LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Headrush & A.S.D.P.), Unfortunate Sun Updates, And More!!

Before we begin today's news post, I wanted to profusely apologize for a missed concert last month, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun returned to Huck's Pub & Grill in Rudyard on January 17th. This was a 4:00 PM matinee concert for unannounced reasons (Unfortunate Sun's prior gig there in November was a normal nighttime booking), and while the band only promoted this Saturday nighter once on their Facebook page on the previous Monday, Huck's Facebook page had promoted it multiple times in the early weeks of last month. How this slipped me by, I don't know, but I hope the show was a hit for all involved despite the early start time, and we won't miss Unfortunate Sun's next shows (stay tuned on Thursday for our next weekend concert previews!) There was something newsworthy beyond last month's show being their first of 2026, as it was their final gig with ex-Shift bassist Tony Rogers, who "has decided to move on".

The band did not outline why Tony left otherwise, but things are definitely amicable, and they thanked him for "making playing music fun again and saving our band". Replacing Tony is his former Clownsack colleague Brett Blackwood, who was most recently seen in the 2023-2025 hard rock cover band Dirty Musky, and was among the past bassists in Unfortunate Sun's predecessor group Fake Chow. Brett's a talented artist and it will be good to see him back with familiar company, and we'll preview his debut gigs with Unfortunate Sun on the SMS in a couple of days!

Today's post otherwise has some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos from Sault Ontario, and we'll start with the "Not A Leap Year Party" on Saturday, February 28th! Now, this is a house party event on Bruce Steet that is not being held at a proper public venue, but this show is publically advertised, it will be 19+, and it has entry via a suggested donation of $10. The host location will even have balloons outside so you know where to go, so this isn't intended to be private or invite-only! More specifics can be seen via the poster, but they're calling the location "Mellow D's Basement" (yes, this is related to the former pop-up venue Mellow D's Underground). Six acts are scheduled at month's end, including three bands (new local ska punk trio A.S.D.P., party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, and online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening. Three solo acts will round out the night's festivities.

They are Sylo frontman Eli Russell, folk singer/guitarist Gimiiwan Ikwe, and former Vanity First frontman Andrew Beggs (a.k.a. Andrew Keith).  This show is being put on by A.S.D.P. frontman/Apocalypse Afterparty bassist Mikhal Muto's new agency Underground Events SSM, and doors will open at 5:00 PM. Intriguing event on multiple fronts, so visit the above links for more on this rare 100% public house party concert later this month!

Next up, here's one more new show announcement ahead, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Full Throttle Saloon for one night only on Saturday, March 28th! Announced with lots of advance notice on Sunday, this follows the band's successful return to the former Primavera Hall two weeks ago, and you know things are going well for Headrush there when they're getting a publicized booking over a month away like this! Time will tell if we see the guys somewhere else before then, but if you've liked the 1980s-leaning range of well performed rock covers from this veteran group, you know when to see them in Steelton next! This will be a 9:00 PM concert with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and while we're on the subject, we have a new video to share from their last Full Throttle Saloon gig last month!

Normally, I'd wait to share this until we had an imminent show of theirs to preview, but the focus is more on attendees rocking out than the band proper until the last third. Shared to Headrush's Facebook group by attendee Stacey Cleave, the 96 seconds-long and (sadly) vertical video was shot during their cover of Boston's "Foreplay/Long Time", with some female fans happily singing along. Not a bad rendition from what we hear, and Stacey got some good angles of the interior of the saloon with a strong and fun crowd enjoying the music, so give it a watch below!

Finally for today, this leads from our review last week of defunct local grunge/alt-rock trio No Arrow's long-awaited album "Souls For Sale", as frontman Dann Pichette has uploaded a few more songs to his YouTube channel in the past year that are credited to the band! Along with a free streaming copy of all 12 songs from the CD, Dann uploaded an extended 6+ minutes-long version of "Colderside Of The Sun", a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" from 2009 that Dann self-recorded, and two non-album originals named "Question Marked" and "Obliterator". The former was remotely recorded by Dann, former bassist Brad Griffith, and a drummer (likely not Joe Falco) credited as "GliTcH!?" circa 2014, and Dann remastered it for a re-upload on his channel last year. I have no idea how recent "Obliterator" is, but it's a slower and sludgier track compared to the more typically grungy "Question Marked".

