Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For the first time in 2012, we're breaking up our weekend concert previews due to the volume of local metal & hard rock concerts in the area over a given weekend! Nice to see things picking up again for the scene, so we're starting with an all Sault Ontario preview post today, and either tonight or early tomorrow, we'll post the Sault Michigan previews along with some extra stories. So let's kick off this post with the previews on the Ontario side for metal & hard rock concerts taking place between TONIGHT and Saturday! (EDITED, 5:21 PM)

First for this preview post is the 41st Roosevelt Hotel metal night, taking place TONIGHT! After a 6 week hiatus, the Thursday tradition at the Rosie is back, and it will be headlined by the return of As It Stands! Though they returned to the stage in Espanola last month, this will be the prominent local hardcore band's first appearance at a local concert in over five months, and you know they'll have lots of high impact originals from their forthcoming EP in store tonight! Opening the concert will be fellow local hardcore rockers Changing Waves, themselves returning to action for the first time since early September! Will the rust be melted away by their metal onslaught? Time will tell, but we've sure missed them! Opening tonight's festivities will be local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, who'll bring their brutal stylings to the stage for the first time in the new year, in their record 18th Rosie metal night appearance!

There's few heavier ways to lead off a concert, so be sure to be at The Rosie tomorrow night by 10:30 PM to avoid missing any of the bands! There's no cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! There's lots of great local metal to be had, and I hope to see you guys there, with a review to hopefully follow tomorrow! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's As It Stands playing their original "Conception" in 2010!



Also over the next few days is the return of Turner Up to the local concert stage! The reborn new version of the popular classic rock quintet will make their first appearance on a local stage in six weeks when they hit The Nicolet Tavern for the first time TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! The new Turner Up doesn't gig nearly as frequently as the old version did, so if you've missed them, don't skimp out on their concerts this weekend! As usual for their concerts, they'll be on at around 10:00 PM both tomorrow & Saturday night, you must be 19 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the new Facebook event page! It's great to see Turner Up back on the local stage, and though 4/5ths of Turner Up have been seen in the interim with Havadder, it's always nice to see their heavier side emerge! Hopefully this weekend's shows are huge hits, and for a preview, here's the old Turner Up covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" last year!



We'll close with two concerts taking place on Saturday only, starting with Tym Morrison's third acoustic solo concert at Bossy's Pub N' Grub! His latest weekly concert arrangement appears to have started well, as the Caveman Morrison frontman will be back to rock the former Smack Daddy's on Saturday afternoon with a wide array of hard rock and metal covers! If you've been missing Caveman Morrison, are overdue for an unplugged solo show like this, or you're in the mood for some great music in the Pim Street area, don't let this show pass you by! Admission should be free (aside from food/drink purchases), the show starts at 2:00 PM on Saturday, and I doubt there'll be an age limit, knowing the timeframe. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good time to me, and after way too long of a break from Tym's solo concerts, I'm fairly positive I'll be in attendance for this one! I hope to see you guys there for some great acoustic metal covers, and for a preview, here's Tym and a special guest covering Extreme's "More Than Words" at The Big Cheese from a few years ago!



And finally, Saturday night brings us the return of Sneaky Pete to the local concert stage! This talented hard rock quartet will make their first local concert appearance in almost three months on Saturday night at The Rockstar Bar, which they haven't played in almost five months either, so it's been a while in both ways for their return! Though this is a one night only appearance (they're not playing tomorrow night), they should have sets full of hard rock classics to entertain their fans with and, as the Facebook event page says, rock away your winter blues! This concert will be a 19+ event, there will likely be a cover charge of around $5, and a 10:30 PM start time is listed. For more details, check the above links! This sounds like a great concert, and it's nice to finally see Sneaky Pete back rocking the local scene after a few months away from public performances! If all goes well, I hope to finally be there to check them out on Saturday night, so hopefully I'll see you guys there! For a preview, here's Sneaky Pete's mashup of a couple of metal classics from Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest!



That's all for now, but stay tuned in our next post for Sault Michigan weekend concert previews and some more news! Thanks everyone!

Last Month's Poll Results And Our Poll On Your Favourite Local Metal CDs of 2011!!

