LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Carried Away Concert Preview, And New Sault Michigan Videos!!

Due to a very SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, I'm bumping this month's YouTube Channel Profile to tomorrow, so don't worry, it is coming! However, I don't want to let this concert slide, so that's leading off this post, alongside a weeknight concert preview, and some new videos from the Sault Michigan area, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will indeed return to La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing TODAY for a matinee concert! Profuse apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show publically via it's Facebook event page this morning, though he had alluded to a Sunday gig on St. Joseph Island last week via his personal Facebook page without naming the venue. Over two weeks following his public debut at this riverfront restaurant, Tym is back for another daytime concert with more hard and classic rock favourites expected for patrons, so if you're on St. Joseph Island or are up for a Sunday drive, keep this one in mind for later TODAY! An early start time of 4:00 PM is advertised for TODAY at La Terrazza Franzisi, and there are no announced cover charges or age limits, but keep in mind that this a formal sit-down restaurant. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live in concert a few years back!



Next up, here's our preview of a special TUESDAY NIGHT concert, as Toronto pop punk quartet Carried Away will rock Sault Ste. Marie for the first time as headliners at The Rockstar Bar! Heading out to Western Canada for the first time, this energetic, alternative-influenced band should deliver a fun set of catchy originals, so if you ca swing coming out on a Tuesday, don't miss out on Carried Away in a couple of nights! Two local opening bands will kick off the proceedings, including new local alternative quartet Man Feelings, whose lineup features former Bizotic keytarist B.J. Swire, among others. You can see a video of them in action on their Facebook page, and while the song isn't heavy, it's well performed, and it'll be interesting to see how Man Feelings do in their debut appearance! Rising local surf rock quartet The Dynowaves (now featuring fellow Bizotic alum Louise Lamothe) will look to keep the momentum rolling following their Northern Vibe Festival set, so come early for their locally original stylings!

Promoted by former A Dire Setback singer Larry Babic and photographer Josh Pace in their first 2018 booking, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge, and while the 8:00 PM advertised start time seems early, remember that this is a Tuesday nighter. Punk and alternative fans with accommodating schedules should definitely consider a trip to The Rockstar Bar for all of this high impact action, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Carried Away live!



Also today, we have some new videos from the Seether-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino earlier this month, courtesy of attendee Jeff Hagan's YouTube channel this morning! Despite posting his 10 Years video shortly afterward, we had to wait almost two weeks for his videos of Seether proper, but better late than never! As he did at the Alter Bridge show here, Jeff filmed most of Seether's set via abbreviated videos, including of their songs "Stoke The Fire", "Gasoline", "Let You Down", "Words As Weapons", "Country Song", "Fine Again", and "Remedy", plus a cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box". Embedded below is Seether playing their classic ballad "Broken", albeit not the duet version, though Shaun does let the crowd sing parts. Filmed from the same sharp angle on his 10 Years clip, the audio makes up for the deep lighting here, but again, these are not full songs, with none exceeding 2:30 in length. Kudos to Jeff for getting so much, and give these a look above & below! (No, he didn't post anything of The Dead Deads.)



Finally, here's a new song from local classical metal project Theatre of Night, as shared by keyboardist Craig Harrison from his personal Facebook page to their Facebook group earlier this month! Entitled "Dark Acoustic Revenge" (which is a hint as to how this track sounds), this is a well composed song with particularly elegant guitar work by Steve Giles, and the thunder and lightning effects on the band logo are a nice touch! Give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night as it rolls in!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Redundant's New EP, Some New Videos, And Much More!!

With weekend concert previews and our latest monthly feature post in the rear view, let's get back into regular news and updates on the SMS with this news post, featuring some assorted updates, new videos, and a long awaited album release! Here's what you should know!

Over three weeks after it's Toronto release at the Vans Warped Tour, local punk trio Redundant have finally released their self-titled debut EP for digital download on Friday! The EP features five songs, namely "By Myself", "Miles Apart", "Should've Known", "That December", and "What Will You Do" (a.k.a. The Scary Uncles' "Labatt 50"), and you can buy it for $4.95 on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, while you can stream the EP for free on both Spotify and Apple Music. As far as I can tell, Redundant haven't posted the EP on Bandcamp, for what that's worth. No word yet on physical in-store availability, let alone their next local gigs, but could they be saving that for a proper local release concert? We'll hold our thoughts on "Redundant" for our forthcoming review of the EP, but when can you expect to see that on the SMS? Honestly, I don't know, as we have quite a log jam of new albums to review right now, with Mike McCleary, Sykotyk Rampage, and SweetKenny also waiting in the wings for their newest releases.

If any of the four acts play a public live concert this month, our choice would be easy as a more direct tie-in, but I don't believe any have one scheduled. As the newest of the four, Redundant has more wiggle room, assuming I can review all four this year, but I guarantee we'll review Redudnant's EP on the site soon! This has been a long road to get this released and completed, and the production quality's top notch, so visit the above links to hear/buy Redundant's first EP!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with two Facebook videos from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906's headlining concert at The Superior Cafe/Bird's Eye Outfitters on Friday! One video was uploaded via local music store Crooked Music's Facebook page, and it features the guys covering Wolfmother's "The Joker & The Thief". Though it runs for just a minute, the quality's good, and Billy's vocals are a nice fit with this rendition! If you're hoping for a longer video or a less sharp camera angle, this video shared from attendee Cindi Jenkins' personal Facebook page should suffice! This is a cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", which is similarly well handled and lively, and fans of theirs should be right at home with this performance! Give it a look below, see more above, and don't miss Project 906 in Rudyard on Saturday!



Also today, here's a new solo performance video of Chronic Demonic guitarist Kevin Powe, courtesy of that band's Facebook page, which see him playing the Sault Ontario notable covering what I believe to be Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" (it's "old school Swedish death 'n roll" at any rate!) Solid rhythm track that he has a good handle on, but will this song be in the long awaited live repertoire of Chronic Demonic? Give it a look below!

 

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

• New local surf rock quartet The Dynowaves (featuring Lion Ride and Bizotic alumni) have been added as the second openers for the Carried Away concert at The Rockstar Bar on August 28th, as per the Facebook event page last week. The Dynowaves have gotten some positive notices since debuting with their locally unique sound, and this should be a nice showcase for their surf rock stylings! Yes, we know they're playing at The Northern Vibe Festival, stay tuned for coverage of that when full daily timeslots are announced!
• As per it's new naming rights agreement, and as a tie to the former Sault Memorial Gardens, The Essar Center formally changed it's name to GFL Memorial Gardens on August 1st, complete with a redesigned website. Physical signage and advertising will be slowly rolled out to reflect the name change, so keep tabs on local news media (or head downtown) for updates. The new name isn't bad, and it's great to see the Memorial Gardens name back in action, but how long before a hard rock or punk concert comes there again?
• In the first formal reveal of their new lineup, Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63 have added former Absolute, NoXcape, and Exiled drummer Justin Lawless to the band, replacing Ron Suchey, as per a post share on their Facebook page yesterday. A reason for Ron's departure wasn't publically announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and don't miss him and fellow (former?) Highway 63 bandmates in Cousin Eddie. Justin's a solid drummer who should fit in fine with Highway 63, so stay tuned for more updates from them as they roll in!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Carried Away), Rotaryfest Footage, And A Unique New Record Store!!

I hope all of our Caandian readers are having a great Civic Holiday! Today on the site, we have some long overdue coverage of a unique new-ish record store, a lengthy full-set concert video, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, so here's what you need to know!

