Chase Wigmore's 12 EPs Of Christmas (Part 1!)

I profusely apologize for the delay in starting coverage on these, but let's finally tackle the first half+ of local experimental/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore's "12 EPs of Christmas", which began being posted on November 25th! Kicked off before December began as he was "sick of waiting", this was Chase's plan to record and upload 12 free streaming albums to his Facebook page under his own name as well as alternate project titles. As per Facebook updates, he planned to issue one bonus release on his 27th birthday last month, to total 27 canon albums that he has recorded, including prior releases with his old bands Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes, The Strange Coyotes, This Is Your Band On Drugs, and The Coyote Speedfreaks. Not all of these have seen a full paid release that I'm aware of, at least not with the cover artwork depicted on Facebook, but I recall seeing a few at Blood Shed Productions events in the past, and Chase did imply that some could get individual CD prints if there's demand.

As of this writing, Chase had only posted 8 of the above 12 EPs credited to the "12 EPs of Christmas" event onto Facebook (which he lampshaded via a Futurama screenshot already.) If he does conclude the series, the last four will be "The Mostest Awokest" by his late 2018 project Awokest (it appears "Dick Jerkins" is an alias of his), a belated(?) Smiling Giraffes release, an EP entitled "How To Totally Sell Out & Still Not Make Any Fucking Money", and an album credited to Chase & The Bastards, which is the band name he has attached to more recent plugs of live concerts, and who he has hinted will be a larger focus this year. We'll let you know if these surface! Chase had previously also indicated that the 27 canon solo albums of his will be reissued as "The CxJxWx Collection" in a flash drive collection to encompass his mid-late 2010s solo work, and it would be really neat to see that come to fruition, especially as a means of getting his solo oeuvre all at once!

As for the 8 EPs of Christmas so far, six of them are all tied to his techno/electronic moniker The Black Lodge Masters, including three linked releases ("The First Degree", "The Second Degree", and "The Third Degree"), plus three unrelated EPs ("Secret Rites", "Forbidden Sanctum", and "The Shadow Crowd".) Each runs for 15-25 minutes in length, so the EP branding is apt, but if you let these run, you'll have 2 hours of intriguing electronic action! Often dark and industrial tinged, these are more thematically heavy than instrumentally heavy, but Chase has fun with the production, effects, and musical performances within, and I like the progressively more ominous tone (on average) that the "Degree" EPs have as they go along! For heaviness, "Secret Rites" is arguably the leader in that regard, but these are hard to sum up in just one paragraph, especially without given song names. Check out "The First Degree" more, and hear much more above!



We'll close this look at (most of) Chase's 12 EPs of Christmas with "Stray Dog and the Holy Mother of Chaos Church Band", which is a 14 minute jazz EP. I can't confirm whether "Stray Dog" et al is the name of a real project of Chase's or just the EP's title, but this is definitely a departure in styles for him! The jazz influence is present, but the keyboard instrumentation gives this more of an ethnic European flair, and you do get a lot of electronic undercurrents as well. I don't know that this would be a clean fit on 98.3 FM overnight, but the experimental mashup is definitely an interesting listen, and showcases Chase's range nicely! Give this EP a listen below as well!



We have much more from Chase to cover, including the other remaining EP of Christmas (with 4 more still to come?), plus even more solo albums that he's working on that aren't attached to the 12 EP project. so stay tuned for all of that, and for more news and updates elsewhere! Thanks everyone!

Meet The (Inactive) Local Punk Bands!! Part 3

It's about time we roll in some more defunct & inactive punk bands to our local band links, so here's our third of this ongoing process to formally add older local punk talent to the site! Today, we're sourcing from punk bands with primary surviving pages on CBC Music and Sonicbids, and while information can be spotty for some, there's clear talent and memorable names throughout, so here's what you need to know! Like before, bands are presented in alphabetical order:

We'll start this punk band feature with defunct local ska punk band The 12 Gauge Ready, who fans are sure to remember from their early-mid 2000s heyday! Surviving information on the band is minimal, and that extends to their lineup, who were only credited by first names & nicknames on their CBC Music and PureVolume pages. Both list bassist "Beano", drummer "Clinto", and string instrumentalist "Lucas" in their lineups, while CBC lists singer "Hayward", keyboardist "Lamar", and "J Monty" as members, and PureVolume credits "Adam", "Scotty", "George", and "Michael" in their place (hopefully we get some clarification at some point!) Active from at least 2002-2006, The 12 Gauge Ready were notable from successful concerts at venues like the former Foggy Notions & Madison's Pub, along with at least one Hempfest appearance in 2003, though updates are hard to find after their exit from Rotaryfest's 2006 Second Stage lineup. Their pages (including on MySpace) feature 5 combined original songs, no videos, and no band photos (hence the Christmas concert poster), but how did The 12 Gauge Ready sound?

