Last Month's Poll Results, This Month's Poll, And More!!

Hey everyone, it's new poll day on the SMS! But first, let's go over the results of last month's poll. And afterwards, I have news on the Doom Cannon show (yes, it could still be on), and another classic local album I have uploaded! Let's begin!

So last month, I asked you guys this question: "Four months after the postponement, what are your current feelings towards our future Kiss concert?" Of course, it's around five months now, but still. 35 of you voted, a decent number, enough to get a feeling for a general consensus on the matter, or two, or three. We now know Kiss are coming no earlier than August, but we still don't have a firmly stated new date for the show, so luckily, the results are still as relevant as they were last month! Let's go over how you guys voted, in ascending order. In dead last with no votes was "It will be a disappointment". Good, no one assumed Kiss will mail it in when they show up, that's promising! Tied for 6th place with one vote each were "The tickets are still to pricey" and "Other". I can't comment on "Other" without knowing what that person had in mind, but I'm surprised that more people didn't voice out over the ticket prices! $100 can't be considered reasonable to everyone, can it? 5th place was "It will be alright", which garnered just 2 votes. Looks to me like Kiss fans expect the band to deliver an excellent performance, rather than just being "alright" when they come here.

The top 4 feature the vast majority of the votes, and they seem to split in three different directions in regards to feelings towards Kiss and this show. Tied for third with 6 votes each are "It's still going to be awesome!" and "It's losing it's appeal". Nice to see a number of you are still interested in this show, I expected that, and I honestly did see people's feelings towards the show waning as the wait drags on. Remember, the campaign to demand Kiss started early last year, this must be an eternity to some Kiss fans! But the winning vote getters sure speak volumes of a section of local music fans. 2nd place with 9 votes was "Kiss sucks, I'm not going", and in 1st with 10 votes, 28% of the total? "I don't think they're coming at all". I hate sounding like a skeptic or a Kiss hater (cause I'm not), but I expected those choices to get some good vote totals. Kiss are somewhat polarizing to some, be it musical preferences or not, I know many who don't like them. And really, since day one, there's been skeptics all over claiming and suggesting that Kiss would not and will not play here, despite all evidence to the contrary. I'm not here to reiterate what we already know, but this really looks like SMS readership splits down three ways: People who like Kiss and are at some level anticipating this concert, people who dislike Kiss and wouldn't go see them, and skeptics who think they're not coming at all. What say you guys, is my assumption accurate, or is there one group more dominant?

So there are the results for last month's poll! And now, after a while to think about a subject last night for the new poll, I found one that's relevant to recent times in the scene, and I'm really interested to see people's thoughts on it! It concerns the battle of the bands. None in particular, just the concept of local bands taking the stage to wow the audience and judges to win prizes. We've seen a number of battles of the bands in the area, with bands like Garden of Bedlam, Bring The Fallen, and Sense of Truth taking top honours in some of the more prominent battles we've seen in the last three years! And with another, "Downtown Showdown", scheduled for May 28th, I thought the time was right to see what people thought of them. So I pose this question to you guys: Do you like attending or competing in Sault-area battles of the bands? I have given you guys 7 choices to vote from this month, hopefully they encompass most of your feelings on the subject! Here they are:

Yes, I love going to/playing in them!: Are you one of those guys that just loves to hop on stage, play in front of local music fans, and attempt to win some prizes and gain some exposure? How about as a fan, do you just like to head to a venue, enjoy the music, and discover some new bands? Many people I know look forward to battles of the bands for the above reasons, no matter what! Are you among them?

Only if the bands are good: No battle of the bands is created equal. Extremely few have genre restrictions, so when you go to one, a mixed bag of bands is likely in store. For example, the Kiss battle ranged from death metal (Bring The Fallen) to punk/country (The Billy Bastards), while the recent Scotties Tournament/Sault College battle gave us everything from Sykotyk Rampage to Blackwater! This is a subjective choice, it depends on how you constitute a lineup worth attending. My personal criteria is if I enjoy half of the bands. No matter how you judge, do you only go for specific acts?

Only if the prizes are good: This choice is more geared towards the bands, but this can have an impact on ticketholders too. Does it really depend on what rewards lie ahead for the top bands for you to submit your name? Some offer cash prizes, others will have free recording time or new gear. Or how about the ones offering big time spots on major concerts, like the Skid Row and Kiss battles? Does the prospect of cash and prizes act as your main reason to enter? Does the ultimate prize act as encouragement for you, as a fan, to show up to see who wins?

