LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Glitch & Banned) And Much More Assorted News & Notes!!

Now at the SMS, we have a bunch of assorted news and notes from the last while, but leading off on this Wednesday evening, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month on both sides of the border, so read on below for what you need to know!

Newer local party/hard rock quartet Glitch will make their fourth live concert appearance on December 13th (one week from Friday) when they return to The Rockstar Bar! Their third solo headlining appearance at this popular downtown venue since debuting in September, next week's show comes under two weeks after a successful Canadian Nightclub debut at this year's Toystock, and hopefully they're still riding the same momentum! Featuring Sneaky Pete alumni Mike Oakley & Sean Berlinguette alongside Tripod the Dog's Mark Oliverio & Lion Ride's Marco Pedalino, this talented veteran quartet should have another solid night of covers in store in what will likely be their last show of 2013, so keep it in mind for next weekend! A $5 cover charge is likely, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:30-ish start time is likely. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With bookings currently being sought for 2014, you never know when and where Glitch will take the stage next, so don't miss next week's show, and stay tuned for updates!

Also in new December concerts, Kinross classic/hard rockers Banned will be playing at a very special event at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Thursday, December 19th, though not as openers for a touring band. This is actually an anti-bullying rally during The Relentless Tour put on by The Autism Alliance of Michigan, which will featuring a headlining speech by former Michigan State Spartans basketball star Anthony Ianni about how he overcame autism and bullying to find success and purpose in life. The family event will also feature a resource fair, prizes, face painting, bouncy castles, and a live set from Banned, which I believe will be their first ever live concert appearance at Kewadin's theatre. Admission is FREE & ALL AGES on the 19th, with the day's activities beginning at 6:00 PM. For more details, check the above links and the poster on your left! This sounds like a very nice and important event that will hopefully educate many about autism and the effects of bullying, and Banned should provide a rocking soundtrack, so keep it in mind for later this month!

Finally for today, here's nine assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! These can accumulate fast, so why not group them together to get them out to the public? As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• The Algonquin Pub's Facebook group has been deleted at some point in recent months. A reason hasn't been announced, but that group had not been updated in a long time, and recent events there (most of which refer to the venue as "The Zoo") have primarily been promoted on the Facebook pages of it's upstairs neighbour, The Rockstar Bar. I think having two pages would help offset confusion given the two floors of entertainment, but at least events downstairs are still getting press!
• In the latest update on their forthcoming debut album "Eternal Hibernation", local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters just have one clean guitar part and the rest of Nik Deubel's vocals to complete before recording sessions are finished, and the band is already  "mapping out the next road we're travelling down", referring to their planned second CD. Good news to hear, so visit this link for more details!
• Rik Warren of Oshawa promotion agency Warlord Promotions has been looking to get Oshawa metal band Devoked a local concert booking next week at some point, likely around their December 13th Sudbury date. Devoked have a solid dark extreme metal sound that would be welcomed here, so if you can book them or help get them here next week, message Rik at this link!
• The Fuckface Unstoppable concert at The Canadian Nightclub on December 14th (one week from Saturday) now has a special earlier start time of 7:00 PM, with Bam Margera and company slotted to play at 10:30 PM, as per the Facebook event page the other day. Despite the timing now resembling an all ages concert, this show is still 19+ as far as I can tell. Keep this in mind for next weekend, and GET YOUR TICKETS A.S.A.P.!!
• Local classic/power metal band The Hydra's Teeth have announced plans via their Reverbnation blog to record their original song "In The Dead Of Night" at Case's Music as a single before expanding to a full album session, and will begin once guitarist Anthony Orazietti returns from vacation. Sounds like a neat plan, so check the above links for more info!
• Former Chronic Demonic/Project Legion singer Sabrina "Strange" Lavoie is exploring the possibility of launching a metal cover band that would specialize in metal versions of pop songs, like ones by Britney Spears or Rihanna. If you're interested in this unique idea, message her at this link and read more details at her post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last month!\
• Though not a local show, new local/London death metal quartet Saints & Serpents (essentially the successors of The Valentine's Day Massacre) will make their live debut at The Richmond Tavern in London on Friday, December 13th (interesting timing), and it will also be Steve, Andrew, and Adam's first show together since The V.D.M.'s last show in London in March. Best of luck, and hopefully we see the new band home soon!
• I don't tend to acknowledge band photos alone on here unless under unique circumstances, but this counts: An album of live photos of  Sykotyk Rampage from... 1985?! Posted on their Facebook page on Friday, these feature the then "Sykotic Rampage" playing in Goulais River, with current members Dirk & Paul Becker joined by other performers and early band members, including their brother Rudy and band namesake Brian "Syko" Miron. By far the longest running active hard rock band in the area, these are a nice glimpse back to their early days, so check these pictures out!
• Asylum Country/2 Buck Beers guitarist Terry Eaton is again looking for a singer for a new hard rock project he's working on, this time narrowing his aimed range to someone who sings nu/alternative metal, such as bands like Godsmack. It'd be nice to see Terry playing heavier tunes again, so message him at this link, or check out yesterday's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group! 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!