Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Today's post is an all-video one to help catch up on recent news desk items, and we'll start the proceedings by looking at local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase Wigmore's new album "Living Divisions", which was released for free on his YouTube channel on Saturday! Despite teasing on his Facebook page on June 2nd that this album would be released for sale on proper digital services, I have not found it on Spotify, Amazon, or Apple Music at press time, so time will tell if he changed course or if the paid edition is forthcoming. One thing that has changed since June 2nd is that this album is no longer an 8 song, 80 minute release. No, the YouTube copy also includes a "Disc Two" (there's no word on a physical release either, for the record) with three extra songs, with the new closing song "The Bastard Mass" running for over 34 minutes! The total runtime is almost 2 hours & 40 minutes, so strap in!

Also, it looks like an unspecified "Disc One" song after "Soul In Eclipse" was split in two, meaning that there's now nine songs rather than eight. I'll hold comments for now, pending the previously suggested paid release of "Living Divisions" (for all of this work and technicality, it'd be fitting to see it on sale), but this will be absolutely worth your time if you love extreme progressive noise metal, and/or Chase's prior metal output under any project name, so give "Living Divisions" a listen below!

Next up, here's a new original song from local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! In a departure from some of his more political recent songs, this is an uplifting ballad called "Energy Surrounds Me", as set to peaceful (if sometimes trippy) light visualizations. If you like Tym's softer original music (and his reminiscent-in-tone acoustic shows), this will be right up your alley, and the lyrical messages about surrounding yourself with love energy do feel natural and from the heart! Musically, I prefer heavier, but this has it's place, so give "Energy Surrounds Me" a listen below!

Also today, here's a very short teaser clip for Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers' acoustic set on Low & Slow's patio on Canada Day, as shared by the restaurant's Facebook page the day of the show, not long after Rob posted it on his personal Facebook page. The 44 second clip features Rob covering a portion of The Eagles' "Hotel California" with lyrics changed to promote going to the restaurant. Fun promotion, if short and very late notice for when his set actually began, so give it a belated look below!

 

 

Finally, here's another new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time a 70 second instrumental named "Visual Justice". Featuring Ted (TedShred, if you prefer) playing indoors on his headless Strandberg guitar, this is another quick but nicely technical and well put together performance by the St. Ignace, Michigan product, so progressive metal fans will want to check out this well shot multi-camera footage below, and stay tuned for more from Ted and/or H.L.T.C.!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: This Is Your Band On Drugs

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly spotlight of randomly selected local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands from the past for current readers! I had originally projected a double profile this month due to what I thought was minimal surviving information on the first band, but it turns out that I underestimated them despite their relatively short presence as a live act! As such, the second band we had picked (mid-2000s all-female hard rock band Apocrytha) will lead off a double band profile next month. That said, this month's selection definitely made a mark on the all ages metal scene while they lasted, buoyed by their very familiar guitarist, so here's what you should know!

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This Is Your Band On Drugs 

Genre: Grindcore/Experimental

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Like other contemporary 1-2 member local extreme metal bands from the early-mid 2010s, This Is Your Band On Drugs did not have a permanent bassist or drummer, and they used a drum machine for percussion in their 2014 live gigs, but guest musicians weren't uncommon.)

Nick Burns, vocals/percussion
Chase Wigmore (Awokest, The Strange Coyotes), guitar/backing vocals

Audio/Video: This Is Your Band On Drugs released a self-titled demo EP featuring over a dozen original death metal songs, and while it has been posted online for free, it was released in physical copies in 2014 through Blood Shed Productions for a paltry $1. The band also posted a very short jam video on their YouTube channel at the time, while I filmed them twice at May 2014 concerts at The Oddfellows Hall that you can see on our Facebook page. Here's Chase & Nick playing "Black Metal Is Too Hard" & "Get Fucked In The Sewage" (they titled it, don't shoot the messenger!)

