New Video Postings, Plus Lots Of Assorted Recent News & Notes!!

Today's post is mostly of the catch-up variety, in order to cover some recent assorted updates and tackle a couple of new videos, so here's what you should know on this Monday morning! We'll start with the newest song from Sault Michigan metal solo project The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, as posted to their label Werehold Records' YouTube channel on New Year's Eve! Entitled "Long Walking Upright", project leader Jason Mills indicated that this is his first new song recording with his new 9 string guitar. While it's a short showcase, it's a strong technical go for a first unveiling, and while the guitar's the star, I can't fault the bass either! Give it a listen below!

Next up, here's a surprise cover of AlgomA's "Reclaimed By The Forest" by The Black Lodge Masters, a new Sault Ontario electronic project from former Strange Coyotes guitarist & recent Autumn Roots member Chase Wigmore! Perhaps the end result of Chase's earlier plans to form an industrial band, The Black Lodge Masters already have a YouTube channel chock full of material, including their entire intended debut album, and while not a hard rock or metal band in the usual sense, there are glimmers of heaviness on many tracks. Creative and original, especially for this area, and despite these being instrumental, note that the song names seem to have a concept about a secretive fraternal lodge. That all said, The Black Lodge Masters do dip into metal waters with this cover of the title track from AlgomA's debut CD, so how does it sound? Definitely harbouring an industrial bent, this is a solid and unexpected cover of who Chase called "one of (if not) the best Sault bands ever"!

On a quick glance, you wouldn't even connect the two songs, but it's strongly performed with quality drums and effects, and if you're at all a fan of electronic and doom metal, this will be worth checking out! You can do so below, and hopefully Chase keeps churning out some quality music here!



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

• Highway 63 frontman Henry Switzer announced on their Facebook page yesterday that, despite some fans fearing that he quit the Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet, they're just taking time off until May, adding his automotive repair business Hank's Body Shop & his health as additional reasons for the break. However, Henry did announce plans to play a half-hair metal/1980s set when they do return, as he wants to play music he likes & excels in while he can, so keep their planned return in mind for then, and don't miss their side project Cousin Eddie in the interim!
• Former Sneaky Pete/Glitch drummer Mike Oakley is looking for a keyboard player (preferably one with a synthesizer or piano/organ tones) for a new "rock & blues" band that he's working on in Sault Ontario. No word on if the band in question will fit our coverage range, but just in case, message Mike at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from New Year's Day if you're interested in trying out!
• Want to hear more studio material from defunct local indie/punk quartet Nebraska Arms? Good news then, as drummer Adam Sauve posted 11 studio tracks to their new posthumous Soundcloud page last month! At least four of the songs aren't publically available elsewhere that I know of ("Presenteeism", "Clockwork", and two untitled demos), but this isn't entirely comprehensive, as "I Was A Runner" isn't featured. No word on if we'll ever get a full album-formatted posting of the entire "We'll Never Sleep Again" CD, but it's great to hear more from Guy, Dave, Wayne, and Adam, and you can do so at the above links!
• Ride For Sight Northern Ontario chairman Dave Ostrowski-Gallant announced on their Facebook page on New Year's Eve "that there will not be any (Ride For Sight) events" locally this year. Dave and his wife Nicole had previously announced that they were stepping down in September for personal reasons, but a search to find new organizers doesn't appear to have panned out in time to put on the annual blindness motorcycle rally/concert in July. Very disappointing, especially given the event's successes and reception, but hopefully someone can take it on for 2019!
• By chance have you seen reference to a new hard rock band named Sault on social media? Just to clarify, this band has nothing to do with Sault Ste. Marie, with the name being an intentional misspelling of "salt", in it's informal definition of having a resistance or toughness. Sault are actually the new side project from Kamelot bassist Sean Tibbetts, but they have more of a mainstream hard rock sound compared to his usual power metal material. While there is no local connection, give Sault a listen above, they aren't bad!
• I have regrettably deleted local pop punk quartet Stereo North from our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point late last year. Stereo North had been on hiatus since June of 2016, but with their Facebook page gone (I hate when bands delete their pages like this), it's clear that they've fully disbanded. Hopefully we see them back again down the road, they were a fun sight in the mid-2010s, and don't miss Andrew Pucci's solo project or Bill Bennett with Stegadeth!

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

Inactive Local Band Notes, Go Skateboarding Day Fallout, And More!!

A new news post is upon us for this Friday morning, so what is on tap? Sadly, this post is largely devoted to bands being moved out of our active band links, but we also have a few more assorted recent updates and a new video featuring a recent performance to check out. With all of that said, here's what you need to know!

We have a pair of bands to imminently move to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, one being classic/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13. While the band has made no public statements about their future, they have not played an advertised concert since one year ago on Sunday when they headlined at The Rockstar Bar, and they hadn't posted on their Facebook page since April of last year as it was (though note that guitarist Robin "Bones" Lee left his other band Soundcheck for health reasons earlier this year.) A staple of the bar circuit since debuting at the inaugural Toystock charity concert in November 2012, this union of Aftersight, Turner Up, and Gully Yodelers alumni were frequently seen on stage in solo concerts over the following 3½ years, as well as becoming the only band to play at the first three Toystocks, headlining The Rednecks Saloon's relaunch party last spring, and closing The Rockstar Bar's St. Patrick's Day festivities in 2013.

Featuring a solid selection of veteran presences in the local rock scene, Lucky 13 were always a reliable sight on local stages, and their gritty, workmanlike sound could easily be slotted into numerous events alongside their solo gigs. Hopefully we see them back out there at some point in the future, but best of luck to Ed, Robin, Jeff, and Roger, and don't miss original guitarist Jeremey Salatuk with The 3 Day Millionaires!

The other band we're soon moving to our inactive band links is local pop punk quartet Stereo North, as they have not issued a public update concerning new band activity since one year ago on Sunday themselves. In that Facebook page posting, the guys announced that they were "taking a little break" due to guitarist Matthew Anich becoming a father, but their only updates since have referenced frontman Andrew Pucci's burgeoning solo career, so it appears that the "little break" has grown into an extended hiatus (at least.) Launching publically in late 2014 with a bassist search, Stereo North debuted at the Bon Soo Marquee outdoor concert in February 2015, and next played live at the following month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, so they definitely got a big start! Fans may also recall seeing them open for The River Jacks, Exes For Eyes, and Broomfiller, perform at 2015's Rotaryfest Stage 2 & last year's second VM Radio Battle, and play numerous all-local events late in their 1½ year run, last seen at The Rednecks Saloon over the Victoria Day long weekend last year.

