Talk Shit/Nebraska Arms Video Showcase!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Just Leppard), Josey Scott's Saliva Concert Updates, And More!!

Got a new news post to check out on this Monday night, which includes updates on a big upcoming concert, a new original song teaser, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall, so here's what you should know!

Sudbury-based Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, November 11th (yes, Remembrance Day) for a special double header of tribute band action at Soo Blaster! It was around that time last year when Just Leppard made their third local stop (and first at Soo Blaster) for a date with AC/DC tribute The AC/DC Show, but this time, they'll take the stage alongside fellow Sudbury tribute band Saturday Night Special, who pay homage to southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd! I'll admit that neither source band is my favourite, but Just Leppard have gotten a solid response in their prior local stops, and Saturday Night Special seem to have the Skynyrd sound down well, so this should cover a wide range of classic rock fans this fall! Advance tickets for this 19+ event (which starts at 8:00 PM) run for $40 at this link, which is up from the $32 advance price last year.

No word on a price hike at the door, but last year's Just Leppard/AC/DC Show concert jumped to $35 if you waited to buy until you got there, so I'd at least prepare for the possibility. This should be a good time for Def Leppard and Lynyrd Skynyrd fans (especially if you happen to be both), so visit the official Facebook event page for details on what to expect!

Next up, here's some updates on the Josey Scott's Saliva-headlined concert at The Machine Shop on Saturday night, starting with a band withdrawal, as Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric have dropped out of this event, according to promoters Superior Entertainment on the Facebook event page yesterday. This is due to frontman Hugo Ferreira being unable to enter Canada, and while they didn't go into specifics as to why, he has had legal issues in the past that may be a factor, and other rock websites will go into detail on that if you are so inclined. Disappointing to hear, but hopefully Tantric can come back this direction again when able! A replacement band has not been announced, but Superior Entertainment has asked ticket sale host Etix to adjust show prices to the pre-sale discount rate rather than the week-of price of $53.50 (as of this writing, the price has not visibly been lowered). Click here to check on any potential price adjustments, in any event!

In terms of promoting the event, (this version of) Saliva's frontman Josey Scott has made some video appearances to get the word out, including via this brief clip uploaded to Superior Entertainment's Facebook page last week, where he invited fans to "party with us" and "shake the lake" on Saturday night. Not the best audio quality, he didn't mention any of the other bands, and he pronounced "Sault" like "salt", but any direct promotion is cool to see, so check it out above! For longer-form promotion, Josey was interviewed by Ernest Skinner of the local YouTube interview series Border City Rock Talk on Friday, so what comes up here? In the 18 minute interview, Josey talks about why he left the original version of Saliva, ex-Motley Crue singer John Corabi saving him from a bar fight, the passing of his old Saliva bandmate Wayne Swinny earlier this year, how they united musically, new material plans, ...

... working with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger on the "Hero" single, his love of ketchup chips, and more. This was recorded before Tantric dropped out, but neither Ernest nor Josey remembered the local openers' names (Josey did pronounce "Sault" right here though!) Good and laid back interview that will be a good primer for the show on Saturday night, so check it out below, and also give Border City Rock Talk a watch for much more video interviews, if not always with musicians playing locally in the near term!

We'll close today with a new video from local progressive metal duo Convergence's YouTube channel! The first unequivocally new upload there (not counting Kraken Mara-era videos that they left up/rebranded), this was uploaded as a "Shorts" video (a.k.a. YouTube's answer to "reels"), but at least you can embed "Shorts" externally and play them in background tabs! The video features a snippet from a new original song named "Chimera" courtesy of their computer tracking program, and it certainly sounds the part for prog metal fans, but it's worth noting that their Facebook post about the video says that "we're working on another track for our album". Now, their debut EP "One" is on sale on Wix, but are implications correct that "One" is a work in progress that they're going to add to as songs get completed? I can't say for public certainty, but give Convergence's new song snippet a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Wednesday concert previews and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Northwest Music Video, Border City Rock Talk, And More!!

Before we dive into fallout from last night's big concert, let's clear out some more backlogged news stories in today's post, including new material from a rising young metal guitarist, some very belated details on a local rock journalist's return to interviewing, and leading off, a new song from an upcoming album! Here's what you should know!

The second single from local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's upcoming third EP "All In" can now be heard on major streaming services and within their new music video! Uploaded to their YouTube channel on Thursday, the video (directed by Andrew Sowka) features hands holding Polaroid photographs framed over the widescreen view of the picture-in-hand, and the song's lyrics progressively appear on the bottom of the Polaroid. If that's not your speed, the lyrics are also in the video description. Interesting approach and it's well made for what The Northwest were going for! They got a second interview with Niagara Falls music website From The Strait yesterday, where writer Kris Goetz asked an unidentified band member about this song's inspiration, their songwriting process, who they'd like to tour with, getting played on Hockey Night In Canada, and what helps The Northwest stand out as a band.

While the repeat coverage from an out-of-town site rather than a local one may seem a little odd, remember that The Northwest are getting more and more eyeballs on them thanks to the Hockey Night In Canada appearances and their own acknowledged talents & experience, and the interview gives us some good insight into what they're aiming for nowadays! I'll hold comment on "Shorelines" for now, pending our eventual review of "All In", but give The Northwest's new music video a watch below!

Next up, I wanted to give a long overdue spotlight to a local journalist and interviewer who we had talked about pre-pandemic, namely Ernest "Che" Skinner, who wrote the Rock Talk column for SaultOnline in the late 2010s before moving over to Wawa-News.com in February 2019. Well, he left that site as well and has since went independent, via last summer's launch of Border City Rock Talk, which specializes primarily in coverage of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and his own classic-leaning rock music reviews, interviews, and opinion pieces. For the most part, his rock articles on Border City Rock Talk so far have not been hyper-focused on local bands or concerts, but remember that the pandemic has been a steady concern. Still, Ernest has gotten some very big gets for both print and video interviews that you can read on their website and their YouTube channel! For example, who all has Che interviewed for YouTube in the past year?

