LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (April Wine & Beaver Slap), The Gutter Demons Concert Preview, And More!!

Alright, this will indeed be our final news post of April 2017! I was preparing to hold out until Monday, but we have two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a preview for a show on Monday as it is, so I thought I'd get these on the site now, plus some solo material from a prominent area frontman. Now, here's what you need to know!

Halifax hard rock legends April Wine and former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford will rock Kewadin Casino on Saturday, June 24th, but not the Sault Michigan branch, instead playing an outdoor event on the back lawn of The Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace! I have never heard of a hard rock show of this scale at the St. Ignace Kewadin, let alone outdoors (Kiss' 2007 show was in the Soo), but Kewadin's Facebook page notes that this is the kick-off to their summer concert series, so keep that in mind whether it's solely at this new outdoor stage or scattered throughout their casinos. Very intriguing regardless! This will be April Wine's first local concert stop since headlining at The Dreammaker's Theater four years ago, and with hits like "You Could Have Been A Lady" & "You Won't Dance With Me" dating back to the 1970s, you know they'll have a lot to draw from for their (at least) third regional concert! They also played in Sault Ontario in 1985.

As for Lita Ford, she became a very prominent sight in the late 1980s with solo hits like "Close My Eyes Forever" & "Kiss Me Deadly", and it'll be really cool to see her in our area in June, so keep her set in mind as well! I know my uncle will be very interested. Presumably all ages and at 7:00 PM, this concert's tickets will go on sale on Friday online, at the in-person Kewadin box office, and at 1-800-KEWADIN, though prices have not been announced as of press time. Check the above links for more details on this intriguing April Wine & Lita Ford show, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, another new concert is official for the very same day in Saul Ontario, as all-female Barrie hardcore punk quartet Beaver Slap will make their local concert debut on Saturday, June 24th at The Algonquin Pub! These girls definitely have the hardcore punk style down, with their noisy crust-influenced originals sure to make a mark on local fans in June, and they should gain a lot of new fans when they rock the 'Gonq, so definitely check them out in advance! Local openers will include the Algonquin Pub debut of local doom trio AlgomA, returning to the stage following their recent European tour, while local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will play a rare show from an outside promoter when they hit the stage for the second time with their new lineup. Solid choices, so don't be late for the local opening sets! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. in their own Algonquin Pub debut, this 19+ show has a $7 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the Facebook event page for details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also today, let's get our preview of a special concert THIS MONDAY NIGHT rolling on the SMS, as Montreal psychobilly/punk trio The Gutter Demons will rock The New American Pub in two days' time! Note that the show was relocated last week from The Algonquin Pub for unannounced reasons, as per promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page, so keep the move to The New A in mind! Local fans have been waiting too long for a psychobilly headlining act on a local stage, and The Gutter Demons' punk-influenced and road-tested blend of styles should satiate genre fans when they rock the Soo on Monday! Local opening acts will include the second live concert appearance from new local punk/alternative trio Handsome Sandwich, as well as the 2017 debut of funk/hard rock favourites The Elements, with both bands notably featuring Jesse Cook & James White in their lineups. Both bands should provide a quality soundtrack to kick off the night, so don't miss out!

Notably the first promoted concert by J.D. Pearce of the year (and his first in six months), this show has a $10 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time. This should be a fun concert for fans of punk, funk, and psychobilly music, and there's a little bit of everything to enjoy with these three groups on Monday night, so visit the above links for more details, and here's The Gutter Demons live!

Finally, here's a new solo cover of Puddle of Mudd's "Drift & Die" from Banned frontman Alex Traynor! While we haven't heard from the Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock cover trio in a couple of weeks, Alex is staying busy in the interim with solo material of his own, even launching his own solo Facebook page to promote his own material, and in case you're worried, he confirmed there that he is still in Banned. Honestly, given how Alex has been the sole focus of Banned's Facebook imagery since 2014, you could say that these are de facto Banned recordings, but this recent solo material is branded separately under Alex's name. Said uploads include an original song named "Crazy World" on his Soundcloud page, and two shares of solo cover videos from his personal Facebook page, including "Drift & Die" and a rendition of Santana's "Smooth", both as filmed by Eric Cairns at Third Cinema Productions. So, how do Alex's new solo recordings sound overall?

Not bad, he has a solid grasp of the covers, with "Drift & Die" a good vocal match, and "Smooth" allows him to showcase his guitar skill! As for "Crazy World", it's an upbeat hard rocker, and it'll be interesting to see how far his solo work goes! In terms of adding Alex's solo project to our band links, I am waiting for more material to see if it's hard rock based, as I know some prior solo work of his diverged from our covered genres. Check out "Drift & Die" below, and stay tuned for more from Alex & Banned!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Apocalypse Afterparty CD review next! Thanks everyone!