LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison), The Dead & Divine Concert Preview, And Much More!!

News is still coming in somewhat slowly right now, but we've got some interesting stuff to talk about today, so here's what's on tap! Alongside some random assorted news stories from recent weeks, we've also got the latest news from Theatre of Night and the great causes they're supporting, a preview for a big hardcore concert going down tomorrow night, and a finally confirmed lineup change in a local band, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this coming weekend!

Local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison will return to the live stage THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY for a pair of concerts at The Roosevelt Hotel! After taking the last two weekends off, Tym and company will bring their entertaining and diverse metal & hard rock covers back to The Rosie, in what will surely be another entertaining weekend of live music for you guys to check out! Especially with the recent dearth of newly announced metal/hard rock concerts in Sault Ontario, this might be even more noteworthy than some of their earlier summer gigs were. Admission should be free for both of this weekend's gigs, you must be 19 to attend either, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! These should be some interesting concerts, and Caveman Morrison always deliver some fun live metal and hard rock at their live appearances, so keep these shows in mind for your weekend plans! That all said, if you've missed their summer concerts and are still curious who their new bassist is, Caveman Morrison finally (and quietly) confirmed that former bassist Dutch Vanderploeg has indeed returned full time, officially reuniting Caveman Morrison's late 2010 lineup!

The former Browbeat frontman had filled in on bass temporarily in June after James White left Caveman Morrison, though official word on their full time replacement didn't come until this past Saturday via their Facebook group, but it looks like he has stuck around. For the record, Dutch's last music-related statements on his currently deactivated Facebook page denied he would ever re-enter music, so this is encouraging to hear, as his talents deserve to be utilized and heard! Hopefully the new/old lineup lasts for the long term, and stay tuned for more from Caveman Morrison as it comes in!

Next up, here's a notable concert preview for a big show TOMORROW NIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub, as Burlington hardcore standouts Dead & Divine will rock Sault Ontario one last time! The guys are amicably disbanding after this Farewell Tour, which has to be a bummer for D&D's strong local fanbase, but at least they'll end on a high for their fourth (I think) & final Sault Ontario stop, as The Canadian seems more fitting than The Oddfellows Hall for this event! Dead & Divine will be joined by two more out of town tourmates, those being Alabama hardcore quartet Mychildren Mybride and Toronto straight edge hardcore band Liferuiner, and these three bands should add up for one great night of hardcore mayhem! Mychildren Mybride have something about them that I'm really liking, and Dead & Divine's reputation and back catalog alone show a lot of promise for this show, but all three should be more than capable of melting faces! There will only be one local opening band this time, but they're the most fitting choice of all, that being local hardcore quintet As It Stands, who opened for Dead & Divine three times locally since 2007, so expect them to be on their A-game in their first local show in almost three months and likely their only show of the summer!

This ALL AGES concert will go down at 7:00 PM tomorrow (which is early for a Canadian gig, but on par with past Dead & Divine shows here), and tickets are $15 in advance & $20 at the door. Advance tickets are available at The Rad Zone at the Wellington Square Mall and by contacting promoter/As It Stands drummer John Mignacca by phone, so for more details on that and for the official Facebook event page, click here! I know there was some disappointment at slow ticket sales early for this concert, but hopefully there's a huge crowd tomorrow night to take in all of the metal and hardcore in store! I'll likely be there (I'm due for a concert, especially this month), and I'll hopefully see all you guys there to send Dead & Divine off in style! For a preview, here's the music video for Dead & Divine's 2009 song "Neon Jesus"!



Also today, here's the latest updates from Sault Michigan classical metal standouts Theatre of Night! The guys have announced the charity that will receive some proceeds from their new album "The Dawn's Early Light", and it is The Folds of Honour Foundation, an Oklahoma based group who support and assist the families of American soldiers who were killed or disabled in combat. Everything I'm reading indicates that they are a standup and honourable charity, and hopefully Theatre of Night's contributions can make a positive impact! With that in mind, band members Steve & Greg Giles and Craig Harrison will attend the Patriot's Shootout golf tournament in Gaylord over Labour Day weekend as part of this year's Patriot Golf Day event nationally (more details here.) In other recent news, the guys were close to home in Hessel on August 11th for this year's Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show, and they were selling physical copies of their two albums alongside posters & shirts at a vendor table, which is awesome to see, and hopefully they made some more local inroads there! Photos are available at this location. Awesome to see Theatre of Night hard at work for great causes, and hopefully there's much more to come from them, so keep an eye out for more Theatre of Night news!

And finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:

• If you guys aren't familiar with Thessalon photographer Liam Best, then give his photography Facebook page a look at this location, especially as it features members of Central Algoma/local death metal bands For All That Is Lost, Inhuman Methods, and Crimson Crusade in some of the shots! More specifically, they're in this album, and they include shots from one of F.A.T.I.L.'s recent Laird concerts. Very solid work, kudos to Liam!
• I've moved local progressive hard rock band Route 69 to our inactive Sault Ontario band links. Though mainly active in the mid 2000s, bassist Glen Thomas had been working on relaunching Route 69 with a female singer as recently as March 2012 (source here), hence why we counted them as active, but Glen confirmed on his personal Facebook page earlier today that they're now defunct. It's disappointing to see Route 69 finally end, especially with the talent of their main earlier lineup (including Wishbone & Aftersight alumni), but hopefully the members all stay active in local music!
• Sudbury hard rock quartet Set are still looking for a local concert booking this year, so if anyone out there can help out, shoot frontman Jamie Rowlings a message at this location! It's be great to have them here, and we could use more out of town bands (especially in this recent lull of advance concerts), so see if you can help out!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news hopefully soon, including our next YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW, and I should see you guys at The Canadian tomorrow evening for Dead & Divine! Thanks everyone!

Concert Lineup Additions, What You Don't Know About Concert Photography, And New Videos!!

I've got some more news and notes for this cooler Wednesday afternoon, so here's what's on tap! Today, we have new videos from a pair of talented local guitarists, an interesing article on the truths of major concert photography from a prominent local journalist, and some new bands on a pair of summer all ages shows, so read on below for these latest stories!

Let's start with lineup additions to two upcoming all ages concerts with metal bands at The Oddfellows Hall this summer! First, a new out of town band has been added to the June 20th Weak Ends-headlined punk/metal show, and they are the Regina garage/punk quartet The Royal Red Brigade! Promoter/Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie quietly added them to the lineup on the Facebook event page this afternoon. The Royal Red Brigade have a fairly unique blend of genres while still unleashing some solid punk riffs and aggression, and make sure to not miss them on June 20th as part of a two pronged Saskatchewan punk onslaught! Nothing else new is out yet, so tickets aren't yet on sale, but I'll keep you guys posted on this show (also featuring Frightlight & Redundant) as news comes in! The other new band on an upcoming all ages Oddfellows Hall show is Desbarats death metal quartet Inhuman Methods (pictured), who were quietly confirmed recently as the 8th band for the Sewer Swampstravaganja II concert on July 13th! This will be both their Oddfellows Hall debut and their first gig with new singer Anthony Tverdal, who replaced Curtis Moir in the band late last month. No idea how he sounds yet, but hopefully he does well, and best of luck to Curtis in the future for sure! Stay tuned for more news on these and other concerts as they roll in!

Next up, I wanted to give some deserved attention to a new blog posting by SooToday journalist and photographer Donna Hopper. Her official photography website (which I've just changed her link to in our "Other Local Metal Links") now featured a post entitled "What you think you know, but don’t", which outlines many of the realities and truths about being a concert photographer at major concert events (Essar Center & Kewadin Casino mainly) and what you may not realize about what she does. Some people are known to criticize her SooToday photo albums for their size, content, or angles, but from what Donna writes, this is mostly out of her hands. I won't detail every point she makes, but I encourage you guys to read the article at this link, as it's interesting to see what photographers have to go through and sign off on to be allowed to take professional shots at concerts. Let's just say Bret Michaels sounds much cooler about concert photography than Bryan Adams does. Photojournalism sounds rewarding, and Donna's great at what she does, but some artists are too restrictive and particular in many cases, and legal hangups can prevent some great photos from reaching a wider audience or from being taken at all.

Personally, I'm fine taking pictures from the crowd, as it gives the feeling that that's what a fan would see, but professional photography has a place and shouldn't be as tied down. On the same token, readers and fans shouldn't be shocked or annoyed that Donna and photographers like her can only get so many photos of certain bands, from certain angles. You've gotta play the game in many cases, and she's not just taking the photos she does to irk anyone. Very interesting read, I highly recommend it!

We'll close with some new videos, starting with this new performance video of Trail's End guitarist Chris Hubbard! Yes, he's back on guitar here, and he's showing off his new OLP Eddie Van Halen signature Music Man guitar with over 7 minutes of solo riffing and soloing. Posted on his YouTube channel on Sunday, Chris' immense talents are on display here, and his love for Van Halen is as clear as ever throughout (gotta love the Frankenstrat-painted stool), so definitely give his new video a look below, and stay tuned for more solo (and band?) clips from Chris as they come in!



Finally, a new recording of ex-Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg's original song "Brighter Day" was uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday! Featuring former bandmate James White (now of Redundant & Caveman Morrison) on bass and production, it's still fairly soft compared to Dutch's usual original output, but it's well performed and has a heavier riff & a nice guitar solo late laid in with his lighter singing! Interesting contrast, but it all works well, so check out thsi new recording of "Brighter Day" below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews, last month's poll results, this month's new poll, this week's classic video, and more shortly! Thanks everyone!

Band Status Updates, Concert Date Changes, And New Videos!!

Here's a post full of assorted news items for this likely warm Tuesday, so we've got a pair of local metal act dissolutions, a couple of notes from Sault Michigan (including a band revival and concert date changes), and a pair of new videos from across the river, so read on below for all that you need to know!

