LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (HeadF1rst), New Videos, And Sault Michigan Updates!!

Tonight's post came together somewhat out of necessity due to a surprise SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so that is rounded off with some new videos and shorter notes, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will return to the stage TONIGHT at Shooters Downstairs Lounge as post-game entertainment after game 7 of the World Series! I apologize for the short notice, this show was only announced on the venue's Facebook page at 12:22 PM today. This may look like it came together on late notice to take advantage of the Toronto Blue Jays/Los Angeles Dodgers series going the distance, but guitarist Rainey Rancourt plugged it on his personal Facebook page on Wednesday, before we knew there would even be a game 7. In any event, HeadF1rst have not publically corroborated this booking on their Facebook page whatsoever. Shooters in general has really dialed back on hosting live bands this year, with HeadF1rst really being the only band of any genre to play there since the spring, so they're ideal to head back to Dennis Street to cap off the World Series in style TONIGHT!

This is a 19+ concert with no cover charge starting immediately after the World Series game ends, which is a bit of a leap of faith given how long game 3 went (18 innings running until about 3:00 AM). Assuming things aren't delayed like that again, HeadF1rst should take the stage between 10:30 and 11:30 PM given how games in the rest of the series have ended so far. In other words, this will be a shorter (but later) concert compared to a normal HeadF1rst gig, but fingers crossed that the Blue Jays can win the World Series TONIGHT to start the hard rock action on the right foot! Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadF1rst live!

Next up, remember how I mentioned at the end of yesterday's post that a biography on local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres and frontman David Gold is now being written? Well, it got featured on CBC News Windsor yesterday, and the piece is now on YouTube! Posted to the book's YouTube channel (that has to be a first for here), this of course comes from the CBC affiliate of Woods of Ypres' initial hometown. David later moved the band to Toronto and then home to the Soo, but we haven't had a dedicated local CBC affiliate in over 20 years. The 2 minute piece by CBC's Dalson Chen reflects on how the forest off of Ypres Avenue in Windsor inspired the band's name, and how the band's legacy has grown among fans since David's passing in 2011. Author J. James and Glenn Fricker of Spectre Sound Studios (who worked on both of the band's first two albums) were both interviewed here.

We also hear from David's mom Esther Gold, who has been the strongest champion of her son's music career since, and accepted their Juno Award win in 2013 on his behalf. I like the paintings of him behind her for her interview clips! If the book is getting attention on the CBC, then you know things are really in motion for it, and while I'd have included more live performance video of the band, it's worth checking out for fans. Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more on Deepest Roots: The Woods Of Ypres Story!

Also today, let's look at a new concert video from a more recent local extreme metal band, namely death/thrash metal trio Pillory from their album release party at Soo Blaster last month! This was uploaded to drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel earlier this week, and it is their first video on Bret's channel with bassist Devon Lucier after their recording from July's Insurrection show was uploaded as audio only due to poor camera placement. Bret also said to "give a warm welcome to our new bassist" as this was his first channel appearance on video, though Devon was previously in Pillory briefly in 2014. At the release party, Pillory played every song from their new full-length album in order, followed by their cover of Sepultura's "Territory", but that cover and the final two originals did not make the cut for YouTube due to "an undiagnosed error with (Bret's) phone". In order, what can we see?

