Mike Haggith & Spades GT Updates, Plus More Recent Notes!!

New news post for you guys on this late Tuesday night, as we continue clearing out our news backlog, if slowly! Assorted shorter topics round things out, but let's first look at some recent updates from two local acts who coincidentally both relocated to Barrie!

Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith is definitely staying busy as of late, and while we do have both his Face To Face concert live-stream and a recent video interview to look at (hopefully) soon, let's lead off with the big news, as Mike's new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" has an official release date of Thursday, July 13th! You can pre-save it on Spotify at this link, though remember that he plans to include Bandcamp-exclusive bonus tracks for the paid release there. An offical lyric video for "Carousel" from the new album went up as a scheduled upload earlier today on Mike's YouTube channel, which features Mike (one assumes) writing out the song lyrics with a Sharpie on pieces of paper, with late input from rose petals. Is the destruction of flowers an intentional visual motif for the album? Note the film grain and the VCR graphics too, albeit in widescreen.

No word on the album cover, but note the release date of July 13th coincides with his Rotaryfest Stage 1 set that same day, so we get the de facto release concert! Mike should have physical copies in tow that weekend. While the lyric video is embedded below, Mike also uploaded this "Shorts" video to YouTube as well to hype the album, which includes an audio sample and recommendations to fans of Tears For Fears, Louis Tomlinson, U2, Coldplay, and Train. In other words, don't expect The Din III here, but the jury's out on the full product yet! Assuming this date holds, and nothing new from metal or hard rock acts beats it to market beforehand, "All The Best In All You Do" is currently slated for an SMS review in... November, alas. We have quite a backlog of new albums to look at, and I don't want to usurp anyone in line from release date, but Mike is absolutely in line, and I know that fans are highly anticipating this one!

Of course, I will hold comment on "Carousel" pending our eventual review of the album, but you know that Mike is moving up in the world when he's putting out a proper lyric video with production values like this for one of his singles! Visit his official website for much more on "All The Best In All You Do", stay tuned for more from him soon, and here's "Carousel"!

Next up, here's some recent non-"Reel" updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's Facebook page! In terms of concerts, their Toronto gigs at Beer Bash VI on June 3rd and Indie Night In Canada last week (allegedly their last Toronto show "for some time") both went really well according to the band, and you can see lots of photos (and, yes, "Reels") from them on Facebook! Apparently, live clips from their Indie Night In Canada set were played on Wallygator's Rock & Roll Swamp on CGCM Rock Radio this past Saturday, continuing their positive relationship with that internet station, so consider giving them a listen, as you never know if you'll hear some "Sewer City Radio" there! Spades GT's next show will see them and guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life join forces at Rhythm & Brews (no relation) in Cambridge on Friday, so click here for details!

Note that none of these shows were branded as a release party for "Sewer City Radio", though I guess Beer Bash VI was the de facto one, as it was a day after the album came out. There are some new "Reels" too, but rather than nitpick the enterprise again, let's hold those for a future post and feature a Spades GT video that I can embed on the SMS! This was filmed by attendee Amanda Schilz and publically shared to the former Jack Spades' Facebook page on June 3rd as part of a batch post of Beer Bash photos. It runs for just 17 seconds, it is sadly vertical, and it mostly focuses on fans before slowly panning to the stage, but it sounds good while it lasts, so Spades GT fans can check it out below!

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

• Local hard rock quartet Half Past announced the addition of guitarist Al Fletcher's old Skeyes of Seven bandmate Johnny Amendola to their lineup on their Facebook page on Saturday, replacing Jamie Labreche. A reason for Jamie's departure was not announced, but they have yet to play a live concert since their fall 2021 reunion despite him coming on board at the time. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Jamie, but it's good to see Johnny (also of Cherry Crush and Tripod The Dog fame) back out there, and hopefully we hear more from Half Past soon!
• New and online page-less local classic metal/hard rock trio Nostalgia have slightly amended their name to Nostalgic, as per this Facebook event page for their Reggie's shows this past weekend. A reason for the name change wasn't announced, but it's one letter (the last letter, at that), so I can see it blowing right by some fans. Stay tuned for more from Nostalgic when it comes in!
• SaultOnline's Heidi Ivany covered the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre last month for this article, where she highly praised the band, stage show, and overall attention to detail for recreating Queen's 1986 world tour. 23 pictures from the concert were also featured, as well as a note that the band promises to return to the Soo on their Canadian tour next year. Good read, so give it a look above! As best as I can tell, there were no Facebook videos on SaultOnline's end here.
   

