Project 421 & Eclipse Updates, Plus New Videos!!

Surprisingly, we have yet to locate videos from Saturday night's Bret Michaels show as of this writing, so here's a new news post for this late Monday night post! We're mostly focusing on new videos today, but to kick things off, here's some sudden and disappointing updates to touch on.

We'll kick off today's post with some very surprising news, as local classic metal veterans Project 421 and their modern rock sister band Eclipse have both parted ways with singer Curtis McKenzie. In a statement shared to Eclipse's Facebook page, Curt cited "some past incidents, miscommunication, and issues stemming from past shows" for his reasons for leaving, and given the level of conversation around the topic in recent days, all I'll say on the matter is that I hope things are more amicable than online discussion has indicated. As a result, Project 421's show at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday was changed on late notice to an open jam night featuring remaining band members, with an impromptu Heavy Head set and a guest Tym Morrison appearance among the performances that night. While Project 421 had not yet announced any future gigs publically, Eclipse have indicated that "all upcoming show dates" of theirs have been cancelled.

This will knock them out of November 19th's Live 705 show at The Oddfellows Hall and November 25th's 9 Lives & Counting concert at The Rockstar Bar, though we'll let you know when/if replacement bands for those shows are announced. This is extremely disappointing news, especially given Curtis' vocal range and stage presence that definitely added a lot to both bands, but I know we'll see him back on stage at some point, and again, I hope things aren't as bad as have been stated elsewhere! I won't get into the situation otherwise here. Best of luck all around, and we'll keep you posted when we hear more on his, Eclipse's, & Project 421's future plans!

Next up, here's some new studio original tracks from a pair of local bands, starting with the newest single from local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven! After a 7 month+ hiatus from new online updates, the Sense of Truth successors shared the studio version of their song "Cognitive Dissonance" to their YouTube channel this weekend, as recorded at Deluca Sound Productions towards their debut EP, which will apparently be called "Stare At The Sky" (shouldn't it be "Stare At The Skeye", given their name?) The YouTube copy is a full lyric video complete with neat looking cryptic writings, and while I'll hold thoughts until the full EP release, it's an up-tempo track that fans of the band will be right at home with! With that said, we're not embedding that here, as they have a second video, courtesy of a surprise live stream performance that made it to their Facebook page on Saturday night! I wish bands would advertise live streams in advance so people could plan to watch them with some notice, but hey, at least we can watch it late!

The video features Cory Murchison, Ron Baxter, and Alain Fletcher playing "Cognitive Dissonance" live in studio, albeit following an introduction where Cory notes that the band is looking for a drummer, and to get in touch with them if you're interested in trying out (the departed and relocated John Mignacca plays drums on the EP, so his pre-recorded tracks are used for this performance.) Solid quality on this video, complete with nice lighting switches, so definitely give it a look below, contact the band above if you want to drum with them, and hopefully we hear more from them soon!



Also, here's the debut song from new local punk band A Dire Setback, who will make their first live appearance at the aforementioned Live 705 show at The Oddfellows Hall in just under two weeks! Entitled "Wasting Away", the song was recorded in house at Live 705 Productions, indicating that the band is pulling a Six, Two, Oh. by running their own promotion agency and recording studio under the same banner name. Posted to the Live 705 YouTube channel on Monday, the song has a Rise Against vibe to me, and it should appeal to alt-punk fans, especially for fans of members' old bands like A Fall From Innocence, The Fallout, and Stealing Kisses! Give it a listen below!



Finally, here's an overdue new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din! Following a note on their Facebook page referencing future shows to be announced, another new comedic video was posted there on October 24th, entitled "If You Give The Din 25¢". It features frontman Mike Haggith and drummer Brandan Glew debating what candy to buy from the vending machine kiosk at The Wellington Square Mall, with Blind Melon's "No Rain" as backing audio. Though not referencing their music at all, it's a light diversion, though if it was me picking, I'd have went for the sour cherry balls. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from The Din!



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