LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63), A New Local Band, And Much More!!

Let's touch on some more news and updates on this Friday morning, so what's in store today? Some assorted shorter notes, a new guitarist addition for a local band, and late SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, but first, we have a new band discovery that links to the new guitarist write-up! Here's what you should know, and best of luck to Jack Spades as they open for The Misfits in Toronto this weekend! (Updated at 2:48 PM)

We have a new local band to add to our links, and they are Leaked, a young classic rock/punk trio! Formed by classmates at Korah Collegiate & Vocational School, their lineup features singer/bassist Matt Schell, guitarist Tammy Hill (more on her in a second), and drummer Nic Buckner, and Korah students may recognize Tammy and Nic from being current members of Korah's school band Mustang Sally. Updates on Leaked have not came since June, but the band played at two outdoor school events at the end of the spring semester, including at the Buick Drive For Your Students event in May, and at their Relay For Live event the following month. Also, I believe this is the band Tammy was referencing when looking for members on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group earlier this year. I'm not sure if Leaked are still active and functioning or not, but they do have one video from the latter gig, so what should we know from it?

I can't identify each of the (at least) five songs by name, as some are short and/or instrumental clips, and Matt's voice is hard to hear, but the second song is a familiar punk cover, and they also tackle The Beatles' "Come Together" and Golden Earring's "Radar Love". It's not a huge glimpse at Leaked, but they have instrumental skill, and Tammy shows some solid guitar ability, but again, Matt's singing isn't that strong. Hopefully Leaked keep at it though, it's great to see more young talent emerging! Check out their video below, and they're now in our active band links!



Next up, we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will reportedly be back at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced them on their Facebook page this morning, and Kewadin Casino's entertainment page still hasn't been updated to reflect dates at The Rapids Lounge for this latter stretch of the year (at least we know that they're still hosting bands!) Last seen at the Sault Kewadin last month, it's good to see the Jager successors back at it as we slowly approach their Halloween gig at the Legion, and definitely consider checking them out TONIGHT and/or TOMORROW NIGHT if you're across the river this weekend! Both shows are 21+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!

Also, we can now reveal the identity of Mike Haggith & The Din's new guitarist, as they've enlisted the aforementioned Tammy Hill to round out their new lineup, replacing the departed Curtis McKenzie. The local alternative hard rock trio had originally revealed her addition two weeks ago via this Facebook video of the band playing "Out Of My League" during a jam session, but opted to keep her full identity secret until posting this photo on Wednesday. Tammy will make her live debut with The Din at the second Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on November 19th, and the band also teased "some studio surprises coming soon", so we'll keep you posted when more comes out on those! This is a surprise addition, especially with Tammy being a somewhat unknown musical commodity (unless you're a current Korah student), but she did show clear talent in the brief clips from the above Leaked video, and it's great to have another female musician getting into the local hard rock scene! Stay tuned for more from Mike Haggith & The Din when it comes in!

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

• Local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA posted the interview that they did with the Northern Darkness Print Zine onto their Facebook page on October 1st via three photos of the physical copy, though Halloween props obscure some of the questions. The interview was conducted with frontman Kevin Campbell apparently in the winter (quite a delay to print!), and it includes remarks about their debut CD, the cover artwork, and their influences, but questions about their name's meaning and closing remarks are obscured from view. If you want to read the full interview (in case the band never posts it), click here for purchasing details!
• Local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet's studio cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (from the upcoming "Fed Up!" three way split) was briefly posted onto their Bandcamp page yesterday, but was suddenly pulled today due to "an audio glitch", but will apparently be re-posted in the near future. For reference, the song features Billy Bastards guitarist Greg Beharriel, Jack Spades drummer Johnny Belanger, and Joni Radford as backing vocalists, while it did not credit co-lead singer Brent Ellis as being on the recording.
• We have finally added the official Facebook group/fan club for Rock 101's Saturday night program The Hair Scare to our "Other Sault Michigan Links" on the right! Hosted by Scott Cook, The Hair Scare has long been a favourite show for it's assortment of 1980s metal and hard rock (including songs not usually heard on the regular rotation), and the Facebook group is active with diehard fans of the program, even attracting official fan club status over the years, so join in above and tune in Saturday nights at 9:00 PM on 101.3 FM!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll on Sunday, and more news soon! Thanks everyone!