Info/Analysis: Though Nick & Chase used the This Is Your Band On Drugs name in a busking setting as far back as June 2013, the band as we knew it only debuted in May 2014 via sets at that month's Fuck The Facts show & the fourth annual Swampstravaganza, plus a Moose Lodge gig, notably all being as replacements for an advertised band that dropped out. After a work stint out of town for Chase, a planned return at Blood Shed Productions' annual Devil's Night show that year did not occur, and T.I.Y.B.O.D. are presumed to have fell inactive by 2015. They were advertised to return at a Blood Shed-promoted all-local concert at The New American Pub in February 2019, but they also did not play at that event, and have not been heard from since. This Is Your Band On Drugs fit in perfectly with the minimalist local death metal crowd in the 2010s, and stood out with their freewheeling jam style, intensity, and Chase's strong guitar work, but Nick could often be hard to hear. Follow Chase's prolific solo music to see what he's up to nowadays!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As promised, we'll finally look at Apocrytha in this series on or around August 10th, but as I know they won't have enough content for a solo installment, I randomly picked a Sault Michigan band to round things out with, namely mid-2010s acoustic hard rock group The Creepy Little Coffee People! Look for that next month as well, plus more news on the site by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

Tarnished Concert Preview, New Videos, And More From Sault Michigan!!

After publishing six posts in six days last week, things have crashed back to Earth more or less in terms of news and notes, but if you're interested in new content from the Sault Michigan-area, then today's post will be up your alley! It includes a surprise lineup departure, new videos, and a preview of a concert this weekend, so here's what you should know!

With news slowing down again in the wake of the Kewadin Casino schedule announcement and the beginning of Stage 2 in Ontario, I'm opting to post this weekend concert preview slightly early to ensure that steady content on the SMS is maintained. That said, if you're in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, look for Sault Ste. Marie hard rock trio Tarnished back at their recent favourite local venue (Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! This is a special concert tied into an American Veterans motorcycle gathering that you can get full details on via the Facebook event page, and there are events relating to that all weekend, including a bonfire and unspecified separate musicians on Friday. Hulbert House did not announce if Tarnished's show on Saturday would be outdoors or indoors, but again, if the weather's good, why not take advantage of their proper stage?

Admission is $50 for the weekend and includes camping priviliges at the Hulbert House site, and while Tarnished's concert is included with admission, inquire within if you want to ask about attending just the concert itself. I assume they'd prefer attendees be related to AMVETS or motorcycling, but you never know! Tarnished will be on at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and if you are up for a trip over the Mackinac Bridge, they will also be playing in Mackinaw City on Friday night, so click here for more details on that. See above for more information on their Hulbert gig on Saturday, and for a preview, here's some new videos of Alex, Nathan, and Josh from their set in Grand Marais this past Saturday! While not promoted much on Facebook, this outdoor show two hours west of the Soo was filmed for two 45 seconds-long videos posted on Tarnished's Facebook page, so what can you see here?

These videos show covers of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", which I chose to embed as it's both a heavier cover and it's filmed in a normal landscape orientation. Both are well done covers that put Alex's strong melodic singing to good use, and it's just a shame that the filmer wasn't closer to the stage (let alone filming vertically for the Seger cover). Give both videos a look above and below, and don't miss Tarnished in Hulbert on Saturday if you're attending the AMVETS gathering!

Next up, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time of a short new instrumental original track named "Kitten Cat Shark Attack"! Well, Shark Week is coming up, perhaps this is getting an early jump on things? Despite the thumbnail, there's no kittens or sharks to be seen, it's just Ted playing a very heavy progressive metal song with his headless guitar. I'll admit, this is one of my favourite of Ted's solo tracks so far, the brutal technicality is great, and the new lighting/camera setup works to it's advantage! Give Ted's new video a watch below!

