'll be featured on their new albums, whose recording sessions and songwriting have already begun. Keep an eye out for updates as we hear them!

Finally for today, here's two new videos from ex-As It Stands drummer John Mignacca! Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Friday, these covers are closer to his local band material than his recent techno/EDM solo work, and they include a loose play-along with Skynet's "Heartburn" and (as embedded below) a straighter cover of A Day To Remember's "If It Means Alot To You". Though he remarked in the description that he hasn't drummed in three weeks before filming, it's hard to notice, and he and the electric kit sound good here! Check out his new videos above and below, and give his recent solo music a look at this link!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and features as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Power Slug & Plastic), Plus More News From Sault Michigan!!

Before we post our first introductory post to the first of the punk bands in our expanded SMS coverage, here's another new Sault Michigan-centric post on this Friday evening, as the steady news from across continues to come in! On the Yooper side of things, we have some recent video finds, the latest from a local metal band, and first, SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for THIS WEEKEND and some for next month, but check out our big announcement for our 7th anniversary in the post below this one!

According to their newest Facebook page (which I only just discovered yesterday), Sault Michigan bar/venue The Savoy Bar & Nightclub will welcome local hard rock cover trio Power Slug back TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only recently announced, and not by Power Slug themselves, but hopefully they'll say something on their Facebook page soon. Fresh off of their Manistique show on June 21st, Power Slug will not be playing inside this recent favourite venue of theirs this weekend, instead playing outside in The Savoy's back parking lot, as part of the venue's "Summer Fest" series, which sees bands playing outdoors on weekends over a 6 week span through early August (classic rock cover quartet Ricochet kicked things off last week), and Power Slug should keep the good vibes going with their hard hitting setlist this weekend! 10:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges are in effect, so check the above links for more details!

Though not a unique concept for Sault Michigan (The Corner Pub often hosts bands on their outdoor patio), this will be a nice change of pace, especially given the running series theme for the summer, and hopefully there's a solid turnout this weekend for fans to chug their mug along with Power Slug! Keep these shows in mind for TONIGHT and TOMORROW, and here they are inside the Savoy earlier this year!

As for future weeks of the Savoy's Summer Fest, we don't yet know the other bands playing in July (we'll let you know if a hard rock band plays, or if Power Slug comes back), but we know who's last on August 1st & 2nd, as local alternative hard rock trio Plastic will rock the Savoy, or, outside of it! Announced late last month, these will be Plastic's second & third gigs (and first as headliners) since the addition of new drummer Aaron DePalma, and they'll also be their first solo shows at a local bar since rocking The Merch last September, so keep both those angles in mind, especially if you missed their LemmaFest set! Barring a new show announced in the interim, you can see Plastic's creative and hard-edged covers & originals next month at 10:00 PM both nights, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charge also in effect. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page, and don't miss these shows as part of The Savoy Bar's Summer Fest!

Next up, here's the latest from local classical metal band Theatre of Night, starting with confirmation that the band has indeed parted ways with drummer Greg Giles. Keyboardist Craig Harrison told me in a recent Facebook e-mail that he amicably left due to scheduling conflicts and to pursue his own projects, though it's unclear yet whether they include the artistic work and side project band that he had once plugged on their website. Craig said that they will seek a replacement for future gigs, though no word on if they'll use a live drummer for future studio work yet. Disappointing news, especially knowing how good Greg was his brother Steve and Craig in this and other recent bands, but best of luck to him for sure! Craig did confirm that they are still working with German singer Gaby Koss on upcoming music, and she will be recording new vocal tracks in the fall. Theatre of Night's website has recently also had a streamlined overhaul featuring less info but more emphasis on material, though curiously, there's no mention of their second CD "The Dawn's Early Light" outside of press quotes.

The website even lists a handful of gigs that the band played in 2012 (which I don't even remember being announced), and it includes recent Reverbnation uploads, the newest of which being the symphonic instrumental piece "5th Movement in E Minor" that holds up with their other recent recordings. Though the winds of change surround Theatre of Night's recent output, the future looks bright, so keep an eye out for updates!

Finally for today, we'll close with some of the older videos on local hard rock trio Division of Sanity's YouTube channel, now that they're the newest Sault Michigan band in our links! Videos dating back to March of last year are posted there, including an introductory video, 4 very brief vlogs from frontman Caine VanderMolen to update band news at the time (though none have been posted since last May), and five studio demo tracks, those being of the songs "Just Listen", "Division of Sanity", "The Start Again Feel", "Seasons", and "Time", so click each link to hear those! The other videos include a loose interview with Caine from last April about a variety of topics, and as embedded below, this video from last March featuring both Caine (on drums) and Plastic frontman Zac Crook jamming covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Warren Zevon songs, and it's an interesting clip, though the camera is from right behind Caine, with his shoulder area taking up much of the video's right half.