It's poll day at The Sault Metal Scene! Today, we have our first "Favourite ___ of 2011" poll to launch, but before all that, our last poll of 2011 has now closed, and thanks to all 73 of you who voted! That total actually outperformed my estimate for it, so thanks again! In case you forgot, last month's poll question was this: Which ACTIVE out of town band with a Saultite in their lineup do you most want to see next at a local concert? Without any further adieu, here's the final results!

Infathom (41 votes)
Other (9 votes)
Maximum RNR (6 votes)
Gravity Crash (4 votes)
Phatstick (4 votes)
The Lust Boys (3 votes)
Fifth Way (2 votes)
Mark Rand [with The Mark Rand Band] (2 votes)
The Heatseeking Moisture Missiles (1 vote)
Summon (1 vote)
Age of Days (0 votes)
Beyond Haven (0 votes)
NeanderTHRALL (0 votes)
RedStone Riot (0 votes)
Repetitions (0 votes)
Violet Fuse (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, in ascending order, I'm glad to see that only 6 bands got no votes (I assumed more bands would in the poll.) I'm most surprised that RedStone Riot and two of Ash Richtig's bands got no support from voters, but in time, hopefully all of these bands have greater local recongition beyond their membership! Of the bands with 1-2 votes, they got support like I assumed, but maybe less than I thought going in, especially for Mark Rand's solo project. The Lust Boys finished 6th with 3 votes, and luckily, they are indeed coming to town in March, which is a great sign! Phatstick's 5th place finish with 4 votes is a good sign for their local popularity, though I wish they played their originals live again. I was most surprised to see Gravity Crash finish in 4th place despite never playing locally before, but they are talented, and maybe Paul will bring them home at some point for a show! Third (and highest for Canadian choices) was Maximum RNR, and after their well recieved concert here in February, it's hopefully only a matter of time before Brent & Curtis bring them back to the area! Second with 9 votes was "Other", which could mean a lot of things, from longing for certain band's reunions or wanting a band with no Saultites to play locally, but I can't say for certain what people had in mind here.

But the overwhelming winners with 41 votes were Munising metal band Infathom, who did attain some local prominence last year at LemmaFest, among many other Upper Peninsula gigs! I know that the band jumped on this poll and promoted it on band pages, which likely helped their high vote totals, but their sound is exciting and they have lots of promise, so it's a clear sign that fans do want them to play a local concert again down the road! Check them out at the above links, stay tuned for news on frontman Dillion Semasky's new local band Half A Man, and thanks to everyone for voting!

As for this month's poll, we're back into the swing of things for your top picks of the past year, so I'm posing this question to you guys: What was your favourite new local metal album of 2011? Last year saw a decent amount of new CD releases from some prominent local acts, so I'm curious to see what your respective favourites were! Note that I'm only counting albums that were first released between January 1st and December 31st, 2011, so the re-releases of Woods of Ypres' "Woods IV: The Green Album" or Theatre of Night's "Christmas Night" aren't official choices in the poll. As well, no albums that haven't been officially released for purchase are being counted, so the leak of "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" or Sykotyk Rampage's "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts of Intellect" aren't on the poll, as neither was officially released as of New Year's Eve. Just brand new CDs that you could actually buy last year are counted, but you can be creative with your picks if one of the above was your favourite in the "Other" section! This poll will run until February 18th, and like last month, you can pick multiple choices, but you can only physically vote once. So, what are your choices for this poll of favourite local metal CDs in the past year? Read on to find out!

Clownsack - Funny Farm: The only Sault Michigan metal CD to see an in-store release in 2011 that I know of, Clownsack's second CD and first EP gained some good notoriety upon it's release this past spring. I personally missed the funk elements compared to "Rotten Candy", but I enjoyed it! However, did you think "Funny Farm" was your favourite new local CD of 2011?

Destroilet - EP: Despite a very quiet release in May with no attached in-store sales or CD release show, Sault Ontario hardcore quintet Destroilet delivered a nice EP of old school hardcore for their debut disc, including some well received covers of other local bands! However, does this top all other new CD releases from area metal bands last year?