Only if ticket prices/entry fees are reasonable: Battle organizers generally want to make a profit. This explains why at most, you pay to get in or enter your band. Some battles go for cheaper costs and fees, often using sponsorship to even it out. Others will raise the prices depending on the prizes, the venue, and the lack of sponsorship. Some have free admission for fans too, and who doesn't love that? Is the simple fact of the cost to attend/play the main deciding factor for your appearance at a battle of the bands?

There's too many of them: In 2009, the YMCA, Algoma University, and Rock 101 all held battle of the bands in Sault Ontario, with varying success levels. In 2010, Sault College already put one on, with the Sault Youth Association's own battle of the bands taking place next weekend. Some fans love to see more of them occur, but I know a few of you who feel that if there's too many battles of the bands, they'll be overexposed and not be as individually special. Would you be among this group in the voting?

No, I don't see the point of them: There are a number of you who don't like or see the point of attending or playing in battles of the bands. I've heard some who feel that bands shouldn't need to "compete" with each other, while others see better ways to get band exposure and new opportunities than enter these. From a fan standpoint, I know a few people that would rather see a few bands play full sets, rather than many bands play just a few songs. Are you a battle hater?

VOTE TODAY!!! I'm really interested in seeing your thoughts on this! And for the record, I love battles of the bands, they're great opportunities for so many local bands, but as always, I'm not voting. It's up to you!

Two quick stories to cap this post. Firstly, have you still been wondering if that Doom Cannon concert scheduled for tonight was a go? Well, here's the story. The event page was deleted from Facebook, so at first, I assumed that they'd finally pulled the plug. Not true though! Promoter Jasmin Nott's Facebook page confirms that Doom Cannon are in Sault Ste. Marie today, and were hanging out at Station Mall selling merchandise and meeting fans! That's all well and good, but is there a show? Here's what one of Jasmin's status updates said today: "(Doom Cannon) GOT ROYALLY EFFED OVER FOR A SHOW HERE. PLEASE HELP OUT! WE NEED A BASEMENT OR OUTDOOR SHOW. IF ANYONE'S WILLING TO HELP, CALL ME AT 705-257-9413!" If we're to believe what Jasmin says, the planned booking at The Oddfellows Hall fell out at some point. At last word, a performance of any type from Doom Cannon in Sault Ontario tonight has not been confirmed, but if something new is revealed, I will let you guys know on The Sault Metal Scene's Facebook page! And if you can help, call Jasmin!

And finally, remember yesterday when I uploaded Foothill Road's debut album "Seventy" to YouTube? Well, the fun doesn't stop there, as I have uploaded another Foothill Road album to The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel! This time, it's their self-titled second CD, which was released around 1996. It was produced by Andrew St. George at Toronto's Comfort Sound Studios, and later mastered at Le Mix in Etobicoke. It was the band's only album with second guitarist Mark Oliverio, who you may recognize from bands like Tripod The Dog and Boogie Fever! I won't share detailed opinions on it yet, that can wait for an eventual review of the disc, but if you want some quality mid-90s hard rock, you can't go wrong! Thanks again to guitarist Mario Carlucci for hooking me up with this album! I'll embed track one from "Foothill Road" here, which would be the song "Cavern", but click here to check out the other four songs from the CD! Enjoy, and stay tuned to the SMS to see if I have anything else Foothill Road-related in store!



That's all for today, I'm anticipating another news post in the coming days, with some interesting updates in store! Also, expect my new profiles of out of town bands with local members (Summon and Human Disorder, if you're paying attention) by Monday, and sometime before then, my review of Duane Roy's first book, "Castle Stories: A Rock N' Roll Scrapbook"! Stay tuned for all this, and more!

A New Local Music Webzine, Our Local Musicians Union, And More Assorted News!

Greetings everyone, another quick post to tide you local metalheads over with! We have a newly started local music webzine to plug, along with a story you musicians might be interested in from it, and more smaller assorted stories from the last while to run through. Let us begin!

