Outside of music, Tony was a skilled craftsman who owned Hubbard Interiors, and he was an avid hockey player, a loving husband and father, and a kind man who loved to tell a joke. Tony is survived by his wife Cami, four children (including Chris), three grandchildren, and four siblings. Having lost a parent myself, I can relate to what Chris and the Hubbard family are going through right now, and while public media of Tony's more recent bands was always surprisingly elusive, he was an accomplished drummer and a familiar face for many who frequented the local concert scene in the E.U.P. into the late 2010s. R.I.P. Tony!
Friday, July 28, 2023
R.I.P. Tony Hubbard (1955-2023)
LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Generations), Our Lopstock III Concert Preview, And More!!
As promised, let's round out this weekend's concert previews (barring anything on really late notice) with two events taking place tomorrow only, one a multi-band affair with lots of advance notice, and the other a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT. Here's what you should know!
Apologies for missing that last week (Wheelhouse were confirmed instead on Thursday after that day's concert preview post went up), but hopefully they had a good weekend! You can enjoy Valerie, Pierre, Tony, and... Tony's classic/hard rock cover selections TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00 PM, this is a 19+ event, and there is no announced cover chage. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!
Next up, let's preview this weekend's final currently known hard rock/punk show of this weekend, and it's a big one, as Lopstock returns TOMORROW NIGHT to LopLops Lounge! Eight years after the second and final Lopstock took place, this "bohemian conclave" of original musicians will resume operations, with ex-Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick returning as promoter, this time under the banner of Sault Noir, his debuting concert promotional company. Click here for Chris Belsito's SooToday article on Lopstock's rebirth, featuring interview remarks from Brendan. This year's bill features ten local bands (no out of town groups for the return year), and while none are returnees from 2014 & 2015, there are returning musicians in new projects. Your advertised headliners are Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle's online page-less indie rock trio Pointless, and it's good to see them back on stage!The latest blocked hard rock act tomorrow is alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their post-relaunch debut at LopLops (look for our review of "Deconstructed" this weekend!) Rising young indie rock quartet The Hollow Heads (who joined the Sandwich at Rotaryfest Stage 2 earlier this month) will also perform tomorrow, preceded by two hip-hop acts, including Stoneburgh & Sawbé in a joint set, preceded by Christian rapper Bold Noize. Hard rock fans will get their other block before the rappers take the stage, including metal trio The BAG and punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine, both in their LopLops debuts. It's worth noting that Far From Fine actually parted ways with drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae before their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set, and he was replaced by Id Iota alum Blair St. John for that set, and who will reportedly also fill in at Lopstock tomorrow.The band explained in a comment reply on their Facebook page on the 16th that "we're going in a different direction for drums". If I'm being honest, I don't like when "a new/different direction" is given as a reason for any sort of change (not just for local bands), as it's basically a vague non-answer, but Blair was apparently secured on short notice for Rotaryfest. Hopefully things were amicable with Austin, as he is a talented multi-instrumentalist, and hopefully Blair fits in well again tomorrow night! Pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous & solo folk/pop rock artists Hannah Lindsay and Juliana Regan (the latter of which often plays live with Blair St. John) will round out the Lopstock III roster. Tomorrow's festivities are 19+ with a 5:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $25 plus processing fees at this link, or presumably at the door. Brendan will MC the show, and Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand to keep everything sounding great as usual!Note that, on July 7th, Brendan teased "one more Lopstock announcement... and it's a pretty exciting one", but has not publically elaborated (I believe he noted what it was in a post on his personal Facebook page if you're his friend and want to dig there). This should be a great time for local music fans, especially to get so many musicians packed at LopLops as it continues its post-pandemic resurgence, and hopefully this is the perfect launching pad for Sault Noir! Definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on tomorrow's stacked concert, and here's Handsome Sandwich live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this weekend, including our review of Handsome Sandwich's debut CD! Thanks everyone!Thursday, July 27, 2023
LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!
