LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hair Scare Live), New Videos, And Music City SSM Updates!!

Let's tackle some more recent news and notes as we begin winding down the month of October, and we're roughly splitting things between the twin Saults today. Here, we have some new videos from acts on both sides of the border, updates on ambitious music plans in Sault Ontario, and leading off, a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for you 101.3 FM listeners on Saturday nights!

Former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for a special headlining concert on Saturday, February 22nd! Fans last saw Tom on a local stage when he and Cinderella rocked this venue in April 2011, and while Cinderella proper disbanded in 2017, he has a full solo band now and new original material with them, so look for new songs and his old classics like  "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" & "Nobody's Fool" early next year! Support will include Maryland glam/hard rock quintet Kix in their apparent local debut, who will bring a repertoire of classic songs like "Don't Close Your Eyes" & "Girl Money" to the table in February, so genre fans should be right at home with their set! Los Angeles hair metal veterans Faster Pussycat will round out the bill on this night, and with songs like "House of Pain" and "Nonstop To Nowhere", they should set the tone very well in four months' time!

Notably, this concert is branded as "Hair Scare Live", after the popular Saturday night hair/glam metal show on Rock 101, who first announced this concert this past weekend, and have the exclusive pre-sale ticket code on air. Very cool for Scott and company to get the show's name on a concert very much up their alley! This all ages, 8:00 PM show has tickets going on sale on Halloween at 10:00 AM, with general tickets starting at just $25, and you can get yours then at this link, the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. You couldn't ask for a more Hair Scary show than this, so rock the winter blues away at this one, and visit the above links for full details!

Next up, let's continue playing catch-up with local classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook video postings that we missed covering on the SMS this year, now focusing on their Facebook group! Generally, this is where keyboardist Craig Harrison shares videos originally posted on his personal Facebook page, rather than brand new exclusive content. On April 28th, Craig shared this video featuring their original (and non-seasonal) instrumental named "The Drowning", which first went on Reverbnation back in 2017. Described as "a somber anthem of beauty & sadness", this has a delicate ethereal sound that suits their classical ties well, and Steve's guitar work is really solid, so fans should give it a listen if they haven't already! On June 9th, Craig shared a video of singer Rachel Mender beautifully covering Evanescence's "Hello" in studio, and it's got very strong emotion to it, possibly inspired by her then two month-old son Grey's major health battle (click here for information.)

Best of luck to Rachel & Ryan at this difficult time, no parent should have go through something like this! We'll wrap for now on a happier note, namely this video Craig shared from August 20th of Rachel tracking vocals in studio for Theatre of Night's version of "O Holy Night", complete with another shot of the monitor as things get recorded. Short by excellently done as usual, it's nice to hear an isolated vocal track recording (which isn't common for heavier bands to show off around there), so give that video a look below!

 

Moving back to Sault Ontario, remember how local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty ran a private venue named Mellow D's Underground that hosted a handful of concerts in early-mid 2017? Well, it returned in a new (private) location on Friday at a Halloween party that the Soo's Got Talent third place finishers headlined! The band never acknowledged the show (entitled "The Spooktacular Soiree") publically until yesterday via their Facebook page. The A.A. shared the stage on Friday with hip hop acts, including Killabeatz, Kodex, ex-As It Stands frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent, and Conika, who filmed this video of Paul, Alice, and Amanda covering Lorde's "Tennis Courts." Lighting is what it is given the location, and the video only runs for 63 seconds, but it's a lively and intense rendition as you might expect, and this seems like a fun way to bring Mellow D's back after a 2+ year hiatus! Give this video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally, remember the discussion of "Music City Sault Ste. Marie" and an event with music industry professionals (including Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori) at The Water Tower Inn two weeks ago? Well, here's what we know about that, though you can get more technical details via the SooToday articles linked here & here. In a nutshell, representatives from numerous municipal and arts organizations have came together to help build up Sault Ste. Marie & it's music industry to become a true "music city" and a full destination for tourism, jobs, city development, and artistic growth therein. London was cited as an inspiration, based on the economic activity, publicity, and tourism there following their hosting the Juno Awards in March, with the Soo hosting the Junos cited as a potential goal. The involved groups and sponsors hosted the "Mastering of a Music City" event on October 17th, outlining their vision and what we could take from London's example, followed by a networking session.

I'm all for bolstering the Soo's music community, it'd be a huge boost for local recognition and tourism if done right, and we have loads of musical talent here, past and present! This is a tricky market in some respects given how Sault Michigan largely controls local radio, and as such, Canadian acts often don't have the same visibility. Maybe that could be addressed via Music City SSM? The Junos is a lofty goal, especially as they haven't been held in a venue as small as the Gardens since 1994, but it sure would be cool to have them here. Visit the above links for much more on these plans, and stay tuned for more news on the site this week! Thanks everyone!