Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Danger Cats

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! In our monthly spotlight of a local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past (randomly selected as always), we're next heading back a decade to look at a very unique but entertaining hard rock group that definitely turned heads at many a local concert, so here's what you should know on them!

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The Danger Cats

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Hard Rock/Punk

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)

Kate "Kougar" Drew, vocals/guitar/formerly drums
Summer "Snow-Leopard" Stevens, vocals
Paula "Panther" D'Agostino, guitar/vocals
Jamie "Jaguar" VanSchooneveld, bass/vocals
"Calico" Katie Maskell, drums

(Note that both Kate and Jamie are now known by the last names Hatherley and Garside respectively due to getting married after The Danger Cats disbanded, but the band's run predated their weddings. Incidentally, they both married members of Late & Loud.)

Audio/Video: The Danger Cats did write and perform a handful of original songs like "Wanted Man" and "Sugar Mama", but never released an album of any sort despite recording at Six Two Oh in April 2015. Covers ranged from the likes of The Runaways, Blondie, and Bif Naked to AC/DC and The Black Keys, among other acts. The best modern source of Danger Cats videos is their YouTube channel, which features multiple live concert videos from their heyday, and even an interview, but fan shot videos exist elsewhere in decent quantities, and I have filmed them for our Facebook page as well. Here's The Danger Cats playing their own song "Give Me" and covering The Scorpions' "The Zoo" at The Rockstar Bar in 2014!

Info/Analysis: A rare example of an all-female rock band in the Sault Ste. Marie area, The Danger Cats formed in April 2013 and made their public debut opening for the short-lived Hydra's Teeth at The Algonquin Pub that September. Taking their stage names from various cat species/breeds and playing that up in their concert attire, The Danger Cats lineup remained stable throughout their run aside from Kate moving to vocals & guitar upon Katie joining on drums, not to mention Summer's departure for health reasons in early 2014. Fans will recall seeing the ladies open for touring bands like K-Man & The 45s, Archaics, and The Red Rails, while also opening Late & Loud's two reunion gigs, playing Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2014, and competing at the VM Radio Battle Of The Bands semifinals in 2015. The Cats also could be seen at multiple all-local gigs, and even headlined a few solo concerts on the weekend cover circuit.

In advance of Kate's move to London, The Danger Cats announced their impending breakup in May 2015, last playing live at the Border Brawl roller derby event the following month. Gender aside, The Danger Cats impressed local audiences with their fun and lively sound, with promising originals and eclectic covers that served them well at multiple kinds of local concerts in their 2+ years together! Once Kate moved to vocals & guitar, she got into a more familiar groove that helped the band click even moreso, and everyone's skills developed well as they got more experience. It's a shame that The Danger Cats didn't last longer, but hopefully they reunite in the future if things line up properly, and R.I.P., Summer!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around May 10th for our second Sault Michigan profile of the year in this series, we look at local/Grand Rapids epic metal quintet (and Theatre of Night sister band) End Of Existence! Look for that next month, and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Inconsistent Me) And More Recent News & Notes!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Firehouse frontman C.J. Snare, who passed away due to cardiac arrest on Saturday at the age of 64. Visit your preferred music and/or news outlets for more details (here is Rolling Stone's coverage) but he had previously been battling cancer and abdominal issues. Local hair metal fans will recognize C.J. as the long-time frontman of the South Carolina glam metal/hard rock band dating back to his joining Firehouse in 1987. They peaked in the early 1990s with commercial hit singles like "Don't Treat Me Bad", "Love Of A Lifetime", and "When I Look Into Your Eyes", and got a Billboard Top 40 single as late as 1995. Firehouse played in the Twin Saults multiple times, most recently when they opened for Dokken at what's now GFL Memorial Gardens in September 2017, while they opened for Bret Michaels and Skid Row at Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan in 2014 & 2009 respectively.

While never a headlining attraction in their local gigs in the past 15 years (the cancelled Moloney's Alley show in 2016 acknowledged), Firehouse delivered the goods for Hair Scare diehards in their Sault Ste. Marie sets, and C.J. was a talented singer who could handle hard rockers and ballads with ease. What I have heard about him as a person is positive, and hopefully fans can look back on his work with Firehouse to remember him in the best ways at this difficult time. R.I.P., C.J.!

