Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Half Past

It's now time for our last Defunct Local Band Profile of the year, as we once again look at a randomly chosen defunct or inactive metal, hard rock, or punk band from the Sault Ste. Marie area, in order to spotlight them, their activity, their material, and more from their local run! We're ending 2014 with a prominent Sault Ontario band from the turn of the 2010s, but I will just note as a reminder that we will not mention the recent legal issues of one of this band's ex-members here, as it's irrelevant to our focus on local bands and music on the site, not to mention this profile. Now, here's what you should know on this former local band!
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Half Past

Genre: Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics)

Jordan Rains (NAClamation), vocals

Alain Fletcher (Skeyes of Seven), lead guitar

Arthur "Chicky" Lacasse, bass/ex-rhythm guitar

Chris Thompson (Giwakwa, Frightlight, Fitswitch), drums

John Barber (Late Shift, Redefined), vocals
Luke LeBlanc, vocals
Charles Gibson (The Pisstanks), bass
Harley Syrette (No Arrow, Quite Frankly), bass
Ryan Disano (Caveman Morrison, Winkstinger), bass

Audio/Video: While Half Past were working on a debut CD in 2010, it was never completed, and it's preview video featuring original samples has since been pulled from public view. However, a decent amount of videos currently exist online, including a number of videos with different lineups at drummer Chris Thompson's YouTube channel, three covers from their classic lineup's last set together in February 2011 at this link, and a handful of live videos from assorted events on our YouTube channel, though note that Fingerbone-era videos aren't known to exist publically. Here's Half Past playing one of their best original songs "War Inside My Head" at The Canadian Nightclub in April 2010!



Info/Analysis: Active from 2008-2012, Half Past launched under the name Fingerbone, with their original quintet lineup debuting at Coch's Corner in the fall of 2008, though they only played a handful of gigs before a number of lineup changes & departures through 2009. After changing their name to Half Past, the band's classic quartet lineup debuted at that year's Coch's Corner Halloween Party, and followed it up with assorted headlining gigs and a set at Garden of Bedlam's website launch party during their early 2010 peak. After another hiatus partly due to bassist Arthur Lacasse's original departure, the band returned to headline at The Rockstar Bar in February 2011, but parted ways with then-singer Luke LeBlanc shortly afterwards. After acquiring new vocalist Jordan Rains, Half Past played sets at that year's Hempfest and returned for one more abbreviated set that October, but the band wouldn't take the stage again, and quietly dissolved in early 2012.

I enjoyed Half Past with all three of their singers, and it really seemed like they were going to do some big things, but they never had a sustained run of full activity under any incarnation. Al Fletcher's guitar stood out throughout, their singers all held their own, and Half Past's original songs from 2010 were entertaining, though it is disappointing that we never saw the release of their planned CD. Hopefully the guys stay active in music, and for the closest active matches to Half Past's sound, check out Al's current band Skeyes of Seven, and Fingerbone singer John Barber's band Late Shift!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Now, what's in store for this series to kick off 2015 via random band selection? Well, we'll start the year in Sault Michigan with the defunct young hard rock band Intrepid (featuring The Highest Of Fives' Mitch Goetz), but with only one substantial surviving online page and no currently public videos, I'll likely add a Sault Ontario band in a similar situation to fill things out. That band is The Joe Falco Experience, the former solo project from ex-No Arrow drummer Joe Falco, but if Intrepid's profile proves to be large enough to stand alone, Joe will lead off a split profile in February. Look for our next Defunct Profile(s) on or around January 10th, and stay tuned for more news and previews soon! Thanks everyone!

A Newer Local Hard Rock Band, Plus New Videos & CD Reviews!!

Our steady news stream continues today with new videos from a local band, reviews of the new CD of another, and leading off, a new-ish band to add to our links on the site, so here's what you should know!

