LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Ozzy REbourne & Soundcheck), A Band Reunion, And More News & Notes!!

I hope everyone had a good Super Bowl Sunday! Here's a new news post to kick off the week, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, confirmation of a band reunion, and some more recent updates, so let's get things rolling!

Just over a week after their surprise reunion gigs at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have announced their return as a full time band, and they'll be back at the same venue on Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st! In their first Facebook page post in over a year, they confirmed that founding singer/guitarist Terry Eaton and late-era bassist Jim Michaud are continuing in 2026, and will be joined again by Half Past drummer Johnny Amendola, who took over for Glen Thomas behind the kit last week, and of course, is also new to Terry & Jim's other current cover band Separate Wayz. The big reveal here is that singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver is finally making his long-delayed move to Nashville to further his solo career, so he isn't joining Soundcheck's full return (no word on if last week's shows were intended as a send-off for him.)

Replacing Cameron is original Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe, who was part of the former Nameus upon their debut in 2016 until he left the band in 2019, with Cameron replacing him at the time. Travis actually guested with Soundcheck in some capacity last week, which would be neat for late 2010s fans of theirs, let alone those familiar with Terry & Travis' long-standing work in bands like Carbon Black! It is good to see Soundcheck proper back after a year away, and with Terry, Jim, and Johnny also playing in Separate Wayz with singer Nicole Thibodeau, you're bound to see both bands a good amount in 2026! If you're wondering what became of The Guilty Party (the band featuring Terry, Jim, and ex-singer/drummer Brent Royer that formed last fall), it appears that Soundcheck's full reunion has replaced The Guilty Party, as that band's Facebook page has quietly been deleted.

Johnny had replaced Brent in both that band and Separate Wayz when Brent stepped down last month, but he never played a gig with either before Soundcheck reunited with him behind the kit. The Guilty Party only played a handful of gigs last fall, and you'll see Terry get his lead vocal turns with both Soundcheck and Separate Wayz, but I will miss the videos that were on The Guilty Party's page! Like last week at Jay's, expect Soundcheck's shows on the 20th and 21st to be 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on Soundcheck's official return! 

Next up, here's a mild surprise, as Detroit-based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Crazy Babies (a.k.a. Ozzy REbourne) will make their local concert debut on Saturday, May 9th when they rock The Full Throttle Saloon! The first booking from a touring band at the former Primavera Hall, this was announced yesterday on the venue's Facebook page, but I have not seen confirmation of this booking on Crazy Babies' end. While we have seen an Ozzy-era Black Sabbath tribute band here before, one paying homage primarily to Ozzy's solo career will be really neat, and Ozzy REbourne definitely deliver the goods for fans of the pioneering British metal legend, so keep this spring-time show in mind! Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush (no strangers to The Full Throttle Saloon) will open the proceedings in three months. Their 1980s-leaning batch of covers should ease fans into the metal!

This will be a 19+ event, and we await confirmation of a start time and ticket/admission fees, but call/contact the venue if you have any early questions. This should be a fun one, and I hope it does well to encourage more touring acts at this new-ish Steelton venue, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

 

• Sault Michigan hard rock/punk trio About:Blank have parted ways with guitarist Nathan Webber, as per their Facebook page on January 31st. A reason for his departure was not announced, but things are amicable, and they wish him well in his future endeavours (one being his other active hard rock band Crush). Nathan had previously missed About:Blank's set at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in October, but it's not clear how related that is to his permanent exit. Parker & Kade are looking for a new guitarist (and maybe a bassist, assuming that Parker could focus on guitar full time thusly), so message them above for details, and stay tuned for updates from both About:Blank & Crush!
• In their first Facebook post in two years (they never even mentioned Toystock 2024 or dropping out of last year's Toystock there), Sault Ontario punk trio Redundant teased on New Years Eve that "we will definitely see you in 2026", with this cover photo hinting that "something big is coming", featuring artwork of some kind partially obscured behind torn paper. No word on what Justin, Rick, and their new bassist are specifically teasing, but we'll let you know when Redundant truly resurfaces this year!
• Waterloo hard rock quartet Sierra Pilot will be the openers for Pop Evil when they headline at The Machine Shop on April 12th, as per Pop Evil's own advertising! If the name is familiar, it's likely because former Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin is an alum of theirs, but he left that band by early 2025. It will still be neat to see Sierra Pilot in town, and they have a solid and energetic sound that will help set the tone well before Pop Evil make their Sault Ontario debut! For unclear reasons, this tour's other opening band (Tampa hard rock group Kamenar) are not playing the Soo date, though note that this is the only scheduled gig in Canada.

 

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