Solid videos all around, though the vlogs are short, and the early demos are mostly of the acoustic minimal vein that LemmaFest attendees didn't see. Division of Sanity have a solid modern rock sound and very distinctive vocals, so be sure to catch them at some of their upcoming dates that we'll touch on next week, and here's Caine and Zak from Plastic jamming last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our first of our introductory posts to the punk bands now covered on the site! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Band, Plus New LemmaFest Videos!!

In the last post of our sixth year of existence, we're 100% in Sault Michigan for tonight, as we have a "new" band to profile and add to our full coverage, plus lots of videos at their most recent show from them and other bands, so read on below for what you need to know, and check out this weekend's concert previews (including some late notice gigs and a band name change) in the post below this one!

We have a new area hard rock band to add to our active band links, and they are the Sault Michigan trio Division of Sanity! Active since the spring of 2012, it took us so long to add them on here partly because most of their posted material was acoustic, and I was looking for some more evidence that they'd play hard rock either in studio or live, and we got that via their set at LemmaFest at the Dondee last month, but we'll touch on that in a bit! Division of Sanity's current lineup features singer/guitarist Caine VanderMolen (a recent local solo musician), guitarist/bassist Myke Young, and drummer Gabe Nunez, while a drummer named Nick Morgan played with the band in 2012, and Power Slug drummer Bob Helsten guested on some of their demos in 2013. A $3 demo CD is available through the band (and presumably at their live shows too), but it's contents aren't clear online. Caine's solo gigs aside, Division of Sanity's first show (I think) was at the Soo's annual Arts & Music Festival last August, but they only began regular area concert sets this summer.

We'll cover some of their announced upcoming gigs next week, but how about Division of Sanity's sound? As you may have seen at LemmaFest, Division of Sanity's live form is a hard/modern rock, possibly most distinctive by Caine's deep raspy singing voice, which reminds me of John Mayer at times, though everything is softer and lighter on the band's older acoustic demos. It will be interesting to see how Division of Sanity progress, including on if some more of their hinted metal ties come to the forefront! Older demos of theirs can be streamed at the band's YouTube channel, their BandPage on Facebook, and on Caine's SoundCloud page (the latter of which featuring select covers), and while their sound varies, there's talent present throughout! Their YouTube channel also features some interesting vlogs from Caine from last year, as well as some other content we'll share in the coming weeks, but now, to the LemmaFest videos!

Filmed by Wayne Kozeyah and uploaded to the D.O.S. YouTube channel yesterday, the videos include their originals "Seasons", "Isn't What I Said", and (as embedded below) their self titled song, and while the guys could be a bit livelier on stage, these showcase what I assume is their optimal live sound, so check everything out above and below, and stay tuned for more on Division of Sanity in the near future!

Also from Wayne Kozeyah, he uploaded this video onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, which features video footage of 4 of the bands at LemmaFest last month! Nothing was included here from Infathom, The Bottom Line, Caitlin LeBlanc, or Mike Kowalski's sets, but the other bands are all featured, so what's present? In order, the video starts with two covers that we've already seen from Wayne's camera(s), those being alt-rock trio Plastic covering Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and The Misfits' "Return of the Fly" (as previously seen on their channel.) After Mr. Fister's cover of Black Sabbath's "Fairies Wear Boots" (also first seen here), we get a new cover from the Bucksaw successors' set, that being of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" that to me actually outshines the Sabbath cover, and sounds tighter overall! The third portion features Division of Sanity's self-titled song featured above, but here, it features an overhead camera angle to capture more of the crowd than Mr. Fister's did, which is a double edged sword as it highlights how few fans were close to the stage.

The second Division of Sanity song that Wayne included here actually isn't linked above, rather a different original named "Glare", which has a faster edge to it than the other videos that Wayne shot of their set, so give that song a look too if you're new to this band! The video closes with footage of Nightmare Grin (complete with the same camera angles) covering Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" & Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", complete with a highlighted fan dancing near the end. Nice to get higher quality footage of Ryan, Bart, and company here, and while the GNR cover is slightly out of Ryan's vocal range, there's a great spirit and energy on both covers, and it will be interesting to see what this band has in store next if they're not a one-off project! If this encompasses all of the bands that Wayne shot at LemmaFest, then he did a bang-up job with an awesome camera, and hopefully he keeps up the great filming work in the future, perhaps at LemmaFest 5? Check out the full 29 minute video below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for something big tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned) & The LemmaFest 2014 Concert Preview!!

We'll close up this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews with a well anticipated annual event in Sault Michigan today, including some extra info on some of the "mystery" bands, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this August, with a related apology for a missed show from them!