We have a new band to add to our Sault Michigan band links, and they are Highway 63! Essentially the successors to Jager/Monkey's Uncle, Sir Charge, and RamWagon, the band originally formed and made their live debut in March, but the wait to add them to our listings came because they originally identified as a country rock band, though they've since shifted their focus back to a Monkey's Uncle-esque set. Currently, their lineup features Henry Switzer on lead vocals and guitar, alongside his son/frequent bandmate Nathan on guitar, Power Slug's Chris Leask (the only non-Monkey's Uncle alum) on bass, and Ron Suchey on drums, while their original lineup featured Nathan on bass with his & Ron's RamWagon bandmate Ryan Kitzmiller on guitar. Named after the H-63 highway in the Easter Upper Peninsula, Highway 63 played some test sets at The Rapids Lounge in the spring before taking the summer off to round out a full cover set.

The band returned with shows at the Dondee Lanes in October, and have since played a Halloween show at The American Legion as well as new gigs at both the Soo and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches, most recently at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend, though upcoming gigs have yet to be announced. It should be noted though that Highway 63 are much more active on Facebook than Sir Charge ever were, so that's great news for fans! In terms of their sound, we do have samples of it via some Facebook video posts and shares, which include videos of them covering The Outfield's "Your Love" in St. Ignace, and from this past weekend, covers of Shinedown's "Save Me" and (as embedded below) Bad Company's "Rock 'N Roll Fantasy", while Black Sabbath and Foreigner covers have been teased in status updates. If you were a fan of Henry's past local cover bands, you should have a similar enjoyment for Highway 63, who at this point are showing a unique cover selection of their own!

The new band sounds good and tight so far, with the guys' old Monkey's Uncle-era chemistry carrying over to Highway 63, and Henry has highly praised the new band in recent days as well, so be sure to keep an eye out for them in the area! No word on what Chris' involvement means for Power Slug's status, as they haven't posted on their Facebook page in almost a month, and haven't played very much over the fall, but hopefully we hear more soon. Check out Highway 63 above, and here they are this past weekend in the Soo!



Next up, here's some more new videos from Sault Ontario grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control! Courtesy of Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick's new YouTube channel, these come from their set at Lopstock at LopLops Lounge on June 28th, and feature The Pixo Control playing their songs "The Great Salute To Radio Edits", "Reasons", and as embedded below, "Sixty Extra Chances Called Minutes". All filmed by attendee Jason Lloyd (who also filmed this Gnaeus video at Lopstock), these are great quality live videos, and capture some songs that haven't gotten the same amount of filmed attention from their sets, so give them a look above and below for some nice and grungy original action from The Pixo Control!



Finally for today, here's some long overdue new reviews of local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA's debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest"! On November 5th, Chris Wheeler from the Quebec metal site Ondes Chocs reviewed the album, giving it a 7/10 while saying that the guys made "a noticeable impression" with unconventional riff ideas. Solid if brief review, so check it out here! Diego Benedetto from the Spanish metal blog Puro Roido ("Pure Noise") reviewed the CD on November 11th, and while you'll need Spanish knowledge or a translator to read it, Diego called the album a "pleasant surprise", and also praised their guitar riff variances. Hard to read through an auto-translator, but you can tackle it at this link! Lastly for now, the metal blog Wonderbox Metal checked out "Reclaimed By The Forest" on November 12th, where the reviewer called it "a smorgasbord of heaviness, crunchy guitars and bile", praising the album's sludge content and heaviness. Solid review also, so check it out here, and stay tuned for more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), Album Updates, And More!!

Keeping this steady stream of news rolling, we have recent concert videos, new studio songs, and lots of updates from a rising young band (including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT) to touch on, so here's what you should know!

