Sykotyk Rampage Show Update, Bands Looking To Play Here, And More!

Another day rolls by, another pile of news to get to! I have an update concerning an upcoming local metal concert, a few bands looking to play here, a preview of a new song from a local band, and the confirmed demise of another. Let us commence with the news! (Stay tuned to the end of my post for info on what will happen SMS-wise during my next Detroit trip)

The Sykotyk Rampage concert on April 3rd at The Rockstar Bar has had a lineup change, as planned openers Nebraska Arms have either dropped off or were removed from the lineup. No reason was given, but hopefully nothing bad happened! In their place are RedD Monkey, the Toronto/Kelowna based classical/alt-rock band featuring three Saultites in their lineup! I've never went into major detail about RedD Monkey on here before, but just picture a band with Smeltzer frontman Steve "Knuckles" Mozarowski and drummer Kevin Overton (you metalheads better know him from Gates of Winter), alongside Steve's brother Pete on the cello...yeah, you read that correctly! But don't write them off as Smeltzer 2.0, RedD Monkey are way more unique and experimental, they'll definitely be worth seeing! But of course, seeing as this is Metal Militia Wednesday, Sykotyk Rampage will bring all the metal you'll want and need! For full details on this concert, which will be $3 at The Rockstar Bar on April 3rd, click here! I'll keep you posted with any updates as I hear them!

Next up, we have confirmation of a band breakup that I had feared since last month. Sault Michigan grunge rockers Half Stupid have indeed called it quits, as confirmed by frontman Zac Crook in an e-mail to me on MySpace today. Zac assures me that he's still jamming and working on music for future projects, as is bassist Matt Williams, so we haven't heard the last from them! Still, it is disappointing, I was a big fan of Half Stupid's, they filled the grunge niche nicely while No Arrow's been inactive! It really seemed like they were on the rise in 2009, but hey, what happens happens. Either way, it's nice to hear real word that they've ended, rather than just a vague statement that could be varyingly interpreted. Check them out as we remember them at this location, and if I hear anything amout new grunge/hard rock bands from Zac, Matt, or Jordan Gendreau, I'll be sure to let you all know!

Ok, more positive news now! I sometimes get e-mails from bands looking to play shows here on tour, and today was quite active in that regard! Two different bands sent me e-mails asking if I could help them find promoters or any help at all with getting a booking for Sault Ontario! And you know me, I'm always willing to help, cause after all, the more local metal shows, the better! The first band is The Promonium Jesters, an industrial metal band from Uxbridge, Ontario! Not bad, kind of a techno/metal mix with a psychedelic flair, definitely not something we see here a lot from rock bands! Frontman Ethan Moseley tells me that they've been trying to get a show in the Soo for years, but not for the lack of trying. He's looking for a good local promoter to help get the band a booking here, so I shot him off some contacts and tips, but I'll go the extra mile to help! If you want to book The Promonium Jesters for a concert in Sault Ontario, e-mail Ethan by clicking here! Check out the band at this location to get a taste of their sound!

The other band is one that I know I've tried to help before, though I can't remember if a booking ever came out of it. Windsor metal band Aquila are planning a July tour from Calgary through Southern Ontario, and would love to play Sault Ste. Marie during that span! Frontman Mark Arruda e-mailed me on MySpace this morning asking if I could give them some contacts to try and get a local booking, so I did just that! But just like with The Promonium Jesters, I just point them in a good direction. That's where you come in, the bookers and venue owners of the Soo! Aquila flat out kick ass, hard hitting and thrashy and very headbangable! I've been a fan of them since I first got contact from the band last March, and it'd be great to see them here! If you're at all interested in booking or helping out Aquila in their attempts to play in Sault Ontario in July, message the band at their official MySpace page! Let's see if we can get both these bands (and Rusted Dawn too, they're still looking) here for shows!

And finally for new news today, Stillbroke frontman Jesse Frigault has posted a new video to YouTube, which features his own solo acoustic rendition of a new Stillbroke song! Entitled "I'm Still Hanging On", it's slower but it has some nice heavy vocals, I imagine this should be a very powerful song when amps and other instruments are added! Interesting effect put on the video, makes it look older! Check the demo out below!



Alright, so to close this post, those of you closer to me may know that this weekend, I'm heading to Detroit again for March Break. I leave Saturday morning and will be back later in the week, Thursday roughly. Now there's a bunch of stuff coming up, blog or local concert related, that may or may not be affected by this. I just wanna get it out of the way so you know what to expect, or not to expect:

Firstly, concerts: Sense of Truth are playing at The Canadian Nightclub on Friday. As keeping with my own reverse psychology stand to avoid jinxing myself out of another SOT concert, omit the words in red: I will not be at the show on Friday, I will not enjoy myself or take photos and video, and I will not post a review at some point afterwards. (Remember, reverse psychology!) I don't know whether it will be immediately after the concert or at some point after I get to Detroit, but my review will definitely not be up one at one of those points in time! Ok, now for shows I'm really seriously not going to, I can't make the Garden of Bedlam/Papa Fogals Chair show at Foggy Notions on Saturday, because I'll already be in Detroit, so GO TO THAT SHOW FOR ME!!!! Make it a huge success, how often are we gonna see PFC back together? And it's Garden of Bedlam! Come on!!

As for SMS-related events, the review of Sykotyk Rampage's new album "22" will be posted on March 1st as scheduled! Postponing it would be a disservice for an album I've bypassed too long already, although the computer I have access to in Detroit is horribly slow. So I'm likely going to type up my review this week, and will save it for an autopost next Monday, so that will definitely happen as scheduled! I likely will not post the newest profiles of out of town bands with local members until after I get home, so don't worry about that. And as always, I'll update as much as I can fathom as long as I get a clear computer, and the patience to deal with it's slowness! Just a heads-up for everyone in case you miss something or assume anything. And I WILL BE BACK AROUND NEXT THURSDAY!!!

That's all for now, I'll have lots more news and updates in the coming days, stay tuned!