It looks like local hardcore/death metal quartet Skull After Betrayl has broken up for a second time. They quietly deleted their Facebook page earlier in the spring, though other online pages still exist, luckily. A public statement hasn't been made about their breakup, but I can confirm that the split was completely amicable, and I can assume that frontman Mike Vincent's recent band search & guitarist Justin Polutanovich's new role in Borderline Divine were indicators that their status was in question. This ends a brief & uneventful reunion that started in October after their initial 2 month breakup last year, but after bassist Adam Brett briefly moved out of town in January, band updates stalled. I'm disappointed to see them officially throw in the towel, as they were steadily improving as a band during their initial early-mid 2011 run, which saw them open for the likes of The Dayglo Abortions and Titan's Eve. Hopefully the guys all stay in music, as they all were clearly talented or noticeably improving! Best of luck to Mike, Justin, Adam, and Anthony in the future, and I've moved Skull After Betrayl to our inactive local band links!

The other recent end is for ex-Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg's latest solo project, as he deleted his Facebook & Reverbnation pages at some point this spring. He usually wipes his band pages for every project he leads that dissolves, which is disappointing for fans, though he thankfully left his YouTube channel up this time. Dutch is and always has been a very talented musician, and I hope he revisits his original music again in the future! I find his music doesn't get the appreciation it's deserves, and hopefully this won't be the last we hear from him! As YouTube channels aren't really band pages, I've regrettably removed Dutch from our band links, but if he gets back into a band, you know they'll be linked & covered here!

Now to some positive stories, both from the Sault Michigan area, starting with a band revival! On May 4th, you may remember that Kincheloe metal band Chained Memories had disbanded for unannounced reasons, not long after singer Sean Roush had left. Well, just a week later, the band confirmed on their Facebook page that they're "back in business" and are looking for musicians with "any talent" to hit them up, presumably to join the band in some capacity. Whether Sean's back or if any other members are out isn't known yet, but the post implies that there is some member searches in the works. It's great to see Chained Memories giving this another go, and hopefully Mike & company can finally take off and accomplish big things in the area! The other Sault Michigan story is that Cheboygan metal trio Peril's next planned concert weekend at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino has been pushed back a week from July 20th & 21st to July 13th to 14th. A reason for the change hasn't been announced, but Peril have not confirmed concert dates beyond June yet on band pages, and Kewadin Casino have no one new booked for the July 20th weekend yet, as per their entertainment page, so the jury's out. The sooner the better, hopefully, so keep Peril's new next concert dates in mind for this summer!

Let's close with new videos, starting with a new video of Kinross hard rockers Banned from their concert at The Runway Bar in Hessel (50 minutes from Sault Michigan) on Saturday! Filmed by frequent filmer/family member Ashley Traynor and uploaded to her YouTube channel on Sunday, it's of Banned covering the Bachman/Turner Overdrive classic "Takin' Care of Business" at that concert! Lead vocals were provided by drummer Don Traynor (leaving singer Mike Straw to backing vocals), while Banned were rejoined by former bassist Alex Schrovenwever on rhythm guitar at this show as well, similarly to their March concert at The Bird. If Alex has permanently rejoined, band pages haven't confirmed his return, but it's good to see him back with the Traynors, even if just once! This is a solid cover, and Don sings well on it, but I've seen better videos of Banned. The colours are very washed out, dancers get in the way, Jim Pentland is barely visible, and I still wanna hear Mike sing more in Banned's live videos, but this is still another good video of Banned live, so give it a look below, and keep posted on Banned's next local & area dates at the above links!



Finally, here's a new promo video for Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's new album "The Dawn's Early Light"! Though called their second promo video, it's effectively a replacement for their first one, as they made it private for unannounced reasons in the last week, merely saying that the original had "expired". Posted on their YouTube channel on Sunday, it is actually an improvement, as it moves any "Christmas Night" mentions to the end, lessening the seasonal vibe. The only real new information on "The Dawn's Early Light" in this video is that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" will also be performed on the album, meaning that 9 of the 12 songs have now been announced. Sounds good to me, so check out Theatre of Night's new promo video below, and stay tuned for updates as we inch closer to the summer!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news to come this week! Thanks everyone!

Local Band Returns & Some New Local Hard Rock Videos!!

Let's get some more news up on the SMS for you guys to check out, and it's a tale of band returns and new videos today, which includes a lot of classic sounds, unexpected news, and more, so read on below for all that you guys need to know!

Sault Ontario glam/punk quartet Dirty Virgin are apparently reuniting once again! The talented but infrequently seen local band will reportedly play their first concert in 11 months on March 30th, as they've been added to the lineup for that night's Lust Boys-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub! My source is the show's Facebook event page, and while Dirty Virgin themselves have yet to officially confirm the news, note that their online pages aren't frequently updated. This will mark just their second concert in the past 27 months (following their opening slot for Motley Crue tribute band Crued at The Canadian last April), and it remains to be seen if this will be a one-off gig or the start of a new active run. If this is 100% true, it'll be good to see Dirty Virgin back out there! They had a good sound & style going for them, and could handle glam rock and harder edged punk stuff pretty well, so whether this is another one-time thing or not, they'll fit in well with classic sounding metal bands like The Lust Boys and fellow local openers Late & Loud come March 30th! If I hear more on Dirty Virgin, you'll absolutely hear it here!

