I wasn't planning to double up with posts on this Saturday, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT came to my attention, and we'll fill things out with a lengthy new video interview with a familiar face, and the surprise cover songs he was involved with! Here's what you should know!
Local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill (well, outside of it) in nearby Barbeau to cap off their Oktoberfest celebrations TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement via their Facebook page on Wednesday, but the venue's Facebook page had been plugging the band as headlining for well earlier than this week. Rhythm & Brews debuted at The Cozy Corners at 6800 East 15 Mile Road in July for the Dunbar Dirt Road Dash, and TONIGHT's show will similarly be for a special event, with this Oktoberfest being a fundraiser for the Hospice of the E.U.P. in Sault Ste. Marie, so don't bypass that wonderful cause! Rhythm & Brews' established hard rock covers and likely Van Halen flourishes will be capping off Oktoberfest TONIGHT at 9:00 PM outside of the venue, and a bonfire, cornhole tournament, stein hoisting contest, and more will be ongoing from 2:00 PM onward
Also don't forget the smoke-off that began this morning, and again, sorry again about the late notice! I believe admission is free for Oktoberfest, with donations and funds from the smoke-off and internal events going to the Hospice, and of course, expect a 21+ age limit given the beer emphasis. 9&10 News is calling for cloudy weather from 9:00 PM-11:00 PM before showers are projected to set in, so hopefully Rhythm & Brews and the crowd escape the rain! No preview videos of Rhythm & Brews yet, alas, but visit the above links for more on TONIGHT's festivities!
Next up, here's a 50 minutes long video interview with former Gates of Winter/Woods of Ypres guitarist Bryan Belleau! Conducted remotely last month by Tyler Fleming of the Pensacola, Florida doom metal band October Noir, he hosts a YouTube interview series called The Noir Hour, which launched in the summer and has roughly posted an interview a week since. The interview is primarily based around Bryan's two year stint with Woods of Ypres (though Gates of Winter come up), and includes questions about Bryan's life in British Columbia nowadays, how Bryan met David Gold & joined Woods of Ypres with the rest of Gates in 2008, experiences working with & learning from David, Woods' influence and reach in the past decade, how he got involved in a cover of "Wet Leather" featuring Bam Margera (more on that at post's end), his folk/jazz music with his wife Melinda out west in the last few years, seeing bands cover Woods of Ypres songs at the Ypres Metal Fest in the Soo in 2012, ...
...his reactions to David's death the previous year, his relationship with David after leaving the band, Bryan's thoughts & perceptions of his album with the band (2009's "Woods IV: The Green Album") and some songs individually, the emotional impact of Woods of Ypres' late-period songs, the personal qualities & positive impact of David's mother Esther (a.k.a. Mama Gold), his musical development while recording with Woods, what Bryan knew about the "Home" single (he was told that the songs were "Woods IV" leftovers), the personal reasons that led to Bryan amicably leaving the band before their 2010 American tour, the wide-ranging friends Bryan met through Woods of Ypres, his views on the impact of his stint with the band, and how involved he wants to be in metal nowadays, especially now that he is a father with different priorities.
Solid interview with Bryan coming across as very humble & appreciative of both his time in Woods of Ypres and the kindness he's felt from fans of his, the band's, and David's in the past decade, and while Tyler was an acknowledged late bloomer to Woods fandom, you can tell he was thrilled to talk to Bryan and get his insight! Some more talk about Gates of Winter, even if just some more details on the Gates of Ypres 2008 tour and/or why Lee, Brian, and Steve progressively left, would have been interesting, but Bryan definitely hit most notes non-local Woods fans will wanna hear. Give the interview a watch for yourself below!
To close, what was that about Bryan recording a cover of "Wet Leather" with Bam Margera that I mentioned earlier? I assume this flew under the radar because Bryan isn't locally based anymore, but in April of last year, Bryan collaborated with Matt Lidwin of the Milwaukee goth metal project 616 to remotely cover "Wet Leather", with Bryan on guitar and Bam (formerly of Jackass fame and his band Fuckface Unstoppable) singing chorus vocals, alongside former HIM drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen. 616 have strong HIM overtones, and Bam was a major fan of theirs already, so the shoes fit! Clearly a good working relationship was also established between Matt and Bryan, as the two worked together on another 616 cover earlier this year, tackling Type O Negative's "Everything Dies" last month, a song that Bryan mentioned in the Noir Hour interview was tentatively planned for a Woods of Ypres covers album that never made it to the studio.
Both 616 covers are on all major streaming services, I have them linked/embedded here via their YouTube channel. Great hearing new metal material from Bryan for the first time since Gates of Winter's last public "Perhelion" teasers in the mid-2010s (I miss them), both songs suit Matt's (and Bam's) vocal ranges well, and the covers are faithful but with some extra flourish and effects to help them stand out a little. Well recorded and produced, and if you don't mind the lyric repetition of "Wet Leather", it'll be easy to hop on board with that cover. Give them a listen above & below!
