The Soo's Got Talent 2024 Semifinals Recap & Results!!

Let's take some time today on the SMS to finally go over the semifinal results of the fifth annual The Soo's Got Talent, which went down on Friday at Soo Blaster! All twelve semifinalists competed by way of two songs that night, and judges sent through seven (not six) performers to the finals on Friday, November 22nd, those being singers Demoy MacSamuels, Robert Nevitt, Kristina Sagrak, and Chloe Tessier, alongside singer/guitarists Celeste Burton, Nicolette Rebello, and Madii Schomogyi. Eliminated on Friday were singer/guitarists Jennifer Joseph and Arin Karki, plus singers Haley Alopaeus, Rebekah Moran, and Ricky Roy.  The results were announced for social media in the Facebook video embedded below by judges Darren Robertson and Mario Naccarato, where they complimented the performances but also acknowledged a scoring discrepancy that initially kept Robert out of the final six.

No word on the teased audience save, though Chloe was acknowledged by Darren as being the audience favourite. It is good that the judges caught their error with their tallies, and that no one was eliminated by way of that! Darren also hinted at a change in how the finals would have been formatted as a result of adding a seventh finalist, but given how he described the plans for next Friday, it doesn't sound dissimilar to last year's finals. In any event, give the announcement video a watch below!

While videos from round 2 were never posted to the T.S.G.T. Facebook page for unannounced reasons, they did post footage of all twelve semifinalists there this week, with three videos being uploaded featuring four performers apiece. We only get minute-or-so-long clips of one song each, but it's better than nothing! Note that Celeste & Arin are the only semifinalists who were filmed playing guitar here, though I can't vouch for everyone's unfilmed second song. Video #1 features Celeste doing an apparent original song, Rebekah singing Anais Mitchell & Ani DiFranco's "Our Lady Of The Underground", Chloe covering Dolly Parton's "Jolene", and Jennifer covering Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What A Feeling". I would have embedded video #2 here, but unfortunately, Robert and/or Nicolette's backing track was content matched by Facebook, so it's unembeddable on external websites. Click here to check it out!

There, you'll see Robert covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive", Nicolette covering Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet", and Demoy & Madii both singing apparent originals. Robert has a good handle on the classic Bon Jovi power ballad, and I'm glad to see that a judges' tallying error didn't send him home early! Nicolette did a good job with "Black Velvet" too, if a somewhat overplayed song (it being Cancon is acknowledged), and it's good to see another finalist doing a heavier song! There's clear talent across the board here, including songwriting talent for Demoy & Madii, so don't bypass it! We can embed video #3 here though, which features Kristina singing a possible original (maybe titled "Watch Yourself, Girl"?), Haley covering Demi Lovato's "Anyone", Ricky covering Greta Van Fleet's "Highway Tune", and Arin playing an original. Note that only Kristina advanced out of this group.

If it was up to me, I'd have balanced the semifinal videos better for Facebook, especially as everyone in video #2 advanced. Regardless, there are good performances here, though I will admit that I don't think Ricky picked a great song for his vocal range (the author's dislike for Greta Van Fleet is acknowledged, eventhough it's a hard rock cover). Check out the last four semifinal clips for yourself below!

The finals go down next Friday at 6:30 PM, with Celeste, Demoy, Robert, Nicolette, Kristina, Madii, and Chloe going head to head for the top prize! Demoy is the only returning finalist from last year, whereas Kristina finally made the finals of The Soo's Got Talent after being knocked out in the 2023 semifinals despite getting a golden buzzer last year. Can Demoy improve on last year's success and match his Shooters Talent Quest victory? This year's only golden buzzer went to Chloe, but will that be an omen of a solid finish next week? Madii was a finalist in 2018's inaugural T.S.G.T., but can she finally win it all in 2024? She has covered hard rock songs with her local cover band Lime, so will that bode well for the song with Mike Haggith's band, let alone Nicolette's Alannah Myles cover? Celeste has reliably played guitar throughout this year's competition, but will Nicolette & Madii break theirs out again?