 

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

Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to recent concert videos shot for Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, and I do apologize for the delay in these making the site! The concert in question is the Dayglo Abortions-headlined show at Soo Blaster last month, and yes, I am well aware of his Queen: It's A Kinda Magic videos, which will hit the site soon also! Chris filmed 15 videos at the Dayglos concert, with all four bands that night getting at least three videos, so what can you see there? In terms of the headlining Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk band, Chris filmed The Dayglow Abortions playing "Proud To Be A Canadian", "Bedtime Story", "Stupid Songs", and as embedded below, their opening two songs "Your Facebook Can Kiss My Assbook" and "Sick Of The Lies". Fast, intense, and rough around the edges, just what you hope for from The Cretin and crew, so fans will definitely like these!

Chris had a good angle of The Dayglos from the floor, and while vocals weren't always audible depending on how hard the song was going, these tracks came through well on this big stage. Crowd was definitely receptive to their long awaited return, so give their videos a look above & below!

Interestingly, Chris actually shot more videos of an opening band here compared to the headliners, perhaps because the openers in question are Toronto hardcore punk icons Random Killing, whose frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley is from Sault Ste. Marie! Chris' five videos of Random Killing include performances of "Genocide", "Patios & Beer", and (as embedded below) "Twelve", but Chris didn't title the other two, and I have had no luck trying to identify them, despite both having vocals. Click here and here to give those videos a watch, in any event. Filmed at a similar vantage point, these performances are solid, and Andrew is more audible than Murray was, so fans will enjoy Random Killing's videos below!

Chris also filmed three videos of Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama's set on May 19th, and again, I was having trouble titling songs despite these not being instrumentals. Despite cross-referencing with their Bandcamp discography, I couldn't find a 100% verifiable name for any of these songs, which says more negative about me than it does about Motorama, I assure you. The longest of the three videos is embedded below, but click here and here to watch the others. While not as hardcore punk-based as their tourmates, Motorama's hard hitting, more lo-fi brand of noise rock drew a good reception, and Chris' more central placement on the floor was fitting here, so give these a look above and below!

Finally, the openers (and promoters via Live705) were local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in a rare post-pandemic set in Sault Ste. Marie proper, and Chris' videos of their set include their self-titled original, "Drop Dead" (née "Wasting Away"), and as embedded below, what I believe to be a new song. At least here, me not knowing the title would be more natural! A.D.S. have teased recording new material a bit in the past year, and while still a punk song, it does let bassist Matt Quinn really let loose for his on-stage presence and his rangy backing vocals! Good stuff, so check their videos out above & below, and stay tuned for more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!

A Renamed Local Band, Their New EP, And Much More News & Notes!!

Before we begin today's news post, I wanted to apologize for not one, but two missed concerts in this weekend's concert previews. Firstly, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard played an unplugged concert at Gateway Casino last night, a show that was only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday afternoon. Bone Yard did not promote this show on their Facebook page, and this weekend was left blank in their summer concert calendar, otherwise full for another four weekends, leading me to believe that this concert truly came together on late notice. Interestingly, it was originally advertised for their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge, who last played live at the casino in March, but was later revised to specify that this was "Bone Yard unplugged". Is this in deference to bassist Warren Reville being present, or have The Bearded Lounge been folded in favour of just using the Bone Yard name across the board?

If the former, no reason has been given for the unplugged switch, but the full electric band will be back at the Queen Street Cruise this coming weekend! The other missed show is from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who did indeed play a standard concert at The Esquire Club on Friday night before their special gig with three former Obsession singers last night. Initial advertising focused only on the Saturday nighter with guests, and Soundcheck only confirmed that they were playing on Friday too via their Facebook page at 4:24 PM that day. I profusely apologize for missing both bands' shows, I'd have covered them had they gotten more reasonable advance notice, but hopefully they were hits!

Today's post otherwise features some assorted recent updates, and leading off, a surprise band revival, as local progressive metal band Kraken Mara are back, and have a new name to show for it! Only explained by saying "we've shuffled some things around", their new name is Convergence, as per their Facebook page yesterday, and their social media links are changed to match. In case you forgot, the former Kraken Mara was the long-gestating project from ex-Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie and his brother-in-law Jake Valois that was first active in fits & starts from 2015-2018 before resurfacing in 2021 with new EPs (yes, plural) that were streamable but, despite appearances, not buyable from their Wix website, which was oddly the only place where you could access them. While not hyped up on Facebook, Kraken Mara Convergence have finally posted an EP for sale that actually works on Wix, named "One"!