Now, today's post features some recent news and notes, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Detroit pop punk solo project Inconsistent Me will make their local concert debut on Sunday, June 23rd at The Distraction! The second Michigan-based punk solo project to make their way to the East Street venue this year (though they have performed with backing musicians in some videos), Inconsistent Me deliver a fun and up-tempo brand of pop punk that should find a receptive audience this summer, so definitely give Brendan's work a listen to see what they'll bring to the table north of the border! Local punk trio Vanity First will open in their first announced concert following their album release next weekend, and they should pair well sonically in a few months, so don't be late for their set! This is an all ages event with doors opening at 6:00 PM, and admission is $10 or "pay what you can". See above for more details!

Next up, we haven't written about local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp on here since last year, so what have they been up to lately? As it turns out, the project took down their Facebook page for unannounced reasons late last year and replaced it with a new Facebook page in December, albeit one set up as a normal user account that you have to add as a friend to follow (not unlike what Double Down have). Project leader Boyd "Unterbiss Von Wigwaus" Rendell has kept things relatively cryptic in updates there since, but he revealed that new music would be released in "the first quarter of 2024", but that could take until the fall given the pace he was working at. In February, Boyd indicated that he was working on new music, and teased a possible virtual single release like in their early run, but again, updates tend to be cryptic, often just about writing/creating music as a whole without being directly tied to Molten Imp.

It's good to see that Molten Imp are still working behind the scenes, even if the wait for new released music continues into 2024's second quarter! I do apologize for the delay in writing about Molten Imp on the site, the cryptic posts don't have a lot to latch onto when earmarking topics for upcoming SMS posts and they have always been easy to fall through the cracks, but hopefully Boyd's doing well and that we hear much more from him in the near future! If I did/said something wrong, I do apologize!

We'll close today with new videos from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, and while I usually share new videos in conjunction with weekend concert previews for convenience in promoting tradtional shows, I'll buck that today because these are from their Thursday jam night hosting duties at Reggie's Place last week! In a rare TikTok-exclusive video from Bone Yard, they shared this video of Alex and Warren being joined by four guest jammers (including a saxophonist!) to play a blues song that I couldn't identify. Is it called "Waiting"? Shockingly, the video is horizontal, but for one reason or another, it was put in monochrome & with some sort of visual filter, and it only captures 44 seconds of the performance. I've never had luck embedding TikTok videos on the SMS, but click here to check it out, as it has a good groove! Embedded below is a video from Reggie's Facebook page on Thursday, so what can you see here?

The video sees Greg and Alex joined by guest singer/keyboardist Joey Damasco for a cover of Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69", and while I'm no fan of Bryan Adams, this is a lively cover that relatively seamlessly incorporates keys! Joey's vocals are not super rangy but they work for this song, and while the video was shot vertically, at least the filmer captured everyone in frame. Check it out below, and remember to join (or even replace?) Bone Yard 225 at their next jam night at Reggie's this Thursday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates & Videos From December & January!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to acknowledge that local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns did not play at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night for unannounced reasons, with no band replacing them. The band & venue never publically confirmed or denied the gig, which new drummer Brandan Glew announced on his personal Facebook page last month. The Stallyns are not known for frequently updating their Facebook page, alas, but I do apologize for the erroneous plug on Thursday. I'd have noted that it was cancelled had someone publically said something in advance! My thanks to Sarah Vikken (who was present for an unrelated event) for confirming the lack of a band last night.

Now let's dive into more recent news and notes from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what else have they been up to since the turn of the new year? On December 30th, Joe Taylor of the music website Blast Toronto reviewed their newest album "Sewer City Radio", recommending the album to fans of Motorhead, Anvil, The Offspring, and The Ramones. He used a lot of hyperbole to pump up this album in a brief but positive write-up, so give it a look at this link! The rubber chicken frequently pops up in Joe's CD reviews, if you wanted context. On New Year's Day, the band posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page to recap their 2023, featuring assorted live concert clips and posters as set to their song "Cenobites" while guitarist Daniel Horton talked about how the year went & how 2024 will be another big year. My usual "Reel" complaints aside, it hypes up 2023 well!