Local grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control will play an acoustic headlining show at a unique venue on Friday, December 19th, when they make their debut at Low & Slow Smoked Fusion BBQ! If you're not familiar with it, Low & Slow is a relatively new restaurant at 113 Gore Street that specializes in slow cooked barbeque items with an open concept, and they also appear to be getting into the acoustic concert promotion game, having hosted Jay Case & Frank Deresti there last month (source here.) As such, I don't know a lot about Low & Slow as a concert site, but an acoustic setting is nothing new for The Pixo Control, having played some unplugged gigs at Gusto's Bar & Grill earlier this year. They should deliver a solid set, so keep it in mind for in just under two weeks time! For reference, 113 Gore Street is the former location of Hunter's Grill and Grazia's Italian Restaurant, not the old GLOW/Other Place building (that's 119 Gore Street), but it's nice to have another active concert venue on Gore Street either way!

Promoted by Boxes of Boom mainman Sam Decter, this show has a 9:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and given the restaurant setting, may not have a designated age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an interesting show, so keep it in mind if you're up for a more reserved night of original action! The Pixo Control have been keeping busy in recent weeks beyond their live shows too, as they mentioned on their Facebook page on Saturday that they are working on a debut CD, confirming earlier teases via some recording session photos shared by veteran local musician Keith Conway, like the one here. Details are otherwise minimal, but it'll be interesting to hear the final product! The guys have also been subject to a handful of recent video postings, including this video posted to their Instagram page last month, which initially confirmed the album plans, and features bassist Steve Edwards recording a bass track.

This is the first Instagram video that we've ever shared on here, and though it's short, it does give a glimpse into The Pixo Control's album recording process! It's great to finally have full confirmation of their CD plans, and I'm curious to see where things go, so give their new Instagram video a look below, don't miss them at Low & Slow on the 17th, and stay tuned for more!

A video posted by The Pixo Control (@thepixocontrol) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:55pm PST

Speaking of albums, local alternative/blues rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage officially released their newest "album" on November 29th via their Reverbnation page! Entitled "Bring The Heavy", this is officially considered the band's 47th album, and will likely be their last of 2014's recording batch, barring a resurrection of the four dropped 2014 albums that they had once planned, like "Wyrd Radio" & "Double Live". We won't post the album artwork here though, as it's content is partially not safe for work. I have yet to hear "Bring The Heavy" in full, but love appears to be a partial theme for the tracks, with songs like "Her Love", "Love Is Good", and "Love Her So" among the 18 tracks, though no word on if any of the songs are holdovers from their three cancelled albums. Like the band's prior studio output with their current lineup, the albums have not been posted in a full album sale format (you can buy separate tracks individually, but that's all), but fans of Sykotyk Rampage's creative improvised hard rock will be right at home, so give "Bring The Heavy" a listen above!

Finally today, remember how Staind frontman Aaron Lewis headlined a solo country concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino last month? Well, we have a pair of YouTube videos of him covering songs that will be familiar to Staind fans! Attendee Dana Howland uploaded 9 videos from the show onto her YouTube channel just in the last day, and while they're mostly of his new country originals and genre covers, one is of Aaron covering Staind's biggest song "It's Been Awhile", and the other features his cover of Pearl Jam's "Black", which became a solo radio hit for him in the early 2000s. Both are naturally played in a country music style on this tour, and while "Black" adapts better to that genre (partially due to being slowed down), fans of his hard rock work should like these! It's just a shame that Dana only got under 40 seconds of each song, but two of her videos from Aaron's set do surpass three minutes. Well recorded with a good camera angle (despite the orientation), so give "It's Been Awhile" a look below, and see more above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more Toystock fallout and more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Beaumont Avenue), A Missed Concert Apology, And More!!

Before we get too far into things, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert, as local Celtic/punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide returned to the local stage for the first time in over 3 months last night as the pub night entertainment at the Rankin Arena during the venue's Silver Creek Cup hockey event. We originally mentioned the show on the site last month when it was added to their label Tidal Records' website's schedule, but at the time, it listed the show as taking place at the Silver Creek Golf Course in Garden River, which was unfamiliar as a concert venue, and gave us pause in case this was incorrect and/or or a private event. We were right to second guess the listed venue (Silver Creek sponsored the tournament but didn't hold the concert), but this was definitely a public event, and blame me for not keeping up with the venue confirmation to plug it on the site. No word on who drummed for them last night either, given that they've used guest drummers at some recent events.

