The Go North Music Festival & Handsome Sandwich Concert Previews!!

Let's continue with this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews in today's second post, but with our write-up on a big local concert festival eating up most of this post, I have opted to hold our preview of Project 906's show in Strongs, Michigan tomorrow night to our next post, but it is coming! Now, here's what you should know for that Sault Ontario-area festival and one more show here tomorrow night!

We'll start with an hour's road trip southeast to Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island, where local indie/punk quintet The Northwest will be the local openers for the fifth annual Go North Music Festival TOMORROW! Last seen at Outspoken Brewing in May, The Northwest have been oddly quiet in the last couple of months, but it will be good to see them add a little punk flavour to the Go North Festival, which returns to the former Cornfest grounds at 1511 Richards Street. As in past years, this all ages festival will feature loads of food and craft vendors, family entertainment, games, and on-site camping, so visit the official website and the official Facebook page for complete non-musical details! The conceit of having a separate "family stage" for bands to play a second kid-friendly set will return too, so clearly that did well last year! Organizers have clarified that the "kids zone" stage will have short 15 minute sets between main stage acts.

The Northwest are one of three bands to pull double duty tomorrow, as they are the opening band on the main stage at 4:00 PM and the headliners at the kids zone at 6:45 PM. For the remaining bands, I'll note in brackets if they are on the kids zone stage or not. Juno winning Toronto alternative trio The Monowhales will make their local debut in a big headlining set at 9:40 PM, preceded by London alt-rock quartet Texas King at 8:15 PM, and Guelph garage rock trio The Royal Castles (finally playing Go North after dropping out of last year's event due to COVID exposure) at 7:15 PM (5:45 PM on the family stage). Toronto country/folk singer/guitarist Jeremie Albino takes the big stage at 6:00 PM (and opens the kids zone at 4:45 PM), with Toronto retro rock quartet Propter Hawk beginning the non-local contingent of the frstival at 5:00 PM. A shorter country-centric program featuring Toronto's The Holy Gamblers, Port Hope's Nickola Magnolia, ...

...and Kingston's Solomon Woodland takes place tonight at 7:00 PM. Advance ticket sales have wrapped for Go North V, but general tickets at the gate are $65 (full weekend), $55 (Saturday only), or $25 (tonight only), price points that are $30, $25, and $15 respectively for youths aged 13-18 (kids 12 and under are FREE). Camping fees are separate if you are looking into that, so click here for full ground rules on this licensed festival. The festival will happen rain or shine (the main stage has a roof), but 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather of around 23° for tonight's country program, and mostly cloudy weather with a high of 22° and a 30% chance of rain on Saturday. At least this year's Go North Music Festival seems to have dodged the recent humid snap that we had up here! The lineup this year mostly doesn't cross the SMS' genre radar, but The Northwest will add some punk zest, and there's still a lot of talent!

Visit the above links for complete details on Go North's band lineup, vendors, camping details, and much more going on an hour southeast of the Soo tomorrow, and for a preview, here's The Northwest live!

Lastly for this preview post, we'll head back into Sault Ste. Marie for local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's debut at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! One week away from their return to Rotaryfest Stage 2, this will be Handsome Sandwich's first solo headlining concert with no other bands of the year, so expect a lot of covers along with their fan favourite originals to fill out a full night's worth of music, not unlike many of their quartet gigs in early-mid 2022. Hopefully this trip up Great Northern Road will prove bountiful for the Sandwich, and that they make some new fans at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow! Shows here are traditionally one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub almost always books different bands on Fridays and Saturdays, and if you're curious, folk/country musician and Face To Face co-headliner Brian Tremblay (with his wife Lynn) will be playing there tonight.

