Talk Shit/Nebraska Arms Video Showcase!!

Today's post spotlights videos on a YouTube channel brought to my attention last month when the channel's owner filmed an unlisted video at a recent concert, and while I don't share/post unlisted videos here without the video(s) in question being publically shared in some form, the channel in question has a bunch of public SMS-relevant videos! The channel (named Skwunch) is owned by Honest Work/ex-Nebraska Arms drummer Adam Sauve, and his bands have been featured in uploads for the past decade. How did I not know about it before now? Not counting his 2014 re-posting of Nebraska Arms playing "Lighthouses" at The Speak Easy (first uploaded to guitarist Wayne Watkins' own channel in 2008), Adam's first unique videos of one of his bands came in 2015, when he posted two videos of his now-defunct punk band Talk Shit playing two jam session covers.

These two videos feature Adam alongside guitarist Marc LaFrance and bassist Ian Robinson, and they seem to have been filmed before Steve Shaw replaced the long-since-relocated Andrew Angelic on guitar. Uploaded over a year before Talk Shit ended their 7 year hiatus from live gigs, the videos feature the guys covering NOFX's "Linoleum" and as embedded below, Propagandhi's "A Speculative Fiction". Very cool hearing Propagandhi covered by a local band, for the record! Adam sings here, and while they're obviously short-handed, these rough jam covers aren't bad for what they are, though the cymbals are way too loud in the recording. Check out Talk Shit's 2015 jam session covers above & below!

Next up, Adam belatedly posted a video in 2019 of Talk Shit's second reunion-era concert set, where they were among the performers at the first Guy Thiffault memorial concert at The Rockstar Bar in December 2016! Steve was now in the group, but Guy's old Bondar bandmate Mark Rand (now of Cross Dog) filled in for Ian here for unannounced reasons. An attendee filmed the guys covering Guy's old band The Hangdowns' song "Separation Anxiety", and this is a fun rendition with lots of impromptu guest vocals from Guy's friends and old bandmates, as filmed from a close spot on the floor. Good stuff that Guy would have been very proud of, so give Talk Shit's Hangdowns cover a watch below!

Today's other two videos are also from the 2016 Guy Thiffault tribute concert, but were filmed from a far more distant stationary camera angle, and were surprisingly only posted onto Adam's channel in December of last year. One is of Talk Shit covering NOFX's "Don't Call Me White", and if you just want to hear Steve, Marc, Ian, and Mark rocking out, this will do the trick! The audio quality makes up for how far away the stage is given where this camera was set up, but you do get a sense of the solid turnout for this memorial concert, and a nice reminder of the holiday season given the obvious Christmas tree in the lower right. Strong cover with Steve acquitting himself well vocally, so check it out below!

We'll close today with a band that actually played earlier that evening at The Rockstar Bar, namely 2008-2010 indie punk quartet Nebraska Arms, who Guy also fronted and played bass for in their original run. It was nice to see Adam and guitarists Wayne Watkins & Dave Prendergast bring the group back for a night in Guy's memory! Mark Rand filled in on bass here too, while Wayne sang lead, a'la The Northwest. During their short reunion set, Nebraska Arms were filmed playing their original song "I Was A Writer", and while the same visual deficiencies exist for this video, it's a solid performance of this melodic punk original from their heyday, especially given the circumstances. Give it a look below, and R.I.P. Guy!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!

Shit Happens Concert Preview, New Videos, And Much More!!

Let's kick off the last week of the month with a new news post, which features some new videos, updates on an upcoming album release, and some shorter recent updates, but first, let's preview a punk concert taking place sooner than you may think!

Here's a special Monday night concert preview for TONIGHT, as Winnipeg punk quartet Shit Happens will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Distraction! The first full metal or punk band (i.e. not a solo project) from out of town to play at the East Street barbershop-turned-concert venue, this female-fronted group are currently touring throughout eastern Canada and even in a few American cities. Shit Happens' up-tempo and in-your-face original attack should find a solid audience tonight, so don't miss out if you can swing coming by on a work/school night! Rising young metal trio The BAG will open in their second show of the year and first ever at The Distraction, and while not a punk band, their intensity should start things off on the right foot! This all ages concert begins at 7:00 PM tonight, and admission is "$5 or pay what you can", as is typical for this venue.

The Monday night scheduling won't be ideal for many, but as an all ages show with two bands at 7:00 PM, it won't be a late night, so consider coming down to The Distraction for some hard hitting punk and metal action! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Shit Happens live!