Our sincere apologies for the mess-up, and don't miss Dustin and company on Boxing Day at The Rockstar Bar, and stay tuned also for more details on the Tidal Records Christmas show on the 20th, whose bands are to be announced! Now, let's get to some more recent news, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for over the Christmas break, and more assorted notes, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue will return to the stage with two solo headlining concerts over the holidays! The former Suicide Kings will play their first show in almost four months on Boxing Day (Friday, December 26th) at The Rednecks Saloon, which they'll follow up a week later on Friday, January 2nd when they rock The Rockstar Bar! Both appear to be one night only engagements, and it's worth noting that the Rednecks concert will be their first there since May, while the Rockstar show is our first verified local hard rock concert of 2015. Beaumont Avenue have been taking a break since August due to drummer Ben Boudreau's out of town school commitments, but they're making the most of the Christmas break while he's back home, as the guys revealed on their Facebook page last night that they'll be working in the studio over the holidays, are "finally recording", and will hold a release party for their debut CD in "early 2015".

The post suggests that the guys are starting over from scratch with their album rather than using what they recorded at The Smoke & Oak Room last year, while the "early 2015" timeline likely points to an April release at the earliest, assuming Ben doesn't return home until after the next school semester ends. Also, the guys' Urawk live karaoke series recently announced that they're "on hiatus" (source here), though it's not clear whether it's due to Beaumont Avenue's resumption of activity or not. Both of the guys' new concerts have 19+ age limits and likely 10:00 PM start times, and while the Rednecks show has no announced cover, bring $5 to The Rockstar Bar just in case. For more details, visit the Boxing Day show's Facebook event page & the above links! It's great to see Beaumont Avenue back in action for the season, so don't miss their hard rock originals & covers over the holidays, and stay tuned for updates on their CD and more!

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

• I'm surprised that we never mentioned this in a news post on here, but local metal/rap duo The Apocalypse Afterparty released the studio version of their song/The Fury cover "The Crowd" to their Reverbnation page in recent months! We'll hold our thoughts for now, assuming that we'll review the band's planned debut CD next year, but it's well recorded, so give it a listen above!
• On November 24th, local alternative/grunge band Haggith revealed on their Facebook page that their upcoming album "Apocalypse II" will likely be complete by next month, and is just undergoing mixing, while "XIV" is delayed until at least March due to the band's split with bassist James White and his White Wreckords studio. The band also revealed there that a surprise new live album named "Time Machine: Live" is also in the mixing stage for a planned February release, though we've heard little else on that front. We'll keep you posted as we hear more!
• The newest episode of Local2's music spotlight video series Tuned with Donna Hopper went online last week, and while it doesn't have a large focus on heavier or punk bands (mostly featuring an interview & performances by Toronto folk duo Scarlett Jane during their recent local show), Donna does plug the X-Mess acoustic punk show at The Algonquin Pub on December 20th in the concert calendar segment. It's still a good watch, so give the full episode a look above, especially if you like folk rock!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a video-heavy post TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Toystock 2014 Fallout, Coverage, And Media!!

As hinted over the past week, here at last is our first fallout post from the third annual Toystock fundraiser concert at The Canadian Nightclub this past Sunday! We'll start with some local news coverage, as SooToday's Donna Hopper was among the attendees at the annual Christmas Cheer benefit, posting this article later that night that both outlined the saga of the Kraft Dinner box and the concert at hand. Donna couldn't stay long though, with her photos split between Lorrie Lynn & The Sinners' set and Toystock attendees during and around Santa Claus' arrival. Solid pictures all around though (and in colour), so give them a look above! If you're looking for photos of more of the day's bands, local photographer Roy Iachetta will have you covered, as his Facebook page features a few dozen shots of every act (including Killabeatz) that you can see at this link and here, but I'll give the caveat that the photos are not in chronological order, and are spread out between the two albums linked above. Great photos though, and kudos to Roy for sticking around all day!

