Rad Zone Anniversary Bash Fallout, Destroilet's Newest Member, And More!!

Here's our first all-news, no-previews/profiles post on the site in almost a week! Along with some assorted recent updates and new song uploads, we're leading off with the first fallout from this past weekend's concert that celebrated a great store's big anniversary, so here's what you should know!

We'll kick things off today with some long awaited fallout from Saturday night's Ripcordz-headlined Rad Zone anniversary party at The Rockstar Bar, including a new article and photo album from SooToday's Donna Hopper! Entitled "Some punk for Monk", the article (which went up on Wednesday) features a recap of the night's entertainment (though with no mention of DJ Seith's opening set, oddly enough), but mostly focuses on Rad Zone owner Paul "Monk" Muncaster, which reflects on his 30 years owning The Rad Zone and it's predecessors. The article does feature comments from Paul himself, including confirmation that he wants to retire from running the shop in around 10 years, saying that he wants to "sit & enjoy life with a fishing rod", and that he knows someone will pick up where he left off then. That will be a sad day when it comes, but make the most of his music and vinyl knowledge where you can, as he's been doing awesome work in this town for decades for the music & skate scenes (and beyond!)

Yes, Local2 video cameras were rolling too for a Tuned episode, but as of this writing, it's not online yet. We'll keep you posted when it's up! As for Donna's photos, which are all in black and white, she got 23 shots on Saturday, including 10 of The Ripcordz, 6 of Jack Spades, 4 of Destroilet (though none of DJ Seith), while Paul is the focus of three, one featuring the Rad Zone's birthday cake. Great shots as usual, so be sure to check them out above!

Next up, here's the big Destroilet lineup news that was publically revealed at the Ripcordz concert this past Saturday, as the band has added veteran local musician Brenton Ellis (a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther) to their lineup as a co-lead singer, who will share vocal duties with Mike Hull going forward. Brent is well known locally as a singer and/or bassist from bands like Lion Ride, Detroit, and Tha Bombed Squad, and for out of town bands like The Labour Of..., The Sexual Vigilantes, and most recently Maximum RNR, who Brent parted ways with last month prior to moving back to the Soo. It's not clear yet whether Brent will sing alongside Mike during shows or will trade off for certain songs/verses, but he will debut with the band at the Rebel Spell concert at The Moose Lodge on Thursday. This is an intriguing surprise for the now six-piece Destroilet, and I just hope it's not considered a demotion on Mike's part. It's great to have Brent back in the area, and we'll have to see how things sound next week, so keep an eye out!

Also today, here's the first completed song from Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's next announced studio solo album "The Warinside"! Entitled "September", this was posted on his solo YouTube channel yesterday, and it's an instrumental track that's "of particular significance" to him, but is not similar to the rest of the album, which will be heavier, though with something for everyone (source here.) Recorded at Galactic Records in Windsor, Mike's hoping to have this album complete by early next year. I'll hold comment for now as a review of this album is likely, but give this short interlude a listen!



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

• Though technically not a metal or hard rock note, Staind frontman Aaron Lewis will return to our area on November 22nd for a solo country concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino. Fans may remember Staind's well received headlining gig here in April 2009, and while this tour is definitely focused on solo songs like "Country Boy", he is known to cover Staind songs in this setting too. For more details, click here!
• New local punk/grunge duo The Red & Black posted two new songs onto their Bandcamp page on Tuesday, along with a higher quality version of "The Army Song". The new tracks are "Put Up or Shut Up" and a yet-untitled song, and while the former is reminiscent of frontman Chris Shoust's Telephone & Address work, the latter is an experimental drum/piano piece that Spider Fingerz fans should like! Check everything out above!
• This is admittedly late, as the show took place yesterday, but local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver were added on short notice to yesterday's Northern Horde concert in Toronto alongside fellow local bands AlgomA, Bad Back, The Apocalypse Afterparty, and Crucify The Whore, plus non-locals Fox (replacing Ghost Daze.) Sounds like a very solid concert, hopefully everyone made a huge splash! Our source is the Facebook event page.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll on the site TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!