Wednesday Night Concert Previews, Plus New Videos!!

A busy week for local hard rock concerts is getting an early start tomorrow, so today's post is half devoted to previews of two Wednesday night shows, plus new videos to wrap things up with. Here's what you should know!

The current weekly concert arrangement for local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post will continue for its fifth straight week TOMORROW, but we'll also add Tym's presumed Wednesday nighters in July there to our concert calendar as well! Unless otherwise stated for weather or other conflicting issues, Tym should be back at The Trading Post at 1332 Great Northern Road on July 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th, so if you're up for some Wednesday evening hard and classic rock covers at this busy spot, you know when in July! Remember, The Mike Case Memorial Stage hosts live music seasonally through September. Before all that, Tym will be rocking out acoustically tomorrow night at 7:00 PM with no age limit or cover charge (the same applies next month), and 9&10 News is calling for cloudy weather at around 18° tomorrow. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's another mid-week concert preview, as Toronto pop punk quartet Wasting Time will play Sault Ontario for the first time with a headlining date at Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! A relatively newer punk band touring in support of their new album "Once More Without Feeling", Wasting Time's brand of skate & pop punk will definitely find a willing audience in this city, so if you can swing coming out on a work/school night, don't miss Wasting Time's energetic style of punk rock tomorrow! Rising young hard/psychedelic rock quartet The Uncanny Valley will also perform tomorrow in their first public concert set of 2022, after dropping out of the Clusterfolk Music Festival on short notice. While not a punk band, The Uncanny Valley have a lot of talent and promise so far, and definitely don't bypass them! Be advised that the Facebook event page lists The Uncanny Valley above Wasting Time, despite being the local band.

Whether this is accurate (perhaps reflecting Wasting Time's scheduling crunch given their Thunder Bay gig on Thursday night) or just a result of The Uncanny Valley's own maintenance of the online marketing is not clear. Either way, don't be late! $15 advance tickets are still on sale at this link or presumably at the door, but the door charge will jump to $20. This is a 19+ event, and doors open at 8:00 PM. The mid-week scheduling is very unfortunate, but them's the breaks for many touring acts in many markets, and hopefully a sizeable crowd of punk and hard rock fans come out for this double bill tomorrow! See above, and here's Wasting Time live!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with videos of local punk band Vanity First's... first public concert set (Korah events aside) at Queen Elizabeth Park for the Go Skateboarding Day festivities last week! Uploaded to their YouTube channel the following day, three videos were uploaded from their set, including a cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" from a closer vertical camera angle, and two videos from a more distant hill-top, namely their own "Playboy Magazine" and as embedded below, a cover of Catch 22's "Giving Up, Giving In" (solid choice!). It should be noted that these videos and Vanity's photos from their Relay For Life gig at Korah earlier this month show them playing as a trio with singer Andrew Beggs doubling up on bass. This would seem to confirm that bassist Nick McClelland has left the band, having last been pictured with the group in March.

A reason for Nick's apparent departure hasn't been announced, but guitarist Mikhal Muto had posted about a bassist search on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, so it looks like this is why. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Nick, he wasn't a bad bassist from what I've heard! As for the videos, they are solid for sound quality, and while the video quality is variable (either for distance or orientation), you do get a nice view of the stage in proximity with the ramp and the skating action! Give these a watch above & below, and stay tuned for more from Vanity First!

Finally for today, let's head to Sault Michigan for a new video from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel last week! The black & white video features guitarist Steve Giles playing guitar alongside a MIDI guitar string ensemble track. The performance may not seem like much is going on, but Steve's deliberate strumming is changing the notes of the strings. Very slow and drawn out, but it fills the minute-long runtime, and it'll be interesting to see how things progress for Theatre of Night's non-Christmas material! Check it out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wasting Time, Go Skateboarding Day, And Tarnished) & The Northwest's New EP!!

The summer season is sure giving me a lot to write about at the SMS, so apologies in advance if anything gets/is delayed for coverage on the site, I'm working on it! Today's post features a new live concert video, details on a new local album release, and leading off, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS that you punk fans will definitely be interested in for later this month, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to Snows Bar & Grill in nearby Cedarville for a concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show on their Facebook page last night, even lampshading the short notice by saying "Better late than never!". Tarnished debuted at Snows (at 1187 South Park Avenue, 40 minutes south of the Soo) in February during the venue's involvement in this year's Les Cheneaux Islands Snowsfest pub crawl, but TONIGHT'S concert does not have any advertised frills or themes. Regardless, it's their first announced concert since their (also late notice) Rudyard gig three weeks ago, but Tarnished have hinted that they will have shows to announce soon that have advance word. In fact, after TONIGHT, they'll hit the road for non-local shows in Gould City and Curtis later this month, so visit their Facebook page for continued details on those events.

Despite the late notice, fans can expect more hard hitting originals and covers from Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh TONIGHT in Cedarville, so don't miss out if you're able! This concert has an 8:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live!

Next up, after a two year hiatus for very obvious pandemic-related reasons, Tidal Records will bring back their Go Skateboarding Day festivities on Tuesday, June 21st with five Sault Ontario bands hitting the stage (well, top of the ramp) at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Centre! After previously celebrating Go Skate Day annually with a free skateboarding community event from 2013-2019 (featuring live bands since 2014), it's great to see Dustin and crew (and sponsors) bringing this back at last! As usual, expect skate games, refreshments, and family fun, and if you can skate, you're welcome to come down! As for the musical side, the advertised headliners are local punk & alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles, while Dustin's re-activated (and still online page-less) cover punk band The Cover-Up will play their first show of 2022 as the only returning band from any prior Go Skate Day. 

