Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Tantrym Tyme

Now is a good time to post this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly spotlight of a local metal, hard rock, or punk band (or two) that is not an active project at present, but deserves a look back for current readers! This month's randomly selected band comes from across the river in Sault Michigan, and was one of the most prominent young hard rock bands there in the early-mid 2010s, so here's what you should know on them!
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Tantrym Tyme

Genre: Hard Rock/Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics.)

Jacob Hotlen (Unleashed), vocals/guitar
Mike East (The MC Experience), bass/occasional guitar
Ethan Twardy (Meant To Last), drums 

Kyle Burton (OmegaRock), guitar 
Quinton Jacobson, guitar/bass
Michael McLeod, guitar

Audio/Video: Videos from Tantrym Tyme's run (under any name) aren't as plentiful as they used to be, partially due to the deletion of all videos from Jacob's YouTube channel, but there are still a fair amount of clips to check out! Their Facebook page has 5 sporadically posted clips from shows between 2012 and 2016,  and a few YouTube uploads exist from a couple of different sources, like like two early official channels under older names (here and here), and a pair of more recent videos from Christopher Paci's channel, with covers of everyone from Pantera to A Perfect Circle to Rise Against. Songwriting sessions and an album were also teased in 2015, but original Tantrym Tyme content hasn't surfaced online. Here's Tantrym Tyme covering Alter Bridge at The Savoy Bar in 2015!



Info/Analysis: Publically launching in 2010 via the former Guitar Studio summer rock camp, this group immediately gained recognition by their ages alone, each being around 10 or 11 years old at the time! Soon changing their name from Aux to Abstract, they made waves with a set at that year's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, and would become regular performers at community events, festivals, battles of the bands, talent shows, school functions, and sporting events around the E.U.P., and even at some nightclubs, plus a long association with Harmony Health Foods. After a brief name change to Tantrum in early 2012, they settled on Tantrym Tyme later that same year, coinciding with their first guitarist replacement. Online coverage of their shows was often on little or no notice, but concerts continued through at least August 2016's Downtown Days festivities in Sault Michigan. Tantrym Tyme quietly dissolved by 2017, with frontman Jacob Hotlen moving out of state that same year.

Arguably surviving longer together than any of the young hard rock bands that came out of the Guitar Studio, Tantrym Tyme improved with age from promise-laded kids to well rounded teenagers, and their musical evolution as they got older and more experienced is worth exploring! Jacob's vocal range and tone was a good sign of that, and he always had solid chemistry with Mike, Ethan, and their rotating second guitarist. I wish they'd promoted their shows with more advance notice online, but Tantrym Tyme were a young highlight in the E.U.P. in the early-mid 2010s, and hopefully everyone stays active in music in some form or another!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series returns to Sault Ontario next month for another randomly selected profile, and next month's selection is (assuming they don't return from hiatus in the coming weeks) inactive local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage! That should be an interesting profile, so look for it on or around July 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!