I can't embed "Reels" here, but I can embed this video, which features a 48 minutes-long interview that frontman J.D. Pearce and drummer Tyler Reiner recorded with Amanda Schilz and her son Andrew The Legend of Sofa City Sounds, a music promotion/interview company out of Niagara Falls. Tyler and J.D. were participating remotely over the holidays, with Tyler in Muskoka and J.D. in the Soo when this was recorded! Note J.D is in front of a local Ripcordz concert poster, and look for his various masks. After asking about their holiday plans, Spades GT talk about "Sewer City Radio", how Spades GT came together in Barrie (Tyler brings up the Jack Spades era here), their live concert experience (which J.D. hopes is close to hearing their studio material), their 2024 plans in concert and studio, bands that they have enjoyed sharing the stage with (Drew from Random Killing saw Spades at the Josey Scott show here last summer) ...

...rumoured major shows for 2024 (not that Spades GT were willing to spill many beans), their growth in the past year, and their advice for young musicians. Fun and loose interview with lots of discussion about bands that Amanda (and her kids) have seen live and worked with, and if you find the idea of a local band interview involving a host conducting it with her son to be unusual, remember that Heavy Lies The Crown did a (sadly now deleted) interview in January 2023 with Ghost Media Entertainment where the host's young daughter participated. Click here for our recap to compare. Give Spades GT's interview with Sofa City Sounds a watch below!

Spades GT's first concert of 2024 saw them play at the second annual Walterstock, the fundraiser/memorial concert in honour of noted GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich, who passed away after being unable to get prompt medical treatment in 2022 despite his best efforts (click here for more on that sad story). Like with the inaugural Walterstock last year, twenty-seven acts played at The Rockpile in Toronto on January 6th, and while none of the other bands are familiar from local gigs, frequent Spades GT show partners GFU played, as did headlining Pantera tribute band Cowboys From Hell, while Spades bassist James Roy Daley also played with the psychobilly band The House of Haunt immediately following Spades' set. Videos were not in short supply from Spades' Walterstock set, and we'll start with two fan-shot videos that, while both sadly vertical, are not "Reels" and therefore embeddable here!

Attendee William Wai Yun Lum (who previously filmed Spades GT at Indie Night In Canada last year) live-streamed this sub-2 minutes clip of them playing "Succubus" for his personal Facebook page, which the band later publically shared on their Facebook page. The somewhat low framerate and muffled audio are noted, but it's an intense performance from the front row, and while I wouldn't have shot it vertically, it does get a good look at J.D. in particular, so check it out for yourself below!

There's definitely more from Walterstock to come, but we'll finish up here with attendee Dawn Faller's video of Spades GT's closing song, namely the title track of their album "Sewer City Radio"! Dawn posted this three days after the event on her personal Facebook page before the band re-posted it. This is a longer video capturing the full song, and while vertical, she wasn't shy about rotating the camera around to catch things at skewed angles while zooming in and out, so it's an interesting watch! She was at more of a sharp angle too, but still clearly in the front row. Good audio quality here too, so check this clip out below as well!

 

When we pick things back up for Spades GT, it'll be with more Walterstock fallout, so look for that in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Skid Row/Buckcherry Concert Video Showcase (Part 2) & More!!

Today's post is devoted to Kewadin Casino concert videos, new and old alike, and we'll start with the Skid Row-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theater in Sault Ste. Marie on March 23rd, which took on new significance when frontman Erik Gronwall left the New Jersey glam metal band just four days later to focus on his health (Erik is a leukemia survivor & bone marrow transplant recipient with a compromised immune system). In fact, the Sault Ste. Marie show was the final one with Erik, so how's that for timing? Our first post with videos from the show went up on the day his departure was announced! Of course, our best thoughts go out to Erik, whose health actually caused this show/tour to be postponed from the fall as it was, and for my money, he was the best singer Skid Row had brought on since Sebastian Bach left! Halestorm's Lzzy Hale will fill in temporarily with Skid Row in their upcoming festival dates. 

As for the Soo show, the ever prolific Christopher Paci was in attendance to film all three bands on the 23rd for his YouTube channel, filming Skid Row in eight videos! He shot them playing "Big Guns", "18 & Life", "Psycho Therapy", "Time Bomb", "I Remember You", "The Gang's All Here", "Youth Gone Wild", and as embedded below, their set-opener "Slave To The Grind". Chris was further away from the stage than in prior local videos that we've seen, but we do see more of the stage at once here, and it was an honest sell out based on the audience! The sound here is a little soft but you hear everything you need to, and Erik was nailing these songs even on his final date, so check them out above & below!