And of course, fans of 2018-2022 power rock/classic metal band Re:Born will want to pay attention next Friday, as Robert was that band's original singer. Not only is his old bandmate Brandan Glew drumming for The Big Finish Band, but his replacement (2023 runner-up Elly McWatters) is now their rhythm guitarist, so we'll get a mini-reunion of sorts at Soo Blaster! We'll have more on the finals next week in that round of weekend concert previews, and we'll discuss Mike's halftime set in the near future as well, but visit the above links for more on all that went down at T.S.G.T. V on Friday night! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & Half Past) And New Videos!!

In this Tuesday evening post, we're looking at some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for hard rock cover fans, plus some unexpected new videos that you classic sitcom fans may get a kick out of (it will make sense soon!). Here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced concerts through the end of the year on their website's calendar! For one reason or another, they haven't posted schedule images on Facebook since July, but their website fills in some blanks ahead! We'll hold their acoustic show this weekend for our next round of weekend concert previews due to it now being on late notice, and we already knew about Toystock on Sunday the 24th, but where else can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren to end the year? The first listed shows otherwise are at The Esquire Club on Friday, November 29th and Saturday, November 30th, despite the venue's own fall calendar having Mid Life Crysis playing there that weekend. From what I can gather, Bone Yard have indeed taken over that weekend for unannounced reasons, as Mid Life Crysis didn't mention The Esquire Club at all when plugging their dates through early December on their Facebook page last month.

Kudos to Bone Yard for stepping in at month's end! Remember, the two bands shared the stage at the Dragonfly Run and will do so again at Toystock. Also, these will be your local 225's only Esquire Club dates this fall. Fresh off of playing three consecutive weekends at Reggie's Place, the guys will return to the downtown staple for three shows next month, including a one-nighter on Friday, December 13th and a full weekend on December 20th-21st. The latter two shows could have a Christmas/seasonal theme given the timing, so keep tabs with Bone Yard 225 and/or Reggie's for details closer to. Their Friday the 13th gig is a one-nighter due to them taking on an "uncorked" gig at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, December 14th, so if you like their unplugged stylings, head to this central venue in just over a month's time (or sooner?). Their last scheduled date this year will be another one-nighter at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Saturday, December 28th (no word on a possible New Year's gig yet).

Lots of chances to see Bone Yard ahead before we enter 2025, so don't miss out at these four venues! Aside from the Water Tower Pub date (8:00 PM), these will all start at around 9:30 PM, and all are 19+ events with no announced cover charge. Before we move on, let's share some new videos of Bone Yard 225 live at Reggie's this past Saturday night, courtesy of both the band's Facebook page (by way of attendee Marcy Catherine's personal Facebook page) and Reggie's Facebook page! On this night, over a dozen fans showed up dressed as Helen Roper, Audra Lindley's landlord character from early seasons of Three's Company and its spin-off The Ropers. What brought on a post-Halloween invasion of Mrs. Ropers at Reggie's, I honestly don't know, but everyone's having fun and that's what most important! Both Reggie's and Marcy filmed the same cover for Facebook, namely David Wilcox's "(My Eyes) Keep Me In Trouble".

Marcy's video is longer than Reggie's, so hers is embedded below, while Marcy also got a "Reel" of the Mrs. Ropers dancing to the Three's Company theme before Bone Yard 225's first set (Greg's reaction is great!). Credit to Greg for altering the song's lyrics to fit the audience too (ie. "I want every Roper I see"), who were dancing up a storm throughout. I wish these all weren't shot vertically, but this is a fun and unexpected show crashing moment, especially for fans of 1970s sitcoms, so check everything out above & below! Will we get a Mr. Furley invasion next?!

We'll close today with one more LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as local hard rock quartet Half Past will return to the aforementioned Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only on Saturday, November 30th! With the Christmas season truly in full swing by then, this will be Half Past's first gig since their Soo Blaster headlining date last month, and their first show at Shooters since early August. The guys promise to have new songs in their set later this month, so whether you've seen the reunited band's hard rock cover attack yet this year or not, you should get a solid dose here! A one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights, this show will have a 19+ age limit and no cover. A 9:30 PM start time is advertised, but be advised that the Soo Greyhounds are hosting the North Bay Battalion in OHL regular season action that night. Shooters is very close to GFL Memorial Gardens, and they do screen televised Hounds games as well.

This could mean that the concert could be delayed if the game runs long, so keep that in mind, and of course, attendance will swell post-game as hockey fans mosey on over to the Dennis Street nightclub. Should make for a good crowd for Half Past! Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Griphook

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! In our penultimate installment of this monthly feature series, we're again looking at a randomly selected local band from the past, in order to spotlight them and their run for modern readers, and this month's band were a prominent sight at bars and nightclubs for much of the 2010s and feature some very familiar faces. Here's what you should know on them!