Originally, they had eight songs across two EPs named "Press Start" & "Game Over" that you could stream on Wix in the summer of 2021, but they have been condensed down into this five-track EP, with three prior songs ("Vibe Check" & "Minmaj" from the former and "Escort Mission" from the latter) not present (maybe on "Two"?). Notably, Kelowna, B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut is only credited on "The Woodward" this time out, but he is still listed as a session performer on the "About" page on Wix, as well a name we haven't heard much about locally in years, namely former State of Misery/Valentine's Day Massacre singer Steve Rhodes! Steve moved to London with The V.D.M. back in 2012, and has surprisingly not played a local date with his more recent Southern Ontario bands like D3athcharg3r or Prosector. He is not on the Convergence EP, but it'd be great to hear Steve's screaming vocals again in a local context!

"Many others" are teased as collaborators, but not named. At present, this EP is available exclusively on Wix for $9.99 (despite individual tracks costing $1 each), and can be streamed for free there as well. Note that it was produced & mastered at the band's own Yellow Room Studios, but how much of that work is new this year, I can't say. Yes, I do plan to review "One" on the SMS, but alas, we have quite a backlog for our monthly CD reviews, so it won't hit the site until October, as we're booked solid for four months. Still, it's great to see Brendan & Jake back yet again, and hopefully their djent-heavy, ultra technical brand of prog metal takes off as intended in 2023! See and hear much more 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 name:

• The Darsombra-headlined concert from Dryer Fire on Wednesday, June 21st has been moved from the Bellevue Park Bandshell to.... the March Street Stage? A reason for the move was not announced, but this was clarified in Facebook advertising since May 14th, and the new locale will also feature a local vendors market featuring food by Jiggs & Reels Catering from 6:30 PM onward that day. Oddly, they did not specify where on March Street that this pop-up stage will be located, but the event page defaults to the Downtown Association offices, so closer to Queen Street East would be my guess. See above for more on this FREE summer solstice concert!
• We now know who Rotaryfest Stage 1 performers Lands & Forest (not Land & Forest) are, based on personal Facebook posts, and they are a blues/rockabilly quartet featuring Johnny & The Revelators alumni Jason Gasparetto and twins Byron & Marshall Jaaskelainen (the latter of Rising Tide fame), plus Marshall's old Barn Board Trio bandmate Jaime Jacques. This group debuted at The Water Tower Pub last night, and while not a hard rock act, it's good to know who they are! Their Rotaryfest set will be on Saturday, July 15th at 2:15 PM.
  
• I have moved local Tool tribute band Parabol back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band has not issued any public statements or played live since their headlining gig at Soo Blaster on June 4th last year, which is their only concert in the past 3½ years, pandemic acknowledged. Parabol were never a frequent presence on stage, so the potential of them coming back out of the blue for a big headlining date is definitely out there, but best of luck to John, Steve, Al, and Anthony in whatever's next! 

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Isolation Sessions

To keep the stream of normal posts going thanks to our current backlog, let's double up with this month's Defunct Local Band Profile as a second post today! This monthly feature looks at randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk bands who are defunct or functionally inactive for a year+, in order to spotlight them and their run for modern readers! This band was very much a product of their time, if full of familiar faces playing familiar hard rock hits, so here's what you should know on them!

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The Isolation Sessionsr

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Acoustic Hard Rock

Lineup:

Jordan Rains (Half Past), vocals
Todd Kidd (8ight Past Nine, King Misfit), guitar
Arthur Lacasse (Half Past, The Soo Fighters), guitar/bass
Chris Thompson (Fitswitch, Frightlight, Half Past), drums

Audio/Video: The Isolation Sessions never played live, partially due to publically forming at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a handful of covers featuring just Jordan and Arthur were posted on Art's YouTube channel, including two takes of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late", plus one of Seether's "Plastic Man". That song is the only surviving video on their Facebook page, also their only publically posted media with the full band (if not visually), so give it a listen below! Staind's "Epiphany" and Fuel's "Bad Day" were among now-deleted covers posted to Facebook.

