LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), Bone Yard 225's New Single, And Much More!!

Let's keep things rolling on the SMS on this Wednesday, for a post featuring an inactive band note, a local band's new original song, a local radio interview that we missed from the spring, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE! Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will reportedly make his debut at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar at 1076 Great Northern Road TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page this past Thursday. Yes, the show is TONIGHT, as Gino's is hosting Wednesday evening concerts at least occasionally now that their new and quite large patio is open for the summer, with the first advertised Wednesday nighter being with Lawrence & Mickey on June 19th. Note that Gino's has not confirmed Tym as playing TONIGHT on their Facebook page, but Tym's Facebook event page has him returning for two more Wednesday nighters on July 17th and August 28th, so keep all three shows in mind for some mid-week classic and hard rock cover action! As these shows are on the patio, I'd assume that it'd close for the season around September.

All three Gino's concerts have no stated age limit (Gino's is an Italian restaurant first and foremost), no cover charge, and a 6:30 PM start time. Be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 30% chance of rain throughout TONIGHT's alotted timeframe of 6:30-9:30 PM, so keep tabs with Tym and/or Gino's if you're at all concerned about rain interrupting the show (temperatures will be around 21°). Visit the above links for more on Tym's Gino's shows this summer, TONIGHT included, stay tuned for our preview of his Trading Post show in our normal weekend previews, and here he is live!

Next up, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 released their first true studio single to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and their new auto-generated YouTube Music channel on Sunday night! Entitled "FAFO" (an acronym for "fuck around (and) find out"), it is neat to see Bone Yard finally release an original song like this after fifteen years together primarily playing covers, but fans will have seen live performances and occasional studio teasers over the years. A solid hard rocker with defiant lyrics inspired by the state of the world, fans of the modern heavier Bone Yard will enjoy this, so give it a listen below, and don't miss them "uncorked" at The Water Tower Pub next weekend!

Also, here's something that completely slipped us by back in March, as Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle was interviewed on CBC Radio One about the band and their recent reunion! This took place on the March 6th episode of Morning North, the Sudbury-based morning show that airs on all CBC Radio One stations in the Northeastern Ontario market, the Soo on 89.5 FM included. If you missed it then, it is available for on-demand listening at this link. The 15 minute segment features host Markus Schwabe asking Bill about how their reunion concert at The Machine Shop the following day came about, how he's feeling as a live musician nowadays, him and bandmate Greig Nori growing up in the Soo, moving to Southern Ontario to make it in bands, making a living in music, some of their best known singles like "Red" & "American Psycho", how they initially started getting attention, their shift to pop punk...

... deep cuts that he and Greig loved that didn't become hits, any possible unfinished business or the chances of new material, and their reunion concert on March 7th, which was a fundraiser for Algoma University's music program. As well, clips of a few of their songs are played in between Markus and Bill talking, usually relevant ones to the topic. The interview doesn't touch on their initial breakup and Bill's music work beyond Treble Charger, and some extra plugs for the reunion show proper would have been nice, but this was an entertaining and relaxed interview that fans will enjoy, so if you missed it in March, give it a listen at the above links!

Finally for today, we have a band to move to our inactive Sault Ontario band links, namely local classic/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley. While they have not publically confirmed a break-up, they have not posted on social media since releasing their music video for "The Village" on June 24th last year, past our one year inactivity threshold. Beyond that, they otherwise haven't made a public statement since their Oktoberfest set in October 2022, and it did cross my mind in recent months that the "The Village" video may have been intended as a posthumous final act. Led by 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, The Uncanny Valley debuted on stage that December, and while much of their early run was lost due to pandemic lockdowns, they played a number of headlining dates when able, while also playing at Rotaryfest in 2021 & 2022, and taking part in 2022's Go North Music Festival.

