Alright, now that my computer issues are finally put on hold for one day (I really need to bring it in for an overheating fix), we can now get back to news, and today we have three main topics: LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, the return of our monthly polls, and the identity of TOMORROW'S CD review for this month! So let's get everything started!
Sault Michigan hard rockers
Splitshot have added a new weekend engagement at The Rapids Lounge at
Kewadin Casino to their concert calendar! The local quintet featuring half of the old
Nixxon Dixxon lineup will now also be playing at Kewadin on July 22nd and 23rd, adding a July weekend to their busy 2011 schedule. Though not announced on
their Facebook page,
Kewadin's entertainment page lists the shows, which weren't previously included on their Rapids Lounge show schedule. Like with Splitshot's other stops at Kewadin Casino, these concerts should have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! These should be entertaining shows, as we know the talent that these guys have, but I still wish I had some audio or video samples at hand to share with you guys. Still, make note of these new shows for Splitshot next month, and stay tuned for band updates as they come in!
And now, finally, here's the return of our monthly SMS polls! After the three month March Mayhem tournament experiment, it's back to business as usual for our polls, so here's what you should know for this month! When I was thinking up questions to ask this month, I debated whether to ask a normal poll question involving band comparisons and opinions, and decided to give it a shot this month. Hopefully no one takes it badly or with some sort of bias! We have a great (and growing) local metal scene, but there's a bunch of bands that have broken up or went inactive in recent years that I'm sure many of you guys miss. I wanted to see what bands would garner the best reaction in the event they ever re-emerged on a local stage, so I am posing this question to you guys this month:
Which of these defunct or recently inactive bands would you most want to hit the stage again? For this poll, I have chosen 19 local bands that have either broken up, went inactive, or haven't played a live concert in recent months, that you guys might especially want to see back on stage. Hopefully there's no qualms with the choices, but "Other" is present as a 20th choice if you wanna use it.
For fairness sake, I didn't include bands that were essentially renamed (like
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes or
Turner Up) or bands that just recently broke up (like
State of Misery or
Bring The Fallen), especially when members quickly re-emerged in new groups. Now, let's go over the choices!
AtrophiA: This local metal band rocked the area from around 2006-2008, and featured future members of Bring The Fallen,
Bring The Misery, and Quite Frankly in it's lineups. With a high energy metal style and good covers, AtrophiA rocked the scene pretty well, but do you miss them enough to want them to reunite?
Browbeat: Though I know they only broke up in the spring, Browbeat's inactive periods were much longer than their active periods in recent years, so including them seemed fair. This hard rock trio led by frontman Dutch Vanderploeg kept fans grooving from the mid 2000s through 2011 under different names and lineups. With loads of entertaining and catchy originals for their fans, does the end of Browbeat have you longing for a return?
Detroit: From 2008-2010, members of
Lion Ride &
The Labour Of... grabbed the Soo by the throat with a fast and relentless hardcore attack called Detroit! Despite sporadic live performances, this talented quartet gave us some great live shows and two demo releases before going inactive early last year. Though Brenton Ellis' new band
Maximum RNR gives us a similar sound, does the absence of Detroit still bum you out?
Dirty Virgin: I'm aware that they just reunited to open for
Crued in April, but I've heard nothing to suggest this was anything more than a one-off show, so they fit here...for now. This glam/punk quartet brought a nice classic sound to the local scene from 2008-2009 before a lengthy absence since the spring of 2009 that was only interrupted by two gigs at
The Canadian Nightclub. Would you want to see Dirty Virgin back gigging regularly?
Driving Dave Home: From at least 2007-2008, this local hard rock band kept fans entertained with a bunch of cool hard rock covers at a number of shows! Though members have moved on to notable bands like Sense of Truth, Fingerbone,
The Scary Uncles, Renegades, and Turner Up, do you still miss the solid sounds of Driving Dave Home?
Fitswitch: If you're lucky, you can still see an occasional Fitswitch reunion, but most of the band's classic lineup now rocks the local scene in
Frightlight. However, Fitswitch's raw alcohol-fueled & Misfits-inspired punk/metal sounds were a local favourite throughout the mid-2000s! I was a big fan of theirs, but what about you guys?
Gates of Winter: Last seen on a local stage in the fall of 2008, Gates of Winter soon entered into a year long hiatus before re-emerging to work on a new studio album. With some band members living out of town, new concerts aren't on the horizon, but with new material slowly leaking, there's lots of anticipation in the air for future Gates of Winter activity! Are you hoping for a live return down the road?
Infrastrate: Though later based in Ottawa, local hard rock outfit Infrastrate formed in Sault Ontario in 2003. With some major local successes in their run, they later released the EP "Phase I: Commencement" circa 2005, but quietly appeared to dissolve afterwards. A reunion seems unlikely, with members living in separate towns, but they were a talented young band, and would you want to see them reunite?