Next up, here's the latest from local punk trio Vanity First, who have released the second advance single from their upcoming album "Identity Crisis"! Entitled "Habitual Vanity", this partial namesake song can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and (as embedded below) via YouTube, though at press time, the song is not yet on Bandcamp. If you believe a comment on their Facebook page from Jim McAllister (possibly drummer Keegan McAllister's dad?), Vanity First will release "Identity Crisis" on Saturday, April 20th with a CD release party at Soo Blaster, and he allegedly has tickets. The band has not confirmed this publically, so stay tuned for official word on the album's on-sale date and/or a possible release party when it comes in! It's also worth noting that prolific local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith "played a small part in bringing the album over the finish line", as per his Facebook page.

How involved Mike was, I can't say yet, but this is shaping up to be better produced and distributed than their 2020 "Vanity" EP! Lastly, the album's first advance single "Off With The Heads" somehow got included in Hamilton indie punk label Lockdown Records' brand new compilation "What A Wonderful World We Exist In" alongside 32 other notable bands like The Ripcordz and Broomfiller. Very neat, and there's many other name punk bands from Canada and abroad there, so buy/stream the whole thing above! As before, I'll hold comment on "Habitual Vanity" pending our eventual full album review, give it a listen for yourselves below!

Also today, here's a new live video from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook page! Despite the thumbnail being at what appears to be last year's Cory Marks show at The Machine Shop, the video was instead filmed at one of their gigs over the March 8th weekend at The Esquire Club, with the band seen covering Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk". Definitely a more poppy cover, and as is usual for Silent 9's Facebook videos, we don't see the full song (just 70 seconds of it), but this horizontal video captures a good angle of Jess and the guys in action earlier this month, and the performance is well done! Give it a watch below!

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

 

• Local concert promotion agency Dryer Fire has changed their name to Piecing It Together Shows (or P.I.T.S.), as per their Facebook page, complete with a logo of a peach to tie in with the acronym. Owner Nicole Dyble stated that the Dryer Fire name (inspired by the former Gore Street Cafe's attached laundromat) "was only ever meant to be a temporary name", but didn't give any direct insight into the new name's inspiration. I will admit that the Piecing It Together name will have to grow on me, but look for more shows from them as 2024 progresses!
• Newer local metal duo Hollow Sky revealed on their Facebook page on February 5th that they have a "new track coming soon", complete with a picture of singer Liam Tallon presumably tracking the new song in question. So far, this is their only post in 2024, but hopefully the new song (their second to be released) is coming along in studio as planned!
• I can't embed it here, as it's a "Reel", but Sault Michigan metal band Tarnished posted a clip (a horizontal landscape clip pillarboxed to fit the "Reel" dimensions, mind you) of them playing the guitar solo to Ratt's "Round & Round" on their Facebook page yesterday! It sounds good, but it's not clear who the second guitarist with Alex Traynor is, with Alex even acknowledging in the comment section that "tis a mystery". Stay tuned for updates on their identity, but give the "Reel" a watch above! No sign of their Alpena battle of the bands video yet though.
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Shit Happens) & Saint Asonia Concert Previews!!

Here's another new post on this Saturday morning, which is mostly devoted to recent concert videos from a major concert last month, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Winnipeg punk quartet Shit Happens will make their local concert debut on Monday, March 25th when they headline at The Distraction! While not the first touring act booked at the East Street barbershop-turned-concert venue, I believe Shit Happens (not to be confused with the Soo's own Shit Liver) are the first full metal or punk band from out of town to play there, as opposed to a solo project, so this will be neat! Shit Happens are touring Eastern Canada and a select few U.S. cities this month, with the local show being the final date before they head back to Manitoba. Expect an upbeat and in your face brand of punk originals from this female fronted group two weeks from Monday! Local support will come by way of metal trio The BAG in their Distraction debut and second show of 2024, and while not a clean genre match to Shit Happens, the energy should be hopping for their hard hitting originals and covers later this month!

Despite the touring headline band, this show is standard for protocol with The Distraction's all-local events, including no age limit, a 7:00 PM start time, and a "$5 or pay what you can" entry model. While an early night with no 19+ limit hanging overhead, the Monday scheduling and relative short notice may give some pause, but if you like explosive modern punk rock, don't miss out on the action on the 25th! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this concert!

Next up, we finally have some videos to feature from last month's Saint Asonia concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! After a near two week delay, prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci uploaded videos from the show to his excellent YouTube channel, and he spoiled us this time, filming eighteen videos across the three bands that night! Half of his videos come from the headliners, with Chris filming multiple originals and covers from the Toronto hard rock quartet. In terms of covers, you can see Saint Asonia covering frontman Adam Gontier's old band Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late", "I Hate Everything About You", and "Riot", while they also tackled Apocalyptica's "I Don't Care" (which Adam guested on originally). The rest of the filmed songs began with Saint Asonia, aside from their own recent cover of The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights".

