Mike McCleary - "Fallout From Midnight Tides" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 167th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary's seventh album "Fallout From Midnight Tides"! An instrumental album unlike his pre-pandemic efforts with vocals, this was independently released to his Bandcamp page on February 1st, and is one of only two albums in his back catalog currently available to buy/stream (his prior discography has been reworked or de-listed wholesale). Recorded last year with Mike on all instruments, "Fallout From Midnight Tides" is on sale on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model, and while it can be obtained for free, consider buying it to support his work! While one short track was cut from the planned album due to Mike feeling that it sounded forced, there are still 6 songs spanning 32 minutes to check out here, so let's begin this album review with a look at the first track, named "Entanglement"!

Inspired by the abstractness of time, this is definitely a departure from his prior output, in that it has dramatic overtones that remind me of a marching battalion in a fantasy movie. If you're expecting a guitar showcase, look elsewhere, but Mike shows off his range as a composer to good effect! The plodding four-time note throughout is something that I'd have held back on or cut, but it's an interesting diversion that reminds me of something that Mike could easily slot into a score if he wanted to write one! Track #2 is "Perpetual Motion", which comes from the constant string tap reminding him of the titular machines. This is an acoustic composition that has benefits from Mike adding that tap to give the song a bit of percussion that otherwise wouldn't be present, and it'd be interesting to see him play this in a video. Far from a ballad, this is a very effective showcase of his guitar skill and it's well worth checking out on its own merits!

Third up is the album's shortest song, "Harmonic Objectivity", which is inspired by staying objective in difficult conversations, and he emphasized listening to the song in stereo due to two guitar performances being intentionally split across audio tracks. The balance is clearly discernible! While relatively spare like the preceding song, it does have pretty qualities to it as a guitar piece, so fans should appreciate it, though I would have made one channel's audio be clearly different in tone or instrumentation to better reflect the theme. The second half begins with "Bismarck", which is influenced by imperialism & World War II, and thusly named for the German battleship. If you've been waiting for a song more akin to his prior output, than this is the song for you, as it's a proper hard rock composition with guitar, bass, and drums, and makes the most of its 7 minute runtime with multiple shifts in tempo and intensity.

My favourite part is the intense speed metal chunk that begins about 3:53 into the track, and Mike also lays down a solid guitar solo! The guitar riffs do seem to have a fuzz on them, and I do feel like the bass isn't layered as well as it could have been, but this is an entertaining number, and you can see how it inspired Mike to do an instrumental album! The album's title track "Fallout From Midnight Tides" is next, and it is inspired by anxiety-prompted emotions when lying awake at night. The longest song on the album, it opens with 2:20 of soft and ominous playing accentuated by well placed guitar work, before jumping into galloping thrash metal, and eventually leaning into solos and showing off Mike's guitar abilities at the forefront. The late bridge wasn't for me, but more often than not, this song works quite well! The final song is "Spaghettification", which is inspired by an object being compressed and stretched in a black hole.

A spacier opening leads to a heavy chugging riff that reminds me of Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction", but it bounces between that and softer stretches that allow Mike to lay down some more guitar solos of varyingly softer qualities, though the extended guitar solo 5:50 in will please metalheads the most, and it is quite a capper to the album! 

So, what are my final thoughts on Mike McCleary's new instrumental album? It's hard to compare to his prior output, both from the lack of vocals and from most of his other work not being available to hear nowadays, but this might be his best album in terms of pure musical quality! Without needing to stick to a traditional song structure, let alone how he views his vocal range, Mike gets to show off his skills as a composer and guitarist to good effect, and those last three songs prove that he could be quite an asset in a local metal band if he were to join/form one! Even without lyrics, there's a maturity there that is welcomed on multiple levels. The opening three songs are interesting compositionially and show his range beyond just rocking out, but my biggest problem with the album is the track layout. I wouldn't have had the three short experimental songs first and the metal epics last, as it's really imbalanced this way.

Spreading the six songs more evenly and tweaking a few minor things here and there would have made the whole package stronger, but this is a very solid release that hard rock and metal fans should give a whirl, especially tracks 4-6! Mike hasn't posted on his Facebook page since the album's release, but hopefully he's still at work behind the scenes, and show your support by buying or streaming "Fallout From Midnight Tides" at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and stay tuned next month when we look at Crucify The Whore & Molten Imp's "Pyrolytic Punishment" split, and for more news next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Skid Row/Buckcherry, Northern Echoes, And Soo Soundcheck!!)