The other three bands are all younger local groups, including acoustic roots/ska collective Unorganized Township (who you may remember from the 2019 Fringe North festival), punk quartet Vanity First (in their public concert debut, though note that they have not updated their Facebook page in almost three months), and hard rock quartet Raincourt (in their first show outside of White Pines C&VS). Nice diverse lineup that should set the tone for the extreme sports action well! Admission is free for this all ages concert, which begins at 4:00 PM one week from Tuesday, expected to end at 9:00 PM. Sounds like a fun time, so definitely see above for details!

Also, let's head to Soo Blaster, where Toronto pop punk quartet Wasting Time will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, June 29th! Wasting Time have been active in the Southern Ontario scene since 2017, and their upbeat brand of modern skate and pop punk will definitely appeal to genre fans with its spontaneity and energy, so definitely give them and their new album "Once More Without Feeling" a listen to see what they bring to the table! Young local classic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley will open in their first public concert of 2022 following their late withdrawal from the Clusterfolk Festival in April (more on that soon, if belatedly), and while they're not a perfect genre match to the headliners, The Uncanny Valley's talents and raw potential will be on full display, as fans will have seen at Soo Blaster in October! This is the fourth stop on Wasting Time's Bite Fight Tour of Canada this summer.

Tickets for this show run for $15 in advance (presumably at the venue, I haven't seen a link to buy them online) or $20 at the door. This is a 19+ event as far as I know, and doors open at 8:00 PM. Hopefully things wrap up somewhat early given that there are only two bands and it is a Wednesday night, but visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and if you like skate punk, definitely consider coming to Soo Blaster on the 29th!

Finally, here's a very big story for local punk fans, as The Northwest's long awaited third EP "All In" was released yesterday! The indie/punk quintet put the EP out on Spotify as expected, as well as on Apple Music, but crucially, it is on sale for digital download via their Bandcamp page for $7, so it is officially in line for a formal review on the SMS! No word on physical copies, but your first chance to see if they exist would be at the Elliott Brood show at LopLops next Friday. Produced at Unsalted Audio by Pointless bandmates Dustin Goodall & Bill Priddle (with Dustin engineering and mixing solo), "All In" was mastered by Bryan Lowe at Joao Carvalho Mastering (where Id Iota's EP was mastered too), and the album artwork was made by frontman Wayne Watkins' old Small Town Rivals bandmate Jesse Nelson and prolific local punk musician/Cross Dog bassist Mark Rand.

The EP has six songs, including the three preview singles and three previously unreleased songs named "Unsober October", "Lights", and "Walls". It's great to finally see "All In" on sale and available to stream for free if you are so inclined, but when will we be reviewing the EP on the site? Honestly, it won't be until August, as this month is already set for Chase Wigmore's new album, while Sykotyk Rampage's surprise new album is ahead in July due to it going on sale sooner. We'll go all in on "All In" in a couple months, but give the whole thing a listen above! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

The Inner City Surfers - "Time To Travel On" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 146th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with no major new metal, hard rock, or punk albums on sale this month, let's dive into the archives for a look at local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers' third CD "Time To Travel On"! This review is tied in with frontman Dustin Jones' set with his new group Jonesy Land at The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir this weekend, preview forthcoming. Public information has been lacking on "Time To Travel On" in the last decade (the band even admitted on their Facebook page that this CD "wasn't the most fun for the 4 of us to make" and gave them "kind of a skewed view of the album"), and surviving pages don't glean a lot more about it's initial release. As best as I can tell, "Time To Travel On" was independently released circa 2005, possibly in late 2004, and the producer of the album was credited on the back of the case as "Slabba Blender" (a name that garnered zero Google hits when I searched for it).

I don't own a physical copy of this album yet, but The Inner City Surfers' classic lineup is present here, including Dustin Jones on vocals & guitar, Dave Bahun on guitar, Brad "Example" Lacell on bass, and Mikey Hawdon on drums. While out of print, "Time To Travel On" is on sale digitally for $7.99 on Amazon, and it can be streamed on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube (song names below are linked from the latter). Featuring 10 songs running for about 29 minutes in length, let's begin this review!

The opening track ("Slow Days") is actually the longest one on offer, partly thanks to a 30 seconds-long fade-in intro with lots of feedback. When the song proper kicks in, it's a pop punk number with a swinging guitar melody and plain-spoken vocals from Dustin with very relatable lyrics, which they were always good at. The track does a good job marrying their punk base with more of a folksy laid back energy at the same time, and Mikey's drumming is a big help to get the point across, though the guitar solo/bridge could have been more of a focus. Fun opener that will appeal to fans of The Surfers' different sides! Next is the album's partial title song (and shortest cut) "Travel On", which ramps up the skate punk intensity and speed, but if I'm being totally honest, Dustin's vocals are really forced here, and the song may have benefited if he didn't try to sound so angry and forceful, especially the repeated screams in the chorus.

