Banned Concert Previews, A New Promotion Company, And Much More!!

Before we begin this post, we have a note on a postponed concert, as the Tiffany Maj benefit concert at Coch's Corner featuring Northwest & Late Shift has been postponed a week from tomorrow to next Saturday. Promoter/Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan explained on the Facebook event page that the date change was to avoid possible complications with tomorrow's Santa Claus Parade, which goes down Queen Street. Makes sense, especially with the earlier 8:00 PM start time, so keep the new date next Saturday in mind! Now, today's post features the remaining known hard rock concert previews for this weekend, news on a local promoter's reemergence, and much more, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross, Michigan hard/classic rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to the Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan for the first time this year TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be the guys' first date in Sault Ste. Marie proper in three months, and will mark a rare Dondee stop for Alex, Wayne, and Don, so if you want to take in some entertaining and varied covers & originals, you know where to be this weekend! Of course, they'll be back in the Soo next month at The Rapids Lounge, but what if you can't be at those gigs? Admission this weekend is likely free, you must be 21 to attend each night, and like usual for the Dondee, these shows have an early start time of 8:00 PM. For more details, check the above links! Hopefully this weekend's shows go well, so don't miss Banned this weekend, and here they are covering the Imagine Dragons!



Next up, North Shore frontman and former local hardcore singer Jeremy Hannah is finally re-entering the promotion area of the local scene via his new company Pure Sonic Audio! Years after the closure of Big Voiced Records, Jeremy has ambitious plans to provide event coordination, professional DJ services, and light & sound rentals for concerts and events in the area, which he partially outlined in a new Facebook group he launched to help musicians post info about their development and to help them get local bookings. Jeremy says that he has "new strategies" to ensure that bands can make some money for their skills and play to crowds, but he needs help, so invite your friends to join the group linked above! A Pure Sonic Audio website is online too, but as of yet, it's mostly a placeholder page with blank links and generic write-ups. Jeremy has shared some of these plans with me in personal conversations in the past, and I'm curious to see where this goes, so follow and like the links above for more info, and Pure Sonic Audio's now in our "Other Local Metal Links"!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or station name:

• Saskatchewan stoner/doom metal band Chronobot (who memorably opened for Skynet in the Soo in March) are a new confirmation for the lineup of the planned Das Bunkerfest II concert event at a Garden River location to be confirmed over the last weekend of August 2015, as per promoter Boyd Rendell on the Facebook event page yesterday. Solid addition, we'll have to see how everything shapes up next year, so see above for more info!
• So, who exactly are Infamous, the mystery act playing at Sault Band-O-Rama TODAY? According to a recent e-mail from co-promoter Steven Flint, their lineup features Lizzie Pearson on vocals, Social Suicide alum Anthony Boudreau on guitar, and Damon King on drums, with no obtained bassist yet. They appear to be one and the same as "The Damon King Band" that dropped out of Rock For Dimes last week, though they lack info (or an online page) otherwise. At least we know something on Infamous now, and thanks to Steven for the info!
• Last week, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades revealed on their Facebook page that they already have six songs in mind for their next EP, including the previously unveiled "Fear Corps", "Frederick", "Crossroads", "Motorwolf", and two new songs named "The Lot" and "Negative Headspace". It's not known when recording sessions would commence, but things sound promising, so stay tuned!
• Marquette/Ishpeming, Michigan hard rock cover quartet Nudge have a sampler clip of songs played at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan during at least one of their local shows on their Reverbnation page! It features segments of the band covering Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls on Parade", Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", Sponge's "Plowed", and The Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (To Party)", and all sound good (the Rage vocals are suprisingly effective), so give the clips a listen above!
• Urawk (the live band karaoke series led by members of Beaumont Avenue and Mourning Wood) will make their Rockstar Bar debut this coming Thursday, so if you want to enjoy the entertainment or sing on-stage with a real band, keep Urawk's first show since moving to The Algonquin in mind for next week! The debut there was postponed from yesterday due to the weather.
• New local internet radio network VM Radio have launched a sixth station for the next couple of months, that being VM Holidays, whose rotation obviously revolves around Christmas and seasonal songs. We mention this on here in particular because the station does have a handful of heavier Christmas songs on rotation, including Trans-Siberian Orchestra material, so if you want some seasonal music, give VM Holidays a listen!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile TOMORROW, and remember not to miss Sault Band-O-Rama TODAY at The Primavera Hall! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Band, Sault Band-O-Rama Updates, And Much More!!

