LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Punk Rock Fiesta & The Reeves!!)

Before we look at a (somewhat thankfully) quieter batch of weekend concert previews, here's a news post devoted to two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the fall with touring headliners, one being particularly notable for its band reunions and implied status as a first annual punk festival, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday evening!

Local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will make their debuts at The Art Hub At Spring on Saturday, September 5th when they open for Saskatoon indie rock band Autopilot in their local debut! First teased on The Reeves' Facebook page last week, the headliners aren't a hard rock band, but if you like alternative and pop rock of the kind you used to see at LopLops, you'll take to Autopilot's melodic original sound with some unique flourishes (they even use a bow to play the guitar here and there!) For the local openers, this will be both bands' second show of the year, following The Reeves' set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and The Spaceship Opening's Blaster Powerhouse gig at the start of the month, and they should set the tone well with their eclectic hard rock originals! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis, this is far from his only collaboration with The Art Hub (actually located at 504 Queen Street East), so stay tuned for more on what he's cooking up there.

The first SMS-covered concert at The Art Hub At Spring since the Shae Tull/Pet Retina gig there in May 2025, this all ages concert on Autopilot's Name That Tour! will have doors opening at 6:00 PM, and admission will be $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like an intriguing spread of sounds for fans of original rock music, if at a somewhat more intimate locale, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will return to the Soo for the first annual Punk Rock Fiesta on Saturday, October 3rd! Ostensibly intended as a major annual local hardcore punk concert, this is the brainchild of new local promoters BCDR Productions (BCDR = Bush Core Drunk Rock), led by former Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, who co-promoted the Fist Magnet/Room 206/Spigots concert in at Soo Blaster in December. That's where we last saw Random Killing in town (opening for The Dayglo Abortions in May 2023), but Punk Rock Fiesta will instead mark the grand return of a multi-band concert to The Algonquin Hotel for the first time since they paused hosting normal live bands in mid-2022 after some lean times there post-pandemic. We have seen the occasional Silent 9-headlined charity event there at The Rockstar Bar upstairs, but it is great to see them hosting a proper multi-band concert again after over 4 years! Here's hoping that more are in the works!

As best as I can tell from the mildly conflicting marketing, this will be at The Rockstar Bar, not the downstairs Algonquin Pub (though some posts just say it'll be at The Algonquin Hotel). Of course, it will be great to welcome Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley back to the Soo this fall, and they're no strangers to The Rockstar Bar (headlining there twice in the 2010s), so hopefully there's another packed turnout of punk fans for their intense original back catalogue! The performance order is not clear based on how the bands are ordered on both the official (not AI!) poster and the official Facebook event page, but there will be two more big band reunions here, including the return of 1990s hardcore punk staples Fist Magnet, who we last saw at the aforementioned Blaster show in December. No word if their lineup will be Garry, Andrew, Dave, Christian, and John again, but keep note of this set in less than two months!

Perhaps more surprisingly, local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will reunite for their first gig since the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in 2015 on this night! The band had hinted at reunions off and on over the past decade among posthumous hype for t-shirts and their music on streaming services, but that picture of 4/5ths of the band together in May on their Facebook page must have been a good indicator! I will treat this as a one-off reunion unless otherwise confirmed, but it will be great to see their cowpunk originals back this fall! Local crossover thrash trio Hails will make their Rockstar Bar debut on this night, as will newer local punk quartet PROD ("punk rock overdose"), who debuted at the December punk reunion concert but hadn't been seen since. Featuring three members of the Fist Magnet reunion lineup, hopefully they have a big return in their own right after 9 months away!

The last two bands are debuting bands named Dead II Society and The Baby Rails, neither of which has an online page or public information yet. I believe I know who one of the bands is, based on an intriguing recent personal Facebook video, but if true, I don't even know which of the two bands they're supposed to be. Stay tuned for more updates! Punk Rock Fiesta goes down on October 9th at 6:00 PM, it is 19+, and tickets go on sale on Friday at The Rad Zone (I don't know if there will be availability online or through the local performers). This will be a must-attend concert for hardcore punk fans this fall, so visit the above links for current details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Tym Morrison's Newest Live-Streamed Concerts, Plus More Assorted News!!

After a quiet stretch, we're back on this Tuesday night with a post mostly devoted to recent live-streamed content from a prominent acoustic solo musician, but we do have some assorted updates to round things out with. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison held his 36th & 37th live-streamed concerts on his YouTube channel on Thursday and earlier today, so what should you know regarding these at home shows? Starting with episode #36 from Thursday, this took the place of his cancelled Motley Market concert that same evening, and was back at his usual home setting. Tym didn't elaborate on why the Motley Market shows were scuttled, but it doesn't sound like it was his call. Starting later than normal due to vehicle maintenance, Tym's set begins about 3 minutes, and features covers of Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes", Amanda Marshall's "Dark Horse", Roxette's "Listen To Your Heart", Foreigner's "That Was Yesterday", Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", Toto's "Hold The Line", Frozen Ghost's "Dream Come True", Supertramp's "Breakfast In America", Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", ...

...Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", Amy Holland's "Shooting For The Moon",Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", Ludwig von Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 14", White Lion's "When The Children Cry", Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'", The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun", Little Texas' "What Might Have Been", Extreme's "More Than Words", The Beatles' "Blackbird", and The Eagles' "Desperado", before oddly closing with his Spanish guitar instrumental. Another solid set filled with familiar and more recent additions to his extensive setlist, and fans of Tym's vocal and guitar talents will be right at home as usual! That said, there were some video lag issues in the second hour, and we just heard eight of these songs in the previous Thursday's live-stream at the Motley Market (remember, he did not play an at-home show that Tuesday.) However, he did play one this Tuesday, which just wrapped up and is embedded below, so what can you see here? After more of a delay than on Thursday, tonight's show began about 9 minutes with covers of "Blackbird" again, ...

...Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", and three more repeat songs from Thursday ("What Might Have Been", "Free Fallin'", and "When The Children Cry"), before addressing some private gigs he played over the previous weekend. Next, Tym tackles Garth Brooks' "The Dance", seguing right into a lengthy original instrumental, which he demonstrates some tentative lyrics for afterwards. The covers resume with Kansas' "Dust In The Wind", Mason Williams' "Classical Gas", and Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", before he played his own original instrumental "Into The Light Of Darkness". Afterwards, Tym covered Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" & "Interstate Love Song", before closing with another original instrumental. Despite the familiar start with four out of five repeat covers, this episode got it's own flavour over time!

