LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63), New Videos, And More Updates!!

Before we get into today's post, I'd like to apologize for a pair of missed concerts this past weekend, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm played their first E.U.P. dates of the year this past Friday & Saturday at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. Despite being announced online on January 4th, they completely slipped us by last week. No excuses, I sincerely apologize for missing them on here, but hopefully Scarkazm had a great weekend, and that they & Peril head back north in short order! Now, today's post features some assorted news, new videos, and first, lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 have announced their 2016 concert schedule for the regional Kewadin Casino branches, and yes, that means all year long! While we wait for an updated multi-band schedule from Kewadin themselves, the Monkey's Uncle successors have confirmed via their Facebook page that they'll be playing at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin and The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin each for one weekend a month (with one exception), so when will we see them? In St. Ignace, we'll see Highway 63 for Friday and/or Saturday nighters on January 15th & 16th, February 12th & 13th, March 11th & 12th, April 8th & 9th, May 27th & 28th, June 24th & 25th, July 29th & 30th, August 26th & 27th, September 23rd & 24th, October 21st & 22nd, and December 2nd & 3rd (there's no November dates listed for St. Ignace.) Meanwhile, when will we see this talented band rocking the Soo in 2016?

Look for them there on January 22nd & 23rd, February 19th & 20th, March 25th & 26th, April 22nd & 23rd, May 13th & 14th, June 3rd & 4th, July 8th & 9th, August 12th & 13th, September 9th & 10th, October 7th & 8th, November 4th & 5th, and Saturday, December 31st only, so keep these dates in mind! Also, Highway 63 will play a few shows at the Kewadin branch in Christmas through February, and they've confirmed that they plan to only playing casino gigs in 2016 due to the positive response those have gotten. Each show has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover, so check the above links for more details!

Next up, here's a new video from Sault Ontario alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control promoting their Sudbury concert on January 22nd, as per their YouTube channel on Saturday, and it's basically an extended version of their earlier Instagram video plugging the gig. It basically involves various attempts to plug the show in various comic tones and moods, often with the guys breaking down into laughter. Even if you can't make their first show in Sudbury, it's an entertaining watch, so give it a look below!



Also, here's the latest solo performance videos from ex-Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins' YouTube channel, both uploaded last month (apologies for the delay!) One of the videos is of the Sault Michigan standout playing a funk rock instrumental with all of his pedals on at once, which gives an interesting effect, but embedded below is a longer performance clip of Joe demonstrating his Mooer Pure Octave pedal, which gives the effect of his guitar sounding like a keyboard or organ when he plays it. Entertaining videos, especially if you're into guitar gear, so check out Joe's latest YouTube uploads above & below!



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

• Six months after it was first announced, the split disc from local doom metal trio AlgomA and Saskatchewan doom metal outfit Chronobot finally has some more information! As per this link, the split will apparently come out exclusively as a 12'' vinyl record (rendering it an EP or split single in length), it'll have new tracks from both bands, and it'll come out via AlgomA's label Dead Beat Media. Nice to finally hear more about it, so stay tuned for more details on it and AlgomA's other announced split with Hooded Menace when everything comes in!
• Local hard rock quartet Long Shot have apparently completed mastering their debut EP, as per their Facebook page yesterday! Though they had recorded some studio demos last year, this is largely a complete surprise, as they hadn't publically acknowledged recording an album beforehand (unless it was done in concert only.) We'll keep you posted when more comes out from Long Shot!
• Garden of Bedlam frontman Erik "Buzz" Boissineau is moving to Guelph soon for a career opportunity, and as a result, his general rock cover band Changing Lanes will be going on hiatus after their February 6th concert at The Water Tower Pub. What this development means for Garden of Bedlam's status isn't public yet, but note that the prominent metal quartet have only played one public concert in the past 2 years, and haven't issued a public update since July. We'll let you know if Garden of Bedlam announce anything, but best of luck to Buzz in Guelph!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news & notes in the coming week! Thanks everyone!