LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Garden of Bedlam) And My Sykotyk Rampage/Tyler Yuke Memorial Review!!

How's everyone doing on this Sunday afternoon? I was at The Tyler Yuke Memorial Night at The Outback yesterday for Sykotyk Rampage's headlining performance, so I have a review of that coming up, along with a couple of assorted stories! But first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

We still don't have a rescheduled date for their fundraiser show in Garden River, but Garden of Bedlam do have another show on the horizon! On April 2nd, it will indeed be a Good Friday as Garden of Bedlam perform at The Canadian Nightclub! This show will be a launch party for their official website, which is now online at www.gardenofbedlam.com! It was created by Melissa McMaster at 3Design Elements, and it looks pretty good! Lots of pictures, bio info, nice page design, and their first E.P. is streamable there too! It may already be online, but the official launch party will be on Good Friday, so save your celebrations until then! This concert will have an opening band to be announced, with Crank Sound Distribution handling the sound and The Rad Zone will also be on hand to sell band merchandise! A cover charge has yet to be announced, and a start time of 11:00 PM is given. The Facebook event page says that this will be their last show in Sault Ste. Marie before hitting the studio, so you'll wanna be out for this one! Confirm your attendance at this location!

Pencil me in for this show, I missed their last concert at Foggy's, I need my Garden of Bedlam fix! I'll keep you posted with any updates I have on this show, and if I find anything out about the rescheduling for their fundraiser in Garden River, I'll have that as well!

And now, here's my review of The Tyler Yuke Memorial Night featuring Sykotyk Rampage! As you may know, these are held yearly at The Outback at Sault College in memory of former Sault College student Tyler Yuke, who tragically died in 2002. Luckily there was little hassle to get in compared to other Outback shows I've been to, and when I arrived, there was a huge crowd, the largest I've seen there since the Gob concert! Now prior to my arrival, internet ads for this show had it starting at 8:00 PM with Sykotyk Rampage playing at 10:00 PM. I arrived a little before 10:00, and Sykotyk Rampage didn't play until closer to 1:30 AM! That's not the band's fault though, I'll get into that. When I got there, Sault College teacher Jerry Zuchlinski led a huge group of many of the night's performers in a group tribute song, which went over well. Jerry became the night's MC, introducing us to acts, talking about Tyler, and even telling a dirty joke!

I knew going in that there would be tons of open mic performers before Sykotyk Rampage stepped on stage, but there was a LOT more than I expected! And with no internet announcements of a performer lineup, I had no clue what to expect (I never did before either, Sault College have never announced performers for the Tyler Yuke memorials.) That being said, I couldn't tell you the names of the majority of the musicians who performed. My apologies if I mis-state anything here!

After the group song, there was a bagpipe player, followed by a solo performance from Tyler Yuke's dad, which was cool! Then there was sort of a drum circle kind of deal with some college students (my buddy Mike among them), followed by two separate solo singer/guitarists. Most of the acts performing had a sort of indie/acoustic sound to them, which definitely isn't my cup of tea, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it! I could tell that things were running overtime, other people were remarking that it was long and some performers said on stage that they had to cut down their sets. After the two solo performers, I got a surprise in the form of former Quite Frankly frontwoman Jacky Alisat! She and guitarist Adam Bertrand player three songs, none "metal", but I really enjoyed their set! I never saw Quite Frankly when Jacky sang, but I saw online videos and was very impressed! She's got a hell of a voice, and she shown it last night, even on an Animals song! Hopefully she gets back into a band again soon!

Then it went back to the indie-folksy stuff, with a trio of students with some guests performing more of that kind of stuff. The crowd, again, did seem to be having fun, but this stuff isn't something I'd typically see on a normal day. Following them was two singer/guitarists, one of which had a Zakk Wylde custom Gibson Les Paul! And being a Zakk Wylde fan, that got my attention! They covered the Ozzy Osbourne song "Mama I'm Coming Home", and to be completely honest, they were better than the sound guys had it sound. I don't know what the deal was, but there was feedback on the guitar and the tone of it sounded off and slightly muffled. And I can tell it wasn't their fault cause the guy with the Zakk Wylde guitar pretty much nailed it, he deserved better! The singer had kind of a softer voice, I don't think it matched as well for that kind of song. I liked them, but the sound was an impairment. They followed that with another song, after which another guitarist joined them to play some softer stuff, which I wasn't feeling as much.

Two more indie bands followed, and I don't know if it was just my metalhead nature, the length the open mic bands took, or both, but I wasn't feeling either band too much. Don't get me wrong, they were good for their style, they really were! The second band had the singer also playing a violin, which was unexpected, and they had some good covers going! But I dunno, it just started really dragging by this point for me. The bands played a song, then spent a few minutes fiddling with their instruments and talking to the crowd casually. This was well after midnight at this point, and the crowd had slowly been clearing out all night, it just went on and on and on. When the second band finished, the crowd that was left cheered enthusiastically and asked for an encore. This was around 1:00 AM at this point, and I think the organizers said they couldn't, what with the bar closing at 2:00 AM and all.

Finally, things started to pick up when Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan and former Time of Ruin guitarist Rich Moreland took the stage as "7th Edition" for a two song set (which, as they pointed out to me, would have been longer had things not been behind schedule.) They're one and the same as the previously announced "6th Edition" in a sense. Brian's in both bands, but Rich stepped in for the other half of the band, who just moved to London yesterday. They covered Alice In Chains' "Your Decision" and Pantera's "Cemetery Gates", with Rich and Brian both on guitar, and Brian on vocals. "Your Decision" worked pretty well, Brian has a decent singing voice, it's a wonder he never gets a singing part on a Sykotyk Rampage album! And it really is cool seeing Rich on stage again, it feels like forever since I last saw him with a guitar in hand! "Cemetery Gates" didn't work as well for me, it felt like they changed the arrangement too much to have it suit the acoustic instruments and Brian's vocal range. It wasn't bad though, but if I was picking a Pantera song for them to do, I think "Planet Caravan" might have worked better. Still, I enjoyed their two songs, it was a welcome break from the mostly indie stuff we'd heard until then!

