Hardcore Homecoming Fallout, Concert Lineup Additions, And Haggith Updates!!

Let's keep the news rolling on this Saturday morning, so what's in store today? Recent updates from a popular local band, new additions to two big upcoming shows, and first, some initial fallout from a major recent punk concert, so here's what you need to know!

At last, let's delve into the first of the fallout from last week's Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar, including SooToday's coverage of the event! Donna Hopper was on hand to cover everything and snap some great photos (all in black and white again), and in her recap, she mentioned that she and Random Killing frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley deduced that this was the Toronto punk legends' first Soo show in 17 years (circa 1997, in other words.) Far too long, if you ask most people on Saturday! Bar sales even came close to breaking the venue's record, which is a neat accomplishment in itself! Solid write-up as usual, and as for her photos, 31 of Donna's shots made the article, sixteen of which coming from Random Killing's set and fans, but there's also 4 from Jack Spades' set, 6 from Destroilet's set (including one of guest singer Garry Ingram), three from London punk quartet Gatgas' set, and two from The Elements' opening set, so click here to see all of Donna's great pictures!

In case you're wondering, Local2 video cameras were on hand for an episode of Tuned with Donna Hopper, so I'd look for that in the coming days as well! As for more press coverage, an unexpected local news source was in attendance last week too, that being... the Sault This Week?! Yes, our free weekly newspaper was there, as Ali Pearson's interview with Andrew (credited as Drew throughout) is available to read both online at this location and in page 14 of this week's paper in the "Faces of the Sault" section. The article mentions that Drew travels home often to visit family, and features his remarks on how he got into punk rock, his move to Toronto and eventual addition to Random Killing, how they got a song on Sesame Street, his recent day jobs outside of the band, and information on his personal life. It's a nice in-depth article that could also serve as a crash course into his life for those unfamiliar with him or Random Killing, so check it out at the above links or your most recent issue of Sault This Week! Stay tuned for more Hardcore Homecoming fallout as we hear it!

Also today, here's notes on two recent band additions for two of local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's Halloween season shows! One is for the Gob concert at The Rockstar Bar on Wednesday, October 29th, as he confirmed yesterday on the Facebook event page that local indie/punk quintet Northwest have been added to the lineup, apparently in place of Oakville punk band Seaway for unannounced reasons (though their Facebook page implies that their tour dates with Gob end the previous day.) As far as I can tell, this will be Northwest's first public concert set since the release of their self-titled digital EP, though I have no idea whether there will be physical copies at the Gob show. Solid addition though, so don't miss them along with Gob and fellow locals Jack Spades & Redundant on October 29th! The other band addition comes two days later and one floor down for J.D.'s annual Halloween party at The Algonquin Pub on the 31st, as local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet will play this event for a second straight year, in just their second gig of 2014!

Quietly confirmed in recent days on this show's event page, this will mark the first non-Coch's Corner installment of J.D.'s Halloween shows to feature an all-local lineup (alongside Frightlight's farewell set and Sykotyk Rampage), and Destroilet should compliment things well with their old school sound, so prepare yourself for quite a Halloween season of punk and metal action! Stay tuned for updates on these and J.D.'s other shows as we hear more!

Finally for today, here's the latest news, good and bad, from local alternative/grunge quartet Haggith! On the positive side, the band revealed on their Facebook page last week that their upcoming concept album "Apocalypse II" is making great progress in studio, and it may be their last album released exclusively through their label Paperclip Productions, likely thanks to new bassist James White and the combined availability of his White Wreckords recording studio, which "XIV" is partially being recorded at (though no word yet on if James will be the sole bassist on it or not.) However, drummer Mike Haggith revealed on his solo Facebook page on Wednesday that he'll "be stepping away from music for a little while" due to "unfortunate developments" in his personal life so he can work to better himself. Mike elaborated that this will likely delay both of Haggith's upcoming albums and his planned re-release of his first "Neighbourhood Watch" solo CD (and presumably his teased best of release) for an indefinite time.

That said, Mike clarified that this won't affect the band's concert schedule, as Haggith aren't booked to play again until The Soo Zombie Walk on October 25th, though we'll keep you guys posted if anything changes in regard to that set. I do know the personal reasons behind Mike's break, and though I won't publicize them here unless he does, I hope he can power through this and be back in form before we know it! When all is back to normal, look for some big updates from Haggith, and best of luck!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (That's Chester) Plus More News & Videos!!

