Updates To Our Band Links, Plus Chase James Wigmore Updates!!

Let's do some catch-up in today's post via long overdue updates from a talented local solo musician, and leading off, house cleaning notes on our active band links, so here's what you should know!

We have two bands to remove from our active local metal/punk band links today, the first being local death metal band Exploring Detritus, who have been returned to our inactive band links due to over a year's inactivity. Four years after the former Kaepora Gaebora fell inactive, guitarist Dan Souliere and original drummer Anthony Boudreau surprisingly brought the group back in April of last year, but Exploring Detritus never progressed past jam session videos despite some very promising lineups, last posting on their Facebook page in July 2022. Extreme metal hasn't been super prominent among local bands post-pandemic, but hopefully we hear more from Dan, Ryan, Justin, and Anthony soon, and don't miss brief frontman Mitch Sirie in his array of current projects, including his and Justin's recent Bear Hunters revival! As their only live gigs were under the Kaepora Gaebora name, they are listed on the SMS under that name anew.

Next up, local pop punk project Forever Will Be have sadly been deleted outright from our band links, as they no longer have a formal social media page centric to the band. As it was, their now-deleted Facebook page was scarcely updated, with project leader Ryan McLaughlin primarily posting Forever Will Be updates on his/their label Relentless Audio's Facebook page. That said, Forever Will Be proper are likely still active, with Relentless Audio last posting about the project in December, so even without a proper band page, hopefully we hear more from Forever Will Be soon! Note that Relentless Audio did post two Facebook videos in February to demonstrate what Ryan can do with his computer programs to make songs sound better, including this clip of him improving the quality of "Acolyte" by the inactive Cambridge, Ontario metalcore band The Intake Of Glass, but the other video didn't produce a song match on Shazam.

We'll close today with some the latest media and updates from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase Wigmore! We haven't posted much about him since the winter, the Darsombra show aside, but back in February, he posted the second part of his trilogy of "The Pit" songs under the project name Manitou, as uploaded to his "Jason Walker" YouTube channel. Part 3 was belatedly uploaded in April, and while not extreme metal, these marry his guitar prowess and alternate influences fairly well, with part 2 dipping into Black Lodge Masters-esque techno stylings, and part 3 even had clean singing layered into the track. Effectively done and accentuated with trippy visuals, so don't bypass them (or part 1!). On April 5th, Chase noted that he'd been practicing and playing a few open mic nights, but had largely been "chilling out on music" in recent months.

His long-gestating and allegedly "last" solo album "The Chaotic Rite" is 75% complete, and Chase noted that it will only run 25-30 minutes (a big drop from the prior rock opera teasers for the former "Story About A Kid Named Todd"), but his aim here is to focus on quality over quantity. His planned book on the guitar "Ars Cithara" is "mostly done" but was then on a break, still needed to be edited & restructured, and could be split up into a trilogy. Basically, Chase wanted to take time to "step back and become a human being again" rather than "focusing 95% of my time in music", but he hopes to release both by year's end. Fingers crossed! Four new non-Manitou videos have been posted online in mid-2023, including this trippy animated piece on his Facebook page set to ominous techno music (is this AI art?), plus a new original song named "From Beyond The Clouds" featuring dark but cleanly sung vocals.

While not extreme metal, it's certainly an intense and well layered song with some eerie background effects that are accentuated by the images of forests and bad weather, so give it a listen above! The others have Chase performing unplugged on camera, including his older original drinking song named "Running Out Of Beer" and, as embedded below, him playing his song "The Guilt & Shame Of Being" from his most recent album, last fall's "We Are All Going To Die". This one is heavily filtered in monochrome and layered with dark imagery, but both songs play into Chase's live free-wheeling intensity and passion, and it's good to see him rocking out, so check everything out for yourselves above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Local Hard Rock/Punk Video Showcase!!

Got a new post on this Monday evening to check out, and it is devoted to some recent videos from hard rock and punk bands playing and/or from here, so let's get things rolling!

Let's start with videos from Hamilton-based Pearl Jam tribute band Leash's headlining concert at Soo Blaster on March 4th, as Christopher Paci's YouTube channel has us covered with videos from that night! Apologies for the three week delay in these making the site, I didn't notice he posted videos from it until after I found his Pop Evil videos. Chris filmed eleven videos at this concert, including eight of the headliners, who he filmed tackling the Pearl Jam hits "Given To Fly", "Even Flow", "State Of Love & Trust", "Jeremy", "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town", "Daughter", "Corduroy", and as embedded below, "Alive". More of a musical tribute than visual, but at least in these videos, they are closer to Pearl Jam in total sound than some of their videos implied. Interesting how he holds the whole microphone stand up over the crowd to let fans sing along!

Visually, the stage lighting can mess with the clarity a bit, especially on more rapid flickering (watch and you'll see what I mean), but the quality is more than serviceable, and the audio is less tinny than how things came across at the Pop Evil concert. Good stuff for grunge fans, so give Chris' Leash videos a watch above & below!

Chris also filmed/uploaded three videos of opening local punk trio Vanity First, who can be seen here covering Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name", Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", and as embedded below, most of their original "Playboy Magazine". While definitely filmed from further away, Chris zoomed in well to capture Andrew, Mikhal, and Keeghan's set, and their clear talent and lively set looks like it got the evening off on the right foot, so check their videos out above & below also!