Prolific local rock drummer Glen Thomas (most notable from his recent work in Flat Stanley) has been a constant source of music and divisive opinion for many years, and now, his newest music venture is "The Barking Eye: The Sault's Music News Blog", a new local music-based magazine! It's a new creation that Glen launched on Tuesday, where he looks to talk about more local music, past and present! Do NOT write it off as an SMS copycat, it has many differences! It looks to be more expansive to other genres, and Glen appears to be talking more about older stuff as well, and he injects some cool personal opinion and reflection into his stories, largely from his diverse history in the local scene. Also, individual posts are just one story each, and he put his graphic design skills to great use, I love the look! There's lots of room to grow this, I just hope he keeps it up! Click here to check it out, and remember, websites need readers to grow, so follow it and read the stories! Also, thanks to Glen for adding the SMS as a link, I have returned the favour!

So many local music blogs/sites/magazines/et cetera have died from a lack of dedication or support, so I really hope Glen keeps this up! After all, he's managed to keep his forum Freq's Music Planet going strong for years, and message boards are very hard to start and keep alive (I know that from experience), so hopefully this will succeed! Plus, as I tell people all the time, I wish other people would do exactly what I'm doing for their own musical preferences or viewpoints. Maybe this will help open the floodgates? We cover metal and hard rock, and hopefully Glen covers even more genres to give them even more coverage!

Now, seeing as this is a local music news source, no matter how recent it is, I've already found a new story there that will be worth your while, particularly to band members. Did you know that there actually is a local musicians union? Yes, you and your band can be unionized, by becoming members of The American Federation of Musicians, Local 276! Don't be fooled by the name either, the AFM is based out of Toronto. I'll give you guys info on how to join in a second, but are you wondering why joining a union would help you and your band? Glen points out that one major benefit to joining the AFM is that they will help you figure out how to work through red tape to play shows outside of Canada, particularly across the river. I'm not a musician or legal expert, but rest assured, it's not just a "grab your gear and go" situation. The AFM can help you figure out any legal issues your band may need to worry about, so you can focus on your music. This also includes contract issues and copyright-related stuff, so you and your band can get back to music and not worry too much about legal crap. There are many benefits to joining, and their website will fill you in on anything else you may want to know. Also, read Glen's piece on the AFM, Local 276, at this location!

The AFM is a legit union, it's been around since 1896 (our chapter was born in 1918), and has 90,000 members across Canada and the United States. This could be very beneficial to bands out there who hope to make it big, rather than just play local bar shows on weekends. So what else should you know? If you join, your annual membership dues are $125, $75 if you want to pay semi-annually, with initiation fees of $10 (local) and $65 (national). If you want more information from the AFM, Local 276, e-mail afm276@soonet.ca or dragonslayer52ca@yahoo.ca, or call 254-2210. Click here for their full mailing address, fax number, key personnel, and more information! At least consider joining this, guys, this could benefit your music career going forward! And if you Sault Michiganders are wondering if you have a local AFM chapter, you do not. There isn't even one in the Upper Peninsula. If you want to be unionized, you'll either have to join Local 276 (whether Americans can join a Canadian chapter, I can't say), or you'll have to try the nearest American chapter, which is Local 57 out of Saginaw. If you're at all interested in joining Saginaw's AFM branch, click here, but try for the Sault Ontario one first, one must be open to letting you guys in!

Now, three more assorted news stories for today, still clearing those out! I have more to come, but those will be in my next major news post. These are, once again, in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• If you're a fan of Vancouver death metal band Doom Cannon, you're probably aware of the still-pending show they may or may not be headlining at The Oddfellows Hall on...Tuesday. With 4 days left until then and no official announcements confirming it from the promoters, what is it's status? Unclear. While the event page still has no new updates, Doom Cannon's new tour poster DOES list a "Saulte Ste Marie" show for May 18th, spelling as printed. Honestly, I doubt the show's on, especially with such little time to promote and advertise, but if I hear otherwise, you'll of course hear it here!
• The Downtown Showdown battle of the bands on May 28th at The Oddfellows Hall is still looking for local bands interested in competing! But is that upper age limit of 25 still in your way? Well, this might help. Organizer Tiffy Thompson confirmed in a post on the 705 Video Magazine forums that 25 can be the maximum AVERAGE age for your band too! So if you have someone 26 or older, but your combined average age is 25, you can still enter! Contact info at the links above if your band wants in! So if your band has people 22, 24, 26, and 28 years old, you're good to go!
• Sault Michigan solo artist/Grooves Music instructor Mike Libertoski posted an update to MySpace friends of his inactive death metal band Slackjawed Rats that he has a new solo song posted on his MySpace page! It's called "By Rights", and it's a slower jazzier number. Not bad, but if it's not your thing, he has heavier recent songs up too, my favourite being "A Lifelong Burden"! Great stuff he's putting out, still like to get a hold of his albums though. Check his solo work out!