With lots of instrumental sections and guitar demonstrations for viewers, this episode was informative and entertaining, and without major lag in the visual department, so Tym's fans should be happy with the final product here and on Thursday! Give both live-streams a watch above & below, and stay tuned this Thursday for his likely next at-home concert!



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

• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock solo musician Alex Traynor to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. As you may know, Alex has been busy focusing on his band Tarnished since last summer, and has not publically discussed new solo work on his Facebook page since playing an acoustic gig in Mount Pleasant in June of last year. Tarnished share a lot thematically with Alex's solo original material, and hopefully they find continued local success!
• Also, I have moved Sault Ontario country/punk quintet The Billy Bastards to our inactive band links, as it has been a year since their last Facebook page update as of Saturday. While The Billys haven't played a public concert set (stags & does don't count) since 2015, they had been working on new original material for a tentative fourth CD as of 2018, and released their "Bathe In Whiskey" album on Apple Music last spring. Personal Facebook postings have hinted at Billys plans in the past year, but hopefully the guys return to public activity at some point down the line!
• SooToday's Darren Taylor covered the impending re-opening of Reggie's Place on Queen Street East via this article on Saturday! New owner Randy Lapossie (in his first business venture of this kind) was interviewed for the article, where he talked about his memories of Reggie's, why he bought the tavern, and what is and isn't changing there. The article didn't elaborate on the initial closure last fall, but the fire and break-ins were acknowledged among it's "troubled story of late". Reggie's Place re-opens on September 1st, and country rock cover quartet Bone Yard will be the first band to play there over the September 11th-12th weekend.

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

Chase Wigmore's Last 4 EPs Of Christmas (At Last!!)

Before I head to The Algonquin Pub for TONIGHT'S Joni Radford memorial concerts, here's a special spotlight post where we are finally looking at the last four entries in local experimental/metal solo musician Chase Wigmore's "12 EPs of Christmas" series! Over three months after beginning the run of free streaming EP uploads on his Facebook page, and after an admitted break due to concerns of overposting & turning off casual fans, he has finally concluded the series on Wednesday and Thursday with the last four EPs, but there was a slight change of content. Two of the previously teased EPs are not among the February postings, namely the one entitled "How To Totally Sell Out & Still Not Make Any Fucking Money", and an Awokest EP named "The Mostest Awokest", though I can't confirm if it became the paid compilation release "Into The Nightlands" or not. No word on why Chase dropped these EPs from the series, but hopefully it was for the right reasons!

The ninth EP of Christmas is the previously announced revival of his old comedic extreme metal solo project Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes, courtesy of this 13 minute EP "The Smiling Giraffes Have Their Revenge"! Possibly heavier and more distorted than Chase's prior work under this banner, the brutal noise metal attack and occasional humour flourishes come through well, and of course, the guitar work is a highlight! For the record, I'm not moving The Smiling Giraffes to our active band links at the moment, just in case this is a belated archival release, but that may change if Chase records more visibly new material. Give Squirrelboy & company a listen!



Next is the tenth EP of the series, namely the self-titled release by Chase & The Bastards, the band moniker Chase tied to his recent teasers of forming a full band that would be a greater focus in 2019. I don't know if that's still the plan, but the music on display here is definitely distinct from his Awokest or Smiling Giraffes output, harbouring more of a folk/punk sound akin to his past solo shows under how own name. The songs are are largely entertaining, and the band chemistry (assuming it's not just Chase) is cohesive, though if you prefer his extreme metal stuff, proceed with caution. Solid overall, so check out Chase & The Bastards below!



The last two EPs of Christmas are the two replacement EPs not credited in November as being part of the series. Eleventh is now his jazz instrumental sequel release "Stray Dog and the Son of the Holy Mother of Chaos Church Band", which is the longest yet of the last four EPs. In it's own eclectic way, this is jazzier in spirit than it's predecessor, if losing some of it's ethnic flair, and Chase is clearly having fun noodling on the guitar and experimenting with sounds on this EP. Casual fans may not appreciate the musicianship and free-flowing music, but give Stray Dog's encore a listen below as well!



The 12 EPs of Christmas series belatedly closes with a seventh free EP from Chase's techno/electronic solo project The Black Lodge Masters, entitled "The Chaotic Demise of Black Lodge Masters". Does the name truly hint that this is Chase's last release under this name? I couldn't glean anything blatant, but cryptic spoken word and sampling are very much present. This EP ranges from dark techno instrumental work to soft, deliberate, and almost ambient in tone, and it gets the point across well for fans of this side of Chase's musical oeuvre, so give it a listen below!



That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for more from Chase, and for our review of TONIGHT'S Joni Radford memorial concert next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, Northwest, And Chase Wigmore), Plus Other Notes!!

Things have picked up as of late for stories, and with lots of shows to preview this weekend, we're going to have at least 5 straight days of new posts on the SMS, and this is day #2! We're focusing primarily on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, plus some new video postings related to one of these performers, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

Local alt-folk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore will apparently be playing a solo set at Soo Blaster's second Indie Music Showcase on November 30th (or, one week from Friday!) Though not listed on official event advertising yet, Chase has played around with that by Photoshopping the poster and claiming that "Special Guests" are his new band, and that "TBA" is a separate act following them. In reality, Chase has been sharing new songs to his Facebook page credited to "Chase & The Bastards", implying that he has launched a full solo band of that name, but we don't know much about them beyond his involvement. His set will be at 8:00 PM, and he will be opening for the reunited veteran rock trio Wishbone (nice to see Dennis & company back!) and The Blackmagic Bluegrass Band, a new supergroup featuring members of Tex & The Ride and A Band Named Soo, who will apparently play both originals and rock covers in a bluegrass style. Intriguing shades of Hayseed Dixie there!

Co-presented by prolific local drummer Anthony Fabiano, this 19+ concert will mark the first Soo Blaster concert featuring a metal act, and it has a $5 cover charge. It'll be interesting to see how the second Indie Music Showcase does at this new-ish Queen Street East sports bar, so visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned at post's end for Chase's new songs!

