Well guys, the 2010 Sault Ontario metal album season has officially kicked off with the first of a bunch of album releases, and that is today's top story, along with the latest news from two Sault Michigan bands and an upcoming concert, and a brand new local concert video! But first, it's time to go over what you should know about this new album!
The original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, released their 23rd album, "Bella Disgusta" to their internet pages this morning! After an almost three month delay from the original announced release date, the latest collection of blue Chinese metal crash punk is out for fans to purchase and stream! Featuring 11 tracks, I won't go into detail on what to expect, but let me just say that fans of their last few albums won't be disappointed! It still has the same unique sound and style that got them where they are today! The album's available for $9.99 at the band's official SoundClick page by mp3 download only, or you can purchase individual songs for 75¢ each. Buying each song individually is actually $1.74 cheaper than buying the album as whole, but believe me, the whole album purchase is faster and more worth it. But before you download, you can stream the whole album absolutely free there, as well as on their Facebook page, so you can hear the album free before you buy it! So if you want to hear some crash music and get your Sykotyk Rampage fix, "Bella Disgusta" should work! Click here to buy it today, and use the above links to stream it beforehand!
And as you noticed at the top of the page, our banner has been modified in honour of "Bella Disgusta", as well as our official logo on our Facebook page! Check them out, they will be up through Friday! And finally, yes, I do have a review of "Bella Disgusta" planned for the next little while, but will it be the August album review? No, but here's why. I just reviewed their last album, "22", in March, and I try not to review two albums by the same band in a six month span, so I'll wait until next week to review "Bella Disgusta". My August review, which will likely be on Monday or Tuesday, will either be the CD SBD have been selling at their shows (if they have any tonight), or an album from WAY back in the local scene's past. I'll leave it that, and I'll have more soon!
Secondly today, here's a brand new video from July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! This comes from the second day of the festival, July 23rd, and it's of Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Lake Superior State University graduate Zak Stelmaszek) from their set that day as one of the supporting bands for Three Doors Down! The video, which was uploaded onto the band's official YouTube channel, features Fifth Way playing their song "Lose Control", and though the video doesn't capture the song in full, it's probably the best quality I've seen of any hard rock/metal performance clips from the festival! Catchy hard driving song, you should like this one, check it out below! And remember to stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene next month when Fifth Way will be profiled in our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile!
Thirdly today is something we haven't done on here in a while: Quick notes on a few notable topics. These are stories that I don't have enough for a full note on that would be locally relevant, and coincidentally, all of the bands we're gonna touch on have a name starting with the letter E! So here we go, in alphabetical order, some quick news and notes:
Sault Michigan hard rockers Elipzis are keeping busy with some more out of town dates as they continue to make their mark on the Lower Peninsula! Their blog on MySpace has news on some upcoming TV appearances they'll be making on some Grand Rapids-area stations, along with their latest gigs in Grand Haven and Battle Creek next weekend! Click the above links for more!
If you were wondering why I didn't cover the announced release date of Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal band End of Existence's EP "Sun Is Gone" on August 15th, there's a good reason why I didn't. They actually pushed the release back to September 1st, as confirmed on a new ticker on their official website, as well as on the news section. No reason was given for the delay. I'll keep you posted as I hear more!
As we've been plugging on the SMS, Endast, Blood Drunk, and the returning As It Stands will be bringing the metal to Foggy Notions on Thursday night. But why is it taking place at 6:30 PM, 3 ½ hours earlier than usual? Simple, because Thursday is karaoke night at Foggy's! That will be on as scheduled at 10:00 PM on Thursday, and expect this to be more metal than your typical karaoke night! Get more details at this location!
And finally for today, just some SMS housekeeping notes. Firstly, I've edited The Sault Metal Scene's official MySpace page to give it the new layout that MySpace is introducing for their profiles. It's a work in progress and admittedly not my primary focus for SMS things, but it does look cleaner and less like an HTML mess than it did. There's more to do, but of course, add us as a friend on MySpace today if you haven't already! Also, I wanted to clear up a little note on what cities, towns, and areas count as "local" in terms of what we cover on the SMS. My unwritten rule has been that bands and shows that we cover on here should be roughly within a 45 minute drive of Sault Ontario or Michigan, but what areas does that include? Well, here's what falls in that area for what counts as "local" for SMS purposes:
Outside of Sault Ontario: Laird, Garden River, Goulais River, Rankin Reserve, Prince Township, Gros Cap, Echo Bay, Bar River, Sylvan Valley, Aweres, Searchmont, and areas in between.
Outside of Sault Michigan: Kincheloe, Kinross, Barbeau, Kelden, Pickford, Stirlingville, Brimley, Raco, Rudyard, Dafter, Bay Mills, Sugar Island, Eckerman, Strongs, and areas in between.
Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion! I'm a bit more lenient for specific concerts (Hempfest, notably), but I try to stick to the 45 minute drive time area around the city for what I'd say is "local". No offense meant to any bands and promoters not in the above areas! That's all for today, I'll see you guys at Foggy's tonight for SBD, and I'll have a review, photos, and video tomorrow, and I'll try and post some live updates from outside Muio's as the night rolls on! I'll see you all downtown!
I'm back from Maniotulin Island, and I have loads of news to get to, but our main story tonight is fallout from the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, which wrapped up last night! Loads of stuff from there to get to, but first, an apology on missed shows. Apparently, this past weekend, Marquette hard rockers Nudge played at The Satisfied Frog this weekend for at least two concerts (Friday night and last night), though I can't verifiably prove if they played a "Nudge-coustic" show on Thursday night like they typically do. The band's MySpace page updates frequently to delete past concerts, so I can't check to see if they were there, but their Facebook page lists them, and according to it, the shows went well! Last time I checked their concert listings on MySpace, I'm pretty sure there was no local concerts listed for July, so either these were a late announcement or I didn't look hard enough. My deepest apologies to anyone affected by this slip-up, and I bet the shows were great!