The song proper has a freewheeling attack that is fun to hear, but with The Inner City Surfers' evolution as musicians, this feels more like a leftover from the self-titled blue album to me, and isn't as indicative of their mid-2000s strengths. Fun for what it is, but let's travel on to track #3, "When You're Around", which has a very distinct drum beat and an interesting retro sound to the backing music that almost sounds like they added an organ player?! Vocally, this is a driving pop punk number, which gives an interesting melodic contrast, though the layering of the singing late doesn't really click for me. I wish the music was a little more punk-based, but it's a solid track that better uses The Surfers to their abilities! Fourth is "Rollin'" (not to be confused with the Limp Bizkit song), which gives us our first true folk-focused song on the CD, so fans of The Rising Tide may be curious to hear this one.

This strikes me as a song that would have played really well live, especially as an ode to hitting the road, and I like how the guys' vocals layer on top of each other when they sing the title! There's nothing really punk about "Rollin'", but it's a fun sing-along number that's well composed, makes good use of Brad's bass skill, and showcases their overall range nicely! Fifth on the album is "Settle In", which returns to a punk style, and just in time for an excellent display of drumming from Mikey, even if the song spiritually doesn't call for them! The soft, evocative vocals suit the upbeat guitar work, including an all-too-brief solo by Dave, and while the song is well composed, it's a little too upbeat and light for most of it's runtime, drums excepted. Nice change of pace, but there's better on the album. The second half begins with "Perfect Moment", which will be more to the taste of punk diehards!

Immediately getting to business with Dustin's melodic vocals, the song is constantly in forward motion, and while it can sound a little busy aside from the bridge, genre fans will be right at home with this upbeat folk-tinged punk number! My biggest issue with it is the repetition of the title, which is recited thrice in every chorus, before being buried by layered verses at the end. Not ideal for a sub-3 minute song, but it's a good track while it lasts! Song #7 is "No Cure", which is arguably Dave's best showcase on the album for pure guitar work, and lets this song get as close as we've likely ever gotten to a pure "metal" song from The Surfers. As such, the forced aggressive vocals from "Travel On" return here, but they at least fit this song a little better. Brad fits in well on bass, and the guys do play a song of this style well enough, but it's not where their talents are best served, Dave aside.

Next up is "If I Leave", which features low, downbeat, gravelly-sung verses (is that Brad on vocals?) and more rock-inspired choruses with heavily layered vocals that are hard to make out, but the band sure soars when playing at these points! Another more experimental part of the album to be sure, but I like where it's going, and the jump in styles works, going from the ground to the sky in no time flat. Not the most punk song on offer, but it's a sleeper pick for me! The penultimate song is "Can't Wait", a shorter track that again will call to mind a live folk/country sing-along more than a punk show. Laid back and well performed by all parties, with suitably raspy singing to go around, this admittedly won't appeal to most punk fans. That said, if you always took to The Surfers and The Tide's folksier numbers, you will be right at home, in spite of the abrupt ending.

"Time To Travel On" ends it's road trip with "Don't Pour Me Anymore", a straight-up drinking song that makes good use of the band sharing vocals, catchy percussion, and another nice laid back vibe that would not be out of place at a pub on the East Coast. I wouldn't have ended the album like this, but it does foretell some of the paths The Rising Tide would later take, and I can see how this would be a live hit! Myself, I prefer The Surfers as a punk band, but to each their own.

So what are my final thoughts on The Inner City Surfers' (arguably) forgotten album? I like a lot of it, you can see where the guys were growing as musicians from their first two CDs, but the best was yet to come. Musically, everyone performs well, with Dustin's distinctive vocals usually flowing nicely, he and Dave delivering fun and suitable riffs (plus a few key solos from Dave), while Brad's bass work and Mikey's steady drumming kept the rhythm and time throughout. This album does have more of a punk base than 2002's "Laughing On The Outside", but there was still room for experimentation into folksier stylings, and even metal on one occasion, so there should be a little something for everyone. Honestly, I think I prefer "Laughing On The Outside" musically, which had more of a cohesive mix of sounds, where the songs on "Time To Travel On" could too often have a balance of genres that didn't work for me.

The aggressive forced singing on "Travel On" & "No Cure" weren't my thing, nor was the lyric repetition on "Perfect Moment", and on some of the softer/folksier songs, they just weren't in my genre wheelhouse. I think I liked "Slow Days" & "When You're Around" the most of the punk songs, while "I'll Be Gone" was my favourite of the non-punk half. I was either brand new to following the local scene or not quite there when "Time To Travel On" was released, so I can't comment on the difficulties that The Surfers dealt with when recording this album, but the fact that they didn't re-record any of it's songs on 2007's acclaimed self-titled CD (a.k.a. "The Black Album"), but re-did three cuts from "Laughing On The Outside" may be a sign that they wanted a do-over. I'm not sure if The Surfers ever really de-emphasized this album on purpose, but musically speaking, it mostly holds up in for fans! 

While not The Inner City Surfers' most balanced album, there's a lot of good here that helped pave the way for their final and best remembered CD, so be sure to give "Time To Travel On" a listen at the above links, and maybe we'll review "The Black Album" next year? I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and here's what I can tell you about what we may be reviewing on the site in September 2021! In short, I have no clue, but our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post next Thursday will have some hints! As usual, new paid albums get precedence, followed by archive albums, tied in with bands playing live that month if possible. Our six month anti-bias buffer period is still in effect, so our next review will not be of anything by Molten Imp, Late & Loud, or Slumshine, assuming they put anything out so soon. I'll keep you guys posted in any event, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile: Time Of Ruin

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we again look at a randomly selected band from our inactive local band links, in order to spotlight them and their run for current readers! I had originally projected doing two bands this month due to minimal surviving information, but I underestimated band #1, so our originally planned second group (defunct punk duo Programmed To Fail) will lead off next month's installment of this series. As for this month's band, they didn't last long but delivered the metal goods for fans while they lasted, so here's what you should know on them!