Also of note on this show briefly, Late & Loud guitarist Jonathan Tiberi had mentioned to me that another band has been added to this concert, though official pages have yet to confirm that news. I'll wait until official confirmation comes out to mention it here, but stay tuned for more on that!

Next up, another local band has resurfaced, and it's the local hair metal project Dust N' Bones! No, not the Guns N' Roses tribute band from Toronto that just played Sault Ontario earlier this month, they just share a name & genre. This is another project from End of Existence and Theatre of Night bandmates Craig Harrison and Steve & Greg Giles (with Craig on vocals), but compared to the darker & heavier sounds of their more prominent groups, Dust N' Bones is a tribute to 1980s hair & classic metal that doesn't take itself too seriously. Dust N' Bones have been active for a few years in the area, and we covered them a bit more often in the SMS' infancy, but they're resuming frequent public updates for the band after a public posting absence due to old band member issues with the material (probably the best way to put it.) According to the band's online pages, they have enlisted notable local musicians like Ben Huyck (NoXcape), Chris Leask (Powerslug), and Bart Rennels (I.S.O.M.) in their past lineups, but recent postings haven't acknowledged them as still being band members. As part of their public resurgence, they've updated their Facebook & Reverbnation pages, and have even posted a new song named "Ain't No Goin' Back" to go along with 7 other older original songs and one old live video from a 2008 concert!

The new song is, like their other originals, a complete departure from I.S.O.M. or E.O.E. material, but it's got a solid old school sound that should definitely find a local audience! Craig's singing is nice and melodic and fits the material, but I'd like to see him add some more grit. Still, if you enjoy 1980s hair metal, you should get a kick out of the local band named Dust N' Bones, so check them out once again at the above links!

We'll close with new videos, including one from the defunct local hard rock trio Browbeat... well, that and a couple of newly posted songs from their frontman Dutch Vanderploeg, who's keeping busy on his new solo project's Facebook & Reverbnation pages! Among the new media on Reverbnation are two newly posted original songs, including his old solo original "Eyelids Fall" and a new track named "So They Think". I've critiqued "Eyelids Fall" before for it's solid hard rock sound & unique chorus with dream-like elements, but "So They Think" has a great aggressive vibe and a nice solo, and I can definitely see Browbeat playing it live if they were reunited! Check them out at the above links, and as for that video? It's a previously unseen clip of Browbeat playing their song "Skeletons" at what looks like a jam session with their last lineup (including Caveman Morrison's James White & Johnny Belanger on bass & drums) circa early 2011, as posted to Dutch's brand new YouTube channel yesterday. It's not the first video we've seen of Browbeat from this set, but it's good to see again! More melodic with a nice hard rock vibe and awesome bass work, and it's nice to hear "Skeletons" in clearer fashion outside of a concert! Check out this newest Browbeat video below, and stay tuned for much more from Dutch and his various projects as I hear of them!



And finally, here's a new live concert video of a local band covering a hard rock song! Flat Stanley/Wishbone drummer (and local metal veteran) Glen Thomas uploaded this video of his old local rock band The Werx covering The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" at what looks like Korah Collegiate & Vocational School's 40th Reunion at The Essar Center in the fall of 2007! I'm assuming that it's that event by the band's similar attire and staging of Glen's other video from that show, where they covered U2's "I Will Follow". Also featuring Trish Halliday on vocals, Glen's old Huckster bandmate Sean Halliday on guitar, and former Driver bassist Scott Kennedy, this is a solid cover with nice soulful lyrics from Trish, though I've always found "She Sells Sanctuary" to be one of The Cult's more overplayed tracks. Glen also accentuated this video with some inset shots of their set, though they don't necessarily line up with the main center video. It's always good to see some bands of a non-metal persuasion cover something a little heavier, and The Werx pulled this one off well, so check out their Cult cover below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, this week's classic video, weekend concert previews, and hopefully my "W5" review as the week wears on! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Assorted News & Videos From The Last Little While!!

It's time to clear out some of the stories from our recent news cache today, as this post is dedicated to assorted stories we've missed over the last week! I know that there's a new concert tomorrow and another cancelled for tomorrow, but I don't want to redundantly cover both almost identically for consecutive days, so stay tuned early tomorrow for weekend concert previews. For now, we have news on a relaunched solo project, Ypres Metal Fest news, new Half A Man updates & this week's classic video, so here's what you need to know!

