Livestreamed Facebook Performance Videos From Local Artists & More Updates!!

Let's keep this string of new SMS posts going with one mostly devoted to a run of recent live performances that you may have seen pop up on Facebook in the past few days, but to round things out, I do have a handful of recent news and updates. Here's what you should know!

Some readers may recall seeing Facebook advertisements for an event called Coronafest that took place yesterday, which was basically a social distance-friendly "concert" featuring live-streamed Facebook videos of performances by an assortment of mostly Ontario-based musicians. This was actually the brainchild of ex-Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan, who currently lives in Sudbury and performs there as a solo artist. Brian, his wife Krista, and his former Renegades bandmate Jason Wysynski (with a DJ set) were among the array of Coronafest performers, and though most do not have obvious local hard rock/punk ties, there's a lot of quality talent to see there! The best known local name here is former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison, who contributed a half hour-ish set yesterday at 6:30 PM, with help from his fiancee Shelby Kerns and some nice stage lighting to spruce up the at-home setting.

The first video (embedded below) features Cory playing original songs named "Breaking Free", "Enjoy the Ride", "Ashes Fall", "Wasting Away", "Take The Heat", and the tenatively-named "Believe", which cuts out mid-song due to his phone suddenly disconnecting. He finished "Believe" in the second video (uploaded from Shelby's phone), before closing with "Rule the World" and a viewing angle flip. Cory's vocal & guitar work here was solid as ever, and this array of newer originals sound ready for a true live concert stage! Strongly done with good humour in peculiar circumstances, so give his and other Coronafest performers' videos a look above & below!

Next up, this was not all for live-streamed Facebook performances from familiar faces lately, as local punk trio Redundant had their own "concert" of sorts on their Facebook page on Friday! Prefaced by this short video where frontman Justin Langlois plugs their upcoming jam at 7:20 PM that day (fans had 22 minutes notice to tune in), we were soon treated to a half hour video featuring Justin, Andrew, and Rick in their headquarters, so what's on offer here? After 3 minutes of setup, Redundant tackled Nirvana's "Molly's Lips", their original song "That December", a brand new cover of Katrina & The Waves "Walking on Sunshine" (seriously), more covers of Weezer's "El Scorcho" (sans "No Scrubs" interlude), Rise Against's "Swing Life Away", Operation Ivy's "Knowledge", and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and their own standby "What Will You Do". The audio quality is very rough, and the vertical camera angle is unfortunate, but it's nice seeing Redundant back at it!

Of course, Redundant were supposed to be preparing for their Toronto road trip this coming weekend for the Bout Music Festival competition, obviously cancelled due to the coronavirus, but at least local fans can see this video! That said, I am surprised that they only played two original songs despite having three more on their debut EP, but in spite of their recent break, the guys' chemistry is undeniable, and everyone kept their social distance for the set! Give Redundant's own livestream set a look below!

Also in the realm of recent live-streamed videos from familiar local bands, acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns recorded one of their own last night for their Facebook page, albeit not part of the Coronafest lineup. This 34+ minute video features singer Christina Speers and her husband/guitarist Rob in a rare duo appearance, with no sign of Jesse Cook (it's not clear whether that's due to social distancing or not.) According to Christina at the start, The Stallyns were planning to play an actual concert in an actual venue this weekend to celebrate Rob's birthday on Tuesday, but COVID-19 had other plans, so this home-shot video is a substitute, complete with a few fan-requested songs. In order, the Speers' can be seen covering Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved", Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss" & "Wishlist", Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You", Madonna's "Material Girl", Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Radiohead's "Creep", and Dorothy's "Shelter".

The first three songs and the Green Day cover have Rob on sole lead vocals, while the rest have Christina taking the lead or in a full-on duet. This is the most casual and laid back of today's three live-streamed videos embedded on the site, but the audio quality holds up, and the covers are well done, even the ones that were clearly not established in their set, like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." This coronavirus stuff has thrown so much out of whack locally, but this will help tide Wyld Stallyns fans over in the interim, so give it a look below, and hopefully we hear more from them in the near future!



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 event name:

• On February 8th, local guitarist Michael McCormick posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group looking to join a rock band. He has 5 years of experience, and while he's influenced by The Eagles, Guns N' Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Motley Crue, he's open to playing anything. This may not be the best time to jam and rehearse with new musicians in the social distancing era, but if you want more details, message Michael at this link or above!
• Local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters announced on their Facebook page on March 5th that "we're back" and that a show announcement was "coming soon." Alas, "soon" may be delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19, but this is still a notable announcement because this theoretically means that they are planning to play their first non-benefit or Halloween concert this year, and aren't just a seasonal band. Fingers crossed that we see Jules and company out there soon!
• The Steel City Nerdcon at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on April 26th has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, as per promoters Steel City Events' Facebook page yesterday, which is disappointing but not unexpected news. This is relevant to the SMS because Steel City Events is co-promoting that night's First Jason concert at The Canadian, and frontman Ari Lehman (the first Jason Voorhees) was going to be the featured guest at Nerdcon. As of this writing, the First Jason show has not been publically cancelled, but things aren't looking great for it. We'll keep you posted!

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