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Griphook

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Classic/Hard Rock

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

Joel Syrette (Double Down, 100 Gran), vocals/guitar
Brian Oja (Bigsuit, The Rainhorses), guitar/vocals
Dan Beaupre (The Sidekicks, Hollow), bass
Anthony Fabiano (Bullet Train, Gsis Murphy), drums
Jim O'Leary (Flat Stanley, That's Chester), vocals/guitar

Audio/Video: A covers-only band, Griphook were filmed a fair amount during their original run, especially with their original 2012-2013 lineup. Extant videos include two songs from their debut at Toystock I, multiple videos from Rotaryfest appearances on Mike Caruso's YouTube channel, and a bunch of original lineup videos from Brenda Roy's YouTube channel, among select others. Musically, Griphook arguably bore the most resemblance to Joel and Dan's prior hard rock bands, though note that both of their surviving videos with Joel in the group actually feature Brian on lead vocals or sharing with Joel. Here's their Rotaryfest 2015 rendition of The Arc Angels' "Living In A Dream"!

Info/Analysis: Debuting as a mystery band during the inaugural Toystock in November 2012, and possibly named after the goblin banker from the Harry Potter series, Griphook united four veteran musicians from different notable bands of the past as a new hard rock-leaning entry on the weekend nightclub cover circuit throughout the mid-2010s. Playing their first headlining concerts at the former Roosevelt Hotel in February 2013, Griphook would also be seen at that year's Rock & Roar battle of the bands in Spanish, the Ray Brown benefit concert, and annually at Rotaryfest Stage 1 from 2013-2016. The band's lineup was stable throughout their run aside from Jim O'Leary's departure in December 2013 after moving to Ottawa, with Joel Syrette replacing him. After Joel left town for university in the summer of 2016, they played that year's Rotaryfest with his future Double Down bandmate Adam King filling in for him, before going on hiatus until 2019, when they reunited with Joel to open for Kiss tribute band Destroyer.

Griphook played their last concert at Rotaryfest 2019, and quietly disbanded afterwards. While they didn't reinvent the wheel from members' past and future bands, Griphook delivered a fun blend of classic and hard rock covers, including songs that you didn't hear many other local bands cover, and they were a welcome sight at both local nightclubs and festivals in their heyday! Despite his briefer stint with Griphook, I heard more of them with Jim than Joel, but both are solid singers who added to the band in their own way. It'd be neat to see Griphook reunite if the time is right, but everyone but Brian and Jim are currently in bands, so follow Double Down, The Sidekicks, and Bullet Train to see what the guys are up to now!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll wrap up 2024 with another Sault Michigan profile as we close out another 2-1-3-1-2-1 rotation between the Twin Saults, and next month's randomly selected band will be inactive 2010s hard rock cover quartet 415E! Look for that on or around December 10th, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

An All-Sault Michigan Video Showcase!!

Today's post takes us to Sault Michigan for a bunch of new videos from four local hard rock/metal bands, and we'll actually start with ones that I can't embed on the SMS! On the last weekend of September, local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished rocked The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino for their first of two consecutive weekends there, and on Friday, September 27th, they were filmed for videos shared to their Facebook page! These were filmed by attendee Audrey Marshall, a regular at Sault Ontario concerts on the weekend cover circuit who does travel to Sault Michigan to see concerts there on occasion. As her videos were posted in the band's comment thread from September 24th, I can't embed or directly link them on external websites like this, but she posted three videos thusly. The clips feature Alex, Josh, and guest rhythm section Chris Leask & Ron Suchey covering Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger", The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", and AC/DC's "T.N.T.".

Notably, Alex is on guitar on all three songs, which may not seem odd, but he didn't play guitar at all during their last gig as of this writing (their second place run at the LSSU battle of the bands last month), so keep that in mind. Only the Survivor cover exceeds a minute in length, but the videos are well shot with good audio quality, and fans of Tarnished's old school covers will take to the clips, so check them out on Tarnished's Facebook page linked above, and kudos to Audrey for crossing the border to see bands across! I'd love to see more fans do that!