The originals filmed here are "Better Place", "Wolf", "Let Me Live My Life", and as embedded below, their set opener "Above It All". Chris had a nice spot in the center section with good zoom usage and a relatively clear view of the stage (fans' heads in front of him acknowledged), and Saint Asonia sound great, with Adam's vocals crystal clear in the mix! I recall that he was more muffled when Three Days Grace came here last, but of course, arena acoustics could have been a factor. Check out Saint Asonia's local concert videos for yourselves above & below!

Chris also filmed Kentucky southern hard rock band Black Stone Cherry in six videos, getting them playing "White Trash Millionaire", "When The Pain Comes", their medley of The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" and their own "In My Blood", "Blame It On The Boom Boom", "Lonely Train", and as embedded below, their set-opening songs "Me & Mary Jane" and "Burnin'". Good stuff all around from these talented rock radio mainstays, who have established themselves so much since they last came here in 2006, so give their videos a watch above and below as well!

Finally, Maryland hard rock quartet Any Given Sin were filmed for three of Chris' videos, specifically their songs "Insidious", "The Way I Say Goodbye", and as embedded below, "House On Fire". Hopefully these guys continue on their upward trajectory, as their melodic and soaring originals seemed to play well with local attendees last month, and they definitely seem like a band we'll hear more from on the radio in the coming months! Check out Any Given Sin's local videos above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Sam Mick, NorthernFunko, And Josh Belleau's Channels

After a bit of a delay while we worked through Halloween weekend concert previews, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Continuing out spotlight on local metal, hard rock, and punk-focused YouTube channels that were randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions, we're tripling up for October 2023 due to the first chosen channel only having one video, and the second only having two videos from the same band's concert set, so a third single-video channel was picked to fill it out. Each channel here ended up having videos shot at high profile local concerts from the late 2000s-mid 2010s, so here's what you should know!

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Sam Mick (http://youtube.com/@sammick6089)

Owner: YouTube user and Sault Ontario resident Samantha Mick

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 17th, 2012; Only video uploaded on July 2nd, 2016

Channel Summary: Sam (who sadly passed away in 2020, obituary linked here) was in attendance for Abbotsford, B.C. power pop/punk quartet Hedley's outdoor concert at The Yard on Canada Day in 2016, with her video capturing a memorable incident from the show where singer Jacob Hoggard called the mother of a girl (reportedly YouTube user stevie17058) caught texting during the show, using her own phone! He had done this at multiple shows, not just ours. Now, three different people uploaded video from this to YouTube, with C Auffrey getting the best quality and most complete video of the local occurrence, but Sam's captures the phone call side of things well also! For full disclosure, this video and concert came two years before the sexual assault allegations against Hedley and Hoggard were made public.

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NorthernFunko's Channel (http://youtube.com/@northernfunko)

Owner: YouTube user NorthernFunko, possibly named Taylor, but I can't confirm anything else

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 25th, 2009; Videos uploaded on December 9th of that year

Channel Summary: This channel's only videos come from Norwood, Ontario hard rock quartet Three Days Grace's second and (to date) final concert at the Essar Centre (now GFL Memorial Gardens) on December 8th, 2009, where NorthernFunko filmed them playing "Never Too Late" and the slightly more popular "The Good Life". Though not as well attended as their 2006 debut here, it was a very entertaining concert (being a huge fan of Adam-era 3DG, I was at both), and the crowd response and energy are captured well on both of these videos! The choppy video quality, muffled audio, and somewhat jittery angle are forgivable to an extent given that these videos are almost 14 years old (hard to believe!), but more videos from both local Three Days Grace concerts are available elsewhere on YouTube.

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Josh Belleau (http://youtube.com/@joshbelleau5068)

Owner: Former Garden of Bedlam guitarist Josh Belleau

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 26th, 2012; Only video uploaded that same day

Channel Summary: Josh's channel (distinct from his old Chainsaw666 channel) only features one video, and from a show that Garden of Bedlam didn't even play at. On May 23rd, 2012, Juno Award-nominated Ottawa grindcore band Fuck The Facts headlined at the former Canadian Nightclub, with Josh's video capturing that show's three local opening bands in performance order. These include Central Algoma death metal quartet For All That Is Lost playing most of "Ripped In Two", inactive local grindcore trio Shit Liver playing parts of five songs, and death metal quintet The Bear Hunters playing chunks of "Bloodthirst" & "Dominate". Given the age of the video, these come through pretty well today thanks to Josh getting some nicely varied angles, and while the staticy audio during Shit Liver's section, most songs being abbreviated, and the lack of Fuck The Facts are noted, this is a nice little slice of the local metal scene from over a decade ago!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! We're finally back to looking at a single video channel today, as our random selection has spotted us AshesToDustBand, the official channel of the short-lived early 2010s high school hard rock band Ashes To Dust! Look for that on or around November 26th, and for a Halloweeny news/concert preview post plus this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Mike Haggith's Newest Live-Stream!!