And then, finally, after 3 1/2 hours of waiting, Sykotyk Rampage finally took the stage, and by this point, the crowd was just awful in size. Had the show ran on schedule with Sykotyk Rampage playing at 10:00 like previously announced (hell, even at midnight), they'd have had a huge receptive crowd! Now it was just the devoted fans who didn't mind staying up til 2 in the morning. At least they delivered a fun half hour of harsh music for harsh minds for the remainder of us! They played a handful of their classics, like "Treating You Bad", "Drinking On The Weekend", and "Red Ball Jet", with their typical high energy! Paul Becker still sounded as uniquely good as ever on vocals, Brian Cattapan jumped around on-stage with lots of energy and enthusiasm, and the whole band just seemed to be having as much fun as they could with the time the other bands left for them! Given the circumstances, I can't criticize Sykotyk Rampage at all, they performed as well as I would expect them given the time and set length!

So how about my overall thoughts? Well, let me start by saying this: I hate being too critical. I never want to outright say that something sucks or I hated this or wanted to leave during that, that's unfair to the performers and organizers and their talent. But I have to be honest, I wasn't having a lot of fun at parts of this show. This is NOT the bands' fault, they all had visible talent, some were quite impressive! But for a guy who doesn't listen to much indie, folk, or acoustic music, it just got draining after a while. We were under the impression that it all started at 8:00 with open mic stuff, then Sykotyk Rampage would play at 10:00 PM like Facebook said. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be watching open mic for 3 1/2 hours before the headliners got on stage. I was remarking to people I knew that it felt like being at Hempfest without the hemp. Again, this isn't the bands' fault, remember, this isn't my style of music or my typical crowd. It's more the organization of it all. I've never been terribly impressed with how the college handle concerts. Often, the sound needs work (at points last night, it was bad), I had sound complaints at Sykotyk Rampage's show there in October. And I don't know why the show ran behind schedule so much, but they should have been on top of that to give each band their proper times and proper lengths. At least this time, they weren't so restrictive on the entry of non-students!

But above all else, this show accomplished what it set out to, to pay tribute to Tyler Yuke's memory and have some fun showcasing college talent, and it did just that! The crowd that came out enjoyed it, well, what they saw, and when it comes down to it, it'd have been more enjoyable without changing the performers if they'd just managed the schedule and band performances better so that nothing ran later than it should have. Yeah, I admit the bands were mostly not my cup of tea, but this wasn't advertised as a metal show, and I fully expected stuff I wouldn't typically listen to. It just was worse because it dragged on and on into the night. There were some great acts, like the duo who covered Ozzy, and Jacky Alisat's set, and of course, 7th Edition and Sykotyk Rampage, who completely made the wait worth it at the end! It was all in all, a good and effective memorial show, it accomplished what it wanted, but it just ran way too long and needed better organization.

To close today's post, videos! I got two videos last night, of 7th Edition covering "Cemetery Gates" and Sykotyk Rampage paying tribute to Johnny Cash with their original "Called In Dead"! Check them out below!





This post has ran longer than I thought, so I'll leave it there for now, but I have lots of news coming soon, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone! And no offense meant for any negative comments!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!!

Hey guys, it's video time at the SMS! Lots of new local metal-related videos to share today, thanks to some new uploads on YouTube! News will come tomorrow, but now, it's movie time, get your popcorn! Oh, and VOTE IN THE NEW SMS POLL!

We'll start with a new live video from locals Lion Ride! This comes from frontman Mikey Lion's YouTube channel, and it's a performance from their show on Wednesday in Burlington at The Red Rooster with The Saigon Hookers! Now do you notice that Diamond Brent Panther and Marco Lion are missing? Let me explain. You probably heard that Brent left the band, but Marco sadly had to miss this gig. Carmine Romano from The Saigon Hookers is filling in on bass for this tour stretch, and their frontman Tommy Smokes joined on guitar for this song. As Tommy only knows his band's stuff, Lion Ride covered The Saigon Hookers song "She Blows My Mind"! To my knowledge, the rest of the songs had Lion Ride as a four piece. Doesn't sound bad, it has good energy, reminds me of Lion Ride's own originals! I'm not too familiar with The Saigon Hookers, but this sounds really good, I'll have to check them out! And of course, you guys can check it out below!



Next up, while we wait for a new show announcement from local punk/metal band Destroilet, fans can be tided over with this new video that surfaced from their debut performance from this past December at the Detroit CD release concert at Coch's Corner! It's a cover of the song "Evil God Hater" by Fist Magnet, themselves a classic local band! This was just uploaded yesterday on the band's YouTube channel. The video could be better, it was filmed from pretty far behind the crowd, you get a better angle of the backs of everyone's heads then the band (You can make me out pretty easily, my long hair stands out.) Only 90 seconds, I don't think it's the full song, but it sounds good! The sound redeems the video, it sounds really clear! Heavy with a punk sensibility to it, Mike Hull sounds really aggressive vocally, and the guitar's really good too! Check it out for yourself!



Thirdly, we have a new commercial from local hard rockers Stillbroke for their first EP, "Never Enough"! This was uploaded onto Stillbroke's YouTube channel on Thursday. Here's the commercial's synopsis: Frontman Jesse Frigault smashes an old piano with a sledgehammer, with their song "Wash It Away" playing in the background! I think in ways, this symbolizes Stillbroke's musical approach, smashing an old instrument they wouldn't use in favor of their own style! Plus, if you're a fan of the heavier stuff, seeing Jesse destroy the piano is cool! The video ends with info on how to pick up "Never Enough" and a picture of the band's current lineup! I think the video works, what do you think? See for yourself, especially if you like Stillbroke and hate pianos!



Next, here's a type of video we don't see often in the local metal scene: An autograph signing! Sault Michigan fans will still likely remember the Pop Evil benefit concert at Kewadin Casino from February 27th, and as it turns out, the show was preceded by a meet and greet/autograph session! I believe this was in Kewadin Casino itself, but don't quote me, I wasn't there. The video primarily focuses on Evans Blue frontman Dan Chandler signing an autograph for one of the younger fans (Never too early to rock!) The video was uploaded by YouTube user KrisJamieson09, who also uploaded the "A Step Back" performance from the Sault show. This clip's only 25 seconds long, but it's cool to see a different side of a performing band from a local show for a change! Autograph signings should happen more often for major local shows like this, don't you think? Take a look!



The final two videos tonight come from a pair of local metal guitarists! Well, I say two videos because I'm only embedding two here, they have plenty more on their respective YouTube accounts! Firstly, we come to local metal guitarist Brendan Christie, whose solo work has impressed me in the past! He has a YouTube channel of his own now, previously his videos had been hosted on the next guitarist I'm mentioning's account. Compared to what we typically hear from Brendan on MySpace, most of his YouTube performances take a more classical bent, showing off his talent a lot! Never hurts to be diverse! Two of the videos I've seen before, three I haven't, and I'm still impressed! If he's not in a local band yet, he should be! Here's the coolest one he has uploaded so far, a 64 second free-style tapping solo! Thumbs up from me!



