LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906), Their Drummer Change, And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Here's the first of this weekend's concert previews, and if you're in the Sault Michigan area, you'll enjoy what's on offer, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE! There's also a lineup change to note for a band in question, and while we're rounding things out with s handful of Sault Ontario shows from a prominent artist, we are holding our previews of The 3 Day Millionaires' Rockstar Bar stops to tomorrow morning due to the amount so they don't get buried in an overly long post today. Don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Project 906 will be among the competitors in THIS SATURDAY'S previously announced musician competition, now confirmed to be at The Superior Cafe at 107 East Portage Avenue! Apologies for the short notice, the performer lineup for this event was only announced on the venue's Facebook page on Monday. Taking place at the cafe in the Bird's Eye Outfitters complex (on the site of the former Golanka's Bar/The Bird), this battle of the bands-styled event will see performers competing to win gift cards for either of the above businesses or Crooked Music, and this will be a fan voted competition, so get out to support your favourites! Project 906 will be playing their first public set of 2018 on SATURDAY, with more to come that day (and in this post!), while the other confirmed performers will include Sault Ontario indie/pop duo All Us Others in a rare cross border appearance by a non-Touch of Class band, Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Rob Malaski "and friends", and a mystery band named Midnight Logic that I can't find anything on.

"...And More!" are also teased to perform, though no word on if this indicates surprise or guest performers, or if they were just accepting band registrations after the poster went online. A fan vote will determine the winner of this event, while there will be a favourite musician vote with 10% off of drinks for fans interested in voting for that award. This competition takes place on SATURDAY at an early start time of 5:00 PM, this is an ALL AGES event, and there are no announced cover charges. This sounds like a fun event for fans to check out regional talent at a sort-of-new venue, but who will win? Find out THIS SATURDAY, and stay tuned for fallout from it!

Next up, Project 906 aren't done for that day, as they will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Strongs for their second show of the year THIS SATURDAY NIGHT during that venue's second anniversary festivities! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was actually announced on their Facebook page two weeks ago, but it slipped us by at the time. Four months removed from their last show out in Strongs, this will be a solid way to help celebrate the tavern's anniversary, so head slightly west if you want to see the full Project 906 experience on SATURDAY after the musician's competition! In one more new show announcement, fans can check out Project 906 at the International 500 Snowmobile Race's beer tent on Thursday, February 1st (one week from today!), marking the first time that they've played an official show at the I-500, with Banned having been the most recent heavier band with that honor. Hopefully they warm things up sufficiently next week!

Also, these will be their first advertised shows since quietly announcing the departure of drummer Will Storey, with a drummer named Tommy (last name not publicized yet) now listed on the band's Facebook page. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Will, he's a solid performer, but how will Tommy sound with Project 906? Check them out THIS SATURDAY or next week to find out! The Strongs show is at 10:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a 21+ age limit, while the beer tent I-500 set is at 8:30 PM, and click here for relevant admission details if you intend to see more than the band. Click here and the above links for more info, and here's Project 906 live!



Moving to shows with complete advance notice, Sault Michigan fans can also see Marquette hard rock cover quartet Spun for the first times this year when they return to The Satisfied Frog for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! A month and change removed from their last shows out east, these are Spun's only currently announced shows at The Frog among their scheduled dates through March, so just in case it's a while for the Nudge. successors to return, don't miss their hard rocking cover selections tomorrow and/or Saturday! As usual for Spun's shows in the Soo, expect a 21+ age limit this weekend, there are no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times are in effect for both nights. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Spun live!



Finally for today's preview post, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a busy weekend from local hard rock solo singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who'll continue his weekly arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood with matinee shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY, while he'll also play his second of his bi-monthly gigs at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill at a more typical timeslot on SATURDAY NIGHT! Fans of Tym's hard rocking covers should have another great spread of musical action this weekend, whether you're up for his evenings at Gliss or an east end trip on Saturday night, so keep all three in mind! It's also worth noting that Tym is the host of The Canadian Nightclub's newly launched run of open mic nights on Wednesdays, having debuted there in this capacity last night, with weekly open mic nights scheduled through the end of March. Just for the record, we do not consider open mic nights to be concerts for our purposes, as they're more informal by nature, and as a result, they are impossible to confirm a performer lineup for in advance.

