Hey guys, I have a stacked news post today to help round out the month of July, so we have a departure in a local metal band, updates to one of our monthly feature series, more assorted news, and a preview of a big concert taking place tomorrow night, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a recently renamed new local band!
Remember the new Sault Michigan metal band MK-Ultra (featuring former members of Absolute & Riot! By Night) that we've been mentioning here and there this year? Well, they're finally making their live debut next month, and with a new name to go with it! The band announced on their Facebook page on Wednesday night that they've changed their name to NoXcape (pronounced "no escape"), launching a new Facebook page to go along with it. It's bare at the moment, but what we do know is that NoXcape will make their live concert debut on Saturday at Dan's Place on South Tilson Road in nearby Rudyard, Michigan! The show will be at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a 21+ age limit. Nice to see them finally debuting, especially with an improved name, but I wonder how they'll sound and look at the show next weekend? We know singer Nick Landreville, guitarist Ben Huyck, and bassist Bill Spence will be there to lay down some nu metal influenced originals, but we still haven't heard official word on their drummer or possible second guitarist, just that the drummer's first name is Justin (Lawless from Absolute?) Still, it's nice to see NoXcape on a local stage finally! Check the above links for more details, and I'll keep you guys posted!
Next up, here's a concert preview for a concert taking place tomorrow night, and if you love hardcore punk and metal, you'll wanna be at this one! Two touring hardcore punk bands from Victoria, British Columbia will hit The Roosevelt Hotel's stage tomorrow night, including headliners Alcoholic White Trash and "gnar rockers" Lesbian Fist Magnet! They'll bring lots of crossover thrash goodness to The Rosie tomorrow, and I have a feeling you guys will really enjoy them! Two local openers are in store as well, those being local cello punk trio RedD Monkey and extreme metal quintet Winkstinger, who are both solid choices for this type of concert! Remember, this show was originally scheduled for The Canadian Nightclub as an all ages show, but with the massive flooding there two weeks ago, the show had to be moved, so kudos to The Rosie for having it now! However, this show is NOT all ages anymore, and now has a later start time of 10:00 PM, but the $5 cover remains the same. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a great show despite the venue change, and hopefully there's tons of punk and metal fans in attendance tomorrow to enjoy the high energy music in store! For a preview, here's Alcoholic White Trash rocking a Vancouver stage in July 2008!
Thirdly today, it looks like local death metal band Unleash The Blackened Sky have parted ways with singer Steve Rhodes. No official statements have been made as to his departure, but his official Twitter page says his band is "none at the moment", and a recent posting on his personal Facebook page says that he's not "in a show playing band anymore". Seems pretty definitive that he's left the band in some fashion, and with no real band page updates in almost a month, this could be all the proof we get. Steve is the third member of their original "Bring The Blood" lineup to leave the band in their brief two month existence, following the departures of Kory Derasp & Dan Souliere. I don't know why Steve left Unleash The Blackened Sky, but it is disappointing, as he was a solid death growler and left a good mark in the local scene this year, particularly during State of Misery's half year run! His two shows with U.T.B.S. (as Bring The Misery) were works in progress, but the band had promise, and hopefully they come back soon with a full lineup again! Best of luck to Steve though, his growling talent would be an asset for bands looking for a death metal singer! Stay tuned for updates from Unleash The Blackened Sky as I hear them!
Now, here's a few assorted shorter stories from the last little while. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or company name.
I've regrettably moved internet rock radio station Energy Rock Radio into our "Other Local Metal Links" because, at least right now, they're no longer based in Sault Ontario. Owner Ryan Kaarlela moved to Castlegar, British Columbia earlier this year and bases the station from there currently. The station still rocks though, definitely listen to it (as I still do), but it's not really "local" at the moment. Best of luck to Ryan out west though, I've heard positive things from him since the move!
Local hard rockers Half Past are now selling official t-shirts! I believe they're black with their current logo on the front. They're $20 in sizes S-XXL and women's sizes M-L, and can now be purchased at The Rad Zone, directly from guitarist Alain Fletcher at this location, or at their concerts, presumably starting at Hempfest in two weeks. Nice to hear, I should pick one up one of these days!