Bear Hunters Album Updates, New Videos, And More Recent News!!

Before we tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, here's some recent news and notes for your Monday afternoon, including assorted shorter notes, new video postings, and first, here's some big updated for an anticipated new CD!

We'll start with some new updates from local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, as per guitarist Mitch Sirie on their Facebook page early this morning, so what should you know? In terms of last night's Golers show at The New American Pub (apologies for missing it, blame personal family matters), the guys debuted two new songs during their set, including a track named "The Wrath of Angmar" (which appears to reference a kingdom in The Lord of the Rings), and a black metal parody named "The Forest of Forests". Hopefully someone got video of both! Mitch also noted that the former will be on their planned second CD "The Dead Testament", which will also have a closing title track of the same name that has yet to be completed. The first three songs will, in order, be "The Void", "The Omen", and "I Fear No God", but the track listing order for the rest is to be determined. Title track included, there are just 3 songs left to be unveiled live, though it's unclear whether "The Forest of Forests" will be one of them or not.

Mitch noted that they take their time writing their songs, rather than writing a handful of singles and adding filler for the rest, and he sounds proud of the work the guys are putting in! Plans are still to begin recording sessions on "The Dead Testament" next month and release it during the winter, so check the above links for complete current details on The Bear Hunters' highly anticipated new album!

Next up, here's a newly discovered solo performance video from Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus, courtesy of local music/culture community Ears & Eyes' YouTube channel last summer, and it's of him covering the 1960s rock classic "Twist & Shout", which is frequently seen in full Pixo Control concerts. Uniquely filmed outside, this solo cover is done in the same style that Pixo Control fans know from concerts, as it's slowed down into more of a jam style, but it's abbreviated from the lengthy version fans hear in live concerts.  Solidly done, and a bit of a window into how this would sound in an acoustic setting, so give it a look below!



Also, here's the newest released cover from new local atmospheric black metal duo Dullahan, this time a cover of Absurd's "Pesttanz"! Set to World War II video footage (don't worry, there's nothing offensive), this was uploaded to their YouTube channel last week, and can also be heard on their Bandcamp page. It's a little repetitive in this form, but Dullahan have talent and they show it on this cover, so give it a listen below and above!



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

• An upcoming episode of Local2's stripped down music performance series Bare will apparently star Inner City Surfers/Role Models bandmates Brad "Example" Lacell & Dave Bahun as featured performers, as per personal Facebook photos showing them on playing on the Bare set. Is this a sign that Brad Example & The Role Models are alive, or is this a solo or new project? Hopefully we find out more when this episode is posted in the coming weeks!
• On Saturday, Detroit punk trio Heroes of Charlotte posted this jam session video of them playing their song "Goodbye", which begins with a shoutout to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, as they can't make the Superior Festival (now on August 21st) that they were originally booked for, but hope to see us soon. I'm not sure if they meant that they couldn't make the original Saturday date or the rescheduling, but it's nice of them to acknowledge that they couldn't play, but wanted to, and hopefully they can at some point!
• Local musician Tammy Hill is looking for a drummer for her new "classic rock/punk/pop" band, who reportedly already have original material and want to do some recording and play live (no word though on if this is the same band she was looking for members for in February.) If you or someone you know are interested in trying out, message Tammy at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this morning!

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

Swampstravaganza & Mike Haggith Updates, And Much More!!

Before we recap the results of last night's VM Radio Battle's opening night, here's a new news post to clear out some recent items, including a sudden new EP release, a unique video, and more, but first, here's some honestly overdue news on a big upcoming concert event!