And finally, we come to a friend of Brendan's, and fellow local guitarist, Jonathan Tiberi (a.k.a. The Last Warrior of Rock!) You may recognize Jonathan as the guitarist for the local metal band Losing Ground, and for his own solo work, which you can check out on MySpace! Like Brendan, he has some good guitar skills, and hopefully we'll see more of it to come! He has lots of videos on his YouTube channel, ranging from his own performance videos, to videos where he talks to the YouTube audience, to some different clips like some Rock Band 2 gameplay and cooking videos, and more! Of the videos where he plays guitar, they're mostly covers, some acoustic, some electric, including a "Name That Riff" video, and even some bass stuff! He's good, though I'd like to see more original stuff on YouTube too. There's some originals, including one of Losing Ground, but let's see some more! I'll show you guys one of his covers, here's his version of "Wooden Cross" by Witchcraft!



Hope you guys enjoy these videos, there's more to come! And yes, there's news coming too, including photos from a big recent show, a local band's drummer search, and more! Stay tuned!

Weekend Concert Previews, Poll Results, & This Month's New Poll!

Greetings metalheads! The weekend's almost upon us, and as usual, there's concerts to preview! Four in fact (remember, the Garden of Bedlam fundraiser is postponed, details in yesterday's post), so I'll tell you what you need to know about this weekend's metal concert schedule! And then, it's poll time, we'll discuss the results of last month's poll and go over this month's! But now, let's start with the weekend previews!

As I first told you guys about yesterday on short notice, local hard rock cover band Turner Up will be back at The Nicolet Tavern for the second straight weekend tomorrow night and Saturday night! Last weekend's set went over so well, they're back already, so you know they must do an entertaining show! Full of talented local music veterans, expect a great night of your favourite covers this weekend! I believe both shows have a start time of 9:30 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and I'd assume there's a 19+ age limit. For full details and to confirm your attendance, visit the official Facebook event page! And if you miss them this weekend, just head to Foggy Notions on Wednesdays to check out Turner Up at weekly jam nights! But this is a proper full concert set, so make sure to consider it! Check out more from Turner Up at their official Facebook group! No video or audio to share yet, hopefully I will soon!

Then on Saturday, get ready for some original crash music from the original crash band! Sykotyk Rampage will hit The Outback at Sault College for their first non-battle of the bands performance since October when they headline this year's Tyler Yuke Memorial Night concert! These have been held in honour of Tyler's memory since 2003 when he tragically died, and his former campus has paid tribute to him ever since! Usually we don't hear about the lineups at the Tyler Yuke Memorial shows, but this time, Sykotyk Rampage are the announced headliners, so get your rocking shoes on! I also understand that there will be open mic performances before Sykotyk Rampage take the stage, which are a common custom at these events. Should be some good stuff there too! Another band named "6th Edition" is credited on the Facebook event page, but I have never heard of them, can anyone help? The festivities start at 8:00 PM, but Sykotyk Rampage have an announced start time for their set at 10:00 PM. I haven't seen any of the "You must be a student or be signed in by a student" rules, so that little inconvenience may not be a problem this time! There is a cover charge by donation to the Sault College music chapter, and it actually IS an all ages show!

Should be a fun show, the unique experience that is Sykotyk Rampage is back for another fun concert, though hopefully the sound's working better than it was at the October show. With the Garden of Bedlam postponement, I'm considering heading to The Outback on Saturday for this one instead, and hopefully some of you guys can make it out too! Confirm your attendance at this location, check out more from Sykotyk Rampage on SoundClick, and for a preview, here's one of the band's videos for the song "Called In Dead" live at the Scotties Tournament/Sault College Battle from last month!



And this leads us to Monday, for a major concert that, though not a "metal concert" on the surface, does count, and I'll explain why. This show is more of a punk show than anything, and a big one at that, as Juno winning Mississauga punk rockers Billy Talent will be headlining at The Essar Center! But what makes this show metal? The Cancer Bats, that's what! A popular metalcore band from Toronto, they're the first band playing on Monday night, in support of Billy Talent, St. Catharines screamo band Alexisonfire, and Florida punk rockers Against Me! All three of those bands have huge followings, especially Billy Talent, best known for hit songs like "Try Honesty" and "Rusted From The Rain"! But of course, as this is The Sault Metal Scene, we must give the metal band it's due! This is actually The Cancer Bats' second show in Sault Ontario, playing here with The Chintzy Slicks way back on June 23, 2006, at The Speakeasy! They're currently touring in support of their upcoming studio album "Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones", and should bring a good onslaught of metalcore to open the show on Monday!

So, how can you get tickets? Well, you can still order them online from The Essar Center's website or LiveNation, click here for all ordering details! Or just click here, might be easier! You can also buy them at The Essar Center's box office, or by calling 1-866-775-9422. All tickets, floor or not, are $42.50, and if that seems steep, keep in mind the bands you're getting combined! And we've had lesser shows priced higher, so it could be worse. Doors open kinda early, at 5:45 PM on Monday, with The Cancer Bats kicking off the show at 6:45 PM! If you're into punk rock and screamo, you'll wanna be at The Essar Center on Monday night! And hopefully, if you're a metalhead as well, The Cancer Bats will bust out some heavy stuff to open the show! I'm not big on the three other bands, so I won't be there, but I hope it's a huge success! For a preview, here's The Cancer Bats' newest video, for their Beastie Boys cover "Sabotage"!



And now, it's poll time! Since today is the 18th of the month, it's time to close last month's poll, discuss the results, and launch the newest poll! As you may recall, last month's question was "What was your favourite metal concert in Sault Ontario in 2009?" Only 46 votes, which isn't bad, though I was hoping we'd crack 70 again. Because there's a ton of choices, I'll just list the results, then go over them quickly afterwards, and here they are!

