Local Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is 100% devoted to new videos from SaultOnline reporter Mike Caruso's YouTube channel in the past week, as his frequent uploads of videos from local bar cover bands continue with welcome regularity! Of course, there's a lot more than this to see from many different groups, but we'll focus on heavier bands and/or covers as usual, and we'll start with Mike's video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at Reggie's West on Friday night, but with a surprise, as former Haggith/Project 421/et al. lead singer Curtis McKenzie joined in as a guest vocalist! We have heard very little from Curt musically since his most recent band Eclipse (and his then-solo project) dissolved in late 2017, so it's great to see him back on stage after 2 years away! The title just says that Curtis is a guest, but Soundcheck's Facebook page's biography was quietly updated last week to confirm the departure of singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe from the band for unannounced reasons.

Travis had previously missed Soundcheck's Water Tower Pub shows earlier this month, as well a date there in September, though I have no word how related those absences were. Travis had been a member of Soundcheck since their 2016 launch, and it's very surprising to see him leave, but hopefully he turns up in a new band soon! As for Mike's video, it's of Soundcheck and Curtis covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" and Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box", and the band sound solid, though Curt's voice is a far better fit on the latter cover, and Paul is again obscured by that post on the stage. Solid overall, so give Mike's Soundcheck video a look below

Next up, here's a video of local classic/hard rock quintet Fluid 5ive at The New American Pub on November 8th, where they covered two songs, namely Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Refugee" & David Bowie's "Heroes". It's worth noting that the on-screen captions indicate a quiet lineup change, as Tom Millette is featured on second guitar, with no sign of guitarist/keyboardist Rob Irving. If Rob has left the 5ive permanently, then a reason for his departure hasn't been publically announced, though note that the band's Facebook page (which still lists Rob in the fold) hasn't been updated in over 2 months. I'm unfamiliar with Tom musically, but he fits right in with Fluid 5ive on these well-filmed covers, and hopefully all's well with Rob going forward! And yes, bassist Pierre Vaillancourt is one and the same as Pierre Anthony, highlighting the familial connection with Liam on lead guitar.

The backing vocals are iffy, but these songs are well-handled with good energy, so if you haven't seen Fluid 5ive before, this multi-camera footage will give you a solid preview of what they bring to the table. Give Fluid 5ive's 1ive video a look below, and don't miss them at Toystock!



Also, here's Mike's new video of local acoustic country duo (and Bone Yard side project) The Bearded Lounge covering Roger Miller's "Me & Bobby McGee" and a surprise slowed down version of Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Nite" at Reggie's West! I believe this was filmed at their matinee show there on November 9th. Of course, Greg and Alex have great chemistry and country chops from their full band work together and vast local experience, as evidenced nicely on the former cover, but the Kiss cover will take some acclimating if you're not a fan of classic country. Nice to see the guys spreading their wings here, so give their Reggievelt video a look also!



Finally, here's local classic rock mainstays Mustang Heart playing three covers during one of their Esquire Club concerts over the November 8th weekend. Here, you can see them cover Heart's "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You", Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" (featuring various pictures of couples added in post), and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". Frontwoman Marci Chindamo sings lead on the first and last songs,  but guitarist Lorenzo Fabbri handles them on Bed of Roses." The audio quality is mixed here, especially with the riffing almost sounding warped on the Heart cover, but Mustang Heart acquit themselves well here, so give them a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Offspring/Sum 41 preview and more on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Great Sabatini Concert Preview & New Sault Michigan Videos!!

I wouldn't blame anyone for experiencing slight deja vu with this post, as just like yesterday, we have news relating to The Highest of Fives, Power Slug, Theatre of Night, and a Sault Ontario all ages concert! Different topics all around in each category though, including a concert preview for a special Tuesday night show on the horizon, so here's what you need to know on this Sunday morning!

The newest all ages concert from Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions goes down THIS TUESDAY, as Montreal doom/grind quartet The Great Sabatini return to Sault Ontario for a headlining set at The Moose Lodge! Last seen locally at what's now Coch's Corner over 3 years ago, that show will have left a solid impression with attendees thanks to The Great Sabatini's dark, sludgy, and often retro-feeling sound that should strike the right chord on Tuesday! Local openers will include local doom metal standouts AlgomA in their first live concert set since Dank Fest in April, and likely their last before their road trip to Cochrane for the Touch of Death festival at the end of the month. Their intense originals from their forthcoming CD should be right at home as they rock The Moose Lodge for the first time, so don't miss their set! The advertised opening band is Habitat Shuffle, a new local punk project from alumni of Free Beer & The Dirty Few, but guitarist Dustin Goodall revealed on his personal Facebook page on Saturday that they wouldn't be able to play this concert for unannounced reasons.

