LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Just Leppard), Josey Scott's Saliva Concert Updates, And More!!

Got a new news post to check out on this Monday night, which includes updates on a big upcoming concert, a new original song teaser, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall, so here's what you should know!

Sudbury-based Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, November 11th (yes, Remembrance Day) for a special double header of tribute band action at Soo Blaster! It was around that time last year when Just Leppard made their third local stop (and first at Soo Blaster) for a date with AC/DC tribute The AC/DC Show, but this time, they'll take the stage alongside fellow Sudbury tribute band Saturday Night Special, who pay homage to southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd! I'll admit that neither source band is my favourite, but Just Leppard have gotten a solid response in their prior local stops, and Saturday Night Special seem to have the Skynyrd sound down well, so this should cover a wide range of classic rock fans this fall! Advance tickets for this 19+ event (which starts at 8:00 PM) run for $40 at this link, which is up from the $32 advance price last year.

No word on a price hike at the door, but last year's Just Leppard/AC/DC Show concert jumped to $35 if you waited to buy until you got there, so I'd at least prepare for the possibility. This should be a good time for Def Leppard and Lynyrd Skynyrd fans (especially if you happen to be both), so visit the official Facebook event page for details on what to expect!

Next up, here's some updates on the Josey Scott's Saliva-headlined concert at The Machine Shop on Saturday night, starting with a band withdrawal, as Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric have dropped out of this event, according to promoters Superior Entertainment on the Facebook event page yesterday. This is due to frontman Hugo Ferreira being unable to enter Canada, and while they didn't go into specifics as to why, he has had legal issues in the past that may be a factor, and other rock websites will go into detail on that if you are so inclined. Disappointing to hear, but hopefully Tantric can come back this direction again when able! A replacement band has not been announced, but Superior Entertainment has asked ticket sale host Etix to adjust show prices to the pre-sale discount rate rather than the week-of price of $53.50 (as of this writing, the price has not visibly been lowered). Click here to check on any potential price adjustments, in any event!

In terms of promoting the event, (this version of) Saliva's frontman Josey Scott has made some video appearances to get the word out, including via this brief clip uploaded to Superior Entertainment's Facebook page last week, where he invited fans to "party with us" and "shake the lake" on Saturday night. Not the best audio quality, he didn't mention any of the other bands, and he pronounced "Sault" like "salt", but any direct promotion is cool to see, so check it out above! For longer-form promotion, Josey was interviewed by Ernest Skinner of the local YouTube interview series Border City Rock Talk on Friday, so what comes up here? In the 18 minute interview, Josey talks about why he left the original version of Saliva, ex-Motley Crue singer John Corabi saving him from a bar fight, the passing of his old Saliva bandmate Wayne Swinny earlier this year, how they united musically, new material plans, ...

... working with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger on the "Hero" single, his love of ketchup chips, and more. This was recorded before Tantric dropped out, but neither Ernest nor Josey remembered the local openers' names (Josey did pronounce "Sault" right here though!) Good and laid back interview that will be a good primer for the show on Saturday night, so check it out below, and also give Border City Rock Talk a watch for much more video interviews, if not always with musicians playing locally in the near term!

We'll close today with a new video from local progressive metal duo Convergence's YouTube channel! The first unequivocally new upload there (not counting Kraken Mara-era videos that they left up/rebranded), this was uploaded as a "Shorts" video (a.k.a. YouTube's answer to "reels"), but at least you can embed "Shorts" externally and play them in background tabs! The video features a snippet from a new original song named "Chimera" courtesy of their computer tracking program, and it certainly sounds the part for prog metal fans, but it's worth noting that their Facebook post about the video says that "we're working on another track for our album". Now, their debut EP "One" is on sale on Wix, but are implications correct that "One" is a work in progress that they're going to add to as songs get completed? I can't say for public certainty, but give Convergence's new song snippet a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Wednesday concert previews and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Northwest Music Video, Border City Rock Talk, And More!!

Before we dive into fallout from last night's big concert, let's clear out some more backlogged news stories in today's post, including new material from a rising young metal guitarist, some very belated details on a local rock journalist's return to interviewing, and leading off, a new song from an upcoming album! Here's what you should know!

The second single from local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's upcoming third EP "All In" can now be heard on major streaming services and within their new music video! Uploaded to their YouTube channel on Thursday, the video (directed by Andrew Sowka) features hands holding Polaroid photographs framed over the widescreen view of the picture-in-hand, and the song's lyrics progressively appear on the bottom of the Polaroid. If that's not your speed, the lyrics are also in the video description. Interesting approach and it's well made for what The Northwest were going for! They got a second interview with Niagara Falls music website From The Strait yesterday, where writer Kris Goetz asked an unidentified band member about this song's inspiration, their songwriting process, who they'd like to tour with, getting played on Hockey Night In Canada, and what helps The Northwest stand out as a band.

While the repeat coverage from an out-of-town site rather than a local one may seem a little odd, remember that The Northwest are getting more and more eyeballs on them thanks to the Hockey Night In Canada appearances and their own acknowledged talents & experience, and the interview gives us some good insight into what they're aiming for nowadays! I'll hold comment on "Shorelines" for now, pending our eventual review of "All In", but give The Northwest's new music video a watch below!

