LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fort Creek) & New Videos!!

Fort the first time in 10 days, we have a proper news post on the SMS, rather than a monthly feature! News and updates of a normal sense remain painfully slow, but we finally have enough to gather a traditional post together on this Monday night, including a bunch of new videos and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Here's what you should know!

Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek will end the year with a bang when they return to Reggie's Place for one night only on Thursday, December 31st for their New Year's Eve party! While their Reggie's West show on November 28th was advertised on their Facebook page as their "last live gig of 2020", they quickly reversed course after the downtown Reggie's management asked them to play their New Year's event, so fans will have one more chance to see the guys' hard rocking covers in action! Given the seasonal timing, there will be $20 tickets on sale at Reggie's on Queen Street East, and while I can't confirm how much holiday accoutrements will be on hand for the occasion (especially given the pandemic), you can expect a limited capacity, face mask requirements, and social distancing recommendations to still be in effect. As usual, this is a 19+ event, and a 9:00 PM start time would make sense. See above and this promotional Facebook video for more information on this concert!

Next up, here's some brief new updates from... As It Stands?! The fondly remembered 2005-2014 hardcore quintet surprisingly resumed posting on their Facebook page late last month, via three 15 second teaser videos which feature live concert footage of theirs synced up with audio tracks from their unreleased studio album recording sessions. On-screen text mentions "The Lost Tapes" and "Holidays 2020", which strongly hint that they are releasing original studio material of theirs in some form this month. In case you need a refresher, As It Stands released two EPs in the mid-2000s (both now out of print and exceedingly hard to find), but after their 2010 relaunch, they recorded new original songs at three different locations from 2010-2011 (Stereo Soul Studios locally, and at studios in Stoney Creek and Mississauga.) None of those three sessions led to a paid CD release, but select songs and/or clips exist from all three sessions.

The songs recorded at the Mississauga sessions at Metalworks were posted on Soundcloud, but regarding these new "Lost Tapes", will they be from one of the three sessions in particular? All three? Songs recorded elsewhere entirely? Could the early EPs factor in at all? Will "The Lost Tapes" be a free posting, or put on sale somewhere? And is this a posthumous project, or are A.I.S. returning in some form? Time will tell, but if they do come out on schedule, these could be a nice Christmas present for fans! In the meantime, give all three teaser videos a look here, here, and below!

Also today, let's get through some of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished's recent Facebook video postings! On November 27th, the guys shared a third "After Hours" video where frontman Alex Traynor shows off his covers of "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Stairway To Heaven" to a mixed reception from his bandmates. Amusing while it lasts, but those quick transitions between shots haven't improved the second time around! The next day, the guys shared a TikTok video of Alex and bassist Josh Fair acoustically covering Quiet Riot's "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)", and while it ends very abruptly mid-chorus, remember that TikTok videos are short by design. The stickers on top don't add anything, but it's a fun rendition while it lasts! Finally for this post, Tarnished posted this video called "A Very Tarnished Practice" on Facebook on November 29th, which is basically a mini-mockumentary

Basically, it's about the guys attempting to hold a jam session, but Alex is late and acting somewhat bigger than his britches, much to his bandmates' annoyance, but as far as Alex knows, everyone's happy and on the same page. Amusing clip that is bolstered by the testimonials that the guys give to the camera, so give it a watch below, see more above, and stay tuned for more from Tarnished's recent video output soon!

Finally, here's a new video from local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906's Facebook page! Uploaded on Saturday in their first posting there in almost five months, this is a vocal/acoustic guitar cover of Chris Stapleton's "Broken Halos" by frontman Billy Bernier, who promises to share more solo videos like this in the coming weeks in a series called "Songs From The Bedroom." Billy did confirm that the band is still together and working on new music, which is encouraging, and hopefully 2021 is a better year for them and everyone! I'm not a country guy, but this is a well done rendition, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Billy and/or Project 906 when it rolls in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes when enough is ready for a post, and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile hopefully on Thursday! Thanks everyone!