Finally for today, have you been following my CD review schedule closely? Probably not, but I've deliberately not been reminding you guys just to see if you'd remember what I have coming up! And yes, tomorrow, I WILL be posting my re-review of Garden of Bedlam's debut EP! I originally gave it a review upon my purchase of it last April, but since I started monthly reviews, my style has grown and honestly, I really don't like my initial review of it. Not nearly as in-depth as I'd like. So that's tomorrow at some point, stay tuned for it! As for my June album review? I'm actually gonna keep my choice secret for now. Two reasons: A. I don't know if any local bands will have a release for June, as there could be a new release of note next month. And B. I want my review next month to connect to something, rather than just be a random selection from the library of local albums I have. Remember when I reviewed Fitswitch's E.P. in October to coincide with Frightlight's debut show? Yeah, same deal. So as shows pop up for June, keep in mind albums that those musicians might have played on, cause a review of that album could very well be in store! As for a timeframe, look for it to be between June 16th and 22nd, unless a link to a certain day or an album release is too good of a day to pass up.

That's all for today, my next news post will likely be Sunday or Monday, and my next post of any type will be TOMORROW with my revisit of Garden of Bedlam's debut E.P.! Also keep an eye out for a post on Tuesday, where we close down our current poll on Kiss' upcoming concert, share the results, and get down to business with a brand new poll! Busy stretch coming up, so stay tuned!

Concert Updates And News On Potential New Shows!

Man, homework SUCKS. My cache of local metal news is piling up, so I basically HAVE to update everyone today or people are gonna be wondering why this story or that info isn't getting plugged! Today's news will revolve around the topic of concerts: We have updates on two potential shows, a new band for one, and major updates on a certain local music festival, so here we go!

We have more info online concerning what to expect for this July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Firstly, as you can see, they have an official event logo! Looks nice, though the colours scream "fall" more than summer. I'd have changed the brown to a red, but hey, they must have had their reasons! Also, a tentative schedule is now online for it at this location! Aside from the main headliners (Vince Neil, Bret Michaels, Three Doors Down, and Meat Loaf), specific bands have yet to be announced by Kewadin, so we'll have to wait and see! That being said, the schedule says that there will be "Entertainment" (I am 95% sure this means "Live Bands") at 12:00, 2:00, and 4:00 at 1 hour timeslots each day. If you noticed that there's one hour gaps between these sets, they're not dead air, DJ Chef will be on for an hour a piece at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 each day! Through more research on DJ Chef, I can tell you that he's a Food Network personality who has the unique ability to spin the turntables AND cook gourmet meals at the same time! Maybe not metal, but that takes obvious talent! Also, it should be noted that the headlining bands are listed as performing from 6:00-10:00 PM. I can't see a band being given four hours to themselves, so if you hear support bands added to that timeslot, don't be surprised!

As for the rest of the daily schedules, the "strolling magician" will be around to do magic tricks from 12:00-3:00, 4:00-7:00, and 8:00-10:00! The NASCAR simulator, Rock Band, birdie golf (I assume that's mini golf?), bumper cars, and mechanical bull will be active from 12:00-4:00, along with carnival food for sale! Registration for the daily eating contests is from 1:00-3:00 each day, I assume the contests themselves are in the same timeframe. Also from 1:00-3:00 are the autograph signings (Remember, Thursday has Playboy Bunnies, Friday has Detroit Lions players, and Saturday has The Fonz!) The bean bag toss tournament is from 1:00-7:00 daily, there's food and merchants throughout the day, and fireworks will conclude each night at 10:00 PM!

In terms of other new updates that I haven't mentioned yet, the festival itself will be held outside Kewadin Casino in the south parking lot & RV park, I believe in a similar location to where the Kiss concert was held. There are NO discounts or deals for tickets beyond the cheaper total rate for a three day pass. That being said, there are no children's rates, so they'll cost the same as adults. Doors (or should I say, gates) open at 11:00 AM daily for the festival, and all contests can be registered for at the registration table. Admission is general, but you'll need your own chair if you want to sit down on one. Coolers and outside beverages are prohibited, those 21+ will be marked at the beer tent, and tickets will be monitored at entry and exit. Kewadin's really pulling out all the stops, this should be one hell of a festival! You can guarantee that I'll keep you posted with updates on this festival, especially where newly announced bands are concerned, particularly of the metal variety! Stay tuned, and click here for complete details so far, and tickets go on sale on FRIDAY!