Things have been slower lately in the local metal scene, but I've scraped together some stories for a new news post today, so here's what's on tap! Today, we've got news on an interesting exhibition that could have metal connections, new videos from a pair of local metal guitarists, and a date change for an upcoming concert weekend, but kicking things off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Sault Ontario classic hard rock quintet That's Chester will return to Docks Riverfront Grill THIS SATURDAY!! I apologize for the relative short notice, a Facebook event page for this show was only posted last night. This concert will mark That's Chester's first concert set since their set at the Quattro Chophouse & Bar three weeks ago during the CARHA Hockey World Cup, but it will mark their first set at Docks in over a month. Note that they are not playing at Docks on Friday, despite Docks' website's event calendar saying otherwise, so if you wanna see That's Chester this weekend, go on Saturday! Why aren't they playing Friday? Beats me, but their hard rocking covers will be sure to entertain just as much on Saturday as they would any other day of the week! This concert will start at 11:00 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd expect a $4 cover charge. For more details, check the above links! This should be another entertaining night of classic material from this talented local quintet, so don't miss out if you're up for some live music on Saturday night! Stay tuned for more on this and other concerts over the coming weekend tomorrow or Friday!

Also on a brief concert schedule note, Caveman Morrison have moved their scheduled Roosevelt Hotel weekend set from May 11th & 12th to April 13th & 14th. A reason for the date changes wasn't announced, but they were edited on the Facebook event page yesterday, and as the existing event page was updated, I can tell that these are likely not separate concerts, so it may have been a scheduling error. No matter what, this is better because their new lineup will hit The Rosie sooner, so circle the new dates on your calendars, and/or go check out Caveman Morrison's new lineup's debut THIS WEEKEND at The Nic!

Next up, here's an interesting note related to National Youth Arts Week in Sault Ontario in early May. I've recently heard from organizer Rihkee Strapp about a planned exhibition of local concert posters in support of the Circle of Creative Arts Center towards offering free art programming to the public while still paying artists during National Youth Arts Week. They're looking for any concert posters, presumably from any era or genre of the local music scene, for display at the exhibition, and they can be photocopied or donated if you're interested in helping. If you donate a poster, you'll be credited for it if you choose, and if you know the artist who designed said poster(s), be sure to mention that as well. If you have any possible submissions, or you have any inquiries, contact Rihkee at rihkee.strap@youthartsweek.ca! This sounds like a really cool idea, and I hope it flies as well as is hoped! I already suggested to Rihkee that the Sault Music Scene Facebook group that specializes in the local scene in the 1970s and 1980s would be great for older poster inquiries, but who knows what's in store come May! If this goes down, I'll definitely keep tabs on it, so stay tuned, and submit your posters to Rihkee if you have some that could be donated!

We'll close with new videos, starting with the latest video posted to Swayze Train guitarist Scott Savoie's YouTube channel, as uploaded yesterday! For the first time in over 8 months, Scott's uploaded a solo cover of a metal song, and it's of him covering Lamb of God's song "Hourglass", and covering it pretty well! He has it down pretty well, though it's a bit loud compared to the original song in the background. Still, that works well to hear Scott clearly, and this is another solid video on his channel, so check it out below, and note that I've edited our YouTube channel profile on his channel to reflect this video's upload!



Finally for today is some new videos on local solo guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel! One is entitled "Nuclear Chicken", as uploaded on Sunday, and it's a short slower paced rock number with piano accompaniment, which helps set it apart from some of Mike's other solo work! The piano parts are kinda minimal, but they add to the feel, which helps given the track's length. Not bad, so give it a look at the above links! Embedded below though is Mike's performance of a 1979 jam track named "That Off Time One", which he co-wrote with Dan Boden and Roger Drolet way back when, and uploaded to YouTube last week. Unlike the visulizations on "Nuclear Chicken", this is a newly filmed performance video of Mike playing this track, which is nice to see! It's a solid progressive hard rocker with blues elements, and it's cool to see him revisit old material like this, so give Mike's song "That Off Time One" a look below and at the above links, and hear much more from his solo project at this location!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews, my "Woods V" review, and more very soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (That's Chester), Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews & More!!

It's time to begin our weekend concert previews, but for the sake of not overloading a post or de-emphasizing the Stryper/Slaughter concert tomorrow, I've broken up the previews of this weekend's metal & hard rock concerts by which of the Twin Saults they're in, so we'll start with Sault Ontario today, and preview Sault Michigan's (with Stryper headlining) tomorrow morning! That said, along with the Sault Ontario previews, today's post also features details on a concert/booker search connected to an upcoming major event in town, and the identity of this month's CD review, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic hard rock quintet That's Chester will be rocking Docks Riverfront Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!! I apologize for the short notice, these shows were only just announced earlier today. Seven weeks after their last rocked Docks (or any local venue, for that matter), this talented veteran outfit will be sure to deliver an action packed set of classic and newer hard rock covers tonight and tomorrow, and after some rumours I'd heard about Docks, it's nice to see more live music going down there! From what I can gather, these shows have 11:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and likely cover charges of $4. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Short notice or not, it's nice to see That's Chester back on the local stage finally, and you know that their dependable and well-performed brand of classic hard rock covers will go over well this weekend at Docks, so keep these shows in mind in your weekend plans! For a preview, here's That's Chester covering Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at Docks in 2010!



