Weekend Concert Previews & A New Original Song!!

In a hard rock sense, the weekend before Christmas is fairly quiet as the SMS goes, which I wasn't expecting! Not a lot of shows from heavier bands, so barring a late notice confirmation, this weekend's previews will fit into one post! We'll round things out with _____, but here's what you should know for the next two nights!

We'll start at The Esquire Club, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will hit the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen here just under a month ago, this weekend's gigs will be Soundcheck's last ones on Second Line West before their reported breakup next month, which the band finally confirmed on their own Facebook page yesterday (they have not promoted this weekend's shows thusly but they've been referenced on members' personal Facebook pages and in the venue's advertising). After this weekend, Soundcheck have just three shows left (next weekend's have not been publically announced at press time), so if you wanna see Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen together on stage rocking out, keep tomorrow & Saturday's shows in mind! As usual, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck (no space) live!

Next up, let's head downtown, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have a full weekend in store for fans TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! With bookings next weekend and on New Year's Eve ahead like Soundcheck, Bone Yard have a busy end of December ongoing, with tomorrow & Saturday's shows being their second and third at Reggie's this month alone, before capping the year there on the 31st. It's good to see Greg, Alex, and Warren back in familiar confines this weekend, so if you want a full slate of plugged-in southern and hard rock covers (and likely a few originals), head to this Queen Street East mainstay this weekend! Like normal, expect tomorrow & Saturday night's shows to be 19+ affairs with no cover charge and 9:30 PM start times. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's pre-Christmas shows, and for a preview, here's your local 225 live!

Lastly for currently known hard rock concerts in the area this weekend, we'll head up to The Distraction on East Street, where crossover thrash/punk quartet Ha!ls and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will join forces on SATURDAY NIGHT! Both featuring Mikhal Muto in their respective lineups, this will be Hails' first show since Halloween and The A.A.'s first in five months, and both should unleash their live-ready brand of in-your-face original music on fans this weekend! Former(?) Sylo frontman Elijah Russell is home for the holidays after leaving for university this fall, so look for his own talented brand of acoustic singer/songwriter material to kick off the night! Note that metal trio The BAG were originally slated to play at this show, but were replaced by The Apocalypse Afterparty for publically unannounced reasons not long afterwards. Notably, this concert will be held at The Distraction's downstairs basement space The Stellar Door, which hosted the Total Chaos and Ripcordz shows this year and select all-local gigs earlier this year.

Saturday's festivities are ALL AGES with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and while general admission is $10, promoters are hosting a canned food drive for the occasion! For each non-perishable food item brought to the former barbershop on Saturday, your ticket price will be shaved by $1, for a maximum savings of $5 if you donate five items, If you want to save some cash while doing a good deed, why not?! Visit the above links for more on all of the action at The Distraction, and for a preview, here's Ha!ls live!

Finally for this post, here's a new song from... No Arrow? Yes, the 2005-2011 grunge/alternative rock band has resurfaced with a new-ish original track named "Question Marked", as posted onto frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel two months ago. In the description, Dann (who moved from the Soo a few years back) noted that this is "a re-recording of a rough demo (that was) recently revised and revived", and that it "was the last song (that) I originally recorded about 10 years ago" before opting to redo it. On the recording is former bassist Brad "Gortium85" Griffith (who later played with Dann in SBD and without him in bands like Bizotic), while the drummer is credited as "GliTcH!?" (if that is ex-No Arrow drummer Joe Falco, than the handle isn't familiar to me). The song proper feels like something that No Arrow would have played live and recorded in the late 2000s, with a grungy distortion that sub-genre fans will like!

The video proper has various questions and statements moving towards the camera while the song plays, but they're not the lyrics, nor are they in time with the song, but there is a relevance there. I wouldn't rush to add No Arrow back to our links as this seemed to be presented as just unfinished business rather than a remote comeback, but Dann and Brad have popped up a bunch in those "hang out and have the host review new indie music" webseries like Your Music Live, so keep that in mind. Check out No Arrow's new song for yourselves below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oz, The Rock Show, And Generations), And More Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to belatedly acknowledge that Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night did not play at The Soo Theater on November 30th as was advertised by the venue this fall (like in this event schedule poster). A reason for the cancellation was not publically announced, but the show was never confirmed by Theatre of Night on social media. The band is alive and well, and have been recording and teasing things on their Facebook page that I hope to talk about on the site soon, but it is disappointing to see Craig, Steve, and crew seemingly not playing a Christmas tour this year. Stay tuned for more from them!