Garden of Bedlam - Everything Will Die: After months of anticipation, Garden of Bedlam successfully launched their first full length album and second disc at a Boxing Day CD release show last month at The Canadian Nightclub, and it's since gotten some great responses! It may have been the most eagerly awaited of last year's released CDs, but was "Everything Will Die" your favourite of them all?

Either of Mike Haggith's new albums: Ever the prolific artist, Sault Ontario solo musician Mike Haggith put out two new solo albums in 2011 through Rotten Records, including his latest studio album "Suspended Animation" and his most recent compilation CD "The Best Of Mike Haggith, Volume II", featuring top songs from his 2009-2011 solo albums. Both are choices in the poll, so if you liked either one the most last year, vote for it!

Any of Sykotyk Rampage's new albums: In one of their most creatively prolific years to date, the original crash band themselves put out no less than FOUR new digital albums in 2011 for online purchase, including "Karrs", "Bucket of Ham", "Space", and "Zombiez", each with their own creative flourishes and running themes! With more to come in 2012, are any of these new Sykotyk Rampage albums your top picks of last year?

Woods of Ypres - Home: The last brand new Woods of Ypres release during David Gold's lifetime, this vinyl single unveiled two songs from the band's "Woods 4.5" sessions in August 2010 through an independent release in the spring on Practical Art Records. Despite it's length, was "Home" your favourite new local metal album of any kind from 2011?

Other: Do you have another CD or album in mind as your favourite? Are you more for the rereleases of "Woods IV: The Green Album" or Theatre of Night's "Christmas Night"? How about a non-metal CD release, or one that was merely leaked prior to it's scheduled release in 2012? If any of the above apply, vote here!

VOTE TODAY!! You have until February 18th to make your voices heard, at which point we'll likely launch our "Biggest News Story of 2011" poll! Stay tuned for that next month, but vote in this poll while you have the chance, and stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews in our next post!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & The Lust Boys) And New Videos!!

Let's keep the news rolling on this snowy Tuesday, as we've got a lot to get to today, including this week's classic video, a new solo cover from a local guitarist, and kicking things off, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including one show THIS WEEKEND, so here's what you need to know! (Edited at 4:50 PM)

Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are hitting the stage THIS SATURDAY at Golanka's Bar, a.k.a. The Bird! This will be their first Sault Michigan concert in about three weeks, though I'll note that Banned took part in a minimally-advertised talent show of some type named "Yooper's Got Talent" last weekend in Rudyard. For the life of me, I couldn't find anything on this event, save for older videos featuring mostly comedians, so I couldn't reliably cover it on here. Hopefully Banned did well, and I apologize for missing this event! This weekend though, Banned should deliver a great set of hard rocking covers for their fans at The Bird, so consider checking them out on Saturday night! My source for this show is a posting on Banned's Facebook page. I'd assume that this concert is a 21+ event, there's no announced cover charge, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! Banned are definitely a talented rising local band, so don't miss their exciting sound on Saturday at The Bird! Stay tuned for more on this show later in the week when we preview this weekend's local metal/hard rock concerts!

Also for new concerts is a big metal show on March 30th, and it features the local debut of The Lust Boys! As you may know, this is the Victoria, British Columbia sleaze/glam rock quintet featuring Sault Ontario native Ben "Benny Blitz" Kemp-Reynolds on guitar, and it looks like their quest for a local booking here on March 30th paid off, as they're listed for a headlining gig at The Canadian Nightclub that night during their "Tour Before Dishonour" this spring! My source is the tour poster on your left, and the gig (with venue) is also listed on their Reverbnation page, but this is subject to change. Opening for them at this show will be local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, featuring Ben's old Glass Statues bandmates Benn Garside and Josh Hatherly, which makes them an especially fitting opening band for this show! I'd assume this concert would have a 19+ age limit, and Reverbnation lists a likely incorrect start time of 8:00 PM, but other details like admission prices, possible extra bands, and other ground rules are not out yet. Until we hear more, check the above links for more details! It's great to see The Lust Boys bring their sleaze onslaught to the Soo finally, and it'll be good to see Ben back on a local stage after three years away! There'll be lots of great classic metal sounds at this show, so keep it in mind for this spring, and stay tuned for updates and possible changes as they roll in!