And now, it's time to go over stuff that went down at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, starting with SooToday's coverage! Donna Hopper was there on Thursday for the Bret Michaels/Vince Neil-headlined opening night, and took a unique angle with her review by grading Bret and Vince individually on points to determine who had the better set! Donna gave Vince Neil points for his energetic drummer Zoltan Chaney and his performances of Motley Crue classics, but gave negative points for his 20 minute break while his solo band jammed covers. She gave Bret Michaels points for persevering from his major health setbacks and for his Poison classics, but docked him points for wearing a shirt with his own picture on it. Interesting way to review their sets, for more of the point breakdown, and to find out who "won", read Donna's article at this location! There's also 28 photos from their sets online, including some crowd shots, but there are no photos of any of the other bands, entertainers, or events. Reviews of the other nights on SooToday have not been posted as of tonight. SooNews.ca's Tami Fremlin got photos and filmed some segments at the festival for upcoming episodes of a SooNewsTV webprogram called Winging It!, and articles are online of Tami's encounters with Bret Michaels, Henry Winkler, DJ Chef, and the Playboy Playmates! Click on their names to read them! As of tonight, there's nothing else Kewadin Festival-related on there. The Sault Star also had Kewadin Festival stuff to share afterwards, though only one piece revolves around metal or hard rock bands. Rachelle Labrecque from The Sault Star took a number of photos of Bret Michaels' set and the crowd during it, and there's some good shots, but there's nothing of Vince Neil or anything else from the festival in this album. Still good though, click here to check out her photos! The rest of the articles from The Sault Star so far revolve around Meat Loaf's set last night, including the panic beforehand that he may not perform after cancelling a Detroit concert on Thursday due to his doctor's recommendation. No worries, he performed as scheduled! Head to The Sault Star's official website for more on Meat Loaf, and of course, check your newer copies of the paper for the same articles above in print! Oddly, The Soo Evening News (the major newspaper in Sault Michigan) has had the least Kewadin Festival coverage that I've seen, the only new item I've seen being a photo of the mechanical bull ride. Hey, it's variance from the rest of what we've seen, but that can't be it, can it? I find it kinda odd as well that no major Sault-area news sources covered at least Three Doors Down on Friday, or any of the non-headlining bands, but hey, you take what you can get! If I hear or see anything else come out from the festival, I'll have it here!
And now, to cap off today's post: Videos, but believe it or not, there isn't a massive amount of videos yet. I thought there'd be tons by now, especially considering the bands, but regardless of genre or content, I've only found THREE Kewadin Festival videos as of tonight! YouTube user madmaddy361 uploaded a 10 minute video of the fireworks from one night of the festival, a date isn't specified for which day it was. Nice footage, but I was hoping for more concert clips, especially of the metal/hard rock bands! The only band videos I've seen from the festival (or "RockFest", as it's accidentally labelled) come from YouTube user Jeremy Dolce, who uploaded two concert videos onto his YouTube channel! One is a live video of Three Doors Down playing their song "Superman", and it's got nice quality audio, but the camera work is very shaky. Luckily, Jeremy did get some hard rock video, as he got a clip of Bret Michaels talking to the crowd, thanking them for their support, and sharing some cool possibilities for next year's tour, before starting into "Look What The Cat Dragged In"! Check it out below, and when new videos pop up online, I'll be sure to share with you guys!
I'll leave you guys with that for tonight, but stay tuned tomorrow for more news and updates that I have to get to! Lots of exciting things coming up, plus my next CD review and out-of-town band profiles! Stay tuned!
Second post today, and we'll focus on just concert previews today, as we have both a local band's weekend return, and of course, a very large music festival! But before we discuss these new shows, we have a cancellation, so here's what you should know!
Last month, I announced to you guys that AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who would be performing at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night with local band Wishbone opening. Well, the concert appears to have been cancelled, as the event page for it has been deleted, and the band's Facebook page announced that their show in London on Friday would be their last Ontario show on the tour, implying that they wouldn't be coming here on Saturday like was previously announced. Really, I should have known about this cancellation earlier, because Turner Up are already scheduled for The Rockstar Bar on Saturday in their place (more on that in a second), but remember, I was without a computer all weekend, so that didn't help. I don't know what happened to cause the cancellation, but it's disappointing, cause I'm a fan of Who Made Who and would have definitely went if I could have! Well, hopefully they'll be back down the road, they put on a great show!
So with Who Made Who's cancellation, The Rockstar Bar found more than suitable replacements with local classic hard rockers Turner Up, who are also booked for a concert on Friday as well! And yes, I know I just alerted you guys to their shows earlier today, but this is to preview the concerts, and I gotta do it today before the Kewadin festival starts, so I apologize for the redundancy. In just their second weekend performances featuring new frontman Brent Royer, Turner Up will be on at 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday for two concerts with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit! Confirm your attendance for these shows at the official Facebook event page! These should be fun, hopefully Turner Up get some good attendances for these shows! And for a preview, here's a video from the Todd Killam days of the band covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music", and yes, once video of the band with Brent on vocals pops up, I'll show you guys!
And now, it's time for the biggest event of the weekend, maybe even the summer, as tomorrow marks the kickoff of the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Kewadin Casino's been going strong since 1985, and to mark this milestone, they are holding a major three day ALL AGES music festival outside at Kewadin Casino featuring loads of entertainment, from bands to celebrities to games and much more! As of Tuesday, most of the stages and tents were set up (click here for SooToday coverage of the festival construction), and all the festival needs now is YOU! We'll start this preview by going over each day's entertainment, with special attention paid to the scheduled metal and hard rock bands, with ticket and parking information and other assorted tidbits at the end! And if there's an item or band that I haven't covered yet on here, I'll let you know, cause some new stuff popped up during the weekend when I couldn't post about it. Sources for my information come from the official festival page and it's official blog, with other links included as needed.
Tomorrow is the festival's kick off, and it starts with a bang, as two legendary hair metal frontmen headline at the festival, neither of which are strangers to the Sault area! Poison frontman Bret Michaels (who is definitely healed enough from his recent health scares) and Motley Crue singer Vince Neil are headlining tomorrow's festivities at the Kewadin Festival! You'll no doubt remember seeing Bret Michaels here in 2005 at Sault Ontario's Eastgate Hotel and from his 2008 birthday concert at The Dreammaker's Theater, while Vince Neil and his Motley Crue bandmates played the first ever major concert at the then-Steelback Center way back in December 2006! It's great to see both of them back here, and they're sure to rock Kewadin Casino pretty hard tomorrow night! Vince hits the stage for his solo set at 7:15 PM, which will feature a mix of solo originals (including hits like "Sister of Pain" and "Tattoos & Tequila"), covers, and Motley Crue classics, while Bret Michaels performs at 9:00 PM to sing some of his hits with Poison, and solo tracks like "All I Ever Needed" and "Nothing To Lose"! Hair metal fans will no doubt have a ball with the headliners tomorrow, and Vince and Bret are sure to deliver nothing but a good time tomorrow night! For previews of their sets, here's two music videos for Bret Michaels' solo song "Menace To Society" and Vince Neil's "Tattoos & Tequila"!
That's hardly all on Monday though, as there's much more music and entertainment to go around! Backing up Bret & Vince on the main stage are local metal band Nixxon Dixxon, who you'll remember as the short-notice backup band for Bret Michaels at his 2008 Kewadin concert! Fittingly, the picture I'm using here is of Nixxon Dixxon & Bret Michaels, I wonder if they'll get another one this time around? Nixxon Dixxon open the main stage tomorrow at 5:00 PM, with another local band, Electric Motor Fish, playing at 6:00 PM. Though not metal, they are talented, and feature Shift drummer Tony Rogers, so that's worth noting! Also, there will be other stages! The announcement of new stages was made while my computer was in the shop, so here's what else you should know for tomorrow!