Tomorrow's Handsome Sandwich show has an earlier 8:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. This should be a fun show for fans of Handsome Sandwich's eclectic sound, so don't miss out tomorrow, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Project 906 preview and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

We're still a week out from Rotaryfest, but this weekend is proving to be quite a busy one itself, so this weekend's hard rock concert previews are being broken up into two posts. As such, the Go North Music Festival, Handsome Sandwich, and Project 906 (all previously announced as taking place on Saturday) will be covered in our next post, while the late notice and Friday gigs are in this one. Let's lead off with a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on SHORT NOTICE), as well as some new live videos of two bands playing this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover solo musician Tym Morrison will pick up his acoustic guitar and return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and every Friday of this and next month! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S show, it was only announced via the Facebook event page for all eight Trading Post gigs. Of course, long-time followers of Tym's solo career will know that weekly arrangements at a non-typical concert venue are nothing new for him, and he has done this at the Mike Case Memorial Stage a few times now, most recently via a (more or less) weekly series last year that took place on Wednesday evenings from June to September (when The Trading Post closes for the season). Having 2023's on Fridays will be better for most schedule-wise, and hopefully there's a decent turnout and weather for Tym TOMORROW, next Friday, and on the 21st, 28th, and beyond!

Like in past instances of a regular weekly series, I'll wait to add Tym's August dates until closer to, and be advised that his September dates last year got short notice announcements at best. You can see the Nostalgia frontman TOMORROW and on the other dates at 7:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges. As the Mike Case Stage is outdoors, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather at 22°, which is a good start for this summer series! Visit the above links for more on all eight of Tym's trading post gigs this summer (so far?), and here he is live!

Next up, newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook page on Monday. One week out from their Rotaryfest Stage 1 debut, this new supergroup of That's Chester, Mojo, Mustang Heart, and 100 Gran alumni will play their first shows at the former Reggie's West since their first gigs there last month. With a talented lineup at their disposal, hopefully the guys deliver a strong weekend of hard rocking classics TOMORROW & SATURDAY! These are 19+ events with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's two new videos of Double Down live at Jay's their last time out on June 10th! Bassist Brad Stephen uploaded these to his YouTube channel last month, his first videos there in 3+ years.

An uncredited attendee filmed them (horizontally!) covering Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally" (with guitarist Adam King on vocals) and, as embedded below, Sugarloaf's "Green-Eyed Lady" with frontman Joel Syrette singing lead. Both of these songs are 6+ minutes long, so you get a nice sense of Double Down's range and talent as they jam through these, and the dark lighting is actually accentuated rather well once things come on for the songs themselves. Good stuff, so check these out above & below, and don't miss Double Down back at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Also this weekend, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will headline this year's 45th annual Goulais River Community Days on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, Soundcheck only confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page earlier today, but "Sound Check" were advertised in festival promotions beforehand. This is nothing new for Soundcheck, having played at Community Days last year as well, but unlike last year's 19+ "adult dance" at 9:00 PM, this is advertised as a "family dance" at 6:00 PM on SATURDAY. It was confirmed that organizers do not have a liquor license for this year's festival, hence the change for Soundcheck's set, and you can read more about what is and isn't occurring on SATURDAY at the Goulais River Area Recreation & Events Facebook group. Music was also cut back, with only the returning 17 North (at noon) also playing that day.

I rarely promote concerts on the SMS on the basis of "you can drink beer!", as that shouldn't the point over the musicians at most gigs, but this may be a concern for some who are used to alcohol being available at Community Days, so keep that in mind. The music will still be rocking, of course! As best as I can gather, Soundcheck's set/the dance will occur at the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 once again, though no word on if singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will resume his DJ duties from last year. Admission is $5 for most, $4 for seniors 65+, and free for kids 4 and under all weekend, but SATURDAY is the only day with advertised bands. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

We'll close this preview post with a show that did get advance notice, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! While not newly promoted by the band this week, this will be Bone Yard's first Shooters gig since playing there for a full weekend just two weeks ago. Like Soundcheck, Bone Yard are not playing at Rotaryfest this year, and with their Sudbury road trip in two weeks, this may be as close as you get to seeing them again this month in the Soo, so consider heading down to the Dennis Street nightclub for all of the action tomorrow! A one-nighter due to or resulting in a video dance party at Shooters on Saturday, tomorrow's Bone Yard concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's some of Bone Yard's new live concert videos from their concerts this past weekend!