Now let's head four hours east to Sudbury, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard ventured this past weekend for rare out-of-town gigs at The Coulson Entertainment Centre! Delayed a couple of weeks, Bone Yard made the most of their road trip for media on their Facebook page, starting with this "Reel" where the guys hyped that they were coming to The Coulson and encouraged Sudburians to be there. In another "Reel" on Wednesday, they teased making new shirts with new designs that would go on sale at these gigs. Photos from the Friday nighter were posted to Facebook, and four videos that aren't "Reels" (despite all being vertical) were posted between the two shows that can be embedded on external websites like this. One features bassist Warren Reville showing off a "magic trick", so to speak, but the other three are proper concert videos, with the one from the Friday nighter seeing Bone Yard covering The Rolling Stones' "Miss You", but the filmer oddly focuses on the floor of the stage for most of it.

Two videos were uploaded from their Saturday concert, including covers of ZZ Top's "La Grange" and, as embedded below, Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" (yes, the band is in frame for the duration on these). Entertaining covers from Greg, Alex, and Warren across the board, and while more fans on the floor would have been nice, southern and classic rock fans were in good hands, so check out their Sudbury videos above & below!

Let's close with a mild bit of unfinished business from yesterday's review of local pop punk project Forever Will Be's debut album "Dead and Dishonest", as I mentioned there that they also recorded an acoustic version of the closing track "Downsides" that isn't on the album, but was posted to their YouTube channel in December. This is also a good time to state in a normal post that the vocalist heard on Forever Will Be's studio material is not project leader Ryan McLaughlin, rather session vocalist Billy Douglas, who fronts the British punk band Colosseums, a fact that wasn't overly prevalent in all of the band's social media marketing initially. Ryan found a strong vocalist to bring his lyrics to life, but you'll already know that if you've heard the album, and don't sleep on Colosseums either! "Dead & Dishonest" didn't have a traditional ballad, but of what was included, "Downsides" is one of the better fits to an unplugged format.

The minimal screaming and less varied structure adapt fairly well, though I will say that the guitar work can be a little repetitive at points as Ryan plays a punk song meant for electric instruments in this way. Interesting change of pace, so do give this a listen below, and hopefully we hear more material and updates from Forever Will Be in 2023!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Forever Will Be - "Dead And Dishonest" Album Review!!

(Updated at 9:15 AM) It's now time for our 165th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at newer local pop punk solo project Forever Will Be's debut album "Dead And Dishonest"! Released to major streaming services on November 17th of last year, this is the home project for former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin's independent studio/label Relentless Audio, who previously worked on original material for other acts as well as Forever Will Be's original guise as Great West Falls. "Dead And Dishonest" was recorded over the preceding year, and while Ryan is the only credited band member, vocals were provided on a session basis by Billy Douglas of the British pop punk band Colosseums. You can stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora (US only), or Deezer, all handily linked on Hearnow. If you actually want to buy the album and own the mp3 files therein, the album runs for $7.92 on iTunes, so consider that option to support Ryan's work as well!

With eight songs running for around 27 minutes in length, let's begin this review with its first song, "Former Self"!  Opening with an extended drum intro, the rest of the instrumentation and Billy's vocals come in slowly with intent, building to a screamed half-verse and melodic choruses. He has the pop punk/screamo balance down nicely, but the music definitely takes a back seat to the vocals, more keeping time with the lyrics than standing on their own. Still a good opener for pop punk fans, and with good lyrics to boot! Next is the album's longest song, "Afflicted", which opens with a solid guitar riff but it stops dead in its tracks for the verses, though not in a bad way, setting the tone for the lyrics well. This actually builds up the vocals better for me, and they work in concert with the music better!

Billy lets loose with the screaming on the choruses to strong effect, and if he did all of the vocals in one take, then he switches from screaming to clean singing seamlessly! The fade-out at the end feels like it came out of nowhere, but an improved and more prominent instrumental section and some passioned vocals put things on an upward trajectory already! Third up is "Shadow Of Myself", which makes use of a good spacey guitar riff before the full song kicks in, and it is the heaviest and fastest song yet, so screamo and post-hardcore fans will definitely be drawn to this one! No reinventing the wheel here, but the up-tempo energy and enthusiasm is sure fitting on this track, and Billy's varied vocals fit the mood whether screaming or singing, so this album definitely continues improving track by track! Fourth on the album is "Antihero", which is not nearly as aggressive as the preceding but has another catchy intro going for it.

Interestingly, he seems to skip an initial chorus, but it still structurally works for pop punk fans, and the bass pokes through the best on this song of the ones so far! I will say that some of Billy's harsher vocals sound a little forced compared to earlier songs, and the opening guitar riff should have repeated itself more than it did, so the song is a dip in quality for my tastes but certainly still worth hearing. The second half leads off with the album's shortest track, namely "Conversations In The Dark", which is a 2+ minute instrumental piece. Until the last 35 seconds, we just get spare guitar work with muffled background dialogue (the title conversations, no doubt) before the full band kicks in for a heavier-leaning punk attack. For me, it's a shame that the closing stretch wasn't longer, as I honestly wasn't feeling this song until then, but I understand that it was probably intended to break things up on the album.

We're back to traditional songs from Forever Will Be next, with "Nosedive", which honestly reminds me a bit of early Fall Out Boy aside from the screamed vocal parts (which are less prevalent here than on the first half). Admittedly, I don't like Fall Out Boy, but emo punk fans will like the comparison of styles here! The higher vocals and more vibrant playing help this song stand out, and it is well performed, but for my genre preferences, I do prefer the album's first four songs for aggression and guitar work. The penultimate song is "Drown", which does return to the style of the first half of the album with more screaming, more of a punk edge, and more of a freewheeling attack that accentuates the solid guitar work. The big addition is actually voicemail from an unidentified woman during the bridge, which makes more sense in context. Definitely a return to form for "Dead & Dishonest" overall, and not a moment too soon!

The album closes with "Downsides", which you may also know from its later acoustic version (Forever Will Be's newest release at press time). This is a more melodic song on average with limited screaming, but unlike "Nosedive", this isn't as Fall Out Boy-esque. At the same time, the vocals are (on average) sung safer and without as much energy and changes in tempo or pitch. Not a bad closer to the album that is well within the ballpark for subgenre fans, but also not as lively and intense as earlier songs, but listen for yourself to see what you think!