I'm badly late with this, but defunct Sault Michigan hard rockers Nixxon Dixxon have an official Facebook page that I only just recently found! It was launched and briefly maintained last spring before falling out of use, so there isn't much there beyond bio information and photos, but become a fan anyway and show your support!
And finally, I've made some more edits to make some of our Defunct Local Band Profiles more current and accurate, so here's what's newly changed in this monthly feature series! Both the AtrophiA and White Knights profiles have had minor edits to reflect the name changes of bands that members were later in (Bring The Blood to Bring The Misery & Motion Carried to Redundant.) I edited Life's Eclipse's profile to reflect that their drummer's name is Casey Amo, now that frontman Jason Mills confirmed that they can now publically say who their drummer is. I made a minor addition to Bad Side's profile to note that former drummer Mike Vollman is now in a local Christian rock band named Seeking Reverence (also featuring Intrepid bassist Mitch Goetz.) Here's a video of them covering a Kutless song, which isn't a bad rendition! Interesting news, I wouldn't have assumed this would be their current band, but hey, kudos for following their faith! Finally, I've made a minor addition to Out Of The Mouth Of Babes' profile to note that they recorded "Take A Walk With Me" at idioRECORDS here in town with producer (and For July frontman) Dave Hunter. Check the above links for more on the now updated profiles!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and updates very soon, including our August installment of the "Where Are The New Albums?" series on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, this an auto-news post for your Friday evening! I'm currently out of town in Manitoulin Island for a family excursion, but I will be back on Sunday! My Garden of Bedlam Rosie concert review is coming, believe me, but I had very limited time to do anything related to the concert because we left very early in the morning today, so it's delayed slightly while I work on uploading videos and what have you. So here's a short news post including some new videos a concert update, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!
Local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight are among the performers at this year's Art In The Parking Lot event on August 20th! Presented by The Arts Council of Sault Ste. Marie, this is an annual outdoor art exhibition held at the parking lot behind The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Museum at 69 Church Street, which is also near The Rockstar Bar and Anchors Away. It will feature over 25 local artists displaying their work, food and children's activities, and yes, music! Frightlight will bring their horror punk sounds to this event on August 20th, joining cello punk trio RedD Monkey, solo artists Chris Shoust and Anna Winter, experimental performances from The Burtch & Huot Studio, DJ Selectah Sensi Tree, and the Soo's own DJ Spruceau. This is a free and all ages event running from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM outdoors, so make note of all of that, and get more details at the official Facebook event page! Interesting booking for Frightlight, but I believe they played last year's Art In The Parking Lot event, and they'll add to a diverse and artistic blend of local talent on the 20th! Should be fun, head down there next month if you love art and local music!
Next up, I can now officially confirm that August 1st's Alcoholic White Trash-headlined punk/metal show will now take place at The Roosevelt Hotel, as confirmed by promoter Typhoid Meaghan at the official Facebook event page. This concert was originally scheduled for The Canadian Nightclub, but a move to a new venue was necessitated following the massive flooding there this past weekend. I'd heard rumblings about The Rosie as this show's new home, and it's good to see it official for there on the 1st! The downside of the new location is that the show is no longer all ages. No reason for that was given by concert organizers, but seeing as the event's time didn't change, I expected the show to become 19+. Nothing else is any different, so you can still see Alcoholic White Trash, fellow Victoria, B.C. rockers Lesbian Fist Magnet, and local openers RedD Monkey & Winkstinger tear up the stage on August 1st! As for the Hollow concert on August 6th, I have yet to hear anything official as to a new venue or potential cancellation for that show, but as soon as that concert's organizers announce something, I'll let you guys know, but remember that their show on August 5th at The Rockstar Bar is absolutely still on! Stay tuned for updates as they come in!