An attendee had cameras rolling for live-streamed videos at both their Jay's Piston Broke Pub show on Friday and Poutine Feast on Saturday (nothing at Jay's on Saturday though), with three videos at the former and four at the latter. I'll save the Poutine Feast ones for an upcoming post, but at Jay's, Bone Yard were filmed covering Van Halen's "Eruption" & The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" back to back, The Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench", and as embedded below, Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". Vertical camera angle aside, these are well shot videos with good close views of Greg, Alex, and Warren playing some covers not filmed often at their gigs, and they sound good overall, so check these out for yourself!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Mike Haggith & Brian Tremblay's "Face To Face" Concert!

I apologize for this being so late to hit the site, but as you may recall, local/Barrie alternative/hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and folk/country singer/songwriter Brian Tremblay joined forces for a special acoustic concert at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th named Face To Face, which emphasized storytelling about their original music in between live performances. As I alluded to a bit on the site in the ensuing month+, Mike live-streamed the concert (all 2 hours & 50 minutes of it!) to his YouTube channel, but between other posts and life in general, this got pushed back and back and back, and I figured that I better get to it A.S.A.P. before Mike's album release next week, especially as the new album likely came up during the concert! So, if you weren't able to make it to The Art Hub on Spring (actually at 504 Queen Street East), what all went down at Face To Face?

The camera was set up in a stationary spot, directly pointing at (but not completely in front of) where Mike and Brian performed. The stage area for this show is well lit, and if you were in attendance, this would be fairly reflective of your view if you were where the tripod was! The show is introduced by Brian's fellow Borderline radio host Adrian Vilaca (who interviewed Mike for Across The Tracks in 2021), and while everything was introductory and more for live attendees, his remarks are sometimes hard to hear. Brian does deliver the initial remarks from the two performers, but Mike is the first to perform. Structurally, each song is preceded by Mike or Brian outlining the songwriting process and/or inspiration of the song in question, much like the old VH1 Storytellers series/albums, and rather than have an opener and a closer, Mike and Brian trade a song each throughout the night, playing nine songs apiece (with stories to match).

When I link to song names here, I'll link to when the stories are told rather than the song's beginning, so you get full context (plus, it'd be too much wasted text if I linked twice for each song), but both do get linked on the YouTube description. I won't spoil the content of the stories, which I could never do justice to, but they are titled on YouTube. Also, the woman who sits on stage and interjects in Brian's stories is his wife Lynn, who guests on backing vocals, tambourine, or shaker for most songs. Mike's first song is his label namesake "MorningStar", with Brian's first song being his 2000 original "By My Time". Mike next plays "The Best You Never Had", and Brian followed things up with "The Junction Inn". A trifecta of opening songs from Mike's 2020 album "If Ever Comes The Day" is completed with "Into The Setting Sun", with Brian playing a newer song named "I Knew You'd Be Alright" next.

Mike dips into his newest (for another week) album "Bridges" with a rendition of "Come On Home" for his fourth song, followed by Brian playing his own "Last Stand Hill". The last songs before the intermission include Mike's song "I've Seen It Before" from next week's "All The Best In All You Do" (featuring a guest appearance by Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew), then Brian's more downbeat original "Let It All Out". A 25 minutes-long intermission takes place next, which Brian and Mike introduce by outlining contests/the door prize and revealing that they'd both be playing at Rotaryfest next week (this was a new announcement at the time). The second half of the show begins with Mike playing the title track of "If Ever Comes The Day", which was his last Thompson-era original of the evening. Brian returns with his song "Grey Bar Hotel", inspired by a surprising past day job of his.

Fans of Mike's old power pop/hard rock band The Din will be excited by his closing songs, starting with the title track of their last album "Suburban Dream" from 2017, before Brian took the mic for his song "Road Hockey", whose story will naturally pique the interest of hockey fans. Mike's penultimate song is "Out Of My League" from 2015's "The Warinside" (which was covered on "Give In To The Din" one year later), followed by Brian's second-last song, the more recent & harmonica-infused "Steel Man". For their final numbers, Mike brought back "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device" from 2014's "A Place Of Our Own" (titled under its revised "Give In To The Din" name "Potato (Should Have Known Better)"), while Brian played his new song "Wine, Whiskey, and Weed" with Mike guesting on guitar and the audience at large guesting on the sing-along choruses.

