LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), The Next Local Battle Of The Bands, And Much More!!

Originally, I planned to double up two posts on the SMS tomorrow, but with a big announcement regarding the Soo's next battle of the bands, I thought it was prime time to get this on the site while the news is still fresh! Also, you will find lots of assorted shorter news items to cap things off, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will play a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, May 20th! Heading to this popular Queen Street East venue for the first time since their NLFB Meltdown audition set earlier this month, this appears to be just a regular headlining set for Mike, Tammy, and Brandan, so prepare for a full set's worth of high energy alt-rock originals and select covers in a months' time! An opening band is to be announced, and we will let you know when they are confirmed (for reference sake, Mike Mikus is playing at LopLops on Friday the 19th.) The Din's show on May 20th is a 19+ event with a $5 cover charge and a door opening time of 9:00 PM. If you're ready to give in to The Din once again, then keep this show in mind for next month, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details!

Next up, the annual battle of the bands from local concert promoter J.D. Pearce is returning for year #3, but with big changes, so here's what we know so far! After two years as the multi-night VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March, the battle (presented by Tidal Records) has been contracted to a one night event to be held on Saturday, June 3rd, and with Village Media not credited on the Facebook event page, The Rad Zone have stepped in as the battle's new title sponsor. However, the battle will be held at The Canadian Nightclub once again, which is always a great choice! Plans call for a $1,000 cash prize for the winning band (as was the case in 2015), with professional recording time, industry professional feedback, and more on the line. Listed sponsors will include Twin City Sound, photographers RAD.imagery, and Sudbury's CSA International, the promoters behind this June's Rock the Border Music Fest (whose lineup will reportedly be announced tomorrow), among many others. Keep those components in mind come June 3rd!

Details regarding band registrations, individual prizes, audience admission, ticket sales, judges, and more are forthcoming, but for reference, look up the results and recaps from last year's battle for a potential idea of what to expect. A start time of 6:00 PM is in effect, and this will presumably be a 19+ event. Though things have been retooled since last March, the newly titled Rad Zone Battle of the Bands should be a great event with a lot of intrigue, especially given the relative lack of one-night judged battles in the Sault Ontario in recent years, NLFB Meltdown aside! Check the above links for all current details, and stay tuned as updates come in!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while and as usual for these short item groupings, these are in alphabetical order by band, company, or series name:

• Memphis hard rock quartet Devour the Day have been added as a second opening band for the Alter Bridge/In Flames concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on May 16th, as per promoters Allstar Promotions' Facebook page on Sunday. This is a bit of a makeup date for Devour the Day, who Allstar had previously advertised to open for Shinedown locally in July 2013, but they were on a separate tour and were replaced in the Soo by fellow Memphis rockers Prosevere. It's great to see Devour the Day finally rock The Dreammaker's Theater, so get more details on this expanded concert above, and tickets are still available!
• As per their Facebook page on Sunday, Sault Ontario punk/metal veterans Jack Spades have enlisted former Winkstinger/Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti (a.k.a. Tony AO) for their new lineup, restoring them to a quintet for the first time since Tiffany Stocco's departure last summer. It's great to see Anthony back in a local band, he showed skill in his short runs with recent groups, so hopefully he adds well with Jack Spades starting at the CKY concert! Stay tuned for the identity of their new drummer!
• After an 8 month hiatus from public updates, local indie/punk quintet Northwest resurfaced on Tuesday via some photos shared to their Facebook page taken at Mission Control Studios, one with producer Dustin Jones at the controls while bassist Mike Smykacz is playing. This heavily implies that they're recording new material, but is a second album in the works, or is something else afoot? Stay tuned for updates, but it's great to see Northwest back regardless!
• Wondering where local goregrind duo Rotopsy have been lately? Well, the guys revealed on their Facebook page in December that a new EP release named "A Worthless Collection of Aggressive Sounds" is in the works, with a full length release also planned for later in 2017. The planned cover art is even online, and in a surprise, it is safe for work, showcasing Rotopsy at The Oddfellows Hall with a red colour filter and a surprisingly happy crowd. Check out current details at the above links!
• SooToday's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper returned after a 2 month hiatus with a new episode yesterday, spotlighting the aforementioned NLFB Meltdown audition/battle at LopLops on April Fools Day, in which Donna was a judge! The video is solely about winning performer M.D. Dunn, who talks about his victory, preparation, and songwriting, and while no other bands are featured, Donna did ask Mark about his thoughts on the night's other bands. Entertaining episode, especially for fans of M.D. Dunn, so click here to give it a look, and good luck in Sudbury! I wonder if SooToday filmed the other bands that night?
• In a related note from our coverage of the former VM Radio Battle of the Bands, it appears that VM Radio proper (Village Media's local internet radio network) was quietly shut down in the past 5 months, as per the closure of it's website, and we have removed their rock station VM Rocks from our links. A reason for it's ultimate demise wasn't given, but VM Radio hadn't been actively promoted for reasons other than battle sponsorship in many months. With the lack of Canadian-produced FM radio in this market, VM Radio seemed to fill a void upon launching in late 2014, but hopefully the concept resurfaces in some form down the road!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our next poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Battle Of The Bands Rewind Profile: The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands

There may not be a battle of the bands this month, but we haven't forgotten about our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile Series, which finally returns today with a somewhat overdue look at one of last March's battles! As in our past profiles of recent local battles, this serves as an informational feature to look back at the events, setup, results, and trivia of this battle, and features no personal criticism or reviews of the competing bands or their future activity. This was a fun event with lots of talented musicians throughout, so read on below for our first profile of last year's battles!
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The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands (March 9th-23th, 2016)

Background:  Following the success of the inaugural VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March 2015, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce came together once again with VM Radio (and parent company Village Media), Tidal Records, and sponsors Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries to hold a second installment of the multi-night battle of the bands, originally intended four consecutive Wednesdays again at The Canadian Nightclub. Unfortunately, only 5 bands (down from 11 in 2015) officially registered to compete, forcing the removal of a planned March 2nd semifinal, but the format of the battle was the same as in year #1, with the winner of the March 9th & 16th semifinals (plus the highest scoring runner-up band as a wild card) returning for the finals on the 23rd. Judging criteria was the same as the previous year and 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle, with scoring based on musical ability, chemistry, stage presence, and crowd engagement (among others) for out of 100 points a judge, 300 total, plus additional individual awards metered out based on category.

Prizes: The first place band received $500, while no specific additional prizes were announced in terms of band ranking, unlike in 2015. A $100 Rad Zone gift card awaited the winner of the Best Vocal Performance award, while Case's Music prize packages went to the Best Guitar and Bass winners, and the Best Drummer would receive a custom drum skin from Maxx Graphix. As for the Best Song, the winning band would receive recording time at Tidal Records' own Mission Control Studios.