As promised, today's post is stacked, courtesy of three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich & indie/punk quartet The Northwest will hit up The Sault Community Theatre Centre for the first time each as part of a four band event on Saturday, June 10th! Entitled Soo Soundcheck (no known relation), this is one of two multi-band events taking place in June at the former Kiwanis Theatre that share very similar branding & support from the Canadian Heritage Fund & Case's Music (if these aren't promoted internally, I don't know who's putting them on). This will be Handsome Sandwich's first announced concert since their album release show at The Loft next Saturday, while The Northwest have yet to play on a local stage in 2023. This event will see them & indie rock quartet Man Feelings (Handsome Sandwich's openers next week) opening for sporadically seen progressive rock band Machines Dream.

Be advised that the image on the ticket sale page does not include The Northwest, and while Occam's Razor says it's an old listing, we'll let you know if they actually dropped out (the image above was from Machines Dream's Facebook page on Monday). An all ages event with doors opening at 6:00 PM, tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students, seniors, and kids 12 and under, and you can buy them at this link (use the code s@undcheck2023 by Sunday to get $4 off of an adult ticket). Very intriguing idea, especially to use such a large theatre for an all-locals concert like this, talented as they all may be, so visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with the S.C.T.C. yet!

The other June show at White Pines' on-site theatre will see local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub join forces again on Sunday, June 25th, this time in a concert dubbed Northern Echoes! Making their fourth joint appearance since Bookclub debuted last fall (with the Festival of Beer coming next for them next Saturday), Northern Echoes is suggested on the ticket sale page to be tribute band-centric, though if Bookclub and The Stallyns are taking on one-off tribute themes for the day or not, I couldn't tell you with certainty yet. This does call to mind J.D. Pearce's old Halloween parties, which leaned into one-off and temporarily renamed cover bands by the late 2010s, but again, I know nothing. At least one more band is teased to join this bill though, and we'll let you know when they are revealed, tribute/cover band-themed or not.

Ticket prices and start times are the same for Northern Echoes and Soo Soundcheck, but be advised that Northern Echoes has $8 admission for kids 12 and under, not $12 (no word on why there's a distinction). Click here to buy Northern Echoes tickets! Presumably, the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall can also hook you up for both. Something about these events leaves me thinking that there's more going on with them/the venue than current promotion is letting on, so stay tuned in that regard, but hopefully The Wyld Stallyns and Bookclub make use of the huge stage in mid-June, despite being a work/school night for many. Visit the above links for continuing updates on both concerts as they roll in!

Finally, here's that big new concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as New Jersey glam metal quintet Skid Row and Anaheim hard rock quintet Buckcherry will join forces there on Saturday, October 28th! Both bands are no stranger to the Soo area, with headliners Skid Row last playing here in October of 2005, back when the late Johnny Solinger and Dave Gara were on vocals and drums. This time, Erik Gronwall and Rob Hammersmith have the honours, and Skid Row have been getting lots of positive renewed attention since Erik took the mic thanks to their new album "The Gang's All Here", so expect cuts from that disc and hit songs like "18 & Life", "I Remember You", and "Monkey Business" in their set this fall! Yes, Skid Row were also supposed to play at Runway Park in Sault Ontario in June 2008, in a cancelled show more famous now for the linked battle of the bands won by Sense of Truth (imagine if they reunited to open for this!)

Meanwhile, Buckcherry have played in our area at least four times since 2011, most recently at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario in October 2021, at the Soo Kewadin in an outdoor gig with Pop Evil in 2019, and in The Dreammakers Theatre proper in 2012. While not a hair/glam band, Buckcherry have multiple songs with lyrics and themes that fit right in with Skid Row, and the contrast in sounds will appeal to a wide array of local rock fans! Expect Buckcherry hits like "Lit Up", "Sorry", and "Crazy Bitch" in their return set this fall, of course. Support will come by way of Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, who Hair Scare fans may recall seeing at The Dreammakers Theatre way back in January 2009 when they opened for Great White. In the 14+ years since, only bassist Billy Childs remains, but hits like "Long Way To Love" & "Dream On" are to be expected!

Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale to the public on May 12th at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Tickets will start at $45, but the full price range is not out yet. Pre-sale codes will be available if you sign up at this link, and the pre-sale tickets become available on May 10th. This is an all ages event with an 8:00 PM start time. This should be a huge concert for hard rock and hair metal fans, and with this being the Halloween weekend, who knows what horrors await in six months! There's plenty of time to get amped up for this one, so visit the above links for complete details, and stay tuned for this month's CD review and more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Before we begin today's post (including weekend concert previews), just a heads up that SooToday's events calendar is still advertising a Wyld Stallyns show at Gateway Casino on Saturday, despite the casino being closed since April 16th due to a system outage following a cyber attack affecting all Gateway locations in the province (visit your preferred news outlets for details). Though never announced on Facebook, the SooToday listing predated the closure. Gateway Casinos are expected to re-open in phases starting later this week, but there is no current timeline on when the Soo branch will re-open. I don't expect that The Stallyns' show will take place on Saturday, but I'll let you know if I'm wrong!

Now to the post at hand, featuring weekend concert previews for another light weekend for hard rock shows in the area, and some new videos to round things out with, and we'll start with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced via venue owner Jay Scott in a post shared to the pub's Facebook page on Monday. Yes, these follow tonight's regular Thursday jam night, and they mark Soundcheck's first traditional concerts since rocking Jay's three weeks ago, having filled time since at private gigs. In Jay's promotion of this weekend's gigs on Monday, he implied that one (if not both) of these dates will double as their Bring Back Summer Party, so what does that entail, waiting for June to arrive aside?

Giveaways for Molson and Labatt products were plugged, as well as some sort of draw or contest for a floating island. The conceit of a themed gig TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY is not new for Soundcheck at the Korah Road venue, as they have played a few such gigs at Jay's in 2023. Themed or not, you can enjoy Soundcheck's classic and heavier covers TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits, and note that singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver will pull double duty on SATURDAY with an acoustic country matinee set at 2:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and here's a new video of Soundcheck live! This was uploaded to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel after their Esquire Club gig on St. Patrick's Day, and it features clips of them covering Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" and Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)".

The former is vertically shot and features singer/guitarist Terry Eaton on vocals, while the latter is in horizontal orientation and has Cameron singing lead (the two videos are also from opposite sides of the stage). Saying that this upload has "video snippets" undersells them a bit, but if you like Soundcheck's country covers, you'll like these even with the mixed audio quality. I prefer their more frequent rock stylings, but the fans on the floor were digging them! We'll have more from Soundcheck soon, but give these a watch below, and don't miss them at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY!

Next up is this weekend's only other known and announced hard rock/punk show in the Twin Saults, as local punk trio Vanity First will rock Reggie's Place for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Announced three weeks ago but oddly not plugged on the band's Facebook page since, I believe this is Vanity First's.... first crack at a weekend nightclub show on the cover circuit, where they'd have a four hour block with four sets and breaks and whatnot. It'll be interesting to hear how Andrew, Mikhal, and Keeghan do in this setting, especially at Reggie's, a venue not known for punk music despite the current regime's efforts to expand their reach. Speaking of which, Vanity First aren't playing there tomorrow due to or resulting in The Hip Hop Chronicals' concert there. Rap at Reggie's, who'd have ever thought they'd see the day?! This is a 9:00 PM & 19+ event with no cover.

With 2/3rds of the band recently forming Hails, it is good to see that Vanity First are still active and gigging, and hopefully their up-tempo originals and covers can adequately fill four sets and deliver lots of rock for fans on Saturday! See above for more details, and here's Vanity First live!

 

There's a fair amount of big stuff in our backlog that I don't want to bury at the end of the post, so let's end tonight with something a little unexpected, namely a cover of Linkin Park's "Given Up" by Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse! The first uploads on his YouTube channel since posting Half Past jam session videos over a year ago (no word on where that band has been), this is the first solo video to show up on his channel. You don't see a lot of local bassists doing this, surprisingly, but Art handles this song (my favourite cut from "Minutes To Midnight") very well and with clear poise! The camera angle is a little tight, but good stuff, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a stacked news post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Heavy Lies The Crown

Now is the time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, continuing our monthly spotlighting of YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk concerts and/or artists! This month's randomly selected channel is a rare one that is still in active use, and from arguably the most prominent active metal bands in the E.U.P., so here's what you should know on it!