Among others, you can check out interviews with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Triumph's Rik Emmet, Spinal Tap and The Simpsons' Harry Shearer, Great White's Jack Russell, and Helix's Brian Vollmer, so clearly Ernest is doing the right things to attract some big names! I will embed one here, as it crosses both the hard rock and local concert line, namely Ernest's 15 minute interview with Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd from last August, which was obviously in advance of Buckcherry's headlining date at Soo Blaster in October. Apologies for this being so late, I didn't know Ernest had resumed his rock interviews and writing until very recently. The interview has Ernest asking Josh about their new album "Hellbound", Josh's fandom of Minor Threat, how the tour was going at that point, what to expect from Buckcherry's setlist, what critics think, the struggle with alcoholism, Josh's work as a phlebotomist, ...

...and how the pandemic personally affected him. While there are a few hesistant points with Ernest's questions, this was a casual and well handled interview that goes along well with what he's been doing for so long now, and at least the Buckcherry show went on as planned last fall! Hopefully we'll see more from Border City Rock Talk that crosses over with local concerts & musicians as bookings tick up this year, but give his Josh Todd interview a watch below, read and view much more above, and Border City Rock Talk is finally linked on the SMS!

Finally, I wanted to give another spotlight to local metal guitarist Shane Desjardins, who has recently resumed working on original material under his project name Red Ruins Me! We've mentioned him on the SMS in 2019 and in 2020, and while I don't believe Red Ruins Me has a social media presence beyond their YouTube channel, Shane did post a "full album" there last month named "Resurrect", followed by a pair of instrumental deathcore tracks & two live videos. One is a compilation of guitar riffs, while the other sees Shane & a friend covering Killswitch Engage's "Rose of Sharyn" (albeit with the original song very loud). I don't know if Red Ruins Me will ever expand beyond free YouTube postings, but Shane is a talented songwriter with a good ear for brutal riffs that honestly remind me of something you'd hear in an action video game soundtrack at times! Give his music a listen above & below, and look for a surprise Rolling Stones cover!

That's all for today, but if all goes well, we will start looking at B.L.S. concert fallout tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: The Canadian

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we continue our monthly feature spotlighting YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and punk artists & concerts! This month's randomly selected channel features some early performances from a local promotion agency's first show and it's related band's infancy, so there's some neat stuff to see here, and you can do so below!
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The Canadian (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ADpsCAFQBMXpWmhI4yOog/)

Owner: A member of local alt-punk band A Dire Setback and their associated promotion company Live705, specific identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 24th, 2016; Videos posted from that December through June 2017

Channel Summary: Despite the misnomer of a channel name (though it's last video was indeed shot at The Canadian Nightclub), this was ostensibly the official YouTube channel for Live705, largely featuring video footage from their inaugural concert, plus this computer-generated logo for the company that presumably would have saw usage on future channel content. Two videos on the channel are of A Dire Setback, including from a different concert unrelated to the rest of the channel in location or filmer.

Why You Should Watch: This is a solid channel to check out to see the infancy of Live705 as a promotion company, plus you get some interesting looks at bands who don't have a lot of footage out there, let alone at the increasily unused Oddfellows Hall! However, note that half of the channel's videos run for under 64 seconds in length, and the channel hasn't been visibly used for Live705 or A Dire Setback purposes in 2 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Electric Church: Six of the videos on "The Canadian" are from Live705's debut concert at The Oddfellows Hall on November 19th, 2016, which saw a diverse lineup of young local talent hit the stage, including sets by The Din, rapper Jasmin "Jizzy Baby" Sky, and two bands not filmed for the channel (headliners K.I.C.K. and the debuting Stegadeth.) We'll touch on the other three bands here, including inactive local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church, who made their only Oddfellows Hall appearance on this night. Filmed covering B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby", this cover is well done and showcases Spencer Pine, Elijah Nielsen, and Beau Whitfield's chemistry well, but the vertical cell phone camera angle and side-stage placement don't help.



Talk Shit: A notable hook for this concert was the reunion of online page-less punk quartet Talk Shit after a 7 year hiatus, with returning members Adam Sauve, Marc LaFrance, and Ian Robinson joined by new guitarist Steve Shaw (later briefly of Jack Spades) in place of the relocated Andrew Angelic. Talk Shit's reunion didn't result in many shows before they fell inactive again last year, so this video (of an untitled cover) bears some extra weight, but the vertical angle and extremely distant vantage point do harm the video in retrospect. You can't see a lot, but the performance sounds solid!



A Dire Setback: The channel's most popular video is this clip of local alt-punk band A Dire Setback playing their original song "Catastrophe" in their co-headlining set. Quite a big platform for A.D.S. to have their debut show on! Featuring guitarist Chris Nielsen, bassist Matt Quinn, and drummer Nick Kainula alongside original lead singer Larry Babic, this is a promising performance with good energy, and it's a nice harbinger of bigger things to come, but the scratchy audio quality and dark lighting mean that you can find better videos of this song online. The channel's remaining videos include this brief setup clip from the show above and a cover of OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" at the CKY concert at The Canadian in June 2017, which was filmed by myself and shared on YouTube with permission.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around July 26th with another randomly selected channel from our subscriptions, and we're heading across the river next month by spotlighting inactive Sault Michigan label Werehold Records' channel! Look for that then, and for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Destroyer), Northern Film Showcase Preview, And Much More!!