Competitors: The March 9th semifinal saw the battle's only returning bands from 2015, namely alternative/hard rock trio The Din (who had since dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name) and punk quartet Stereo North, who competed against new hard/pop rock supergroup Heavy Head. March 16th's semifinal round was a head to head affair between hard rock quartet Eclipse and indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., with prominent punk/metal quintet Jack Spades performing a guest set to round out the evening's lineup.

Results: The two semifinals were won by The Din & K.I.C.K., while Eclipse were the highest scoring non-winners & moved on to the finals as the wild card. Stereo North finished in second on the 9th, with Heavy Head in third, but specific nightly scores were not announced. In the finals on the March 23rd, the Keep It Cool Kids won a closely contested final, edging out The Din for second place by just three points, averaging out to one point per judge, while Eclipse weren't far behind to round out the podium. Individual awards went to Eclipse's Curtis McKenzie for Best Vocal Performance, The Din's Tammy Hill for Best Guitar, Eclipse's Fred Dunn for Best Bass, and his brother Aaron Dunn of K.I.C.K. for Best Drummer. Meanwhile, K.I.C.K. claimed Best Song for their original "Wanted".

Aftermath: K.I.C.K. have remained steadily active since their battle win, playing at numerous concerts as headliners and openers, such as Rotaryfest and the Northern Vibe Festival, and have recently been working on their debut EP at Mission Control Studios, presumably using time won at the battle. The Din released their debut studio album "Give Into The Din" that summer, and have found their own profile rising with many concerts of their own, even heading out to Toronto for a gig in January. Eclipse were a frequent sight locally through October 2015 before suddenly breaking up, though they have reunited after four months and will return to the stage in a few weeks. Stereo North only played live a few more times that spring before going on an indefinite hiatus in June partly due to guitarist Matthew Anich becoming a father, while Heavy Head played sporadically into the summer, but haven't issued a public update in months.

Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal/hard rock in italics):
Andrew Pucci (Andrew Pucci from Stereo North)
The Bear Hunters (Johnny Belanger from Heavy Head & Justin Lam from guests Jack Spades)
The Elements (Jesse Cook from Heavy Head) 
Handsome Sandwich (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Heavy Head)
Project 421 (Curtis McKenzie, Daniel Horton, and Chris Thompson from Eclipse)
The Steeltown Girls (Tammy Hill from The Din)
Stegadeth (Bill Bennett from Stereo North & Tiffany Stocco from guests Jack Spades)
Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Heavy Head)

Trivia:

• The judges for last year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands were all returnees from 2015, including Tidal Records owner & Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, Elements frontman & Village Media repesentative Rob Speers, and Sault Metal Scene owner Rob Figures, while Id Iota frontman, Shaw TV personality, and Tidal Records skate team member Christian Lemay was a late fill-in for Dustin as guest judge for the second semifinal. Promoter J.D. Pearce again served as MC for the duration of the battle.
• Despite battling a cold during his appearances, Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie won the Best Vocal Performance award for a second straight year, after previously winning as Haggith's frontman in 2015, making him the only repeat winner of an individual award. In another coincidental note, Tammy Hill (who replaced him in The Din the previous year) won the Best Guitar award that same night.
• This battle did not see a return of three awards handed out in 2015, namely for Most Energetic Band, Most Enthusiastic Fan, and Fan Favourite Band. The latter was planned to be given out in 2016, but with a virtual tie among the bands in that regard, the award wasn't given out at all.
• At least two bands debuted new original songs at the battle, including Eclipse ("Crywolf") in the semifinals, and The Din ("Differences") in the finals. Both bands also played songs familiar to fans of members' past projects, with Eclipse playing some Punch and later Haggith originals, and The Din playing a handful of songs from frontman Mike Haggith's solo career.
• Though no award existed for Most Improved Band, The Din would have won it had it existed, as the band didn't even finish second in their 2015 semifinal, but improved and overcame in the following year to finish just three points out of first place a year later. Though they didn't make the finals again, Stereo North also improved their standing from 2015, as did 3/5ths of Project 421 in Eclipse.
• Notable among the night's performers was Heavy Head, a new supergroup union of Suicide Kings, Bear Hunters, Haggith, and Winkstinger alumni, all of which being bands that won or placed second at recent local battles. Despite their impressive pedigree, their set received mixed responses, and they dropped out of the next day's Speak Easy Battle (though keep in mind that the VM Radio Battle was just their second public concert together.)
• Jack Spades' guest set during night #2 of the battle mirrored that of The Pixo Control's in 2015, serving to even out the band lineup due to uneven nightly totals. Jack Spades couldn't compete themselves due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional duties, but members Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger did compete as part of Heavy Head. Jack Spades remained a frequent sight at local concerts through September, though 3/5th of the band left the group throughout the year, and a teased return with a new lineup is forthcoming.
• Despite the expanded coverage and video features for 2015's VM Radio Battle, SooToday didn't give the same attention to the 2016's battle, possibly due to the lower band totals, with only this article on K.I.C.K.'s win substantially covering the event. Plans for a third VM Radio Battle did not come to fruition for March 2017, though it's not clear if it's done for good or being retooled.
• Conspicuous by their absence last year were 2015 battle winners Gnaeus, believed to be at least partly due to the departure of drummer Brendan Garlick from the band following their last show with him in December 2015. The post-punk quartet did not publically confirm Alex Proulx as his replacement until April 2016, debuting with them during their Ontario tour run that month.
• As they had done in 2015, Algoma University hosted the second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on March 10th, 2016, just one day after night #1 of the VM Radio Battle once again. The Din, Eclipse, and VM Radio Battle guest performers Jack Spades all competed in the Speak Easy Battle, with The Din and Eclipse placing second & third in that event as well, winning $200 & $100 respectively. The fan voted event was won by indie rock musician Jesse Merineau, with backing from Caroline Divine.
• Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci (who has been focusing on solo music during their hiatus) competed in a Tidal Records-sponsored songwriters competition at LopLops Lounge on October 15th, where he and 9 other solo artists played two originals and a cover for a chance to get recording time at Mission Control Studios and a digital release package. The winner of that event was Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone, and it's unclear where Andrew placed.
• Though not advertised as a "battle of the bands", The Din played at Landmark Events' Showcase Festival in Toronto in January, with music industry executives judging bands and choosing select acts to win music development grants. Though The Din visibly praised the event, it's not publically clear how they did compared to other performers of if they moved forward in the showcase.

Videos:
The Din playing "In Search of The Perfect Moment" in the finals
Eclipse covering two songs in the semifinals
The Din's promotional videos for their sets
The Sault Metal Scene's videos of each band's opening songs




Sources/More Info:
Official Facebook event page
SooToday's coverage from the finals
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I hope you guys liked this profile of last year's VM Radio Battle, and we will profile last year's Speak Easy Battle in the coming days, so stay tuned for that and more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Finals Recap!!