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Heavy Lies The Crown (http://youtube.com/@heavyliesthecrown7705)

Owner: A member of St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown (either singer Brandon West or guitarist Ted Olson, if not both)

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 16th, 2019; Videos posted from March 2020 onwards

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Heavy Lies The Crown, it features 31 videos of or featuring the band, though all but 10 are primarily just song uploads, including complete copies of their 2019 EP "Scatter Brain" and their 2021 self-titled album (later renamed "Knucklebutter"), plus songs for their to-be-released album. The proper videos largely include music videos and playthroughs of their studio tracks.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is must-watch for H.LT.C. fans, with loads of studio content in particular to check out, and seeing as this channel and the band are still very active (their newest video is just a month old), look for more there soon, including a music video recently teased on their Facebook page! Be advised that, as of this writing, the band's current lineup only really factors in the three newest videos. Also, the channel has no live concert videos, which have been Facebook exclusive as far as the band's official content goes.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Heavy Lies the Crown - Voices (Official Music Video): By far the most popular video on Heavy Lies The Crown's channel, over 4,600 views have came to date for the music video for their song "Voices", posted in August 2021 in advance of their full length album release that December. Then featuring rhythm guitarist Nathan Switzer, bassist Danny Tucker, and drummer Cale Krist in their lineup, the video features the band performing in a room with rocky walls along with dark red lighting. The visual impact sets the tone well for this song, which was a solidly heavy cut on the album, if not my favourite track therein! Music videos for "Knucklebutter", "Thing 1" (since renamed "A Hell Bound Heart"), and "Every Step Of The Way" have also been uploaded (so far).

Heavy Lies the Crown - Time Diffuser or something else (playthrough): Playthrough videos from Brandon, Ted, Nathan, and Danny have all been posted to the H.L.T.C. channel, but let's feature this more recent example, with Ted playing their song "Time Diffuser" (later adding "Or Something Else" to its extended title) in February of last year. While not as embellished in post-production as other playthroughs on offer, you do switch between three different angles of Ted shredding this original, of course using his headless guitar throughout. Strong showcase of Ted's ample abilities, and click here for his other playthrough video for "Choke"!

Heavy Lies the Crown - Gods Butter: As part of the pre-release hype for their second full-length album and first with their current lineup, Heavy Lies The Crown have uploaded three advance singles to their channel in the past couple of months, including "Cigar With The Devil", "Celebrate The Night", and as featured here, "Gods Butter". Featuring lightning effects over a recent photo of the band (now featuring rhythm guitarist Christian Thanasiu, bassist Christian Cook, and drummer Jaxon Massaway), the song is a promising hint at what's to come for H.L.T.C. in 2023, and more is definitely on the horizon from the new album!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around May 26th for a randomly selected look at Sault Ontario punk bassist/solo artist Brad Example's YouTube channel, while our next monthly feature post will be this month's album review, hitting the site at some point between Friday and Sunday. That's all for today, but look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Darsombra, Mike Haggith, And Fort Creek), Plus A New Video!!

We have a packed news post to check out on this Monday night, including a recent live concert video and, to lead off, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS over the next two months, so here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return to the stage with headlining concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, May 12th & Saturday, May 13th! Last seen opening for Kiss tribute band Destroyer at Soo Blaster earlier this month, these shows will be Fort Creek's first traditional nightclub gigs since rocking Jay's early last month, with studio work filling much of their time since then. Good to see the guys back at it, and hopefully sizeable crowds turn up at the former Reggie's West next month for their hard rocking covers and select originals! On Friday the 12th only, they will have an opening act, namely ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison, who we last saw in his dormant acoustic duo Short & Sweet. Cory's a talented singer & guitarist, so don't be late on the Friday! No word on possible merchandise giveaways, but these are 19+ concerts with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. See above for more details!

Next up, remember how veteran local musician/photographer Brian Tremblay revealed at the end of his interview with Mike Haggith on Rock N' Roll Heaven on The Borderline that they'd be taking part in "a very intimate singer/songwriter evening" next month? Well, the details are finally out on that, as Mike and Brian will join forces for what they're calling Face To Face, a joint concert to be held at The Art Hub on Spring on Friday, May 26th! The second show that we've covered at the relatively new Art Hub (joining the Hails/Chase Wigmore concert last month), this will be Mike's first show in Sault Ste. Marie since Rotaryfest last summer and since his move to Barrie last fall. The conceit of this concert feels very reminiscent of the old VH1 Storytellers series, where performers in a more intimate location play their songs and talk about the origins and backgrounds of them, and some intermingling between the two is implied for their sets.