As it turns out, the Rock Camp youth group (which I think is connected to The Guitar Studio) & local country singer Paul Perry WERE NOT dropped from the lineup, they just weren't on the main stage, as they'll both be performing tomorrow! According to the schedule, the Rock Camp group will be playing from 12:00-5:00 on the second stage, which seems VERY long, so either there's multiple Rock Camp bands, or they're taking breaks mid-set. I can't verify which band(s) in particular are on the Second Stage, but I found a rock camp band named Aux on YouTube that very well could be the band, or one of them, check them out at this location! Paul Perry will be performing on the third stage for three 1 hour sets at 12:00, 2:00, and 4:00, with DJ Chef spinning tunes and cooking gourmet meals at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00! The Rock Camp band(s) are also on for the same times on Friday, and Paul Perry & DJ Chef will both be playing at the same times on Friday and Saturday too. Saturday's second stage bands will NOT be the Rock Camp bands, I'll detail that lineup when we get to it.
Friday's main stage bands are mostly non-metal, but there is one SMS-coverable band! Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way, fresh off opening for Tesla at Kewadin Casino, will return to Sault Michigan on Friday as one of the opening bands! They'll be on for a 45 minute set at 6:00 PM on Friday, and here's who else to look out for that day! Multi-platinum Mississippi rock band Three Doors Down will headline the Friday festivities at 9:00 PM, with Boston pop rockers StilrizE (one of Papa Roach's opening bands from their 2009 show here) at 8:00 PM, and Essexville indie band Finding Clyde at 7:00 PM. Opening the main stage on Friday at 5:00 PM is Grand Rapids pop punk band Dannison, with Fifth Way following them at 6:00 PM! Note that the second and third stage entertainment (Rock Camp, Paul Perry, & DJ Chef) is no different from tomorrow's schedule. Sounds like a good Friday lineup, even if we only get one really "hard rock" band. Three Doors Down should pull in a great crowd though, and it should be fun! Nice to see Fifth Way back locally too, I really like their sound, and they'll hopefully deliver a good set! For a preview, here's Fifth Way playing their song "Rock N' Roll" from the Tesla show last month!
Saturday's main stage entertainment is headlined by rock legend Meat Loaf, who is sure to impress us Saultites to cap off the festival! But there will be some metal to go around on Saturday, courtesy of the returning Clownsack! Yes, the local funk hard rockers return after a long live break to bring their unique brand of music to us once again, and give you all the reason in the world to love their clown sauce! Great to see them back, and maybe they'll play some new material from their forthcoming CD? Time will tell! Clownsack are immediately before Meat Loaf at 7:45 on Saturday, with Meat Loaf's set running from 9:15 til close. The remaining main stage acts on Saturday include International Idol winner Kellan Perron at 5:00, Lansing classic rockers Showdown at 5:45, and that newer local band Elipzis at 6:45. If anyone can tell me anything about Elipzis, let me know, cause I can't find anything at all about them! Very solid lineup to cap the festival, and it will be great to see Clownsack on stage again, cause their live shows have just been getting rarer and rarer lately. Head on out, you won't be disappointed by Clownsack! For a preview, here's the video for Clownsack's song "Clown Sauce"!
As for the smaller stages on Saturday, Paul Perry and DJ Chef are on for the same times for the third stage, but the second stage will have different performers than the earlier two Rock Camp-centric lineups! This is also a new announcement, and yes, there will be metal, as Nixxon Dixxon return for a second set at the Kewadin Festival on the second stage! They're on for an hour at 2:30 PM on Saturday, immediately backing up Dannison, who are also returning after a main stage slot on Friday! Electric Motor Fish also return from the Thursday main stage for a set on the Saturday second stage at 1:15 PM, with a brand new performer, local blues/cultural artist Jody Gaskin, opening the second stage on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Nice to see some bands get a second crack at a slot at the festival, and it will be great to see Nixxon Dixxon again too, because they are absolutely one of the best known and most talented young local bands around! For a preview of both of their sets, really, here's Nixxon Dixxon's set from December's Kiss Battle of the Bands!
So those are the bands scheduled for the Kewadin Festival, and here's some more details on scheduled entertainment! From 1:00-3:00, 4:00-7:00, and 8:00-10:00 each day, a strolling magician will be doing magic tricks for those in attendance (no, it's not my dad), while there'll be lots of fun games going on from 12:00-4:00, including a NASCAR simulator, Nintendo games, "birdie golf" (probably mini golf), bumper cars, and a mechanical bull, with carnival food on sale as well! Numerous local merchants and vendors will be on hand for the entire festival to sell and advertise, get a complete list of the vendors by clicking here! From 1:00-3:00, each day, there will be eating contests and connected registration for them, so if you wanna show off your iron stomach, there's your chance! Also during this time frame, there will be celebrities on hand to meet you guys and sign autographs, including Playboy playmates Amber Campisi, Shannon James, and Brittney B. tomorrow, Detroit Lions legends Herman Moore & Billy Sims on Friday, and The Fonz himself, Henry Winkler, on Saturday! A bean bag toss tournament will be held from 1:00-7:00 daily, and fireworks will cap off each night's music after each headliner's set concludes! Kewadin's certainly pulling out all the stops, hopefully it all flies without a hitch!
Now, onto details about how to get to the festival and tickets, because it's not sold out! Tickets are $50 for an individual day and $75 for all three, so if you're planning to go on two days, buy a three day pass, not two single day passes, it's a better value! Hopefully you have your ticket already, but if you don't, you can buy tickets online at this location, or in person at The Dreammaker's Theater box office at the casino! Doors open at 11:00 AM for each day of the festival, and there are no discounts available on tickets. The festival itself will be held in the south parking lot (the Superior lot) and in the RV park. As such, and because large crowds are anticipated, extra parking has been set up for the festival at Sault High School, the old Wal-Mart building, The Big Bear Arena, and at The Cultural Center. There will also be a shuttle to transport festival goers back to these parking spots each day, which is nice and convenient! Food and drinks will be on sale at the festival, contests can be registered for at the registration table, the seating is general (first come first serve), no coolers and outside drinks are allowed, and tickets and 21+ patrons will be marked and monitored. For more questions, call Kewadin at 1-800-539-2346 for more information, and ask about meet and greets too, because Kewadin often has those with performing bands.
This should be a very fun festival, if very ambitious at the same time, and here's hoping for it to be a huge success! I don't think I'll be there for it, I'd be most inclined to go on Thursday but I dunno if it's entirely worth the money given my typical preferences. Should be awesome though, and hopefully the festival is a huge success, cause it's been suggested that it could be a yearly event if it's a hit! As I hear more on festival updates, including videos, news coverage, and band info (especially concerning Bret Michaels, Vince Neil, Nixxon Dixxon, Fifth Way, and Clownsack), I'll let you guys know! And if you're going to the festival, have a blast, make it a weekend to remember!
That's all for today, stay tuned for more backlogged news tomorrow and, after a bit of a delay, the results of last month's SMS poll and our brand new poll! Thanks everyone, I'll be back very soon!
Man, oh man is this week busy at The Sault Metal Scene! I was planning for mid-week to just be special feature posts, but my news desk is more full than it's been in a couple of months, so I basically HAVE to get a news post in tonight, lest I fall behind on some big stories. So today, I have some major updates from Turner Up, but first, here's some huge long-awaited lineup news for TWO upcoming music festivals! (Check out my newest out-of-town band profiles in the post below!)