Today's post otherwise features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, and some assorted recent updates, so let's lead off with the return of Bay City classic/hard rock tribute band The Rock Show to the E.U.P.! One year after they toplined the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino's New Year's Eve party at The Northern Pines Lounge, The Rock Show will take things an hour north to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo for that Kewadin branch's New Year's party on Tuesday, December 31st! This year's trip north is basically an inverse of last year's, as The Rock Show will also be rocking out in their alternate guise as a Journey tribute band at the St. Ignace branch on Monday the 30th, but like last year's Journey gig in the Soo, this is a private event (at press time, the St. Ignace Kewadin doesn't have an advertised band booked on the 31st this year). The Rock Show have a strong handle on classic and hard rock hits, so don't miss their regional return!

All of the action goes down two weeks from tonight at The Rapids Lounge, there is a 9:00 PM start time with no announced cover charge, and I am unsure what kind of seasonal frills that Kewadin will have for the occasion, but there should be something. Ring in 2025 the rock way with The Rock Show, and visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will play their first show of 2025 on Saturday, January 4th at The Water Tower Pub! Drummer Tony Santoro announced the gig on their Facebook group on Sunday, and while the venue has not corroborated the booking on social media at press time, a January schedule should be posted at the Great Northern Road location in a couple weeks (hopefully it makes it online, not all of them do). This will be Generations' first show since rocking Reggie's this past Saturday, and their first Water Tower Pub date since headlining their Halloween party. With no gigs planned closer to Christmas or New Year's, be sure to welcome Generations back for a new year in a few weeks' time! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, so no word on who is playing on Friday the 3rd yet. As usual here, expect an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details!

Also this weekend, let's head back to Michigan, where Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to the aforementioned Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th! The band announced these dates via their own Facebook event page, as Kewadin's entertainment page has not been updated to reflect shows beyond February 1st at press time. Oz played two weekends at the Soo Kewadin in 2024, most recently just over a week ago, so it's good to see this talented cover band back in our neck of the woods for another pair of hard rocking nights of classic rock favourites! Like normal at The Rapids Lounge, these show should have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Oz' eastern road trip on Valentine's Day weekend, and stay tuned for possible updates if they roll in!

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:

 

• I have moved Sault Ontario rapper/punk artist Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, last updating the profile & cover photo on his Facebook page in October of last year. As you may recall, Bold Noize debuted a new punk sound at Lopstock 2023, as heard on his "God Save Me" album that August, but all but two songs from it were quietly pulled from streaming services afterwards, hence why I never reviewed it here. No word on if he'll resume his punk work at all, but hopefully we haven't heard the last from Bold Noize!
• I have switched the link for local grindcore solo project Crucify The Whore from their now-deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page. As far as I know, C.T.W. is alive and well, but the graphic content of their song titles and album artwork may have gotten their "jgtdry" page yanked by Facebook, which has happened before. Assuming that Tyler doesn't start a new one, you can get project updates via their label Blood Shed Productions' Facebook page, and they released music on Bandcamp as recently as July!
• I have also moved local hard rock/experimental solo musician Mike Cliffe back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Mike is still very active as host of the Audiofumes podcast, and promotes some upcoming concerts from local musicians thusly, but I haven't seen anything clearly new from him as a musician in well over a year. Hopefully Mike releases some new music or videos of his own music again down the road, but listen to Audiofumes for eclectic underground music from around the world!

 

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

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From October-December 2024!!

Here's the latest news and notes from St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them in September? In their first brand new Facebook update in October, frontman Brandon West starred in this "Reel" to promote their last concert of 2024, at The Delft Theater in Escanaba on October 19th. Odd that he hyped the show while not wearing a shirt, but any press was good press! Brandon followed that up with another short & vertical video (not a "Reel" this time) to plug the Escanaba show, while also announcing that they had signed with Ceresco, Michigan's Bloodlust Media with Jacob Dillon as their new manager. This will allegedly help for more posts and the band's positive future, so keep that in mind! Brandon also teased the then-impending release of their new single "These Walls" there. Good (if somewhat vague) updates, so as it's not a "Reel", it is embeddable on the SMS, so check that video out below!