We'll close today's post with some new videos, and first, here's the latest solo cover from local guitarist Neno Jovanovic! This time, he covered the guitar track from Rob Zombie's "Sick Bubblegum" and posted the results (as synced with the original song) onto his YouTube channel yesterday! It's a good cover, and he knows the guitar track well, but it sounds a bit reserved compared to the original song. Very good though, Neno's got real talent, so check out more of his solo covers at the above links, and here's his take on "Sick Bubblegum"!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! With the big metal show at The Roosevelt Hotel on Thursday (possibly the 41st metal night?), I wanted to tie in our latest classic video with a band playing that concert, and I've chosen The Bear Hunters! We're slowly gonna include 2011 videos more regularly in this series as the year progresses, and in that spirit, this week's video comes from the Rosie metal night on February 3rd. In this video, The Bear Hunters (including then-guitarist Mike Vincent) covered "Squirrel Buddy" by guitarist Mitch Sirie's April Eyes solo project, which became a fan favourite during it's brief time in their setlists early last year! I actually filmed this performance too on an earlier upload on our YouTube channel, but this particular video was filmed at a different angle by attendee Tiia Opala-Ollinaho. Good audio quality, though the original video was largely focused on Mitch and singer Nik Deubel, and it was very dark on her camera too. It's a good video though, and it's always nice to see extra perspectives! Tiia posted this on Facebook the day after the concert, and you can view the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150127795912527, but note that I fixed and brightened the lighting on the video after posting it on YouTube.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to The Bear Hunters and Tiia for all of their hard work, I'm just trying to spread this video out to a wider audience! It's a solid video, and kudos to Tiia for uploading it, so check out The Bear Hunters covering "Squirrel Buddy" last February below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next "Favourite ____ of 2011" poll tomorrow, and the final results of this month's poll, so if you haven't voted yet, VOTE A.S.A.P. at the form on the top left! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Turner Up & Tym Morrison) And Some New Video Uploads!!

It's time for some more news and notes on this Monday evening, but be sure to check out this morning's post below this one for news on a new concert and my Merves/Frightlight concert review! Here though, we've got news on a video I've moved to another site, uploads of the remainder of an unreleased local EP, and leading things off, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, so here's what you need to know!

Six weeks after their first show at Feedback, the reborn Turner Up will apparently be rocking The Nicolet Tavern THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY! An official online announcement from band sources hasn't been made yet, but Turner Up are advertised for this weekend on The Nic's marquee board, and guitarist Robert Brown alluded to playing with Turner Up this weekend on the event page for Sneaky Pete's concert on Saturday, so things are looking confirmed for them. This will be Turner Up's first show of 2012 and their first concert at The Nicolet Tavern since the new band formed last fall, though, most of the members' other band Havadder have been seen often in the interim, so click here for more on their next shows! I imagine these new concerts will have no cover charge, 19+ age limits, and 10:30 PM-ish start times. Stay tuned for updates and links pertaining to these new shows as they come in! Sounds good to me, and hopefully Turner Up kick off 2012 with a bang just like at their rebirth last year, so keep an eye out for more on these shows as they come in!

Also in new concerts this weekend is another solo acoustic concert from Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison! Continuing his successful weekly arrangement at Bossy's Pub N' Grub, Tym will be back at the Pim Street restaurant & bar on Saturday afternoon for his third straight acoustic show there, and you know from experience and past gigs that he'll have hours of hard rock and metal covers in store for fans and revelers this time around! As usual, there'll likely be no cover charge on Saturday, I doubt there'll be an age limit, and he'll be on at 2:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you've missed Tym's recent solo gigs or Caveman Morrison concerts, definitely consider making out to his next one, especially as it'll be over before any of the night concerts! I believe this will finally be the day I see Tym's solo show again after way too long without, so hopefully I'll see you guys there, and stay tuned for more on this and all other concerts this weekend in our concert previews later in the week!