Before we begin today's post, just one more Joni Radford-related note, as her obituary is finally on SooToday, which notes that memorial contributions to the Canadian Cancer Society, ARCH Hospice, or the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society. Also, it's made clear there that yesterday's services were a private family event, which I didn't know when including in our last post, as the spread on social media among contacts made it seem more open. If I erred in mentioning them here, I do sincerely apologize, and our best thoughts remain with the Radford and Morin families.

Now, let's dive into today's post, which includes some assorted recent updates, a new song, a preview of a special event taking place this weekend, and first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, March 30th at The Canadian Nightclub! This will be Destroyer's fourth local concert appearance in the 2010s, and their first since May 2015 (their July 2017 show at The Rockstar Bar was cancelled on short notice, which slipped us by at the time.) Kiss Army members should definitely keep an eye on this show, as Destroyer's faithful looking and sounding brand of Kiss classics should deliver a solid turnout at The Canadian in March, so don't miss their local return then! In a surprise announcement, the local openers will be reunited hard rock cover quartet Griphook, in their first public concert appearance since Rotaryfest 2017. Griphook had previously opened for Destroyer locally in 2015, so if you loved that show, here's an encore!

It's great to see Griphook finally end their nearly 2 year long hiatus, and they are now back in our active band links, but how will they sound after the layoff? Be at The Canadian in two months to find out! This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and while admission fees have not yet been announced, note that Destroyer's 2015 concert had $12 advance tickets and a $16 door charge. This should be a great chance for fans to get their live Kiss fix and welcome Griphook back to the public stage, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, this isn't a concert, but for an event as unique as this, I felt it deserved one more preview on here, as local filmmaker and rock bassist Nathan (Jonna) Bouliane and McBully Productions are hosting their second annual Northern Film Showcase THIS SUNDAY at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (formerly Breakaway Bar & Grill) at 69 Dennis Street, with a theme centered around music videos from local artists! This event is intended to bring local musicians and filmmakers together to make connections, generate exposure, and network for future collaborations, and creators on both sides are encouraged to attend the showcase, which will feature mystery live performances, speeches from local musicians, and a screening of at least 10 music videos. Two are on the heavier spectrum for SMS readers, including The Bear Hunters' "I Fear No God" & Mike Haggith's "The Nature of The Times", though I'm fairly certain neither is performing live.

The other videos come courtesy of Audiosmile, Renee Landry, Kalle Mattson, Mike Mikus, Jackson Reed, Mic Swiff, Britta Wolfert, and at least one publically uncredited performer (one is in the new Facebook cover video for the event, so you might be able to play detective.) Tickets are $10 and can be bought at Shooters or presumably at the door, while this has a special 4:00 PM start time. This is definitely a unique event for this area, but it'll be a great chance for musicians and filmmakers to meet and discuss mutual interests, and local music and film lovers can see some professionally done music videos as well! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, here's some updates regarding the Ozbourne concert at The Canadian Nightclub in March, starting with a date change, as the show has been moved from Friday, March 29th to Saturday, March 23rd, as per updates to the Facebook event page. A reason for the date switch wasn't announced, but it's not often where a concert is moved to an earlier day, so fans will get their Winnipeg-bred Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath tribute action a little sooner! A local opener has also been announced, they being blues rock trio The Paul DellaVedova Band, in a rare non-Rotaryfest support appearance from them. Interesting genre disparity here, but Paul and company can go heavy on occasion, and they should warm the crowd up well in two months! Notably, they replaced acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge as the openers, with that band originally advertised last week at this link, but a reason for their withdrawal wasn't announced either. See above for updates!

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 column name:

• As per their Facebook page, local indie/punk trio Northwest will try their hand at CBC's annual Searchlight music competition again this year! The guys made the Northern Ontario regional semifinals in this event back in 2015, and with a new EP, now seems like a good time for them to try again in this national search for Canada's best new artist! Full contest details for prospective musicians can be found at the above links, and stay tuned for when voting kicks off!
• In their first proper Facebook page post since it's launch, new local Tool tribute band Parabol thanked everyone for liking them so far (they're already at 255 fans!), and they teased "possibly scheduling a show in March." With Destroyer and Ozbourne already booked for that month, why not one more tribute band concert for good measure? If this gets confirmed, we'll let you know!
• The most recent installment of Ernest Skinner's Rock Talk column on SaultOnline went online on January 12th, where he largely talked about live albums from bands and his opinions & reminiscences on them. Interesting read with a lot of good points, so give it a look at this link! No sign yet of new Rock Talk columns, including some with more teased musician interviews.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Killer Dwarfs), Saturday Night Concert Previews, And More!!

As promised, we're rounding out this weekend's publically announced hard rock and punk concert previews today with a pair of one nighters tomorrow, but to round things out, we have some assorted news and updates, and leading off, here's a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in four months time!

Juno nominated Oshawa glam metal quartet The Killer Dwarfs will return to Sault Ste, Marie for the first time in decades when they headline at Soo Blaster on Saturday, April 27th! A staple of the Pepsi Power Hour and Canadian rock radio at their peak, fans may recognize The Killer Dwarfs from hit songs like "Keep The Spirit Alive", "Doesn't Matter", and "Dirty Weapons", but they haven't rested on their laurels, and they have a new album in the works. With a lot of familiar and hard hitting '80s metal to offer, The Killer Dwarfs should attract a solid turnout this spring, so if you love hair metal, you may want to circle April 27th on your 2019 calendars! At least one opening band is to be announced, stay tuned for confirmation. This show is brought to you in part by Sault Online columnist Ernest Skinner, who interviewed frontman Russ Graham in his Rock Talk column in August, and it'll be very interesting to see if he has more in the works, especially if The Killer Dwarfs go over well!