Firstly, the lineup for this year's Rotaryfest Second Stage (sponsored by Tenaris Algoma Tubes) has been announced... well most of it, I'll explain in a second. Just like last year, the Second Stage will take place over two nights, this year over July 16th and 17th, and will be held outdoors at Square One of Queen Street East! After a year's absence, metal will return to the Second Stage, as Garden of Bedlam will headline on July 17th at 10:00 PM! This will be the band's first concert following the recording sessions for their new studio album, so this will definitely be a must see concert! As of today, they are the only confirmed metal band, but there are still four open slots for to be announced bands that, oddly enough, will be announced one at a time over the next couple of days. I don't know of who they could be, but keep that in mind! Admission for both nights is FREE and it's definitely ALL AGES!
Now as for the rest of the currently announced Second Stage lineup, here's who to expect: On Friday, July 16th, local prog rockers The Craig West Band (featuring Gates of Winter's Brian Holmes on bass) will open the Second Stage at 5:00 PM, followed by Toronto classical/punk trio RedD Monkey (featuring three Saultites, among them, former Gates drummer Kevin Overton) at 6:00 PM. The Great Bloomers, a roots music band from Toronto, will hit the stage at 7:00 PM, after which local indie band Kalle Mattson (featuring another former Gates of Winter member, drummer Jimmie Chiverelli) will play at 8:00 PM. The headliners for night one will be announced on Friday, they'll begin at 9:00 PM. Night two on Saturday, July 17th will begin at 1:00 PM with local blues rockers Blues Harvest (featuring former Garage Inc. frontman Jake Rendell), followed by a pair of local solo musicians, Catharine Taddo & Greg McLaughlin, at 2:00 and 3:00 PM respectively. Local roots band Porter will be on stage at 4:00 PM that day, followed by another mystery band at 5:00 PM that will be announced on Saturday. At 6:00 PM, local bluegrass quintet The Wild Turkeys will play a set, after which we'll get another mystery band at 7:00 PM who'll be announced TOMORROW. Local funk/blues rockers Big Wheel and the Spokes will be playing that night at 8:00 PM, followed by the last of the mystery bands at 9:00 PM (to be announced on Monday), with Garden of Bedlam capping off the Second Stage at 10:00 PM!
I'll update you guys to the additions as they come in, especially if there's a metal band! Also stay tuned for updates on the First Stage, which curiously has no news yet. Big thanks to Glen Thomas at The Barking Eye for letting me know about the lineup, and for further confirmation, visit the official Second Stage event page!
Speaking of festivals, we've been waiting patiently for news on the opening bands at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, and now we can confirm all of the opening bands for the festival, and yes, there are some local metal bands! All of the new info comes from the official Kewadin festival blog. Nixxon Dixxon will, as I personally hoped, be playing at the festival, which is awesome news! According to their MySpace page, they will fittingly be backing up Bret Michaels and Vince Neil on July 22nd! Remember, they were the short-notice openers for Bret at his last Kewadin concert in March 2008! Also confirmed, in their long-awaited return to the local stage: Clownsack! I don't think they've played a local show since last year's set at the King of the Cage MMA event! Great to finally see them back, maybe we'll hear stuff from their upcoming second album during their set? Time will tell! Also confirmed are a youth group named "Rock Camp". I believe this is a band from Shift guitarist Joey Beairl's summer rock camp through The Guitar Studio, but I can't 100% verify that. If I'm right on my assumption, this will feature young local rock musicians assembling in a new local rock band for an actual concert. Bands like 7/47, Unleashed, and Intrepid have formed from these summer rock camps, so this very well could be a metal group, but we'll have to see!
Also newly confirmed for the festival: Local country singer Paul Perry, and a local band named Elipzis. I haven't found anything to confirm this band's identity or genre, can you help? One more out of town band has been confirmed too, a classic rock band from Lansing named Showdown, who are actually the first band I've come across to confirm they're opening for Meat Loaf on July 24th! These bands join the previously confirmed support bands Finding Clyde, StilrizE, Dannison, and locals Electric Motor Fish on the lineup! Now, which days are they all playing? Some are confirmed, some are not, but here's what I know: Finding Clyde, StilrizE, Dannison, and Electric Motor Fish all confirmed that they would be backing up Three Doors Down on July 23rd on their respective MySpace pages, that we know, so there's likely no new bands to be confirmed for that day. With Nixxon Dixxon confirmed for the 22nd and Showdown on the 24th, that leaves four extra bands for those two days. My assumption would be that the bands will be matched by genre of the headliners, so I'm thinking that Clownsack and the "Rock Camp" group will be on the 22nd, and Elipzis and Paul Perry will be on the 24th. Could be wrong though. I'll keep you guys posted, stay tuned to the Kewadin Festival's official blog for lineup/event news and how to get tickets, and when the schedule is completely finalized, I'll let you guys know!
And finally, there has been a big apparent lineup change in a local hard rock band. Turner Up have parted ways with frontman Todd Killam. This can be confirmed from his absence from the band's lineup and photos on their brand new Facebook page (their old group was deleted.) What happened? Your guess is as good as mine, the band seemed happy and tight and all that, they even jammed a couple tunes with Garden of Bedlam members at their last show at The Canadian Nightclub! Nothing I've heard has implied band tension, so I'm thinking Todd left on his own, hopefully on good terms! He's not even mentioned by name on the new page, just as a "former member", which is odd. Sucks that he left, he's a nice guy and I know he's put a lot of work into Turner Up since their inception! So now, the band are looking to replace Todd with a new singer and apparently have gigs booked throughout the summer. We'll have to see what happens next with Turner Up, I'll definitely keep you all in the loop on that front! Also to note: The band's new Facebook page now lists their genre as "70's 80's Classic Rock." Yet with Todd singing, they played a lot of newer songs too. Change in singer AND musical focus too? Things to thinks about!
That's all for today, anything else would get lost in the shuffle of these big stories. I really SHOULD post more, but I don't want you guys to bypass anything or not notice a story that should be read. I am badly backed up for news, so tomorrow will be another double post day, starting with the debut of our new GarageBand Profile Mini-Series, as we take a look at a local metal project named Recognition. And then later on tomorrow night, I promise there will be a new news post with some more big stories. Stay tuned for all this, and more! Oh yeah, the SMS 3rd Anniversary is in FIVE DAYS!!!!!
It's that time again, where I have so many new local metal related videos to share that I have to group them all into one post! Three concert videos, a local radio station update video, and a commercial for an upcoming concert, so get yourselves ready for another local metal video showcase!
The first new video I have to share today is a new live video of Lion Ride from their concert on Thursday at Toronto's Bovine Sex Club! It's a live performance of their song "Sneak Attack", and it was uploaded to frontman Mikey Lion's YouTube channel yesterday! It's a good performance of a great song, it's filmed from a nice angle, and the sound is good too! However, Iron Mike Bison's drums seem to overpower the vocals at parts, and I'm not sure what that thing is that obstructs the lower right area of the video...is that a chair? Well, at least it doesn't block anyone or anything important! Great video, hopefully there's more Lion Ride videos to come! Check it out below!