Stereo North were an entertaining band that acclimated fast to the local scene back in 2015, and their originals and often-unconventional covers were always a fun sight on local stages, and it's a shame that their songwriting for a planned debut album didn't visibly lead to recording sessions before going on their "little break". Best of luck to Andrew, Matthew, Bill, and Brett in the future, but hopefully Stereo North return at some point, and don't miss Andrew's solo work or bassist Bill Bennett's current band Stegadeth!

Next up, here's a new YouTube video from yesterday's fifth annual Go Skateboarding Day festivities at Queen Elizabeth Park! Posted by SooToday to their YouTube channel and attached to this article, the video is similar to their video from last year, only with no interview clip, just skateboarding, vendor, and band footage with an audio track pasted on top in post. Filming took place during blues/hard rock trio Electric Church's opening set, and they are seen from 56 seconds on in the video, but again, their performance is completely muted. Still well edited and shot, so give it a look below, and click here for a live streamed segment of Go Skate Day before the bands began!



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 event name:

• Local alternative punk quartet A Dire Setback will play their second out of town concert on Saturday, July 8th when they open for Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface for a third time, albeit in Timmins! The show comes just a day after the two acts open for Vaultry at The Canadian for Live705's punk/rap hybrid event, and this should be another intriguing opportunity for A Dire Setback to branch out! There's not enough Timmins/Soo connections for concerts in either city. Click here for more details, and good luck on the road once again next month!
• Local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. and former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus (in one of his last sets before moving to Montreal) have been confirmed as the fifth and sixth acts playing at this year's Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East on July 13th, joining hard rockers The Din and fellow groups The Bearded Lounge, Sometimes Ange, and The Stumpy Coldwater Trio. Solid additions to add some alternative original stylings to the proceedings, so keep them in mind as well for this Thursday event next month! Our source is the street party's Facebook event page yesterday.
• I reluctantly have to remove Sault Michigan/Isle Royale metal solo project The 1,000,000,000's Who Died from our band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point this year. Led by Life's Eclipse mainman Jason Mills, The 1,000,000,000's Who Died were best known from their participation in label Werehold Records' Friday the 13th new music events from 2012 through last May, but nothing has followed in the past year, and their page deletion leaves Life's Eclipse as the only Werehold act listed in our active links. Hopefully we hear more from Jason's musical projects soon, perhaps on October 13th!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on The Sault Metal Scene in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Battle Of The Bands Rewind Profile: The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands

There may not be a battle of the bands this month, but we haven't forgotten about our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile Series, which finally returns today with a somewhat overdue look at one of last March's battles! As in our past profiles of recent local battles, this serves as an informational feature to look back at the events, setup, results, and trivia of this battle, and features no personal criticism or reviews of the competing bands or their future activity. This was a fun event with lots of talented musicians throughout, so read on below for our first profile of last year's battles!
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The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands (March 9th-23th, 2016)

Background:  Following the success of the inaugural VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March 2015, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce came together once again with VM Radio (and parent company Village Media), Tidal Records, and sponsors Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries to hold a second installment of the multi-night battle of the bands, originally intended four consecutive Wednesdays again at The Canadian Nightclub. Unfortunately, only 5 bands (down from 11 in 2015) officially registered to compete, forcing the removal of a planned March 2nd semifinal, but the format of the battle was the same as in year #1, with the winner of the March 9th & 16th semifinals (plus the highest scoring runner-up band as a wild card) returning for the finals on the 23rd. Judging criteria was the same as the previous year and 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle, with scoring based on musical ability, chemistry, stage presence, and crowd engagement (among others) for out of 100 points a judge, 300 total, plus additional individual awards metered out based on category.

Prizes: The first place band received $500, while no specific additional prizes were announced in terms of band ranking, unlike in 2015. A $100 Rad Zone gift card awaited the winner of the Best Vocal Performance award, while Case's Music prize packages went to the Best Guitar and Bass winners, and the Best Drummer would receive a custom drum skin from Maxx Graphix. As for the Best Song, the winning band would receive recording time at Tidal Records' own Mission Control Studios.

Competitors: The March 9th semifinal saw the battle's only returning bands from 2015, namely alternative/hard rock trio The Din (who had since dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name) and punk quartet Stereo North, who competed against new hard/pop rock supergroup Heavy Head. March 16th's semifinal round was a head to head affair between hard rock quartet Eclipse and indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., with prominent punk/metal quintet Jack Spades performing a guest set to round out the evening's lineup.

Results: The two semifinals were won by The Din & K.I.C.K., while Eclipse were the highest scoring non-winners & moved on to the finals as the wild card. Stereo North finished in second on the 9th, with Heavy Head in third, but specific nightly scores were not announced. In the finals on the March 23rd, the Keep It Cool Kids won a closely contested final, edging out The Din for second place by just three points, averaging out to one point per judge, while Eclipse weren't far behind to round out the podium. Individual awards went to Eclipse's Curtis McKenzie for Best Vocal Performance, The Din's Tammy Hill for Best Guitar, Eclipse's Fred Dunn for Best Bass, and his brother Aaron Dunn of K.I.C.K. for Best Drummer. Meanwhile, K.I.C.K. claimed Best Song for their original "Wanted".

Aftermath: K.I.C.K. have remained steadily active since their battle win, playing at numerous concerts as headliners and openers, such as Rotaryfest and the Northern Vibe Festival, and have recently been working on their debut EP at Mission Control Studios, presumably using time won at the battle. The Din released their debut studio album "Give Into The Din" that summer, and have found their own profile rising with many concerts of their own, even heading out to Toronto for a gig in January. Eclipse were a frequent sight locally through October 2015 before suddenly breaking up, though they have reunited after four months and will return to the stage in a few weeks. Stereo North only played live a few more times that spring before going on an indefinite hiatus in June partly due to guitarist Matthew Anich becoming a father, while Heavy Head played sporadically into the summer, but haven't issued a public update in months.

Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal/hard rock in italics):
Andrew Pucci (Andrew Pucci from Stereo North)
The Bear Hunters (Johnny Belanger from Heavy Head & Justin Lam from guests Jack Spades)
The Elements (Jesse Cook from Heavy Head) 
Handsome Sandwich (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Heavy Head)
Project 421 (Curtis McKenzie, Daniel Horton, and Chris Thompson from Eclipse)
The Steeltown Girls (Tammy Hill from The Din)
Stegadeth (Bill Bennett from Stereo North & Tiffany Stocco from guests Jack Spades)
Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Heavy Head)

Trivia:

• The judges for last year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands were all returnees from 2015, including Tidal Records owner & Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, Elements frontman & Village Media repesentative Rob Speers, and Sault Metal Scene owner Rob Figures, while Id Iota frontman, Shaw TV personality, and Tidal Records skate team member Christian Lemay was a late fill-in for Dustin as guest judge for the second semifinal. Promoter J.D. Pearce again served as MC for the duration of the battle.
• Despite battling a cold during his appearances, Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie won the Best Vocal Performance award for a second straight year, after previously winning as Haggith's frontman in 2015, making him the only repeat winner of an individual award. In another coincidental note, Tammy Hill (who replaced him in The Din the previous year) won the Best Guitar award that same night.
• This battle did not see a return of three awards handed out in 2015, namely for Most Energetic Band, Most Enthusiastic Fan, and Fan Favourite Band. The latter was planned to be given out in 2016, but with a virtual tie among the bands in that regard, the award wasn't given out at all.
• At least two bands debuted new original songs at the battle, including Eclipse ("Crywolf") in the semifinals, and The Din ("Differences") in the finals. Both bands also played songs familiar to fans of members' past projects, with Eclipse playing some Punch and later Haggith originals, and The Din playing a handful of songs from frontman Mike Haggith's solo career.
• Though no award existed for Most Improved Band, The Din would have won it had it existed, as the band didn't even finish second in their 2015 semifinal, but improved and overcame in the following year to finish just three points out of first place a year later. Though they didn't make the finals again, Stereo North also improved their standing from 2015, as did 3/5ths of Project 421 in Eclipse.
• Notable among the night's performers was Heavy Head, a new supergroup union of Suicide Kings, Bear Hunters, Haggith, and Winkstinger alumni, all of which being bands that won or placed second at recent local battles. Despite their impressive pedigree, their set received mixed responses, and they dropped out of the next day's Speak Easy Battle (though keep in mind that the VM Radio Battle was just their second public concert together.)
• Jack Spades' guest set during night #2 of the battle mirrored that of The Pixo Control's in 2015, serving to even out the band lineup due to uneven nightly totals. Jack Spades couldn't compete themselves due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional duties, but members Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger did compete as part of Heavy Head. Jack Spades remained a frequent sight at local concerts through September, though 3/5th of the band left the group throughout the year, and a teased return with a new lineup is forthcoming.
• Despite the expanded coverage and video features for 2015's VM Radio Battle, SooToday didn't give the same attention to the 2016's battle, possibly due to the lower band totals, with only this article on K.I.C.K.'s win substantially covering the event. Plans for a third VM Radio Battle did not come to fruition for March 2017, though it's not clear if it's done for good or being retooled.
• Conspicuous by their absence last year were 2015 battle winners Gnaeus, believed to be at least partly due to the departure of drummer Brendan Garlick from the band following their last show with him in December 2015. The post-punk quartet did not publically confirm Alex Proulx as his replacement until April 2016, debuting with them during their Ontario tour run that month.
• As they had done in 2015, Algoma University hosted the second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on March 10th, 2016, just one day after night #1 of the VM Radio Battle once again. The Din, Eclipse, and VM Radio Battle guest performers Jack Spades all competed in the Speak Easy Battle, with The Din and Eclipse placing second & third in that event as well, winning $200 & $100 respectively. The fan voted event was won by indie rock musician Jesse Merineau, with backing from Caroline Divine.
• Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci (who has been focusing on solo music during their hiatus) competed in a Tidal Records-sponsored songwriters competition at LopLops Lounge on October 15th, where he and 9 other solo artists played two originals and a cover for a chance to get recording time at Mission Control Studios and a digital release package. The winner of that event was Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone, and it's unclear where Andrew placed.
• Though not advertised as a "battle of the bands", The Din played at Landmark Events' Showcase Festival in Toronto in January, with music industry executives judging bands and choosing select acts to win music development grants. Though The Din visibly praised the event, it's not publically clear how they did compared to other performers of if they moved forward in the showcase.

Videos:
The Din playing "In Search of The Perfect Moment" in the finals
Eclipse covering two songs in the semifinals
The Din's promotional videos for their sets
The Sault Metal Scene's videos of each band's opening songs




Sources/More Info:
Official Facebook event page
SooToday's coverage from the finals
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I hope you guys liked this profile of last year's VM Radio Battle, and we will profile last year's Speak Easy Battle in the coming days, so stay tuned for that and more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!

A Defunct Punk Band Discovery, An Upcoming Sault Michigan Concert, And Much More!!

We're back with what could be our last non-concert preview/CD review post of the month, so what's on tap for this Tuesday morning? Lots of shorter assorted recent updates, and preliminary details for what could be the biggest Sault Michigan concert of the summer, but first, here's a surprise find for local punk fans from over a decade ago!

We have a newly discovered (albeit long defunct) local punk band to add to our inactive band links, and they are Why! Active from at least 2003-2004, Why may be best known as an early band from
Northwest frontman Wayne Watkins, who played bass alongside singer/guitarist Cory Coulter (ex-Outspoken/The Fallout) and drummer Dave Cote (a.k.a. "Dirty Dave Sanchez"), while Cory's former bandmate Chris Nielsen was a later addition on guitar. Forming circa December 2003, Why's debut concert appearance was at the Bon Soo Battle of the Bands at Club Princess in February 2004, where they didn't place, but Cory did apparently win a Best Individual Musician award. I can't find substantial information on the band's post-battle activities beyond Chris' addition, but their Angelfire page features photos from the battle, biographies, song lyrics, and some juvenile humour that might not be to everyone's taste

Dave's YouTube channel uploaded three concert videos from the Bon Soo Battle in December 2007, likely the original source of the defunct mp3 links from Why's page, and they include their originals "Break From the Madness", "Tchike Davis", and as embedded below, "Isolation". Why weren't as polished as Wayne's later bands, but they had a fun punk sound with hardcore tinges, and very good enthusiasm to boot, so if they played more beyond this battle, I'm sure they were crowd favourites! Given their name though, it's hard to find info on them. Give Why a look above & below!