In terms of videos, Sault Online's Mike Caruso was also on hand all day to film each band, just like he does each year at Rotaryfest! Note that he didn't get a video of Killabeatz, but to be fair, his mini-sets weren't advertised in advance. His videos were largely uploaded to his YouTube channel over the past week, starting with this news piece that begins with a brief interview by Mike with Toystock co-promoter/Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson, so what's discussed there? In the interview portion, Greg talks about the event's theme and purpose, how it began, and the charitable causes behind everything, and while it's short, it's informative! The rest of the video features abbreviated clips of all 10 of from Mike's full performance videos, so if you prefer to watch the full videos, this will admittedly be redundant save for the interview. Give it a look below!



To avoid an extremely long post, we won't feature all of the videos that Mike shot in this post, but we'll outline the first few chronologically so you know what happened in the early hours of Toystock III! I'll note off the bat though that Mike's videos are generally of each band's first song, they all look auto-brightened, and they all use multiple camera angles. They're well edited and capture the bands nicely, but on occasion, the audio quality jumps when the camera angle changes. Mike's videos led off with local country/bluegrass act The Stumpy Coldwater Trio covering The Steeldrivers' "Guitars, Whiskey, Guns, and Knives", Mike Case's Junior All Stars covering Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight Tonight", Lorrie Lynn & The Sinners playing her original "Swear When I Pray", and first for hard rock videos, The Pixo Control playing their original song "Land of the Moles"! One of the guys' more familiar tracks, it was well performed here, and has a well-aged spirit to it, so give it a look below!



Mike's next Toystock videos were of country veterans Thin Ice covering Jason Aldean's "The Only Way That I Know", as well as his own version of all-female classic rockers Domina covering Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up", but we'll close things for today with his video of local alternative/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 covering The Cult's "Wild Flower". Definitely better in quality than our video of this song (and of "All Fired Up" too), though Ed's vocals could be a bit more forceful and loud in the mix. We'll recap Mourning Wood, Mannapool, and Bone Yard's videos, plus extra fallout in an upcoming post, so stay tuned for that, and now, here's Lucky 13 on Sunday!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Havadder), The End Of Pillory, And Much More!!

As we continue to clear out our recent news cache, we have an inactive band to take note of, big changes for a yearly music event, and some more assorted notes, but first, here's SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for THIS WEEKEND! (Edited at 10:49 AM)

Local classic hard rock cover quartet Havadder will return to The Rednecks Saloon for headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, frontman Jason Roy only just announced the shows yesterday via their Facebook event page. Keeping with their recent trend of playing one weekend a month at the former Nicolet Tavern, this weekend's shows are apparently Havadder's last of the year, so if you want one last 2014 show with Jason and company, you know where to be for their often heavy covers! The event page implies that they have both new songs in their setlist and "old members", though it's not clear if they're meaning guest spots by ex-members or not. We can confirm though that ex-drummer Scott McLurg will fill in for T.J. Case for at least a third straight weekend, at least partly due to T.J.'s conflicting date with Mourning Wood TOMORROW at The New American, so keep that in mind also! Our source is Scott's personal Facebook page.

Admission for TONIGHT & TOMORROW is likely free, both shows have 10:00 PM start times, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, check the above links, don't miss Havadder's cover attack this weekend, and here are the guys at The Rednecks Saloon this fall!