Next up, here's two concerts for next month at LopLops Lounge, both courtesy of promoters/local indie label Tidal Records, starting with the long awaited Northwest EP release party on Saturday, December 22nd! As first quietly teased on their Facebook page two months ago, the indie/punk quintet will indeed release their second CD "Songs From 2015-2017" in just over a month's time, in what is already looking like a bigger and splashier release than their 2014 debut got. While details are slim as of yet regarding the release formats, price, and track listing, the first 50 attendees in the door will get a free download code for the EP, so if that piques your interest, don't be late! Local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will play their first concert in over a year as the opening act, following months of studio sessions, medical mishaps, and work commitments. It'll be great to have the Keep It Cool Kids back on stage themselves, so there's all the more reason to come early next month for all of the talent on display!

A cover charge was not announced, let alone the EP cost, but bring $10 just in case, as $5 for each makes sense. This is a 19+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. Indie punk fans won't want to miss Northwest finally wrap up the lengthy album process with a big holiday season party, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates on the show and album when they roll in!

Lastly for this batch of new shows, fans can check out local/Toronto Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide as they return to the stage for a headlining joint at LopLops Lounge on Friday, December 28th! Though they have played live since in Thessalon, this will be The Tide's first local concert appearance since their very rainy set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, and their first where everyone is under a roof since March. It's seemingly rarer and rarer to see Dustin and company on stage, so don't bypass this post-Christmas opportunity, especially given their recent studio sessions! The poster (as shared on the band's Facebook page) confirms that Lake Effect drummer Chris Johns will be back behind the drumkit, while Barn Board Trio guitarist Liam Seymour is also pictured in the fold. The Tide are still listed as a quartet with Mikey on drums on Facebook, but is this a belated new lineup confirmation? Local country/pop duo The Steeletown Girls (featuring ex-Din guitarist Tammy Hill) will open this concert, in what should be an intriguing style clash, so definitely give them a look as well!

Also promoted by Tidal Records, this 19+ concert has a $10 cover charge, and a likely 10:00 PM start time. With the holiday season still ongoing then, this would be a fun way to help send 2018 off with a bang, so visit the above links for current details! (Yes, I am also aware of the cover band concert that Tidal is hosting on Friday, December 21st, but all advertising for it that I've seen is via personal Facebook accounts, so I am waiting for public confirmation before covering it here. Stay tuned!)

Finally, let's tackle those new Chase Wigmore songs, as he posted four new videos onto his Facebook page on Sunday featuring new original material, so what should you know there? Three are audio tracks credited to "Chase & The Bastards", including a reworking of his previously pulled original "Psychic Driving" and new tracks named "Scabies" (an experimental folk/punk number) and "Running Out Of Beer" (an eclectic song that reminds me of outlaw country meets Daniel Johnston, if that makes any sense.) Very creative overall, and never boring, hopefully we hear and learn more about the full band! Embedded below is "A Story About A Kid Named Todd (Episode 1: The Art of Busking)", a 26 minute video of Chase playing largely continuously, which is very impressive alone! As described on his new Wix website, this is a lengthy conceptual piece about "adventure, desperation, madness and beyond" that has only been selectively performed in the past.

If you love Chase's acoustic alt-folk concerts and material, this is a must watch, and it's very cool to see him seamlessly perform so naturally and casually like this, though it'll be old hat if you see him live often. With his vocal, guitar, and lyrical versatility, and his irreverent storytelling, this is bound to entertain, and hopefully Episode 2 isn't far off (or perhaps an album?) Give it a look below, and hear more above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rivers Of Nihil), Tym Morrison Concert Previews, And Much More!!

With spring perhaps finally upon us, here's a new news post to check out on this Sunday afternoon, so what's on tap? Some assorted recent news and notes, new videos from each side of the border, and to lead off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer, so here's what you should know!

Technical death metal fans will want to take notice, as three American groups will hit The Rockstar Bar on Friday, July 6th for a night of face melting brutality! The headliners are Reading, Pennsylvania technical death metal quintet Rivers of Nihil, who are touring in support of their new CD "Where Owls Know My Name". This band has an aggressive, groove-tinged sound that should please any tech-death metal fan, so be sure to check them out in advance of this show! Support will come via Sacramento-based quartet Alterbeast and Nashville quintet Inferi, and with the former's chaotic and fast-paced aggression on their new CD "Feast", and the latter's black metal-tinged brutality via their new album "Revenant", fans will want to brace themselves for a metal onslaught this summer! Local support will come via the first announced concert in almost a year from death/thrash metal trio Pillory, though it's not yet clear if Jordan will be on bass or not. Great to see them back though, it's been far too long!

Notably marking the first promoted concert since last fall from Live705 (and a rare booking of theirs without A Dire Setback on the bill), tickets for this 19+, 9:00 PM show are a surprisingly affordable $15, which you can buy at this link, and presumably through Live705 staff and Pillory members once local availability is confirmed. This should be an awesome concert for death metal fans, with a stacked lineup of touring aggression making the trip north in July, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's our previews of former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's special concerts at Mark's Breakfast Plus at the Market Mall TOMORROW, TUESDAY, and WEDNESDAY! As announced earlier this month, Tym will bring his acoustic solo show back to this breakfast-centric restaurant for these matinees, which are unusually timed for a cover artist at most venues, but remember that Mark's often books musicians early in a given week for supper-time shows. These follow Tym's shows there in the first full week of April, and should provide west end fans with a wide array of harder and classic favourites, so don't miss out at Mark's over these three days! No word yet on if Tym will play a similar schedule there in May or not. Tym will be on at 4:00 PM each day, and there are no cover charges or age limits, but remember that this isn't a traditional concert venue, it's a diner in a mall. Click here for more details, and here's Tym live!



Also, here's some new videos from the aforementioned Live705's Facebook page, as a staffer attended Saturday night's Stegadeth concert at Room 21 and had his camera rolling! Three videos were posted from the show (albeit all in vertical orientation), including one clip of the band setting up for their first set, including new drummer Johnny Belanger putting up a banner with their logo. Fun for what it is! Two videos from their set (which was indeed fully electric) were also shot, including Stegadeth covering Blink-182's "Stay Together For The Kids" with guitarist Tiffany Stocco on vocals, and, as embedded below, The Presidents of The United States of America's "Peaches" with bassist Bill Bennett on lead vocals. These are solidly done, especially if you're interested in hearing new cover choices from the T-Rex Manning successors, and the stage setup is nice (I like the monitor with their logo), so give these new videos a look!