Tickets for this 8:00 PM and presumably 19+ concert are $24.50, but admission + a meet & greet with the band goes for $40, and a VIP table with meet & greet runs for $500. You can buy tickets at this link, and physical tickets are expected to be available in the new year. With this show and Aaron Pritchett now announced for 2019, it's clear that Soo Blaster are aiming high to have more big-ticket names on their stage (rap aside), and there should be plenty of Hair Scare listeners and 1980s metal aficionados to make this a packed show! Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews, starting with local indie/punk quintet Northwest's long-awaited EP release concert TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Four years after putting out their self-titled digital EP, the guys are topping that with a full release party for their sophomore effort "Songs From 2015-2017", and if you know their talent and professionalism, you know that this will deliver the goods! We still don't know much on the release formats, availability, complete track list, or price for the EP, but we'll of course let you know when things go public. Local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will end a year+ hiatus as the opening act tomorrow, and it's great to see this talented quartet back for the holidays, so don't be late for the Keep It Cool Kids' return either! The second in a three night run of LopLops concerts from Tidal Records, there is a higher-than-usual $10 cover charge in effect, and while EP prices aren't public, I'd bring at least $5...

...or come early, as the first 50 people in the door will get a free download card for the EP! This is a 19+ concert, a 9:00 PM start time is advertised, and you can buy tickets at this link or at the door. Unfortunately, I have a very early morning on Sunday, so I don't think I can get down there for this concert, but hopefully the EP has a semblance of online availability next week, as my plan is to review "Songs From 2015-2017" this month. Punk fans shouldn't miss all of tomorrow's action, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for EP updates, and here's Northwest live!



Lastly in our pre-Christmas previews, we'll head to Sault Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63 will end their year+ hiatus from the concert stage when they headline Dondee Lanes' Christmas party TOMORROW NIGHT! We haven't seen Highway 63 on stage since November 2017 for varying personal and health reasons, plus a major retooling of the band's lineup and setlist, with the band's Facebook event page confirming their new expanded lineup. Now a quintet, frontman Henry Switzer, his son/guitarist Nathan, and the already confirmed Justin Lawless (on drums) will be joined by two new members named Brian and George. Last names weren't given, and while I have a partial hunch on identities, I will wait for public confirmation before posting anything here. How will Henry and company look and sound in their big return? You can find out tomorrow at the Dondee's in-house nightclub, which changed it's name from The Sportsman's Lounge to The Double D Bar & Grill earlier this year.

To go along with the live music action, the Double D is offering happy hour drink prices from 12:00-6:00 PM tomorrow, plus a free pizza and wing buffet at 4:00 PM, with Highway 63's set proper taking place at 8:00 PM. This is presumably a 21+ event, and there's no advertised cover charge. Fans of Highway 63's crowd-friendly classic and hard rock covers should be eager to see them back after a lengthy break, and with the frills of a Christmas party to boot at Sault Michigan's own bowling alley, why not come down to enjoy the action? Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Highway 63 live a couple of years back!



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 column name:

• Reunited hard rock cover quartet 415E's return gigs at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino have been postponed a week from January 4th & 5th to the 11th & 12th. The venue's entertainment page confirms the changes, with new local cover trio Road House (featuring 3/4ths of the now defunct Cousin Eddie) playing there on the 4th & 5th instead. Keep the new dates in mind for next month, and stay tuned for more on 415E's new lineup and 2019 plans, and if Road House skew heavier in sound!
• Three more installments of the aforementioned Ernest Skinner's SaultOnline column Rock Talk have been posted in the last few weeks, including interviews with Brighton Rock guitarist (and Sault Ontario native) Greg Fraser, Kingdom Come guitarist Danny Stag, and a retrospective on Circus Magazine. Great reads as usual, and it's nice to see Greg doing well for himself since moving, so give these a look above, and stay tuned for much more!
• Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns featured guest drummer (and Rob & Jesse's Elements bandmate) Jonas Gasperas again at their set from last week's Music Night at The New American Pub for the Ontario Special Olympics, as per new photos from the concert on promoters Girl Friday Productions' Facebook page. Looks like a lot of fun was had for a great cause, and I'm sure Jonas fit in well as usual that night!

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

A New Local Band, A New Local Rock Music Column, And New Videos!!

Before we begin, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in last weekend's previews, as The Wyld Stallyns apparently played at The Canadian Motor Hotel on Saturday night. Given their acoustic nature, my guess is The Upper Deck Bar & Grill, but they weren't specific in their vague post on their Facebook page that same day, and there was no online promotion from band or venue that I found otherwise. I apologize again, and we'd have covered the show had it received more notice and information, but hopefully it was a hit! Now, here's some new videos, long overdue coverage of a local journalist's music articles, and a new addition to our band links!

We have a new band to add to our active band links on the site, and they are Poison Girl, another tribute band from this year's Halloween Party concerts at The Rockstar Bar! Essentially a spin-off of local punk trio Stegadeth, that band's members (singer/guitarist Tiffany Stocco, bassist Bill "Orthae" Bennett, and drummer Johnny Belanger) joined forces with Machines Dream/ex-Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes to round out this lineup, playing a tribute set to Finnish gothic rock notables H.I.M. (the Poison Girl name comes from a H.I.M. song from their 2000 CD "Razorblade Romance".)  Unlike the Facebook page for Tiffany & Johnny's other Halloween tribute band-turned-actual project (the Distillers tribute Coral Fang), there's not much written up or teased, but continued activity is implied. After all, why would a one-off band launch a Facebook page, especially when you could technically argue that they're just Stegadeth + 1?

I was never high on H.I.M. during their run (I honestly prefer Daniel Lioneye), but at their peak, they were a big deal among goth kids and Bam Margera fans around my age, and one wonders how big Poison Girl would have been had they formed even a decade earlier. Still, this is definitely a unique tribute band, locally speaking, and I'd be curious to hear how they handle H.I.M.'s better known songs! Hopefully some public media turns up, and stay tuned for more from Poison Girl when it rolls in!

