Before we get into this post, I just wanted to apologize for missing a pair of concert weekends earlier this month, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck returned to Reggie's West on Korah Road for concerts on Friday, September 10th & Saturday, September 11th, before returning to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for concerts on Friday, September 17th & Saturday, September 18th. The band only plugged both of these concert weekends via Facebook event pages created on each of those Fridays, so I had very little room to hear about them to cover on the SMS (the one for the September 10th weekend shows went up less than 4 hours prior). Reggie's Place's Facebook page advertised them on just as slim notice, but Reggie's West haven't posted on theirs since July. Also, the Reggie's weekend was complicated by me being out of town for my mother's very-delayed funeral.
It's possible that the Reggie's Place gigs on the 17th were last minute by design so the venue could get one more concert weekend in the books before the vaccine passports rollout last week, but that is speculation on my part, and the downtown Reggie's is still hosting live music (more on them in a bit). I profusely apologize for missing covering both of Soundcheck's concert weekends on the site this month, but the late notice and my mom's funeral didn't help at all. I'd absolutely have covered both had I knew about them before the Fridays, and I will try and do better to stay on top of their next shows, late notice or not! No offense was intended whatsoever!
Now, today's post otherwise looks at a new video, some recent shorter updates, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a few day's notice, as local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison
will return to the aforementioned Reggie's Place for a matinee concert on SUNDAY!
Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via it's Facebook event page
on Monday, but still enough time for word to hit my desk. This will be his first advertised concert since his last
Mike Case Memorial Stage show of the season two weeks ago, but he last
rocked the downtown Reggie's in mid-August. Tym's skilled blend of classic and hard rock covers should prove to be a winning combo for fans and regulars alike on SUNDAY, so don't miss out! Expect a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an early 3:00 PM start time, as usual for such gigs.
As per provincial health guidelines, you must show a vaccine passport upon entry at Reggie's on SUNDAY, so don't forget yours if you plan on coming out, and of course, mask up, follow the venue's social distancing guidelines, and use common sense to ensure everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, here's a new music video from St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's YouTube channel, as premiered there this past Friday! It's for a new song (presumably from their forthcoming full length album) named "Thing 1", which doesn't appear to be a reference to The Cat In The Hat. The video primarily features the guys playing the song in studio and very casually, but there are interspersed clips of Brandon screaming the chorus into a handicam (even letting his hair down late), guitars by a window, the guys tracking material in a very fancy looking studio, and even spray-painting drums outside. I'll hold comment on the song proper until the album's release, but there are soft and heavy aspects to enjoy, and lyrics are in the description if you want to sing along. Give Heavy Lies The Crown's newest video a watch below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Defunct Sault Ontario power pop/hard rock trio The Din announced on their Facebook page last week that their deluxe edition re-release of their 2017 debut album "Give In To The Din" will come out on October 23rd! Digital and CD copies will be available, plus a streaming reissue, but they are open to printing it in other formats if there's demand. No word yet on what the nine bonus tracks will entail, but watch for updates on the album over the next three weeks, and might this be our next CD review?
This is old news now, but reunited local alternative/punk quintet Handsome Sandwich had briefly announced plans to play a concert at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s tap room this past Saturday, but they announced on September 15th that it was cancelled due to a double booking error, before we even had the chance to plug it on here. The double booking was via a magic show that night by Ryan McFarling, as per the brewery's Facebook page. Hopefully we see Handsome Sandwich on stage again soon!
On August 24th, local musician Zackery Inch-Kritsch posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group to look for a drummer for the new band he's working on. Preferably, the drummer would have their own kit, be between 18 & 25 years of age, and be able to practice on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm unsure what they play, but in case this band would fit into the SMS' coverage, and if they haven't found someone yet, message Zackery at this link or above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next month! Thanks everyone!
We're almost caught up on recapping episodes of Metal Morpheus on local internet radio station The Borderline, so let's look at what host Josh Amendola played on air earlier this month! Today, we'll just focus on episode #11 from Sunday, September 12th, and in a possible sign that Josh is running out of metal subgenres that he personally likes, that episode focused on punk rock, and given the typically short song lengths that the genre calls for, this one crams in a lot more songs than normal, so hopefully my time codes are reasonably accurate! After the intro and Josh's explanation of how punk began and how it connects thematically to metal, he opens with pioneering proto-punk/garage legends The Stooges with their song "T.V. Eye" (0:45), before moving on to The Dead Kennedys with "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now" (7:15). Both bands get lots of welcomed biographical details, but Josh is pretty hard to hear over the latter song's introduction.
