Even More Assorted News From The Last Few Days!!

And the clearing out of my backlogged news desk continues! Firstly, I wanna re-mention something before I get too into new stories: It was sort of buried in my last post, but Nixxon Dixxon ARE playing at Dondee Lanes THIS WEEKEND! It's not plugged on their MySpace page, but band contacts confirmed that they'll be there (thanks to Ernest Beaumont for the info!) 8:00 PM start time on Friday and Saturday, 21+, no announced cover, hopefully each show is a success! More news is on the way today, so here we go!

Hey music fans, you have a new bar to check out for future concerts! It is The Vibe Lounge, and it's not where you'd expect. It's actually located at 232 Goulais Avenue, which was the old location of the Polish-Canadian Hall! This isn't anywhere near downtown, unlike most local bars/concert spots, it's near to Bayview Park and The Hard Times Bar & Grill, if you're looking for an idea of it's locale. I notice that some of the staff at Nite-Life Dance Club have been posting and updating on The Vibe Lounge's Facebook page, so it looks like everything's well handled! Compared to Nite-Life though, The Vibe Lounge seems to have things in common with The Bottom's Up Lounge in tone and atmosphere too, with martinis prominently advertised. Coffee and more casual alcohol are available too! Pictures of The Vibe Lounge that have popped up online so far don't show much of the venue as a whole yet, but it looks nice from what I can see! And as for concerts, the first takes place on Friday when local rockers Stiffler's Mom play at The Vibe Lounge's grand opening party in a special invite-only event! No word on metal shows there yet, but when there is, I'll let you know! But The Vibe Lounge is fully open now, so if you're in the Goulais Avenue/Second Line area, stop by for a drink! To become a fan on Facebook, click here!

Next up, have you noticed that since their inception last year, we have never found online samples of the sound of local hard rockers Riot! By Night? Well, we still don't, but the next best thing is on YouTube! Frontman Ryan Harrison has a YouTube channel featuring five acoustic solo covers! The videos feature his singing and guitar renditions of songs by Evans Blue, Butch Walker, Coheed & Cambria, Matchbox Twenty, and Sister Hazel, and on listening, he's not bad at all! Solid singer, and his guitar skills are good too, though you know me, I'd love to hear some heavier stuff too! Check out Ryan's videos at this location, and if anything else video/audio wise pops up from him or Riot! By Night online, I'll let you know! Remember, you can next see them live in Barbeau next weekend! For now though, here's his acoustic rendition of the Evans Blue song "Over"!



Now here's something that has a "rock" connection of sorts, though it's definitely more offbeat, and I figure this could get mentioned! On Saturday, there will be a city-wide charity car wash involving local high schools! Now why does this get a Sault Metal Scene mention? Well, Sir James Dunn Collegiate & Vocational School are taking part, and will be theming theirs around rock n' roll! It takes place, I believe, in the SJD parking lot from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM, and the car washers will all be decked out in their best hard rock gear! They were hoping for stuff like bandanas, wrist bands, black t-shirts, jeans, that kind of stuff! All proceeds from this car wash will go towards Teen Challenge North, a drug & alcohol rehab program for local teens to help them get their lives in order! There will be trophies for the overall best car wash, highest student participation, most money raised, most cars washed, and best school spirit, and best theme. Hey, as a hard rock/metal fan, I'd give the latter award to the Dunn! If I can give one piece of advice, it's this: Play Rock 101 or some metal/hard rock CDs on a sound system outside, it'd add to the environment! So if your car needs a wash on Saturday, get the most rocking car wash of all at the Dunn and support local charities! Get more info at this location!

Three more shorter news stories for today, let's go through them in alphabetical order by band name:

• A new bulletin post from Sault Michigan metal band Analog Deficiency is hyping the fact that they're looking for a new singer! They're looking for someone who can sing AND scream, so take that into account. If you're interested, or know someone who is, message the band at their official MySpace page! There's also some audio demo clips there, so if you want an indication of their sound before submitting interest for singing, check them out!
• Sault Ontario hard rockers Half Past are asking fans when would be the best time for them to book a possible headlining show! Basically, when would the best time be for you to see them live? Post your ideas at the topic about this at their official Facebook page! Also, the band are working on a fourth original song and have added a handful of new covers to their setlist!
• Local hardcore rockers Out Of The Mouth Of Babes have uploaded a new version of their first original, "Take A Walk With Me", to their MySpace page! The new version features current singer Matt Maccarone in place of their original singer Josh McNally, but otherwise doesn't have much different. Pretty good, it's nice hearing Matt in heavier stuff! Check it out at the links above, and if I can 100% confirm a new OOTMOB show, I'll let you all know!

I think this is mostly it for news I've had backlogged since my tough exam/test stretch! In my next update, I have information relating to a long awaited local album, and how you can get it, kind of! Likely previews of this weekend's Blind Baby and Nixxon Dixxon shows too, so stay tuned for all that!