So, what are my final thoughts on Forever Will Be's debut album? It's inconsistent for what I go for in punk rock, but fans of pop punk, emo, and/or screamo will find a lot to like here! Ryan shows clear multi-instrumental talent, while Billy uses his voice in lots of different ways to get across the sounds and styles on offer, and if I had to compare the songs here to a known band from the mid-2000s glory days of emo-leaning pop punk, I'd say The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus would be a reasonable choice. The production quality helped this album stand out despite its independent trappings, and you can tell that this comes from a place of love for these subgenres (if Ryan had put this out twenty years ago, it'd have been huge locally). "Afflicted", "Shadow of Myself", and "Drown" were my favourite songs based on the aggression and guitar riffs in particular, but there are things to address.

"Conversations In The Dark" was filler until it wasn't, "Nosedive" (despite being the single with music video) was a little too emo compared to what I like, and I do think the album started and ended on songs that were a little too direct and vocal driven despite not having the peaks & valleys of other songs in the vocal department. Still, for a first solo effort, Ryan (and Billy) impressed with Forever Will Be's debut, and if you like early-mid 2000s screamo and pop punk, do check this out for yourself above! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and look for our review of Mike McCleary's new solo EP "Fallout From Midnight Tides" on the site next month, and for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

The Northwest/Gambit Concert Preview, Plus New Videos!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (and Hanukkah) and got in lots of family time and presents underneath all of this snow! With the year winding down, here's a new news post on this Tuesday morning, and it mostly includes new videos, but leading off, here's a mid-week concert preview to check out, assuming you can swing it on a work night!

Local indie/punk quintet The Northwest will headline a special charity concert TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Ending their eventful 2022 in style, this will be The Northwest's first LopLops appearance since the pandemic began, their first local gig since the Marianas Trench show in September, and their first show period since their Guerrilla Grooves date in North Bay in October. This should be a fine way for the guys to cap off the year with their increasing profile & strong originals, so don't miss out tomorrow night! Revived and renamed local punk supergroup The Gambit (née The Sick Sons) will play their first concert since their LopLops dates in December 2019, preceding a three year pandemic hiatus, name change, and reportedly adding a fifth band member (identity yet unclear). It's great to see The Sick Sons Gambit back at long last, and remember that drummer Clint Wilson is a Northwest alum himself!

Reportedly taking place during renovations at the Queen Street East nightclub, tomorrow's 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is $20 at the door or via advance tickets purchased through the Facebook event page. However, The Northwest are holding a charity drive for St. Vincent's Place tomorrow (something they hope to reprise next year), where non-perishable food or hygiene product donations will get you either $15 door entry or $5 back (LopLops will match each donation for $5 apiece). Wonderful idea, as even after Christmas, many are still needing help from the community! Visit the above links for more on this holiday season concert, and here's The Northwest live!

Next up, let's dive into some videos, starting with the latest Mikey & His Uke cover video, as uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on December 16th! It's not a seasonal song or a carol, but that's just as well given that I'm only covering it now. This time, Mikey and crew are tackling Rancid's "Daly City Train", with Mikey himself on guitar and (at first) ukelele once again. Vocals are split four ways here, courtesy of Slackers frontman Vic Ruggerio (also on accordion), Buck-O-Nine singer Jon Pebsworth, Bedouin Soundclash frontman Jay Malinowski, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer/ex-Jimmy Kimmel Live announcer Dicky Barrett. Jon's Buck-O-Nine bandmate Andy Plafoot handles bass, while ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer (a former bandmate of Mikey's in The Dookies) rounds out the lineup here. I'm not a massive Rancid fan, but everyone acquits themselves well on this rendition!

Having four different singers spreads the wealth and lets some strong names in on the action, and they each do Tim justice in their own ways, and the instrumental performers more than hold their own (even the accordion isn't out of place!) Solid stuff as usual, so if you love punk rock, don't bypass Mikey & His Uke's latest effort below!

Also today, here's a new videos from prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore's Facebook page on Friday! This video sees him covering "No Children" by folk band The Mountain Goats, which Chase noted that he has covered in a video before, but allegedly didn't know what he was doing originally. The grainy monochrome quality of the video proper is at least livened up by rapidly changing backgrounds laid overtop of the original footage that seem to feature outdoor forest settings and animal skeletons in a living state. I'm not familiar with "No Children", but Chase gives it an ominous building quality with good vocal passion, so do check it out below, and more is coming soon!

Finally, here's a new acoustic version of a song from new local pop punk solo project Forever Will Be's YouTube channel two weeks ago! This is the unplugged version of "Downsides" from their debut album "Dead & Dishonest", and while I'll hold full comment on this song pending our review of the album (currently pencilled in for February), it translated well enough to this format, though the peppy, upbeat nature suits a full plugged-in band more. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Forever Will Be!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), A New Local Punk Project, And New Videos!!

Today's post was going to be our latest Defunct Local Band Profile, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (partially missed, at that) hit my desk this morning, so we're pushing the feature post ahead slightly. To fill things out, there's also some new videos and a surprise new local punk band to take a look at, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local screamo/pop punk project to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely Forever Will Be! This act is led by former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin, though I don't know if this is the same project as his 2019 offering Great West Falls or not, or if anyone else performs on their material. Their Facebook page is mostly a shell so far, but Forever Will Be is considered "the home project" of Ryan's independent studio/label Relentless Audio, who have been covered on the SMS previously for working on his old band As It Stands' posthumous EP "The Lost Tapes" and Christopher Raginskis' online page-less punk solo project 9 Times Dark's debut album "Vicissitude", both from 2020. According to posts on Relentless Audio's Facebook page, Forever Will Be's debut album from November 17th (entitled "Dead & Dishonest") has been "a year in the making" and he hopes to take listeners back to 2004 with the songs.