 Of course, Dann has gotten involved in those "DIY independent musician showcase/networking" channels and communities in recent years from hosts like Thomas Christ and Frank Terzo, so his music (No Arrow or otherwise) has been getting a lot of diverse and far-flung attention as of late, perhaps spurring along the idea of posting these songs online, let alone finally releasing "Souls For Sale". No Arrow are defunct, but it's cool to see Dann bringing them back and giving them a new belated platform, and hopefully we hear more new/old music from him soon! Check out "Obliterator" below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (February 2026 Update)

It's time for our second "Where Are The New Albums?" post of 2026, as we again spotlight the current public statuses of announced upcoming albums from Sault Ontario metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists! While this is largely a holding pattern installment without major changes from the albums from last month, these is a brand new entry, as noted with its title in italics, and because of alphabetical order, we're leading off with them, so here's what you should know!

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The BAG - Sacculus

Rumoured Songs: "Eccentric Refuge", "Our Rock"

Background: Immediately launching in the summer of 2022 with original music in their back pocket, local metal trio The BAG (featuring With Gunfire and Jupiter Marvelous members) quickly released their first studio single "Eccentric Refuge" to major streaming services, with "Our Rock" following in 2023. The BAG didn't confirm that an album was in the works until October of 2025, when they revealed the cover artwork for their debut album "Sacculus" on their Facebook page, also confirming at the time that the whole album was already done mixing and mastering. These were the band's only proper updates about their own activity, album or otherwise, in the second half of 2025. It's not clear if their first studio singles will be included on "Sacculus", and if so, if they were re-recorded in last year's recording sessions.

Current Release Status: The BAG confirmed last month that they will release "Sacculus" on Saturday, April 18th via an album release party at Soo Blaster, though specifics on the track listing, price, and formats are all forthcoming. It will be great to see the fruits of Spencer, Austin, and Bradley's quiet work last year finally out for fans to hear in the spring, so stay tuned for more updates on the impending release over the next couple of months!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January 2025, though it took until May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts. "Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services in December, but it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album. The band was still "in the studio finishing shit" as of December 4th, source here.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

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, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook in mid-2024 that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in 2023 were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "The Ebb"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence worked in studio last year with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", eventually confirming in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets. A new version of "The Ebb" (first seen on their 2023 EP "One") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: 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 (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was being recorded as of August 31st, and a teaser of the song was posted to their Facebook page on New Year's Eve.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around March 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From Late December & Early January!!

To kick off a new month at the SMS, let's finish playing catch-up on what St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown have been up to this winter! While the band mostly took December off from public updates, they did return with new videos on December 27th, starting with this video of the guys opening for Born Of Osiris at The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac on November 7th, which was shot by Sara LaBeau for her personal Facebook page but only shared to the band's Facebook page over a month later. Sara said that this was shot at "Greenwall Hall", which is not the name of any of the venues at the Crofoot complex. Based on photos, this is more likely The Pike Room, which is not where last year's Born Of Osiris/H.L.T.C. show took place (that was in the Vernors Room there). The video proper features the band's 2025 lineup (sans Kaycee) during a breakdown, and there's no sign of teased guest DJ Dirty6, at least from what little we see here.

Sadly, this video is both short and vertical, so we don't get the best look at the guys in action, but it's a brutal performance for what we do get, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Later on December 27th, the band resumed posting new Facebook updates of their own, with this brief update video featuring singer Brandon West (with his dog!) announcing that their new single would be released in two weeks, and would be titled "Notions". Not only that, it was to be part of their new EP of the same name coming out in January! He talked up how "music will be flowing" now that guitarist Jaxon Massaway had caught up to learn old material and write new stuff. Two vertical teaser videos (linked here & here) followed, featuring Jaxon working at a tracking computer while "Notions" played in the background, but black-and-white interview videos (horizontal ones, no less!) followed on the 30th & 31st, where Brandon and Jaxon answered questions about "Notions", documentary style. The shorter video features Brandon addressing the tougher lines to sing on the song...

...why the "Notions" single was released next, what took the longest to get right with the song, the biggest change in the band (from "guitar shredding and... melting your face off to pure, now it's aggression, pushing", with an emphasis on being fun to play in concert), and where he sees the band heading next, with Brandon teasing the tour date lengths coming up for 2026 but not individual shows/locations. He closes by saying that you can hear the new single "literally everywhere", which I highly doubt, but that's a common complaint of mine with anyone who claims that. The longer video is embedded below, and features both Jaxon and Brandon on camera. Here, they discuss what inspired the themes of "Notions", how their creative process evolved, what was different here compared to prior albums, how "Notions" evolved in studio, what's new from prior recordings, their current mindset, ...