Unfortunately, plans to release an album stalled out before it could see the light of day, but original songs can be seen in extant videos, and they recorded "Stuck In Rotation" for the Clusterfolk compilation tape. The Uncanny Valley's old school, psychedelic-tinged brand of hard rock was a welcome change of pace among rising young local bands at the turn of the 2020s, and hopefully we hear more from Adrian, Matt, Brenden, and Dylan soon (and don't miss ex-bassist Adam Fahrer in Hollow Sky!). That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Barely Covered & The Wyld Stallyns), CBC Searchlight Info, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, just an acknowledgement that members of Soundcheck (specifically guitarist Terry Eaton, drummer Glen Thomas, and ex-drummer Steven Flint) hosted local blues rock trio Mojo's weekly jam night at Reggie's West last night, due to members' commitments with Maxx Entertainment running sound at the Jack DeKeyzer show at The Machine Shop. We don't consider jam and open mic nights to be "concerts", but had this had more notice, I'd have at least mentioned it on here, and I do apologize! Now, here's some recent news and notes, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will reportedly return to LopLops Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned of this concert via personal Facebook postings earlier this week, though it was quietly listed on the venue's website's events calendar (albeit spelling "Stallions" the non-Bill & Ted way). A one nighter due to the recent run of Friday concerts there by local folk/blues duo The Town Criers, this will be The Stallyns' first show since their Rockstar Bar cancellation last week due to a band member illness, but in longer terms, this will be their first announced show here since April. Unlike then, this show isn't on "Bad Idea Thursday", and there isn't an advertised "pizza and a pint" deal, but the Elements side project's wide array of covers should fit LopLips well TOMORROW! Expect a $5 cover for this 19+ show, which has a 9:30 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!



Next up, the aforementioned LopLops website's events calendar also listed a show on Saturday, February 29th by a new local band named Barely Covered, so what should you know in this regard? This show does have a Facebook event page, which describes this band as playing "rock, punk, and pop covers" from the 1980s-2000s. Meanwhile, LopLops' website lists a wide array of acts ranging from Nirvana to The Descendents to The Matthew Good Band among their live cover selection. In other words, they definitely fit our coverage, and I'd link them on the SMS if they had a known online page! Lineup-wise, this band is effectively succeeding the mid-2010s cover rock quartet Changing Lanes, though sound descriptions for that band were softer. Returning from that group are guitarist Steve Myers (ex-Sense of Truth/Parabol), bassist Josh Norling (of numerous other bands on bass & saxophone), and drummer Roy Kreutzberger (ex-Startlefish/Leaves Off Trees.)

In lieu of the relocated Buzz, the lead singer of Barely Covered is Maggie Gasparetto, who I am unfamiliar with from prior bands, though you may have seen her with the guys already, as Barely Covered made their live debut at LopLops on September 21st. I profusely apologize for missing that show on here, but now we know about them, and look for an entertaining show on Leap Day at month's end! Expect a 9:30 PM start time, $5 cover, and 19+ age limit once again. See above for more details, and hopefully we hear more from Barely Covered soon, online page or otherwise!

Also today, it's that time of year again, as CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition is back in it's annual quest to find Canada's best unsigned and undiscovered musical talent! Partnering with The Juno Awards this year, first round voting opened on Tuesday, and will run until next Thursday at 3:00 PM, with the 50 highest voted bands and 50 judges panel selections moving on to the second stage, which will be eventually whittled down to a first place winner on March 5th. The top prizes this year include a placement and industry showcase at this year's Allan Slaight Juno Master Class in Toronto, a week's residency at Studio Bell in Calgary, slots at JunoFest at this year's Junos in Saskatoon and at the CBC Music Festival in Toronto, and tickets to the Juno Awards proper. There's a lot to look forward to, but of course, this is the Sault Metal Scene, and there is a lot of local representation in the Ontario province to vote for, so who should you search & show your support for?

As usual, indie punk quintet Northwest have thrown their hat in the ring, as have alt-rockers Man Feelings once again, and other locally relevant acts this year include Hannah Nicoletta, M.D. Dunn, Renee Landry, and former Shattervox frontman Eric Brombacher's current Toronto rock project Eric & The Soo. I could be missing others, but it's great to see this many local musicians alone in the running! Again, I think exposure for Searchlight would be greater locally if CBC Music had an FM signal in Sault Ste. Marie, but hopefully some local connections make the top 100! You can vote once a day per artist, so click here to search for and check out all of this year's entrants!

Finally for today, here's a lineup update for an upcoming Sault Michigan concert, as Detroit hard rock quintet The Lows have been added as the openers for the Candlebox concert at The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino on April 18th! The news was broken on the Facebook event page, and this will give The Lows an earlier than expected local debut before their "Rapids Sessions" gig at The Rapids Lounge on June 12th. Very nice platform for this band, and hopefully the Candlebox show boosts their attendance when they come back north! To promote the concert, Lows frontman Angelo Coppola shared this video on the event page on January 4th where he plays a solo blues rock song all about this particular concert. This goes above and beyond the usual plugs you see from touring acts toward a specific tour date here, and it's a well done (if short) while it lasts! Give it a look below, and get your tickets for $30-$35 each at this link!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slaughter), Two Inactive Band Notes, And More SMS Band Link Updates!!