The final weekend of concerts for a busy July 2023 is drawing near, so let's kick off our hard rock previews today! Due to the still high amount of hard rock-leaning shows this weekend, we'll hold Saturday return of Lopstock and Generations' show that same night for tomorrow's preview post, while focusing on bands playing tomorrow in some fashion here. With that said, here's what you should know to kick off the weekend!
We'll start with a pair of linked Friday-only gigs TOMORROW NIGHT, including prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's fourth straight weekly acoustic gig at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post! The Nostalgic Band frontman has been entertaining patrons at the 1332 Great Northern Road outdoor stage all month on Fridays, and this should be no different, as he breaks out some acoustic classic and hard rock hits before zipping to the west end for the shows we're covering next. Hopefully this is a good warm-up for Tym, whether you're joining him at Jay's or not! While we're on the subject, those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS entail adding his previously announced Mike Case Stage shows in August to our calendar, so look for him there on August 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th! While he has played early September shows there in the past, he hasn't announced dates for then (yet?)Tomorrow's and next month's dates in Tym Morrison's weekly summer series at The Trading Post have a 7:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and no age limit. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy conditions at around 22° tomorrow, and while there are thunderstorms in the forecast, they should wrap up late tomorrow morning. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, once his solo show wraps up by 9:00 PM, Tym will drive down to Jay's Piston Broke Pub to join his new Nostalgic Band for a one-nighter TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be the second straight week where Tym and The Nostalgic Band double up on the same day, also the second straight week where The Nostalgic Band are playing Friday only (I am unsure who is playing there on Saturday, if anyone). Oddly, tomorrow's show had lots of advance notice, unlike their short notice gig last week, so if you've been prepping to see Tym, Dutch, and Chet's hard rocking brand of classic rock and metal covers, head to the former Rosie/Reggie's West for all of the action tomorrow! Tomorrow's festivities have a 19+ age limit, 9:30 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Nostalgic Band live at the downtown Reggie's!Now let's head to Sault Michigan and area, as both regional Kewadin Casinos are hosting touring bands at their on-site lounges this weekend! Starting in the Soo, fans can see Traverse City classic metal/hard rock cover trio Peril back at The Rapids Lounge TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Certainly no strangers to playing under the Kewadin umbrella, this will be Peril's first concert weekend in the Soo in just over two months, and we will have more from them/Scarkazm in an upcoming post addressing August and September hard rock shows at the casino. Hopefully Jeff, Adam, and Brooks lay down lots of rock favourites for fans in the E.U.P. this weekend as usual! This weekend's shows are 9:00 PM affairs as ever with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on Peril's return to Sault Michigan this weekend, and here they are live!Finally for this preview post, let's head an hour south to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Grand Rapids/Nashville psychedelic hard rock quartet Overdrive Orchestra will rock The Northern Pines Lounge TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing this band rock both the Rapids and Northern Pines Lounges in the spring of last year, and it is neat seeing Overdrive Orchestra return over a year later, especially as a rare example of a touring band playing here that isn't from the U.P., Northern Michigan, or Sault Ste. Marie. Their distinct brand of keyboard-laden prog rock with lots of hard rock flourish should get another strong reception from fans in Mackinac County this weekend, so don't miss out on Overdrive Orchestra's return! Like with Peril in the Soo, these are 21+ gigs with 9:00 PM start times and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Overdrive Orchestra's Facebook trailer video for this weekend!That's all for now, but look for our Lopstock and Generations previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!Wednesday, July 26, 2023
YouTube Channel Profile Series: 2010abstract's Channel & Chris Bardawill
It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we once again shine another monthly spotlight on YouTube channels whose videos are at least half comprised of local metal, hard rock, or punk-specific content! There is a slight change of plans for this month, as the second randomly selected channel for this month (YouTube user ander101) is actually one that we already spotlighted back in 2016! I'm surprised that I don't err like that more often given how long this series has been going. In its place, I randomly chose a 100% unfeatured-already channel to round out this multi-channel installment, so here's what you should know!