Brandon's headspace when recording "Notions", what they want listeners to get from the new music, one word to describe "Notions", and what they try to find when songwriting. You can tell that the guys are proud of this EP to be giving it this kind of pre-release hype, and while it would have been nice to hear from the other band members here, it sets the tone well and gives some good insight without giving too much away. Check out the longer interview clip below and see more above!

On January 5th, another update video from "Brando here" sees him walking home from practice at night while hyping up "Notions" and its release in "two weeks", and how he hoped everyone would like it. Three days later, Brandon updated fans as to their first shows of 2026 via this video, which will see them on a four show loop in the Lower Peninsula, and he teased more about the bands and locations in this video from January 14th. The shows were fully detailed in this post on the 19th, which will see them rock venues in Bay City, Chesterfield, Battle Creek, and Grand Rapids from March 5th-8th (the closest of the four to here is Bay City, just under 4 hours south of the Soo). All four shows will see H.L.T.C. playing alongside Detroit metalcore band Nothing After This, whose guitarist Rob Vandewiele filled in on bass with Heavy for their most recent shows in mid-November, and is expected to do so again for this run.

We'll detail more on what this means re: Heavy Lies The Crown's full lineup when we next talk about them, as there's too much to cover in one post, but we'll go over the release of the "Notions" EP and their 2026 lineup when we next look at the band on the SMS! For now, give Brandon's update video from January 8th a watch below, and we'll pick things back up on the 14th to talk about "Notions" proper! Thanks everyone!

No Arrow - "Souls For Sale" CD Review!!

It's time for our 199th monthly CD review and first one of 2026, and after a Christmassy detour last month, we're back on our backlog's timeline by release date, and while we're a few months behind, that's nothing given how long this album has been in the works! This month's review is of defunct local grunge/alt-rock trio No Arrow's album "Souls For Sale", which was finally released on July 21st after first being recorded in 2009 midway through the band's original run! The posthumous release is through Mike Haggith's indie label MorningStar Records, where it is exclusive to physical formats through their print-on-demand supplier ElasticStage, and is not on most major streaming services. Recorded locally at the time and mastered in the UK by Chris Daniels, No Arrow are represented here by future SBD singer/guitarist Dann "Wayek" Pichette and Faithless Sin alum Joe Falco on drums, with Quite Frankly bassist Harley Syrette featured on all but two songs.

Harley's replacement Brad "Gortium85" Griffith (later of Bizotic) plays bass on the remaining two tracks, while a guest guitarist named Lutz Wille appears on "Lighter". You can buy "Souls For Sale" at this link on vinyl for $43.90 or on CD for $17.90, though be advised that the vinyl pressing omits "Most Of All" due to the 23 minutes-per-side space limitations given ElasticStage's printing methods ("Cuts" moves from the end of the album to replace it as track #6 there). While not on Spotify and them, Dann has freshly uploaded all 12 songs from "Souls For Sale" to his YouTube channel, so if you want to stream them for free, do so there or via the song names below!

With 12 songs running for about 49 minutes (on the CD), let's begin this album review, over 16 years in the making! No Arrow lead off here with "Genocyde Revealing Pt. 1", which gets off to a very 1960s psychedelic vibe to start (how SBD of them) before the song gets into grungy territory, with a pacing and melody not unlike Nirvana's "Breed", but with more measured verse singing. The chorus is where this song takes a bit of a step back, as it comes off too chaotic and messy with Joe's drumming not really gelling with Dann's vocals. Intro aside, this doesn't reinvent the wheel for fans of early 1990s grunge, but it's a fun rocker that would be ideal to start their set with, even with my chorus points! Next up is "Sikkha", A nice raw sound to this one with really solid kick drum work from Joe early, and Dann lets off some welcomed force and anger in his singing early!