Next up, Chris also filmed six videos from co-headlining Los Angeles hard rock quintet Buckcherry's set, including "Say Fuck It" (they titled it, not me), "Hellbound", "Sorry", "Gluttony", their extended & covers-infused "Crazy Bitch" medley, and as embedded below, their opening song "Lit Up". I've never been a huge fan of theirs, and Josh's voice is inconsistent across these videos, especially later in the set, but they put in an energetic performance for fans, and they've always been good to the Twin Saults, so give Buckcherry's newest local concert videos a watch above & below!

As for opening Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, Chris filmed them playing "Plenty Of Love", "Girlschool", and as embedded below, "Dream On". Even with a mostly different lineup than when fans last saw Britny Fox in town, they sound good for glam metal fans on these videos, and for better or worse, less fans had cameras rolling so you get a clearer view of the band than you do with the later acts. Check these out for yourselves above & below as well!

Finally, let's wind back to 2014 for a video that I didn't feature on the site in the first place. Back in November 2014, Staind frontman Aaron Lewis came to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time since launching his solo career as a country musician, and while that obviously doesn't fit our genre range, he did and still does cover Staind ballads in his solo sets. At the time, I covered videos filmed by attendee Dana Howland on here, as she filmed Aaron playing Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and covering Pearl Jam's "Black" (which was a solo radio hit for him years before he acutally went solo). Either due to my own omission or due to that post being written before she uploaded it (it's been nine years, I don't remember), I never acknowledged that she also filmed Aaron playing the Staind hit "Right Here Waiting" at Kewadin on this night, so it is embedded below! This came to my attention because it was re-uploaded as a "Shorts" video.

As such, her Staind videos from 2014, this one included, turned up in their own special section when searching for recent Kewadin videos. "Shorts" are not as restrictive as Facebook "Reels", and her videos were vertical and focused on a solo musician right along, so I won't complain about the formatting here (no comment on Aaron's political views either, but this show was before a lot of that became more prominent). The stage lighting is VERY over-exposed here, but Aaron's performance is on point for Staind fans, so give this belated local concert video a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225, HeadFirst, And The Wyld Stallyns) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

A relatively quiet weekend is upon us for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and area to kick off April 2024, so March really did go out like a lamb in that respect! Filling things out are some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) and a new video from one of today's discussed bands, so here's what you should know!

Local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will reportedly return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I only heard about this gig via new drummer Brandan Glew's personal Facebook page last month. At press time, neither the band nor venue have publically advertised this concert (The Stallyns' sporadic usage of Facebook acknowledged), but if this show is not going on for whatever reason, I will let you know as soon as possible. Assuming they didn't play an unadvertised gig in the interim, this will be The Wyld Stallyns' second public gig with Brandan and new bassist Blair St. John in the fold, and their first Shooters date of the year, so hopefully their fan-friendly covers find another receptive audience, even without a Greyhounds playoff game lead-in! This is a one-nighter, as Shooters have been hosting DJ nights on Fridays so far this year.

As usual for concerts at Shooters, this has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. It's great to see The Wyld Stallyns back in full gear after their fall/winter break and rhythm section swap, and hopefully SATURDAY NIGHT's concert is a hit for band and fans alike! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Stallyns live!

Next up, let's jump ahead in the timeline for newly announced shows taking place later this month from local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who will rock Reggie's Place on Friday, April 19th & Saturday, April 20th before returning to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for shows one week later on April 26th & 27th! Announced earlier today via this poster and Facebook event pages for each weekend (linked here & here), these shows will continue HeadFirst's recent momentum on the weekend cover-centric nightclub circuit, following Jay's Piston (Broke Pub) shows this weekend, but the 4/20 weekend shows will be their first at Reggie's this year, after only playing there (Toystock aside) in their late 2023 debut run.  It's good to see HeadFirst keeping at it towards making their name on the local scene, and hopefully next month's shows are hits downtown and in the west end! All four dates are 19+ affairs with 9:00 PM start times and no cover. See above for more details!