Next up is a new video of local hard rockers Half Past! Though we haven't seen them live in two months, if you're missing them at all, this might help! Drummer Chris Thompson has uploaded two new live clips from the band's April supporting performance for Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian Nightclub onto his YouTube channel! One is another live video of their original "War Inside My Head", and the other one which I'm showing you all here is a video of their newest original "One More Day"! Really nice quality, the sound is clear and the video's filmed at a good angle with nice use of the zoom lens! Great song too, very catchy, I can't wait to hear more from Half Past! Check out the "One More Day" video below, and lots more videos from Half Past at this location!
Thirdly is a new video from Nixxon Dixxon's May 23rd show at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! We previously saw clips from this show of the band covering "And The Cradle Will Rock..." and "No More Tears", but now, YouTube user myangels1266 has uploaded another performance from that show, of Nixxon Dixxon covering the "Would?" by Alice In Chains! Nice cover, I like how the dual vocal harmonies on this version, and Chris Hubbard continues to impress on lead guitar here too! Really good cover, these guys have a very bright future! Check the performance out below, and more vidoes from Nixxon Dixxon by clicking here!
Now onto a new update video from Energy Rock Radio, where DJ Ryan McQueen tells us what we should be "in the know" about with the station! This video was uploaded to Energy Rock Radio's YouTube channel on Wednesday. Ryan covers a lot of ground in just under 4 and a half minutes, so here's what you should know! The station are starting a homegrown talent segment where a local band will be profiled each month! ERR will feature Sense of Truth this month and Garden of Bedlam next month to start! Good sign, I wish more local stations aired more local talent! Among other highlights: The station are now taking in listener-submitted segments, Ryan hyped ERR sponsors (nice of him to plug the SMS again, thanks Ryan!), plus lots of reminders about daily show times, the "metal face" contest, the Friday karaoke nights, and more! Great way to get the scoop on all you need to know from Energy Rock Radio, though of course, everything you must know is at their newly re-updated website! Listen to Energy Rock Radio today, and check out the video below!
Finally for today is a new commercial for the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, which takes place July 22-24th outdoors at Kewadin Casino! Actually, there's three new commercials for it, all of which are uploaded on Kewadin Casino's YouTube channel. Two are actually airing on television right now, including this one airing on MCTV (with an attached contest plug to win tickets), and this one airing on the local CBS feed in Sault Michigan! You can really tell that Kewadin's pulling out all the stops to make this a success, TV commercials can't hurt it! The one I'm embedding below is a one minute commercial that doesn't appear to be channel-specific, so I'm thinking this is for online distribution only. It gets across all major points, and does a good job of hyping the event, which will undoubtedly be huge! Remember, for full details on the festival, including how to buy tickets, click here! And for you metalheads, Bret Michaels and Vince Neil are still on for July 22nd, with more metal bands likely to come! Check out the new commercial below, and more at the above links!
That's all for today, my next post will undoubtedly feature some new news updates, I have stuff on the Kewadin festival, a recent Barking Eye article, Out Of The Mouth of Babes, Woods of Ypres, and more to come, so stay tuned!
Firstly, before we get to local metal news, we have yet another tragic metal death to mention. The Sault Metal Scene sends huge condolences out to the friends, family, and bandmates of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray (a.k.a. #2, or "The Pig"), who was found dead in an Iowa hotel room yesterday at the age of 38. The cause is currently unknown. Slipknot have a pretty big fanbase here, and I'm sure this is hitting fans pretty hard. I was lucky enough to see Slipknot on Ozzfest a few years back, they were awesome, and I've always liked Paul's bass style. R.I.P. Paul, your music lives on! I can't believe we've lost Paul, Peter Steele, and Ronnie James Dio in a six week span, that's a completely unfortunate run.
Alright, keeping with yesterday's fifth monthly profiles on out of town bands with local members, today's SMS update is all about out of town bands with a local connection! The updates concern local concerts from these bands, be they upcoming, to be determined, or past! And, I bet there's one topic you're all expecting to be the top story, right? Well, let's start with that!
According to their official website, Kiss will embark on their newest North American tour, titled "The Hottest Show On Earth", starting on July 23rd in Cheyenne, Wyoming! And since Kiss postponed their planned December concert here at The Essar Center, Kiss fans have been waiting patiently (or impatiently) for a rescheduled date. The full tour dates are available at this location, and many have noticed a glaring omission: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The band's management had already confirmed our show would be rescheduled for this summer, but current dates list nothing implying a local stop. SooToday have already posted the same press release at this location, with the title "KISS announces summer tour. Crap! We're not on it!" No other local news outlets have picked up on this to my knowledge.
I can hear the skeptics now: "I TOLD YOU KISS WEREN'T COMING! WHY WOULD GENE BOTHER, WE'RE TOO SMALL, BLA BLA BLA", and so on. But hold your horses before you start saying "I told you so" or sending the band hate-mail. First off, Kiss PROMISED US a show. Gene even guaranteed it in an interview I quoted on here last year, search the blog, it's still there! We finished third in the voting for the fan-routed tour contest that the band held with Eventful last year. If they suddenly backed out without explanation, it would look horrible on them and many people here would be calling foul. That being said, the band haven't said "We're not coming, here's why" either. The postponed December date for here is still listed on the band's official tour page on their website, and if the show was called off with no plans to reschedule, would it still be there? Plus, SMS reader Natalie Belleau replied to my SMS Facebook page status update yesterday to say she e-mailed the band's website, and got a reply saying that Kiss WILL be coming here, and an announcement will be made soon! I trust her word, I imagine other people here are doing the same exact thing also to make sure, let's just hope there's no contradicting replies!
So, though I'm sure there is many skeptics still floating around that will believe Kiss will come here when they see it, I think they will. This show SOLD OUT originally, it will sell out again, and it will make Gene Simmons lots of cash! They rescheduled the Kewadin Casino show after an even more questionable cancellation (a Japanese tour instead or inclement weather, which is worse against us?) Have faith, Kiss fans, and as for skeptics, show some optimism! As for when to expect the Kiss show to be, I've narrowed it down to three likely time periods, if we're indeed part of this leg: Between the end of their current European tour on June 27th and their tour kick off show on July 23nd, between their September 5th and 9th shows in Minnesota and Toronto, and late September following their last scheduled show in Phoenix. We could be tacked on the beginning or end (that's what happened last year), or we could be slotted in along with their current routing, and the early September span makes the most sense if you look at their full tour schedule. FINGERS CROSSED, I'M PRETTY SURE THEY WON'T FAIL US THIS TIME!