Some actual promotion of the Escanaba show followed as October continued, confirming that the show was a fundraiser entitled Fight Breast Cancer With Music, and featured nine metal bands, including Hannahville death metal band Ghidora, who opened for H.L.T.C. at the 2nd Street Music Festival in St. Ignace this summer. Brandon filmed one more short/vertical video to hype that event, and mentioned a promotion where older merchandise might be given away free if you mention at the merch table that you saw this video. Obviously outdated now, but a good incentive to follow their social media! Also, is it odd to anyone else that Brandon introduces himself in these videos as "Heavy Lies The Crown", when it's usually just him? On October 21st, they said that this was a "hell of a show" and promised to return to Escanaba, before sharing this video featuring assorted clips from Fight Breast Cancer With Music. Despite featuring multiple bands that night, live audio from the concert is not heard.

Instead, we hear a 93 seconds-long sample of "These Walls", and it's a nice preview for sure, but I've always been the type that preferred seeing/hearing raw live footage, and I wonder what they're sitting on unreleased from this event? I'd be curious if I was any band filmed here, granted, especially with the multiple strong camera angles! Strongly edited regardless, so check out this highlight/teaser video below!

Note that in the description for the above video, Heavy Lies The Crown teased that they'd have "new music soon" and a "new sound soon", so read into the latter however you like. After announcing pre-orders for another run of official hockey jerseys on October 22nd, Brandon elaborated in this video, with this year's jerseys notably being customizable for name and number. I believe we're past the deadline for ordering, but it's neat to see a local band making their own hockey sweaters! As of November 7th, H.L.T.C. "have begun working on new music with our newest members and have new merch coming soon", which is definitely an encouraging update! Three days later, they kept that up by announcing that they were "about to start working on a new music video", and their first official photos since guitarist Kaycee Mason and drummer Blaze Beairl came on board were posted to Facebook later that month. While not pictured in their new lineup photos, guitarist/ex-drummer Jaxon Massaway is still in the band!

According to H.L.T.C., he was tracking guitar for their new music as of November 25th, but "it is still possible that he is going to go back to traveling" (this relates to his day job), though "if you make us famous, then we can keep him". The video embedded below features new black & white footage of Jaxon playing guitar, but it just features a riff sample from "These Walls", and they actually posted three other short videos that month dubbing the same riff over jokey non-band footage too. Check the new Jaxon clip out below, and yes, I do want to talk about his solo music here sooner or later, so keep posted for that!

Among even more non-band teaser videos to hype "These Walls" in the ensuing months (now syncing the song up with anime, turkeys, and Black Friday shoppers!), Heavy Lies The Crown released an instrumental version of that song to major streaming services on November 27th. The band elaborated on the song on Facebook, which was first written "three to four years ago" around the time of their full-length self-titled album (later renamed "Knuckle Butter"), but saw major adjustments due to lineup changes and members moving out of the area. The song was reworked to include Blaze's drumming and, while not heard on the instrumental, revised vocals. The band did note that they are incorporating more djent guitar here, as heard in the prior samples of the track, but as of this writing, the full version with Brandon's complete vocals is not out yet. To close this single-band post, the guys posted this studio update video below onto Facebook on Friday, and while just 28 seconds long, you do get new stuff to see!

In the description, they noted that they're "getting some things hashed out and ready to roll", with "These Walls" (sampled here yet again) being "a hint of what we are forming to become". The video features new black & white footage of Kaycee and Blaze working on new material in studio (no sign of Brandon or Christian, let alone Jaxon). While short, the video quality looks great, and here's hoping that the implied "Studio Update #2" arrives in due course! Check it out for yourselves below!