Sounds like a fun evening, especially with the storytelling aspect that comes so naturally to Brian (a folk rock veteran who fronts The Sinister Hearts) and Mike given the former's radio show and the latter's ample Facebook live-streams and personal lyrics! The show may be recorded for a live album of some kind, and there will be complimentary food & drinks for attendees, so how's that for a bonus? This all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $22.63 (this includes extra processing fees) at this link. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Lastly for new concerts is the only show in local promoters Dryer Fire's mid-2023 slate of concerts with a heavier component, as Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo Darsombra will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday, June 21st for a rare rock concert at the Bellevue Park Bandshell! I can't think of the last time that a scheduled and advertised metal/punk concert (re: not a pop-up gig) was held there, but it's great to see Nicole and crew giving it a shot! You may recall seeing Darsombra live in 2017 and 2019 via shows at The New A and LopLops respectively, both courtesy of the now-inactive Six, Two, Oh., and if you saw one/both, you'll recall Darsombra's minimalist instrumental sound well, including extended jams and quite a different audio/visual presentation than what you may expect. How will this translate to an outdoor setting? Be there to find out! Local folk punk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore is slated to open this concert.

Last seen opening for Hails under the Dryer Fire banner at last month's Fishbowl Festival, it remains to be seen how his long gestating "Chaotic Rite" album will play into his presumably unplugged set, but it''ll be good to see him on stage again! Notably, Dryer Fire's six shows from April-June are being funded via an Indiegogo campaign, and backing it for $10 will get you admission to one show, Darsombra or otherwise, but general admission will be low/non-existent if they get $2,100 crowdfunded. Click here for full details on what rewards are available and for full details on what Dryer Fire have planned. Fingers crossed that things go well, as the varied acts are more than welcome, so see above for more details!

We'll close today with a new video from the aforementioned Jay's Piston Broke Pub's Facebook page, as a venue representative filmed fellow local southern hard rock band Bone Yard during their show there on Friday! The video (uploaded on Saturday morning) is short and vertical, but thankfully, it's not a "Reel", so it can be embedded externally, and it features the guys playing an unidentified instrumental section for 15 seconds. Not a lot to comment on, but the band sound good while it lasts, and fans are having fun! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Jay's!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Spades GT Updates, And New Videos!!

Two topic post on this Saturday night, including the latest from a prominent local band, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related videos from a prolific musician, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page earlier today, with the venue similarly only mentioning it today on their Facebook page. Fresh off his return to Tazzi's last night (no word on if he is playing there again tonight or not), this will be Tym's first Sunday matinee at Reggie's in over a month. Hopefully his unplugged classic and hard rock covers find another solid downtown audience TOMORROW despite the late notice, and of course, remember that Reggie's and Tazzi's aren't far away from each other at all! TOMORROW'S matinee gig has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, Tym has been busy, as he's uploaded four new-ish songs/music videos to his YouTube channel in the past two months!

The only song with Tym himself singing is "Drug Dealers", as already heard on his 2006 "Solo Project" CD. Featuring a newly made video full of stock and familiar video footage based on the lyrics, the song was a hard hitting highlight on his album! The other three songs feature vocals from his "old singer" named Bob Cook (no word on if this is the same Bob Cook from Sault Michigan's Clownsack or not) named "Violet Rose", "Dark Entity", and as embedded below, "Tormented". The first one (which Bob wrote) appears to be based on an original concept, with footage of historic and fictional battles alike featured along with the song, which is a little slower but still a classic metal rocker that fans of Tym's past electric band work will be right at home with! "Dark Entity" is about a man's struggle between choosing God & Satan (remember, Tym's Christian beliefs are very present in his modern day life and music).

As for "Tormented", it is about being stuck in an insane asylum, and features assorted video footage related to the conceit, like the other new videos. Both this and "Dark Entity" are more amped up classic metal songs that old Caveman Morrison and Hollow fans will appreciate, and they're well produced too! Maybe not a representative sample of what he'll play at Reggie's TOMORROW, but you never know what he'll play given his vast setlist, so check these out for yourselves above & below!

