Generations' Canada Day Concert Preview, A New Album Release, And Much More!!

Happy Canada Day to our readers and followers in Sault Ontario and area! Today's all-Canadian post gives us a seasonal concert preview, a new album release, a new lyric video, and what's been on the FM dial recently (and later today), so here's what you should know!

We'll start with a special Tuesday concert preview, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will headline TONIGHT'S Canada Day festivities at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! Last seen at Beck's two weeks ago, this will be a large spotlight for Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre to unleash some fan-friendly rock covers, hopefully with a big chunk of Canadian content for obvious reasons! While their set will take place at around 8:00 PM under the big tent before the fireworks, a stacked roster of entertainment is planned for all ages today, albeit without timeslots on the event poster. Co-headlining are classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks, while you'll also be seeing Toronto magician Magic Mel, local folk musician Matthew James, and the Concert Band Algoma (no relation), plus Ryan Mauro singing "O Canada". Expect lots of family friendly entertainment, vendors, and refreshments throughout the day as well.

Today's Canada Day program begins at 2:00 PM and it is absolutely free to come down to the Pavilion for all of the fun! While the tent is acknowledged, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies today with weather in the 18-20° range, and no chance of rain, which should be comfortable enough. Visit the above links for more details on the Canada Day program in Sault Ontario, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Next up, here's a surprise new album release, as local crossover thrash quartet Hails put out a self-titled album on major streaming services on Saturday! This came as a surprise to me, as while I knew that Ha!ls had wrote new original material and performed it live, I don't believe they ever publically acknowledged on social media that they had been recording studio material beyond their Trigger Happy cover for "Punk Canada Vol. 4", but the cover artwork (designed by frontman Brenton Ellis as usual) was posted to their Facebook page in May without context. The album is their first with second guitarist Carmen Muto, and features thirteen songs, at least three of which either share names with or are re-recordings of songs from Brent's solo project Slumshine ("Pink Clouds Of Density", "Reversible Straitjacket", and "BiPolaris"). With all of that said, where can you stream or buy "Hails"?

The album is now streamable on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Boomplay, and Qobuz, though unlike their 2023 debut EP "Rock And Rolls", it is not currently on Bandcamp. If you want to buy "Ha!ls", it is on iTunes for $9.99, so it is thusly eligible for a review on the SMS, but given our current backlog, I currently have it pencilled in for October, as Mike Haggith, The Realignment Project, and Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto's solo project Agnosticism all have new albums that beat this to market. (Spades GT's "United" is now slated for November). I'll hold comment on Ha!ls' new album for now, but check it out at the above links, stay tuned for our review this fall, and here's the opening track, "The Lost Cosmonaut"!

Also today, let's look at recent programming notes from 104.3 The Fox, so what has the former Q104 been up to on air as of late? In terms of on-air programming notes, last month saw a bit of variance on Sunday, June 15th, when The Fox and their sister stations didn't air a Metallica album to cap off that week's Sunday Night Vinyl Series (it was Metallica Week). Instead, they had a special about Metallica's 1995 album "Load" to honour the 30th anniversary of its release. While the album was played in full, it was supplemented with features and interview clips from Metallica members, so that would have been neat for fans, especially of their mid-late 1990s output! Learn more about that special at this link. This week on 104.3, it's The Tragically Hip Week, which I believe is just the second time since the format change locally that the theme week has been based on a domestic band (CJQM switched to rock during Rush Week).

For Canada Day today, there is special themed programming for the holiday. Afternoon DJ Lew MacDonald is on air at 8:00 AM & 2:00 PM for The Hip Road Trip, where he will visit locations in Canada that were referenced in The Hip's songs, while their 2005 live album "That Night In Toronto" will be played at 8:00 AM. In between, the fan voted Great Canadian Countdown (as plugged on air by DJs and in commercial breaks) airs at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, so if you're curious what Rogers Radio listeners liked the most for domestic rock music, you know when to tune in! Sounds like a fun day of Canadian rock programming on The Fox, so tune in to check everything out, and click here for more info on today's programming schedule there!

