Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: The Howling Bullets

It's now time for our newest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile at the SMS! Like in past months, this monthly feature series looks at a metal or hard rock band that has featured a Sault Ste. Marie (and area) resident in any of their official lineups, as though the band itself has never been based locally, they deserve some attention and recognition with local readers! This month, we're tackling a long overdue band with connections beyond the music, so read on below for this month's profile! (Updated on November 27th)
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The Howling Bullets (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics. This information is incomplete, mainly concerning ex-members' real names. E-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com if you have any additions or corrections!)

Dan "Dano Villano" Gingras (vocals/bass)
Sean "Seanbelly" Sewell (guitar)
Jordan "Sane" Stewart (vocals/bass)
Elena "Red" Robinson (drums)

Gregory Chevette (guitar)
"T-Rev" (guitar)
Max "Overdrive" (drums)
Alvin Lapp (drums)

Official website: http://www.thehowlingbullets.com
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/thehowlingbullets
Official Twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/howlingbullets
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/thehowlingbullets
Official YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/thehowlingbullets
Official Soundcloud page: http://soundcloud.com/the-howling-bullets

Local Info: Though details on his local past aren't too prevalent online, Howling Bullets frontman Dan Gingras (a.k.a. Dano Villano) will be familiar to many local musicians for both his local band work and as the brother of ex-Frightlight bassist Mike Gingras, also known as Eddie Fright! The two have collaborated via Mike's film company Party Island Productions on both a Howling Bullets music video and an acting role by Dano in Mike's short film "The Kid Who Made The Face", and there's sure to be more to come. Don't sleep on Dano's well respected music work though, which has included a stint as bassist with Toronto grunge punk quintet The Von Drats, a few hillbilly projects, and his current role as The Howling Bullets' frontman!

Band Bio: Dano Villano began preparations for what became The Howling Bullets in 2009 by writing songs based on horror and myths, eventually forming this band by March 2011, with him and fellow bassist Jordan Sane remaining in every lineup incarnation since then. Debuting on stage that May on Friday the 13th, The Howling Bullets have became a popular sight on the Southern Ontario concert stage over the past three years, including an appearance at the 2011 Toronto Burlesque Festival, sets opening for bands like The Brains, Maximum RNR, and The Koffin Kats, numerous headlining shows, while releasing no less than three EPs during that span in 2012 & 2013, most recently their EP "Murder Is A Heavy Word" this past Halloween. Still hard at work with new concerts this year and more, keep an eye out for more horror rock entertainment from The Howling Bullets in the oming months!

On the surface, The Howling Bullets share many similarities with Dano's brother's band Frightlight based on their horror themes and on stage attire, but The Howling Bullets are their own animal, combining horror punk and some hard rock influences with blues and hillbilly influences, and it adds up to an interesting sound that has a little something for many different audiences! Dano and Jordan Sane also add a dueling bass attack to their repertoire that adds a little something extra to their sets, with their various guitarists and drummers also adding their own talents (current drummer Elena Red impresses a lot in particular!) Though we haven't seen The Howling Bullets up north yet that I can remember, their diverse hybrid sound should satisfy most punk and rockabilly tastes, with just enough heavier twinges to go around, and if you love horror, you can't miss their sound!

All of The Howling Bullets' albums are available for digital purchase at this link for $3.50 or $7 (plus a $15 compilation collection), while the band's various online pages linked above have streaming copies of many songs as well. YouTube is full of live videos from Howling Bullets concerts as well, but embedded below is their music video "Ghoul County Limits" that Mike Gingras directed, so check it out below!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Staying with Toronto punk-influenced bands, we'll be looking at Joan Jett/Ramones tribute band The Merves (featuring prolific local musician Mikey Hawdon) next month in this series, partially due to their local return next weekend, so watch out for that on or around April 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more soon! Thanks everyone!