Much sooner than last time, here's our extended recap of prolific local/Thompson, Manitoba alternative/hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith's newest live-stream from this past Sunday! Simulcast on both Mike's Facebook page and YouTube channel to commemorate hitting 100 subscribers on that platform (thanks to an upgrade to his StreamYard account), the 100 minute live-stream starts with Mike doing some routine maintenance, setup, and explanations for new viewers, given that YouTube-only fans may not know what these are. Regarding the episode proper, Mike acknowledges his recent marriage and the end of his Ukraine charity drive last month, before bringing in the episode's special guest, namely ex-Shit Liver singer/bassist Mike Kyle, who currently performs acoustic folk music with his solo project Sibling. Be advised that the dreaded webcam halts and pops are very prevalent on Mike Kyle's feed.

The interview starts with Mike Haggith praising Mike Kyle's music, with Mike Kyle discussing his musical background, appreciation for Sault Ste. Marie, artistic influences, recent hobbies and activities, plans for 2022, and there's even a fan question from the chat, which has to be new! After acknowledging a contest for live viewers to win a CD copy of The Din's posthumous live album "Technically Live" (to be reviewed on the SMS this month!), we finally get into some music at around the 25 minute mark, starting with Mike Kyle playing two brief Sibling originals named "Food For Thought" and "Chasing Rabbits". The interview portion of the episode resumes with lengthy discussions about Mike Kyle's evocative lyrics, artistic inspirations, avenues to promote his music, and his current visual art projects, before Mike Haggith finally plays some music of his own.

If you're tuning in for this Mike, he begins 48 minutes in with his new song "Twist of Fate" from his upcoming album "All The Best In All You Do", and unfortunately, the webcam halts and pops are an issue (if less so) on Mike Haggith's feed too. Is this StreamYard's fault, or did Mike change his camera setup from 2021? Afterwards, Mike does reveal that he is thinking about getting merchandise made for his next album beyond albums during the responses to live viewers in the chat, followed by a rendition of his familiar original track "MorningStar". Mike Kyle comes in next with his new (and fittingly named) song "Palindromes", which is the current song he's most proud of, followed with Mike teasing his upcoming musical plans, plus his recent following of local hip hop music, which he has incorporated on some of his Sibling-era originals. Mike Haggith next dives into the share contest for last month, so who had the most engaged share of all?

Ironically, it was Sainte-Marie/Bad Chug guitarist Jacob Quarrell, the guest of honour in the February 2022 episode, and as he had the most engaged social media share of that live-stream, he got to pick Mike Haggith's mandatory cover for last month. Mike Haggith is very coy about what song he was nominated to tackle, and that's because it's "The Birthday Song" by comedian Jon LaJoie (let's just say that the innocent vibe at the start takes a turn!) Next, Mike Haggith asks Mike Kyle again about his future plans, while Mike Haggith did tease that he's going to review one of Mike Kyle's albums in his YouTube album review series. The draw for the winner of the "Technically Live" CD is next, with the winner being ex-Bizotic frontman/No Arrow bassist Brad "Gortium85" Griffith! Mike Haggith also manages to figure out how to get live comments on the feed like on Studio Live Today near the end.

As for Shit Liver, they get the most discussion in the last 10 minutes, and only sparingly come up beforehand, but Mike Kyle does talk positively about the band & their tour runs, and gives some brief insights, with Mike Haggith even plugging the local goregrind scene that peaked in the mid-2010s. While musically a very slight episode (only 6 songs total), and the downgrade in audio quality since 2021 is unfortunate, this is an entertaining episode that lets Mike Haggith stretch his interviewer muscle, and if you haven't followed Mike Kyle's solo pursuits, do so, as he's a very creative artist with a distinct voice! It'll be interesting to see how the April live-stream goes, but give last month's a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums? post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Another Episode Recap Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline!!

As you may have gathered following the reversion to Stage 2 of re-opening in Ontario and the usual January hangover following the holidays for the local scene (even pre-pandemic), news has definitely slowed down to start 2022, so let's use today's post to further catch up on Metal Morpheus episodes on local internet radio station The Borderline! While there hasn't been a public statement that I've seen, it looks like host Josh Amendola has at least went on a holiday break from the show, as every episode since the heavily revised Soo Metal episode on December 5th has been a rerun. The fact that it's still airing Sunday nights at 9:00 PM is a good sign that it will return, perhaps as soon as this coming Sunday, but we'll let you know if anything is clarified about it's current/future status. Due to the December reruns, we're only behind on three new-to-us episodes of Metal Morpheus, so let's continue on by looking at the November 21st installment!