That's definitely all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
At last, let's tackle our final installment (until a year after the next battle) of our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile Series! One day removed from our look back at last year's second VM Radio Battle of the Bands, let's reflect on the other March 2016 battle of the bands that also entertained local music fans during this busy month. Like our prior installments of this series, this is strictly an informational feature with trivia, facts, and results, and no personal criticism or reviews of the competing bands. Now, here's what you should know on last year's second local battle of the bands!
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The 2016 Speak Easy Battle of the Bands (March 10th, 2016)
Background: Following the success of the Battle of the Bands at Algoma University's campus bar The Speak Easy on March 5th, 2015, organizers at the Algoma University Students Union indicated plans to hold further battles on at least a biennial basis, announcing a planned second installment for November 2015, though it was postponed due to unspecified "sponsorship issues". Instead, the second battle took place on March 10th, 2016, just over a year following the previous event. Like in 2015, seven competing acts played 15 minute sets each, and results were determined by a fan vote with no formal judging panel. Prizes: Winnings were identical to 2015's Speak Easy Battle, with $400, $200, and $100 respectively going to the first, second, and third place bands.
Competitors:
Two of 2016's competing acts were returning from 2015, those being alternative/hard rock trio The Din (who dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name over the winter) and local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau. The other five bands were all newcomers to a local battle of the bands, and they included alt-electronic project Aldous, former Coverfly bassist Bryan Brown in a rare solo set, modern hard rock quartet Eclipse, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, and reunited death/thrash metal trio Pillory. Impressively, all of the confirmed bands from the original November date were still able to compete in March.
Results:
Fans at the battle selected Jesse Merineau to win the 2016 Speak Easy Battle and the $400 top prize. The Din came in second place to win $200, while Eclipse claimed the $100 third place prize.
Aftermath: Jesse Merineau rode the momentum of his battle victory to work on his upcoming solo CD (scheduled for release this summer), while he also returned home for a handful of notable concerts last year, including one with runners-up The Din opening at LopLops in September. The Din and Eclipse would both go on to finish in identical spots in that month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, with The Din releasing their debut CD in the summer and continuing their upwards momentum well into 2017, and Eclipse playing steadily until suddenly disbanding for four months in November, though they will return to the stage next month. Pillory and Jack Spades remain familiar sights on local concert stages, with the former in pre-production of their second CD, and the latter teasing their new lineup's debut and first gigs since the fall in the near future. Aldous remain active in studio, but haven't advertised a live show since August, and Bryan Brown hasn't been publically advertised since as a musician, though both have indicated that they're now based out of town.
Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal/hard rock in italics, ex-members noted with an *):
The Bear Hunters (Justin Lam & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades) The Elements (Jesse Cook from Jack Spades) Great Chamberlain (Anthony Marcello from Jesse Merineau's backing band; Based out of Ottawa) Handsome Sandwich (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades) Heavy Head (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades and Daniel Horton from Eclipse) Project 421 (Curtis McKenzie, Daniel Horton, and Chris Thompson from Eclipse) The Steeltown Girls (Tammy Hill from The Din) Stegadeth (Tiffany Stocco from Jack Spades) Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Jack Spades)
Trivia:
New local hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head were advertised to compete at this battle, just one night after they finished in third place in the first VM Radio Battle semifinal, but they dropped out the day of this event due to scheduling conflicts for frontman Mike Gaetano. However, the remainder of the band still competed as members of Jack Spades or Eclipse.
As was the case in 2015, the second Speak Easy Battle was held one day after the first semifinal of last year's second VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, which again differed by being a multi-band event over multiple nights, though the performer lineup actually fell from 11 competing bands in 2015 to 5 in 2016. The Din (who competed the day before) and Eclipse (who competed the following week) made the finals and finished in second and third place in both events, while Jack Spades played a non-competitive guest set on night #2 of that battle due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional involvement. The winner of the second VM Radio Battle was indie rock quartet K.I.C.K..
After missing the podium in 2015 with a strictly solo set, Jesse Merineau recruited local power pop/glam rock trio Caroline Divine to serve as his backing band for his Speak Easy Battle return last year, which apparently did the trick, giving him some "divine" intervention for his first place victory. While the set was entirely comprised of originals from Jesse's upcoming CD, this was technically Caroline Divine's last publically advertised concert before singer/guitarist Anthony Marcello moved to Ottawa, though his old bandmates joined Jesse & guitarist Mitchell Nielsen when he headlined at LopLops in September.
Similarly to Jesse Merineau's reversal of fortune from 2015 to 2016, The Din and 3/5ths of Project 421 (in their side project Eclipse) also moved from missing the podium to claiming top 3 placements in 2016, foreshadowing similar improvements in the VM Radio Battle later that month, which they also didn't place at in 2015.
Pillory's set at this battle marked their return to the stage after a nearly two year hiatus following their final shows as a thrash quartet in mid-2014. The band debuted new bassist Jordan Leach, their trio lineup with no rhythm guitarist, and a heavier, death metal-influenced sound at this event, completely abandoning their older originals from their debut CD "Cringe At The Cross".
