Jack Spades & Destroilet's Kickstarter Campaign, The Return Of Skeyes Of Seven, And More!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to acknowledge that the obituary for late Case's Music founder, country musician, and beloved music instructor Mike Case is now online at this link, which confirms that a celebration of life will be held at The Delta Waterfront Hotel on Friday at 7:00 PM, following a private family funeral, and the family's asking for Cancer Society contribitions in lieu of flowers. I know how important Mike was to the local music scene, and it's a shame that he was taken from us at just 55 years old, but his legacy will live on in everyone he taught, befriended, and performed with over the years. R.I.P. Mike!

Now, today's post features a band's return and new lineup, how a local band did at a recent out-of-town event, and three inactive bands to note for our listings, but first, here's big news on two local bands' next project!

The announced three-way split album between local metal/punk quintets Destroilet & Jack Spades and Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz is now beginning production, but YOU can help ensure it's released! Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce has launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the album, which will be a 15 track release with 5 songs from each band. J.D. cited that they've "decided to distill" the feeling of all three bands' playing "some of the most intense sweaty shows you could imagine" into this split, while the campaign is also intended to help Jack Spades (and Destroilet?) take a road trip to open for The Ripcordz in Montreal for a change. Like with most Kickstarter campaigns, there are incentives if you pledge to donate money to fund the album (they're looking to get $6,000 in two months), so what lies ahead if you pledge money to this cause?

At the $2 minimum, you'll get credited in the album booklet, but for more money, you could get the split on CD, mp3, vinyl, or cassette(?!) copies, as well as a VIP pass to the release concert when announced, stickers, a t-shirt or back patch, or if you're really ambitious and have $2,000+ to donate, a concert at your house or the album named after you! If you want to help fund this split, click here for full details on each incentive level and to get more details, and hopefully we can reach the optimum goal by June 13th!

Next up, we have a surprise lineup addition for the fifth annual Swampstravaganza at The Canadian Nightclub on May 9th, as local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven were added to the lineup earlier today as the tenth band on the bill! As revealed on their Facebook page and the Swampfest event page, the band featuring Sense of Truth & Half Past alumni will be making just their third concert appearance since their 2012 debut, and their first live set in over two years, so this is way too long coming! This will also be their first show on a bill without Garden of Bedlam, their first since Alain Fletcher moved from guitar to bass to replace the departed Mike Mannarino, and in a surprise, their first since their recent drummer change, as the band has added former As It Stands drummer John Mignacca to their lineup, replacing Jonny Amendola.

A reason wasn't announced for Jonny's departure, but hopefully things were amicable, and best of luck to him in the future for sure, as he's very talented! John's addition is surprising, especially given his recent focus on solo techno material, but it's been way too long since his last show with As It Stands, and hopefully he adds well to Skeyes of Seven! The new lineup is featured in this new Facebook video as well, where John suggests an amusing intro move, frontman Cory Murchison formally welcomes him to the band, and he hypes their set on May 9th and new material. It's great to have Skeyes of Seven back finally, so see more above and below!

Also today, were you wondering about local participation in this past Saturday's Rock 'N Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish? Oddly, promoters never revealed the full band lineup online, but we can now confirm via personal Facebook postings that local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements were among the competitors, marking their first appearance at this event! They also were joined by guitarist Jesse Cook's Jack Spades bandmate Johnny Belanger on guest drums, as Alex Hagerman couldn't make the trip east for the battle. However, they did not place in the top 3, and unlike past years, the 4th & 5th place bands weren't announced among the winning bands to join the Rock 'N Roar Festival lineup in August. For reference, the winning bands included Sudbury rock quintets Conflicted Minds & Forget The Circus in 1st and 2nd place, and they'll open for Platinum Blonde & Sass Jordan in Spanish on Saturday, August 15th.

Blind River rock band Drive placed third, and they'll open for 54-40 and Saga on night #1 on August 14th. We have no official word yet on the identities of the other bands, but Elliott Lake photographer Paul Kazulak was on hand getting photos of the competitors, so visit his Facebook page to see if he posts pictures of any more familiar acts! It's disappointing to see The Elements not make the podium, but hopefully they made lots of fans in Spanish on Saturday, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally for today, here's three shorter news items, all related to bands being moved to our inactive band links, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• We have moved local hard rock quartet Ashes To Dust to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, having not posted any online updates since briefly being listed for the 2014 Swampstravaganza last spring. Best known from that event in 2012 and from various Superior Heights sets, A.T.D. had talent and a growing presence, but hopefully we hear more from Noah, Alex, Liam, David, and Kyle in the future!
• We've also moved local "derd rock" outfit The Issues to our inactive band links, as they haven't updated their Facebook page since March of last year. Active from 2008-2010 before reuniting in 2013, this amusing metal project featuring Winkstinger and Pillory alumni had a lot of promise and entertainment value, and it's a shame that they never played a real concert that I've heard. Best of luck to Chris, Vinyl, Bret, Robert, and other former members going forward!
• Lastly, we've moved local/London deathcore quartet Saints & Serpents to our inactive band links, as they haven't updated their Facebook page since February. The successors to the defunct Valentine's Day Massacre, Saints & Serpents played just one announced concert in London in December 2013 before activity quietly stopped. It's disappointing to see that Saints & Serpents never reached The V.D.M.'s heights, but best of luck to Steve, Andrew, Adam, and Ian in the future!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!