Now let's head back to this weekend's previews, but still with new concerts, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will get "uncorked" again for an acoustic show at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! The newly announced shows ahead come courtesy of their new concert calendar for the next few weeks, as Greg, Alex, and Warren will plug things in for traditional concerts at Reggie's Place on May 10th & 11th, which will surely form another "triple-header weekend" including their expected jam night hosting duties on Thursday, May 9th. Unusually, Bone Yard only have one normal electric concert (not counting jam nights) this month, so if you like the full shebang, keep their Mother's Day weekend gigs in mind for next month! Of course, tomorrow's previously announced Water Tower Pub show will deliver more of the unplugged/corked goods if that's what you're into.

A one-nighter as is standard for The Water Tower Pub, tomorrow's show begins at 8:00 PM, while the Reggie's shows next month are 9:30 PM affairs. None have a cover charge and all are presumably 19+. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new live-streamed video from Bone Yard 225's Facebook page of them covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" at Reggie's on Saturday night! Vertical camera angle aside (at least the filmer got close to everyone), this is a soundly performed cover that perfectly suits their sound, but it is a shame that the full song isn't captured., Check out Bone Yard fully corked below!

Finally, we'll head back west to The Esquire Club, where newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will take the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Just over a month removed from their last gigs (also at The Esquire Club), fans of this talented foursome who want an encore or missed them last month will surely want to head to the Second Line West nightclub for their hard rocking but accessible slate of covers tomorrow and/or Saturday! Silent 9 will be back at the same venue next month but it remains to be seen if we'll see them elsewhere in April or not. As usual for Esquire Club concerts, expect these to be 9:30 PM events with no cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and for a preview of this weekend's concerts, here's Silent 9 live!

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

Local Hard Rock Video Showcase!!

For our first proper news post of the month, let's dive into recent updates from hard rock acts on both sides of the border, and we'll work our way north with videos and updates from two E.U.P. acts, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday night!

We'll start with new videos from two Sault Michigan hard rock bands, starting with (some of) the long awaited footage from local metal band Tarnished's set at the Rock Recovery Battle of the Bands in Alpena last month! Their first two songs are now viewable in separate videos on their Facebook page, including Alex, Parker, and Josh playing their original "Metalyn" to start their set, and as embedded below, a brand new original song named "Intoxicated". Unfortunately, the videos are uploaded in vertical portrait orientation with pillarboxing despite being standard definition 4:3 videos, and I have no idea why that is. If you can get past the formatting, you'll find strong performances (they must have been for Tarnished to place third against downstate competition), and "Intoxicated" is a promising track that would be interesting to hear fleshed out in studio! Check out Tarnished's first two songs at The Aplex above & below!

Next up, here's our first look at fellow local hard rock band Exit 808's current-ish lineup, as per their Facebook page on Monday! Despite the timing, none of this appears to have been an April Fools prank. Exit 808 revealed there that they've actually been working with Heavy Lies The Crown frontman Brandon West (who shared the stage with the then-Double Jack at the LSSU Battle of the Bands last fall) towards recording their cover of Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." in a proper studio setting, posting it that day as a Facebook video. With the band now having two vocalists, Amy Beach & Dillion Semasky split vocal duties here, trading verses & sharing choruses. While recent fill-in bassist Blaze Beairl is tagged in the post, the bassist here is actually Bob Libick from the Marquette hard rock cover band Spun (and Nudge. before them). Many Yooper readers will recall seeing Spun & Nudge. often at points west and at local gigs.

Kudos to Bob for helping out here! No word yet on a full time bassist, for the record. This cover is well done with strong recording quality (given what H.L.T.C. do for themselves, it's no wonder), and while there are better technical examples to really show the band off, starting with a familiar classic makes sense. They juggled Amy & Dillion as well as you could for a song that never had two singers, but I might have had them alternating lines, not just verses, a'la the recent version of "Hellraiser" with both Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmister's vocals. Check out Exit 808's new studio cover below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Now let's head to Sault Ontario for the latest from local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, who's been very quiet since last fall's Soo's Got Talent finals in terms of his own solo output. On March 22nd, he shared a video from his personal Facebook page to his solo project's Facebook page featuring him and most of his local backing band playing his song "Carousel" at a jam session last month. Always good to see Mike back in town! The (sadly vertical) video features Mike playing alongside A Dire Setback guitarist Chris Nielsen and Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew (now of The Wyld Stallyns), both returning to his live band for 2024. No bassist is present in the video, but ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi (now of The Golden Scoundrels) is tagged rather than Jacob Quarrell. Matt did play with Mike at The Soo's Got Talent semifinals last year when Jacob was double booked, so he should fit in if true!

