Friday, September 18, 2009

Previews Of This Weekend's Shows, A New Poll, And More!!

It's time to update you guys once again, for we have two local metal shows this weekend to preview! Also, today's the day to post a new poll on the SMS, and go over the results from last month's poll! Plus, I have some blog updates and some Woods of Ypres and WLSO news, so let's kick things off with the local concert previews for this weekend!

Firstly, Sault Michigan grunge rockers Half Stupid return to the live scene tonight! They will be among the performing acts at a September Music Festival tonight at 6:30 PM at The Big Bear Arena! The show will also feature Sault-area solo artist Amanda Rairigh, and another guest act (which may be Cherubic Red, but I can't reliably confirm that.) Tickets are just $5, there will be 50/50 tickets sold, and if you can go, I recommend you do! Half Stupid are a great band with a sound you don't hear much in the Sault area (just them and No Arrow that I can think of.) I can't wait to hear new material from these guys! For a preview, check out this video for their original song "The Pit & The Pendulum"!



Meanwhile, back in Ontario, local rock band Quite Frankly will have quite the gig tomorrow, when they play live at The John Rhodes Center following the Canadian Major Football League championship game between the Edmonton Stallions and your Sault Steelers! It looks like you have to see the game to see the performance, so tickets for it are $10, and you can buy them at The Canadian, Four Seasons Collectibles in The Station Mall, The Duke of Windsor Sport Shop on Queen Street, and at the pro shop at The Soo Pee Wee Arena! The game starts at 4:15 tomorrow afternoon, with Quite Frankly taking the stage whenever it ends! Visit the event pages for the game and the concert itself by clicking the links!

These guys (and girl) are definitely worth checking out if you can, and if you like football too, it might be a no-brainer to head to The John Rhodes Center tomorrow! For a preview, here's a clip of Quite Frankly covering the AC/DC classic "Thunderstruck" from a recent show at The Speakeasy!



And if I hear anything out of these shows, I'll be sure to share them with you all! Now, it's time to shut down another monthly poll on the SMS! Now, if you guys remember correctly, last month's question was: What band merchandise would you be most likely to buy at local shows? Only 12 votes, but the results are quite clear: You guys want t-shirts! 58% of votes went to that choice, and I can see why! Band shirts are an easy way to show that you're a fan of a band, and they will last a while as long as you take care of them! Stickers and buttons finished second with 25% of the votes, with CDs 3rd with 17%, and every other choice (patches, hoodies, hats/toques, posters/pictures, anything affordable, and other) had no votes. I expected more votes for CDs and less for stickers and buttons, but hey, it shows what people want!

So now it's time for a new poll, and I figured that with their new album coming out next month, it's only fitting to do a poll about Woods of Ypres to lead up to that! And one question popped up in my head more than others. So I pose this question to you guys: What is your favourite Woods of Ypres song? I picked songs by their popularity and recognizability through some Google searching, with the picks weighted out by what albums they were on. Here are your choices!

Allure Of The Earth
Awaiting the Inevitable
Crossing the 45th Parallel
December In Windsor
Distractions of Living Alone
End Of Tradition
The Northern Cold
Shedding The Deadwood
Song Of Redemption
The Sun Was In My Eyes: Part Doom
The Will To Give
Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground
Other

VOTE TODAY!!! I wonder which song is the favourite. A couple seem more likely than others, but I wonder if you guys will pick something different? Let's see more than 12 people this month, OK?

Now, here's an update from local radio station WLSO: The Sounds of Lake State, which you can find at 90.1 FM. As you guys know, WLSO is the campus radio station at LSSU, so now that the fall semester has begun, the radio shows have returned as well! And although I can't confirm what genre some shows are, I do know that there are a couple of metal shows! One is The Delta Dial, which airs Tuesdays at 11:00 AM for 2 hours, and airs everything from classic rock to metal! This show also has a Facebook group, which you can access at this location! And immediately after that, the metal continues with A Touch of Class, which runs until 3:00 PM! No page for it, but according to WLSO's site, it's definitely metal! Finally, I can confirm that Fridays at 5:00 PM, Dentistry Before Novacaine is another metal show, and it runs untill 7:00 PM!

