Blood Opera Concert Preview, Crooked Music's Closure, And More News & Notes!!

Today's post wraps up this weekend's concert previews, explores the surprise closure of a local music store, looks at a new hard rock cover from last year, and covers some assorted recent updates, so here's what you should know on this Friday evening!

Here's the remaining hard rock concert preview for this weekend, as Toronto "dead metal/zombie glam" band Blood Opera will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock Soo Blaster! For the record, this show was quietly relocated from The Queen Of Hearts Club above Shooters to Soo Blaster last month for publically unannounced reasons. Blood Opera first rocked Sault Ste. Marie in May in the afterparty to the Steel City CollectorCon, and this is basically a sequel to that event in every way, as Blood Opera are headlining the afterparty for the related Steel City NerdCon, which goes down tomorrow at the Quattro Hotel on Great Northern Road (click here for full details on the convention proper). Blood Opera's theatrical, horror movie-inspired, and very violent stage show will play very well with attendees once again, even better than in May given that this is the Halloween season!

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will be the local openers this time out, which will be huge for them, and if you can't make it tomorrow, they'll be rocking Reggie's tonight! Despite the gory spectacle ahead, this is an all ages event with a 9:00 PM start time, and admission is $20 online at this link or at the NerdCon proper. It'd be foolish of me to try to hype up the stage show that Blood Opera put on, so I highly recommend checking them out online if you missed the CollectorCon afterparty, and this should be a fun spectacle to cap off a busy NerdCon with! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Blood Opera live!

Next up, here's some sad news out of Sault Michigan, as local music store Crooked Music is closing at the end of the month. Owner/local musician Zac Crook made the announcement on their Facebook page on Wednesday, noting that "the benefits no longer outweigh the risks" towards keeping the store open. The costs of being a small business owner in this economy and the availability of inventory were cited as primary concerns, but Zac did thank everyone for their support and encouraged everyone to support other mom & pop businesses and locally owned music stores. For the next two weeks, all remaining store items and fixtures are on sale for 50% off during regular hours. Zac and his wife Christy had bought the former Grooves Music from Gary Hatch in 2017, moving it from 540 Ashmun Street directly across the road to 539 Ashmun in 2019, and they even expanded their repertoire to include clothing, used albums, and books.

Crooked Music serves an important purpose to musicians in the EUP, and it'll be that much harder for musicians to get equipment and lessons now (if you can't come to Sault Ontario, I think the nearest equitable stores are over an hour away). Alas, economics are a concern for many entrepreneurs and business owners, but kudos to the Crooks for keeping the store active for over seven years, and weathering the pandemic in the middle! Visit Crooked Music while you still can at 539 Ashmun Street near the Soo Theater, and our best wishes are with Zac, Christy, and family!

Let's head back to Sault Ontario for a new hard rock cover from local acoustic classic rock/country singer/guitarist Jeremy Logan Newman's Facebook page! We've mentioned Jeremy on here a few times, notably when he opened for Fort Creek at one of their original run concerts, but most of his public media doesn't point to SMS-amenable material. This is an exception, of him and veteran local guitarist/Soo's Got Talent judge Darren Robertson (who perform duo sets under the name Fog Brain) covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Mama, I'm Coming Home" at The Water Tower Pub in August of last year.  The harsh and over-exposed blue lighting is far from ideal, let alone the vertical camera angle (at least both musicians are in frame), but this is an effective rendition that lets Jeremy apply his voice in a unique way, with a tone you may not expect for this classic Ozzy ballad. 

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

 

• Dormant local concert promotion agency Live705 have changed their name to Algoma Underground, as per their Facebook page on September 22nd. The change was made to avoid confusion with Mike Blair's 705Live Sound Co., who I believe launched after the members of A Dire Setback started promoting as Live705, but 705Live are far more active nowadays providing sound at local concert events. Obvious AI logo for Algoma Underground aside, hopefully the rebranding is a good sign that they plan on resuming work as promoters next year!
  