Toronto pop punk quartet Carried Away will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, August 28th when they headline at The Rockstar Bar! Already making waves in Southern Ontario since their launch 3 years ago, this female fronted outfit have impressed fans with their high energy punk sound, complete with emo and alternative influences, and they should keep up their positive and proficient original material with Saultite fans in three weeks! The only announced opening band is Man Feelings, a new (and online page-less) local alternative rock band featuring Bizotic/Sounds From The Green Room alum B.J. Swire, though I don't know anything else about their lineup or sound. Other than a cancelled Downtown Street Party set last month, I have no other details on Man Feelings, but we'll let you know if we hear anything! This concert is a co-presentation of former A Dire Setback singer Larry Babic and photographer Josh Pace, in their first promotional booking of 2018.

This 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge, and it currently has an advertised start time of 8:00 PM, which may not be inaccurate given the work-week scheduling, but we'll let you know if it's actually later. The Tuesday night scheduling may not be optimal for many local punk fans, but if you can make it to The Rockstar Bar for this one, you should be musically rewarded! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, have you been hoping for some more videos from Rotaryfest's stages? Well, how does the entire Stage 1 set (more or less) from early-2010s classic/hard rock cover veterans Turner Up sound? Yes, the former Full Circle were the focus of this video from new local filmmakers Passionate Wolf Productions, as uploaded to their YouTube channel last week. After a nicely detailed introduction, Turner Up's set included covers of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times, Bad Times", The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", April Wine's "Just Between You & Me", Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny", The Outfield's "Your Love", April Wine's "Sign of the Gypsy Queen", Velvet Revolver's "Slither", and Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run", so visit each link to hear each song. Travis Sharpe's between song banter was usually cut from the final upload, and the audio is often somewhat muffled, but the video quality is great otherwise here!

While this is a composite lineup from across Turner Up's prior runs (and Travis was previously their bassist, not singer), this performance seems to have been a success, and Passionate Wolf had a nice close angle of the action, but will this be the last we've seen of Turner Up? Give their Stage 1 set at Clergue Park a watch below, and don't miss Travis with Soundcheck in the interim!



Also today, here's something that I admittedly should have acknowledged on the site long ago: A new local record store named Oosik Records! That said, it may be easy to miss, given that owner Al Bjornaa set it up in a used meat trailer, and it's believed to be the smallest record store in the world! I profusely apologize for the delay in covering this joint on the SMS, it has been open since June of last year, but better late than never! I can't find a firm address for Oosik Records, but it's home base is nearby Batchewana Bay along the highway. In it's trailer locale, Oosik (named for a specific part of whale anatomy in Inuit) plays host to hundreds of vinyl records and cassette tapes, plus books, art, stickers, patches, old record & tape players, and even vintage toys from local retailer Puke Skywalker. Hours are flexible to nonexistent at Oosik Records, with a come-and-go, pay-what-you-can model when Al's not around.

If you peruse the albums on past and present offer on their Instagram page, you'll find a ton of independent artists who I've never even heard of, plus many we all have, so you never know what you'll come across! And if a trip to Batchewana is too far or impractical, Al has brought stock with him for sale at Sault Ste. Marie events affiliated with Nicole Dyble's Dryer Fire promotion company, from the old Gore Street Cafe to her recent open mic, concert, and night martket events on the M.S. Norgoma. They even hosted an acoustic show at Oosik Records headquarters last month, so maybe more is on the horizon there in that regard? I don't have many Batchewana connections (partly hence why Oosik Records was off my radar for so long), but this definitely warrants a trip that direction! I like Al's ambition and generosity, and the eclectic selection is more than welcomed, so be sure to visit the above links and this SooToday article by Jeff Klassen for more on Oosik Records!

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

Meet The Local Punk Bands!! Part 1

Today marks the first of at least two (maybe three) introductory posts to active Sault-area punk bands that we're officially rolling into our coverage, and we're starting with two of the most prominent straight punk bands of recent years, cult favourites who cross over into a very different genre, and arguably the biggest punk/alternative band to ever come out of the Soo! Remember, defunct or inactive bands with online pages will be addressed after active bands are covered, so don't fret if a specific band isn't in this post! Without any further adieu, let's begin, with today's bands in alphabetical order:

We'll start by welcoming local country punk quintet The Billy Bastards to the SMS, and I'm sure their ardent fan base will be happy to hear that! One of the oldest active punk bands in the Soo, The Billys don't play live all that often, but they've became local favourites since their 2006 launch, which has saw them play some big headlining and supporting gigs in the area! The first band to ever play at The Rockstar Bar upon it's opening, The Billy Bastards have recorded & released three CDs ("Bathe in Whiskey", "II", and "Back in the Bottle"), opened for prominent local bands like Lion Ride, and played a memorable set at the Kiss Battle of the Bands in 2009, though to fans' chagrin, they weren't sent to the finals. Former Harsh Heads drummer Aaron Gibbs fronts The Billys on vocals & guitar, and he's joined by guitarist/bassist John Conway (also of Destroilet), guitarists Paul Michael Stos (ex-Proposition 86) and Greg Beharriel, and drummer Charlie Yanni. The band was last seen on stage in December at The Rockstar Bar, though given their sporadic live appearances, who knows when fans might see them again.

Arguably the most unique punk band in the area, there's definitely a Hank III-esque spirit to The Billy Bastards, with songs taking from outlaw country and into a punk hybrid ferocity, so even if you're not a country music fan, there's a little something for both sides in their albums and live sets! I would like to get their albums for future reviews on the site (can anyone help?), but check out The Billy Bastards for a creative punk/country blend on Facebook, MySpace, CBC Music, and Bandmine, and here's a 2011 rendition of their song "Mile 58" (a frequent Destroilet cover) courtesy of Paul's YouTube channel, which also has 5 more videos from this same show!

Our second "new" band addition is local punk trio The Northern Tragedy, who many of you guys will be familiar with from various recent concerts! Launched in late 2012, their lineup features ex-Changing Waves bassist Terrence Gomes on vocals & drums, alongside guitarist Mike Ivany and bassist Corry Rideout, though T.N.T. share far more in common with Terrence's late 2000s punk band Good Morning Gorilla than his hardcore bass work. Since their debut, The Northern Tragedy have became a dependable sight at assorted shows, including sets opening for out of town bands like The Golers, Warsenal, and Dearly Beloved, plus appearances at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, an outdoor festival in Bruce Mines, and most recently, opening for Skynet and Chronobot at 180 Projects in March. The Northern Tragedy have also released two demo EPs already (one self-titled, one named "Home Ice") that have been sold at shows and at The Rad Zone, and you can pick up both on a "name your price" model right now at their Bandcamp page.

Playing a no-frills yet entertaining punk style with originals and select covers, The Northern Tragedy have supplied many local shows with an added punk boost over the last year & a half. Very solid sound with driving and catchy rhythms, fitting vocals, they just need to continue working on their stage presence, but they're getting there! Follow The Northern Tragedy above and at their Facebook, Soundcloud, and CBC Music pages, and here are the guys playing their song "3 2 4" at The Rockstar Bar last spring, courtesy of their two-video YouTube channel!