Now to the previously announced metal/hard rock shows in Sault Ontario, starting with a special fundraising event at Coch's Corner on Saturday night headlined by local classic metal quartet Late & Loud! Not only is this their Coch's Corner debut, but it's also a fundraiser pub for the Sault College Campus Watch program, and as such, there will be door prizes, appetizers, and maybe some games to add to the festivities! Different, but it's all for a good cause, and with some solid metal on top of it all! A second band was sought for this show (including briefly advertising Half Past as a second band), but it's been confirmed that Red Carpet DJ Entertainment will fill that slot with tunes to dance to and wind the night away with, so if that's your thing, stick around! Given this event's fundraiser nature, this show will have tickets of $10, but if you can't buy any in advance, you can get them at the door for $12. Call (705) 987-3912 for ticket information, or contact band members on the Facebook event page to get hooked up! Also, this show has a 19 plus age limit and a 9:00 PM start time, but that's likely more for attached pre-band events. This should be an interesting event, and despite the atypical cost to attend a non-Halloween show at Coch's Corner, the music will be flowing for a great cause, so consider attending for some great metal from Late & Loud! For a preview, here's Late & Loud playing their song "Whisper of the Damned" at The Rosie last year!



Finally for Sault Ontario concerts this weekend is the return of Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison to Bossy's Pub N' Grub, though not at his usual matinee timeslot. After seven straight weeks of shows starting at around 1:00 or 2:00 PM, Tym's eighth straight acoustic solo show at this Pim Street restaurant will instead take place at 10:00 PM, which is more like his usual solo/band concerts in the area. I'm not sure whether this is a one week aberration, a permanent change, or an experiment to see if attendance is higher, but this should be easier to remember and more like normal for you concertgoers, so if you've missed Tym's afternoon shows, this could be more up your alley! Given this 10:00 PM start time, I'd assume a 19+ age limit would apply, but there shouldn't be a cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Tym's solo acoustic show always features a great selection of acoustic hard rock covers, and with a more normal timeslot, hopefully a good crowd turns out on Saturday night, so keep this show in mind for this weekend! For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" at Bossy's last month!



Now to some extra stories, and first, you may have seen buzz online relating to National Youth Arts Week taking place in the first week of May. This is to unite young Canadians in a celebaration of creative expression & community involvement from May 1st to May 7th, and local organizers are launching celebrations and events to that effect in Sault Ontario. One of the organizers, Night Owl Meme Makers accordion player Rihkee Strapp, has been in contact with me for my input on the event and the integration of heavier music from young musicians and local figures into the week, and one of her ideas was for a metal concert to take place connected with National Youth Arts Week. She's looking for performers and bookers (preferably between the ages 13 and 30) to organize an official concert event for that week, or even to help or learn how to get involved with such an event. I'm not a concert booker or a performer, but I'll gladly get the word out, so if anyone out there is interested in being a part of a National Youth Arts Week-connected metal show in the area come May, give Rihkee a shout at this location, or at the local branch's Facebook group! This sounds like a packed week of local events, and hopefully there's some quality young metal representation, so get involved if you're interested, and I'll keep you guys posted if updates roll in!

And finally for today, I wanted to officially confirm our next CD review at the SMS, and it will be on Sault Ontario's original crash band Sykotyk Rampage's 27th album "Karrs"! This originally came out in August, and was one of five albums that the band either released or posted late last year via their Reverbnation page. The reason I'm reviewing "Karrs" this month is because there's no new local metal CDs to review, aside from End of Existence's album coming out on Wednesday, but I'd have to badly rush the review if I did it next. With the six month buffer passed between reviews for the same band's material, I'm trying to help clear out another 2011 Sykotyk Rampage album from the queue (after reviewing "Zombiez" last year), and I picked this over the other 3 albums from last year based on it's heaviness. If you're aching for a new album review though, March should have one, be it "Woods V" (if the full copy is at access), End of Existence's new album, or something else. As for our next Sykotyk Rampage album review, it will be no later than August, and it'll either be a new album ("Jonathan, Your Music Sucks"?) or probably "Bucket of Ham" based on it's heaviness level. For now though, stay tuned for our "Karrs" review on Wednesday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned TOMORROW for our Stryper & Swayze Train concert previews, plus some more Sault Michigan-related stories! Thanks everyone!