Jack Spades' all-original set at the Speak Easy Battle was filmed by Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie personality (and VM Radio Battle guest judge) Christian Lemay for a feature that aired on channel 10 in mid-late 2016, interspersed with interview footage taken from an Oddfellows Hall concert around that same time. This can be seen as a precursor to Shaw TV's recently-debuted series OnStage, featuring full concert sets from recent local events.
Twin City Sound & Entertainment were on hand to provide sound for the duration of the battle. Notably, Twin City Sound co-owner Steven Flint was a former bandmate of Eclipse's Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton in the short-lived hard rock band Punch, who were the 3rd place finishers in November 2013's Viva La Battle.
The most notable band from the inaugural Speak Easy Battle to not return for year #2 was defending champions Gnaeus, who won both of 2015's local battles. The post-punk quartet are believed to have missed both events due to the departure of drummer Brendan Garlick over the winter, with his replacement Alex Proulx not debuting with Gnaeus until their Ontario tour run that April.
While then-Haggith bassist Jordan Leach and experimental musician/Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter had promotional involvement in 2015's Speak Easy Battle, neither were publically involved with the event's return last year. Jordan did compete in the 2016 battle with Pillory, but as he wasn't promoting anymore, there were no concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest.
Despite prior hopes to hold further Speak Easy Battles of the Bands at least twice a year, there has been no official public word on a third installment from the A.U.S.U. since last year's event, be it this month or at a different date. A third VM Radio Battle of the Bands also did not occur in March 2017.
The Din later performed at Landmark Events' Showcase Festival
in Toronto in January 2017, which was a competitive event to feature rising young bands to music industry executives who would judge bands and select ones to get music industry grants. It's not known if The Din progressed any further in this showcase, but they did praise the event and the oportunities it brought afterwards.
Videos: Shaw TV's video of Jack Spades' set
(No other public videos known; Videos of the top 2 acts from 2015 featured to supplement this section)
Sources/More Info: Official Facebook event page Event press release from SooToday
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I hope you guys liked this month's Battle of the Bands Rewind Profiles, and hopefully this series will return next year, saying that someone holds a new local battle later in 2017! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here is this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Yes, another year has begun for our monthly feature series on YouTube channels whose posted content is at least half made up of local metal, hard rock, or punk-relevant content, and as usual, the channels picked in this series are done at random! This month's choice was a very prominent sight in the local metal scene in the 2000s, and is still making music today, so here's what you need to know for this month's YouTube Channel Profile!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryan Belleau (http://www.youtube.com/bryanbelleaugow)
Owner:Gates of Winter/ex-Woods of Ypres guitarist Bryan Belleau, currently seen playing guitar with his wife Melinda, based out of Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Channel Timeline:Launched on February 23rd, 2011; Videos posted from that day through April 2014
Channel Summary:This personal use channel covers Bryan's musical career from 2008-2014 through his three primary projects during that time, including a solo performance video, four in-studio jams from Gates & Woods, five shorter non-musical clips (some from Gates of Winter's 2008 tour), live concert videos with Woods of Ypres & Melinda, and two early-2010s audio recordings with Melinda.
Why You Should Watch:Definitely check out Bryan's channel for some extended and intricate looks at Woods of Ypres during their latter locally-based era, and if you're a fan of his and Melinda's collaborative music out west, give those videos a look too! However, if you're a Gates of Winter fan, this channel is disappointingly lacking, though with the band known for focusing on newer material and rarely acknowledging old material, that may be expected. Note that Bryan deleted an older channel with more plentiful Gates material when he launched this one, so if you swore he had more Gates videos, that's where they went.
Though the video can be dark, and the stationary camera's distance from the stage isn't ideal, this is still a great window into a brief but locally relevant period for "Gates of Ypres", which was notable too as Woods' last local gig before transitioning to doom metal, and the most recent public concert appearance by the four core members of Gates of Winter on stage in the same band. Three guitarists isn't overkill, Brian Holmes' keyboard work is an asset, and with only a dozen shows to this lineup's name, and just two more in the Soo in any form, don't bypass this concert set!
A Lesson of Woods 2 Songs by David Part 1: Following the posting of this video of Bryan and David Gold during the writing process for the "Woods IV" lead single "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery", Bryan shared 47 minutes of footage of David teaching him songs from "Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth" (a.k.a. "Woods II") circa 2009. The second part is here, but the vast majority of the video is in part 1, and it features David leading Bryan through songs on "Woods II", an album that was largely ignored in their last tours, so if you ever wanted to hear "Summer's Envy" or "Shedding the Deadwood" in the doom era, this is your best bet! These give a nice and rare glimpse into Woods of Ypres behind the scenes, and you could use these to learn some early tracks on guitar if desired!