Frightlight & Half Past at Coch's Corner, October 31 (13 votes, 28%)
Kiss Battle of the Bands at The Canadian, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 (5 votes, 11%)
Lion Ride at The Rockstar Bar, December 27 (5 votes, 11%)
Cattle Decapitation at The Oddfellows Hall, April 12th (3 votes, 7%)
Caveman Morrison at various venues, December (3 votes, 7%)
Sense of Truth at Foggy Notions, December 18 (3 votes, 7%)
Detroit & Destroilet at Coch's Corner, December 29 (3 votes, 7%)
YMCA Battle of the Bands at The Grand Theater, March 20 (2 votes, 4%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian Nightclub, July 3 (2 votes, 4%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian Nightclub, October 17 (2 votes, 4%)
Other (2 votes, 4%)
Ministry of Zen & Fingerbone at Coch's Corner, January 24 (1 vote, 2%)
Upheaval of an Exorcist at The Oddfellows Hall, October 30 (1 vote, 2%)
Garden of Bedlam at Madison's Pub, December 5 (1 vote, 2%)
Blessed By A Broken Heart at The Oddfellows Hall, Jan. 9 (0 votes)
Who Made Who at The Canadian Nightclub, May 15 (0 votes)
Today I Caught The Plague at Oddfellows Hall, June 11 (0 votes)
Woods of Ypres & Inflict at The Speakeasy, August 16 (0 votes)
Lion Ride at Coch's Corner, August 28 (0 votes)
Ultraviolence at Coch's Corner, September 3 (0 votes)
Grady & Domenica at The Canadian Nightclub, October 25 (0 votes)

Well to start, a few of the concerts that got no votes really surprised me, especially the Woods of Ypres show! NO ONE picked it? Very odd. I also find the fact that Ministry of Zen only getting one vote is odd too when you consider that people voted that as their favourite show in the first half of 2009 on the SMS poll in July! The rest of the choices with one or no votes I can at least understand to varying degrees. For the choices with two votes, I'm glad that "Other" is low, so I know people approved of my choices, and I find it strange that Garden of Bedlam-headlined concerts didn't individually do too well, but if you combine them all, it'd be near the top. Nothing above that really surprises me, except for first place: Frightlight, Half Past, and Glamoween at Coch's Corner from Halloween! If you'd have asked me to place a bet on what show would win, I'd have said the Kiss Battle, but wow! 13 votes came in for that, I suppose horror-influenced punk/metal and the return of Half Past won a lot of support! I missed the show too, damnit! Also, just another observation: Of all the shows with 3 or more votes, only one (Cattle Decapitation) took place earlier than October. Was the concert quality better later in the year, or were they just fresh in our minds? Things to think about!

So now it's time for a new poll, and for the first time in 2010, we have a question not relating to the best "something" of 2009! This time, we're dipping into recent events, mostly the local FM radio situation. A lot of you guys are probably still disappointed that we lost The Bear, and now that it's gone, we have just one local rock station, Rock 101...well, two if you count when WLSO airs metal....and maybe three if your radio is strong enough to pick up Real Rock 105.1 out of Cheboygan. You get my point though, FM radio in Sault Ste. Marie has a lot less variety and choice for the rock lover now that we have one less rock station. I'm among you guys who'd like to see something new or changed in the area to bring back what is missed, but what should be done? I pose this question: What would you like to see happen in the local FM rock radio scene? Here are your choices!

(Note: None of the choices involve format changes to existing stations. I don't want drastic changes to what we have, that'd piss off a lot of people in itself. So if you wanna say "OMG I WANT Q104 TO BE A DEATH METAL STATION", vote for "Other". Also, "a new active rock station" isn't a choice because we have one, Rock 101, and it works just fine!)

A new classic rock station: After all, we lost a classic rock station when our Bear station, WIHC in Newberry, wasn't purchased by Sovereign Communications, so a whole radio format disappeared from the area. Classic rock fans would no doubt like to see a classic rock station of some type here again, and some probably think Rock 101 airs too much new stuff anyway. Would you like this to occur at some point?

A new modern rock station: We're talking new stuff here, rock from the past 10-15 years. We used to be able to sometimes pick up a modern rock station here, WLJZ 94.5 out of Mackinac City, which simulcast Northern Michigan's Modern Rock, The Zone, from 2000-2006. Then the guys in Mackinac abandoned the simulcast to launch a variety station, which annoyed me. And I'm sure some modern rock fans think Rock 101 airs too much classic stuff. But is there a market for a rock station catered to younger fans for just recent stuff in the area? Would it be more successful than a new classic rock station?

A rock station in Sault Ontario: Do you know that we only have two FM radio stations fully based out of Sault Ontario that air mostly music? Just Q104 and EZ Rock, and no, I don't count EZ Rock as a "rock" station like we mean here. We used to have more stations on AM, but those got shut down in 1992. I don't think we've ever had a full "rock" station on FM radio in Sault Ontario, wouldn't you say we're overdue? It'd give more locals some jobs, and it's give Canadian bands much needed exposure! And of course, it'd be variety! What do you guys think?

An AM radio rock station: Is it cheating to include AM as a choice for what do about FM radio? Maybe, but most radios pick up AM reception, so it counts! Remember, AM radio isn't just for tourism and talk programs, we do have AM music stations (WNBY 1450 AM airs classic country, for example.) We only have 4 AM stations, and there's plenty of open space for a rock station there, even if it isn't as convenient or clear as FM. Some of you had no problem with CKCY and CFYN on AM way back, I'm sure us younglings could manage! Would you prefer this?

Simulcast an existing station: ...Or in easier terms, air what some other Michigan/Ontario station airs, like how MCTV in the Sault simulcasts what Sudbury produces. This is not a foreign concept, The Bear was part of a simulcast, as are numerous existing local stations (CBC Radio One, for example.) It would be cheaper than actually starting a brand new station, I assume, though there admittedly wouldn't be much of a local connection compared to something actually based here. What do you guys think of simulcasting a station?

Bring back The Bear: Ah yes, there's lots of sentiment for this idea, especially in the aftermath of the local radio buyout stuff. Lots of us miss The Bear, Bob & Tom, Alice Cooper, and the great classic rock! It still lives on in Glen Arbor and Cadillac, so we're left out in the cold now. Essentially, this is the same choice as simulcasting, but this would be having a new company get the rights to simulcast The Bear up here once again. Unlikely, but you never know! I'm for it, is this what you guys would want? Or is there a better option?

More rock music on WLSO: Admittedly, this is an idea that will likely differ all the time, as WLSO, a college radio station, has programming schedule changes every semester thanks to the student-programmed blocks and shows. The Sounds of Lake State airs some real good stuff if you tune in at the right time, lots of more obscure and underground metal bands depending on the time you turn your dial to 90.1 FM, but it's mostly a variety of music and talk programs. A rock-centric format is unlikely as long as WLSO lets students choose the programming (which I completely support), but if WLSO played it more, would it be more of a suitable change/alternative?