• If you were curious what the etymology of new local death metal band Bardo's name was, they have clarified it on their Facebook page. The name refers to a Buddhist belief in a transitional intermediate state between death and rebirth, which is definitely a deep concept, and it'll be interesting to see what slants the Them successors' original songs so far will take in that regard! Follow Bardo above for continuing updates!
• Local southern hard rock band Fort Creek have filmed their first music video for their upcoming single "One For The Road", as per their Facebook page! Golden Scoundrels/ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno filmed the video via his company Spacebag Productions, and it was shot at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, with a black & white teaser image from the shoot also posted on Facebook featuring singer Justin Grayson sitting at the bar. Good sign towards Fort Creek's return to full activity, so visit the above links vor more details on the song and video ahead!
  

 

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

Heavy Lies The Crown - "Scatter Brain" EP Review!!

It's now time for our 127th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and first of 2020, as we're taking a look at St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's debut EP "Scatter Brain"! The pictured cover artwork is a recreation of the physical copies, and the font I used for the album name is admittedly inaccurate. Independently released online on September 9th in advance of their Saginaw debut that month (with hard copies following in November), this EP was produced by Danny Vail and recorded in early 2019. The disc features singer Brandon West, guitarist Ted Olson, bassist Danny Tucker, and drummer Cale Krist, though "Scatter Brain" was recorded before Nathan Switzer joined the band on second guitar. H.L.T.C. did debate re-recording it with Nathan, but the original recordings are what is on the final product. Physical copies run for just $4, while you can stream the EP on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube.

I do not know if CDs are on sale at a local retailer in the Eastern Upper Peninsula (Crooked Music, maybe?), but contact the band directly if you want to get hooked up, especially as they have yet to play a true local concert. Featuring four songs running for almost 13 minutes, let's begin this review!

"Scatter Brain" kicks off with it's longest track, "Thing 1", which has a soft and deliberate opening that nicely builds in instrumentation, with the soft vocals giving a Deftones-ish vibe early, but when the song puts the pedal down in the chorus, the aggression amps up well. Brandon's harsh screaming reminds me very much of Cameron Heacock from American Head Charge, which is not a bad thing! The song is well performed with nice intricate playing, and the late breakdown is a nice touch, but it doesn't feel as heavy and assaulting as it should, with the guitar almost buried in the mix. Next up is the EP's shortest song, "Choke", which is a full-on extreme metal song that is very nu metal-inspired. This has the pounding metal background I missed on "Thing 1", and it's a great showcase for Brandon in particular, though Ted's guitar work shines while it lasts, and Cale's drumming is at full force, especially on the bridge. Very entertaining song, if not as technically sound as the opener was!

Third on the disc is "Knucklebutter", which is another ferocious ripper of a song, though with more of a gradual and drawn out pace that suits the drumming and bass line really well, and the galloping riff is a nice touch. The pained clean vocals at the mid-point is too forced to me, and the background chatter and laughing late adds nothing to the song, but the sum is greater than the parts. "Choke" has the speed and intensity edge, but "Knucklebutter" feels like a more complete, fully realized song, and it's my favourite on the EP! The closing track is "Time Diffuser", which has a nice guitar melody intro (possibly the best guitar line of the disc) that pairs nicely with Cale's rapid fire drums. Like the opener, this alternates softer verses with aggressive choruses, but it's a shorter song, yet more inventive musically, and the rhythm contrasts well with the heavier elements. My big problem with the song is it (and consequently, the EP) ends so abruptly, when it felt like it should go on much longer, but it's solid until then!

So, what are my final thoughts on Heavy Lies The Crown's debut EP? Overall, it's a strong first outing for a very promising new-ish band, with lots of brutality and strong musicianship to go around! While ostensibly a progressive metal band, this has a strong influence from early 2000s nu metal, which isn't a bad thing (no one raps), so if you like bands like American Head Charge, you'll be right at home here. With only four songs, H.L.T.C. don't have much time to make an impression, but they're a talented ensemble, with Brandon's harsh screams meshing well with Ted's skilled guitar work, while Danny and Cale hold down the rhythms well, but there are times when songs could be pumped up with beefier production or a more prominent guitar line. The abrupt ending to "Time Diffuser" was a disappointment, and I'd have liked to have heard some guitar solos, though with two guitarists now, I imagine a second release would be more fleshed out on the whole.

