LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421), Our Swearnet Review, And More!!

Apologies over the next few days if we're either slow with posts, miss some news items, or have weirdly formatted posts, but my computer is having issues right now, so this is being typed on my backup Vista laptop. On this frigid Monday night, we have a long awaited movie review (yes, a movie), and a look at the newest episode of a local webseries, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Three popular local hard rock bands will make their first live concert appearances of 2015 on Friday, January 23rd, when classic metal quartet Project 421, hard rock/alternative favourites Haggith, and all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats hit The Rockstar Bar! All three bands will be playing their first shows in over a month as well, with The Danger Cats notably ending a four month local concert hiatus for this show, so be sure to welcome everyone back to the stage come January 23rd! This will also be Haggith's second concert appearance with new bassist Jordan Leach, and first since officially confirming that he's a full band member. No word on if there's a special reason for this concert's booking, but it's great no matter what to see all three bands on stage, so don't miss one of the first big hard rock shows of the year one week from Friday! Promoted by Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie, this 19+ show begins at 10:30 PM on the 23rd, and while door admission will be $7, you can get $5 advance tickets by contacting most members of Haggith on Facebook.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and our apologies for the slight delay in getting this show on the site! This should be a very entertaining concert for fans of local hard rock, so don't miss out on all of the action next weekend, and stay tuned for more updates if they roll in!

Next up, the newest episode of Local2's music spotlight webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Wednesday, and death metal fans will want to check this out, as it's main feature is on The Bear Hunters' CD release show at The Canadian Nightclub in November! Nice to see that episode finally make it online! Relatively short for a Tuned episode (running for 6:13), the episode features an interview between Donna and all 5 members of the band, where they discuss the recording process for their new CD "Eternal Hibernation" (including how Nik Deubel broke a computer during the vocal recording process), their work with White Wreckords on the album, and rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney's addition to the band and work with them since moving to Brampton. We don't hear much from bassist Justin Lam in the question & answer portion, but it's still a solid interview and recommended for Bear Hunters fans to check out!

In terms of concert footage, there's clips of The Bear Hunters' set interspersed throughout the interview, while a minute of footage Brampton deathcore band Livid & The Bloodthirsty's set is included after the concert calendar segment (which has no heavier or punk shows), though they're credited only as "Blood Thirsty", and no video from Haggith's set was included. Entertaining episode all around, and some positive press for the band & CD alike, so give this Tuned episode a look at this link, and watch for some fun outtakes at the end!

Lastly for today, here's our long overdue review of Swearnet, the film with metal ties that was shot here in Sault Ste. Marie in late 2012 and finally released in theatres last summer! The movie itself (which is 112 minutes long) stars Robb Wells, Jean-Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith (Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles of Trailer Park Boys fame) as caricatures of themselves, who are denied when they try to get a new season for the show without censorship, so they decide to create their own internet channel, which quickly gains a notorious reception. In the meantime, Robb deals with a problematic relationship, Jean-Paul focuses on a rally race in his dad's memory, and Mike gets involved with a loan shark to fund the network, and focuses his attention on creating content, much of which we shouldn't describe on here. The film itself is most certainly not for kids, with apparently over 900 swear words and a Guinness World Record-setting level of "F words", plus nudity, sexual depictions, and drug use.

In terms of the local ties, the film itself is set in Halifax and has exterior footage from there, but most of the filming was done here. You can recognize The Essar Center as the setting for a World Junior Hockey Championship game (with Sebastian Bach singing "O Canada" at center ice & cameos by the Soo Thunderbirds), Reggie's Place as the site of "Sweareoke" (which is exactly what it sounds like), and Laird International Raceway as the starting location for the culminating rally race, which features both Carrot Top and Tom Green in cameos. Also, Destroilet and Billy Bastards concert posters turn up at Reggie's, which is cool, but atypical to Reggie's real life country cover focus. Personally, I liked Swearnet on it's own terms, but I concede that it's not for everyone, will wear out many from the amount of swearing, and doesn't have as much of the charm and likability of The Trailer Park Boys themselves. There are some amusing gags, often at the expense of Pat Roach (a.k.a. Randy), but also a mean streak and a story that often took a back seat to the language and shock value bits.