Next up today, do you remember when we capped off our Christmas season with surprise uploads of songs from Sense of Truth's unreleased debut EP? Well, I have copies of the rest of the prominent local hard rock quintet's studio material from this unreleased album, and I've posted them onto our YouTube channel! Singer Cory Murchison dropped off a burned copy of the album to me yesterday afternoon, and now I can tell you guys a bit more about what would have been in our hands had the EP came out before Sense of Truth disbanded last fall. The self-titled EP would actually have featured seven songs, not five as was rumoured, though only six would have been listed, including the previously posted "Crawling", "Vicious Cycle", and "Push & Pull", and three songs that haven't been available to publically stream in full until today, those being "Pieces of the Mirror", "Done It Again", and "Land Of Greed". As well, there would have been a seventh hidden track at the end of the EP, which was an instrumental hard rock number that I don't recall Sense of Truth playing live. Click the above links to hear each full song from the unreleased EP, and note that I deleted the old YouTube upload of the "Land of Greed" sample, now that we have the full copy. Thanks again to Cory for sending these my way!

It's great to have the full EP available now, and it jumpstarted some good memories, like "Done It Again", which I completely forgot about in the last year! The songs sound good overall, and the production by Miguel Gauthier at Stereo Soul Studios does these tracks justice, but it's still disappointing that this never got a formal release. Could this EP get a review at some point on here? Possibly, especially if I can tie it in with members' next public concerts, but time will tell! For now, check the above links to hear Sense of Truth's entire unreleased debut album, and here's "Pieces of the Mirror"!



And finally, here's a note on the whereabouts of one of our posted videos, and the possible destination others could take in the future. Recently, our classic video upload of Sault Michigan quartet Monkey's Uncle's cover of Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch" was muted due to copyright concerns. I don't believe copyright should be enforced on covers, but I'm not gonna test YouTube or skirt authority by trying to re-upload it, so I deleted it from YouTube and re-posted it on our MySpace page. I know this came from MySpace already, but I'm thinking about turning our MySpace page into a place for videos that either tripped copyright laws or could violate them there as an alternate spot. Besides, it's a good performance, so why punish you guys because it's a cover? Check out our "new" upload of this Monkey's Uncle video below, and when/if a new SMS-relevant video is posted on MySpace instead, I'll surely let you guys know!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next poll and last month's poll results on Wednesday, plus more news and notes as the week rolls on! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sneaky Pete) And The Merves/Frightlight Concert Review!!

I apologize for this being late, we got caught up in some stuff yesterday. This post is mostly focused on our latest concert review (our first of 2012 too), but leading things off, we do have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's all that you need to know on this Monday morning!

Local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY at The Rockstar Bar! In what looks like a one-night-only appearance, this talented veteran quartet will play their first show of the new year, their first public concert in almost three months, and first Rockstar Bar date in almost five months on Saturday, for what should be a hard hitting night of covers and good times! It's always good to see them back on stage, it's been too long, so don't forget about this latest Sneaky Pete concert! The show will start at 10:30 PM on Saturday night, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd expect there to be a cover of around $5, so don't come with empty pockets. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a solid concert, and if things fall in to place, hopefully I can finally make it out to see Sneaky Pete this weekend! Stay tuned for more updates as they come in, and keep an eye out for another possible first show of the year from another classic-leaning hard rock band this weekend as well!

Now to the concert review, as I was in attendance for the Merves/Frightlight concert on Saturday night, and my first concert in way too long! A good (and growing) crowd was on hand for the opening band, that being Frightlight, who had a whole set of Misfits covers in store for fans in their Canadian Nightclub debut! Not an original in sight, but how'd they sound? Pretty good! Along with familiar covers like "Helena", "We Are 138", and "Dig Up Her Bones", Frightlight threw in lots of newer or previously unheard Misfits covers like 'Die, Die My Darling", "She", and "Hybrid Moments", and they did them justice for the most part! Johnny Pints' vocals started to get strained as the set went on, but I can't complain too much. Guest guitarist Tiffany Stocco handled everything well and fit in with the rest of the band, and Rick Styles seamlessly took over the drums in Chris FreakNStein's absence himself, so there was no worries on the lineup front! My big problem was that they went too short, and it'd have been cool to have heard covers of songs like "Last Caress" or "Where Eagles Dare", but Frightlight's one-night Misfits-only set was definitely fun, and hopefully they're back on stage sooner than later!