Next up, here's a rarity: a public video of local hard rock quintet The Nameless in concert! Filmed at their Halloween concert at Bird's Eye Outfitters on October 26th but only uploaded to their Facebook page on Tuesday, the video sees the guys covering The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", which is an interesting choice for a five-piece band given that the original song only had two musicians. Filmed with a stationary camera, the video quality is fuzzy, but the song is well handled for a band of this size, and it is good to see some members dressed for the occasion! Backing vocalist Anna Lawless is there, she's just obscured for most of the runtime. I'd have centered and zoomed the video a bit, but it's a good look at a band that doesn't have many videos to share publically, and with unique visuals at the outdoor store to boot, so check out The Nameless' new video below!

Keeping with the seasonal vibes, local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun were filmed covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" (ironically) at Huck's Pub & Grill in Rudyard on October 26th for that venue's Halloween party! This was filmed by Small Town Society frontwoman Holly Sibbald and shared from her personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page. The band did partially dress up for the occasion, with Skip and Jody going as Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde for the night, which is awesome to see! Not a bad rendition with a solid turnout, so give Unfortunate Sun's new video a watch below!

Finally, let's leave the concert stage for a brief teaser video from local progressive metal solo project X's & Y's' Facebook page last month! This completely slipped me by when covering their debut CD "The Obsidian Dream" on here, but on October 6th, this video was uploaded featuring what appears to be a snippet of a music video for their song "A Flow Of Touch", which features project leader Jason Mills tapping the guitar in the forest while dressed in outdoorsy attire. Is it wrong to be reminded of Escanaba In Da Moonlight here? The full video has yet to be uploaded that I have seen, but what we see sounds good in the 22 seconds of video featured, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from X's & Y's!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Exit 808) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

In today's post, we're wrapping up this weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, but leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for you Sault Michigan/E.U.P. readers!

Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808 will make their debut at the Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Saturday, November 23rd! Concerts at Bay Mills' on-site bar/restaurant are not common, especially compared to what goes down at Kewadin Casinos, with this show being the first publically advertised Back Bay Grill show that I've heard about since Project 906 played there in September of last year. This will be Exit 808's first show since their Halloween concert at The Merch this past weekend, and will definitely see the return of co-vocalist Dillion Semasky after he had to miss the Merch gig. Just to clarify the lineup from that Halloween show, their Facebook page confirmed that bassist Myke Young was on hand despite not being tagged in pre-concert promotions, though former fill-in bassist Blaze Beairl did play on some songs. (Ex-?)guitarist Will Robbins was not present.

Exit 808 also welcomed Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins and Bob Libick from the Marquette hard rock band Spun as guest musicians at The Merch alongside No Expectations singer Drew Collister (who sat in for Dillion all night). While there's no videos (yet?), a bunch of photos of the spooky season festivities can be seen on their Facebook page! The costume-less action in Brimley later this month will have a 21+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Exit 808's Bay Mills debut in just over two weeks!

Next up, here's out preview of the semifinals of the fifth annual The Soo's Got Talent go down TONIGHT at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario! With six judges picks & an implied audience save awaiting the twelve remaining contestants, things will get even better as the competition whittles down, and with all semifinalists performing twice, hopefully attendees will get a good sample of who will be worthy of the final round in two weeks! This year, all twelve semifinalists are singers of some description, though five have been seen in videos or photos from prior rounds playing guitar at least some of the time, those being Celeste Burton, Jennifer Joseph, 2023 semifinalist Arin Karki, Nicolette Rebello, and 2018 finalist/Lime frontwoman Madii Schomogyi. The seven singing-only competitors are Haley Alopaeus, 2023 third place finisher Demoy MacSamuels, Rebekah Moran, ex-Re:Born frontman Robert Nevitt, 2022 competitor Ricky Roy, 2023 semifinalist Kristina Sagrak, and golden buzzer recipient Chloe Tessier.

While videos from the second round have not (yet?) been shared publically by T.S.G.T., three semifinalists (Arin, Haley, and Robert) were filmed performing at least one hard rock cover through round #1, so will they be a genre respite for fans, or could we get some SMS-amenable surprises? Speaking of which, local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band (now featuring 2023 runner-up Elly McWatters on guitar) will be the halftime performers tomorrow, repeating their role as the house band for the final two rounds last year, so prepare for a fun set of Mike's original music in between the semifinalists' first and second songs! The semifinals begin tonight at 6:30 PM with admission at the door of $15 (adults) and $10 (kids). Remember that proceeds of this year's The Soo's Got Talent are going to the Second Chances Animal Rescue, as every year supports a different local charity. Visit the above links for full details on tomorrow's Soo's Got Talent semifinals, and here's Mike & crew live at Soo Blaster last year!