No Arrow: Like Dirty Virgin, I know that No Arrow recently reunited for a show (in February at
Foggy Notions), but again, nothing indicates it was more than a one-off, so they count here. Dann Pichette and varying collaborators have brought grunge to a local audience over the past bunch of years with some success, but recent activity has been scattered at best, with their debut CD still unreleased. Do you want No Arrow back on stage for good?
Paraside: A local hardcore band from the late-2000s, you may recognize Paraside as the former band for current
Changing Waves bandmates Mike & Alex Hagerman. During their run, Paraside opened for everyone from The Imports to The Rebel Spell to Dead & Divine, unleashing hardcore fury in their 2007-2009 local run! Is Paraside a band you wish returned to the stage?
Quite Frankly: Former members of No Arrow,
Faithless Sin, and
D.O.T.H. (among others) joined forces in this local hard rock band from 2009 to early 2010 before quietly going inactive. Powered by the awesome vocals of Jacky Alisat, Quite Frankly made a good local impression in their short life, but do you want them back on the local stage?
Renderware: When Tom Waits meets Motorhead, you're left with Renderware, a popular local rock quartet that made their local mark in the mid-2000s with a number of notable concerts! Featuring future members of
Nebraska Arms, Talk Shit, and
A Fall From Innocence in their lineups, no band sounded like Renderware did, but does their unique style make you wish they came back?
SBD: They may not be truly "inactive", but this experimental trio featuring No Arrow, Chintzy Slicks, and Sounds From The Green Room alumni haven't been heard from in six months, with a lone 2011 show being called off. With some notable live show experience and a debut album released, things should be hopping for Shane, Brad, and Dann, but would a local resurgence be something you'd wanna see?
Sense of Truth: Is it surprising to note that this prominent (and active) hard rock band haven't seen the stage in 13 months? Work commitments, upcoming EP artwork issues, and the departure of Steve Myers haven't helped matters, but Sense of Truth are still together, and you know that when they do return to the stage, we'll be eager to support them again! Do you want to see the Skid Row battle winners back on the local scene the most?
Soldiers of Misfortune: Metalheads from the local scene in the mid-2000s are bound to remember Soldiers of Misfortune! Featuring
Winkstinger's Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas (among other talented musicians), Soldiers of Misfortune rocked fans with many blistering metal covers at varying shows, including many Oddfellows Hall concerts! I can't be alone in saying I miss them, so do you wish they'd reunite at some point?
Stillbroke: Last seen on the local stage in February 2010, all we've heard from this hard rock quartet since has been the band's numerous bassist switches and
a new Facebook page with minimal updates. Their absence is odd, especially given their quick rise and talent in the Sault area from 2008 onward. Do you want to see Jesse Frigault and company back for some local shows more than any other band?
Sue Inside: Though never broken up, Sue Inside haven't been seen in town since the spring of 2009. Since then, frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser moved to Oil Springs, Ontario, taking the band with him. Updates and new material have came sporadically since, but no local gigs have taken place since Shane moved. Do you miss their two-piece metal attack enough to want them back gigging locally?
Time of Ruin: One of the many metal bands fronted by former Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier, Time of Ruin were a solid sight in the local scene in the mid-late 2000s along with preceding (and succeeding) bands like
Faithless Sin. Notable for featuring
Dismembertainment head Rich Moreland in their lineup, would their brutal metal assault be welcome for a local return?
Other: Do you have another local metal band from the past in mind? Wanna go back even further for a band like Amethyst or Carbon Black? How about a newly broken up band that you're still bitter over? Or did I just make an error missing your favourite old band? This is the choice for you!
VOTE TODAY, you have one month to get your votes in and make your voices heard! As I am regrettably a day late to get the poll up (my bad), the voting will wrap up on July 19th, before returning to our usual 18th day of the month schedule in August. The voting form is in red on the left of the page, so get your votes in A.S.A.P. and make them count!
And finally, if you've followed our CD review schedule closely, you'll notice that this month's CD review is scheduled for TOMORROW! That will stand, my word is good, but what CD are we reviewing? With no new albums released (to my knowledge) in the past month, I've decided to finally take a look at one of the three albums released by defunct Sault Ontario hard rockers
Foothill Road! I've promised a CD review of theirs for a while, but with guitarist Mario Carlucci rocking
The Vibe Lounge this month with
Sneaky Pete, and nothing new in my hands, the perfect time is now to head all the way back to 1994 for this review! It's of their debut EP "Seventy", featuring their original lineup, including Mario, former Spy vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton on vocals, current Pittsburgh Penguins scout Ron Pyette on bass, and drummer Rick Bain. With six songs, this should be a quicker review, but it's a solid album, so definitely stay tuned for the review tomorrow! For a preview, check out the whole EP at
this location, just search for "Seventy", and stay tuned for our next CD review tomorrow!!
Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot have added a new weekend engagement at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino to their concert calendar! The local quintet featuring half of the old Nixxon Dixxon lineup will now also be playing at Kewadin on July 22nd and 23rd, adding a July weekend to their busy 2011 schedule. Though not announced on their Facebook page, Kewadin's entertainment page lists the shows, which weren't previously included on their Rapids Lounge show schedule. Like with Splitshot's other stops at Kewadin Casino, these concerts should have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! These should be entertaining shows, as we know the talent that these guys have, but I still wish I had some audio or video samples at hand to share with you guys. Still, make note of these new shows for Splitshot next month, and stay tuned for band updates as they come in!
And now, finally, here's the return of our monthly SMS polls! After the three month March Mayhem tournament experiment, it's back to business as usual for our polls, so here's what you should know for this month! When I was thinking up questions to ask this month, I debated whether to ask a normal poll question involving band comparisons and opinions, and decided to give it a shot this month. Hopefully no one takes it badly or with some sort of bias! We have a great (and growing) local metal scene, but there's a bunch of bands that have broken up or went inactive in recent years that I'm sure many of you guys miss. I wanted to see what bands would garner the best reaction in the event they ever re-emerged on a local stage, so I am posing this question to you guys this month: Which of these defunct or recently inactive bands would you most want to hit the stage again? For this poll, I have chosen 19 local bands that have either broken up, went inactive, or haven't played a live concert in recent months, that you guys might especially want to see back on stage. Hopefully there's no qualms with the choices, but "Other" is present as a 20th choice if you wanna use it.
For fairness sake, I didn't include bands that were essentially renamed (like Out Of The Mouth Of Babes or Turner Up) or bands that just recently broke up (like State of Misery or Bring The Fallen), especially when members quickly re-emerged in new groups. Now, let's go over the choices!
AtrophiA: This local metal band rocked the area from around 2006-2008, and featured future members of Bring The Fallen, Bring The Misery, and Quite Frankly in it's lineups. With a high energy metal style and good covers, AtrophiA rocked the scene pretty well, but do you miss them enough to want them to reunite?
Browbeat: Though I know they only broke up in the spring, Browbeat's inactive periods were much longer than their active periods in recent years, so including them seemed fair. This hard rock trio led by frontman Dutch Vanderploeg kept fans grooving from the mid 2000s through 2011 under different names and lineups. With loads of entertaining and catchy originals for their fans, does the end of Browbeat have you longing for a return?
Detroit: From 2008-2010, members of Lion Ride & The Labour Of... grabbed the Soo by the throat with a fast and relentless hardcore attack called Detroit! Despite sporadic live performances, this talented quartet gave us some great live shows and two demo releases before going inactive early last year. Though Brenton Ellis' new band Maximum RNR gives us a similar sound, does the absence of Detroit still bum you out?
Dirty Virgin: I'm aware that they just reunited to open for Crued in April, but I've heard nothing to suggest this was anything more than a one-off show, so they fit here...for now. This glam/punk quartet brought a nice classic sound to the local scene from 2008-2009 before a lengthy absence since the spring of 2009 that was only interrupted by two gigs at The Canadian Nightclub. Would you want to see Dirty Virgin back gigging regularly?
Driving Dave Home: From at least 2007-2008, this local hard rock band kept fans entertained with a bunch of cool hard rock covers at a number of shows! Though members have moved on to notable bands like Sense of Truth, Fingerbone, The Scary Uncles, Renegades, and Turner Up, do you still miss the solid sounds of Driving Dave Home?
Fitswitch: If you're lucky, you can still see an occasional Fitswitch reunion, but most of the band's classic lineup now rocks the local scene in Frightlight. However, Fitswitch's raw alcohol-fueled & Misfits-inspired punk/metal sounds were a local favourite throughout the mid-2000s! I was a big fan of theirs, but what about you guys?
Gates of Winter: Last seen on a local stage in the fall of 2008, Gates of Winter soon entered into a year long hiatus before re-emerging to work on a new studio album. With some band members living out of town, new concerts aren't on the horizon, but with new material slowly leaking, there's lots of anticipation in the air for future Gates of Winter activity! Are you hoping for a live return down the road?
Infrastrate: Though later based in Ottawa, local hard rock outfit Infrastrate formed in Sault Ontario in 2003. With some major local successes in their run, they later released the EP "Phase I: Commencement" circa 2005, but quietly appeared to dissolve afterwards. A reunion seems unlikely, with members living in separate towns, but they were a talented young band, and would you want to see them reunite?