Though we await official confirmation of their exit from promoters (including a possible late notice replacement), this is definitely disappointing, but hopefully Habitat Shuffle pop up soon! This ALL AGES show has an $8 cover charge, and while everything is supposed to start at 7:00 PM, it could be later if only two bands play. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Doom metal fans would be well served to be at The Moose Lodge on Trunk Road on Tuesday night for this high impact and sludgy event, so don't miss it, and for a preview, here's The Great Sabatini live last summer!



Next up, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! Posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, this video features the band's 2012 instrumental rendition of "America The Beautiful" from their second CD "The Dawn's Early Light" accompanied by footage of the band's local members playing in studio, along with scenes of American flags and nature. I assume the upload was meant to coincide with Friday's 70th anniversary of the landings in Normandy on D-Day, but the video doesn't explicitly confirm that. Great gesture regardless, as this was a well composed metal version of this American standard, and part of a very solid album with an awesome message! Check out the full video below, and hear more from Theatre of Night at the above links!



Also, here's a new live video upload from Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Power Slug, courtesy of their long awaited new Facebook page this morning! Among recent concert photo postings (including media from a set way down in Grand Haven for their annual Ribfest last month, apologies for missing it) is this video of the guys covering Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" at what appears to be The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, date unclear. The video quality isn't great, thanks to dark lighting and a distant angle from the stage, but Power Slug do add extra heaviness and aggression to this familiar song! Give their new video a look below, and stay tuned for more from Power Slug!



Finally, this is more atoning for not posting this at the time, but here's a music video for Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives that we've never formally shared on here! Uploaded to singer Travis Theel's YouTube channel in September, we originally didn't feature it on the SMS because it was initially credited then as a solo song by Travis, but it features other band members, it later got a public label as a Highest of Fives original, and they even confirmed that it's their first released original song (source here.) To be featured on their upcoming "Bang!" album, the song is called "Look How Far We've Come", and while it naturally shares more similarities to Travis' softer acoustic solo work than his bandmates' more aggressive resumes, it's a well composed song that shows off Travis' singing ability well! For followers of the band's ongoing "Bang!" short film, the music video is well filmed and features familiar faces & locales all around, and a fun spirit! Either way, give "Look How Far We've Come" a look below, and stay tuned for more from "Bang!", be it the movie or album!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon, plus this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Zombie Walk Afterparty) And New Solo Performance Videos!!

It's time to get some more news and notes up on the site, and if you've been craving a metal/hard rock concert, we've got one sooner than you think, and it's our latest LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! We also have new solo covers from two local musicians with hard rock/metal ties to share after that, so let's kick off today's post!

The performer lineup for this year's Soo Zombie Walk afterparty on October 20th (one week from tomorrow) has been announced, and like the last two years, heavier music will be a part! Returning to The Grand Theater for a second year at the Zombie Walk's own homebase, there will be three bands and two other entertainment acts, and all of the bands have their own zombie ties, but who are they? They would be local horror punk quintet Frightlight, blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage, and new local grunge quartet Haggith, which is a solid and fitting core of bands! Beyond their own horror personas & material, Frightlight (who I think will be making their Grand Theater debut) also played the Zombie Walk afterparty at the former Foggy Notions in 2010, while Sykotyk Rampage played at last year's afterparty themselves. As well, both they & Haggith have albums concerning zombies in their catalog, including last year's "Zombiez" and Haggith's to be released album "Apocalypse", a concept release that the band plans to play in full on the 20th for their own Grand Theater debut! (as per their Facebook page.) Also note that this will join a very scary end of the month for Frightlight & Sykotyk Rampage, who are both playing at the Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub the following weekend (oh, and the Misfits show that Frightlight are playing in Toronto on the 25th), so keep all of that in mind as well!

The other scheduled performers for the Zombie Walk afterparty include local burlesque troupe The Salty Mollies (returning from last year) and a live DJ for a dance party of some sort, though I can't yet confirm if DJ Seith is returning from last year's afterparty to provide the music. Admission will be $10 for the afterparty itself, which will also secure you a ticket to see the very first zombie film (1932's "White Zombie", starring Bela Lugosi) at 8:00 PM, though if you want to see just the film, the price drops to $5. The movie is all ages, but you must be 19 to attend the afterparty after the movie concludes in the 9:00 PM hour. Of course, the Zombie Walk itself will see locals dressing up and acting as zombies to terrorize the downtown in the name of great charitable causes, so if you plan to channel your brain eating walking dead selves on October 20th, click here for full details on the entire day's events! As a veteran of two of the last three Zombie Walks, I fully plan on attending this year's event, and with arguably the biggest afterparty yet, you know I won't miss that either! I need to see some more live concert action as it is. Stay tuned for any updates as they roll in!


Closing today's post are some new videos from alumni of local hard rock/metal bands in solo settings, and we'll start with the newest clip from Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy, who uploaded this video of him covering the 36 Crazyfists song "Bloodwork" to his YouTube channel yesterday! 36 Crazyfists are a band I don't hear many local musicians cover, but from what I know of this song, Alex has a solid handle on it, and on a first glance, it does sound like the original song, if a bit more reserved. Solid stuff, so check out Alex's newest solo cover below, and keep an eye out for more from him & Ashes To Dust!