Next up, Sault Michigan MMA/concert promoters Superior Entertainment are back with their first announced music event since last August's Superior Festival, and while specific details are forthcoming, organizers are bringing North Carolina glam metal quartet FireHouse back to the Soo on Saturday, August 6th! Quietly announced via Superior Entertainment's Facebook page on June 11th, we learned a bit more via the video below (posted early this morning to Facebook) where the members of FireHouse confirmed the show will take place as part of Sault Michigan's annual Downtown Days. A planned stop on FireHouse's 25th anniversary tour (with hits like "Love of a Lifetime" & "When I Look Into Your Eyes" sure to be in tow), this would be FireHouse's first concert here since opening for Bret Michaels at the Sault's Kewadin Casino in January 2014, and third total in the area, but first as a headlining act. As of this writing, organizers have yet to confirm a venue, ticket pricing, or age limit.

With that said, the early August scheduling could point to it being a sequel event to the Superior Festival (which was held on short notice at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub after a relocation and rescheduling from Aune-Osborne Park, for what it's worth.) In any event, this is not being held at The Dreammaker's Theater, as Kewadin Casino has a British Legends tribute show there on August 6th, continuing their run of tribute bands this year in place of 1980s hard rock (hopefully they're not gone for good!) Give FireHouse's teaser video a look below, and stay tuned for more info when announced!



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

• Last week's Go Skateboarding Day festivities were filmed and spotlighted in this SooToday video from this past Wednesday, where interviewer Jasmyn Rowley chats with (among others) co-organizer/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce about the event at large, skateboarding culture, and more! Jack Spades are briefly shown performing as well, though they're muted behind existing background audio. Solid press for the event, which looks bigger & better than last year, so give it a look above (we can't embed it here) and read SooToday's full article at this link!
• Local indie rock outfit Great Chamberlain have launched a petition on Change.org to attempt to gain support towards being added as a late local opener for Hedley at The Yard on FRIDAY! According to drummer Keeghan Rosso (recently of The Pixo Control) on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, the band needs 300 signatures to be added to the bill, as per their agreement with event management. As of this writing, Great Chamberlain have 152 votes on the petition, so if you want to help them get on this huge pop/punk show, see the above links for full details!
• A local singer named Greg McLeod is looking to jam with local musicians to "see where things may go." He cites alternative and classic rock among his influences, naming bands like Collective Soul, The Foo Fighters, and 3 Doors Down among favourites of his. I'm not familiar with Greg from past local bands, but if you're interested in jamming with him, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!
• The long-teased Iskra-headlined concert from Blood Shed Productions on Tuesday, August 2nd has quietly been cancelled, as per the recent deletion of it's Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but the show never had a confirmed venue, despite having a full advertised lineup and hopes to book it at The New American Pub. Disappointing, but if you want to see Iskra, remember that they'll still be headlining at The Oddfellows Hall via Six, Two, Oh. on July 14th, so click here for details on that event!
• The second song from local hard rock quartet Long Shot's forthcoming debut EP is now on their Bandcamp page! Entitled "The Beat", I believe this is one of Long Shot's more recent original songs, and like before, we'll hold full comment until our likely review of this EP. Check out "The Beat" above!
• In their newest Facebook page update from Saturday, local pop punk quartet Stereo North revealed that they're "taking a little break" due to guitarist Matthew Anich being on paternity leave (congratulations to him!) However, the other three guys are staying busy in other projects, including planned solo acoustic work from frontman Andrew Pucci, while Bill Bennett & Brett Norton are apparently jamming with "some other local bands". The band didn't elaborate on these projects, or give any indication about when Stereo North's break may end, but fans will surely anticipate whatever comes next!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With the Victoria Day long weekend upon us, let's dive right into previews of this weekend's hard rock concerts! With more shows than we can reasonably fit in a post, we will preview Saturday's Banned show and Johnny Belanger's birthday bash that night tomorrow, plus any late notice confirmations, so look for them then, and now, let's kick off our previews with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood are heading back west for shows at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. With their full lineup back in tow after their Rednecks Saloon stops last week, Mourning Wood's shows this weekend will be their first at the Second Line West bar in three weeks. The band has indicated that fans should be there early TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY, as The Esquire Club tends to fill up fast, so definitely consider a trip there for some classic & hard rock action! There's no announced cover charges for these 19+ shows, which each have no announced cover charges. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Moving to previously announced concerts, let's first touch on a stacked multi-band concert at The Rednecks Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT, where every band from March's VM Radio Battle of the Bands (sans The Din) will unite for the Victoria Day weekend! Promoted and headlined by local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse in a rare headlining appearance, they'll be joined tomorrow by local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. (who won the battle), pop punk standouts Stereo North (in their first concert since the battle concluded), and local hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head, so if you want an encore of the battle, head to the former Nicolet Tavern tomorrow night! Of course, you can also see Eclipse and Heavy Head on Saturday at The Oddfellows Hall too for Johnny Belanger's birthday show, more on that in our next post. PaperClip Productions will be on hand with gear for this show, which has NO COVER CHARGE, a 9:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

As we saw at The Canadian in March, this is a very solid lineup for fans of hard and alternative rock, and while it is a little odd that Eclipse are headlining over K.I.C.K. given the results of the battle, there's a great lineup of music ahead to check out! No word though on if Eclipse's teased plans to expand to a quintet with a new bassist will be finalized in time for this show, however. Check the above links for more info, and here's Eclipse live!

Also this weekend, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood continues with two more acoustic solo shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY! This prolific and well-versed local musician should be in top form for this weekend's downtown matinees, and if you're familiar with Tym's extensive setlist and talents, you'll know you're in for some good & often heavy tunes if you head to The Quality Inn's house restaurant this weekend! Though this weekend is a two-nighter as recently usual, Tym noted on a comment reply on his personal Facebook page earlier this week that he'll be playing every Thursday at Gliss again "soon" as well. No timeframe or public confirmation of this has been given, but if this holds up, it would mark the return of his weekly triple bookings at Gliss, which were contracted to twice weekly in March for unannounced reasons. If/when more is announced, we'll let you know!

As usual for Tym's unplugged Gliss shows, tomorrow & Saturday's have no announced cover charges or age limits (but remember where this is being held), and each will start at 6:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym Morrison live!



Finally for today, let's head to The New American Pub, where Vancouver post punk quartet Blessed will take the local stage for the first time THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Blessed bring elements of indie and pop punk to their upbeat and high energy sound, and should have a strong set in store for local fans at The New A on Saturday, including via songs from their new EP, so check them out in advance of this stop on their Canadian tour! Local openers will include Brash Gash, the new project from Honest Job's Drew Armstrong, and unless you saw them (and the cool fish mask) at The Gore Street Cafe's Fishbowl Festival, they'll be an unknown commodity, so be there to find out more on Brash Gash! Local acoustic punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address will open the proceedings, and Chris should impress with his prolific unplugged originals!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. in another deviation from their metal wheelhouse, this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This should be a fun concert with a lot of intriguing action for punk and alternative fans, so don't miss out on Saturday at The New A, and here's Blessed live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned, Eclipse, And Telephone & Address), And Motherfuckers Concert Updates!!