Finally for this all-Canadian post at the SMS, here's something that I didn't know about when I briefly mentioned the Spotify availability of local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's new single "Brand New Day", as he uploaded a lyric video for the song onto his YouTube channel two weeks ago! The lead single from his new album "Frequent Flier" (and one of just three songs from the album that you can hear for free without buying it or obtaining the subscriber mailing list passwords), you can now check out the song on YouTube, complete with a lyric track along the bottom of the screen, if not having the best contrast for visibility. I won't comment on the song yet, as I'm reviewing "Frequent Flier" next month, but the song is a motivational number about preparing for a new adventure and a new day. Give it a listen below, and buy "Frequent Flier" above!

 

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), New Album Updates, And More!!

For this final post of the month, we have updates on upcoming albums featuring local metal talent, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for he months ahead!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will make his way to the newly opened Beck's Bar at least thrice in mid-2025, with Sunday matinees booked for May 11th, July 20th, and August 31st! His show there on the 11th will be his first gig at the former Vibe Lounge in about fourteen years, back when his band Caveman Morrison were in full force, so this has been a long time coming even if it's now solo! Beck's live music schedule is slated to feature live bands on Saturday nights with matinee performers on Saturdays and Sundays, both at the slightly unique start time of 3:00 PM, but all three of Tym's dates here are Sunday affairs, with the August 31st show falling on the Labour Day long weekend. Hopefully Tym gets a strong reception at this new-ish Goulais Avenue venue in two weeks and beyond! All three dates are 19+ affairs with no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's some news on two new/upcoming local metal albums, starting with a brand new release, as local industrial metal act The Realignment Project released their new EP "The Frustration Sessions" on Monday! According to their Facebook page, it is "now available everywhere", and by "everywhere", they mean Bandcamp once again, as well as YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and even the Taiwanese streaming service KKBox, all of which now host T.R.P.'s debut EP "Afterthought" as well. "The Frustration Sessions" can be bought in mp3 format on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model, and on iTunes for $5.94, so consider buying it to support Matt's work! As well, the first song "Rocketship" got a lyric video for the project's official YouTube channel, as four songs from "Afterthought" also got at the time. Matt had also teased a lyric video for "Static" in this Facebook "Reel", but it has yet to be made public.

Given the close timeframe since The Realignment Project released "Afterthought" in January, a review of "The Frustration Sessions" isn't imminent. I reviewed their debut in February, so with the buffer period of six months that I enforce to space out reviews of the same act to avoid showing a bias, I currently have this new EP slotted in for a review in August. That said, fans of industrial rock and Matt's old band Riverin will definitely want to check out "The Frustration Sessions" at the above links, and give the "Rocketship" lyric video a watch below!

Also, here's the latest from Sault Michigan metal solo project X's & Y's, who have confirmed that their second studio album "Ruination Coactive" will be released to major streaming services and in limited CD copies on Friday, June 13th! The track listing reveal from last month may have hinted towards this release timeframe, as one song is named "The Gemini Machine". Technically, the album's name is "Яuiᴎдтюᴎ Koдcтive" given the faux Cyrillic, but spell that at your own peril. To go along with the impending album release, X's & Y's have launched a BigCartel page to sell extant CD copies of their debut album "The Obsidian Dream", stickers of both albums' cover artwork, and even "Ruination Coactive" keychains. Keep all this in mind to support X's & Y's and original E.U.P. metal! Yes, the URL references Werehold Records, project leader Jason Mills' old indie label that he used as an imprint for "The Obsidian Dream" (hint for future plans?)