Finally, we have some surprising news out of Sault Michigan, as new local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews have surprisingly parted ways with bassist Chris Leask before they could even debut at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend. The band did not elaborate on their Facebook page, but Chris revealed on his personal Facebook page that he left for medical reasons that will impair his ability to play bass, though it is nothing life-threatening. Given the non-public source, I won't elaborate here, but Chris has been a frequent presence in our Sault Michigan coverage with bands like Power Slug and Highway 63, and hopefully his condition improves so he can return to the stage down the road! A new Facebook photo posted by the band from their debut weekend shows the bassist they brought in at least for those gigs, and I may be wrong on this, but he looks like Brett Blackwood, who played in guitarist Chris Hubbard's prior hard rock band 415E from 2019-2020. 

In any event, Rhythm & Brews have not publically confirmed a permanent replacement for Chris, let alone acknowledged his departure in writing, but they don't have any other Kewadin Casino gigs advertised in 2021, so there may not necessarily be a rush either. We'll keep you posted when more rolls in from Rhythm & Brews' camp, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next, barring any late notice concert announcements! Thanks everyone!

Kraken Mara EP Updates, A New Local Metal Radio Show, And New Videos!!

Before we get into the meat of this post, today marks the 14th anniversary of The Sault Metal Scene's launch on July 4th, 2007, and I wanted to thank the vast, vast majority of you for your support and kind words over the years! I just wish that we weren't in a pandemic during the anniversary for a second straight year, so I won't get too self indulgent, but hopefully I can time it with a proper concert to mark year #15 in 2022! Today's sixth post in as many days (amazingly) has new videos, the impending launch of a new local internet radio show, and leading off, some new album releases (maybe?), so here's what you should know!

 

Local progressive metal duo Kraken Mara may have quietly released their debut EP "Press Start" for sale.... AND a second EP.... and I mean, quietly! The band has not publically announced anything regarding a release on their Facebook or Instagram pages (they haven't even posted on either since April), but at some point in the past month, Kraken Mara posted "Press Start" and a 3 song follow-up EP named "Game Over" on their website on Wix. Both appear to be on sale for $15 each, but when I attempted to click through to see what Wix's online storefront process is like (I have never heard of a heavier local band only putting out an album this way), neither allowed you to proceed past entering an e-mail address to get the files sent, so I am thinking that they haven't completely finalized the release. In any event, this confirms that both "Press Start" and "Game Over" are complete and fully streamable there, both remain instrumental releases, and like "Press Start", the second EP features session drummer Cliff Aubut.

"Game Over" features the song "Moon's Haunted" (a prior removal from "Press Start") and new tracks named "Escort Mission" & "Antipath", mostly shorter than what made the cut on the main EP. Even if their sale postings worked, I probably wouldn't be reviewing "Press Start" on the SMS until next month (Molten Imp are waiting in the wings already), but if you want to hear all eight songs for free until/unless you can properly buy them, click here or above, and we'll keep you posted when we hear more!

Next up, do you recall the occasional teaser from musician interviews on local internet radio station The Borderline where a guest was suggested/teased as the host of an upcoming metal-centric program? Well, one is finally debuting tonight! This has not been announced on the station's website at press time, but former Winkstinger/Twistory frontman Josh Amendola tells me that he will be hosting a metal-centric series named Metal Morpheus that debuts tonight at 9:00 PM! Naturally, the first episode will go through the roots of metal in the 1960s and 1970s, but Josh did say that local bands will be in the eventual playlist. If you can't tune in live, one imagines that episode #1 will be available for on-demand streaming after the fact, once Metal Morpheus appears on The Borderline's website. For obvious reasons, it's great that The Borderline finally has a metal show!

