LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Bear Hunters), Plus New Videos!!

We're back with a new news post for your Monday morning, and it includes some new videos from local artists, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a big upcoming all ages show!

Prolific local metal/punk drummer Johnny Belanger is throwing a birthday bash on Saturday, May 21st in honour of his upcoming 27th birthday, in the form of an ALL AGES concert at The Oddfellows Hall! Entitled "Johnny B's #Litfam Birthday Sheezy", at least 7 bands will take the stage in under two weeks' time for what should be a great time, but who all is playing? Timeslots aren't 100% official, but he official hand-drawn poster credits three of Johnny's active bands as playing on the 21st, including his death metal band The Bear Hunters (in their first public concert appearance of 2016) and his punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, alongside reunited extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, and three local bands making their Oddfellows Hall debuts on the 21st, they being modern hard rockers Eclipse, Johnny's hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head, and new death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora (who aren't on the poster, but Johnny confirmed them on the Facebook event page last week.)

The event page also indicates interest in doom metal trio AlgomA joining the bill too, but they are by no means confirmed at this point. As well, Johnny announced last week that "a band" will be making "a special guest appearance" that "you do not want to miss" that night. I honestly don't have any clue who Johnny is referencing, but what band is it? A reunited band that we haven't seen in recent years? A debuting or one-off supergroup? A surprise out of town headliner? Something completely different? Unless there's an early spoiler, be at The Oddfellows Hall on May 21st to find out! Promoted by Johnny in association with Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton, his Litfam Birthday Sheezy is planned to also feature a barbecue if all goes according to plan, so keep that in mind as well. Also, don't be scared away by the private Facebook event page, Johnny confirmed that is a public show too, and to that end, there will be a $5 admission fee, and as of right now, a 6:00 PM start time.

This is shaping up to be a very fun concert, and quite a bash for Johnny's birthday! He's definitely stacking the deck with familiar faces, Oddfellows newcomers, a triple run of sets from his active bands (sans Caveman Morrison and his acoustic work), and not to mention the teased guest band, but there's more to come out on this show in the next couple of weeks! Stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, here's a video of a new local classic rock band that just played their debut concert last week, as they tackled Aerosmith's classic "Sweet Emotion"! The band in question is Red & The Muscle, featuring ex-Sativa Rose frontwoman Marisa Valois alongside Machines Dream guitarist Keith Conway, his former Blues Harvest bandmate Michael DiSanto, and veteran local rock drummer Cliff Alloy, which is a strong lineup to say the least! This video (from their Water Tower Pub debut last week) was uploaded to Keith's personal Facebook page but later shared by Marisa on her solo music page, and it's well filmed from a close angle, but the song isn't the best showcase of Marisa's strong vocal range, and the filmer was in a location where Keith's guitar overpowers the the other instruments. Nicely done though, so keep an eye out for more from Red & The Muscle if you like classic & blues rock (I hear they cover Led Zeppelin too), and here's their first video!



Finally today, here's a new solo guitar cover video from Sault Ste. Marienative and Lethbridge, Alberta-based metal guitarist Paul Melanson's YouTube channel! His first posting there in four months, this is a loose cover of the solo from Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher", and while Paul admitted that it's not note for note, it's a solid rendition, so give it a look below, and follow his current bands Damage Inc. & Bottoms Up as well!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next, and for more news soon! Thanks everyone!