Gates Of Winter - Rehearsal 002: Bryan's only video featuring Gates of Winter at any substantive musical level is this rehearsal clip from May 2011, where he, frontman Lee Maines, and then-keyboardist Brian Holmes (no Fuge) played an untitled instrumental alongside pre-recorded drums, as then intended for their yet-released third CD "Perihelion". The top-down view of the guys is too squished and isn't ideal, but the song sounds really promising! However, with Brian's departure, the continued release delays over the past 6 years, and the band's very quiet public status in the past year, it's anyone's guess if this particular song will even make "Perihelion" when released. Note that the description says this is for the "Gates 2 album", presumably discounting their 2005 debut demo.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection will give us multiple channels for the first time in 2017, as the first channel only had one video, and the second only had one that wasn't repeated, so we came to three, namely former local concert promoter Aisha Day's channel (featuring 1 video of Devastation of the Heavens), former Crimson Crusade frontman Devon Lucier's channel (featuring that band's only EP in two formats), and YouTube user 98Watts' channel (featuring a Treble Charger music video.) Watch for these on or around February 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next and more news soon! Thanks everyone!
For the second time in as many days, here's our extended preview of a local battle of the bands, as for a second straight year, two separate battles are taking place on concurrent days! Just one day removed from night #1 of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands, the Algoma University Students Union brings us the second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands TOMORROW NIGHT, where 8 acts will take the stage at Algoma University's campus bar for another night of action, with $700 in prize money awaiting the top 3 bands! Postponed from an originally planned November 2015 date due to "sponsorship issues", this year's Speak Easy Battle will largely be similar to last year's battle, with bands playing 15 minute sets each, while winners will again be decided via a fan vote rather than a panel of judges. With last year's podium finishers not back for this year's expanded 8 band event, the field's wide open, but which of the entered acts will win out tomorrow? Here's some extra info on each act before this battle goes down!
Aldous: One of the five acts making their battle of the bands debut tomorrow, Nick Luck's alternative rock project Aldous will break out that strange electric taste that fans may have seen via the recent albums "Change2" and "The Fair", but many recent Facebook postings have been reasonably cryptic. How will Nick and company sound tomorrow, and will they impress fans to secure a podium finish?
Bryan Brown: Arguably the biggest dark horse in tomorrow's field, former Coverfly bassist Bryan Brown will go solo for a set in tomorrow's battle, but I can't confirm much about what he'll be playing on his own. How will his solo performance sound? Is he taking a huge detour from his Coverfly work? Be at The Speak Easy to see how he does!
The Din: One day removed from their third battle of the bands appearance, alternative hard rock trio The Din will look to continue improving on their 2015 battle results, where the then-Mike Haggith & The Din (with Curtis McKenzie on guitar) didn't place in the VM Radio or Speak Easy Battles. With their new sound firmly in place, and with Tammy Hill now on guitar, can The Din improve on last year's run? Show your support via their own Facebook event page for this battle!
Eclipse: This new modern hard rock quartet will be making their battle of the bands debut tomorrow, though 3/4ths of the band competed in both of last year's battles with classic metal quartet Project 421 & The Din, missing out on a podium finish in each. Less than a week out from their own VM Radio Battle semifinal, can the 421 side project channel members' past battle success with Haggith to place in the top 3?
Heavy Head: With just two concert appearances (including yesterday's VM Radio Battle semifinal) under their belts, new local pop/hard rock quartet Heavy Head will look to continue their early surge with a high finish in this fan-voted battle, and with battle winners from The Suicide Kings, The Bear Hunters, and Winkstinger in their lineup, they definitely have the experience to go far... but will they tomorrow? Show your support via following their own Facebook event page also! Jack Spades: Surprisingly making their battle of the bands debut tomorrow, punk/metal standouts Jack Spades will try to jack the battle as well as the planet in their set, and with battle alumni from bands like T-Rex Manning, The Bear Hunters, and Soldiers of Misfortune in their ranks, don't sleep on them! With a guest set at the VM Radio Battle coming next week as well, will they snag a top 3 position tomorrow?
Jesse Merineau: Joining The Din as the only returning acts from last year's Speak Easy Battle, local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau won't be alone for his set this year, as he's enlisted local power pop/glam rock trio Caroline Divine to back him up this year, with songs from his upcoming debut CD expected to be played. Jesse didn't make the podium last year, but will some "divine" intervention do the trick in 2016? Follow Jesse's run via his own Facebook event page!
Pillory: After a two year hiatus from the stage, local death/thrash metallers Pillory will at last return with their new trio lineup for this year's Speak Easy Battle, with last year's battle co-promoter Jordan Leach (ex-Haggith) now on bass, and now sans a second guitarist. Fans are already eagerly awaiting their return and their heavier death metal-influenced sound, but can Pillory surge to the the top of the field tomorrow night?
Like last year, TOMORROW'S highest voted band will win the top prize of $400, with second place receiving $200, and third place netting $100. Twin City Sound & Entertainment will be on hand to provide professional sound for each of the 8 competing acts, and while each band only has a short set, expect lots of talent to be on display! For attendees, admission is $5, bands begin playing at 10:00 PM, and while this is generally a 19+ concert, underage Algoma University students may attend the event if they have valid student ID with them. And of course, you can also see Eclipse and (non-competitively) Jack Spades at this coming Wednesday's last semifinal of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands, while The Din, Eclipse, and/or Heavy Head may also be back for the finals on March 23rd, pending how things go tonight & next week. Last year's Speak Easy Battle proved to be a bellwether for the VM Radio Battle results in terms of the common bands' finishes, but will that prove to be the case again in 2016?