Also, while Tym is hosting and will assuredly play when there are no acts ready, there's no guarantee of length or amount of songs for his hosting segments, but if you like the unpredictability or are a prospective performer yourself, be at The Canadian on Wednesdays through March (at least!) As for his standard shows, the Gliss gigs are 6:00 PM matinees with no announced age limit (but mind the locale), the Roadhouse show is a 19+ affair at 10:00 PM, and none have announced cover charges. Visit the official Facebook pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our 3 Day Millionaires preview and more on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

New Video Performances, Plus More Assorted Stories!!

After a quiet weekend for updates to the site, we are back on this Monday morning with a new news post, so what will you find today? Some assorted shorter stories from the past few days, and a handful of new videos, including a solo project's new song, new jam session clips, and leading off, here's the newest video from local/Windsor/Thompson, Manitoba solo musician Mike Haggith's Facebook page! Another solo performance of a new original song, this one is called "The Nature of the Times", and it's an alt-rock number with Mike singing at a soft, higher register than we tend to see from him. Leisurely paced but well performed, this should be welcomed for fans of Mike's more reserved solo music of the past, so give it a look below, and hopefully we see much more from Mike's solo project in the near future!



Next up, here's another new song from Sault Michigan metal solo project The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, courtesy of label Werehold Records' YouTube channel! Uploaded on Friday, the song is entitled "Horrible Laughter", and features project leader Jason Mills playing on his 9 string guitar. It's not a terribly long song, but it's a brutal and technical instrumental that serves as a good early showcase, and the rhythm section pounds along well in compliment! Give the newest 1,000,000,000's Who Died song a listen below, and hear more from them above!



Also today, here's a couple of new jam session covers from Sault Ontario hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded (the full lineup, no less!) Uploaded this weekend in their first videos since the fall, these covers are of The Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" and, as embedded below, Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome". Though Dylan is basically obscured from view in each video, these are solid clips that showcase Halfway Loaded's solid talent base, and Justin Grayson's vocals fit each's sound very well! The audio's a little muffled, but not bad at all, and it'll be interesting to finally see Halfway Loaded on a public concert stage! Give these videos a look above & below!



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

• In our inactive band links, defunct local power pop/hard rock trio Caroline Divine are now listed under their Twitter page due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook page (I wish bands wouldn't do that.) Active primarily in 2015, Caroline Divine fell inactive in 2016 for purposes other than backing up Jesse Merineau in his full band concerts, with 2/3rds of the band still playing with him, so hopefully the guys continue to see success there! For what it's worth, their Twitter page links to their blank Bandcamp page, implying that they would have posted their unfinished debut EP there.
• I have restored inactive local music promotion/photography company For The Music Inside back to our "Other Local Metal Links", as despite their Facebook page's deletion, they still have an active Twitter page with local concert coverage from 2014, plus later activity in Southern Ontario through 2016. Good to see F.T.M.I. live on, somewhat, so check them out above!
• We have removed defunct local hard rock quartet Punch from our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page, though I have no idea if it was deleted for the same reasons as the Facebook page of successor band Eclipse, who later took on Punch originals. A union of Haggith & Suicide Kings bandmates from late 2013 to early 2014, Punch were a promising band with a stacked lineup, and while I hate seeing another Facebook band page deleted, they admittedly weren't around for all that long. Don't miss Daniel and Steven with Jack Spades & Soundcheck respectively!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Weekend Concert Previews, And Much More!!

Today's post is half devoted to this weekend's hard rock concert previews (on a fairly quiet weekend overall), including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, but we're filling things out with lots of assorted recent news and notes! Here's what you should know on this Friday morning!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was actually announced last Wednesday via it's official Facebook event page, but we couldn't slide it into a post before it got too soon to cover twice. Two months removed from their last stop at this venue, this will be Soundcheck's first public concert appearance of the new year, so if you've missed the Mourning Wood successors as of late, head to The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT to get your fill! Much like in November, this is a one-nighter, due to or resulting in classic rock veterans RPM's concert there on Saturday night (good to see them back out there as well!) As usual for Soundcheck's Rockstar Bar stops, TONIGHT'S show has a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge, and while the event page lists an oddly early start time of 8:00 PM, I wouldn't head there until 10:00 PM or so. See above for more details, and hopefully some public videos of theirs turn up soon!