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2010abstract's Channel (http://youtube.com/2010abstract)
Owner: A member or representative of defunct Sault Michigan hard rock band Abstract (formerly Aux and later renamed Tantrum and Tantrym Tyme), exact identity unclear
Channel Timeline: Launched on March 10th, 2011; Videos uploaded that day and two days later
Channel Summary: The then-official YouTube channel for the Guitar Studio rock camp graduates (aged just 10-11 upon their 2010 launch), Abstract posted two jam session cover videos here from two separate locales
Why You Should Watch: While there's only two videos here, it is very interesting to see where the future Tantrym Tyme started, and even as pre-teens, you get the sense that they had bigger and better things ahead, as fans will know when comparing their mid-2010s Tantrym Time gigs to their humble beginnings as Abstract! This channel was succeeded by their later TANTRUMzone channel in 2012, which only ever had one video, with Tantrym Tyme-era videos largely posted on Facebook or by fans.
Abstract- Back in Black: The former Abstract's first and most popular video saw them cover AC/DC's "Back In Black" in a rehearsal space, with the band then-comprised of singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen, guitarist Kyle Burton, bassist Mike East, and drummer Ethan Twardy (all but Kyle hung on through to the Tantrym Tyme years). Their ages absolutely have to be taken into account when gauging this performance and Jasob's vocals, which all undoubtedly improved by the end of Tantrym Tyme's active run, but for kids at their age, they did very well here, and Jacob nailed the solo!
Abstract- Woman: Two days later, the band's final upload here saw them cover Wolfmother's "Woman" in a new jam space with a new widescreen camera. While shorter, this is arguably a better showcase of Abstract's skills at the time, both from the more contemporary & faster song, as well as using more of Jacob's vocal range at the time. You can see why Abstract would have turned a few heads, but of course, check out Tantrym Tyme videos to see the culmination of all of their hard work as musicians as they entered high school!
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Chris Bardawill (http://www.youtube.com/@chrisbardawill281)
Owner: Sault Ontario resident Christopher Bardawill
Channel Timeline: Launched on June 6th, 2021; Videos uploaded that day through that September
Channel Summary: Alongside three non-musical videos of Chris and friends, his channel contains five videos from defunct local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession's set at the pandemic-restricted drive-thru Rotaryfest outside of the former Lowe's Plaza in July 2021. Obsession were represented here by singer Valerie Powley, guitarist Gabe Tessaro, bassist Jim Michaud, and drummer Steve Porco, with Rotaryfest sound tech Dan Belanger guesting for the set. The five videos include covers of Big Brother & The Holding Company's version of Erma Franklin's "Piece Of My Heart", AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You", Heart's "Barracuda", and in his most popular video, their set-opening cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" with Gabe on lead vocals. Solid stuff all around from this missed local band, and they made the most of a screwy time, as nicely filmed by Chris!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around August 26th for another multi-band post, with three channels this time, as the first random selection just had three videos from across two concerts from the same band, so I randomly picked a channel with just videos from one show to fill things out with. As such, we will be looking at the channels of YouTube users Danabelle39 (featuring videos of Havadder live at the former Nicolet) and kilko8011 (featuring videos of Treble Charger playing in Toronto). Look for those next month, and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Heavy Lies The Crown & Spades GT Updates!!
Today's post is devoted to overdue updates from two prominent local bands who get most of their live concert kicks away from our area, so here's what you should know from each!
As we mentioned on here when first announced, the guys hit the road for Alpena (2½ hours southeast of the Soo) on Saturday to open for Katharsys Theory at the Michigan Brown Trout Festival, which was hyped in this video featuring music video and performance clips from that night's bands. Photos have been posted from that night on their Facebook page, and eagle eyed observers will note that bassist Christian Cook was unavailable for this show for unannounced reasons. In his place, the guys called in original bassist Danny Tucker to fill in for the night, and while they didn't publically elaborate, personal Facebook posts imply that Danny was asked to help out on very short notice (he lives in Alpena nowadays anyway). Neat seeing Danny back on stage with Brandon and Ted, and hopefully the set was well received! The next day, they played a very rare local concert set in their hometown of St. Ignace, albeit a private one.