Third to be "introduced" today is another local punk trio that has attained notable success in the area, that being Redundant! Launched under the name Motion Carried in early 2011, their current lineup includes Thrill Junkies bandmates Justin Langlois (formerly of The Scary Uncles) on vocals & guitar and Rick White (also of Frightlight) on drums, with Rick's brother James (also from Caveman Morrison) on bass, while Jamie Whalen was their original bassist in the Motion Carried days. Debuting on stage in February 2011, Redundant have since opened for the likes of Kittie, The Rebel Spell, The Fairmounts, and The Brains, went on tour to Sudbury and Southern Ontario, played at the 2011 Hempfest, and appeared at 9 of the former Roosevelt Hotel's Thursday night metal & punk shows. Redundant hit the studio to record original material in 2012, and later signed with Alpha Dog Records, but a known formal CD release has yet to occur. Redundant were last seen playing at Medifest at The Grand Theatre in March, and have been fairly quiet since.

Redundant's fun blend of up-tempo originals and select covers (including some off-the-wall ones) has carried them to a solid fanbase throughout the 2010s so far, gamely picking up where The Scary Uncles left off! With three recognizable local musicians, an entertaining Green Day-inspired sound, and plenty of experience, a Redundant set is always worth checking out, and you can see a full one at what's now Coch's Corner below! Check out more material and info from Redundant at their website, and their pages on Facebook, Reverbnation, and YouTube!

Finally for this first punk introductory post is quite possibly the biggest punk/alternative band to ever come out of the Soo, that being Treble Charger! Originally named NC-17, the band was originally active from 1992-2006, releasing five albums ("NC-17", "Self Title", "Maybe It's Me", "Wide Awake Bored", and "Detox"), with three going at least gold in Canada, and all but their debut being nominated for a Juno Award for either Best Alternative or Rock Album. Best remembered for hit songs like "Even Grable", "Friend of Mine", and "American Psycho", Treble Charger's original lineup featured singer/guitarist Greig Nori, guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin, and drummer Morris Palter, while their longest serving lineup featured drummer Trevor MacGregor. Other performers included 1997 session drummer Mike Levesque & 2003-2004 live guitarist Devin Bronson, while touring performers Dave MacMillan & Jason Pierce have played with Greig & Bill at their recent gigs. Treble Charger were among the inaugural inductees in the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame in 2006, and after a lengthy breakup, Greig & Bill reunited for occasional gigs in 2012, most recently playing at the KOI Music Festival in Kitchener last fall.

Treble Charger have certainly accomplished a ton in the past two decades, and whether you like their early-mid 1990s indie rock sound or their later pop punk style more, they live up to their reputation throughout, showing clear skill and songwriting ability! Myself, I prefer their later more aggressive work, but I concede that their earlier work is more mature in tone. They've never forgotten their local roots either, playing here twice since reuniting (most recently at a Searchmont fundraiser last January) and many times originally. I don't know when their next dates are, but follow their Twitter, Facebook, & Tumblr pages for the latest news, and here are Treble Charger live in their original heyday!



I hope you guys liked our first of our added punk band showcase posts, and we definitely have more to come soon! To keep things a surprise, I won't spoil what bands will be featured next, but I have enough for one, maybe two more posts of active punk bands to share, and there's plenty of familiar faces to come! Until then, stay tuned for a huge post concerning a local music festival later today! Thanks everyone!

Blizzard Of Ozz Concert Review!!

I have surprise concert review for you guys on this Sunday! I decided to slightly postpone the "Going Underground" review to slot in my thoughts on last night's Blizzard of Ozz tribute show, as I wanted to partly repay you guys for the delays from earlier in the week. Oh, and I picked up a copy of "Soo Stories" by Duane Roy too, so we'll have two book reviews soon as well! And yes, tonight we'll have a Sault Michigan-centric post as promised, so let's get everything going to kick off the week!

I never found room to slot this in before last night, but there was short notice openers last night at The Canadian Nightclub, and the band in question was local punk trio Motion Carried, featuring Scary Uncles frontman Justin Langlois, Frightlight guitarist Rick White on drums, and veteran local bassist Jamie Whalen. I'd heard a grand total of one video by Motion Carried since their launch, so I wasn't too sure how they'd sound on the whole, but I'd say they mostly sound like a more covers driven version of The Scary Uncles. The set included punk renditions of songs like "Leaving On A Jet Plane" and "Folsom Prison Blues" as well as covers ranging from Green Day and Social Distortion to The Ramones and The Vaselines, even throwing in The Scary Uncles' "Labatt 50 for good measure"! Punk fans would absolutely dig these guys, I assume, but I think the guys in Motion Carried knew they were playing to a different crowd, given their amusing self-deprecating banter. Justin's a very good punk singer and knows his way around some great punk riffs, and Rick and Jamie were also solid last night! You can't go wrong with a straightforward punk rock, and these guys brought it! Hopefully I'll see them around town again soon!

The main event, of course, was Toronto based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Blizzard of Ozz, and I have to say, I really enjoyed them last night! On first impression, the cosmopolitan band makeup will get some notices, but their set and energy spoke for itself! Scotty Osbourne looked the part and had the on-stage moves down to replicate Ozzy, except for throwing water on the crowd, of course! It's odd though, he sounded great live, but listening to his performance on the video I shot, he sounds more offkey than he sounded live. I guess that's a testament to the fun that the small (but lively) crowd was having! Roland "Black Zakk" Murray tore it up on guitar, he had every song down pat and had a great stage presence, but maybe with a little less pinch harmonics than Zakk had. Jenn "Lady Evil" Butler's bass work was really good too, and her backing vocals added to the harmonies, while Niall Kerslake was awesome on drums, and had a nice theatrical flair to go with it too, though catching drumsticks seemed to be a bit off. I liked how the band tried to replicate an Ozzy show, and I liked that they included a mix of Black Sabbath and Ozzy solo songs you wouldn't expect into the set, like "Fairies Wear Boots", "Believer", and "Ultimate Sin"!

The first set definitely had a more diverse list of songs, but set 2 was almost all classics, with "Crazy Train", "Paranoid", and "Mama I'm Coming Home" all coming late to send the fans home happy! Blizzard of Ozz were really fun last night, and even if the vocals seemed to sound more off as the night went on, we didn't notice, and they visibly enjoyed rocking out for us. In the end, that's what matters most! If you weren't there, you missed out! For my photos from last night, click here, or visit The Sault Metal Scene's Facebook page! And yes, I have videos, so here's Motion Carried covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Crackerman" (who said they didn't play a little hard rock?) and Blizzard of Ozz playing the Ozzy classic "Over The Mountain"!





That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Sault Michigan-centric post later tonight! Thanks everyone!

Dirty Virgin, Dutch Vanderploeg, State of Misery, And Woods Of Ypres Updates!!

Hey guys, it's time for some more local metal and hard rock news, and we've got some big stories today! You know we've had at least one post a day for every day since March 10th? This marks our 27th straight day with at least one new post, that has to be a record! I love the busyness though, and thanks for sticking around over the past month! Today, we have new songs and interviews from one band, new shirts from another, and a newly renamed solo project, but first, it's a local band's official return to the stage!

