Saturday, July 2, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & Hollow), A New Local Band, And More News!!

One more news post for your Saturday before I go check out Lion Ride TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, and yes, there will be a review of it tomorrow on the site! In what might be our last full news post before the fourth anniversary (two days...), we have some big news to share today, including some updates from Chained Memories, the openers for MONDAY's Titan's Eve concert, and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we'll start with the one connected to a new local band, so here's what you need to know!

Yes, we have a new local band to talk about, all the way from the Kinross/Kincheloe area outside of Sault Michigan! The band is called Banned, and they're a new local hard rock trio that features former TraynWreck guitarist Alex Traynor, his dad Don on drums, and bassist Alex Schrovenwever, with all three sharing vocal duties. Nice to see Alex back out there, and the family connection is cool to see! I like how many Sault Michigan-area bands have family connections, it's actually nice to see families banding together in the name of rock over there! According to descriptions on their new Facebook page (launched around June 8th), they will "make you rock the night away", and have influences ranging from AC/DC, Van Halen, and The Darkness to Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, and Grand Funk Railroad! Interesting mix of styles there, I wonder how they'll sound? We'll have a preview of that in a second, but first, they're making their live debut on July 21st at The Rudyard Township Park in nearby Rudyard, Michigan for a Music In The Park event that evening! They'll have a full 2 hour set for this outdoor concert, which looks to be all ages with a 7:00 PM start time, and there's no announced cover charge. Click here for more details!

But how do Banned sound? Specifically, I'm not sure, but if the videos posted by Alex's sister/Don's daughter Ashley Traynor are any indication, we might get some solid hard rock! She uploaded two videos from a talent show performance from January 15th onto her YouTube channel that month, and they feature Don (on lead vocals and drums), Alex, and bassist (for this set) Steve Jacobus playing 4 cover songs: "Bad Company" by Bad Company, AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", and Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me"! Don's vocals are best on the AC/DC covers, getting a nice volume, and Alex has a nice stage presence and some real guitar skill for his age! There may just be something here, so check out 2/3rds of Banned from this January performance in the video below!



The other new concert is extremely intriguing in it's own right, and if you missed this band and it's variants over the past few years, then get excited, as Hollow are coming back! Well, for two shows anyway. Yes, the local metal band featuring former Metal Militia and Carbon Black bandmates are reuniting in August, and that includes guitarist Tym Morrison (now of Caveman Morrison), bassist Dan Beaupre (now of The Southern Fried Band), and former Dicky Swift Band/Buster Cherry bandmates Terry Eaton on guitar & Vinnie Milosevich on drums, all from the classic lineup! However, in lieu of the absent Luigi Miceli (is he still in music?), former Carbon Black frontman Travis Sharpe will sing with Hollow for these reunion shows, which will be awesome to see again! It's been a long while since Travis, Terry, or Vinnie have played locally (to my knowledge at least), and it's great to see them back! The band will reunite for just two shows next month, taking place on August 5th at The Rockstar Bar & August 6th at The Canadian Nightclub, so it's like your usual weekend sets, just at different venues. No word yet on if Hollow will play any of their old bands' originals, but there will be lots of covers in store to bring the metal to local fans once again!

A 10:30 PM start time is estimated for both shows, you must be 19 to attend either, and I'd expect a nominal cover charge of under $5 for both, knowing from past experience. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Tym, Dan, and company back together after so long (too long), and hopefully lots of metalheads show up to rock out with Hollow for old time's sake! I should be at one (likely at The Canadian), but either works! I'll keep you guys posted, and if the photo I used above isn't of a Hollow lineup, my apologies. I used the best one available that didn't have another band name slapped on it.

Thirdly today, have you been wondering who's opening for Titan's Eve at The Roosevelt Hotel on Monday night? Actually, you may already know, cause the Facebook event page for the show was launched on Wednesday! I know it's kinda late, but I heard the news AFTER my Wednesday news post, and I didn't have much to report for a full news post until today. So, better late than never, here are the openers for Titan's Eve in two nights! One is Sativa Rose, who'll bring their classic metal assault back to The Rosie just four nights after rocking the most recent Thursday metal show! Great to see them back again, they're a welcome sight at any metal concert, and always deliver some shredding good times! The other confirmed opening band is local hardcore quartet Skull After Betrayal, in their first show since opening for The Dayglo Abortions last month! Hopefully their sound continues to improve on Monday night as Mike, Adam. Justin, and Anthony continue to carve out their place in the local scene with their own brand of hardcore and death metal! The only other new item to report (beyond the poster on your right, nice work!) is that there will indeed be a $4 cover charge for this concert, but for this quality of bands, no need to complain!

I'll absolutely be at the concert! It's a great spot to celebrate our 4th anniversary, Titan's Eve kick ass, and we have a contest to wrap up that day as well! There is still time for you guys to enter our contest to win one of two Titan's Eve prize packs featuring their new album "The Divine Equal" and a free band t-shirt, so head to http://www.facebook.com/saultmetalscene to enter by adding your name to our contest status from June 27th. We draw the winners this coming Monday at 5:00 PM, so GET YOUR ENTRIES IN A.S.A.P.!!! For full contest rules, click here, and good luck!

And finally, we come full circle as we go right back to the Kincheloe area to talk about a young local band, this time, Chained Memories! Firstly, the band quietly parted ways with guitarist Jacob Zeeryp (ex-Outshined) after a very brief tenure with the band in May and June. No announcement was ever made on why he left, but he was quietly removed from their lineups on their pages. Disappointing, but hopefully he gets back into a band, his old work in Outshined wasn't bad for Christian hard rock! The other big news is that they've launched a new website, which is fairly barren as of yet, but it has a nice design, and it does confirm that they're looking for extra band members! Specifically, they want a second guitarist and a bassist between the ages of 14 & 18, preferably living in the Sault Michigan area. Contact the band for more details at the above links, cause I'm sure Mike and Ryan could use some talented musicians to help get the band out there soon! Promising guys, from what I've heard, hopefully they can get to the next steps soon! Stay tuned for Chained Memories updates as they come in!

That's all for today, but I will see you guys TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar for Lion Ride! Thanks everyone!

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