Headlining this Saturday night punkfest was Toronto's own The Merves, featuring prominent local musician (and Lion Ride frontman) Mikey Hawdon on vocals & guitar. It's been almost seven months since we've seen Mikey front a band locally, so it was good to see him back in town! Notably, The Merves operated as a trio last night, as guitarist Keith Carman was absent for unannounced reasons, but did that impact their set at all? Not a lot, but certain songs did sound emptier without the second guitar. Now, I'm admittedly not a scholar of The Ramones, but I like many of their songs and appreciate their musical impact, and I think that The Merves did a solid job last night covering their classics! Mikey's singing voice still screams Lion Ride more than Joey Ramone when you hear The Merves, but they handled Ramones classics like "53rd & 3rd", "Psycho Therapy", and "Suzy Is A Headbanger" very nicely! Phil Page's bass work was solid throughout their set, and Andrew McMullen (who replaced the Sault's Mark Rand in The Merves last year) was great on drums himself! That said, it'd have been nice to include a second guitar, but the big crowd and loud reception spoke for itself! Very nice set of Ramones classics, and hopefully Mikey's back with one of his projects soon!

Overall, if you love old school punk, you'd have been right at home at this concert! Both The Merves and Frightlight did justice to the classics, and though things only really got heavy during Frightliht's set, you can't argue with a great night of punk rock! I got a bunch of photos on Saturday, so click here to check them out or visit our official Facebook page! I apologize for forgetting to get a "Tag Yourself!" photo, it never crossed my mind, and I especially regret it knowing the crowd that was at The Canadian on the weekend! I did get a video though, so here's Frightlight's cover of The Misfits' "Helena"!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news over the week and our first "Favourite ___ of 2011" poll on Tuesday, plus last month's poll results! Thanks everyone!

New Videos, David Gold Updates, And A New Rock 101 Contest!!

Here's one more news post for this Saturday afternoon! I may not be able to make the Tym Morrison show today due to some prior commitments, but I'll try real hard to make it next Saturday if another Bossy's show is confirmed! No matter what though, I'll be at The Canadian tonight for The Merves and Frightlight! On today's post, we've got some new solo guitar performance videos from two local musicians, the latest David Gold updates, and leading things off, here's news on a cool new radio contest that could pay off for one lucky person!

Hey Rock 101 listeners, do you wanna win some extra cash? Can you sing? If not, can you at least complete song lyrics? The Sault's Rock Station, in conjunction with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (whose games are broadcast on Rock 101) are joining forces for the "Be A Rock 101/Soo Greyhounds Rock Star" contest where lucky fans can earn the chance to complete lyrics to one of five songs at an upcoming Soo Greyhounds game, with $101 in store for the winner! According to Greyhounds announcer Gerry Liscumb Jr.'s post on Local2 (which you can read at this location), entries for the contest begin this Monday on Rock 101 during "Scott & Brian In The Morning", which airs weekdays from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM. To enter, you'll need to call Rock 101's toll free contest line at 1-855-876-2536 (or 1-855-8-ROCK-FM) when prompted, though I don't know specific times or rules for calling in beyond what's on Local2, so be sure to listen in for complete details! Three winners will be selected from those who successfully call in over the coming week, and they'll be announced on Friday. The following week, the five songs that could be chosen for the actual contest will be revealed each day, leading up to the actual contest on Sunday, January 29th at the Greyhounds' game that night against the Plymouth Whalers.

Presumably during the intermission, the three contestants will attempt to complete the lyrics to one of the five chosen songs, and fans in attendance will choose the winner, who will win $101 in free money. Check the above links for more details! This sounds like an interesting contest, and it's good to see Rock 101 and the Greyhounds connecting a bit beyond just game broadcasts and that Wacky Wings talk show. If you're interested in entering, bone up on your rock lyric knowledge and singing voices, and tune in to Scott & Brian over the next week to try and qualify for this contest!

