The Future Of The Canadian Motor Hotel, LSSU's Internet Radio Reboot, And New Videos!!

At last, here's our first proper news post of June 2021, and there's definitely some stuff to talk about here! Half of this post is devoted to Sault Michigan topics, including a local internet radio station's big changes from earlier this year, and some new videos from a prominent local band, but let's start in Sault Ontario for some big updates on the future of a popular local venue!

The Canadian Motor Hotel has been sold to new ownership, and big changes are underway at the property. As per this SooToday article by Darren Taylor yesterday, The Canadian was sold by the Marrelli family in April (following the death of owner Carmen Marrelli in November) to developer Jim Brogno from Realty Executives Castle Alliance. Jim has renamed the hotel to The Canuck, and he has big expansion plans in progress, including new signage, adding a second story of hotel rooms, expanding The Upper Deck Bar & Grill (which may be renamed), a new chef, take-out pizza, and more Molson beer offerings. As for the downstairs Canadian Nightclub, the article heavily implies that Jim isn't planning to maintain it as a separate bar and concert venue, and is quoted there "I’m thinking a gym club would actually be a great fit." Jim hopes to re-open The Canuck in mid-June once this lockdown ends.

If this is the end for The Canadian Nightclub as a concert venue, it's definitely very disappointing, as it was a centrally located spot for mid-sized concerts, sometimes even all ages, and many shows there had a strong level of buzz, most recently the cancelled First Jason show there from last year. Personally, The Canadian was my first 19+ concert venue back in 2008, and it's where I judged a couple of major battles of the bands, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. That said, I understand that if the main difference between the upstairs and downstairs floors is a concert stage, and the pandemic has thrown live music into total disarray, I do understand that turning the nightclub into a gym or something else that can generate revenue short term is a better move financially. Besides, maybe The Upper Deck's expansion would lead to more live music (they did host acoustic acts already.)

In any event, it is great to see that The Canuck still has committed local ownership with a strong plan for the future, and I do wish Jim and the old/new staff the best of luck in growing the property into the 2020s! Of course, if we hear anything there regarding the future of live music on any floor of The Canuck, we will let you know!

Next up, Lake Superior State University's campus internet radio station has had another big overhaul! After five years of operation on the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's Student Radio Network via Backbone Radio, the former WLSO 90.1 FM moved it's internet radio operations over to a brand new station in March, as announced on Instagram. Officially renamed Laker Radio rather than The 46th Parallel (or Superior) Radio, this new station was launched via Live365, and airs a completely different rotation than they had through Backbone, with much more of a focus on a mainstream music variety comparable in range to The Moose FM in Elliot Lake. As I was writing this, The Offspring and Blink-182 songs played in succession, which was a definite surprise, but the rotation is clearly on autoplay right now (albeit with student bumpers) and those songs were bookended by tracks from The Lumineers, Chuck Ragan, The Doors, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

Musically, I did prefer their station on Backbone Radio, which favoured independent & underground music, and had more of a music discovery element, whereas the Live365 rotation is mostly artists I already know & usually don't like. Hearing a couple of punk songs in succession was neat, and maybe LSSU will invest in proper programs again in the fall semester, as they do need something to help the station stand out. They're not on FM anymore, and the competition in internet radio is VAST. At least the Live365 player is more reliable & nicer looking, and it doesn't crash on station identifications, but hear Laker Radio for yourselves at this link or above!

We'll close today by staying in Sault Michigan for a pair of new videos from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel, both as uploaded on Tuesday! Like their preceding "Military Theme Song Medley" video last week, one was made up clearly as a tie-in to Memorial Day (if posted a day late), and it features another cut from their 2012 CD "The Dawn's Early Light" set to suitably patriotic video clips & photos. In this case, it's for "Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier", and the somber yet uplifting imagery is a fitting match as you'd expect! Embedded below is the other video from that day, which is not from any of their released albums, and it features their song "Sword Of Odin". This is supposed to be themed around a fictional story inspired by Viking lore, but the track as uploaded is instrumental. Like their other recent videos, this features assorted clips that match the theme.

In this case, you'll mostly see nature footage, but it also includes a few alluding to vikings and bonfires. "Sword Of Odin" is by no means a traditional "viking metal" song (don't go into it expecting Amon Amarth), but it has an ominous & atmospheric quality that would befit the story it's intended to score. if only there were vocals! Give Theatre of Night's new videos a watch above & below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!