Next up, I wanted to give a long overdue spotlight to a local journalist and interviewer who we had talked about pre-pandemic, namely Ernest "Che" Skinner, who wrote the Rock Talk column for SaultOnline in the late 2010s before moving over to Wawa-News.com in February 2019. Well, he left that site as well and has since went independent, via last summer's launch of Border City Rock Talk, which specializes primarily in coverage of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and his own classic-leaning rock music reviews, interviews, and opinion pieces. For the most part, his rock articles on Border City Rock Talk so far have not been hyper-focused on local bands or concerts, but remember that the pandemic has been a steady concern. Still, Ernest has gotten some very big gets for both print and video interviews that you can read on their website and their YouTube channel! For example, who all has Che interviewed for YouTube in the past year?

Among others, you can check out interviews with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Triumph's Rik Emmet, Spinal Tap and The Simpsons' Harry Shearer, Great White's Jack Russell, and Helix's Brian Vollmer, so clearly Ernest is doing the right things to attract some big names! I will embed one here, as it crosses both the hard rock and local concert line, namely Ernest's 15 minute interview with Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd from last August, which was obviously in advance of Buckcherry's headlining date at Soo Blaster in October. Apologies for this being so late, I didn't know Ernest had resumed his rock interviews and writing until very recently. The interview has Ernest asking Josh about their new album "Hellbound", Josh's fandom of Minor Threat, how the tour was going at that point, what to expect from Buckcherry's setlist, what critics think, the struggle with alcoholism, Josh's work as a phlebotomist, ...

...and how the pandemic personally affected him. While there are a few hesistant points with Ernest's questions, this was a casual and well handled interview that goes along well with what he's been doing for so long now, and at least the Buckcherry show went on as planned last fall! Hopefully we'll see more from Border City Rock Talk that crosses over with local concerts & musicians as bookings tick up this year, but give his Josh Todd interview a watch below, read and view much more above, and Border City Rock Talk is finally linked on the SMS!

Finally, I wanted to give another spotlight to local metal guitarist Shane Desjardins, who has recently resumed working on original material under his project name Red Ruins Me! We've mentioned him on the SMS in 2019 and in 2020, and while I don't believe Red Ruins Me has a social media presence beyond their YouTube channel, Shane did post a "full album" there last month named "Resurrect", followed by a pair of instrumental deathcore tracks & two live videos. One is a compilation of guitar riffs, while the other sees Shane & a friend covering Killswitch Engage's "Rose of Sharyn" (albeit with the original song very loud). I don't know if Red Ruins Me will ever expand beyond free YouTube postings, but Shane is a talented songwriter with a good ear for brutal riffs that honestly remind me of something you'd hear in an action video game soundtrack at times! Give his music a listen above & below, and look for a surprise Rolling Stones cover!

That's all for today, but if all goes well, we will start looking at B.L.S. concert fallout tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Details On The Mask Mandate & Border COVID Test Repeals in Ontario, Plus Rotaryfest's Return To Normal!!

Today's SMS post has turned out to be way less directly musical than I expected (we'll make up for that shortly), but we do have lots of big and encouraging news regarding the roll-back of restrictions to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that have affected the concert experience, both from events scheduled and hypothetical. Here's what you should know!

As our Ontario readers will likely be aware, the provincial mask mandate has been lifted in most settings as of today, and regarding SMS-covered topics, this means that concert attendees and performers do not have to wear a face mask to enter nightclubs and concert venues for the first time since before the first pandemic lockdown began in March 2020. This doesn't necessarily mean that some venue staff won't encourage mask wearing still or ask that paid employees continue masking up for the time being, let alone a potential return of the mandate if COVID-19 cases go haywire again, but be observant about any recommendations, whether you'd prefer to wear a mask or not. Visit SooToday's article about the mandate lifting for further details. Could the end of the indoor capacity limits and mask mandate (let alone the winter season) lead to more concerts? Time will tell, but things have been slowly creeping upwards, so we'll see how things go!

For some more encouraging news regarding concerts, the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie have announced that Rotaryfest will return to a normal in-person format at Clergue Park in July! As outlined in this SooToday article, the Soo's summer festival will hopefully kick off on Thursday, July 14th, and they are planning to have a full festival that weekend like what we saw in the 2010s, including live bands, ribs, vendors, the community parade, and the Take Your Pick Draw (for what it's worth, the press release did not say anything about the midway). This year's Rotaryfest will actually coincide with the 100th anniversary of Sault Ste. Marie's first community night parade in 1922, so this would be a fitting return date! Due to pandemic restrictions, 2020's Rotaryfest was held entirely virtually, complete with an online concert, while a condensed music stage and rib sales were held at the former Lowe's Plaza parking lot last year, with a drive-in format in place.

As per this Sault Star article by Brian Kelly, Rotaryfest organizers are working on a plan B in case restored COVID-19 restrictions mean that they have to scale back the festival from what they're hoping to put on, but fingers crossed that nothing screwy happens to throw another spanner in the works! Given that the main music stage at Clergue Park will (hopefully) be dusted off for the first time in three years, organizers are looking for musicians interested in performing there in July, so if you want in, e-mail rotarymusicssm@gmail.com to get an application form! The deadline to apply is Sunday, April 17th, and visit the festival website for more details! In case you're wondering, none of the above sources said anything public about the return of the original indie/folk-centric Stage 2, which was also held at Clergue Park from 2015-2019 near the Art Gallery of Algoma.