We're almost caught up on Heavy Lies The Crown updates anew, and 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for them, so follow along as they continue bringing their aggressive original metal to the E.U.P. and beyond! I haven't commented in full on "These Walls" yet due to A. the final copy with vocals not being out yet and B. the chance that it'll be on a new album ahead, but if you like progressive death metal, don't bypass "These Walls" on major streaming services linked here. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm, Fyrbird, Exit 808, And Unfortunate Sun), Plus More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today's conclusion of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews ended up being an all-Sault Michigan/E.U.P. post chock full of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE but also extending into early 2025. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock band Exit 808 will make their debut at Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Tuesday. Indeed, this will surprisingly be their first show at the former Joe's Bar, but given their talents and wide spread since debuting, Exit 808 should attract a strong audience TOMORROW! Note that recent fill-in guitarist Bob Libick is tagged in posts about TOMORROW's show, but no bassists (neither Myke nor Blaze) are, let alone co-vocalist Amy Beach, so read into that however you like. Meanwhile, Kewadin Casino has announced shows through February 1st on their website's entertainment pages, and there are a few hard rock names to take note of, including their return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, January 17th & Saturday, January 18th! These will be their first stops at the Soo Kewadin since August.

TOMORROW'S Huck's show takes place at 8:00 PM, the Kewadin shows next month are at 9:00 PM, and the three dates are all 21+ with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Exit 808 live at the 2 Wheel Tavern in Wolverine two weeks ago! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Saturday, this extremely vertical video sees the band (plus Bob and Blaze, minus Amy and Alex) covering Godsmack's "Bad Religion", and it's a strong showcase of Dillion Semasky's aggressive but melodic vocals! The orientation is really unfortunate, but check this out below, and don't miss Exit 808 TOMORROW!

Next up, there are more Kewadin Casino dates in the pipeline courtesy of their entertainment pages, and first up in the Soo is Manistique hard rock duo Fyrbird, who will kick off 2025 with dates at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, January 3rd & Saturday, January 4th! Fyrbird are one to announce months worth of bookings at a time in a post on their Facebook group, but at press time, they have yet to do so. While fans saw Jamie & Rikk rock out at the St. Ignace branch last month, these will be Fyrbird's first Soo dates since October. and it will be good to get their gritty and hard rocking cover slate back in the Eastern Upper Peninsula in a few weeks' time! These shows are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Fyrbird's regional return early next year, and stay tuned for more from them!

Also, Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm have announced their first 2025 concert dates via Facebook event pages on their Facebook page, so after their shows at the Soo Kewadin tonight and tomorrow night, when will you be able to see them in the E.U.P. next? Their first shows in our coverage area next year will see them rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin on Friday, January 3rd and Saturday, January 4th, so if you wanna start the year on the right foot in Mackinac County, Scarkazm's hard rocking and crowd-friendly covers would be a good place to start! On February 7th & 8th, you can see Adam, Dave, and Jeff back at The Rapids Lounge for the first time in 2025, so fans in the Soo who can't see them this weekend or want an encore will be able to see them in almost two months! The last new shows currently confirmed for Scarkazm will see them back at The Rapids Lounge on April 4th & 5th.

All six of Scarkazm's known upcoming Kewadin dates have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. It's great to see Scarkazm continue their long run of road trips to the E.U.P. in 2025, and definitely consider seeing them at these dates and beyond! At press time, I have not heard about Peril shows up here in the new year yet. Visit the six official Facebook event pages for each individual show above at this link! 

Finally for today's post, here's one more weekend concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will rock The Merchant's Bar for one night only! Last seen at The Merch back in September, this is (presently?) the Fake Chow successors' final show of 2024, and while it has been promoted as "the biggest asskickery event" of the year, more recent promotion indicates that tomorrow's concert will also have an attached ugly Christmas sweater party, so wear your best (worst?) for the occasion! No word on a possible contest or prizes. Meanwhile, Unfortunate Sun have a new show of their own to announce, as they'll debut at Snow's Bar & Grill in nearby Cedarville for one night only on Saturday, January 18th! It's too soon for Snowsfest, so this looks like a standard concert for Unfortunate Sun, so try to welcome-ish them to a new locale next month!

Tomorrow's and next month's Unfortunate Sun dates have presumed 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. It's good to see Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason staying busy over the winter, so don't miss them at The Merch tomorrow and at more venues next month, and for a preview, here they are live!

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

Most Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Another weekend is upon us, so let's dive into this latest slate of hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount of shows, I'll hold Saturday's Unfortunate Sun show in Sault Michigan (along with potential late notice confirmations) for tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know to start off your weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults!