Finally for today, remember how local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT teased "a big announcement" on their Facebook page on Wednesday night? Well, that announcement was the launch of their new official website! Cleanly designed, if somewhat plain in a black & white colour scheme, and there are some new details to take note of there. On the main page, the band revealed that their new album will be called "Sewer City Radio" and is still scheduled for a May release, exact date yet unknown. The brief band biography and "about us" listings still present them as having "formed in early 2022" without acknowledging their 2013-2020 Jack Spades run in the Soo, or having officially announced the band's Barrie relaunch in late 2021. The events page only lists the previously announced Anti-Queens show in Barrie next week (erroneously listed as taking place next year) and one new concert, albeit taking place in Toronto.

That event will see Spades GT play at Indie Night In Canada, a special music showcase concert on June 6th at El Mocambo in Toronto featuring 18 rock bands across two stages (none of them aside from Spades GT are familiar from prior local concerts). Should be a good platform for the guys, and hopefully things go well in June! That could end up being their first show after the "Sewer City Radio" release, though we'll let you know if an actual release concert (if likely not here) is announced. At press time, the website has a store page to buy their official t-shirt, a photo gallery, and three videos cribbed from this full-set video of them opening for Random Killing at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie last year. They feature ex-bassist Daniel Rodbard and predate Jay Sarrazin joining on rhythm guitar, for what it's worth. The guys have also pushed their "one Reel a day" streak on their Facebook page forward too, so what else can you see?

The new "Reels" include one on Wednesday of the guys playing "Rise" in concert last year, one on Thursday of drummer Tyler Reiner in studio, yesterday's "Reel" of guitarist Daniel Horton playing "Motorwolf" in concert, and in today's reel, the current lineup playing behind heavy post-production filters, almost giving a neon lights effect. I still don't like "Reels" for multiple reasons, but they're making the most of them! I can't embed them here, but give them a watch above, and stay tuned for much more from Spades GT soon, as there's definitely good stuff on the horizon! That's all for today, but look for more on the site next wee! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations), New Videos, And More!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that local funk/hard rock sextet The Wyld Stallyns are not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tonight. Other than saying on their Facebook page that they "had to cancel", they did not publically elaborate as to why they dropped out, but hopefully all's well in their camp! Pop rock cover band L!me (who were playing at Shooters tomorrow anyway) are stepping in to play tonight instead, and don't miss The Stallyns at the Festival of Beer next month! Now, here's new videos and SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS tied to a new local band!

We have a new local classic/hard rock cover band to add to our links, and they are Generations! This is the band that succeeded classic rock veterans Jus' Chillin, who only announced their dissolution earlier this month, with Generations re-appropriating their Facebook group as their own. This is not a renaming, Generations are considered to be a different band. Jus' Chillin never (knowingly?) crossed the hard rock line for SMS coverage, but Generations are getting off on the right foot in that regard, helped by former Obsession frontwoman Valerie Powley fronting this new group! We hadn't heard much from her in a rock band context since she left the now-defunct Obsession last summer, and she should fit in nicely in this new project! Their guitarist is recent Algoma University music program graduate Brandon Ruch, while long-time Jus' Chillin mainstays Pierre Anthony & Tony Santoro continue handling bass & drums here.

If you're curious, Jus' Chillin were a trio that whose guitarist appeared to change relatively frequently, though Brandon was on hand for their final gigs at Jay's Piston Broke Pub in February (they also often had guest musicians at their shows). Generations debuted at Jay's on April 7th-8th, and you can see videos from those nights on their Facebook group, including multiple shot by Sharilyn Van Scoy, including covers of Amanda Marshall's "Let It Rain", Linda Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved?", The Tragically Hip's "Little Bones" (with Brandon singing), and this song with Tony singing that I cannot make the words out for (which was also filmed by Dawn Santoro from further back). Dawn also shot them covering Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" and a Brandon-sung take on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down A Dream", but embedded below are two songs filmed by Mario Naccarato.

He taped covers of David Wilcox's "Riverboat Fantasy" with Pierre on vocals and The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running" with Valerie singing. Generations' third show was a one-nighter at Reggie's Place on Saturday, and their fourth and fifth shows comprise those SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as they debut at The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were announced on their Facebook group on the 10th but I only added them to our full coverage today. It is worth noting that this weekend's shows were originally advertised for Obsession as part of their planned 2023 concert slate, which was listed through June while Valerie was still in that band, so the correlation is noted, if unintentionally! TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges, as usual at this location.