While the snow continues to pile on outside, here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday evening! We're mostly addressing updates to and removals from our band links today, but to lead off, here's a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this year!

Las Vegas glam metal veterans Slaughter will make their long awaited return to our area on Saturday, June 29th when they rock Kewadin Casino... in St. Ignace?! Best known from hit singles like "Up All Night", "Fly To The Angels", and "Real Love", this will be Slaughter's first regional concert appearance since opening for Stryper at the Sault Michigan Kewadin in 2012, and their third local gig since 2008, but now they're headlining with their high energy classic hard rock! Pasadena glam/hard rock quartet Autograph (of "Turn Up The Radio" & "Blondes In Black Cars" fame) will open with their own familiar brand of 1980s rock action, so don't bypass their set either! Clearly, the St. Ignace summer concert series did well last year, as this Kewadin branch is booking even more touring bands for 2019, though the Slaughter show appears to be indoors at the casino's on-site event center. The location may be atypical for Kewadin-booked hair metal, but how do $10 tickets sound?

Yes, tickets are that low, and you can buy them starting Friday at 9:00 AM at this link, the Sault Kewadin's in-person box office, the gift shop at the St. Ignace Kewadin, or presumably at 1-800-KEWADIN. This show has no advertised age limits, and an 8:00 PM start time, and is presented by Classic Rock: The Bear (whose 95.3 signal is easily heard in St. Ignace, but only gets fringe reception in the Soo.) It'll be very interesting to see how this show does given the non-Sault locale, but if you love the Hair Scare and 1980s glam rock, you won't wanna bypass this show, especially at this price! See the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, we have regrettably moved local death metal project Life's Eclipse back to our inactive band links. While no public statements have been made regarding their current status, the band has not issued an update to their Facebook page since January 31st of last year, well past our one year inactivity cutoff. The flagship band of local independent label Werehold Records (both led by singer/guitarist Jason Mills), Life's Eclipse reunited in 2011 after a few years' hiatus, and had been active to varying degrees ever since as a studio project. Long-time readers may be most familiar with Life's Eclipse from their regular involvement in Werehold Records' nine Friday the 13th new music posting events from 2012-2017, often featuring songs from incomplete and unreleased albums. It should be noted that Werehold Records proper haven't updated their own Facebook page since 2017, and of their roster of metal/hard rock artists, only Moss remain in our active links.

I know that personal commitments have been at least partially to blame for the slowdown in Life's Eclipse/Werehold updates in the late 2010s, so a resumption of public activity could happen at any time pending availability and scheduling.  Life's Eclipse were a brutal, technical, and well-composed band when firing on all cylinders, and Jason & the Werehold roster had a lot of talent and ambition to go around! Despite not being known for live concerts, they flew the extreme metal flag well for the E.U.P., and hopefully we hear more from Jason, David, Joe, and Casey when the time is right!

Also, we have one more band to move to our inactive band links, namely Sault Ontario rap metal/party rock collective The Apocalypse Afterparty. While the band did publically acknowledge that "hibernation is ending" back in October, their Facebook page has quietly been taken down since, which (Destroilet aside) is historically a bad sign. In any event, the band had only posted once on Facebook in the past 15 months, and in lieu of the apparent deletion, they are now linked here via their Wix website. Active since 2014, this eclectic masked group evolved from a duo to a full live and studio band, though concerts were selective, often at private bookings or via short notice "pop-up" gigs. The Apocalypse Afterparty may best be known from their quartet appearance at the 2015 VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub (surprisingly making the finals), while they released their EP "Bufflesnort" back in April 2017.

Whether or not you previously knew of X, Z, x, z, and company's real identities, The A.A. made their mark in the mid-2010s! With a unique stage presence, creative hybrid sound, gender-equal lineup, and imaginative back story, it's a shame that The Apocalypse Afterparty didn't play live more often, but hopefully we see Paul, Amanda, Sara, Sven, Rito, and former band members back out there down the line, masked or otherwise!