Move Energy Rock Radio to FM radio: If you count internet radio with FM and AM, then Sault Ontario DOES have a rock radio station, and it's Energy Rock Radio! Ryan McQueen and the guys over there have done a great job with ERR, awesome playlists and fan interaction, I highly recommend you listen! A move to FM seems unlikely, especially with likely costs and rules and what-have-you, but if you're an Energy Rock Radio fan, wouldn't it be cool to just turn the dial to listen to it when you can't get to a computer?

Take the Hounds games off of Rock 101: The Sault's Rock Station is by far my favourite local station, it has been for years! And now, it's the only station we have where the odds are good that you'll get hard rock when you tune in. However, thanks to their airing of Soo Greyhounds games, we lose over 200 hours of time that used to feature music, and that doesn't count The Denny Lambert Show. I remember when Rock 101 acquired the Greyhounds radio rights from Q104, many friends of mine were pissed about that. I don't mind as much, though I do prefer to actually watch the games, but with few options for other rock stations to flip to during the game, what's a rock/metal lover to do? Would you pick this choice?

I'm happy with what we have currently: Are you in the boat that's just fine with Rock 101 alone? Is WLSO a good enough second choice, when something good comes on? Don't really miss The Bear at all? Or are you a devoted fan of some non-rock station? Vote here!

I don't listen to FM radio: Ah, so none of this affects you. If you're the type that would rather listen to CDs, mp3s, satellite radio, cassettes, vinyls, 8-tracks, or nothing at all, vote here!

Other: Did I miss something you'd prefer to see happen in the local rock scene? Vote for it here!

VOTE TODAY!!! This will be really interesting to see what you guys would want out of the local FM rock radio situation, because we really could use something to give the area more variety and choices in the rock we listen to! That's all for now, I'll be back with news and updates soon, hopefully!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Turner Up, & Tym/Caveman Morrison), A Cancellation, And More Locals On The Warped Tour?!

Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the lack of posts since Sunday, homework is finally catching up with me. Luckily, the major stuff is now done, and I always try to have something new every 3 days or earlier! So I have a lot of news to get to today, and before we discuss some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, we have a cancellation.

About an hour ago, Garden of Bedlam frontman Buzz broke the news that this Saturday's planned fundraiser concert at The Garden River Community Center has been postponed. Apparently, someone from Garden River passed away recently, and out of respect for the family at this difficult time, the fundraiser will be moved to another day so that the community center can be used for funeral arrangements. This has since been confirmed by Nathalie Belleau in an e-mail to planned attendees of the fundraiser on Facebook. Keep in mind that the fundraiser is NOT cancelled, it's just postponed until a future date. This is very sad news, it's always tough to lose a loved one, and at this difficult time, it rightfully is being given a higher priority over the fundraiser. When it's rescheduled, I will let you guys know, so stay tuned!

Now, LOCAL CONCERT ALERT TIME! And for the second time in two weeks, we have short notice concerts from a local hard rock cover band...in fact, it's the same band at the same venue! Turner Up are back at The Nicolet Tavern once again for another solid night of your favourite hard rock classics! On the Facebook event page, guitarist Jeff Gray says "It was so much fun, we had to do it again", and here they are! And you know if the band's having fun, they'll be playing at their best, so there's all the more reason to check them out! Curiously, the start time on Facebook is given as 9:30 AM, but that's likely a typo, I'd say they mean 9:30 PM. Check them out on Friday night and Saturday night if you want some awesome hard rock covers! And of course, for more from Turner Up, head to their official Facebook group! Sorry for the short notice too, this was only just announced the other day.

The other three concerts come courtesy of the two local projects from Tym Morrison! Over the past couple of days, he's been busy booking some more shows, so here's where else to see him next month! On April 16th, Tym will be back at The Bottoms Up Lounge for the first time since last Saturday for a night of hot acoustic rock music and cold beer! There's no announced show for the Saturday of that weekend, but if there is, I'll let you know! But what's that? You want something electric? Well, you'll wanna be at The Roosevelt Hotel on April 30th and May 1st, for two more nights of heavy metal madness courtesy of Caveman Morrison! That will be the second weekend in a four week span that Tym, Rick, and Jeff will be rocking at The Rosie, and if you like your metal hard hitting and all night, you'll wanna be there! None of these shows have announced cover charges, yes you must be 19, and all have scheduled start times of 10:00 PM. Click here to confirm your attendance for Tym's April 16th show, and here for the new Caveman shows at The Rosie!

Now, let's discuss The Warped Tour, particularly one local band's campaign to make it on The Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands on July 9th in Toronto. Which band is it? If you guessed Lion Ride, hold your horses, stuff on their Warped Tour campaign is coming. I meant Sykotyk Rampage! Yes, it looks like your favourite "blue Chinese metal crash punk" band are throwing their hat into the ring to try and get on the Ernie Ball Battle as well! You know the drill, sign up by clicking here, cast your vote for Sykotyk Rampage, you can only vote ONCE A DAY! Warped Tour organizers will pick a selection of bands competing for the Toronto segment of the battle from the top 100 bands overall, with cash prizes, recording sessions, and lots more on the line! At their Battle page, they have lots of songs, pictures, and bio info posted! As of 4:11 PM today, they have 28 votes, which is currently 53 votes out of 100th. Wouldn't it be cool to see two Sault-bands (them and Lion Ride) in consideration for the battle? VOTE FOR SYKOTYK RAMPAGE TODAY!!! I just did!

Now back to Lion Ride, and in an update on their ranking in the contest, they've jumped all the way to 81st place with 107 votes! They can jump 7 spots with just 10 more votes, and logical thinking says the more votes they get, the more likely The Warped Tour will consider them for the Ernie Ball Battle in July! Some of this might have to do with a new Facebook group started by drummer Iron Mike Bison entitled "Get Lion Ride on Warped Tour"! Currently 102 members strong, the group is to of course, raise awareness for Lion Ride's quest to be considered! Mike says on the group's wall that about 5 bands will be selected, and if that's true, there's even more reason to get the vote out! Click here to join the group, and most importantly of all, CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR LION RIDE!!!!! Again, I just did!

