R.I.P. Henry Switzer

The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local singer/guitarist Henry Switzer, who suddenly passed away earlier today, according to numerous postings on Facebook from friends and family. A staple of the Sault Michigan music scene dating back to the 1990s (if not further) as both a musician and guitar instructor, Henry will be more familiar to current readers from his work fronting the 2014-2020 classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63 and their sister group Mackinaw Trail, but bands of his have been a staple of our E.U.P. coverage as long as I've been following Sault Michigan. You may have seen Henry live with local favourites The Mama's Boys, his 2006-2012 band Monkey's Uncle (née Jager), and their successors Sir Charge through 2013, with his son Nathan (now of Heavy Lies The Crown) a regular bandmate of his throughout the 2010s.

I don't feel comfortable going into great detail here about Henry's health battles in the past year or so, but he was candid on Highway 63's Facebook page in March about wanting to come back to live performances following a heart ailment (obviously before the pandemic began), and the band ultimately cancelled a planned Rudyard Days festival in June. Highway 63 would return for one more concert in August, when they played outside of Henry's automotive business Hank's Body Shop to send off Nathan before he moved downstate, and his last public music work was in a series of classic rock studio covers that you can check out above and on his YouTube channel. I never had the honour of meeting Henry, but the outpouring of condolences definitely paint him as a kind soul, a devoted husband and father, and a great music teacher, and his strong vocal range and guitar skills were apparent throughout his local music career.

As of this writing, details on services are not online, but I would keep tabs on The Sault Evening News' obituary page for further information. My kindest thoughts are with Nathan (I can relate to losing a parent) and to Henry's wife Kristina at this difficult time, but from everything I've read, it's apparent that he was a fighter, and he will be sorely missed. R.I.P. Henry!

More Weekend Concert Previews, Plus A New Halfway Loaded Video!!

Now, let's round out this weekend's concert previews with the remaining hard rock concerts that we couldn't fit into yesterday's post! To fill out the post, there's also a new video from a new local band to check out, but here's what you should know for remaining hard rock concerts this weekend in loose chronological order!

We'll start this preview post at The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, where Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return for a pair of shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their De Tour Village gig this past weekend, this will be the Monkey's Uncle successors' first concert weekend within an hour of the Soo since April at the St. Ignace Kewadin, having taken the last two months off "to update some music and find some new music to keep interest alive in the band", as per their Facebook page in May. If this lines up with projections, expect some new setlist selections at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend, and hopefully Highway 63 deliver strongly in their return from their spring break! As usual for Highway 63's Kewadin stops, expect 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



Next up, let's head back to Sault Ontario for a LopLops Lounge concert taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, wherein local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! The first of four July shows from The Din during their "Summer of Din", this will be their first LopLops stop since their short-handed (and short notice) acoustic gig last month, while this will be Bizotic's first LopLops stop in around 4 months, and the second show in as many nights for the Sounds From The Green Room successors, having also opened for Vaultry tonight at The Canadian. Solid and fast-rising bands, so don't miss out on either tomorrow at LopLops! As for SIANspheric, while I wouldn't consider them a "hard rock" band, they have been making waves with their ambient drone & experimental originals over the past two decades, and they should be a unique attraction for fans at LopLops tomorrow, so don't overlook them!

Note that The Din teased the launch of their new "Dinsider" mailing list for exclusive offers, early media access, and news on the Facebook event page (you can be among the first to sign up tomorrow), while the band may be debuting one or two new songs with this set, so keep these nuggets in mind! A $5 cover charge is in effect tomorrow night for this 19+ concert, which has a 9:00 PM start time. Whether you want creative space rock or new alt-hard rock originals, you have options tomorrow at LopLops, so see above for more details, and here's The Din live!

Lastly for this weekend's concert previews (barring something on extremely short notice), we'll head to The New American Pub, where Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing their live-tested brand of "grinding power violence" to the Soo, Uncle Ray's fast and ferocious originals should deliver nicely for fans craving some extreme metal action this weekend, so give them a listen in advance of Sunday's concert! Local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA will co-headline in their second show of the summer and first New A stop in over 3 months, and fans will surely be out for their crushing and slow blend of heavy metal on Sunday! Opening the show are local grind/punk duo Them in their first public concert appearance of the year, and hopefully Tyler & Anthony can set the tone nicely in a rare set of theirs!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. In a busy concert weekend, this is (pound for pound) the heaviest show of all in the Soo, so don't miss out on the brutality at The New A on Sunday night, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Uncle Ray live!



Finally, here's a new cover video from newer local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded! After almost a month off from public updates, this new video of the guys covering Pop Evil's "100 in a 55" was posted to their Facebook page on Tuesday, so what should you know? An acoustic rendition sans bassist Justin Gottwald & drummer Dylan Newman, the sub-2 minute clip isn't badly done, and has a nice casual feel, almost as if you'd expect a campfire betweem them. Justin's melodic singing fits well, and Shane & Ryan have the guitar down nicely, so give this new Halfway Loaded video a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Uncle Ray & Gianni Gagoots), And Still More Alter Bridge Concert Videos!!

After a quiet Monday, we are back with a new news post this morning featuring more recent concert videos to check out, and leading off, a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, so here's what you need to know!

Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut on Sunday, July 9th when they headline at The New American Pub! Specializing in ferocious yet short original songs, Uncle Ray's brand of "grinding power violence" has left a good impression on Southern Ontario fans, and hopefully they bring the same intensity to The New A later this summer, so give them a listen! Local support will include local doom metal trio AlgomA in their second local show since the end of their European tour run. With a very intriguing new album in the works from AlgomA with another notable band (more on that shortly), the second half of 2016 should be very eventful for them, so stay tuned! The other opening act will be local death metal duo Them, in their first publically announced concert of the year, not having played live publically since opening for Dumpster Mummy last fall (apologies for missing that show in previous references to their stage hiatus.)

Solid choice, and hopefully Tyler and Anthony can pick up where the left off in seven weeks' time when they open for Uncle Ray at The New A! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

Next up, local funk/improv/hard rock quintet Gianni Gagoots' second show under their Like Ten Productions promotional banner will take place on Saturday, September 2nd when they open for Montreal jazz/rap/funk trio The OM Sound at The New American Pub once again! Fans may remember seeing the Gagoots open for this band at The New A back on December 30th during Six, Two, Oh.'s Holiday Funk Show, and it's clear that The OM Sound left an impression on attendees with their "hip-hop/electro/jazz funk" stylings, so if you like said genres and want another sampling, here's your Labour Day weekend booking, with some harder edged instrumental jams from the local openers to kick things off! More details may be forthcoming (the show isn't for over 3 months, after all), but expect a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details in the interim!