I recommend Swearnet (and it's real life web channel) to fans of The Trailer Park Boys and dark adult comedy, but if you don't like wall-to-wall swearing or 18+ humour, I don't imagine you'd like Swearnet. On a local basis to see familiar scenery and locations in a major Canadian movie, Swearnet may hold value too, so if you're interested in seeing it, check local stores that sell new DVDs and online merchants, while Family Video does carry the film as a rental (and is how I saw it.) That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Banned Concert & Swearnet Movie Previews, Plus More New Videos!!

Before we kick off this post, I have a note on a concert cancellation (maybe a mistake?), as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm are apparently NOT playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this weekend. While Kewadin pages still list the local dates, Scarkazm's own pages list this weekend's gigs as taking place in Cadillac instead, with their next St. Ignace shows coming in October. Not sure whether these were tentatively local once or erroneously announced, but best of luck to the guys this weekend, and fans can see Scarkazm back in the U.P. in the fall!

As a result of the Scarkazm switch, we'll instead look at The Chippewa County Fair, as the annual Kinross family festival is putting smiles on faces once again this year, and while the Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands is not advertised to return in 2014, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are still playing their own solo set TOMORROW! As announced on their Facebook page on August 19th, they'll be playing at the pavilion near the Lion's Club building at 4:00 PM tomorrow, so battle or no battle, Banned will be rocking their hometown tomorrow around supper time! Note that the fair's own website lists the 4:00 Pavilion timeslot as "to be announced", which is likely due to it not being updated since Banned's confirmation. Fans of ALL AGES can check out Alex & Don Traynor with new bassist Wayne Lawrence at the fair tomorrow among other events like stock car racing, animal shows, a tractor pull, and more, so click here for all details relating to tickets & admission fees!

As of right now, this is Banned's last scheduled gig of the summer, so keep it in mind if you're at the fair or in the Kinross area for some hard rocking entertainment! For a preview, here's Banned's recent video slideshow of their current lineup covering Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride & Joy"!



Next up, here's a preview of a different sort, as a movie filmed here with a metal connection opens TODAY, that being Swearnet, the new film from the stars of the Showcase (now Netflix) mockumentary comedy series Trailer Park Boys! As you may remember, Swearnet (which is about T.P.B. stars Robb Wells, Jean-Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith forming their own uncensored online TV network) was filmed locally in Sault Ste. Marie in late 2012, and scenery from the Soo is readily seen in trailers! This fits on the SMS however due to ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach's cameo role in Swearnet (following his own Trailer Park Boys guest part), which some of you guys may remember from some Sebastian sightings during filming, including a karaoke night appearance at The Canadian! A little birdie also told me that some familiar band paraphernalia will also be seen from time to time. Yes, Swearnet is showing at Galaxy Cinema at The Station Mall, and it will open there TODAY at 2:10, 4:45, 7:25, and 10:10 PM, with similar screenings times in the following days, though like with any other movie, it's longevity at the theatre will depend on it's overall box office performance.

It's not often where a major movie makes it way to Galaxy Cinema with a ties to both the Soo and metal, and knowing how much many readers like the Trailer Park Boys, I'm sure many of you won't want to miss Swearnet on that basis either! Early reviews are good, and I do hope to check out Swearnet soon myself! I will advise though that Swearnet (which is 112 minutes long) is rated 18A for it's content, so fans under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. For a preview of Swearnet, here's the official green band trailer!

Also, here's a bit of a surprise, as local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements recently made the 8 hour trip north to Moonbeam for this year's 16th annual Hempfest! As you may remember, the annual marijuana culture/concert festival made the full time move to owner Robert Neron's hometown this year due to rising costs and shrinking attendance in Ophir, contributing to the local summer concert festival dropoff this year. Though advertised as "The Hip-Hop Year", The Elements (who haven't played a public local gig since the Jack Spades EP release show in May) played sets yesterday and will again on Saturday, making them the first heavier local band to play Hempfest since 2011. Nice to see a local connection this year, and a slight variance from the rap theme, so hopefully their sets went over well! It's not much of a glimpse of their set, but Hempfest's official Facebook page features this 28 second cell phone video of The Elements' set from yesterday of the guys covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Soul To Squeeze", so what can we see within?