Next up, I wanted to take some time to talk about a prolific columnist for SaultOnline that we've mentioned here before, but not to the extent he deserves. If you follow that local news site regularly, you'll be familiar with writer Ernest Skinner, who has penned a series of columns there since last year like the editorial series Monet, Manet, and Mayonnaise & the Soo Greyhounds-centric Dog Treats. While Ernest had occasionally addressed music in the former (like when he covered last year's Dokken concert), he launched a full column in June devoted to rock music essays & interviews entitled Rock Talk, and he has posted 22 entries under this new title over the past 5 months. Among other artists, Ernest has interviewed the likes of ex-Queensryche singer Geoff Tate, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, ex-Motley Crue singer John Corabi, Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, metal queen Lee Aaron, and Helix frontman Brian Vollmer, so check these and more out above!

While primarily themed around interviews, Rock Talk has included general articles include his thoughts about Castle Farms in Charlevoix, bands Accept & The Dead Daisies, the movie This Is Spinal Tap, hard rock musicians' educational backgrounds, the Hear 'n Aid charity single, upcoming concerts in Ontario & Michigan, and lately, a lot of promotion and hype for the Steel Panther concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this Saturday (our preview is coming later this week!) After reading a bunch of Ernest's articles & interviews, I can say that he writes in a very relatable fashion and does a good job of explaining the impact and appeal of various rock music topics, and his formatting and editing of his interviews has improved quickly! For a freelance columnist, he's definitely secured some familiar names, and in a few select cases, he got some audio and video soundbites from them, so don't scroll too fast, just in case you miss anything!

In fact, here's one of John Corabi from August, as uploaded to SaultOnline's YouTube channel back in August (and in conjunction with the interview linked above.) Running for just 19 seconds, it's just a brief plug for Ernest's interview and Sault Online/ONNtv, but it's nice to see a familiar face hyping up Sault Ste. Marie like this, and here's hoping he can bring The Dead Daisies or another project up north! Give it a look below, see much more from Ernest above, and I've linked his SaultOnline page in our "Other Local Metal Links" as Rock Talk with Ernest Skinner!



Finally, here's some videos from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's Facebook page that we haven't yet covered on the SMS! Apologies for the delay in the first two, but they are admittedly brief and sans music of theirs. Both shot while on their "Hitting the Fan" release tour in April, one video is just 10 seconds of road footage in British Columbia from their vehicle, while the other is a 5 second video of "Bigfoot" being sighted (though he looks suspiciously familiar when the camera zooms in!) Embedded below is their newest video from this past Saturday, when they were en route to Toronto for their last advertised concert of the year. Another short video (17 seconds), this is filmed by guitarist Josh Penno from the passenger seat, and it features drummer Matt Baic finishing a sandwich before the band encounters roadkill. Circle of life, I suppose, but it's nice to see a new official video posting of any kind on their page! Give these a look above & below!



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

The 2nd Annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert Review!!

Hey everyone, it's finally time for our review of Wednesday night's second annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert! Moving to The Canadian Nightclub this year after rocking The Rockstar Bar last year, I am pleased to report that parking lot renovations aren't as widespread as they were a few months ago, as patrons could get through the normal entrance to the downstairs venue, though actual parking space was still limited. Solid turnout, especially in time for the final 2 or 3 bands, with loads of familiar faces seen for both recent local music fans and veterans alike, and it's great to see that over the holiday season! This is also the first time I've been at The Canadian for a show with Northern Axperts' ax throwing cage open for business concurrently, and while it does eat up floor space, there wasn't any massive distraction from hearing axes hitting their target, so that worked out in and of itself! Live705 were on hand to provide sound, and like last year, Slumshine frontman Brenton Ellis raffled off another original painting for the cause.

Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce even brought an SNES Classic and TV for people to play, which was a nice touch during breaks! And before we get into the bands, just a note that advertised DJs The Dub Selectah and Manskirt solely provided the house music beside the stage and did not have a Seith-esque formal DJ set during the night. I'm not a massive reggae fan, but the jams seemed to go over well in between bands!

Opening Wednesday night's festivities were local punk cover quartet Talk Shit in their first public concert set since last year's Guy memorial, and while I don't know where they've been in 2017, they kicked things into gear with a solid set to start the night off! Covering a range of punk bands like NOFX, SNFU, and Teenage Bottlerocket, this online page-less band seemed as energetic and carefree as they did last year, and despite their recent dormancy, I think they may have been a little tighter than before, with Marc Lafrance and Steve Shaw especially rocking out well on guitar! The biggest difference was that bassist Ian Robinson was back in the Talk Shit fold after missing last year's memorial (Mark Rand filled in that night), and he slid in nicely with some solid grooves! This time around, the guys roughly divided up lead vocal duties between the entire band, and while everyone sounded good, Ian had a welcome ferocious bite that metalheads would appreciate! Solid return for Talk Shit, and hopefully we see them more often in the new year!

Next was local punk trio Stegadeth in their first public concert appearance since Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger took over for the departed Daniel MacDonald, so how did he fit in with his new band?  Well, if you're familiar with his and guitarist Tiffany Stocco's prior (and beyond...) chemistry in Jack Spades, plus his existing skill level, you'll know he fit in nicely! If anything has been added, it's increased backing vocals, as Johnny helped give some extra vocal harmonies that didn't hurt the proceedings at all! Playing originals like "Kingdom of Ashes" and covers of everyone from Bad Religion to The Ramones to GG Allin, Stegadeth were on point from where I saw them last year, and while Tiffany still needs to seem more confident in her vocal delivery, Bill Bennett's snarl and aggression were in full force! Their set was poignantly capped off (post-delay) by a cover of SNFU's "Fate" in Guy's memory, as Stegadeth had done last winter as well, and hopefully we'll see much more from Stegadeth in 2018!

