Re:Born's New Singer, New Videos, And Much More Recent News & Updates!!

With Halloween proper fast approaching, here's a new news post for your Monday afternoon delectation, and it includes lots of shorter recent updates, and a new video from a concert this past weekend, but let's lead off with the reveal of a newer local band's new frontwoman!

Local power rock quintet Re:Born have announced the addition of Elly McWatters as their new lead singer, replacing Robert Nevitt. Fans will recognize Elly from her guest backing vocal appearances at Re:Born's last two shows (and once with The Band Camp Rejects), and as it turns out, she's already a close friend of Re:Born and a frequent presence at their jam sessions already. As revealed on their Facebook page yesterday, the band "weren't afraid to be a little experimental" with their singer choice, and by all accounts there, they are very happy with how she's performed so far! We don't have to wait for their next concert to hear Elly in action with Re:Born though, as seven videos from her formal audition were posted to their Facebook page yesterday, so what can you see there? The 7 videos include their version of Kissin Dynamite's "Sex Is War" (which is one of the songs Elly guested on already), plus the originals/421 carryovers "No One Rides For Free" & "Running Away", and four additional covers.

Those other videos are of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town", Diamond Head's "Am I Evil", Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years", and as embedded below, Dio's "Rainbow In The Dark". While the covers overall aren't as fine tuned as they are in concert, Elly's lead singing debut is the focus, and she holds her own nicely here! She had a good range that fits melodic 1980s metal well, and while her stage presence is a little stiff yet, she has a lot of promise, and it'll be very interesting to hear her in a live concert setting! See for yourself above and below, and stay tuned for much more on Re:Born!



Next up, here's a new video from this year's Halloween Party at The Rockstar Bar, specifically Saturday night's second half, and it's of the one-off Tool tribute band playing the second half of "The Pot"! This comes from Live705's Facebook page yesterday (as filmed by co-owner/A Dire Setback bassist Matt Quinn, I believe), and he wasn't afraid to move around the floor and get some close angles of John, Steve, Al, and Anthony in action. Of course, the guys put on a great performance and had Tool's sound down pat on Saturday, so give their set another look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• I have finally added Albert Street West nightclub Room 21 to our active venue links on the SMS, belatedly acknowledging their recent busy schedule. Likewise, I have moved 180 Projects, The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center, and (very reluctantly) The Oddfellows Hall to our inactive venue links, as none have hosted a verified public metal, hard rock, or punk concert in the past year. Hopefully this helps keep things updated there now!
• In a belated clarification on the makeup of the tribute bands at Friday's opening night of "The Howling" at The Rockstar Bar, the H.I.M. tribute (named Poison Girl) comprised of local punk trio Stegadeth alongside ex-Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute was local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, with the previously announced Tiffany/Chris/Adam/Johnny one-off covering The Distillers only. Apologies for any confusion from our preview of that show, coverage of the bands' identities was personal and vague until on the days prior to showtime. Hopefully everyone had a great night!
• Following the success of Soo Blaster's first Indie Music Showcase on October 5th (which featured new indie rockers Man Feelings & solo artist Wes Armstrong), organizer/veteran local drummer Anthony Fabiano is looking for two more original musical acts for the second in this burgeoning concert series, though a date wasn't specified. If you're interested in playing at the second Indie Music Showcase, message Tony at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Thursday!
• The Soo's Got Talent wrapped up at The Tech on Friday, with singer Daniella Brewer being chosen by judges as the inaugural competition's winner, earning $450 for first place. Congratulations to Daniella, she is definitely a talented young artist, and it'll be interesting to see where he goes from here in music! You can see videos of her Sia and Snow Patrol covers from the final round at the above link. No word on where the other acts finished, but organizers have only shared videos of the acts who advanced out of each round. We'll let you know if this event comes back in 2019!
• Former Soundcheck drummer Steven Flint filled in for absent bassist Paul Belair at his old band's Halloween weekend concerts at Reggie's West, as per his personal Facebook page. Different instrument, but Steven knows the band well, and hopefully things went smoothly this past weekend! No word on why Paul missed the shows, but he didn't play at the previous week's Esquire Club gigs either.
• Presumably in conjunction with the ongoing drummer search for his newest band project, former Vol. frontman Steve Edwards is now looking for a bassist, or at least wondering "where all the bassists at", as per the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Wednesday. It'd be great to see Steve finally find some like-minded and similarly aged (i.e. 18-late 20s) musicians for this new project, so if you're a bassist looking to jam, contact him above or at this link!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and noes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!