Next up, it appears that a new band has been announced for an upcoming death metal show! While I still haven't seen local press or a Facebook event page for it, Derelict and Thekillingfield are indeed coming to Foggy Notions on May 6th, and they will have company! The new band on the bill is Sudbury death metal quartet Beyond Within, who should be quite familiar to you local metalheads! Beyond Within have played here numerous times, mostly at The Oddfellows Hall, most recently last March as one of the support acts for Cattle Decapitation (coincidentally, Thekillingfield were also on the bill for that show!) I love Beyond Within, one of the most brutal death metal bands I've seen locally! In fact, one of my first local concert t-shirts was a Beyond Within one! It'll be weird seeing them at a bar though, I'm sure we're all more used to seeing them at The Oddfellows Hall! Trust me, metalheads, you'll love this concert! Check out more from Beyond Within at this location (their involvement in this show is confirmed there), and if I hear more on this concert, I'll be sure to share it with you all!

Now we come to shows that aren't confirmed totally yet, but there's interesting stuff about them to mention. Firstly, remember that possible Doom Cannon metal/hardcore show that may happen on May 18th? Well, the signs pointing to it's confirmedness continue to build, as Doom Cannon's MySpace page lists a May 18th concert in Sault Ontario with the venue being...The Oddfellows Hall. Exactly where I predicted it would be! Now this isn't enough to confirm this show yet, I've learned from past mistakes that often times, a show there can't totally be confirmed by a MySpace concert listing alone, so I will wait for official word from Jasmin Nott (the promoter) before I call this an official show. Time is getting thinner to properly hype it though, hopefully something 100% official pops up soon! In any event, a Doom Cannon-headlined hardcore show at The Oddfellows Hall on May 18th seems more likely than not, so keep it in the back of your head! And keep up to date on this potential show's happenings and news at the official Facebook event page!

And finally for today, here's another potential concert to keep on your radars! Local hardcore band Out Of The Mouth Of Babes (featuring 4/5ths of As It Stands and Matt Maccarone from A Fall From Innocence) have a possible concert listed for May 28th at Foggy Notions on their MySpace page! Little is given, just an 8:00 PM start time and the information that they will be playing with a band named Kingdoms. After a quick Google search, I can tell you that they are a hardcore band from Kitchener, not a bad sound to them! Now for what it's worth, Kingdoms' MySpace page lists a show in Etobicoke for that same day, so it may have been cancelled in the first place. But really, Out Of The Mouth Of Babes have announced a number of shows since their inception that led nowhere, like the show supposedly happening at The Oddfellows Hall this Saturday that's on their MySpace. Either the advertising for it is abysmal, they're really keeping it a secret, or it was called off too. Well, if I hear anything, I'll let you guys know, I just wish they were clearer about their show statuses!

I have lots more coming, likely tomorrow, mostly assorted news that doesn't apply to any specific concert, ranging from a glimpse at how a certain local band sound to a rock themed car wash?! All that and more tomorrow, hopefully, so stay tuned!

Lots Of Assorted News Stories!

Greetings one and all, it's time to get you all caught up on some assorted smaller news stories that I've saved up over the last few days! Let's start with an intriguing new local webzine!

Just launched the other day by Nikita Andrews, it's called 705Quarterly, and it looks to focus on arts, music, culture, and fashion in the Sault area! Articles on local talent and products are planned, with sections based around health, fitness, beauty, music, art, photography, architecture and interior design! Note that music is among these, so that's where it falls into SMS-appropriate news! It will have a daily blog and will have new issues published quarterly (that's every 3 months), but we know little else at the moment. The official website is "coming soon", and the search is still out for potential featured articles and the like! And this is where you, the metalheads and music lovers of Sault Ste. Marie come in! If YOU are a local musician, solo or band, and would like to possibly featured in a future issue of 705Quarterly, e-mail band information and website links (but NOT attachments) to either artists@705quarterly.com or music@705quarterly.com! There's no genre resrictions at all, so if you want some local coverage, why not send them something! It would be cool to see metal in this though!

Also, if any of you guys have aspirations to be a freelance writer, the offer's out there if you want to have an article or interview of your own to be featured there! Submit journalistic-type writing samples to writers@705quarterly.com if you're interested in that! Yes, this could lead to something metal-related depending on the person, so it has some SMS-relevant possibilities. And for all updates and information on 705Quarterly as it comes in, click here! (The discussion board has the open requests for bands/writers.) Sounds potentially very good to me, here's hoping it succeeds where others failed!