Mid-way through, the tempo slows down for an effective but short bridge that launches back into the hard rocking with a primal scream from Dann, and with a catchy guitar riff throughout, a more original freewheeling structure, a solid (if somewhat buried) solo, and thumping rhythms, this is easily a highlight of "Souls For Sale", and highly recommended for genre fans! Third is "Lighter", featuring Lutz Wille (who I am 100% unfamiliar with) on guest guitar. True to its name, this is is a lighter and airier song that would translate well to an acoustic format if they ever went that route, though it still has distorted guitar and an alt-rock edge that slightly picks up on the bridge, plus an outro of what sounds like surfing the radio dial. The pacing and casual nature of it doesn't suit No Arrow's skill set (to me), so while well performed, I prefer their harder edged and faster stuff overall.

Song #4 is "Delayed Reaction", which brings back the heavier stylings with strong bashing of the skins by Joe and a strong lead guitar riff, but interestingly, the choruses are slow and measured whereas the verses are balls to the wall. Honestly, the guitar work feels a little proggy to me, which goes in line with Dann's known fandom of early Pink Floyd, but this is very much a heavy track. Catchy and strongly performed, but the choruses do stall the momentum enough for me to not prefer it to "Sikkha" despite a lot of good intensity on offer! Next is the shortest song on offer, namely the title track "Souls For Sale", which is a tighter and more direct grunge rocker with pointed vocals, a gritty & in-your-face guitar riff, and solid bass work from Harley, plus a spacey flourish in some of the instrumental sections. Nothing too shocking, but if you want a straightforward song for genre fans, this is it!

The first half of the CD ends (or the second half of the vinyl begins) with "One On The Line", which is the most punk-inflected song on the album yet, and it's another strong bass showcase for Harley while letting the guys let loose with something a little different, but Dann's vocals are more buried in the mix here, especially on the choruses (where only "I don't mind" comes through with any clarity). Musically, this feels the most like "organized chaos", so to speak, but it does end somewhat abruptly. Fun diversion but I wish Dann's singing was more consistently clear. Next is the song that Dann opted to drop from the vinyl copies of "Souls For Sale", namely "Most Of All", which is also the first of two tracks with Brad on bass. This is a medium paced rock song with more of an indie influence but still with grungy distortion. Joe's drumming is a highlight here, and Brad acquits himself well also!

While not an intense, fast grunge track aside from Dann's vocals, it works well enough and is structured well without any major gaps. Perhaps Dann didn't like it as much as other songs, hence why it was dropped from the vinyl copies, but honestly, I don't think it's the worst song here. We next get "Substitute Victim", featuring Brad in his last turn as a performer on the disc. Things get dialed up to a fast tempo with a punk influence, which all sounds good, but why are the vocals so processed here? It sounds like Dann's singing in a tunnel! We even get a bit of a guitar solo here, and Joe's drumming is really good, but the song feels so over-processed in post-production, and if you listen to the whole album, this really sticks out like a sore thumb in spite of the guys' strong musicianship. Harley returns for track #9, "The Pissing Song", which runs for an album-high 6+ minutes. 

Luckily, the processing from "Substitute Victim" does not recur here, so we get to purely hear the guys in action, though there is some layered-in background spoken word at the midpoint. The song does kind of meander in the later stretches, but the riffs and vocals are strong, and Dann lets out some solid screams here! A lot could have been edited out of this song without losing the essential bits, but early on, No Arrow fans will be right at home with the hard hitting alt-rock! Tenth up is the long awaited "Genocyde Revealing Pt. 2" (why not make it track #2 or #12?), and you can tell how this song must have been so casually performed despite having the requisite catchiness and a full-on grunge vibe that feels straight out of 1992 rather than 2009! Not a lot of vocals here, but it gets the point across and it is a fitting companion piece to the album opener that everyone performs well on!

The penultimate song on "Souls For Sale" is "Colderside Of The Sun" (yes, "Colderside" is one word here), which has more of a "stream of consciousness" vibe, including a relatively repetitive instrumental line, more droning clean vocals from Dann, and more of a jam rock vibe in the back half, including an extended guitar solo. I can see how this would have played well in a live concert, but to me, it ran too long as a studio offering and kinda lost its way despite hearing Dann let loose more on the six strings. A good song but a better jam than it is a composition, if that makes sense. The CD ends with "Cuts" (bumped to the end of side A on vinyl), and after a minute of Joe repetitively & methodically hitting a drum while his bandmates slowly joined in, the song finally kicks into gear with more of a doomy vibe that offers a late variance in sound while still fitting in with No Arrow's existing range!