Do you remember when two new Woods of Ypres songs premiered on the December edition of The Governor's Ball during an interview with David Gold? Well, now you can stream the full, uninterrupted versions of both songs on Woods of Ypres' CBC Radio 3 page! The songs are "You Were The Light" (the original "Woods V" title track) and "Falling Apart", and they're now in even better quality and available to stream without any strings attached! I won't give detailed thoughts on either yet, but check the above links to listen to them, especially if you want to experience a more upbeat sounding version of the heavier "Woods IV" songs! Speaking of which, as you may know, these and the other three songs recorded at Stereo Soul Studios in August won't be "Woods V" due to Earache Records' preference for a full album, so what exactly is gonna happen to these five tracks? Well, I don't know about the three we haven't heard yet, but these two will see a special vinyl release through Practical Art Records! Limited to 500 copies, it will feature both songs on each side of the vinyl, with special artwork and vinyl colouring, guest cello from Raphael Weinroth-Browne, and mp3 download cards, as well as hand numbering and autographs for the first 150 copies.

Sounds good, at least it gives some of the new songs an official release! Hopefully all the songs from these sessions see a release as "Woods 4.5" down the road! This'll do for now though, but will I review it on the SMS? Not imminently, I don't like reviewing two albums by one band in a short timeframe, and I try to review albums and EPs before singles, but I'll get to this down the road! Only 500 copies will be made, so get on this! How can you pre-order this vinyl though? Preorders are $20, so if you want to pick up "You Were The Light/Falling Apart" from PayPal, send it to davidypres@gmail.com, and for a snail mail order, send a cheque, money order, or cash to this address!

Woods Of Ypres HQ
c/o David Gold
44 Poplar Ave
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6B 2W7
CANADA

Next up, Sault Ontario glam/punk rockers Dirty Virgin are finally returning to the stage! Three months after their quiet local resurgence, the band have announced that they will be one of the openers for Motley Crue tribute band Crued at The Canadian Nightclub on April 30th! To my knowledge, this will be their first local concert appearance in 17 months, having last hit the stage at the Kiss Battle of the Bands at The Canadian in late November 2009, so this has been a long time coming! The other opening band will be local punk rockers Motion Carried, who I still don't have audio/video from, but their members have the talent! I don't think they fit the "glam" mold, but I'm sure they'll do great as openers! Click here for full concert details! As for the return of Dirty Virgin, here's what else I know. The news of their full return to the stage came out yesterday, though details on if this is a one time event or not weren't stated. The band's lineup will be the same as their late 2008-summer 2009 lineup, which means that guitarist Ryan Spin and drummer Matt "Hixx" Hicks are both back in the fold. They'll of course rejoin singer Bobby Clement and bassist Lionel "Rocks" Quinton for this next show! I'm glad to see Dirty Virgin back together, here's hoping the reunion lasts beyond April 30th! Check the above links for more!

Now, here's the latest from Browbeat 101 frontman Dutch Vanderploeg' solo project! We first told you about this in November, but at some point between then and now, he deleted the page and relaunched it with a new name, or should I say, no name? Actually, both, as his solo project is now called Knownaym, and it's said how it sounds! The songs posted here include "Eyelids Fall" (as originally uploaded in November) and two newly posted originals, "Big Fat Liar" and "Information Overload". Basically, these are original songs that were either not written for Browbeat 101, or are no longer played by the full band. I praised "Eyelids Fall" last year for it's heard rock sounds and unique dreamlike chorus, but the new songs have merit themselves! "Big Fat Liar" has a Stone Temple Pilots vibe to it, with nice guitar work, but the production could have been improved a bit on it. Slower but with a hard rock bite! "Information Overload" reminds me the most of a Browbeat track, and it has a unique fast-paced, yet relaxed sort of style to it. Good stuff, hopefully we hear more from Knownaym in the future! Click here to check it all out, and I have updated our band links to reflect the above changes!

Finally for today, how would you guys like State of Misery t-shirts? The local death metal quintet have launched an online store through Wordans, and there is one item for sale there at present, a t-shirt! Featuring one of their more recent logos (the one with the eye as the O in "of"), you can buy it for $20.19 at the above links! Sizes through XXL are available, and the band has stressed that if you pick one up, the white box on the sample image will NOT be on the shirt. You can buy the shirt in alternate colours, but I'm not sure how the logo looks on those. Still, it's nice to see State of Misery selling merchandise, hopefully there's more in the pipeline! The band's Facebook page has also suggested that they'll be selling these at shows, so maybe we'll see some floating around at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday? Time will tell! Check the above links for more, and stay tuned for the latest from State of Misery when we hear it! Remember to buy your shirts today with PayPal or your credit card at this location!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Frightlight), A New Local Band, And Lots More!!

Ah, what the hell, here's one more post to close out March with, ending our busiest month ever with 38 posts! Today, we have the latest from Energy Rock Radio, the last third of the Woods of Ypres local tour vlog, the newest addition to End of Existence, and a new local band, but the new band won't be leading off the post. Why? I'm tying in a story today with that band, and I don't wanna push the new concert too far back. So I'll lead off with the LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and then, we'll get into the linked stories! Here's what you need to know!

Frightlight are returning to the stage on April 27th for a punk show at Coch's Corner! In what will be their first publically announced 19+ show as a quintet (this month's "secret" show notwithstanding), they'll be one of two support bands for Southern Ontario hardcore punk quintet The Endprogram, in their first local concert stop since hitting The Grand Theater on May 5th, 2009 in support of Canadian punk legends SNFU! Sort of skirting the metal/punk boundaries, their hard hitting punk aggression will be a welcome sight after an almost two year absence! Also playing support are local trio Motion Carried, which means that Rick White will play double duty at this show as their drummer and as Frightlight's guitarist! I still don't know how Motion Carried sound, or even if they're even all that heavy, but hopefully we'll find out soon! My hunch is a slightly heavier version of The Scary Uncles, but I can't say for certain just yet. There is no cover for this show, you must be 19 to attend, and it all starts at 10:00 PM that night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solid concert, maybe I'll check it out! And of course, kudos to new Frightlight guitarist Kevin Powe for the poster, it's great seeing his graphic design work again! Stay tuned for more!

Next up, here's the linked stories, starting with a brand new addition to a local band! Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids epic metal band End of Existence have announced the addition of keyboardist Craig "Tubesock" Harrison to the band, giving them four members (though still no bassist.) This officially reunites Craig with his old bandmates Bob Helsten, Steve Giles, and Greg Giles from such bands as Dust N' Bones and (of course) Integrated System of Machines, which is really cool! Though End of Existence and I.S.O.M. share many similarities, this isn't an I.S.O.M. return. Craig has joined End of Existence, who are their own animal, and it'll be interesting to see how his keyboard work fits with their original material! Further details as to his role in the band (i.e. when we'll see EoE material he plays on, etc.) aren't known yet. My source for the above information is their official Facebook page! It's nice to see Craig back in a band like this, and he should add a welcome dimension to End of Existence! He's always been kind to me and my work on the SMS too dating back to the later I.S.O.M. days, and I can't wait to hear what he has in store this time around!

Speaking of bands involving Craig Harrison, here's that new band! I'm connecting it with the above story because I only found out about this band because of End of Existence's announcements of him joining earlier today. As it turns out, Craig has done recent work with the Giles brothers with a classical metal project named Theatre of Night, and they're on Reverbnation! A collaborative effort to make classical/metal hybrid music, the posted songs range from keyboard-only classical pieces to full band instrumentals, including a good helping of Christmas material! Songs like "Demonslayer", "The Eleventh Hour", and "Carol of the Bells" (previously posted on End of Existence's page at Christmas time) show some nice orchestral sounding metal, while Craig goes solo on some purely classical material like "Seven's Sorrow" and "Twilight In Valhalla" for material that would not be out of place in some epic black metal songs! Also of note: They have an album for sale! For $9.99 ($5.99 for the mp3s), you can buy Theatre of Night's debut album "Christmas Night", featuring their classical metal renditions of 10 Christmas carols! To pick it up (as well as a long sleeved t-shirt), visit this location! This makes perfect sense for a CD review on the SMS, but not now. Does it make any sense for a Christmas review in the spring? I say wait til November or December, I have a hunch we'll be reviewing this then!