We'll know more on "Ruination Coactive" in about a month & a half, and a formal album review should be in order for the SMS this summer, but here's a new teaser video from X's & Y's' Facebook page on April 2nd featuring Jason "dubbing some stuff (that he) wasn’t happy with the first million times". The 23 seconds-long clip has him riffing on a guitar, albeit not hooked up to an amplifier, so it sounds like tinny acoustic strumming. No point commenting on it yet, but it's an effective teaser at the studio metal material ahead, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Finally, here's the latest from Sault Ontario crossover thrash quartet Hails, who are on a new CD release of their own! While its official public on-sale date is June 7th, the cross-Canada compilation album "Punk Canada Vol. 4" (featuring covers of domestic Canadian punk bands) is available early from Ha!ls members for $20, and it features them covering Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy's song "Meathook". As best as I can gather, this cover isn't available yet for streaming, but if you want to hear it, former Saultite Ash Richtig's Windsor band Avoid The Comment Section, and more right away, give Hails a shout! In terms of an embeddable video to send things out with, guitarist Carmen Muto is the focus of this new video from Ha!ls' Facebook page of him playing some sweeps on his guitar for 14 seconds. Why this horizontal landscape video was uploaded in pillarboxed vertical dimensions, I don't know, but Carmen shows his skills nicely here!

Hails will play their first show of 2025 on May 8th (one week from tomorrow!) when they open for The Dayglo Abortions at Soo Blaster, so stay tuned for our preview of that and much more from Ha!ls as this year rolls along! Give the new "Sweepman" video a watch below (and Brent, I'm sorry!)

That's all for now, but weekend concert previews are on the way next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Bullet Train - Canada

It's now time for our last monthly feature post of April 2025, namely this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This recurring series looks at 1-3 randomly selected YouTube channels, whose public content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians/concerts, and we have drawn another single band channel for this month, so here's what you should know!

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Bullet Train - Canada (http://youtube.com/@BulletTrain-vq4dz)

Owner: A member of local hard rock trio Bullet Train, exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 30th, 2024; Videos uploaded from February through October 2024

Channel Summary: The official YouTube Music channel for Bullet Train, it features their first four original songs, all with accompanying lyric videos featuring AI-generated imagery. All are credited as part of their "At Home Demo Series", and are likely planned for one of the two demo EPs that they were working on as of last fall.

Why You Should Watch: Musically, this channel will be worth a watch/subscription if you're a fan of modern hard rock music, especially given the talent in this group, while some readers will get an extra something out of the lyrics and videos moreso, as Bullet Train are definitely more issue-driven than members' prior local bands were, but be advised of the lyrical content going in, especially if you're politically on the left. Note that this channel hasn't been visibly updated in six months, and the band hasn't posted anything on their Facebook page in 2025 yet either.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Bullet Train - Atmosphere - (Lyric Video - Demo Version - 2024): The first and most popular song on this channel is their debut original "Atmosphere" from February 2024. Like with their other 2024 songs, this features former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven singer/guitarist Cory Murchison alongside ex-Thin Ice bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and former Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano, who had both recently left Fort Creek. Lyrically about how the atmosphere is being killed with fear and how one shouldn't give into panic, this song will definitely appeal to fans of Cory's past local bands in particular, with a tight hard rock sound and structure and effective Alice In Chains-esque singing, and it's an effective introduction for the band!

 

Bullet Train - Profit - (Lyric Video - Demo Version - 2024): A couple of months after releasing their sophomore single "Illusions", Bullet Train returned with original song #3 in June, namely "Profit", which is about the theory that pharmaceutical companies are medicating illnesses & drug addictions, not curing them, because there's no money to be made in a permanent cure. I won't get into all of that here (it's really not that kind of site), but this video is notable for fans because it has the first live video of Cory, Bones, and Tony appearing on camera in this project, albeit in black & white, as are the other video clips. Gotta love Tony's double bass! If you can look past the lyrics, this is a strong hard rocker with a catchy guitar riff, and it wouldn't come amiss in Sense of Truth's setlists at all! The phone number for Drug Rehab Services is posted at the end of the video, which is a nice touch.