At last, here's our recap of Wednesday night's VM Radio Battle of the Bands final round, and apologies again for the delay, our K.I.C.K. video upload failed twice before finally making it onto Facebook. After two weeks of intense action from 5 local bands (plus a fun guest set from Jack Spades), the contest came to a head at The Canadian Nightclub on Wednesday, and aside from the obvious high stakes, the only differences from the semifinals were in the presence of more sponsor prizes and promotional papers from The Din and K.I.C.K. on tables at the venue. Also, Tidal Records' Dustin Jones was back behind the judges table on Wednesday after being absent from last week's semifinal due to personal commitments, but as both of last week's bands advanced to the finals, he still got to see everyone compete! Wednesday also saw the best turnout of the month for attending fans, but what did everyone see? Here's what you should know!

After a random drawing coincidentally gave us all 3 bands in alphabetical order (all playing 9 songs, no less), local alternative hard rock trio and week #1 winners The Din opened the finals with a set of mostly originals like "We Met As Surrogates" and the debuting "Differences", plus covers of The Barenaked Ladies and The Beatles, with only 4 songs repeating from their semifinal set. The Din received another good reception, with Mike Haggith & Tammy Hill exploring their surroundings well during their set, but did they do enough to win their first battle of the bands? Next was local hard rock quartet (and week #2 wild cards) Eclipse, who played 5 originals like "Crywolf" and "Rebel From Above" (a renamed revival of Curtis & Daniel's old band Punch's eponymous song, and also played by Haggith), which were bookended with four covers from bands like Genesis and System of a Down. Breaking out their smoke machine once again, Eclipse had a strong set, including 4 songs not played last week, and they too had a good reception!

Indie/acoustic rock quartet (and week #2 winners) K.I.C.K. closed the night with a set that didn't stray too far from last week's song selection, with only 2 songs replaced, but they won over attendees with originals like "Silently Screaming" and "HWY 17" (which even got a few slow-dancing couples!), plus many fan favourite returning originals and their OneRepublic and The Weeknd renditions. The Keep It Cool Kids got a strong response and seemed to be having fun, complete with a surprise introduction by last year's winners in Gnaeus, but did K.I.C.K. win it all this year? After their set, judges Rob Speers, Dustin Jones, and myself convened to add up scores and determine individual award winners, and while I again won't publically reveal the final tallies, I will say that we didn't universally agree on our first place picks, though one judge had two of the bands tied.

And also, I'll confirm that the winning band edged out second place by just three points, making this (at least) the fourth judged local battle since 2009 where the winning band won by 3 points or less. If you ever wanted a sign as to how talented and competitive local artists can be, this is it! Now, here are the final results, courtesy of MC/promoter J.D. Pearce, plus the winners of this year's individual awards:

1st Place: K.I.C.K.

2nd Place: The Din

3rd Place: Eclipse

Best Vocal Performance: Curtis McKenzie (Eclipse)

Best Guitar Player: Tammy Hill (The Din)

Best Bass Player: Fred Dunn (Eclipse)

Best Drummer: Aaron Dunn (K.I.C.K.)

Best Song: K.I.C.K. - "Wanted"

After three weeks of hard fought battling, K.I.C.K. edged out The Din to claim their first battle of the bands victory in their first try, so congratulations to Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron are absolutely in order for their strong and fan pleasing performances this year! It is a coincidence that K.I.C.K. were, like Gnaeus last year, the last band in both of their battle sets, and narrowly defeated a heavier band by a small margin to win the battle? If anything, it shows how talented each band is, and how much potential the scene has! Like they did at the Speak Easy Battle earlier this month, The Din and Eclipse both finished in second & third place, but considering that The Din and 3/4ths of Eclipse (in Project 421) didn't place or make the finals in either of last year's battles, they won big from their huge turn-arounds this year alone, and Eclipse were competitive in the totals too! There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of! As for Stereo North and Heavy Head, the fourth & fifth place finishers from week #1, I do want to thank them for their entertaining sets too, they showed a lot of talent and promise!

As for the awards won last night, K.I.C.K. picked up $500 for their victory (if they won anything else for first place, it wasn't announced), while there was again no announced prize for second or third place. Curtis McKenzie overcame his cold to receive a $100 Rad Zone gift card for his second straight Best Vocal Performance award (he won with Haggith last year), while The Din's Tammy Hill & Eclipse's Fred Dunn each received a Case's Music prize package for their Best Guitar & Bass Player awards. K.I.C.K.'s Aaron Dunn matched his brother Fred with a Best Drummer award, winning a custom drum skin from Maxx Graphix, while K.I.C.K. won recording time at Tidal Records for "Wanted" as the Best Song. The Most Energetic Band and Best Fan awards didn't return from last year's battle, while the Fan Favourite Band award was apparently scuttled due to a virtual tie among the fan vote, as per J.D. in a personal conversation on Wednesday.

Overall, this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands was a great time, both for the fun of this style of event, and for my return to local concerts after 6 months away due to (ongoing) family health matters, and hopefully it won't be another 6 months before I see another live concert! Huge thanks go out to J.D. for inviting me to be a judge at this year's battle once again, it's a privilege that I was more than happy to accept, and if the call comes for next year, I'll be ready to serve if at all possible! Thanks as well to Dustin, Rob, and last week's guest judge Christian Lemay for their input, support, and professionalism this month, you were great judges once again, and I'd be happy to work with you guys again if the situation arises! Of course, thanks to all of the aforementioned sponsors who put this year's battle on (including Village Media and Labatt Breweries), and to The Canadian Nightclub proper for being a great host venue once again!

As for our videos from the battle finals, I kept up my tradition dating back to 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle by filming each finalist band's first two songs (it's the finals of a multi-night battle, they deserve the extra song!), and after some unforeseen delays, each track is now online on our Facebook page! There will be more media coming from Village Media's local news sites (SooToday and Local2), but in the meantime, here's The Din playing "In Search of the Perfect Moment" & "Cowardly Hearts Beneath The Stars", Eclipse covering System of a Down's "Hypnotize" & Billy Talent's "Fallen Leaves", and K.I.C.K. playing "Burning Desire" & "Stranded"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, more news, and this month's CD review in short order! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Finals Preview!!

After two weeks of intense action from five talented local bands, this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub will conclude TOMORROW NIGHT with the final round, where this year's remaining three bands will collide for their first battle of the bands title, so here's our extended finals preview! Like in the semifinal rounds, the finalist bands will play half hour-ish sets for attending fans, with judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself scoring them on the same criteria as in past weeks, but the stakes are ever higher! Not only will the grand prize winners be announced tomorrow, but individual awards will again be given out in varying categories, with Village Media, Tidal Records, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries among the presenting sponsors to look out for. Given how well the semifinals went, tomorrow's finals should end things with a bang, so here's some info on this year's three finalists!