We'll stay in Sault Michigan to start, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will reportedly rock The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! I say "reportedly" because the band still hasn't corroborated advertising from elsewhere about this weekend's shows being in the Soo. Right along, the Peril sister band has been advertising tomorrow & Saturday's shows as being at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace, but that appears to either be erroneous or the venue was changed since Scarkazm first announced the dates. Kewadin's entertainment page confirms that Scarkazm are at The Rapids Lounge, as Sault Ontario's Touch Of Class are playing at the St. Ignace branch this weekend (which that band also confirmed on Facebook). In other words, if you want to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff's hard rocking slate of originals and covers, you'll wanna be at the Soo Kewadin this weekend!

As usual for Kewadin lounge concerts, Scarkazm are up tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. We'll have more on Scarkazm's 2025 concert slate in the E.U.P. soon, but visit the above links for more on their Sault Ste. Marie stops this weekend (their last in our area of the year), and here they are live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Not to be confused with Headrush (who play at this venue in two weeks), this weekend's shows will be HeadFirst's... first on Second Line West since they debuted at The Esquire Club back in June. The guys have been busy behind the scenes in recent months, leading to less promotion for the shows that they have booked, but they have been getting the word out about this weekend's dates, and hopefully the guys pull strong crowds to brave the recent snowy weather! If you can't make it tomorrow or Saturday, HeadFirst will end 2024 with dates at Reggie's in two weeks, before taking a break in early 2025 to work on upcoming projects. This weekend's concerts are 19+ affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover. See above for more details, and here's HeadFirst live!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have a split weekend of shows across two venues, starting with a one-nighter at Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be Bone Yard's first show at Reggie's since their early November weekend that was memorably crashed by a group of Mrs. Ropers. I can't see that recurring, but their hard hitting covers and select originals should draw well downtown as usual! If you can't make it there, the guys will be back at Reggie's next weekend and on New Year's Eve. Tomorrow's show is a one-nighter due to Bone Yard taking a second booking elsewhere on SATURDAY NIGHT, as they're going unpl... "uncorked" at The Water Tower Pub! While bands do play plugged in at the Great Northern Road nightclub, your local 225 have always went acoustic there, most recently last month, so head central for their lighter side on Saturday!

Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different musicians nightly, with classic rock veterans Flashback playing there tomorrow. The electric Reggie's show is tomorrow at 9:30 PM, Saturday's Water Tower Pub date (their last unplugged show of 2024) is at 8:00 PM, and both gigs are 19+ with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's dates this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally for this preview post, with Bone Yard 225 playing elsewhere on SATURDAY NIGHT, who's playing at Reggie's Place that night? How does local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations sound? One week removed from ending their month+ break with a double booked matinee at Shooters, this will surprisingly be Generations' only stop at Reggie's this year, last playing at the venerable Queen Street East tavern in October of last year. No word on why we haven't seen Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre there all year, but it'll be good to have them unleash more classic and hard rock favourites on Saturday! At press time, this is their last announced show of 2024, but we'll let you know if anything new gets announced by year's end. Generations are up on Saturday at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Generations live in concert earlier this year!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Unfortunate Sun preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: 415E

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This monthly feature ends its 2024 run by looking at another randomly selected local band who is presently inactive or defunct, but deserves a modern spotlight for current readers, and we're back in Sault Michigan to look at a long-running (if video-deficient) hard rock band that many E.U.P. concert goers of the 2010s will remember well. Here's what you should know on them!

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415E

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Genre: Hard Rock

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)

Dave "Sonny" Menard (Dirty Musky), vocals
Chris Hubbard (Rhythm & Brews), guitar
Brett Blackwood (Dirty Musky), bass
Jason VanLuven (Unfortunate Sun), drums

Jack Slater (The Highest Of Fives, Unleashed), bass
Mitch Goetz (The Highest Of Fives, Hoist The Sails), bass
Devin Anderson (The Highest Of Fives, Free Refill), drums
Tony Hubbard (Splitshot, Stonewall Creation), drums

Audio/Video:  415E initially claimed to have finished an entire original album upon their September 2012 launch, and would play their own songs live at least into mid-2013, but the album was never visibly released. They were reticent to publically post videos of their shows or jam sessions online, possibly to encourage fans to actually see them live, but the band covered the likes of Shinedown, Godsmack, Ozzy Osbourne, and Volbeat in their early shows, with Chris also being noted for his Van Halen fandom and covering them thusly here. Dave & Brett's current band Dirty Musky will hold obvious musical comparisons to 415E, as will Chris' work in bands like Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, Trail's End, and (presently) Rhythm & Brews. Here's 415E's sole known public video, of their original lineup covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song" in their live debut!