I don't know much about the other two shows, but The Delta Dial's Facebook group is now in the Other Local Metal Links, and all three shows (as well as any show on WLSO) have request lines! If you wanna call in to request some metal, call (906) 635-2863! And I'll update you guys if I find out any more about these and any other metal shows on WLSO!

Next, you may have noticed a bit of a difference to the SMS lately. Well, I did some more cleaning up to the Other Local Metal Links! I have created new link sections for local music stores/lesson shops, and they're now underneath the Venue Contact Info on both sides of the page! They include all the local music stores that appeal to us metalheads, including addresses and phone numbers. One new store has been added: Music Depot, on Gore Street in Sault Ontario. It lacks a site, but it's in that section now!

I also created a section for local rock radio stations, so for contact info for Rock 101, Energy Rock Radio, The Bear, and WLSO, you can find that on the right of the page under the Sault Michigan Music Stores section! Also, I'm experimenting with colour coding some links by which Sault something's in (red for Ontario, blue for Michigan.) Just testing to see if it looks alright, give me feedback if you like it or not!

And finally, remember when I mentioned that the special edition vinyl for Woods of Ypres' song "Allure Of The Earth" featured a special cover by Australian cellists Sebastian Simpson and Chris Doig? Well, if you don't wanna buy the vinyl to hear it, good news! It's been posted onto YouTube by user KSCIAA! It's really well done, and puts a more orchestral feel to an already great song! Check it out right below this paragraph! And if you want the vinyl of Allure of the Earth with this song, visit this location for details!



That's all for today, I'll be back very soon with more local metal news and updates! Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nixxon Dixxon), And Lots Of Assorted News!

Alright, today, I've got plenty of news, and kicking things off, I have a pile of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!!

Sault Michigan's own Nixxon Dixxon have booked a ton of new concerts! All the new shows are next year, stretching from January to August, with two shows a month throughout, all of which are being held at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! So here's all 16 upcoming dates on Nixxon Dixxon's 2010 schedule so far:

January 1-2
February 19-20
March 12-13
April 2-3
May 21-22
June 11-12
July 23-24
August 13-14

As well, Nixxon Dixxon are heading back to St. Ignace for 16 more shows as well! They'll be at Kewadin Casino there on January 8-9, February 26-27, March 19-20, April 9-10, May 7-8, June 18-19, July 30-31, and August 6-7! I've never seen shows booked so far in advance into a different year for any local band, but hell, it's nice to see that Nixxon Dixxon show no signs of slowing down! They're extremely talented for their age, and these shows should be excellent as usual! Hopefully once I'm 21, I'll get a chance to see them next summer! For more info on Nixxon Dixxon and to hear some of their songs, visit their official MySpace page!

Now, for a pile of random updates, and this will start with a pair of Sault Michigan bands that have changed their names. One is Bad Monkey, formerly known as Jager. According to their official MySpace page, they have changed their name again to Monkey's Uncle! Their URL has also been changed accordingly. Interesting new name, hopefully it sticks! Nothing else new from their front, but I'll keep you guys posted! The other change is to The Angel of Suffering, an originally Sault-based metal band who relocated to Colorado this summer. They are apparently now known as "From The Ashes Of Angels". Just a heads up in case the links look different!

Next up, I have a new link in the Other Local Metal Links (I still need to clean those up more.) It's the official website for The Thomas Walls School of Music, which serves as both a music school and as a store for music instruments and equipment! Located at 505 Albert Street in Sault Ontario, it could be of interest to all you musicians out there, whether you're new or a veteran! They have some good quality instruments and repair work as well! If you're not familiar with Thomas Walls, check out their official website, you may be interested!

Hey Woods of Ypres fans, here's another preview for their next release! According to the newest wall post on Woods of Ypres' Facebook page, their new disc, "Woods IV: The Green Album" is in it's final mixing stage, and a whole song had to be cut to have the album fit on one CD! Yes, you'll be getting almost 80 minutes of Woods on the new disc! Frontman David Gold says it "boils over with inspired expressions of DOOM...and hope." I can't wait to hear it myself! Get more Woods info at this location! And remember, you can hear a brand new song from the album by downloading the August edition of Canadian metal podcast The Governor's Ball at this location!