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Time of Ruin

Genre: Thrash Metal
 
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last known lineup in italics. The exact lineup progression may have inaccuracies. Let me know if you can make any corrections!)

Jason Bourcier (Fitswitch, Winkstinger, No Arrow), vocals
Mike DiPasquale (Faithless Sin), guitar
Sara Biedermann (The Apocalypse Afterparty), guitar
Ryan Disano (Winkstinger, Caveman Morrison, The HTs), bass
Mark Parent (Faithless Sin), drums

Lee Slater (Fitswitch), guitar
Rich Moreland, guitar 
Curtis Beauchamp (Sense Of Truth, Fitswich), bass   

Audio/Video: Only one Time of Ruin video is known to survive publically today, namely this drum solo by Mark Parent at their live concert debut at the former Foggy Notions on October 23rd, filmed by attendee/future guitarist Rich Moreland and posted on their Facebook group. It's dark, but the solo sounds good! However, I cannot embed it here due to the group's privacy settings. Sonically, Time of Ruin share the most in common with their predecessors Faithless Sin, who were active from 2005-2007, and also featured Jason, Mike, and Mark in their lineups. Click here to see Faithless Sin in a 54 minute jam session from 2006, featuring a very similar range of songs that Time of Ruin would have covered.

Info/Analysis: Self-described as "Sault Ste. Marie's heaviest metal band", Time of Ruin would make their debut at Foggy Notions in October 2007, and they would play a handful of further gigs at Foggy's, including opening for The Labour Of... in November, until the venue's original closure in March. A battle of the bands appearance was teased in April 2008, as well as scattered songwriting sessions and lineup changes. Time of Ruin were last advertised at an all-local metal concert at The Grand Theater on August 14th, 2008, but they dropped out and were surprisingly replaced by the returning Gates of Winter, with Time of Ruin quietly dissolving by year's end. It's hard to comment on Time of Ruin from both lack of videos and my age (I wasn't quite 19 yet during their Foggy's run), but they had a strong lineup, and despite their relatively short life, they did accomplish more as a live act than Faithless Sin! Hopefully everyone's still musically active in some form!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As promised, we'll lead off a double profile on or around June 10th with the aforementioned Sault Ontario punk band Programmed To Fail, but to round things out, we're heading back to Sault Michigan for a second band with minimal information, as the second randomly selected band will be 2019-2021 classic/hard rock trio Mackinaw Trail. Look for these next month, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gnaeus & Project 906), As It Stands Updates, And Much More!!

Here's a surprise second post on this Saturday, as we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to tackle for TONIGHT, with new videos to boot! To round things out, we have one more new show coming up next month, a big posthumous release of an unreleased EP, and some assorted recent notes, so here's what you should know!

We can officially confirm and call TONIGHT'S Project 906 show, as they'll be playing at the local chapter of The Highland Clan Motorcycle Club's annual Summer Bash! Apologies for the short notice, we didn't call this as a show during our weekend concert previews as we weren't positive on if it was a public event, with Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins confirming that it was this morning. Taking place at 235 Magazine Street (minutes from The Satisfied Frog), this event follows a poker run from the HCMC that is ongoing as of this writing, so hopefully that's a hit as well, and Project 906 should deliver a solid set at the Summer Bash TONIGHT! While this may seem like an atypical concert for Project 906, remember that Joe's old band Exiled played a few motorcycle club events during their 2014 heyday, including one from the Highland Club. Note as well that the Facebook event page doesn't credit any events going on tonight (let alone Project 906's set), but the band's Facebook page announced their involvement earlier this week.

A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for TONIGHT'S Summer Bash, which has no announced cover charge or age limits, but have both in the back of your head just in case. For a preview, here's three new jam session videos, courtesy of Project 906's Facebook page in recent days! The videos are covers of Nena's "99 Red Balloons", Philip Sayce's "Morning Star", and as embedded below, Billy Squier's "Lonely Is The Night", and they sound good, but Billy's vocals can be hard to make out over heavier stretches, and Joe is often obscured by a pole in the jam room. Solid all the same, so check them out above & below, and don't miss TONIGHT's Highland Clan bash!

Next up, here's another new show, as local post-punk quartet Gnaeus will indeed hold their CD release show on Friday, August 5th when they officially launch "Meditations" with a headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar! A rare appearance for Gnaeus at The Algonquin Hotel, this is a fitting locale for the guys to launch their long-awaited debut CD, and while they have yet to reveal prices for physical copies, have cash on hand to get yours! In a reverse from the following week's "Give In To The Din" release show at The Tech, alternative hard rock trio The Din will return the favour as openers on the 5th, while indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will open the proceedings on August 5th with their own skilled originals! One could call this a rescheduling of April's cancelled Summer Bash concert that Gnaeus and K.I.C.K. were supposed to play before the venue's renovations scuttled it, but it's not advertised as such.

