LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Turner Up), Another FM Rock Station, Plus More Band Updates!!!

Well, now that my 21st birthday is over and done with, it's back to work on the SMS! Big update to kick off June with, featuring some pretty big stories, including a new local album announcement, new tour dates for a local band, another group's search for a new member, and my recent discovery of yet another Mackinac Bridge-area FM rock station! But first, here is a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Turner Up are back at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday night! "The Sault's Party Band" will hit the stage there at 10:30 PM on Saturday to rock the night away with some great rock covers, including some heavy stuff if you stick around! Luckily, a Facebook event page was launched for this show, so I found out about it a little sooner than I had in recent weeks, so visit there to confirm your attendance! It is definitely 19+, I'd expect a cover charge of $5 or less. Should be fun, as usual, Turner Up are a good band and definitely play some great tunes, even when they play more accessible material! For more information on Turner Up, visit their official Facebook group! And yes, it's just a Saturday night show. Why nothing Friday? Well, according to an e-mail by The Canadian's Mary Lou Johnson to members of their Facebook group, there's apparently a Rush tribute band playing there on Friday! Now I can't reasonably verify this yet, because she didn't specify which Rush tribute band it was, and in my internet searching, I've found none with a scheduled date for Sault Ste. Marie on ANY date. So I won't plug the show yet, BUT if someone can verify which specific Rush tribute band is playing on Friday at The Canadian (if one still is), LET ME KNOW!!

So, I'm sure by now that you know that FM radios in the Sault area can often pick up signals from the Mackinac Bridge area, right? That's how we can pick up Real Rock 105.1 and the new feed of Classic Rock: The Bear on 94.5 FM. Well, just by accident, I found another rock radio station from that area yesterday! If you turn your dials to 98.9 FM, and if the signal picks up, you will be treated to KLT: The Rock Station, a mainstream rock station out of Petoskey! KLT also has a feed out of Kalkaska that serves the Traverse City market at 97.5 FM for that area. KLT sort of falls between The Bear and Rock 101 in terms of what it plays, basically more classic stuff than Rock 101 but more new stuff than The Bear, if that makes sense. It's a good station from what I've caught, it's a wonder I haven't came across it before! Maybe I'm just so used to most stations being in the 100s. They have some cool features, like custom listener playlists on Thursday, a "KLT's Garage" program showcasing area talent (Rock 101 should do that!) It's a good station, flip your radios to 98.9 FM to hear some more great rock! Getting tougher though to choose FM stations to listen to, as we get Rock 101, WLSO, Real Rock, KLT, AND The Bear here!

Next up, Woods of Ypres have announced the first tour dates for their first ever American tour AND their mini-Eastern Canada swing afterwards! As posted in a topic on the band's forum, Woods of Ypres will spend a little over two weeks touring the United States beginning with a show in Portland on June 28th! Their travels will take them to California, Arizona, Texas (where they'll play FOUR shows), and New York, before wrapping up their American tour in Worcester, Massachusetts on July 15th! Then, the band come back to Canada for shows in Toronto and Ottawa on July 16th and 18th, with a possible Montreal show still on the 17th still to be finalized. Check out all dates on the right of the page, or by clicking the above link! Great to see Woods of Ypres hitting the road this much, but I have a tiny little request: Come here for a show, we'd welcome Woods of Ypres back, I'm sure of it! I'd love to hear some of the new "Woods IV" songs live!

Also, if you're worried about Woods of Ypres future (as in, are they breaking up), well, let this put you at ease. David posted this in a reply to an inquiry about playing shows in Britain and Ireland on that same forum topic: "...yeah, it will happen eventually. We're always ready. All we need is an invite for a 'one-off' (festival etc...). We're touring Canada and at least some of the USA this summer, 2010, so our first trip to Europe might be a logical next step for 2011." There you go, no band breakup! But there is SOMETHING major David Gold is planning to do concerning Woods of Ypres, the question now is what?

Alright, now are you local metalheads wondering what ever happened to Sault Michigan hard rockers Clownsack? Well, here's an update! The band has posted a new bulletin on MySpace (check it out by clicking here) where they have announced that they are looking for a new guitarist, two possibly! Current guitarist Butter Cookie is still with the band for now for recording of their next E.P. and a few shows, but is leaving eventually, hence the need for a new guitarist. If they go with two, the band would want a rhythm guitarist with a seven string guitar, along with a lead player, so keep that in mind if you want to audition. Also, because this is Clownsack, make a note that you'd have to dress like an evil clown with a clown-like stage name, a'la Schloppy and Slappy. This could be a big opportunity, Clownsack are definitely one of the more recognizable and popular of the Sault Michigan hard rock bands, hopefully the right guitarist(s) comes along! E-mail the band at their official MySpace page for audition info! Sad to see Butter Cookie leaving eventually though, I loved his work on "Rotten Candy"!

And finally, a new album from a local band has been officially announced! Which one though? Is it Garden of Bedlam? Lion Ride? Sense of Truth? Nope, actually, it's Sykotyk Rampage! Guitarist Dirk Becker uploaded the album cover for the band's 23rd album onto Facebook the other day, and you can check it out on your right! Interesting artwork! The album will be entitled "Bella Disgusta", and according the photo's caption, it will be released in "June 2010". Good sign, but will it be released for sure this month? No idea yet, but if it counts for anything, their last album "22" was released months after what was originally announced. But if it does come out, might it be June's SMS CD review? Only time will tell, but expect "Bella Disgusta" to be another one of a kind album from the kings of "blue Chinese metal crash punk"!

That's all for today, I have some extra assorted news updates lying around to share in my next post, with hopedully some more big stories, including (hopefully) news on that Rush tribute band at The Canadian on Friday, and much more! Also, on Friday, I have an announcement to make concerning the SMS' 3rd anniversary on July 4th. No, it's not bad, just look out for it, cause I need your help with something!