You can hear the album for free on major streaming platforms linked via this Hearnow page, but it is on sale on iTunes for $7.92, so consider buying it if you want the mp3s and/or to support Ryan's work. I'll hold comment on the songs until I review the album proper (likely next month), but definitely check out the album's preview videos on the Relentless Facebook page, and here's their first music video for "Nosedive" from their YouTube channel, set to clips of people in varying states of despair. If you like Ryan's past local band work, do check out Forever Will Be above & below!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for a concert TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show in our concert preview post on Thursday, I just heard about both this morning via Reggie's Facebook page (who only announced them Wednesday night), and Soundcheck themselves have not mentioned them on their own Facebook page. Yesterday's and TONIGHT'S shows mark(ed) Soundcheck's first at Reggie's since mid-October, and hopefully their fan-friendly blend of classic, hard rock, and country covers found a strong audience last night, and will do so again TONIGHT! It is worth noting that Reggie's is now up for sale for $480,000, as per this SooToday article by Kenneth Armstrong on Monday, noting that Reggie Daigle himself actually still owns the property.

The sale "doesn't include the business", as from what I understand, Randy Lapossie is just managing bar operations, but whether the new owners would keep things as they have been since late 2020 is yet unknown. It sure seems like business as usual for now at Reggie's, but after Reggie sold Reggie's West, this can't be too surprising. We'll keep you posted! TONIGHT'S (and yesterday's) show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, apologies again for missing last night's concert, and here's Soundcheck live!

Also today, here's a couple of new videos from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk guitarist Chase Wigmore's Facebook page! One is just a Facebook copy of his original song "The Guilt And Shame In Being" from his newest solo album "We Are All Going To Die", and while I'll hold comment on it pending our review of the album later this month, Chase did clarify that this is "one of the quieter ones" on the album. The new video proper from Sunday is cryptically titled "$20", and features him playing the guitar solo from Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb". The grainy black & white filter combined with a poorly placed light over Chase's face don't add to the video, but he nails the solo, helping forget about the visual deficiencies. Check it out for yourself below, and stay tuned for more from Chase!

Finally for today, here's some new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's Facebook page, albeit not primarily focused on their "Christmas Blowout" at Soo Blaster tonight. As they have done for a guitar last year, Fort Creek recently held a raffle on Facebook for a custom jazz bass donated by Tommy Lair, with proceeds going to the Algoma Regional Community Hospice (or ARCH). That, along with a giveaway for a band t-shirt and tickets to tonight's show also took place in the past couple of weeks, with bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano appearing in this one hyping all of their draws, and more band members turned up in this video to announce the winner of the shirt/tickets raffle. Be advised that some of these recent videos have awful audio that almost sounds like an old 78 RPM record, not sure what happened there.

The draw for the bass is ongoing until December 21st (or until all 100 allocated tickets are bought, whichever comes first), so visit their Facebook page for details on how to enter! As for the videos, I'll embed the one from November 29th here, which features a clip of Bones playing the bass to demonstrate its abilities and sound for prospective ticket buyers, as preceded by a clip of their studio original "Hammer Down" and an oddly echoed audio recording of him discussing the raffle. On the gear and performer's end, everything sounds good, so definitely check it out below, get details above, and don't miss Fort Creek tonight at Soo Blaster!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Pantychrist & Mike Haggith), Another Cancellation, And More Updates!!

We have a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the ensuing months, plus some shorter assorted updates in today's post, but before then, we have another COVID-19 coronavirus cancellation to note on here, as local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's planned St. Patrick's Day concert at LopLops Lounge has been postponed, as per the band's Facebook page. However, LopLops proper will remain open if you want to visit as a regular patron, and it is still owner Stephen Alexander's birthday, so hopefully he gets lots of relevant greetings in that regard! I had figured that if any more dominoes would fall this weekend, this would be the one given the holiday ties and The Tide's name recognition, but I didn't want to stir negative rumours about it beforehand. Now, with that said, The Wyld Stallyns have confirmed that they are still playing at The Whiskey Barrel tonight, and they are planning to take fan requests for live video streams if you don't want to attend.

As well, I have not seen any announcements regarding calling off Tym Morrison's slate of acoustic matinee concerts at Northern Superior Brewing & Gliss today and The Kiln tomorrow, though given their more intimate settings and the lack of any touring headliners, they are less susceptible to a coronavirus-related cancellation, in theory. Of course, we will keep you posted with updates on show postponements and cancellations when & if they roll in. Stay safe out there!

Now, let's kick off those new concert announcements, and both happen to be at LopLops too, starting with local/Thompson, Manitoba indie/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's return home for the official CD release concert for his new album "If Ever Comes The Day" on Friday, May 15th! This will be Mike's first local concert appearance since his acoustic Outspoken Brewing gig in August, but this looks to be formatted way more similarly to his last solo CD launch show here (in July 2015 at Rednecks for "The Warinside"), complete with a live backing band to be announced. For reference, he played alongside his then-Din bandmates Curtis McKenzie and Brandan Glew at that event. Much of the online materials for this show reflect "If Ever Comes The Day" proper, including information on it's lyrical inspiration & themes, the amount of songs and run time (12 songs, 47 minutes), and a few new-to-us song names like "Back Away Slowly" & "Into The Setting Sun". The full cover artwork is also now up on Facebook.

