LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), The End Of As It Stands, And More!!

I wasn't expecting to have a second post today, but when I remembered there was a show TONIGHT that we accidentally forgot in our previews, I rushed this one, so we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, plus more new shows from the same artist! Also, we have some assorted recent notes, video finds from an artist that we recently acknowledged on the site, and sad news on a prominent band's status, so here's what you need to know!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill continues TONIGHT, and as a result, we'll add his numerous August bookings to our concert schedule! Remember, we take things a month at time due to the years worth of bookings on his website's calendar, and apologies for the short notice, we forgot about Tym's show this weekend until today. The August shows will push his ongoing weekly run at the former Madison's Pub into it's 39th week, and they'll see him rocking out TONIGHT, the next three full weekends (August 8th & 9th, 15th & 16th, and 22nd & 23rd), and once more on Friday, August 29th. No word on why he's not playing tomorrow or on the 30th, but he usually sees one or two dates a month pre-empted for another artist, such as the Joe Kennedy show on July 19th. As usual, the Friday shows are The Harp's weekly jam night that Tym hosts and plays at, while the Saturdays are for Tym's usual solo acoustic hard rock show, so keep each theme in mind for some live action!

As well, Tym will once again play at The Road House Bar & Grill on Thursday, August 21st, continuing his recent trend of playing this east end venue once a month to coincide with their monthly customer appreciation nights, so don't miss that show either! The Harp shows are 19+ with 10:00 PM-ish start times, but the Road House show will likely be all ages in the early evening. For more details check the above links, and don't miss Tym at The Harp all month, including TONIGHT! For a preview, here he is covering Heart!



Next up, we can sadly now confirm that local hardcore quintet As It Stands are now inactive. Drummer John Mignacca confirmed the news in a recent personal Facebook conversation, saying that "we are done", but members may reunite in a new band of a different name in the future, and he didn't elaborate further on reasons for the band's split. Active off and on since their 2005 beginnings as an emo band, As It Stands soon became one of the most popular hardcore bands of recent memory in Sault Ontario, promoting and playing at numerous high profile concerts both here and on tour runs, including opening for bands like Fuck The Facts, Blind Witness, Upheaval of an Exorcist, and many others, along with playing at 15 Roosevelt Hotel metal nights, tying for first at 2012's Humane Society Battle of the Bands, and in their last show, opening for Dead & Divine at The Canadian that August. As It Stands also released two demo EPs in their original late 2000s run, and worked on studio sessions for an unreleased album after their 2010 return, though activity has been very sporadic for the last two years.

This is disappointing to confirm, but not entirely unexpected given how quiet the band has generally been in recent months, despite attempts at a relaunch last fall. A.I.S. grew a ton from their early emo days to become a very popular local band, and their fans returned in full force after the Out Of The Mouth Of Babes experiment concluded. I always enjoyed their hardcore fury, and hopefully the guys stay active in music going forward wherever the road takes them! Best of luck to Justin, Garrett, Albert, Angelo, John, and other former members in the future!

Also today, remember how we profiled defunct local punk band Oceania in our most recent defunct local punk band introduction post? (Yes, we have another one coming soon.) Well, their frontman Lawrence (a.k.a. LaR Noxous) was kind enough to send me some e-mails thanking me for the coverage, and as it turns out, he's still musically active! While he's largely been focusing on work lately, Lawrence has uploaded a number of musical and non-musical videos to his YouTube channel in the past 2 years, many of which are credited under the band name Black Like My Heart, most recently a song named "Julie" 5 months ago. A mixture of audio tracks (like full band versions of older Oceania songs like "Picture, No Sound"), filmed solo performances, and even music videos like "Silent Bells", you can see the fuller sound that is missing from the non-working PureVolume songs that Oceania posted, and you get an alternative punk sound with effective raspy vocals, and enough variance to cover a few genres worth! Check out Lawrence's video for "Vanished" below"!



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

• Local musician Brian Lampe is exploring the possibility of forming band that would cover Tool songs and play originals as well (no word on his instrument role though.) There's a lot of interest already, but if you want in or have any questions, message Brian at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Tuesday!
• The Machine Shop (the live event space at Mill Square, the former St. Mary's Paper location) is now actively looking to book events full time beginning in June of next year. You may remember this venue from hosting Gino Vanelli last fall, among other events, but the building is getting a full restoration before starting a full permanent run as an event host. For more information on The Machine Shop and future bookings, visit this link or SooToday's article on the plans from Wednesday!
• Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's long teased new song "The Killing" can now be streamed at their Reverbnation page! Featuring guest vocals from Italian singer Ida Elena DeRazza, it's more ethereal and intricate than their their heavier instrumental work, but it's well composed, and Ida's vocals add a great ambiance! Check out the full song above!

That's definitely all for today, so stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!