Sunday, January 10, 2010

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tesla), Another New Band, Woods of Ypres Updates, And Two Old Sault Star Articles!

Good evening! Time to get everyone caught up on some more stuff I've found recently, and some new Woods of Ypres updates, but first, a MAJOR LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

According to Kewadin Casino's ticketing page, Sacramento heavy metal band Tesla are returning to Sault Michigan! Last seen locally in February of 2007, the multi-platinum band responsible for hits like "Signs", "Love Song", and "Mama's Fool" will be back at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino on June 26th! This is the first metal/hard rock concert of 2010 confirmed by Kewadin Casino, hopefully it won't be the last! This concert has not been confirmed by Tesla themselves as of tonight, but seeing as Kewadin are listing it, it can't be too fake! So I'll keep you posted on band confirmation, times, and any possible openers as I hear more! Tickets aren't on sale yet either, but Kewadin's ticket site says they will go on sale on January 19th (one week from Tuesday) at 4:00 PM, so be on the lookout for that!

I'm sure some of you 1980s metal fans will be glad to know they're coming back to these parts! Same lineup from last time and everything! Tesla are a solid band, I have no doubts that this time around, it will be a good show as well! In fact, there's video online of their 2007 show! Check out this clip of Tesla covering the ZZ Top song "Beer Drinkers and Hellraisers" from that night three years ago (Thanks to YouTube user LetItRoar for the upload!)



Next up, I have came across another SMS-worthy band in my online searching! And yes, like 20 Pack of Marshmallows and Mike Libertoski, I've bypassed them unknowingly in the past (I've got to stop doing that!) This time, it comes from a band that will be quite familiar to those of you who were active in the local scene in the early-mid 1990s! Remember The Harsh Heads? They were a local hardcore/punk band that is brutal and heavy enough for metalheads like me to appreciate! You'll recognize singer/bassist John Conway and drummer Aaron Gibbs from local country/punk outfit The Billy Bastards, and (for us punk/metal fans) John's involvement in Destroilet! They also featured Bob Bromley Jr. on lead guitar and Hugh Merz on rhythm guitar! The Harsh Heads were active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1991 to 1995, winning a major battle of the bands in 1995, and playing at now-inactive concert venues like Club Princess, The Eastgate, and the Elks Hall!

The band recorded two cassette demos worth of music, though the results weren't released on CD until 10 years after their demise, when the disc "First Hated, Then Forgotten" was distributed to fans in 2005! I'm hopefully getting a copy soon from John Conway, but until that happens, there's songs on their MySpace page to check out, all of which are a relentless assault of hardcore that will get a mosh pit going any day of the week! There's even some guitar solos, which is always welcome! Also head to their MySpace to see some awesome old school show posters (you don't see posters like those anymore), album scans, and lots more! If only I was born 15 years earlier, I could have seen these guys live, it'd have been something else! Normally when it comes to profiling new bands I find, if there's a video with band material, I post it to give you guys a preview (and there is some Harsh Heads songs on YouTube user schwazemoto's channel), but I have something even cooler! Here's a clip from a 1990s local public access television show featuring an interview with Hugh and Bob about The Harsh Heads! Hugh seems really nervous, but this is a cool interview, featuring a tiny bit of live footage!



And now, we come to the latest updates from Woods of Ypres! In a recent post on the band's official message board, frontman David Gold wishes to have people recognize the band's newest release, "Woods IV: The Green Album" (now in stores) as a "2010 album", in that, the CD came out too late in 2009 for most of the potential listeners to get a chance to check it out, even though it officially came out last year. David's goal is to spread the word of "The Green Album" as far as possible this year to get exposure up, sales up, and interest up, and all of it is extremely well deserved! Hopefully the new disc hits the unknowing in a big way! He also mentions that he sees "Woods IV" as the "+1" following the band's initial "trilogy" of albums (Woods I, II, and III), and he says that their upcoming fifth studio album will be "the dawn of the new beginning, the new decade, the new and better way of doing things...almost everything." Here's hoping "Woods V" is awesome, I'll be there to pick it up when it's released! Read David's full post at this location!

And finally, when I was scanning The Sault Star's online archives for old news I may have missed, I came across a pair of articles that, though not current, are both interesting! One comes from early last month, and I'm surprised I missed this! The Sault Star's own Jeffery Ougler conducted an interview with none other than...Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer! Yes, I know he's not Ace, but he's still in Kiss! This was obviously done in advance of Kiss' postponed concert at The Essar Center, now tentatively booked for this summer. The interview features Thayer discussing being "the new guy" in Kiss, the fan routed tour, replacing Ace Frehley, the band's new album, and more! Not a lot of discussion geared towards here specifically, but no matter, it's great to see The Sault Star get such an interview! Check it out at this location! The other article comes from way back in January 2008, when Gates of Winter got profiled by The Sault Star after the release of their lone full length album, "Lux Aeterna"! It features excerpts from an interview with bassist Steve Furgiuele, and includes a lot of discussion about the album and it's sounds and themes! It also talks about the band's new drummer who had yet to be unveiled (David Gold, if you weren't sure.) Nice article, if short, it's too bad they didn't last much longer. I really miss them and I'm not alone! Check out this full article at this location!

That's all for now, more news is coming real soon, including my preview of Tuesday's Ultraviolence/Sense of Truth concert and much more! Thanks everyone!

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