That episode was the third in Josh's planned series of spotlight features on the extreme metal scenes of various countries from around the world in alphabetical order, and for non-disputed regions, third up was indeed Algeria, a large country in northwestern Africa. Clearly, there wasn't a ton of metal bands from Algeria to source bands from, so this episode only addresses them for just over half of it, and the episode proper runs for just 57 minutes. Starting things off with some information about Algeria and its native music, the first band played on air is progressive metal quartet RiverGate's song "Tears of the Machine" (4:30), followed by black metal band Orcus' song "Death Is Everywhere" (11:15). Active Algerian death metal group Lelahell are up next with their 2018 track "Insiraf/Martyr" (16:10), followed by the more technical death metal band Devast with "Chaotic Proliferation" (22:10)

The fifth and final Algerian band played on November 21st was the black metal project Berzek with their very long original track "Mourning In Oblivion" (25:30). After wrapping up the trip to Algeria, Josh flies back home to look at songs from four inactive local metal bands, starting with classic hardcore punk band The Harsh Heads' song "You're Pawning Your Mind, Asshole" (37:00) from their kinda-unreleased album "First Hated Then Forgotten", followed by the more contemporary grindcore trio Shit Liver's song "Liverated" (42:55) from their 2017 album "Hitting The Fan". We next get a live cut from 2010-2011 local metal band Sativa Rose (who never released an album), specifically their original "Fall From Grace" (47:15), and the episode closes with early 1990s metal band Amethyst's song "You've Been Caught" (53:00), which opened their 1992 CD "Innocent As Hell".

This was another solid episode of Metal Morpheus, and those Algerian bands were definitely intense and brutal in both expected & unexpected ways! As was the case with the Albanian episode from earlier that month, Josh was clearly struggling to give information on these bands, but giving them some exposure like this can't hurt their cause, even if some are not active anymore. Nice to see lots of local acts getting the spotlight too, and I never expected Sativa Rose to turn up, though the audio quality from the source video was definitely rough by comparison. We now have just two episodes of Metal Morpheus from 2021 to recap on the SMS, namely the revised Soo Metal episode and the next country spotlight one, but Josh curiously skipped six countries in alphabetical order to instead look at Austria.

While some of the six in between would seem hard to get enough bands from (especially the tiny Andorra and Antigua & Barbuda), I would have thought Australia at least would have had ample bands to pull from, and Argentina, Armenia, and Angola are not lacking themselves. Josh did also tease at episode's end that he wants to do episodes themed around international metal subgenres (methinks Japan would lend itself well to that). Tune in to The Borderline this Sunday at 9:00 PM to see if Metal Morpheus is back from their winter break(?), and we'll have more episode recaps soon, I hope, plus more news and notes in general! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, An Inactive Band Note, And A New Music Video!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Sunday morning! While it includes a new music video and an inactive band note, things are leading off with a new and promising young band to roll into our full coverage. There's a lot to get to, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local punk band to add to our band links named Vanity, so what should you know about them? Launching their Facebook page just last week, they actually have had a YouTube channel since December, and quietly debuted as early as October 2020 when former Mustang Sally guitarist Mikhal Muto (son of ex-Issues/Band Camp Rejects bassist Mike "Vinyl" Muto) posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group looking for a bassist for Vanity. A relatively younger group, Mikhal is joined here by singer/guitarist Andrew Beggs, bassist Nick McClelland, and drummer Keegan McAllister (credited as "Ljubov" in their Facebook teaser video), none of whom I'm familiar with from prior bands, but Andrew does have live stage experience in local musicals. Despite not being a proper live band yet, Vanity have already carved together a few original songs, which is very encouraging at this early-ish stage!

The Facebook video notes that they "are working on producing our first EP", but whether they're officially recording for it isn't clear. The guys also have covers in their repertoire, mostly of 1990s punk & alternative songs, though they do go newer and heavier on occasion, and they talk up their approach & aims for their sound in the Facebook video mentioned above. You can also find some short video content on Vanity's TikTok page and on Instagram, plus one demo on Keegan's Soundcloud page. Covers-wise, they tackle the likes of Green Day, Weezer, Rage Against The Machine, Billy Talent, Pennywise, NOFX, The Cars, which is a good range of bands to start with, plus a few surprise cartoon theme songs! The original song in the Facebook teaser is named "Empty Home", and their other originals so far are titled "Breathe" and "Black Flies", but overall, how do Vanity proper sound so far?

