LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Tym Morrison), Plus A New Addition To Our Band Links!!

Here's a new news post on this Saturday afternoon, devoted to two topics: SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS as we ease back into live concerts post-lockdown (again), and a long belated addition to our Sault Ontario band links! Here's what you should know!

We have a new-ish band to add to our active local band links, and they are relaunched "shield rock" duo Swampgut! Not to be confused with the defunct Sault Michigan metal band Swampghas, this is the studio project led by former Rising Tide/Gianni Gagoots drummer Frank McCormick and collaborator Rob MacDonald that you may recognize from their initial active run from circa 2011-2015. I will admit, I didn't include Swampgut in our primary coverage in their first run because their music didn't seem to skew towards hard rock, but in listening to their material on Rob's YouTube channel once again, there's enough of a variance there where I probably should have covered them actively then. My belated apologies, so let's make up for lost time! Listed as being from Batchewana Bay, Swampgut describe themselves as blending "many styles including rock, psychedelic, and funk music."

Swampgut don't have a dedicated Facebook page, but Frank has promoted their relaunch on his visual arts page since December. Nine songs (some long, many themed after the Soo region) can be heard on Rob's YouTube channel linked above, while three "jam room sessions" can be heard on their new Bandcamp page, which were uploaded as "albums" with a "name your price" payment option, though given the strong hint Frank made on his Facebook page with this image containing apparent album track listings, there may be more up their sleeves than on a quick glance. Note that the second session featured guest performers "Kev & Boyd" (no last names, but you can infer likely candidates from there.) This may fit in with Frank's post in December hinting that "this time, the Others will be summoned", so are "the Others" guest musicians? Time will tell, but Swampgut are somewhat cagey online with who does what on their songs (I can't find any public mention of instrument roles.)

The music on offer so far from Swampgut has a very varied spread of hard rock and trippier, eclectic elements that can be hard to sum up succintly, but if you liked Frank's work with Gianni Gagoots, or took to old local bands like Sykotyk Rampage, you should find solid entertainment value here. Strong performances, if having somewhat lo-fi recording methods, and I'd be curious to see what Swampgut have in store for their revival! Check out their 10 minutes-long original "As Old As These Hills" below!

Next up, here's some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and now that we're out of the Ontario lockdown, Sault Ontario's first hard rock gig of 2021 will see veteran local guitarist Tym Morrison return to Reggie's Place TOMORROW as their first Sunday matinee performer since re-opening! Apologies for the short notice, this concert was only announced via it's Facebook event page on Monday. After his Motley Market series ended last fall, Tym made his first modern-era appearances at the newly re-opened downtown Reggie's in December with two shows in four days right before the lockdown, including another Sunday matinee. It's great to see Tym back at one of the few concert venues willing to host local music during this screwy time, albeit with obvious social distancing measures in effect, so go check out his hard & classic rock, and covers TOMORROW!

This is a 3:00 PM event with no cover charge and a likely 19+ age limit, but wear your mask and be mindful of Reggie's capacity limits and social distancing measures to keep you and them safe. For what it's worth, I don't expect that this is the start of a weekly engagement for Tym at Reggie's, as their Sunday matinee has always had a rotation of acts, but we'll let you know when Tym does return. See above for more details, and here he is live!

Lastly, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished (minus Nathan) will do an encore of last week's matinee gigs at Crooked Music on Ashmun Street with special weekday matinee performances there on MONDAY & WEDNESDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced on their Facebook page on Wednesday, and only in one sentence of that post. Those same days this week saw Alex & Josh bring back their Biggby-era acoustic show to the downtown music store, and they appear to have went well to get re-booked this coming MONDAY & WEDNESDAY, so look for more hard rocking hits from two members of Tarnished then! Like this week, these are 12:30 PM matinees with no age limits or cover charges, but please respect Crooked Music's social distancing measures. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from this past Wednesday!

Posted to their Facebook page that night, this is of Alex & Josh covering The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", albeit in black & white, and only 44 seconds of the first verse and chorus. Solidly done acoustic version while it lasts, and Alex hits the right vocal notes throughout, so give it a look below, and see much more in colour on MONDAY & WEDNESDAY!

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