Not a lot due to the length, but there's solid event lighting (the venue in Moonbeam is indoors) and I like the inflatable aliens! The lack of a crowd is concerning, but it may be due to when they played, as they opened the Thursday music lineup at 4:00 PM. In terms of critiquing The Elements' performance, there's not much as I can say due to the length and slow pace, but everything sounds fine compared to the original song. Check out The Elements live at Hempfest (albeit 8 hours away) below, and see more 2014 Hempfest videos at the above links!



Finally for today, here's a short new video from new local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty, as uploaded to their Facebook page on Monday! It's of members X & Z "partying before their set on Saturday" (referencing their between-band involvement at Soo Band Roulette at The Rockstar Bar), though it mainly features X answering a question about if they're ready, and Z dancing to a live rapper's track. Interesting watch, but of course, you'll see the real Apocalypse Afterparty experience on Saturday night, so don't miss Soo Band Roulette, and give their new video a look below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, plus this month's CD review shortly as well! Thanks everyone!

Upcoming Concert Previews, And Much More!!

With two early-week public concerts coming up in Sault Ontario, we have special concert previews for the next few days coming up, and stay tuned after that for some recent news and notes! Without any further adieu, read on below for what you need to know, and check out this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Elipzis in the post below this one! (Updated at 9:24 PM)

To mark the one year anniversary of Blood Shed Productions' first foray into live concerts, the label and Tyler St. Amour are bringing a second annual "Grinded Live In Your Ears" house party concert to 110 Penatgon Boulevard TOMORROW NIGHT! Also hyped as an afterparty for this past weekend's Das Bunkerfest, this event is a rare house party event from the label to have a public address and invitations, so keep it in mind for tomorrow! However, the lineup has almost completely changed after 3 of the 4 announced acts dropped out late last week for unannounced reasons (the show was even briefly cancelled), so as a result, goregrind bands Crucify The Whore & Rotopsy, and rapper Phat Boii are all not playing, with only an apparent reunion of local death metal solo project Brutaly Fatal remaining on the bill, though it's unclear whether this is a one-off gig or if Austin's bringing them back. The new lineup features talented local solo bassist James Watterworth, the aforementioned Brutaly Fatal, rapper Miracle Man, and some sort of act named Sharp Flavoured Knives that I've never heard of (we'll let you know if we hear anything!)

A bonfire is also planned for this event, which goes down tomorrow at 5:00 PM, and more acts may be added as well. There's no age limit or announced cover charge, and click here for more details! Though the lineup has taken a hit, fans of Blood Shed Productions should keep this event in mind tomorrow, and there's some solid varied performers to take in! For a preview, here's James live at The Oddfellows Hall last year!



Lastly for these early-week concert previews is another show from Tyler St. Amour and Heavy North Entertainment, as their only major concert of the summer goes down on Tuesday night at The Oddfellows Hall! Originally scheduled to be held on August 3rd before being postponed due to new tour commitments, this show will be headlined by Vancouver technical death metal quintet Archspire at 11:00 PM, whose brutal progressive sound and rapid fire vocals will be sure to attract some intense moshpit action on Tuesday, so don't miss their set! The announced openers on the poster include Thunder Bay grindcore trio Grindcorchestra and local openers AlgomA, The Bear Hunters, and Crucify The Whore, but promoters have since confirmed that both Grindcorchestra & AlgomA have dropped out of the show for unannounced reasons. As a result, The Bear Hunters have been promoted to the 10:00 PM co-headlining slot for their own death metal attack, while C.T.W. are now at 9:00 PM, and will split their set with frontman Tyler Gibson's similar two man band Rotopsy (again, for unannounced reasons), but they should deliver the bruality!

The new acts are both also from tonight's Grinded Live In Your Ears event, as the Brutaly Fatal reunion will extend for at least one more day at 8:00 PM tomorrow, while James Watterworth will play his first non-house party solo show in many months to open the show at 7:00 PM, and it will be nice to see them back at it! Admission for this ALL AGES show is $10, and for more details, visit the above links! Note as well that Tyler St. Amour has teased that this might be the last Heavy North Entertainment show, so whether that was hypothetical or not, let's get a packed house to ensure that there's demand for more, or at least a big sendoff! Archspire and company will deliver your metal fix, so I hope to see you guys there on Tuesday! For a preview, here's Archspire live in 2010!