Info/Analysis: Former (and future) Half Past bandmates Jordan Rains & Art Lacasse formed The Isolation Sessions in March 2020, with the name and their initial setup capitalizing on the real isolation that everyone was dealing with during that initial pandemic lockdown. Once things opened up a bit that summer, they added fellow Half Past alum Chris Thompson and Windsor native guitarist Todd Kidd to form a full lineup, but only that "Plastic Man" cover in October and the aforementioned YouTube videos in January 2021 followed. By March of that year, Art & Jordan had joined the new local hard rock band Dealing Without, who gave way to the Half Past reunion that fall, with The Isolation Sessions falling by the wayside regardless. The Isolation Sessions hit at the right time with the right approach to make an impact, but it wasn't meant to be despite best intentions.

Prior Half Past chemistry helped, and they played to Jordan's vocal strengths, but I'd have liked to have seen The Isolation Sessions do some live-streamed concerts or somesuch to really seize the moment they were born out of. Perhaps this served its purpose as a laid back creative outlet before Jordan & Arthur could get a full normal band going, so look for more from Half Past soon, hopefully we hear from Todd again, and R.I.P. Chris!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll jump across the border for a Sault Michigan-area project next, namely Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's inactive solo project, as randomly selected from our links! Look for that on or around July 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Go Skateboarding Day), New Videos, And More!!

With a couple of big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS coming to my attention in the last few days, let's spotlight those in today's news post, as well as clearing out some backlogged news items and videos. Here's what you should know!

Tidal Records' annual Go Skateboarding Day festivities return to Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Centre on Wednesday, June 21st, and live music is planned once again! As announced via a "Reel" shared to Tidal Records' Facebook page yesterday, this will be the seventh installment of the local Go Skate Day to have bands playing atop the big ramp, and all four bands are new to the event this year, so who can you expect? In advertised order, they include two online page-less local bands, namely punk trio Hails (in just their second announced gig) and alternative/punk supergroup Bookclub. Members of these bands played last year with The Cover-Up, Vanity First, and These Magnificent Tentacles, so there will be some familiarity there! For the first time since 2016, hip hop will be part of Go Skate Day via local rap collective Sound Syndrome, who feature ex-As It Stands frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent in their ranks.

I'm a bit surprised that it's taken this long for rap to return to this event, but hopefully the Sound Syndrome crew delivers a fitting soundtrack during their block! Rising young metal trio The BAG will open in their first show since rocking The Esquire Club in March, and they should set things off on a heavy foot later this month! As always, expect food, local vendors, games, and more at Go Skate Day on Wednesday the 21st, absolutely an ALL AGES event with all skaters welcome of any skill level, plus general attendees too! This remains a FREE event, which starts at 4:00 PM. Should be a fun time as always, so visit the above links for more details!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will make a rare trip to The Moose Lodge on Friday, June 30th when they honour singer/guitarist Terry Eaton's induction into the Great Northern Opry this fall! The ceremony is in November, but inductees traditionally get celebration concerts set up by the Northern Ontario Country Music Association a few months prior where they are the sole guest of honour. Of course, Terry has a long history as both a rock and country musician in the Soo, notably playing with Asylum Country and as a backing musician with other artists, and he still covers select country songs in Soundcheck's setlist. Thusly, this show will no doubt skew quite heavily towards Soundcheck's country covers, but it's a big platform regardless, and Terry deserves this honour after all of his work in the local music community! He will join SMS-familiar names like Kyle McKey and Ric Datson in the Opry once inducted at The Quattro Hotel in November.

Given the purpose of this event, there will be advance tickets running for $20 (call the number on the poster if you don't want to chance getting them at the door), and a 6:00 PM start time is advertised. My late step-grandpa Len Nevin was an Opry inductee in 2003, so I'm familiar with the honour even without covering local music, so this will definitely be a big night for Terry, and don't miss out on Soundcheck's presumably quite country-centric set at 543 Trunk Road for the occasion! See above for more details!

We'll close today with SaultOnline's coverage of both the Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre on May 6th! Heidi Ivany was on hand to cover this event, via an article you can read at this link, Her comments on the Festival of Beer bands were summatively general, if positive, but she does give good insights into the craft beer and local vendor aspect, so fans on that wavelength will like her coverage! Nine pictures are included, with two of the aforementioned Bookclub's headlining set and one from The Wyld Stallyns (though none of The Hollow Heads). That sure looks like Odd Man Out/ex-Sense of Truth guitarist Steve Myers filling in for Jesse Cook in the Stallyns picture, but I have heard nothing about any lineup changes, temporary or otherwise. No sign of Josh Norling either, but he has missed Wyld Stallyns gigs before. Also, there was one concert video shot for SaultOnline's Facebook page!