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

• Sault Ontario tapas restaurant & acoustic concert venue The Barrelhouse Wine and Whiskey quietly closed last fall, as per their Facebook page. A reason for the closure was not announced on social media, but owners are still operating the (concert-less) Embers Grill & Smokehouse on Albert Street East. This is SMS-relevant due to Tym Morrison's series of shows there last year, and while the Barrelhouse's end is disappointing, note that some former staff have moved onto Boston Pizza, which Tym played on Saturday!
• Earlier this month, dormant local country/punk veterans The Billy Bastards shared a picture of a new band logo from a computer monitor on their Facebook page, along with the caption "In progress...", with guitarist John Conway confirming in a comment that they have 2½ songs done for their forthcoming fourth studio album! How's that for a big update? No word on when we'll see their first public concert set since 2015, but stay tuned for more on The Billys' new studio work, and they're back in our active band links!
• We have removed local classic/hard rock cover band Mourning Wood from our defunct band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point in the past couple of months. A reason for the page's closure wasn't announced, and while I wish bands wouldn't wipe themselves from the internet like this, remember that Mourning Wood were merged into & succeeded by Soundcheck last year, so it's not like we completely lost a band of this style and makeup. Follow them and The Peace Vibe for members' current musical projects!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sugar Island Music Festival), Plus More Recent Updates!!

(Updated at 8:42 PM) I wasn't planning a news post today, but when I realized that there was a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for an annual festival this weekend featuring an established hard rock band, I couldn't knowingly ignore it! To round things out, we have news on a surprising move to our inactive band links, a new cover video, and some assorted recent updates, so here's what you should knowon this rainy Friday!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock cover trio Banned will return to The Sugar Island Music Festival in nearby Sugar Island (of course) for shows once again TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, Banned only acknowledged their return to the annual festival on their Facebook page today, and while the lineup was previously listed at some point after June 20th on the festival's newly redesigned website, I can't confirm how soon that was. Either way, I should have checked in advance! Banned's sets this year are as the headliners TONIGHT at 9:30 PM and as the 9th of 13 bands at 6:30 PM TOMORROW,  and as usual, the lineup is largely comprised of country and folk acts without online pages. Save for Jack Grim & Friends, all of TONIGHT'S acts are playing TOMORROW, so keep that in mind as well! Look for recent regular bands 3-Zip, All Arms, 3½ Men, and 2¢ both nights, plus Grassholes17 opening both lineups, and Gary's Driving as headliners TOMORROW, among many other performers!

Click here for full schedule details, including on the largely different lineup of Sunday musicians. TODAY'S lineup started at 5:00 PM, remaining days start at 11:00 AM, this is an ALL AGES event with $10 admission for attendees over 12 years old (kids are FREE with an adult), and there are no single day passes. Admission buttons are available at at Crooked Music in the Soo, or at The Hilltop Bar, Ed's Bayview Store, and the Westshore Convenience Store on Sugar Island, and click here for info on additional camping and vendor fees. Hopefully the weather cooperates TONIGHT & TOMORROW, so keep the festival in mind for you Yooper readers, and here's Banned at the fest!



Next up, this post originally had a note regarding local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet being moved to our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook page, but reports of their demise are premature! Drummer Matt Waples revealed on a post there that the page unpublished itself for one reason or another, hence it's apparent removal, and they confirmed that they are still active, just in the midst of jam space renovations, and will be back "later, rather than sooner." Crisis averted, it's great to see that they're alive, so they're back with Facebook page in our active links, and apologies for any inconvenience this write-up caused!

Also, here's a new YouTube channel upload from prolific local hard rock guitarist and Audiofumes podcast host Mike Cliffe! A cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" (specifically the more famous Johnny Cash version), this features Mike on both guitar & piano alongside Swedish singer Karin Beckerus and bassist Stuart Geary, who you may recognize from prior Audiofumes collaborations of Mike's posted to YouTube, like this Stranglers cover from 2014. The vocals seem a little tersely worded, but it's a well done cover that preserves the Cash version's mood, so give it a listen below!



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

• Local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will reunite for a set at Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy's stag & doe on October 21st at The Croatian Hall! We don't cover stag & does as public concerts on the site, given their personal nature, but it's great to see The Billys back together after 2 years away, so keep this event in mind if you know Christian & Katlyn! Unless public confirmation comes out to say otherwise, we're currently treating this as a one-off reunion.
• Local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven have been added to the lineup of the Eye of Horus concert at The Canadian Nightclub on August 27th, as per the official Facebook event page on August 1st! This will be Skeyes of Seven's first concert since June 2015, their Live705 debut, and their first gig with new second guitarist Kyle Sweet. It has been way too long to see Skeyes of Seven rock a local stage again, so keep their return in mind for in two weeks! Note as well that the show's lineup order is newly finalized, with The Bear Hunters headlining and the touring bands playing second & fourth for unannounced reasons.
• Curious for more details on Slumshine, the new band playing the Oh!No 2017 Music Festival in Leeburn on September 9th? Well, as it turns out, they're the new (solo?) project from former Detroit/Maximum RNR frontman and Lion Ride bassist Brenton Ellis, and you can hear him/them before the festival when Slumshine opens for Montreal folk act The Ghostly Hounds at The Gore Street Cafe the week before! This scheduling suggests to me that Slumshine aren't a heavier or punk project (at least, not an electric one), but if we hear anything to the contrary, we'll let you know. Either way, it's great to see Brent back in a new musical act!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Spun), An Inactive Band Note, And New Videos!!

Before we post our review of last night's Live705 Easter Bash, here's a new news post for your Easter Sunday, as we tackle some recent topics and discoveries in the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes! Today, you'll find a recent concert teaser clip, a Wayne's World homage for a great cause, and a reluctant band move to our inactive links, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Marquette hard rock quartet Spun will make their local concert debuts with shows at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan on Friday, May 5th & Saturday, May 6th! In case you're not aware, Spun are basically the successors to fellow Marquette rockers Nudge, who frequented The Frog during their decade-long run, and it's great to see Tim Prisk, Bob Libick, and Bob Crawford back together on a local stage! As best as I can tell, Tim is the band's primary lead singer, with Doug Pennala enlisted as their second guitarist in place of ex-Nudge frontman Danzo McCracken. Nudge fans will be right at home with Spun, whose setlist and genre ranges are very similar, and they should fit in fine at The Frog next month, hopefully the first of many shows to come out east! You can take in Spun on May 5th & 6th at 9:00 PM, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and check out Spun above to hear what's in store for their first local stops!

