News & Updates From Treble Charger, Mikey & His Uke, Handsome Sandwich, And Far From Fine!!

Let's tackle some big recent news and notes on this Saturday morning for a punk-leaning post focusing on some notable Sault Ontario bands. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

We have some big news from local alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich, namely the addition of ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch to their lineup. He's a solid guitarist, and is known to the band already via his graduating from Algoma University's music program alongside bassist Rafael Medina (click here for SooToday's article on that), so hopefully he fits in well! The announcement was made in this "Reel" on their Facebook page on Thursday where they otherwise thanked fans for seeing them on their recent tour dates out of town and for getting them to 1,000 Facebook followers. The "Reel" was shot by drummer Johnny Belanger, and also features input from Taylor and Rafael (who is "back" after missing their tour last month), but conspicuous by their absences are guitarists Jesse Cook and Mitch Sirie. Remember, Brandon had filled in for Mitch during their shows last month (as seen in this "Reel" from their impromptu jam night set).

That video aside, we haven't seen either guitarist in new official band materials since late last year, and the band hasn't 100% confirmed whether one/both of Mitch & Jesse have left or not, but we'll keep you posted if they say anything! Lastly from Handsome Sandwich, they were briefly spotlighted and plugged on the Ottawa internet radio station White Water Rocks following their show in Ottawa last month, and while we don't hear the band in any facet in the 8 minute clip posted at this link, it's a good bit of promotion, even if their name gets as much love as their music! Stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich when it rolls in!

Next up, I have a band to move to our inactive links on the SMS, namely local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine. While we're not at our typical one year inactivity threshold, guitarist Mitch Sirie revealed that "we're no longer a band" in a comment reply on a personal Facebook post on Monday by Northern Vibe Festival Forest Stage curator J.D. Pearce concerning the search for bands for this August's festivities in Ophir (click here for more details). I normally wouldn't go off of personal postings like this, but this may be all that we get re: an confirmation of their status, especially as the band has been dead silent on social media for the past 5+ months. In any event, a reason for their dissolution was not publically announced. Debuting as Ravencore at Toystock in 2022, Far From Fine united Suicide Kings and Gnaeus alumni for four high profile gigs last summer (Northern Vibe, Rotaryfest Stage 2, Lopstock, and opening for The Ripcordz).

I have no idea what happened to Far From Fine after such a big initial run of concerts, but if they had to only play five gigs, these aren't a bad five events to have sets at! Their album sessions from last spring did seem decently far along too, and hopefully those songs see a public release at some point. Given their existing talents and Mike & Mitch's prior Suicide Kings chemistry, their take on punk rock was definitely a welcome addition, but hopefully we see Mike, Matt, Austin, and Blair back at it soon, and don't miss Mitch with Handsome Sandwich(?) and The Bear Hunters!

Also today, here's a new promotional video for local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger's reunion concert at The Machine Shop on March 7th! The 14 seconds-long clip was posted to the Algoma University music program's Facebook page on Wednesday, and features the band hyping up the Thursday nighter upstairs, with singer/guitarist Greig Nori even noting that we can "relive the '90s" at this show (granted, their biggest hits were in the early 2000s). Note that they're in The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music for the video but the concert is 100% at The Machine Shop. Interestingly, their new rhythm section (bassist Frank Deresti & drummer David Peredun) are featured in the video, but whether this is a nod to the Algoma music program ties or if they're 100% band members for a larger reunion, I couldn't say at this point (I don't ever recall their 2010s session bassists/drummers featured like this though).

Not every video of this length will have this much stuff to say about it, but after all, Treble Charger are the biggest punk band that ever came from the Soo (even if they've only actually been based here since their reunion). Hopefully this concert is a huge hit for Greig, Bill, and crew, plus the Algoma music program, so click here to get your tickets, and check out the promotional video below!

Finally, let's cap off with the fourth song in Mikey & His Uke's thirtieth anniversary series of covers of Green Day's seminal album "Dookie"! Just six days out from the local punk standout's remotely filmed all-star cover of "Chump", track #4 from "Dookie" was uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on Thursday, this time a cover of "Longview", which is the first single from this album in track listing order. While Mikey (on guitar as usual and ukelele at first) is joined again by ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfeiffer, this rendition has a different bassist (Pennywise's Randy Bradbury), so Andy Plafoot is not the house bassist for the "Dookie" project. Vocals here are provided by Tilt frontwoman Cynthia "Cinder Block" Morgan, marking the first female performer in these Green Day covers. The performance is pretty straightforward but fans of Green Day's will be happy with it, especially as a more popular single!

Lots of little Green Day nods throughout, plus allusions to watching TV given the lyrics/original video, and some good post production effects, so there's a lot to see (and yes, Darren is wearing another different hockey jersey for his clips). With new covers dropping 6-8 days apart now, look for Mikey & His Uke's cover of "Welcome To Paradise" likely dropping between Wednesday and Friday, and much more to follow, but for now, check out everyone tackling "Longview" below!

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