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 movie name:

• Banned singer/guitarist Alex Traynor will be making a radio appearance this coming Saturday, though not on the station you may be expecting. Alex will actually be on The Gentleman George Show on Radio Soo (WSOO, 1230 AM) at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning, where he'll be interviewed and will play some original songs on air as well! This is a bit of a surprise, but George Snider has had local artists on his show before, and it's solid exposure! Listen in at 1230 AM on Saturday morning, click here for more info, and check out a live stream then at this link!
• Are defunct Central Algoma death metallers For All That Is Lost planning a reunion? Their Facebook page was updated yesterday to state that a "reincarnation" is in process, and they'll be back "one day." Though officially broken up since April 2013, F.A.T.I.L. members have posted reminiscences & new solo guitar tracks since, though any reunion would likely come with a different lineup, due to drummer Kameron Nicholson's move from the area. This would be awesome to see, so stay tuned just in case!
• Photos from local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith's set at the Late & Loud farewell concert at The Rockstar Bar have finally been added to For The Music Inside's Facebook photo album from the event, so if you missed the show, you can finally get your first look at the band with new bassist James White! Solid shots, so give them a look above, and keep an eye out for F.T.M.I.'s pictures of Late & Loud's set at the concert!
• Add one more artist to the lineup of this weekend's well advertised (but invite only) Das Bunkerfest event in Garden River, as local pianist/busker Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda played the event yesterday! Our source is his Facebook page. It's not known if he replaced someone or was added late (or perhaps was involved with the still unknown Beau Regards), but hopefully his set went well either way!
• Remember when the cast of The Trailer Park Boys (and ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach) were filming their new movie "Swearnet" in Sault Ontario in late 2012? Well, the full movie will finally come out on August 29th! The official website features lots of preview photos of the film (including one of Sebastian at centre ice of The Essar Centre, and another with a local concert poster in the background), and more familiar sights can be seen in the official trailer. This should be funny, and hopefully we can head down to Galaxy Cinema to see it at month's end!
• Apparently, local punk/grunge acoustic solo project Telephone & Address have recorded a new album and have already sent it off to be pressed in Toronto! Though surprising, this is likely the same album that Chris was teasing on their Facebook page in April, though there's been no public posts about it otherwise, aside from recent Soundcloud song uploads. Stay tuned for possible updates!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: vflindall & sisuunicorn705's Channels

After a couple days marred by remembrances of two fallen metal musicians, we could use a pick-me-up post, so here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As always, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, so you guys can know more about them, the contents, and why you should watch and subscribe to each. This month, we're looking at two Sault Ontario-specific channels that, though not featuring the highest quality videos, are both notable in their own ways, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! (Edited on October 16th, 2013)
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vflindall's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vflindall)

Owner: YouTube user and Toronto resident V. Flindall (full identity not clear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 10th, 2008; Videos posted on January 14th, 2009

Channel Summary: Though not from Sault Ste. Marie from what I can tell, V. Flindall's YouTube channel consists entirely of 11 videos from a January 2009 concert at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto, which featured defunct local hardcore punk quartet Detroit! Capturing at least a half hour of their set, the included videos feature Detroit playing most of the songs from their 2008 demo "Let The Hammers Fly" (save for "Shithouse Ratt" & "KilloRama"), along with "Pyre Driver" & "Bloodlet" from their second/final disc "Brace For Impact", a couple of unreleased originals named "Inhuman Macheens" & "Earthbound", and covers of 7 Seconds & Minor Threat material. As Detroit were known for their very short original songs, four of the posted videos feature two songs each.

Why Should You Watch: I'd check this out to see one of Detroit's earliest concerts, and to enjoy their old school fast paced hardcore fury from a good viewing angle! However, these videos are not of the highest quality, with staticy audio, too warm lighting, and a visibly low resolution, with singer Brenton Ellis' vocals noticeably hard to pick out at times, so if you want higher quality videos, these might not be what you want. (If you want a higher quality alternative for live Detroit videos, try dnahahaha's YouTube channel.) Note as well before subscribing that V. Flindall hasn't used their YouTube channel in at least 3 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

DETROIT Lord, Beer Me Strength / Pyredriver '88 : It's hard to pick just one video of Detroit's originals from this channel, so I settled on the one with the most music, that being the third last clip from V. Flindall's uploads, which features Detroit playing their originals "Lord Beer Me Strength" & "Pyre Driver", the latter of which had yet to be released on CD. Brent, Curtis, Mark, and Mikey are in full brutality on the former song, while the latter sees their more punk influenced style, and Brent's on stage charisma & crowd banter are as good as you'd expect! If only the video quality was better overall.



