Rudyard Musicians Festival Videos, Plus More From Sault Ontario!!

Before we kick things off, I wanted to acknowledge that the Sault Music News Letter Facebook page (a blues/classic rock-leaning concert calendar source) advertised a Havadder concert on December 26th at The Rockstar Bar. Neither the band nor venue ever plugged such a show, and I doubt it occurred, but if we somehow missed it, our apologies! Now, this is our 5th post in the last 7 where most content comes from the Sault Michigan area, with videos from a recent concert leading off, but we also have some new clips from this side to round things out! Now, here's what you need to know!

Remember how Rudyard, Michigan hosted a Musicians Festival at the Rudyard Township Park in August? Well, videos from the first annual event went online via their Facebook page last fall, and we only just came across them! Uploaded by an uncredited attendee, the videos (15 total, plus 2 repeated videos) confirm that the visibly well-attended festival was held indoors in a barn-styled building on the park grounds, and the performers even had a smoke machine to work with, which is a nice touch! This show was one of many recent multi-band E.U.P. events that had a lineup full of bands with minimal to zero online pages or media, but most were filmed for the channel, including the likes of Bob & Robert Malaski, Denny Verrett, Jimmy Williams, Hayley Malaska, and Traverse City's Neighbourhood Dogs, though the other videos are uncredited and often hard to discern given the portrait orientation and distance in some. That said, almost all of these videos are of country music covers, with the exception of The Neighbourhood Dogs (experimental), Hayley Malaska (pop), and the two videos below!

One video is our first public video glance at masked local metal band Stoned Ape Evolution, whose video sees them covering Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets". Musically, they sound good, especially on guitar, but the spoken word-heavy vocals don't give me enough of a gauge as to the singer's ability, though he does almost death growl at times. Perhaps the portrait orientation and smoke help continue the mystery about their identity and full sound, and it'll be interesting to see what Stoned Ape Evolution have in store for 2017, as they have promise! Give their video a look below!



The other heavier video from the Rudyard Musicians Festival page is of local hard/blues rock cover quartet Project 906 covering The Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle". Sadly on the same orientation from a further distance, the guys still sound good, and Billy Bernier sounds really good on vocals for this track! There seemed to be some timing issues late though. Check out Project 906's video below, see more of the festival's talented acts above, and click here for details on next month's initial meeting on this year's installment! And yes, the Rudyard Musicians Festival is now in our Sault Michigan festival links!



Also, here's some new Facebook videos from a pair of Sault Ontario bands, starting with a new clip from local hard rockers Skeyes of Seven! Posted to their Facebook page last week, this is of the guys covering "From Can To Can't", a Corey Taylor-sung track from the "Real to Reel" soundtrack of Dave Grohl's documentary Sound City. The video is filmed on a handicam held by frontman Cory Murchison during the performance, which isn't in full, but the band promised a commenting fan that it would be posted in full in the future in some form. Similarly to the band's quiet reveal of new guitarist Kyle Sweet last fall (who wasn't publically confirmed as a new member for months), this video features a drummer in studio that isn't identified by name. I don't know if he's a new band member or not, as guitarist Ron Baxter told me they were still looking for one after this video went online, but if we get any clarification, we'll let you know!

It's great to see a new video of Skeyes of Seven with a live drummer (permanent or not) for the first time since 2014, and with the songs from their yet-released debut EP now available to stream, hopefully a return to the stage will be close at hand too! The guys sound good on the cover too, tight and heavy, though it's a shame the video doesn't run beyond 90 seconds. Give it a look below, and see more from Skeyes of Seven at the above links, and stay tuned for updates!

 
Finally, local thrash/death metal trio Pillory reemerged for the first time in 2 months with three new videos on their Facebook page over the past day or so! Each is of Pillory playing an original song from a recent jam session, including this video where the camera slowly tilts it's position upward mid-song (bassist Jordan Leach fixes it), and this video which focuses on drummer Bret Shuttleworth in action, but it's sadly uploaded sideways. I know the introduction (Jordan drinking Coca Cola Life) needs the portrait orientation, but nothing else does, why not fix the angle? Embedded below is Pillory playing their song "The Passing", though like the first video, the camera angle goes awry again, this time by completely falling onto the floor late, though there's only 35 seconds left in the video anyway. Pillory sound nice and brutal in these videos, even if the camera positions aren't always ideal, so check out their newest death metal onslaughts above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site next week! Thanks everyone!