Next up, here's this weekend's only other announced hard rock concerts in the Sault area, as former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood marches into another weekend with shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Now in week 3 of his bi-annual contraction to twice-a-week bookings, Tym should have another solid couple of nights in store for fans of his unplugged covers, so head to The Quality Inn's house restaurant for more entertaining music action over these next two evenings! While Tym isn't playing at Gliss on Thursdays until July, it's worth noting that he has recently begun playing "online concerts" via his Twitch.tv channel, where he basically plays his usual acoustic show for an online audience from his home, scheduled for each Thursday at 7:00 PM through the end of June. These aren't concerts in a traditional sense, but it's a nice way to check out Tym's covers with no commitments!

As for tonight and tomorrow's Gliss shows, expect no announced cover charge or age limit for these 6:00 PM matinees, but remember that this is a sit-down formal restaurant (and if that scares you off, his Twitch.tv "concerts" are free as well!) Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last week or so, and as usual for these short form stories, these are in alphabetical order by artist, festival, or company name:

• In their first public update since announcing their return from hiatus in August, local hard rock cover quartet Griphook shared a concert poster for a metal show in Orlando, Florida next Saturday that they're advertised as opening. The Facebook event page lists Griphook & even includes their exact logo, and the band likewise shared it to their Facebook page. I'm inclined to believe that there's a separate newer Florida band with the same name and no Facebook page, and the Soo's Griphook shared the event jokingly once they were tagged as performing, but in the off chance they booked a Florida show, good luck in Orlando next week!?
• Eight months after announcing the long running marijuana culture/concert festival's demise, Hempfest owner Robert Neron has sold rights to the event to a man named George Bachir, though I can't confirm his background, nor is it public yet what he plans to do with Hempfest. No word on if it'll stay in Moonbeam, come back to Ophir, or move elsewhere, but hopefully he can bring Hempfest back to a successful level this year!
• Local concert promotion/live sound company Live705 announced on their Facebook page on Tuesday that they haven't promoted shows lately because of their recent focus on benefit concerts, and new aims to service the community more than their band A Dire Setback. To that end, they encouraged fans from out of town (especially band contacts) to check out other local companies that support musicians, citing Tidal Records and Mission Control Studios as a start to help "close the gap" between the Soo and the rest of Canada. Hopefully Live705 don't entirely stop putting on shows, but good on them to promote local businesses!
• Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver announced on their Facebook page yesterday that they are planning to tour Canada in the spring with "a new release" and new merchandise, and are asking fans where they should play during this tour run. One would assume that a Sault Ste. Marie stop is a given, but if you want Shit Liver to play a specific locale out of town, comment at the links above, and stay tuned for more on their new release, perhaps their announced sophomore album "Hitting the Fan"?
• The obituary for late Sault Michigan guitarist & Steve's Music Center owner Steve Pevarnic was belatedly posted in The Sault Evening News on October 21st. You can read it at this link, and it notes that he died just 13 days shy of his 60th birthday, partially due to congestive heart failure, and is survived by his brother, aunts, and extended family. A celebration of life was held at The Savoy Bar on October 15th, with proceeds going to the Chippewa County Animal Shelter. The obituary goes into nice detail on his life and musical career, so give it a look above, and apologies for adding to the delay in this making the site!
• Earlier this week, in their first public postings since 2016, inactive local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage apologized for their recent dormancy and hinted that they'd be back in some form in the future. I'd give more exact wording, but their Facebook page was quietly taken down since, so either plans changed and they'll remain inactive, or their it is being fully relaunched. In any event, their Facebook page wasn't listed in our band links (we used Reverbnation), but hopefully this isn't the absolute end of the line for Sykotyk Rampage!

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

This Month's Poll On Your Favourite New Bands Of 2017!!