DETROIT Walk Together Rock Together (7SECONDS): The most viewed video on V. Flindall's channel (and the last) is Detroit's cover of 7 Seconds' "Walk Together Rock Together", which is only slightly longer than most of their originals. The quality is similar to the other videos on this channel, but if you can get past the quality issues, the guys pump out a solid cover here, and their energy's on full display!


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sisuunicorn705's channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/sisuunicorn705)

Owner: YouTube user & likely Sault Ontario resident sisuunicorn705 (real name unknown)

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 8th, 2012; Videos posted from then through August 25th, 2012

Channel Summary: I'm not sure who sisuunicorn705 is, but kudos to her for making it to The Canadian Nightclub on August 24th, as ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was there for karaoke night! He was in Sault Ste. Marie that weekend to shoot scenes for the new movie "Swearnet" with cast members of The Trailer Park Boys, and while in town, one of his stops was at The Canadian, where he and Mike "Bubbles" Smith celebrated his early birthday with some karaoke, and 1:55 of their rendition of AC/DC's "TNT" is in this video! This is admittedly more notable for the circumstances of it all & seeing Sebastian locally in a non-concert setting, as it is cut short, and has VERY loud & staticy audio (so make sure to turn down your volume), but it's still awesome to see this! Note however that sisuunicorn705's only other video is of her cat talking to birds, which is cute, but has no music connections.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! So, what's coming up next month in this series? We're gonna take a look at former Amethyst/Meatplow drummer Phil Temperao's YouTube channel, which features three solo videos from early last year, including songs from his most recent project Sebastien 6, so look out for this profile on or around January 22nd! Stay tuned as well for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Skull Fist Concert Lineup News, Sebastian Bach's Soo Weekend, And More!!

We're back with some more news and notes on this Tuesday morning, and if you're waiting for news on the battle of the bands at the Chippewa County Fair on Thursday, that's coming, I'm just waiting for word on the complete lineup if possible. Today, we have new material from a local guitarist, some updates relating to links on the site and their connection to a recent feature post, and all of the latest from a notable metal musician's recent weekend in the area, but first, here's some news on the bands playing at the next metal show in Sault Ontario!

The lineup for Friday night's Skull Fist-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub has taken a lot of hits in the last few days, with two band dropouts, leaving only the returning Late & Loud as a confirmed local opening band. One of the dropped bands is local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre, and though an official reason for their exit hasn't been revealed, frontman Steve Rhodes' personal Facebook page indicated that he was leaving for London (where the band are collectively moving for college) tomorrow, which is earlier than we'd previously heard, so that's likely connected. It'll be disappointing to not see the guys one last time before they head down south (if you saw them at the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem, nice work!), but hopefully they'll be back on holidays & breaks & what have you to melt more local faces, and best of luck to the guys in London until then! The other exited band is local punk trio Redundant (who had replaced Frightlight on the bill initially), as per their quiet removal from the event page, though I have no idea why they're out. I was hoping to see them too, but they'll be back for some more shows sooner or later, especially with the recent frequency of them!

Whether new bands will be added to replace The V.D.M. or Redundant isn't known yet, but knowing how big Skull Fist shows here tend to be, there's already visible interest from some bands in potentially jumping on board! Besides, we still have Late & Loud opening (even with some disappointing news I'm waiting for more confirmation on before mentioning here), so keep posted for more on this show in a couple of days, and I hope to see you guys there!

Next up, here's more notes and information from ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach's weekend jaunt to Sault Ontario for the "Swearnet" film shoot with The Trailer Park Boys cast! Beyond just filming scenes for the movie, some lucky Saultites were lucky enough to see Sebastian at some local bars over the weekend, including a stop at LopLops Lounge on Saturday night to see local country band The Wild Turkeys, and I heard he stayed for their whole set too, which is awesome of him! Before leaving, Sebastian also shared this Last Supper-esque photo from the Soo on his Facebook page of him with Swearnet/T.P.B. stars John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, and Mike Smith, along with two more familiar guest stars in the movie (comedian Tom Green and Pat Roach, a.k.a. Randy from The Trailer Park Boys), so it sounds like the deck is being stacked for names in "Swearnet"! For the record, I heard that Tom Green was at LopLops on Saturday too, which would have been cool in & of itself! Finally for our Sebastian Bach notes, while he didn't play a live solo concert while in town, lucky fans at The Canadian Nightclub on Friday night got the next best thing, as Sebastian stopped by for karaoke night, and there's video footage online to prove it!