Finally, let's preview one more pair of hard rock concerts in the Soo this weekend, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at the Second Line West nightclub in September, this weekend's shows kick off a busy month for the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric, as they'll be playing somewhere over three of the next four weekends. Hopefully there's a strong turnout at The Esquire Club this weekend for Double Down's fan friendly and often heavy array of covers! If you can't make it, they'll be at Jay's next weekend. Tonight and tomorrow night's concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details on Double Down's Esquire Club concerts tomorrow and Saturday night, and for a preview, here's a video of the guys live in concert earlier this year!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225, Soundcheck, Curtis McKenzie, And Dodge This!!)

Let's dive head first into this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount, we'll be holding The Soo's Got Talent semifinals and this weekend's Double Down shows for our next post hitting the site by tomorrow morning. With that said, all of the shows in this preview post are SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another Think It Over Thursday concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced this show via his Facebook page on Monday, with the venue following suit with a Facebook event page shortly afterwards. Given how frequently he's been playing this year since reviving his acoustic solo project, it may surprise you to know that TONIGHT's concert is Curtis' first in over a month, so it'll be good for fans to check out his unplugged hard and alternative rock covers at the former Low & Slow once again! Yes, there will be food and drink specials, inquire within for details on that front. TONIGHT's concert begins at 9:00 PM at The Dive, there's no announced cover charge, and there is a 19+ age limit in effect. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Next up, newer local acoustic hard rock duo Dodge This will rock The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Sunday, though I did see it listed in a Facebook copy of the venue's November concert calendar circulating on personal Facebook accounts. This will actually be Jason & Jamie's third show in an eight day span, following their Halloween nightcap at the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub and, in a show that I completely missed for coverage on here, a return to The Dive on Saturday night. That show was announced on The Dive's Facebook post on Halloween, but it didn't get as much promotion on the venue's end as the opening evening matinee gig from Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers that same day. Regardless, apologies for missing two straight Dodge This shows on the SMS, but we're on time for TOMORROW!

A one-nighter as is standard at The Water Tower Pub, you can enjoy Dodge This' great music and atmosphere TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. This talented duo should have lots of solid rock covers in store for fans on Great Northern Road TOMORROW NIGHT, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Dodge This live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, the venue only announced these shows via their Facebook page yesterday, and the band has not followed suit at press time. Like their last shows at the former Reggie's West three weeks ago, Soundcheck (sans Cameron) will also be hosting Jay's weekly Thursday jam night once again tonight, marking the third time that they have done so in as many months, after previously ending their long-term weekly run as the host band there in June. We don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" on here given their in-built unpredictability (Soundcheck may not even play at points depending on who shows up to jam), but keep that in mind along with their two fully stocked quartet concerts at Jay's

As usual for Soundcheck's triple header weekends at the Korah Road nightclub, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and yes, for tonight's jam night. Hopefully Soundcheck's classic and hard rock cover slate goes over well despite the late notice, so see above for more details, and here they are live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head downtown to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, and the band has not corroborated the new dates on their social media at press time. However, we have a reason for the late notice here, as Bone Yard are filling in for an unspecified band who dropped out of this weekend's bookings there, so kudos to Greg, Alex, and Warren for stepping in! Granted, fans may be getting deja vu, as this will make it three consecutive weekends for your local 225 at Reggie's, and given that they also played there on Halloween night this past Thursday, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts will mean that Bone Yard have rocked Reggie's seven times in the span of 16 days! Quite a run worthy of drinking their infamous shot over!

You can take in Bone Yard 225's hard hitting cover classics (and perhaps their new original "Gypsy Spell") TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY NIGHT at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Hopefully the likely final weekend of Bone Yard's impromptu three week stand at Reggie's is another smash hit for fans, so check out the above links for full details on what to expect this weekend, and here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for now, but look for our Soo's Got Talent semifinals and Double Down previews next! Thanks everyone!

