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!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rock The Border Music Fest & Ruptured Birth!!)

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Phlashback/Kick Start singer & guitarist Terry Becker, who passed away on Friday at the age of 65, according to numerous personal Facebook postings. Details on his services have yet to be announced, but definitely stay tuned to local news media for updates on that front. Though not known for work in hard rock bands (moreso country and blues rock), Terry will be familiar to many fans as a brother of Sykotyk Rampage mainstays Paul & Dirk Becker, and was once scheduled to join them with a solo set at 2015's Soo Zombie Walk, though he later had to withdraw from that event. I own an autographed copy of Phlashback's 2006 CD "Ride the Wind", on which Terry was the primary songwriter, where you got a sense of Terry's musical & vocal gifts, and he was definitely a talented musician and instructor, so our condolences are definitely with the Becker clan at this difficult time. R.I.P. Terry!

Now, today's post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS regarding two concerts taking place next month, one a long awaited festival announcement, and the other seeing returning Northern Ontario extreme metal bands after 2 years away or more, so here's what you should know!

Sudbury death metal quartet Ruptured Birth and North Bay extreme metal trio Thekillingfield will each return to Sault Ste. Marie for a concert at The Oddfellows Hall on Thursday, June 4th! Featuring former members of Before the Black Gates, fans may recognize Ruptured Birth from opening for Vesperia at The Algonquin Pub back in 2015, and their crushing science fiction-inspired originals should brutalize local fans when they make their return to the local stage next month! As for Thekillingfield, this show is a long time coming for them, having not travelled west to the Soo since headlining at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in 2011, with two early 2014 Oddfellows Hall sets being cancelled in the interim. Thekillingfield played here a lot around the turn of the 2010s, and it's awesome to see them finally come back after nearly six years away, so don't miss out on their return on June 4th! Local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore will be among the openers in their first public set of the year, and fans should enjoy Tyler's solo return also!

At least one more opening act is to be announced, so stay tuned for updates on their identity. Promoted by Heavy North Entertainment in that agency's first event since September's Dumpster Mummy concert (and just their second since the fall of 2015), a 6:00 PM start time is currently advertised for this ALL AGES show, but admission prices have not been posted yet. This should be a brutal and heavy good time for local metalheads, including some acts we haven't seen enough of locally, so visit the official Facebook event page for continued updates!

Next up, the long-delayed lineup announcement for the Rock the Border Music Fest on Sunday, June 18th has finally been made, and organizers have confirmed that Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay will headline the show in a side project group! The two of them are actually in two side bands, the newer hard rock outfit Josh Todd & The Conflict, and a rap/electronic rock project named Spraygun War, but organizers just said that they will play "a little of everything". I'd be inclined to believe that The Conflict are the band coming, but we won't list them as such until/unless there's confirmation. Josh & Stevie D. are no strangers to the area, as fans who saw Buckcherry at Kewadin Casino in 2011 will know, but how will they sound in this side band next month? Stay tuned! The teased Australian band will be Sydney hard rock quintet The Lazys, who will hit the Soo as part of their Summer Ontario Fun Tour. Lively yet old school sound, they should find a solid audience when they rock the Soo next month, so give them a listen!

Three more bands are to be announced, but aside from at least one being Canadian, none have been confirmed publically as of this writing. Now that the lineup has finally been partially announced, what else should you know on the concert? Well, it's now advertised to take place at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion instead of The Machine Shop, marking a rare local hard rock concert under the tent downtown, and it will be nice to see some live concert action there after too long of a wait! This is an ALL AGES show, though it is licensed, and an early 2:30 PM start time is advertised. Tickets are on sale for $45 for early birds (no word on when the discount ends), $55 for advance admission, $60 for general tickets, and $75 for VIP passes, which allow close access to the stage, a drinking section, and line bypass upon entry. As well, there will be a $100 meet & greet VIP pass that allows you to view the soundcheck and get an autographed poster, so keep all of the packages in mind!

You can get tickets online at this link, though no word on local in-person availability as of this writing. Also, just for clarification's sake, a post on the Facebook event page from organizers indicated that this is not promoted by CSA International (they of the postponed Quiet Riot concert), despite the fact that the "About" tabs on CSA's Facebook page & the Rock the Border Facebook page both list the same phone number. Given that, there must be a common person involved in both, but if they say this isn't a CSA event, who am I to argue? As for the show proper, I know there's already some pessimism online regarding the two week+ delays and the perception of the lineup quality so far, but remember, there are three more bands to be announced, Buckcherry fans should come out in force, and if this concert is a hit, more big hard rock shows will come to the Soo, from these promoters or others! Stay tuned for continued updates on the Rock The Border Music Fest as it comes in!

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

The End Of Bring The Fallen & Much More News!!

Hey guys, here's one more post before we (likely) post our latest CD review, which I have penciled in for later tonight! In this post, we have lots of assorted stories, including a lineup change at an upcoming concert, a new page for an old CD store in Sault Ontario, news from Abstract, and some new audio material from a pair of solo artists named Mike. First though, here's some disappointing news concerning one prominent local band.

