We have a new-ish band to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, and they are Bad Chug, a hard rock trio that originally launched back in... May 2016?! As best as I can tell, I missed out on this band upon their initial launch because they were originally based out of Ottawa, but since returning just last month, they have permanently moved back home, so we're not that out of the loop. Bad Chug were originally active in mid-late 2016, and they were surprisingly busy during that time, including playing a handful of live dates, posting eleven videos on their YouTube channel (including live concert & jam session clips), and even releasing their original "Primal" on Bandcamp, though that song (album?) has since been taken down. Over three years after falling inactive, Bad Chug resurfaced locally last month with plenty of new studio material teasers, plus revealing that they will be the second local openers for the Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster (more on that in a bit.)
Lineup-wise, Bad Chug features singer/guitarist Aaron Desmoulin and drummer Matt D'Ettore, neither of whom I'm familiar with from prior local bands. While in Ottawa, their bassist and co-vocalist was Kyle Dubé, who is not visibly part of Bad Chug 2.0, and they have yet to announce who has replaced him. Self-described as playing "old school hard rock", the best place to start checking Bad Chug out with is the video embedded below, featuring their 20 minute set at a June 2016 private house party concert in Ottawa. In order, the guys played their eponymous song, "Should Never Be", "Rockin' Hard Place", "Primal", and a cover of Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" with guest guitarist Kevin Hallarn. It's hard to say yet how Matt & Aaron have grown as musicians in the past three years, but from the material on offer, they had a strong hard rock base with a carefree attitude, and there is some real songwriting ability on display!Much like Late & Loud, an achilles heel with Bad Chug is the vocals, as (at least in 2016) Aaron's singing didn't project too far, and Kyle overdid the aggression a bit, but we have yet to hear Bad Chug in 2020 to compare. For what it's worth, band biographies say that Matt sings too. I like where Bad Chug are going so far, and check out much more above & below!
As noted above, Bad Chug were quietly named as the final opening band for the Buckcherry concert in Sault Ontario, which would be a huge platform for their local concert debut, but that'll have to wait 26 weeks, as promoters have postponed the show from Wednesday, May 13th to Wednesday, November 11th due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Very unfortunate, but given that the news isn't getting better in the near future, it was the safest move. Yes, already bought tickets will be accepted for the new date, but you can also get refunds at point of purchase, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details. While we're on the subject, the last two hard rock concert holdouts over the April 10th weekend have also been cancelled, namely the Sandman concert at The Canadian on the 10th (as per the band's Facebook page) and the Just Heart concert at The Rockstar Bar on the 11th, as per it's Facebook event page. Of course, if you bought tickets and want a refund in the short term, contact the venues online for details, especially as promoters have not indicated that they were postponed.The last domino standing on the April hard rock/punk concert calendar is the First Jason show at The Canadian on April 26th, which has not (yet) been cancelled as of this writing, but stay tuned for updates on it's status, increasingly negative it may be. With concerts in May starting to be affected, the big ones to watch in May include Mike Haggith's CD release party and shows from touring headliners The Anti-Queens, Numbing, and Peril. As of this writing, all are still scheduled for their original dates, but we will keep you posted if anything changes for these and other May concerts.
Let's end today's post on a happy note, namely a new original song from local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! Though his regular concerts at Gliss & elsewhere are on pause due to the coronavirus-related restaurant & nightclub closures, Tym has kept busy writing new music, like this song named "Down With The Devil". While very reflective of his increased observance of Christianity, this is still a heavy track with a solid guitar solo and in-your-face impact (Stryper, this ain't!) However, starting with the chorus is a little surprising, and the processing on the vocals there is overdone to me. Give Tym's new song a listen below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
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