Talk Shit/Nebraska Arms Video Showcase!!

Today's post spotlights videos on a YouTube channel brought to my attention last month when the channel's owner filmed an unlisted video at a recent concert, and while I don't share/post unlisted videos here without the video(s) in question being publically shared in some form, the channel in question has a bunch of public SMS-relevant videos! The channel (named Skwunch) is owned by Honest Work/ex-Nebraska Arms drummer Adam Sauve, and his bands have been featured in uploads for the past decade. How did I not know about it before now? Not counting his 2014 re-posting of Nebraska Arms playing "Lighthouses" at The Speak Easy (first uploaded to guitarist Wayne Watkins' own channel in 2008), Adam's first unique videos of one of his bands came in 2015, when he posted two videos of his now-defunct punk band Talk Shit playing two jam session covers.

These two videos feature Adam alongside guitarist Marc LaFrance and bassist Ian Robinson, and they seem to have been filmed before Steve Shaw replaced the long-since-relocated Andrew Angelic on guitar. Uploaded over a year before Talk Shit ended their 7 year hiatus from live gigs, the videos feature the guys covering NOFX's "Linoleum" and as embedded below, Propagandhi's "A Speculative Fiction". Very cool hearing Propagandhi covered by a local band, for the record! Adam sings here, and while they're obviously short-handed, these rough jam covers aren't bad for what they are, though the cymbals are way too loud in the recording. Check out Talk Shit's 2015 jam session covers above & below!

Next up, Adam belatedly posted a video in 2019 of Talk Shit's second reunion-era concert set, where they were among the performers at the first Guy Thiffault memorial concert at The Rockstar Bar in December 2016! Steve was now in the group, but Guy's old Bondar bandmate Mark Rand (now of Cross Dog) filled in for Ian here for unannounced reasons. An attendee filmed the guys covering Guy's old band The Hangdowns' song "Separation Anxiety", and this is a fun rendition with lots of impromptu guest vocals from Guy's friends and old bandmates, as filmed from a close spot on the floor. Good stuff that Guy would have been very proud of, so give Talk Shit's Hangdowns cover a watch below!

Today's other two videos are also from the 2016 Guy Thiffault tribute concert, but were filmed from a far more distant stationary camera angle, and were surprisingly only posted onto Adam's channel in December of last year. One is of Talk Shit covering NOFX's "Don't Call Me White", and if you just want to hear Steve, Marc, Ian, and Mark rocking out, this will do the trick! The audio quality makes up for how far away the stage is given where this camera was set up, but you do get a sense of the solid turnout for this memorial concert, and a nice reminder of the holiday season given the obvious Christmas tree in the lower right. Strong cover with Steve acquitting himself well vocally, so check it out below!

We'll close today with a band that actually played earlier that evening at The Rockstar Bar, namely 2008-2010 indie punk quartet Nebraska Arms, who Guy also fronted and played bass for in their original run. It was nice to see Adam and guitarists Wayne Watkins & Dave Prendergast bring the group back for a night in Guy's memory! Mark Rand filled in on bass here too, while Wayne sang lead, a'la The Northwest. During their short reunion set, Nebraska Arms were filmed playing their original song "I Was A Writer", and while the same visual deficiencies exist for this video, it's a solid performance of this melodic punk original from their heyday, especially given the circumstances. Give it a look below, and R.I.P. Guy!

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

A New Mike Haggith Full-Set Concert Video, Bullet Train's New Song, And More!!

On this rainy Monday night, let's dive into some new videos from recent months, including a new original song/lyric video, a brief clip from a big touring headliner in the spring, and leading off, a high quality concert video from this summer, so here's what you should know!

The full multi-camera video of local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's set at this year's Northern Vibe Festival was posted to his YouTube channel yesterday! Like last year when he and The Big Finish Band rocked the Forest Stage on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Mike had a single-camera live stream posted after the fact, while enlisting Justine Chalykoff of Chalykoff Studios to professionally film the entire set with multiple high quality cameras. While the final 2023 video wasn't uploaded to YouTube until May, the turnaround to get this year's full multi-cam video was only 2 months, which is great for fans of Mike's! Still no word on if the interview shot with Chalykoff Studios last year will ever be released though. Note that I won't go into a detailed blow-by-blow of the new Northern Vibe video, as I already did that when recapping the single-camera 2024 live stream in this post from September.