Again, this is a song that Dann stops singing in for the back half, but it's less of an extended jam, so it still has more of a defined rock structure. Some heavy and deliberate riffs and a direct mood help give this album an effective ending, even if I do prefer my No Arrow to be faster and more raucous. So, what are my final thoughts on No Arrow's long-gestating album now that it's finally on sale? I'm just glad to finally see it out beyond loose/free uploads, and it delivers a fun and varied mix that fans of early 1990s grunge and alternative rock will be fully on board with! It is serendipitous that the namesake of 2010s' big local grunge band Haggith helped Dann finally get "Souls For Sale" over the finish line after 16 years, but if we're being honest, No Arrow always suited the genre more for performance style and attitude, and you can see that in spades with this album!

The songs all sound as good (if not better) than the prior free copies did, and "Sikkha" in particular shows off what Dann, Harley, and Joe could do at their full powers! Dann had strong and well suited vocals, the guitar work suited where each song was going, Harley was always a great bassist (as is Brad), and Joe's loud and rollicking drumming was underrated then and now! I did find that the opening half of the album (side A, if you were) was better then the back half, more or less. In terms of issues, I would have severely dialed back the processing on "Substitute Victim", "The Pissing Song" could have been edited down a lot (I'd have dropped either in favour of "Most Of All" on vinyl), and I would have liked more guitar solos than we got, but you can't knock the experimentation in styles (especially late), which portended the more psychedelic and progressive material that Dann and Brad did with SBD.

Kudos to Mike Haggith for helping get "Souls For Sale" on sale (natch), let alone their paths crossing for networking in those "independent DIY musician showcase" YouTube channels, and if you're a fan of grunge and 1990s alt-rock, you'll enjoy what No Arrow brought to the table a lot! Maybe SBD's "Sonic Experiments" will get a MorningStar/ElasticStage reissue next? Buy/stream everything above, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Our backlog continues next month with Sykotyk Rampage's latest album "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show", so look for that in February, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225) & This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Another seemingly quiet concert weekend is ahead for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults, but we do have a related LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from one band and a new video from another, so here's what you should know as we slowly come out of this week's cold snap!

We'll start with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but in another new announcement, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Saturday, February 14th for a special Valentine's Day gig! While the band proper has not confirmed their slate of concerts beyond this weekend on social media or their website, the venue announced the show (on the Family Day long weekend) on their Facebook page yesterday, and it's not a run of the mill concert. For Valentine's Day, Beck's is hosting a concurrent "stoplight party", the gimmick being that you wear coloured clothing to signify your relationship status and hopefully encourage matchmaking (green = you're single and looking, yellow = maybe/it's complicated, red = you're taken/married). Fun idea, and hopefully there's a strong turnout at the former Vibe Lounge in two weeks to make it as successful as possible!

No word yet on if Bone Yard also have the "uncorked" matinee slot on the 15th, we'll let you know when they or Beck's confirm. In the meantime, tomorrow & Saturday mark the first stops at The Esquire Club for "the dirty three" since November, and just their second and third full electric shows of 2026, so keep everything in mind this weekend and next month! This weekend's Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM, the Valentine's party at Beck's is at 9:00 PM, and the three are all 19+ with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's your local 225 live!

Next up, one of the bigger attractions this weekend is the surprise reunion of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Over a year after the band parted ways following their New Year's Eve 2024 concert at the YNCU Curling Centre, most of the band's final lineup (singer/guitarists Terry Eaton & Cameron Oliver and bassist Jim Michaud) are back for presumably one weekend only. Of course, we have seen unions of 2+ of them multple times in the past year via Cameron's own solo dates, with his short-lived "The Band", and via Terry & Jim's current successor bands Separate Wayz and The Guilty Party, so why Terry is only just now reviving the Soundcheck name isn't publically clear. Hopefully their classic and hard rock covers (with a dash of country) go over well after a year+ away, if technically!

Terry & Jim's new Separate Wayz/Guilty Party bandmate Johnny Amendola will take Glen Thomas' spot behind the drumkit, in his first public gigs with them under any band name, so if you're curious to see how he fits in, come to the former Roosevelt Hotel! Like usual for their old gigs, the former Nameus hit the Jay's stage at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with no cover charges or age limits. See above for more details on Soundcheck's reunion weekend, and for a preview, here they are live!