Adding some musical diversity beyond the occasional interview or one-off interview is very welcomed, and it's nice that it's slotted earlier than you may expect for a metal radio show on an otherwise non-metal station! There are unknowns yet, but tune in to Metal Morpheus tonight at 9:00 PM to hear how Josh does in episode #1, and I apologize again for the delay in mentioning this on the SMS! He originally caught me in a busy stretch what with all of the new concert announcements in the area, no hard feelings whatsoever!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new cover of Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" from ex-Garden of Bedlam frontman Erik "Buzz" Boissineau's YouTube channel on Friday! His first upload there in three months, this vocal/acoustic guitar rendition lets you hear a higher and softer aspect of Buzz's range that isn't as apparent from his proper bands, and while I prefer later, more progressive Radiohead songs, this is well done across the board! Give Buzz's newest cover a watch below!

Finally, here's a new instrumental jam video from veteran local hard rock guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel on June 23rd! An progressive rock playthrough alongside pre-recorded drums by Washington-based drummer Bill Ray, Mike suggested in the description that this isn't finished and may have had a timing slip-up, but it sounds fine so far! Smooth and melodic, well handled by a prolific musician who knows complex prog rock very well, and it's nice to see more new content from Mike's YouTube channel, so give this video a watch below, and hopefully we hear more from Mike soon!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site later this week! Thanks everyone, and to all of our American readers, have a happy Fourth of July!

Where Are The New Albums? July 2021 Update

It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, our monthly spotlight into the current release whereabouts and statuses of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists, in order to see where they are publically for fans following their hopeful release! Four of this month's six entries have new information (as noted with the title in italics), and while one has been removed due to it's successful release (Kraken Mara's "Press Start", more on that next week), a newly announced album that we have yet to address in a news post has been added to replace it. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore's new albums

Rumoured Songs: Unknown

Background: Ever the prolific artist and songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore posted on his eponymous Facebook page on August 31st to announce two more distinct acoustic albums and the long-gestating completion of his 33 part rock opera "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". In February & March, Chase released three more free albums to YouTube, including one of those acoustic albums (the black metal-infused "Ruins Of Life"), Awokest's new album "Beyonder", and his classical piano release "The Symphonic Organism". Most recently, Chase hyped up a progressive metal album on June 2nd entitled "Living Divisions" that will have 8 songs running for 8- minutes, and it will see a paid release on digital platforms. One song from it, "Soul Eclipse", has been posted to stream in advance.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. In fact, he hasn't released one of his albums for sale since "One Last Act Of Defiance" on Bandcamp in December 2019. Stay tuned for updates from his camp when they roll in!
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Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth album

Rumoured Songs: "Lost & Found", "All Broke Down", "No Control"

Background: Local Celtic punk veterans Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide began recording sessions by October 2018 at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, as per their Facebook page. In January 2019, the band confirmed that they were indeed recording a fourth studio album (and first since 2012), which will presumably be released through Tidal Records, and will also be their first album with second guitarist Liam Seymour & drummer Chris Johns. While "All Broke Down" was initially cited as the first single in December 2018 (source here), the first two released singles were "Lost & Found" in March 2019 & "No Control" in December 2020. Credits on the above songs' music videos note that Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studios in St. Catharine's is mixing the album, as he has done for multiple Tidal/Mission Control releases. Dustin has posted a handful of solo songs on Tidal Records' YouTube channel in recent months, but it's not publically known whether or not they'll also be used as new Tide originals.

Current Release Status: When The Tide shared a teaser clip for "Lost & Found", they mentioned that the album was "coming soon", which doesn't tell us much, especially as the band has not posted anything publically yet in 2021. With recording sessions well along the way, and two music videos now public, it's likely that Dustin and company aren't early in the process, but we'll let you know when more comes out on the album!
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Handsome Sandwich - "Lettuce"

Rumoured Songs: "All or Nothing", "Bitter"

Background: After taking a year+ long hiatus during the pandemic, local "no genre" (but functionally alternative/hard rock) band Handsome Sandwich reunited with a new lineup, with returning members Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger now joined by singer Taylor Emlaw and bassist Mitch Sirie. Via their brand new Facebook page and YouTube channel, the band almost instantly began teasing a debut album (after previously being covers-only in their 2017-2020 run), posting two YouTube videos of them jamming new original songs planned for it. On June 25th, Handsome Sandwich revealed that the album will be titled "Lettuce", it will be recorded at Unsalted Audio with producer Dustin Goodall (pictured with the band and Bill Priddle), and that pre-production started on June 27th.