Next up, here's the latest David Gold/Woods of Ypres updates! I apologize for being late on this, but David Gold's brother Michael announced on the David Gold's Legacy Facebook page on New Year's Eve that he was looking for input on locations that should be stopped at or featured in the tour that's planned to gather footage and material for the documentary on David's life. From what I can tell, Michael's planning to do the tour using David's tour bus, and he has been working on the schedule over recent weeks. I have no clue if he's done, but give him a shout at this location if you have any suggestions! The only other real news I have today relates to the various tribute articles to David, and there's plenty online, way too many to accurately cover without getting repetitive or downplaying certain ones. The official Earache/Joel Violette-ran David tribute page has a bunch of them, but I will especially note that a recent podcast by Mainstream Resistance Radio is now online featuring a ton of great remembrances of David by the hosts, along with guest interviews (including one with ex-Woods of Ypres drummer Evan Madden) and 18 songs spanning Woods of Ypres' career being played. It's a very long, but great listen, so click here to stream it and read more! Stay tuned for more Woods/David news as I hear it!

We'll close this post with some new videos, starting with the latest solo performance video from Sault Michigan guitarist Chris Hubbard! You probably know him best from his work in Nixxon Dixxon and Splitshot, but he'll debut with his new band Trail's End next week. Aside from that (which we'll have more on soon), he's also kept busy with this new video of his cover of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solos from the new Van Halen single "Tattoo"! Just days after the song was released, Chris had already learned the guitar solos (remember, he's a huge Van Halen fan), and he definitely has a good grasp on the parts he learned! The response to this video has been great so far, but see what you guys think below, so here's Chris Hubbard's cover of the "Tattoo" solos, as posted on Thursday onto his YouTube channel!



And finally, here's some interesting notes on a YouTube channel from a user named SundayFoggyNotions. I believe this person was a former Foggy Notions employee before it became Feedback, and his original post on YouTube was a live video from a 2010 Tym Morrison acoustic show there. Since June though, he's posted some more YouTube videos featuring what appear to be his own solo guitar work. Only one lasts more than 48 seconds, but he does have skill! One is a 7 string guitar solo, and the others are covers of the guitar solos from the White Lion songs "When The Children Cry" and (as posted a few days ago) "Wait", and they do sound good! I don't know who SundayFoggyNotions is definitively, but he is a good guitarist, and he does White Lion justice on these recordings! Check out his "Wait" solo cover below, and more at the above links!



That's all for today, but I'll hopefully see you guys out and about for some concerts, including 100% definitely at The Canadian tonight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nudge), Weekend Concert Previews, And New EP Updates!!

Let's keep the news coming for this Friday morning, including for this weekend's local metal & hard rock concert previews! I only know of two metal shows this weekend, both in Sault Ontario within seconds of each other, but we'll get to them in a bit. We also have details on a couple bands' EP recordings, a quick note on the status of a Sault Michigan band, and leading things off, two more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know! (EDITED: 8:28 PM)

Marquette hard rock quartet Nudge will make their first stops in Sault Michigan of the new year on February 3rd and 4th at The Satisfied Frog! These concerts are replacing scheduled shows by local hard rockers NoXcape that were booked there last year, and I'll have more on what I know of their status in a second. These will be Nudge's first local concerts in almost three months and their first stops in Sault Michigan with new drummer Tim Rousseau, who replaced Eric Schlumpf in the band last month. If you're in the market for Nudge's brand of modern hard rock covers, you'll wanna be at The Frog in three weeks! These shows have no announced cover charges, 21+ age limits, and likely 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit Nudge's Reverbnation page, and thanks to frontman Danzo McCracken for alerting me to the new concerts! It's great seeing Nudge back in town for some concerts, and hopefully they're big hits as usual, thanks to their exciting and hard hitting modern rock covers! Stay tuned for more on Nudge and any future local dates they may have as they come in!

As for NoXcape's status, I'm starting to really question if they're even an active band anymore. They last made a real band update in September, they never promoted their announced New Year's Weekend concerts at The Frog (which I doubt took place now), and we know about their shows next month being off already. I'll assume they're active until proven otherwise, but I have my eyes peeled in case anything about a possible breakup is said publically, which I haven't seen yet. Stay tuned!

