Sunday, May 12, 2013

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E), J.P. Fecteau Benefit Preview, Winkstinger Updates, And More!!

Before we get to tonight's news post at the SMS, just a quick apology for missing promotion of last Friday's Lucky 13 show at The Nicolet Tavern. As it only got a brief plug on their Facebook page on Monday, it slipped me by until the day of the show, and I could only get it on the site as a Facebook-exclusive that night.  My sincerest apologies to the band and all readers, I'll try and be on my toes more for their next gigs, and hopefully the show was a hit! Today though, we have recent feature post updates, news on a local metal band's lineup, and a preview of a benefit event tomorrow, but first, here's some long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/metal quartet 415E will make their first concert appearances in 4 months THIS WEEKEND & next weekend at both of the regional Kewadin Casino branches! They'll start with gigs this coming Friday & Saturday at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, followed by two shows next weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin (as replacements for local country band Perry Hatch), and though there isn't a great deal of notice, these constitute the long-hyped May "debut" for 415E (despite opening for Sebastian Bach locally in January.) My source for the 4 new concerts is 415E's Facebook page this morning, and for reference, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page lists neither weekend, so they're likely newer confirmations. 10:00 PM start times are likely each night for these 21+ shows, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links!

With Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni, you know 415E will have plenty of great originals & covers in store for their first headlining/solo shows, so don't miss them at either of the main regional Kewadin Casinos this month, and keep an eye out just in case their long awaited debut album surfaces in some form! Stay tuned for updates!

Thirdly today, while not exactly a concert preview, there is a big event going down tomorrow night, so I thought I'd acknowledge it (especially for the causes behind it.) As you may remember, former local metal guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau (of J.A.B. & other bands) suddenly passed away early last month at just 38 years old, and amidst the outpouring of support & condolences, Asylum Country guitarist/local metal band alum Terry Eaton kicked off organizing & promotion of a benefit for his family, which will see numerous friends and musicians jamming some tunes in his memory. Admission will be $20 for the benefit, which goes down TOMORROW at The Canadian Nightclub at 6:00 PM, though potential age limits weren't mentioned, and food and prize draws have also been advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Even though we don't know much on the performers, there's bound to be lots of talent, camaraderie, and emotion in J.P.'s honour tomorrow night, so don't miss this event, and help give his family & daughter some much needed support! R.I.P. Jean-Paul!

Also today, here's the latest lineup news from local extreme metal band Winkstinger, as they've finally confirmed the addition of ex-Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier to their lineup, replacing Ryan Sherman. This was announced on their Facebook page earlier today, though I'd heard of his enlistment for a while now through personal conversations. Arguably more prominent from his singing work in bands like Time of Ruin in the last few years, Jason's a skilled bassist from some widely varying local bands, and hopefully his addition will spark the guys in their impending return to the stage on the 29th! Also, the lineup above essentially confirms the departure of rhythm guitarist Anthony Orazietti, but there is no replacement listed there, and despite rumours of Jason Ladouceur coming back (and recent personal postings indicating that they had a replacement), they're currently listed as a quartet. A smaller lineup won't be a jarring change (they won the Battle For The Blood as a quartet), but here's hoping for the best, and best of luck to Anthony in the future!

It's been a long road back to the stage since July for Winkstinger, but hopefully this long wait will see an even heavier and faster sound come the 29th when they open for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall, so don't miss their new lineup's debut then, and stay tuned for more from Winkstinger as I hear it!

Finally for today, here's some recent updates to some profiles in our YouTube Channel Profile Series! In our profile of Lion Ride's channel, I added references to their newest posthumous video (featuring all 4 songs from their unfinished second album's sessions), emphasized their 2012 breakup more, and noted that Foggy Notions (the site of some of their live videos) is now Coch's Corner. On our profile of Stillbroke's channel, I de-emphasized their later name change to Borderline Divine a bit (as they were more active & successful under the Stillbroke name), while I edited our profile of Candle Hour's channel to note that project's likely inactive status at present. On our profile of soundguyjoe's channel, I edited references of Free Beer (who he filmed members of in some videos) to reflect their 2013 revival under the Sarah's Valley name, while I removed the now-deleted links for Splitshot & Trail's End on our profile of myangels1266's channel, as they both featured performers in that channel's Nixxon Dixxon videos. Finally, I edited our profile of AshTraynor's YouTube channel to note featured act Banned's creation of an official YouTube channel and various lineup changes. Hopefully that's all for that series for now!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

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