For reference, note that the pandemic-altered Rotaryfests folded in covers-only acts you'd tend to see on Stage 1 with original acts more amenable to Stage 2 in the same lineup, so the possibility exists that this could recur, just on the main stage. Everything sounds encouraging for Rotaryfest to get back to normal-ish in a big way this summer, so whether you're interested in the bands or everything else, visit the above links for what we currently now about the festival's 2022 installment!

Finally for today, let's keep the pandemic optimism going with a big note for readers who want to cross the border, as Canada is planning to lift the pre-entry COVID testing requirement for travellers returning home on Friday, April 1st! As noted in this CTV News article, fully vaccinated Canadian travellers returning to the country from an international trip will not have to get a negative COVID-19 test (PCD, rapid antigen, or otherwise) before arriving at the border, but customs agents do reserve the right to administer random mandatory PCR tests as a response to new COVID variants. If that occurs, you don't have to isolate while waiting for your results. Travellers without two COVID shots will still have to isolate upon re-entry and be tested as required, while you will still have to enter in your estimated return to Canada with the ArriveCAN mobile application.

As far as the SMS goes, this news will be extremely welcomed for concert goers who want to cross the border to see concerts, particularly at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Black Label Society will finally have their long delayed local concert on May 6th. Now that there's no COVID test requirement starting next month, will we see a strong contingent of vaccinated Sault Ontario metalheads there? It will be very interesting to see how things go for cross-border travel this spring, but visit the above links for complete details on all of the COVID restriction news, mercifully all good here, and stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Tea Party), A Concert Cancellation, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for your Tuesday morning, which is by and large devoted to two topics: A major concert cancellation that many were expecting, and a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but we also have some assorted recent news and notes to take in as well. Now, here's what you need to know!

Juno nominated Windsor hard/world rock trio The Tea Party will headline a FREE & ALL AGES concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday, July 16th! As announced by in a press release on SooToday on Friday, the show is one of 23 free outdoor concerts taking place across Ontario between June 25th and September 17th as part of the Government of Ontario's ONTour concert series, which will see over 50 Ontario music acts playing across the province to celebrate Ontario's 150th' birthday, with the Soo's coming fourth in the tour. This is a nice surprise for music fans across the province, so visit the above links for current details on the tour so far! This will be The Tea Party's first local concert appearance since headlining at The Princess Theatre in 1998, before they had their biggest chart hit with "Heaven Coming Down", so this should be a cool chance to hear these Canadian rock legends playing many of their hits on a local stage after 19 years away, and for FREE!

A diverse opening lineup will include Toronto drum & bass duo Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (who played at LopLops Lounge back in 2011) and Barrie country quartet The James Barker Band in their local concert debut. Both bands have had top 10 hits on the Canadian alternative and country charts, and should find solid audiences of their own next month! A 6:00 PM start time is advertised on the Facebook event page, and for readers elsewhere in the north, note that there will be ONTour events in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Blind River as well, artists to be announced. This sounds like a great time for local music fans of varying genres, especially given The Tea Party's return, so stay tuned for updates if they come in!

Next up, it is now 100% official: the planned Rock The Border Music Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday is not taking place. Organizers quietly deleted the official Facebook page and event page yesterday, following a tumultuous month of no new public updates despite mounting local debate and pessimism about the planned concert. Australian hard rockers and planned co-headliners The Lazys confirmed the cancellation on their Facebook page, while planned local openers The Din took their issues and concerns public via the Facebook video below from this past Friday. The clip explains The Din's reasons for dropping out of the show (which hadn't officially been cancelled at that point), noted that they've obtained refund money for outstanding local tickets from March's aborted Quiet Riot concert from the same promoters, and encouraged fans to instead check out the Electric Church/Speaker concert at The Canadian on Sunday from local promoters Live705.

It's worth noting that if you purchased a Rock the Border Fest ticket, Live705 will honour them as coupons for their show on Sunday night, getting you admitted for the $5 father's discount price, which is very admirable of them! The Din encourage sharing of their video "if you value this city's ability to bring in big name concert acts". Also, note that the Eventbrite page for online ticket sales is still up as of Tuesday morning, despite the Facebook deletions, so don't buy tickets there hoping that this show might still occur. I won't single out any individual promoters here, but after two high profile hard rock cancellations in a three month span, it's easy to see why there's been so much online reticence in the past month, and the lack of public updates since May 7th was telling that something was up (at the very least.) Give The Din's video a look below, and don't miss Live705's Canadian Nightclub concert on SUNDAY or the aforementioned FREE Tea Party concert at The Pavilion in July!