Not bad, they already have a good sound that wouldn't feel out of place from busier times for local punk bands, and the guitar & bass especially fit on these songs so far! Andrew's voice has a good melody and tone for more melodic punk songs also. Local bands that work on original material before debuting tend to get off to quicker starts, which bodes well for Vanity, though I have no clue how much the pandemic would affect their eagerness to play live short term. We'll let you know when more comes out, but give Vanity's Facebook teaser video a watch below!

Next up, we have a notable band to reluctantly move to our inactive band links, namely local grindcore trio Shit Liver. The band has not issued a public update since one year ago today on their Facebook page, ironically when they noted there that November 21st, 2020 was the 10 year anniversary of their live concert debut. For current activity, we last saw Shit Liver via the belated release of their 2016 tour documentary earlier that fall, and they were last seen live opening for Dopethrone at The New A in May 2019. One of the most prominent local extreme metal bands of the 2010s, Shit Liver started as a metal concert staple in the early 2010s before moving to St. Catharine's in 2013, after which they grew in prominence both in the province & nationally, especially with their two nationwide tours and their 2014 self-titled album, it's 2018 follow-up "Hitting The Fan", and their 2017 "Trading Faces" split cassette tape with AlgomA.

Of course, the pandemic may play a factor in Shit Liver's live hiatus, but most of the band has remained artistically active in recent months, from Josh's continued filmmaking work with Spacebag Productions (more on them in a second) to Mike's acoustic folk output in his Sibling project. Shit Liver didn't close the door on a return to the stage in their November 2020 post, and hopefully their brand of raw, fast-paced grindcore returns to the stage in some form when the time is right, but best of luck to Josh, Mike, and Matt in the interim, they've definitely been missed around here!

We'll close today with the long awaited release of local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty's music video for their cover of Saul Williams' "List of Demands (Reparations)"! Released on schedule as planned this morning on singer/bassist Paul Stanghetta's YouTube channel, this was filmed by the aforementioned Spacebag Productions, and confirming the teasers, it primarily features Paul and his wife Amanda (on drums) playing this staple cover of theirs in a small cramped room with concert lighting, and eventually, a lot of smokebombs. Well shot video that shows how many distinct angles Josh could get in such tight quarters, and the song proper is well performed and lively, showing that you can get a full sound with just two people, let alone without a guitarist! No word on if this studio recording will lead to more songs from The A.A., but we'll keep you posted when/if more comes out, and give the music video (at last) a full watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Episode #3 Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline!!

With news relatively slow right now, let's take an overdue look at episode #3 of Metal Morpheus, the new metal music-focused series on local internet radio station The Borderline! As you may have seen via our recaps of the first two episodes, the series features host/local metal frontman Josh Amendola looking at the loose history of a metal subgenre every week (premiering Sundays at 9:00 PM), and the third episode from July 18th was about grindcore. Running for about 61 minutes, this one should pack in even more songs given the usually fast-paced and structured chaos of grindcore songs, but what does Josh spin in this episode? He kicks things off with two sub-80 second songs by Boston grindcore band Siege ("Drop Dead" & "Walls"), before moving to pioneering Japanese grindcore band S.O.B. around 3:55 in, specifically playing their song "Raging In Hell". At the 6 minute mark, Josh moves into grindcore legends Napalm Death, who get some good props!

Even comparing the legendary Buddy Rich to the rapid-fire blast beats typical of the genre, Josh plays the one-time Foggy Notions (well, Feedback) headliners' classic songs "Multinational Corporations" and "Instinct of Survival" from their highly influential LP "Scum", plus the title track of Napalm Death's "From Enslavement To Oblivion", though the middle song isn't credited by name. At about 12:40, we move on to Michigan grindcore notables Repulsion, complete with more of a biography, and he plays their song "Radiation Sickness", before moving on to British goregrind pioneers Carcass at about 16:25, from where Josh plays "Exhume To Consume", running for a very long (by genre standards) 3 minutes & 50 seconds. Next up at the 21 minute point is a section on American grindcore band Terrorizer, whose played song is their 1989 classic "After World Obliteration".

Afterwards, Josh throws back to two pioneering hardcore punk bands including Bad Brains via their song "Attitude" (24:55 in) and Black Flag with their Rollins-era classic "Rise Above" at about 27:00. Neither band are true "grindcore" acts to me, but both are highly influential towards newer bands in this and other subgenres! The first half concludes with "No One Can Be That Dumb" by the early Swedish grindcore band Larm, whose segment begins at around 29:25. Like S.O.B. earlier, Larm are not on Spotify, so keep that in mind if you use that service a lot. Josh kicks off the back half of the episode at about 30:45 with a look at local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, from which Josh plays two songs off of their 2018 album "Hitting The Fan", including the title track & "It Won't Change". Not as in depth of a look as Repulsion got, but Shit Liver garnered the biggest chunk of the episode!