As well, Brandan's ex-Re:Born bandmate Elly McWatters is also tagged, perhaps implying that she will do backing vocals this year, as she had previously done at some of Mike's bigger festival sets. The video was captioned that "summer is just around the corner", implying that we'll see Mike & crew on stage in a few months' time. The guys aren't really positioned well to be captured in frame (the vertical angle doesn't help), but if this tight and melodic jam is anything to go by, Mike's dates this summer should be a good time! Give it a watch for yourself below!

Finally for today, here's the second original song from new local hard rock band Bullet Train! This union of ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee & Anthony Fabiano posted this "at home demo" to their YouTube channel as a scheduled premiere on Friday, and like with their debut original "Atmosphere", song #2 ("Illusions") is accompanied by a lyric video featuring AI-generated imagery. Also like on "Atmosphere", the song is a charged take on recent events, with Cory singing about waking up to what you're being told by larger forces, or history could repeat itself. Analyzing the lyrics and intent of them is a little beyond my scope, but Bullet Train definitely have more of a contemporary topical influence than Cory's prior bands, so keep that in mind. The song has a slower and more deliberate pace, but it's still a heavy rocker that fans of Cory's will like musically, so check it out for yourselves below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (April 2024 Update)

For our first post of the month (after successfully dodging anything that could be construed as a prank yesterday), here's our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we again look at the current whereabouts and release statuses of upcoming local metal, hard rock, and/or punk albums, CDs, and EPs! Of the six returning albums from last month, three have updated entries, as noted with their title 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: "A Song For The Apocalypse", "The Speciesist", "The Cities Alive & It's Angry", "From Beyond The Clouds"

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 in 2022, 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 have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, and the final artwork. In recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his historically prolific rate of original studio material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

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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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down", "Battlefield"

Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" on 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. The band has been working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd of last year, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May. A new original named "Battlefield" was teased in this picture from studio sessions in September, and they confirmed that they made "big progress in the studio" as of December. The band quietly parted ways with bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano last fall, andt it's not clear how involved they will be on the final product.

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", all obviously since passed. There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 3+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit, let alone what their rhythm section leaving could mean. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Party Fuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. On September 13th, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) with producer Greig Nori at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks complete as of September 29th, and then-guitarist Mitch Sirie was finishing his parts as of December 21st, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page. It's not clear if new guitarist Brandon Ruch will be involved on the EP in some fashion or not.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. If the timeline is similar, than we wouldn't see Handsome Sandwich's EP until at least mid-2024, but it will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs: "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: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate at least a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest), it understandably wasn't his first musical priority last summer, with his new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned in July. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

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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" in June.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 10 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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Vanity First - Identity Crisis

Rumoured Songs: "Off With Their Heads", "Get Out", "Habitual Vanity"

Background: In a surprise announcement on their Facebook page on  March 1st, local punk trio Vanity First revealed that they had recently been working on their second album, named "Identity Crisis", with cover artwork also unveiled and a new single named "Off With Their Heads" released to major streaming services. A new advance single named "Habitual Vanity" was similarly posted late last month, though it is not clear if their 2022 single "Get Out" or their re-recorded version of "Playboy Magazine" (which was recorded with producer Dustin Jones at Mission Control Studios) will be a part of the new album or not. This will be Vanity First's... first album since singer Andrew Beggs took over bass duties in lieu of Nick McClelland, and their first since tacking "First" to their name.

Current Release Status: The guys plan to release "Identity Crisis" to major streaming platforms and physically via MorningStar Records on Friday, April 20th, with a release party also taking place on 4/20 at Soo Blaster. Digitally, expect it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, and YouTube, which are the services currently hosting their newer singles. Despite the complete lack of pre-March word that Vanity First were recording an album, fans should welcome this when it comes out in a few weeks, so stay tuned for updates!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! We'll pick things back up with this series (and a little less Vanity if things go according to plan on the 20th) when this series returns on or around May 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile scheduled for one week from tomorrow. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!