Oddfellows Hall Concert Fallout, An Inactive Band, And Much More!!

On this cold Saturday afternoon, we have an assortment of updates, including a new cover video, an inactive band to take note of, and more assorted updates (including a prominent CD reissue), but first, what went down at last night's all ages concert? Here's what you need to know!

As you may know, yesterday's heavy and persistent snowfall and weather warnings put a damper on the all ages metal show at The Oddfellows Hall, most notably preventing North Bay headlining acts TheKillingField and Buried Out Back from making the trip for the show. That's definitely disappointing, especially given how long it's been since either band played here, but hopefully they'll get a local raincheck! On extremely late notice, Blood Shed Productions metal duo Brutaly Fatal were added to the bill as the night's opening band to help fill the gap, in just their second show, their first (I think) with new drummer Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson, and their first since announcing plans to deemphasize death metal. As well, a later post on the event page said that the thought-defunct Mike Haggith & The Din were added late as well, which would mark the acid rock trio's first live set since the summer (complete with a new lineup, apparently), but details beyond there have yet to be publicized.

The weather did regrettably keep me from attending, but hopefully the people that came out had a great time! This definitely isn't the best way for Heavy North Entertainment to kick off their run as local concert promoters, but they apparently plan to reschedule the headliners in the near future, so fingers crossed that the second time's a charm, as I didn't wanna miss last night's show! Also, kudos to Ringsnaps for pulling triple duty last night (and to Pillory for headlining), and hopefully we see all the performers back soon!

Next up, I'm regrettably moving a local hard rock band to our inactive local band links, that being the second version of With Blood Build Character (originally known as Unbound.) While not past our one year threshhold for inactivity, they have issued no public updates since March, and a recent Facebook status reply from drummer Nick Kainula started with "If I had a band going", so it doesn't look like they're functioning at present. Originally fronted by the late Justin Fratpietro, his passing last year actually predated the band's public launch, with their surviving members (all formerly of State of Misery) staying together with bassist Kevin D'Orazio on lead vocals, and playing their only concerts in Justin's hometown of Thunder Bay in March 2013. Due to a naming conflict, the band recycled the With Blood Build Character name (after Ray Cowan & later addition Christopher Neveau's short lived late 2012 band) for their last show on March 29th, though activity stalled afterwards.

Unbound/W.B.B.C. had promise, especially as they deviated from State of Misery by playing a more straightforward hard rock sound, but despite optimism from Nick in personal conversations, things didn't go the way they were intended both before & after Justin's death. It would have been great to see the band power through and play some local dates last year, but at least Justin's family got to see them live! Best of luck to Kevin, Chris, Ray, and Nick in the future, and they're now in our inactive band links (albeit listed as Unbound, their longer used & less cumbersome name.)

Also today, Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy has posted yet another solo cover onto his YouTube channel, this time of Lifehouse's "You & Me"! Though it's his first proper cover video of 2014, he preceded it with a new original song named "Paradise Sunrise" that is an lively acoustic rock number, but it definitely shares more similarities with his recent covers than his band work. The new Lifehouse cover is par for the course of his recent work, featuring vocal, guitar, and drum performances, and it's well done (especially if you like this style of music), so give Alex's new video a look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

• Are you curious to see local classic/hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies' setlist? Former bassist Jamie Cameron apparently made one of sorts during his early 2013 tenure with the band via a 30 song playlist on his personal YouTube channel, which features links to songs by everyone from Alice In Chains & The Beatles to Velvet Revolver and Volbeat. Interesting mix, with a lot of metal tunes, so give it a look above (though be cautious, as things may have changed since he left.)
• I've removed local banquet hall & sporadic concert venue The Verdi Hall from our concert venue links due to their website being taken offline, possibly due to the expiration of the domain name. The Queen Street West hall is still open (it just hosted the Ray Brown benefit last fall), but we typically only see it used for heavier concerts if there's a benefit/fundraiser component. If the website returns though, we'll re-add it!
• Earache Records are finally reissuing one of Woods of Ypres' first three albums under their banner, as their 2008 CD "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & Darkest Blues" will be reissued on CD and in limited coloured vinyl pressings on March 24th, with some bundles including new t-shirts. Click here for complete pre-order information and details on the packages, and hopefully this new release is a success so their earlier albums (and more?) are officially seen again!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Curse The Witch! Thanks everyone!