Just as a related reminder, Danzo and ex-Nudge drummer Tim Kusmirek have since launched a new band named Reality Bites that play 1990s rock covers, though not as hard rock-focused as what Nudge or Spun play. Reality Bites are actually releasing an original CD soon, and have played here multiple times since launching, including at The Frog and at Kewadin Casino lounges. Keep Reality Bites in mind to see what Danzo and Tim are up to!

Next up, we have a band to soon move to our inactive band links, they being Sault Ontario punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards. Public updates last came to their Facebook page one year ago this coming Tuesday in a post hyping that they hit 400 likes, and beyond that, The Billys have only played one public concert since the end of 2013, when their full quintet lineup travelled to Ophir to perform at the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in August 2015. Over their decade-long (though increasingly sporadic) run in the local scene, The Billy Bastards became a fan favourite sight with fans of punk and country alike, notably headlining The Rockstar Bar's first ever concert, opening for notable local and out of town acts, and competing at 2009's Kiss Battle of the Bands (in which many fans still think they should have made the finals.), Their three CDs were all popular releases locally as well, if elusive to find online in a full copy, but hopefully we can review one on here soon.

While I'm not an ardent fan of country music, The Billys melded it with punk as well as you can imagine, giving the punk swagger and aggression to their originals in a way that worked with fans of either genre, as attendance of their packed concerts will attest! Given the band's late-era nature, a reunion set could occur at any time, but for now, best of luck to Aaron, Greg, Paul, John and Charlie in the future, and don't miss John with Destroilet!

Closing with new videos,  here's a charity video of Case's Music employees covering Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" a'la Wayne's World! Part of the ARCH Hospice's Cartime Karaoke Challenge where local businesses and teams sing karaoke in a car a'la the popular James Corden segments, this video features Case's Music staffers Carrie Suriano, Jake Rendell (Machines Dream), Josh Norling (The Elements), and Jenny Gauvreau (Honest Job) alongside Cartime Karaoke host and LopLops bartender Leo Moore, who picked them up and drove for the duration. Competing teams will have a final faceoff at Dragonfly Day on June 17th downtown at the canal, so click here for full details on the event and how you can donate or attend. Dressed the part with flannel shirts, ball caps, and even drum sticks and a mini-keyboard, this is a fun rendition that overcomes a slightly nervous and uneasy opening, and it's well worth checking out whether you're a fan of Case's Music, Queen, Wayne's World, or The Late Late Show, and you can check it out below!



Finally, here's an amusing teaser video for last night's Electric Church headlining set at Live705's Easter Bash, courtesy of their Facebook page yesterday afternoon! Apologies for this being late on here, it came when we didn't have time to rush a post to include it. The clip features the fathers of frontman Spencer Pine and bassist Elijah Nielsen hyping the show in lieu of their sons, and while some of the information is a little muddled, this is an amusing and unexpected way to hype the concert! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for our review of the show proper next!



That's all for now, but once again, look for our review of Live705's Easter Bash on the site next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: SykTheMan & paulmichaelbastards's Channels

It's now time for our last monthly feature post of September 2016, as we have this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This regular series looks at 1-3 randomly selected YouTube channels whose posted content at least has a 50% count of local metal, hard rock, or punk videos, relevant to artists from or shows held here, in order to spotlight them and hopefully garner some attention for the channels! This month's choices cover some familiar faces from concerts around the turn of the 2010s, and while they're not frequently seen nowadays, still have solid followings! Here's what you should know!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SykTheMan's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/syktheman)

Owner: Former State of Misery singer Steve Errington-Rhodes, also known from his past work with bands like The Valentine's Day Massacre, D3athcharg3r, Bring the Misery, and Saints & Serpents, and currently with the London metal band Skylines

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 2nd, 2012; Videos posted that November and in December 2013

Channel Summary: A personal use channel launched late in his run as a local metal singer, Steve posted two videos there from his last two local bands, including a live performance and a studio demo.

Why You Should Watch: Fans of Steve's local music run should check out this channel to hear some of his latter material before focusing on London-based bands! Though he still uses this channel occasionally for personal use (notably liking videos of his current band Skylines earlier this year), Steve hasn't posted anything there in over 2 years, and the channel never included archival videos of either his pre-2012 bands or D3athcharg3r, though other channels will have you covered for specific footage of them.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

The Valentines Day Massacre - Lovecraft Cthulhu (jam demo): Steve's first and most popular video is a jam session demo of his former local metal band The Valentine's Day Massacre's late original "Lovecraft Cthulhu", shortly after the band relocated to London in mid-2012. Represented here by Steve alongside ex-Sativa Rose bandmates Andrew Angelic (now of London's Rattlesnake Hotel) and Adam Veale on bass & drums, and ex-Chillum drummer Kyle Umgeher, the demo showcases their death /hardcore hybrid sound nicely, as fans of the former View to a Kill will recall! However, vocals can be a little high in the mix.



Saints and Serpents- Vampiric- Live Clip: In 2013, The V.D.M. quietly dissolved and were succeeded by the similar Saints & Serpents, just with Ian Timmermans (now of the London punk/metal band LandSwimmer) on drums in place of Kyle Umgeher, who had moved back to the Soo. Their first of just two announced concerts (both in London) was on Friday, December 13th at The Richmond Tavern, with an attendee filming the new band playing The V.D.M.'s old original "Vampiric". Solid sound quality on this live video, whose dark shadowy lighting actually accentuates the performance, so fans will want to check this out, especially if you've missed the guys since the big move, but follow D3athcharg3r, Skylines, and Rattlesnake Hotel for Steve & Andrew's work in London since!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
paulmichaelbastard's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/paulmichaelbastard)

Owner: Billy Bastards guitarist Paul Michael Stos, also well known from past local band work with groups like Proposition 86, Fallout, Source Code, and Deathoccasion

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 7th, 2012; Videos posted from that day until January 13th