I'll leave it at that for now, tomorrow I WILL have another post! It will serve a double purpose: To preview the upcoming Turner Up, Sykotyk Rampage, and Cancer Bats shows, and to take care of the SMS poll results! What was your favourite metal concert of 2009? The results are revealed tomorrow, VOTE NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN! New poll in the works for tomorrow too, I'll leave you a hint: It concerns radio. Stay tuned tomorrow!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Garden of Bedlam), Lion Ride News, The Return Of The Issues, And More!

Good evening everyone, time to update you all on some more news-like things, including a local band's return, even more news from Lion Ride, and a clarification on The Bear's status, but first, a very important LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

(NOTE: This fundraiser concert has been postponed due to an unfortunate loss to the Garden River community. It's postponed out of respect for the family and their wishes to use the community center for the funeral arrangements. Thanks to Buzz's Facebook status for the update! The info on the concert will remain up as it's postponed, not cancelled. Stay tuned to the SMS for updates!)

On SATURDAY NIGHT, Garden of Bedlam will hit The Garden River Community Center in Garden River for a special fundraiser concert! This is to raise funds towards the recording sessions for their first full length LP, so they'd love to see all you fans make it out for this show! Not only is it a Garden of Bedlam concert, but there will also be a spaghetti dinner, door prizes, and raffle draws for prizes from local establishments like The Rad Zone, Forsaken Tattoo Studio, and Wal-Mart! This all starts at 5:00 PM on Saturday, with the bar opening at 7:00 PM, and a dance to follow Garden of Bedlam's set. Saying that you can't get home at the end of the night, or are too drunk to drive, a charter bus back to Sault Ste. Marie will be available at 12:30 AM to head back home on. Tickets are $10 for this very special fundraiser show, and they are available to purchase from all members of the band and Nathalie Belleau, contact any of them on Facebook to inquire about getting a ticket! For full details, visit the Facebook event page!

Now I know Garden River may be far out compared to where you usually go for concerts, and $10 may seem steep, but throw those worries out the window, this is for a good cause! After all, some members of Garden of Bedlam live out there, and the more money that is raised, the less they have to pony up for the recording sessions for their next album! And we all know from hearing new songs live that this will be one hell of a CD, so damnit, support your local musicians and at least try to show up! Plus, you'll get supper, you can enter draws, and you'll help towards the making of this album! As long as I can secure a ride, I'll try and make it to this, every bit helps, and hopefully all you guys will be there too! I'll keep you all posted with any updates I have!

Next up, even more Lion Ride related updates! Guitarist Marky Lion has posted a new blog entry onto MySpace, which updates us all on some things that recently happened, and some exciting things to look out for! It starts with mention of their Kiss Battle loss (Shows how often they post blog entries), before mentioning that Lion Ride will hit the studio on April 26th to record their second album! They'll be at BWC Studios in Toronto with Greg Dawson producing, same as when Lion Ride members recorded the newest Detroit EP! According to Marky, the band's been through a lot and we should "expect a heavier roar." I can't wait! Then it goes into a bit of detail about the out of town shows I mentioned a couple days ago, so if you're in Southern Ontario, Lion Ride are coming to your area soon! Interesting news and stuff to watch out for! Read Marky's full blog entry at this location!

Speaking of things I found on MySpace, it looks like a local metal band is back from inactivity! Remember The Issues? Well, the band have posted two new demo tracks onto their MySpace page, entitled "Lambs To The Slaughter" and "Last Stand"! The first track has a hardcore-ish sound, the vocals are nice and aggressive though they don't kick in til late in the song. Sounds good, though it doesn't really have much of a "punch" to it. "Last Stand" has some nice drumwork and it's pretty catchy, this would go over well at a concert if they booked one! That's about all new from The Issues that I've heard in months, but it's signs of life, and I welcome it1 If you're not aware, The Issues are a punk/hardcore/metal band from Sault Ontario (or "The Sewer" as they affectionately call it.) Known by aliases and not usually revealing their full faces, the band have an good sense of humour, especially from when they often posted fake concert listings for shows in "The Sewer" and elsewhere, at typically fake venues. Good band, it'd be cool to see them at a full real concert one of these days, hopefully there's more from The Issues on the horizon! Check out more from them at this location!

And finally for tonight, a clarification on the demise of 97.9 Classic Rock: The Bear. Going forward from the announcement of it's likely end, I had been under the assumption that The Bear's sister stations in Glen Arbor and Cadillac would be shut down too. After all, reports had said that Northern Star Broadcasting (The Bear's parent company) wanted out of radio. Well, as it turns out, only the Newberry station (WIHC, our Bear station) died. The Bear is still (as best as I can tell) alive in Glen Arbor and Cadillac. A new version of their logo, seen on the lower right of this poster for an upcoming art event in Traverse City, only includes the two surviving Bear stations, with 97.9 now removed. Also, 105.1 out of Cheboygan, which is still listed on the banner image on The Bear's official website, became a mainstream rock station, Real Rock 105.1, late last year. Coincidentally, it's also a sponsor of this art event. Northern Star Broadcasting's website also only lists the Glen Arbor and Cadillac stations as ones it owns, so it looks like Northern Star isn't completely out of radio. They just left the Sault area, and because Sovereign Communications didn't buy 97.9, The Bear is only dead in the U.P. So if you want The Bear, you'll have to take a road trip down to the Lower Peninsula, sad to say. Still crossing my fingers that we'll get a new FM rock station here at some point, someone fill the gap!

Oh, and for what it's worth, Real Rock 105.1 carries a Rock 101-like format, AND it still airs The Bob & Tom Show! So if you're around the Mackinac Bridge area, turn your dials to 105.1! Good music and Bob & Tom, you're all set for that area! Sadly, it's too far for most Sault Ontario signals though.

That's all I have for today, expect lots more in the coming days! Hope this weekend's concerts went well, and buy tickets for the Garden of Bedlam fundraiser show!!!

More Lion Ride News, Possible New Shows, The Local Radio Situation, And More!

Hey guys, hope those of you who went enjoyed last night's Stillbroke show at The Rockstar Bar! I couldn't make it, but it sounds like it was a good concert, and there's lots more where that came from tonight and tomorrow! My last post has all you need to know on the metal side of things for the area this weekend, hopefully all the shows have good turnouts! But now, it's news/updates time, and we'll start with lots of new stuff concerning Lion Ride!