Theatre of Night are a really cool sounding band, especially if you enjoy classical music and orchestral metal. Give them a look at the above links, you might be surprised! Stay tuned for more on End of Existence and Theatre of Night as news comes in, and click here to check them out!

Now, to the last third of Woods of Ypres' tour vlog! This concludes the concert clips from the past thirds of the vlog that frontman David Gold has been posting on his YouTube channel, but also includes some post-concert antics, so here's what you should know! The first 5 and a half minutes are comprised of the remainder of the included concert footage that I shot, so if you enjoyed the performance clips from the last two, there's more of it here! After that, there's clips of Woods of Ypres mingling post-show, driving footage of the Sault that night, the band's excursion to Metro to buy frozen pizzas, what happens when David tries a Michelina's frozen dinner, and final footage of the band on Trunk Road as they leave Sault Ste. Marie for their next tour stop! Entertaining stuff, and it's nice to know that they seemed to have a good time back in our burial ground! Stay tuned for more from Woods of Ypres' East Coast tour as it comes in, check the above links for the rest of the vlog and some re-uploaded portions of the vlog that deserve individual attention (boot dancing & swinging beards, anyone?), and here's part 3 of the Sault Ste. Marie tour vlog!



And finally, here's the latest from local internet radio station Energy Rock Radio! Ever the chameleon-like station, Energy Rock Radio's official website has ANOTHER new logo and design, which isn't entirely finished yet, but it looks good! Still, I wonder why they continue to edit and change their look? They also quietly launched a new Facebook page early last month featuring some basic programming information and links to some new merchandise, so become a fan today! Looks like their music selection is bigger than ever, with the 24/7 stream still active, and apparently, DJ Ryan Kaarlela interviewed 3/5ths of As It Stands on air earlier today! Hopefully that gets posted somewhere so we can hear it! Although they don't appear to have much luck in deciding a permanent look, Ryan and the brew crew at Energy Rock Radio are putting in tons of work on the station, and it continues to show! Check the above links for much more, and stay tuned for updates as they come in on the Sault's only internet rock radio station!

That's all for tonight, and for our busiest month ever, and I have more news to share through the weekend, including (yes) my review of TONIGHT'S Rosie metal night! Stay tuned!

Buckcherry & Motion Carried Concert Previews, Destroilet's Debut EP, And More News!!

Hey guys, it's time for another packed news post! Today, we have news on what happened to a local news site, details on a brand new book that you guys will be interested in, and the newest local band to hit the studio, but first, it's time to preview some upcoming concerts! I decided to push back some new band pages and the SooNews story to make room for the concert previews, so we have those leading things off today, and the first one we have is quite the big concert, so let's get things started! (UPDATED: Monday, 6:24 PM)

Tomorrow night marks the first major hard rock/metal concert of 2011 at Kewadin Casino, as three high profile hard rock bands make their way to Sault Michigan, courtesy of local promoters Allstar Promotions! Headlining tomorrow night are Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry, who you're bound to recognize for hit songs like "Lit Up", "Crazy Bitch", and "Sorry"! They've sure found success again since their 2005 resurrection, and with loads of hit songs, they'll be sure to get fans moving tomorrow night! Joining them are another California hard rock act, Papa Roach, who are particularly well known to local fans, having headlined a Kewadin Casino concert at The Dreammakers Theater themselves in November 2009! With hits like "Last Resort", "Forever", and "Lifeline" on their resume, their brand of alternative hard rock will find lots of fans once again! The final band tomorrow night would have been Norwood, Ontario post-grunge rockers My Darkest Days (of"Porn Star Dancing" fame), but they have pulled out due to an illness by frontman Matt Walst, as confirmed on Allstar Promotions' Facebook page. A local band has been drafted to replace them, but I'm unsure which one at present. When I find out more, I will let you know!

Another band, Orillia, Ontario hard rockers Bleeker Ridge, were scheduled to open as well, but have been pulled from the lineup due to issues obtaining work visas to perform in the USA, as confirmed on Allstar Productions' Facebook page. I find it interesting to note that, in the same status, they confirmed that they asked Sault Ontario's own Lion Ride if they wanted to replace Bleeker Ridge, but they turned down the offer. It'd have been cool to have seen them opening, but with their own commitments and maybe visa concerns of their own, I can see why they might have said "No." This concert will take place at The Dreammakers Theater TOMORROW NIGHT at 7:00 PM! Tickets were $36.50, but they are completely SOLD OUT, so unless you have your ticket already, you probably won't be able to go. For reference sake, it is all ages, and if anything comes out concerning newly released tickets, you'll likely hear about it tomorrow through the above links. Sounds like it will be an entertaining high profile concert, hopefully it's a success! I'm honestly not a huge fan of either headlining band, though I really dug Papa Roach in the early 2000s before they changed their sound. Still, hopefully tomorrow's show goes well, and when post-show details come out, I'll try and have them here! For a preview, here's Buckcherry's video for "All Night Long"!



Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, punk/hard rockers Motion Carried return to the stage for the first time since last week's "secret" show at Coch's Corner when they back up Vancouver punk standouts The Rebel Spell in their short notice second local concert in an 8 day span! The Rebel Spell are a great band, as you may have seen at their Foggy Notions show earlier this month, but this time they're heading to The Roosevelt Hotel for a night of punk mayhem! A second opening band is hyped on the Facebook event page, but they haven't been announced at present (for reference sake, Shit Liver and Free Beer opened the last Rebel Spell show.) I'll let you guys know when the opener is announced, especially if they're metal! Admission on Tuesday will be $5, or $4 if you donate a vegan food item. It's a 19+ show, and it all starts at 9:00 PM or later. Check the above links for more details! This should be another rocking night of punk, head out if you can! Motion Carried, I still wanna know more about concerning their sound though. Are they like a new version of The Scary Uncles, or will they take some heavier influences from Justin Langlois' past work in bands like SIGHdEFECT? If I'm there on Tuesday, I'll let you guys know, but check the above links for more on them and the other bands!

Now to a pair of extra big stories, and first, we have a new local band with an album in the works! The band in question is local old school hardcore quintet Destroilet, who started recording sessions for their debut EP on Saturday morning! Though their Facebook pages aren't frequently updated to reflect this news, drummer Matt Waples is keeping fans up to date on his personal Facebook page, so that (and some e-mail correspondence) is my source. The band are recording with producer Aaron Gibbs at his home-based studio where he's recorded Billy Bastards studio material (he and Destroilet guitarist John Conway are in The Billys), and Matt tells me this will lead to an EP with 5 or 6 songs. A photo album from the recent sessions was also posted on Matt's Facebook page, featuring loads of photos of the band playing, recording, drinking, and doing other stuff! The first photo of the album, on your left, may be the EP's cover, which would suggest that it'd be self-titled, but nothing to that effect is confirmed. Matt tells me the recording sessions coming along great, and will still have a rough edge, which is a good sign! Stay tuned to the above links for updates, and yes, this will be in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post!

