Big Loonie Bus Show Updates, Grinded Live In Your Ears Fallout, And Much More!!

Keeping the news rolling on this Wednesday morning, we have a bunch of shorter recent updates to get to, and fallout from a recent concert, but first, here's some big updates for an upcoming regional metal concert, so here's what you need to know!

We'll start this news post with updates to the upcoming "Big Loonie Bus Show" going down at La Cucina (under Bucci's Place) in nearby Echo Bay, Ontario on October 12th! One new note is that grunge duo Bad Back have quietly dropped out of the event in the past week or so. A reason wasn't announced, but given that frontman Jamie Vincent is still playing with his other band AlgomA, a scheduling conflict on drummer Nathan Sauve's part wouldn't surprise me. Replacing them (and maintaining the alphabetical name trend) are local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters, who should brutalize in their Echo Bay debut! The fifth band slot remains open, though promoter/AlgomA guitarist Boyd "Darby Wigwaus" Rendell is hyping "a possible special secret attraction", so we'll have to see if that leads somewhere. The event will be alcohol licensed (so I assume it's fully 19+), and tickets will be $10 in advance and $11.50 (odd number) at the door. While ticket purchasing details have yet to be announced, a purchase will guarantee you a round trip bus ride to and from the concert!

Yes, there will be at least one bus rented for Saultites to get to Echo Bay for the show (hence it's name), and there will be pick-up spots at both the Wendy's/Tim Hortons on Great Northern Road and at The Wellington Square Mall, so there's all the more reason to go! This concert (also featuring Crimson Crusade & Destroilet) is shaping up to be quite the unique event, so keep it in mind for the fall, stay tuned for updates, and get more information at the official Facebook event page!

Also in concert updates (albeit for one already taking place), here's some clarification and fallout from Saturday night's "Grinded Live In Your Ears" house-hosted concert in the P Patch following the Swampstravaganza! First, I can confirm that "Todd the Shitty Busker" was an alias used by local solo musician Chase James Wigmore, who we'll be covering more in depth on the site next month for our Defunct Local Band Profile on his old Smiling Giraffes project. He does have some creative talents, though the stage name usage still seems odd. A photo album from the event (which was indoors) was posted onto Facebook by attendee Katie Stevenson, featuring shots of Todd/Chase, Crucify The Whore, Crimson Crusade (pictured), and surprise late notice performers Warsenal. No pictures of Pillory or Social Suicide's sets are featured, but Pillory drummer Bret Shuttleworth told me their set featured just him and frontman Robert Sartini, so it wasn't a full return set.

There were also assorted musical guests (like ex-Undead Warriors guitarist Aaron Gasparetto), some of which can be seen in videos uploaded to Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel yesterday! All from Crucify The Whore's set (essentially Ringnaps Gibson on vocals/guitar with backing tracks and/or guest drummers), one video has an original and a loose cover of Slayer's "Reign In Blood", while the others include a cover of Burning The Masses' "Nailgun Massacre",  his original "Bunk, Shake, and Headache", and the one embedded below merging two original tracks. In terms of drummers, Winkstinger's Jesse Cook sits in on the below video and the "Reign In Blood" cover, and Bring The Fallen alum Travis St. Amour drums on "Nailgun Massacre", while Ringsnaps uses a backing track for "Bunk, Shake, and Headache". The lighting on these videos isn't spectacular, but C.T.W. tracks do sound heavier and fuller in a live setting (even the pig squealing fits better), and I'd like to see Ringsnaps take his projects to a public stage again and see where it goes! Check out Crucify The Whore live below and see more at the above links!



Finally for today, here's six shorter recent news items, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

• I forgot to mention this in our Swampstravaganza review, but Bear Hunters frontman Nik Deubel announced during their set that their upcoming debut CD will be called "Eternal Hibernation" (presumably referring to the end result of a successful bear hunt.) Sounds fitting, and stay tuned for updates on it's release!
• Local musician Chris Raginskis is yet again exploring the idea of forming a dedicated cover band, this time to cover Volbeat material. Sounds intriguing (you know how much Garden of Bedlam and fans love them), but if you're interested, message Chris at this link or through his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on August 4th!
• Also from the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, local bassist Jason Lang is looking to get back into live music, preferably in a classic/modern rock band, though he emphasized he'd just like the odd gig, not to become a rock star. Reply to his post on the group from Sunday or message him at this link to inquire further!
• AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's new promotion agency Oh! Right Arm! Productions now has a Twitter page, so follow along there for updates on the Big Loonie Bus Show and other events, and they're now in our Other Sault Ontario Links section!
• I can finally confirm that Purple Core (who played at Haggith's private Canada Day bash) are a Stone Temple Pilots cover band featuring the members of Haggith (minus Caleb Cachagee), with the name coming from a combination of their first two albums. Essentially, they're like The Nirvanabees with a different source band. Thanks to Daniel Horton for the clarification!
• Dafter, Michigan hard rock solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton has announced plans to release his seventh studio album "Cracks In The Wall" on Halloween, though little beyond the album cover is out at present. As a result, I'll hold our next SweetKenny CD review until at least November so I can choose it or "Perception" next (likely the heavier of the two), but look out for updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more very soon! Thanks everyone!