The video features "The Angst Of Existence", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse of Eternal Sickness", "Wasting", "Sculptor of Cadavers", "The Passing", and "Specimen of Egotism". Bret's phone was set up from a stationary locale on the floor, capturing a good if somewhat tight angle of the guys in action, and with no pesky strobe lighting to blur out this time. I'll hold comment on the songs pending our review of "Old Soul" early next year, but the brutality is off the charts, so check out (most of) Pillory's release party set below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while (this time, all from Sault Michigan and the E.U.P.), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• I have moved local groove/thrash metal band Buddy Repperton & The Camaros to our inactive band links. The group last posted on their Facebook page in October of last year (itself their only post since mid-2023) when frontman David Waite noted his return to singing metal, only to blow out his voice. I don't assume that's why The Camaros haven't posted anything in over a year, but this band had a lot of promise for true original metal in the E.U.P., and hopefully we hear more from David, Doug, Brett, Jason, and Dennis in due course, in this band or otherwise!
• Regarding tonight's Exit 808 show at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley, they finally confirmed on their Facebook page earlier today that Molly Escherich will indeed be guesting with them on vocals, while Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins will also pop up tonight, as will a bassist named Brad, with other impromptu guests also possible. I have no idea who Brad is, let alone if he and Joe were replacing anyone in Exit 808 outright, but hopefully every performer involved delivered well for the post-Halloween "Fright Night On The Bay"!
• Speaking of Joe and Project 906, their Halloween concert at Huck's Pub & Grill in Rudyard last night went ahead with hand drummer Brian Duford playing the standard drumkit in place of Jason VanLuven, who was double booked with Unfortunate Sun at The Merch. They also welcomed young local guitarist Garrett Howland (son of former Steelhead guitarist Mark Howland) to play with them for a set, which reportedly went well! Visit the band's Facebook page to see photos from the gig, including what costumes that some members of 906 were wearing!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished), The Project 906 Concert Preview, And More From Sault Michigan!!

Let's finally wrap up this weekend's concert previews today before things get even busier next weekend! As the last remaining (known to me) hard rock concert this weekend was in Michigan, I opted to group everything in today's post around bands from the E.U.P., including updates from a resurgent local metal project and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (with related missed show apology), so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock/metal quartet Tarnished announced their slate of concerts through the next month+ on their Facebook page yesterday, and unfortunately, that started with a short notice gig at The Islander Bar in Hessel last night. I profusely apologize for missing this show (Tarnished's first in Hessel since their New Year's party), as while Tarnished only announced it the day of, The Islander Bar's Facebook page first mentioned it on Tuesday. I must do a better job of keeping tabs with that venue's promotion, but hopefully last night's show was a hit despite the late notice! For the record, we also missed Tarnished's debut at Shelly's Rainbow Bar in Ishpeming on June 30th, but at a 3 hour drive west of the Soo, that is well out of our coverage range. Hopefully Tarnished had a good maiden outing there! Of the shows that we haven't missed, I'll save their now-short notice show on Friday the 14th for next weekend's concert previews.

Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a one-nighter at The Merchants Bar on Friday, July 21st, marking their first show at The Merch since St. Patrick's Day. Always good to see Tarnished play a hometown gig, and despite the venue's usual lack of promotion for bands who play there online, hopefully there's a solid turnout in two weeks! The last new & truly local dates in this wave will be Tarnished's return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, August 4th & Saturday, August 5th, a venue they last played over the Memorial Day weekend. Should be another good time for local fans, so don't miss their hard hitting originals and classic covers then either! Kewadin has yet to announce their August concert slate at their lounges, we will let you know when they do. All three of their upcoming Sault Ste. Marie shows are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges.

The final date anywhere that Tarnished announced last night will see them rock this year's Grand Marais Music & Crafts Festival again, bringing them back to Grand Marais (2 hours west of the Soo) on Friday, August 11th as that day's headliners (the band said the 12th but festival promotion confirms the 11th). Should be a fun time for fans in Alger County or who are up for a road trip! Visit the above links for details on Tarnished's upcoming concerts, apologies again for missing them in Hessel last night, and we'll touch on their show on FRIDAY in our stacked weekend concert previews!

Next up, we'll stay in the E.U.P. for this weekend's final hard rock concert preview, as local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman for one night only TONIGHT! This will be 906's first show at one of their favourite regional venues since making the hour's trip west back in January, while this will be their first show there with new drummer Jason VanLuven, and fourth total since he came on board. It's always good to see Project 906 at a familiar locale, and hopefully tonight's show is another hit for fans in the area! This show takes place at 28952 West Mile 28 tonight at 9:00 PM, there is a 9:00 PM start time in effect, and you must be 21 or older to attend. If you can't make it, they'll be live in Cedarville next Saturday. Visit the above links for more details on Project 906's Strongs Tavern gig tonight, and here they are live!