In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, fans across the river can welcome Traverse City metal/hard rock trio Scarkazm back to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino for the first times this year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their sister band Peril kicked off 2026 at the Soo Kewadin four weeks ago, and will be in St. Ignace in two weeks, but in the interim, Scarkazm are hear to bring things a little heavier with their rocking slate of covers and possibly some originals, and it will be good for fans of Adam, Dave, and Jeff to see them back at it after another busy past year! If you miss this weekend's shows, Scarkazm proper won't be back at The Rapids Lounge for almost two months. As usual for Scarkazm's (and Peril's) Kewadin bookings, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and for a preview, here they are live a few years back!

Finally for this weekend's known and public hard rock concert previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for a one-nighter, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Four weeks ago, this talented veteran group played their first gig at the former Primavera Hall, and now they're back in Steelton for their second show there and of the year. Bassist John Amendola (whose son Johnny is drumming with Soundcheck at Jay's that same night) teased that Headrush will have new songs in their setlist to unveil on Saturday, so head to the Full Throttle Saloon to see what's new! This is a 9:00 PM concert on Saturday with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new jam session video of Headrush in action, as shared to their Facebook group!

Shared from John Amendola's personal Facebook page, this sees him, John Anderson, Wes, Gino, and Frank covering "Spaceship Superstar" by Canadian hard rock legends Prism. The camera could be centered moreso, but the cover sounds good to me, and it's always good to see a local band covering some Cancon that isn't one of the usual suspects! Check it out below, and see much more from Headrush on Saturday night!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, either tomorrow or on Saturday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The BAG), New Song Uploads, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to make a couple of acknowledgements regarding shows this past weekend that we didn't cover in our latest round of previews, both of which were only promoted on Facebook via "Stories" (the strip of posts on your news feed that vanish after being seen once or twice). First, I profusely apologize for missing local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos' first public show of the year, which was on Saturday night at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room, something that the band & venue didn't announce on Facebook otherwise (I caught Mikey's "Story", albeit too late). I hope the show went well, and I'd have happily promoted it here had someone said something more public and permanent! Meanwhile, you may have seen a "Story" suggesting that classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 were playing at the Boots & Saddles Roadhouse on Saturday, so did I miss something else?

Not really, as this was one of the private events listed on the band's website's calendar. and they won't return to the public stage for another two weeks. The Boots & Saddles Roadhouse (located deep in the west end at 2667 Second Line West) has never crossed our radar before as a public host of a hard rock concert anyway, but hopefully the private booking went well!

Today's post otherwise features new videos, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local metal trio The BAG will headline their album release party at Soo Blaster on Saturday, April 18th! While we have seen Spencer with his other band With Gunfire since, The BAG have largely been publically silent since last summer, though their debut album "Sacculus" was finished mixing and mastering as of October, and it finally goes on sale in three months. It's great to see Spencer, Austin, and Bradley back with the fruits of their recent labour ready to release, and we'll let you know when more comes out on "Sacculus" proper! Openers will include death/thrash metal trio Pillory (less than a month removed from opening for Demon King at the same venue) and in their first true public gig, ska punk trio A.S.D.P.! Of course, Adam Smith Death Parade are no stranger to private events and house parties since last they launched last summer, but they have yet to play a formal event at a proper venue.

It will be good to see this promising new band finally on a public stage, and if they don't play elsewhere beforehand, you could say that this is the de facto release party for their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" too! The second booking from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal "Châ" Muto's new agency Underground Events SSM, this show has an 8:00 PM start time, no age limit, and tickets running for $15 ($25 at the door), though availability is to be announced. No word yet on how much CD copies of "Sacculus" will run for, let alone if there will be any other physical formats. Metal and ska punk fans will want to circle April 18th on your calendars, so visit the above links and the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close with some new song uploads on YouTube, starting with a brand new original song from local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! Lately, most of his original songs have been influenced by his take on current events and/or his faith, complete with a proper video, but this is just an instrumental named "Nebuchadnezzar's Dream", which references the second chapter of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. If I was going to title the song after a specific story from the good book, I'd have included lyrics, but that's just me. Fans of Tym's metal work from his solo album and past local bands will appreciate his return to those roots with this song, and he shreds nicely with a quality guitar solo to boot! The programmed drums are a little obvious, but give Tym's new song below, even if you likely won't hear it when he goes unplugged for his next Misty's Fifties matinee next Saturday!