Info/Analysis: Publically launching at The Hubbard-Menard Band, former Splitshot bandmates Dave Menard & Chris Hubbard soon added Jack Slater and Devin Anderson to their lineup, and took the name 415E (police code for a noise disturbance from a concert or party) in October 2012. Debuting to open for Sebastian Bach in January 2013, they began playing headlining concerts on the weekend nightclub circuit that spring, primarily at Kewadin Casino lounges, including road trips to Manistique. After a spell of shorthanded gigs (some as a duo), Dave & Chris added Mitch Goetz and Chris' dad Tony in the fall of 2014, with this era of the band running into mid-2017. 415E returned after a year+ hiatus in December 2018 with Brett Blackwood & Jason VanLuven as their new rhythm section, but shows became increasingly sporadic, and they were last seen at The Hilltop Bar on Sugar Island in October 2021.

I wish I could say more on 415E as a band, but given their elusive nature re: public videos, I'm limited for direct thoughts. Their STP cover was well done, and they always had a talented lineup, with Chris always showing considerable skill on guitar, so I'm sure that any videos from their heyday would be worth checking out if uploaded belatedly. Do check out Dirty Musky, Rhythm & Brews, and Unfortunate Sun to see what band members of their last lineup are up to nowadays, and R.I.P. Tony!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around January 10th as we kick off 2025 in this series for another randomly selected profile, and next month, we're looking at 2010s Sault Ontario grindcore/death metal duo Rotopsy! Look for that then, and for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Bone Yard 225, And Dodge This), Plus An Impending Breakup!!

In today's news post, we have a bunch of end-of-year LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of before 2024 is done, with one of the bands in question reportedly disbanding afterwards, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, December 27th! The band hasn't confirmed this booking publically at press time, with the venue's concert calendar on their Facebook page doing the honours. Unless something else is announced in the interim (Jason's solo gigs aside), this will be Dodge This' first announced concert since rocking The Dive a couple weeks ago, and their first gig at The Water Tower Pub since November 8th. If you want to enjoy some live rock cover action from some talented local music veterans post-Christmas, a trip to the Great Northern Road nightclub later this month will definitely do the trick! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, with new-ish acoustic duo The Dustcovers playing there on Saturday the 28th. Jamie & Jason (and Jeff?) take the stage at 8:00 PM for this 19+ show with no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Dodge This!

Next up, we have confirmation of two SMS-amenable bands rocking out on New Year's Eve this year, and we'll first head to the YNCU Curling Centre (née the Community First Curling Centre), where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage on Tuesday, December 31st! The band has not publically confirmed this show yet, but the Anita Boulevard curling rink confirmed it via this Facebook event page on Friday. More details on the event proper are forthcoming, but this is a ticketed event running for $25 a pop (they'll be on sale online at this link in time), but of course, remember that this is a New Year's party with the frills that that entails, including champagne at midnight when we finally begin 2025. Obviously, this would be a 19+ event, and Soundcheck kick things off at 9:00 PM. Importantly, the advertising indicates that this will be "Soundcheck's farewell show", which is definitely big news!

While also not publically corroborated on Soundcheck's Facebook page (which has not seen new updates since October), drummer Glen Thomas has confirmed their impending finality in recent posts on his personal Facebook page. I have not heard a reason for Soundcheck's planned breakup as of this writing, but remember that the band has slowed down their rate of concerts in the past six months, around the time that they ended their run as the weekly jam night hosts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub (at the time, it was said that singer/guitarist Terry Eaton "needs a breather from them"). Soundcheck have been a staple of the weekend nightclub cover circuit since debuting under the temporary moniker Nameus in 2016, and basically merged with the similar Mourning Wood the following year. Though Terry was their only constant member, Soundcheck became a prominent sight locally at bars, festivals, and charity events alike.

Soundcheck have at least three more gigs left this month (including at The Esquire Club next week), but it will be surprising to not have them around in 2025 if what the curling center and Glen are saying is accurate. Soundcheck are a talented and adaptable group of musicians who can entertaining many audiences, as a full four-piece or as a jam trio, and hopefully we'll hear more from Terry, Cameron, Jim, Glen, and their former members in new projects down the line! Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's apparent farewell show in three weeks!