Also, note that Heavy Head's Jesse Cook, Daniel Horton, and Johnny Belanger will all be pulling double duty tomorrow, as Jesse & Johnny are both in Jack Spades, and Daniel is Eclipse's guitarist. How will that impact their sets, and can any of them bring both of their bands to the podium? This should be an exciting battle, especially given the wide open field that guarantees one competing act it's first battle of the bands victory, but who will get the honours? Will Aldous' creative genre hybrid take them to the top? Is Bryan Brown's solo sound just what the attending fans are looking for? Will The Din improve on last year's battle finishes? Can Eclipse pick up where Project 421 left off with a higher placement? Can Heavy Head live up to their supergroup lineup's past successes? Will Jack Spades jack the $400 top prize in their first battle? Will Jesse Merineau claim a podium spot with Caroline Divine's help? And will Pillory reclaim their presence in the scene tomorrow?
Be at The Speak Easy TOMORROW to find out, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and we'll see you at The Canadian TONIGHT for night #1 of the VM Radio Battle! Thanks everyone!
Before we get into the meat of this post, let's frame it with a newly confirmed band for next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian, as new hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head are the fifth confirmed band for next month, as per the official Facebook event page! With a lineup full of 1st and 2nd place battle finishers with bands like The Suicide Kings, The Bear Hunters, Winkstinger, and Haggith, can they find similar successes next month so soon after their debut? I say that now because they're also confirmed for another big event next month, which leads off this post, along with some new videos, so here's what you should know!
The full performer lineup for the second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands has been announced via the official Facebook event page, so who all is playing on Thursday, March 10th? Joining the previously confirmed modern hard rock band Eclipse are the same three acts that were confirmed last fall for the original date, so alternative hard rock trio The Din, returning thrash metal band Pillory, and indie solo musician Jesse Merineau are all still in! They will be joined by punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, the aforementioned Heavy Head (fresh off of their debut show this Friday), indie/electronic rock project Aldous, and former Coverfly bassist Bryan Brown in a rare solo set. Of note, this will be the battle of the bands (and Speak Easy) debut for Aldous, Bryan Brown, Jack Spades, and Pillory, unless any of them are joining The Din, Eclipse, & Heavy Head at next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, of which this battle takes place in the midst of.
The Din and Jesse Merineau are the only returning bands from last year, and with none of last year's top 3 in the field next month, this is a wide open contest! It may be surprising to note that this is Jack Spades' first battle of the bands appearance (and first announced concert since October), but members have ample battle experience with bands like The Bear Hunters & T-Rex Manning, and frontman J.D. Pearce has promoted or played at all but one local battle of the bands since 2012. This will also be Pillory's first concert since their 2014 breakup, and their first with new bassist Jordan Leach, but how will they sound come March 10th? As for Bryan Brown, I'm unfamiliar with his solo music, but he played for Coverfly for three years before departing that veteran cover band earlier this year. He's got the skills, but how will he handle the solo spotlight, and what exactly does he play in that regard? Find out on March 10th at Algoma University's campus bar!
Also, three Heavy Head members are pulling double duty on March 10th (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger with Jack Spades, and Daniel Horton with Eclipse), but will those bands snag multiple podium slots? $400, $200, $100 prizes await the 1st-3rd place bands, who each have 15 minute sets to impress the fans (no judges, it's a fan voted event again), and for attendees, admission is $5, it starts at 8:00 PM, and it's 19+ for all but Algoma students with student ID cards. This hould be another entertaining battle, so for more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more on both of next month's battles of the bands!
We'll close today with new videos, including the latest YouTube upload from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night! Keyboardist Craig Harrison posted this on his YouTube channel yesterday, and it's of him playing his part of a new original song called "I Guess This Is Goodbye". Though obviously still in the works, Craig lays down a solid and pretty sounding keyboard track here, and it should accent the full metal song well when complete! Give it a look below!
Finally for today, here's a pair of new solo drumming videos from Bad Back's Nathan Sauve, as uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday! His first uploads there in about six months, these are "post-music" performances, with him taking on the handle "DJ Nato" on one, and the songs themselves are called "Haunted Head" and, as embedded below, "Spew on the Motorway". A bit of a diversion from his usual solo performances, Nathan drums here to electronic-influenced music that feels a bit trance-like at times, but his drumming is as sound as ever, so give them a look above & below, and hopefully we hear more from Bad Back soon!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!
It's time for some more assorted news, including this week's classic video, an interesting note about a local photographer, and some news concerning a local TV station, but first, here's the latest from a notable local metal band!
Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids epic metal band End of Existence have announced the addition of bassist Bryan Kindel (second from the right) to the band, adding the last piece of the puzzle for their now-full lineup! I'm not familiar with Bryan's past music work at all (I don't think he was in any bands with the other EOE members before), but I know they've been searching far and wide for the right bassist, and hopefully Bryan works well! With that said, End of Existence have posted their first song featuring both Bryan and keyboardist Craig Harrison onto their various internet pages, entitled "In The Distance"! It's nice to hear an overall fuller sound, and both Craig and Bryan contribute well, though I'll be curious to see how they're integrated into older songs. Fans of Bob Helsten's growling may be disappointed, as he sings clean the whole way through, but the song has a nice pacing, a heavy sound, and some solid guitar (and i-Pad?!) work from Steve Giles! Definitely has more of an epic feel than some earlier EOE songs, which isn't bad, though if you want death metal, you'll likely prefer other songs. Check out their Reverbnation page and related pages to hear this song (and more), but you can also check out "In The Distance" straight from End of Existence's YouTube channel below!
Next up, you know how Shaw TV (channel 10 for Shaw Cable subscribers) has been featuring a few local music-related interviews on their rotation in recent months? Well, did you know that the local Shaw TV station has a website where you can watch the past week's videos and check out programming and correspondent information! They do, and you can check it out at this location! Commercials are running for the local affiliate's site, but this is only a recent discovery for me. The site features 8 interview & news pieces that aired on half hour rotation in the previous week, and the videos change weekly. The site also features info on how you can contribute to Shaw TV, but why bring it up here? Because the Dismembertainment interview that aired last week is now there to stream! I don't know when it leaves the site, but it will only leave when the full week runs out and the next week's video cycle comes up. So if you missed it on Shaw TV, check the above links to watch it, and when it disappears from there, who knows, I may have a new YouTube upload for you guys! Stay tuned!
Thirdly today, here's an interesting note concerning a local photographer's entry in a major contest from a major hard rock band! Grunge legends Soundgarden have been running a photography contest to find 17 talented photographers to professionally capture one of their 17 shows on their current North American tour (their first since reuniting), and one of the winners was actually local photographer Chris Cartwright! For this contest, Chris submitted a photo from a Police concert he attended, and eventually got enough votes (most overall, no less) to be picked by Soundgarden as one of the 17 winners! He chose the band's concert on July 3rd at The John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario to shoot (complete with a guest photo pass), and a few photos from the show can be seen on Local2's article about Chris' Soundgarden contest experience! (Remember, Local2 is the successor to the now-defunct SooNews.ca.) The rest of his photos are also online via his personal Facebook page, though they're all watermarked. Awesome work, I'd love to see Chris keep this concert photography work up, especially given this highlight of his career, and hopefully he'll be up there with Donna Hopper, Brian Tremblay, & Curt O'Neil before you know it! Congratulations again to Chris!
And finally, here is this week's classic video! With Rotaryfest approaching fast, it made perfect sense to tie in this week's video with a band or performer at this year's event, and I went outside the box a bit this time. The opening band on this year's Tenaris Second Stage on Friday will be local rock quartet Wishbone, who aren't metal, but are the heaviest Second Stage band this year in my opinion. You may recognize guitarist Tony Kajnar & drummer Glen Thomas as mainstays in the local progressive rock band Flat Stanley, who are also very talented, and they have been known to occasionally cover hard rock songs live! We featured their cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" on here before, but this video comes from a November 2007 concert at Docks Riverfront Grill where the band covered Wolfmother's "Joker & The Thief"! Featuring their classic lineup (including bassist Mark Brandow & then-frontman Jim O'Leary), the band sound pretty good here, though the video isn't high quality. The audio works well though, and Jim's range is evident as he hits higher notes in the verses! Very nice performance overall, proof that us "Flat Heads" can get some hard rocking here and there when Flat Stanley play live!
The original video was uploaded by Glen Thomas onto his personal Facebook page not long after this concert, and the original video can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=14109780474. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! Glen hadn't brought this video to his own YouTube channel yet, and I thought a solid performance like this deserves a wider audience, so I obviously mean no harm! Hopefully you guys like this video, and stay tuned for another video from the past next week!
That's all for today, but we have lots more news to get to very soon (including hopefully news on this week's Rosie metal night), plus weekend concert previews and much more! Stay tuned!
Hey guys, I have some big news for you all today! I this post, we have a new rehearsal video from a prominent local band, the return of a notable music store, and this week's classic video, but first, here's some huge news concerning another band's demise.
Local death metal band State of Misery have officially broken up. The news was surprisingly revealed on the band's Facebook page this morning, with a short statement which said that the band "appears to be done now", and the page will now announce new projects from band members if they come along. Prior to this announcement, drummer Nick Kainula had left the band (as indicated here), but it looks like the remaining members have still pulled the plug. This concludes a tumultuous month that saw the departure of guitarist Ray Cowan and a lot of disappointing and surprising comments and rumours that I won't go into here. In their 6 month run in the local metal scene, they gained a loyal following and had some really cool originals under their belts, and opened for bands like Woods of Ypres & Dead and Divine during that span! I'm in no position to go into detail about what led to their breakup, but it's a disappointing shame all around, and they had such promise and big plans ahead of them! Check the above links for more on the situation, and I definitely wish Steve, Ray, Kevin, Devon, and Nick the best in their future plans! I know I'm not the only one who wants to see them back on stage in some form!