"Scatter Brain" is an entertaining first salvo for Heavy Lies The Crown, and while I know the E.U.P. is not an ideal market for an extreme metal band to break through in, I hope they can make their mark locally and gain traction up here. Do your part by streaming or buying "Scatter Brain" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! As for our February album review... I do not know what we'll be looking at yet, but here's what I can say. A new album would, as usual, take precedence in line, and our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post will give some ideas as to what may be coming out next! If nothing new comes out that I have access to, we'll dip into the archives for a review tied in with musicians playing locally in February, and one possibility could be "Flight 75", Haggith's live album from 2012, to tie in with members' debut show with The Bridge Heads next month. In any event, stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished), A New Local Band, And Much More!!

It's not too often where we have an all-Sault Michigan news post on here that's not solely focused on one band or concert, but we have a nice array of topics from the E.U.P. to touch on here, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and new Facebook pages from local bands (one new, one old) to acknowledge. Here's what you should know!

We have a new band to add to our Sault Michigan band links, albeit a year or so late (my profuse apologies!), and they are St. Ignace progressive metal quintet Heavy Lies The Crown!  Publically launched in November 2018 via their Facebook page, their lineup consists of singer Brandon West, guitarists Ted Olson & Highway 63's Nathan Switzer (who joined the band in June), bassist Danny Tucker, and drummer Cale Krist. Heavy Lies The Crown began tracking studio material with producer Danny Vail as early as February, with videos posted regularly to show off their progress on Facebook. In April, H.L.T.C. made their apparent live debut in Kalkaska at Troutzilla Fest, and followed that up with a show in Saginaw in September, coinciding with the digital release of their debut EP "Scatter Brain". Fans below the Mackinac Bridge have since seen them in Saginaw & Kalkaska again, plus in Hemlock and Grand Rapids, while physical copies of the EP dropped last month.

Unless I missed something, Heavy Lies The Crown do not appear to have played local concerts yet, though I won't get into a big debate here regarding the E.U.P.'s lack of local extreme metal bands and shows in the 2010s. At least this new band is finding concerts and an audience! Their exclusively Lower Peninsula gigs may be why it took me so long to discover Heavy Lies The Crown, in conjunction with me not knowing the members from prior local bands (Nathan aside), but they musically have the chops to leave a mark locally! I don't want to show my cards in full regarding their sound, as I am heavily leaning towards reviewing "Scatter Brain" (physical cover art recreation pictured) on the SMS this month, but if you like technical metal with American Head Charge-style vocals, you should find a lot to like here. Check out more from Heavy Lies The Crown on Instagram and via the above links, stream their album on Spotify, and here's video from their debut!



Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock band Tarnished will return to Moloney's Alley on Tuesday, December 31st for that venue's New Year's Eve party! Clearly, their debut at the 227 West Portage Avenue nightclub on December 7th went well, as they have a high profile encore coming up in just over two weeks, though unlike then, their set will be shorthanded. As per the band's Facebook page, they will be playing as an acoustic trio sans drummer Tommy Korcal for unannounced reasons, though keep in mind that Tommy's infrequently seen prior band Project 906 haven't publically put their New Year's plans (if any) out there yet. As anyone who's seen Alex and Josh and/or Nathan at Biggby Coffee can attest, they know their way around an unplugged set, and that shouldn't hurt things come year's end! Potential admission fees and dinner specials aren't out yet, but festivities begin for this 21+ event at 5:00 PM, with Tarnished beginning at 9:00. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details as they roll in!

Finally for today, we go from a new E.U.P. band to a very much defunct one, but both have Facebook pages that I didn't know existed until just recently. In this case, the band in question is late 2000s Sault Ste. Marie grunge/alternative trio Half Stupid, who quietly launched a posthumous Facebook page last fall to archive their original run. Given how their MySpace page was decimated following layout overhauls and the music transfer errors, I fully welcome this development, and I wish more defunct bands would have something similar! Half Stupid was comprised of future Crooked Music owner Zac Crook on vocals/guitar, his later Plastic bandmate Matt Williams on bass, and Twisted Manikin alum Jordan Gendreau on drums, and they had a steadily rising profile around 2008 and 2009. Their Facebook page includes a handful of videos from an old Big Bear Arena concert, plus lots of promotional, jam session, and live photographs from 10 or so years back.