Remember when I said they were in the voting for a chance to play at the 14th Annual Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands in Toronto on July 9th at The Vans Warped Tour? Well, if you remember correctly, the top 100 would be the bands from which The Warped Tour would select competing bands. As of 4:44 PM today, Lion Ride are in 95th place with 74 votes, and are just 10 votes out of 86th. First place is a Toronto band named Majesty with 4,431 votes. VOTE FOR LION RIDE TODAY!!!! The more votes they get, the more odds that The Warped Tour will put them in the Toronto segment of the battle!

But that's not all when it comes to voting contests that Lion Ride has recently entered. Listen to this for a hypothetical: Imagine SLASH guest starring on a Lion Ride song. Not kidding either, it could happen! A new online contest called "Your Next Record With Slash" has been launched by Guitar Center in co-operation with the Velvet Revolver/ex-GNR axeman, and the winner will get a laundry list of cool prizes, and Lion Ride have entered! If they won, they would get to record a 3 song E.P. produced by legendary producer Mike Clink, of which Slash would write and perform on the single! They'd also get a management development deal with "The Collective", their single would be put on iTunes, plus they'd get a worldwide distribution deal with Tunecore, $20,000 worth of gear and endorsement deals, the opening slot on Slash's upcoming tour, and an editorial feature in Guitar World Magazine!

Now all that just sounds awesome, but it will never happen to Lion Ride unless we all support the cause! You have until April 30th to vote for your favourite bands in this contest for the right to get all these cool prizes, and of course, the E.P. with Slash's guest spot! Hopefully, of course, your votes will go to Lion Ride! To vote for Lion Ride for all of this awesome stuff, CLICK HERE! I don't know the criteria for who will "win", I'm assuming it's the highest voted band, but I can't say for sure. Also, if it counts for anything, the fan who votes the most between March 5th and 31st will win a Slash autographed guitar, so there's more incentive to vote! Keep in mind though, you can only cast ONE VOTE PER BAND PER DAY. Still, let's show our support, wouldn't it be cool to see Lion Ride ft. Slash? CLICK HERE TO VOTE, DO IT NOW, DO IT DAILY!!!!

Next up, might Out Of The Mouth Of Babes have new shows coming up? If you look at their MySpace page, they list two shows this spring, including one April 20th at The Oddfellows Hall, and another on May 6th at Foggy Notions, the latter of which apparently also includes Bring The Fallen. Now I haven't seen any announcements of either of these concerts anywhere else, not on Facebook, not anywhere. Sometimes when a band lists a new show on MySpace alone, I feel confident about reporting it as confirmed, I'm not so sure on these two though. So I'll wait for second word before I confirm these as official local concerts, but keep them in mind! It'd be great to see OOTMOB back live, all you old fans of As It Stands should take notice too!

Now, back to the local radio situation, and it appears all the attempts to make Sovereign Communications bring back the fired 99.5 YES FM DJs (including Bad Side's Melissa Krahnke and Jason Mapes) have not worked. And now, there's not even Tim Ellis in the mornings, as 99.5 has replaced the old "Soo Morning Crew" with "Kidd Kraddick In The Morning", a nationally syndicated radio show out of California. I really don't agree with YES FM's site calling this "the new Soo Morning Crew in town" when I doubt Kidd Kraddick has ever even been here, but hey, it's all business, they wanna hype this and get people to listen. But Tim and John Gilbert are still on the job, and apparently so is Rock 101's Scott Cook, who's now listed on YES FM'S personalities page! I don't listen to YES FM enough to know how he handles being on this type of station, but he's never sucked before, so he'll do fine! I half expected that Sovereign would use existing DJs to fill in the gaps from the ones they didn't rehire, and looks like I guessed right!

Still, this is a contientous issue for many, especially YES FM lovers and fans of the old "Soo Morning Crew", and the 2,249 members of the "Boycott YES FM" group are still pissed. But now the comments are mostly critical of Kidd Kraddick. I'm a "Scott and Brian" listener in my mornings, so I can't comment on Kidd's show, but even if he's good, people don't like change, and the Soo Morning Crew as we knew it were really good, so I can see why people are mad. I notice that group member Johnny Lewis has been pushing people to e-mail the FCC to file complaints on the supposed local monopoly, and it wouldn't hurt! Click here, look for Johnny's posts, and e-mail away if you want to bring this to the FCC's attention even more! Remember, the sale still isn't final. I know this isn't on the surface a metal story, but considering that it involves members of Bad Side, and now a Rock 101 DJ, it's worth discussing!

Also, just as an aside, if I had to replace Timmy and Lissa and all them with a nationally syndicated show, no way around it, I'd have gotten The Bob & Tom Show, which now has no local outlet with The Bear's demise. It may not fit YES FM's demographics, per say, but it was a very popular show locally, often very funny, and now we can't listen to it on normal FM radio here. Plus, it had listeners who would follow to 99.5 to listen to it, so on that level, it'd make more sense to pick up than a show that has never aired up here before. Just thought that was worth bringing up. I've been contemplating writing an editorial opinion piece on the SMS about the local radio situation for us rock/metal lovers, seeing as we only have two stations that air heavy music now (Rock 101 and WLSO on occasion), so I was thinking about discussing what I'd like to see happen in the future in terms of FM rock radio in Sault Ste. Marie. It may not happen, but it's something that I'd like to discuss!

And finally, if you see a copy of The Soo Profile magazine at a local establishment this month, you'll notice the presence of Woods of Ypres on the cover! Yes, they're the cover story in this month's issue, and you'll notice that the author is....me? Yeah, I've done some freelance work for them, I don't like tooting my own horn, but I've contributed to The Soo Profile a bit in recent months. But don't check it out for my work, do so cause it involves the Sault's own Woods of Ypres, who are the cover feature! It talks about the band's sound, past, and future, it's not a huge article, but it's pretty good! The more local press, the better! It is FREE at many local establishments, mostly restaurants, click here to find out where you can get The Soo Profile! Music aside, it's a nice magazine, discussing lots of local stuff and interests, you'll like it! It's now in the Other Local Metal Links too!

In my next post, I'll have new songs from a re-activated local metal band, and hopefully lots more! And maybe at some point soon, an opinion piece in local rock radio? You never know! I still have to review "Castle Stories", but school gets in the way whenever I try to give it a proper reading, damnit. Soon though! More news and updates are on the way real soon!

TWELVE Local Concert Previews For This Weekend, Including A Short Notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

I can't recall a weekend this busy in forever for just the sheer numerical amount of metal concerts, and that's the entire subject of today's post! Remember the other day when I said we have 10 shows this weekend? Wrong, we have TWELVE. Why? Because we have short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! We'll start with them, then go in chronological order the rest of the way from tonight through Saturday night. So here's what you need to know!