Next up, we have some updates from your favourite local college radio station, WLSO 90.1 FM: The Sounds of Lake State! They mostly concern their website, which got some minor upgrades, though it's still largely a Joomla shell. The winner of the station's logo contest still hasn't been announced (at least not publicly), so their old/current logo remains on the site. There is some new updates from the station posted there by WLSO's Brian Springett, who mentions that the station is still looking for on-air DJs, so e-mail klschnepp@lssu.edu if you're a current student at Lake Superior State University who would like to DJ on 90.1 FM! The station also has open positions for Business Manager, Music Director, and Mobile Director, so if you want a big job at the station, head to the Campus Life Office at LSSU for application forms! And finally, Brian reminds us that if you want WLSO to do live broadcasting or mobile DJing at an event, call them at (906) 635-7504!

Nice to finally see them update the site after 7 months, I was wondering if something would happen with that! Remember to listen to WLSO at 90.1 FM or at this location to enjoy a wide variety of student-programmed music, including some awesome metal blocks! I'll keep you posted with more WLSO news as I hear it, as well as any updates to the logo contest!

Now I have two minor updates concerning the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Fesitval in July! We all know what's planned for it by now, the post below has everything we know so far, but it's making the rounds to local news! SooToday posted Kewadin's news release online at this location, while The Sault Star's Frank Dobrovnik has an actual article about it that you can check out by clicking here! I notice that Frank mentioned that Kewadin Casino has always held day-long "annual summer blowouts" in previous years, though I can't recall them hyping that as such. Still, this year's would blow those out of the water! The most substantial news article I've seen since the announcement comes courtesy of SooNews.ca, which features interview excerpts from Kewadin Casino marketing/sales vice president Alan Bouschor! In it, he does confirm that "local and regional bands" will be the "live entertainment" performing from noon onwards each day, among other statements. Read that article at this location! And finally, a Facebook event page is up for it, confirm your attendance by clicking here! This should be one hell of a festival, especially with Meat Loaf, Three Doors Down, and (for us metalheads) Vince Neil & Bret Michaels headlining! I'll keep you posted with updates!

And finally, three quick news stories to close this assorted news post:

• I recently attended the NHL Alumni vs. Law Enforcement hockey game at The Essar Center, which I won tickets for on SooToday! Why do I mention this? It's because of an ad in the program, which has tons of local business advertisements. On page 40, there's an ad for a business called "Action Music" on 81 Letcher Street, with full address and phone number attached. I searched Google Street View to see what this was and it led me to a house out near Goulais Avenue. I'm thinking this is a music lessons place, but I have no idea for sure. Anyone have some info on Action Music?
• A new artist has been added to the lineup of May 8th's Destroilet concert at Coch's Corner! Toronto rapper Unknown Mizery joins The Hobo Banditos as the featured attractions for this unique genre hybrid concert, for which Destroilet are opening! Nothing else about this concert has changed. Unknown Mizery isn't bad as far as rappers go, check him out! Very intriguing concert, especially with the genre clash, hopefully it's a huge success!
• Remember that possible Doom Cannon hardcore concert on May 8th that was being tested for it's potential viability? Well, promoter Jasmin Nott e-mailed confirmed attendees of the possible show's Facebook group to remind people to invite their friends to attend, because the more people that confirm to go, the lower the door price is! That, plus her open reminder for bands to message her if they want to play the show (click here if you want to), leads me to think the show is closer to happening than not happening. I'll keep you all posted!

That's all I have for today, but there's much more coming up very soon, including my next profiles of out of town bands with local members, and much more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Kilacel & Driven), Weekend Concert Previews, And A Potential New Show!!

Yep, March sure is picking up news-wise, I'm glad to say! And today's a good one, with three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, previews for this weekend's Turner Up and Caveman Morrison concerts, and a potential new show that needs your help to make it happen! Let's start with the new concerts, all of which are in Sault Michigan, so here's what you need to know!