Before we get into this weekend's concert previews, our monthly polls are back! Well, for a few months, anyway. With 2017 in the rear view mirror, it's time to bring back our "favourite _____ of 2017" polls, so we're kicking off this year-end poll cycle with this question: What was your favourite new local metal, hard rock, or punk band of 2017? Compared to the 2016 rookie crop, last year hasn't been as busy for new SMS-fitting bands, with this poll's total dropping from 12 bands to 7, but there are still some talented new sights this year that will hopefully remain prominent this year! To make this poll, bands must have both publically launched and played a public live concert in 2017, so this would discount acts like Abhorrent Forest and Halfway Loaded, but "Other" is available if you want to vote that way, or for a band that we forgot, or isn't metal, hard rock, or punk-based. A Dire Setback won this poll for 2016, but who will join them for 2017? Here are your choices!

Handsome Sandwich: This union of Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger, Winkstinger guitarist Jesse Cook, and Redundant bassist James White debuted with their "no genre" sound in February at LopLops, and have since attained a decent following at shows like the Gutter Demons concert last spring, among other events. With a sound that alt-rock and punk fans are sure to like, did Handsome Sandwich attract your attention more than other new local bands last year?

The HTs/You First & The Passive Aggressives: A late addition to the 2017 rookie class, The HTs are the new local punk supergroup from former Bankshot bandmates Lucas Schmiedendorf & Clint Wilson, alongside Andre LeBlanc & Ryan Disano. Though they lack an online page, and only played twice publically last year (a renamed tribute set on Halloween weekend & at the Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert), did their punk covers win you over?

The Kariokeheads: Originally advertised as a pared down acoustic show from members of The Elements, it was soon established that the intentionally misspelled Kariokeheads were a new project from frontman Rob Speers and the aforementioned Jesse Cook. Playing twice in late 2017 at Room 21, this band encouraged fans to sing live karaoke during their acoustic sets, and received a positive reception from fans above Low & Slow, but would you rank them #1 here?

Mike McCleary: A veteran guitarist who returned to the music scene with his new solo project last summer, Mike McCleary got off to a big start with the release of his (now deleted?) "In Ruins" album and a set at Sault College's reunion events in August, with a steady stream of original songs and select covers also making their way online last year towards his 2018 albums "Hourglass" & "Weight of the Truth". Did Mike earn your vote?

The Noochin' Lanterns: An unmasked, pajama-clad side project from "songwriters" of The Apocalypse Afterparty, this unique power pop/hard rock outfit debuted at Live705's Easter Bash last year, and later rocked The Speakeasy and at a number of minimally advertised "pop-up" concerts in the summer. Though not steadily active to the public throughout the year, The Noochin' Lanterns made some waves in 2017, but would you choose them?

The Soo Fighters: Another side project, this tribute to The Foo Fighters (of course) were formed from the instrumental members of pop rock cover veterans Cherry Crush and 3 Day Millionaires guitarist Jeremey Salatuk. We only saw The Soo Fighters on Halloween weekend at The Rockstar Bar, with future prospects unclear for non-seasonal events, but they recieved a positive response from Foos fans last fall, and would you rank them above last year's other debuts?

Vol.: Two years after their departure from The Pixo Control, Steve Edwards & Matthew Thibert returned to the scene this summer with their new indie/hard rock band Vol. (pronounced "volume"), alongside Aldous alumni Shane Storozuk and Mikaela Murtonen. Notably opening for bands like Zaum, Darsombra, and Dirtfight, as well as beginning plans for an album, Vol. have gotten off to a busy start to their local run, but were they your favourite new band of 2017?

Other: Did we miss a band that you'd rather vote for? Perhaps your favourite new band of last year was one who hasn't played live yet, like Abhorrent Forest? Maybe you had a non-metal, hard rock, or punk band in mind over these choices? Or maybe we forgot a band that debuted and played live in 2017 that should have been included all along? If, for whatever reason, we forgot a preferred choice, "Other" is for you!

VOTE TODAY!! You guys have until February 18th to make your voices heard, and it'll be interesting to see who wins out here in this smaller but still very talented rookie class. That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

New Local Solo Album Releases, Shit Liver Updates, And More!!

Things have been somewhat quiet as of late, but we are back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, featuring a few short new videos from each side of the border, and to kick things off, two new albums from regional hard rock musicians, so here's what you should know!

