Yes, we're getting another Battle of the Bands in Sault Ontario, the first one since the Scotties Tournament/Sault College battle in February! Called "Downtown Showdown", it will be put on by The Sault Youth Association and The Fresh Magazine, and will be taking place at The Oddfellows Hall on May 28th! Finally, another new show there, what's up with the lack of concerts there in recent months? This is a "battle royale for band supremacy" according to the poster, and we can witness this for FREE! Now who doesn't love free concerts? A start time of 7:00 PM is listed for the battle, so it could be feasible to go to this AND Phatstick at Foggy's in the same night! Now, metalheads, are you asking yourself which bands are playing? We don't know, and that's where you come in!The call is out for bands to sign up to compete in the battle, so here's what you need to know! The only restriction is that your band MUST only have members 25 years old or younger (remember, it's the Sault YOUTH Association putting this on.) The registration fee is just $25, nice and affordable! If you and your band are interested in taking part, e-mail joe@thefreshmagazine.com or tiffythompson@thefreshmagazine.com, or call the SYA at 946-1299! No definite word on any specific bands yet, but when I hear something, especially if it concerns a metal band, you'll be sure to hear it here! But think about signing up, cause there's mad prizes at stake! Get more information on this battle at this location!
Next up, it looks like an upcoming concert was cancelled. The planned show next Monday with Alaskan and Killing Queens at The Rockstar Bar appears to have been dropped from their tour itinerary, as neither band lists the show on their respective MySpace page right now. What happened to the concert? No idea, but The Rockstar Bar haven't plugged the show at all, so who knows. Sad to see the show get apparently called off, I was really looking forward to it, and I was glad to have helped the bands get a booking here! Both are great sounding extreme bands, hopefully they actually will be here one of these days!
Alright, let's get to more positive news now! And it concerns the return of a prominent local band! Sault Michigan hard rockers Bad Side are coming back from their "break" for their first live performances since last fall! Sadly, they're not local shows, but they are back, so here's what you need to know! On June 27th, Bad Side will hit Milwaukee, Wisconsin as one of the supporting performers on that night's portion of this year's Milwaukee Summerfest! No word on when that day or on what stage, but they'll join notable performers like B.B. King, Less Than Jake, and Justin Bieber on that day's lineup! The day before, Bad Side will play their first show in months when they play at Smokin' Joes in West Allin, Wisconsin, which should be awesome! It's great seeing Bad Side back, I was worried about their future last fall, hopefully they'll be back home for some shows soon! My sources for the above information come from Bad Side's Facebook page. Oh, and for your reference, guitarist Jason Mapes' solo project is still going strong, he recently finished recording a new solo demo called "Time Has No Mercy"! Can't wait to hear that either!
Now, just some minor updates on Bret Michaels, who is definitely on the road to recovery from his brain hemorrhage! He's the cover story of the new issue of People Magazine, where he talks about his health ordeal, so if you're a fan of his, you will want to pick up a copy! Some excerpts from the interview are available to read at this location. Nothing I've heard in the last week has pointed to any major downturns in his condition, nor have they caused a complication for his show here in Sault Michigan in July, and really, the slowing down of news on his condition is good! Nothing bad to report, he must be getting better! If there's something else of note I could share on Bret, it's this: His co-headliner on July 22nd, Vince Neil, was interviewed about his thoughts on Bret's medical problems, and you can see what Vince had to say by clicking here! Things are definitely looking up, if I hear anything that will positively or negatively impact Bret's show here at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, I'll be sure to let you guys know!
Finally for today, did you guys happen to turn your radio dials to 89.5 FM at 5:00 PM on Saturday? Well, if you didn't, you missed something cool, in a local music sense! Amanda Putz from CBC Radio One's art/culture program Bandwidth conducted part one of an interview with SooToday's own Donna Hopper about the local music scene! The two discussed how the Soo could be compared to Memphis, Tennessee for it's strong blues/roots scene (Sudbury would be Nashville), and discussed a selection of notable local bands, including The Floyd Lee Band (due to local guitarist Joel Poluck's involvement), Al Wood & The Woodsmen, DJ Seith, Kalle Mattson, and The Granola People! Nice interview, Donna shared some cool information on the above bands, and I learned how to finally pronounce a few names correctly too!Now why am I mentioning this when none of the bands were metal? Simple: That's just part one, part two will have some heavier bands, Donna Hopper confirmed this in a Facebook status update! So if you wanna hear some CBC Radio One plugs and info on some heavier bands, and some blues/country stuff as well, the second half of Amanda Putz' interview with Donna on Bandwidth will be in about a month! Once I find out a confirmed day, you guys will for sure know about it! I wonder who'll get mentioned? CBC Radio One needs heavier stuff, but either way, local press of any genre is always welcome!
That's all for today, my next update will have another new demo from WinkStinger, the event page for some upcoming shows, and hopefully much more! Stay tuned!
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