Finally, CBC Music closed it's artist page service on November 20th, due to the decrease in traffic and attention to band pages there compared to other social media services (you can read more on the decision at this link.)  This didn't receive the advance notice that PureVolume's closure had, so I unfortunately was unable to back up anything there from local artists, but much like PureVolume, I did recognize how little CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) was used by local musicians in recent years. It was a useful and informative service in it's day, and I'll miss having it around! As of this month, we had only linked four local bands (all defunct) to CBC Music pages, so changes to our links are thankfully minimal, especially as only one didn't have an online band page elsewhere. With all of that said, I changed our links for defunct punk bands The 12 Gauge Ready and Glunk! to their MySpace pages, while replacing Burn The Past (previously known as Downshift) with their Bandcamp page.

The only removal was 2007-2012 local/Oil Springs metal band Sue Inside, who don't have a known online page outside of CBC. It's unfortunate to lose one of the oldest local death metal bands from our links, but hopefully Shane, Adam, and Jeff are still musically active out of town! Hopefully this all clears up the recent link changes, and in lieu of the CBC Music page deletions, maybe they'll bring their FM station here sooner or later? That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next. Thanks everyone!

White Cowbell Oklahoma Concert Videos And Much More Recent News & Notes!!

Today's post is largely one to play catch-up on recent news and updates, including details on a national music contest, some assorted update, and a new metal song, but let's begin with some new videos from a recent show!

A handful of videos are now online from the White Cowbell Oklahoma show at LopLops Lounge last month! Christopher Paci was on hand to film seven videos of the Toronto southern hard rock veterans in action for his excellent YouTube channel, and these include their songs "San Antone", "Cheerleader", and "Shot A Gamblin' Man", plus their cover of Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", a longer song that I can't identify off-hand, and this clip of frontman Clem Clemsen using a flamethrower (you read that right!) Embedded below is their set-closing original "Put The South In Your Mouth", complete with angle-grinding action at the end. Solid videos for fans of their country-tinged hard rock sound, and the fans are clearly into everything! W.C.O.'s crowd favourite and high energy songs are always welcome around here, and you can relive that concert above & below!

Next up, CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition begun it's voting period yesterday, and at least two local acts are in the running! The ultimate prize this year includes the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class, a trip to next month's Juno Awards in London, a week of recording time at the National Music Centre in Calgary, and a chance to perform at this summer's 2019 CBC Music Festival, with airplay and exposure on CBC stations along the way. Compared to the last time Searchlight had a major thumbprint on SMS coverage (2015), things seem very streamlined, with artists seemingly in the same national pool, and you can only search by province or territory for entered bands. You can vote once per day, no registration needed, at this link, and the top 100 acts (50 by CBC's selection committee, 50 by fans) after Valentine's Day will proceed to the next stage on February 20th. As best as I can tell, only two local bands have enterted, so who can you vote for in this contest to find the next great Canadian music act?

As expected, one is local indie/punk quintet Northwest, who are looking to better their 2015 Northern Ontario region semifinal run, but new indie rockers Man Feelings (featuring Bizotic alum B.J. Swire) are also in, as is London musician and former Saultite Andy Chillman, potentially among others with local ties. Not having a CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) station in the market doesn't help for contest advertising locally, but it'd be great to see a local act make a deep run, and you can do your part to help by voting at the above links! Best of luck all around in this first round!

Also today, here's the latest song from local experimental/death metal solo project Awokest's Facebook page, entitled "Machine God of Hate"! Inspired by the Harlan Ellison sci-fi story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", it's not clear how this fits into Awokest's/Chase's prolific album plans, but this will appeal to fans who like his more brutal and aggressive metal material! This has a black or noise metal quality with solid shrieking vocals, and is worth a listen for genre fans, so give it a listen below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short-form stories, these are in alphabetical order by artist name or event name:

• Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide are recording a music video for their upcoming single "Lost & Found"! Two teaser photos were shared to their Facebook page from the shoot, which confirm that young local filmmakers Avery Obeng and Matt Hroch are behind the camera for this video, The Tide's first since "A Day Will Come" in 2012. It'll be interesting to see how this video stacks up to their prior ones, and stay tuned for updates!
• In their first Facebook post of the year, local promoters Six, Two, Oh. announced that they are already working on the third annual Oh!No concert festival, which will have some "deadly out of town acts", and will also feature co-organizing roles from fellow promoters Dryer Fire and Batchewana Bay mobile record store Oosik Records. No word on further details, but I have no reason to believe that Oh!No III won't be back at Robbie's Church in Leeburn in early September. Stay tuned for more on this fast rising festival!
• Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have announced another new concert via this Facebook event page, which will take place on Thursday, May 16th, venue to be announced (though note the Oddfellows Hall crowd shot as the cover photo.) Described as "a little shindig with music and other sounds claiming to also be music", the event name is "Degenerate Bastards Vol. 2", which seems to imply that Crucify the Whore and Chase Wigmore will at least be playing on this night, though is that it for connections to their prior split? Stay tuned!

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

Pop Evil Concert Preview, Plus Din & Project 421 Updates!!

Well, this post should have been up way before now, but I had a massive blonde moment. In recent days, you may have seen me reference TONIGHT'S Pop Evil concert as taking place on Tuesday, and that's just absent-minded on my part. I got this show mixed up with May's Alter Bridge show at the Soo Kewadin from the same promoters, as that show is on Tuesday. Huge apologies for the mix-up (and thanks to Chris Paci for alerting me to my error), so here's our delayed (though not late) preview of TONIGHT'S huge Sault Michigan concert, plus some big updates from two Sault Ontario bands!

The long anticipated return of North Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will go down TONIGHT at The Dreammaler's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Apologies again for the lateness of this preview, there's no excuses for the day mix-up. Making their (at least) fourth local concert appearance, and first since August 2013's Jessica Jorgensen benefit show, this hard hitting band has became a staple of rock radio in the past few years, charting #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts four times since with hits like "Trenches" & "Deal With The Devil". This should be Pop Evil's biggest show yet in the Soo, so don't miss out tonight if you're still able to get tickets! Note that this will also be Pop Evil's first local gig with new drummer Hayley Cramer since replacing Joshua Marunde last year. Openers will include Los Angeles hard rock quartet Badflower, whose old school-flavoured originals should fit right in tonight, while female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido (replacing Ohio rockers Red Sun Rising) will kick the night off.

Kaleido's high energy, pop-infused modern rock will set the tone well to start this show, so don't miss out on them either! Promoted by Allstar Promotions (in their first concert since 2015), there are still a couple dozen tickets available in the outside sections, plus standing room only seating, so you can get hooked up on short notice at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, and yes, tickets are still a great deal at just $23.50. This should be a huge show once again, especially given Pop Evil's fast rise in the mid-2010s, so don't miss out TONIGHT, apologies again for the lateness of our preview, stay tuned for fallout, and here's Pop Evil live in the Soo in 2013!



Next up, here's the latest from Sault Ontario classic metal band Project 421, as guitarist Blair Burch posted their first update since the departure of Curtis McKenzie onto their Facebook page on Wednesday. In the post, he notes that Curt's departure last fall "was building for months prior", though he still doesn't know everything that happened that night, and doesn't want to sort out the full details at this point, Afterwards, the band took the holidays off, started slowly getting back into place last month, and resumed full jams this month. For now, Blair will resume lead vocal duties with Project 421 (as he previously did upon their debut and after Curt's first departure), but the band does hope to find a new full-time lead singer. Musically, Project 421 are planning to drop glam and hair metal material and replace that with thrash and speed metal, in an effort to bring back "the attitude" and give Blair songs he can sing more effectively, while some older originals may be reworked to that end.

As for as return to the stage, a date isn't set yet, but Blair assures us "that we aren't going anywhere", and will be back with a fresh feel "before too much longer". It's great to see that Project 421 are pushing onward, especially after the ugly reports that followed their intended last show in November and the related dissolution of sister band Eclipse, and hopefully Project 421 can return in full force later this year, as they've been missed over the winter! Read Blair's full statement at the above links!

Finally for today, here's the latest from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, starting with opener clarification for their Gore Street Cafe/Fishbowl Festival concert on March 10th (one week from Friday), as Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci has been confirmed to kick off this show! Our source is the official Facebook event page in recent days. Though the wait continues for Stereo North's return from hiatus, Andrew is a solid choice to open, and he's developing more & more of a profile for his acoustic solo music, so don't be late on the 10th! Note that Mike Mikus and Jackson Reed were once advertised to open, but they either had to cancel, or moved their Fishbowl Festival involvement to this weekend's garage show. Also, The Din have entered this year's CBC Music Searchlight competition to find the best up & coming Canadian musicians, and if you recall how well Northwest did in Searchlight, then the sky's the limit for them!