Mike gives closing remarks to plug their merchandise sales and announce the winners of that day's contests & door prize. While the storytelling aspect was inconsistent depending on the song's inspiration, this was a fun show that fans of Mike's and Brian's will enjoy, and the loose & casual atmosphere was to its benefit! It was teased before the show that Face To Face would be released as a live album through MorningStar Records, which has yet to occur, but if it does get such a release, we don't know if Mike and Brian's songs would be divided between their own streaming/sale links or not (plus, if they were included together on a Kunaki-enabled physical CD or LP set, it'd have to be a double album at the very least). In any event, you can hear the whole thing free and on demand on YouTube below, but stay tuned for details on a possible "Face To Face" live record, and look for this weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, Their Debut EP, And New Videos!!

How about two posts on this, our sixteenth anniversary? Gotta do something that isn't self-indulgent but helps move our backlog along a bit! Most of today's post is about a new local punk band with a lot of notes to touch on, plus a new performance video, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local punk band to finally add to our active band links, and they are skate punk trio Hails! Yes, they were on Instagram already but we've never treated band pages there as equal to ones used elsewhere due to its more limited, photo-centric structure that largely feels supplemental when used by bands. Hails (usually spelled in capitals as HA!LS) is basically a side project for 2/3rds of fellow local punk band Vanity First, with guitarist Mikhal Muto (also of Agnosticism) and drummer Keeghan McAllister joined by Slumshine frontman Brenton Ellis (credited as B.G. Ellis) on vocals & bass rather than Andrew Beggs. Just as a reminder, Vanity First are alive and well, they have continued playing live since Ha!ls' debut, which was at an art exhibition of Brent's at The Art Hub at Spring in March. Their only other public show was at last month's Go Skateboarding Day concert.

In terms of media, the raison d'etre for the launch of their new Bandcamp page is because Hails have already released their debut EP! News to me that they were even recording one, which the lack of a non-Instagram online presence kept hidden pretty well! Entitled "Rock and Rolls", the EP (at least, the Bandcamp copy of it) has four original songs, and was released earlier today for $7 there. Brent himself painted the album artwork, which matches with his art style. I have no idea if physical copies (presumably on cassette tape) are being/have already been made, but note that Brent's two EPs with Slumshine and his sole album with the defunct These Magnificent Tentacles all got runs on tape, and at least in the case of his newest Slumshine album "Slumlord", it has five bonus tracks on side B that are not officially streamable online. Could Ha!ls do the same?

In any event, it'll be a while before we review "Rock and Rolls" on the SMS due to our lengthy backlog of new album releases. It is currently pencilled in for November (as Handsome Sandwich, Jonesy Land, Spades GT, and Convergence all beat it to market), with Mike Haggith's new album (to be released next week) now bumped to December. At least the year's reviews are locked in, but wow, this is a bountiful year for new local metal, hard rock, and punk albums! I'll hold comment on the songs on "Rock and Rolls" pending our eventual review, but I can safely comment on the first public video of Ha!ls in action! Uploaded to Brent's YouTube channel last month, this is of the band playing the non-EP original "Such Desperate Joy" (unless it's a tape exclusive?) at their jam space. There is definitely more of an up-tempo, faster vibe that skate punk fans will enjoy, and it is distinct from Vanity First beyond the different frontman!

Of course, fans of Brent's prior ski mask-devoid work as a singer (e.g. Detroit, The Labour Of..., and Maximum RNR) will want to take notice too, but whether you like them more than Vanity First or not is a matter of preference. I say enjoy the wealth as long as Mikhal and Keeghan are pulling double duty! The video is well framed to capture everyone, but it's quite dark where Keeghan is set up. Give Hails' first video a watch below, and see more on them at the above links, including their EP!