Next, about 38:55 in, Josh transitions to a segment on Brutal Truth, from which he plays their relatively long track "Denial Of Existence", before moving onto death metal/grimdcore quartet Misery Index (who are probably my favorite band of the episode) at about 43:30 with their song "Conquistadores", followed by Cephalic Carnage at about 47:35 with "Endless Cycle of Violence". Entering the home stretch, Josh plays "Shaping The End" by Swedish deathcore band Nasum at about 51:25, immediately followed by Pig Destroyer's "Terrifier" (at the 53:50 mark or so). The last song played on air is the Lord of the Rings-inspired "Black Breath" by Repulsion at 56:00 or so, before wrapping up with some brief thoughts. This was a fun and suitably intense episode, putting a good spotlight on such an underground subgenre, but I'd have spent more time explaining the appeal of grindcore and the bands in question.

Grindcore is an intense, brutal, and assaulting style of metal and hardcore punk, but it's also one that isn't overly accessible for a lot of casual fans, so this episode could have benefited in this way from more context and analysis. Still, a very solid listen for genre fans, and Josh is getting more comfortable as host here, so give it a listen! Stay tuned for episode #8 this coming Sunday at 9:00 PM, and hear episodes #1-7 at the above links, and look for our recap of episode #4 (on Canadian thrash metal) in the near future, plus weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From The Last Week Or So!!

After taking a few personal days off from the SMS (read our post from Sunday for more information), let's try to get back into a normal-ish schedule for posts on the site, or as normal as the ongoing pandemic will allow. Today's post is devoted to recent video uploads, including new solo performance videos, a live concert clip, and leading off, a lengthy look at a prominent metal band's Canadian tour from four years back!

Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver have resurfaced with their long-belated second concert tour documentary! Entitled "Totally Fucked: The Lost Shit Liver Tour Tapes", this 38 minute video was uploaded to their YouTube channel on Friday, and it documents the happenings of their (and sister bluegrass band Dirtfight's) Number Two Tour that took place from April-June 2016 across all of the non-Atlantic provinces. Given the success of their 2015 tour documentary "A Long & Grinding Road", I'm surprised that the guys never compiled this footage in a similarly timely fashion, but perhaps the pandemic and lockdowns finally afforded them the chance (though the intro and this Facebook trailer imply that "the tapes were lost"). While this was a longer tour, the resulting documentary shorter than 2015's was, but there is still a lot to see! At the beginning, you will see Shit Liver setting up their trailer for the road, drying their new shirts, and clips from their tour kick-off party (with quite an irreverent pinata), and their Sudbury concert.

After some more on-the-road footage (including the return of screaming across bridges), Saultites will want to check out the 5:08 mark to see brief clips from their Oddfellows Hall stop on April 30th when they opened for Calgary hardcore punk band The Motherfuckers (read our review here.) You will get to see performance footage of the reunited Winkstinger and the headliners, plus some post-show content with a dalmatian, and a cameo from Jack Spades drummer Johnny Belanger. After gassing up, the tour heads west, and without spoiling anything, you'll see footage of the guys driving, enjoying the sights on the road, camping, eating, skateboarding, making use of a green-screen of sorts, playing games, setting off fireworks, witnessing a police shutdown in Saskatoon, and experiencing nature, with lots of clips of bands performing at the tour dates along the way. Shit Liver and company head back east for the final 13 minutes, with a lot more of the same content en route, plus vehicle repair issues, ...

...a lot of sandwiches, passing through home in St. Catharine's, and their tour finale in Quebec, before ending with an acoustic song summing up the tour. This is an entertaining look at Shit Liver's second D.I.Y. national tour, and there's certainly a lot of amusing shenanigans to take in, but be warned that actual clips of them performing are minimal (who do you think shot most of the videos?) The YouTube description says that "it is yet to be decided if Shit Liver will ever tour again" (they last played live in May of last year), but hopefully we'll see the guys back in some form or another post-pandemic! Give their new documentary a watch below!

Next up, here's a new video of local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's concert at Reggie's West this past Saturday! Live-streamed on their Facebook page, this is another rendition of the guys covering Blackberry Smoke's "Like I Am", which was previously seen being covered by Fort Creek in this fan-shot video from the original Reggie's. Musically, this version of "Like I Am" is sound, but the video was shot from the bar, which understandably restricts the view of the stage. At least the Reggievelt was as packed as current regulations allow, and give things a look below!