Next up, here's some new videos, starting with some solo work from a prominent Sault Michigan guitarist! In this case, it's the YouTube channel of Splitshot guitarist Chris Hubbard, probably better known as the former lead guitarist in Nixxon Dixxon. If you've followed his music over the past few years, you'll know that Chris is a huge Van Halen fan, and that has followed to his YouTube channel, where he's posted no less than 12 solo Van Halen covers on his guitars, virtually all of which are customized to resemble Eddie Van Halen's own Frankenstein guitars! There's no Nixxon Dixxon or Splitshot videos here, just solo Van Halen renditions by Chris, and you can tell he loves and knows the material at hand from the posted videos! A few others show off his hand-designed Frankenstein artwork on his own guitars (even a Guitar Hero controller), which look very well done in their own right! Chris has some real talent, especially for Van Halen fans, so give all of his videos a look at this location, and here's his solo rendition of "Somebody Get Me A Doctor"!
And finally, here's a video from last August's Kiss concert at The Essar Center that I've only just found on YouTube! This was uploaded onto YouTube on October 3rd of last year by YouTube user ctfsoo, which probably explains why I'm so late to share it, given that it took almost two months to get posted. It's of Kiss playing their classic "Detroit Rock City", easily the most popular song from the concert judging by the posted YouTube videos (six, by my count.) The video was shot to the right of the stage from a higher seat than some of the other Kiss concert videos I've seen, but ctfsoo was close enough to see everything! Video's alright, but the audio is a bit fuzzy, and people in front can get in the way a bit. Good stuff though, and worth sharing for all you Kiss Army soldiers, so lose your mind in Detroit Rock City below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for my Garden of Bedlam concert review tomorrow at some point! Thanks everyone!
Alright, this post is coming earlier than I'd like (I had planned for this to go up early tomorrow), but some major news came in today that I felt I should get on the site sooner rather than later. That's the main story, but I will include this week's classic video at the end to fill things out, and check out all the details on our current poll (and last month's poll results) in the post below this one. Now though, let's get to the big news (And if anyone has any corrected or additional news on the below stories, by all means let me know!) (UPDATED, 9:12 PM)
The Canadian Nightclub on Pim Street was the victim of major flooding overnight during our major rainstorm, and as such, the entire nightclub is massively flooded. Estimates have put upwards of 100,000 gallons of water populating the inside of The Canadian Motor Hotel's downstairs bar, and though removal of the water has begun (you can see the trucks removing it outside in the parking lot), there is a long way to go from here. SooToday was covering the unfortunate incident at this article, including photos of the interior, where you can see how bad the flooding is. No pictures with the stage in view are shown, but you can see how high the water is in relation to the bar area. According to The Canadian's Jay Perron on this photo album, the parking lot of The Canadian was a lake, sewers were backed up, and the water basically came through the doors. I'm in no position to estimate damages or comment on the severity of the flooding, but this certainly is not a minor incident. This shocking news comes just 15 months after the fire at The Upper Deck Lounge upstairs, which itself didn't disrupt the bar, but the guys at The Canadian have had some real bad luck in general since the renovations in 2009.
I really feel for everyone at The Canadian right now, hopefully they can eventually restore the bar to working order, and hopefully they can come back from this stronger than ever! The Canadian has extra value to myself because it's both right near my place and was the site of my first 19+ concert (Sandman in June 2008), so I certainly wouldn't have wished any of this on them. I heard and saw the storm we got up on the hill, it was intense, but I'd never had thought it'd cause a flood inside any buildings. Obviously, how wrong I was.
I'll keep you guys posted if any updates concerning the bar's condition come to my attention, but if you're a concertgoer, you may be wondering what this means for scheduled concerts, theme nights, and events there. From what I'm hearing, any scheduled events and shows at The Canadian are now cancelled through at least the end of August. Some discussions about that are featured on our Facebook page. On the metal side of things, this obviously means that the Alcoholic White Trash all ages show on August 1st and Hollow's reunion show on August 6th are no longer happening at The Canadian, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be cancelled outright. Stephane Vincent from The Roosevelt Hotel let me know that there was preliminary talks about the Alcoholic White Trash show being moved to The Rosie, but that's not final at present time. Hollow have yet to officially cancel or move their show, but they will try and find a new venue if possible, as indicated on their reunion shows' event page. A shift to The Rockstar Bar wouldn't surprise me, seeing as they're playing there on the 5th already, but that's just speculation. As for Full Circle's scheduled weekend there in September, I've left it on our schedule for now, as September is (at best) up in the air for possible bar events, but if I hear confirmation that it's cancelled or moved, I will let you guys know!