We'll close today with a new video from the local folk punk/extreme metal solo artist who opened for Hails at their live concert debut, namely Chase Wigmore! Uploaded to his Facebook page on Saturday, this 2+ minute clip has Chase playing an electric guitar instrumental with a backing drum track, and he gets lots of space to let loose with some fun soloing! The visuals aren't so hot, looking like a laptop webcam, but the audio is crisp and clear, and it's angled to best capture his guitar work, so check it out for yourselves below, and stay tuned for more from Chase!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Half Past, Soundcheck, And The Wyld Stallyns), Plus A New Song!!

Happy Independence Day to our American readers! Before we begin today's post, just a brief acknowledgement that today marks The Sault Metal Scene's sixteenth anniversary, if you can believe it. I'm not going to get too self-indulgent about the milestone (I don't want to make our current backlog any worse), but thanks to (almost) everyone for their support and readership since 2007, and there's a lot more to come in short order! Now, today's post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming month and a new original song, so here's what you should know!

Shooters Downstairs Lounge's Facebook page has posted event pages for concerts taking place there through early August, and some new hard rock gigs are among them! Not counting this Friday's previously announced Bone Yard concert, the first of the new-to-us dates will see local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns return to Shooters on Saturday, July 15th for one night only! This will be quite a busy day for the Stallyns, as they'll be fresh off of their set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 earlier that same day (they are the sixth of ten bands at 5:15 PM). Hopefully they ride the momentum of that all ages festival set with a night full of fan friendly but often heavy covers at Shooters! This is a one nighter due to next Friday's show from Vancouver theatrical world rock band Stubbs & The (that is their full name), which actually isn't Shooters' only gig from a touring act in the coming weeks.

This concert takes place at 9:00 PM next Saturday (less than three hours removed from their Rotaryfest set), and it has a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. If you want to enjoy some Wyld Stallyns cover action with a longer timeframe, a cooler indoor setting, and more intimate confines, head to the Dennis Street nightclub next Saturday, whether you saw them at Clergue Park earlier or not! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters for a full weekend on Friday, July 21st & Saturday, July 22nd! No word yet on if we'll see them elsewhere this weekend or next (Soundcheck are not playing at Rotaryfest this year), but these will be Soundcheck's first gigs at this venue since a one-nighter there last month. With their country-heavy Great Northern Opry showcase gig for singer/guitarist Terry Eaton in the books, Soundcheck will lean back into their rock cover stylings later this month, and hopefully the guys deliver solid hard rocking classics for Shooters faithful later this month! Like with the Stallyns next weekend, these shows have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Be advised that Shooters are also hosting touring stand-up comedian Eric Johnston on Saturday the 22nd, who is scheduled from 8:00-10:00 PM according to that Facebook event page.

Eric's show is explicitly advertised as taking place at Shooters, not the upstairs Queen of Hearts Club, but if the times for both Eric and Soundcheck are accurate, then they'd have to be on different floors. If not, then either Eric's show ends at 9:00 PM or Soundcheck are advertised too early. We'll keep you posted if anything is 100% clarified, but visit the official Soundcheck Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details!

Lastly for the new Shooters hard rock concerts, reunited local hard rock quartet Half Past will make their long-awaited return to the stage there for one night only on Friday, August 4th! This will be Half Past's first show since announcing their revival in the fall of 2021, with the band last taking stage way back in October 2011 at The Rockstar Bar. Featuring returning members Jordan Rains, Alain Fletcher, and Arthur Lacasse alongside new drummer Johnny Amendola, it will be very interesting to hear how Half Past sound after nearly twelve years away, let alone following the dissolution of Jordan and Art's short-lived bands The Isolation Sessions and Dealing Without in 2021, but some entertaining hard rock covers should be a given! This is a one-nighter due to Sudbury adult contemporary singer Ashley Woodruff's concert at Shooters on Saturday, August 5th, which is the last of the newly confirmed Shooters events.

Like today's other new hard rock shows, Half Past are on at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Half Past didn't play many shows with Jordan on vocals initially (their best known singer was the late Luke LeBlanc), but he did show promise back in 2011 and in his posted covers with The Isolation Sessions, and with a decade+ of time passed, hopefully everyone is just as ready, if not moreso, to rock the stage with Half Past once again! Rare to see a local band come back after such a long time like this, especially when it's not a one-off. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more updates!