Former Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg appears to have relaunched his solo project! He posted new Facebook & Reverbnation pages on Thursday to promote his latest musical ventures, while also deleting his short lived Training Snakes project's Reverbnation page. The pages mostly reference Dutch's musical past (specifically Browbeat, who he said would probably return in the future), while discussing a bit of recent work, like the Saturday jam nights he hosts in his basement. His Reverbnation page linked above features three audio recordings, those being new versions of the Browbeat originals "Walk Away" and "Sorry", and a softer new original song named "Brighter Day", and all appear to feature Dutch's former Browbeat bandmate James White (Redundant/Caveman Morrison) on bass & backing vocals. Nice to hear these songs again, and fingers crossed that Dutch continues to work on his original material and make local waves again!

His music (Browbeat or otherwise) has always been entertaining, and I hope these don't end up deleted like his other past projects and sites! The new song "Brighter Day" is a bit light for my tastes, but it's well performed, and hopefully there's more to come, so become a fan at the above links, and Dutch's new solo work has replaced Training Snakes in our active band links!

Next up, here's the latest updates for the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian Nightclub on April 7th! A 12th band has been added to the lineup for this massive David Gold memorial concert, that being North Bay black metal quartet Empyrean Plague, who were previously confirmed for the David Gold memorial show in Toronto on April 5th as well. My source is the official Facebook event page. With at least 5 common bands now on both memorial concerts, it's good to see a lot of symmetry present in David's memory! Empyrean Plague are no strangers to the Soo, having headlined the 34th Roosevelt Hotel metal night last September, and they've opened for Woods of Ypres in the north on a few occasions, so they'll be excellent fits here and in Toronto next month! The other news relating to the Ypres Metal Fest is that tickets reportedly went on sale for $20 yesterday, as per a post by promoter Rich Moreland on the event page linked above. You can reportedly buy tickets through him, David's sister Marie Gold, The Rad Zone at The Wellington Square Mall, Northland Music on Queen Street East, and The Canadian Motor Hotel's front desk, but I'll note that nothing 100% about the ticket sales has been said since Monday. You can try to get tickets now if you want, but as soon as official word on their availability is made, I'll let you guys know! Keep posted for more Ypres Metal Fest updates as they come in!

Thirdly today, here's the latest from Brimley metal quartet Half A Man! A new unmixed demo original song named "Bad Way" was posted onto the band's Facebook page on Sunday, and though it's an instrumental, it has a solid groove and is pretty heavy all around! Unfortunately, this particular file is only online via a Facebook video right now (it's not on YouTube yet), and Facebook videos are sadly unembeddable, so check it out at the above links! Not all is lost though, as a solo acoustic version of this song (with vocals) was posted onto guitarist Erik Rintamaki's YouTube channel earlier today! It's got a noticeably different tone, but it's good to hear singing on this version, and Erik lined up the words with images he found on Google to link everything nicely! Erik's singing is better suited to heavier material, I find, but you can feel emotion in his voice on this track, so check out his solo unplugged rendition of "Bad Way" below, and check out more from Half A Man at the above links!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! With Garden of Bedlam's first concert of 2012 coming up THIS SATURDAY at The Rockstar Bar, I thought I'd post another older video of theirs that's not on YouTube yet! This comes from an early concert of theirs, when they opened for inactive Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band Sikamikanico at The Other Place (last known as GLOW) in April 2008, and it's of Garden of Bedlam covering Velvet Revolver's "Slither"! Now, better quality video from this concert exists, and you can hear their "Slither" cover in full and in higher quality at this location, but it never hurts to get new views on things! This video isn't of the full song (starting during the second verse), and the audio's very scratchy, but the filmer got a good angle of Garden of Bedlam, and their talent's audible underneath the quality issues! This video was filmed by an attendee and was later uploaded to the band's Facebook group by bassist Evan Belleau at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=17889665931. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Garden of Bedlam and the original filmer, I'm just trying to share this video with a wider audience like it deserves! With that said, check out this early Garden of Bedlam video below, and stay tuned for my preview of their concert on Saturday night!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow, our next entry in the Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series on Friday, our Defunct Profile on Paraside on Saturday, and yes, our "Woods V" review is coming soon as well, along with more news! Thanks everyone!

Dirty Virgin, Dutch Vanderploeg, State of Misery, And Woods Of Ypres Updates!!

Hey guys, it's time for some more local metal and hard rock news, and we've got some big stories today! You know we've had at least one post a day for every day since March 10th? This marks our 27th straight day with at least one new post, that has to be a record! I love the busyness though, and thanks for sticking around over the past month! Today, we have new songs and interviews from one band, new shirts from another, and a newly renamed solo project, but first, it's a local band's official return to the stage!