Next up, I have updates for next month's Tesla concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino! The hair metal legends will indeed have a support band, luckily I heard about it before the show this time! (I didn't want a repeat of missing 16 Second Stare from last year's Ace Frehley concert.) Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way will play direct support for Tesla at the show, which will be June 26th at 7:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:00! So, how are Fifth Way? Well, they've actually got more of a radio hard rock sound, but they're not bad at all, they have some good melodies and some nice heavy vocals! They should do pretty good as support, check them out at their official MySpace page! The poster for the show points out that Fifth Way's newest CD is now available at Grooves Music, so if you like what you here, buy it there! Hair metal fans rejoice for this little piece of additional Tesla concert news: It's not sold out yet! There are still general seats available for just $38.50 American, click here to visit Kewadin's ticket page and see about picking up a ticket! And now that I'm smarter about remembering this, if you're interested in asking about a possible meet and greet with Tesla, call Kewadin Casino at (906) 341-2951 and see if there is one, and when! Confirm your attendance for Tesla's return to Sault Michigan at this location!
Thirdly today, updates on Bret Michaels, who is still scheduled to headline the first night of Kewadin Casino's 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Now, I'm sure much of the Bret Michaels-related headlines lately are from his victory on the finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, which won him $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association, but of course, his health is first priority! Apparently, he suffered a "warning stroke" four days ago related to a hole discovered in his heart, which he plans to get surgery for in September, AFTER his tour. He's tough, I'll give him that! And yes, now that he's completely alert and can fend for himself out of hospital, he plans to resume playing live this weekend with a show in Mississippi! Will this mean his future tour dates are on, including the Kewadin festival? Maybe, not even Bret knows. According to some articles, he wants to take baby steps back and see how this weekend's concert goes. Personally, I would rather he was 100% than performing at less than that while in pain, so no matter what Bret decides to do going forward with future dates, I won't complain! Brain hemorrhages, strokes, apendectomies, and a hole in the heart are all big deals, keep that in mind! But if he does play here, I hope he's pain free and has a great time here, as he's had in his previous two stops!
Speaking of his previous two stops, here's an interesting article that The Sault Star uploaded last month! It's an interview they had with Bret Michaels in advance of his October 2005 show at the now-closed Eastgate Hotel in Sault Ontario, where he talked about his includion of country music in his sets, why he was playing in a small venue like The Eastgate, one of his box set releases from around then, and some of his film work! Nice article, I don't remember it from back then, give it a look at this location! And check the links below for updates on Bret Michaels' health, the previous 2005 article, and an additional one from The Sault Star last month where Kewadin representatives confirmed no changes to the festival lineup at the time.
Alright, tomorrow, I PROMISE we'll get back to talk on local bands! I just had to group the Kiss, Tesla, and Bret Michaels stories together because they all have shows coming up here, and it made sense to clump them together. Updates from Nixxon Dixxon, Stillbroke, WinkStinger, Energy Rock Radio, and possibly more, will be in store tomorrow, so keep a look out!
Man, homework SUCKS. My cache of local metal news is piling up, so I basically HAVE to update everyone today or people are gonna be wondering why this story or that info isn't getting plugged! Today's news will revolve around the topic of concerts: We have updates on two potential shows, a new band for one, and major updates on a certain local music festival, so here we go!
We have more info online concerning what to expect for this July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Firstly, as you can see, they have an official event logo! Looks nice, though the colours scream "fall" more than summer. I'd have changed the brown to a red, but hey, they must have had their reasons! Also, a tentative schedule is now online for it at this location! Aside from the main headliners (Vince Neil, Bret Michaels, Three Doors Down, and Meat Loaf), specific bands have yet to be announced by Kewadin, so we'll have to wait and see! That being said, the schedule says that there will be "Entertainment" (I am 95% sure this means "Live Bands") at 12:00, 2:00, and 4:00 at 1 hour timeslots each day. If you noticed that there's one hour gaps between these sets, they're not dead air, DJ Chef will be on for an hour a piece at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 each day! Through more research on DJ Chef, I can tell you that he's a Food Network personality who has the unique ability to spin the turntables AND cook gourmet meals at the same time! Maybe not metal, but that takes obvious talent! Also, it should be noted that the headlining bands are listed as performing from 6:00-10:00 PM. I can't see a band being given four hours to themselves, so if you hear support bands added to that timeslot, don't be surprised!
As for the rest of the daily schedules, the "strolling magician" will be around to do magic tricks from 12:00-3:00, 4:00-7:00, and 8:00-10:00! The NASCAR simulator, Rock Band, birdie golf (I assume that's mini golf?), bumper cars, and mechanical bull will be active from 12:00-4:00, along with carnival food for sale! Registration for the daily eating contests is from 1:00-3:00 each day, I assume the contests themselves are in the same timeframe. Also from 1:00-3:00 are the autograph signings (Remember, Thursday has Playboy Bunnies, Friday has Detroit Lions players, and Saturday has The Fonz!) The bean bag toss tournament is from 1:00-7:00 daily, there's food and merchants throughout the day, and fireworks will conclude each night at 10:00 PM!
In terms of other new updates that I haven't mentioned yet, the festival itself will be held outside Kewadin Casino in the south parking lot & RV park, I believe in a similar location to where the Kiss concert was held. There are NO discounts or deals for tickets beyond the cheaper total rate for a three day pass. That being said, there are no children's rates, so they'll cost the same as adults. Doors (or should I say, gates) open at 11:00 AM daily for the festival, and all contests can be registered for at the registration table. Admission is general, but you'll need your own chair if you want to sit down on one. Coolers and outside beverages are prohibited, those 21+ will be marked at the beer tent, and tickets will be monitored at entry and exit. Kewadin's really pulling out all the stops, this should be one hell of a festival! You can guarantee that I'll keep you posted with updates on this festival, especially where newly announced bands are concerned, particularly of the metal variety! Stay tuned, and click here for complete details so far, and tickets go on sale on FRIDAY!
Next up, it appears that a new band has been announced for an upcoming death metal show! While I still haven't seen local press or a Facebook event page for it, Derelict and Thekillingfield are indeed coming to Foggy Notions on May 6th, and they will have company! The new band on the bill is Sudbury death metal quartet Beyond Within, who should be quite familiar to you local metalheads! Beyond Within have played here numerous times, mostly at The Oddfellows Hall, most recently last March as one of the support acts for Cattle Decapitation (coincidentally, Thekillingfield were also on the bill for that show!) I love Beyond Within, one of the most brutal death metal bands I've seen locally! In fact, one of my first local concert t-shirts was a Beyond Within one! It'll be weird seeing them at a bar though, I'm sure we're all more used to seeing them at The Oddfellows Hall! Trust me, metalheads, you'll love this concert! Check out more from Beyond Within at this location (their involvement in this show is confirmed there), and if I hear more on this concert, I'll be sure to share it with you all!