Now to this weekend's concert previews, and first is Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's second Saturday afternoon show in his current weekly arrangement at Bossy's Pub N' Grub! After a successful launch to his new weekly solo series last week, Tym will be back at the Pim Street bar/restaurant TOMORROW AFTERNOON with a set full of acoustic hard rock covers for his fans, so if you've missed his Service Grill gigs (or Caveman Morrison), definitely take note of tomorrow's entertainment! There's no cover charge, I don't believe there's an age limit given the time of the show, and unlike his Bossy's debut last weekend, tomorrow's concert will reportedly start at 2:00 PM, not 1:00 PM like last week. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a fun set of acoustic metal covers, and with Bossy's being close to my place, I believe I'll swing by tomorrow afternoon to give Tym's solo show a long overdue review at the SMS! I haven't seen him live solo since 2009, it's been waaaaaay too long, so this is as good a day as any! Hope to see some of you guys there, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" at what's now Feedback in 2010!



Also tomorrow on Pim Street is some hard charging punk & metal action just seconds down the road at The Canadian Nightclub, and opening this concert is local horror punk quintet Frightlight! This will be their first concert of 2012, and their first show in almost three months, but there's some extra differences tomorrow as well. Reportedly, their set tomorrow will be entirely comprised of Misfits covers, with no originals, which should be interesting, and you know from their past gigs that they do Danzig and Graves-era Misfits songs really well, so there's nothing to fear! Also, Frightlight's lineup will look different tomorrow as well, as new drummer Chris FreakNStein will not be with the band for this concert. A public reason for his absence hasn't been made, but hopefully nothing bad happened! That said, his spot behind the drumkit will be filled by guitarist (and Caveman Morrison/Redundant drummer) Rick Styles, which should work out well! On guitar in Rick's place tomorrow will be frontman Johnny Pints' T. Rex Manning bandmate Tiffany Stocco, who should do well tomorrow, but check out some of her solo guitar covers at this location! My source the above information is Rick's personal Facebook page. That all said, Frightlight are opening for a notable band with a prominent local musician in their Soo debut, that being Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Merves, who are fronted by Mikey Hawdon of Lion Ride fame!

Rocking alongside Maximum RNR, Teenage X, and The Doubts alumni, picture Mikey fronting The Ramones and you'll get a good idea of The Merves' entertaining sound, so if you like Lion Ride or The Ramones, you'll definitely wanna stick around for their headlining set! Admission is $5 at the door, you must be 19 to attend, and doors open at 10:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sure, this is more of a punk leaning show given Frightlight's setlist tomorrow, but The Misfits can be very heavy, and there's plenty of talent to go around! It's great to see Mikey back home for a concert, and you know that The Merves will deliver a high energy set of Ramones classics, and Frightlight will be sure to set the tone well in their return! Plus, this concert is just seconds from Bossy's, so if you live in the area, you'll have no trouble getting to both concerts, like I plan to do tomorrow! I'll see you guys tomorrow night at The Canadian, and for a preview, here's Frightlight covering two Misfits songs at The Rosie in June!



Finally today, here's some updates on a couple local bands' EP plans. First, remember how Sault Ontario death metal quintet The Bear Hunters began recordings towards their debut EP named "Bloodthirst" in May? Well, they finally mentioned said plans again on their Facebook page on Tuesday, announcing plans to actually begin recording demos. Why did things stall last year after announcing "Bloodthirst" eight months ago? I don't know, but according to guitarist Mitch Sirie's personal Facebook page, the band wants to set up an online store of some type to sell the demo when it comes to that point, with hopes to use it to get a grant to record professionally in the future. As more updates come out on their EP/demo, I'll let you guys know! The other update that I have is that new Sault Michigan metal quintet Hoist The Sails have already begun work on their own debut EP, and have kept fans updated on it via their Facebook page. An honestly very promising 63 second clip of an original song was posted at this location that indicates a death metal sound, and from what I can hear, they sound proficient and brutal! I can't embed it here (it's a Facebook video), but check it out! Apparently, at least one song is finished and needs to be mixed, but it will be posted online when that process is done. Sounds good to me, so stay tuned for updates on Hoist The Sails' planned EP, and much more at the above links!

That's likely all for today, but I'll see you guys TOMORROW at Bossy's & The Canadian, and if there's enough news for a new news post before our next concert reviews, I'll make sure to get it up! Thanks everyone!