Channel Summary: Paul's YouTube channel features just six videos, all from his local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards' headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar on December 28th, 2011, including renditions of their songs "Back in the Bottle", "Bathe in Whiskey", "Mile 58" (popularly covered by Destroilet), "Liquor to Lick Her", "No Roads Here", and featured below, "Lonesome, On'ry, and Mean", which is the channel's most popular video. Featuring Paul alongside frontman Aaron Gibbs (ex-Harsh Heads), guitarist Greg Beharriel, bassist John Conway (Destroilet), and drummer Charlie Yanni, these are quality videos of The Billys' hybrid sound with a great turnout, though some songs are definitely more country-flavoured than others, and the stationary camera's side-stage angle isn't optimal. Given how infrequently The Billys play live (let alone with Paul taking part), don't take these for granted, as they're some of their best currently available videos!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our latest random selection will take us to Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' YouTube channel, which has lots of guitar performance videos, gear demonstrations, and more to more than sustain a solo profile! Look for that on or around October 26th, and stay tuned for more news and previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), Northern Vibe Festival Coverage, And More!!

Before this month's Defunct Local Band Profile makes the SMS, here's a new news post, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on for this weekend! To round things out, we have the first details on an ambitious event for next month,  and some long awaited fallout from a debuting festival last month, so let's get things started! (Updated at 9:08 PM)

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will rock The Rednecks Saloon for the second weekend in the past three TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the shows via drummer Glen Thomas on his personal Facebook page last night. Three weeks removed from their new lineup's debut, things will look a little different for this weekend's shows, as Glen indicated that they'll be playing as a trio this weekend due to a member absence, and Glen himself can't make tomorrow's show, so they will have a fill-in drummer that night that has yet to be identified. While not 100% confirmed online, process of elimination via personal plugs of the shows suggest that new bassist Paul Belair will be absent for unannounced reasons, presumably with Steven Flint back in his old role this weekend. If we get confirmation as to who's drumming Saturday, we'll be sure to let you guys know!

There's no cover charge for this weekend's shows at the former Nicolet Tavern, which both have 10:00 PM start times, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, an intriguing concert event has been announced for next month from the debuting Spotlight Canada, so what should you know about it? Promoted by North Shore/ex-Lorax frontman Jeremy Hannah (in his return to local concert promotion), the event will be a showcase of local musicians of any genre, while also "engaging the youth in the importance of voting", with a targeted weekend date between October 9th & 17th to fall before the election, though a host venue has yet to be announced. There are also hopes for lots of media coverage and vendors on-site, with discount youth tickets and free admission for kids under 15. As far as I can tell, this is not a battle of the bands, but the event is definitely geared to promoting rising artists. This event is planned to be the first of an annual series, and is among the ambitious though still somewhat vague plans for Spotlight Canada, who want to book tours using a promoter & venue database, promote musicians, and grow beyond the Soo so they can create an efficient and effective promotion network to benefit musicians and help them succeed in the future.

There's a lot of unanswered questions & vague notes regarding Spotlight Canada so far (for both the concert & the big picture), but Jeremy has shared lofty goals like this with me in personal conversations before, so it's nice to see something finite coming together at last! There is a lot of interest already in performing or being involved, but if you want in or if you want more details, visit the above link, Spotlight Canada's Facebook page, or Jeremy's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last week, or message him on Facebook at this link, and Spotlight Canada's now in our "Other Local Metal Links" on the lower left of the SMS!

Finally for today, here's the long awaited Village Media coverage from last month's first annual Northern Vibe Festival in Hempfest's old Ophir stomping grounds! On August 31st, SooToday's Donna Hopper posted this recap article from the Saturday portion of the festival featuring 33 excellent photos from the "Forest Stage" bands that day, though she did not capture openers Spider Fingerz & Kylie Precepa or out of town headliners Drew Leith & The Foundation, nor any of the DJs from the "Beach Stage". Punk/country veterans The Billy Bastards were captured in 5 photos, with other photos including 4 of Changing Lanes, 3 each of Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect and Al Wood & The Woodsmen, 2 of The Hustle Brothers, and 1 each of festival host Adam Hayward & beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, who I believe played an impromptu guest set midway through, not unlike at Toystock last year (the rest of the photos were of attendees & vendors on the Saturday.)

Donna also interviewed Adam Hayward for the newest episode of the webseries Tuned on Local2 (which finally went online yesterday), where she asked him about why they launched the festival, challenges in hosting the festival, the double stage layout, the appeal of some fans just hanging out in the bush, and future plans for The Northern Vibe Festival. Informative if grainy-looking interview that definitely paints the first year festival in a good light, and hopefully next year's even bigger! I will note that a picture of the set times for the Forest Stage included one surprise addition that wasn't advertised online: Ottawa indie rock trio The Red Rails (featuring Sault native Steve Brogno on drums), who were listed there as the Friday night opening band. They were already in town that weekend for a Rockstar Bar headlining show the next night, and while it's odd that neither the band or festival advertised their set online, it's nice to see them rocking out in Ophir too!

In terms of video footage from the event, there are scattered muted clips during the interview (including of Drew Leith & The Foundation), while there are clips with sound of The Billy Bastards and Killabeatz after the interview wraps up. What we hear sounds good, and it's nice to have The Billys back, so give the full Tuned episode a look at the above links, and here's to a bigger & better Northern Vibe Festival in 2016!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for, at last, this month's Defunct Local Band Profile later today! Thanks everyone!

Northern Vibe Festival & Pirate Biker Party Concert Previews!!

Barring extremely late notice concert previews, let's close out this weekend's hard rock and punk concert previews with some events taking place just outside of Sault Ste. Marie, so if you're living on the outskirts of town or are up for a road trip, here's what you should know for this weekend!

The first annual Northern Vibe Festival begins TODAY at the old Hempfest location on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Ontario, and will welcome punk/country favourites The Billy Bastards back to the local stage TOMORROW NIGHT! Two years after Hempfest's local swan song, the guys over at Planetary Pride (who put on the first 11 Hempfests) are throwing their hat back into the concert festival game for this freshman event, which will focus on the music for this summer-ending bash featuring musical performers on two stages, so who all can you expect in Ophir this weekend? One stage is the "Beach Stage", as it's backdrop is the waterfront in that area, and will be devoted to DJs and turntablists, so click here to find out who's playing and on what day! Yes, the Northern Vibe Festival's website lists performance orders finally, but oddly, not set times (no word on why, but it may be in case of lineup changes or set length uncertainty.) Bands and solo musicians will be playing on the "Forest Stage", so who can you expect on the lineup there?