Intriguingly, Zac (I assume) teased in September 2018 to "stay tuned for something NEW in the near future", and elaborated in March that they were half done recording an original song they didn't get to record at the time, but there has been no apparent public follow-through since. This was a nice find when I was initially doing research for our Defunct Local Band Profile on Half Stupid (coming next month), and if you like grunge and 1990s alternative rock, these guys delivered the goods while they lasted. Check our more above, their link on the SMS is now updated, and here's one of their three Big Bear Arena concert videos from the archives!



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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Brain Tuel

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Today, we have this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we're again looking at 1-3 defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands (one this month), in order to spotlight them and their run for current readers! This month's random selection is ironically fitting, given that they posthumously uploaded a new Facebook video last week, but they're a missed fixutre of the local punk scene, so read on below for our newest Defunct Profile!
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Brain Tuel

Genre: Punk/Alternative Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Jeff Jonusaitis, vocals/keyboard
Andrew Pothier (Synthia), guitar
Zach Reid, guitar
Mark Schildroth (Synthia), bass
Marc-Andre Parent, drums

Audio/Video: Brain Tuel released three albums in the latter half of their run, including 2006's "Adeline Ave.", 2007's "Black & White", and 2008's acoustic EP "Stuck in Small Places". All are now out of print, but they can be streamed on Spotify & via bassist Mark Schildroth's YouTube channel, and bought from online download stores. For videos, guitarist Zach Reid's YouTube channel has 12 Brain Tuel videos (all but two coming from their last advertised concert), while their MySpace page has 5 earlier clips, and their Facebook page has at least one unique video. Here's Brain Tuel playing "Here's Looking at You, Kid" live at The Oddfellows Hall ca. 2005!

Info/Analysis: Formed in 2001 by then high school classmates, Brain Tuel soon became a fixture at local concerts, though surviving information on their early run is in short supply. Opening for notable out of town acts like Faber Drive, The Imports, and The Johnsons during their run, the band was frequently seen at The Oddfellows Hall, while also playing venues like LopLops Lounge, the Kiwanis Community Theater, and The Bellevue Park Bandshell over the years. Though nominally a punk band, Brain Tuel didn't stick to the typical punk tropes, and peppered their high energy sound with alt-rock influences, hardcore backing vocals, and an occasional hard rock flavour. Last visibly playing live at an acoustic show in May 2009 at The Arcadia Coffeehouse, Brain Tuel fell inactive later that year, and members largely now live out of town, but they have stated that they hope to record at least one more album, and their Facebook page is still occasionally updated.

While their albums' production could be a little inconsistent, Brain Tuel had a fun live sound and they'd still fit in nicely in today's local scene (imagine them on stage with Gnaeus and Id Iota, for example.) The band has said that they hope to stay together forever, which is an encouraging sign that we'll see Brain Tuel again, and hopefully they do come back down the road!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return next month with another randomly selected band, and out 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults will next take us to Sault Michigan, so which band is next? How about inactive epic metal quintet Integrated System of Machines?  This should be a fun profile, especially as it's our first solo Sault Michigan profile in this series in eight months (the last two were doubled up due to lack of surviving material), so watch for our I.S.O.M. profile on or around November 10th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood), And New Video Postings!!

On this Saturday afternoon, we're mostly touching on some new video uploads from a selection of local bands, both alive and defunct, and both from Ontario and Michigan! To start, though, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related apology, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club TONIGHT, after having played there last night as well! Apologies for the short notice (and for missing last night's concerts on here), we only heard about the shows late last night via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page, as the band never promoted these shows publically. Making their first concert appearances since last week's well received turn as backing musicians for Mark Tarantini's Garth Brooks tribute, yesterday and TONIGHT's shows mark Mourning Wood's first Esquire Club stops in over a month. Their varied and often heavy blend of covers should attract a good crowd to the west end venue TONIGHT, as I'm sure it did last night, so make sure to have some requests in mind! Expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit.