And finally, two small news items:
So there's your news for this Tuesday night! Stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene for anything else I find out, and e-mail me at robfigures@hotmail.com if you have anything to share, suggest, correct, or give your opinion on! Thanks everyone!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sykotyk Rampage) & A New Local Music Act!!!

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts this weekend, my computer access in Detroit is limited (i.e. way too old and slow to make a good post.) But I'm back, and guess what? I have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and a new local musician to add to the listings, so here we go!

Anyone out there wanna hear some blue Chinese metal crash punk? If so, there's a concert in October that will definitely interest you! Sykotyk Rampage are returning to the live concert scene on Friday, October 16th, at The Outback at Sault College! Don't hear too much metal shows from there! This will be Sykotyk Rampage's first local show in a few months, and will serve as both a fundraiser for a college chapter, and as the CD release party for their brand new album!

Support will come from Dysfunkshunal Kemystry, a recently re-united hard rock band featuring Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan & former Driving Dave Home drummer Steve Brogno, among others! Ticket information will be released in a couple weeks, but unless you're a college student, you'll have to be signed in by one. For more details on this show, visit the Facebook event page! I might very well hit this show, sounds like fun!

Also, now knowing that this show is the CD release show for "22", I have made an edit to the Local Metal CD Review Schedule. Seeing as the album likely won't be out this month, and I already have "Woods IV: The Green Album" scheduled for October, I will review the newest Sykotyk Rampage album in November, likely early in the month! As for what I'll review this month....only time will tell. Will it be an Ontario band or a Michigan band? A recent release, or something old? Wait and see, something will pop up in the next couple weeks!

And finally for this quick update, I have a new addition to the Local Metal Band Links, in the form of Sault Ontario solo artist Brendan Christie! He's a metal guitarist, singer, and songwriter who's played in a few local bands and now composes and records his own solo material, which is viewable on his official MySpace page, which he launched in July! I'm surprised I've bypassed it until now, maybe cause it looked like a personal profile on quick glance, but Brendan's got some great stuff on his page, including nine original songs, a nice bio, and lots of pictures! Definitely check Brendan out, he's a great talent and would no doubt be an asset to an interested band!

I promise to have a more detailed post at some point this weekend, but since I just got back, and have university to worry about, it could be anytime. Stay tuned for more news and updates! Thanks everyone!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Peril Concert Previews, A VERY LATE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, And More!!!

Short post today, but I always try and pump a new post out within 3 days of the last, and there's a pair of concerts this weekend to preview, so here we go! Oh yeah, there's a very late LOCAL CONCERT ALERT too!

Michigan hard rockers Peril are back in Sault Michigan this weekend for a pair of shows! They'll be performing tomorrow night and Saturday night at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! Both shows will start at 9:00 PM, and I'm unsure of any possible admission prices. Nice to see Peril back in the Sault area, they're a damn good band that I'd love to see live once I hit the legal American drinking age! Don't take my word for it though, check them out on MySpace to hear some great old school hard rock tracks! I have no videos to show you guys, but trust me, they're worth seeing this weekend! If you go and see them, we'd love to hear from you!

Next up, I screwed up again. As it turns out, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a show TOMORROW. Local metal guitarist Tym Morrison (from Caveman Morrison) will bring his solo acoustic show to The Big Cheese in Heyden (just outside Sault Ontario) tomorrow night at 9:00! I just heard about this today, when I told you guys about the new stuff Tym's been doing, this show WASN'T listed as an upcoming event on his group, so that's why I haven't posted it. Still, I screwed up, so yeah, if you wanna head out to Heyden, go see Tym, he's a great musician! Get full details at this location! His Facebook group also implies they play at The Big Cheese every second weekend, but it's sandwiched between out of date news items, so I'll wait before posting future shows from there. Check out Tym's music at this location!