You can vote for them at this link, and their chosen song to stream there is "Alleyways & Apartments". The Din are one of 24 Northern Ontario entries this year, and as far as I can tell, the only other local band competing is folk rock outfit Tea With Lincoln, who have since relocated to Southern Ontario, but are competing in their home district for Searchlight, so consider shooting them a vote also! First round voting actually ends tomorrow afternoon, so good luck to both bands in making the regional finals! Lastly, in continuing with their teased abundance of videos from last month's headlining gig at LopLops Lounge, two more videos from that show have been posted their YouTube channel in the past week! These feature Mike, Tammy, and Brandan playing their originals "Alleyways & Apartments", and as embedded below, "Up In The Air".

The quality here is no different from their prior videos from this show, given that these are from the same camera, but the capture The Din in solid form from this recent concert, so give them and more a look above & below, and cast your Searchlight votes before it's too late!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our YouTube Channel Profiles next, and apologies again for the Pop Evil preview delay! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril & 415E), Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

As promised, we'll close our weekend concert previews with the last of the currently known and advertised hard rock shows taking place in the Soo area, but to round things out, we're dipping into the Sault Michigan scene for some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos, plus some assorted recent notes from the Ontario side of the border! Here's what you need to know!

Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for a pair of shows on Friday, September 23rd & Saturday, September 24th! Though the band hasn't addressed them online yet, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been newly updated to reflect Rapids Lounge dates through year's end, which confirmed these and one new concert weekend from another band (coming up next.) Believe it or not, these are Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' first announced shows in Sault Ste. Marie this year, last playing in the E.U.P. last fall, though we have seen their sister band Scarkazm often in the interim. Peril have been missed in recent months, and hopefully their familiar classic metal and hard rock renditions will pull in another big crowd this fall! As usual for their regional dates, there are 9:00 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Peril and related bands!

Just as an aside, the aforementioned Kewadin Casino entertainment page also lists future Rapids Lounge dates for Banned & Highway 63 through the end of the year, but both of those local classic/hard rock bands have already confirmed all of them via their own Facebook pages, so there's nothing new there to report. However, there is one more weekend that was confirmed for a hard rock band, as you'll find below!

Next up, here's our likely final concert previews of the weekend, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch for headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, and they too have some new shows to announce for The Rapids Lounge on Friday, September 30th & Saturday, October 1st! This union of Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni are fresh off of last week's St. Ignace Kewadin stops, and they should be in fine form for another high impact weekend of Van Halen-inspired rock n' roll both this weekend and this fall! Again, we await a schedule release for the St. Ignace Kewadin, so if they have more dates coming there, we haven't heard about them yet. Tonight's, tomorrow's, and the September & October 415E shows are also 9:00 PM events with no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and here's 415E live!

Also today, here's the latest from local hard rock/blues quartet Project 906, who have shared a bunch of new videos to their Facebook page in the last few days! We'll cover the new jam session videos separately in an upcoming post to give them proper emphasis given that they're not from concerts, but we do have two concert videos to address on here! Both apparently coming from their Pickles Bar & Grill stop in Brimley last week, one video is a slideshow of photos from the concert, running for just 15 seconds and sans audio of any kind. It is what it is, but the photos aren't bad! The other video (embedded below) was shared from guitarist Joe Jenkins' personal Facebook page, and it features Project 906 covering ZZ Top's "Tush". The guys do a solid job on this bluesy classic, with Billy Bernier's vocals fitting nicely, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Project 906! For reference, they're playing a Highland Clan Motorcycle Rally event of some kind tomorrow, but we can't confirm it's location or if it's a public event, hence why we didn't cover it here. Hopefully it goes well!