My other Canadian-related note is that a band that was hoping to play there next month is now without a venue. This show had yet to be officially announced, but with the venue for the show being essentially lost due to the flooding, we're hearing details about it and what is needed now. Toronto hardcore metal quartet Vilipend were apparently scheduled to rock The Canadian Nightclub on August 3rd through Dismembertainment, but the show is now venue-less due to the flood. Bassist Michael Crossley contacted me on Facebook for help in possibly helping to secure a new venue, so I sent him some contacts. I have no clue if that will lead anywhere though, so if you book concerts, work for any venues, or can help in any fashion to secure a new spot for a Vilipend show on August 3rd (even a house party or garage), contact Michael at this location! Vilipend have a good sound, a more unique and raw form of hardcore than we're used to, grittier and more sludgy. They'd definitely be worth seeing, but alas, they need a venue, so if you can help in any way, contact the above links! Let's help them out!
This was sort of a bummer of a post, but I thought I'd end it on a positive note, so here's this week's classic video a bit earlier than usual! I decided to feature Garden of Bedlam again for a classic video, seeing as they're playing at The Roosevelt Hotel on Thursday for the first time, and like last month, this week's classic video comes from their set at Hempfest 2008! This actually led off their set that August, and it's of one of their old live covers that was not previously on YouTube, as they covered Velvet Revolver's "Slither"! Garden of Bedlam do a good job, but Buzz's megaphone didn't add to anything really when it was used. They have better covers, but Garden of Bedlam can handle most types of hard rock well, and it shows here! This video, like the Helmet cover posted last month, was filmed by a Hempfest attendee at the show and was it was later uploaded to Facebook by bassist Evan Belleau. You can view the original video at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=35356975931&oid=10668648337 and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! This video deserves to be seen, and a wider audience should see some more Garden of Bedlam videos! So without any further adieu, here's Garden of Bedlam covering "Slither" at 2008's Hempfest!
Now that's all for today, but I'll try and get a new post in tomorrow, hopefully with a happier range of news! Stay tuned, and thanks everyone!
Well guys, here's a new news post as we start clearing out the cache of news from during my recent computer issue breaks. Sadly, I may have to ship it to HP next week for a complete motherboard replacement (the RAM doesn't appear to be at fault), but I'll try and get as much news as I can in beforehand. So today, we have a concert cancellation, news on what's happening at a concert on Sunday, this week's classic video, and starting things off, TWO LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know!
Local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete are returning to the site of their debut for their next concert, which will be on July 16th (one week from tomorrow) at The Rockstar Bar! Kinda short notice for an official online announcement, but the LED marquee board at The Rockstar Bar was advertising the show preliminarily as well, in case you saw it there. This show comes two weeks after their most recent stops at The Roosevelt Hotel for their first full weekend set, and according to The Rockstar Bar's event poster, this show falls on "Community Night", which is likely a reference to that day's Rotaryfest Community Day Parade. The show, which is just a one nighter next weekend, will be at 10:30 PM, there's no announced cover charge (bring cash though, I expect there will be one), and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Nice to see Sneaky Pete back at The Rockstar Bar, and I'm glad to see bookings coming more frequently, hopefully this show goes really well! Stay tuned for updates as I hear them!