TONIGHT's abbreviated band lineup features Burlington reggae rock favourites The Killin' Time Band as headliners, with local support via alt-folk favourites The Boot Hill Crooners and local/Toronto folk musician Cody McMillan and his band The Soft Shoe Shufflers. TOMORROW'S main band lineup will be headlined by Kitchener folk quartet Drew Leith & The Foundation, with the aforementioned Billy Bastards (with relocated guitarist Paul Michael Stos in tow) co-headlining in their first concert since December 2013. It's been way too long for The Billys' punk/country attack on the local stage, and might we see their long teased new material during their set? In listed order, other Saturday bands will include veteran local soul/funk outfit The Hustle Brothers, blues rock notables Al Wood & The Woodsmen, cover rock quartet Changing Lanes, roots rock collective Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, and in a late replacement, solo folk musician Kylie Precepa, who is filling in for Britta Wolfert on Saturday due to personal family matters overseas.

And finally, local/Wawa keyboardist and busker Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda will open Saturday's lineup, if there are no late notice changes. As well, Sunday's action on the Forest Stage will be devoted to group jamming, drum circles, and open mic performers, so keep that in mind, as you never know who'll be playing! Also, keep an eye out for fire spinners, hula hoopers, yoga, and art installations during the festival's duration. Tickets are $125 for the full weekend with no single day rates advertised, while there are group rates if you have a party of 10 people. Tickets can be bought locally at Planetary Pride on Queen Street East or online at this link, and while The Northern Vibe Festival is a 19+ event, kids and pets can come (if absolutely necessary) with an adult attendee if you follow the instructions at this link (which includes has full info on festival guidelines.) For full posted details on The Northern Vibe Festival, visit the above links!

It never hurts to have a new summer concert festival in the area, with shades of Hempfest (in organization and location) and the LopLops-ran Second Stage (in band content), so keep those angles in mind, and if you love punk with a splash of outlaw country, don't miss The Billy Bastards' first public set in over a year and a half TOMORROW NIGHT! I have heard some grumbling over the ticket cost and lack of single day pricing, but hey, you've got to start somewhere, and if all goes well, we'll see The Northern Vibe Festival back in 2016! Stay tuned in case there's fallout from the event, and for a preview, here's The Billys live a few years back!




Finally, we'll take a look at local party hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom's next concert, as they're hitting the road for a rare St. Joseph Island concert TOMORROW for the Biker Pirate Party at The Island Bar & Grill in Hilton Beach! That's an hour southeast of the Soo. Fresh off of last week's one-nighter at The Rockstar Bar, Greg, Mike, and Jon will rock out at this motorcycle show & shine event, which will raise funds to help repair Hilton Beach's baseball diamond fence, so keep the cause in mind, and remember to dress in your best pirate costume for the costume contest if you go! Stiffler's Mom's set itself will take place at 1:00 PM, the Biker Pirate Party itself is presumably all ages, and there's no admission fee unless you're entering the motorcycle show. As for the address, everything will the place at The Island Bar at 3117 Marks Street. For more details, visit the above links! Nice to see Stiffler's Mom spreading their wings and helping out for a cause, so consider checking them out tomorrow afternoon in Hilton Beach! For a preview, here's Stiffler's Mom live at another charitable event a few years ago!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review soon! Thanks everyone

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Northern Vibe Festival) And The Ballot Burner Concert Preview!!

Before we look at Emergency Festival fallout and more recent news, let's dive right into a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for two weeks from now that we've missed to cover on here for way too long, but there's also a Monday night concert preview at post's end to look at! Here's what you need to know!

Local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will make their long awaited return to the concert stage on Saturday, August 29th when they perform at the first annual Northern Vibe Festival on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Ontario! Yes, that is the former site of Hempfest when it was held in the Soo, as the guys over at Planetary Pride are trying to jump back into the summer concert festival game for the first time since their last of 11 Hempfests in 2009. Encouraging to see, we can use more summer festivals in the area, but what should you know about this one?  Hyped as an end-of-summer bash over two separate stages, one will be the "Beach Stage" for DJs and club musicians (locally based and out of town alike, click here for the full lineup there), while the main "Forest Stage" will feature live bands and solo musicians. A full listing of set times is not out yet, and the band orders on the official poster and the above links are very different, but Burlington reggae rockers (and past Hempfest favourites) The Killin' Time Band will headline this new festival.

The other out of town band is Kitchener folk quartet Drew Leith & The Foundation, while the extended local roster (featuring many Second Stage alumni) will include, in no guaranteed order, local/Toronto folk musician Cody McMillan and his band The Soft Shoe Shufflers, local roots rock collective Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, the aforementioned Billy Bastards, local alt-folk favourites The Boot Hill Crooners, blues rock veterans Al Wood & The Woodsmen, and veteran local soul/funk sextet The Hustle Brothers. As well, the festival website lists veteran jazz/folk singer Britta Wolfert, local/Wawa keyboardist & busker Spider Fingerz, and local cover rock quartet Changing Lanes as performing also, but note that they're not on the poster (we'll treat them as on the lineup unless said otherwise.) The only full punk band on the lineup (with their blast of outlaw country blended in for good measure), this will be The Billy Bastards' first public concert since December 2013, so if you've missed The Billys, keep their return in mind at month's end!

Also, note that The Billys will be playing as a quintet for the first time in a long while (guitarist Paul Michael Stos lives out of town and doesn't play at some shows as a result), so if you've missed the full lineup, here you go! Might some of the band's long-teased new material be unveiled as well? Now, there are still some questions about the schedule, as the festival will take place from Friday, August 28th through Sunday the 30th, but festival organizers have yet to post a full itinerary or set times for bands, so keep posted to online pages for details on that front! In any event, tickets for the full weekend are $125 for the full weekend, including camping, so come prepared, as there does not appear to be single day rates for the Northern Vibe Festival. Tickets can be bought locally at Planetary Pride on Queen Street East or online at this link, and it is a 19+ event, but under special, absolutely necessary circumstances, kids and pets can come with an adult attendee if you follow the protocols at this link (which includes full info on what you can and can't do at the event.)