Today's post relates to bands and projects with clear ties to a few local artists in particular, but that's just how things came together on this snowy Monday, and it all fits together nicely! Along with some assorted recent notes, we have a recent concert video, lineup changes for an upcoming concert event, and first, here's the newest addition to our Sault Ontario band links!

It's about time that we rolled them in, so we're officially welcoming Mourning Wood to our full coverage at the SMS! We had previously been referencing them as country/rock, but given their setlist at Rock For Dimes (which included Metallica, AC/DC, and Billy Idol songs), that's a good sampling and indicator of how their longer shows would go. Debuting in August at The Rednecks Saloon, their lineup features Asylum Country guitarist Terry Eaton & drummer T.J. Case (both veterans of older metal bands) alongside T.J.'s Urawk bandmate Steven Flint (also of Beaumont Avenue & Haggith), and while Terry sings most lead vocals, Steven & T.J. take turns for certain songs also. Mourning Wood have been playing fairly frequently since debuting, splitting their solo gigs at The Rednecks Saloon, The New American Pub, and (in the first shows we've heard that fit on the site) Reggie's West, a.k.a. the former Roosevelt Hotel. The band is next scheduled to take part in this year's Toystock at The Canadian on November 29th.

Also, note that T.J. has had conflicts where Mourning Wood and his other hard rock band Havadder have played on the same weekends, but we've tended to see him play with Mourning Wood in these cases. Mourning Wood have a solid sound that has a lot of quality hard rock action and reliable covers, and while the guys could be livelier on stage, fans who see them live won't have a lot to worry about! Don't miss them at Toystock, and stay tuned for updates on their next headlining shows!

Next up, here's a new video from the aforementioned Rock For Dimes at The Delta Waterfront Hotel, and it's of fellow local classic/hard rock cover band The Thrill Junkies' set! Filmed by bassist Justin Langlois' father Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday, this is of their opening cover of Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy", as preceded by MC Lou Turco's introduction and some pre-set tuning and preparation. The video is of nice quality and shot close to the stage's right, and it captures this solidly done rendition well! Give it a look below, and we'll let you know if Michel has any Redundant footage!

Also today, here's some updates concerning the lineup of the Sault Band-O-Rama all day concert event at The Primavera Hall on Friday (as promoted by 2/3rds of Mourning Wood), including two band changes. One reflects the re-addition of local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements to the lineup as the opening band at 3:00 PM, as they've pulled out of the show again for unannounced reasons, as per co-promoter Terry Eaton on the Facebook event page on Saturday. Disappointing, but we'll be sure to see them again soon! The show will open at 4:00 PM again now, but with a new band kicking things off, as local experimental metal trio The Strange Coyotes will now open the show in their first non-house party gig since reuniting! As per co-promoter Steven Flint yesterday, they're replacing local doom/punk band The Revolution due to the recent departure of bassist Rainey Vincent (despite a guarantee that they'd play this show with or without a replacement), but hopefully things get sorted out, and the Coyotes should set the tone well on Friday!

There's still 12 varied local acts to take in on Friday (including the mystery project Infamous), and remember that this ALL AGES show has just a $5 admission, so keep it in mind for this Friday! Stay tuned for updates and our preview of it later this week!

Finally for today, here's three assorted stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or series name:

• We've moved local hard rock quartet Punch to our inactive band links. While the guys posted on their Facebook page as recently as July, the band (who replaced Haggith during their brief breakup) have slim future prospects given that most of their members are now playing with the reunited Haggith, who have also taken on Punch's originals as their own tracks, even including the song named "Punch". Follow Haggith to keep tabs on where Punch would have went, and best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, Steven, and Ben!
• Following up on their mention of it at Rock For Dimes on Friday, Redundant frontman Justin Langlois has posted on numerous Facebook pages (including the Musicians Wanted group) this weekend to confirm that the local punk trio is working on finishing their long hinted debut album, and a CD release party for it is in the works. To that effect, the band is looking for at least one local opening band, so if you're interested in opening, or have a suggestion, message Justin at this link or above, and stay tuned for more on their CD plans!
• Don't cry for the end of Urawk (Beaumont Avenue & T.J. Case's live band karaoke series) just yet, as the grand finale at The Rednecks Saloon was just for their run there. A cover photo on the new Urawk Facebook page reveals that the series is moving from the former Nicolet Tavern to The Rockstar Bar in the coming weeks, though a reason for the move in venue hasn't been announced. Keep tabs on Urawk if you want to sing karaoke with a live band when they return!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Faps), A New EP Release, And More!!