Finally for today... how late into January is considered too late to wish someone a Happy New Year, let alone to sing "Auld Lang Syne"? For SMS readers' sake, I hope four weeks isn't too long, as Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night posted their rendition of the Scottish folk standard & January 1st staple onto their YouTube channel on New Year's Eve! This was not included on last month's "Christmas Night 3", but I have seen multiple Christmas albums include "Auld Lang Syne", so there is precedent. Honestly, this is more fitting for the inaugural "Christmas Night" from 2011, given that this is an instrumental without any vocalist. If you're familiar with Craig, Steve, and crew's orchestral take on heavy metal, you'll appreciate how "Auld Lang Syne" translates here, and the folksier guitar outro fits in context! Good stuff, and a fitting local cut for January 1st, 2027, so give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre Of Night!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Cliffe

Mild change of plans for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2026, as I had originally randomly selected Mike Haggith's YouTube channel, only to belatedly realize that I already profiled it 4+ years ago. I think the updated channel URL threw me off. While this channel was already covered, definitely give it a watch and/or subscribe, as Mike has posted 50 new videos there since we spotlighted it in 2021, and it's still actively used! With that said, I picked an alphabetically close YouTube channel who we definitely have not profiled before to replace it, and it gives us another local guitarist named Mike, so here's what you should know on it!

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Mike Cliffe (http://youtube.com/@audiofumesmc)

Owner: Local classic, funk, jazz, and hard rock guitarist Mike Cliffe, also known as the host of the Audiofumes podcast

Channel Timeline: Launched on February 22nd, 2009; Videos uploaded from that day through last fall

Channel Summary: A personal use channel, Mike has uploaded over 100 videos over the past 17 years, mostly originals songs and on-camera solo performances, though a handful of covers and outside artists heard on Audiofumes have also turned up here, as have videos related directly to the podcast, from host segments to behind the scenes content. Half of Mike's videos from the past three years have been live footage at downtown outdoor concerts, particularly ones involving local indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous.

Why You Should Watch: While Mike isn't known for live performances or paid album releases, and has been more sporadic in terms of posting his own original music in the 2020s, this channel is full of strong and varied music from a talented guitarist who as always deserved more attention, and this includes for Audiofumes, which was an active podcast with an international reach before podcasting got as big as it now! You can hear more music from Mike, including material that predates and/or was not uploaded on YouTube, via his Reverbnation page and Audiofumes episodes.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Bad Regime: One to collaborate with musicians local and from afar, Mike did both on this July 2010 original song named "Bad Regime", where he (on guitar and bass) was joined by ex-Soundcheck/Flat Stanley drummer Glen Thomas and Swedish vocalist Karin Beckerus, who fronted the alternative/electronic band Out Of Quebec. Featuring some trippy post-production effects with the accompanying slideshow, this is a tight hard rock number with very Cardigans-esque vocals, and Glen gets to let loose moreso than you may see from him in live cover bands, with Mike shining with some solid guitar work too! This is just the tip of the iceberg re: Mike's own original music though, and Karin turned up multiple times over the years on Audiofumes episodes.

 

 

Opening Riff to The Wizard - Uriah Heep: The most popular music-related video on Mike's channel is this April 2016 acoustic rendition of the riff from Uriah Heep's "The Wizard", which he previously recorded a full studio cover of in 2011 with a non-local backing band named The Ducks. The 97 second video features Mike introducing the song and how his guitar is tuned and set up, followed by him playing the riff. While a well received cover by most, Mike did get a critical comment over how tight the camera is, obscuring how he plays the riff to an extent, but you see enough of his right hand to get an idea. Well performed for sure, and he comes off well on camera, but don't bypass the full cover! If you're curious, Mike's most viewed video demonstrates the Enlightenment E17 desktop shell.

 

Rock Funk Fusion (collab): For an actual full-song performance on video, it was hard to pass up this February 2020 video that sees Mike playing three separate guitar tracks and bass separately before being combined in post-production for an original funk rock "collaboration". If one of the videos features someone else playing, they're not credited and you can't see their face, but the videos were all shot in the same location. Good stuff that shows off what Mike can do in a funkier and more carefree setting, and he was ahead of the curve in doing a video like this just a month before the first pandemic lockdown began!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return for another randomly selected channel or two (or three?) on or around February 26th. Stay tuned for that then, and for more news and notes on the site this week, plus this month's CD review! Thanks everyone!