Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Power Slug

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, letting us spotlight another inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band from our links, randomly selected as usual, at that! This month, we're heading across the river for a look at one of the more recognizable local cover rock bands of a decade ago, so here's what you should know on them!

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Power Slug

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Genre: Hard/Classic Rock

Lineup:

Chris Leask (Highway 63, River Witch), vocals/bass
Chris Gurnoe (River Witch), guitar
Bob Helsten (I.S.O.M., Clownsack), drums

Audio/Video: A covers-only band, public Power Slug media is pretty much limited nowadays to videos uploaded to their Facebook page, which was only launched over two years after the band's inception. Two videos were posted there, both from a June 2014 gig at The Savoy Nightclub, including covers of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" and (as embedded below) Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning", so check out both to see what Power Slug brought to the table in their heyday! Their range of covers did lean heavier than these videos may suggest, bearing some similarities to Chris Leask's later work with Highway 63 in particular.

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Info/Analysis: Succeeding the two Chris' short-lived band River Witch upon their debut in late 2011, Power Slug would become a fan favourite sight at E.U.P. nightclubs in the early-mid 2010s, despite not having a Facebook page to promote themselves with until mid-2014, and often playing shows with limited or no public notice there. Fans may recall seeing Power Slug at larger vents like the I-500 and LemmaFest, alongside sets at venues like the regional Kewadin Casino branches, the former Dan's Place in Rudyard, and Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird), among others, while also hitting the road for gigs in the western U.P. and downstate. Power Slug last advertised playing live in Manistique in May 2015, with Facebook updates quietly ceasing in July of that year, though Chris Leask & Bob would perform together in later bands. Chris, Bob, and Chris had a good thing going during their run, and while surviving videos have distorted audio, you do get a sense of their chemistry and talents!

Their hard hitting, down-to-earth brand of rock covers definitely found an audience of fans willing to chug their mugs with Power Slug during their run, and they easily could have ran longer as a band with success, but hopefully members are still active music and/or are doing well nowadays!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We're heading back to Sault Ontario for our next randomly selected band of the past in this series, and we're going way back for a look at early-mid 2000s hard rock quartet Redefined! Look for that on or around May 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!