We'll start today with some big updates for the fifth annual Swampstravaganza, now at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday, May 9th, including that the annual multi-band all ages concert now has an official website! Created through Wix, the page includes photos and band lists for the past 4 installments at The Oddfellows Hall, an official logo, a $10 admission fee, and confirmation that this year's Swampfest will begin at 5:00 PM with the first band starting at 6:00 PM, with timeslots alotted for just 8 bands. This would make this year's event the smallest yet in the Swampfest series, but it would allow for a more manageable schedule! Also, the former "Sewer Swampstravaganza" branding is now only designated for the first year's concert in 2011, with "Quagmire", "Marshland", and "Bog" replacing "Sewer" to label later installments (no word on what this year's swamp-esque name would be.) As for confirmed bands, there's such high demand for this year that promoters have opted to roll out official band registration forms to apply to play, so what should you know on them?

We won't get into the legal jargon, but full details on what bands should bring and expect can be read at this link, where you can also sign up to potentially play this year, and what you need to provide in your application. I know many local artists want to play at this year's Swampstravaganza, so if you want in, act A.S.A.P. via the above links, stay tuned for updates, and the show's website is now in our "Other Local Metal Links"!

Next up, here's the latest from a solo performer from last year's Swampstravaganza, that being Haggith drummer Mike Haggith, so what's he currently up to? yesterday, Mike put a new digital EP named "Of Cars & Criminals" on sale via his Bandcamp page, which compiles three songs from his upcoming full length studio album "The Warinside". The EP (which is available on a "name your price" model) features the title track, "The Snake", and his newest song "We Met As Surrogates", which was just unveiled on his YouTube channel yesterday as well. Featuring Haggith/Din bandmate Curtis McKenzie on guest guitar and/or backing vocals on all 3 tracks, this EP is a nice teaser for fans awaiting "The Warinside" in full, but we'll hold on a review of this EP until the full album's expected release, as it'd be redundant to review both. Check out "We Met As Surrogates" below and the whole "Of Cars & Criminals" EP above, and don't miss Mike Haggith & The Din at The Speak Easy Battle of the Bands TOMORROW!



Also today, here's a unique look into local guitarist/Audiofumes podcast host Mike Cliffe's work behind the scenes, as this video (uploaded last week to his YouTube channel) is of him running a soundcheck for a live podcast, using The Bear Hunters' "Collapse The Sun" as background audio! It's an interesting look at the technical side of things (and not odd when you look at other similar videos on Mike's channel), and fans of The Bear Hunters who don't have "Eternal Hibernation" yet may like the audio sample! Give the video a look below, and definitely consider checking out Audiofumes, it's a quality podcast with notable, local, and underground artists galore!



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

• Local all-female hard rock/punk quartet The Danger Cats have unveiled their first ever studio-produced original song via their new Reverbnation page! It's of their song "Wanted Man", which was produced by AlgomA's Jamie Vincent and mixed by Cross Dog's Mark Rand, according to their Facebook page. It's nice to hear a great quality version of one of their originals, and fans should love it, so check it out at the above link, and don't miss the girls at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands next week!
• The Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe, the local/London solo metal project from Our Place Or Yours guitarist Matt Parr, now has a few new songs uploaded to their Soundcloud page in the past month! They include two acoustic songs (named "Huh" & "A Very Special Acoustic Song", the latter being longer and better composed) and the 49 second unfinished "Heavytrack" (no space) that has a lot of djent-heavy potential! Give them a listen above!
• Local musician Tammy Hill is looking for a singer, guitarist, and drummer to start a punk rock band that would play both originals and covers, as per her post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on February 19th. If you're interested in trying out, message Tammy above or at this link!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our recap of last night's VM Radio Battle of the Bands opening round later today, with weekend concert previews and our Speak Easy Battle review to follow! Thanks everyone!