The newest album from Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton was released as scheduled this past Wednesday! Entitled "Escape of the Desert Rat", this is his eleventh to be themed as a score for use in other media, though Ken visualizes it as a video game score, even giving it a plot outline on his website. If left up to him, the story is about a United States military colonel who leads an elite strike force team, but has to escape capture by Sudanese rebels, but potential licensees could theoretically adapt it as they wished. "Escape of the Desert Rat" is available for $9.99 on his Bandcamp page, and while it is his first new album release of 2018, remember that we will not be reviewing it this month. Instead, we'll be looking at SweetKenny's August score album "The Dogs Are Watching", as it's material is slightly heavier, so look for that review soon!

Also, while his scores remain his current focus, one new traditional original is now on his YouTube channel, so what should you know on it? Entitled "Bikini", it's a rock instrumental with a 1960s British Invasion vibe that fans of his older material should enjoy! However, I have chosen not to embed it here due to it's featured video (borrowed clips from a rap music video and of bikini models suggestively washing a car), as some of the content may be considered inappropriate or objectifying. Give it a listen if you want though!

Next up, here's another new solo hard rock album to take note of from a local musician, that being Sault Ontario's own Mike McCleary, who put out his surprise EP "Hourglass" on January 8th! This is not a renaming of the previously announced "Weight of the Truth", that's coming in the near future, but Mike noted on his Facebook page that he chose to release "Hourglass" first due to "the timeliness of its message." In particular, this five song EP addresses topics like assimilation, gender inequality, racism, and poverty, and how they are handled in reality. All five songs have previously been shared in varying forms on Mike's Soundcloud page, and if you're missing a favourite, watch for follow-up releases. It should be noted that Mike did release a debut album called "In Ruins" to online streaming services last June (before we discovered him for site coverage), but it has since been pulled from iTunes, Spotify, and Deezer, and was never acknowledged on Facebook, so he may intend to rework that album and/or it's songs.

"Hourglass" is available on Bandcamp for $4.95 and is also on iTunes and Spotify, so consider streaming or buying it through those sites to hear Mike's newest (first official?) release! As for when to expect a review of it... next month is very possible, though if teasers regarding "The Weight of the Truth" prove to see it's release in the coming weeks, we could pick that instead. "In Ruins" wouldn't jump ahead in line as it's not a "new" album anymore, and who knows if it's being tinkered with. In any event, February is very possible for our first ever Mike McCleary album review, so stay tuned for updates!

Also today, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, so what's new from their camp? Well, they will hit the road with a Southern Ontario tour run with Owen Sound sludgecore band Cruel Bloom early next month, which join a previously announced Windsor show in two weeks where they'll help open that city's thrash band Plague's CD release concert. No word on a local concert return yet, but it's great to see the guys keeping busy! Shit Liver have also been seen in a few news Facebook page videos from late last year, including this 2 second video from New Year's Eve featuring Matt Baic drumming while standing up. Ultra brief, but he's definitely in the zone for those 2 seconds! The other video is a proper live clip from their Hamilton concert at Doors in November where they opened for past local headliners Uncle Ray, as shared from attendee Zixuan Chen's page. While it's also brief (37 seconds), at least we get some solid quality footage from a high camera angle, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's some brief new videos from Sault Michigan independent label Werehold Records' YouTube channel, though these aren't your standard postings. Instead, these feature label head/Life's Eclipse guitarist Jason Mills testing five microphones across two videos by playing the same heavy guitar riff. You can see the second part (featuring a pair of MXL microphones) at this link, but embedded below is the longer video comparing three. I think the MXL 990 on the second video has the clearest sound, but the SM57 has a scratchier tone that might work better for a punk song. Compare for yourself above and below!



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

The End Of Eclipse, New Mike Haggith Songs, A Local Punk Video From 1987, And More!!

On this Saturday afternoon, we have lots of stories to touch on, including some assorted recent updates, a 30 year old video from a big local punk concert, and a revived solo project's new material, but first, here's a note on a removal from our active band links!