No Arrow: Like Dirty Virgin, I know that No Arrow recently reunited for a show (in February at Foggy Notions), but again, nothing indicates it was more than a one-off, so they count here. Dann Pichette and varying collaborators have brought grunge to a local audience over the past bunch of years with some success, but recent activity has been scattered at best, with their debut CD still unreleased. Do you want No Arrow back on stage for good?
Paraside: A local hardcore band from the late-2000s, you may recognize Paraside as the former band for current Changing Waves bandmates Mike & Alex Hagerman. During their run, Paraside opened for everyone from The Imports to The Rebel Spell to Dead & Divine, unleashing hardcore fury in their 2007-2009 local run! Is Paraside a band you wish returned to the stage?
Quite Frankly: Former members of No Arrow, Faithless Sin, and D.O.T.H. (among others) joined forces in this local hard rock band from 2009 to early 2010 before quietly going inactive. Powered by the awesome vocals of Jacky Alisat, Quite Frankly made a good local impression in their short life, but do you want them back on the local stage?
Renderware: When Tom Waits meets Motorhead, you're left with Renderware, a popular local rock quartet that made their local mark in the mid-2000s with a number of notable concerts! Featuring future members of Nebraska Arms, Talk Shit, and A Fall From Innocence in their lineups, no band sounded like Renderware did, but does their unique style make you wish they came back?
SBD: They may not be truly "inactive", but this experimental trio featuring No Arrow, Chintzy Slicks, and Sounds From The Green Room alumni haven't been heard from in six months, with a lone 2011 show being called off. With some notable live show experience and a debut album released, things should be hopping for Shane, Brad, and Dann, but would a local resurgence be something you'd wanna see?
Sense of Truth: Is it surprising to note that this prominent (and active) hard rock band haven't seen the stage in 13 months? Work commitments, upcoming EP artwork issues, and the departure of Steve Myers haven't helped matters, but Sense of Truth are still together, and you know that when they do return to the stage, we'll be eager to support them again! Do you want to see the Skid Row battle winners back on the local scene the most?
Soldiers of Misfortune: Metalheads from the local scene in the mid-2000s are bound to remember Soldiers of Misfortune! Featuring Winkstinger's Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas (among other talented musicians), Soldiers of Misfortune rocked fans with many blistering metal covers at varying shows, including many Oddfellows Hall concerts! I can't be alone in saying I miss them, so do you wish they'd reunite at some point?
Stillbroke: Last seen on the local stage in February 2010, all we've heard from this hard rock quartet since has been the band's numerous bassist switches and a new Facebook page with minimal updates. Their absence is odd, especially given their quick rise and talent in the Sault area from 2008 onward. Do you want to see Jesse Frigault and company back for some local shows more than any other band?
Sue Inside: Though never broken up, Sue Inside haven't been seen in town since the spring of 2009. Since then, frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser moved to Oil Springs, Ontario, taking the band with him. Updates and new material have came sporadically since, but no local gigs have taken place since Shane moved. Do you miss their two-piece metal attack enough to want them back gigging locally?
Time of Ruin: One of the many metal bands fronted by former Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier, Time of Ruin were a solid sight in the local scene in the mid-late 2000s along with preceding (and succeeding) bands like Faithless Sin. Notable for featuring Dismembertainment head Rich Moreland in their lineup, would their brutal metal assault be welcome for a local return?
Other: Do you have another local metal band from the past in mind? Wanna go back even further for a band like Amethyst or Carbon Black? How about a newly broken up band that you're still bitter over? Or did I just make an error missing your favourite old band? This is the choice for you!
VOTE TODAY, you have one month to get your votes in and make your voices heard! As I am regrettably a day late to get the poll up (my bad), the voting will wrap up on July 19th, before returning to our usual 18th day of the month schedule in August. The voting form is in red on the left of the page, so get your votes in A.S.A.P. and make them count!
And finally, if you've followed our CD review schedule closely, you'll notice that this month's CD review is scheduled for TOMORROW! That will stand, my word is good, but what CD are we reviewing? With no new albums released (to my knowledge) in the past month, I've decided to finally take a look at one of the three albums released by defunct Sault Ontario hard rockers Foothill Road! I've promised a CD review of theirs for a while, but with guitarist Mario Carlucci rocking The Vibe Lounge this month with Sneaky Pete, and nothing new in my hands, the perfect time is now to head all the way back to 1994 for this review! It's of their debut EP "Seventy", featuring their original lineup, including Mario, former Spy vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton on vocals, current Pittsburgh Penguins scout Ron Pyette on bass, and drummer Rick Bain. With six songs, this should be a quicker review, but it's a solid album, so definitely stay tuned for the review tomorrow! For a preview, check out the whole EP at this location, just search for "Seventy", and stay tuned for our next CD review tomorrow!!
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