It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we again check out randomly selected YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists/concerts! This month, we drew two channels due to the first only having nine very similar uploads, and I'd only want to feature two videos here without getting too repetitive as to the video formatting, so a channel with even less footage was picked to round things out with an extra video. Here's what you should know on both sides of the border!
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Rodge MacGodge (http://youtube.com/@rodgemacgodge)Owner: Former Swampgut guitarist Rob MacDonald
Channel Timeline: Launched on March 26th, 2011; Videos uploaded from May 2012 through April 2014
Channel Summary: The
de facto official YouTube channel for inactive local "shield rock" duo
Swampgut, Rob uploaded nine original songs of theirs here during their
original run together, some credited as being on their unreleased(?) album "Ghosts Of The Electric Coast". All nine videos are just the songs with a static
images or slideshows for accompaniment, often original artwork by singer/drummer Frank McCormick or nature photography
Why You Should Watch: This channel is worth checking out for fans of Swampgut, obviously, but if you weren't familiar with them, you'll find a nicely varied slate of hard rock with psychedlic jam elements, and while it's largely very lo-fi, there is something there! Note that this channel did not see resumed usage during Swampgut's 2020-2021 revival, with all new material recorded during that time being exclusive to their Bandcamp page.
Swampgut - As Old As These Hills: Rodge's first, longest, and most viewed video is for their song "As Old As These Hills", an extended hard rock jam featuring him and future Gianni Gagoots singer/drummer Frank McCormick (if other performers guested here, as was common for their reunion era, they aren't credited). Playing along with a slideshow of outdoor pictures by a shoreline, this is a fun number that packs a lot of styles and variance into its 10+ minute runtime, and it'd have played well in concert!
Swampgut - Factory Falls: Visually and sonically, one of the more distinct songs on offer is "Factory Falls", a bluesier number recorded in 2010 about a factory collapsing (you may recognize some local imagery with the slideshow but I don't think it's about a legitimate incident). A slower, more deliberate song that shows off some effectively deep vocals, I won't say that it's better than their more freewheeling jam rock songs, but this song is a good example of Swampgut's range!
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Dave Bayles (http://youtube.com/metalfu)Owner: Northern Michigan resident Dave Bayles
Channel Timeline: Launched on January 23rd, 2006; Videos uploaded from that day until January 2012
Channel Summary: In between a gag movie trailer and a clip of his cat grooming his dog, Dave uploaded three videos of legendary hard rock band Kiss' outdoor headlining concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in July 2007, though unfortunately, all have a runtime of just 30 seconds. One features Paul Stanley smashing his guitar at the end of a song (look at that pyro!), while the two with identifiable songs are "God Of Thunder" and most popularly, their cover of Argent's "God Gave Rock & Roll To You", with an impressive 83.000+ views. The audio quality is not good on any of these clips, but you have to remember that this was 2007 and digital/cell phone cameras were not what they are now. You can find longer and clearer videos from this show elsewhere, but Dave had a good view of Kiss in action, and most commenters were just happy to see footage uploaded from Kiss' first local concert!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around May 26th when our next randomly selected channel will be that of active local punk trio Vanity First! Look for that then, and for more news and notes on the site net week! Thanks everyone!
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