We regrettably have to remove local hard rock quartet Eclipse from our band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point in the past few months, which seems to signal their second and final breakup. A reason for their apparent demise hasn't been announced, but rumours of internal issues have came up more than once last year, so read into those if you want. This does mirror the recent deletion of frontman Curtis McKenzie's solo Facebook page, though I don't know if the two were deleted for the same reason. As you may recall, the Haggith successors initially reunited early last year after their tumultuous original split in November 2016, with the guys notably opening for bands like The Hazytones, The Raygun Cowboys, and Speaker in 2017, among other events, with their tribute turn as "SSM of a Down" at The Algonquin Pub on Halloween weekend appearing to be their last public appearance.

Eclipse were a talented band with good chemistry and a fun selection of originals and covers, and their disbandment (and page deletion, sigh) is disappointing even if you factor in certain rumours. Hopefully we see Eclipse back down the road (or their originals/prior bands' songs carry over to a new project), best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, Fred, and Chris in the future, and don't miss Daniel in Jack Spades!

Next up, here's the first new original songs from former Din frontman/Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's solo project since the release of "The Warinside" in 2015! As you may know, Mike moved to Thompson, Manitoba for work last fall, and announced that he was resuming his solo project shortly beforehand, so we're starting to see some new material from him in this new year. Both of these songs were uploaded as solo performance videos to his Facebook page, and they are titled "Come On Home" and (as embedded below) "An Act of Strength". Both are acoustic solo performances in this current form, but Mike has indicated that a proper album entitled "Bridges" (source here) will come out later this year, presumably with a full band structure. The former song is more of a downbeat soft ballad, and while the latter has backing instrumentation and a drum track, it also has serious subject matter about a friend who survived domestic abuse.

It's great to see Mike finally getting his solo career back into first gear with some solid first demos, and remember, he has dozens of official studio albums, so this is old hat for him! Most of the Windsor-era ones aren't on his official pages anymore, but he still has a good deal of solo albums online to listen to, including some songs later played by his local bands. No word on if he'll resume work on "Neighbourhood Watch Revisited" in Thompson too, but check out Mike's new songs above and below, and visit his Bandcamp page to hear his Sault Ste. Marie-era solo output!



Also today, here's a surprising YouTube find: footage taken during Toronto hardcore punk band Hype's local concert appearance way back in 1987! This was uploaded to their promotional company Reuben Kincade Productions' YouTube channel late last month, and features the band arriving in the Soo for their show, setting up for it, and leaving for Winnipeg (you can see more of the trip there at this link.) Unfortunately, no concert video footage survives from this channel, but you can see that from other stops if you check out the other six videos of the tour. I wasn't born until May 1989, so I definitely can't comment on the scene as it was then, but you see lots of familiar sights on Gore Street surrounding this concert, including Rad Zone predecessor Radical Records (Paul Muncaster himself was key for getting Hype here), and there is a funny moment when Hype run into some kids going to a birthday party.

This video is a nice time capsule of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, but the audio quality is it's achilles heel, often sounding like the camera is attached to a propellor. You can't complain too much, as this is over 30 years old and no one could have forecasted putting this on the internet back then, but overall, kudos for putting this online! Hype themselves were an explosive and fun band, as you can see through other videos on the channel, and they were apparently the first hardcore punk band from Toronto to release a full length album, so it was cool to see them here on their second tour! Give this a look below, and see more from Hype at the above links!



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 event name:

• The opening band for the Big Wreck concert at The Machine Shop on February 13th was quietly announced last month, as Winnipeg alternative rock trio Attica Riots will join them on their "In Loving Memory Of..." 20th anniversary tour! Playing more of an upbeat power pop/indie sound in support of their new CD "Sunshine & Hysteria", they'll add an interesting contrast next month, so give them a listen as well, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!
• A musicians' competition is being held at Bird's Eye Outfitters at 107 East Portage Avenue in Sault Michigan on Saturday, January 27th, with gift cards awaiting the winners! There is a $10 registration fee, but solo artists and full bands are welcome, drums & a PA system are supplied, and while the term "battle of the bands" isn't being thrown around, this sounds like a fun way to showcase some local talent, so click here for more details! Also, if an outdoor equipment store strikes you as a peculiar venue for this, keep in mind that Bird's Eye Outfitters used to be Golanka's Bar, a.k.a. The Bird!
• In advance of their live concert return TONIGHT at the Joni Radford benefit, Sault Ontario punk quartet Redundant announced on their Facebook page that they are recording their long awaited debut album at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones starting next month! This seems to imply that their 2012-2014 recording sessions are now completely discarded, but if they wanted to include Yannick, they'd have to rework things anyway.  Exciting news all around, Dustin is be a great choice to get this album sounding as good as possible, so stay tuned for updates!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 3 Day Millionaires) & This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