Finally for this news post, let's head downtown to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end 2024 by headlining their New Year's party on Tuesday the 31st! While not listed on their website's concert calendar, the band and venue have both confirmed the booking publically on Facebook. Of course, Bone Yard will be rocking Reggie's first with a one-nighter on Friday (preview forthcoming), and have steady bookings over the next three weekends, but a good old fashioned New Year's party will be of note for many, so if you wanna ring in 2025 with Greg, Alex, and Warren's hard rocking southern and classic rock covers (and perhaps their two originals), head to Reggie's in three weeks! No word on potential frills for New Year's Eve, but this 19+ event at 9:30 PM has no cover charge or tickets, so if you want a much cheaper night to party with, keep that in mind, and see above for more details!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Fall 2024 Updates From Spades GT!!

It's been a minute since we talked about local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT on the SMS, so what have they been up to since we left off in late September? Well, we'll start with a new live video of theirs that was uploaded to their Facebook page on September 25th, courtesy of the show where they opened for The Exploited and Total Chaos at Lee's Palace in Toronto earlier that month! This was cobbled together from footage shot by Julie's HC Music and Stuff, as well as Thrash Panda Productions head Bowser Tabernak, who is one of the organizers of the annual Spiderfest in Meyersburg that (Jack) Spades have played at often over the years. The band was filmed here playing "Final Girl", and in a throwback to their late 2022 incarnation, ex-guitarist Jay "The Beard" Sarrazin came back to fill in on bass for their shows with The Exploited that month (new second guitarist Matthew Voros was ill and missed both dates). 

The two camera angles were well edited together for this video, with one very close to the stage from an upward slanted angle, while the other was further out and captured the entire stage in frame, but was not stationary and did slowly sway around. Good stuff, and while they were down a guitarist, Spades delivered a rollicking rendition of the first single from "Sewer City Radio" here, so give this strong live video a watch below!

After that Friday the 13th show in Toronto, the bands in question regrouped on Ottawa the following day to rock The Brass Monkey, with Andrew Depedro reviewing the show for KNAC, and you can read his review at this link. While Andrew seemed to refer to that night's lineup as their current lineup, he praised their punk-esque energy levels and "bombastically eavy bruising numbers", while also remarking on their "unpolished driving ambition for many of their peers to dig". A picture of guitarist Daniel Horton was included as well. Solid praise of the band and set, so give his review a look above! On October 27th, the band posted a "Reel" to their Facebook page of Daniel and drummer Tyler Reiner remarking on their songwriting sessions at their "jam chamber" towards their planned new album next year, and they're apparently working on "some bangers", with hopes for fans enjoying "the direction tempos and messages".

As usual, "Reels" are unembeddable on external websites like this, they can't be played in background tabs, and they're forcibly short/vertical videos, so keep that all in mind, but the content within is encouraging for Spades fans! Another "Reel" was posted on November 2nd of the guys (sans Matt) in an apparent recording studio, but it just has static images and music, without new visual content. Spades GT played their final show of 2024 on November 8th, when they returned to their adopted hometown of Barrie to open for Battlescarred at The Rec Room. This show (entitled "Battle Cry Against Cancer") was a fundraiser for Battlescarred frontman Ray Galica following his own cancer diagnosis, so kudos to Spades for stepping out to help out Ray at this difficult time! $3,200 was raised for him and his family on this night. A recap video and "killer shots" were teased but never uploaded for unannounced reasons.

You can see a static image from their set in this brief video (not sure why they did it like that), but it confirms that Matthew was back in the fold for this set. With Jay on the road touring with Sierra Pilot, Spades GT called in Daniel's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorhouse (who provided backing vocals on the studio version of "XS") to play bass for the night, so he's a good familiar choice! A post-set "Reel" was also uploaded, where Daniel noted that they had a "couple (of) boo-boos", but "Andrew killed it", and he praised Barrians for coming out, while also hyping "lots of new surprises" for the new year. No sign of Matt, and the rapidly flickering light should definitely be advised for anyone who could be prone to seizures (maybe it's a good thing I can't embed it here!), but it's a nice little post-show update! Lastly for today, another "Reel" was posted on November 10th featuring Tyler and singer J.D. Pearce at their jam space.