The ska and reggae influences come through very clearly in their originals, much more so than other local punk bands, and I presume the short lived Break The Violence were hoping for similar success with the genre! There's enough of a punk sound to go around too with nice faster stretches, and I like the use of nontraditional instruments too! I admit not being the right person to comment on their run (which largely took place before I became a concert regular), but fans will know their reputation, and ska fans should definitely check them out at the above links!

Next to add to the site is local/Guelph punk band Burn The Past, who may be more familiar from their earlier all-local run under the name Downshift! Launched in 1999, Downshift were originally a skate punk quartet that rocked the Sault area around the turn of the millennium until moving to Guelph for college in 2001, where they changed their name to Burn The Past, and later took on post-hardcore and emo influences. Burn the Past's last known full lineup featured singer/guitarist Steve Zuppa, guitarist Derek Wyatt, and drummer Mark Zurawinski, with Guelph area bassist Josh Hudman rounding that lineup, while Downshift-era bassists included Adam Turner & Gary Hazelton, and a bassist named Dan (last name not given) played with B.T.P. late in their run as well, not counting the 5 they cycled through before Josh joined. The band released two albums (2000's "Before You Knew Me..." and 2003's "Surviving the Last Day's of Autumn"), with the former retroactively becoming a self-titled Burn The Past CD after their move.

Downshift/Burn The Past opened for bands like A.F.I. Choke, and Moneen locally, and attained their own following in the Guelph area before falling inactive circa 2004, but fans of melodic skate punk will take to these guys, who had a solid talent base and good chemistry! Steve's vocals fit the material, and whether playing a fast song or one with a more indie-rock angle, fans wouldn't have much to worry about! Check out more from Downshift or Burn The Past at their Angelfire, Bandcamp, CBC Music, and PureVolume pages, and here's Downshift at the former Koolie's & Cues during their heyday!

Third to add today are Glunk!, a local alternative/punk trio that was active in Sault Ontario in the mid-2000s, roughly from 2005-2006. Their lineup featured singer/guitarist Angelo Tremonte, former Fitswitch/Scary Uncles bassist Andrew MacDonald, and drummer/current Toronto-area internet radio host Andrew Keachie, who quickly released a debut EP shortly into their run. Information on their live concerts aren't plentiful nowadays, but the guys did play at Madison's Pub with The Regal Beagle in January 2006, and I've found nothing 100% later from their run yet. A varied band who jumped from garage rock to more aggressive punk depending on the track, Glunk! had visible talenton their studio recordings, with solid bass work from Andrew especially, and Angelo's singing altered well to fit different tracks, but there can be some inconsistency in the tone of the members' performances, and the recording quality isn't perfect. I haven't found any videos of Glunk! from their run, but check out material and more from them at their CBC Music and MySpace pages!

Finally for today's punk band additions is the newest of these four bands, that being defunct local indie/punk quartet Nebraska Arms! Active from 2008-2010, their lineup featured singer/bassist Guy Thiffault (The Hangdowns), guitarists Wayne Watkins (Northwest) & Dave Prendergast (Gilmour), and drummer Adam Sauve (Renderware), so they definitely had a solid and experienced roster of local musicians! Runners-up at the Sault College Battle of the Bands in February 2010, fans may remember Nebraska Arms from opening for bands like SNFU, The Populars, and The Artist Life at bars and all ages shows alike, along with making the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands in 2009, and recording & releasing their CD "We'll Never Sleep Again" that year. Last seen opening for The Flatliners at Foggy Notions in April 2010, Nebraska Arms had a solid fanbase and notoriety during their late 2000s run, with a sound that was reminiscent of their past local music work, with a poppy rhythm mixed with punk aggression, and you can see some of their sound wore off on Wayne's more recent bands!

Fans of indie punk would be well served to check out Nebraska Arms' posted material at their Sonicbids and MySpace pages, and I think their album's tracks are also floating around online too. I wonder if we'll ever see a reunion down the road? They had a good stage presence and chemistry, and you can see some of that in this retrospective video from last year!



I hope you guys liked this newest post to roll in defunct punk bands to our coverage! Our next one this week will either take from MySpace, Bandmine, or PureVolume, (or a combination therein), but we're not done yet, so stay tuned for that this week, plus more news and such as well! Thanks everyone!