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

• Local alternative/hard rock quartet Bizotic, alt-punk/no-genre trio Handsome Sandwich, and rapper Mikey Thomas have all been added as openers for the Vaultry-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub on July 7th. Promoters Live705 had originally only planned for 2 more acts on the bill of this rock/rap hybridization event, but now there's 7 total acts, including 4 bands and 3 rappers. Very intriguing event to be sure, so check the above links for full details on all of the action next month!
• This past Thursday night's CKY concert was covered by SooToday's Donna Hopper in this article posted online yesterday, featuring interview remarks with frontman Chad Ginsburg on his move to lead vocals and their upcoming CD "The Phoenix". As usual, Donna got some great photos at the show (albeit in black & white), including 5 of CKY's set, 10 of The Wild's set, and 4 of Jack Spades' set, though she didn't get anything from A Dire Setback or with CKY touring keyboardist Matt Cole. Solidly done once again, so check out Donna's new concert photos and coverage at the above links!
• Remember how Toronto death/groove metal quintet Sludgehammer were to have headlined the postponed Oddzfest II concert at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday? Well, it was announced on Sunday that Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney (the promoter of Oddzfest II) has replaced Chris Szarota as Sludgehammer's new frontman! No word on if the reveal would have been a surprise unveiling on Saturday or not had the show taken place, but it's great to see Josh singing again in a death metal band, so follow Sludgehammer above, and hopefully he brings them north for Oddzfest II at some point!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for even more news and notes on the SMS in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

Ruptured Birth Concert Preview, A Unique Drum Cover Video, Upcoming Concert Notes, And More!!

For the first time in a week, we have a post that's primarily about news and updates at the SMS! Yes, there is one concert preview for an impending metal concert, but also, we have some assorted recent updates, perhaps some bad news for an upcoming concert, and a new drum cover video, so here's what you should know! (Updated on Sunday at 12:20 PM)

Heavy North Entertainment are back for their first concert of the year, and it will see the return of two Northern Ontario extreme metal bands to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall to cap off their Grime Life mini-tour of Northern Ontario! The featured headliners are Sudbury death metal quartet Ruptured Birth in their first Soo stop since opening for Vesperia at The Algonquin Pub in 2015, and with many brutal sci-fi inspired originals in their repertoire, prepare for a face melting good time tomorrow! North Bay extreme metal trio Thekillingfield will make their long awaited local return tomorrow as co-headliners, marking their first local appearance since 2011, with a pair of 2014 sets cancelled in the interim. It's hard to believe we've been waiting over five years for Thekillingfield to hit the local stage again, so welcome them back with open arms and horned fists as well! Local opening acts will include the return of local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters in their first concert of 2017, so how will they sound after their 7 month stage hiatus? Find out tomorrow!

Online page-less death metal duo Twistory will round out the lineup in their first public concert set in almost a year, while a planned opening set by Crucify the Whore has been cancelled due to equipment difficulties, as per the Facebook event page, and they have not been visibly replaced. This ALL AGES show has an 8:00 PM start time (with doors opening at 6:30 PM), and there will be a $6 cover charge at the door. Death metal fans should be very excited by this show, including a number of long awaited returns to the local stage, particularly Thekillingfield's progressive-tinged explosion, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Ruptured Birth live!



Next up, here's a pair of new videos, starting with this unique clip of As It Stands drummer John Mignacca beating the electric drumskins all over Sault Ste. Marie! Uploaded to his new "Flo McNasty" YouTube channel on Tuesday, the video (filmed by John's former A.I.S. bandmate Nathan Bouliane) features John drumming along to his old band Skeyes of Seven's original "Cognitive Dissonance" in various locations, including outside of the "Algoma's Friendliest City" sign, the International Bridge, the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and inside the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center. Very creative and well shot, this is well worth checking out for fans of local landmarks, John's drumming, and Skeyes of Seven, though after watching, I was also thinking of other places he could drum for a sequel! One outside of concert venues might be interesting, particularly ones John played at frequently. Give it a look below, and don't miss As It Stands return at The Canadian on THURSDAY!



Also today, here's some recent clarifications and updates regarding a teased concert event for later this month. Though there has been no formal confirmation, numerous postings on it's Facebook event page have indicated that the Rock The Border Music Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on June 18th is no longer taking place. Pessimism and unconfirmed personal reports don't paint a good picture, especially as this show was promoted by some of the same organizers behind the called-off Quiet Riot show (CSA branding or not), and while the ticket sale page is still online, there haven't been any public updates to this event from organizers since May 7th. Based on available reports, I'm reluctantly inclined to remove the show from our links, but if there's any official confirmation that it's still on in some form, we will redact this! If true, this is all very disappointing, especially given the hype and the chance to make up for the Quiet Riot concert, but if it's off, hopefully ticket buyers get full refunds promptly!

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 event name:

• The Sault Star's Brian Kelly interviewed CKY drummer Jess Margera for this article that went in the newspaper and on their website on Monday in advance of THIS THURSDAY'S headlining show at The Canadian Nightclub.Within, Jess discussed the band's move to a three-piece lineup following Deron Miller's departure, their recent collaboration with Mastodon's Brent Hinds for their new single, fan response in their recent tours, why you won't hear much from their last album "Carver City", and more, and it's a solid read in advance of this highly anticipated show, so check everything out above!
• The previously announced CureCon festival from new local company Ma Lady Menace on August 12th will reportedly not be taking place at The Royal Canadian Legion hall on Great Northern Road, as per the venue's Facebook page earlier today. The Legion apparently has had "NO dealings" with the promoters, and while I won't get into the online rumous and mixed feelings within, note that Ma Lady Menace have not updated their Facebook page in two weeks, when they acknowledged website maintenance. We'll remove CureCon from our concert calendar due to the lack of venue, but if it's still held elsewhere, we'll let you know!
• The Machine Shop confirmed via this press release last week that March's postponed Quiet Riot concert is now officially cancelled, citing a "breach of contract" between the headliners and promoters CSA International, and told people where to get refunds for tickets if they had yet to do so. This story resurfaced because the originally planned rescheduling was for May 26th, but CSA had previously redacted that on their own. The discussion about the promoters and refund process has sparked more pessimistic online debate, but all I'll add here is that I hope everyone still looking for a ticket refund gets theirs soon, if they haven't already.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the month of June progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rock The Border Music Fest & Ruptured Birth!!)