We move into faster territory next via British punk icons Discharge's "Protest & Survive" (12:50), via which Josh offers some brief commentary about vaccine passport protests (I'm not getting into that here), before playing the Bad Brains' song "Pay to Cum!" (16:15), which is sub-2 minutes, so don't bogart the fast forward control. After a bit more of a mainstream turn with The Clash's iconic hit "London Calling" (18:50), we get to this episode's local talent way earlier than usual, but rather than go with the plentiful amounts of established local punk bands from the 1990s onward, Josh instead went with The Roll-Ons via a live recording from a show they played at the former New Ontario Hotel (later Studio 10) in 1978. The Roll-Ons are way before my time, but they are a logical pick given the age of most of the bands played in this episode, not to mention that their drummer is Mike "Sev Micron" Severin!
Of course, Mike hosts Sev's Cellar on The Borderline where he interviews local musicians, but he also works in technical support & audio engineering with the station. Josh noted that Sev was joined here by singer Paul Cooper, guitarist George Pavelich (did he mean Ravlich?) and bassist Steve Stinson, while Josh even credits some of the names who helped make this concert and recording happen, I don't believe these songs circulated online freely, but two Roll-Ons songs are played here, including a cover of Vince Taylor & The Playboys' "Brand New Cadillac" (23:05) & the original "1984" (26:40), and while I lean more to skate & hardcore punk, these songs are lively, melodic, and well performed, with perfectly respectable audio quality for a 40+ year old live recording! It'd be interesting to see and hear more from The Roll-Ons at some point. The second half of the episode begins with The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" (29:30), complete with more backstory info on their career and this song's surprise inspiration.
The episode next moves into early 1980s punk legends Minor Threat's very short self-titled song (33:25), followed by Montreal punk band S.C.U.M.'s song "Double Cross" (36:00), which is not on Spotify. Staying in Canada, we next get a trifecta of domestic punk bands who have all headlined in Sault Ste. Marie in the past decade, including the also-Spotify-devoid Bunchofuckingoofs' "In Dog We Trust" (40:20), The Dayglo Abortions' "Wake Up America" (43:40), and Random Killing's "Terrorist Attack" (46:50). Surprisingly, Josh doesn't mention that their frontman Andrew Kiteley is a Saultite, let alone their Rockstar Bar gigs in the 2010s! Next up is Death (not the Chuck Schuldiner-fronted death metal band, the 1960s proto-punk group), whose song here is "Politicians In My Eyes" (48:15). The home stretch features Crass' "Do They Owe Us A Living" (54:30) & GG Allin's "Louden Boomer" (58:00).
Of course, Josh dropped some back story details on GG Allin, who lived quite a life (that's an understatement), and credit to Josh for describing his high points without sensationalizing the obvious! Between the extra bands, added biography info for most of them, and a nice look into The Roll-Ons, there was more to cover here than recently usual, but Josh gave some good appreciation to classic punk in this episode, so genre fans new and old will want to hear it at this link or above! We'll have another recap post soon as Josh moves to non-genre topics for episodes #12 & #13, but listen to episode #14 live on Sunday at 9:00 PM, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow on the site! Thanks everyone!
"Blend" was self-produced with assistance from Joey Spennino, but it was recorded at the long lamented Satellite Sound Studios with Bob McLeod engineering the project. Copies are obviously long out print (this tape was released independently 27 years ago), but I did post it to our YouTube channel if you want to hear all 7 songs in one video. Admittedly, my audio capture setup was having issues (only one stereo track was recording at a time, with one always running 3 seconds fast no matter what I did), so I had more work to do in Audacity to re-combine the tracks and reduce tape hiss. I didn't hear any obvious issues with the final product, but I apologize if something sounds off, and remember, this is an indie cassette tape. Of course, no copyright infringement is intended, all credit goes to the members of Blend for their hard work! With seven tracks running for about 23 minutes in length, let's begin this review with the opening song!