We'll close today with the latest updates from local metal band Buddy Repperton & The Camaros, who had been silent on their Facebook page for almost a year before they resurfaced there in April, so what's new from their camp? That month, they revealed that they have been writing new original music and planned to bring in new collaborators to work on material with. First up is former Integrated System of Machines drummer Bart Rennels, who more recently drummed for the Muskegon-based Judas Priest tribute band Vengeance Rising, and who is helping record three new Camaros tracks. Existing drummer Jason VanLuven (of the aforementioned Project 906) has not left this band, but frontman David Waite expressed a desire to work with "ALL of my musically talented friends from different genres", and the songs in question appear to fit Bart better musically than Jason. They have also had a bassist switch, as Dennis Rudis has left the group.

A public reason for his departure was not announced, but personal postings about his exit do sound amicable. His replacement is "Badger" (no full name given), who previously played in the Livonia hardcore band Exploder, and has known David since their youths. Hopefully he's a good fit in what sounds more and more like a collective than a rigid "band"! David did share this black & white video from his personal Facebook page last month of him playing 51 seconds of riffs for a new original song, and it sounds promisingly heavy with a good groove, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from The Camaros when it rolls in!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Buddy Repperton & The Camaros

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel prpfile, where we're again looking at the posted content and videos from a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists or concerts! This month, we drew a single channel from a newly prominent original metal band from the E.U.P. that just made their first live appearance earlier this month, so here's what you should know!

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Buddy Repperton & The Camaros (http://youtube.com/channel/UCfc9PjC1D0pV1oLYxdYzHOQ) 

Owner: Buddy Repperton & The Camaros singer/guitarist David Waite, previously known from projects like From The Ashes Of Angels

Channel Timeline: Launched on December 22nd, 2020; Videos uploaded from March-November of last year

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for the new-ish Sault Michigan groove/thrash metal band, it features nineteen video uploads, all featuring Buddy & The Camaros playing either their own original songs (some clearly labelled as demos) or cover songs, sometimes of bands you wouldn't expect. A few select early clips have David performing alone, and ten of the first fourteen uploads were converted to grayscale in post-production.
 
Why You Should Watch: This is absolutely a must watch for fans of The Camaros, especially if you've missed seeing an aggressive pure metal band in the E.U.P., as opposed to classic/hard rock crossover acts, and while it's all jam and rehearsal footage, hopefully they have more uploads ahead! As of this writing, the channel does not include content from the band's live debut at Three One Three on Ashmun this past weekend.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Buddy Repperton and The Camaros: The Bones of Babydolls cover Acid Bath: Two of Buddy Repperton & The Camaros' first three videos are solo joints with David alone working on material, including a clip of him performing an original demo, but this cover of sludge metal icons Acid Bath's "The Bones of Baby Dolls" is the most fully realized, and features a cover of a band you typically don't even see Sault Ontario bands tackle. Very slow and doomy, so it's not representative of their full bore metal songs in membership or style, but it's an interesting window into what David had in mind for this band last year!

Sacred Reich INDEPENDENT cover/demo Buddy Repperton and The Camaros: If you follow the video upload dates on The Camaros' channel, you can see when band members were added and departed the group, and this cover of Sacred Reich's "Independent" from May 2021 is notable for featuring David alongside drummer Jason VanLuven (ex-Bucksaw/Paradise Excuse) and original bassist Brett Blackwood (415E/ex-Clownsack), who left the band not too long afterwards. I love Sacred Reich, so it's awesome to see a local band tackling them, even if this cover is without vocals and a second guitarist, and the audio quality holds up well despite some mild muffling! Check out their four-piece lineup covering the song at this link.