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Phlashback/Kick Start singer & guitarist Terry Becker, who passed away on Friday at the age of 65, according to numerous personal Facebook postings. Details on his services have yet to be announced, but definitely stay tuned to local news media for updates on that front. Though not known for work in hard rock bands (moreso country and blues rock), Terry will be familiar to many fans as a brother of Sykotyk Rampage mainstays Paul & Dirk Becker, and was once scheduled to join them with a solo set at 2015's Soo Zombie Walk, though he later had to withdraw from that event. I own an autographed copy of Phlashback's 2006 CD "Ride the Wind", on which Terry was the primary songwriter, where you got a sense of Terry's musical & vocal gifts, and he was definitely a talented musician and instructor, so our condolences are definitely with the Becker clan at this difficult time. R.I.P. Terry!

Now, today's post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS regarding two concerts taking place next month, one a long awaited festival announcement, and the other seeing returning Northern Ontario extreme metal bands after 2 years away or more, so here's what you should know!

Sudbury death metal quartet Ruptured Birth and North Bay extreme metal trio Thekillingfield will each return to Sault Ste. Marie for a concert at The Oddfellows Hall on Thursday, June 4th! Featuring former members of Before the Black Gates, fans may recognize Ruptured Birth from opening for Vesperia at The Algonquin Pub back in 2015, and their crushing science fiction-inspired originals should brutalize local fans when they make their return to the local stage next month! As for Thekillingfield, this show is a long time coming for them, having not travelled west to the Soo since headlining at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in 2011, with two early 2014 Oddfellows Hall sets being cancelled in the interim. Thekillingfield played here a lot around the turn of the 2010s, and it's awesome to see them finally come back after nearly six years away, so don't miss out on their return on June 4th! Local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore will be among the openers in their first public set of the year, and fans should enjoy Tyler's solo return also!

At least one more opening act is to be announced, so stay tuned for updates on their identity. Promoted by Heavy North Entertainment in that agency's first event since September's Dumpster Mummy concert (and just their second since the fall of 2015), a 6:00 PM start time is currently advertised for this ALL AGES show, but admission prices have not been posted yet. This should be a brutal and heavy good time for local metalheads, including some acts we haven't seen enough of locally, so visit the official Facebook event page for continued updates!

Next up, the long-delayed lineup announcement for the Rock the Border Music Fest on Sunday, June 18th has finally been made, and organizers have confirmed that Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay will headline the show in a side project group! The two of them are actually in two side bands, the newer hard rock outfit Josh Todd & The Conflict, and a rap/electronic rock project named Spraygun War, but organizers just said that they will play "a little of everything". I'd be inclined to believe that The Conflict are the band coming, but we won't list them as such until/unless there's confirmation. Josh & Stevie D. are no strangers to the area, as fans who saw Buckcherry at Kewadin Casino in 2011 will know, but how will they sound in this side band next month? Stay tuned! The teased Australian band will be Sydney hard rock quintet The Lazys, who will hit the Soo as part of their Summer Ontario Fun Tour. Lively yet old school sound, they should find a solid audience when they rock the Soo next month, so give them a listen!

Three more bands are to be announced, but aside from at least one being Canadian, none have been confirmed publically as of this writing. Now that the lineup has finally been partially announced, what else should you know on the concert? Well, it's now advertised to take place at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion instead of The Machine Shop, marking a rare local hard rock concert under the tent downtown, and it will be nice to see some live concert action there after too long of a wait! This is an ALL AGES show, though it is licensed, and an early 2:30 PM start time is advertised. Tickets are on sale for $45 for early birds (no word on when the discount ends), $55 for advance admission, $60 for general tickets, and $75 for VIP passes, which allow close access to the stage, a drinking section, and line bypass upon entry. As well, there will be a $100 meet & greet VIP pass that allows you to view the soundcheck and get an autographed poster, so keep all of the packages in mind!

You can get tickets online at this link, though no word on local in-person availability as of this writing. Also, just for clarification's sake, a post on the Facebook event page from organizers indicated that this is not promoted by CSA International (they of the postponed Quiet Riot concert), despite the fact that the "About" tabs on CSA's Facebook page & the Rock the Border Facebook page both list the same phone number. Given that, there must be a common person involved in both, but if they say this isn't a CSA event, who am I to argue? As for the show proper, I know there's already some pessimism online regarding the two week+ delays and the perception of the lineup quality so far, but remember, there are three more bands to be announced, Buckcherry fans should come out in force, and if this concert is a hit, more big hard rock shows will come to the Soo, from these promoters or others! Stay tuned for continued updates on the Rock The Border Music Fest as it comes in!

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

Noochin' Lanterns & Them Updates, Mellow D's Next Private Concert, And More!!