We'll close today by throwing a bone to our readers in Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula (it is the Fourth of July, after all), courtesy of a new instrumental song from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel! Entitled "Rites of Spring" (too bad this was released on June 21st, the technical beginning of summer!), the band calls this an "epic melodic piano metal" song, and it is not tonally far off from much of their more recent instrumental material, if not seasonal to Christmas or even the season we're actually in now. The band says that you can hear this song on "all platforms", and bands should really clarify that more, as it's a near-impossible task to put your music on all streaming platforms, but you can hear this on at least Spotify and Reverbnation elsewehere. This is suitably grandiose and dramatic with strong guitar and piano work, so do check out Theatre of Night's new song below!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (July 2023 Update)

To catch up a bit after not posting on Canada Day, let's double up today courtesy of this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This monthly feature series is largely unchanged from last month, with the same featured upcoming local metal, hard rock, and/or punk albums this month, but three of the five entries this month have updated information about the albums in question, as noted with the titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: Multiple

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera last year, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as well as the final artwork, while in promotion for his last release, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, 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. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

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Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken"

Background: The new hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie, ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, and Brutally Fatal alum Austin McCrae on drums, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there, but no full recordings of their songs (originals or covers) are online yet.

Current Release Status: No idea, and we don't even have a released Suicide Kings album to compare timelines with, but Mike aside, everyone in Far From Fine has released local albums with separate bands. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for Far From Fine in general, and if you missed Toystock, don't miss their return to the stage at Rotaryfest Stage 2 next week to hear how their originals sound!

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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio in early 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new songwriting & recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022". There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 2+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do" & the "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs (A):  "All You Do", "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", "If Only You Could Hear Me", "Carousel", "I've Seen It Before", "Love Will Light The Way", "The Start Of Something Real", "To Be With You", "All The Best", "Atlantic City" (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Rumoured Songs (F):  "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: During his live-streamed Facebook concert in February 2022, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith revealed that he was working on his newest studio album, entitled "All The Best In All You Do". Like his other post-Sault Ste. Marie albums, this will have an overarching concept, this time about the transition out of depression and being manipulated by others, into a happier personal life. A single version of "Twist of Fate" was unveiled in July 2022, and live videos of some songs can be found on Mike's Facebook page and/or YouTube channel. Mike confirmed on his new indie label MorningStar Records' website that those who buy it on Bandcamp will get bonus songs named "All The Rest To Get You Through" including a Bruce Springsteen cover, while the song "Hot & Cold" will feature a guest guitar solo from Southern Ontario musician Hetriani. A lyric video for "Carousel" was released last month, while this image is implied to be the cover artwork, but not officially labelled as such. A separate live album (with vinyl print run) was also hyped for his "Face To Face" concert with Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, which you can watch in full at this link, but it's not clear if Brian's performances will be on the same album (if so, it would have to at least be a double album on vinyl given the show's length).

Current Release Status: Mike has revealed that "All The Best In All You Do" will be released on Thursday, July 13th, the day of his Rotaryfest Stage 1 opening set, so look for that in under two weeks! Mike has revealed a lot about the inspirations and themes about the album regardless, so definitely see above for more on what to expect when the album releases later this year, and expect physical pressings on Kunaki as well! Less word is known about the "Face To Face" live album, however, but we'll keep you posted!

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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”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

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 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" last month.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 8 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. 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 in some form or another 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 this month's Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bookclub) Plus Some New Video Uploads!!

I hope that all of our Canadian readers had a good Canada Day, however you chose to celebrate! The long weekend isn't over yet, so here's some all-Sault Ontario content to check out, including a bunch of new videos, and to lead off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local alternative/Punk cover quintet Bookclub will take part in this year's Summer Concert Series at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion when they take to the stage under the big tent THIS TUESDAY! Apologies for the short notice, the schedule was only announced on the Roberta Bondar Park & Marina's Facebook page this past Tuesday. As Bookclub are kicking off the concert series, this was always destined to be covered on short notice here, Bookclub's lack of an online page to publically promote their own shows with acknowledged. Surprisingly, Bookclub are the only band of a hard rock/punk-leaning persuasion to play at this year's summer concert series, which sees local bands (typically covers-centric ones) rocking out at the Pavilion on TUESDAY and Thursday evenings throughout July and August. If you want to see Surfers and Room 206 alumni playing some unique covers on TUESDAY evening, head downtown!