From what I have seen and heard of Generations so far, I don't think they are quite as heavy as Obsession often got, but they do seem further in that regard than Jus' Chillin from what I knew of them, and with Valerie's input and very strong vocals, that can not hurt their existing formula one bit! Don't miss them at The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW to see what Generations bring to the table, and see more from them above & below!

Finally for today, I again feel like the last person in the city to talk about this, but local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's third and final advance single for their upcoming debut album "Deconstructed" was released to major streaming services as scheduled on Wednesday, complete with a music video on their YouTube channel! This is for "No Entry", and while it was teased via "Reels" on their Facebook page, we don't have to settle for those now! I'll hold comment on the song proper pending our review of the entire album, but the video was filmed by former Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno and his filmmaking company Spacebag Productions, and Josh (credited as "Penno Cash") has an acting role in the video. It cuts between performance footage of the band and acted scenes of them going to see Dr. Penno, a plastic surgeon who promises to make the band "handsome" (well, if the sandwich is handsome already, it's a natural extension!)

Singer Taylor Emlaw gets the most screen time during her appointment, but I won't dare spoil what happens with her, Josh, and the band. Note that Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling (who was previously advertised to be guesting on this song) does not appear on camera or in the end-of-video credits. Fun video and well shot by Josh and his team, so do give it a watch below, and look for this and much more to be played at their album release show at The Loft two weeks from tomorrow!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

After a few lean weekends for concerts, we have a decent amount of hard rock shows to take in this weekend in Sault Ontario, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to the stage with concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows on their Facebook page on Monday. While technically last seen filling in as hosts of the Thursday jam night at the same venue last week (Soundcheck sat it out due to external commitments for bassist Jim Michaud), these will be Bone Yard's first traditional concerts since their Sudbury road trip late last month, and first local non-jam night dates since rocking Jay's over St. Patrick's Day weekend. Given that Greg, Alex, and Warren have been working on original material in studio all month, could the fruits of that labour be shown off TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY NIGHT? In any event, official Bone Yard t-shirts will be on sale, as will their famed "Bone Yard shot" for you potent potable fans.

As usual for concerts at the former Reggie's West, Bone Yard are on TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Should be a good time for fans of hard rocking classic and southern rock covers, so don't miss out, and here's Bone Yard live!

Next up, we'll move to concerts that had advance notice before this week, starting with local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT! Tym had made his debut there on St. Patrick's Day, followed by a publically unannounced (at least online) encore the following night, and clearly things went well at the intimate Queen Street East venue last month for him to get a call to return this month! I have no clue if Tym will play there on Saturday again, we'll let you know if something is announced in time to mention it here. Hopefully his unplugged but well presented brand of hard & classic rock covers find another receptive audience tomorrow! This show has an 8:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no cover, and will likely be the same if he is re-booked on Saturday. See above for more details, keep his acoustic cover attack in mind tomorrow, and here's Tym live at Tazzi's last month!

Further down Queen Street East, if you take a turn left onto Dennis Street, you can also get some live music action TOMORROW NIGHT courtesy of local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! Arguably a warm-up gig for their upcoming appearance at the Festival of Beer next month, this is their first publically advertised concert since headlining at Shooters for another one-nighter last month. Hopefully Christina, Rob, Jesse, Alex, Derek, and Josh deliver a fun night of hard rock and more varied covers for downtown fans, as we've come to expect from The Stallyns time and time again! A one-nighter due to or resulting in pop rock band L!me's show there on Saturday night, tomorrow's festivities are at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Don't bypass this show for some entertaining cover action, so see above for more details, and here are The Wyld Stallyns live!

Finally, let's bookend things with another cover classic/hard rock band playing TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, namely the debuting Double Down at Reggie's Place! As you may know, this is the new band featuring ex-Griphook frontman Joel Syrette, former Mustang Heart guitarist Adam King, and former Bone Yard/Mojo bandmates Brad Stephen & Ric Datson on bass and drums (interesting that half of Bone Yard's 2013-2022 lineup are playing at each of the past/present Reggie's nightclubs this weekend!). Talented lineup on paper, and their early hints about Double Down's setlist point to an entertaining and very often heavy set that will call to mind Griphook and That's Chester in scope, so it should be interesting to see how they do with this downtown doubleheader this weekend! Expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when/if videos from this weekend surface!