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

• Due to URL changes following layout and design overhauls on CBC Music, we have updated the links for the four Sault Ontario bands (Burn The Past, Glunk!, Sue Inside, and The 12 Gauge Ready) whose linked page in our band links is via CBC. Coincidentally, all are defunct, as we generally link bands to their most substantial (or only) online page, and CBC Music happens to be these four's primary online presence nowadays. I wanted our links to be accurate and work, so just a heads up!
• We don't generally discuss personal matters of local musicians on here, but I thought I'd mention this to help a musician in need. Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy and his family recently suffered major fire damages at their home, destroying their garage in the process. Thankfully, he and his family (including his five week old daughter) are safe and sound, and to help raise money for repairs, bandmate Matt Waples has launched this GoFundMe campaign for the cause, with $1,785 raised as of this writing. Best of luck to the Foisys at this difficult time, and see above for info on how to help!
• SooToday's Jeff Klassen interviewed relocated local musicians, brothers, and Rotaryfest Stage 1 headliners Kyle & Dean McKey for this SooToday article on Sunday about their music work locally & in Southern Ontario, and it does reference their old hard rock band Sailor's Tongue! That band's beginnings as Pix n' Stix & Edge City were referenced, as well as their original dissolution after Dean moved out of town in 2007, and while their early 2010s reunion wasn't covered, the McKey brothers did note that they still send music files back & forth towards planned new Sailor's Tongue originals. Very solid read, so give it a look above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Ripcordz, Menstrual Munchies, And Stiffler's Mom) And More!!

With a new month upon us, let's continue the recent steady run of posts with our first full news post of May 2015, including some assorted updates and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from next week through this fall! Here's what you need to know in chronological order!!

Local party/classic hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom will rock The Rednecks Saloon for one night only next Saturday, May 9th! Our source is frontman Greg Simpson's promotion company Maxx Entertainment's website, which lists May dates for his bands. Fresh off of TOMORROW'S Rockstar Bar show, we actually can't find an online-referenced concert from these popular veterans at the former Nicolet Tavern in the past, so is this their debut there? I can't 100% confirm that, but it's been a long time coming either way, and hopefully Stiffler's Mom rock Rednecks hard next weekend! For reference, this is a one nighter due to Greg's country band Bone Yard playing at the same venue next Friday. There's no announced cover charge for next weekend's show, which is 19+ and will likely have a 10:00 PM start time. See the above links for more details, and don't miss Stiffler's Mom either of the next two Saturdays!

Next up, the long teased Menstural Munchies-headlined Heavy North Entertainment concert on Thursday, June 25th now has a confirmed venue, as it will take place at The Oddfellows Hall! That seemed like the most likely option given past H.N.E. events, as all have basically been there or via a house party. The headliners at 11:00 PM are an Ohio-based "cyber pornoslam" duo that are a favourite of Blood Shed Productions head Tyler Gibson, who is reportedly working on a split release of some kind with Menstrual Munchies (that's their name, don't shoot the messenger!), and while their music is an acquired taste, Blood Shed fans will enjoy their extreme sound! Though a second out of town band was teased, the openers are all local, and they'll include local classic metal quartet Project 421 at 10:00 PM and death metal favourites The Bear Hunters at 9:00 PM.

Blood Shed-affiliated acts populate the rest of the lineup, including goregrind duo Rotopsy at 8:30 PM, newer thrash/grind trio Them at 8:00 PM, death metal duo Brutally Fatal at 7:30 PM, goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore at 7:00 PM, and rappers Phat Boii & Mikey Thomas at 6:30 & 6:00 PM. Advance tickets for this ALL AGES show will be $7 when announced or $10 at the door, and for more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Blood Shed fans will definitely not want to miss this show, as there's lots of extreme metal mayhem ahead in June, so see the above links for more info!

Lastly for new concert announcements is the expected release party for the upcoming Ripcordz/Jack Spades/Destroilet three-way split album, which will take place on Saturday, October 24th at The Algonquin Pub during Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce's Gonqshow concert series there this year! The newest (and possibly last?) show of the series will fittingly see all three bands on the split rocking out at The Algonquin this fall, with The Ripcordz bringing their hardcore punk classics back to the Soo for the first time since last October's Rad Zone anniversary concert, and Jack Spades & Destroilet joining forces again 5 months after their fundraising concert at The Algonquin at the end of the month (also, remember to help out with the bands' Kickstarter campaign for the split!) Nice to hear we have a target date in mind, and I can't wait to hear the final product! One more extra opening band is also to be announced.