How about some happier news now? Well, do you remember in June of last year when I mentioned that local music store Case's Music had undergone an ownership change from Mike Case to his nephew Jay, and would be re-opening after renovations in September? Well, it looks like the renovations got delayed, but now, Case's Music is celebrating with a grand re-opening party at their 173 Spring Street location on Saturday, May 28th! What's going on that day? Well, in-store, all items are up to 50% off, but outside, there's a lot going on! From 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, bands will be playing outside for fans, including local rock quintet Blues Harvest (one of my favourite non-metal local bands), Jay Case's own funk/blues trio Big Wheel & The Spokes, many Case's Music students, and "special guests"! The first 200 people who show up will get free gift bags with merchandise and deals from Case's Music & it's contained establishments Blush & Shampoo Alley, and there will be free food & draws for varying prizes all afternoon! Click here or check the poster for more details. Sounds like a cool event, especially if you like shopping (or learning) at Case's Music! Keep an eye on it at the end of the month, you might like the store even more if you go on the 28th, and you might get some free stuff out of it! Congratulations on the re-opening!
We'll close today with some new videos, and this one should interest you Gates of Winter fans! Guitarist Bryan Belleau recently launched a brand new YouTube channel to replace his prior now-deleted channel (which had some classic Gates videos that are now gone, sadly. Hopefully they come back!) However, this new channel has a couple new videos, including one of Bryan playing the Iced Earth song "The Phantom Opera Ghost". Well played, and as a big Iced Earth fan, I approve! Click here to check it out, and note the Woods of Ypres guitar too! However, the top story here is a new Gates of Winter rehearsal video that Bryan posted, which is an awesome sign! The video, which is just under 56 seconds long, features Bryan, singer/guitarist Lee Maines, and keyboardist Brian Holmes (Steve Furgiuele & Jon Morrison are absent) jamming part of a promising sounding original from their upcoming CD! It's not much, but for their second rehearsal for the new CD, and with just 3/5ths of the band present, I'm impressed! I can't wait to hear more, but for now, check out the new Gates of Winter rehearsal video below, and check the above links for more Gates of Winter news!
And finally, here's this week's classic video! With a slightly slower weekend overall, I've picked a video from a band not playing this weekend for a change. In fact, we haven't seen them on stage in 15 months! The band in question is Sense of Truth, and I picked one of the few videos I've seen not on YouTube already, this time from the Foggy Notions grand re-opening concert on December 18th, 2009! Featuring the band's most recent full lineup, the video features Sense of Truth playing their original "Push & Pull" and covering Tool's "Stinkfist". It was filmed by an attendee of the show, and later uploaded by drummer Ryan Haryett onto the band's Facebook group. I split the video in half to separate the songs when uploaded to our YouTube channel, but the original uncut video can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=227628782303&oid=15425932126. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! I want people to see this video, it's from a good performance on a notable night for fans and staff of Foggy's, and it'll get well deserved exposure on YouTube!
The quality's about medium, with a smaller resolution and slightly muted audio, but the band sound good, and Cory Murchison's energy level's at a high here during both songs! I missed this show, as I wanted the Foggy's re-opening to be enjoyed by people who actually experienced Foggy's way back (I wasn't of age to go there until May 2008), but this looks like it would have been a great concert! Below is the video for "Push & Pull", but click here or check the above links to see their performance of "Stinkfist", featuring a special guest on vocals!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, along with weekend concert previews & my review of "Soo Stories"! Thanks everyone!
First off, before we get to scheduled news and updates, I'm sure some of you are aware of a "secret show" that took place at Coch's Corner last night. I know who played and some general details, but will not divulge anything until public stuff about it comes out. Let's just say that punk fans and metalheads will definitely be interested, and if you were in attendance, you are EXTREMELY lucky! I couldn't make it, I couldn't secure a ride back from Coch's last night so I sadly wasn't able to go, and I'm kicking myself over it. When updates and information from this secret concert become public, I'll have them here!
Now, it's time to preview this weekend's slate of scheduled known metal concerts, including a returning Michigan band and a major tribute act! Stay tuned after for news on a Woods of Ypres lineup change (plus another hint to their future), and two possibilities of bands coming here!
The streak of rock tribute bands at The Canadian Nightclub continues tomorrow night as Second Coming: The Tribute To Alice Cooper make their way to Sault Ontario! The Toronto based-band will deliver a very authentic Alice Cooper stage show to The Canadian tomorrow night, which I guarantee will impress! Frontman Robby Cooper looks and sounds the part, the band cover Alice Cooper songs extremely well, and they have a great stage set-up featuring stunts and theatrics that will instantly remind you of the shock rock legend's own concerts! Click here to check them out! In terms of the sheer spectacle of it all, this could be the best of The Canadian's 2010 summer tribute band performances, but you won't know unless you go, will you? The show is at 10:00 PM tomorrow night with an $8 cover charge, which will completely be worth it for the music and theatrics you're going to get! You must be 19 to get in, because this is still a bar. To confirm your attendance, visit the Facebook event page!