Heidi (I presume) shot 9+ minutes of Bookclub's set, with Mikey, Dave, Dustin, Al, and Erin's cover of Sloan's "Everything You've Done Wrong" in progress when recording began (watch for The Northwest's Wayne Watkins on guest backing vocals). The only full song captured is Vampire Weekend's "A-Punk" (with Mikey just singing), and they closed with most of Doug & The Slugs' "Making It Work". Despite the unfortunately vertical camera and just the middle song being complete. True to their early descriptions, they had an eclectic group of covers here that you don't hear covered locally very much, if at all, and it's a lively performance with good crowd response, so check it out below, and look for more from SaultOnline soon!

From a Go Skate Day band this year to the 2016 headliners (then as Jack Spades), we'll close with the latest from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, so what have they been up to this month, album release aside? Well, "Reels" have come hard and heavy on their Facebook page, starting with this one to hype "Sewer City Radio" being on sale, even on platforms like Tidal, Google Play, and Deezer, so if you'd rather stream it there, you know where to go! A clip of the title track can also be heard. Starting on Wednesday, they've gotten in the "one reel per day" mode again, including this montage of live footage set to the studio copy of "Black on Black", followed by three videos shot by attendee William Wai Yun Lum at the Indie Night In Canada concert in Toronto on Tuesday, including clips of their cover of Turbonegro's "All My Friends Are Dead" and their original "Negative Headspace", ...

...and in today's "Reel", another song from that night with the camera focused on singer J.D. Pearce and drummer Tyler Reiner. William's footage is really solid, but they were uploaded as "Reels", of which my complaints are unchanging until Facebook lets you embed them externally, play them in background tabs, and let them be longer and horizontal... but then it's just a video, right? Speaking of which, they did upload just a video on May 31st of them playing "Final Girl" at the Anti-Queens show in Barrie in April (the same footage was used for the "Black on Black" "reel"), which has excellent side-stage footage of the full song at The Rec Room, so give it a look below, and look for more from Spades GT soon!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Soo Soundcheck Concert Preview, Plus New Videos!!

As promised, we're rounding out this weekend's concert previews with a big all-local event that has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks, plus a new original song and a promotional video for another upcoming concert. Here's what you should know on this Friday morning!

A special union of three local originals-focused rock bands takes place TOMORROW NIGHT at the Sault Community Theatre Centre named Soo Soundcheck! The first of two local band showcase events with similar branding & sponsorship that are taking place at the former Kiwanis Theatre this month (joining the covers-centric Northern Echoes on June 25th), this will feature three talented local bands, including alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich as the heavier respite in their first show since their CD release party last month! Quite a big stage to go along with their recent momentum, so consider a trip to White Pines tomorrow to see what they have in store! The advertised headliners are local progressive rock veterans Machines Dream in their first gig since announcing the temporary reunion of their original lineup, which will definitely be a pull for many fans, so don't miss their technicality either!

Indie rock quartet Man Feelings (who opened for Handsome Sandwich at their release party) will also perform tomorrow with their own proficient original content. Note that local indie/punk quintet The Northwest were advertised for this event as recently as May 4th (source here) but they were quietly removed from all promotional materials since. A reason for their withdrawal was not announced, but note that The Northwest have been oddly quiet on social media since their Toronto concert two months ago. Hopefully all is well in their camp! Just as a reminder, Soo Soundcheck is not related to local classic/hard rock cover band Soundcheck or their short notice gig at The Esquire Club TOMORROW, as covered in yesterday's post. Soo Soundcheck is an ALL AGES event with a "cash snack & bar" and a 6:30 PM start time. General admission tickets cost $16 at this link, at the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall, or presumably at the door.

Students, kids 12 and under, and seniors 60+ will get discounted $12 admission. There are lots of great tickets still available, so get yours above, and hopefully this trifecta of talented local rock bands proves to be a great draw tomorrow night! Visit the above links for more on Soo Soundcheck, and here's Handsome Sandwich live!

Next up, local metal trio The BAG released a new single to major streaming services (as linked via Distrokid) on May 23rd! As recorded at Mission Control Studios, the song is entitled "Our Rock", and it is on brand for their up-tempo brand of classic-tinged metal, though be advised of explicit lyrics. This is the song teased by drummer Bradley Nixon in a post on their Facebook group on May 8th, including this video showing the song playing on a computer at their headquarters. Good stuff, so check it out on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, or as embedded below via their YouTube Music channel, and stay tuned for details on their next concert very soon!