Just as a reminder, this was The Big Finish Band's first show with Elly McWatters on guitar for every song (Mike just sang here), and their all-original set only had three songs held over from Northern Vibe 2023. For extra minutia about the set, see the September post linked above, but Mike and crew played the debuting "Brand New Day", "Back Away Slowly", "An Act Of Strength", Mike's newer originals "I Really Hope This Gets To You" and "No Love", "Hot & Cold", "From The 55th Parallel", "Carousel", "The Nature Of The Times", "All The Best", and "Twist Of Fate" this year. Justine used even more cameras to capture Mike, Chris, Elly, Matt, and Brandan rocking out on the outdoor stage than last year, even utilizing a drumcam for the occasion, plus more fade transitions and mirror effects than before, so kudos for the extra work to spruce up the already solid performance footage here!

Your next chance to see Mike & The Big Finish Band will be this Friday when they play a half-time set at this year's The Soo's Got Talent semifinals (preview forthcoming), so whether you want a teaser of what to expect at Soo Blaster on Friday or just want to relive the action at Northern Vibe 2024, give their multi-camera full-set video a watch below!

Next up, local hard rock trio Bullet Train released their fourth original single "Wayside" to their YouTube channel as a lyric video on Wednesday! The song had previously had its exclusive premiere in the rotation of Unity X Radio, a Canadian internet radio station that has been playing Bullet Train's prior singles already. The band's longest song yet, "Wayside" continues with its inspiration on their take of current events, with social justice and recent protests coming under their microscope here. I won't go into specifics on all of that, but fans of Cory's prior local bands won't be thrown off by the hard rock sound here, if more complex and layered throughout, so give Bullet Train's new song a listen below!

Finally for today, here's a video from the Matthew Good concert at The Machine Shop in April that totally slipped us by at the time! This was filmed by Mike Blair for 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page, as 705Live were manning the soundboards on that night, and he had quite a neat spot from the balcony at this point of the concert, so you get a nice overhead view of The Machine Shop's interior layout and the sizable crowd (at least until Mike zoomed in!). The video features part of the bridge of the Matthew Good Band staple "Hello Time Bomb", and while there's not much to hear in the 19 seconds-long runtime, it's a neat watch, so check it out below!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (November 2024 Update)

Here is our penultimate "Where Are The New Albums?" post for the year, as we again look at the current release whereabouts of announced albums from local metal, hard rock, and punk artists that have seen studio recording sessions publically commence! For the most part, we're in a holding pattern from last month, but two of this month's six returning entries have updated info, as noted with the title in italics.

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel earlier this year, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page on September 1st to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed on September 9th that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", a timeline not realized as of this writing. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific rate of original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook this summer that the album was 95% done earlier this year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the past year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - Gemini

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced on February 9th that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", despite the obvious twin implications of that name. The cover artwork for "Gemini" was released at the same time, with the band asking fans if they should release singles in advance or put it all out at once. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP have been posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel since May. Guitarist Brendan Christie revealed the names of five songs in a recent Facebook conversation, one named after the band's prior name Kraken Mara, though a new or renamed song named "You Are Not Flesh" was posted an advance single on Bandcamp in September. New drummer David Peredun (who was confirmed to have joined the band in late February) will presumably make his studio debut here.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "Gemini" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced last year, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from June 2022-August 2023, and were working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd of last year, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there that May. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) last fall, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past year, with an acoustic single named "One For The Road" teased as their "first release". We don't know if new drummer Phil Greco will be immediately involved in that recording, but the band did film a music video for the song last month.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, and Bill have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest beyond optimistic teasers in the past year. There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 4+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over last fall, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May 2023, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. On September 13th, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks complete as of September 2023, and then-guitarist Mitch Sirie was finishing his parts as of December 21st, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page. It's not clear if new guitarist Brandon Ruch will be involved on the EP in some fashion or not, but Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling may appear again, as he guested with them to play "Partyfuel" at August's Northern Vibe Festival.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. An article about the band from The Sault Star in June noted that the seven new songs "will likely be released as singles", but whether this points to a change of release plans or is just an acknowledgement that they have seven individual singles to put out, I don't know. It will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs: "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, 2023, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest 2023), it understandably wasn't his first musical priority last summer, with his newest studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned last July. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around December 2nd for its final installment of the year, while our next monthly feature post will be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week. Look for that then and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Saturday Night Concert Previews, A New Live Concert Video, And A New Original Song!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed Halloween concert in our weekend concert previews, as newer local acoustic hard rock duo Dodge This played at The Dive Gastro Pub on Thursday night. Originally, advertising just had (ex-?)Wyld Stallyns singer/guitarist Rob Speers playing a matinee there, but Jason & Jamie were booked on late notice as the night cap at The Dive. Alas, I only heard about the booking earlier that same day, hence why I wasn't able to cover it in advance, so I apologize again, but hopefully Dodge This and Rob both had a good turnout!