There's no announced cover charges for this 19+ show, which will begin at 9:00 PM on August 5th, but make sure you bring money for both your copy of "Meditations" and for any potential admission fees. It's great to see Gnaeus finally announce their CD release show, and with them and The Din flipping roles for another release party a week following, it's a big month ahead for new local album releases! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also, remember how defunct local hardcore quintet As It Stands were recording an EP in July 2011 that was never released prior to their 2014 dissolution? Well, the band has finally unveiled the tracks recorded that year, as per their Soundcloud page, so fans can finally hear what would have been their third & final EP! The apparently self-titled release was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga with producer Kevin Dietz, and while the posted tracks are raw & off the floor without final mixing, As It Stands felt it was time to finally let fans hear the songs. The tracks are "A Sinking Sinner", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For the Kids", and "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky", so click each link to hear each song! For reference, this confirms that the songs that As It Stands recorded at Stereo Soul Studios in 2009 and in Stoney Creek in 2010 were not intended for this particular album. This is a FREE posting, and at least at the moment, is not being formally sold.

It's not clear if As It Stands' earlier studio recordings (including their mid-2000s EPs "The Re-Occurring Nightmare" & "Kill The Music, Save The Children") will see a re-emergence too, as the band teased in April, but it's great to finally hear the 2011 recordings in full! These capture As It Stands at full strength and intensity from their arguable peak as musicians, and if you loved A.I.S. during their run, do yourselves a favour and check out their unreleased 2011 EP above, and hopefully there's more to come! Also, here's the Facebook preview video that the band shared prior to the Soundcloud unveiling, featuring a late snippet from "Embay the Terrible"!

 

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

• New local improv hard rock trio Gianni Gagoots have been added as the final openers for the Castle-headlined concert at The New American Pub on September 28th, as per the official Facebook event page. Solid choice for their second live concert appearance, so don't miss them late next month at The New A!
• Ex-Bankshot/12 Gauge Ready guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf (a.k.a. Sal Velinus) is looking to form a new local band, and while he enjoys melodic punk and ska, he doesn't mind dabbling in folk or country. He has friends in mind for said band, likely a drummer and bassist at the moment, but he'd like to find musicians that could play guitar, horns, keyboard, or perhaps even a female vocalist. If you'd be interested in trying out or jamming with Lucas, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• We have regrettably removed defunct local hard rock bands Meant To Last and These Sins of Time from our band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook pages, which were their only substantial online pages (both have surviving Twitter pages, but neither has enough to warrant linking them on the SMS.) These were the two recent hard rock bands from local singer Alexa LeClair, who is a talented artist, and hopefully she can get a band going with greater success in the future!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Anvil, One Bad Son, & Telephone And Address) And A New Local Band!!

Before we get into this post, we have concert cancellations to acknowledge, as new Sault Michigan hard rockers Ten Kings are not playing at the Sault Michigan Kewadin this weekend. The guys revealed the news on their Facebook page last night, citing a scheduling conflict. Another hard rock band is playing this weekend instead, and we'll have more on that in this weekend's concert previews, but check out more from Ten Kings (including their first live photos) above! Now, today's post features three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS over the early spring, but first, here's a new local hard rock band discovery!

We have a new-ish local hard rock band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are Meant To Last, who are more less the successors to These Sins of Time! As it turns out, Meant To Last were the intended band from frontwoman Alexa LeClair's various musician searches in the past year, so T.S.O.T. appear to be defunct, and they've been moved to our inactive links. Launched last April, their lineup features Alexa alongside T.S.O.T. bandmate/ex-Acention frontman Dalton James Boissineau, as well as Tantrym Tyme drummer Ethan Twardy, showcasing a rare sight: a local hard rock band with members from each side of the border! Meant To Last are technically active on our scale for now, but they haven't updated their Facebook or Twitter pages since the month it's launch, and have never announced the addition of a bassist, so I'm not sure if they're a functioning band right now.

When they were posting, they revealed "I Can't Help Myself" as a planned demo title, shared some original lyrics, and announced plans to play at last June's Algoma Ride For Autism alongside the then-Suicide Kings, though I don't believe either actually played the event. Hopefully Meant To Last pop up again, as Alexa's past T.S.O.T. work showed a lot of promise, but check out what's available to check out on them above!

Next up, here's three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, starting with the official CD release party for local post-punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address' new album "Rust Orchid"! In a change from Chris Shoust's last two CD release shows, this one will be a solo headlining appearance at The Gore Street Cafe at 164 Gore Street (down the road from 180 Projects) on Thursday, March 12th. Far cry from last year's IDNS show, but this will likely be a better fit for the ambient instrumental sounds on "Rust Orchid", though I admit now knowing much about The Gore Street Cafe as a concert venue. Of course, "Rust Orchid" was released online on Bandcamp last week, but if you attend the CD release show on the 12th, you can pay a special $10 price for a CD copy of the album for that night only (prices likely will be $15 after that), so keep that deal in mind! There's no announced age limit for this show, an 8:00 PM start time is advertised, and admission is via a "pay what you can" system.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a nice concert for fans of Telephone & Address and their varied acoustic originals, so keep it in mind for next month, and remember, our review of "Rust Orchid" is very possible next month too!

Our last new concerts today both take place at The Rockstar Bar in the early spring, starting with the return of Saskatoon hard rock quartet One Bad Son to the Soo and this venue on Saturday, March 21st! Our source is The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser in a recent e-mail, while the band also revealed the show earlier this month on their own Facebook page. Last seen opening for Crash Karma at The Rockstar Bar in October 2013, One Bad Son's freewheeling D.I.Y. hard rock should fit in nicely as they headline in the Soo next month in support of their new album "Black Buffalo"! Joining them on their spring tour are Kelowna southern hard rock quartet The Wild, whose aggressive country-influenced rock n' roll should find a strong audience as well on March 21st, so don't miss their opening set! This will be a 19+ concert with a likely 10:00 PM start time, but the venue has yet to confirm the ticket or door prices. We'll let you know when we hear anything!