Finally for today, we actually have a few more videos from last week's Alter Bridge concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino to acknowledge on here! Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! Five come from Infathom manager Michael Cole's YouTube channel, as he belatedly followed Wednesday's "My Champion" video with five more clips uploaded yesterday. Five day delay or not, it's great to see these! Michael's new videos are of the Orlando hard rock quartet playing their songs "The Writing On The Wall", "Come To Life", "Farther Than The Sun", "Addicted To Pain", and as embedded below, "Ghost Of Days Gone By". Filmed at a similar angle and quality as seen previously from Michael, these videos have a great angle of the band, but slightly muffled audio. Check them out above & below, and if more videos turn up on YouTube, we'll try to acknowledge them!



Lastly, promoters Allstar Promotions's Facebook page shared two videos from owner Dave Atkinson's personal Facebook page last week that feature Alter Bridge doing their soundcheck before the show proper began! The sub-2 minute clips (one linked here) feature instrumental performances before doors officially opened, though gathered onlookers do applaud and cheer after songs wrapped up.  This is a very unique way to view this concert, especially when you combine the empty seats and lack of vocals, and diehard fans will definitely want to check these out above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the month rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Monkey's Uncle

For our second post of this Friday, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, and apologies for the day's delay, things have been busy lately on the site! As usual, this monthly feature looks at 1-2 local metal, hard rock, or punk bands that are defunct or inactive, in order to spotlight them for current readers, and like our past installments of this series, today's band was randomly selected. We have a familiar unit from the Sault Michigan area today that have a successor band currently playing frequently in the area, so read on below for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile!
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Monkey's Uncle

Genre: Classic/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This information is incomplete, especially regarding their late 2000s lineups, and may also be incorrect regarding their final lineup. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Henry Switzer (Highway 63, Sir Charge, The Mama's Boys), vocals/guitar
Nathan Switzer (Highway 63, Analog Deficiency, RamWagon), bass
Ron Suchey (Highway 63, Hair Trigger, RamWagon), drums

Donny Newell (Absolute, NoXcape, Full Throttle), vocals/guitar
Jim Belleau (The Brooks Band, Bittermoon), bass
 
Audio/Video: Though primarily known in live concerts from their covers-only sets, Monkey's Uncle recorded 4 original songs like "Cold Hell", "Straight Jacket", and "Somewhere In Time" that you can stream on their MySpace page, all from the Jager days in the mid-late 2000s. A cover of Ronan Keating's "This I Promise" and a song from Henry Switzer's old classic rock band The Mama's Boys are also posted there. Though photos don't survive of the band there, four Jager-era concert videos (with an early quartet lineup, and mostly at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace) can be streamed on MySpace as well, including covers of Nickelback's "Figure You Out", Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch", Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer", and as embedded below, Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog", so check everything out!

Info/Analysis: Formerly known as Jager 4.0 and simply Jager, Monkey's Uncle were a veteran hard & classic rock band who were frequent sights at Eastern U.P. concerts, often under the Kewadin Casino umbrella, from at least 2006 until 2012, though specific surviving information on their run is in short supply today, with the band never having an active Facebook page. They underwent a number of lineup changes during their run, with their trio incarnation of Henry Switzer, Jim Belleau, and Ron Suchey arguably the best documented. Later enlisting Henry's son Nathan on bass for the band's last years,  Monkey's Uncle quietly disbanded by late 2012, when the Switzers succeeded them with the short-lived Sir Charge until mid-2013, then joining forces with Ron again in 2014 in the currently active Highway 63. Jager/Monkey's Uncle were a solid band that put an everyman grit and talented performances to some classic hits, and their original songs hold up as well, particularly "Cold Hell" & "Straight Jacket", but be sure to follow Highway 63 for similar work!
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 I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection has taken us to The Valentine's Day Massacre, the early 2010s deathcore quartet featuring Sativa Rose & State of Misery alumni, so look for that on or around April 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E & Sir Charge) And Two New Sault Michigan Hard Rock Bands!!

For the second time in the last 4 days, we're devoting an entire post to Sault Michigan-area bands and concerts, as we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and newer local bands to announce, and these sure are helping to inject some quantity and quality to our active band links and concert listings! As usual when we have new bands to launch, we'll start with them first, so here's what you need to know!

Our first new band is Sault Michigan hard rock metal/quartet Dirtbag In A Dress (interesting name), but you may have previously known them as two-time LemmaFest veterans Bucksaw! I haven't heard why they changed their name, but Bucksaw seems too common for it not to have been used by another existing band. Their lineup is mostly the same as it was last year, including singer/guitarist (and local boxer) Ryan Franklin, ex-Blind Baby guitarist Bill Ogston, and Scofflaw bassist Barney Gravelle, but with Half A Man drummer Mikey Bishop now a member in place of Chump Change's Jason VanLuven (no word on why Jason left though.) Aside from the band's LemmaFest appearances, news and information on Bucksaw was fairly elusive to find, but according to posts on their Facebook page (and recent correspondence with Mike), they'll play a lot of heavier material (moreso than Bucksaw did), including Seether, Slipknot, and Volbeat covers, and that definitely is a good sign!

It's great to finally see Bucksaw (now Dirtbag In A Dress) launch an online page, and their sound descriptions are promising, but when can you see them live? This Saturday at LemmaFest again, as they're gonna take part of Mikey's other band Half A Man's set to make their debut under this name, and they reportedly have another gig of some kind next month in Sugar Island, though I'm waiting for more information before calling it on here. Stay tuned on Friday for our full extended LemmaFest preview for more!

The other new band is also quite familiar given the members' past work, and they're a local classic/hard rock quartet named Sir Charge! We've alluded to them on here before via their listing on the Kewadin Casinos entertainment page, but I had no concrete info on them to establish whether they fit on the SMS. As it turns out (and this was actually a hunch I had), they're essentially the successors to the (I assume) similar sounding Monkey's Uncle, though I can't 100% verify if they're a completely new band or just renamed. Their Facebook page was launched in November, but only saw major updates commence last month, including confirmation of shows at Kewadin branches and Dondee Lanes, and some live photos. Sir Charge's lineup includes longtime frontman Henry Switzer on vocals & guitar and his son Nathan (also of RamWagon) on guitar, along with Henry's old Mama's Boys bandmates Ray & Russell Mayer on bass & drums respectively, both of which are newer additions.