No word on potential opening bands, but 2015's release concert also featured the now-inactive Wild Iris and solo artist Micheal Husband. The "If Ever Comes The Day" release concert will have a $5 cover charge with a 19+ age limit and a 10:00 PM start time, and CDs will be on sale for $10, which does include a digital download card. When Mike announced that this album was coming out on a Friday, I had a hunch he would have a CD release party for it, and we're lucky enough to have it on local soil! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on the show & CD as they roll in, and I think we know what album we're reviewing on the site in May!

Today's other new concert announcement will see all-female Hamilton hardcore punk quartet Pantychrist make their Sault Ste. Marie debut at LopLops on Monday, June 1st! Long-time readers may actually recognize Pantychrist from being scheduled for the cancelled Das Bunkerfest II in Garden River back in 2015, so it's great to see the ladies finally playing a local date five years later! Pantychrist's rough-edged, aggressive brand of hardcore punk should be more than welcomed on a local stage in June, and while LopLops may be a somewhat surprising venue, they should own that stage on this night! At least one opening band is to be announced. Promoted by the Oh!No Collective (who would have held Das Bunkerfest II under their old name Six, Two, Oh.), this 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time, and while a cover charge has not been announced at press time, bring at least $5. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

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

• A Facebook event page has finally surfaced for the Alienator-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, which confirms that this will be an ALL AGES event. Tickets are also now on sale via Soo Blaster, The Rad Zone, and through promoter Mathieu Villebrun, though a promised online sale point on the event page is not immediately visible. Visit the above links for more details!
• SooToday contributor Chris Belsito posted this interview article with Matthew Good on Thursday, a day before he postponed his entire Moving Walls Tour, local date on March 26th included. How's that for unfortunate timing! The article proper features Matthew talking about his recent touring, songs he likes playing live, his new album, and some recollections on coming through or staying in Sault Ste. Marie on prior tours (his divisive 2007 show here was not brought up directly.) Very informative article, so give it a look above, and hopefully we hear about the rescheduled Soo event soon!
• Apologies for the delay in acknowledging these on the site, but a couple of local news outlets were in attendance for and got photos from the We Will Rock You musical production at GFL Memorial Gardens in January! SooToday's Donna Hopper & SaultOnline's Megan Pounder both snapped lots of photos, with Donna's being higher quality, but Megan got far more pictures total. The context may be lost if you don't know the story, but it seems to have been well received by attending Queen fans! Give them a look above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished), We Will Rock You Preview, And Fort Creek Updates!!

In what may be our last full news post of the month, we have updates from a newer local band, a preview of a special touring musical event, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) and related concert previews as we get an early jump on this weekend's concert previews! With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished have a busy few days ahead, including their previously announced acoustic concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Signatures Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch and full band gigs at The Double D Bar & Grill at Dondee Lanes on FRIDAY & SATURDAY, but there are new confirmations to note as well! First up,we can now confirm that their "every Thursday" run of matinee concerts at Biggby Coffee is alive and well, despite going weeks between plugging shows there, as the band confirmed another show there for THIS THURSDAY in their latest Facebook page post. As it turns out, the coffee shop's Facebook page plugged Tarnished (well, Alex solo) as playing there "every Thursday" last week on short notice, marking the first firm confirmation that the arrangement was alive and well since early December. Maybe the lack of online advertising is reflective of the Biggby run not really changing week to week?

In any event, I profusely apologize for missing the past 6 weeks (assuming there were no breaks) for Tarnished's Biggby run on here, but alas, the shows were not being advertised by band or venue during that time on social media. With that in mind, I have added Tarnished (be it Alex solo or with Josh/Nathan) to our concert calendar for Biggby concerts on THURSDAY and then on February 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th! All are 12:00 PM matinees with no cover charges or age limits, and see above for more details! Of course, you can see Alex (and company?) unplugged at Kewadin tomorrow in a rare Wednesday nighter (6:00 PM, 21+, no cover), plus their Dondee stops with the full roster this weekend (9:00 PM, 21+, no cover), but their previously announced Thursday night show at Moloney's Alley (coinciding with the I-500 pub crawl) has quietly been cancelled for unannounced reasons, as per their removal from the venue's Facebook event page, though Tarnished themselves never confirmed that booking. Hopefully nothing bad happened, but the pub crawl proper is still on!

Lastly for Tarnished, their I-500 association doesn't end there, as they will be performing unplugged at the I-500 beer tent THIS SATURDAY! A timeslot wasn't given, leading me to believe this is more of an informal jam, so I won't include it in our concert listings, but if you're at the annual snowmobile race this weekend, look for Alex and crew under the tent! Visit the above links for more details, apologies again, and here's Tarnished live!



Next up, this isn't a concert per say, but I'd be hard pressed to not acknowledge this on the site, as the North American touring production of the Queen musical We Will Rock You will perform at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ontario TOMORROW NIGHT! Eight months removed from St. Mary's College's student production of this same musical, the real thing will bring this dystopian tale about rising against the oppressive ruling class to life, as set to two dozen classic Queen songs. I'm not a huge musical buff, but this should be a great time for fans of Queen and classic rock, and the over-the-top theatrical nature and skilled actors should provide ample entertainment! Besides, it's not often when a touring production like this gets performer interviews from two different local news sources (click here & here for SooToday & The Sault Star's separate coverage.) Presented by Annerin Productions, tickets for this ALL AGES and 7:00 PM show run for between $69.50 & $89.50.

You can buy them at this link, at the Gardens' in-person box office, or at 1-866-775-9422. Between the two We Will Rock You productions and Queen: It's A Kinda Magic coming here in June, this is a good time to be a Queen fan in Sault Ste. Marie, so check the above links for more details on tomorrow's touring production, and if you can swing tit, don't miss out!

