Detroit Reunion Concert Preview, Strange Coyotes Updates, And Much More!!

Firstly, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert on the site, as there was a fundraising concert at The Rockstar Bar this past Friday for the Algoma Residential Community Hospice (ARCH) that featured local hard/alternative rockers Late Shift alongside a reunion of the country rock quartet The Road Rockets and new(?) local bands named GDH and Free Sample (any info on them?) We only first heard about this show on Friday via Rockstar Bar Facebook posts, but we didn't have enough items for a rushed second post, so we plugged it on our Facebook page to at least get the word out. Had we heard about it in advance, we'd have absolutely plugged it (especially given ARCH's contributions to this city), so our sincere apologies for not being able to get it on the site!

With that said, let's transition to today's news post, featuring a preview for a special mid-week concert taking place on Tuesday, a recent departure from a local band, new material from another, and more assorted notes, so here's what you need to know!

A very special concert goes down on TUESDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub, where local/Toronto hardcore punk quartet Detroit will reunite for the first time in almost 5 years! The popular band featuring Lion Ride alumni Brenton Ellis, Mark Rand, and Mikey Hawdon (plus Brent's ex-Maximum RNR bandmate Curtis Faux) will all return home for their first local date since December 2009 for a night full of songs from their two CDs, and whether you've missed Detroit or are new to the party, get ready to let the hammers fly as their intense, short, and attitude-fueled sounds return for one night only! Local support will come via local hardcore punk veteran Destroilet (who opened for Detroit in 2009) in their long awaited first show as a sextet, with the aforementioned Brent Ellis joining Mike Hull on co-lead vocals, so how will the expanded lineup do? Find out on Tuesday! The other support bands include local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back (in their first public Sault Ontario gig since the summer) and local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in a rare concert opening set), so be there early to see them as well!

Promoted by Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, this show has an early door opening time of 8:00 PM with Jack Spades advertised to open the show, this is a 19+ event, and there is a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! The Christmas season usually sees at least one band reunions or homecoming each year, and seeing Detroit back is a pleasant surprise for sure, so brace for impact on Tuesday night, and I wish I could be there! (I'll be in Detroit, the city, for most of next week.) Do not miss this show, as who knows when/if Detroit will be back, and here are the guys live in Toronto in early 2009!

Next up, we have some surprising news regarding a recently reunited local funk metal band, as The Strange Coyotes have sadly parted ways with singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore. The news was revealed on the band's Facebook page on Friday, but aside from saying that his departure was "voluntary", a reason for his exit wasn't publicized. The Strange Coyotes had only just reunited less than two months ago following a surprise reunion to back up bassist James Watterworth's solo set at the Oddfellows Hall on Devil's Night, but would only play two more gigs (a Blood Shed house party and Sault Band-O-Rama) before Friday's announcement. No word as of yet what will happen to the live album that the guys recorded at Band-O-Rama, but hopefully it doesn't get thrown out. The Strange Coyotes plan to replace Chase on guitar and continue on as a band, but will be changing their name in the coming weeks, likely to Delusionair, which is part of James' "Delusionair Lionhair" alias that he sometimes uses for solo gigs.

If Delusionair is their new name, it may be to emphasize an increased role for James as the band's sole frontman, but keep in mind that Chase used the singular "Strange Coyote" name briefly before their first breakup, so he may have been the creator of the name. It is disappointing to see Chase leave the band, as he's a unique talent and very skilled guitarist, but hopefully he stays active with This Is Your Band On Drugs, The North Shore, and his solo work! Stay tuned for updates on The Strange Coyotes' new name and lineup when everything comes in!

Also today, here's the latest from local goregrind duo Rotopsy, specifically their three songs on the upcoming Blood Shed Productions 11-way split demo! Uploaded to their new Bandcamp page in recent days, their featured songs will be studio versions of their recent live tracks "Mold Induced Hypersensitivity", "Swamp Donkey", and their newest song "Cops 'N Moms", which as you may remember, had a memorable and well received debut at the aforementioned Sault Band-O-Rama last month, and largely features clean vocals rather than growling. Aside from an effect-laden opening for "Swamp Donkey", the songs are largely similar to their live versions, but do show more maturity and more of a closeness to their live versions! "Cops 'N Moms" is also the only one of the new songs that's made it's way to the Blood Shed YouTube channel, so give it a listen below, and hear more of their lively and improving studio sound above!



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

• Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters have officially launched a Bandcamp page to sell their debut CD "Eternal Hibernation" in digital copies with! They'll be $7 there (or more if you choose), but physical copies can still be bought locally for $10 (and no, the "Collapse The Sun" single isn't on Bandcamp, at least not yet.) Pick up "Eternal Hibernation" in your preferred format A.S.A.P., and stay tuned for our review of it by year's end!
• Local independent record label Tidal Records have been announced as a presenting sponsor of the battle of the bands at The Canadian Nightclub throughout March, though the extent of their involvement and contributions are to be revealed. Tidal Records have been making a strong name for themselves since forming last year, and hopefully their work with the battle will ensure it's an even bigger & better event! Our source is changes to the Facebook event page linked above on Thursday, and apply A.S.A.P. to get your band signed up to compete!
• In some confirmations regarding performers at last night's X-Mess acoustic show at The Algonquin Pub, funk/hard rockers The Elements were absent bassist James White (but featured an unidentified guest mandolin player), Ms. Tillers featured both Kate Drew AND Jamie Van Schooneveld from The Danger Cats, and Sleigher were basically a seasonal reprise of Johnny Belanger & Jesse Cook's past joint solo appearances. Hopefully the show went awesome! Our sources are James' & promoter J.D. Pearce's personal Facebook pages yesterday.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!