Do you remember when two new Woods of Ypres songs premiered on the December edition of The Governor's Ball during an interview with David Gold? Well, now you can stream the full, uninterrupted versions of both songs on Woods of Ypres' CBC Radio 3 page! The songs are "You Were The Light" (the original "Woods V" title track) and "Falling Apart", and they're now in even better quality and available to stream without any strings attached! I won't give detailed thoughts on either yet, but check the above links to listen to them, especially if you want to experience a more upbeat sounding version of the heavier "Woods IV" songs! Speaking of which, as you may know, these and the other three songs recorded at Stereo Soul Studios in August won't be "Woods V" due to Earache Records' preference for a full album, so what exactly is gonna happen to these five tracks? Well, I don't know about the three we haven't heard yet, but these two will see a special vinyl release through Practical Art Records! Limited to 500 copies, it will feature both songs on each side of the vinyl, with special artwork and vinyl colouring, guest cello from Raphael Weinroth-Browne, and mp3 download cards, as well as hand numbering and autographs for the first 150 copies.

Sounds good, at least it gives some of the new songs an official release! Hopefully all the songs from these sessions see a release as "Woods 4.5" down the road! This'll do for now though, but will I review it on the SMS? Not imminently, I don't like reviewing two albums by one band in a short timeframe, and I try to review albums and EPs before singles, but I'll get to this down the road! Only 500 copies will be made, so get on this! How can you pre-order this vinyl though? Preorders are $20, so if you want to pick up "You Were The Light/Falling Apart" from PayPal, send it to davidypres@gmail.com, and for a snail mail order, send a cheque, money order, or cash to this address!

Woods Of Ypres HQ
c/o David Gold
44 Poplar Ave
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6B 2W7
CANADA

Next up, Sault Ontario glam/punk rockers Dirty Virgin are finally returning to the stage! Three months after their quiet local resurgence, the band have announced that they will be one of the openers for Motley Crue tribute band Crued at The Canadian Nightclub on April 30th! To my knowledge, this will be their first local concert appearance in 17 months, having last hit the stage at the Kiss Battle of the Bands at The Canadian in late November 2009, so this has been a long time coming! The other opening band will be local punk rockers Motion Carried, who I still don't have audio/video from, but their members have the talent! I don't think they fit the "glam" mold, but I'm sure they'll do great as openers! Click here for full concert details! As for the return of Dirty Virgin, here's what else I know. The news of their full return to the stage came out yesterday, though details on if this is a one time event or not weren't stated. The band's lineup will be the same as their late 2008-summer 2009 lineup, which means that guitarist Ryan Spin and drummer Matt "Hixx" Hicks are both back in the fold. They'll of course rejoin singer Bobby Clement and bassist Lionel "Rocks" Quinton for this next show! I'm glad to see Dirty Virgin back together, here's hoping the reunion lasts beyond April 30th! Check the above links for more!

Now, here's the latest from Browbeat 101 frontman Dutch Vanderploeg' solo project! We first told you about this in November, but at some point between then and now, he deleted the page and relaunched it with a new name, or should I say, no name? Actually, both, as his solo project is now called Knownaym, and it's said how it sounds! The songs posted here include "Eyelids Fall" (as originally uploaded in November) and two newly posted originals, "Big Fat Liar" and "Information Overload". Basically, these are original songs that were either not written for Browbeat 101, or are no longer played by the full band. I praised "Eyelids Fall" last year for it's heard rock sounds and unique dreamlike chorus, but the new songs have merit themselves! "Big Fat Liar" has a Stone Temple Pilots vibe to it, with nice guitar work, but the production could have been improved a bit on it. Slower but with a hard rock bite! "Information Overload" reminds me the most of a Browbeat track, and it has a unique fast-paced, yet relaxed sort of style to it. Good stuff, hopefully we hear more from Knownaym in the future! Click here to check it all out, and I have updated our band links to reflect the above changes!

Finally for today, how would you guys like State of Misery t-shirts? The local death metal quintet have launched an online store through Wordans, and there is one item for sale there at present, a t-shirt! Featuring one of their more recent logos (the one with the eye as the O in "of"), you can buy it for $20.19 at the above links! Sizes through XXL are available, and the band has stressed that if you pick one up, the white box on the sample image will NOT be on the shirt. You can buy the shirt in alternate colours, but I'm not sure how the logo looks on those. Still, it's nice to see State of Misery selling merchandise, hopefully there's more in the pipeline! The band's Facebook page has also suggested that they'll be selling these at shows, so maybe we'll see some floating around at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday? Time will tell! Check the above links for more, and stay tuned for the latest from State of Misery when we hear it! Remember to buy your shirts today with PayPal or your credit card at this location!

Lots Of Assorted Stories, Including A New Solo Project & Upcoming Album!!

One more post before tonight's Grady concert at The Grand Theater, which will be my first concert there since the YMCA Battle of the Bands in March of 2009! Today's post is full of assorted news stories, including some concert updates for this weekend, news on an upcoming metal concert next month, the latest news from The Barking Eye, and a newly announced local album, but first, here's a brand new local rock solo project!

Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg has launched his own solo project, which is now online at Reverbnation to check out! My criteria for including solo projects as bands on the SMS is a bit strict, as they must have a clear aim to be an act that releases music and features their own material, rather than just a profile for a musician's other bands or a glorified classified ad to get into another band. Dutch's qualifies, and here's what you should know! His page doesn't have a lot to say on the project aside from his musical ambitions, but he does say that he'll be posting "never before heard songs" on the page very shortly. One wonders why he's going the solo route for certain songs rather than making them Browbeat originals, but maybe he feels the song sounds better when it's just him on all of the instruments. One song is posted so far, entitled "Eyelids Fall", and it does sound like something Browbeat would play, which is a compliment! It's unique in that the chorus has a sort of dream like softer quality compared to the more hard rocking verses, which helps set it apart! His singing is melodic and matches the song well, and his guitar work is nice and catchy! Good song, maybe we'll get a chance to hear it live down the road! Stay tuned for more on Dutch's solo project down the road, and click here to visit his new Reverbnation page and check out his stuff!

Next up, remember when I first mentioned local solo musician Mike Haggith on Thursday? Well, I left out one major note: He has an album in the works! It's entitled "Suspended Animation", and it's described as an "upbeat rock album", though still heavy! He will be finishing the mastering and the vocal tracks for the album at his label Rotten Records' main studio in Windsor next month, with the instrumental portions completed already. By my count, this is his 43rd solo album, and it promises to be one of his heavier offerings! It will have 10 tracks, and instrumental previews of two ("Sun Perfume" and "The Institution") are now available to stream on his Reverbnation page. For all current details on "Suspended Animation", click here! What I've heard sounds good, but I won't judge in detail until the final product is released. Mike told me through e-mail that he plans to release the album locally on January 5, 2011, and if it goes for sale on his internet pages, you can guarantee I'll buy it and review it on the SMS! Stay tuned for more Mike Haggith updates as I hear them, and our "Where Are The New Albums?" update on December 2nd, which will feature Mike's new album! And remember to go see him at the open mic night at The Outback tomorrow night!

Thirdly today, here's some updates on some of this weekend's hard rock concerts, as two of the scheduled weekend sets have seen adjustments. Firstly, Northern Michigan metal trio Peril have cancelled their scheduled concert this Saturday at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino. This was confirmed on their official Facebook page and in this poster, misspelling of "Sault" notwithstanding. A reason for the cancellation wasn't given, but Peril WILL be in town on Friday! This is a one night only weekend for them, so make sure to see them on Friday night at around 9:00 PM! No cover charge, you must be 21 to enter. The other updates concern this weekend's Turner Up concerts, which have been moved from The Vibe Lounge to The Canadian Nightclub. This was confirmed by drummer Scott McClurg in e-mail correspondence, and further backed up by the Facebook event page for this weekend! Regardless of location, those should be fun shows, and it will could be your first chance to see Turner Up's new frontwoman, Johnny Lunchbox singer Krista Marshall! Stay tuned for more on these concerts on Thursday for our weekend concert previews!

Fourthly, here's the newest article from Glen Thomas' great local music blog, The Barking Eye! His newest article has a hard rock bent, as it talks about the new band from a former local musician! Months ago, I mentioned local hard rock guitarist Paul Tikkanen on here, who was a member of local metal bands like Tikkanen and Thansis Colle in the 1980s. Well, Paul has resurfaced in a brand new hard rock band named Blackmeat Powder, who are based out of Peterborough. Glen talked a bit about them and their biography, and detailed a bit of Paul's local past, including the fun Glen and Paul had in Thansis Colle. Good stuff, and Blackmeat Powder have a nice sound going for them! Classic hard rock sort of sound, with a hint of Rush here and there, with nice melodic singing! Paul's the newest addition to Blackmeat Powder, and will apparently be playing live with them soon. These guys will be a good addition to our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile series down the road, so keep an eye out! Check out the above links for more, click here to read Glen's article, and to check out another of Paul's past bands, Sinisteria, click here!

And finally, here's three quick smaller news items. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band/venue name:

• The Roosevelt Hotel is holding another metal night on December 9th! That's all we really know so far, but after the success of the first one, the metal will return! Bands are to be announced, but if you want to play, or want more info, contact promoter Rich Moreland at this location! Keep up to date at the official Facebook event page!
• I apologize for missing this for so long, but local experimental grunge trio SBD have posted a new song on their Soundclick page! It's called "Don't Fart", and it has a very oddly amusing style and "appropriate" lyrics. If you're easily offended by toilet humour, don't listen, but if you're not, give it a spin! On a musical level, it's not bad, and it has a bit of a solo too!
• A new review of Woods of Ypres' newest CD, "Woods IV: The Green Album", is now available to check out at this location! It's from a German webzine named Vampster, and it's entirely in German, but just run it through Google Translate to get it in English. I find the "Twilight" comparison to be out of left field, but the translation describes the melancholy sound of the album well! Check it out, if you wanna translate it!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for my Grady concert review TOMORROW at some point, and I will see you guys at The Grand Theater tonight! This'll be a good one!

Grady Preview & Contest, Plus Caveman Morrison & Half Past News!!

