We have a new local band to announce today, and their name is Social Suicide! They're a new local "death punk" trio who just launched their Facebook page this morning. The band members include Unleash The Blackened Sky/ex-Fountain of Betrayal bassist Tyler St. Amour on vocals & bass, Anthony Boudreau on guitar, and Keeghan Rosso on drums. Should be interesting to see Tyler fronting a band for a change! I'm not familiar with either Anthony or Keeghan's musical work, but from what I understand, they both attend Superior Heights Collegiate with Tyler. According to their Facebook page, their influences include bands from The Misfits & NOFX to Pantera and Amon Amarth, all good signs for their sound! Social Suicide apparently have at least 4 originals already in the works, along with covers. Now, when can we see this new young band in action? Apparently, Social Suicide want to jam and rehearse this summer, play at Superior Heights functions over the 2011-12 school year, then debut for actual concerts in the summer of 2012. Sounds like a good plan, that way they get lots of experience and practice in before their debut! I'll be interested to hear Social Suicide when samples or video are posted, and as soon as any band updates roll in, I'll have them here! Become a fan at the above links!And in case you're wondering what this could mean for the future of Unleash The Blackened Sky, well... I don't know either. What I do know is that the band has not issued an official Facebook page update in over a month (not since the name change from Bring The Misery), the lineup posted there is now 2/5ths outdated (Steve Rhodes is still listed, Daeson Lesage still isn't), and I heard that drummer Travis St. Amour (Tyler's brother) is planning to move out of town for college later this month. Put together, it doesn't sound too good, but who knows what could happen. If I hear more, I'll let you guys know!
Next up, how's about another older local band with a local high school connection? If you went to the former Sir James Dunn Collegiate in the 2007-08 school year, you may remember seeing a Kiss tribute band made up of Grade 11 students at the old Dunnplugged concerts that they had! Yes, even high school students can pay homage to the hottest band in the world! Named Creatures of the Night, the band featured then-SJD students Andrew Addante on lead vocals/guitar (as Paul Stanley), Mike Gualtieri on bass (as Gene Simmons), and former Sindicate bandmates Nick Rhodes on lead guitar & Keith Gagnon on drums (as Ace Frehley & Peter Criss.) Active from the fall of 2007 through the fall of 2008, the band mostly played at Dunnplugged events during that school year, though they did play a 2007 Christmas concert there as well. We have a bunch of video glimpses of Creatures of the Night in action thanks to YouTube users soundguyjoe and Adam Gualtieri (Mike's brother?), who've uploaded six videos of the band from varying shows at their respective YouTube channels, so check their channels linked above to give the videos a look!What do I think of them? Well, I'll say that for a high school production, the Kiss ambiance and lighting are good on the later videos! The costumes are hit and miss, with the occasional lack of costuming or wigs being really visible. Soundwise, it's an big contrast: The music is really good, especially from Keith Gagnon, but the vocals are not on that same level. Andrew doesn't have the volume or range to pull off songs like "Detroit Rock City", though he does do noticeably better on songs like "Strutter". Talented guys though, I wonder if they're still active in any musical projects? Nice to see some Kiss love like this from locals, so they're definitely worth a look! Here's soundguyjoe's video of Creatures of the Night playing "Strutter", but check the above links for much more from this former local Kiss tribute band!
Finally, while we're on the topic of bands with students at Sir James Dunn, you may know that the Sault's newest high school Superior Heights was formed out of a merger between the old Sir James Dunn and Bawating schools. Sir James Dunn was well known for it's Dunnplugged series of concerts (even producing CDs of the student's original music), and it looks the like Dunnplugged continued with Superior Heights last year! Well, it's now renamed "Hawkplugged" (referencing the school's team name, the Steelhawks), but last year, it was apparently called "Funnplugged" (fun + unplugged.) I prefer the current name, but no matter what name it was under, Dunn/Funn/Hawkplugged has given us some talented young musicians, and here's a newer example! This comes from an outdoor Funnplugged performance circa October 2010 outside the Sir James Dunn building (which was Superior Heights last year), and it's of an unnamed and uncredited student band covering Rush's "YYZ"! Interesting choice given it's complexity, but the band do an admirable job tackling a Rush classic! Sounds a bit empty, but the three guys have clear talent!Anyone know who's in this band, or if they were named? It would be interesting to find out, cause I can't place the members offhand. Still, give this Funnplugged cover of "YYZ" a look below, and thanks to the Superior Heights YouTube channel for the upload!
That's all for now, but we'll definitely have a wider expanse of topics in our next post! Stay tuned, and enjoy today's post, Eagles and Steelhawks!
No comments:
Post a Comment