And yes, this more or less confirms that other recent Monkey's Uncle members like Donny Newell and Ron Suchey are not involved with Sir Charge. The lineup is promising and has chemistry from their past collective band work, and if they have the same gritty hard rock sound as Monkey's Uncle, they should be a must see band locally! That said, when can you see them next? In the first of our LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, Sir Charge will hit The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 19th & 20th, September 6th & 7th, and November 1st & 2nd, along with dates at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on August 16th & 17th, so make note of these if you've missed the various named acts that Henry Switzer has fronted locally! Admission should be free for each, you must be 21 to attend them all, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and both they and Dirtbag In A Dress are now in our active Sault Michigan band links!

Leading from the above shows, the Kewadin Casino entertainment pages for each venue have been updated at the above links, with Sault Michigan now mostly scheduled through the end of the year, so visit those links for details on new dates from non-metal regional acts like Perry Hatch, Bittermoon, The London Gentlemen, Crossroads, Chump Change, Helen Debaker-Vorce, Touch of Class, The Backyard Boys, and Jimmie Cowles, along with all previously announced gigs from local hard rockers Banned.

We have more Kewadin Casino dates from one more regional hard rock band to plug on here too, but we'll cap today's post with the newest concerts from local hard rock/classic metal quartet 415E, who'll return to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on August 30th & 31st and to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on July 26th & 27th, joining their already announced dates at each this month and next. The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni have made a great impression with their metal and hard rock covers & originals since their debut in January, and hopefully these new Kewadin Casino dates add to their growing repuation locally! Odd that there's no fall dates announced though. Like the Sir Charge shows above, admission is likely free, you must be 21 to attend, and I'd assume these shows will start around 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss 415E next weekend in St. Ignace!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews (including a new show announcement) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Metal Project, A Rediscovered Music Forum, And More News!!

Now two weeks into our current posting streak at the SMS, we're focusing on mostly Sault Michigan news today (along with a note on an old message board in Sault Ontario that I just came across), so that plus some more assorted news is at the end, but we're leading off with a new band discovery, so here's what you need to know!

We have a new Sault Michigan-area solo project to add to our band links, and it's from regional singer/guitarist Ken Sutton, a.k.a. SweetKenny! A Detroit native who currently lives and works in nearby Dafter, Ken is a longtime veteran of various Michigan music projects over the past three decades, and among his resume, he's played in the Detroit band Labyrinth, mixed & mastered many albums, produced artwork and animation for other projects, and wrote scores for video games and independent movies, of which you can read more on via the biography on his website. In terms of his current solo project, Ken's been working on original material under the SweetKenny moniker since at least 2010, and he's already released five albums online on various music download sites since 2011! As buyable on CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon (and streamable via his website), his albums include his solo "stripped" debut "Raw & Honest", and four 2012 albums, including the softer-leaning "Footsteps", two heavy albums named "The Whole World Is A Fantasy" & "Jennifer's Box of Junk", and an Amazon-exclusive "best of"collection.

Amidst song postings on Reverbnation in recent months, Ken's 2013 plans include the releases of at least two new albums entitled "Doo Hickey" & "Perception", and these (along with his past solo CDs) are likely to be recorded at the Waterfall Recording Studios in Dafter, which he owns and does work with other artists through (click here for information on that front.) I've been familiar with Ken's work in the past, but I'm surprised it took this long for us to connect the dots and cover his music on here! His music is wide-ranging in sound & appeal, but he's clearly a very talented and proficient guitarist, and his songs are often very heavy with a nice classic sensibility! Vocally, Ken's singing changes a lot depending on the song, and I've detected influences from Ian Gillan, Elvis Presley, and Alice Cooper in the songs I've heard! (The latter two aren't a surprise, he's apparently been a tribute artist to both in the past.) There's so much ground to cover, but so far, SweetKenny has a little something for everyone, and his guitar skills are clear as day!

Definitely check out Ken's solo work at the above links, and if the releases hold up for his 2012 albums, I would like to review some SweetKenny albums on here! We've been starved for recent Sault Michigan-area albums as it is since Theatre of Night's most recent release. I've added both SweetKenny and Waterfall Recording Studios to our links on your left,  and for a video, here's his 2010 music video for his song "Friends Again"! Interesting mix of Elvis-esque vocals and funk rock, but it has a good groove, and trust me, he has plenty of heavier tracks to check out at the above links!

Also today, remember how I was lamenting on the loss of more local Sault Ste. Marie music-leaning message boards the other day? Well, I've found a new/old forum from way back when that may serve the same nostalgic needs that the closed Sault Music Scene forums no longer can! The forum is/was SooTonight.com, and it was active for just over a year from November 2005 until December 2006 (later posts were either Toronto-related or spam, and I suspect the latter helped end the forum's active use.) Ostensibly launched to promote concerts and events in the Soo at the time, it saw scattered use through 2006, primarily through the "Who's Playing Where?" and "Post Your Events" sub-boards, which feature some fun nostalgic promotion & posters for shows of the era, including bands like Gates of Winter, Caveman Morrison, Fitswitch, SourceCode, and The Regal Beagle, out of town bands like Gunz N'FN' Rosez, and numerous others from various genres, including some scattered band & non-concert event promotion!

Even though I was too young to attend most of the promoted shows on SooTonight.com, there's a fun nostalgic air with it all, and it's interesting reading about the various defunct bands and venues throughout, even if this forum didn't have the longevity & success of similar boards of the era. Some of the interactions were sort of harsh, but overall, this was a good idea that I wish had lasted longer. Check out SooTonight.com at the above links, and it's now listed with our other message board links on your right!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from Sault Michigan, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• At some point last year (I believe), Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle added prolific local metal guitarist Nathan Switzer to their lineup as their bassist, replacing Jim Belleau. Nathan is the son of frontman Henry Switzer, so that's definitely a good fit on that basis! That said, I apologize if this was badly late, but Monkey's Uncle's MySpace page only gets sporadic updates at best, and news on 2013 concerts are still in limbo. I'll keep you posted!
• Former Swayze Train/Insipid Brutality guitarist Scott Savoie has been releasing original metal compositions to his personal Soundcloud page in the past month, which have a lot of brutal technical metal promise! I have no clue if this will lead into a formal new band project, but these 5 instrumental demos are awesome so far, and check the above link to hear them!
• Also in SoundCloud postings from across the river, local classical metal project Theatre of Night posted an instrumental cover of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 onto their own SoundCloud page yesterday, and it's a great rendition of this classical standard! No word yet on if this will make a future album, but check it out above, and help fund their upcoming "Christmas Night" sessions!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the week rolls along, including new concerts across the river and (perhaps) another new local band! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sebastian Bach & April Wine) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

We're back with another news/preview post, and it mostly covers Kewadin Casino concerts in the Eastern U.P. through February, so what's specifically on tap? We have previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock shows (including a date correction for a show this weekend in Sault Ontario), but first, here's some major LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next year at The Dreammaker's Theater!