Finally, here's a video to promote the upcoming Josey Scott's Saliva concert from Sault Michigan promoters Superior Entertainment at The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario on June 24th! Posted to the promoters' Facebook page on Wednesday, it features Sponge frontman Vinnie Dombrowski talking to the camera to hype up the concert, though oddly, he just talks about the concert in general rather than individual bands (Sponge are only mentioned by name once). He hypes things well though, so if you're read to shake the legs and rock the border with Vinnie, get your tickets A.S.A.P. at this link, and watch the video below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another weekend is upon us, so let's dive into most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews for the Sault Ste. Marie area! To spread things out, our preview of Saturday night's Soo Soundcheck multi-band concert at the Sault Community Theatre Centre will be a part of tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know to begin with, including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for a special concert on SATURDAY NIGHT where they will kinda sorta bring Obsession back! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only publically advertised via a shared post on the venue's Facebook page earlier today. As you may know, current Soundcheck bassist Jim Michaud was the only constant member of Obsession from 2005 until their dissolution earlier this year, and to honour that band's run, three of their four frontwomen will guest with Soundcheck on SATURDAY to do some of their old covers to commemorate Jim for his hard work! The singers in question are original vocalist Kim Liguori, current Sinners frontwoman Lorrie Lynn Bolduc, and Generations singer Valerie Powley (final Obsession singer Jessica Amadio is not advertised for this event, though her tenure was comparatively brief).

This sounds similar to Obsession's cancelled farewell show at The Esquire Club in February, based on what I was told in personal conversations, only with Cameron, Terry, and Glen replacing Jess, Gabe, and Steve. Ideal venue, talented musicians across the board, and the potential for joint songs with multiple singers, perhaps? SATURDAY's concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge, and while no one has firmly said if Soundcheck are playing there tomorrow as well, we'll keep you posted if able. Hopefully this show gives Obsession the sendoff they deserve, even if via kind of a franken-band scenario, so see above for more details, and here's Obsession live!

Next up, here's one more new show to the SMS, namely the concert from Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 that I held for this weekend's previews to avoid redundantly covering it twice in the span of four days! Fresh off of their three month break (to give bassist Dustin Paras and his wife some time with their newborn baby), they will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT when they rock Snows Bar & Grill in Cedarville! Again, apologies for the short notice, it was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Sunday when they announced their upcoming concert dates. Last seen at Snows in February, this won't be a return as you're expecting in two ways, as Fake Chow drummer Jason VanLuven has indeed replaced Odin Osgwin behind the kit... just not on SATURDAY. This is because Fake Chow are playing at The Islander Bar in Hessel concurrently with the Project 906 show in Cedarville.

Former Paradise Excuse drummer Brian Duford (yes, Jason was once their drummer too) will be filling in on SATURDAY, and hopefully he fits in well before Jason makes his 906 debut in Kinross next week! Project 906's hard rocking covers and select originals will be on tap on SATURDAY at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Now let's head back to Sault Ontario for concerts that more than a week's advance notice, starting with new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's first concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After debuting at Reggie's with doubleheader weekends in each of the last two months, this union of Bone Yard, Mojo, Griphook, and Mustang Heart alumni will make their way west to the former Reggie's West for what should be a solid weekend of hard rocking covers from four talented local music veterans! Good to see them play at a new venue too (well, new for this particular band). Expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits for Double Down at Jay's tomorrow and Saturday, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Double Down live at Reggie's!

Finally for today's previews, let's head back downtown to the aforementioned Reggie's Place, where new local classic metal/hard rock trio Nostalgia will play their second and third concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This union of Caveman Morrison, Browbeat, and Nikkfitt alumni debuted at Reggie's on May 26th, and while they lack an online page and public media at the moment, clearly their first show went well for them to get called back two weeks later, and for a double header! If you've missed seeing Tym Morrison in a plugged-in, full-band setting, let alone with 2/3rds of Caveman Morrison's 2012 lineup, then don't miss out on all of the action at Reggie's this weekend! No word yet on further gigs beyond this weekend, from Nostalgia or Tym's acoustic solo act, but we'll keep you posted. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts are 19+ affairs with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. See above for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Soo Soundcheck preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!