And finally, Duane Roy's new book is now on sale! Following the 2009 release of "Castle Stories", his new book "Soo Stories: A Rock N' Roll Scrapbook" is now on sale, featuring his stories and memories from seven concerts at the old Sault Memorial Gardens, plus many more artifacts, photos, and stories from many notable contributors! The book features Duane's stories of seeing Ted Nugent, Kim Mitchell, Tom Cochrane, Helix, Honeymoon Suite, Alice Cooper and The Tragically Hip at the Gardens between 1986 and 1995, and as a preview, excerpts of the Ted Nugent & Kim Mitchell stories can be seen at a SooToday article on the book at this location! Looks good, can't wait to read the whole thing! Like in "Castle Stories", "Soo Stories" features lots of name contributors, including former Bad Side guitarist and radio DJ Jason Mapes, local author George Case, Streetheart guitarist Jeff Neill (a Sault native himself), and members of notable Canadian hard rock bands like Helix, Syre, and White Wolf! I just hope the photos are better quality, but if everything else is on "Castle Stories'" level, things should be great! The Sault Star's Brian Kelly included a lengthy article and interview with Duane in today's issue, click here to read it as well, as it features lots of interesting notes on the book, the Gardens, Duane's future plans, and more!

"Soo Stories" was published by Alloways Publishing in Blind River, and is now on sale online through PayPal at this location! Both "Soo Stories" and "Castle Stories" cost $25 Canadian, though the price jumps to $28 for Americans, and $35 for anyone in other countries. Note that copies of both books will hit the shelves of The Rad Zone in the coming weeks as well, if you'd rather wait to pick up a physical copy in person. I'm absolutely getting one, stay tuned for updates as they come in, and buy a copy at the above links today!

That's all for now, but I have more news to share very soon, so stay tuned for those (and new monthly feature posts) in the coming weeks! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Motion Carried), Woods Of Ypres News, And More!!

This is a busy weekend at the SMS! I have enough news for two very full posts, so I actually divided them up equally rather than shoving all the important news into one post, just to keep each one's value the same! Just in case you're wondering, we have news on Destroilet, Duane Roy's next book, what happened to SooNews.ca, some new pages for two local bands, and yes, the preview of Monday night's Buckcherry concert, so look out for all of that tomorrow! Today, we have a pile of news from Woods of Ypres, lineup updates for three upcoming concerts, and kicking things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!! Here's what you need to know!

Just eight days after rocking the local stage at Foggy Notions, Vancouver punk rockers The Rebel Spell will be back in town THIS TUESDAY for a short notice concert at The Roosevelt Hotel! Why mention it on the SMS though? Because Motion Carried are opening! Yes, the new local punk/hard rock trio featuring members of The Scary Uncles & Frightlight will make their first live concert appearance since last week's "secret show" at Coch's Corner as openers for The Rebel Spell on Tuesday! A second opening band is planned but has yet to be officially announced. There will be a $5 cover charge on Tuesday, but you can knock $1 off the admission by bring a vegan food donation. As always for Rosie concerts, this will be a 19+ affair, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like fun, hopefully I can make it if my school requirements are kind to me! I still wanna hear how Motion Carried sound, and The Rebel Spell are a great Canadian punk group, so make it out if you can! Check the above links for more!

Secondly today, here's some brand new video footage from Woods of Ypres' local show at The Rosie on Thursday! This is of the band playing their song about Sault Ontario, "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground", and this was actually recorded and posted by this concert's promoter, Rich Moreland on his YouTube channel! He's not listed by name on the channel, but Rich uses the username "bloodthirsty213" on MySpace too. The video's good quality, but the audio isn't fantastic, luckily you can make out everything though! He was filming nearer to Shane Madden on the stage, and at points, you can see both of Woods' own camcorders filming on the left in the front rows. Good stuff, hopefully we see some more Woods of Ypres concert photos and videos online soon! Check out Rich's video below, and check out his YouTube channel linked above to see Rich run through Buckethead's "Jordan" on Guitar Hero III, and (oddly enough) two videos of Gates of Winter/ex-Woods of Ypres bassist Steve Furgiuele cooking!



We'll get back to Woods of Ypres in a second, as there's a lot from them to cover today, but first, here's a pair of lineup additions for two upcoming concerts! Firstly, Montreal pop punk band Skepsis have been added to the lineup for Thursday's punk night at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring RedD Monkey and "blue Chinese metal crash punk" mainstays Sykotyk Rampage! Remember, Skepsis were originally scheduled for a show last month at The Rosie, but wouldn't end up being a part, but they're coming for sure on Thursday! Not metal by any stretch, but seeing as they're playing with Sykotyk Rampage, it warrants a mention here. Click here for full details! Secondly, one replacement band has been found for April 9th's massive all ages concert at The Oddfellows Hall, as local classic metal quartet Late & Loud (pictured) have officially been added to the show, replacing SBD in the 6:45-7:30 PM slot between Shit Liver & The Bear Hunters. I imagined they could be a replacement band if need be, good to see them at an all ages show, with advance notice, AND with other bands for a change! No word yet on who's replacing The Fury in the 10:30-11:15 PM slot, or on Bring The Fallen's status, but I'll keep you guys posted!

We have one more lineup note for an upcoming concert, with more as well, and this takes us right back to Woods of Ypres! While we've heard little official statements on their next local concert on May 13th, I'll tell you what I know and have found out, with huge thanks to promoter Rich Moreland for this info! Firstly, I can confirm that one of the opening bands will be Toronto melodic death metal quartet Hallows Die, who do have a slight Woods of Ypres connection, as they worked with David Gold's old Will of the Ancients bandmate Colin Attlesey for the production of their first LP. They're a solid band, lots of nice experimental touches and brutal riffing, they'll do great at this show with their "twisted soundtrack" for our twisted world! Check them out at this location! Now to the question of "Where is this concert taking place?" Woods of Ypres said it was at The Rosie on their official forum, yet Hallows Die said it will be at The Vibe Lounge (Rich initially confirmed this with me last month too), so where is this show actually taking place? Foggy Notions! Rich confirmed this with me on Thursday night at the Woods concert, and though I don't know why the show was shifted from The Vibe to Foggy's, the music will sound great no matter where it is! Stay tuned for more on this May 13th concert as it comes in!

Finally for today, we close with some more assorted Woods of Ypres news from the last little while! Firstly, a blog entry was posted on Earache Records' official news blog on March 4th which features the first half of a lengthy write-up from David Gold about the writing and conception of "Woods IV: The Green Album"! He explains when he started getting ideas, what happened to the "Woods III" era lineup, and why he left Canada for South Korea, and the feelings and images he picked up while in the far East. Interesting to see his thoughts put like this, it's clear he put a lot into "Woods IV", and we haven't even read part 2 yet! Check out the article at the above links! As well, the band have announced four more out of town dates on their tour legs, including a March 22nd show (same day as the "Woods IV" rerelease) in Montreal, a special May 6th concert in Chicago, and concerts in Winnipeg and Regina on May 15th and 16th after they leave Ontario in their Western Canada tour leg! Though not local shows, you can find out more on all of these dates (and all their previously-announced concerts) at their official Facebook page! And yes, as always, these dates are listed in our out of town concert listings on your right!

That's all for now, but stay tuned tomorrow for another stacked news post, and remember, next week will see the return of some of our monthly feature posts, so stay tuned for all that! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hammerspace & Browbeat), New Demos, And More!!