Alice Cooper fans, wherever in town you are, you'll wanna be here for Second Coming! This is definitely the next best thing to seeing the real Alice until he comes back, and for just $8 for a complete stage show (and requests too), what have you got to lose? For a video preview, here's a clip of Second Coming performing at The Kathedral in Toronto in February 2009!
Meanwhile in Sault Michigan, Peril are back in town for a pair of concerts! The Northern Michigan hard rock trio return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for two shows this weekend, naturally taking place tomorrow night and Saturday night! This will be their first weekend stop in Sault Michigan in three months. Their MySpace page lists a 9:00 PM start time, there is no cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter. It's always a treat to see Peril back in Sault Michigan, they have a great classic metal sound that goes well any time of the year, and you'll have a good time with their original songs and covers this weekend! For more from Peril, including band information, photos, songs, and more, click here! For a video preview, here's Peril covering the Ozzy Osbourne classic "Crazy Train" from a show in January!
Now that this weekend's concerts are previewed, we will now move on to news, and starting things off is a major lineup change in a local band. Woods of Ypres have parted ways with lead guitarist Bryan Belleau. The band haven't released an official statement as to why, but his replacement can be confirmed in new band photos and press materials. Replacing him on guitar is Joel Violette (first on the left), who is one half of the Fredericton, New Brunswick black metal duo Thrawsunblat, which also features Woods frontman David Gold on drums! Shane and Evan Madden remain in Woods of Ypres on bass and drums respectively. Bryan initially joined Woods of Ypres in 2008 when the entire lineup of Gates of Winter became members, and was the last original Gates member remaining. He recorded just one album with Woods of Ypres, last year's "Woods IV: The Green Album", which was the first to include guitar solos. I still say that Bryan helped make the best guitar work ever on a Woods album, even if it was low in the mix. It's definitely a shame to see Bryan out of Woods, but hopefully he's got some more good stuff with Gates of Winter coming up in the near future! Photos of the new Woods of Ypres lineup can be viewed at this location! And don't worry about the musical quality with the new guitarist, Joel has some great skills, his Thrawsunblat work is proof!
As for the ongoing questions as to why David Gold is ending Woods of Ypres merchandise and album sales, and why he's hinted so often as to leaving for somewhere, here's another lead. On August 25th in Toronto, "David Gold's final night in Canada" will be celebrated at a pub/restaurant named C'est What. An event page for what David hopes will be both a parting and a party can be found at this location. So it looks like David's moving out of country, but questions still remain. Where is he going? Why is he leaving? What does this mean for Woods of Ypres? Time will tell, I suppose, but I will say that David's doing a good job of keeping us guessing!
Capping today's update are two bands that COULD play here, one if there's demand, and one if there's a booking at all. Firstly, here's a potential show that could do some huge business! Sault Michigan concert promoters Allstar Promotions (the ones responsible for most of the "newer" hard rock shows at Kewadin) alerted fans of theirs on their Facebook page that they have an opportunity to bring Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry to Kewadin Casino in August! Best known for songs like "Lit Up", "Crazy Bitch", and "Sorry", they'd definitely put on a good hard rocking show, but there are risks involved to getting them there. The promoters fear that with it being so close to the Hinder show in September, it might not do as well as they'd anticipate. Buckcherry would have three to-be-announced support acts along with them. So, SMS fans, would you want to see Buckcherry at The Dreammakers Theater in August? If you do, voice your opinions at Allstar Promotions Facebook page! The more demand, the more likely they'll try and put it on, right? If I hear updates on this front, I'll have them here!
Finally, here's another band that's hoping to play in Sault Ontario in 2010! I was e-mailed yesterday by Dan Angus, the guitarist for Barrie hardcore band TakeThisDarrel, and he's looking to get the band a booking in Sault Ontario this year! They don't have a date in mind, they're just playing a mini-tour lasting no more than two weeks this summer, and are hoping for input from local promoters to find a suitable available date that they could play on. And you know me, I wanna help get as many metal shows here as possible, so I'm telling you concert promoters and venue workers to jump on this if you want to bring TakeThisDarrel to Sault Ontario! Solid metalcore sound, they have some nice breakdowns and are pretty heavy, with a bit of a Southern rock twang in some of their riffing! They sound tailor made for an Oddfellows Hall show, but anywhere would work! If you're interested in booking TakeThisDarrel for a show here this summer, e-mail Dan at this location, or contact the band through their official MySpace page, where you can also check them out! Not a bad band at all, let's see if we can help get them here!
That's all for today, I promise to have a new post tomorrow with the results of our current SMS poll (CLOSING TOMORROW), plus a brand new poll to vote on. But what could it be about?! Find out tomorrow! Also stay tuned for news on Garden of Bedlam in studio, The Barking Eye, and maybe that secret Coch's Corner show? Come back tomorrow and find out!