Bullet Train - Wayside: The band's most recent upload is the lyric video for "Wayside", posted to YouTube on October 30th. Their longest song to date, this song is arguably their most politically charged yet, with the lyrics and imagery (including a lot of real footage) reflecting on social justice and taking a critical eye at police protests. Again, I won't get into the lyrics and messages here, as this is all out of my depth, but musically, the song has more of a complex arrangement without rocking the boat from Cory's prior original music releases, so fans won't mind how things sound! Just remember the messages and slant of the lyrics going in.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll have a bit of deja vu, as we just looked at this act's auto-generated YouTube Music channel in January, specifically that of local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism, but this has some exclusive content, so look for it on or around May 26th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal/Punk Video Showcase!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving on the Canadian side of the border! Before we begin this all-video post, I did want to apologize for missing a very late notice show on here, as classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison was a late replacement for today's Thanksgiving dinner concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, something only announced on the venue's Facebook page this morning. Apparently, Tym filled in on short notice for Soundcheck's Cameron Oliver, who withdrew from the matinee booking for unannounced reasons. Kudos to Tym for filling in, and I'd have happily covered this show on the SMS had it not been announced so late! Apologies again, and I hope everything went well for Jay's Thanksgiving!

As for tonight's videos, we'll go in alphabetical order by starting with classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down, who uploaded two videos from their Water Tower Pub show on Friday to their Facebook page yesterday! Both incomplete (but at least filmed horizontally), the covers are of No Doubt's "Hella Good" with Joel Syrette on lead vocals, and as embedded below, The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" with his cousin Beej on lead vocals. The former is a very surprising cover given that it's from No Doubt's dancier post-ska punk era, while the latter is (to me) not the best showcase of Beej's vocal range, though given that it's not the full song, it does avoid the repetitive back half of "Plush". Still, both covers are strongly performed, so give these new Double Down videos a watch!

Next up, here's the latest from local hardcore punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails, starting with the surprise reveal that they'll be on the "Punk Canada Vol. 4" compilation album next year! This is the next in an annual series by En Guard Records featuring many name domestic bands. Hails will have two very familiar discmates next year, including British Columbia skate/hardcore punk quartet Mean Bikini (who headlined at The Speak Easy last year) and Windsor hardcore punk band Avoid The Comment Section, one of the current bands from prolific Saultite guitarist Ash Richtig. I'd love to see Ash bring one of his bands up here for a show, but it's neat to see him on this! Keep in mind that the Punk Canada compilations exclusively feature bands covering older Canadian punk bands, so who will Ha!ls be tackling? Find out next year! In the realm of new videos, Hails did post one on their Facebook page on Friday!

The 23 seconds-long video features the guys playing "something we're working on", which they will reportedly debut when they open for Skoff at Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween party at The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club on October 26th. The video focuses primarily on guitarist Carmen Muto playing a solo (only he and Brent are seen on camera), and it's definitely promisingly heavy for what we see, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Ha!ls when we hear it!

Also, here's a new live concert video from local hard rock quartet Half Past's big headlining concert at Soo Blaster on Satutrday night! As uploaded to their Facebook page, this video sees them covering almost all of Crossfade's "Cold", which is expertly timed given that Crossfade just announced that they had reunited. Alain's backing vocals could be louder but this is a solid cover that lets Jordan stretch his vocals to good effect, and it looks like they got a quality presentation for the larger venue! Check everything out for yourselves below, and look for more from Half Past soon!

We'll close today with a 52 second clip of Hamilton punk legends Teenage Head's headlining concert at The Machine Shop last month! This comes from Mike Blair at 705Live Sound Co., who manned the soundboards on this night and often films a video for their Facebook page from shows that he works on. Mike filmed Teenage Head playing their song "Infected", albeit largely when Dave Desroches left the stage mid-song, and everyone sounds good for what we hear! Nice to see a good crowd of people, especially given the mental health fundraising angle of this concert, so check everything out if you want below, and we'll let you know if more videos surface!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Soundcheck, And The Wyld Stallyns) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

A busy weekend of hard rock concerts is ahead, so let's break things up into two posts as we bridge June & July! To spread things out, this weekend's Bone Yard, Rhythm & Brews, and Tym Morrison shows will be previewed on the site tomorrow, so do not worry, they are coming (as is our Rotaryfest Stage 2 lineup coverage, check back on Saturday for that!)