Now we come to shows that aren't confirmed totally yet, but there's interesting stuff about them to mention. Firstly, remember that possible Doom Cannon metal/hardcore show that may happen on May 18th? Well, the signs pointing to it's confirmedness continue to build, as Doom Cannon's MySpace page lists a May 18th concert in Sault Ontario with the venue being...The Oddfellows Hall. Exactly where I predicted it would be! Now this isn't enough to confirm this show yet, I've learned from past mistakes that often times, a show there can't totally be confirmed by a MySpace concert listing alone, so I will wait for official word from Jasmin Nott (the promoter) before I call this an official show. Time is getting thinner to properly hype it though, hopefully something 100% official pops up soon! In any event, a Doom Cannon-headlined hardcore show at The Oddfellows Hall on May 18th seems more likely than not, so keep it in the back of your head! And keep up to date on this potential show's happenings and news at the official Facebook event page!
And finally for today, here's another potential concert to keep on your radars! Local hardcore band Out Of The Mouth Of Babes (featuring 4/5ths of As It Stands and Matt Maccarone from A Fall From Innocence) have a possible concert listed for May 28th at Foggy Notions on their MySpace page! Little is given, just an 8:00 PM start time and the information that they will be playing with a band named Kingdoms. After a quick Google search, I can tell you that they are a hardcore band from Kitchener, not a bad sound to them! Now for what it's worth, Kingdoms' MySpace page lists a show in Etobicoke for that same day, so it may have been cancelled in the first place. But really, Out Of The Mouth Of Babes have announced a number of shows since their inception that led nowhere, like the show supposedly happening at The Oddfellows Hall this Saturday that's on their MySpace. Either the advertising for it is abysmal, they're really keeping it a secret, or it was called off too. Well, if I hear anything, I'll let you guys know, I just wish they were clearer about their show statuses!
I have lots more coming, likely tomorrow, mostly assorted news that doesn't apply to any specific concert, ranging from a glimpse at how a certain local band sound to a rock themed car wash?! All that and more tomorrow, hopefully, so stay tuned!
Greetings one and all, it's time to get you all caught up on some assorted smaller news stories that I've saved up over the last few days! Let's start with an intriguing new local webzine!
Just launched the other day by Nikita Andrews, it's called 705Quarterly, and it looks to focus on arts, music, culture, and fashion in the Sault area! Articles on local talent and products are planned, with sections based around health, fitness, beauty, music, art, photography, architecture and interior design! Note that music is among these, so that's where it falls into SMS-appropriate news! It will have a daily blog and will have new issues published quarterly (that's every 3 months), but we know little else at the moment. The official website is "coming soon", and the search is still out for potential featured articles and the like! And this is where you, the metalheads and music lovers of Sault Ste. Marie come in! If YOU are a local musician, solo or band, and would like to possibly featured in a future issue of 705Quarterly, e-mail band information and website links (but NOT attachments) to either artists@705quarterly.com or music@705quarterly.com! There's no genre resrictions at all, so if you want some local coverage, why not send them something! It would be cool to see metal in this though!
Also, if any of you guys have aspirations to be a freelance writer, the offer's out there if you want to have an article or interview of your own to be featured there! Submit journalistic-type writing samples to writers@705quarterly.com if you're interested in that! Yes, this could lead to something metal-related depending on the person, so it has some SMS-relevant possibilities. And for all updates and information on 705Quarterly as it comes in, click here! (The discussion board has the open requests for bands/writers.) Sounds potentially very good to me, here's hoping it succeeds where others failed!
Next up, we have some updates from your favourite local college radio station, WLSO 90.1 FM: The Sounds of Lake State! They mostly concern their website, which got some minor upgrades, though it's still largely a Joomla shell. The winner of the station's logo contest still hasn't been announced (at least not publicly), so their old/current logo remains on the site. There is some new updates from the station posted there by WLSO's Brian Springett, who mentions that the station is still looking for on-air DJs, so e-mail klschnepp@lssu.edu if you're a current student at Lake Superior State University who would like to DJ on 90.1 FM! The station also has open positions for Business Manager, Music Director, and Mobile Director, so if you want a big job at the station, head to the Campus Life Office at LSSU for application forms! And finally, Brian reminds us that if you want WLSO to do live broadcasting or mobile DJing at an event, call them at (906) 635-7504!
Nice to finally see them update the site after 7 months, I was wondering if something would happen with that! Remember to listen to WLSO at 90.1 FM or at this location to enjoy a wide variety of student-programmed music, including some awesome metal blocks! I'll keep you posted with more WLSO news as I hear it, as well as any updates to the logo contest!
Now I have two minor updates concerning the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Fesitval in July! We all know what's planned for it by now, the post below has everything we know so far, but it's making the rounds to local news! SooToday posted Kewadin's news release online at this location, while The Sault Star's Frank Dobrovnik has an actual article about it that you can check out by clicking here! I notice that Frank mentioned that Kewadin Casino has always held day-long "annual summer blowouts" in previous years, though I can't recall them hyping that as such. Still, this year's would blow those out of the water! The most substantial news article I've seen since the announcement comes courtesy of SooNews.ca, which features interview excerpts from Kewadin Casino marketing/sales vice president Alan Bouschor! In it, he does confirm that "local and regional bands" will be the "live entertainment" performing from noon onwards each day, among other statements. Read that article at this location! And finally, a Facebook event page is up for it, confirm your attendance by clicking here! This should be one hell of a festival, especially with Meat Loaf, Three Doors Down, and (for us metalheads) Vince Neil & Bret Michaels headlining! I'll keep you posted with updates!
And finally, three quick news stories to close this assorted news post:
I recently attended the NHL Alumni vs. Law Enforcement hockey game at The Essar Center, which I won tickets for on SooToday! Why do I mention this? It's because of an ad in the program, which has tons of local business advertisements. On page 40, there's an ad for a business called "Action Music" on 81 Letcher Street, with full address and phone number attached. I searched Google Street View to see what this was and it led me to a house out near Goulais Avenue. I'm thinking this is a music lessons place, but I have no idea for sure. Anyone have some info on Action Music?
A new artist has been added to the lineup of May 8th's Destroilet concert at Coch's Corner! Toronto rapper Unknown Mizery joins The Hobo Banditos as the featured attractions for this unique genre hybrid concert, for which Destroilet are opening! Nothing else about this concert has changed. Unknown Mizery isn't bad as far as rappers go, check him out! Very intriguing concert, especially with the genre clash, hopefully it's a huge success!
Remember that possible Doom Cannon hardcore concert on May 8th that was being tested for it's potential viability? Well, promoter Jasmin Nott e-mailed confirmed attendees of the possible show's Facebook group to remind people to invite their friends to attend, because the more people that confirm to go, the lower the door price is! That, plus her open reminder for bands to message her if they want to play the show (click here if you want to), leads me to think the show is closer to happening than not happening. I'll keep you all posted!
That's all I have for today, but there's much more coming up very soon, including my next profiles of out of town bands with local members, and much more! Thanks everyone!
HUGE news today, I'd have had it earlier but I've had a busy day in and of itself. Believe me, this is a big deal, a lot more than just a continuation of an earlier story! Hold onto your hats, here's what you need to know! (Oh, and check out my review of I.S.O.M.'s debut album in the post below!)
