LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Telephone & Address), J.P. Fecteau Benefit Updates, And Much More!!

Keeping with our recent cleaning up of our news cache, we have some assorted recent Sault Ontario news items to get to, but what's in store on this cold Saturday morning? Today, we have a bunch of recent shorter news items, another new video from a prominent local drummer, and news on a special benefit show coming up, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you need to know!

An upcoming ALL AGES concert does include an acoustic grunge/alternative project on it's lineup, so here's what you need to know! Taking place on May 10th at The Oddfellows Hall, it's the third all ages show (and first at this venue) to be promoted by AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent since starting local concert promotion, and though mostly a punk show, it does feature local musician Chris Shoust's Telephone & Address lo-fi/grunge project as one of the opening bands! Two weeks after Chris headlines another all ages gig at the Royal Canadian Legion, his creative unplugged material should serve as a heavier, yet still more reserved contrast from the other scheduled acts, as even though it's an acoustic solo project, the seeds are there for very heavy alt-rock songs! The show itself will be headlined by Regina punk rock quartet The Royal Red Brigade (who opened for Weak Ends at The Oddfellows Hall show last summer), with Edmonton surf punk trio The Rhubarbs also tagging along during the Canadian leg of their spring tour. Both out of town headliners have their own energetic takes on the genre, and I especially like The Rhubarbs, so keep both bands in mind if you're up for an all ages punk show!

The other local openers will be a new local pop punk band named Crawfather, and though they don't have an online page yet, their lineup includes Nebraska Arms singer/bassist Guy Thiffault, Terminal frontman Mike Yakasovich, Downshift guitarist Steve Zuppa, and Small Town Rivals drummer Clint Wilson. Very talented lineup, I'm curious to hear how they sound! This ALL AGES show will be on Friday, May 10th at 8:00 PM, and there's a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Granted, this is more of a punk show, but there's nuggets of heaviness scattered about, and Telephone & Address give the show a heavier styled act, albeit unplugged, so keep it in mind for next month!

Also in new events next month, this isn't so much a concert as it is a special benefit event, as friends of late J.A.B. guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau will be joining forces for a benefit in his name on May 13th at The Canadian Nightclub! The aim is to raise money for his family in this time of need, and it will feature local musicians that knew and miss him jamming in his memory. One will likely be Asylum Country guitarist/former local metal musician Terry Eaton (who's co-promoting the benefit), though a fuller list of confirmed artists has yet to come out. The event will also feature prize draws, food, and more to partake in, though I'm sure more info is forthcoming. This benefit will start at 6:00 PM on May 13th, tickets are $20 (which can be obtained through Terry's phone numbers listed at the Facebook event page), and there's not an announced age limit. No matter what goes down next month, this is a great idea to help support Jean-Paul's family at this time of need, and hopefully many of his friends, family, and ex-bandmates will turn out to pay tribute to him next month! If more big details come out on it, I'll be sure to let you guys know!

Next up, here's another new video from As It Stands drummer John Mignacca! Along with a blocked Swedish Mafia House cover (for copyright reasons, no word on if it works for American users), John also posted a second take of his electric drumkit cover of Avicii's "Levels" onto the band's YouTube channel on Wednesday, though his original cover of this song is still posted. This video is shot from above, which gives a neat angle that you don't often see from local metal drummer cover clips (Jake LaLonde aside), so check out John's newest drum cover below, and yes, that's his As It Stands bandmate Albert Bourrier manning the computer!



We'll close today with six recent shorter news stories from the Sault Ontario area (as they've piled on lately), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:

• Former Skull After Betrayl bassist Adam Brett is again looking to get back into local music, though this time on guitar. He'll jam anything from hard rock to death metal, but if you're interested in jamming or working with him musically, message him on Facebook at this location, or see his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from this past Tuesday!
• New local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA launched their own Twitter page last month, so follow them there as another source of band updates! The biggest news item there so far is a plug for their local gig opening for The Golers on June 20th, but that has still not been officially announced by any other sources. When something more official comes out, we'll have it here!
• Local musician Chris Raginskis is looking for a drummer for his new band, who appear to be punk leaning, but would cover some heavier bands like The Misfits & The Bronx. No word on anything else, but if you're interested in trying out, message Chris on Facebook at this location, or check out his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this past Sunday!
• Fred Kember from The 705 Video Magazine recently reviewed Destroilet's full length debut album,  giving it very positive praise, including calling it an "amazing album", and giving lots of plaudits for the recording quality and cover song choices. I won't spoil it, but give the full review a look at this link, and don't miss Destroilet's first show in two years TONIGHT when they open for The Ripcordz at The Algonquin Pub!
• Newer local metal project The Hydra (featuring half of Late & Loud) apparently parted ways with guitarist Talon Risto earlier this year, as per his quiet removal from their Reverbnation page's lineup. A reason wasn't announced, but he recently moved to Alberta from his prior Deep River homebase, so that could be related. Hopefully we'll hear more from The Hydra soon, so keep an eye out, and best of luck to Talon in the future!
• Demo recordings of Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands finalists The Suicide Kings' original songs "King of the World" and "Into The Fray" have been posted onto their Reverbnation page in the last week or so! I won't give any major thoughts (as I hope to review their EP upon it's release), but fans shouldn't be disappointed, so give them a listen if you want!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Algonquin Pub for The Ripcordz, Destroilet, and T-Rex Manning! This will be a huge show, so don't miss out! Thanks everyone!