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT as part of their Canada Day party! Apologies for the short notice, this was announced via the official Facebook event page on Tuesday, June 21st but it slipped us by at the time.  Last seen at the car show at the new A&W this past weekend, Soundcheck are definitely no strangers to Shooters in 2022, and clearly their gigs there have went well to warrant them getting called for a big holiday event like this! Shooters will also be hosting a costume contest TOMORROW, with a secret prize going to the best dressed attendee (as in, Canada-themed attire). If you're interested in taking part in that, keep it in mind! TOMORROW'S festivities begin at 8:00 PM, there's no cover charge, and there's a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, local acoustic funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns' busy summer schedule continues with two big outdoor gigs this weekend, including their previously announced Poutine Feast set on SATURDAY, but before then, they'll be playing at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion TOMORROW during the official city Canada Day celebrations! Again, apologies for the short notice, a schedule for the day's events only made its way to Facebook earlier this week. The Stallyns will actually be the curtain jerking band under the tent on SATURDAY, so if their fun and often heavy cover selection is your main focus, you don't have to wait long to see it, and with them being covered from the elements (intentional pun), the show won't be called off! Of course, the music is just part of the family friendly entertainment downtown on SATURDAY, including food vendors, kids activities, tall ship tours, and more, so definitely check out the official poster for the full itinerary!

The band schedule features classic rock cover quintet Encore headlining at 8:00 PM (expect fireworks at the waterfront after 9:30 PM once dusk occurs), an apparent one-off Abba tribute band with local members at 6:45 PM, Peterborough ventriloquist Tim Holland (who will also be busking in the afternoon) at 5:45 PM, young local pop singer Tianna Legacy at 4:45 PM, Tim again at 3:45 PM, and The Wyld Stallyns at 2:45 PM, with the formal opening ceremonies taking place at 2:00 PM. This is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, and while the bands are under the tent, the forecast calls for sunny 18° weather. See the above links for more on this show, but again, that's not all, as The Stallyns' will also be on the bill on Saturday during the Poutine Feast outside of outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street! Not only does the touring poutine/food truck festival finally return for the long weekend, there will be live music each day!

As you can see above, the live music (sort of a mini-preview of this year's Rotaryfest lineup) started earlier this afternoon with day 1 of the Poutine Feast, but Christina, Rob, Jesse, and Jonas hit the outdoor stage on Saturday at 11:00 AM, preceding a headlining set by DJ Seith at 2:00 PM. Like Canada Day, the Poutine Feast is FREE & ALL AGES (only pay for what you buy), and as this will be fully outdoors, the weather will thankfully be steady from Friday.  Best of luck to The Stallyns on this busy community weekend with their shows TOMORROW and Saturday, so see above for full details, and here they are live at the Pavilion!

Finally for today's previews, let's head to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for new dates from local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906's Facebook page, including a show at Bird's Eye Outfitters in Sault Ste. Marie THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced that date on their Facebook page on Monday, though they did specify that the venue "invited us" to play. Project 906 had been taking a break since February to work on new songs for their set, and so hopefully their 4+ months away paid off with an entertaining set of hard rock covers on SATURDAY and beyond! Aside from a private party next week, the guys will play rare hard rock concerts at The Islander Bar in Hessel (which we last previewed a show at in 2015) on Friday, July 22nd and Saturday, August 20th, interleaved with shows at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman on Friday, August 12th & Saturday, Septemebr 24th.

While only one of these dates (THIS SATURDAY's) is in the Soo proper, E.U.P. fans of Project 906 now know a bunch of upcoming chances to see Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Odin in action, so fans won't want to miss out! SATURDAYs Bird's Eye Outfitters show has a 7:00 PM start time, the Islander Bar shows start at 8:00 PM, and their Strongs Tavern return dates kick off at 9:00 PM, but all are 21+ events with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more on these shows, and for a preview of their Bird's Eye show, here is 906 live!

That's all for today, but we'll be back for more weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT & The Northwest Updates, Plus More Recent News & Notes!!

I hope everyone's long weekend is off to a good start! On this Good Friday, we're playing catch-up with a very punk-leaning post, including the latest from a resurgent quintet, some assorted recent updates, and leading off, some big updates for a prominent band, so here's what you should know!