Current Release Status: No clue, especially given that we have no prior Handsome Sandwich albums to go off of, but the new look band has definitely hit the ground running since resuming activity last month! Staying busy and creative when proper non-socially distanced concerts can't happen isn't a bad idea either, so stay tuned for updates from Handsome Sandwich's camp!
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Mike Haggith - Bridges

Rumoured Songs: "From The 55th Parallel", "Over Indecision", "The Nature of The Times","An Act of Strength","The Catalyst", "Dangerous Town", "Come On Home", "Blue Highway", "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost", "Bridges"

Background: After moving to Thompson, Manitoba in November 2017, prolific local/Windsor hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith relaunched his dormant solo project, and soon commenced work on a new CD named "Bridges", which finished recording sessions in early 2019. His Facebook page has documented songwriting sessions, acoustic videos of new original songs, plus solo concerts in Thompson largely featuring new tracks. Despite the unveiling of the cover artwork, three singles, and even a music video for "The Nature of The Times", Mike indefinitely postponed the release of "Bridges" in late 2019 due to mixing delays, personal life concerns, and the quick development of a new album named "If Ever Comes The Day", which was released in June 2020. Note that Mike has released a new studio single named "To Be With You" that has exclusively been aired on The Borderline Radio, but he has not confirmed whether that will be part of a new album of it's own.

Current Release Status: Mike has largely kept his next music plans close to the vest aside from some promising teasers, though he did perform "Come On Home" in Thompson's virtual Winterfest concert in February, and said there that "Bridges" will be released this year. Though this album has been surprisingly delayed since before the pandemic, Mike's typical candor & honesty bodes well if anything sudden occurs. Keep tabs for updates, and watch #LockdownLive IV to hear the whole album unplugged and hear his side of the album's progress and delays as of April 2020!

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Molten Imp's second & future singles

Rumoured Songs: "Winter XX/XXI", "Winter XX/XXI II"

Background: Two years after his local doom metal band AlgomA's final concert, guitarist Boyd Rendell resumed public musical activity in the spring of 2021 via Molten Imp, which has been described as both an industrial metal project and "computer generated noise rock". After posting a couple of standalone songs on their Bandcamp page that may or may not be packaged on further releases, Molten Imp released "Double Dose (Me)" on May 28th for $4, and it is described as the "first in a series of virtual 7" singles". Featuring two songs, plus two brief bonus tracks for buyers only, "Double Dose (Me)" was mastered by Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, though whether the teased future singles will be recorded, released, and priced similarly is unclear.

Current Release Status: No idea, but given the quiet recording methods and quick release of "Double Dose (Me)", the planned second 7'' could come at any time. Molten Imp definitely stand alone in the local scene right now, and hopefully we hear more released material from them soon, but follow them above to see where they're progressing!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" in October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album, though no other details have followed suit. The album will presumably feature new bassist Brendan Bertrand, who quietly replaced Adam Fahrer in the band earlier this year.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, not to mention the complications of the pandemic and their public hiatus since releasing "Middle Man", though their new lineup will debut at the drive-in Rotaryfest in two weeks. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow when ready!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around August 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be our next Defunct Local Band Profile next week. That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site early next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Scarkazm, And The Wyld Stallyns), Plus New Videos!!

Barring some more surprise late notice gigs, this should end our recent string of posts featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for at least a few days! For our second post of July 2021, we're mostly in Sault Michigan looking at some new original songs and the long awaited return of two touring favourites to the E.U.P. stage, but let's start in Sault Ontario with one more SHORT NOTICE show as Stage 2 of the provincial re-opening continues!