Also on the new show front, an ALL AGES concert is coming to The Canadian Nightclub on August 1st, believe it or not! After an almost two month absence, local punk concert booker Typhoid Meaghan has a nice punk/metal package coming to The Canadian that evening, including two headlining bands from Victoria, British Columbia! One is crossover punk/metal quartet Alcoholic White Trash, and the other is "gnar rock" quintet Lesbian Fist Magnet, and if you like female punk singers, they'll be right up your alley, and they have some VERY heavy and fast songs to boot, I'm really digging them especially! Two local bands will open, one being cello punk trio RedD Monkey, and the other slot is to be announced. I'll of course let you know more as it comes out on that! I will repeat: THIS IS AN ALL AGES SHOW, don't be fooled by the fact it's at a nightclub! There will also be a $5 cover, and it all starts at 9:30 PM on August 1st, which is three weeks from Monday. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Pencil me in for this show, there's lots of brutality to be had for punk and metal fans, and with it being all ages and right near my house, how could I pass it up? Stay tuned for updates on this show as well when they come in!
...speaking of all ages shows, you know what other upcoming concert at a bar has eschewed age limits? The Fatality/Immersed metal show THIS SUNDAY! We're previewing the show tomorrow, but there's a lot to be said before then, so here's what you should know! The show has been moved from The Canadian to The Roosevelt Hotel due to a slow reply for venue confirmation, and because of the scheduled karaoke night at The Rosie on Sunday, the doors for the concert will open at 3:00 PM. Early, but metal sounds just as good no matter what time of day! The show is in fact all ages, the first such show Dismembertainment have booked (not counting Rich Moreland's shows before starting the company), and as such, minors will have to pay a raised cover charge of $7 (19+ attendees are $5), with a no tolerance policy for minors caught drinking or drunk. If you're 18 or younger and under the influence, you will be immediately ejected from The Rosie and you will NOT be refunded your cover charge, so if you're going and not 19, abide by the rules and have a legal fun time! As for the opening bands, there will be three local openers, including local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and just three days off of the last Thursday metal night, Desbarats' own For All That Is Lost & prominent local hardcore band As It Stands! Solid opener choices, they'll be sure to tear it up before the headliners melt our faces!
And of course, the poster's included on the right. Get more details at the official Facebook event page! This is gonna be awesome, and who knows, with the early start time, maybe I can finally have one of the lauded Rosie burgers for supper? Who knows, I'm there for metal, and we'll get crushed with it on Sunday! Stay tuned tomorrow for my preview of this show!
Now to a concert cancellation, as Half Past's planned return show later this month at The Rockstar Bar has officially been cancelled. The show, which would have been their first show in 5 months and their debut with new frontman Jordan Rains, was scheduled for July 23rd, but was cancelled due to the postponement of the Gunz N' FN' Rosez show, which was quietly moved from last night to July 23rd itself recently, creating a schedule conflict. The band confirmed the news on their Facebook page Wednesday evening, though later confirmed that they were still on for Hempfest and had two other dates in the works. This does suck, as I know Half Past had a lot of preparation and hype for their big return, especially when they were bumped from the July 23rd date for a newer show when they had that day booked already. But in all fairness, GNFNR would probably be more of a "name" to casual fans, where Half Past have been very absent from the stage in the last 18 months, so I can see why the decision may have been made. Still, Half Past will be back soon, and hopefully I'll be there to see them upon their return, cause they're a very talented band with a lot of promise and plans to show off! I'll keep you guys posted!
And finally, here is this week's classic video! Later than I'd like, but remember, I've had a lot of computer problems this week, it hasn't been my first thought. We featured a video by this band at this venue from the same filmer in February, but with their show on Saturday, it made sense to feature them again, so how about That's Chester this week as well? This video comes from Carol Kainula, who filmed the band at a few shows at Docks Riverfront Grill around late 2009 and early 2010, including this one of the band covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" at a show circa August 2009! The audio's not bad, but the video is a bit worse than the Deep Purple cover I posted in February. Lower resolution, and the vantage point isn't as well pointed at the band, but you do get views of some dancers! The band sound good, and Greg Simpson's making the most of his range to get higher on the chorus! The original video can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=136327797552 & NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! All credit for this video goes to Carol Kainula and That's Chester, I'm just sharing the video with a wider audience! So with that said, enjoy some classic That's Chester action by checking out their cover of Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for my Fatality/Immersed concert preview and much more tomorrow, then our Defunct Local Band Profile on Out Of The Mouth Of Babes profile on Sunday, and much more hopefully very soon! Thanks everyone!