Sebastian Bach is indeed coming back to Sault Ste. Marie next month, and yes, this is for a concert! Sault Michigan promoters Allstar Promotions have pulled the trigger, and will be bringing the former Skid Row frontman to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Sunday, January 20th! Though Skid Row and Sebastian have had a lot of local passes (from the current Skid Row's shows here and later cancelled gigs to Sebastian's Swearnet film shoot this year), this will be Sebastian's first formal concert in the Twin Saults that I can tell, but there's already big anticipation for him to play here! Best known of course for his Skid Row tenure (which is full of huge hit songs like "Youth Gone Wild" & "18 & Life"), Sebastian Bach's solo career has taken off even more in recent years thanks to his well received albums "Angel Down" and "Kicking & Screaming", along with various stage and reality show appearances, and his classic influenced heavy metal has stood the test of time for sure! An opening band is to be announced for this show, but I'll note that Newberry hard rockers Smashcan are still campaigning on Facebook to open the concert, in what would be a rare Sault Ste. Marie appearance for this talented Eastern U.P. band.

Though Kewadin Casino's online pages have yet to confirm this show at present, tickets will apparently go on sale TOMORROW for $26.50, which is a great price, so make sure to get your tickets starting tomorrow morning at the Kewadin box office, this location, and at 1-800-KEWADIN! A 7:00 PM start time is likely, and I believe this is all ages. Check the above links for more details! It's different to see Allstar Promotions bringing in what could be called an older act, but Sebastian's timeless and still current, and his Skid Row classics and originals should go over excellently on January 20th! Stay tuned for updates as they come in, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

The other newer hard rock show at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has actually been announced for a bit now, but it's new to me, as three early hard rock pioneers are coming to The Dreammaker's Theater in their own right on February 9th, including headliners April Wine! The multi-platinum Halifax quartet are well known for hits like "The Whole World's Goin' Crazy" and "Just Between You & Me", and while it seems odd to see them headlining on the Michigan side, they have a good fan base with classic and early hard rock fans, so it will be great to see Myles Goodwyn and company live in the area! Joining them are British rock legends Sweet (best known for hits like "The Ballroom Blitz" & "Little Willy"), who memorably helped pioneer glam rock in the early 1970s, and have a lot of entertaining heavier material from their later repertoire as well! Note that the version of Sweet playing here in February is the one led by founding bassist Steve Priest that formed in 2008, not the original version that are currently led by guitarist Andy Scott.

The opening band will be Illinois hard rock band Head East, they had some success in the mid-1970s with songs like "Never Been Any Reason" and "Love Me Tonight", and they should entertain with their own classic hard rock originals on February 9th! Tickets are $38.50 for the closest rows and $35 for all other seats, and there are plenty of tickets still available from the first row and back, so click here to pick them up online! And yes, you can buy them now at Kewadin's box office in person, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, while there's also a 7:00 PM start time and no likely age limit. Check the above links for more details! This is a great package of classic hard rock bands, especially if you grew up with the early days of hard rock in the 1970s & 1980s, so do not miss this show if you can help it, and stay tuned for updates on these and more hard rock/metal shows at the Sault Kewadin as they come in!

We'll close this post with this weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews, and in a slightly slow weekend, we still have a handful of gigs, including a partial correction stemming from Tuesday's post. Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is bringing his unplugged solo concerts back this weekend with two concerts at different venues, including a show TOMORROW at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road, but he'll also be playing at The Eagles Club in Heyden on Saturday. This is one and the same as the show we plugged on Tuesday that Tym apparently played that night, but after that post went up, he fixed the Facebook event page to correct the date to Saturday night. I rushed that post to get it up A.S.A.P., so it made it on the site before the date correction, and I apologize profusely for any confusion! Nonetheless, Tym has a busy schedule for shows this weekend, so if you're in the East End tomorrow or in the Heyden area on Saturday, head out to see Tym rock some acoustic hard rock and metal covers!

Admission should be free for both of these 19+ shows, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss out on Tym's latest unplugged gigs if you can help it! For a preview, here's Tym covering Extreme's "More Than Words" with a special guest at The Big Cheese in Heyden a few years back!



And finally for the weekend's heavier concerts (at least, the ones I currently know about), as Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will play their last Kewadin Casino concerts of 2012 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! I'm sure that the former Jager has played more recent shows too at other venues (and potentially more this month), but it's always good to hear some advance notice shows from this talented veteran band, especially as their online pages are only rarely updated! Expect lots of entertaining hard rock covers (and maybe originals?) from Monkey's Uncle this weekend, so don't miss out for some heavier weekend entertainment! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts tomorrow & Saturday, with 10:00 PM start times likely as well. Click here for more details! If you're up for some hard rock in Sault Michigan this weekend, head down to the casino for Monkey's Uncle, and for a preview, here's the band covering Nickelback's "Figured You Out" a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow, including release details for a new local metal CD! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews, Plus 415E Updates!!

It's Friday, and with a new concert weekend upon us, we have new local metal & hard rock concerts to preview! Three weekend sets, to be specific, including a debuting band, but we also have news from a Sault Michigan hard rock band to cover at the end of this post. Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know for this weekend's concert hopping!

We'll start with this weekend's only heavier Sault Ontario concerts, as The Suicide Kings will make their live concert debut TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Nicolet Tavern! The new band featuring singer/guitarist Mike Gaetano, guitar/bass players Steven Flint (Wishbone) & Mitch Sirie (The Bear Hunters), and drummer Ben Boudreau (Limelight) only just launched last month, but there's already buzz for their first concert weekend! We have yet to hear anything concrete on their setlist or potential covers, but their lineup and Facebook postings at least lean in a heavy path, so if you wanna check out the Sault's newest live rock band, be at The Nic tonight or tomorrow! Admission should be free for both nights, you must be 19 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times are advertised. For more details, click here! It remains to be seen how The Suicide Kings' first shows will go, but if there's any fallout, videos, or more, we'll be sure to have them here! Until then, keep their debut shows this weekend in mind, as I sense good things!

