Let's dive into some recent news and notes on the SMS on this Sunday afternoon, including a Tuesday night concert preview, a well publicized concert cancellation from this weekend, a recent (and long awaited) album release, and a surprise band reunion, so here's what you should know!
We'll start with the big story that was all over Facebook late Friday night and into Saturday, as The Ripcordz' concert at The Distraction on Friday was abruptly cancelled when the police and fire department arrived to shut the show down. This may sound ultra fitting in a way for the Montreal hardcore punk icons, but the plug was actually pulled during the late stages of Hails' set in the middle of the program. The Ripcordz were open about what happened on their Facebook page, and frontman Paul Gott spoke by phone with SooToday's Darren Taylor for this article about everything. There, Paul indicated that he was told that someone called the police with a complaint about the concert, and while his assumption was over noise (makes sense given what the former Foggy Notions nearby dealt with), Ha!ls' set occurred before the time that a noise ordinance would have been in effect.
Based on what I have read from those in attendance on Friday, it appears to have been related to concerns over permits or the fire code, possibly due to the single door access to the basement. I won't speak further as to what happened, but the discussions ran fast and furious on Facebook (for what it's worth, The Distraction haven't posted on their Facebook page in almost three weeks). Hopefully this is just a stumbling block for The Distraction, which has gotten rave reviews for the basement space since moving downstairs last summer, and that The Ripcordz try here again soon, as they love playing here! No word on if they can on this tour run, but we'll let you know when they get a chance to return to Sault Ste. Marie!
Next up, here's some surprising news, as local hard/classic rock cover band Quite Frankly have reunited! Well, their Facebook page is treating this as a new debuting band, but three band members from their original 2009-2010 run (2000s local metal guitarists Frank LaTassa and Joe DelBasso and former No Arrow/Half Past bassist Harley Syrette) are back for 2025, though Joe has shifted to electric drums in lieu of the departed Adam Pettenuzzo. Original singer Jack "Jacklyn Hyde" Alisat has been replaced by 2024 The Soo's Got Talent semifinalist Haley Alopaeus, and while keyboardist Vince LaTassa (Frank's brother) isn't back either, he did guest with his old band in their first gig back, which was at a private function at Venue on Queen Street East. In their first public video from July 14th, you can see them covering Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" in a jam session, which does sound good across the board!
As for the Venue gig, this 3 minute video (which features both vertical and horizontal camera orientations) is a compilation of clips of cover songs from that night, including The Black Keys' "Gold On The Ceiling", Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", The Steve Miller Band's "Jet Airliner" (with Frank on vocals), Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Sun", Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care Of Business", Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine", Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey", and Collective Soul's "Shine". Not long clips of anything, but a good sampler of the new Quite Frankly, who definitely still have talent, and Haley has a nice voice, so check things out above & below!
Speaking of Harley Syrette, his old 2005-2011 grunge band No Arrow's unreleased studio album "Souls For Sale" was finally released this past Monday! As detailed here, Mike Haggith's indie label MorningStar Records has belatedly given this album a professional physical release, and you can now order it via ElasticStage at this link for $17.90 on CD or $43.90 on vinyl. As best as I can tell, the album is not currently officially available through MorningStar on major streaming services, but you can hear the unreleased free demo version at this link. The album's track listing is mostly the same to what was presented on the demo, but "Cuts" was moved from the end of the album to track #6, the final two songs were flipped in the order, and the original track #7 ("Most Of All") was dropped from the final product for unannounced reasons. I'm only going off of the song previews here, but they sound largely identical to how they did in the late 2000s.
It may take ordering the album for potential liner note details (remember, they broke up in 2011), but No Arrow are represented here by singer/guitarist Dann "Wayek" Pichette and drummer Joe Falco, with Harley and Brad "Gortium85" Griffith supplying bass tracks. This has to be exciting for No Arrow alumni who couldn't get this album out at the time, so kudos to Mike for getting things completed and published all these years later! I wonder if Dann & Brad's successor band SBD's limited print album "Sonic Experiments" could get a similar reissue next? Given our immense backlog of album reviews, "Souls For Sale" is pencilled in for December, so 2025 is now booked solid. In the meantime, buy it for yourselves above!
Finally for this news post, here's a special preview of a show on TUESDAY NIGHT, as local punk/alternative cover band Bookclub will rock The Roberta Bondar Pavilion as part of the City of Sault Ste. Marie's Summer Concert Series! Annually, local musicians (typically covers-centric ones) take the stage under the big tent downtown on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, with BookcluB being the fifth of eleven with the honours in 2025. Last seen at Rotaryfest Stage 1 this past weekend, Tuesday's show should see the return of saxophonist Josh Norling, who was out of town and missed their Saturday evening set at Clergue Park. Hopefully a strong crowd turns out on Tuesday for BookcluB's eclectic mix of unexpected rock covers! Mikey, Dustin, Brandon, Allan, Erin, and Josh take the stage from 7:00-9:00 PM, and this concert is FREE & ALL AGES, as are all others in the Summer Concert Series, which runs through late August.
As the show is kinda sorta outdoors (tent acknowledged), 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 23° and a 10% chance of rain, so not quite as warm as it is today. That said, we're not close enough for an hourly forecast, so check in closer to for updates on the likely conditions. Visit the above links for more on BookcluB's Tuesday evening gig downtown, and here they are live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
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