This FREE & ALL AGES concert has a 7:00 PM start time on TUESDAY, with the show ending at 9:00 PM, and chairs will be provided to sit on if desired. The tent will obviously provide protection from the elements, but 9&10 News is calling for the warmest temperatures of the week ahead that day, so look for weather in the low-mid 20s Celsius, and the chance of rain is 10% that night, if at all, as of today. This should be a fun excuse to get some free live music if you're up for going to the Pavilion tent on a school/work night, so visit the above links for more on TUESDAY'S show and the rest of the Summer Concert Series, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, let's stick with Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon, namely the latest cover from his Mikey & His Uke project! Surprisingly, the newest cover choice (as uploaded to the project's YouTube channel this past Tuesday) is not of a Canadian band for a Canada Day tie-in, as he opted for "Amoeba" by American hardcore punk legends The Adolescents, tying in with the fifth anniversary of bassist Steve Soto's death. As always, this is a remotely filmed cover from Mikey and a one-off supergroup, with the lineup here comprised of Voodoo Glow Skulls singer Efrem Schulz, his Death By Stereo bandmate Mike Cambra (an Adolescents alum himself) on backing vocals, prolific television cartoon composer Ego Plum on guitar, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, Dickies drummer Adam Gomez, and Mikey himself on guitar and (initially) ukelele. Ego is originally credited while in a gorilla costume, but he performs out of it too via a separate camera.

Other scenes are pictured as well that don't necessarily feature the credited musicians, including someone on keyboard and a cameo by someone that Adolescents fans will instantly know. Strong cover with intense vocals from Efren and a nice unique array of visuals (vertical camera-work for Ego acknowledged), and note that Mikey is back performing in another industrial area for his clips, which has been a theme as of late. Good stuff, so check out Mikey & His Uke's newest cover below!

Also today, here's a new video from local psychedelic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley's YouTube channel! Their first sign of public activity of any kind since last fall, this is a music video for their song "The Village", presumably from their long-gestating debut album (the 2021 date at the end of the video despite this being 2023 would be proof of that!). The video features assorted live clips of the band (not directly synced up with the song though), as well as assorted stock footage/newsreel clips of what appears to be a small European village from the 20th century, with post-production effects to add old television grain and whatnot. Assuming that this is a positive sign towards the album getting released at some point, I'll hold comment on the song pending our album review, but the video isn't badly done at all, if often washed out for the colour band footage. Check out The Uncanny Valley's new music video for yourself below!

Let's close today by acknowledging some videos from the i.o-headlined concert at The Drawing Club on Bruce Street last month, courtesy of promoters Dryer Fire's Facebook page, and by videos, I mean "Reels". While their page has posted a couple of scatted live performance "Reels" dating back to last summer, a company rep filmed all three acts at the i.o show on June 5th as such, meaning that they are all vertical & short by design, unplayable in background tabs, and unembeddable on external websites. Not ideal for SMS purposes, but alas, I'll have to make due, and at least here, the vertical camera angle means less when the show only had solo performers! i.o's "Reel" is of project leader Max Patterson in the midst of a chaotic drum solo (note where his tambourine is located) while local/Toronto outsider folk musician Shae Tull's "Reel" is filmed from further away, and gives more of a view of The Drawing Club's interior space.

Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto's emo/folk punk solo project Agnosticism's "Reel" was filmed at a side-stage vantage point, but it is the closest of the three to the artist, and it captures his passionate, slow-building song well! This would translate to a full band nicely if he took Agnosticism back down that road! Entertaining watches, if still way too limiting compared to just normal video uploads (or even YouTube "Shorts"), so visit the above links to watch them, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!