Local acoustic hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns will play their first public concert of 2021 when they play a special outdoor matinee gig on the patio at Reggie's Place TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via their Facebook page on Wednesday. After sitting out the socially distanced concert scene from February-April, The Wyld Stallyns are back in the saddle for singer/guitarist Rob Speers' second outdoor patio gig on Queen Street East in a three day span, following his rare solo outing at Low & Slow yesterday. I don't know if Reggie's is doing the patio concert thing TOMORROW to take advantage of the summer season, or if it's easier to do it there out of deference to public health guidelines, but it's great to see the Speers', Jesse, and Jonas delivering their fan friendly brand of rock covers, perhaps as a good tune-up for Rotaryfest in two weeks! Also, this show is another sign that the current Reggie's ownership isn't country-only.

TOMORROW's concert is at 5:00 PM, it has no cover charge (but I'm sure they'd prefer if you bought something to get in, let alone on the patio), and while this is a matinee gig, remember that Reggie's concerts are typically 19+. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!

Next up, let's head to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, where we're finally closing up our new hard rock concert announcements at Kewadin Casino's two regional lounges, starting with the return of Traverse City hard rock trio Scarkazm to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, October 15th & Saturday, October 16th, before returning for a one-nighter(?) on Friday, December 31st! The October dates will be the first north of the Mackinac Bridge for these Northern Michigan favourites since rocking the same venue in February 2020 (we all know why they haven't played locally since), and while it'll still be a few more months, it's great to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff finally coming back to our neck of the woods! What I don't know yet is if Scarkazm's New Year's Eve gig will be paired by a show on Saturday, January 1st, 2022 as Kewadin's schedule for The Rapids Lounge only covers concerts taking place in 2021.

We'll let you know when/if we get confirmation, but if it is a one-nighter, hopefully Scarkazm deliver a hard hitting night of tunes for fans at year's end! These shows will have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges, but expect the usual holiday frills for New Year's Eve. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not done for Jeff & Adam yet!

If Scarkazm are coming back to the E.U.P., their sister band Peril can't be far off themselves, as this long-standing fan favourite classic/hard rock trio will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branch on Friday, October 29th & Saturday, October 30th! Though Scarkazm play more often than Peril in the modern day, it makes perfect sense that Jeff & Adam would bring Peril back to our area with Brooks behind the kit for their old school attack, and like Scarkazm, this will be their first concert weekend up here since rocking The Northern Pines Lounge in February 2020. If you have missed Peril in the past year & a half, note that the Halloween weekend shows are Peril's only local dates under the Kewadin umbrella in 2021, so keep these dates in mind! Like with Scarkazm's shows, expect 21+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more on Kewadin Casino's 2021 lounge concert schedule!

We'll close today with the latest videos from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel last month! One is entitled "Ignace", and it features fast-motion footage of stormy weather in St. Ignace bookended by footage of Ted (one assumes) driving through the same town at night, albeit with some warm colour filtering. Not the heaviest song Ted has composed, but very proggy and a nice driving tune all the same with some complex riffing! Embedded below is Ted's newest song "Great Wall", which he said was inspired by the idea of not knowing what you had until it's gone. Again accompanied by weather-related video (this time of a rainy night shot by his H.L.T.C. bandmate Brandon West), this shorter number has more of a darker, doomier atmosphere, but it still has the heavy technicality you've come to expect from Ted(shred)'s solo output! Give both videos a look above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison And Rhythm & Brews), Plus A New Local Band!!

My original plans for this post was to be all Sault Michigan-related, with the back half to be devoted to touring band dates at Kewadin Casino lounges for later this year. However, those have been postponed to our next news post tomorrow, as we have a bunch of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to get to! We knew about the two in Sault Michigan, but as Sault Ontario is now in Phase 2 of pandemic re-opening, socially distanced and regulated concerts can occur once again, like we saw from June-December 2020 and February-April 2021. As such, Sault Ontario dates are popping up quickly, so we'll end there, but let's start in the E.U.P. with a debuting (and very familiar) quartet!

