Half A Man, Bring The Misery, And Rotaryfest Second Stage Updates!!

Hey guys, here's some more local metal news for your Friday! We have three topics to get to: Half A Man's recent happenings, Bring The Misery's lineup, and the Rotaryfest Second Stage schedule, so here's everything you should know!

Hey Half A Man fans, I finally have some updates from them! I'm sorry for having these so late, but things got shoved back and back and they deserve a lot of attention, as they have some huge news! The Brimley hard rockers began recording sessions for their debut demo/album "Die In Disgrace" on June 12th! I believe they're at McNally Smith Studios in Saint. Paul, Minnesota, as they previously alluded to, but they're not divulging every detail from the sessions. The album looks like it will have around 10 original songs, and there's a poll at this location where you can vote on your favourites, so that looks like the rough track listing. That same link is also for a special "Half A Man - In The Studio" Facebook group where fans can stay updated on the recording sessions, though their Facebook page also has frequent updates. According to their updates on both pages, many of their songs have had some big changes for their studio versions. Plans include online releases in the fall (no word on a physical CD release), recording to wrap up next month, and artwork from local artists (hit them up at the above links if you want to submit some ideas!) Most of the ghost tracking and many of Mikey Bishop's drum tracks are done, with some bass tracks being laid down today, and vocal and guitar recording planned to start tomorrow.

Sounds good to me, I can't wait to hear the finished product! Keep in touch with the above links for all current updates on Half A Man's debut album! Also, a bit of bad news, as Half A Man's planned Fourth of July concert/barbeque in Brimley has been cancelled due to their studio plans. Click here for the official announcement. Sad to hear, but when this album's done, no one will be complaining! I'll keep you guys posted!

Next up, local death metal band Bring The Misery have added Daeson "Shred Bear" Lesage to the band as their new rhythm guitarist, replacing Dan Souliere. Daeson did in fact make his debut with Bring The Misery at last night's Roosevelt Hotel metal night, though only yesterday evening did the band confirm that they'd have a "new shredder". He's not currently listed on their Facebook page's lineup, but I've done a lot of detective work to check my sources, and I'm fairly positive that Daeson is the band's newest member, as I've seen discussions on his personal Facebook page relating to him learning BTM cover songs. I'm not overly familiar with his local musical background, but through some YouTube searching, I've found out that Daeson was previously a member of a short lived local metal band named The Shit in 2009 who actually have a few videos on YouTube! I'll save those for an upcoming post to give them proper attention, but Daeson does have some guitar skill! I couldn't make the show to hear how he did, but I think Bring The Misery know what they're doing when picking musicians, so hopefully he fills Dan's gap well! Stay tuned for Bring The Misery updates as I hear them!

Now to some big festival news, as the official lineup for this year's Rotaryfest Second Stage has been released! If you were hoping for metal to be back on the schedule this year, you will be disappointed, as no metal bands were announced. I will go over the schedule though, it's only fair of me, as I covered the Second Stage last year (Garden of Bedlam headlined on the Saturday), so you guys should at least know who's playing. As always, the Second Stage will be held at Square One of Queen Street East (likely outside The Grand Theater and Muio's again), and loads of great local and out of town talent are scheduled! Like last year, the Second Stage festivities start with a short 5 band lineup on Friday, July 15th, including headliners My Son, The Hurricane, an ensemble funk rap outfit from Toronto that feature Saultite Danno O'Shea on drums. The opening bands include local blues trio Big Wheel & The Spokes (one of three returning bands from last year's Second Stage), Halifax bluegrass band The Moonshine Ramblers, local indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians (featuring ex-Soldiers of Misfortune bassist Alex "Xander" White), and local rock quartet Wishbone (featuring veteran local drummer Glen Thomas & Chris Smith of Browbeat & Jar. fame) opening the Friday festivities at 5:00 PM!

Saturday, July 16th's lineup is, as usual, an all day affair, and will be headlined by Toronto pop rock quintet Sweet Thing. You may recognize drummer Tyler Kyte from the old series "Popular Mechanics For Kids", so if you grew up in the 1990s (like me), you'll find that connection pretty cool! Local folk rock quartet Kalle Mattson (also returning from last year's Second Stage) are the top local band on the bill for the Saturday, and the rest of the lineup includes (in order) blues/roots trio Al Wood & The Woodsmen, folk/country band Porter (the other returning band from last year), veteran local rockers Huckster (they were on the main stage last year), roots rockers Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, solo folk artist Shannon Moan, Toronto solo country singer Romney Getty, a local band of some type named Emma & Robot (anyone have details on them?), and local rock trio Mora Lee Sound (featuring Driver/Floyd Lee Band guitarist Joel Poluck) will open at 12:00 PM that day. For full details on these free & all ages shows, click here! The lack of metal is disappointing (Wishbone are the heaviest of the bands in my opinion), but there's a ton of great indie and folk talent to go around this year, so consider going to the Second Stage this year if you're into those genres!

As for the main stage at Clergue Park, or simply "The Stage", a lineup has yet to be released to my knowledge, but metal and hard rock bands aren't foreign to the main stage (That's Chester played there just last year.) As soon as I hear details, I'll definitely let you guys know! The actual Rotaryfest event page implies that "Jazz in the Park" (a one day theme last year) could be present each day on the lineup, though whether it will in fact be each day, or is subject to change is yet to be determined. I'll keep you all posted!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for LemmaFest updates and much more very soon! Thanks everyone!