Working our way south for the rest of this weekend's heavier shows, we'll next head down to Hessel, Michigan, where Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to The Runway Bar! Last seen at this venue in August, Banned's Hessel shows this weekend will be their first in a string of two consecutive weekends at The Runway Bar, and hopefully they go just as well as their past gigs there! Note that The Runway Bar's Facebook page has misspelled Banned's name in recent advertising, as well as calling them "The Banned", but it's more concert press than some local venues give on Facebook! Like Banned's other recent gigs, I'd expect these shows to be 21+ affairs with no announced cover charge, but these have 9:00 PM start times. Check the above links for more details! These should be some quality concerts from Banned, as usual, so don't miss their diverse hard rock covers and originals tonight or tomorrow in Hessel! For a preview, here's 3/5ths of Banned playing their song "Plaid Girl" in August!

Finally for heavier concerts this weekend, we'll travel down to St. Ignace, where Sault Michigan hard rock notables Monkey's Uncle will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! The Henry Switzer-led outfit will be making their last stop of 2012 at the St. Ignace casino's bar/concert spot, but as usual, their lack of updated online pages has left it hard for me to plug recent shows of the former Jager's at non-Kewadin venues. Still, we can plug Monkey's Uncle's stops here without worry thanks to the Kewadin Casino entertainment page, so kudos to them as always! Going by their most recent available media and information, I'd expect their hard rock covers and originals to go well tonight & tomorrow, so don't miss a second if you can help it! I'd expect these shows to have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 10:00 PM-ish start times, but check the above links for more details! Monkey's Uncle have the talent and longevity, so go see them in St. Ignace this weekend, and for a preview, here's an older lineup covering Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer" in 2007!



Finally for today, here's the latest updates from new Sault Michigan hard rock project 415E! The former Hubbard-Menard Band uploaded a new video to their Facebook page on Wednesday that operates as an 11 minute+ preview of tracks from their planned self-titled debut album, and it's extra notable in that we finally have audio recordings of singer Dave Menard! With his & guitarist Chris Hubbard's old band Splitshot never posting videos from their concerts online, how he sounded as a singer was a mystery unless you saw them live, so how does Dave do? He has a solid voice (particularly on heavier material), but his range sounds somewhat limited, which becomes more noticeable on softer samples. Also, it's raspier than I expected, but it seems to work well for the 415E material, and at least we know how he sounds now! Along with the video, the band hyped that you should contact them if you want to buy the CD upon completion, but a timetable for it's future release had yet to be made. I'm intrigued to hear more from 415E, and that includes hopeful live concerts, so stay tuned for more, and check the above links to hear these newest samples! (As a Facebook video, I can't upload it here.)

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this weekend, including poll results and our next monthly poll on Sunday! Thanks everyone!

Weekend Concert Previews, A New Local Music Store, And This Week's Classic Video!!

We're back to news and previews for today's post, and these include previews for this weekend's slate of hard rock/metal concerts! It's another light weekend on the heavier side of the spectrum, but if any late notice gigs come up, I'll let you know as soon as possible! Also stay tuned after the previews for notes on Sault Ontario's latest music store and this week's classic video, but for now, here's what you need to know!

First in our previews are the latest solo concerts from Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who will bring his acoustic sets to two local venues this weekend! First on his itinerary, Tym will play his first ever solo concert at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill at 743 Trunk Road tomorrow night, which is very eastern compared to most of Tym's past solo venues, but if you on the east end or around this venue, this might be convenient! Note that tomorrow's show is NOT at the similarly named Zone Roadhouse in Goulais River, which Tym has played at in the past. Saturday's concert will take place at The Eagles Club on Old Trout Lake Road, which will be his first show at this venue in over a year & a half. Once a regular there with his own bi-weekly concert arrangement, it'll be good to see Tym back up north for this concert on Saturday, so don't miss it either if you can help it! Admission should be free for both of these concerts, with 10:00 & 9:00 PM start times respectively and a likely 19+ cover charge. For more details, click here & here!

It's great to see Tym ramping up his unplugged solo concerts since their return last week, and hopefully his shows at The Roadhouse & The Eagles Club go swimmingly and encourage future returns there, so go check him out this weekend, and for a preview, here's Tym & former Half Past singer Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words"!



Now to Sault Michigan for the last known hard rock concerts of the weekend, as local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino tomorrow & Saturday night! Their first announced concerts since the Sault Riverview Music Festival (I stress "announced", as their online pages are rarely updated to plug likely shows at other venues), this veteran hard rock outfit should be raring to go with plenty of entertaining hard rock originals and covers in this latest concert weekend of theirs, so if you're up for some heavier live music across the river tomorrow or Saturday, head to the casino! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For more information, click here! These should be some good nights of music from Monkey's Uncle, who do deliver from what I know, so don't miss them this weekend, and for a preview, here's the guys covering Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" a few years back!

Next up, Sault Ontario has a new music store, and it's in a familiar location! After a brief vacancy, the former Case's Music location at 173 Spring Street returned to the music instrument/lesson business in (I think) August as Colosimo's Music Store! As best as I can tell, this is a new branch of an existing music store in Thunder Bay that has seen it's own successes & longevity there, though I don't know if this is the beginning of a chain or just a small expansion. According to the local store's Facebook page, Colosimo's offers a wide variety of instruments, as well as lessons in everything from singing and guitar to mandolin and banjo, and Facebook features some photos of the interior so you can see some of the instrument stock. Their current hours are 10:00 AM-5:00 PM every day except Sunday, and their current number is (705) 450-4222, so check the above links for details! I wish Colosimo's the best locally, and they seem to have a good track record and everything together, but I wonder if their proximity to the other local music stores will affect them?