For more details, check the above links! It's great to see One Bad Son back after almost a year & a half, and The Wild should live up to their name as well, so don't miss this show on a busy weekend next month (remember, Metallica tribute Sandman return to the Soo on the 20th as well, and $12 advance tickets are now on sale at The Algonquin Hotel!)

We're saving the best for last though, as Toronto metal legends Anvil will return to Sault Ontario on Wednesday, April 1st for the third time since their resurgence! After two shows at The Canadian Nightclub, the Juno nominees will make their first ever Rockstar Bar appearance on April Fools Day (no, it's not a joke) in the midst of their 2015 Hope In Hell Tour, and their hard hitting classic originals like "Metal On Metal" should be more than welcomed back to the Soo! This will also be Anvil's first local date since Chris Robertson replaced Sal Italiano on bass, but how will he sound alongside Steve & Robb come April 1st? Unlike last March's show, Anvil have no bands joining them from out of town for this show, but 2 of last year's local openers will pick up where they left off, including punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and classic metal quartet Project 421, both fresh off of high profile Canadian Nightclub sets, so be sure to come early for them on April Fools Day!

Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, $15 advance tickets for the show can now be bought at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk (the price jumps to $20 at the door), this is a 19+ event, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Anvil back, and at what might be their most intimate venue of this short tour, so be sure to keep their return in mind, and I assure you, this is no prank! Stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, previews, and feature posts later this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

A busy stretch at the SMS looks to be slowing down come the weekend, but before then, we have weekend concert previews today in a relatively slow concert weekend, news relating to Punch and half of their lineup's other band work, and some more assorted notes. We'll start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and a related new song posting, so here's what you need to know!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has yet another solo concert at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill scheduled for TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced on Tuesday via it's Facebook event page, but I held it for our preview post to avoid redundantly covering it twice in a short span. Continuing his usual recent trend of playing this East End venue on a Friday night, Tym's acoustic solo cover sets are always worth checking out for his wide array of song choices and clear talent on display, so keep his latest Roadhouse gig in mind for TONIGHT for some unplugged hard rock action! Admission should be free as usual, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Tym's newest solo original song! Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, it's entitled "We Need More Love", and was inspired by Tym's recent experience picking up & meeting two hitchhikers. A softer rock song, it has a good message and production, but some of the programming sounds a bit off early. Solid track though, so give it a look below, and don't miss his show tonight!



The only other verifiable hard rock concerts in the Sault area this weekend that I can confirm will take place at The Runway Bar in Hessel, Michigan, where Kinross hard/classic rockers Banned will return for the first time in over 3 months TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Ever the prolific local band, you can also see Banned next weekend in Sault Michigan, but keep this weekend's Hessel shows in mind for a diverse and often heavy blend of covers and originals from Alex, Don, and company! There's no announced cover charge for these 21+ concerts, and a 9:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links! Banned remain a talented and prolific band in the Sault area, and hopefully this weekend's shows are also successful, so just in case you can't see them next weekend (and not knowing their December plans), don't miss out this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" earlier this year!



Now to some news relating to new local hard rock band Punch! Fresh off of their third place finish at Wednesday's Viva La Battle, the guys already have their next live date lined up, as they're the second and final local openers for the Diemonds concert at The Algonquin Pub THIS THURSDAY, joining the returning T-Rex Manning! Solid addition, and hopefully Punch can "punch" out another successful set in their second show! While Punch begin their local run, members Steven Flint and Ben Boudreau are upping the busy plans, including joining another local band, as they've quietly joined local singer Alexa LeClair's recently relaunched hard rock band These Sins of Time as their new guitarist & drummer, replacing Dalton Boissoneau & Mitch Harris, who were in the band's 2011 incarnation. To go along with the new additions, all mid-2013 postings on their Facebook page (including song lyrics & a vocal sample) were deleted, with the only new post relating to a bassist search for their new lineup, so if you're interested in trying out on bass for These Sins of Time, message band members on Facebook or at this link!

Note that Steven & Ben's main band The Suicide Kings are still alive, recently indicating on their Facebook page that they're jamming again and may have a show coming up, but can Steven & Ben juggle three bands, or has there been lineup changes for The Suicide Kings that haven't been revealed yet? I don't know, but I'm very curious to see where both Punch and These Sins of Time go locally (the latter have especially intrigued me during their scattered runs), so stay tuned for news on all 3 bands as we get them!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• The Nick Cam Jam benefit concert at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley, Michigan on November 23rd now lists Phoenix Sounds Entertainment (a Kincheloe live sound/DJ company) among the scheduled bands on it's Facebook event page. I wouldn't consider them a "band" so to speak, but they'll keep the music rolling when the bands aren't playing, so hopefully this adds to the event, and remember, Infathom and Tantrym Tyme are bringing the metal regardless, so don't miss them!
• The last of Sykotyk Rampage's slate of new 2013 "albums" is now up on their Reverbnation page, that being "The Adventures of Captain Awesome Sex & Chastity Boy"! The first of an amusing two album concept (completed with "Revenge of Professor Perv & The Crimson Nipple"), it continues the recent trend of not releasing albums for sale, so stream it at the above links for some crash action, along with their other 7 albums worth of new songs!
• The complete band order for this year's Toystock on Sunday, December 1st at The Canadian has been revealed, and in descending order from 9:00 PM to noon, the bands will be That's Chester, Boxcar Junction, Glitch, The Thrill Junkies, 2 Buck Beers, Lucky 13, Stiffler's Mom, Obsession, Redline, and Mike Case's Junior All Stars. Nice spread out lineup, and That's Chester are a solid headlining choice, so check out more details on the event at the above links!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned), The Return Of These Sins Of Time, And New Videos!!

