LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Soundcheck), Jack Spades Updates, A New Band, And More!!

I wasn't expecting to have two posts today, but alas, SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from two local hard rock cover bands came to my attention this afternoon, so I got this post ready to make sure I didn't miss anything! It also includes some surprising lineup news from a local band and  surprise additions to an upcoming concert, so read on below for what you should know, and check out another late notice show announcement and more news in the post below this one!

Local 1980s-themed hard rock cover trio Soundcheck (formerly Nameus) will return to The Rednecks Saloon TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for their second concert weekend of the year and with their new name! Severe apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their Facebook event page about an hour ago, and Soundcheck still don't have an online page to plug upcoming concerts. A month removed from their 2017-opening gigs at The Rockstar Bar, this will be Soundcheck's first weekend at the former Nicolet Tavern since their New Year's Eve party there as Nameus. Travis, Terry, and Steven have proven to be a reliably entertaining band since their debut in the fall, so if you're up for some old school hard rock classics (and/or missed Mourning Wood or The Jukebox Junkies lately), don't miss out on Soundcheck's Rednecks gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Expect 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits to be in effect, as usual.

Again, I sincerely apologize for the very late notice, we'd have plugged these shows earlier had Soundcheck announced them earlier! Check the above links for more details, and hopefully they post some videos or an online page at some point to help preview them with!

Next up, Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will make their first ever appearances at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the extremely short notice, the band only announced the shows via their Facebook event page this afternoon, though yes, Kewadin Casino's entertainment pages  finally list 2017 dates at the Soo and St. Ignace branch lounges (we'll touch on those in an upcoming post.) A few weeks removed from their Soo Kewadin debuts, the Ten Kings successors should be in fine form for another weekend of hard rocking covers, and as for their future planned Kewadin gigs, they'll be back at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on March 31st, April 1st, and on May 19th & 20th (they have no listed St. Ignace dates otherwise yet.) All six of these shows, including TONIGHT'S & TOMORROW'S, have no announced cover charges, 9:00 PM start times, and 21+ age limits.

For more details, visit the above links! I profusely apologize again for the short notice, we'd have plugged the shows earlier had Project 906 mentioned them before this afternoon, and/or had we known about the Kewadin schedule posting sooner, but don't miss a fun weekend of blues and hard rock renditions in St. Ignace TONIGHT & TOMORROW, and then in the Soo this spring! Here's Project 906 live!

Also, here's some surprising news from Sault Ontario punk/metal band Jack Spades, as they have reportedly parted ways with guitarist Jesse Cook and drummer Johnny Belanger. The news was confirmed in a personal Facebook conversation with Johnny today, and while I won't go into details on the circumstances, note that the band proper has not acknowledged their departures publically at press time (nor have they posted on their Facebook page in over a month.) Johnny had drummed for Jack Spades since replacing T.J. Case in mid-2013, while Jesse joined on lead guitar that same fall, with the pair factoring prominently in concerts through September's SNFU show, as well as both of their CDs. This is disappointing news to be sure, as Jesse & Johnny are very talented with solid chemistry, and added a lot to Jack Spades, but hopefully J.D. & Justin bounce back in 2017, and when will see Jesse & Johnny back together in a new band project?

Well, how does February 18th at LopLops Lounge sound? We already reported that newer local funk/hard rock improv quintet Gianni Gagoots will headline there in two weeks, but in recent days, the band and Facebook event page have confirmed that they will have two opening bands for their headlining & LopLops debut. One is new alt-rock quartet Bizotic in their own LopLops debut and second live concert total, who are themselves a very fitting choice. Where else will you see a band with a trumpet and keytar opening for one with conga drums? As for Jesse & Johnny's new band, they are called Handsome Sandwich (how's that for a name?), which will see them playing alongside Jesse's Elements bandmate James White on bass. No online pages or public media yet, but I can confirm that Johnny is the band's singer and drummer (a'la Stiffler's Mom or Sykotyk Rampage), some material will be similar to that of his mid-2010s solo concert sets, and they plan to add originals increasingly into their setlists.

No word on if this is the culmination of earlier teasers that he'd be fronting a local punk band or a completely separate project, but it will be very interesting to hear how Handsome Sandwich sound! If nothing else, don't expect this to be like Jack Spades or The Elements, this is it's own animal... er, sandwich. Check the above links for more on Handsome Sandwich and this quickly expanded concert, and stay tuned for more overall news and updates on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!