The Din: After defeating Stereo North & Heavy Head in March 9th's semifinals (and finishing in second place during the next day's Speak Easy Battle), local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will look to claim their first battle of the bands victory tomorrow in their fourth try. Their new lineup has steadily impressed fans so far in 2016, but can Mike, Tammy, and Brandan claim first place tomorrow night, and make everyone give into The Din?

Eclipse: Less than a week removed from their third place run at the Speak Easy Battle, newer local hard rock quartet overcame frontman Curtis McKenzie's cold by punching their finals ticket as the wild cards after a strong performance last week. With the battle title, and a possible repeat Best Vocalist Award on the line for Curt, can he, Daniel, Fred, and Chris "eclipse" their other bands' past battle runs with their first battle victory tomorrow?

K.I.C.K.: Making their local battle of the bands debut in style last week, the Keep it Cool Kids defeated Eclipse to move on to tomorrow's finals, impressing fans with their acoustic-tinged indie rock sound and surprise covers. A rematch with Eclipse awaits tomorrow night, but The Din are also in the mix, and it's anyone's guess who will win out tomorrow, but can Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron kick their way to the VM Radio Battle crown?

Tomorrow's action also sees a rematch between K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn and his brother, Eclipse bassist Fred Dunn, while the dynamic between Din frontman Mike Haggith and Eclipse's Curt McKenzie and Daniel Horton is well known locally, as they were all in The Din's original lineup, and most notably, were bandmates in the band Haggith. The guys are on good terms, but keep that matchup in mind, especially if you miss Haggith! Of course, this year's winning band will receive a large cash prize and other prizes to be announced tomorrow, and while the rest of the individual prizes (and potential 2nd/3rd place awards) aren't announced online, you can see some of the individual awards laid out at the venue tomorrow night. As I said last year, I hope all 11 performers tomorrow will bring their A-game, leave it all on the stage, and deliver the best performance possible to win over fans and judges alike! You all worked hard to make the podium, now do what you can to reach the top of it and seize the day tomorrow night!

For attendees, tomorrow's finals have a special cover charge of $10, unless you previously bought tickets for the finals/full battle. Everything starts at 9:00 PM, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome final round, especially given the talents they have and the performances they put on in the semifinals, so don't miss out on the action! For a preview, here's our videos of each of this year's finalists, and we'll see you guys at The Canadian TOMORROW NIGHT! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Pixo Control, The Elements, and Eclipse), And New Concert Videos!!

Before we dive into last month's poll results and outline this month's poll (which you can now vote in), we have a stacked post featuring lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including one SHORT NOTICE show, and videos from one of the involved bands! Here's what you should know!

Local modern/hard rock quartet Eclipse will join fellow VM Radio Battle of the Bands finalists K.I.C.K. at their previously announced LopLops Lounge concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Eclipse's involvement was only publically confirmed yesterday. The Project 421 side project must have really impressed K.I.C.K. on Wednesday to be added as late openers TONIGHT, and while their sound isn't an obvious fit for a LopLops show, their talents and reputation speak for itself! Of course, K.I.C.K. won Wednesday's VM Radio Battle semifinal (with Eclipse securing the wild card), and their own acoustic/indie rock sound will be work nicely at LopLops, as fans of theirs have seen before, so don't miss out on this Din-less preview of next week's finals! TONIGHT'S show starts at either 9:00 or 10:00 PM (the Facebook event page says both), there's no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's some new Eclipse videos!

Filmed by frontman Curtis McKenzie's girlfriend April Bryant during Wednesday's battle semifinal at The Canadian Nightclub, two videos of Eclipse's covers were posted on their Facebook page yesterday, including covers of Three Days Grace's "(I Hate) Everything About You" and, as embedded below, System of a Down's "Toxicity". Well filmed from close to the stage, these are our best look yet at this newer local band, so check them out above and below, and don't miss K.I.C.K. and Eclipse at LopLops TONIGHT and at the battle finals on Wednesday!



Next up, local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will hit the stage for their first non-acoustic show in two months when they headline at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, March 25th (one week from today!) In what's sure to be a fun night of live music action on Good Friday, The Elements have enlisted Lake Effect saxophonist Josh Norling to reprise his guest role from their Halloween Party set last fall, so the full ska-sound will be in effect next week!  Note that the Facebook event page mentions that The Elements will also play 5 original songs to be included on their forthcoming debut EP, which frontman Rob Speers had previously confirmed to me in personal conversations. Very nice to hear, we'll have to see how that turns out! Like with TONIGHT'S K.I.C.K. show at LopLops, Eclipse will be opening for The Elements next week as well, which they'll be a nice fit for, but will their set next week be a victory party after the VM Radio Battle finals on Wednesday?

Next week's concert has no announced cover charge (but bring $5 or so just in case), a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM start time. It should be a fun concert for fans of funk and hard rock, with two strong local bands playing (plus some saxophone action to boot), so check the above links for more details, and again, don't miss Eclipse TONIGHT at LopLops!

Finally for today, local grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control will headline a special concert called "The Sky's The Limit" that will take place at The Tech (the community center at the former St. Mary's College/Lakeway site) on Friday, May 5th! This special concert event is taking place as a fundraiser for children's mental health, as part of Algoma Family Services' Children's Mental Week, with all proceeds going to support children's mental health services in the Algoma District. Nice cause, it's an area that still needs a lot of addressing! The Pixo Control will have opening bands, but uniquely, this event will be having auditions to determine opening acts. Organizers are seeking bands and solo performers between the ages of 14 and 29 to play at The Sky's The Limit, and there will be auditions at 6:00 PM on April 6th & 7th at The Tech, so message promoters via the links and phone numbers provided for more details on how you can audition for the full event on May 5th! Performance videos are being accepted too, and as the audition is likely not a public event, we won't call it as a concert on here.

For the concert proper on May 5th, it is definitely ALL AGES, and ticket sare $5 for single attendees, $20 for families of 5 or more (given the aim of the event), and can be bought at Algoma Family Services on McNabb Street. There is a 7:00 PM start time, and if we get confirmation about what area of The Tech that this concert is taking place in, we'll let you know. This should be an interesting event for a great cause, and The Pixo Control are a solid choice as headliners, so check the Facebook event page for full details on The Sky's The Limit, and if you're between 14 and 29 years old, consider auditioning!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and details on our newest poll (which is now live on the site) later today! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands Recap (Night 2), Plus Our Review Of Jack Spades' Set!!

As you may remember, last night was the second and last semifinal of this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so like last week, here's our recap post from last night's action! Everything had a similar setup from last week's first semifinal, though Case's Music & The Rad Zone both had banners up on stage after none were put up last week. The judging panel also looked a little different compared to last week, as Tidal Records head/Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones was unable to attend night #2 due to outside commitments, so Id Iota frontman/Tidal Records skate team member Christian Lemay filled in as a guest judge. As far as I can tell, this was his first judging role at a battle of the bands, though he competed in at least two with his old band Free Beer. Christian filled in nicely, and also filmed some of the performances last night for his personal Facebook page, so visit his personal Facebook page to give them a look if you're a friend of his!