 

We'll close today with new videos from former No Arrow drummer Joe Falco's YouTube channel from the past week! One is a tribute video to the late great Eddie Van Halen where Joe shredded a number of Van Halen tunes from memory, and while he admitted to making errors, it was a nice gesture to honour such an influential musician. The other two videos are lengthy, including one where Joe shows his restoration job on a 2000 Ibanez RG350DX guitar, complete with a solid jam session and his commentary and thoughts on the guitar. Embedded below is the newest of these uploads, which just features Joe jamming on the aforementioned Ibanex RG350DX, which serves as fun playthrough for his birthday while also testing some of his patches. Strong and loose performances overall, and it's clear that Joe enjoyed restoring and playing this guitar, so these videos give it a solid platform. Give everything a watch above and below!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site later this week! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Shit Liver

It's now time for our final YouTube Channel Profile of 2019, and we're ending this monthly spotlight series for this year on a high note, courtesy of one of the biggest local extreme metal bands of this decade! As usual, this month's channel was randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions, all being channels with content at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts. Now, here's what you should know!
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Shit Liver (http://youtube.com/givershitliver)

Owner: A member of local/St. Catharines grindcore trio Shit Liver, exact identity unclear (though my guess would be singer/guitarist Josh Penno)

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 29th, 2011; Videos posted from that day through April 2018

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Shit Liver, it has seen continued but sporadic usage for the majority of their 9+ year run. At present, the channel features 16 band-relevant videos, including four live clips, free postings of all three of their studio albums, various teasers and live concert promotion, and their "Wait" music video. The channel's other three videos relate to their St. Catharines-based comedy metal projects Gnarwail & Gizzard.

Why You Should Watch: While it is a shame that this channel didn't see more regular use, this is a must watch for fans of Shit Liver's brutal work this decade, both locally and abroad, and you get a nice sampling of their career here! The Gnarwal & Gizzard uploads are also amusing listens if you've ever wanted to hear whales or chickens singing in a metal band! However, note that this channel did not see any uploads between it's first day online and March 2014, and no videos have been posted here in over a year, coinciding with their public hiatus since the spring of 2019. As well, the channel features no content from Shit Liver's folk/bluegrass side project Dirtfight.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Shit Liver - Pennotration/Shift Liver - Live at the Temple: Of the surprisingly few live concert videos on Shit Liver's channel, this March 2014 video from their first gig in their then-new hometown of St. Catharines is the best, especially compared to their early Rosie metal night clips. Co-headlining this private concert at "The Temple" (click here for details), you can see them playing "Pennotration" & "Shift Liver", ironically in reverse order from their placement on their debut album that same year. Featuring Josh alongside bassist Mike Kyle and drummer Matt Baic (with all on vocals), this captures their ferociously crusty original attack very well from a nice and close camera angle, and hopefully this won over lots of new fans in St. Cats!

  

A Long Grinding Road (FULL DOCUMENTARY): By far the longest and most viewed video on Shit Liver's channel, this documentary compiled footage from the band's Northern Debauchery Tour of Canada in the spring of 2015, including looks at the entire tour from start to finish. While there is some live footage of Shit Liver here, most of it relates to the actual tour, such as the band's life on the road, mishaps and joking around, "the Calgary counter", screaming while driving across bridges, their issues getting a show in Victoria, performances from other bands, and testimonials from Josh, Mike, Matt, and friends. There's a lot of ground to cover here, far too much to briefly summarize, but it's a great and in-depth look at this D.I.Y. tour, and highly worth watching for fans! Scroll to the 4:30 mark for a 6 minute segment on Shit Liver's trip to Sault Ste. Marie for two dates that April, including footage of The Bear Hunters at The Rednecks Saloon. Also, click here to see the blooper reel from the footage shot for the documentary.



SHIT LIVER - WAIT - (OFFICIAL VIDEO): In the lead up to the release of their second studio album "Hitting The Fan" in March 2018, Shit Liver posted their first (and to date, only) music video onto their channel, for their song "Wait". Filmed by "Cannibal Cam" in conjunction with Josh's own film company Spacebag Productions, the video features performance footage mixed in with a depiction of a peaceful protest being responded to by police using excessive force. They cram a lot into this video, and the song suits it thematically, with blistering grindcore and a doomier home stretch for both tastes, so fans won't want to bypass it!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! We'll begin 2020 in this series with two channels, as our first random selection only had one video period, and the second had 10 videos, albeit all from the same concert, so that'd fill things out sufficiently. As such, we'll be looking at the YouTube channels of defunct local punk band The Small Town Rivals and of YouTube user Chitamo (featuring videos from a 2006 Inner City Surfers concert.) Look for that on or around January 26th, and for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!