Anyone want some more local metal news and updates? I've got you covered with another post full of some newer stories, including some band removals from an upcoming concert, the newest video from a local band, and a pair of new demos, and three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! But before all that, if you guys have heard anything about a secret show tonight, you won't hear it from me. If Motion Carried areplaying tonight at Coch's Corner after 10:00 PM, I've heard noooothing official.... hint hint. So if there is a secret show tonight, you didn't hear it from me! Now, to the non-secret new shows!

Sault Michigan progressive metal quartet Hammerspace have announced their next concert, to take place one week from Thursday! This show will take place at one of their favourite local stops, Zim's on Ashmun Street, on March 17th at 9:30 PM! This should have a 21+ age limit, and there's no announced cover charge. The band are hyping their setlist as being original with a few covers thrown in, which is cool, make sure to check out their page linked above to hear some of their demos! For more details, visit their official Facebook event page! Nice to see them back out there, and the pictures I've seen from their last few Zim's concerts look cool! Zim's itself has a nice design from what I can see, hopefully the concert itself goes well itself! Stay tuned for more on Hammerspace as news comes in!

Meanwhile, that same weekend, Sault Ontario hard rockers Browbeat are back at The Roosevelt Hotel a month after their current lineup's live debut! The band officially announced on their Facebook page this afternoon that they will rock The Rosie on March 18th and 19th for a pair of weekend concerts! Now, the entry on SooToday's "What's Happening" event listing on their entertainment page says that Browbeat are playing there in exactly one week, but that's just a simple mistake, so don't head to The Rosie on Tuesday expecting Browbeat! Both of next weekend's shows have 10:00 PM start times (or later), there's no cover charge, and both are 19+ shows. Check the above links for more details! I regrettably missed Browbeat's return last month during my cold, but I have a hunch that I'll be there next weekend to check them out again! Hopefully the bookings pick up too, they deserve more! If more comes in, I'll have it here!

Thirdly tonight, how's about some new demos from a pair of local bands? I know of two new ones you guys should check out, so let's start in alphabetical order with Brimley hard rockers Half A Man! This got delayed a lot by other stories, but I'm finally giving it due credit, and it's the demo of Half A Man's newest song "Bad Way"! It's unfinished with no guitar solo yet, but it's well produced and pretty heavy! I think when it's finished, it will be one of Half A Man's better songs, it's hard hitting and makes good use of the band's talents! As it's no longer a front page story, click here to visit their Facebook info page, which features their posted songs to hear it! Good stuff! The other new demo is from Sault Ontario death metal quartet State of Misery, in what is their first posted audio track since their inception! Entitled "Devils Never Cry Cry, They Bleed", it's now posted and available to stream on their new Reverbnation page! I've heard they've wanted to get a demo CD started for a bit now, and this would be a good addition, though the production could use a boost. It's very heavy though, and the band sound in top form musically! Death metal fans will wanna check it out, see what you think! Check the links above for more on both bands!

Fourthly, here's the latest news on the massive April 9th all ages concert featuring 12 bands at The Oddfellows Hall! Now called "The Sewer Swampstravaganza", the lineup has taken a hit with the exit of two of the announced bands. One is local experimental grunge trio SBD, who dropped off of the show due to personal reasons. I won't go into detail why here, but it involves commitments for a band member that will keep them from performing. The other exited band is planned co-headliners The Fury, because frontman Paul Stanghetta will be out of town when the show takes place. It's a shame that both bands are out, but hey, hopefully quality replacements are found! This leaves the 6:45-7:30 PM and 10:30-11:15 PM slots open for new bands (I assume), though further lineup shuffling could happen for all we know. Click here to message concert organizers if you are interested in joining this concert! Note that Bring The Fallen are still scheduled to take part, but their status as an active band is still in question. If I hear anything on that front, I'll let you know! Fingers crossed for the lineup as a whole, but no matter what, this will be a huge show with tons of local rock talent, and hopefully you guys will be there! Stay tuned for updates, thanks to Dann Pichette and Steve Mozarowski for some of the above information, and click the above links for more details!

And finally, here's the latest video footage of Sault Michigan hard rockers Elipzis! Earlier this month, they played some concerts in the Grand Rapids area, and while down there, they stopped by Fox 17 in Grand Rapids on what looks like their morning show (am I wrong?) for an interview and acoustic performance! Frontwoman Rachel Kiger talked about where they were from, their plans for a new album this fall, the accomplishments they've made in just eight months together, what it was like opening for major bands, their writing process, and more! I'm surprised Ryan Harrison and Chris Webster didn't chime in more, but Rachel handled everything well! Then, the three of them (drummer Bob Helsten was absent) played an acoustic version of their song "Freedom", and they pulled it off pretty good, it translates well to an unplugged format! Rachel's singing is great, but the lack of drums does hurt the performance a tiny bit. Well shot and performed, you can check out Elipzis' Fox 17 interview and performance below, and thanks to YouTube user baileyboy321 for the upload! (If you want to skip to just the song, start the video two minutes in.)



That's all for today, but I have more news to share tomorrow, including our next weekly classic video and more! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Motion Carried & Splitshot) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Here's a long post for your Thursday, and our first of two today before we unveil our next special feature post! Today, we'll mostly devote our time to previewing the local metal and hard rock concerts taking place between tonight and Sunday, to go over what you should know for your concertgoing this weekend! I don't know how many of these (if any) I can attend, given that my cold is still hanging on, and I don't want to annoy people with persistent coughing, but time will tell! Remember that the planned all ages show featuring As It Stands and Changing Waves and headlining out of town pop rock bands has been cancelled, so that's why it's not featured below. But before we get to the previews, here's some short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Motion Carried, the new hard rock trio featuring local music scene veterans Justin Langlois, Jamie Whalen, and Rick White, will be playing a short notice concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Foggy Notions! This will be their first "standard" concert following last weekend's gig at The Grand Theater after The Vagina Monologues, and it was only just confirmed on Facebook this morning. No other bands are scheduled for this show, which has a 10:30 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Motion Carried have no posted audio yet, but if I were a betting man, I'd assume their sound would be similar to a heavier version of The Scary Uncles, but I can't say for certain. There's lots of talent to go around though, and I imagine they'll put in a fun night of music tomorrow! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and I'll have more on Motion Carried as it comes in! Remember, this show is TOMORROW at Foggy's!

The other new shows I have today I literally JUST found out about. I was going to alert you guys on Facebook to this finished post, but when I flipped back to Facebook, here they were, new shows, so here's what you should know on them! Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot are playing at The Bird TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! The band literally just announced the shows on their Facebook page at 5:24 PM, so their short notice status is exactly that. Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges for both of their shows this weekend. Sounds good! Remember, Splitshot is the new band featuring half of the former Nixxon Dixxon lineup, so you know they have sufficient talent! I still haven't heard or seen anything by them yet, but I believe they'll have a set full of classic hard rock and metal covers in store, likely similar to old Nixxon Dixxon setlists. If I hear more on them, I'll let you know, but get a glimpse of Splitshot in action by heading to The Bird tomorrow or Saturday night! Good luck to them, and apologies for the short notice again!

Now to our previews for shows we knew about beforehand, and we'll first head to The Roosevelt Hotel, where they bring you the latest metal night at The Rosie! Three more young local metal bands are back TONIGHT to devastate the crowd, including a band each from the last metal and punk nights there, and one new entry! Tonight's headliners are The Bear Hunters, who opened the last metal night two weeks ago. Look for a hard hitting blend of melodic death metal (and maybe some "Squirrel Buddy") from this fast rising young group! Playing support tonight is Shit Liver, fresh off last week's punk night at The Rosie! Their unique sound that mixes grimy crusty punk and death metal will be sure to turn heads as it always seems to do in concert, so be prepared for them! Opening tonight's show are local hardcore quintet Changing Waves, in their first ever 19+ concert. Despite the cancellation of their Oddfellows Hall show, you can see them rock out tonight at The Rosie, as they continue to make a name for themselves in the local scene! Solid and very talented hardcore band, watch out for them going forward!