And yes, there will be food and drink vendors on site, plus art installations, yoga, and hula hoop and fire spinners, and keep in mind that this isn't explicitly a marijuana culture event like Hempfest, it's more about the music, so make of that what you will. For full current details, visit the above links! I apologize for this being later on here than it should have been, but it's great to see the original Hempfest minds back for another summer festival in Ophir, and while tickets are expensive, you've gotta start somewhere. Keep it in mind for month's end, whether you missed the Billys or want one last summer party with plenty of talented bands!

Finally for today, here's a preview of a special Monday night concert going down TOMORROW NIGHT at The New American Pub, as Regina crust punk trio Ballot Burner will make their local concert debut as headliners! Possessing a grimy, intense, and attitude-fueled blend of originals, Ballot Burner sound like what would happen if Destroilet and Shit Liver were blended together, and it'll be very interesting to see them on the local stage tomorrow night! A pair of local two-man bands will open the proceedings, including grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back (in their first show since their quiet album recording sessions concluded) and newer local alternative hard rock duo Infinity Grinder (in their third local concert and first at The New A), so come early for the heavy duo action! The latest concert from Six Two Oh, there is a 19+ age limit and $5 cover charge in effect, while the doors will open at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Sounds like an explosive night of punk and alternative music that fans of the included genres won't want to miss, especially for a double shot of the recent influx of duo bands in the area, so be at The New A TOMORROW NIGHT for all of the action, and here's Ballot Burner live last month!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for lots of news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

BALLOT BURNER PREVIEW

The Bear Hunters' Single Release, Mike Cliffe Videos, And Much More!!

In our first of two posts today (this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles are next), we're mostly clearing out back news stories and updating our band links, so we have new videos, lots of assorted updates, and news concerning a recent single release, so here's what you need to know!

Local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters released their single "Collapse The Sun" on CD format on Thursday, and you can now buy copies of it for just $2 (and tickets to their "Eternal Hibernation" release concert at The Canadian Nightclub on November 29th) at The Rad Zone and through band members! The single features the final studio copy of the title song plus a live version and a 2011 instrumental demo of it, and there are currently just 50 copies of the single pressed, though pending demand, 50 more can be made (but the band are capping the limited run at 100.) This is the full final artwork, as posted on their Facebook page on Thursday, so make use of it if you need it on iTunes or a similar player! A planned lyric video is still in the works, while you can of course hear the full album at month's end upon it's release. I have yet to pick up the "Collapse The Sun" single, but it's great to finally see it out, and it's a positive sign for the pending full CD launch! Stay tuned for updates, and get your copy of "Collapse The Sun" A.S.A.P. for $2!

Next up, Audiofumes podcast host/creator and local solo guitarist Mike Cliffe has posted some new videos onto his YouTube channel in past couple of months, including this test collaborative online jam clip in August (solid listen), and most recently, this play-along video of him covering Robin Trowe's "Little Bit of Sympathy"! Though the camera angle's a little tight, Mike handles this classic rock number with ease, and at times, you do forget that he's playing along with the original recording! Mike doesn't post solo videos as much as he used to, but give his newest video a look below, see more above, and check out his entertaining Audiofumes podcasts as well!



Finally for today, here's nine assorted shorter stories from the last little while, including a number of bands being moved to our inactive band links! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• We've moved Sault Michigan hard rock band All The Dirty Words In One to our inactive band links, as they've passed our one year inactivity threshhold, last updating their Facebook page in October 2013. This band was a work in progress, but had some promise via acoustic cover postings, and hopefully we hear more from Josh, Cody, and Dan in the future!
• While we await their first live concert since December, local country/punk favourites The Billy Bastards confirmed in a comment reply to new jam session photos on their Facebook page in September that they are working on new music. Is a fourth CD in the works, or are The Billys just preparing for their return to the stage? Stay tuned for more from their camp!
• In another inactive band note, we've moved prolific Sault Michigan guitarist Mike Libertoski's tech-metal solo project Galactic Alignment to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Mike last uploaded their page in October 2013, though he's stayed active since in the cover rock band No Decision. Mike's an extremely talented guitarist, and hopefully we hear more from his solo original output in the coming months!
• We've removed local death metal solo project Gorrifier from our band links due to the deletion of their Reverbnation (and only online) page for unannounced reasons. Led by Pillory/Crimson Crusade guitarist Robert Sartini, Gorrifier joins other recent page deletions for his and Shadowthrone bandmate Sabrina Strange's 2014 band projects, but hopefully everything's alright, and that we hear from both again soon!
• Local alternative/grunge quartet Haggith have been confirmed as the new openers for The Bear Hunters' CD release show at The Canadian Nightclub, replacing Destroilet in the 10:00 PM timeslot. Not a perfect match genre-wise, but Haggith's talent speaks for itself, and they'll have songs to play from their own upcoming CDs, so come early to see them! Remember, this is ALL AGES!
• We've moved local hard rock quintet Sailor's Tongue to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band last played live at last July's Rotaryfest Second Stage, and have not made a public posting in the year+ since, though it should be noted that members Kyle & Dean McKey currently live out of town. It's possible the band is just quietly songwriting, so we'll restore them to the active links if we hear that they're alive, but if not, best of luck to Kyle, Blake, Liam, Jeff, and Dean in the future!
• We've also moved ex-Late & Loud frontman Jonathan Tiberi's Soviet Space Program solo project to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, last updating their Facebook page in October when he teased new recording sessions. Jon has stayed musically active since moving out of town, so hopefully we hear more music from him in some form in the near future!
• The full Toystock schedule has been announced via the annual Christmas Cheer fundraising concert's new Facebook event page, and it's near identical to the given order on SooToday's press release, just with The Stumpy Coldwater Trio bumped from the co-headlining slot to opening the day at 12:00 PM. See above for the full schedule for at The Canadian on November 30th, including the confirmation of afternoon performer Lorrie Bolduc's band's full name, Lorrie Lynn & The Sinners!
• The Rednecks Saloon's live band karaoke series Urawk (which featured 3/4ths of Beaumont Avenue and Havadder' T.J. Case as the house band) will end it's 4+ month run this Thursday, as per it's Facebook event page. A reason for the series' end wasn't announced other than to say "all good things must come to an end", so if you want to take the stage to sing with a real band one more time, come out to the former Nicolet on Thursday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles next! Thanks everyone!