On this Saturday afternoon, we have some news and updates to touch on, largely focusing on a newer local concert site and videos from bands that recently played there, but we also have some shorter assorted items to round things out. Now, here's what you should know!

Here's some new videos of bands at new local private concert venue Mellow D's Underground, which returns for it's (at least) fourth event tonight! Just in terms of that event, it'll take place tonight at 7:00 PM, have "an underground whiskey bar", and at least three bands, including newer local power punk quintet The Noochin' Lanterns. For what it's worth, a shared post notes that "The Apocalypse Afterparty invite you to come join us" tonight, implying that they'll end their 2 year concert hiatus for this event, but that hasn't been referenced elsewhere. Message promoters and the involved bands above to inquire about the address and extra details! As for the videos, The Apocalypse Afterparty shared this Noochin' Lanterns video from frontman Paul Stanghetta's personal Facebook page on Wednesday where the band (sans Amber McKay) sit around on a front step listening to the first mix of an original song of theirs, implied to be via Dustin Jones at Mission Control Studios.

There has been no public confirmation yet on if The Noochin' Lanterns are working on a debut CD (we're still waiting on "Bufflesnort" release info), but it's a nice sample, and uniquely framed, so check it out above! The remaining new videos were all filmed by Them frontman Tyler St. Amour and posted to Mellow D's Facebook page on Wednesday, though these may actually be delayed uploads from their March 1st private gig, given the lack of Amber or new guitarist Tyler Gibson. Three videos (titles unclear) were filmed from this set, linked here, here, and below, and while they were all unfortunately filmed in portrait orientiation, these capture vibrant and energetic originals that Paul, Matthew, and Amanda handle pretty well! And yes, they have their pajamas on here too! Also, the setup reminds me a tiny bit of Sykotyk Rampage's "Cave" that they hold jam sessions in, just with brighter lighting. Give these new Noochin' Lanterns videos a look!



Next up, the aforementioned Them have some new videos of their own, courtesy of their set at the Mellow D's Underground private show on February 24th (unless they played a later one without a public acknowledgement!) Posted to the grind/punk duo's Facebook page on Wednesday as well, these constitute the band's first promotion of a concert set since opening for Gorod at The Oddfellows Hall almost one year ago, so it's great to see that Tyler and Anthony are back at it, albeit at a private venue! One video can be seen at this link, while the longer clip is embedded below. Unfortunately filmed at a vertical camera angle again (though it does work better for a two man band), these capture Them at a good ferocity and energy level, but Tyler could be clearer on the mic, and announcements of song names would have helped. It's great to see Them alive and well, and hopefully they return to a public stage sooner or later, but give their Mellow D's clips a look above & below, and keep tonight's event in mind if you're curious!

 

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

• We have updated the link on the SMS for Castlegar, British Columbia internet radio station Energy Rock Radio (which broadcasted locally from 2008-2011), as their old "Radio Last Call" domain is no longer active, in favour of the more expected www.energyrockradio.com. Now that's accurately linked again, and check out Ryan and the Brew Crew's original programming and metal playlist there for an alternative radio option with local roots!
• Have you been wondering why we didn't cover Tuesday's announced lineup reveal for June 18th's Rock The Border Music Fest? Assuming there's hard rock or punk on the bill, we would have, but the lineup announcement was postponed to yesterday as promoters CSA International were "waiting on one more contract", but yesterday's new deadline has came & went too. This event still has promise, especially as what looks like a larger scope rebound from CSA's postponed Quiet Riot concert, so stay tuned to the Facebook event page for updates! For what it's worth, the lineup will reportedly have an American, Canadian, and Australian band.
• I have reluctantly removed former local recording studio Stereo Soul Studios from our "Other Local Metal Links" section due to the apparent expiry of their website's domain name, and I can't find a comparable replacement for our links. Best known for producing albums from bands like Gates of Winter and Woods of Ypres throughout the late 2000s, studio head Miguel Gauthier has since found success in photography and film in Los Angeles. Hopefully he keeps up the great work, and he's definitely been missed up here!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), More Weekend Concert Previews, And Much More!!

As promised, let's round out this weekend's concert previews today, but to complete a full post, we also have some assorted recent notes, and to lead off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman for one night only on Saturday, April 15th! Announced with just enough notice for us to plug this before next week's concert previews, this will mark this talented band's first show out in the Strongs area of 2017, and will see the guys return to the stage after taking this weekend off. Project 906 have been a steady sight in the past year+, and it's nice to see them bring some familiar hard rock out to Eckerman again next week, so don't miss out on this show if you're in that area! A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this 21+ concert, and there are no announced cover charges. For more details in advance of next weekend's concert previews, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from Project 906 soon!

Next up, let's finish this weekend's publically known hard rock concert previews, starting with the return of Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TONIGHT! After over 2 years away from the local stage, this veteran tribute act will deliver some high voltage rock 'n roll for the first time in the Soo since November 2014, so if you've missed Who Made Who's faithful looking and sounding take on AC/DC, don't miss out tonight at The Rockstar Bar! Note that Who Made Who are not the AC/DC tribute band that dropped out of two Rockstar Bar dates last year, that band is Hells Bells, who have yet to reschedule from their most recent postponement. Tickets are reportedly almost sold out for tonight's concert, but as of this writing, you can still get them for $10 at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, and no word on if door admission (if possible) would be higher. This is a 19+ event starting at 9:00 PM, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Who Made Who live!