In our first of two posts today (our review of last night's all ages show at The Oddfellows Hall is coming later today), we have some assorted recent news to touch on, including a band return, new videos, and a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year! For reference, weekend concert previews (including at least one new show confirmation) are coming TOMORROW MORNING, so keep an eye out for that, but let's begin this run of new posts with the information below!

Kinross hard/classic rock quintet Banned have announced seven new concerts (over 4 weekends) for later this year, as per their Facebook page yesterday! The guys will first head out to Dan's Place in Rudyard on Saturday, July 13th for a one night only gig (no word on why), and though you may remember Banned from some early shows at the town's Music In The Park series, I think this is their first ever show at Dan's Place (a recent favourite of Powerslug's), so keep that in mind in July! The other new confirmations are for the fall, including returns to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on September 20th & 21st and November 22nd & 23rd (their first announced dates there since March), and a weekend engagement at The Runway Bar in Hessel on November 22nd & 23rd (following two one-off gigs there this summer), so mark those on your calendars for some diverse hard and classic rock originals & covers! All but one of these gigs start at 9:00 PM (the Rudyard show's at 8:00 PM), all have 21+ age limits, and there's no announced cover charges. Check the above links for more details!

Nice to see the shows piling on for Banned through the fall, and hopefully there's lots more to come as their name continues to grow in the Eastern U.P.! Note that the new gigs somewhat reinforce what looks like a break for all of next month, as no official public dates for June 2013 have been announced at present, but we'll keep you posted if anything turns up. Stay tuned for more from Banned when it comes in!

Next up, local hard rock band These Sins of Time are back! You may remember T.S.O.T. from our posthumous discovery of them early last year (they'd broken up in December 2011), but as of a week ago via their new Facebook page, singer Alexa LeClair had resurrected the band for new work locally, so what should you know? Influenced by bands like Papa Roach and Hinder, the These Sins of Time name had been used by in projects dating back to 2009, amidst scattered solo work that Alexa undertook, including at least one solo EP release & numerous postings on her YouTube channel. Their most recent 2011 run saw them play some sort of acoustic gig at the former Steamy Bean, along with making plans to complete a full lineup and record a demo, but only now does it look like major plans will be restarted. Details on members haven't been revealed yet, but it looks like guitarist Dalton James Boissoneau (also of Acention) may be back in the fold, though no word on if drummer Mitch Harris is back too, or if their other openings have been filled.

Facebook postings so far include requests for covers, lyric postings, and a solo vocal sample of an original song named "How You Behave", but click the above links for more details! I'm very curious to hear what T.S.O.T. bring to the table in their latest return, and Alexa's quite a good young singer (we don't have enough female hard rock vocalists on the Ontario side of the border), so check out her solo and band work above, and These Sins of Time are back in our local band links!

We'll close this post with new videos, starting with a new music video of sorta from Dafter, Michigan solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, and it sets his recent original instrumental "Burn Notice" with edited footage of Ukranian pole dancer Anastasia Sokolova performing on "Ukraine's Got Talent". It seems sort of random (especially with the last part not of her dancing), but if you like the song or this style of dancing, it'll work for you, so give SweetKenny's new video a look below! (This was uploaded on his YouTube channel on May 13th.)

Finally, here's the latest song postings from local grindcore label Blood Shed Productions! After a couple weeks off from new uploads, the Ringsnaps Gibson-led studio posted two new tracks onto the label's YouTube channel in recent days of his grind solo project Crucify The Whore's new song "Bunk, Shake, and Headache" and a new song from his band Tomgrindy that's embedded below (though I won't give the title or embed the full video due to a sexual title reference and possibly disturbing imagery in both clips.) The Tomgrindy track is fuller and longer, and the backing music is more substantial, but both tracks will still mainly appeal to people who like pig squeal vocals and can handle the themes. Check out the new Tomgrindy song below, and stay tuned for updates on what's being hyped as their first solo demo, along with a C.T.W./Brutaly Fatal split demo too!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for my review of last night's Sleep When You're Dead concert later today! Thanks everyone!

Hempfest Lineup Updates, Plus Lots Of Assorted News & Notes!!

Here's an auto-post full of recent assorted news for you guys, and that includes updates to some of our monthly feature posts, new "Woods V" reviews, some link changes due to page deletions, and much more! Leading things off though is some long awaited updates on a local music festival, and it's differences compared to recent years, so here's what you need to know!