Filmed by YouTube user sisuunicorn705 and uploaded on Saturday, this is of Sebastian and Bubbles himself, Mike Smith singing AC/DC's "T.N.T." in honour of Mike's early birthday, and though the quality isn't great (dark lighting, extremely loud, and staticy audio), it's great to see this footage, and it must have been something else to see Sebastian live (and doing karaoke at a local bar no less!) I'm still kicking myself that I missed this, as I live right near The Canadian and really enjoy Skid Row's later work with Sebastian, so this is like missing Michael Moore at Sault College all over again. Still, this must have made many a night this weekend, so check out Sebastian Bach singing karaoke in the Soo below, and trust me, turn your volume down!



Thirdly, here's a couple of notes relating to some research and links that I took in for our profile of As It Stands drummer John Mignacca's YouTube channel on Wednesday. First, I've added a new link to our Other Local Metal Links section on the left of the page, that being the MySpace page for John's old concert promotion company Infamous Productions! John promoted concerts (mostly of the hardcore variety) from roughly 2006-2007 under this banner (including the 2006 Blind Witness show promoted in this commercial), though as far as I can tell, the company itself fell inactive by 2008. There's not a whole lot on their MySpace page beyond some old concert advertisements & lineups, but there's some neat looks back in the comments and so on, so check out Infamous Productions at the above links, and stay tuned for future concerts that John puts on! The other note is a link removal from that section, as the Facebook group for GLOW Nightclub has been taken down for unknown reasons. The Gore Street bar/concert spot previously known as The Nite-Life Dance Club & The Other Place was last used in November 2010, but the closure of the Facebook group came much later than that, and it probably wasn't a huge surprise. Still, it's a nice venue that I'd love to see restarted, but who knows what the future holds!

Finally, here's a brand new solo performance video from local solo guitarist and AudioFumes podcast host Mike Cliffe! Though he's been busy with his podcasting over the summer, this video is Mike's real solo performance clip in 3 or 4 months, so if you've missed his original music, rejoice! Entitled "SoundBacon", it's a work in progress experimental instrumental that Mike adlibbed and filmed, and while he notes the mistakes, it has promise and creativity! It ranges from what sounds like progressive rock elevator music to some more melodic and heavier melodies later on, and Mike shows his skills well here even if refinement is needed! Why play so far off to the left though, and in the dark? Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday, you can check out "SoundBacon" below, and also, you guys should check out and submit original material to Mike's AudioFumes podcasts! He's increasing his local playlist selections for Audiofumes streams, which are sort of like an internet streaming radio show without a station if you're not familiar with podcasting. Mike gets worldwide airplay and he plays a wide variety of bands and musical partners from all over on AudioFumes, so listen in and get schedules at this location, message Mike at this link if you wanna submit any songs to play on air, and AudioFumes are now in our Other Local Metal Links!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, including weekend concert previews and our review of Oddfellow's only CD! Thanks everyone!

A Likely Inactive Local Band, New Videos, And Sebastian Bach In Sault Ontario?!

With weekend concert previews out of the way, we've got a new news post for you guys on this Saturday morning (beats the lack of good cartoons anymore), so here's what's on tap! Today, we have a new video from a newer Sault Ontario trio, some old 1990s videos from a band who played in the Sault Michigan area on tour way back when, and a note on a likely inactive local metal band, but first, here's some really intriguing news that connects metal with the recent growth of movie productions in Sault Ste. Marie!