Here's the latest from local/Barrie punk/metal band Spades GT (née Jack Spades), who played their first concert since 2019 and since their relocation & name/lineup changes last night! As you may recall, Spades GT were among the support acts for a Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing show at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie last night, and based on personal Facebook postings, it looks like their set and the show proper were well received! It would have taken personal postings to learn that, however, as their Facebook page has vanished for unannounced reasons. If intentionally deleted, it could be to signify a fresh start, but the prior Jack Spades page was updated to reflect the new name and other changes, so who knows. This page for "Jack Spades GT" was launched last summer, but if it's official, it hasn't seen any updates aside from a non-specific profile picture. We'll let you know when/if a new Facebook page surfaces!

For now, Spades GT are linked on the SMS via their Bandcamp page. As for how Spades GT looked, photos shared from the event indicate that they are currently a four piece, belatedly confirming that guitarist Tiffany Stocco has left the band for a second time, presumably due to not moving to the GTA like J.D. & Daniel. Look for more music from her soon, hopefully! While she hasn't been replaced, there was one more lineup alteration, as Daniel Rodbard has replaced Steve Lorenz on bass with Spades GT for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Steve, but Daniel is an experienced Toronto-area bassist from acts like the Hip tribute The Tragically Hits and the thrash metal band Burning The Day, so it looks like he has the chops! No word on media from their debut, but members of Spades GT will be back in action in the GTA next month, so what should you know there?

Much like they did in the headliners' local dates, Spades GT will be among the openers for legendary metal trio Anvil's concert at The Rockpile in Toronto on May 28th, so if you'll be down south at the end of next month, keep this concert in mind, and click here for more details! Guitarist Daniel Horton has also indicated that he (at least) will be taking part in the Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie on May 5th as part of a six band tribute concert, but it wasn't clear if Spades GT proper were the tribute or if this was a supergroup of area musicians.  It's great to see Spades GT are off & running at long last, and see above for more on J.D., the Daniels, and Tyler's 2022 activity!

Next up, here's the latest from local indie/punk quintet The Northwest, who received some surprise national TV exposure on Saturday night (well, early Sunday morning in this time zone) when their brand new song "Long Hair (Longer Nights)" was used as outro music during a third period commercial break of the Edmonton Oilers/Colorado Avalanche game on Hockey Night In Canada on CBC! Very cool, and while the band oddly did not plug the appearance before or afterward on their Facebook page, personal videos are floating around featuring the moment the song was played. When this occurred, the Oilers were leading 1-0, but the Avs won 2-1 in the shootout. Also on Saturday, Niagara Falls music website From The Strait interviewed Wayne Watkins & Mike Yakasovich from The Northwest for this article, so what do we learn?

The interview features the guys talking about the meaning of "Long Hair (Longer Nights)", how they formed, their musical inspirations, favourite current Canadian bands, and what to expect in the future. While mostly a light, CliffsNotesy dialogue with no direct references to the Soo, The Northwest do reveal that their third EP "All In" is scheduled for release on Friday, June 10th, and gigs are in the works! Very good to hear, and if the date holds, it just adds to a surprisingly busy stretch for local hard rock & punk album releases as of late! Our monthly review backlog means it's tentatively pencilled in for a July review, for the record. Check out much more from The Northwest above!

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 venue name:

 

• In their first Facebook posting in almost three months, local alternative/genre-hating quartet Handsome Sandwich revealed on Wednesday that the rhythm guitar, bass, and drum recording sessions for their upcoming debut album "Lettuce" are complete! No word on vocals (or lead guitar?) yet, but it's good to see that the guys are staying busy behind the scenes, and we'll let you know when more updates surface!
• The Midnight Echo concert in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, April 30th has been moved from Soo Blaster to The Rockstar Bar, as per the latter venue's new Facebook event page. A reason for the venue change was not announced, but note that outside of the SooToday article on Soo Blaster's spring 2022 concert series, they never advertised The Midnight Echo as playing there on social media. Hopefully nothing bad happened, but kudos to The Rockstar Bar for stepping in to ensure the show goes on! No word on admission fees, we'll let you know if something is said.
• Algoma University's campus nightclub/concert venue The Speakeasy re-opened last month after two years of pandemic inactivity with a newly renovated interior and a new regular open mic night series! As per their Facebook page, current operating hours are 6:00-11:00 PM on Wednesdays-Fridays, but one imagines that will expand with time, and could be flexible if outside events are booked there. It'd be great to see some concerts at The Speakeasy again when the time is right, but see above for what's going on there in 2022 so far!
  