Today's post otherwise finishes this weekend's hard rock concert previews (neither being belatedly seasonal) along with some new songs from two veteran local bands, so let's start things in nearby Brimley, Michigan for the newest concert from local concert promoter Brighton LeBlanc's agency Serious Business, as he hosts four bands live at Pickles Bar & Grill TONIGHT! Three of them are local, including 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands winning hardcore punk trio The Sole Aggressors (featuring half of The Undecideds) and hard rock quintet The Nameless, who both played at Serious Business' last Pickles show in August. Reunited and online page-less hard rock band The Karstens will also return after playing at Serious Business' first show at The Satisfied Frog last fall, a show that also featured tonight's touring headliner, Grand Rapids experimental/synth project Dick Texas. Not a heavier act, but Valerie is a talented artist!

This 18+ (not 21+ concert) takes place in Pickles' basement level, and will have an 8:00 PM start time and a $10 cover charge. Multi-band concerts like this still don't take place in the E.U.P. all that often, so definitely support the ones that you can to ensure that more could happen! It does seem like Brighton has been getting the word out about tonight's show well, and Brimley is not a far drive at all (20 minutes west of the Soo), so definitely consider coming down tonight if you're able! Visit the above links for more on tonight's action, and for a preview, here's a brand new full-set video of The Sole Aggressors live at Pickles in August! This was uploaded to their YouTube channel shortly after that event, and features what appears to be an all-original 40 minute set, including "Ventilation", "Reject", "Teenage Guide", "Time To Commercialize!", "Melted Plastic", "Hypocrite", ...

..."False Hope". "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Kill Thy Neighbour", "Fool", "State Of The World", "Kill A Celebrity", and "Down By The Bay". I didn't recognize any covers off hand, so if this was indeed all-original, kudos to the Sole Aggressors as they continue their growth, as they're developing well with a good ear for fast paced punk music! The guitar could stand to be a little louder, and the lighting could definitely stand to be not so green, but it's awesome to see a substantial punk band out of Sault Michigan for a change, and Brett, Calvin, and Isaac are gonna turn a lot of heads if they stick with it! See more from The Sole Aggressors (and more) tonight!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for this weekend's last known hard rock concert, and it's a big one for fans of progressive hard rock legends Rush, as the Sudbury-based Rust: A Tribute To Rush will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at Soo Blaster! While fans may have seen a separate Rush tribute band at Reggie's two years ago, Rust are a newer project by Alex & Eric Kuthy, who you may recognize from fellow Sudbury tribute band Just Leppard, who entertained hair metal fans locally in tour dates from 2019-2022. They know their way around 1980s rock, and from what I have seen of Rust in videos, they'll go Geddy, Alex, and Neil proud with a professional and technical sound that Rush fans won't want to miss, especially on the big Soo Blaster stage! As far as I can gather, there are no local openers tonight. You can buy tickets online at this link or at the door for $25 (less than Just Leppard's last show here.)

This appears to be a 19+ event, and everything starts at 8:30 PM. If you're a fan of Rush, you won't want to miss out on Rust's faithful tribute tonight, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Rust live!

Finally for today, let's address something that debuted during one of the Halloween concerts this weekend, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's second studio single "Gypsy Spell"! The guys launched the song with a late-notice Halloween concert at Reggie's Place, where it was played live, and it was released to major streaming services (ie. Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube) that afternoon. More of a loose dancier rock number with a bouncy riff, this song gives everyone in the band lots of time to showcase their talents, with Warren's bass really driving things along, and Greg's singing is at a full voiced enthusiasm, which works well! Fun track from your local 225, so give it a listen below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!