Thanks to Ernest Beaumont for this information: Nixxon Dixxon's scheduled weekend dates at Dondee Lanes are no longer next weekend. They are THIS WEEKEND!!! Apparently, the band were asked to switch weekends with another band, hence the change. So Nixxon Dixxon will be rocking Sault Michigan's favourite bowling alley a week early, tomorrow and Saturday night at 8:00 PM! There is no cover charge. Ernest also tells me that the band's April 2-3rd dates at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace have been moved up a week, and they'll be back at Driftwood Restaurant & Sports Bar in St. Ignace on April 17th! So there's two more shows for this packed concert weekend, and if you wanna hear some young exciting hard rock from one of the area's fastest rising bands, head to the Dondee! And as always, sorry for the short notice!

Keep this show in mind if you're trying to debate which Sault Michigan bands to see this weekend! For more from Nixxon Dixxon, check them out on Myspace! For a preview, here's a clip from The Rapids Lounge on February 27th of the band covering the Ozzy Osbourne classic "Mama I'm Comin' Home"!



Now we'll get back into chronological order for the remaining ten shows this weekend, and we'll start TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Head there tonight to see Stillbroke with their new look lineup! Not only will this be their first show with new guitarist Chris Villeneuve and former guitarist Sam DeDominicis' live drum debut, it will also be Stillbroke's first show at the upstairs bar at The Algonquin, so it's a night of firsts for them! For this show, they will be the openers for Vancouver indie/alt rockers Columbia! A frequently touring band of dedicated musicians, they're on the rise and hope to wow us tonight with their brand of music! Not metal, but talented for radio friendly alt-rock, check out more from Columbia at this location! Doors open at 9:00 PM TONIGHT for this show, there is a $5 cover charge, and it is 19+ (remember, it is a bar.) Should be a good show, I dunno if I'll be there (The joys of homework), but if you like either band, you should head on out to The Rockstar Bar tonight! Metalheads will no doubt prefer Stillbroke, and it will be really be interesting to hear how the new lineup sounds! No definite word yet, but I've heard some good things!

Confirm your attendance and get full details on this concert at this location! Check out more from Stillbroke at their official MySpace page, and in this preview video from their most recent local show, of their new original "Push Me"!



Back to Sault Michigan now for the next four shows this weekend, and if you've already made up your mind about seeing Nixxon Dixxon this weekend, hold up, there's more! If you happen to be at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino this weekend, get ready for Peril! The Northern Michigan hard rock trio make their long awaited return to the area tomorrow night and Saturday night, both shows of which start at 9:00 PM! There is no announced cover charge. Peril are a really good band, a nice heavy classic sound that always works well up here! Expect a good selection of covers and originals to rock both nights away with! For more from Peril, check out their official MySpace page to learn more and check out some of their songs! And finally, I have video to show you guys! Thanks to YouTube user maireadaniar for this upload, of Peril playing the Ozzy Osbourne classic "Crazy Train" at a recent show! Sounds good, I'd definitely consider going if I was of age over there! Hopefully some of you guys make it out!



But that's not all, Michigan metal lovers, for there is two more weekend shows, and they come courtesy of local hard rockers Riot! By Night! They will be back at a familiar locale, The Satisfied Frog, tomorrow night and Saturday night as well! Their shows start the latest of the three metal performers this weekend across the river, with a listed start time of 10:00 PM. No announced cover charge either. It's true, you can't keep Riot! By Night down for long, as they're back for yet another set of weekend shows, and I'm sure they'll be successes! I still don't have audio or video of them to share, but if you want to hear some "modern rock with feeling", these might be the shows for you! Check out more from Riot! By Night at this location, and don't let the lack of audio detract you from seeing them this weekend, they have the goods!

Now back to Sault Ontario for the remaining shows this weekend, as two more local metal acts are rocking the area tomorrow and Saturday night! And first we head to The Nicolet Tavern where local hard rock cover band Turner Up will play normal non-jam night concerts for the first time since Algoma Hope4Haiti! These will also be their first shows featuring former Johnny Lunchbox guitarist Jeff Gray, so that's of note! Both shows will begin at 9:30 PM, there is also no announced cover charge. Expect a night full of your favourite hard rock covers, as you've likely seen every Wednesday at Foggy Notions from their jam nights! Head on down to the Nicolet Tavern for a fun night of your favourite songs! Check out more from Turner Up at their official Facebook group, and confirm your attendance for their weekend gigs at this location! No audio/video of these guys yet, but expect a great show from these talented local veterans!

Your next two shows this weekend come courtesy of Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who will bring his acoustic solo project back to two local venues this weekend! First, he'll be back at Coch's Corner for the first time since Algoma Hope4Haiti tomorrow night at 10:00 PM! There is no cover charge. The time and lack of cover are the same Saturday night, but don't head to Coch's, Tym will be back at The Bottoms' Up Lounge on Saturday with a great night of acoustic rock and metal in store! Sure, it's not plugged in like a typical Caveman Morrison show, but don't let that stop you! Head on down, mellow out, enjoy some covers of some classic songs, and have a drink or two, it'll be fun! For more info on Tym Morrison, head to his official website! Confirm your attendance for both nights of his acoustic weekend by clicking here for tomorrow's show and here for Saturday's show! No solo video to share though yet.

And finally, the show that's gotten the most press this weekend is a hard rock tribute band! Keep The Faith: The Quintessential Canadian Tribute to Bon Jovi will make their way to The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday night! They'll deliver a faithful recreation of the Bon Jovi concert experience to The Canadian for this one night only concert, which will be Saturday night at 10:00 PM! Tickets are $5 in advance or $8 at the door, it's 19+ too, as you'd hopefully expect. Bon Jovi fans should have a hell of a good time at this show, and no complaints that they're not metal, their biggest successes came as a hair metal band, so they count! Check out more from Keep The Faith at this location, and confirm your attendance at the Facebook event page! They really do capture the Bon Jovi sound faithfully, even in look! For a preview, here's a clip of Keep The Faith performing the song of the same name and a Rolling Stones cover from a recent Toronto show!



That's all I'll have for today, any news would get overshadowed from all these shows I'm previewing! Tomorrow or Saturday, I'll have news concerning Lion Ride, Woods of Ypres, Out Of The Mouth Of Babes, Social Play, the local radio situation, and hopefully more! Stay tuned!