Despite the lack of public notice (lately, they've only done that for Reggie's Place gigs), Mourning Wood put on a solid live show, so don't miss out TONIGHT, and apologies again for missing yesterday's concert on here, we'd have covered it in our weekend concert previews had we known about it beforehand! At least we touched on it on our Facebook page. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, here's the latest "Cover of the Month" from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din! After a two month hiatus for the series while The Din launched their debut studio album, the newest cover video was uploaded to their YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it's their rendition of The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends". Rather than an in-studio recording, this actually comes from a private concert that The Din played at the Quattro Hotel & Conference Center (formerly the Ramada Hotel & Best Western on Great Northern Road), though the band didn't offer public details on the event's purpose. Featuring guitarist Tammy Hill on acoustic guitar and drummer Brandan Glew on what appears to be a cajon (a box shaped percussion instrument that's often sat on), this is a fun cover that plays to the band's unplugged side well, and you can see more of that when The Din (sans Brandan) open for Mulligrub on Friday! Check it out below!



Also today, here's a surprise new archive video posting from defunct local alt-punk quintet Brain Tuel! Though inactive since 2009, the band has sporadically updated their Facebook page since, and on Thursday, they shared an Oddfellows Hall concert video there in their first posting since April of last year. Great timing, if ironically so, considering that we're profiling them in our next Defunct Local Band Profile on Monday! The video is only dated to the summer of 2006, so I can't verify which show this came from, but it features Brain Tuel playing their song "Black & White", which was the closing & title track of their second CD from the following year. Filmed on a stationary camera mounted on stage, it gives a unique angle of the guys in action, albeit without capturing drummer Marc-Andre Parent in view at all. This is a solid performance of one of Brain Tuel's more progressive originals, which even inserts some screamed backing vocals into the mix, and it should be a nice flashback to fans from their 2000s heyday!

Guitarist Zach Reid apparently has more videos from this concert, so hopefully he shares them and/or gives some more details on this event, but regardless, it's nice to see a defunct local band sharing some posthumous media! More bands should do that, it sure beats when bands delete their online pages and media after dissolving. Check out Brain Tuel's "new" video below, and stay tuned for our Defunct Local Band Profile on them on Monday!



Finally, here's a short new video from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63! We didn't feature this when we previewed their shows at The Rapids Lounge (including TONIGHT'S) in Thursday's second post, as it actually doesn't have audio. Shared to their Facebook page via bassist Chris Leask last month, this is a 2 minute slideshow of band photos with the meme photo-esque caption "Rockin' with Highway 63". It's well put together, but the lack of even one live song is unfortunate, and only 7 pictures are used, with the photos snaking forwards and backwards until it ends. Still a fun clip for fans, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and our Brain Tuel profile soon! Thanks everyone!

Meet The (Inactive) Local Punk Bands!! Part 1

After a few days to cover some news, our features on punk bands to roll into our coverage return today, as we're now rolling in punk bands from the Sault area that are defunct, or have been inactive for a full year! Note that we're not including the numerous punk bands without surviving (and substantial) online pages/media, as most are missing readily sourceable information unless they have a lot of local news media press and album releases, and I want everything linked on the site to go to a useful location. I know many popular & talented examples that won't fit these features, but I guarantee we'll cover many pageless old bands in various formats in the coming months, so stay tuned!

We'll start our defunct punk band roll-out with bands who have Facebook pages, and work our way to other sites from there, so we'll start in alphabetical order with Sault Ontario alternative punk quintet Brain Tuel! Active from 2001-2009 (though members have updated their Facebook page since), Brain Tuel's lineup featured singer, keyboardist, & current solo musician Jeff Jonusaitis alongside guitarists Andrew Pothier & Zach Reid, bassist Mark Schildroth, and drummer Marc-Andre Parent. Releasing three demos in the mid-2000s ("Adeline Ave.", "Black & White" and the acoustic "Stuck in Small Places"), Brain Tuel were among the more locally prominent young punk bands in the mid-late 2000s, which saw them open for the likes of Faber Drive, The Imports, and The Johnsons, and play at numerous varied venues, most recently an unplugged show at the former Arcadia Coffeehouse in May 2009. Brain Tuel's mix of standard punk rock with indie influences served them well in the 2000s, and I remember them having a fun live presence with nice melodic singing and good, to-the-point songwriting!