 

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: malaise666's Channel & Angela U

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, our monthly look at randomly chosen YouTube accounts whose content is mostly devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk bands or concerts,  in order to spotlight them anew and encourage new subscriptions! As the first randomly selected channel only had 9 SMS-relevant videos from a single album, I added a second channel with a single relevant video to round things out. Neither channel is locally based, but some big names are covered, so here's what you should know!
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malaise666's Channel (http://youtube.com/malaise666)

Owner: YouTube user malaise666, possibly of the Italian lo-fi solo band Malaise. Their real identity is unclear, but I'm sure they're not locally based

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 15th, 2011; Videos posted from December 23rd-26th, 2011

Channel Summary: With the exception of malaise666's final two uploads (which are songs from unrelated artists), their channel is devoted to most of the songs from local doom metal band Woods of Ypres' final studio album "Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light.", Notably, these songs were uploaded here just one day after frontman David Gold's sudden death, likely following Earache Records' early tribute release of most of the album for digital download, preceding the album's on-sale date in February 2012.

Why You Should Watch: This is a fine channel to check out if you love Woods of Ypres' last CD, and these songs still resonate lyrically and sonically over 7 years later! In hindsight, malaise666's channel played a key part in exposing this album to a wider audience at a difficult time. Three songs were not posted here in 2011 ("Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)", "Travelling Alone", and the 2012-unveiled "Keeper of the Ledger"), but the prior 2 were already out before David's death, and all 3 are readily available elsewhere today. Also, note that this channel has not been visibly updated since 2012.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Woods of Ypres - Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye) Part I: A unique aspect of Earache Records' early release of "Woods V" was a heavily altered track order, but the absent "Keeper of the Ledger" aside, the biggest change was seeing the 10+ minute "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" split into two parts, keeping the heavier and slightly faster opening half separate from the doom ballad back half. I find the emotion and resonance works better on "Part II", but this is still a striking and dark song whether you consider this one long number or two 5 minute tracks, and David & Joel Violette made their mark!



Woods of Ypres - Finality: Fittingly the most popular video on malaise666's channel, over 57,000 people have checked out this copy of the penultimate song on "Woods V", which is a downbeat and emotional ballad (I'll let you decide if there was any foreshadowing.) A highlight of the album in a few different ways, "Finality" definitely struck a chord with listeners, and it's a harrowing listen especially for the first time, so I can see it being this popular! A producer's mix of this song was released on the vinyl prints of this album, but is not out on other formats or this channel.


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Angela U (http://youtube.com/malaise666)

Owner: YouTube user Angela Uttley, who I don't believe is locally based

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 7th, 2011; Videos posted on July 1st, 2015 & April 11th, 2016