Finally for today, here's the latest from newer local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek, who have been hard at work in studio in the last month, while also hitting the stage three weeks ago at Reggie's West during one of blues rock veterans Mojo's weekly jam nights. The Halfway Loaded successors haven't shown their cards towards what specifically they're up to in the studio, let alone when they might make their formal concert debut, but their Facebook page is loaded with recent teases. Bassist Robin "Bones" Lee shared not one, but two more covers of Thriving Ivory's "Angels on the Moon" onto his YouTube channel this month (making three total there), while he's featured in this Facebook video from earlier today where he's "dialing in a sound." Solid playing from this local veteran, and the Thriving Ivory covers sound solid! Embedded below though is a new preview video for the band at large, as shared onto The Wicked Wire's YouTube channel on Sunday.

For the record, I don't know what The Wicked Wire refers to (possibly an old band name?) The video features monochrome still images of band members, logos, and even a map showing where Fort Creek is, as set to audio recordings from their recent jamming, primarily Pink Floyd's "Time" and Luke Combs' "Can I Get An Outlaw". Solid teaser of what's to come, and 2020 looks like it will be a big year for Fort Creek, assuming all goes according to plan! Give it a look below, and see more above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and this month's CD review shortly! Thanks everyone!

We Will Rock You At The Gardens, Plus New Videos & More Updates!!

On this (Canadian) long weekend, let's tackle some more recent news and notes before we enjoy Thanksgiving proper, so what's on tap tonight? Some assorted recent stories, new videos from recent concerts, and leading off, a big event announcement for you fans of both live musicals AND hard rock!

Remember how St. Mary's College students put on a production of the Queen musical We Will Rock You in May? Well, the real thing is coming to GFL Memorial Gardens on Wednesday, January 29th! Though not a concert in the traditional sense, this live stage production will bring two dozen Queen songs to life in a jukebox musical about individuals rising against their oppressive leaders in a dystopian future, though if you saw the local production in May, you'll already know that. A very late (if not the last) stop in the fall/winter tour for We Will Rock You, this should be a fun way for Queen and musical theater fans to see these classic songs in a unique, over-the-top presenation, and preview videos I have seen showcase a lot of talented performers! Tickets run from $78.50 to $98.50, VIP packages aside, and plenty of great tickets are available at this link, at the Gardens' in-person box office, or at 1-866-775-9422. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, we have a new video of local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns to share here, courtesy of their concert at The Canadian Motor Hotel's Upper Deck Bar & Grill this past Friday, which I regrettably missed for coverage on here. The band did plug it this past Monday on their Facebook page, but not afterwards, and the venue's Facebook page never mentioned it either. I profusely apologize for missing this show on here, I will try harder to stay on top of their gigs in the future! In any event, this was their first publically advertised show at The Upper Deck since November of last year, and seeing them outside of The Whiskey Barrel nowadays isn't common. That all said, we do have a video from their show on Friday, courtesy of SaultOnline's Mike Caruso, who is still posting a ton of videos from local cover bands onto his YouTube channel, and (barring new uploads) we'll have at least one more hard rock band clip of his to share later this week. Also, ignore the horse thumbnail, it's not part of the actual footage.

The video proper is of The Wyld Stallyns (plus Rob & Jesse's Elements bandmates James White & Jonas Gasperas) covering Dusty Springfield's "Son of A Preacher Man", which sounds good, but the vocal clarity is muddled through the audio setup. Also, why was Mike's stationary camera set up so far from the band? If you can avoid showing all of the empty seats at this point in the gig, you should do it! Still a solid clip, especially if you like seeing all of The Elements (and Christina) together in an unplugged setting, so give this video a look below, and apologies again! Hopefully the show was a hit!



Also today, here's a new video from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith's Facebook page, courtesy of a "coffeehouse concert" he played at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Thompson last month, though it was only posted last week. This video features Mike playing his new song "The Best You Never Had", which was the song sampled in his original teaser video for his now-next CD "If Ever Comes The Day", so this is our first chance to hear the song in full, albeit live. I'll hold comment on the song proper for now, but this video uniquely includes a poll at the 0:50 mark, asking if Mike should release the full song as the second single from the new album. As far as I can tell, "Yes" is winning, so take that for what you will! The video proper is well filmed, despite an oddly low angle, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Mike's new album as it rolls in, including more recent live material from Thompson!



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

• Brutally Fatal frontman & Blood Shed Productions co-founder Austin McCrae is looking to join a band as a guitarist, as per his posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on September 21st. He said that he misses playing on stage, and is "down for any genre", though note that his prior local band work has ranged from death metal to doom/punk. No word on what this means for Brutally Fatal, who claimed in May to be releasing a new album "this summer", but message Austin at this link or above if you want more info!
• A Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute band has quietly replaced the planned White/Rob Zombie tribute at J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party at The Rockstar Bar on November 1st, as per updates (including a new poster) to the Facebook event page. A reason for the switch was not announced, but remember that inactive local punk band The HTs did a Gimme Gimmes tribute set at this event in 2017. I am unsure if the 2019 tribute is related otherwise, but one imagines J.D. himself may be singing. Look for lots of punk covers of non-punk covers from this band, in any event!
• I have moved local metal musician Mike Vincent to our inactive band links, as he has not posted a public update regarding his solo project since posting his newest song "Nocturnal" on his Bandcamp page in September of last year, past our one-year cut-off. The Skull After Betrayl & Bear Hunters alum had revived his solo project in 2017, and even released two solo albums in March 2018, but updates for his planned third album "For Dear Life" were few and far between, and he never launched a public page outside of Bandcamp to promote his music with. Mike's a talented guy, hopefully he revisits his solo work down the road!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this week, and to all of our Canadfian readers, have a great Thanksgiving! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fluid 5ive & Tym Morrison) And The Start Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Let's begin our first weekend concert preview post of May 2019, and things are pretty busy to kick off the month! Due to the amount of shows, we're holding our previews of this weekend's Dave Evans, Highway 63, and (late notice) Soundcheck concerts for our next post, which I hope to have hitting the site tonight rather than tomorrow morning. Don't worry, those shows are all coming! Now, let's begin with some more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on SHORT NOTICE) and a couple of events with Thursday components!