Sault Ontario death metal quintet Bring The Fallen have officially disbanded. Frontman Josh Stephney announced this on his personal Facebook page yesterday afternoon, and just in case there was another side to the story, I confirmed the news with guitarist Dan Souliere via e-mail. He basically told me that the band's members are going to focus on personal matters that have made it difficult to devote time to the band, though some members do have some musical plans for the future. This sort of confirms rumours we've heard over the past few months that Bring The Fallen were close to disbanding, which coincided with some notable concert drop-outs during that span. What this means for their still-unreleased debut EP isn't known, but a release for it seems very unlikely now. This is very unfortunate news, especially given their talent and local success! Since their debut as The Undead Warriors in the spring of 2009, Bring The Fallen have had a lot of notable successes, including three Battle of the Bands victories out of four attempts through last spring, and playing a number of high profile concerts over the past two years! I consider them one of the bands that kick-started our growing death metal scene, and when they were on their game, with the full band present, they were hard to beat!

Be they The Undead (Brown Pelican) Warriors, Necropolis, Silent Plague, or Bring The Fallen, these guys gave us some great death metal over the past two years, and I'm not alone in saying they'll be missed! I'd hoped they'd stay together, especially after their successful Rosie show on April 14th, but maybe this will be the best option for the time being. Best of luck to Josh, Dan, Andrew, Nolan, and Travis in the future, and here's hoping they get back into the scene soon!

Well, that's a downer, but how about some good news to turn things around? This might work! There's been a band change for THIS THURSDAY'S Roosevelt Hotel metal night, so here's what you need to know. Local classic metal quartet Late & Loud have replaced State of Misery on the lineup for this Thursday's metal night, in what will be their first ever concert at The Rosie! A reason for the switch hasn't been given, but don't worry, State of Misery will be back out there the very next night at The Oddfellows Hall for the Dead & Divine show! For Late & Loud, this will not only be their first Rosie concert, but this will be their first Dismembertainment show of any kind, and it's actually their last concert until the summer, as drummer Josh Hatherly confirmed with me that the band's taking a two month break after this show. Nice to see them back out there, they were very good at The Sewer Swampstravaganja! Also, you may notice a few firsts at the metal night on Thursday besides Late & Loud's presence, as it will mark both Sativa Rose's first Rosie concert of 2011, and the first 19+ show for Changing Waves' current lineup! So head out to The Roosevelt Hotel for a different taste of metal this Thursday, and click here for more details!

Thirdly, here's some new solo songs from a pair of Sault Ontario solo guitarists named Mike! One is from Mike Cliffe, and it's his new song "Ruthfull Aggression"! This was honestly inspired by a comment I made about his last song "Goth-O-Funk" not having "ruthless aggression", though with a name alteration for it's sound. Interesting track, it has some circus-sounding riffs to start, some heavy atmospheric work, and some well performed "ruthfull aggression"! Mike continues to show his talents on this song, so visit his Reverbnation page to hear that and more of his solo material! The other solo Mike with a new song is Bear Hunters/Skull After Betrayal guitarist Mike Vincent, who uploaded a new solo song amusingly titled "Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich" onto his Reverbnation page as well! It's a slower, but heavy song, but it does get very repetitive. The drums are luckily not as much of a detraction as they were on "Cheese", and the song, if expanded on, could be a great base for a fuller track! Mike should diversifiy it a bit so lessen it's repetition, but it's an improvement! Check the above links for more on both Mike Cliffe & Vincent's solo projects!

Fourthly, here's the latest news from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Abstract, who've made some big waves in recent months, especially given their young ages! One update is that the band have launched an official website! Started earlier this month, it features some basic band information, a bunch of photos, and some assorted other stuff. It's not too full yet, but give it a look at this location! As well, six photos of the band from a recent talent show at Soo Middle School on March 25th were posted by Mike McKee onto The Soo Evening News' website at this location, so give them a look! Nice to see some newspaper coverage for an event like this, and my apologies for missing it! Abstract actually took 1st place at this show, so congratulations to them! Check the above links to give the photos a look, and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, and 13th photos are from their set. Is it odd that the sound guy is BEHIND the band when they're playing? For more, check out their official Facebook page, and stay tuned for updates on Abstract as I hear them!

Finally, do you guys remember when Sault Ste. Marie had a number of music stores? (albums, not instruments.) Now, we just have HMV and The Rad Zone, but we used to have a lot more than that, and one such CD store now has a posthumous Facebook page! So, who out there remembers Mister Disc? In operation from October 1988 to July 1999, this Great Northern Road record store was owned by Saultite Todd Gordon, who's since carved out a career as (believe it or not) a screenwriter in the Boston area! But for over a decade, Todd ran Mister Disc, a fondly remembered music store which is now on Facebook! Photos from the interior and exterior of the store are included, and they show off some cool posters, music selections, and even some innovations that later music stores hadn't adopted yet! Mister Disc was before my time in a respect, as it closed when I was 10 years old, so I was too young to really be into the music scene as I am now, but I do recall this store from my childhood. It looks like it was a great store, I wish I was my age now in the 1990s to enjoy this store at it's peak! I'm not the person to sing it's praises and talk about it though, check the Facebook page to look back at the good old days when music stores weren't as endangered as they're becoming!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of Clownsack's newest EP "Funny Farm" later today! Thanks everyone!