Channel Summary: Angela's only two uploads are from live concerts, including an unidentified show in 2016, and as featured here, local/Toronto indie punk quartet Treble Charger playing their early hit "Red" at Kitchener City Hall on July 1st, 2015, as part of the city's Canada Day festivities. Opening for Hollerado & Fefe Dobson on this day, this short 21 second clip doesn't tell us a lot, but Bill, Greig, Darcy, and Jason have a good handle on this softer fan favourite, even if fan heads can get in the road. Still, it's nice to see some footage from one of Treble Charger's increasingly rare out of town gigs, especially as I can't find other clips from this set!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around May 26th, and coincidentally, it'll also feature two channels, as the first randomly selected YouTube channel only has 8 videos with two distinct formats, so I added one more channel to fill things out. As such, we'll be looking at the channels of local acoustic hard rock duo Tattoos & Scars (featuring videos from their predecessor band Halfway Loaded) and defunct classic/hard rock quartet The 3 Day Millionaires, so look for these next month, and for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Canada Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Canada Day weekend is upon us, and there's some live hard rock action to take in over the next few days in the Twin Saults, so here's this weekend's concert previews, sans potential late notice confirmations! There's even a pair of shows in Sault Michigan tucked in too, but let's start this preview post with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road TOMORROW NIGHT, joining his regular Gliss Steak & Seafood matinees TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice on the Roadhouse show, it was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Sunday. This nighttime solo show comes four weeks after Tym's most recent Roadhouse stop, and will give fans in the east end another chance to check out his hard rocking yet unplugged covers on this holiday weekend, so keep TOMORROW'S concert in mind if you want to see Tym live at a more typical time! As for his ongoing Gliss run, these could very well be his last weekend of shows there before his likely return to playing Thursdays as well as Fridays and Saturdays weekly (stay tuned for confirmation in that regard), but his acoustic covers should play well at The Quality Inn's house restaurant once again over the next two nights!

TOMORROW'S Roadhouse concert is a 10:00 PM affair with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit, while this weekend's Gliss double-header will see 6:00 PM start times and no announced covers or age limits, but remember the locale, it's not a nightclub. Visit the above links and the Facebook event page for the Gliss shows for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live a few years back!



Moving to entirely previously announced concerts, TONIGHT will see the long awaited local debut by Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks when they headline at The New American Pub! After seeing planned local concerts cancelled in October at The New A and April at The Gore Street Cafe for varying reasons, this "power slop" twosome should deliver a creative and aggressive blast of original music for fans in their belated Soo debut, and hopefully the third time is in the charm for Deathsticks tonight! Alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic will open the proceedings at the site of their live concert debut last year, and they should prove to be a solid choice to kick off the night, so don't be late for them! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who spoke very highly of Deathsticks after AlgomA played with them on tour last summer), this 19+ concert has FREE ADMISSION, as a token of appreciation from the promoters for fans' support over the last few years.

Very nice gesture on Six, Two, Oh.'s part, so consider a trip to The New A tonight at 9:00 PM for all of the action! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Deathsticks live last year!

Also this weekend, let's take a detour to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen on the road in Manistique three weeks ago, these will be Alex, Don, and Wayne's first shows in the Soo in almost two months, and this should be another fine opportunity to check out Banned's varied and often heavy covers, so keep this weekend's shows in mind if you're in the E.U.P.! After all, Banned don't have a scheduled show within an hour of Sault Ste. Marie again until the fall, unless a non-Kewadin show is announced in the interim. Tomorrow and Saturday night's shows are both 21+ events, neither has an announced cover charge, and both are advertised to start at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Banned live!



Finally for today's previews, here's the best bet for metal and hard rock fans for some Canada Day action, as five bands will join forces at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT for a special in honour of Canada's 150th birthday! This Canada Day Bash will be headlined by indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in the "kick"-off to their busy slate of July concerts, but the rest of the lineup is all hard rock, including punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' new lineup's third concert appearance, funk/hard rock veterans The Elements' second public set of 2017, reunited hard rock quartet Eclipse, and their frontman Curtis McKenzie in his solo Rockstar Bar debut. Not a bad lineup at all, and nice to see some original acts on Canada Day to ring in the sesquicentennial! Note that a previously advertised set by death metal rockers The Bear Hunters was previously removed from the lineup, and while the Facebook event page still advertises that more bands are "to be confirmed", the existence of a poster without any extra acts indicates that may no longer be the case.

Promoted by Paperclip Productions' Daniel Horton (also Eclipse & Jack Spades' guitarist), this show has a $5 cover charge, 8:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, while there will be a barbecue on the patio (if weather isn't bad), and the poster notably indicates that there will be prizes and giveaways for the occasion, which isn't stated on the Facebook event page, but prepare just in case! This should be a great concert to rock Canada Day with, so make sure to occupy The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night, and for a preview, here's Eclipse live earlier this month!



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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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