With a new month upon us, let's roll local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's May slate of solo concerts into our concert listings, including Gliss Restaurant shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on those gigs, I have been trying to get into the habit of covering Tym's upcoming month's schedule in the last weekend of the preceding month so as to preclude late notice announcements where possible, but that plan slipped by me last week. Along with TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S matinee concerts on Spring Street, Tym will be back at Gliss on May 10th-11th, 17th-18th, 24th-25th, and 31st-June 1st, so fans and Gliss patrons alike will have lots of opportunities to see him there this month! That's not all for May 2019, however, as Tym will play consecutive Friday nighters at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road on May 10th & 17th, while also wrapping up his announced Room 21 shows for early 2019 with a concert there on Friday, May 31st, more likely to come.

Busy as usual for Tym, but if you're up for a night of unplugged hard and classic rock hits, you have a lot of options this month, including TOMORROW & SATURDAY! The Gliss matinees are 6:00 PM affairs, the 19+ Roadhouse & Room 21 shows are at 10:00 PM, and none have an advertised cover charge. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details, and here's Tym live at Room 21 a few months back!



Next up, veteran local classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive will reportedly make their Water Tower Pub debut with a concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page on Monday. Joining this concert, Fluid 5ive will also make their Esquire Club debut on Friday, May 10th, as per that show's Facebook event page, so it looks like the guys are slowly ramping up their live presence as we enter the middle of 2019! Last seen at Room 21 in February, both TOMORROW'S and next week's shows should prove to give the 5ive another solid platform to entertain patrons with their hard rocking and eclectic cover selection, so don't miss out on either night! The shows start at 9:00 PM TOMORROW and at 9:30 PM next week, both are 19+ events, and neither has an announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fluid 5ive live!

Moving to previously announced events, we'll hop the border to the E.U.P., where Banned fronman Alex Traynor will play an acoustic solo concert TONIGHT at The Signatures Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! This will be Alex's first solo show in the Soo since playing at the same locale on March 21st, and this should be another fine opportunity for Alex to break out his own solo originals and unplugged covers, so fans of his Banned work might want to consider a stop at Kewadin Casino's more intimate lounge tonight! Note that this show is still not advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page, nor has Alex been newly promoting it on social media at press time, but it is still advertised on his website's schedule, so we'll treat it as on unless otherwise stated. This 6:00 PM matinee gig has a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Alex live in studio!
 

 
Finally for today, this isn't really a concert, but seeing as it takes place TONIGHT, TOMORROW NIGHT, and SATURDAY NIGHT, and it's thematically relevant to our coverage, I can't ignore it. Over these three nights, St. Mary's College is playing host to a student production of the musical We Will Rock You, which is based around the music of Queen! A jukebox musical featuring Queen songs strung into a story of overcoming oppression in a dystopian, un-individualized future, this musical has been a big success globally since debuting in 2002, and it'll be very interesting to see how SMC Spotlight does in bringing We Will Rock You to local audiences with a cast of current St. Mary's students! Click here for the full song and actor listing, which notably includes 2018 The Soo's Got Talent winner Daniella Brewer. This school edition of We Will Rock You is directed by Kait Tappenden, and will be presented at the St. Mary's College Theater at 868 Second Line East.

Tickets run at $20 for adults and $15 for students each night, this is definitely ALL AGES, each night's show begins at 8:00 PM, and you can buy tickets in advance at the Catholic high schools main office. We Will Rock You isn't a musical I'm familiar with compared to others, but it'll be very interesting to hear how local students do tackling Queen classics, let alone in a scripted musical production, so best of luck to everyone involved in this production! Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for the conclusion of this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (B.A. Johnston), A New Local Rock Musical, And Much More!!

Before we begin, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert on here, as local classic/hard rock band Soundcheck played at Reggie's West on Friday, a show that was not listed on the band's 2019 concert calendar. This was only announced that same evening on their Facebook page, and it was reportedly played as a trio, as bassist Paul Belair was absent. I apologize again for not plugging the show here, we would have had it been announced with more than a few hours' notice! Now, we have the latest from a prolific solo artist, a new musical production, and much more, but let's lead off with a unique LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Hamilton comedy/folk punk musician B.A. Johnston will make his local concert debut when he headlines at The New American Pub on Thursday, April 18th! A tongue-in-cheek mixture of punk rock, outsider folk, Canadiana, and pop culture references, B.A. has gotten many wildly polarizing notices from fans and critics alike, but if you're at all familiar with his stage show and wide array of short and irreverent originals, you know it won't be hard to take notice, and the punk attitude and aesthetic is a frequent presence! Is it fair to compare B.A. Johnston to Wesley Willis, at least in part? Definitely give B.A. a look online to see what he has in store! No word on potential opening acts, however. This presentation of Girl Friday Productions has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and $10 tickets, which are available at this link, at The New A, and at Case's Music. I'll be very curious to hear how this show does, so see above and the official Facebook event page for much more!

Next up, this isn't a concert per say, but given the subject band, I can't not mention this. From Thursday, May 2nd-Saturday, May 4th, St. Mary's College is holding their own student production of We Will Rock You, the jukebox musical based on Queen's music catalog! A hit musical around the world since it's 2002 debut in London, England, this SMC Spotlight production will feature students performing this dystopian future story where a group of Bohemians struggle bring free thought and rock music back to the monotonous, identical culture in this universe, all as set to Queen music performed live by the cast. The show runs at 8:00 PM each night, tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, and tickets are available at St. Mary's main office. We Will Rock You isn't as recognizable as other similar jukebox musicals, but Queen fans would be well served to give this a look, so visit the official Facebook event page for more on this student version, and best of luck to all of the Knights next month!