Now, I have to address a shocking incident that took place late in Stegadeth's set, as an attendee abruptly decided to leap into the drumkit during their version of "She Banged The Mayor". As a result, Stegadeth's set was cut short by 3 songs, and there was a 20+ minute delay for repairs to the kit (owned & provided by A Dire Setback's Nick Kainula), while the attendee was removed by security and the police were called down over the incident. I won't go deeper here, but there is a video and lots of discussion on social media if you know where to look. Unfortunate and needless all around, but at least the show was able to go on, and hopefully everything is resolved!

Once Nick's drumkit was operational again, his band A Dire Setback took the stage for their first set since the departure of original singer Larry Babic this fall, so how did the alt-punk band sound in their first outing as a trio? As I surmised at the time, guitarist Chris Nielsen is now A.D.S.' lead singer, and given his prior work as their backing vocalist, he was a fine choice to take over the role! He has a good punk tone to his singing, and while more reserved than his scream-peppered backing vocals may lead you to think, he should grow into the role in the ensuing months! Bassist Matt Quinn took over backing vocals, and while he needs to bump up the energy a little bit, is it off base to note that I was reminded of Serj Tankian when he projected his voice? Aside from their opening song (labelled as "Endless" on their setlist), A Dire Setback stuck to established originals like "Forget This Memory" & "Kicking & Screaming", and the music held up nicely, but there is room to develop the band's new vocal attack when we see them live next!

Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades took the stage next, and as previously teased in Christmas photos on their Facebook page, they had two lineup reversions to reveal on Wednesday, as they have welcomed back Stegadeth's Tiffany Stocco & Johnny Belanger on rhythm guitar & drums, replacing their initial replacements, Anthony Orazietti and Chris Thompson. Reasons for Tony and Chris' departures have not been publically announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and don't miss Chris with Eclipse! This brings Johnny and founding member Tiffany back to the band for the first time since their departures last year, and it's great to see them back in the fold! As for the set proper, it went over very well for fans of any Jack Spades lineup permutation, with originals like "Rise", "Crossroads", and their newest "Cenobites" on full display alongside covers of bands like Turbonegro and The Ripcordz, and everyone held up their end of the bargain!

Daniel Horton shone on lead guitar in particular, bassist Rob Speers (in repurposed Frightlight vest) is coming into his own, and J.D. Pearce remains a commanding presence on vocals, be it on stage or mingling with fans on the floor! In a lineup that's now a hybrid of their classic era and late 2017 manifestation, it'll be interesting to see how Jack Spades does in the coming months! After Jack Spades' set, fans were surprised to see former Bankshot guitarist Christian Pasiak take the stage for an unadvertised solo set. This lined up with some personal Facebook plugs that implied that his Ottawa-based indie/pop rock trio Sleepy & The Noise would be making their local debut on Wednesday, so I presume this mini-set was what was being alluded to. I'm not highly familiar with Sleepy & The Noise, so I don't know if the songs he played were from that band, but he has a good voice for the softer music on display! All I'll add is that I think an acoustic guitar would have meshed with the songs better.

The advertised headline act was next, that being a one-off reunion of Guy Thiffault's old indie punk band Nebraska Arms, though playing a full 7 song set rather than their brief 2 song turn last year! As you may recall, the band played with guest bassist Mark Rand last year while guitarist Wayne Watkins handled lead vocals, but both roles went to Wayne's former Northwest bandmate Clint Wilson (recently of Late Shift) this time around, though Wayne did sing lead on their penultimate track. Clint's bass ability is no secret, but this was the first time that I can recall him fronting a band, and he was more than capable in this guest appearance, even seeming to channel Guy at times vocally! Playing familiar songs like "New Jersey Kneecap" and "Art of Science" plus a Hot Water Music cover, it was great to see Wayne, Dave, and Adam back together again for the occasion, and they hadn't lost the energetic spark that radiated through Nebraska Arms shows circa 2009!

Nebraska Arms' set closed with a rendition of "I Was A Writer" where they were joined by Clint's HTs bandmate (and this concert's promoter) Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf on vocals, foreshadowing their upcoming set together. Lucas was relying on a lyric sheet, so his performance wasn't as loose as it may have otherwise been, but he acquitted himself well to help close out their set, and kudos to him for putting this show on!

Surprisingly, the show closed with Lucas & Clint's new local punk band The HTs in just their second live concert appearance, but before their set proper could begin.... remember how event advertising listed an act named "BS" as special guests? My educated guess going in was that they meant Guy's last major band The Business Suit Trappers, who also played two songs last year, but I should have been thinking over a decade earlier, as "BS" stood for Bankshot, the acclaimed late 1990s local punk band! Yes, we got a partial Bankshot reunion to kick off The HTs set, with Lucas and Clint joined by the aforementioned Christian Pasiak, though unfortunately, neither singer Ron Pelletier or bassist Neil Vallee were able to participate. In their place, Christian took over lead vocals, while HTs bassist Ryan Disano filled in for their songs. Bankshot's run was before my time locally (I was 11 when they disbanded), but you can tell that it was a thrill for fans to see them live again, and for the guys to play their songs again, if only for a few minutes!