Before we dive into this week's concert previews, here's a new news post for your Wednesday morning that is full of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month and beyond! We'll end things with updates on a closer upcoming show that has a new venue and lineup addition to take note of, so here's what you should know for this morning!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned have announced a few more regional concert dates via their Facebook page's newest cover photo, and they start with their debut at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Friday, May 7th! Banned will follow Project 906 as recent hard rock bands to play at this relatively new entrant into local hard rock concert promotion, though as a a unique waterfront pub, this should be a neat backdrop as Banned expand their reach into a new venue, so keep this in mind for next month! The other new regional shows (Manistique Kewadin gigs aside) come at the two regional concert-hosting Kewadin Casino branches, with Alex, Wayne, and Don now booked at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on September 9th & 10th, and at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on October 21st & 22nd. However, note that these shows are beyond Kewadin Casino's current calendar on their entertainment page.

Next up, do you miss this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands? Well, you're in luck, as every band except The Din is reuniting for a huge concert at The Rednecks Saloon on Friday, May 20th during the Victoria Day long weekend! Despite losing the battle, hard rock quartet Eclipse are the advertised headliners for the show (possibly as it's a self-promoted event), with the victorious indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., pop punk favourites Stereo North, and newer hard rock/power pop quartet Heavy Head also in tow, and this is definitely a solid lineup! While fans have seen K.I.C.K. and Eclipse since the battle wrapped up, this will be the first concert since for Stereo North, and second for Heavy Head (more on their first show back on Friday), so it's great to see both back out there! There is NO COVER for this 19+ show, which will start at 9:00 PM on the 20th, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details! As a possibly related note, Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton revealed on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Friday that they're looking for a new bassist to expand their lineup to a quintet A.S.A.P.

This seemingly indicates that Fred Dunn intends on moving to guitar full time, but the band hasn't otherwise confirmed that. Eclipse jam twice weekly on Thursdays & Saturday nights, so message Daniel at this link or via his group post from Friday if you're interested in joining this modern hard rock quartet! Will we see a new bassist debut over the long weekend? Stay tuned for details on that and this solid show over the coming long weekend!

Lastly for today's new concert announcements, local acoustic punk solo act Telephone & Address will return to The Gore Street Cafe on Wednesday, June 29th at the opener for Calgary indie/jazz rock quartet Fox Who Slept The Day Away! Harbouring a psychedlic-tinged soft alternative sound, Fox Who Slept The Day Away should attract a good response at the laundromat this summer, and Telephone & Address' unplugged punk/grunge originals will set the tone well! Now, this show is actually one of at least five concerts taking place at The Gore Street Cafe from June 16th-29th during what's advertised as The Fortnight Festival (alluding to it's two week length), and while much more information is coming, this appears to be a spiritual sequel to The Fishbowl Festival that The Gore Street Cafe put on earlier this year. Is this just a two week run of concerts, or will we see more varied community and art events again too? And will there be some more events with hard rock/punk acts? We will let you know when promoters announce more details!

In any event, there will be at least four more shows during the Fortnight Festival, including the returns of notable acts like Rae Spoon and The Mayhemingways, with the F.W.S.T.D.A. show apparently closing the festival unless it's extended beyond a fortnight. An early start time of around 7:00 PM and no announced age limit are presumable from past Gore Street Cafe events, but admission fees for any/all events are not public yet. Things sound intriguing already though, so visit the above links for more info!

Finally, here's some updates regarding the Motherfuckers-headlined concert on Saturday, April 30th, starting with the news that it has been relocated from The Algonquin Pub to The Oddfellows Hall (and subsequently made ALL AGES), as per the official Facebook event page on Saturday. Promoter J.D. Pearce noted that the show was moved due to emergency renovations at The Algonquin, which are apparently what also forced the move of last week's Gorod/Bookakee concert, which he put on too. I don't know the specifics of The Algonquin's current renovation work, but hopefully things progress well there, and that we see more shows downstairs soon! With the move to The Oddfellows Hall, an additional band has been added to join The Motherfuckers and locals Shit Liver and Jack Spades on the lineup, and they are reunited extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, which will be a makeup of their cancelled set from the Gorod show. As such, this will definitely be Winkstinger's first public show since May 2013 (also at The Oddfellows Hall), and will mark the debuts of Keith Gagnon & Andrew MacDonald on vocals & bass.

It's great to see Winkstinger back so soon after their Gorod set had to be called off, but how will Keith and Andrew mesh with Jesse and Jonas for their debut? Find out next Saturday at The Oddfellows Hall (presumably at an earlier start time now), and remember that admission will be $10 at the door! That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next, and for more news in short order! Thanks everyone!

AlgomA/Chronobot Split Release Information, Stereo North Updates, And Much More!!

Before this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post makes it's way to the site, let's keep the news rolling on this Saturday morning, so what's on tap? Some assorted recent updates, new covers from a recent album release, a local punk band's recent songwriting sessions, and to start, full details concerning a brand new and long awaited vinyl release, so here's what you should know for today!

Local doom metal trio AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Saskatchewan doom metal band Chronobot was officially released as planned yesterday, so what should you know on it? Put out through Dead Beat Media and with cover art by Adam Geyer (similarly to AlgomA's debut "Reclaimed By The Forest"), this is AlgomA's second release and Chronobot's third, following their own solo debut and a separate split. As previously announced, the split features two tracks from AlgomA and three from Chronobot, but given that one of the AlgomA songs is almost eight minutes long, their respective run-times are comparable. Digital copies of the split are available at AlgomA's Bandcamp page for $6, but full copies of the 12'' vinyl record (pressed in blue!) are $20 there, and they'll also be on sale during the Black Tremor/punk rock bingo concert at The New American Pub on Wednesday, so keep all of these purchasing options in mind! Also, AlgomA have dedicated the split to late local metal musician Sabrina "Strange" Pelchat, as per pictures of the liner notes.

Also, Sven Mihlan of the blog Doom Metal Front previewed two more songs via Soundcloud from the split in this article, namely AlgomA's "The Electric Fence" and Chronobot's "Jerry Can", leaving only Chronobot's "Sons of Sabbath" unpreviewed in this fashion (No Clean Singing previewed the other two.) As for our review of the split, you can definitely expect it this month, date to be established, so check the above links for more details on this release, and don't miss AlgomA at The New A on Wednesday!