We have a new local band to add to our Sault Michigan band links, and they are Rhythm & Brews, a supergroup featuring two members each of defunct local hard rock bands Nixxon Dixxon and Highway 63! Their lineup specifically includes Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Brandon Carr (ex-Ten Kings) on vocals and Chris Hubbard (ex-415E) on guitar, joined by Highway 63 alumni Chris Leask (ex-Power Slug) on bass and Ron Suchey (ex-Monkey's Uncle) on drums. The new band's name does appear to be more of a pun to reference both music & beer, rather than an indication of their sound, as their past résumés would indicate that they will play hard and/or classic rock, and they have already called themselves "the U.P.’s hottest new rock band" on their Facebook page. Other than that, all they have posted so far are pictures (including of Chris' guitars), so specifics on their setlist & potential original material are forthcoming, but when can you see them live for the first time?

How does TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT sound? While the band proper has not acknowledged these dates on Facebook, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page confirms that Rhythm & Brews will be the first band back as they resume live weekly concerts at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend! Of course, apologies for the short notice, we only learned about these dates earlier this week when Kewadin's new shows went public. These are the only Rhythm & Brews dates at either local Kewadin branch this year, so coupled with the lack of advertising by the band, could they see this more as a tune-up/test launch? Time will tell, but if you're in the E.U.P. and miss Nixxon Dixxon and/or Highway 63, keep Rhythm & Brews' live concert debuts in mind TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As usual for Kewadin lounge bookings, these are 21+ shows with no cover charge and 9:00 PM start times, and please follow any advertised public health guidelines. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where the local concert scene is resuming (with strict pandemic guidelines) TODAY, as the relocated Low & Slow barbecue restaurant will be hosting three live musicians on their patio, including veteran hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison and ex-Elements frontman Rob Speers in a rare solo concert! Apologies for the short notice, Low & Slow only announced this show on their Facebook page on Tuesday. As you may recall, a concert at Low & Slow used to be common enough when they had their upstairs bar Room 21 at their old Albert Street West location, but they moved to 648 Queen Street East (the former J. Caroline's) shortly before the pandemic began, and thusly stopped having concerts... or so we thought. This may be a special occasion given that they have their patio open for the summer, let alone on Canada Day, but if you want to see some live music, come by TODAY to see all of the action!

This will be Tym's first show since playing at Reggie's Place in March, while Rob's solo set will presumably be similar in tone to his lead vocal songs with The Wyld Stallyns (more on them tomorrow), so Stallyns fans shouldn't be out of place. The third musician TODAY is a singer/guitarist named Elijah Russell (or Elijah Steven) who I know nothing about, but come out at 12:00 PM to see what he has in store! Each musician has a four hour block to perform in, with Rob's set beginning at 4:00 PM and Tym's closing at 8:00 PM, so this is definitely a very long concert! You could argue that it's three separate shows, but they do flow right into each other. It's also worth noting that Low & Slow did host a live musician (Jazmine Ladouceur) on their patio over the June 18th weekend while we were still in Stage 1, so there is precedent for today's show to be done safely. TODAY'S sets don't have stated age limits or cover charges, but given that this is a restaurant (let alone their patio), buying something may be preferred to attend.

Of course, please respect and follow all of Low & Slow's public health recommendations if you come out today, including wearing a mask where mandated, and keeping social distance as much as possible, to ensure that you and everyone else is safe. Vaccines are making the rounds in the province, but we're not where Michigan is yet, so let's not take a step back here. Visit the above links for more details on TODAY'S concert on this sunny day off, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for another new news post full of new concert announcements tomorrow! Thanks everyone!