Finally, the other new cover is from a Sault Michigan musician named Travis Theel, who you may recognize as local metal project Hoist The Sails' original clean singer. Since leaving the band this summer, Travis has kept busy with his own solo material via his Facebook page and YouTube channel, and while his posted covers tend to stray far from his brief metal work, he does have one cover of a heavier band's song on YouTube! In his newest video (which also includes about a minute or so of studio updates), he covers Staind's ballad "So Far Away", and while he does have talent as a singer, I think this is the wrong song for him to do. His voice is a bit too high for Staind material (and his guitar's very quiet), but that's just me talking, and I appreciate the different spin on it! Travis' other covers tend to flow better for his singing talent, so give his stuff a listen if you want something a little mellower, and here's his cover of "So Far Away"!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes hopefully over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned), YouTube Notes, And Lots More!!

Here's a quick news post for you guys to check out this morning, which I honestly wasn't planning to have until perhaps tomorrow, but when a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT calls, you've gotta get it posted with some advance word! That's this post's top story, but read on below as well for new audio recordings from a local guitarist, lots of assorted news stories, and a note on recent YouTube changes. First off, here's details on this new show!

Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are returning to the concert stage TONIGHT, just in time for a night of St. Patrick's Day live music! They'll be back at The Bird (a.k.a. Golanka's Bar) in Sault Michigan tonight for their first advertised concert in almost two months, as revealed on the band's Facebook page late Thursday night, and I apologize for the short notice, I only just heard about it yesterday. It's good to see Banned back, I was wondering where they've been over the last while! If you're looking for some St. Patrick's Day revelry with a heavier soundtrack in Sault Michigan, Banned at The Bird is about as good as it gets, so don't miss the show tonight! Details are admittedly scant, but the show should be at around 10:00 PM tonight with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit, but make room for green beer, and check the above links for more details! This sounds like a good time full of solid music and with the holiday setting, what better way to welcome Banned back to the stage? Go see them at The Bird TONIGHT, and for a preview, here's Banned covering Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" at their last show in January!



Next up, Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci has posted some new solo performance clips onto his YouTube channel over the past three days! The newest is a slower instrumental with a nice groove named "Sequence 01 5" that'd fit a softer bluesy rock song pretty well, but I dig his upload from Wednesday named "Shut The Funk Up" more though! The title implies funk, and that's what we get in this funk rock number with more creativity and solo standout parts that add up to a very catchy and listenable tune! Neither of these uploads are videos, with only audio and an accompanying picture, but they're still worth listening to, so check them out at the above links, and here's "Shut The Funk Up"!



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

• Ex-Bring The Fallen drummer Travis St. Amour is looking for a singer for a new metal band he's part of (possibly a relaunched Unleash The Blackened Sky?) The start date would be late April, likely after Travis comes back from North Bay, and out of town shows are a goal for the band. If you're interested or want more details, reply on Travis' post at the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from this past Wednesday!
• A post on their Facebook page on Thursday implied that local extreme metal quintet Winkstinger have began recording sessions! Whether these are towards an album release of some kind or not is unknown at present, but a post on guitarist Jesse Cook's personal Facebook page mentioned that drum recording was done on Thursday with bass next. This is all news to me, but I'll keep you guys posted as more comes out!
• Tickets for April 7th's Ypres Metal Fest are NOW ON SALE! I'm 100% certain now, and you can pick them up at Northland Music, The Canadian Motor Hotel's front desk, or through promoter Rich Moreland or David Gold's sister Marie (contact links for both here.) Despite earlier mentions, I've heard nothing recent about tickets being at The Rad Zone, but I'll keep you guys posted if I confirm their availability there. GET YOUR TICKETS A.S.A.P.!!

And finally, I wanted to note a recent change to many local music-related pages that you guys may visit. Earlier this month, YouTube converted all channels on the popular video website to a new format that some users had already voluntarily began using. This is mandatory, similar to the MySpace layout changeover from November 2010, and if you had a lovingly created custom layout (or maintained one in lieu of the new format), it's mostly gone now. The background image (if you had one) will still be there, as will biography & channel details, but the pages now have a cleaner & simpler look that has less room for manipulation, though various layouts and page views still exist. No videos were directly removed from pages either with the changeover, so if any of yours were pulled, the new layout isn't why. As an example, see what the SMS' YouTube channel now looks like at this location. I picked a layout that let you guys see all recent uploads & various playlists up front like before, but info on what I've posted, liked, and subscribed to (along with channel comments) now have separate tabs. Other channels will look similar to this, and if you haven't logged into yours this month, it'll look pretty bare, so go make your channels look how you want again, and hopefully this new look will grow on us all!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll TOMORROW, along with more news soon! Thanks everyone!