Next up, here's the latest from local pop punk quartet Stereo North, who have been preparing their own original material since their VM Radio Battle of the Bands set last month, with a Facebook page posting earlier this week implying that the band is aiming to have enough setlist material to play 3 sets worth for solo concerts. Not a bad idea, Project 421 had made the move to play shows of that length themselves recently, so we'll have to see how a full night of Stereo North works! Also, the band shared this video from frontman Andrew Pucci's personal Facebook page of him demoing a planned original song for the band, tentatively named "Echoes", with the aim being to include this on their debut album. Sounds good so far, but it obviously isn't complete, and Andrew admits in captions that a Matthew Anich guitar solo at a key moment would be essential. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Stereo North!

Also today, newer local experimental hard rock solo project The Coyote Speedfreaks posted a new video onto mastermind Chase Wigmore's YouTube channel on Wednesday, and it's of ...."Strange Coyotes 3"?! As you may recall, his former band The Strange Coyotes posthumously finished the live album recorded at their final concert in November 2014 in February of this year, but Chase wasn't behind it's final release, and online postings implied that he wasn't in favour of it. As he noted with a Futurama reference on the Speedfreaks page, "War were declared", so he responded by covering three songs from the Coyotes' album/set ("I'm Gonna Love You" with an adult title change, "Sneeze", and "Kaylore"), all of which started off of James Watterworth's own solo songs, though Chase re-interpreted some lyrics if he couldn't make out the originals. Performed acoustically but with Chase's trademark chaotic & unpredictable presence, it's fun to hear him perform these songs again, and to give his own interpretation of these songs, so check them out below!



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 event name:

• The Gorod/Bookakee-headlined concert on Friday, April 15th has been relocated from The Algonquin Pub to The Oddfellows Hall, and is consequently now an ALL AGES show! Promoter J.D. Pearce noted on the Facebook event page that The Algonquin Pub "won't be ready in time" for April 15th, but it's not publically clear what's going on with the pub. With the new all ages venue, doors will now open at 7:00 PM, and J.D. may be adding an additional local opener, so see the above links for more details on this relocated metal show!
• After 4 years of local band involvement in the Rock 'N Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish, there were sadly no local bands registered to compete in tonight's edition of the event, as per the official Facebook page for the annual Spanish concert festival, which will be held in August. The Soo's not completely shut out though, as ex-Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan's Sudbury band Aggressive Acoustic will be the first performers tonight, so best of luck to them as they look to place high and earn an opening slot for Big Sugar or Haywire this summer!
• Local goregrind duo Rotopsy will end their nine month concert hiatus as the final local openers for the Reanimator-headlined concert at The New American Pub on Sunday, April 24th, as per the official Facebook event page! Given Tyler & Dylan's usual concert frequency, it's odd that they've been off stage for this long, but Rotopsy should fit in well with Reanimator and Pillory next month! Stay tuned for more!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands Recap (Night #1!!)

(Updated at 5:00 PM) Last night saw the beginning of the second annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so our recap of last night's events constitutes today's second post, but be sure to check out our latest news/preview post from this morning below! After lots of anticipation, this sophomore event returned yesterday, so what should you know regarding the format? The judges, scoring criteria, and most prize categories are the same as last year, Maxx Entertainment was back to do sound, the layout and scheduling was very similar, and while the turnout was sadly lighter than hoped, all three bands got a good reception from attending fans! In terms of what prizes are available for winners, details on them weren't publically announced last night, but some awards were displayed in the venue as a preview of what bands might receive. Now, let's touch on each band's sets, and remember, as a judge, I will not review the bands or reveal scores, just recap their sets and what everyone in attendance saw and heard.

After a random drawing of the band order, pop punk quartet Stereo North hit the stage for their second battle of the bands appearance, and their set was comprised of 4 originals like "Heart Collider" and "Nobody", and 5 covers from bands ranging from The Foo Fighters to The All American Rejects to... Drake?! If you ever wanted to hear "Hotline Bling" covered by a punk band, they had you covered! Stereo North got a positive early reception, getting many fans going to start the night, but did they win the first semifinal? Also, they were the only band who had a banner up for their set, though Heavy Head's name was on the bass drum. Alternative hard rock trio The Din made their third battle of the bands appearance next, and first with new guitarist Tammy Hill, with the three playing 7 Din originals or Mike Haggith solo songs (including the newer "In Search of the Perfect Moment" and "Out Of My League"), as well as Foo Fighters & City and Colour renditions.

The Din attracted the best crowd of the night, with Mike and Tammy making the most of it by entering the crowd to play on the floor, and Mike also was eager to play to the crowd and joke between sets... but did it put them through to the finals in two weeks? Last up were Heavy Head, the new pop/hard rock band from Suicide Kings, Haggith, and Jack Spades alumni, and they played a short set of 6 songs , including two originals (the Irish-tinged "Mikey Doesn't Whisky" & "5 A.M.") and covers ranging from The Black Crowes to... Walk the Moon?! They weren't lying about the pop rock side of their genre! All wearing a black with bandanas motif, the guys received a positive reception from fans, and responded in kind, though many were left wondering what happened when their version of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" suddenly fell apart.

After their set, judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself tallied the scores, and without giving anything away, we all agreed on the band order, and two of the bands were only separated by three points. With that said, who were the winners on night #1 of this year's VM Radio Battle?

....THE DIN!! Yes, the former Mike Haggith & The Din are in the finals on March 23rd, and no matter what happens then, this is already their best ever battle of the bands finish by far (remember, they didn't make the finals or place in either of last year's battles), so what they've done and worked on in the past year seems to be paying off! This will also Mike's second top-3 finish in a battle, after he drummed with the band Haggith to their runner-up finish at 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle. I won't mention who finished second until the wild card is revealed next week, but everyone put on a great show, and remember to go check out The Din, Heavy Head, week #2 competitors Eclipse, and guest performers Jack Spades at TONIGHT'S second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands! A band is guaranteed their first ever battle of the bands victory tonight, and it'll be interesting to hear who the fans voted as the winners, so when we hear the results, we'll let you guys know!