Also, just as an aside, Dustin Jones and The Rising Tide will play their first announced show of the year TONIGHT at Peddler's Pub in Sudbury! In lieu of recent live drummers Clint Wilson or Cooper Hannahson, The Tide have enlisted The Lake Effect's Chris Johns to fill in behind the kit tonight, as per personal Facebook postings. He's a fitting choice given their own Tidal Records ties! Click here for more details, and hopefully we see The Rising Tide back on the local stage soon!

After a random drawing, the first band competing last night was newer local modern/hard rock quartet Eclipse, who played a 9 song set including 5 covers (from bands like System of a Down and Led Zeppelin) and 4 original songs, including the brand new "Crywolf" (no space) and three songs recycled from Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton's old band Haggith ("Metal Cage", "Wasted", and "Silver Bullet".) Though Curt's voice was affected by a cold, they got a good reception from attending fans, and the smoke machine didn't hurt at all, but did they advance to next week's finals? The last competing band was local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in their battle of the bands debut, and they played a set of 7 original songs (like "Drift", "Burning Desire", and "Time It Out") and covers of One Republic and The Weeknd, with a brief Justin Bieber(?!) aside in the former!

Featuring all four band members in bandanas, K.I.C.K. seemed to win over the crowd, though they didn't have as many fans on the floor as Eclipse had. Before we get into the final scores from last night, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades took the stage for their second concert of the year, and as they weren't competing in the battle (frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting the event), I got to shed my judge label for their set, making this my first proper concert review with photos since September! Jack Spades played original songs like "Motorwolf", "To The Left", and "Frederick" alongside Ripcordz and SNFU covers, and while the fan turnout on the floor wasn't terribly high, J.D. came out onto the floor to interact with fans and sing with his usual punk-tinged aggression!  Everyone was on form last night from when I last saw Jack Spades, with Justin Lam strong on bass as usual, and Jesse Cook laid down some solid guitar solos throughout!

It was nice to get back into the concert reviewer mode for Jack Spades' set, and fans seemed to enjoy everything! Also, J.D. noted that their first song last night, "Crossroads", was filmed at their Speak Easy Battle set last week by guest judge Christian Lemay for an upcoming Shaw TV segment, so we'll have to see how that turns out when it airs! As for last night's battle results, judges Rob Speers, Christian, and myself tabulated the scores after K.I.C.K.'s set, and while I won't reveal individual scores, I will say that we all agreed on who won, so who won last night's semifinal?

....K.I.C.K.! Yes, the Keep It Cool Kids have punched their ticket for next week's finals, giving this quartet a guaranteed podium finish in their first local battle! Not bad considering that the guys haven't been in any recent battles in this or another band, and we'll see how they do next week! As for the wild card spot, who will join K.I.C.K. and week 1 winners The Din in the finals? ....ECLIPSE! That's right, we're in for a finals rematch of last night's competitors (and of siblings Aaron & Fred Dunn), and Eclipse are guaranteed to at least match their 3rd place finish in last week's Speak Easy Battle! Curtis and Daniel could also match or better their 2nd place run in 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle with Haggith, and the finals will see them face their former Haggith/Din bandmate Mike Haggith, so there's an interesting wrinkle for the finals as well! As for the other results, I'll confirm that Stereo North were the second place band last week, and Heavy Head were third, so you can fill in the overall rankings from there given the amount of bands.

Someone is guaranteed their first battle of the bands victory next week, so be sure to attend the VM Radio Battle of the Bands finals on Wednesday between The Din, Eclipse, and K.I.C.K.! That show will be at 9:00 PM with a special admission fee of $10 unless you already have your full pass for all nights of the battle. It'll be a great night, so definitely consider coming out, stay tuned for some extra videos from last night, and thanks again to Christian for filling in last night! You were a great judge, and hopefully we get your input next week in some form! As for our media, click here for our photos of Jack Spades' set, and for our videos, you may notice a slightly different angle on the competitors' videos, as I had to get a new tripod to mount my camera with after my original tripod was lost at the venue last week. My new tripod is much better and more customizable though, as you'll see for our Jack Spades video, where I experimented with it's panning and expandable size.

I might play around with a special angle for the finals next week, but we'll approach that then, and as for our videos, here's Eclipse covering Seether's "Remedy", K.I.C.K. playing their song "Wanted", and Jack Spades playing both "Rise" & "Breakneck Speed"! That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our newest poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night #2!)

TOMORROW marks night #2 and the last semifinal of this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so here's our extended preview of tomorrow's action! As you may remember, last week saw The Din defeat Heavy Head & Stereo North to claim the first of three spots for next week's finals, and the full field will be determined tomorrow, where they'll be joined by tomorrow's winning band and the highest scoring runner-up band as a wild card finalist. Like last week, judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself will score competitors on their originality, stage presence, musicianship, crowd reaction, and professionalism, with huge prizes and promotion from Village Media, Tidal Records, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries awaiting, so don't forget about the stakes at hand! With only 5 band registrations this year, this last semifinal sees a head-to-head battle between just two local bands, so here's what you should know about tomorrow's competitors!

Eclipse: Fresh off of their third place finish in Thursday's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, this new modern/hard rock quartet (featuring 3/5ths of Project 421) will look to see if lightning can strike twice to send them to the VM Radio Battle finals next week, where members Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton could be faced off with their old band The Din, fronted by their ex-Haggith bandmate Mike Haggith. Will Eclipse punch their finals ticket tomorrow?

K.I.C.K.: Joining Heavy Head as the only battle newcomers in the field, local indie/acoustic rock quartet K.I.C.K. (short for the Keep It Cool Kids) have been active since 2012, and feature alumni of Cowboys & Indians, State of Misery, and Starlit Sins in their lineup. Somewhat of a dark horse this year among their otherwise plugged-in brethren, can Simon, Tyson, Kevin, and Aaron move on to next week's finals? Support them via their own Facebook event page for the battle!

With an uneven number of bands this year, the third band slot tomorrow will be filled by local punk/metal quintet (and fellow Speak Easy Battle competitors) Jack Spades in their second concert set of the year. A non-competitive set due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional involvement in this battle, look for some familiar faces in their lineup from past battle runs with bands like T-Rex Manning, The Bear Hunters, and Heavy Head, so prepare for a fun set of punk and metal intensity from Jack Spades!

