LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Quit It!), Upcoming Album Teasers, And New Videos!!

 Here's a new news post for this Sunday morning, which includes some varied new videos, upcoming album details on both sides of the border, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that completely slipped me by until now, so here's what you should know!

Calgary "socio-political anthemic punk" band Quit It! will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Speak Easy at Algoma University! I profusely apologize for the short notice, I only heard about this show this morning via this SooToday article which went live on October 9th, though the Facebook event page went live late last month. I'm assuming this fell through the cracks because the SooToday article was "sponsored content", let alone that TONIGHT's show appears to have no local openers (the poster saying "bands" acknowledged), but remember that The Speak Easy only infrequently hosts SMS-amenable bands, with this being the first such punk/hard rock event since Mean Bikini played there in 2023. Touring in support of their new album "Through The Debris", Quit It! have an explosive and politically charged sound that left-leaning punk fans will appreciate, and their DIY approach and clear talents and energy will definitely lend themselves well to drawing a good response from fans at Algoma University TONIGHT!

If there is an opening band, they are uncredited in public press. A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for TONIGHT'S concert, which has admission at the door of $15 for general audiences and $10 for Algoma students with valid student ID. As best as I can tell, this is an all ages event. Being on a work/school night for most may not be ideal, but Quit It! are worth checking out for sure, and if this goes well, it might not be two years before The Speak Easy brings another touring punk band here! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Quit It! live last month!

Next up, here's the latest from local metal trio The BAG, who had been radio silent for the past three months, so what have they been up to? Well, on Thursday, they revealed on their new Facebook page that they have finished mixing and mastering their debut album! To my recollection, they hadn't even announced that they were entering the studio (despite having multiple originals in their live sets), so this is a welcome surprise! I was worried that Spencer joining the Sault Side Squad was a bad omen for The BAG's future, but no cause for alarm there! The album will be named "Sacculus", which is a sensory cell in the inner ear and some some insects' antenna, and the painted cover artwork by Elly Grawbarger depicts a battle between a cthulhu and a lava monster (possibly a cherufe?) near a volcano, with the band rocking out at the foot of it. Further details on the track listing, release formats, and more lie ahead, but check out more updates from The BAG above!

Also, let's start playing catch up on what new Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush have been up to beyond what we have covered of theirs on the site already! Since launching, this band has picked up both the original music responsibilities and the jokey/parody social media promotion angle that Alex, Josh, and Isaac's other/old band Tarnished have largely shelved since they shifted to a covers-only focus last summer, and that is very clear if you follow Crush's Facebook page. On August 6th, they shared this video of the guys going to Dunham's Sports at the Cascade Crossings strip mall, where guitarist Josh Fair bought his first gun, followed by the guys taking it to a field to do some practice shooting. The visual content here isn't really SMS-relevant beyond who's starring, but there is humour to be had! And remember, this is Michigan, everything with the rifle was done legally and safely. However, the music will be of note regardless!

Added in post are demos of Crush's original songs "No Way", "Intoxicated", and "Too Close", and the end-of-video caption notes that they have an "album coming soon". I had my suspicions watching this video that they were in studio in some form, so it's nice to get some public clarification, and it will be interesting to hear how things are coming along! Give Crush's day of gun fun (and the new demos, albeit as background music) a look below!

Finally, here's a new video from Sault Ontario classic rock cover duo Frankly Speaking's concert at Beck's Bar on Wednesday! This special mid-week show was one of their "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" events that generally isn't billed to the Frankly Speaking name (rather "Frank & Frank" or "Frankeeproductions"), and in this format, they pay homage to rock classics in a historical context and how those songs/bands inspired social change. Generally, the Franks don't lean heavier as far as the SMS goes but they certainly have hard rock covers in their back pocket that we have featured here in prior posts. This video was shared to 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page from singer/guitarist Frank Gioia's personal Facebook page, and it features him and keyboardist Frank Greco covering the opening ballad verses of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", with a silent video of Queen playing behind them.

What we get here looks and sounds good, even with the hyper-narrow widescreen orientation, and it is interesting seeing a themed special concert set like this from a local band that gets treated as a bigger deal! Some readers may recall "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" being performed at Rotaryfest Stage 1 last year, albeit without a video screen. Give Frankly Speaking's partial Queen cover a watch below!

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