The second concert weekend of the year is nearing, so here's our weekend concert previews for you hard rock and punk fans! Barring any late notice announcements, here's what you should know for the next few days, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, half on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will play their first concerts of 2018 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's West, with newly announced returns to The Rockstar Bar on January 26th & 27th also now on their calendar! Apologies for the short notice on the Reggievelt gigs, those were only announced via their Facebook event page on Monday. After the cancellation of their planned Top Hat one-off show last week, this weekend's trip to the former Roosevelt Hotel will be a more familiar site for many fans as this veteran fan favourite group kick off the year in stle, having not played there since August. Meanwhile, the Rockstar Bar shows in two weeks are part of a batch of new concert announcements at that venue from their Facebook group (one more hard rock show is coming soon), and will be their first bookings at The Algonquin's upstairs venue in about three months.

It's great to see Steve, Jeremey, Bill, and Scott back at it finally in the new year, so don't miss them TOMORROW, SATURDAY, or in two weeks at either venue! All four dates have 19+ age limits, 9:30 PM-ish start times, and no cover charge. Visit the above links and this link for more details, and here are The Millionaires live at the latter venue!



Next up, we'll move to entirely previously announced concerts with the next weekend of acoustic matinee concerts from former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who will keep up his ongoing run of Gliss Steak & Seafood shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Now in the fourth calendar year of his weekly run at The Quality Inn's house restaurant, this will be the second week of shows since he began his biannual retraction from thrice weekly gigs to twice a week, so don't worry, you didn't miss a Thursday nighter today! Tym's unplugged hard rock covers have been a reliable source of live entertainment for years now at Gliss, so keep these next two in mind for our evening plans this weekend! Both shows have 6:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and no age limits, but remember that this is a formal sit-down restaurant. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live in concert a few years back!

Also this weekend, we'll take a detour to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino  in St. Ignace, Michigan TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will make their first E.U.P. appearances of 2018! Playing their third and fourth shows anywhere of this young year, these will be Scarkazm's first stops in St. Ignace in just under a month, and they should be another good opportunity to see Peril's sister band in our neck of the woods, so don't miss this fan favourite outfit this weekend either! As usual for their Kewadin stops (hopefully there's more coming), expect 9:00 PM start times for these dates, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there are no announced cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event pages (linked here & here) for more details on these shows, and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live last year!



Finally for today, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for the long awaited Joni Radford benefit concert at The Canadian Nightclub THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! As you may know, Joni is a local woman battling breast cancer for a second time, so this event is to help with medical expenses for her and her family during this difficult time. To that end, this benefit will feature numerous prize and raffle draws, plus a silent auction, toonie toss, pizza, and Northern Axperts' ax throwing cage, so be sure to visit the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details on Saturday! The musical lineup will include three local punk bands, including the long awaited return of the newly expanded  Redundant after a year+ stage hiatus (with debuting second guitarist Yannick Casavant in tow), and the second live concert appearances of punk trios A Dire Setback and Stegadeth's current lineups, so if you missed Chris' debut on vocals for the former or Johnny's debut on drums for the latter, here's your next chance!

Doors open at 7:00 PM for this 19+ benefit concert, and while tickets are $25, remember the charitable nature of this show, Joni and her family will appreciate all of the support! You can get tickets by phone from those listed on the Facebook event page, as well as at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above the venue, and delivery is available for those who need it. I don't know Joni well, but she's a fighter with a good spirit, and hopefully she can beat this thing once again, so definitely consider coming to The Canadian for the cause on Saturday night! See above for more details, and here's Redundant (minus Yannick) live at The Canadian a few years ago!



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