Id Iota Updates, New Sault Michigan Videos, And Local Band Lineup Notes!!

With this last week of March now upon us, let's dive into some recent news and notes, including some lineup additions and clarifications to take note of, new videos from some Sault Michigan-area artists, and first, the very latest from a talented local band, so here's what you should know!

Let's start with the latest from local alternative hard rock band Id Iota, who have welcomed Dan Linklater as their new bassist, replacing Justin Girardi, as per this new photo on their Facebook page. This reunites Dan with his former Dirty Few/Vertically Impaired bandmate Blair St. John, so there's instant chemistry from that alone, and he should fit in nicely! With that said, there's no word yet on when we'll see Id Iota live in the Soo next, but the band also revealed in the Facebook post with the picture that they'll end their concert hiatus with shows in Barrie, Toronto, and Waterloo next month, presumably as openers for The Pixo Control's upcoming Southern Ontario tour run in the same cities, but neither band has confirmed the joint billing. They're a good match, especially as Dustin Goodall is in both bands, so hopefully the tour goes very smoothly for them! Lastly, the aforementioned Facebook post also confirmed that Id Iota are indeed working on their debut EP, which they hope to finish before the tour run!

After a couple months of secretive and cryptic posts teasing their recent recording sessions, it's great to finally get public confirmation that an EP is in the works from the Free Beer/Habitat Shuffle successors, and they'll be back on stage for the first time since last summer in due course as well! That said, will Id Iota's EP be released before the tour, or just completed? Time will tell, but stay tuned for updates as we hear them!

Next up, here's our first media posting from the reunited Sault Michigan band The Creepy Little Coffee People! Uploaded by frontman Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten to his YouTube channel on Wednesday, this is of the acoustic hard rock quartet's new song "I Know", and it has a hard rock structure despite it's unplugged style. It doesn't sound bad, harbouring a bit of a driving feel as it goes along, but with a lineup of Clownsack, I.S.O.M., Shift, and Retro Troop alumni, how could it be bad? Check out this new Creepy Little Coffee People song below, and stay tuned for more from them!



Next up, here's another solo performance/gear demonstration video from Project 906/ex-Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins' YouTube channel on Friday! In this video, he's comparing two of his guitar pedals to gauge their sound and effectiveness, and is looking for input from fans of his channel. I think I prefer the Lockeness Modster Purple Plexi Clone for it's cleaner tone, but see what you think below, and give Joe's strong playing a look there too!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, all relating to lineup additions and clarifications from Sault Ontario bands! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• Garden of Bedlam's Derek Turner filled in on drums with local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements during their Rockstar Bar set on Friday, reuniting him with ex-Side FX bandmate Rob Speers. Our source is personal Facebook postings from last week, and while there's been no public word on why Alex Hagerman missed the show, he and his fiancee did welcome a baby girl a couple of weeks ago, so that may be related. Congratulations to the happy couple, and hopefully Derek and The Elements delivered a great set on Friday!
• Local classic/alternative rock cover quartet Lucky 13 have added ex-Thin Ice bassist Robin "Bones" Lee to the fold as their new lead guitarist, replacing Jeremey Salatuk, as per bassist Jeff Gray's personal Facebook page this morning. I'm not familiar with Robin as a guitarist (or in a non-country genre), but he should have fit in well this talented veteran band in his debut on Saturday, so stay tuned for Lucky 13's huge next show that we'll be plugging in this weekend's concert previews!
• As a clarification for a recent addition to our band links, we can now confirm that new local punk band Programmed To Fail (formerly The Transjenners) is a two man project from local musicians Craig Kelly & Justin Thorkilson, as confirmed via Justin's personal Facebook page. I'm unsure of complete instrument roles for the guys, and neither are familiar from past local bands, but Craig is apparently their lead singer. Justin's a nice guy, and it's good to put some faces to this band, so look for more from them when announced!

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