Monday, February 22, 2016

Speak Easy Battle Of The Bands Lineup Reveal, Plus New Videos!!

Before we get into the meat of this post, let's frame it with a newly confirmed band for next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian, as new hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head are the fifth confirmed band for next month, as per the official Facebook event page! With a lineup full of 1st and 2nd place battle finishers with bands like The Suicide Kings, The Bear Hunters, Winkstinger, and Haggith, can they find similar successes next month so soon after their debut? I say that now because they're also confirmed for another big event next month, which leads off this post, along with some new videos, so here's what you should know!

The full performer lineup for the second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands has been announced via the official Facebook event page, so who all is playing on Thursday, March 10th? Joining the previously confirmed modern hard rock band Eclipse are the same three acts that were confirmed last fall for the original date, so alternative hard rock trio The Din, returning thrash metal band Pillory, and indie solo musician Jesse Merineau are all still in! They will be joined by punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, the aforementioned Heavy Head (fresh off of their debut show this Friday), indie/electronic rock project Aldous, and former Coverfly bassist Bryan Brown in a rare solo set. Of note, this will be the battle of the bands (and Speak Easy) debut for Aldous, Bryan Brown, Jack Spades, and Pillory, unless any of them are joining The Din, Eclipse, & Heavy Head at next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, of which this battle takes place in the midst of.

The Din and Jesse Merineau are the only returning bands from last year, and with none of last year's top 3 in the field next month, this is a wide open contest! It may be surprising to note that this is Jack Spades' first battle of the bands appearance (and first announced concert since October), but members have ample battle experience with bands like The Bear Hunters & T-Rex Manning, and frontman J.D. Pearce has promoted or played at all but one local battle of the bands since 2012. This will also be Pillory's first concert since their 2014 breakup, and their first with new bassist Jordan Leach, but how will they sound come March 10th? As for Bryan Brown, I'm unfamiliar with his solo music, but he played for Coverfly for three years before departing that veteran cover band earlier this year. He's got the skills, but how will he handle the solo spotlight, and what exactly does he play in that regard? Find out on March 10th at Algoma University's campus bar!

Also, three Heavy Head members are pulling double duty on March 10th (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger with Jack Spades, and Daniel Horton with Eclipse), but will those bands snag multiple podium slots? $400, $200, $100 prizes await the 1st-3rd place bands, who each have 15 minute sets to impress the fans (no judges, it's a fan voted event again), and for attendees, admission is $5, it starts at 8:00 PM, and it's 19+ for all but Algoma students with student ID cards. This hould be another entertaining battle, so for more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more on both of next month's battles of the bands!

We'll close today with new videos, including the latest YouTube upload from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night! Keyboardist Craig Harrison posted this on his YouTube channel yesterday, and it's of him playing his part of a new original song called "I Guess This Is Goodbye". Though obviously still in the works, Craig lays down a solid and pretty sounding keyboard track here, and it should accent the full metal song well when complete! Give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's a pair of new solo drumming videos from Bad Back's Nathan Sauve, as uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday! His first uploads there in about six months, these are "post-music" performances, with him taking on the handle "DJ Nato" on one, and the songs themselves are called "Haunted Head" and, as embedded below, "Spew on the Motorway". A bit of a diversion from his usual solo performances, Nathan drums here to electronic-influenced music that feels a bit trance-like at times, but his drumming is as sound as ever, so give them a look above & below, and hopefully we hear more from Bad Back soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

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