Like all past metal nights, this show should have a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:30 PM start time. For more details, click here! Sounds good, hopefully I'm feeling up to coming out for this one! Colds suck, I don't recommend catching one. Still, it's gonna rock, so make it out if you can! For a preview, here's The Bear Hunters playing, what else? "Squirrel Buddy"!



Next up, we'll head to Heyden for Tym Morrison's latest solo acoustic concert! With his weekly concert arrangements now taking place bi-weekly at two sort of far off concert spots, you'll likely need to make a bit of a trip to check out his solo shows, but trust me, they're worth the drive! Tomorrow night, Tym returns to The Big Cheese for a night of acoustic solo covers that will be sure to impress, and should help tide fans over while we wait for Caveman Morrison's return! So head on out to The Big Cheese on Highway 17 North tonight around 10:00 PM to enjoy some live music! I believe this is a 19+ show, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good concert, and really, what's an unplugged concert gonna hurt? It'll still rock, just go out and see! For a preview, here's Tym covering Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" last year at Foggy Notions!



Now we'll head to The Rockstar Bar for a weekend set from a frequently seen local band! Turner Up are back to deliver some classic hard rock to their fans tomorrow night and Saturday night! A constant presence at many local bars and concert spots, these talented local music veterans will be sure to entertain with their diverse setlist of classic hard rock covers that get heavier as the night progresses! As is standard for a Turner Up concert weekend, they'll be on at 10:30 PM on both nights, you must be 19 to enter, and there's no listed cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good concert weekend as always, hopefully Turner Up "turn up" the dial and get the crowd going all night long! Check the above links for more details, and for a video preview, here's Turner Up covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone"!



On the subject of bands playing a full weekend, let's head back to The Roosevelt Hotel, where local hard rock trio Browbeat make their long awaited return to the local stage! They'll be at The Rosie tomorrow night and Saturday night in what amount to their first concerts in four months! These will also be their debut shows with new drummer Johnny Belanger, who replaced Rick White behind the drumkit late last year, and add to a busy weekend of three concerts that Johnny's playing at The Rosie this weekend! (He drums for The Bear Hunters tonight as well.) It's been a while for them, but the videos we've seen show promise for their chemistry and overall sound! Get more details at the official Facebook event page, but disregard the lack of a listed Saturday show, they'll be there that night too! It's great to see Browbeat back, especially with the work and effort that Dutch and company have put in to get back on stage, and they should knock it out of the park this weekend! If health permits, I hope to be at The Rosie on Friday night, but time will tell! Check the above links for more, and for a preview, here's Browbeat's current lineup playing their original song "Days Gone By"!



Now to the Saturday night concerts, and there's a pair of high profile shows taking place that night in Sault Ontario, and we'll start at Foggy Notions! That night promises a great mix of punk and metal featuring two hard hitting local bands and an out of town band with a local connection! The headliners are Toronto punk/metal quintet Maximum RNR, who currently feature Sault Ontario native Brenton Ellis (a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther) on vocals! I believe this is his first local concert appearance since his last local show with Detroit in December 2009, and if you miss Detroit, I bet you you'll like Maximum RNR's sound! I'll elaborate more on Maximum RNR as a whole in TONIGHT'S Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on them, so stay tuned for that! The opening bands include local horror punk metal band Frightlight and old school hardcore outfit Destroilet, both of which are making their first live concert appearances of the new year! Great to see them back out there, they'll impress with their punk/metal hybrid sounds as well, but believe me, all three bands have their own unique styles! Doors open at 10:00 PM, there is a $3 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be a great high energy concert featuring lots of local talent, and I sense some moshpits and lots of beer will be had! If I'm better by Saturday, I'll definitely be at Foggy's for this show! For a video preview, I couldn't find any decent videos of Maximum RNR live with Brent singing, but if you like short fast paced hardcore punk songs, you'll enjoy them! Check their Reverbnation page out to hear some of their originals and see what you think! The ones without Gymbo Jak on vocals will likely be closer in line to what you should hear on Saturday!

One more Sault Ontario hard rock concert this weekend, and if you love tribute bands and classic metal from the 1980s, then take note of this show! On Saturday night at The Canadian Nightclub, 5150: Tribute To Van Halen will take the stage to lay down some Van Halen classics for the fans who come out! And before anyone asks, they do David Lee Roth AND Sammy Hagar era material, so all bases are covered! Frontman Steve Stanley isn't a dead ringer for either VH frontman, but he pulls off both very well, and that's hopefully good enough! Plus, 5150 features members of some locally familiar tribute bands like Gunz N' FN' Rosez, Destroyer, and Second Coming, so you know they have the chops! This show will have a 10:00 PM start time on Saturday night, I imagine there will be a cover charge of $5 or less, and you must be 19 to attend. For full details, click here! If you're a Van Halen fan, no matter which era, you should definitely head out to The Canadian on Saturday night! You won't be sorry, these guys are good! I imagine the vocals could be a sticking point, but hearing a carbon copy of David or Sammy might compromise the setlist. The whole band is really good, try to check 5150 out this weekend! For a preview, here's a 5150 promotional video featuring clips of many of their live Van Halen renditions!



We'll finish today's extra long preview post across the river, where a couple more shows that I know of are taking place that should interest you heavy music lovers! One will take place in nearby Rudyard, Michigan on Saturday night, as Cheboygan hard rockers The Darwin Project return to the area for a show at Joe's Bar on West Main Street! With no shows in Sault Michigan itself announced until April, you might want to head out to Rudyard tonight just in case. They've been growing in profile in recent months, and I heard they recently released a CD and got some radio press on Real Rock 105.1 (which picks up locally on better radios), so they've gotta be riding high right now! This show has a 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. For more details, check the official Facebook event page! Their brand of radio hard rock has won them lots of fans, and rightfully so, and you'll be glad you saw them if you make it to Rudyard on Saturday! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Darwin Project playing their song "The Dark" in Traverse City last month!



Finally, Sault Michigan metal quartet Hammerspace return to the stage on Saturday night just one week after rocking Zim's! This week though, they'll be at The Merchant's Bar for a night of metal mayhem! Details on this show have been scant, but there are no additional bands, it is 21+, I'd expect a 10:00 PM start time, and there's no announced cover charge. This is their third concert since they re-emerged as a four piece following some short lived runs with a standalone frontman, and I have heard good things about them on the whole as well! They have a good grasp of their progressive metal covers, and they should deliver a good night of music on Saturday! For more details, click the above links and The Merch's event page for this show, and visit their Reverbnation page for some newer instrumental demos of the songs you're likely to hear on Saturday! No videos yet that I know of, but when some pop up, I'll let you guys know!

That's all for now, hopefully you guys can hit some of these shows! Health permitting, I hope to be at some this weekend, but if I can't, I'll send my best regards, and make sure you guys get out this weekend yourselves! Stay tuned TONIGHT for our newest Saultites in Out Of Town Bands Profile on Maximum RNR, and of course, our new poll and my review of "...Bad Things Come In Threes" tomorrow if possible! Thanks everyone!