LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Exes For Eyes) And Lots Of VM Radio Battle Of The Bands Updates!!

Before we get to the meat of today's post, we have a clarification regarding announced concerts for Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 that Kewadin Casino's entertainment page were advertising for this weekend at the Soo branch. According to their Facebook page yesterday, there was "some mix up with the contracts", and their planned gigs have been rescheduled to a later date, though they have yet to confirm when. At least they were honest and told everyone beforehand, and don't miss them in St. Ignace next month! Now, today's post features plenty of updates to an upcoming battle of the bands, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Toronto/Montreal groove metal quartet Exes For Eyes will make their local concert debut on Friday, March 13th when they headline at The Canadian Nightclub! Fronted by Endast singer "Big" James Arsenian, some readers may be familiar with his other band from their recent "platinum project", where they have been aiming to sell one million copies of their new album "Tongues Like Figure Eights" for $1, in order to go platinum. I like Exes For Eyes' ambition, and they have a crushing sound that Endast fans and newcomers alike should enjoy, so keep this show in mind for March! Local support for this show (the first of their "Tours Like Figure Eights" Canadian tour that month) will include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first show of the year, and their hard hitting originals and covers should do the trick as usual on March 13th! Two more local opening bands are to be confirmed, but message promoters on the Facebook event page for more info on that front. Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce (whose birthday will kick off at midnight late in the show), this is an ALL AGES concert and fully licensed, and as a result, there will be an earlier start time of 7:00 PM, so under-19 fans can come on out!

Admission will be $10, but it's not clear yet whether there will be advance ticket sales. For more information, visit the above links! This should be a solid concert for metal fans, so stay tuned for more on it as more info comes in!

Next up, here's the latest on the battle of the bands on each Wednesday in March at the aforementioned Canadian Nightclub, which now has it's official title and poster! The VM Radio Battle of the Bands (as presented by Tidal Records) is supported by all of the great sponsors depicted on the poster on your left, which was designed by Chronic Demonic guitarist Kevin Powe (and solidly done as always!) Regarding band registrations, the deadline for bands who already reserved a spot has been extended to Monday morning, and they can pick up their forms at The Rad Zone before then! Remaining forms will be released to any and all interested bands after that. Promoter J.D. Pearce revealed a list of bands who had reserved a form on the Facebook event page, and it includes two bands not previously confirmed publically, so who else has a tentatively reserved slot for the battle in March?

The new confirmations are local post punk quartet Gnaeus (pictured) and progressive/indie rockers Mannapool, both of whom would be making their local battle of the bands debuts. Both are intriguing additions, but of course, we await full confirmation of all 12 bands once they submit their full registration forms. They join The Apocalypse Afterparty, The Danger Cats, Haggith, Honest Job, Late Shift, Project 421, The Revolution, and Them among pre-registered bands, though at last word, Project 421 & The Revolution have paid their registration fees and recieved their forms. Remember, whether you're among the above bands or plan to sign up after Monday morning, the entry fee is $100, which you'll get back in full if you sell the ticket packages that your band recieves with your registration forms, so don't let the amount scare you!

As for the prizes, here's a further breakdown of what to expect for winning & placing bands (and beyond) come the finals on March 25th! While not all publically confirmed yet, the first place band will win $1,000, a trophy, an in-studio live performance at VM Radio, and a guaranteed high profile opening slot at one of J.D.'s upcoming concerts. Among the individual awards (similar to those from 2012's Humane Society Battle), the best guitarist & bassist will win packages to be detailed from Case's Music, the best drummer will win a prize from Maxx Graphix, and the best singer will win a new microphone from Right Hook Mics and other merchandise, while the most energetic band will still get cases of Bomb Energy Drinks and t-shirts for each member. There are more prizes to be announced, so stay tuned for more on that front!

Remember, this battle takes place on March 4th, 11th, and 18th, with four projected bands competing each night, and each week's winner (plus the top scoring runner-up) will advance to the finals on March 25th! This is ALL AGES, tickets will cost $15 for the full event ($5 a night for the three semifinals & $10 for the finals if you can't commit for the full month), and each night's bands will kick off at 8:00 PM. Stay tuned for more updates on this huge battle of the bands in the coming weeks, and get all current public information at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates and news soon, plus this month's new poll on Sunday! Thanks everyone!