Outside of the "Angst For The Memories" CD, I don't have any memories of Bankshot as they were in their heyday, but their performance was fun, and Christian's vocals suited what they played! Ryan was tucked in the back a little too much and didn't seem to show a lot of energy, but as a passive younger observer, it looked like the reunion delivered, and if only Guy could be here to see it! When their mini-set ended, Christian traded places with regular HTs guitarist Andre LeBlanc, so what can be said about The HTs for our first time seeing them in a non-tribute band setting? There's room for some polish, but they are a new band, and they delivered a fun selection of punk classics and local throwbacks to close the night! Alongside renditions of NOFX and Rancid songs, they threw in some renditions of old Hangdowns classics like "Self Bortrait", "Bunch of Jerks", and (of course) "Fire Ban", which is a great gesture to Guy's memory for his family & friends!

Lucas sang lead capably and with attitude during their set, as fans of his old bands will expect, Andre's guitar work was a solid compliment, and Ryan showed more life and enthusiasm for the HTs set proper, and while they can tighten things up a little and engage the crowd a little more, you couldn't ask for a bigger first show (not counting Halloween), and hopefully we hear much more from The HTs in the new year! Overall, while there were some hang-ups during the night (the drumkit incident primary among them), this was a fun show and a great way to remember Guy and help raise funds for the Tracy's Dream charity, and hopefully everyone had a great time! It's interesting to note that every band that played on Wednesday (besides The HTs) was playing with a different lineup than when we last saw them, so for me at least, an intriguing hook was how each band would sound, and everyone delivered in different ways, be it permanent or with guests!

Hopefully plans remain in place to hold a third memorial show for Guy in 2018, and while I didn't know him that well, I hope he'd have enjoyed and been honoured by Wednesday night's entertainment! You can check out our photos and videos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, but just as a disclaimer, I was forced to film every band after Stegadeth with my tablet's camera due to my normal concert camera having very untimely SD card read errors prior to A Dire Setback's set. Any connection to the drumkit incident is coincidental, I was as shocked as everyone else! This was my first time ever extensively using my tablet for photography or concert videos (I brought it to take notes with), so I apologize if the quality is inferior to our usual work, this will not become a common occurrence. I have already discarded the faulty camera, and have better cameras here to use next time! As for our videos, here's Talk Shit covering Bigwig's "Flavor Ice", Stegadeth playing "The Wire",...

...A Dire Setback playing "Faded", Jack Spades covering The Inner City Surfers' "Ten Commandments", Christian Pasiak playing a song whose name I didn't get (can you help title it?), Nebraska Arms playing "Lighthouses", Bankshot playing "Friendly Foe", and The HTs covering Cat Stevens' "Wild World"! No, Christian's video isn't sideways, that's a thumbnail error.






That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and our 2017 retrospective post soon! Thanks everyone!

Guy Thiffault Memorial & Mike Mikus/Id Iota Concert Previews, Plus More New Notes On Both!!

In what I project to be our last news post before Christmas Day, we're devoting things solely to two big concerts taking place just after Santa's big voyage, with new notes on each to touch on, including a new video find! Now, here's what you should know for your post-Christmas concert plans! (Updated on December 26th)

We'll start our special post-Christmas concert previews with the CD release show for former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus THIS TUESDAY NIGHT at LopLops Lounge, featuring alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota as one of the opening bands! After an over 5 month hiatus from the local stage since moving to Montreal, Mike came home for the holidays with a well received acoustic show at The Rad Zone this weekend, and will break out the full electric live experience on Boxing Day, so fans of his alt/pop rock-styled solo material should definitely consider a trip to LopLops to see him again and buy his self-titled debut solo album! For reference, prior solo and Pixo Control bandmates Dustin Goodall and Keeghan Rosso will return to back him up alongside guest keyboardist Chloe Moore (as cited at this link.) Also, for fans of The Pixo Control, the new CD includes a pair of songs intended for that band's unreleased second album, which are "Electric Fetus" & "Plastic Veggies", so you'll get a few heavier songs on Boxing Day!

Id Iota (featuring Dustin Goodall again) will themselves be returning to the stage for the first time in 5 months with new material of their own, while indie/pop duo All Us Others (who played with both acts at Rotaryfest Stage 2 this year) will open the show, so come early for their rising sound! This special concert has a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $10 admission fee, or $5 if you have student ID (add $5 for a digital download copy of Mike's album!) It's great to have Mike and Id Iota back for the holidays, and hopefully the release party's a blast, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and in lieu of Dustin's sadly-now-deleted video of Mike and company covering The Pixo Control's "Potpourri" at his local farewell show in July, here's an alternate video of that same song from the crowd! Dustin's video was solid, hopefully it returns online down the road!



Next up, here's our other special mid-week concert preview for you hard rock and punk fans, as the second annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert goes down THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Moving to The Canadian Nightclub (in spite of parking lot renovations) after holding last year's event at The Rockstar Bar, this concert will again pay tribute to late Hangdowns/Business Suit Trappers frontman Guy Thiffault, whose passing last December paved the way for this hastily booked but overwhelmingly successful tribute show, and it's great to see it back for year #2 with more advance word! This year's installment will be headlined by a one-off reunion of Guy's old indie/punk band Nebraska Arms, who played a brief 2 song set last year, and it'll be interesting to see how Wayne, Dave, and Adam do with more time on Wednesday! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will also take the stage for a hard hitting set of their own originals, and it's great to see them on this year's bill!

New local punk quartet The HTs (featuring Bankshot, Northwest, Quasar, and Caveman Morrison alumni) will play their first non-Gimme Gimmes tribute set on Wednesday as well, so come on down to hear them for yourself, especially with no public media online yet! Remaining announced bands are all returnees from last year, including punk trio Stegadeth (in their debut appearance with Johnny Belanger on drums), alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (in their first show since the departure of original singer Larry Babic), and in a new confirmation on the Facebook event page on Thursday, online page-less punk quartet Talk Shit! As you may recall, this band reunited last fall after a 7 year breakup, but they'd been very quiet throughout 2017, so how will they look and sound in their first show in a year? Be at The Canadian on Wednesday to find out! Promoter/HTs frontman Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf also revealed that DJs The Dub Selectah and Manskirt will be on hand to spin tunes between bands, so keep them in mind as the music pumps all night long!