Remember on Monday when I mentioned that Kewadin Casino was planning a 25th anniversary summer concert festival in late July? Well, a whole pile of info has been released for it, and most importantly, the headlining acts for each night of the festival are confirmed and announced! And metalheads rejoice, as two legendary hair metal singers will be headlining on the first night! Poison frontman Bret Michaels and Motley Crue's own Vince Neil are the confirmed headliners for Thursday, July 22nd of this huge festival! Of course, you'll no doubt recognize Bret Michaels from his work in Poison and as the star of the "Rock of Love" reality series, but he also has five solo albums to his name, including such singles as "All I Ever Needed" and "Go That Far"! Vince Neil, himself a reality show veteran, has three solo albums himself, including notable songs like "Sister of Pain" and "Can't Change Me"! But no worries, they'll have loads of their Poison and Motley Crue classics to go around, so there'll be lots of stuff you'll be likely to remember!
Both are touring in support of new albums, "Custom Built" and "Tattoos & Tequila", and will also be making their long awaited returns to the Sault area! Michaels was last seen here on his 45th birthday in March 2008 at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino, though he'd earlier played in Sault Ontario at The Eastgate Hotel in October 2005! Neil of course headlined the first ever concert at the then-Steelback Centre in December 2006 with Motley Crue, though this will be his first ever solo show in the area! As I always do for major shows featuring bands who've been here before, here's two video clips of their last local stops: SooToday's montage of footage from Bret's 2008 concert, and Vince Neil (with Motley Crue) playing "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" here in 2006!
Now that's just what's metal that I know so far, there's a TON more stuff to say! The headliners for July 23rd and 24th are major too, and I'm sure there's plenty of fans of theirs out there! On the 23rd, Three Doors Down, the multi-platinum rockers from Mississippi, will headline the festival, while on the 24th, legendary rock vocalist Meat Loaf will close the festival on an extremely high note! I know both acts have a ton of fans, so don't bypass a chance to see them if you can help it! There's tons more bands to be announced, including out of town opening acts each night, and three hours of "live entertainment" each day! (I assume concerts will be at least part of that.) And aside from music, there's MUCH more going on for this special 25th anniversary festival! There's tons of entertainment planned throughout each day of the festival, including a golf simulator, bumper cars, Rock Band, a NASCAR simulator, and an electronic bull ride! There will also be vendors yet to be announced daily, and scheduled events like a DJ, a strolling magician, food eating contests, "baggo tournaments" (I think that's basically a bean bag toss), and post-concert fireworks! And last but not least, autograph signings! Thursday, there will be Playboy playmates, Friday has Detroit Lions players, and Saturday? The Fonz! Details to date on the schedule and planned events are available at this location!
Now how's all that sound? Awesome, I hope? Very ambitious and promising, I hope it's a success! And how can it be a success? By us buying tickets, of course! Tickets will cost $50 for a single day of the festival, or $75 for all three days! So all things considered, the three day pass is the best deal, even if you only plan to go two days, because two individual tickets together costs MORE! And really, if you're going to complain about the price, look at the combined value it gives you? Lots of music and entertainment the likes I don't think Sault Michigan's ever had in one festival! Tickets go on sale in a little under two weeks, on April 23rd, so get your wallets ready! Three day passes will be available at The Dreammakers Theater box office ONLY on April 23rd before being released online as well the next day. Single day passes will be available both ways from the get-go. It appears to be entirely outdoors (a'la the Kiss show), and will go on rain or shine, so make sure you prepare for the weather and the outdoors setting!
As soon as I hear more info on this very special 25th anniversary festival, I'll have it right here for you guys, especially where tickets and metal bands are concerned! Click here for everything on this festival as it currently stands!
Closing today's post is more festival news, but of a different type! J.D. Pearce from Coch's Corner (you also know him as Fitswitch and Frightlight's frontman) posted a topic on the new 705 Video Magazine forums where he inquires about bands for a potential Sault Ontario-area festival! Apparently, Labatt (yes, the beer company) contacted him and asked for his help in pulling together bands for a possible concert festival to be held on the last weekend of August in Echo Bay (which is just 20 minutes outside of town!) The rough estimate has 20-22 local smaller bands and 2-4 big name headliners, no listed genre restrictions, and he's looking for our help! This isn't final by any means, but J.D. is looking for input and suggestions about the festival or bands in general, so if you've got something, reply to the topic at this location to offer an idea or tip! Remember, you have to register a new account there to post or reply, old The705Scene accounts didn't carry over. If I hear more on this possible festival, I'll certainly let you all know!
After losing Bell Border Jam and Hempfest, I was worried that we'd be stuck with just Rotaryfest to cater to fans of local concert festivals. Looks like things are looking up, on a pretty big level! I knew with the level of this Kewadin festival (which may become yearly depending on this year's success), I had to make it the major focal point of this post, but don't worry, I have more assorted news coming soon, so stay tuned! Remember, it's July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, with the metal kicking things off on the 22nd!
The original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, released their 23rd album, "Bella Disgusta" to their internet pages this morning! After an almost three month delay from the original announced release date, the latest collection of blue Chinese metal crash punk is out for fans to purchase and stream! Featuring 11 tracks, I won't go into detail on what to expect, but let me just say that fans of their last few albums won't be disappointed! It still has the same unique sound and style that got them where they are today! The album's available for $9.99 at the band's official SoundClick page by mp3 download only, or you can purchase individual songs for 75¢ each. Buying each song individually is actually $1.74 cheaper than buying the album as whole, but believe me, the whole album purchase is faster and more worth it. But before you download, you can stream the whole album absolutely free there, as well as on their Facebook page, so you can hear the album free before you buy it! So if you want to hear some crash music and get your Sykotyk Rampage fix, "Bella Disgusta" should work! Click here to buy it today, and use the above links to stream it beforehand!
Secondly today, here's a brand new video from July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! This comes from the second day of the festival, July 23rd, and it's of Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Lake Superior State University graduate Zak Stelmaszek) from their set that day as one of the supporting bands for Three Doors Down! The video, which was uploaded onto the band's official YouTube channel, features Fifth Way playing their song "Lose Control", and though the video doesn't capture the song in full, it's probably the best quality I've seen of any hard rock/metal performance clips from the festival! Catchy hard driving song, you should like this one, check it out below! And remember to stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene next month when Fifth Way will be profiled in our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile!
And finally for today, just some SMS housekeeping notes. Firstly, I've edited The Sault Metal Scene's official MySpace page to give it the new layout that MySpace is introducing for their profiles. It's a work in progress and admittedly not my primary focus for SMS things, but it does look cleaner and less like an HTML mess than it did. There's more to do, but of course, add us as a friend on MySpace today if you haven't already! Also, I wanted to clear up a little note on what cities, towns, and areas count as "local" in terms of what we cover on the SMS. My unwritten rule has been that bands and shows that we cover on here should be roughly within a 45 minute drive of Sault Ontario or Michigan, but what areas does that include? Well, here's what falls in that area for what counts as "local" for SMS purposes:
