Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Convergence Updates, New Videos, And More!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that Wishbone/3 Day Millionaires guitarist Jeremey Salatuk's obituary was posted on SooToday and on the O'Sullivan Funeral Home website yesterday. It notes there that he passed away suddenly at home on February 21st at the age of 48, and that he is survived by three children, his sister, and his nephew. His music career is also acknowledged, and that he left behind many bandmates and friends. Cremation has already taken place, and while public funeral arrangements were not outlined in the obituary, a celebration of life will reportedly be held at a later date, so keep tabs with his family and close friends for details on that front. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, a cause that was very important to Jeremey over the years. Our continued thoughts are with the Salatuk family and his friends at this difficult time. R.I.P. Jeremey!

Today's post otherwise has some new videos, and leading off, the latest from local progressive metal band Convergence, so what have they been up to as of late? On February 9th on their Facebook page, they unveiled the cover artwork for their planned third EP, which will be named "Gemini" (odd how that's not the name of their second EP), and they were seeking fan input on whether they should release songs from it as they're completed, or all at once when the whole thing is ready. They didn't get many responses, so chime in if you have a preference! The former Kraken Mara have also expanded to a trio by enlisting prolific local drummer David Peredun as a permanent band member, after previously using programmed drums or session artist Cliff Aubut on prior recordings. You may recognize David from recent bands like Pointless, Turbo Dad, and All The Tired Horses, not to mention the Treble Chager and Fuller reunion concerts.

If you didn't know, David has quite the chops as a drummer (hence why he is in such demand nowadays), complete with his own website and a gig as percussion teacher at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, so I have no doubt that he can hang with Brendan and Jake on djent-heavy prog metal! No word on Convergence's singer search yet, but check out more from them above, and stay tuned for our review of their second EP next month!

Next up, here's a newly discovered video of local punk trio Hails in concert! This comes from the private/friends-geared Bear Hunters reunion event at Robbie Adamson's church in Leeburn (the old Oh!No festival stomping grounds) last July, and was belatedly uploaded to guitarist Mikhal Muto's personal YouTube channel in December. Mikhal has otherwise focused his channel around do-it-yourself projects relating to punk-themed clothing and decor, so keep that in mind if this interests you! The video features the Vanity First side project playing their original song "The Lost Cosmonaut", which was not on their "Rock And Rolls" EP. Unfortunately, the lighting in the church is not all that amenable to video clarity, not helped by how far this camera was set up from the stage, so fans are often blocking the band from view.

Still, friends who attended this limited-attendance concert were definitely into this fast skate punk number, so fans of Brent, Mikhal, and Keeghan's work will be right at home with Ha!ls' performance here! Check it out below, and don't miss Hails' first show of 2024 at The Distraction on the 17th!

Finally, here's some new live videos from newer local hard rock quintet HeadFirst's Facebook page from their shows this past weekend at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Notable for their sake as the first gigs they played at a venue with a marquee to advertise their name, HeadFirst uploaded four videos in a batch post on Saturday, and they include a clip of their cover of Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" (focusing on guitarists Raine Rancourt & Liam Dinsmore during the bridge), a video of their cover of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Purple Haze" (focusing on Raine and featuring much of his guitar solo), and two short clips showing off the full band as they covered Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life", and (as embedded below) Alice Cooper's "School's Out". Alas, all four videos were shot vertically, and the longest of them runs for just 1:45, but props to the filmer for getting some creative angles of HeadFirst in action!

Notably, the band welcomed local rapper Ethan Stoneburgh (last covered on the SMS during his set with Sawbé at Lopstock III) for a cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls On Parade" on Friday, which would have been neat to see, and it's a shame that it wasn't filmed! HeadFirst perform well across all four videos, if with varied stage lighting, so give everything a watch above & below, and don't miss them back at Jay's at month's end!


That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

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