LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dancing With Paris), Rotaryfest News, And More!!

Our triple post Saturday is now on! As we scramble to get back on schedule, I've broken up some of the more major recent stories into tentative separate news posts, so this news post solely concerns Sault Ontario. I have one on Sault Michigan coming tomorrow, so if you're expecting stuff across the river, I'll hopefully have it tomorrow! And just as a reminder, I should have our Gravity Crash profile up this afternoon, with Sunday concert previews and the conclusion of the March Mayhem tournament tonight, so stay tuned! Now, to this news post, which features news on a new band hitting the studio, the newest material from a local band, and the return of the Rotaryfest Second Stage, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Do you remember the punk-centric show originally scheduled for tomorrow at Foggy Notions featuring Toronto hardcore band Dancing With Paris? Well, it appears to have been cancelled. I don't know why, but the Facebook event page was quietly deleted earlier this month, and that's never a good sign. However, all you Dancing With Paris fans can rest easy, as they're headlining a new concert this month! They're now lined up for an all ages show at The Oddfellows Hall on May 28th, so if you want to enjoy their multi-genre influenced brand of metalcore, mark this date down! The rest of the lineup is totally different from the originally announced show yesterday, so here's who to look for! Mississauga post-hardcore band Horizons are the other out of town band scheduled, and though their more "screamo" sound doesn't quite cross the metal line, they'll fit right in here with their energy levels and talent! The local openers include two metal bands, those being hardcore quintet As It Stands & extreme rockers WinkStinger, who just shared the stage at The Rosie on Monday! Solid choices, they'll fit in well & start some moshpits! The final opening band is Cowboys & Indians, the new indie rock trio fronted by The Crossed's Jordan Flesher. Not metal, but the band has talent, so give them a listen if you want!

This ALL AGES show will take place on May 28th at The Oddfellows Hall, with everything starting at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $7 in advance or $9 at the door, and you can contact members of any of the local bands to get a ticket. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Pencil me in for this concert, I want to hit lots of concerts for my birthday weekend, and an old school all ages show like this would fit very nicely! Stay tuned for updates if I hear them!

Next up, the Tenaris Second Stage is coming back for this year's Rotaryfest! The 7th installment of the popular outdoor concert series on Queen Street East will return on July 15th and 16th, and as has been the case in recent years, organizers are calling out to YOU to apply to perform this year! Yes, if you or your band want to rock the Rotaryfest's Second Stage, you can send in your applications right now, but what do you need to do? The form to submit your applications is at this location, so head there A.S.A.P.! To be considered for the Second Stage this year, you must submit a band/artist biography & brief band history, a high quality photograph of the band, links to your websites and pages, and 3-5 ORIGINAL songs of good sound quality (either uploaded at the above link or mailed on a CD/DVD at the address found here.) Preference will be given to bands who have professionally released their material in the past. For full details on what you need to send in to be considered for this year's Second Stage, click here! The deadline to submit your applications for this year's Rotaryfest Second Stage is May 26th (one week from Thursday), so get your applications in soon, before it's too late! Again, check all of the above links for every shred of information you need if you're interested!

I highly recommend to you band members that you send in applications to get on Rotaryfest this year! This would be a high profile gig at a major annual festival, and the Second Stage organizers are certainly not averse to metal! In just the past few years, bands like Garden of Bedlam, Gates of Winter, and Stillbroke have all played on the Second Stage, and maybe your band's next? I'd love to see another metal band playing this year, or two, or more, so please don't hesitate and send your Second Stage applications in at the above links! You have until the 26th!

Thirdly today, local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters have officially began work on their debut EP! The news was broken in a short statement on the band's Facebook page on Tuesday, and guitarist Mitch Sirie has referenced the beginning of sessions on his personal Facebook page as well. Public details are scant so far, but I believe it's mostly self-produced, and though the recording's apprently not under ideal conditions, Mitch and the band do fully plan on getting it done! The EP will be called "Bloodthirst" (as in the song of the same name), and I'd expect at least some of their originals to make the cut, like "Succumb To Eternity", "Collapse The Sun", and "Dominate", though nothing official on that front has been said. This news really surprised me, given how soon it came after Josh Stephney joined the band, but I know that this was a longstanding goal that Mitch had for the band since their public debut last year. I'll be more than interested to hear full studio versions of their originals, and you can guarantee I'll keep you posted when updates come in! I've also heard intriguing news related to the recording "situation" as it relates to other local bands and figures, but without official public word, I won't say nothing. Stay tuned, and yes, "Bloodthirst" will be in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post!

And finally, here's the latest from local hardcore band Changing Waves! Their Facebook page has been updated with a new band logo and updated bio information, but the big news relates to new material of theirs, as they've posted new songs on their MySpace page! Though the band says 3 new songs were added, there's only 5 now on the page, and 3 were on there before, so something doesn't add up. Still, I will say that their new stuff doesn't sound bad, and the production's better than you'd think songs named "Beadsbeadsbeads" and "Jung Jung Woo" would have! "Tital Demo", which is definitely newer, has a lot of promise, and has some nice heavy riffs! The band also announced on Facebook that at their next show (I'll have more info on it as it's made public), they plan to play two new songs & hand out a demo! Whether this is handwritten blank CDs or something actually packaged remains to be seen, but either way, I'll be interested to see what's on there, especially if something not on MySpace makes the cut! Stay tuned to the SMS and the above links for more Changing Waves news, and when details on their next show come out, I'll let you all know!

One down, two to go for this Saturday, so stay tuned this afternoon for our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands profile of Gravity Crash, featuring local guitarist Paul Melanson! That, and a Half A Man preview/March Mayhem wrap-up post are all coming later today, so keep your browsers pointed to The Sault Metal Scene! Thanks everyone!