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was in Sault Ontario yesterday... but not for a concert. As it turns out, he has a role of some type in the movie "Swearnet" that's being filmed here, which you guys will probably better recognize as the new movie from Trailer Park Boys stars Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith (a.k.a. Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles!) Trailer Park Boys fans will be sure to understand the connection with Sebastian Bach, as he guest starred on the show's final season, where we saw his affinity for model train sets (the central one of which inspired the name of defunct Sault Michigan hard rockers Swayze Train), so if this connection seems random, watch season 7. My source for this info is Sebastian's Facebook page, where the photo on your left came from. I have no idea how big of a role Sebastian has in "Swearnet", or if he's even still in town, but from what I understand, the movie either is based on or will help launch an internet-based television channel full of uncensored vignettes & sketches, so Sebastian may only feature in one part of the film. It'd be awesome to see him book a concert here (I enjoy his solo stuff way more than new Skid Row material), but this is cool in & of itself, so check the above links for more, and I can't wait to see the completed film!

Next up, I've regrettably decided to move Sault Ontario metal quartet Borderline Divine to our inactive band links. Normally, I wouldn't act so fast after a band declares a hiatus (as they did on July 3rd via their Facebook page), but an immediate future for the former Stillbroke is looking unlikely following frontman & founding member Jesse Frigault's move to Alberta earlier this month, where he's already found a new job. He is in many ways Borderline Divine's driving force, so that (plus guitarist Mitch Sirie's ongoing primary work in The Bear Hunters) leads me to think that if we ever see them back, it won't be for a long while. Maybe the hiatus declaration was more to leave a bit of hope rather than abruptly shut the door? If they're for sure functionally inactive now, it ends a successful (albeit scattered) 4 year run that saw the band's many incarnations reach a number of heights, including opening for bands like Helix, West of Hell, and Columbia, their 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands victory, and of course, releasing Stillbroke's 2009 EP "Never Enough". Though their success arguably peaked in 2009, fans will be sure to have some solid memories from their shows before and after that year, and their brief mid-2012 activity as Borderline Divine left a lot of heavier promise that honestly topped Stillbroke to me in many ways!

I know the guys have put in tons of work from their inception to their last show in June to make it locally, and in some ways, they did, if not as long as was hoped. Hopefully this isn't the last we'll ever hear from Borderline Divine, but for now, best of luck to Jesse, Mitch, Justin, and Sam (and the array of former members) in the future, and when I hear about the members' next moves in the local scene, I'll be sure to have them here!

Thirdly today, I was alerted to some old school concert videos from a show at the old Tumble Inn in nearby Eckerman, Michigan yesterday, and these definitely belong on the SMS! Life's Eclipse frontman Jason Mills sent me the links to these videos as part of some assistance for a reader in finding videos from one of his old Northern Michigan bands at their local stops in the 1990s, and while this isn't either band in question, they're definitely heavy & could use an SMS spotlight! They were a 1990s Michigan metal band named Collision, and while I don't think they're from the Soo originally, they did play at The Tumble Inn at least once in the mid-1990s. The videos from said show include covers of Alice In Chains' "It Ain't Like That" & "Would?" and (as embedded below) Dio's "Don't Talk To Strangers", so check them out if you wanna! Uploaded in late 2008 by YouTube user budachiba (who may be bassist Jeremy DeLawrence), Collision had a solid groove and a versatility that allowed them to handle grunge and more traditional metal really well, and I'd like to find out more about them! Decent video quality too given the age and format this concert was filmed on. Check the above links for more, thanks to Jason for sending me the links, and if I find any more old school Tumble Inn footage, I'll have it here, but for now, here's Collision's local Dio cover!



Finally for today, here's some more news from Sault Ontario grunge band Haggith! Bad news first, as the band has announced that Wishbone bassist Steven Flint is not joining their lineup as was previously announced. A reason for the backtrack wasn't announced, just that it came after "some discussion" and there appear to be no bad feelings with Steven, who the band complimented the talent of on their Facebook page on Wednesday. As a result, frontman Curtis McKenzie is trading his guitar for a bass and Haggith are remaining a trio going forward. Hopefully this is the best move for the guys, and Curtis does have bass skill, but we'll have to see how they sound in their next gigs! On a more positive note, YouTube user paperclipprojectX uploaded a new video on Monday of 2/3rds of the band (minus drummer Mike Haggith) playing an unplugged version of their original song "I Am", and it sounds pretty good! The lighting is effective (if still dark) and Curt & Daniel add some nice grit to this acoustic rendering, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more Haggith news in the coming weeks!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, including this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!