Say Their Names (BRC Original): The most watched video on Buddy & The Camaros' channel features the band's current lineup playing their original song "Say Their Names" as part of a block of four jam session uploads in November, also including originals "Total Annihilation" & "One More Round". Featuring David & Jason alongside (then-?) rhythm guitarist Doug Reed (ex-Tarnished/Project 906) and bassist Dennis Rudis, this brutal original features a very Crowbar-esque sound with some strong harsh vocals and a nice crunchy guitar tone, and everyone performs well, but the light beside the drumkit is very distracting. This seems like a good harbinger of The Camaros' live debut to come, and definitely give more of them a look!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our completly random selection will keep us in Sault Michigan for a look at Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor's YouTube channel, featuring five varied videos from his dormant solo project! Stay tuned for that on or around May 26th, and for a new post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, Plus Buddy Repperton & The Camaros Updates!!

Here's a rarity: a concert weekend in the Twin Saults and area with too many shows for one weekend concert preview post! As pandemic measures lessen (assuming the trend continues), this may seem like less of a novelty like in the 2010s, but enjoy the moment! To break things up, I will tackle known Sault Ontario concerts in tomorrow's post, with this post solely focusing on Sault Michigan-area events. Here's what you should know!

Grand Rapids/Nashville psychedelic hard rock quartet Overdrive Orchestra will return to the E.U.P. TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they headline at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! These shows come just three weeks after this fast-rising band rocked The Rapids Lounge in the Soo, and it looks like those two gigs went well, so look for even more entertaining original music in Mackinac County this weekend! Overdrive Orchestra's brand of vibrant old school yet decidedly hard-edged rock n' roll should deliver another knockout punch, so do check them out to see what they'll bring to the table this weekend, as who knows when/if they'll be in the E.U.P. again! As in the Soo earlier this month, these are 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charge and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Ovedrive Orchestra live in 2020!

Next up, local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will be rocking out at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT themselves! The 415E side project were last seen at The Rapids Lounge a month ago with their late notice fill-in gigs for Traverse City dance rockers Risque, but luckily, this weekend's shows had advance notice via the casino's entertainment page. Good thing too, as the band only acknowledged the gigs on their Facebook page yesterday, though personal accounts have plugged them with more depth. Kewadin's entertainment page has been updated to reflect new shows through the end of June (more on the hard rock shows within soon), but Rhythm & Brews are not on the schedule in the Soo or St. Ignace, so if you want to see this union of Nixxon Dixxon, Clownsack, and Monkey's Uncle alumni short term, don't miss out!

Like with Overdrive Orchestra in St. Ignace this weekend, tomorrow & Saturday's Rhythm & Brews shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charge & a 9:00 PM start time. Hopefully these shows go well for this very talented foursome, so visit the above links for more details, and we'll let you know when publically shareable media of Rhythm & Brews surfaces!

Let's close out the known E.U.P. previews elsewhere in the Soo on SATURDAY NIGHT, as new local metal band Buddy Repperton & The Camaros will make their live concert debut at Three One Three on Ashmun! A rare SMS-fitting concert at the former Back Door, this will be local metalheads' first chance to see this promisingly heavy new group, but there are changes to their last publically recorded lineup. For one, their current bassist is Dennis Rudis, who replaced Brett Blackwood in the band last year but was never publically confirmed as such in posts on their Facebook page. No word on why Brett left, but you'll still be able to see him with Rhythm & Brews this weekend! Also, a post on frontman David Waite's personal Facebook page indicates that guitarist Doug Reed will be unavailable for the show, at the very least. Whether Doug is out of the band or not, I can't say, but hopefully nothing too serious happened!