Here, Tyler praises a bottle of rum that they had there, notes that they were just working on two new songs, and showed off their demo recording setup, including a keyboard that will reportedly factor on at least one song. It's hard to read the on-screen text behind the Facebook caption, but Spades plan to record their new album in February with producer Kyle Marchant at Room 21 in Toronto, similar to "Sewer City Radio" last year. We'll have more from the Spades camp on the site soon, but visit the above links for more on what J.D., Daniel, Matthew, *insert bassist here*, and Tyler are up to as of late! Thanks everyone!

More Weekend Concert Previews & A New Mike Haggith Live-Stream!!

Later than I would have liked to get this post up, but here's the second half of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, along with a new video from a recent concert event, so here's what you should know on this Friday night!

We'll start at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return for two more local dates TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be this talented veteran act's first regional stop since rocking the Soo Kewadin back in March, so if you've missed Oz's proficient and melodic brand of heavier-leaning classic rock covers in recent months, brave the snow by heading to the casino this weekend! Obviously, safe travels to Oz and their crew on the trip east as well, especially from a Canadian who isn't 100% sure of the U.P. highway conditions.  As usual for concerts at Kewadin Casino's on-site lounges, tonight and tomorrow's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Oz's local shows this weekend, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario to wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and we're ending by resolving a bit of confusion about who's playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! Remember, they host DJ nights on Fridays now. Back on October 15th, local hard rock quintet HeadFirst... first announced that they were booked at Shooters tomorrow night via this concert calendar on their Facebook page, but nothing followed about the gig over the next month & a half, partially due to their own busy activity behind the scenes. Then on November 13th, local classic/hard rock quartet Generations announced on their Facebook group that they were booked at Shooters tomorrow, something which I admittedly should have caught the date conflict of at the time, but I did make note of it on the site in our post on Wednesday. It did seem like Generations had replaced HeadFirst, but that's not the case!

As best as I can gather, HeadFirst initially booked December 7th at Shooters, but somewhere along the line, wires got crossed, and Generations were also booked on December 7th. Despite their quiet social media activity in recent months, HeadFirst never dropped out of tomorrow's gig. Rather than cancel/postpone one of the two bands, Shooters is opting for the rare double header tomorrow night, with HeadFirst getting the night timeslot as planned, while Generations will instead open the day's music slate with a 6:00 PM matinee of sorts (early nightfall at this time of year acknowledged). Remember, on times like this where two bands have full four-set gigs back to back, I wouldn't say Generations are "opening" for HeadFirst, as both are playing their usual time for a show on the weekend covers circuit. Notably, tomorrow will mark Generations' first show since October, so be early to welcome them back!

Both of tomorrow's back-to-back rock concerts at Shooters have 19+ age limits and no cover charges, with HeadFirst going on at 10:00 PM. Eight hours of rock cover action from both the talented veteran presence of Generations and the rising newer attack of HeadFirst (complete with a few originals of their own), so whether you want to see one or both groups, don't miss out on the double header on Dennis Street tomorrow! Visit the above links for more details on these shows, and for a preview, here's both HeadFirst and Generations live!

Finally, let's close this post with the latest live-stream from local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's YouTube channel! For his apparent final full-band show of 2024, he and his old Din bandmate Brandan Glew returned to Toystock, this time via Mike headlining solo with support from The Big Finish Band, so what all did they play at The Grand Gardens last month? In order, the ten song set included "Brand New Day", "Back Away Slowly", "I Really Hope This Gets To You", "No Love", "Hot & Cold", "If Ever Comes The Day", "An Act Of Strength", a cover of The Din's "Missing", "The Nature Of The Times", and "All The Best". If you're curious, this set included four of the six songs played during their intermission set at The Soo's Got Talent finals two days prior (as seen in this live-stream), excepting "Carousel" and "Twist Of Fate". Once again, Mike is just singing and not playing anything, with no major instrument role changes mid-set.

Decent quality with good and bright lighting inside The Grand Gardens, and everyone is on form to realize Mike's original music for a festive audience and for a wonderful cause! I'd have centered the camera moreso than what they did, given that Chris is often cut off on the left where Matt is playing beside lots of empty space in the video. Good stuff to end Mike's 2024 concert calendar, so check out their full Toystock live-stream below!

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