Next, I've found another potential local concert that I (as of now) can't reliably confirm. Life In Me, the new Sudbury hardcore band featuring ex-members of Three For Fallacy, are apparently planning to play in Sault Ontario this fall! Their MySpace page lists a show on November 16th at The Oddfellows Hall, with additional bands to be announced. However, I can't find any additional confirmation of this show. I will keep you guys posted when and if I hear any more! If you can help, let me know!

Now, two assorted news items to let you guys know about:
  • More info has been announced for Bad Side's appearance at this year's Mount Clemens Music Festival in the Detroit area! They will be playing on September 18th at Madison's Pub (NOT the one in Sault Ontario) on the Detroit Rock Review Stage! Their set begins at 9:00 that night. Get more details at the Facebook event page!
  • Sault Ontario's own Quite Frankly have started a Facebook page to go along with their group! I'm a fan, why don't you become one too? Remember to check them out on the 19th after the Sault Steelers Game at Rocky DiPietro Field!
That's all for today, I'll be in Detroit this weekend so updates may be slow. But if I hear anything major, you'll be sure to find out soon enough! And thanks to Meaghan MacDonald for becoming our 3rd follower on Blogger!

Monday, September 7, 2009

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Ace Frehley), Plus A Woods Of Ypres Update, And More!

It's time for a pretty big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! And for you Kiss fans still disappointed by the lack of a fall show in the Soo, here's a show that could just fill that gap! Original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley is coming to Kewadin Casino this fall! The Spaceman himself will bring his solo show to The Dreammakers Theater on Friday, November 13th! Though no longer in Kiss, Frehley has had some decent solo success over the past 30 years, including hits like "New York Groove" & "Into The Night"! Support at this show will come from 80s hard rock vixen Lita Ford, herself recently back on the music scene! You may remember Lita from her tenure as guitarist for The Runaways, or for hit solo songs like "Kiss Me Deadly" and her duet with Ozzy Osbourne, "Close My Eyes Forever"!

Now neither Ace nor Lita's respective sites confirm this show, so how do I know it's going on? The radio, of course! Ads were running for this concert on Rock 101, so there's my proof! Kewadin Casino also lists the show on their site, and yes, tickets are now available for this concert! Tickets are available at the flat rate of just $28.50 (a price which will likely be way cheaper than the actual Kiss show, FYI.) If you wanna buy tickets, visit this location to buy them online! Or, you can buy them at Kewadin Casino itself, or at the GraphixTwo box office beside A&W on Great Northern Road if you're in Sault Ontario! And as always, if I hear any updates on this show, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted! Check out new Ace Frehley and Lita Ford material by clicking on their names to visit their MySpace pages!

Next up, here's another interesting new item for sale from Woods of Ypres! A special limited edition vinyl copy of their 2004 single "Allure Of The Earth" is now available for purchase! Originally feaured on their second album "Pursuit Of The Sun & Allure Of The Earth", this record features both the original song and a cover by Australian cellists Sebastian Simpson and Chris Doig on the opposite side! You can view the artwork for this record on the right! Each copy is autographed and numbered, with a free download card to get the songs on the vinyl, and 12 Woods classics! There are only 500 available, so for you Woods fans who might be interested, here's how you can get a copy!

Just send $20 (or $35 for two) via PayPal to woodsofypres@hotmail.com, or you can send money via snail mail to:

David Gold / Allure 7"
44 Poplar Ave
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6B 2W7, CANADA

Get your while you still can, Woods fans! And for more details, visit Woods of Ypres' official forum! Now, onto an update from local bar/concert venue The Canadian, which recently re-opened it's doors after extensive renovations! A Facebook group has been launched for The Canadian to alert everyone to upcoming events there. I welcome this, as I often used The Canadian's original group for concert info back when it was around! And now that they're back, hopefully we'll find out lots of stuff there! Join The Canadian's official Facebook group now to get in the know! No metal concerts scheduled yet, but I'll keep you guys posted! And I've edited the Sault Ontario Concert Venue Info on the left of the page to reflect the new group!

I'l leave it at that for today, but I will have more local metal news in the coming days, including previews for this weekend's Peril concerts, and hopefully much more! Stay tuned for more news and updates! Oh, and invite your friends to become fans of us on Facebook! The more, the merrier!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

FOUR New Local Bands, A LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, And More!!!