Though the Spring Street location is familiar to Case's Music regulars, Colosimo's are now competing with Northland Music, Music Depot, The Thomas Walls School of Music, and the new Case's Music location, all within 5 minutes of each other, and it'll be interesting to see how all 5 fare in the coming months. Still, hopefully Colosimo's does well, and I've added them to our listings of local music stores on the bottom left sidebar on the SMS itself!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! Returning to our general intention of tying these weekly uploads in with performers at upcoming concerts, I've opted to focus on Tym Morrison this week, specifically a previously Facebook-only video of his band Caveman Morrison from a couple of years ago. As you may know, Caveman Morrison are far more known for their covers than for original material (though they have covered Tym's solo originals for certain events), which makes this video from a Rockstar Bar gig on December 11th, 2009 a bit surprising, as it's of Caveman Morrison playing an improvised original song! It's just 77 seconds in length, but it shows their then-lineup (Tym, then-bassist Rick White, and then-drummer Jeff "Shrek Ogre" Richards) in solid form playing a very catchy little number, and it's be interesting to see Tym adapt this to a complete solo track!

This video was filmed by an attendee and later uploaded by Rick to his personal Facebook page a week later, and the original video can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=235603496302. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Caveman Morrison, I'm just trying to share it with a wider audience! It's a fun little clip that would be interesting to see more of from Tym & company, so check out this improvised original below!



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

Sault Riverview Music Festival Preview, New Banned Videos, And Evans Blue Concert Updates!!

Today's news post is 100% devoted to the Sault Michigan area, as some big news across the river has came my way in the last little while, so what's on tap? We've got plenty of news & updates on a major upcoming tribute concert, and new videos from a recently prominent hard rock band, but first, here's our only 100% verified concert preview of the weekend, concerning the first installment of a new local music festival!

TONIGHT marks the debut of The Sault Riverview Music Festival, a two day family event on the north lawn outside of City Hall at 225 East Portage Avenue, and it will feature lots of Sault Michigan-area musical talent and family activities, so here's what you need to know! All proceeds from this event will go towards the Chippewa County Hospice, and aside from the music, you'll get events like beer & concessions tents, music workshops, family games and activities, a fish fry, a 50/50 draw, and even a chance to meet members of the Soo Eagles hockey team, so click here for all details on the event, or look at the poster on your right! As for the schedule of bands, I know most of the performers, though likely not all, as I can't find a full itinerary. According to the poster, local hard rock veterans Monkey's Uncle, young metal quartet Tantrym Tyme (the former Abstract), and Kinross hard rockers Banned (more on them in a second) will be playing TONIGHT alongside local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen and likely at least one more act. In terms of times, their respective Facebook pages indicate that Tantrym Tyme will open tonight's music lineup at 5:00 PM, while Banned will play at 7:00 PM, but I can't confirm the rest of the times at present.

TOMORROW'S lineup will indeed include a metal band, as despite what the poster tells you, Banned will be on both nights! Their Facebook page states that they'll be on at 3:00 PM tomorrow afternoon, joining fellow Friday crossovers The London Gentlemen, plus some unique acts, including that band's Mike Russo & Steve Sivret in their acoustic project Fallen Heroes, local southern rockers Bittermoon, a band named Omega Rock (can anyone confirm who they are or what they play?), and The Grooves All-Stars, a band likely comprised of staff & instructors at local music store (and festival sponsors) Grooves Music. As well, local acoustic pop duo Missy & Chelsea indicated on their own Facebook event page that they'd be playing tomorrow as well at 6:30 PM (though they're not mentioned on event advertising.) If I hear any updates to the lineup or schedule, I'll try and let you guys know! Admission is FREE for this ALL AGES event, and the music starts at 5:00 PM today and 12:00 PM tomorrow, with both schedules running until 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! It's great to see this new festival launching, and hopefully lots of money is raised with the entertaining bands and family entertainment going down, so if you can make it to City Hall today or tomorrow, check everything out!

For a video preview of the festival, we're in luck, as the aforementioned Banned have a few new videos online to check out! A few days ago, frequent filmer & family member Ashley Traynor uploaded three new videos to her YouTube channel of Banned at summer 2012 concerts, so if you've wanted to see them in action again after a few months without new footage, these should work! One is from their set at the Chippewa County Fair's Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands on August 30th, where 3/5ths of the band ("occasional" singer Mike Straw & guitarist Alex Schrovenwever are absent) played their original song "Plaid Girl"! I'm not sure why they were shorthanded, but it's a solid performance, if feeling empty compared to their earlier video of this song from a Gould City concert in May. I'm still not 100% sure on who won, but this video is of good quality and shows the present members of Banned in good form, so check it out at the above links! However, the other new videos are of Banned's full quintet lineup at a concert set of some type on July 28th (I have no idea where, but it's outdoors), and they feature drummer Don Traynor singing lead on covers of The Rockets' "Oh Well" and, as embedded below, AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie"!

The quality's good on these, but the location's still a mystery, and I still think Mike should get chances to sing lead more often, even if his band status is just occasional. Don's vocals don't sound as powerful as I remember from earlier Banned videos, but the guys have talent and it shows, so check out their cover of "Whole Lotta Rosie" below, and go check out Banned this weekend at the Riverview Festival and (if you're up for an hour+ drive) the Michihistrigan Bar in Gould City on Saturday night!

Next up, here's plenty of updates relating to the Evans Blue-headlined benefit concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on September 29th! The third band has been confirmed for this show, and they are Detroit hard rock quintet Fifth Way, who will return to the Soo Kewadin for the first time since opening for The Gin Blossoms there in April! Local fans are bound to recognize Fifth Way for their frequent stops here in recent years and for featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar, so prepare for some great modern hard rock from them in their return! Also of note, this will be Fifth Way's first local concert with new bassist Victor Wooten, who replaced Mike McMann in the band earlier this summer. Also in recent concert news, it has been revealed that proceeds from this concert will also go to The Kim Rogers Scholarship Fund, in memory of the late Kim Rogers, a local student who passed away in a snowmobile accident in 2010. It's great to see Allstar Promotions and others associated with the event remembering Kim again for this show, along with The KDR Foundation in memory of the late Kelsey Raffaele, and hopefully funds raised at this show can help both causes just as they did at the 2010 Pop Evil benefit show here!