Kinross hard rock trio Banned will return to The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel, Michigan for a one-night-only gig on Saturday, August 9th! Announced on the band's Facebook page on May 27th, this will be their first Hessel appearance in 6 months, and their first non-Kewadin bar gig within our coverage range since drummer Don Traynor's surgery in the spring, so it's great to see the guys playing more like normal again! In fact, this was one of numerous new events confirmed last month, including shows outside of our coverage range this summer in Gould City & Engadine and a handful of private gigs, though we regrettably did miss one local public gig announced then, as Banned headlined a community dance in Pickford this past Saturday as part of S.P.E.A.K.S. Education's Summer Festival. Not sure how that slipped by our radar, but our deepest apologies for missing it! Hopefully it was a great event, it sounded like it was for an awesome cause! As for Banned's Hessel show on August 9th, that has no announced cover charge, a 9:00 PM start time, and a 21+ age limit. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Banned!

Next up, here's our extended preview of the fourth annual LemmaFest, as the annual Sault Michigan concert festival will return for another highly anticipated installment outside of Dondee Lanes TOMORROW! The first year that LemmaFest falls on the third weekend of June rather than the fourth,  this year's event will honour both the late Mike Lemma as usual, but also fellow Sault resident Jon Hackworth (a.k.a. Hot Tub Johnny), who suddenly passed away in January, and festival proceeds will go towards his family & related expenses, which is an awesome gesture! Like previous years, there will be a pig roast, prize and cash draws, drink & bowling specials, and t-shirt & mug sales, while local filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah will be distributing final copies of his LemmaFest documentary short that he made at Lake Superior State over the past year, and hopefully an online copy turns up online soon as well! The band lineup this year features just 8 acts, with only 3 or 4 bands returning from past years, and with regular bands like Half A Man and 3 time LemmaFest veterans Scofflaw not back this year, but there's still some known faces!

A full timeslot schedule hasn't been announced, but the descending order on the above poster looks reasonable for when bands are playing, so we'll go up from the bottom! If accurate, this year's headliners are Munising metal quartet Infathom (featuring area resident Dillion Semasky on vocals) in their third LemmaFest appearance, and their modern metal attack should be welcomed once again tomorrow night! A new (and maybe one-off?) band named Nightmare Grin are scheduled right before them, and while I can't confirm their sound yet, their lineup does include former I.S.O.M. drummer Bart Rennels and RedStone Riot/ex-Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison, so they have some solid talent that we haven't seen in the Soo in way too long! Newer local rock quartet Division of Sanity (who have teased metal material in online postings) are also scheduled for around 7:00 PM in what should be their biggest local concert yet, so we'll have to see how they sound live, as they have talent on the acoustic demos that I've heard!

The fourth-last band will be local alternative hard rock trio Plastic (who debuted at last year's LemmaFest) in their first show of the year and first live set with new drummer Aaron DePalma (replacing the departed Paul Burns), so look for them at around 5:30 PM! 2012 LemmaFest performer Caitlin LeBlanc will play a set of acoustic pop/folk songs right before them tomorrow, while a band named Mr. Fister are advertised for the third slot tomorrow, so who exactly are they? It looks like they're essentially the current version of the band previously known as Bucksaw and Dirtbag In A Dress that played at each of the last 3 LemmaFests, though it's unclear whether they're a renamed version or a separate successor band. According to personal Facebook posts, their lineup includes Bucksaw alumni Bill Ogston on guitar, Barney Gravelle (also of Scofflaw) on bass, and Jason VanLuven (returning to replace Mikey Bishop) on drums, with singer/guitarist Ryan Franklin not recently mentioned. Though there's some uncertainties on Mr. Fister's (current?) form, it's nice to see lots of ties to all of the past three LemmaFests via their involvement!

The opening two performers will be new local hard rock quartet The Bottom Line (featuring Highest of Fives bandmates Mitch Goetz and Jack Slater), while a local solo musician named Mike Kowalski (genre unknown) will kick off the day's events at noon or shortly after. This ALL AGES event goes down tomorrow from 12:00 PM until the evening, with a $10 admission, so visit the Facebook event page and the above links for more details! This should be another great installment of LemmaFest, and hopefully the Lemma and Hackworth families are given lots of rememberances and financial help respectively at this great annual event! LemmaFest is one of the most notable annual concert festivals across the river, so don't miss out TOMORROW at the Dondee, and for a preview, here's Infathom covering Papa Roach live last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Suicide Kings & Tym Morrison), The End Of Glitch, And More!!

I had suggested in our post from this afternoon that we might have some late notice show previews to touch on if any hard rock shows were confirmed, and some have been, so we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on for THIS WEEKEND! As well, we have a band breakup and more recent notes to address, so read on below for what you need to know, and get some new show details and our 415E concert previews in the post below this one!