Before TONIGHT'S IDNS-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall, we have a stacked news post for this Saturday morning, including a new EP release and related band page, a new video, and more, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Mortlach, Saskatchewan noise/punk duo The Faps will hit Sault Ontario THIS MONDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub for the latest Jamie Vincent/Oh! Right Arm! Promotions concert! Apologies for the short notice, we actually heard about this show late last month, but early marketing hyped the hip hop content of the show over anything else, which we'll touch on in a second. The Faps' aggressive alternative sound will appeal to fans of grunge, punk, and noise rock, but is very hard to pin down into specific genres, so check out their entertaining original songs at the above links! The local openers (Conika and Mikey Thomas) are both rappers, which is slightly odd given The Faps' sound, but both have developing profiles and were among the Das Bunkerfest performers, so they fit that way! Also, I believe Mikey is a cousin of former Haggith bassist Caleb Cachagee, so there's an extra link! This 19+ concert goes down Monday night at 9:00 PM, and there is a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Definitely a unique concert to help ring in the fall with, so if you love rap music, or are intrigued by the creative and varied sound of The Faps, be at The New A on Monday night! Not an optimal day for a show either, so hopefully there's a decent turnout. For a preview, here's The Faps' live music video for their song "Trophy Wives"!



Next up, we have a new album release to announce, connected to the launch of this band's first online page (finally), as local indie/punk quintet Northwest have finally launched a Bandcamp page, with their self-titled debut EP for sale there as well! Officially released on Tuesday, this EP features 4 original songs ("Young & Wild", "Time", "Stars Don't Fall", and "I Got You"), all featuring their current lineup of singer/guitarist Wayne Watkins, guitarists Mike Yakasovich & Greg Callaghan, bassist Mike Smykacz, and drummer Clint Wilson. Unlike the recent Bandcamp trend of local artists releasing albums on a "name your price" model, Northwest are asking a $2 minimum for this digital EP, whose prospects for a physical CD release remain unknown. It's great to finally have an online page for this talented local punk band (who are now in our active local band links), and I do recommend giving their new EP a look, but when can you expect a review of it on the site? Perhaps this month, but Telephone & Address' new CD is also possible. In any event, stay tuned in the near future for that and much more from Northwest as we hear it!

Also today, if you've missed local alternative/grunge quartet Haggith's first gigs with new bassist James White, then don't worry, as a video from their set at last month's Late & Loud farewell concert at The Rockstar Bar is now online! Another surprisingly delayed upload from For The Music Inside's coverage of the show, this video of the guys playing "Leon The Janitor" was only just uploaded on Tuesday to F.T.M.I.'s YouTube channel. Like their other videos from this show, this is very nicely filmed in wide screen & close to the stage, though the very warm lighting does throw off the colour. It looks slightly odd seeing James with Haggith yet, but his bass work is great here, and I'm very curious to see where things go from here with the current lineup, so give this new Haggith video a look below!



Lastly for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• In a note related to the recent break being taken by local hard rockers Beaumont Avenue, we can now confirm that their ongoing Urawk live karaoke series at The Rednecks Saloon will now feature Asylum Country's T.J. Case on drums in place of the Hamilton-bound Ben Boudreau. Just as a reminder, T.J. is not replacing Ben with the former Suicide Kings, who will play again when Ben is available and back home. For a partial fix, go see Urawk's live band karaoke on Thursday nights!
• Local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore are featured on a massive free compilation release from Bizarre Murders Productions called "Heavy Music For Life" among 88 other bands from around the world. Impressive, so check everything out if you want at the above links, as there's bound to be some songs you might like on this set, and don't miss C.T.W. TODAY at The Oddfellows Hall, as they're opening at 5:00 PM!
• Brampton death metal quintet Livid & The Bloodthirsty have been added as the co-headlining band for The Bear Hunters' CD release show at The Algonquin Pub on October 18th, as per the Facebook event page on Thursday. Solid addition with a varied and brutal sound, so don't miss them next month, and stay tuned for the reveal of the (presumably local) opening band!