Have you guys been wondering where the coverage for this year's Hempfest has been? I was curious as to the lack of news myself, but as it turns out, the second local installment under the marijuana culture festival's current ownership doesn't have a single metal band scheduled. The full lineup has been posted at the festival's Facebook group (and it's brand new official website), and from what I can tell, the full lineup of unique bands is much smaller than last year's as it is. Not counting DJs or non-musical acts, there were 13 different bands & solo artists on the main stage last year in Ophir, including 4 heavier bands, two of which were local. This year, there are just six bands over the four nights of live bands (August 9th-12th), playing a mix of folk, ska, and reggae music for the most part. Only one (The Blackberrys) are 100% verifiably local, but half of the bands this year are returning from last year's Hempfest. Each band this year is playing on at least two nights, and timeslots are being filled with the Willy High Games (which were a part last year's event), a DJ, music over the speakers, and in one case, a band playing twice on the same night. I will note that local punk trio Redundant are the official spare band if any of the scheduled acts drops out, but they're the closest to metal at the moment.

I can only assume that the lineup is halved from last year due to monetary concerns (I may be wrong though), and having admittedly heard mixed things from last year's Hempfest, less bands may be an way to help fix some of the issues. It's a shame that metal won't be represented, but hey, at least the bands playing this year fit with the crowd & themes really well! Lineup aside, everything sounds about standard from last year, so click here for all current details on tickets and other festival rules and notes. I know many of you guys will still be all ready to enjoy Hempfest in August no matter what, so check out all of the details at the above links, and here's to another successful year!

Next up, I wanted to let you guys know about a series of Facebook page/group deletions for three local bands, though I'll note that all had alternate pages to replace them with. One is sadly for defunct local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete's Facebook page, which was deleted in the past month presumably due to their breakup in April. I wish they'd have left it online for their old fans and to archive their history, including their solid year of local concerts, but what can you do? Luckily, their Reverbnation page is still online, so I just replaced the link for it! The other deletions are for a pair of bands featuring local guitarist Dalton Boissineau, those being new local hard rock band Acention and his former local band These Sins of Time. While the latter's page was likely deleted for similar reasons as Sneaky Pete's (T.S.O.T. broke up last year), the reasoning for Acention's Facebook group's deletion is unknown, though members' personal Facebook pages have hinted to jamming and band activity as recently as this weekend. If I hear anything definitive towards Acention's status, I'll have it here, but I've replaced both of the links for these bands with Acention's outdated Facebook page and These Sins of Time's MySpace page! Hopefully that's all for page deletions and bands erasing their online history for a while, because it is a bit disheartening!

Also for this post, here's even more reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! One newly found review comes from Will Cifer at the metal website Global Domination, who gave the album a 7/10, with the consensus that it was "solid shit fo' sure, but still nothing new." He gives a lot of good opinions on the album's conviction and it's fittingness as their final chapter, though he doesn't believe that "W5" will spur an after-death revival. I like his honesty, even if I don't entirely agree, and if you can get past the hit & miss English translation, check it out at this link! Another new review from January was by Neil Pretorius of The Metal Observer, who gave "Woods V" a 9/10, calling it their magnum opus & a very nuanced album, while praising it's dark and prophetic tone. Another good review, so check it out at this location! Finally for now, Brad Sanders from Jukebox:Metal gave this album 5 stars in a recent review, and though he connects much of his feelings to David Gold's passing (even saying it might as well be a suicide note), he called it their "most consistent & best album yet". Short but well written review, so click here to check it out, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews soon!

Fourthly, here's some assorted recent shorter news stories, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or musician name:

• Trail's End guitarist Chris Hubbard uploaded a new video to his YouTube channel last month to show off his new OLP guitar with some custom upgrades. Despite it's newness, he's selling it for $600 or to the best offer, so if you like what you see in the video, give Chris a shout and make a deal!
• Former Havadder bassist Daniel Horton is looking for a bassist & drummer (age range 18-21) for a new alternative/grunge project he's fronting. If you're interested, check out his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from Sunday, or message him on Facebook! I hope this takes off, as Daniel is talented and grunge bands are very scarce locally, so if I hear more, I'll let you guys know!
• Former Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino is looking to join a new local band or jam with some musicians, and he's open to forms of metal. He also posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday, and he seems really eager to get out there in a band again. Marco would be a definite asset to any band locally, so if you're at all interested in his services, message him at this location!
  

And finally, here's some more updates to some of our monthly feature posts to make them more accurate and up to date! In the Defunct Local Band Profile Series, I've updated the joint SIGHdEFECT/Mugwort profile to note members' newer bands, including Jason Bourcier's work in Giwakwa, Matt Waples' new band The Belmonts, and Mugwort's Bob Helsten's new band Wearwithal. I also added a Giwakwa link for bassist Nolan Rainville on the Bring The Fallen profile, along with restoring a photo there. In the YouTube Channel Profile Series, I edited the profile for Lion Ride's YouTube channel to further emphasize their breakup and add notes on the channel's return to use and the upload of their "I'm So Excited" cover. I edited the Garden of Bedlam YouTube channel profile to remove dated references to their 2011 activity level, while I restored a photo on the profile for Bad Side's YouTube channel. In our profile of Joey Beairl's channel, I edited the reference to Unleashed drummer Jacob Hotland's current band, as they changed their name from Abstract to Tantrum earlier this year. Finally, I edited the profile for Scott Savoie's channel to note his band Swayze Train's breakup, make some date adjustments, and add references to his newest video, a Canada-exclusive Devildriver cover. There's more edits to come, but check the above links for all of the newly updated profiles!

That's all for now, but if there's no new posts by Sunday, I'll hopefully see you guys that night for the West of Hell/Tribune show at The Canadian, and the big local band returns beforehand! Thanks everyone!