Side A opens with the tape's shortest song, the self-titled "Blend", which has an up tempo punk base with grungier melodic vocals that would likely have pleased fans of both genres at the time! Chris' drumming comes through well in the recording, and the guys seem to have good chemistry, but it almost feels too short, like they left out a verse and shortened the bridge. Solid hybrid sound to kick the tape off, and it isn't too dated to 1994 either! Next is "Relieve", which is a longer and slower number whose guitar riff is giving me serious "Grace, Too" vibes, though I doubt that's intentional. Dave uses his vocals well at a lower, smooth register on this song, almost giving the lyrics a dream-like quality, and it's an oddly relaxing yet dark song with solid bass throughout. I prefer the opener, but this song does show some early diversity from Blend that is good to see!
Third up is "Nobody", which opens right away with a distinctive drum beat and a more reserved, mid-tempo sound that makes good use of harmonized vocals from the guys, which thankfully ramp up in the choruses, as the song kinda meanders at it's initial pace throughout, almost like white noise. The music finally diverts after the second chorus when Dave lays into a short guitar solo, but if it wasn't for the chorus vocals and the drumming, this song wouldn't have much going for it for me. The last song on Side A is also the longest song on offer, namely "Joanna", which is heavier and more melodic musically, but contrasts with repetitive lyrics where Joanna's name is recited way too much, let alone at a scratchier register (I believe this is Frank's first appearance as the solo lead vocalist on this album).
In spite of a bouncy bridge and a brief drum showcase by Chris, this song relies too heavily on saying Joanna's name quietly, but the music itself is lively and gets Blend back on track in that regard! Side B kicks off with "Home", a fun grunge rocker that reminds me of a more cheerful Nirvana, if that makes any sense. Frank appears to be singing lead on this song too, and this is a stronger, livelier use of his voice that calls to mind his later Toronto band work (in spirit, if not in genre). Both sides start strongly and help straddle the punk line in an important year for that genre's rebirth! The penultimate song on "Blend" is "Why You", which sees Dave return to lead vocals on a number that feels very Collective Soul-esque, thusly making use of his deeper register to good effect on the otherwise quiet verses. The choruses, on the other hand, are way too repetitive, just reciting the chorus over and over.
The bridge after the second chorus, however, is fast paced and energetic from all accounts, and I'm sure that could entice a live mosh pit while it lasts! I mean the last part, as the song just ends with a fade-out afterwards, which felt way too sudden, and it couldn't have been to save space on the tape, as Side B only has 3 songs! Well done track while it lasted, but "Why You" felt incomplete. The tape ends with "Bother", and like with "Relieve", I have a major Tragically Hip vibe here, this time reminding me of "Blow At High Dough" instrumentally. Chris' faster drumming and Frank's raspy vocals take us down a different path. More of a mid-tempo rocker, it's solid enough to end the album with, especially with the trippy guitar effects in the fade-out, but for me, Blend were at their best on faster and heavier numbers.
So, what are my final thoughts on Blend's self-titled cassette tape? Overall, it's a fun release that showcases good diversity for a band of their age in an important year for music, but there was growth to be had. I don't know if Blend put out any more albums, but the building blocks were here, and all three guys showed solid skill on this tape, with Dave supplying solid guitar riffs & melodies, Frank's bass work being nice and audible despite the age and format, and Chris' drumming had a lot of distinct patterns and rhythms throughout! Vocally, I think Dave's smoother baritone fit their slower and softer songs better, whereas Frank's higher and raspier tones suited more up-tempo music, but in both cases, they didn't pigeon-hole themselves. By not sticking to one base sound, Blend dabbled in various rock subgenres to good effect, especially on their side-opening grunge/punk tracks!
I get the sense that Blend may have been more of a punk band had they launched when that scene had it's boom period later in the 1990s, but they were on their way here, albeit with issues I'd have addressed. Beyond matching the vocalists to sounds they suited, repetitive choruses were very unfortunate (as in "Why You" & "Joanna"), I'd have liked to have heard more than one brief guitar solo, "Nobody" didn't have much going on musically for my liking, and "Why You" again ended too abruptly. Given the age, there's little point nitpicking the production value, but for an indie tape from 1994, the sound quality is perfectly fine, and it helped that they recorded this at Satellite Sound. I mostly liked what Blend had to offer here for a debut effort, and while Frank and Chris have moved on to bigger and better things since, definitely give "Blend" a listen above and below for an entertaining local throwback!