I'm back and I have some new stuff to mention today! We're in that slow fall period where we don't hear a lot of "recent" stuff, but after three days of few updates, I do have lots of stuff to share! More specifically, I have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR new local metal bands to add to the SMS listings! So let's get right to it, and I'll have some more updates afterwards! Oh, and there might be a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT too!

First up, a notable local band are back on the scene! Remember Caveman Morrison, the metal cover band fronted by noted local guitarist Tym Morrison? Well, they're back with a new lineup, including former Time of Ruin bassist Ryan Disano and new drummer Jeff Richards! It's been a while since their demise, but it's great to see them back! They even played a show in Heyden this August (sorry for missing that!)

Their official website has been relaunched, but has not been updated to reflect the band's current form yet. However, there's some more recent information on their official Facebook group, which includes a laundry list of bands that Caveman Morrison cover live, everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top! It's been forever since I remember these guys playing live in the Soo, and I hope to see them back for another show real soon! To hear some studio quality covers from Caveman Morrison, visit this link to hear some nice covers of Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath songs! There's videos on the site too, check them out as well!

Coincidentally, from finding out about Caveman Morrison's return, I also found out the status of Tym's solo projects, and as it turns out, he frequently plays acoustic gigs at local venues! Since his return to the Sault area, he's been booking frequent shows at Hard Times, Madison's Pub, and The Other Place! Yes, it's acoustic, but in his acoustic set, he does include metal covers, so it's still worth mentioning! I never mentioned these shows cause I somehow never knew that Tym was back until today, so that's my bad, and I'm sorry!

But, I do have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!! Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic show to the Bottoms Up Lounge (above Vincenzo's Restaurant on Queen Street) on October 2nd! Not sure on a possible cover charge, but at this link, you can see the dozens of songs he might play at this gig! Lots of quality songs there, that would be very interesting to here done acoustically! Check out the Facebook event page for this show for more details! I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Next up, do you guys remember a local hard rock trio named Browbeat? You might know them from numerous bar shows in the Sault area in the mid-2000s, or possibly as one of the featured acts at the Rock 2 Roll skatepark fundraiser last year! I had them listed in the Posted Links section of the original SMS Facebook group, but their MySpace page was closed late last year. Flash forward many months later, and they have returned! They re-appeared on MySpace in June, and appear to be planning some recording for an album entitled "Sarcasmo 3"! No new show updates yet, but their MySpace page does include three videos from band rehearsals, including this one for the song "The Pessimist"! Check it out, and if I hear any new updates from Browbeat, I'll be sure to have them for you guys!



One more band from Sault Ontario to add, and it's a solo project from Lorax/ex-Eyes Set Fire guitarist Mitch Sirie! Entitled By The Gods, this band features Mitch on bass and vocals, as well as guitar, with programmed drums. Not a lot profile-wise to speak of on the page, but there are three posted songs! I recommend checking out "Zen Omega", as it's the only one with vocals (death metal vocals, no less!) The other two songs are good quality demos, though lacking vocals. Not bad all around, Mitch could get pretty big if he turned this into a full band! Check out By The Gods at this location!

And finally, I found another new local band, this time from Sault Michigan! They are Hands of Betrayal, a death metal/hardcore band that appears to have been inactive since January. Profile's well designed, but there's little to speak of for the band itself, just first names of the band members. There's also an original song on their profile, an untitled demo. It's an instrumental, and it sounds pretty good, definitely a death metal style track, just needs vocals. Not sure what happened to Hands of Betrayal, but their demo is promising! Check them out for yourself on MySpace at this location!