Next up, we have a band to move to our inactive band links, that being Sault Ontario thrash metal quartet Pillory. While their Facebook page hasn't been updated in over 8 months, we can confirm their demise via their entry on the Encyclopaedia Metallum, which confirms that the band split up in August, after being "on hold" since April. Any update there must be sourced when a report is submitted, so it's likely that a band member sent it in to confirm their status. Pillory had been active since 2012 as one of the Soo's few pure thrash bands of recent years, debuting live at The Canadian Nightclub that November. After founding guitarist Andres Duchesne's sudden passing the next month, the band wouldn't hit the stage again with a full lineup until the winter of 2013/14, where they played a handful of all ages gigs and released their only EP "Cringe At The Cross" in December 2013. Later updates were sporadic and mostly concerned lineup changes, though it should be noted that frontman Robert Sartini's other recent projects have all quietly closed most of their online pages this year as well.

Pillory were a talented and brutal band that had a lot of promise, especially on their EP, but Andres' death and other delays didn't help their live concert frequency. It would be nice to see Robert get back into bands again (Pillory or otherwise), as he has the skill and drive, and the same goes for Josh, Devon, Bret, and other surviving ex-members in the future!

Also today, remember The Marquee, which is the outdoor concert stage from the last two years of the Bon Soo Winter Carnival? Well, it will return for a third year in February, but with a changed format. According to Bon Soo's website, The Marquee will be retracted from a daily event throughout the festival to a one-day event on Friday, February 6th (Bon Soo's opening day for 2015), with acts only playing from 5:00-9:00 PM. A reason for the retraction hasn't been announced, but as you may remember, The Marquee struggled with attendance issues earlier this year, as addressed in our review of the night I attended, which could be blamed partially on the cold weather and poor advertising, among other factors. According to a post on a local music Facebook group by co-organizer Jessica Bolduc, The Marquee will move indoors from The Roberta Bondar Pavilion to The Mill Market, which goes along with the whole festival's move to Mill Square at the former St. Mary's Paper site for 2015.

With all of that said, if you or your band wants to play at The Marquee on February 6th, message co-organizer Aislyn Ireton A.S.A.P. at aislyn.ireton@student.saultcollege.ca. I'm disappointed to see The Marquee shrunk so much this year, as I do think the concept of a multi-day outdoor winter music stage has potential (especially if it's well advertised online), but if the shorter one-day indoor version can prove more sustainable, maybe they can expand The Marquee again for 2016? We'll keep you posted if hard rock or punk bands are on the lineup next year!

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

• The Bloody Boxing Day Basement Jam at 11 Hearst Street later this month has had a slight lineup adjustment, as the vacant slot will be filled by Brutally Fatal frontman Austin McCrae in a solo acoustic set, perhaps a throwback to his old Re-Born work? However, his solo set will now open the show at 6:00 PM, with the rappers bumped up a half hour, and Mikey Thomas now in the previously vacant 8:00 PM slot. Interesting, so visit the Facebook event page for more info!
• Leading from our addition of Telephone & Address' next album plans to yesterday's "Where Are The New Albums?" post,the Chris Shoust-led solo punk/grunge project is now distributing copies of their recent albums "The Rotten EP" and "Need Not Apply" on the online music store Interpunk! Nice to see, so keep that in mind also if you want to order physical copies! Both albums retail for $11,75 there, minus shipping fees.
• Danger Cats frontwoman Kate Drew will replace Greg Callaghan at the second annual X-Mess acoustic punk revue at The Algonquin Pub on  December 20th, and will be playing an acoustic set of Distillers covers under the handle "Ms. Tillers". Promoter J.D. Pearce revealed the change on the Facebook event page on Tuesday, confirming that Greg's out due to a scheduling snag. Disappointing for him and fans, but it's great to see Kate back, so stay tuned for more updates when they come in!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a Toystock fallout post next on the site! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Griphook, Tym Morrison, And Mourning Wood), And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we continue clearing out backlogged news stories, here's this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Aside from the St. Ignace shows at post's end, these all have SHORT NOTICE CONCERT ALERTS attached, along with some December shows later in the month from two of the bands, but there's some solid covers going down at numerous venues this weekend, so here's what you should know for this weekend and beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band originally announced the show on Sunday via it's Facebook event page, but our own busy last few days pushed it aside at the time. This will be this veteran band's first Rockstar Bar appearance in almost nine months, and just their second show since Rotaryfest, so you know they'll be ready to rock with their often heavy covers once again tomorrow! No word yet though on why they're not playing on Saturday, but it's likely due to a separate booking from another act. A $5 cover charge is likely (though The Rockstar Bar has had more and more no-cover nights in recent months), you must be 19 to attend, and an 11:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Griphook playing live somewhat regularly again, so keep TOMORROW'S show in mind, and here are the guys live this summer!