Also, an added wrinkle was noted to me last week by Project 421 guitarist Blair Burch, which is that Eclipse bassist Fred Dunn is the brother of K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn! It's not often that you see siblings compete against each other in a local battle of the bands, so we'll have to see how things shake out tomorrow on that basis! Remember, tomorrow's winning band is guaranteed to face The Din in next week's finals, and the highest scoring of the two runner-up bands will be back for a second chance in the finals as well, but will last week's second place band return, or will both Eclipse & K.I.C.K. get a finals encore? Be at The Canadian TOMORROW to find out! Huge prizes for competing bands and individual performers await next week, and you can see who gets there tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, with a $5 entry fee at the door (unless you already have tickets for the full event.) For full public details on the ongoing VM Radio Battle, visit the official Facebook event page!

While a little more compact than most local battle of the bands one-night lineups, an exciting competition lies ahead tomorrow, so will Eclipse ride the momentum of last week's Speak Easy Battle to the finals, or will K.I.C.K.'s acoustic indie rock win over the judges instead? Be there for all of that, plus a guest set by Jack Spades, TOMORROW NIGHT, and I'll see you guys there! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands Recap (Night #1!!)

(Updated at 5:00 PM) Last night saw the beginning of the second annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so our recap of last night's events constitutes today's second post, but be sure to check out our latest news/preview post from this morning below! After lots of anticipation, this sophomore event returned yesterday, so what should you know regarding the format? The judges, scoring criteria, and most prize categories are the same as last year, Maxx Entertainment was back to do sound, the layout and scheduling was very similar, and while the turnout was sadly lighter than hoped, all three bands got a good reception from attending fans! In terms of what prizes are available for winners, details on them weren't publically announced last night, but some awards were displayed in the venue as a preview of what bands might receive. Now, let's touch on each band's sets, and remember, as a judge, I will not review the bands or reveal scores, just recap their sets and what everyone in attendance saw and heard.

After a random drawing of the band order, pop punk quartet Stereo North hit the stage for their second battle of the bands appearance, and their set was comprised of 4 originals like "Heart Collider" and "Nobody", and 5 covers from bands ranging from The Foo Fighters to The All American Rejects to... Drake?! If you ever wanted to hear "Hotline Bling" covered by a punk band, they had you covered! Stereo North got a positive early reception, getting many fans going to start the night, but did they win the first semifinal? Also, they were the only band who had a banner up for their set, though Heavy Head's name was on the bass drum. Alternative hard rock trio The Din made their third battle of the bands appearance next, and first with new guitarist Tammy Hill, with the three playing 7 Din originals or Mike Haggith solo songs (including the newer "In Search of the Perfect Moment" and "Out Of My League"), as well as Foo Fighters & City and Colour renditions.

The Din attracted the best crowd of the night, with Mike and Tammy making the most of it by entering the crowd to play on the floor, and Mike also was eager to play to the crowd and joke between sets... but did it put them through to the finals in two weeks? Last up were Heavy Head, the new pop/hard rock band from Suicide Kings, Haggith, and Jack Spades alumni, and they played a short set of 6 songs , including two originals (the Irish-tinged "Mikey Doesn't Whisky" & "5 A.M.") and covers ranging from The Black Crowes to... Walk the Moon?! They weren't lying about the pop rock side of their genre! All wearing a black with bandanas motif, the guys received a positive reception from fans, and responded in kind, though many were left wondering what happened when their version of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" suddenly fell apart.

After their set, judges Dustin Jones, Rob Speers, and myself tallied the scores, and without giving anything away, we all agreed on the band order, and two of the bands were only separated by three points. With that said, who were the winners on night #1 of this year's VM Radio Battle?

....THE DIN!! Yes, the former Mike Haggith & The Din are in the finals on March 23rd, and no matter what happens then, this is already their best ever battle of the bands finish by far (remember, they didn't make the finals or place in either of last year's battles), so what they've done and worked on in the past year seems to be paying off! This will also Mike's second top-3 finish in a battle, after he drummed with the band Haggith to their runner-up finish at 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle. I won't mention who finished second until the wild card is revealed next week, but everyone put on a great show, and remember to go check out The Din, Heavy Head, week #2 competitors Eclipse, and guest performers Jack Spades at TONIGHT'S second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands! A band is guaranteed their first ever battle of the bands victory tonight, and it'll be interesting to hear who the fans voted as the winners, so when we hear the results, we'll let you guys know!

I won't be in attendance for The Speak Easy Battle to avoid showing a bias given that I'm judging 3 of the bands in the VM Radio Battle, but hopefully Sault Online is in attendance again to cover the event! After that, the VM Radio Battle semifinals return on Wednesday with Eclipse taking on K.I.C.K. for a finals spot, and we'll also learn with of the three non-winners will be joining them as a wild card, so be at The Canadian then to find out who wins, and to take in some Jack Spades action! As for our videos, I got each band's first song, so here's Stereo North playing "Fall Before Me", The Din playing "Flux", and Heavy Head covering Walk the Moon's "Shut Up & Dance"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow, if all goes well! Thanks everyone!

The 2016 VM Radio Battle Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night #1!)

It's almost time to commence this month's battle of the bands action, so let's kick things off with our extended preview of TOMORROW'S first night of the 2016 VM Radio Battle of the Bands! One year after Gnaeus claimed victory in the premiering multi-night battle, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has joined forces with VM Radio (and parent company Village Media), Tidal Records, and sponsors Case's Music, The Rad Zone, Maxx Graphics, and Labatt Breweries to bring this huge battle of the bands back to The Canadian Nightclub one year later, with thousands in cash & prize awaiting this year's competitors! As band registrations were disappointingly quieter than last year (partly as each of last year's finalists have been busy in studio lately), this year's battle has just 5 bands split across two semifinals rather than 11 bands over three nights, but a talented lineup of local talent will take the stage over the coming weeks, and expect a similar format and judging criteria for this month's action!

Like last year, thousands in cash & prizes await the finalist bands, and when there's public confirmation of the specific awards, we'll let you know! Click here for a complete rundown of last year's award recipients, just as a reference point. Though not publically confirmed, I believe I can confirm that last year's judges (Tidal Records owner/Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, Village Media representative & Elements frontman Rob Speers, and myself) will be back to judge this month's competing bands. It's a privilege and honor to be asked back for year #2, and I again pledge to keep our battle coverage impartial in respect to the nature of the event! After having to take the last 6 months or so off from attending concerts while dealing with family health matters, it will be nice to see some live music again in Sault Ste. Marie, and there's no better place to do it than at this month's battle, so I can't wait to see you all out there!

The schedule will see three bands competing tomorrow, with the other two and a guest band playing next week on March 16th, with all playing sets likely in the 35 minute range once again. Both weeks' winners and the highest scoring runner-up band (as the wild card) will return on Wednesday, March 23rd for the final showdown, but who can you expect to see tomorrow? Here's some info on TOMORROW'S first semifinalists!