As expected, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill on Pine Street will indeed continue into the month of June, kicking off the month with solo gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I was waiting for confirmation outside of Tym's website before diving into this month for his Harp run. Like before, we take his Harp gigs a month at a time due to the immense length of his listed bookings on his website's calendar. Barring any interruptions, Tym's current relationship with The Harp will run into it's 30th week by month's end following shows this weekend as well as next Friday, June 20th & 21st, and June 27th & 28th, with next Saturday not likely for a show due to The Harp's likely broadcast of UFC 174 that night. Of course, these shows could be subject to preemption by an outside artist, which came up a couple of times last month, but Tym's hosted Friday jam night and regular Saturday acoustic show are both on for this weekend's action!

Like usual, there's no announced admission costs this weekend or for future dates, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times in effect. For more details, visit this weekend's Facebook event page and the above links! Tym's successful run at the former Madison's Pub is still off and running, and while recent preemptions may be concerning for fans, his hard rock covers will surely be received warmly TONIGHT & TOMORROW, so don't miss out, and here's Tym covering Heart at The Service Grill!



Also in new show confirmations, local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings will be playing an outdoor show THIS SUNDAY at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! Apologies for the short notice, the band just confirmed their involvement in this show earlier today. This will mark a rare appearance by a heavier band at the Soo's annual Musicfest (a.k.a. Bratwurst, Beer, and Beethoven), an all ages community event featuring live music, food and drinks, family events, a silent auction, and more, so click here for all non-musical details of this year's 21st annual Musicfest! The Suicide Kings' set is actually in the co-headlining slot at 6:00 PM on Sunday before the Sault Symphony Orchestra's headlining Beethoven set at 7:00 PM, and the preceding acts include brass music from The Steeltown Silver Band at 5:00 PM, Aris Richards' belly dancers at 4:30 PM, White Pines Collegiate's student band The Pine Tones at 3:30 PM, the Soo Filipino Canadian Dancers at 3:00 PM, two acts I'm unfamiliar with (The Rolling River Trio & "Company" at 1:45 & 1:30 PM), and the 155 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets Pipe Band and Highland Dancers at 1:00 PM to open the day's entertainment.

Admission is $10 for adults and free for kids 12 and under, and the events start at noon on Sunday. This should be interesting, if only to see how a band like The Suicide Kings does in very unfamiliar territory, but Musicfest has always been a successful downtown event, and it should help set the mood for The Suicide Kings' expected return to Rotaryfest next month, as well as their Rock N' Roar festival set in Spanish in August! I wonder if this will be a test to see how more alternative bands do at Musicfest? Check the above links for more info, and for a preview, here's the guys at The Canadian!



Next up, we have a band breakup to address, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Glitch have announced that they have parted ways, as per a post by guitarist Marco Pedalino on their Facebook group this afternoon. A reason for their breakup was not announced, but Marco did say that "it was a fun ride while it lasted", and he thanked fans for supporting them and local music. Featuring alumni of Sneaky Pete, Lion Ride, and Tripod the Dog, Glitch made their live debut in September, becoming a favourite at The Rockstar Bar over the next 9 months, along with a set at Toystock and one-off gigs at the OLG Casino and The Harp during their run, last playing live on May 17th. This is really surprising, especially for such a relatively new band that had seemed to be making strong waves with their varied party sound, but hopefully things are as amicable as they sound, and hopefully everyone stays active in music. Best of luck to Mark, Marco, Sean, and Mike in the future!

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

• San Francisco doom metal duo Black Cobra have dropped out of the Anciients/Havok all ages metal show at The Canadian Nightclub on June 24th, as per promoter J.D. Pearce on the new Facebook event page on Wednesday. J.D. cited a prior commitment for their exit, that being a concert in Chicago that same night (source here), and they won't be replaced on the local bill. Disappointing, but hopefully their tour goes awesome, and get your tickets A.S.A.P. for $20, with details above!
• Sault Michigan rock quartet Division of Sanity revealed on their Facebook page last month that they'll be playing at this year's LemmaFest at Dondee Lanes on June 21st, apparently at the 7:00 PM timeslot. I'm waiting for a formal lineup confirmation from LemmaFest organizers before calling it on here, but they join Munising rockers Infathom and locals Plastic among bands who've announced a performing involvement. Stay tuned for updates!
• Local concert promoters Heavy North Entertainment have announced that they'll "be on hiatus until further notice", and to that effect, they've cancelled all previously hinted shows this summer (including the teased Warsenal show next week), though a planned August 3rd event to be headlined by Vancouver death metal band Archspire is still in the works. A reason for the hiatus wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and stay tuned for details on the Archspire show!

That's definitely all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post with more recent stories tomorrow! Thanks everyone!