Now, with that said, how can you support the cause before seeing Evans Blue, State Your Cause, and Fifth Way on the 29th? Of course, tickets are now available for just $10 at 1-800-KEWADIN, online at this location, in person at the Kewadin box office, or at Allstar Graphics on 822 Ashmun Street, who are also owned by Allstar Promotions manager Dave Atkinson. There are plenty of tickets still available in close rows and back, but like at the 2010 Pop Evil show here, there is a huge charitable push to enable this show to be sold out and easy to attend. Local radio stations such as Rock 101 and 99.5 Yes FM are hyping this as well, and the aim is for local businesses and even non-attendees to buy tickets for the cause, so they can be freely distributed to local schools and attendees who will go. The radio stations are also pushing for people to beat or match tickets purchases, with the person who buys the most tickets recieving a $100 gift card for Allstar Graphics. For full details, click here or the above links, and read this article from The Soo Evening News a few days ago! The wheels are in motion to raise a lot of money and awareness in Kim & Kelsey's names, so whether you're a charitable citizen or wanna rock out, you'll be helping the greater good, and on a great ticket bargain, so follow the campaign at the above links, and stay tuned for updates on this show as I hear of them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news hopefully this weekend and our next two Defunct Local Band Profiles on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rock Till You Drop) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get to the concert previews, just a note that if you're curious about the share buttons and new options in the top left corner of the page, that's an addition by Blogger and not something I chose. I guess it's handy if you use Google+ or another social networking site and wanna share the SMS on there, so make use of it if you wanna! That said, today's post is devoted to concert previews from TONIGHT through Saturday, including one big Sault Ontario show (and it's latest lineup news), two weekend sets in St. Ignace, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT relating to a major Sault Michigan-area event, so here's what you need to know!

For a second straight year, the Chippewa County Fair in Kinross, Michigan will be hosting a battle of the bands TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but I was waiting for additional info on it. Entitled "Rock Till You Drop", three area bands will converge at the grandstand at the annual Sault Michigan-area summer fair to compete in this unique battle for a great cause. Though admission is FREE, the winner is actually picked in a busker style, with donations given to each band in a bucket after their set, with the band collecting the most donations winning, and all proceeds from this voting method going to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Home Health & Hospice, which is a nice gesture! I'd prefer charging admission for the charity and have an actual judging panel, but this involves attendees better! Three bands will compete, though regrettably, I can only confirm two (despite my best research attempts to figure out the third), but if I figure out who the third band is/was, I'll be sure to let you guys know! One of the bands however is trying to defend their title, as young local hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme are among the competitors! They won the Rock Till You Drop battle at last year's Chippewa County Fair under their old name Abstract (defeating local Christian rock band Seeking Reverence and defunct hard rockers Splitshot), but can their current lineup reclaim first place?

The other band I can confirm (both via their respective Facebook pages) is Kinross hard rock quintet Banned, who have faced the current Tantrym Tyme in battles in the past (albeit ones without much online press.) Can the Traynors & company deliver a first place performance in the name of the E.U.P. Hospice tonight, will Tantrym Tyme win first again, or will the third band win it all? Attendees will find out TONIGHT at 7:30 PM for the battle, which is ALL AGES & FREE! For all details (minus the mystery third band), visit the above links! This should be a fun event for fairgoers, and at least compared to other Sault Michigan area battles of the bands, there's at least multiple online sources to document it for SMS notice! Even last year's has info, even if I only heard about it late. Out of fairness, I won't post a preview video given the competitive nature of this show, but hopefully lots of money is raised, and no matter who wins, may the best band win Rock Till You Drop! (Oh, and Banned's "job" in Moran last weekend was indeed on Saturday, like most of their shows.)

Now to the previously known local metal/hard rock concerts in the Sault area (i.e. ones I can 100% confirm online), starting with the long awaited return of Skull Fist to The Canadian Nightclub TOMORROW NIGHT! After two well received headlining performances at The Canadian in the previous two years (the first of which gave us the SMS' most popular YouTube video ever), the Toronto speed metal quartet will be back to melt faces and create some huge moshpits in this first show of their Tear Down The West Canadian tour, and if you saw them in 2010 and last year, you'll know just how energetic and exciting Skull Fist are live! Though three opening bands were originally lined up, only two will be playing tonight following the dropouts of Frightlight, Redundant, and The Valentine's Day Massacre for varying reasons, but one band that remained through it all will be the returning classic metal quartet Late & Loud, who will make their first concert appearance since winning the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands over 4 months ago! Though I've heard talk of there being a form of finality to tomorrow's performance, I won't go too in depth until the band makes any official announcements, so for now, get ready for another high impact set of old school metal originals after their summer away from the stage!

With the band dropouts, promoter Tiffany Stocco has enlisted members of her local punk band T-Rex Manning to play short notice tomorrow as the opening band under the name "Pools of T-Rex", even though I believe their lineup will be no different to that of Pools of Booze who played at two concerts earlier this year. That said, Pools of Booze/T-Rex's sound is heavier than T-Rex Manning's is generally, so things should work out for metal fans! Admission will be $5 tomorrow night, with bands starting at 10:00 PM, and despite recent all ages concert examples, this show will be 19+ for unrevealed reasons. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great concert full of high impact metal, and two long awaited returns to the stage, so hopefully a good sized crowd turns out despite the lineup changes and the impending long weekend! For a preview, here's Skull Fist's music video for their song "Head of the Pack!"



Now back to the Sault Michigan area for the two weekend bar concert sets that are going down this weekend, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace! Though an infrequent sight in Sault Michigan itself, Driven hit St. Ignace a fair amount, and tomorrow & Saturday's shows at "The U.P.'s Official Welcome Center" will mark their first shows there that we've caught for SMS coverage since we expanded our range (though we missed a pair at Timmy Lee's in July.) Online media is hard to come by of Driven (hence the lack of a preview video), but they know and cover lots of hard rock, so if you're up for the hour's drive south to St. Ignace, you should be entertained by Driven's cover onslaught! There's no announced cover charge for either tomorrow or Saturday's show, you must be 21 to attend, and a 9:00 PM or later start time is likely. Check the above links for more details! Driven should entertain at Timmy Lee's this weekend, so consider a drive down to 748 West U.S. Highway 2 for all of the excitement tomorrow night or Saturday night!

And finally for the known weekend schedule, local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will keep the heaviness going in St. Ignace tomorrow night & Saturday night thanks to their own shows there at the Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Shows at non-Kewadin venues from this veteran local hard rock band are very hard to source, but Monkey's Uncle are favourites at both of the area Kewadin Branches with active music schedules, and their covers and originals should deliver some great times and fun in St. Ignace this weekend! As usual for their Kewadin shows, a start time of 9:00 PM or later is likely, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Monkey's Uncle should impress and give some great hard rock sounds all weekend at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, so if you're up for some live music, a trip to St. Ignace for either Driven or Monkey's Uncle this weekend wouldn't be bad bets! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer" a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow, as we're looking at defunct Cedarville hard rock quartet Oddfellow's only album "Go"! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sault Riverview Music Festival) And Lots Of Sault Michigan News & Notes!!

