LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Candlebox), The Rad Zone Updates, And New Videos!!

Let's get a new news post up on this cold Friday night, and it includes some new videos, big updates from a fan favourite retail establishment with many ties to the local music community, and leading off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next year! Here's what you should know!

Seattle grunge/alt-rock notables Candlebox will make their local concert debut on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 when they headline at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! One of the biggest alternative hard rock bands of the 1990s thanks to hit songs like "You", "Simple Lessons", "It's Alright", and of course, the Rock 101 staple "Left Behind", their familiar and hard-edged brand of original music should be more than welcomed to the local stage in the spring, so don't miss out on this one if you can help it! Potential opening acts have not been announced at press time. Tickets for this all ages, 8:00 PM concert go on sale on Friday morning at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office, and they will start at $30. If you've ever wanted some big name 1990s grunge or alternative bands to roll through, this is definitely a nice change of pace, so visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, we have some sad, if not entirely unexpected news from a Sault Ontario retail mainstay, as local record (et al) store The Rad Zone and it's attached Hole In The Wall Bookstore will be leaving The Wellington Square Mall at the end of the month, with plans to move to a new location in 2020. If you follow local news media, you may be aware of announced plans to heavily restructure the Trunk Road complex into a modern strip mall (source here), which left the future of the mall's non-Food Basics tenants in doubt. It's not 100% clear whether The Rad Zone is leaving on their own accord or if they weren't part of the mall owners' future plans there. Paul "Monk" Muncaster has owned The Rad Zone (née Radical Records) for 32 years, including the past 17 at this location, but he does plan to move the store elsewhere next year, location and re-opening date to be announced. For what it's worth, their secondary "Rad Zone 2" location at Vintage Games 'N Junque on Queen Street East seems to be unaffected by these developments.

That said, before the big move, The Rad Zone is having a 2 week closeout sale starting tomorrow and running through Friday, November 29th, with most used items running 50% off, new items 40% off, and VHS tapes for 99¢ each, not counting consignment items. Visit the official Facebook event page for full pricing details. This is disappointing news, but hopefully Monk, Mel, Evan, and crew find a great new location next year, as we need a great record, gaming, skateboarding, collectible, and book store here, and they fill that niche exceedingly well, while also being great supporters of local musicians. Best of luck all around, and get down to The Rad Zone while you can!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with the last upload from Christopher Paci's footage from Muddfest at the aforementioned Dreammakers Theater in Sault Michigan on November 1st, namely his clip of opening Kentucky hard rock quartet Tantric playing their song "Down & Out." It's not as well known as "Breakdown", but it's a catchy enough rocker, and it's well filmed like the rest of Chris' Muddfest videos, so give it a look below, and see much more at his YouTube channel!



Finally, here's a brand new original song from local hard rock/metal solo musician Tym Morrison's YouTube channel yesterday, entitled "Street Preacher"! If you know Tym personally at all, you may be aware that he has embraced Christianity in recent months, and while this song does retain his heavy music background, the lyrics definitely have a (positive) religious bent. That said, I can barely hear his singing in this recording, but the music holds up and has a solid chugging riff, plus a quality solo. Give it a listen below, and don't miss Tym at Gliss tomorrow evening!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!