I won't be in attendance for The Speak Easy Battle to avoid showing a bias given that I'm judging 3 of the bands in the VM Radio Battle, but hopefully Sault Online is in attendance again to cover the event! After that, the VM Radio Battle semifinals return on Wednesday with Eclipse taking on K.I.C.K. for a finals spot, and we'll also learn with of the three non-winners will be joining them as a wild card, so be at The Canadian then to find out who wins, and to take in some Jack Spades action! As for our videos, I got each band's first song, so here's Stereo North playing "Fall Before Me", The Din playing "Flux", and Heavy Head covering Walk the Moon's "Shut Up & Dance"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow, if all goes well! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night #1!)

It's almost time to commence this month's battle of the bands action, so let's kick things off with our extended preview of TOMORROW'S first night of the 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands! One year after Gnaeus claimed victory in the premiering multi-night battle, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has joined forces with VM Radio (and parent company Village Media), Tidal Records, and sponsors Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries to bring this huge battle of the bands back to The Canadian Nightclub one year later, with thousands in cash & prize awaiting this year's competitors! As band registrations were disappointingly quieter than last year (partly as each of last year's finalists have been busy in studio lately), this year's battle has just 5 bands split across two semifinals rather than 11 bands over three nights, but a talented lineup of local talent will take the stage over the coming weeks, and expect a similar format and judging criteria for this month's action!

Like last year, thousands in cash & prizes await the finalist bands, and when there's public confirmation of the specific awards, we'll let you know! Click here for a complete rundown of last year's award recipients, just as a reference point. Though not publically confirmed, I believe I can confirm that last year's judges (Tidal Records owner/Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, Village Media representative & Elements frontman Rob Speers, and myself) will be back to judge this month's competing bands. It's a privilege and honor to be asked back for year #2, and I again pledge to keep our battle coverage impartial in respect to the nature of the event! After having to take the last 6 months or so off from attending concerts while dealing with family health matters, it will be nice to see some live music again in Sault Ste. Marie, and there's no better place to do it than at this month's battle, so I can't wait to see you all out there!

The schedule will see three bands competing tomorrow, with the other two and a guest band playing next week on March 16th, with all playing sets likely in the 35 minute range once again. Both weeks' winners and the highest scoring runner-up band (as the wild card) will return on Wednesday, March 23rd for the final showdown, but who can you expect to see tomorrow? Here's some info on TOMORROW'S first semifinalists!

The Din: The most battle-tested band in this year's field, the former Mike Haggith & The Din competed in last year's VM Radio & Speak Easy Battles (with Curtis McKenzie on guitar), but they did not place in either event. With their more firmly established alternative hard rock sound & live presence, as well as their new guitarist Tammy Hill, will The Din prove that the third time's a charm by making the finals this year, and can they channel frontman Mike Haggith's past battle success with the band Haggith? Visit their own Facebook event page for this battle to show your support!

Heavy Head: Though technically making their battle debut, new local pop/hard rock quartet Heavy Head have ample battle experience via members' past top-3 runs in local battles with The Suicide Kings, The Bear Hunters, Winkstinger, Soldiers of Misfortune, Haggith, and Punch. However, this is just Heavy Head's second concert, and they're somewhat of an unknown commodity unless you saw their debut. Can Heavy Head pick up where their other projects left off by making the finals? Support them at their own Facebook event page for this battle as well!

Stereo North: In their own sophomore concert set from last year's VM Radio Battle, local pop punk quartet Stereo North were part of an ultra close contest during the second night, where just 8.5 points separated first place from fourth place, so they only narrowly missed a finals spot. With an extra year of live concerts, original songwriting, and fan attention under their belts, can Stereo North improve on last year's battle run by advancing to the finals on March 23rd with their fan favourite originals & covers? To show your support, visit their own Facebook event page for the battle too!

Again, tomorrow's winner will join either Eclipse or K.I.C.K. (next week's competitors) and the wild card band to be announced on March 23rd at The Canadian, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for previews of those nights! And yes, you can also see The Din, Eclipse, Heavy Head, and next week's guest band Jack Spades in THIS THURSDAY'S second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, where they'll compete against four other local act for the $400 top prize, so click here for full details on this fan voted battle at Algoma University, and look for our preview of it tomorrow! For battle attendees, nightly admission for this 19+ battle will be $5 for the semifinals and $10 for the finals, while each night has doors opening at 8:00 PM and the bands starting at 9:00 PM. For complete current details on this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, visit the official Facebook event page!

With both of last year's returning bands, and a local supergroup chock full of high placing battle veterans, this should be an exciting night of battle action, and as far as I'm concerned, the field is wide open this year! i'm excited to see how each band does, but will The Din claim a finals spot in their third battle? Will Heavy Head show the Soo what they've got by making the finals in their second show? And can Stereo North pick up where they left off by moving onto the finals in their second battle? Head down to The Canadian TOMORROW for all of the action, and I hope to see you all there! Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for our preview of The Speak Easy Battle next!

SweetKenny Album Updates, New Videos, And More Recent Updates!!

We're now into battle week for this month's two battles of the bands just days away from commencing, but before we dive into our previews of each, here's a new news post for your Monday morning! Today, we have some assorted recent updates, new videos from two local bands and some extra notes on both, but first, here's a new album release!

Dafter, Michigan hard rock musician Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton has released his 17th official solo album onto his Bandcamp page on February 5th! Entitled "White Knuckles", it is Ken's fifth straight solo release to be themed as a score for use in films or video games, as has been his focus since last summer, with "White Knuckles" intended as music for a slasher-themed work. It's a relatively short release, but if you're a fan of SweetKenny's film score phase, this should be up your alley, so pick it up at the above links for $7! In terms of when you might see a review of this album or another from SweetKenny, the earliest that one might come would be in July, due to our 6 month buffer from our "Hitman Files" review in January, as to avoid a potential bias, but a review is very possible for July! Now, if you've been missing SweetKenny's regular song output since June's "Fleabag Hotel", a new song named "Blue Jeans" was posted onto Bandcamp today, so what should you know about it?

It's a blues rocker with vocals about a woman in the title clothing, and while it has posted artwork like it's an album of the same name, I can't confirm if it'll be on his next album or not, but official pages have credited titles like "Cartoons", "Epic Music", and (most recently) "In Your Face" for future releases. In any event, look for more from this prolific E.U.P. musician as the year progresses, and check out his release solo output above!