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

A New Local Hard Rock Band, Spades GT Updates, And More!!

Here's a new news post on this Tuesday night, which features a recently revived solo project and some recent updates & teasers from an established act, but first, here's what you should know about a brand new addition to our band links!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, namely Far From Fine! This name will be unfamiliar, but you may have seen them live already, as this band debuted at Toystock at The Grand Gardens North in November under the name Ravencore. A reason for the name change wasn't announced, but on their new Facebook page, Far From Fine acknowledged that they were initially waiting to launch it in conjunction with their planned debut album (which was teased in this SooToday article on their Toystock set), but opted to get this up in advance of the summer concert season for promotional sake. Effectively, Far From Fine are successors to the 2012-2016 hard rock band The Suicide Kings (a.k.a. Beaumont Avenue), with singer Mike Gaetano and current Handsome Sandwich guitarist Mitch Sirie reunited as such. Mike also handles rhythm guitar and keyboard in this project.

The rhythm section features former Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi and former Brutally Fatal/Revolution frontman Austin "Mickey" McCrae on drums. Uniquely, each band member has an image on Facebook featuring a brief question & answer section (how Angelfire or Tripod of them!), which reveals details about their setlist, planned original songs, and favourite local bands, though Austin didn't give an answer on the latter query. Their covers do skew towards a more varied range of bands than The Suicide Kings played, with Everclear, Good Charlotte, and Blackstreet cited, while they are known to have covered Weezer at Toystock. Originals named "Relapse", "This Way Again", and "Poison In My Mind" are cited as individual favourites of the band so far, though Matt couldn't name one over the rest. The lyrics for "Relapse" and another original song named "Broken" have been posted as images on the band's Facebook page as well.

No media samples or planned concert dates are posted yet, but given that they already played live as Ravencore, got local news coverage out of it (especially with Mike's son Gavin guesting on drums), and that they already have at least four original songs ready, then these are all good signs for Far From Fine in 2023! I have no idea if the guys have actually been recording their originals in studio already or if they're still writing and rehearsing them, but thye're on the right foot, so visit the above links for more on Ravencore Far From Fine, and if you know where to look, a couple of videos from Toystock are floating around on personal Facebook accounts!

Next up, here's the latest from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's Facebook page! True to their pattern of one "Reel" per day of each band member, that series closed on Sunday with a "Reel" of guitarist Jay "Redbeard" Sarrazin playing at an unidentified concert. A fine guitar solo, just a shame that I can't embed it here! Again, this is Facebook's fault, not the band's. The "Reels" did keep coming though, with another one posted yesterday featuring singer J.D. Pearce and both guitarists rocking out mid-song, and today seeing another one, this time obviously cribbed from the "Hands" video that Jake Disman filmed at the Road To Lockdown Fest in Toronto on April 7th. Earlier today, the guys did tease that a "big announcement" will be made on their Facebook page at 7:00 PM tomorrow, allegedly "the first of many this spring", though I have no definitive word on what they're getting at yet, or if it'd even be locally relevant as opposed to something for the GTA.

Remember that they were recording their new album in Toronto earlier this year, while J.D. is likely back as curator for The Northern Vibe Festival's band-centric Forest Stage in August, so another Jack Spades homecoming set would likely follow in Ophir once again (festival organizers revealed the DJ-centric River Stage lineup yesterday, with the band announcement "coming soon"). In any event, we'll keep you guys posted on the latest news and notes from Spades GT when it comes in!

We'll close today with a surprise revival of a local grunge/alternative solo project, namely Kush Wood! The subject of our Defunct Local Band Profile just last month, project leader Kristien Woodcock posted on their Facebook page for the first time in over two years on April 10th, and has two new acoustic cover videos to show for it, one being a "Reel" of him covering Matthew Good's "Symbolistic White Walls". Sounds good while it lasts, but of course, the limitations of "Reels" are noted. The other video is cross-posted from Kush Wood's Instagram page, and while videos from there are not the cleanest thing to embed on the SMS, at least you can do it, unlike TikTok videos (not to mention "Reels"!). This sees Kristien covering Stone Sour's "Through Glass", and while neither of these videos are overly long, it's good to see him back at it with some strongly played & sung renditions! Give these a look, and Kush Wood are back in our active links!

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That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!