David did indicate that the show will still go on with him handling lead guitar, and hopefully a three man attack can translate their thrash and groove metal covers & originals as smoothly as possible, as bands of this style don't launch out of Sault Michigan often! New local rock band The Nameless will open on Saturday, and while they do have a Facebook page now, updates so far are very slight aside from photos of their gear, and I have no clue on their lineup, genre, or anything else. We'll let you know when more comes out! This well hyped and anticipated concert will have a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 21+ age limit, while attendees can also enter a skateboard draw. It will be great to finally see Buddy Repperton & The Camaros in concert, even if shorthanded, so hopefully there's a strong turnout on Saturday night! See above for more details, and here's Buddy Repperton & The Camaros jamming last year!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Buddy Repperton & The Camaros), A New Local Band, And New Videos!!

Here's another news post on this Friday morning, including a pair of new videos from Sault Ontario, but let's lead off in Sault Michigan for a new local metal band with some very familiar faces and a nice & heavy sound, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT regarding their first show!

We have a new Sault Michigan metal band to add to our band links, and they are Buddy Repperton & The Camaros! The name is a reference to the Stephen King book/movie Christine, no one in the band is named Buddy Repperton. Launched in February of last year, the band's lineup consists of former From The Ashes Of Angels singer/guitarist David Waite, Half A Man/Tarnished alum Doug Reed on guitar, and 415E bandmates Brett Blackwood (also of Rhythm & Brews) on bass and Jason VanLuven (formerly of Chump Change & Paradise Excuse) on drums. David & Jason were the founders of The Camaros, and they have been working on original songs since their debut. Videos of them playing their own tracks and some covers made up most of their social media updates last year, and you can see those videos on their Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Instagram page. That all said, how do Buddy Repperton & The Camaros sound?

Not bad at all, and if you've wanted a unqualified "metal" band in the E.U.P., as opposed to hard rock or hair band covers, these guys will fit the bill! David's vocals remind me of Kirk Windstein from Crowbar at times here (good to see him move back to the area), and their sound has a heavy driving sound with very solid riffs that go very well on songs like "Say Their Names" & "One More Round"! Props to any local band for covering Sacred Reich too, they're an awesome thrash metal band who deserve more attention! You can hear multiple takes of their originals (at least 5 are posted between YouTube and Facebook, some featuring just David & Jason early on), but when will Buddy & The Camaros make their live concert debut? Well, how does Saturday, April 23rd sound? The guys will rock out at Three One Three on Ashmun (the former Back Door) that night, marking the first heavier concert there that we've covered since 2018!

With a year to prepare and dial in their setlist and originals, hopefully David, Doug, Brett, and Jason will rock everyone's socks off next month! An opening band called The Nameless are also advertised, of whom I know nothing, but I will let you guys know if anything is announced. Expect a 21+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a skateboard giveaway(?!), so visit the above links for current details on this show and the new band! Hope to hear more from them soon, it's great to see another original metal band in Sault Michigan, and here's The Camaros playing another new song of theirs, "Total Annihilation"!

Next up, we've let this slide for a little too long, but young Sault Ontario punk quartet Vanity First (née just Vanity) released their full studio version of "Playboy Magazine" onto Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music on Wednesday, April 16th as scheduled! Of course, all are free streaming platforms, but if you do want to support the band by buying a physical CD, contact them to see if their pre-name change demo EP is still available (it has the prior version of this song). I'll hold comment for now, as I plan to review the original take of this song when I review the EP in likely May, but the recording quality at Mission Control Studios is obviously far improved. Give "Playboy Magazine" a listen below!

Finally, here's a new/old song from defunct local grunge trio No Arrow! Presumably uploaded to frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel towards submission for an episode of You Rock! with Thomas Christ (yes, I'll be covering more episodes of that show soon), this 2009 recording is called "Lighter", and it was uploaded on March 8th. A solid quality recording, this song has more of a laid back, 1970s feel while still having that 1990s alternative essence, and while I like my No Arrow more aggressive, I can see this catching on with No Arrow's new fans! Check it out below, and look for more from You Rock! next week!

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