Next up, we'll add veteran local hard rock musician Tym Morrison's acoustic solo concerts at The Harp Bar & Grill for December to our concert listings, as he's scheduled to return there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, as well as on December 12th & 13th, 19th and 20th, and on the 26th & 27th! Apologies for the short notice again for this weekend, we were waiting for Facebook confirmation of the first shows, but none came before this preview post. Also, I thought I'd mention that Tym's shows at The Harp last weekend were cancelled on short notice last Friday due to Tym being too sick to perform, as per his personal Facebook page, and I apologize for not hearing about the cancellations at the time! In any event, Tym's website's calendar lists all of this month's dates, but we'll let you know if something changes! Like usual for his Harp run (which hits it's one year anniversary later this month), Friday shows are jam nights that he hosts and plays at, and Saturday shows are general acoustic gigs.

Like usual, this month's solo shows from Tym Morrison have 19+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and we'll of course let you know when/if we hear of any cancellations or changes! Either way, hopefully you consider a trip to the former Madison's Pub this weekend for some entertaining unplugged hard rock, and here's Tym at Mill Square!



Lastly for short notice announcements, we have local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood, and unlike last weekend at Reggie's West, we had slightly more advance word on these so we could get them on the site! Still, apologies for the short notice, the earlier of the shows was only announced on Tuesday. First, you can see Terry, Steven, and T.J. live at The New American Pub SATURDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub, marking their third advertised appearance there since forming, while the other booking will see them rocking out on New Year's Eve (Wednesday, December 31st) at The Rednecks Saloon, so there's your first known hard rock show to ring in 2015 with! That show was announced on their Facebook page on November 19th, but further details are to be confirmed. Both of this month's shows are 19+ engagements with no announced cover, and while the New Year's show will likely be a 10:00 PM gig, SATURDAY'S New A show will have an early start time of 6:00 PM.

The 6:00 PM start time does seem odd on the surface, but all of Mourning Wood's shows at this venue have started then for unannounced reasons, so it's normal for there. If you want an earlier night from your cover rock bands, this might be up your alley though! For more details, click here and visit the above links, don't miss this talented trio's hard rock attack on Saturday and on New Year's Eve, and here are the guys at Rock For Dimes!

Finally for this weekend's confirmable hard rock shows, we'll head to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Charlevoix, Michigan hard rock quartet Audio Circus will make their long awaited Eastern U.P. debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fronted by Jeff Hudson (of Peril, Scarkazm, and Kiss'd fame), Audio Circus are the last of Jeff's active bands to play a Sault-area show in 2014 following his non-Peril bands' local show bookings earlier this year, and in a sense, they're also the most mysterious, having very little online concerning their sound of media of them in concert. The guys do have a 1980s-leaning hard rock sound though, and have opened for the likes of Quiet Riot & Slaughter since debuting, so fans should be in good hands when they take in the Audio Circus this weekend (and yes, these shows had plenty of advance notice!) Both tomorrow & Saturday's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times. For more details, check the above links, and don't miss Audio Circus this weekend in St. Ignace!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news soon, as we're still fairly behind on recent items! Thanks everyone!