Lastly for this weekend's concert previews, we'll head back to Michigan for the return of Traverse City classic metal trio Peril to The Northern Pines Lounge at The Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Continuing their more selective concert schedule of recent years (sticking primarily to Kewadin branches and The Sportsman Bar in Boyne City), these will be Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' first gigs under the Peril banner since rocking St. Ignace two months ago, as part of what's largely been a bi-monthly schedule of late. Scarkazm has been much of the focus lately, but don't miss out on Peril's hard hitting and fan favourite covers tonight or tomorrow either, especially if you want some live hard rock action in the E.U.P. this weekend! As usual, you can catch Peril's Northern Pines Lounge gigs at 9:00 PM both nights, these are 21+ events, and neither has an announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!



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

• We have added Mike McWatters Photography to our listings of local band and concert photographers in the Sault Ste. Marie area, as Mike has uploaded a number of photos from The Din's CD release concert last summer to his new Facebook page, and had been plugging The Din's involvement in the postponed Quiet Riot show (would he have been on hand?) Mike got some very nice shots at The Tech in August, so give them a look at the above links, and hopefully we'll see him back at more concerts!
• A Facebook page has been launched that hints at plans to host a concert festival at The Machine Shop on Sunday, June 18th named the Rock The Border Music Fest, with the announcement of "a music lineup like no other" scheduled for April 18th. Though not explicitly stated there, the festival's listed phone number is also given on pages for Sudbury promoters CSA International, so is this an expanded rescheduling of the Quiet Riot concert, or something completely different? Stay tuned for updates when they come in!
• Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take a road trip east to Spanish TOMORROW to compete at this year's Rock 'N Roar Battle of the Bands, joining 9 other bands competing for 4 spots at the annual concert festival in August, where they would open for either The Killer Dwarfs or Triumph guitarist Rik Emmett. Soundcheck are the first local band to compete in this battle since The Elements in 2015, and this will give drummer Steven Flint another chance at advancing to the festival proper, having placed with The Suicide Kings in 2014. Best of luck in Spanish tomorrow!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Danger Cats), Haggith's New CD, And New Videos!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to apologize for not getting official plugs of last night's two Mourning Wood concerts (a matinee at The New American Pub and a normally timed Rednecks Saloon show) on the site yesterday. Both only recieved short notice plugs on personal Facebook accounts a few hours before showtime at The New A, and as we couldn't rush a new news post in time to plug both, we covered them on our Facebook page. Had we recieved more advance word on both, we'd have definitely plugged them here, but our apologies either way! Now, today's post features new videos, a recent album release, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Local all-female hard rock/punk quartet The Danger Cats will rock The Rankin Arena at 17 Batchewana Street on Saturday, June 13th during... a roller derby event?! Yes, the girls' second announced show of the summer will come during Border Brawl, a Sault Roller Derby event that will see two games between Ontario and Michigan teams (with game 1 featuring Northern Ontario's own NORD Starz.) If you're not familiar with roller derby, it's a fun and physical game that the whole family can enjoy, so give it a look online to see if this is up your alley! Danger Cats frontwoman Kate Kougar confirmed in personal e-mails that they'll be playing during halftime of both games, so with each starting at 6:00 & 8:00 PM, their mini-sets will presumably be at around 7:00 & 9:00 PM. This may seem like an odd show for a local band to play, but some of the members are involved in local roller derby events, hence the connection. (Calico Katie even designed the poster!)

Admission is $10 at the door or via advance ticket sales through derby players,  while kids under 12 get in FREE! Also, note that there's an afterparty at The Rockstar Bar too, but if The Danger Cats (or any other band) are playing it, nothing has been publically stated yet. For more details on this unique concert event, check the above links, and don't bypass roller derby, give it a look and see if you'd want to check out Border Brawl!

Next up, here's some overdue notes on a recent album release, as local hard rock/grunge quartet Haggith released their newest CD "Apocalypse II" on May 9th prior to their set at that night's Swampstravaganza V! Apologies for the delay in getting this on the site, it fell through the cracks way too much. Released a day earlier than anticipated, "Apocalypse II" is the band's fourth full length studio album and second in their "Apocalypse" concept series, as recorded over the past year+ at PaperClip Productions. The album features (in various lineup arrangements and instrument roles) the band's late 2014-early 2015 lineup, including singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie, ex-guitarist Daniel Horton, bassist Jordan Leach, and drummer/vocalist Mike Haggith, though only Daniel is credited on all 10 songs, and his Project 421 bandmate Frank McGillivray is credited with playing guest guitar on the three "Home" tracks.

"Apocalypse II" was on sale for $5, and likely will be at the band's upcoming concerts as well. You can stream all 10 songs ("Apocalypse", "Hands of Death", "Immunity", "Spreading The Disease", parts 5, 6, and 7 of "Home", "Tribute to Mike Haggith", "We Are The Damned", and the title track) at Haggith's YouTube channel for free as well, but will we be reviewing the album on the site this month? No, because it only makes sense to go in chronological order for the "Apocalypse" series, so look for our review of 2012's "Apocalypse" (at last) by month's end! Check out both above!