The Din: The most battle-tested band in this year's field, the former Mike Haggith & The Din competed in last year's VM Radio & Speak Easy Battles (with Curtis McKenzie on guitar), but they did not place in either event. With their more firmly established alternative hard rock sound & live presence, as well as their new guitarist Tammy Hill, will The Din prove that the third time's a charm by making the finals this year, and can they channel frontman Mike Haggith's past battle success with the band Haggith? Visit their own Facebook event page for this battle to show your support!

Heavy Head: Though technically making their battle debut, new local pop/hard rock quartet Heavy Head have ample battle experience via members' past top-3 runs in local battles with The Suicide Kings, The Bear Hunters, Winkstinger, Soldiers of Misfortune, Haggith, and Punch. However, this is just Heavy Head's second concert, and they're somewhat of an unknown commodity unless you saw their debut. Can Heavy Head pick up where their other projects left off by making the finals? Support them at their own Facebook event page for this battle as well!

Stereo North: In their own sophomore concert set from last year's VM Radio Battle, local pop punk quartet Stereo North were part of an ultra close contest during the second night, where just 8.5 points separated first place from fourth place, so they only narrowly missed a finals spot. With an extra year of live concerts, original songwriting, and fan attention under their belts, can Stereo North improve on last year's battle run by advancing to the finals on March 23rd with their fan favourite originals & covers? To show your support, visit their own Facebook event page for the battle too!

Again, tomorrow's winner will join either Eclipse or K.I.C.K. (next week's competitors) and the wild card band to be announced on March 23rd at The Canadian, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for previews of those nights! And yes, you can also see The Din, Eclipse, Heavy Head, and next week's guest band Jack Spades in THIS THURSDAY'S second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, where they'll compete against four other local act for the $400 top prize, so click here for full details on this fan voted battle at Algoma University, and look for our preview of it tomorrow! For battle attendees, nightly admission for this 19+ battle will be $5 for the semifinals and $10 for the finals, while each night has doors opening at 8:00 PM and the bands starting at 9:00 PM. For complete current details on this year's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, visit the official Facebook event page!

With both of last year's returning bands, and a local supergroup chock full of high placing battle veterans, this should be an exciting night of battle action, and as far as I'm concerned, the field is wide open this year! i'm excited to see how each band does, but will The Din claim a finals spot in their third battle? Will Heavy Head show the Soo what they've got by making the finals in their second show? And can Stereo North pick up where they left off by moving onto the finals in their second battle? Head down to The Canadian TOMORROW for all of the action, and I hope to see you all there! Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for our preview of The Speak Easy Battle next!

Battle Of The Bands Rewind Profile: The 2015 VM Radio Battle Of The Bands

One year ago today, the first annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands commenced at The Canadian, so in that spirit, here's the return of our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile series! I'd debated waiting until the 25th (one year from the finals), but I thought it'd be best to get this up now as we continue the lead-up for this year's VM Radio Battle (which begins this coming Wednesday), and we'll have much more on that soon as well. As in our past battle profiles, this is strictly an informative feature with no reviews or criticism of the competing bands, either from the event or their activity since. Hopefully this brings back some fun memories, so here's our first of two straight battle of the bands profiles from last year!
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The 2015 VM Radio Battle of the Bands (March 4th-25th, 2015)

Background: A spiritual sequel to 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce partnered with then-new local digital radio network VM Radio (and their parent company Village Media), Tidal Records, and sponsors Case's Music, Maxx Graphics, and The Sault Metal Scene to host the first annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands on every Wednesday in March 2015 at The Canadian Nightclub. 11 bands (up from 9 in 2013) competed for numerous prizes in a staggered weekly competition, with three semifinals taking place on March 4th, 11th, and 18th, and each night's winner (plus the highest scoring runner-up band as a wild card) re-convening at The Canadian for the finals on March 25th. Like in 2013, judges scored the bands on aspects of their musical ability, chemistry, stage presence, and crowd engagement (among other factors) for a total score out of 300 each night, or 100 points a judge, while individual awards were scored on varying criteria depending on the award's type.

Prizes: The first place band would receive $1,000, a professionally produced electronic press kit & video from VM Radio, and a large framed plaque for their victory. In lieu of prizes for the runner-up bands, individual awards were instead offered for finalists & semifinalists alike, including Case's Music gear packages for the Best Guitar Player & Bass Player, a new microphone from Right Hook Mics for Best Vocal Performance, a custom drum skin from Maxx Graphix for Best Drummer, recording time with Tidal Records for Best Original Song, a Budweiser/Marshall amplifier beer fridge for the Fan Favourite Band, a case of Bomb Energy Drinks & a Bomb t-shirt for the Most Energetic Band, and a $100 Rad Zone gift certificate for the Most Enthusiastic Fan.

Competitors: The semifinal on March 4th featured three competing bands, including local death metal veterans (and reigning Viva La Battle winners) The Bear Hunters, indie/folk rock quintet Honest Job, and newer metal trio Infamous, with alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control filling out that night's lineup as a guest performer out of competition. The March 11th semifinal featured all female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats, grunge/metal standouts Haggith, progressive rock quartet Mannapool, and new pop punk group Stereo North, while March 18th's semifinal featured rap/metal project The Apocalypse Afterparty, post-punk/garage quartet Gnaeus, alternative/hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din, and classic metal quartet Project 421.

Results: The winners of each week's semifinals were The Bear Hunters, Mannapool (as part of a close 8.5 points spread between that night's four bands), and The Apocalypse Afterparty, while Gnaeus claimed the wild card slot for the finals. The other night's runner-up bands were Honest Job & Haggith, and Infamous finished in third on the 4th, but no other nightly or overall results were announced for non-finalists. In the March 25th finals, Gnaeus overcame their wild card status to edge The Bear Hunters by two points to claim their second battle of the bands title in 20 days time, with Mannapool & The Apocalypse Afterparty finishing in third and fourth place. Among individual prizes, Bear Hunters members Mitch Sirie & Johnny Belanger each won the Best Guitar Player & Drummer prizes, while Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie won Best Vocal Performance, Honest Job bassist Jared Fridy claimed the Best Bass Player title, and Gnaeus won Best Original Song for their track "Circles".

As well, The Apocalypse Afterparty were the Most Energetic Band, Project 421 won the crowd-voted Fan Favourite Band award, and Danger Cats drummer "Calico" Katie Maskell was chosen by organizers as the Most Enthusiastic Fan. 

Aftermath: Gnaeus continued to play major concerts throughout 2015, and have recently been busy recording their debut album "Loomings", while The Bear Hunters have enjoyed a similar trajectory, with their sophomore effort "The Dead Testament" now in production. Mannapool have largely been working in studio since this battle, releasing their album "Full Hearts, Half Hearted" in December, while The Apocalypse Afterparty have not played live since, with their "Bufflesnort" EP and a new lineup currently in the works. Honest Job & Infamous have both been fairly quiet since mid-2015, while both The Danger Cats & Haggith disbanded that same summer, albeit after both conducting studio recording sessions, with Haggith putting out two final albums. Finally, Mike Haggith & The Din (now simply The Din), Project 421, and Stereo North remain active and frequent sights at local concerts, often playing together in the process.

Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal/hard rock in italics, ex-members noted with an *):
Chronic Demonic (Nik Deubel from The Bear Hunters)
Eclipse (Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton from Haggith)
Faceityoureametalband (Steve Mozarowski from The Apocalypse Afterparty) 
Heavy Head (Daniel Horton from Haggith and Johnny Belanger from The Bear Hunters)
Jack Spades (Justin Lam & Johnny Belanger from The Bear Hunters)
Pillory (Jordan Leach from Haggith) 
The Suicide Kings (Mitch Sirie from The Bear Hunters)
Them (Anthony Boudreau from Infamous)

Trivia:

• Local doom/punk trio The Revolution were scheduled to play this battle on the first night, but they surprisingly broke up for the first time in February 2015, while a mid-2015 reunion didn't lead to much publically. They were replaced on a month's notice by Mike Haggith & The Din, who had just added Revolution drummer Brandan Glew to their lineup, though they switched places with planned night #3 guest performers The Pixo Control due to scheduling conflicts. As well, Revolution bassist Jordan Leach (who would have made his debut with the band at the battle) still competed anyway as Haggith's bassist on March 11th.
• The judges for the duration of The VM Radio Battle of the Bands included Tidal Records owner & Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones (who had brushes with competing & playing at local battles in 2009), Elements frontman & Village Media repesentative Rob Speers, and Sault Metal Scene owner Rob Figures (the only returning judge from 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle.) For this battle, promoter J.D. Pearce handled the MC duties in lieu of a judge.
• Gnaeus' narrow victory in the VM Radio Battle of the Bands made them the first local band to win two battles of the bands since defunct death metal quintet Bring The Fallen won three of these events from 2009-2010, as well as the first non-metal band to do so since folk rockers Blackwater won the Sault College/Scotties Tournament of Hearts Battle in February 2010.
• The Bear Hunters' appearances in this battle occurred without rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney, as he currently lives out of town and only plays select gigs as a result. The band pulled out extra stops for their finals set with an increased usage of camouflage attire, the debut of their new song "The Dying Den", and a mass slaughter of teddy bears during their set, with some of the bears being claimed by fans as souvenirs.
• The Apocalypse Afterparty's semifinal appearance on March 18th marked their first live concert appearance as a quartet, now with Sara Biedermann (as "x") on bass and Amanda Brown (as "z") on the MPC electronic sampling instrument. However, their finals set marked their last concert appearance with drummer Steve Mozarowski (a.k.a. "X") due to his departure from the band later that year, and his replacement has yet to be publically unveiled.
• Honest Job's semifinal set on March 4th saw the live debut of their new bassist Jared Fridy, whose performance netted him the Best Bass Performance award during the finals. However, he wasn't in attendance that night, so bandmates accepted on his behalf.
• Haggith made their final live concert appearance with founding guitarist Daniel Horton (and only one with his short haircut) during the March 11th semifinal. He departed the band shortly afterward, and he was replaced by original bassist Caleb Cachagee until their breakup that summer. However, he would reunite with singer Curtis McKenzie later that year when Curt rejoined Project 421, after his prior stint on lead vocals in early 2014.
• Both of Daniel Horton's then-bands (Haggith & Project 421) unveiled new originals during their semifinal sets, with Haggith's being "Silver Bullet", and Project 421's being "Into The Darkness". The former song was only played the one time before Daniel left Haggith, but the latter is still frequently played during Project 421 concerts.
• The Pixo Control's involvement as a guest performer rather than as competitors was due to their signing to sponsors Tidal Records, avoiding a potential conflict of interest concern. The Pixo Control's set was well received, and while they replaced bassist Steve Edwards with Dustin Goodall last fall, they've since released their debut CD "Probably Not" in December, played a handful of out of town concerts, and continue to play live often in the area.
• To fans uninitiated with The Apocalypse Afterparty from their duo concert appearances, the band made a lot of waves from their masked attire, creative hybrid sound with two bassists & no guitarists, a half-female lineup, the sale of bandanas during the finals, and use of false British accents on stage. However, fans of members' prior work with The Fury and RedD Monkey no doubt enjoyed the presence of familiar songs like "Rebel Scum" & "Fo' Dozen Cookies" during their sets.
• Along with their sponsorship involvement in the battle, local news/video website Local2 gave in-depth promotion and coverage of each night of the battle with four episodes of their music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper, with Donna also being a nightly fixture to cover and photograph the bands for SooToday. These Tuned episodes featured remarks from judges, band introductions, performance footage, and nightly results, but Donna was unable to host the finals episode due to illness, so VM Radio's Derek Turner (himself a battle winner with Garden of Bedlam) filled in for her.
• The scheduling of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands prompted local live sound company Twin City Sound & Entertainment to indefinitely postpone a battle of the bands that they were to host at The Rednecks Saloon on February 20th, 2015, due to it's proximity to this larger battle that would start 12 days later. Were it to take place, it would have been a one night event with up to 10 bands playing 25 minute sets each, with Mourning Wood frontman Terry Eaton, Midway frontman Paul Leclair, and the aforementioned Rob Figures serving as judges.
• Despite the cancellation of the Twin City Sound Battle, Algoma University hosted the first annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on March 5th, 2015, just one day after night #1 of the VM Radio Battle. The fan voted event (which was co-promoted by Haggith bassist Jordan Leach) was also won by Gnaeus, who picked up $400 for their win, while The Bear Hunters won $100 for third place (hard rock quartet Long Shot finished in second.) VM Radio Battle competitors Mike Haggith & The Din and Project 421 also competed in The Speak Easy Battle, but did not place in that event.
• VM Radio Battle judge Rob Speers took a stab at competing in a local battle of the bands when his funk/hard rock band The Elements headed out to Spanish to compete in the annual Rock N' Roar Battle of the Bands the following month, with Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger filling in for Alex Hagerman, who couldn't make the trip. However, The Elements did not place in that event, with winning bands added to the Rock N' Roar Festival lineup that August.

Videos:
Tuned with Donna Hopper episodes on the battle from Local2
Five videos from Mike Haggith & The Din's semifinal set
The Sault Metal Scene's videos of each band's opening songs




Sources/More Info:
Official Facebook event page
Pre-event coverage from SooToday
SooToday's coverage & photos from the March 4th semifinal
SooToday's coverage & photos from the March 11th semifinal
SooToday's coverage & photos from the March 18th semifinal
SooToday's coverage & photos from the March 25th finals
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I hope you guys liked this latest Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile! As last year also had two battles of the bands in consecutive days, we'll be back with our profile of last year's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands TOMORROW, so watch for that then, and for more news soon! Thanks everyone!