I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what are we looking at on the site next month? At this juncture, I have nothing concrete in mind, but definitely look for hints in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post scheduled for Saturday! If no major new metal, hard rock, or punk albums are released from local acts that I have access to in October, we'll dip into the archives, though if Treble Charger, Molten Imp, Late & Loud, or The Inner City Surfers happen to put anything out, they'd be held for after their respective 6 month anti-bias buffer periods conclude. I'll keep you guys posted in any event, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as we slowly close out the month of September! Thanks everyone!
Let's get this month's YouTube Channel Profile up before midnight to make room for some more posts before September ends! This month's installment looks at up to 3 YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists & concerts, and as usual, the channels are all randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions! This month's choice is packed with content of a very prolific local rock musician who will be familiar to many readers from his studio output and concert frequency in the mid-late 2010s, so here's what you should know!
Owner: Local alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith, known locally as a solo musician and from his multi-instrumental work in bands like Haggith, The Din, and The Strange Coyotes, as well as various other projects in his current homebase of Thompson, Manitoba and his hometown of Windsor, Ontario
Channel Timeline:Launched on May 14th, 2013; Videos posted from that day until June 2020
Channel Summary:The official YouTube channel for Mike Haggith, I believe this replaced a prior channel of his upon it's creation. As of this writing, it hosts 142 videos, the vast majority being of songs from Mike's solo album catalog, including full album postings from both his Windsor and local eras, either of him solo or with the early acid jam versions of Mike Haggith & The Din. Less than 20 (so far) are of proper videos, mostly of live concert and at-home recordings (both audio and video takes) Why You Should Watch:If you are at all a fan of Mike's vast solo discography (or miss The Din's freewheeling origins), this channel is a must watch source of his 2010s output! While the channel is extensive for fans, it doesn't even scratch the surface of the 40+ solo albums in his discography, but many of his older Windsor-era albums aren't publically available anymore, which may be for the best given Mike's musical development since. Major bands featuring Mike as a drummer or not on lead vocals are not featured here either, but they're easy to find elsewhere on Youtube and the internet. Also, note that Mike has teased that new content will return to this channel after a year+ break (coinciding with relative quietness for his public music activity), including a CD review series, but that has not began as of this writing.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Mike Haggith- Live at the Outback, 01 December 2010: Early in his local career, Mike played a handful of gigs at Sault College's then-campus nightclub/venue The Outback during the 2010-2011 school year, and this re-upload from December 2010 features him playing three original songs from his album "Suspended Animation", including "Nightmare On Reed Street", "As Memories Fade Away", and "I Love You Anyways". Like his purely solo gigs in the Soo usually went, this show features Mike on vocals & electric guitar, while using backing tracks in lieu of a full band. While Mike has grown as a musician in the 11 years since, it's interesting to see how his original songs were shaping up in a live setting before he found his real breakthrough in local bands, though be advised of mixed video & audio quality. Two more Outback performances from this era (of his songs "Trinity" & "Hot Summer Sun") were also re-uploaded in 2013.
Mike Haggith and The Din- The Dog (Live at PaperClip Productions): Over a fifth of Mike's videos feature his band The Din before they dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name and became a power pop/hard rock trio in the spring of 2015. Not long before then, they were an acid jam collective known for long, trippy songs, and even as late as February 2015, that was still their modus operandi, as seen in this 12 minutes long jam session recording of their original "The Dog" at their studio PaperClip Productions. Here, Mike & The Din are represented by the 2014-2015 lineup of their sister grunge band Haggith in switched roles, with drummer Mike on vocals & guitar, singer Curtis McKenzie on bass, guitarist Daniel Horton on drums, and bassist Jordan Leach as a guest guitarist. While much rougher and free-wheeling than The Din became, the old school, psychedelic nature is very welcomed, especially as there really is a dog present during this performance!