Next up, here's the latest from local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control, so what's been going on with Michael, Dustin, and Keeghan lately? While we await the reveal of their "Scratch" music video on March 25th, the guys shared this photo on their Facebook page yesterday of the guys performing with the caption "Demoing the new record." Did they mean they were practicing songs from December's debut "Probably Not", or is a sophomore album already in the works? We'll let you know if anything's said! In the meantime, The Pixo Control are the fifth band (and third local act) to perform on local concert promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s YouTube performance series "Live At Six, Two, Oh.", with their episode uploaded last week. Within, the guys play their songs "Tall Ships" & "Scratch" from their first CD, complete with a plug for the series in between, and the footage is filmed on multiple camera angles like with prior full-band episodes

This video is well edited and captures strong performances from this fast-rising local trio, so Pixo Control fans should be right at home here, especially as this is arguably their best quality performance clip with Dustin Goodall on bass yet! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from both The Pixo Control and Live At Six, Two, Oh. (which is now in our "Other Local Metal Links" section) in due course!



Also today, here's the latest from local pop punk quartet Stereo North, who as you may remember, will compete in this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands once again THIS WEDNESDAY at The Canadian Nightclub! Frontman Andrew Pucci ran a contest among his Facebook friends last week to give away tickets to the battle (via liking the band on Facebook and commenting on his contest post), with the winner being decided/revealed in this video courtesy of 20-sided dice. Fun way to decide the winner, and it allows entrants to see it being done fairly! For reference, when we randomly choose feature profiles on the SMS, we use www.random.org. As well, Stereo North were recorded covering A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran" by PaperClip Productions at the end of their Fishbowl Festival acoustic set at The Gore Street Cafe this past Friday, as posted online yesterday. While in an intimate unplugged style, Stereo North fans should enjoy it, and it's well recorded, so give it a listen below, and don't miss Stereo North at the battle on Wednesday!



Finally for today, here's some assorted recent notes from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or website name:

• Local glam/power pop trio Caroline Divine will guest as a backing band for local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau during his set at THURSDAY'S Speak Easy Battle of the Bands! Jesse confirmed their involvement last monyh via his official Facebook event page for the battle. Though they're technically guests for Jesse's set (where he'll preview tracks for his upcoming debut album), this will be Caroline Divine's first public concert of the year if you count it as their own set. Can they help Jesse come out on top on Thursday at this fan-voted battle? Be there to find out!
• Local musician Peytan Andreola is looking for a bassist "to join in and jam the metal grooves", as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week. No word on if this relates to the same band that Peytan was looking for a drummer for last summer, but if you're interested in being the bass slapper for this project, messaege him above or at this link!
• We have added local musician/Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter's blog The Tinderbox to our "Other Local Metal Links" section, as a number of his articles there cover hard rock and punk artists in varying forms, including via recent Fishbowl Festival coverage and articles with acts like The Pixo Control and Telephone & Address. Sam doesn't post on The Tinderbox all that often, but he has posted a lot of interesting articles on arts and culture there over the past year, so check everything out above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our preview of night #1 of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 3 Day Millionaires & Tym Morrison), A New Local Band, And Concert Previews!!

It's now time for our first weekend concert preview post of the month, including some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on SHORT NOTICE), and a new local band, but first, I wanted to note that a celebration of life concert for late That's Chester guitarist Eugene Orlando will be held tonight at The Water Tower Pub featuring his former Agave Blue bandmates, That's Chester frontman Greg Simpson, and surprise guests. Fans and friends of Eugene's would be hard pressed to miss this one, so check the above links for more details! Now, let's kick off our previews with a new band & their next show!

We can now add new local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires to our band links, as they now have a Facebook page, and therein, they've announced that their second concert & first solo show will take place TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the concert was just announced on Tuesday, and was reportedly a "last minute booking" to begin with. This new band from Havadder bandmates Travis Sharpe & Scott McLurg, Boxcar Junction frontman Steve Dowding, and Lucky 13 guitarist Jeremey Salatuk made a positive impact in their live concert debut last month, and they should be even more prepared for TOMORROW, especially with a full night's worth of music for their second gig, so keep this talented group of familiar faces in mind for this weekend! Note that The 3 Day Millionaires are not visibly playing on Saturday night, but as of this writing, I can't confirm who is.

Like usual for The Rockstar Bar, there's a 10:30 PM start time in effect, no announced cover charge (but have $5 or so on hand just in case), and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! We don't yet have any videos of The 3 Day Millionaires to preview them with, and what this band means for Havadder's status is to be determined, but their lineup speaks for itself, so consider giving them a look TOMORROW at The Rockstar Bar, and like them above!

Next up, local hard rock solo singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has confirmed his next acoustic concerts at Gliss Steak & Seafood for TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, so we'll now add his March shows there to our concert calendar! Apologies again for the short notice, we were waiting for these to be announced on Facebook. These shows will join, unless otherwise announced, acoustic gigs at The Quality Inn's restaurant on March 10th-12th, 17th-19th, 24th-26th, and 31st-April 2nd, so if you're up for more acoustic hard rock favourites downtown this month, you have plenty of options as his weekly arrangement with Gliss marches on! Note that if there's any variance to his schedule this month, or any additional gigs at other venues, I can't confirm them yet as his website is down at the moment, but like usual, we'll approach his gigs after April 2nd when announced. 

TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY'S shows have 6:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and no age limits, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym live!



Lastly for currently known hard rock shows this weekend in the Soo, a special acoustic show goes down at The Gore Street Cafe TOMORROW NIGHT with alternative hard rock trio The Din and pop punk quartet Stereo North joining forces! The last hard rock/punk-featured concert to take place during the ongoing Fishbowl Festival of Community, Food, Arts, and Culture, this event will unite these two bands (who already play live frequently) just five nights before they compete in the first semifinal of this month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, so if you want an unplugged preview of Wednesday's action, head to the laundromat! It'll be interesting to hear both bands in an acoustic format, but this does flow more with the types of concerts that The Gore Street Cafe usually hosts, and it's a nice compliment as The Fishbowl Festival marches onward! Admission will be just $5 for this show, though it is free if you have or are buying a $25 pass for all festival events. The concert is ALL AGES, and everything will start at 7:00 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a fun concert for fans of alternative and punk music, and again, this will be a Heavy Head-less preview of night #1 of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands, so will this show give fans any hints as to what to look for at The Canadian on Wednesday? Be at The Gore Street Cafe to find out, and for a preview, here's The Din's current lineup!



Finally, here's another new solo vocal/guitar cover from former Elipzis bassist/Riot! By Night frontman Ryan Harrison, as per his YouTube channel from last week, and it's curiously of the Sault Michigan-area native covering Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It"! Filmed with the same vertical camera setup as his recent Evans Blue cover, it's a fun and well done cover that doesn't overly feel like it's from such an atypical artist from his range, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from him!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!