And finally for this post, I have three short news items to share, so here's what you need to know!
  • Local death/thrash band Bring The Fallen (formerly known as Necropolis, among other names) have replaced the demo for their song "Exposed Enbankment" on their MySpace page with a new song, "Defiling Despondence"! Sounds equally good, I might add! Check it out, and their other song, "Stand Before", at their official MySpace page!
  • Sault Michigan's own Bad Side have added a new out of town show to their listings! They'll be among the performers at this year's Mount Clemens Music Festival in Mount Clemens, Michigan, on September 18th! Expect more info very soon!
  • Sault Ontario metal band Despised Eyes have announced the addition of guitarist Willis Tholberg to their lineup, replacing former guitarist Adam Brett. Tholberg joins former Death Rise members Matthew and Mike Ladouceur in the current lineup! If I hear more from Despised Eyes in the next while, you'll find it here, or on their Facebook page!
That's all I have for today, hopefully I'll have some big news real soon, so stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene for any news, updates, and random stuff I have to share! AND CHECK OUT THE NEW BANDS I FEATURED TODAY!!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Local Concert Previews For This Weekend, A New Local Band, And Lots More!!!

Guess where I'm posting from? LSSU, my new alma mater! And luckily, I have a bunch of stuff to post about today, and no homework to shove it aside yet! So let's begin this post with your local concert previews for this weekend, followed by a bunch of other news items and updates!

Your next local metal show is tomorrow night at Coch's Corner, when Toronto rock n' roll band Ultraviolence will take the stage! Their MySpace page indicates a start time of 8:00 PM, but from personal experience, don't be surprised if they're not on until 11:00-ish. As is usual, admission is free, just make sure you buy something. This is the last metal show I can confirm in Sault Ontario for a couple weeks, so why not go out and see this show? Ultraviolence are really entertaining, and definitely have a real AC/DC vibe to their sound. Sounds like a great band to have a couple drinks to, if that's your thing! Check them out on their official MySpace page, and for a preview, here's an official promo video from the band themselves! Solid stuff!



Finally, Sault Michigan's own Bad Side are back for a pair of local shows! They'll be at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino once again for two shows this weekend, on Friday and Saturday night! Both shows will be at 9:00 PM! These shows are the first half of Kewadin Casino's Labour Day Concert Weekend, which concludes Sunday and Monday with ZZ Top's shows at The Dreammakers' Theater! And guess what? Both shows are FREE! I don't know if this is a one weekend thing or if there's generally no admission there, but either way, awesome! Should be two great shows, Bad Side are damn talented, and have a great classic sound to them! Check out a bunch of their excellent original songs on their official MySpace page! For a preview, check out this video for their song "Let It Roll"!



So there's your previews for the weekend, your next local shows that I know of are next weekend, when Peril return to Sault Michigan for two nights at Kewadin Casino! And if you're at any shows this weekend, we'd love to hear from you!

Now, onto some other news and updates! First, we have a brand new local metal band to add to the listings! They are Destroilet, a punk/metal band from Sault Ontario! The band includes such notables as guitarist John Conway, who you may recognize from The Billy Bastards, and drummer Matt Waples from Sonigraphix Design Solutions, who started that outdoor Kiss show petition I recently discussed on here! The band appear to be somewhat new, but they have some solid stuff, a mix of punk with metal influences, enough to warrant discussion on here! Plus, they have five live videos on their official Facebook group, including Dead Kennedys and Billy Bastards covers, but the originals sound pretty good. Can't wait to hear more from Destroilet in the comping months, so keep up to date on Facebook, and at their website in progress!

Next up, a local band has changed their name AGAIN. Silent Plague (previously known as The Undead [Brown Pelican] Warriors and Necropolis) have renamed themselves once again, and are now known as Bring The Fallen! Nice name, hopefully it sticks this time! Now, here's a big scoop from them! They've posted two new original songs on their official MySpace page! These are studio versions of "Stand Before" and "Exposed Enbankment", and they sound excellent! If you like thrash and death metal, you'll approve! To check out the new songs, visit Bring The Fallen on MySpace! (Oh, the URL changed too, so change your bookmarks if you need to!)

And finally, I received an e-mail from Half Stupid frontman Zac Crook, who gave me a couple band updates! Tomorrow, they will be entering the studio at Claustrophobic Sound to record some original material towards their first EP! They will be re-recording their original four songs from their MySpace page that were recently taken down, along with a few brand new songs! I'd love to hear this when it comes out, and I'll keep you guys up to date with any news on the EP! That's all I have for today, stay tuned for more news and updates! Thanks everyone!