It's news time on this Sunday afternoon at the SMS! Today, we have news on a lineup change in a local band (and the concert cancellations related to that), the official announcement on a new upcoming debut album, and some more assorted stories, but first, we're going a little bit country for our top story... but not too much! You'll see, in this special concert preview!

On Tuesday night, Grady are back in Sault Ontario! The Austin based "country metal" trio will be making their first local appearance in 13 months at this show, after their last stop in October 2009 at The Canadian Nightclub, which was marred by a low mid-week attendance and that threatened boycott that we won't go into again. This time, they'll make their way to The Grand Theater, which will mark the first appearance by a metal band at that venue since (believe it or not) May 2009, when Sense of Truth played at the Skate4Cancer fundraiser there! 18 months of waiting, but the metal is back! If you don't remember, Grady play a unique blend of country/southern rock and metal, and thankfully retain enough metal that even a hardcore headbanger will enjoy them! Also make note of the fact that former Big Sugar frontman Gordie Johnson fronts Grady, so there's some real heavyweight talent in this band! Expect a great southern metal style from Grady on Tuesday night! Also to be featured are Moncton punk rockers The Motorleague, who'll bring their catchy brand of rock to The Grand on Tuesday as well! Check the above links for info on both bands!

This concert will take place at 8:30 PM on Tuesday night, and I hope the mid-week date won't scare off people again! Tickets are $15, which may seem steep, but it'll be worth it for the music you'll get! You can pick them up at LopLops Lounge (Beyond Borders at LopLops are putting this show on), or online at this location, and maybe at The Grand itself, though this isn't stated online. Age limits aren't specified, though I should note that The Grand has hosted both all ages and 19+ shows in the past, so it could be either or. Contact the organizers at the Facebook event page for clarification! This promises to be a very loud concert that will rock you into December, and I can't wait! I really enjoyed Grady's show here last year, and I guarantee I'll be there on Tuesday! The Motorleague will be worth checking out, and Grady have a great blend of country and metal in store! Check out all of the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the music video for Grady's single "Woman Got My Devil"!



One more note concerning the Grady concert, and this is something that I really should have discussed sooner than today, but other scheduled or larger news stories pushed it back. A few days ago, SooToday (who posted their own event page for this show on the 5th) are currently running a contest for a chance to win two FREE tickets to the Grady concert on Tuesday, along with their new live CD/DVD set "Calling All My Demons", and two Grady t-shirts! Nice package, but how can you enter? Simple, just e-mail arts@sootoday.com with "Grady contest" as the subject, and answer these three questions:

1. What is Grady drummer Nina Singh's nickname?

2. What U.S. state is Grady currently based out of?

3. What Canadian city is the setting for Grady's newly released live CD/DVD package Calling All My Demons?

A winner will be announced TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00 PM on SooToday, and the winning entry will be randomly drawn from all correct entries. You must be at the concert to claim your prizes. Enter this A.S.A.P., cause I'm sure there's some Grady fans out there who'd love this prize package! For more details, visit SooToday's article on the contest at this location, and stay tuned for the winner announcement tomorrow night! I'll see you at The Grand on Tuesday night!

Next up, here's some big news from Caveman Morrison that I first told you guys about on Thursday and Friday on our Twitter page. Firstly, their scheduled concerts for this weekend at Foggy Notions have been cancelled. This was confirmed by frontman Tym Morrison through e-mail correspondence with me. A reason for the cancellation wasn't provided, but this looks like it could be related. According to his personal Facebook page, bassist Dutch Vanderploeg has parted ways with Caveman Morrison due to "artistic differences". Dutch initially joined the band in May, replacing Rick White, and he's played with the band frequently since his live Caveman debut in August. There are additional comments there related to the situation that I won't go into too much detail on, but there you have it. Shame to see Dutch go, he's a very nice guy and a talented musician all around, but hopefully he keeps up the great work with Browbeat and his solo project that I'll have more on in the next little while! Note that Caveman Morrison's internet pages don't reflect Dutch's departure yet, but I'll keep you posted on that front!

And finally, we'll cap with some exciting news from Half Past, the Sault Ontario hard rock quartet who we haven't seen live in seven months! Wondering where they've been? Well, the band posted a new note yesterday on their official Facebook page where they announced that they are currently working on a full length album! They remarked that they haven't been able to get a lot of momentum going since their debut as Half Past last fall (their Fingerbone beginnings weren't mentioned), but hope to get this album out and some shows booked next year! That's not all though, as a preview video for the album was posted on their Facebook page as well! It's 45 seconds long, features a solid instrumental section from one of their originals, and it says that it will be self-titled and released through Half Past Studio Productions in the spring. Sounds good, hopefully this will all be worth the wait! They're a talented band, and they deserve a good audience and following locally! This will definitely be in our December "Where Are The New Albums?" update on December 2nd, so stay tuned for that, and more from Half Past as it comes in! Check out the above links for more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some news and updates around Tuesday hopefully, as I expect a homework loaded day tomorrow. Thanks everyone!