Remember Kilacel, the Muskegon-based hard rock band last seen in the Sault area this past June? Well, they're coming back up here, finally! Kilacel will be playing in honor of the birthday of someone named Sandy on April 3rd at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill, the same venue where they played their four 2009 local shows! A cover charge of $3 is announced, the concert has a listed start time of 9:00 PM. The show is confirmed, but keep in mind that the band are apparently looking for a new bassist; whether that will impact the April 3rd show here is unknown. Still, it's great to see Kilacel back up here, I was wondering if they'd ever return to Sault Michigan! Hopefully this won't be the last we see of them, they have a really good modern hard rock sound! Check out more from Kilacel at their official MySpace page, and some live concert videos at this location!

The other two shows are a ways off from now, but even still, they're announced, so why not make some advance plans? Cheboygan hard rockers Driven will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for a pair of weekend dates on September 17th and 18th! Both are 9:00 PM shows with no announced cover charge. I vaguely recall hearing of a band named Driven playing at the casino, but I never came across a band page before. These are the only local shows Driven have listed, though they have plenty of other U.P. and Mackinac-area concerts planned throughout the year! If you're wondering how they sound, so am I, they have no audio or video on their MySpace page to speak of, nor anywhere else online I've searched. However, they look promising, especially with their influences being "anything with a groove thats gets people off there ass and party"! I'm positive they're a hard rock band, though their MySpace also says they play a little bit of R&B too? Interesting! If I hear more on these two shows, or Driven themselves, I'll keep you posted!

Now let's get to this weekend's concert previews! Three local metal/hard rock shows, all in Sault Ontario, and we'll begin at Coch's Corner, where Caveman Morrison will play for the first time as a band since frontman Tym Morrison returned to the Sault! Tym's played solo shows there in recent months, but this is the full band experience! They'll be there this Friday and Saturday to rock out your favourite metal and hard rock classics, so why not head on out there? Both shows start at 10:00 PM, there is no cover charge. Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page! It's always a treat to see Caveman Morrison live, hopefully they draw some great crowds this weekend! Your favourite tunes played by a great band for no cost, sounds good to me! Check out more from Caveman Morrison at this location, and for a preview, here's video from a 2009 show at The Rockstar Bar of their version of Metallica's "Seek & Destroy"!



Meanwhile, on Saturday night only, local hard rock cover band Turner Up (not "Turn-R-Up", as Sault This Week misspelled) will play what could be their biggest show since their formation when they hit The Canadian Nightclub! Just announced the other day, Turner Up will have video cameras in tow to film their performance on Saturday, which is cool in itself! Also, they're going to have "Official Crew Member" shirts to give out, and who doesn't love free stuff? But aside from that, you'll get to hear some great hard rock covers from one of the more prolific live bands in recent months! A start time of 10:00 PM is listed on the Facebook event page, there is no announced cover. Check out more from Turner Up at their official Facebook group!

Judging by the fact that this is just one show, and they're filming it, this has got to be a big deal, maybe something cool or unexpected will happen? Maybe an original song or two? Or just getting the band's exposure up? Either way, I'll be there! I've been meaning to check Turner Up out live one of these days, and this Saturday is as good as ever! I'll have review, photos, and hopefully my own video posted online on Sunday, so look out for all that! Hope to see you guys there, and if not, hopefully you're at Coch's Corner!

And finally, we have a new local concert....well, maybe. Remember back when local promoters used to gauge interest in a potential show by opening event pages or forum threads asking what the demand would be for the concert? Well, local promoter Jasmin Nott is doing just that for a show she'd like to put on, to see if it worth holding! If this show happens, and it largely depends on local fan interest, it would be on May 18th at a yet-to-be-determined venue. The headlining band would be Vancouver hardcore/death metal outfit Doom Cannon, who have a pretty good sound, it mixes the two styles effectively! They sound perfect for The Oddfellows Hall, but who knows where this show will end up if it's confirmed. Other bands would be on the lineup too. She says if this show's a success, she says she will try and book some more shows, with possibilities like Abandon All Ships and The Cancer Bats being mentioned!

But before any of that can happen, she needs support for this show, so if you would honestly and truly go see Doom Cannon and other bands on May 18th, click here to join this potential show's Facebook event page! Post something on the wall too to help out! Hopefully this works out, Jasmin's at least trying to get more concerts here and I completely welcome that! Plus, we don't get enough hardcore/death metal bands here, there's an audience for Doom Cannon! Let's help Jasmin out to make this show happen!

That's all for today, in my next update, I'll have a local band's placement in a major metal site's voting for Best _____ Album of 2009! Which band and which genre? You'll see! That and hopefully much more are on the horizon, keep your eyes peeled!