Thursday, January 31, 2013

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Trapt), Sault Ontario's Next Battle Of The Bands (And How You Can Apply), And More!!

With no metal/hard rock concerts on the horizon for this weekend yet, we'll focus on some big new stories on this last day of the month, including news on a huge new battle of the bands in Sault Ontario and all of it's current information, along with some other assorted stories, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a major modern rock show across the river this spring!

Less than two weeks out from the next big hard rock show at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, another big package of bands is coming there on March 24th, including one hard rock leaning band, that being platinum-selling California alternative metal quartet Trapt! Best known for their songs "Headstrong", "Still Frame", and "Stand Up", Trapt are definitely a catchy favourite dating back to their early 2000s heyday, and they should put in a solid set of hard rock originals in what I think is their first ever local concert appearance! They'll actually be one of two bands opening for multi-platinum Oklahoma post-grunge quintet Hinder at this concert, in their second stop in the area! Last seen headlining at Kewadin Casino in September 2010, this band remain popular thanks to their hit singles "Lips of an Angel" and "Get Stoned", and while they aren't quite metal, they do have a solid fanbase here that's sure to remember their 2010 date here well! The other opening band will be Los Angeles indie rock trio Acidic, who I'm not overly familiar with, but they appear to be on the rise with their more minimalistic but well performed material, and hopefully they make some new local fans on March 24th! Also, there's been no announcements yet concerning possible local openers.

This show is being presented by Allstar Promotions in their second Dreammaker's Theater show of 2013, and tickets will go on sale TOMORROW MORNING for $29.50 at this location, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or in person at their box office, and I'd expect a 7:00 PM start time and no age limits. This show should attract a lot of fans, and even though I don't really dig Hinder or Acidic, I know they'll impress in March (as will Trapt), so check the above links for more details, and get your tickets starting tomorrow!

Next up, another battle of the bands is on the horizon in Sault Ontario (the first since the Battle for the Blood last June), and there's some big prizes on the line! The Rockstar Bar (in cooperation with Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and local singer/concert promoter J.D. Pearce) are hosting a four week long battle of the bands over each Wednesday in April, but how's this going to work? Competing bands will play 25 minute sets on April 3rd, 10th, and 17th at The Rockstar Bar, with the winners (and likely some wild cards) returning on the 24th for the finals, and first place prizes will include $1,000, recording time at Case's Music, and a guaranteed opening slot at one of J.D.'s concerts this year! Other prize details will likely be announced in the next couple of months. There are no genre restrictions (trust me, growling and yelling is A-OK!), and as best as I can tell, registration forms will be available starting TODAY at The Rockstar Bar/Algonquin Hotel, The Rad Zone, and Case's Music. To apply, there will be a $150 registration fee, but you'll also be given 10 ticket packages for all 4 nights of the battle that you can sell, which means that the registration fee will essentially be cancelled out if you sell all of your tickets! Click here for more information!

Judges for the battle will include James Case from Case's Music, Len Ward from The Rad Zone, and myself (so our coverage of the battle on the site will aim to be fair & impartial with no major critiquing of the competing bands), and judging criteria will be available at all ticket locations. As for admission costs for fans, a full 4 night package will cost $15 (or $3 for each of the 3 qualifiying rounds & $10 for the finals only), so consider the full ticket package, as you'll save $4 across the whole month! I don't know if tickets will be on sale today, but I'll confirm the news as I hear it! I would expect 19+ age limits though, and start times will likely depend on the amount of bands each night, but slots are limited, so apply A.S.A.P.!! I'm very excited for this latest battle of the bands, and of course, to volunteer and contribute to the process, and I really hope there's a huge response from bands interested in applying to compete! This could be a huge opportunity to further yourselves locally and make a larger name (and entertain your fans), so apply at any of the above locations as soon as possible, and come April, may the best band win! Click here and check the above links for more details!

Just for fun, I thought I'd throw in some random local battle of the bands trivia and facts to tie in to April's battle! As far as I know, this will be the first ever battle held at The Rockstar Bar and the first local battle to take place over multiple nights since the Kiss Battle of the Bands in late 2009, but it's staggered rounds format could call to mind some of the old Bon Soo or Eastgate Hotel battles as well! Much of the crew on board for this battle have recent experience with them, as all of the judges have judged battles recently (James at the Case's Music battles, Len at Downtown Showdown, and me at the Humane Society battle), while James competed at the Kiss Battle with Huckster. Plus, the aforementioned J.D. Pearce promoted last year's Battle for the Blood and competed at the Humane Society battle with T-Rex Manning, so there's no shortage of people on board with first hand battle experience in recent years! Again, there's no sound restrictions, so who could sign up? Recent battle winners? Newer talent? Reunited favourites? Anything's possible, so stay tuned to the SMS and the links above for details on confirmed bands, updated information, and more!

Finally, here's three more assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band or series name:

  • Local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade will apparently begin recording sessions next month! No word on if these are linked to an album of some kind, but this is somewhat surprising given Crimson Crusade's minimal concerts in recent months. If the improvement they shown last year continues though, this could be very cool, so click here for more information!
  • Speaking of recording plans for local metal bands featuring Robert Sartini, his local thrash band Pillory have recently had some prospective EP artwork designs posted on their Facebook page by bassist Jonathan Tiberi, partly including imagery & credits for late guitarist Andres Duchesne (which is awesome of them!) Nothing's 100% yet on the final product, but check the above links to give the artwork prototypes a look!
  • The Facebook page for the Roosevelt Hotel metal nights was updated yesterday to credit the February 21st Annex Theory-headlined concert, even saying that they're returning that day, but is that entirely true? While the series' most recent promoter Mitch Sirie is playing at this show, J.D. Pearce is booking it, and his other recent Thursday shows at The Rosie weren't part of the series, so I hesitate to say it's a full return (at least right now.) If that changes though, I'll correct myself, but no matter what, don't miss this onslaught of death metal!

That's all for now, but stay tuned tonight for our review of Destroilet's new CD to cap off January 2013! Thanks everyone!

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