That's all for today, but I hope to see you guys at The Oddfellows Hall TONIGHT for IDNS, Bring The Fight, Catharcyst, and four local bands! Should be a good show, don't miss it! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Internet Radio Station, New Videos, And The Suicide Kings + Karaoke?

I'm back from St. Joseph Island a day earlier than expected, so we have a new news post for you guys today covering stuff missed over the break! In this post, we have new videos from both sides of the border, an intriguing new live karaoke project from some familiar faces, and first, news concerning a new addition to our local radio roster that you might find intriguing, so read on below for what you need to know, and make sure to read our Jack Spades EP review and 5150DOA YouTube Channel Profile that both went up as auto-posts over the last few days!

If you've been following SooToday recently, you may have noticed that two of their recent polls related to music, specifically one poll about if you'd listen to a local internet radio station, and a follow-up relating to readers' musical preferences (country & rock ran away with almost 60% of the votes combined.) Well, the polls weren't just hypothetical, as SooToday's Facebook page has revealed that their parent company Village Media is currently developing an online streaming radio station called VM Radio! Plans are for it to have a local focus and planned airtime for local original music, so if you're interested in submitting your own music for consideration on this station, drop them off at 642 Queen Street East (or via the mailing address on Facebook), or e-mail digital copies to arts@sootoday.com. No word on a launch date, programming details, or anything similar yet, but we'll keep you posted, especially in regards to possible hard rock/metal inclusion!

This won't be the first internet radio station founded in the Soo (Energy Rock Radio launched here before moving to British Columbia), but a local news-backed station that could serve as an alternative to the current FM stations would be a nice addition! Myself, I'd like to see a variety for everyone so that it attracts as wide an audience as possible, but keep an eye out for how VM Radio shapes up in the coming months!

Next up, while not technically a new local band in the traditional sense, all 4 members of local hard rock band The Suicide Kings (Mike Gaetano, Steven Flint, Mitch Sirie, and Ben Boudreau) have announced a new live music project named URawk that will serve as the hosts of Sault Ontario's first ever karaoke night with a live backing band rather than pre-recorded tracks! Covering genres from metal to country, they have a wide setlist ready for fans to come on stage and sing along with, while you can also request songs for the guys to learn in advance of one of their live appearances, and cash prizes are also planned. Current plans involve Urawk hosting live karaoke nights at The Rednecks Saloon (the former Nicolet Tavern) each Thursday at 10:00 PM for the foreseeable future, though no word yet on if we'll see them at other venues or on other days. Their debut night will be on Thursday, June 26th, and their wide ranging setlist (which has a number of metal songs, but doesn't emphasize them) is sure to grow, especially if URawk takes off!

No word yet on what roles Mike will serve with URawk, especially as the emphasis is on karaoke singers to sing with the band, but Mike is a guitar player too, so he could take on that role if need be. I've heard of the live band karaoke concept in bigger cities, and I'm very curious to see how well it goes, as this could be a way for many local music fans to let out their inner rock star without the band commitment, or maybe test the waters to get involved in a band further! You should know how talented The Suicide Kings are, and hopefully they bring the same intensity and focus to URawk, so keep their debut in mind next month!

We'll close today with new videos, including a new preview video relating to Sault Michigan-area label Werehold Records' next Friday the 13th music posting spree next month, this time courtesy of label owner & Life's Eclipse frontman Jason Mills! Posted to the label's YouTube channel on Friday, this is a 39 second clip of Jason playing guitar for a new Life's Eclipse original that will be unveiled on June 13th, playing overtop backing programmed drums. Short, but it's a nice tease for the new material to come, so give it a look!



Finally, Pillory/Crimson Crusade guitarist Robert Sartini posted another solo guitar cover onto his YouTube channel on Wednesday! This time, he covered Dying Fetus' "Your Treachery Will Die With You", and though you can barely hear his guitar over the original backing track, he definitely knows this brutal death metal track well, and it shows in the clip! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from his channel and band work!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, plus this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!