With members living in different locations now, a reunion looks unlikely at the moment, but check out Brain Tuel's Facebook, MySpace, PureVolume, BandSpace, and YouTube pages for lots of media and information on their run, and here's the band playing their song "Here's Lookin' At You, Kid" at The Oddfellows Hall circa 2005!

Next to add are defunct local garage/punk duo The Fever Tops, who might be best known as the predecessors to frontman Michael Mikus' current alternative hard rock band The Pixo Control! Active for just 9 months last year, The Fever Tops featured Michael alongside former These Sins of Time drummer Mitchell Harris, and you may remember them from scattered appearances at Superior Heights Collegiate, last year's Art In The Park event, and sets opening for Devon Coyote at Cafe Natura both near the end of their run in September, and in a one-off reunion/farewell set three months ago. Though succeeded by the heavier and fuller sounding Pixo Control, the newer band has taken on some earlier Fever Tops originals into their sets, such as "Land of the Moles". Michael's YouTube channel features three Fever Tops demos, and they are reminscent of Michaels' other recent original work, but with more of a minimalistic garage rock feel that does retain many punk influences, with Mitch showcasing solid drum ability!

I'd say The Pixo Control are a more complete version of Michael's musical scope, but check out more of his first band above, and here's their Black Keys cover at their farewell show at Cafe Natura in April!



Also "new" to the site is For July, a screamo & pop punk band that was active in Sault Ontario from at least 2008-2011. The flagship band for defunct local record label idioRECORDS, their lineup featured label founder Dave Hunter on vocals & guitar alongside guitarist Jordan Latour and As It Stands alum Ryan McLaughlin (most recently of Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking) on drums, with their vacant bassist position never publically filled. Peak activity for For July seemed to occur in their initial year, with optimistic band biographies, a handful of studio recorded originals, and what appear to be early album plans, but I don't recall For July ever playing a public concert, and updates from 2009 and later are very hard to source. I'll admit that For July's sound isn't my cup of tea, but Dave and company seemed to have a good thing going with this project, with good production, a high energy, and melodic hooks, and it'd be interesting to see For July resurrected!

If you like pop punk with hardcore and emo influences, or bands like Saosin or Senses Fail, For July's surviving original material might be worth checking out, so give them a look at their Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation, and Unsigned, and here's their MySpace promo video featuring many assorted clips from recording and jam sessions early in their run!



Finally for today's punk band additions are inactive local/Toronto punk quartet The Inner City Surfers, who were easily one of the most successful local punk bands of the 2000s! Launched in 1999, their lineup continually featured Rising Tide bandmates Dustin Jones on lead vocals & guitar, and Mikey Hawdon on drums alongside Role Models bandmates Dave Bahun on lead guitar and Brad "Example" Lacell on bass, merging musicians of four different backgrounds into a skilled and entertaining package that fans will recognize from many major concerts here and out of town through the end of 2012! Saultites may remember The Surfers from sets opening for the likes of Jackyl, Treble Charger, Strung Out, and Matthew Good, alongside numerous packed headlining shows, and tour dates across Canada at their mid-late 2000s peak. The guys have released at least three albums (a self titled demo in 2000, "Laughing on the Outside" in 2002, and a later self-titled CD in 2007), with copies of the latter readily available on online stores like iTunes, though all 3 albums appear to be online too.

Easily likable from their fun, recognizably Ontario punk rock sound, The Inner City Surfers could provide both a laid back fun sound and a more aggressive old school punk sound without missing a beat, but that's easy to expect with a band with such talented and experienced members! I'm sure a reunion show could happen at a drop of a hat, but it's still surprising that they haven't played live in a year & a half. Check out more from The Surfers at their Facebook, MySpace, and CBC Music pages, and here's their music video for their song "What A Life"!



I hope you guys liked our first defunct punk band "introductions"! Our second defunct punk band feature this week will feature two punk bands with primary pages on Reverbnation (The Scary Uncles and OBCD), and we'll add two more from another social media portal to be determined. In the meantime, look for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!