We'll close today with new videos, including this clip of Bad Back drummer Nathan Sauve tracking drums for a guest spot he's doing for an upcoming Rotopsy track! As uploaded to his YouTube channel on Monday, the overhead video features him tracking his part in a speedo (as he pointed out), and it sounds good to add to a Rotopsy song! While a little monotonous, live drums top a drum machine and help give more of the full band feel to their goregrind intensity, and it'll be interesting to hear the final product! Give Nathan's new video a look below!



Finally, here's a new solo instrumental recording by prolific Sault native and Alberta metal guitarist Paul Melanson! The first upload to his YouTube channel in 5 months, the song is called "Split the Sphere", and it's a well recorded and performed original song with a nice solo and strong songwriting! His recent hard rock and cover work in Lethbridge is solid, but it would be interesting to see him tackle a full metal project like this again. Give his new video a look below, and see more above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: BadSideMusic's Channel

It's time for another monthly feature post, and this month, it's our 4th YouTube Channel Profile! As we've done the past 3 months, I have randomly selected a YouTube channel from my extensive list of subscribed channels with at least 50% local metal-relevant videos (our own channel excluded) to profile! Once again, we have a channel outlining a prolific and talented local band this month in another solid selection for this series, so what should you know, and why should you check this channel out? Find out below! (Edited on May 10th, 2012)
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BadSideMusic's Channel (http://youtube.com/user/badsidemusic)

Owner: Probably Bad Side guitarist & former local radio DJ Jason Mapes, but I'm not 100% certain. Either way, the channel is credited to the band as a whole.

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 5th, 2008; Videos posted between May 2008 and October 2010

Channel Summary: This is one of two official YouTube channels ran by defunct Sault Michigan hard rockers Bad Side, who were one of the most prominent and successful local hard rock bands of recent years before dissolving in 2010. The BadSideMusic channel features 10 band relevant videos from their last two years together, including video diaries from some of their bigger concert sets, a handful of commercials for some non-Sault Michigan gigs, three music videos, and a live video from their last show at the Milwaukee Summerfest in August 2010. However, most of the videos there were uploaded to their label Vicious Music's channel as well, leaving just three unique videos on the BadSideMusic channel (two commercials & the original version of their "Let It Roll" video.) With the band's demise, this channel hasn't been logged into since the fall of 2010, but their videos live on!

Why Should You Watch: Honestly, aside from the three unique videos mentioned above, the BadSideMusic channel is fairly redundant. You'll probably get more than enough of a Bad Side fix from the Vicious Music channel, which features most of the BadSideMusic videos and an extra 25 videos from both Bad Side & Jason Mapes' solo work. If you had to pick one, go with ViciousMusic, but the BadSideMusic channel is still full of great hard rock songs and happenings from Bad Side's run, so give it (and their other pages) a look at the above links to enjoy some solid bluesy hard rock from their heyday!

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

BAD SIDE - LET IT ROLL (Music Video): Three professionally filmed and edited music videos for Bad Side songs are posted on this channel, and though a remastered version exists, one of the best is still their video for "Let It Roll" from 2007's "Bad Side II"! Featuring a then-blonde Melissa Krahnke on fire with her soulful singing, this is one of Bad Side's better songs, and it effectively merges classic rock and heavier influences, which is where they were at their best! The video is cut from professionally filmed footage of the band playing the song live, and the editing and effects are pretty nice! Bad Side had loads of talent, and this proves it, but don't forget about their many other music videos that the above links can direct you to!



Bad Side on the road with Blue Oyster Cult video diary: On August 17th, 2008, Bad Side made a rare concert appearance in Canada as one of Blue Oyster Cult's opening bands at the Bell Border Jam festival at Runway Park in Sault Ontario! Featuring bassist Rich Blair & live drummer Jonah Brockman in their then-lineup, the band played a memorable set, and about 2 minutes of it can be seen below at the end of the video, however not on a high quality camera. The bulk of the video is of Bad Side's fun and happenings backstage at Bell Border Jam, including fun on the tour bus, interactions with attendees, staff, and other bands, and some live footage of some of the performers, including lots of Blue Oyster Cult's set. Give their video diary a look, and check the above links for commercials & teaser videos for the festival!



BAD SIDE Summer Detroit Tour ad with Dangerous Pursuit: Oddly enough, one of Bad Side's radio commercials is the most viewed video on this YouTube channel, but it shows off Jason's radio voiceover skills well! This commercial was for Bad Side's Detroit-area shows from August 2008 that they played with a Detroit area hard rock band named Dangerous Pursuit and assorted other opening bands. Notably, all three served as CD release parties for their last album "...Bad Things Come In Threes", which is cool! The commercial itself is well edited and features snippets of their song "Call Me If You Want To", so check it out, and click here to see their tour diary video from these three concerts, including some live footage of them & the other bands!


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I hope you guys enjoyed this month's YouTube Channel Profile! So, what YouTube channel are we getting a look at next month? I have randomly chosen Garden of Bedlam guitarist Josh Belleau's YouTube channel, which has been inactive since 2008, but features some cool early live performances and assorted other videos, so this should be a good channel to look at! I know we just profiled a Garden of Bedlam-related channel last month, but that's the joys of random selection, and everything's a surprise even to me! Stay tuned for that on or around November 22nd, and I'll see you guys TONIGHT at the Zombie Walk Afterparty and then at The Rockstar Bar! Thanks everyone!