Also today, here's the latest from local experimental/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore's extreme metal project Awokest, who resurfaced in March after a 2 month break from online updates by sharing this 80 second teaser clip of new material, which sounds like an ominous intro track moreso than a full song. Not long after, Chase shared the back cover of his upcoming Awokest album "Solving The Human Condition", which definitely says a lot about it's thematic content, while later sharing some artwork samples for his "Enter the Nightlands" compilation's physical release. The latter doesn't reveal much new, but it does confirm the original recording dates for it's included songs, with only 3 predating 2018. "Enter The Nightlands" is now available in CD copies on request, price details unclear, so message Chase on Awokest's Facebook page for details on that front. It's great to see Chase staying busy, so see above for more details, and stay tuned for much more from his projects!
 
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all courtesy of musician searches on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group as of late! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie is looking to get back into the the local music scene with a live band, and he cited bands ranging from Dokken & Dio to The Scorpions and Skid Row as acts he'd like to tackle (a familiar range if you recall his tenures with Project 421.) He has a bassist in mind already, but he is looking for a lead guitarist and drummer. If you're interested in working with Curt on a new project, message him at this link or above!
• Ex-Bear Hunters/Skull After Betrayl guitarist Mike Vincent is looking for a female vocalist for a new rock band that he's working on, that would also play pop rock and "maybe some country." It'd be great to see Mike back with a live band after far too long, so message him at this link or above for more details!
• Centro bartender Nicholas Larmond is helping put together a cystic fibrosis fundraiser event at Joe's Sports & Surplus on Queen Street East on Saturday, May 11th, and he is looking for "small local artists" and bands who'd be interested in playing for the cause. Sounds like a promising event, and if you're interested in learning more, message Nicholas at this link or above on the group!

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

Concert Cancellations, Lots Of Sykotyk Rampage News, And F.A.T.I.L.'s New Video!!

Before we get to the rest of today's news, I just wanted to note that The Suicide Kings' planned concerts this weekend have been cancelled, just one week after their planned Rockstar Bar gigs suffered the same fate. The guys were scheduled to make their Docks Riverfront Grill debut yesterday & tonight, but they cited "a last minute booking issue with Docks" for their cancellation on their Facebook page last night. This may have been partly due to singer Mike Gaetano falling ill, as drummer Ben Boudreau was briefly looking for a fill-in vocalist for the weekend on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, but they cancelled the shows shortly after. This is really disappointing, especially with the guys having to cancel consecutive concert weekends to start the year, but hopefully they'll play somewhere this month! As of right now, their next announced shows (and now, their real Docks debut) will be on February 9th and 10th, so if nothing else is announced, keep those dates in mind!

With that said, we have some more news to get to on this Saturday afternoon, including our first new audio tracks from a prominent local metal band, confirmation on their current lineup, and a new video from a prominent local metal band, so here's what you need to know!

The Soo's resident blue Chinese metal crash punk band Sykotyk Rampage have been posted two full streaming copies of new albums onto their Reverbnation page earlier this week! Like with their 2011 output, these were visibly delayed from the announced "release date", but it's good to finally start hearing these new songs! These are considered the band's 34th & 35th albums (despite being 30th & 31st in release order), and they're entitled "The Cross" and "Will Do Anything, Seriously?". Featuring 15 & 11 songs respectively, most of these tracks are new to longtime listeners, but a couple of recent live tracks are included (most notably "Hay Zeus" from "The Cross"), and that album seems to have an anti-religion concept, as the cover and song titles would suggest. The band's other 4 planned albums from last year ("Smells Real Good On A Bad Night", "Jonathon, Your Music Sucks!", "Sykotyk Ramp-Age", and "Anal Distruptions") have yet to be posted (save for the song "Roll A Doobie"), and like with their 2011 "Genius Mushrooms" albums, these have yet to be posted for sale.

I haven't heard most of the new songs yet, but if they retain the sykotyk and aggressive bent of albums like "Zombiez" & "22", they should live up to the hype! When the band posts more new material (or makes any new albums available for purchase), I'll let you guys know for sure! One more thing on Sykotyk Rampage: It looks like they've officially made Tony Briglio their permanent bassist, replacing Brian Cattapan. Nothing official was announced to that effect, but Tony's now listed as their bassist on Reverbnation, complete with the nickname "Chastity Boy" to go along with the other members' amusing monikers. Best known previously as a bassist in The Fury, Tony started filling in for Brian (who's lived in Sudbury for a few years now) this summer, which has to have helped with Sykotyk Rampage's quick concert pace in the latter half of 2012 compared to previous years. No word yet on if Tony played anything on Sykotyk Rampage's newest albums, but for what it's worth, Brian is featured in three of their 2012 album covers. Tony's a great fit all around with Sykotyk Rampage, but hopefully we'll see Brian turn up at some future shows as well!

Finally for today, here's a new video from Central Algoma death metal quartet For All That Is Lost! I'm not sure how this got bypassed for so long (I must have thought it was a re-upload), but this performance of their song "Northern Metal" from the Locals Attack show at The Canadian Nightclub on November 26th was posted on the band's YouTube channel two weeks ago! Filmed on a nice camera (albeit with dark lighting), the fi;mer got some nice moving angles of the guys from a high vantage point, and F.A.T.I.L. are at their brutal best here, so give this new-ish video of theirs a look below, and hopefully we'll see them back on stage soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Queensryche fallout, more new videos, and much more shortly! Thanks everyone, and enjoy the Queensryche show tonight!