LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (415E), New Album Updates, And More!!

Hey guys, let's keep things rolling on this Monday afternoon with a new news post! Today, we're filling things with a new concert video posting, new songs from a fast-approaching new CD, and some recent releases from across the border, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will return to the stage to close 2015 with a New Year's Eve concert at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Thursday, December 31st! As revealed on the band's Facebook page last week (though not yet confirmed online by the venue), this will be the band's first publically announced concert since drummer Tony Hubbard's birthday party event in August, and their first in St. Ignace since April, so if you've missed 415E's Van Halen-influenced blend of hard rocking originals and covers, don't miss their New Year's Eve gig to send the year out with a bang! No word yet on if they're playing the regular weekend gigs too or if another band will get them, we'll let you know if something's confirmed. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for this show, which will have a 21+ age limit, and there is no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and definitely consider 415E's return to the stage at year's end!

Next up, Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton has released two new solo albums to his Bandcamp page in recent months! Keeping with his exceedingly prolific nature, these albums are entitled "The Hitman Files" and "The Walkers: Rise of the Dead", as released in October and December respectively. Each has 12 songs (and fittingly costs $12 online), and each is wrote as if they could be used as a score for a video game or movie, as is the case for certain of his past albums. It should be noted that these are officially considered his 14th and 15th main solo albums, implying that his recent Spotify & Google Play releases like "In The Groove" & "The Island" are not considered to be part of the main series. Depending on your source, Ken's next album will either be titled "Cartoons", "Epic Music", or "Only Us Left Standing", but in any event, look for it (them?) early next year. With The Pixo Control next for our monthly CD reviews, look for a new SweetKenny album review on the site early next year!

As well, SweetKenny has began a subscription service on Bandcamp to get first crack at his new music, extended access to his back catalog, and an exclusive compilation named "Comic Book" that includes one new song ("Myra the Hunter") that is otherwise unavailable publically. It can all be yours for $30 a year, so if you're interested in subscribing, visit the above links! It sounds like Ken's staying very busy, and his prolific yet entertaining blend of hard and classic rock should find an audience as usual, so give all of his new material a listen above!

We'll close today with new videos, including more new studio tracks from The Pixo Control's upcoming debut album "Probably Not", which comes out at their LopLops Lounge CD release parties THIS SATURDAY! Since we last acknowledged "The 12 Days of Pixo", the local alternative hard rock trio have posted six more full studio recordings (tracks 3-8) from the upcoming CD to their YouTube channel in the past week, and in chronological order, they include "This Is Momentary, Forever", "Land of the Moles", "Reasons", "Vicinity", "60" (Extra Chances Called Minutes), and as embedded below, "Tall Ships".  In terms of the performers these tracks, they're largely identical to prior songs, but ex-bassist Steve Edwards is credited for additional fuzz bass on "60", so at least he will be featured somewhat on the final product! If there's a variance on "Vicinity", it's yet to be revealed, as that video has no description.

We'll hold comment on the songs until our full review of "Probably Not", but check out these songs above & below, and stay tuned for the final four "12 Days of Pixo" over the coming days, including the songs "Congratulations On Your Decision To Become A Pilot", "Scratch", "No", and "Potpourri"!

Lastly, here's a new video of local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester live at Rotaryfest a decade or so ago! Filmed during their early run with original singer Richard Fullerton, it was likely shot in 2006 (as it's at nighttime, and That's Chester closed Rotaryfest's Friday lineup that year), but I'm not 100% certain. Uploaded to drummer Ric Datson's YouTube channel earlier today, this is of That's Chester covering Jackyl's "Down On Me", but not with Ric on drums, rather late guitarist Eugene Orlando's daughter Emily! She doesn't do a bad job at all, I wonder if she was involved in any band work locally? The performance is solid overall, with Ritch's rangy vocals an asset for that era of That's Chester, but the lighting is inconsistent, and the backing vocals could be stronger. It's nice to see some vintage That's Chester footage, and Eugene must have been very proud to share the stage with his daughter, so give it a look below!



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