Special guests are teased on the poster and event page, though the only one credited beyond the DJs is "B.S." Could this stand for "Business Suit" (Trappers), as in an encore reunion of Guy's last major band? Time will tell! This event will see all proceeds going to Tracy's Dream, a local chariy that helps pay for Sault Area Hospital parking for those with serious medical need, which is a great gesture! Admission for this concert is $5 in advance (which you can buy online at this link) or $10 at the door, this is a 19+ event, and doors open at 8:00 PM. The partnership with Driverseat towards getting a discount on desginated drivers to get you home is still a thing, so visit the event page for details on Wednesday if this interests you, and once again, The Canadian is open during the parking lot renovations. There are signs up noting how you can pull into the property and enter the venue, so don't let things scare you away!

This should be another great show to honour Guy's memory, and hopefully there's a high turnout to rock out with this stacked lineup of local punk talent! Visit the above links for more details, stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next and here's Nebraska Arms live last year! Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays, everyone!

Rock 4 Autism Fallout & Videos, Woods Of Ypres News, And Much More!

On this Monday afternoon, let's tackle some new stories and updates found and reported over the last few days! Today, you'll find assorted shorter topics, a new commercial for a prominent former band's  album re-release, and first, some fallout and footage from a recent charity concert, so here's what you should know!

As you may remember, Saturday night saw the Rock 4 Autism fundraiser concert take place at The Canadian Nightclub, and based on social media accounts, it was a hit, with $1,000 expected to be raised total, and plans to hold a sequel event next year are already being teased on the Algoma Ride For Autism Facebook page! SooToday's Jeff Klassen was also on hand, posting this article from the show on Monday, which also features five photos of The 3 Day Millionaires' set and one of a fan (sadly, the other bands weren't captured.) The photos he did get were solid though! As for videos, Algoma Ride For Autism live streamed three videos from the show onto their Facebook page on Saturday, including one of country rock cover headliners Bone Yard covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See". This is a fine rendition for genre fans, but the audio is unusually crackly, which somehow didn't afflict the other videos from Saturday night.

The aforementioned 3 Day Millionaires were filmed covering Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", and the classic/hard rock cover quartet handled this song well, as fans of their regular live sets have become accustomed to! Unfortunately, this is just 63 seconds long, is filmed on the vertical cell phone camera angle, and is shot at a far angle from the stage until the last 20 seconds, when the filmer got closer, so keep all of that in mind. Check out this new Millionaires video below, and stay tuned for word on their next concert, coming sooner than you think!



Lastly from this concert, punk trio Redundant's original "That December" was filmed on Saturday as well, curiously appearing to be a solo acoustic rendition from frontman Justin Langlois, with no apparent input from the White brothers (a personal Facebook photo also features Justin alone performing on stage.) No word on where James and Rick were, but Justin sounds good on this familiar original, though the filmer took this from a very far table in the corner of The Canadian, so Justin and the stage are barely visible in the background. Give Justin's solo clip a look/listen below!

Also today, here's a new commercial for the vinyl re-release of defunct local doom/black metal band Woods of Ypres' final album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! It's not every day when a new "official" Woods video makes it's way online, but this comes straight from label Earache Records' YouTube channel on March 3rd to hype what they're calling their "most requested vinyl repress in recent years", with new copies again going on sale last month to go along with existing CD stock. The video features an Earache representative displaying and opening up a vinyl copy of "Woods 5", with "Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)" as the backing track, select lyrics on screen, and video clips from their music video for "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery" scattered within, before noting the pre-order link and closing with "R.I.P. David Gold". The vinyl copies of the album cost $18.59 (including taxes), and you can order your own copy by visiting this link!

We've now crossed 5 years since losing David, so it's great to see that Earache is still supporting and selling Woods of Ypres albums, and if there's the extra demand to get "Woods V" on vinyl once again, you know that's a good sign for their fanbase and legacy! Also, before anyone nitpicks that they used the video for a "Woods IV" song in the "Woods V" promotional clip, remember that they only made two music videos, and this one at least features David, Joel, and the doom metal ambiance. Give this new video a look below, and buy Woods of Ypres albums on vinyl or CD above!



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

• Ticket details are now out for the Diamond Head concert at The Rockstar Bar on September 2nd, and they went on sale online at this link for $22.50 (minus service fees) this morning, though a website issue was ongoing at press time. No word on in person local availability yet, but get your tickets A.S.A.P. when you can, especially as this will reportedly be the most intimate venue on the NWOBHM pioneers' upcoming tour! For what it's worth, prior listings of a third local opening band to be announced have been removed from the Facebook event page.
• Curious for information on debuting "drone/noise/psych" trio Pointless ahead of their first set at FRIDAY'S Soo Art Rocks concert? Though they still lack an online page or media, promoters Live705 revealed on the Facebook event page yesterday that their lineup consists of Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle, Pillory/Peach Thieves bassist Jordan Leach, and former Ashes To Dust drummer David Peredun. Intriguing lineup, but how will they sound? Find out Friday at The Canadian, and stay tuned for our preview!
• This is just a clarification note, but if you've seen physical posters around town advertising reunited punk quartet Talk Shit as the openers for next week's Alberta Intrusion concert at The New American Pub, note that they are old posters, and Stegadeth replaced them before the show had it's first public announcement online (a personal Facebook video from early March featuring this poster came weeks prior to the event page's launch.). If you haven't seen the posters listing Talk Shit, a tiny one is on the bulletin board at the Food Basics on Pine Street. Don't miss this trifecta of Alberta punk bands and Stegadeth next week!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!