Today's news post is entirely dedicated to Sault Michigan, partly thanks to new stuff I bought and learned on a trip I made there this morning! Though mainly to set up some stuff for classes, I bought a book I'm touching on in this post, and stopped by Grooves Music where I bought a CD by a Lansing metal band named Genocya (featuring Saultite Matt Cunningham) who you'll hear more about on the site this fall, and I got some concert information there for a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in this post as well! Along with news on a local concert from the 1990s that you can buy, and some more assorted notes, read on below for today's all-Sault Michigan post!

A new local music festival is going down next weekend, and it's The Sault Riverview Music Festival! Presented by The Sault Events Inc., this family festival will see all of it's proceeds going towards the Chippewa County Hospice, and there will be plenty of non-musical activities going down on September 7th and 8th, including beer & concessions tents, family activities and games, a 50/50 draw, and a fish fry, so click here or look at the poster on your right for more details! As for the bands, while a full schedule hasn't been posted, the Friday schedule does feature three local hard rock bands, those being Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle, Kinross classic hard rock cover quintet Banned, and young local hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme (formerly known as Abstract!) They'll join local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni) on the Friday lineup, while the bands on Saturday the 8th don't lean in a heavy direction. The Saturday bands include The London Gentlemen again, plus members Mike Russo & Steve Sivret's acoustic band Fallen Heroes, along with local southern rock band Bittermoon (featuring Monkey's Uncle alum Jim Belleau), a band named Omega Rock that I can find nothing on (can anyone help?) and The Grooves All Stars, who I believe are a band comprised of employees at local music store/festival sponsors Grooves Music. More bands are possible to be announced, so stay tuned in case I hear anything!

This festival will take place outdoors at the grounds of City Hall at 225 East Portage Avenue, it's definitely all ages, and admission is FREE! Bands will be on from 5:00-10:00 PM next Friday and from noon-10:00 PM next Saturday, and check the above links for more details! This sounds like a fun family festival with lots of talented area bands, and hopefully it's a big success so it can return next year! Also, it's nice to get advance notice of a Monkey's Uncle show that isn't at Kewadin Casino, for what that's worth. Stay tuned for updates on the Sault Riverview Music Festival as they roll in!

Next up, I'm glad to finally note that I now have the book "Yooper Bars" that was released last year! I picked it up for $20 at the Lake Superior State University book store, and if you're unaware of it, it's a travel guide and collection of profiles of most of the bars and taverns in the Upper Peninsula. Written by local authors Randy & Kevin Kluck after an 8 month journey through the U.P.'s bars last year, and published by the Whiskey River Publishing Company in the Soo, it does feature a heavy dose of bars in Sault Michigan & the Eastern Upper Peninsula, including some references to metal bands & live concerts that go down at them! This includes 28 bars & taverns within our current coverage range, 10 more in Chippewa, Mackinac, and Luce County that we'll likely touch on in future SMS expansions, and dozens more in the central and western U.P.. Just on my first readings of it, I notice that it's not entirely comprehensive (the bars at Dondee Lanes & and at any of the Kewadin Casinos aren't covered, for example), and parts are now a bit outdated (i.e. Bullwinkle's Bar & Grill in Moran is now Todd's Tavern), but this looks like it will be a quality resource for barhoppers & revellers in the U.P.! That said, I'll leave full assessments until my formal review, but definitely get more info at this location, and pick it up wherever you can!

Thirdly today, does anyone out there wanna pick up a live video from the old Tumble Inn in Eckerman, Michigan? There's a glam metal band that is actually selling a full concert video from their show there in the 1990s, so here's what you need to know! Some of you guys may be familiar with the Phoenix, Arizona glam metal band Tuff, who may be best known for their ballad "I Hate Kissing You Goodbye" and their Kid Rock parody "American Hair Band", but back in their late 1980s/early 1990s heyday, they came through the area once with cameras in tow! Tuff played at The Tumble Inn on September 8th, 1994, and while online details of said show are minimal, you can purchase the full video of that concert by clicking here or here! The concert (and other past show videos) are $22 plus tax and shipping, which will tip the total cost to $30 and higher depending on where you're having it sent. I don't know whether the show will be on DVD or VHS, but this is an interesting offer, especially knowing how hard it can be to find 1990s concert videos from the Sault area, and I might have to take Tuff up on this offer and buy the Tumble Inn show for SMS uses! If you guys are interested, visit the above links, and check out Tuff online for some fun glam metal originals!

Finally for today, here's four assorted shorter stories across the river from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Local concert promoters Allstar Promotions have posted a photo album from the Buckcherry/Fuel concert at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on August 13th onto their Facebook page featuring shots of the headlining bands and the pre-concert autograph & meet and greet sessions! I wish they'd advertise the meet & greets more online, but everyone looks like they had fun, and for photos of The London Gentlemen's opening set, click here!
• One of the opening bands for the Evans Blue-headlined concert at the Soo Kewadin Casino on September 29th will be State Your Cause, an Ohio based hard rock quintet who have been opening for them on Evans Blue's current tour run. Local promoters haven't confirmed their addition online, but concert posters in town confirm their involvement. They have a solid radio hard rock sound and should fit in well for this special charity concert, so check them out at the above links! The other band isn't known yet, but my money's on a local band. I'll keep you guys posted!
  
• Defunct local hard rock quintet Swayze Train have quietly deleted their Facebook page. A reason for the page's removal isn't known, but the breakup in April is likely tied in with it. That said, as their Reverbnation page is still online (bare as it may be) and as we have online information on them still in good supply, I just replaced their link on our inactive Sault Michigan band listings. Stay tuned for hopeful updates on the members' next moves!
• I wanted to apologize for another missed concert, as young local hard rockers Tantrym Tyme apparently performed at this year's Sidewalk Sales event in downtown Sault Michigan last month, as per postings on their Facebook page. Bands generally play outdoors for free during this sales event at local stores, such as the recently inactive Free Refill, but these slipped me by, and I sincerely apologize for that! Keep an eye out for future proper concerts from them as I hear of them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our last posts of the summer (this weekend's concert previews and our Oddfellow CD review) tomorrow & Friday! Thanks everyone!