Updates & Alpena Battle Of The Bands Results From Two Sault Michigan Hard Rock Bands!!

Before we begin this otherwise all-Sault Michigan post, I wanted to apologize for missing local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's late notice show at The Water Tower Pub last night in our weekend concert previews. The band only announced the show on their Facebook page after the preview post went up (the venue never confirmed it online), and I didn't have time to rush a second post to cover it here, so it was exclusive to our Facebook page. Hopefully everything went well for Soundcheck and fans alike! FYI, the Water Tower Pub hosts ex-Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone tonight. Now, here's what you should know from two notable Sault Michigan bands over the past few weeks!

It's been three weeks since local hard rock bands Tarnished and Exit 808 (née Double Jack) hit the road for Alpena to compete in the Rock Recovery Battle of the Bands at The Aplex there, so why I have I waited this long to cover it on the SMS? Honestly, it's because Tarnished said that "we will be uploading our performance soon" on their Facebook page back on March 5th, but it has yet to surface, so we might as well talk about what has been posted before it gets even later still! After the former Double Jack won third place over Tarnished in the fan voted LSSU Battle last fall, the tables were turned downstate, as Tarnished finished in third place this time! The newly renamed Exit 808 missed the podium, though drummer Jackie Moon told me that they were ineligible to be voted on as per this battle's rules, as they don't have original songs yet. The winners of this battle were Elmira-based original hard rock band Driving Dawn.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think Oscoda hardcore punk band The Crunks finished in second place, and the other competitors were Ossineke acoustic duo Steve Hatley & his wife Brenda Ziesman Hatley. Manistique hard rock duo and frequent Kewadin Casino performers Fyrbird did not compete on March 2nd for unannounced reasons. While Driving Dawn won the studio recording time and electronic press kit three weeks ago, they donated the $500 winners purse back to the Freedom Recovery Center in Alpena that put this battle on. Given the center's work towards addiction treatment and recovery in Northern Michigan, that's a wonderful gesture, and kudos to Driving Dawn for helping out even further! Believe it or not, Tarnished's third place prize (as per this photo from co-promoter Vivero Industries) is an AI generated music video created by The South Of The Straits Show, a Traverse City-based podcast who has made videos like this before.

I'm not anti-AI in certain applications, and I'm curious to see how this turns out, so stay tuned when/if Tarnished get this video made and released! While the wait for Tarnished's video from the battle continues, photos from the event can be seen on the band's Facebook page. As for Exit 808, they have had a lot more to post from the battle since, so what should you know there? Along with a bunch of pictures on their Facebook page, two videos were shared of Exit 808 (featuring guest bassist Blaze Beairl) covering Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." and, as embedded below, both Van Halen's "Eruption" and their cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". To a point, these videos best show off guitarist Alex Zimmerman's skills, both with a behind the head solo on "N.I.B.", and of course, "Eruption" is no easy song/solo to play (that EVH guitar is well earned!) Blaze fits in well too, but remember, he's not joining permanently.

Frontwoman/Blaze's mom Amy Beach fits better vocally on "You Really Got Me", but it's good seeing her in higher quality videos again, and while Exit 808 weren't eligible for the podium here, it looks like they got a good response in Alpena! Check out their videos above & below!

We'll close with some more recent updates from Exit 808, starting with their recent name change. The band revealed on Facebook late last month that they changed their name from Double Jack because there's already a Michigan-based cover rock band named Double Jack! That band (active since 2011) is primarily seen in the Midland/Bay City area, so while geographic paths likely wouldn't cross, having something more distinct does make sense. Less than a week after the battle, Exit 808 surprisingly announced that they've added a second vocalist to their ranks, namely former Infathom singer Dillion Semasky! Local fans will recall seeing Dillion front the Munising-based metal band in a handful of E.U.P. dates in the 2010s, while he also briefly served as a singer with Brimley's Half A Man in 2011-2012 (another situation where he joined a band with an existing vocalist). It's great to see Dillion back in a band, let alone a local one!

You don't see too many local bands featuring two distinct singers who don't play an instrument, so it'll be interesting to see how Exit 808 juggles this in future shows (once they get a permanent bassist, message them if you want more details). Stay tuned for much more from Exit 808 and Tarnished when news goes public, and look for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!