Like they did in August last year, Heavy Lies The Crown joined local classic rock cover band Aisle8 for a private outdoor concert outside of a St. Ignace residence. It's a shame that H.L.T.C. struggle to get proper public bookings in the E.U.P. (let alone can't easily play in Sault Ontario, where they would be very well liked), but at least fans in St. Ignace who are in the know have a couple of chances to see them here and there! See above for much more on Heavy Lies The Crown's recent and upcoming activity!
To close, here's new videos of Spades GT in action, courtesy of their show at Inside Skate Park in St. Catharines this past Saturday! The name is not a misnomer, the venue doubles as an indoor skatepark, and the band literally played behind one of the ramps! Filmed for regional promoters/label AP Records' Facebook page along with other bands that night, the two 20 second videos (mercifully not "Reels") feature Spades GT (minus Jay) covering parts of Turbonegro's "All My Friends Are Dead". I wish these weren't shot vertically, but you do get a neat look at how they cram a concert and skatepark into the same indoor locale, and the band sounds good while they last, so check them out below and here!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Monday, July 24, 2023
Details On The Private Multi-Band Concert In Leeburn On Saturday!!
This is backed up by A Dire Setback's public photos from the event on their Facebook page, including this shot of the band schedule. This implies that Planet Rock MC St. James was unavailable on Saturday (hopefully nothing bad happened), so DJ Seith stayed on the bill as a solo performer, which is a fine save! As you can see on the poster, there were three mystery acts, so who were they? Skinbox is the new local rock band from former Pixo Control/These Magnificent Tentacles guitarist Steve Edwards, but despite posting images from jam sessions on their Facebook page in May, they have not identified the band members or elaborated on their sound yet. As for The Couch Crusades, who were the second act on Saturday, I have zero idea who they are. In searching the name, all I came up with was promotion for this show and this unrelated podcast. We'll let you know when/if we hear anything!
Based on the band schedule linked above, the other new-to-us act dropped out for unannounced reasons, but Shrugby (not Shrugsby) is an electronica/house musician out of Wawa. Not in our genre range, but he does have a following and solid talent in the EDM scope, so check him out if you're into these styles! None of the currently circulating public advertising for the event credits them anymore, but I am 100% certain that defunct death/thrash metal trio Pillory were listed as performing when the event page first went live last month. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of them, in any case! As you can see in the poster, camping was free and encouraged for attendees, as it was in the Oh!No days, so this would have been a fun summer event for local music fans, especially punk and metal ones! Alas, it was private (barring the bands' own public advertising if they chose), but I didn't want to step on any toes by plugging it on here just to be safe.
Yes, I was invited, but I usually don't chance covering lengthy, more distant shows like this because I want to cover everything and I don't want camera or phone batteries running out at an in-opportune time and place (this is partly why I haven't yet covered Northern Vibe in person). As of this writing, no public videos have knowingly surfaced, but hopefully someone shot something given who was playing! Above all else, I hope this concert was a huge hit for everyone involved, and that the "camping with friends" angle went over equally well, so see above for what is publically known about Saturday's festivities in Leeburn, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Rotaryfest 2023 Fallout & Videos (Part 3!!)
While Adam did lampshade how his voice got pitchy and flat while doing backing vocals on "Shine", everything sounds fine to me, aided by the high quality video, and it is nice to see Double Down covering some songs you don't see some of their contemporaries do, including some Canadian content! If fans miss the old Bone Yard lineup and/or Mojo, they should be in good hands with Double Down, so check out their whole set below!
We'll close today with an alternate angle of most of Double Down's set, courtesy of attendee Beej Syrette, who live-streamed this for his personal Facebook page and shared it publically on the band's Facebook page. The 26+ minute video captures the first five songs from a nice central angle that lets us get a better actual view of Double Down's set, and while the pure quality of the actual video is lower, it's not bad at all and the audio is pretty clear! You get to see what Ric edited out between some songs too, as anticlimactic as that may be. Check out Beej's Double Down video below!


