Note that the Gonqshow series and J.D.'s promotional concert group are now branded as "Tidal Records Presents...", indicating officially that J.D. is now a part of and promoting shows through local independent label Tidal Records. After their successful work together at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands, it's a natural move, and hopefully this partnership is a success! October's release concert has $10 advance tickets, but the price jumps to $13 at the door, while it is a 19+ show with a likely 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more updates on this highly anticipated CD as they come in!

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

• Local hard rock quartet Long Shot will make their first concert appearance out of town when the Speak Easy Battle runners up are among the musical entertainment at this year's Captain Kidd Days festival in Corunna, Ontario (near Sarnia) on August 1st! The Dawe brothers are originally from Corunna, hence the connection. Should be a great spotlight for Long Shot, so click here for more details on the event!
• The CBC Searchlight contest run for local indie/punk quintet Northwest has ended, as they and 8 other Northern Ontario bands lost out to Sudbury bluegrass band Murder Murder in the regional finals, sending them to the national stage of the competiton to find Canada's best new band. Disappointing, but they had a great run to get this far, and kudos to Northwest for what they accomplished!
• Local photography company RAD.imagery (who did some sporadic concert photography in the early 2010s) are running a contest where a local band could win a FREE one hour professional photo shoot! To enter, all members of your band must like RAD.imagery's Facebook page, and join & share the official Facebook event page. This could be a big opportunity, so see the above links for more details!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gnaeus & Ten Kings), Plus More Recent Updates!!

Here's another news post for your Friday, and before anyone asks, yes, I am aware of the announced Shit Liver-headlined house party concert scheduled for tomorrow, but as of this writing, promoters hadn't secured a venue for it, so we're waiting for official word on that before plugging it on here. Now, today's post features a new concert video posting, a local band's continued national contest run, and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTs for next month and TONIGHT, so here's what you should know!

VM Radio Battle winning post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus will return to LopLops Lounge TONIGHT during the kickoff of the downtown venue's fourth annual Festival of Beer! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement on their Facebook page this afternoon. Recently launching their own official website as well (more on that in the coming days), this will be Gnaeus' fourth LopLops hosted or promoted concert of the month, and tonight's set will help wrap up day #1 this weekend's festivities, which will see craft and microbreweries sampling and promoting their wares for attendees at The Bushplane Museum, and if you're a beer fan or aficionado, you'll want to check out this successful event today or tomorrow! The above links have full details on the F.O.B. itself and admission, but the Gnaeus concert will be at LopLops.

TONIGHT'S Gnaeus show has a $5 admission, 10:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, so again, see above for more details! Given the annual nature of the Festival of Beer, I'm surprised this is such a short notice announcement, but Gnaeus are a very talented young band and you can see why at LopLops TONIGHT! For a preview, here's the guys live at LopLops last year!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings will return to the stage in two weeks when they rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, May 8th & Saturday, May 9th! These will be the first shows in almost two months for this new supergroup, and while I have no idea where they've been throughout April, it's great to see the guys back at it for another weekend of hard rock action next month! With alumni of Nixxon Dixxon, Scofflaw, and The Bottom Line on board, how could you go wrong? For reference, Kewadin's entertainment page lists the May 9th weekend as to be announced, but it hasn't been visibly updated recently to even include past Ten Kings dates. These 21+ dates have a likely 9:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge, so see the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Ten Kings as it rolls in!

Also today, Sault Ontario indie/punk quintet Northwest have indeed made the regional finals of CBC's Searchlight competition to find Canada's best new artist! The fan votes have put them through the Northern Ontario region's top 10 (and last 226 bands nationally), and they remain the only locally based band in the competition, so be sure to vote for them A.S.A.P. to ensure that they make the next stage! You can vote five times a day per region, so do so at the above links, as only the #1 band in Northern Ontario will join the other 24 regional winners in the next phase, where fan votes will send 5 bands to join a Canadian musicians panel's 5 choices in the national finals of CBC Searchlight. For reference, Gates of Winter guitarist Bryan Belleau's wife Melinda didn't advance to this round for the Vancouver region, but give her work a listen if you haven't already! Voting for the Northern Ontario regional finals ends Monday at 3:00 PM, so VOTE A.S.A.P.!

Finally for today, here's a newly posted video of another local indie/punk band, the Juno nominated Treble Charger, from their reunion concert set in Toronto in May 2012 during that year's Canadian Music Week! Uploaded by the Canadian Music Week YouTube channel yesterday, this is a professionally shot video of Treble Charger playing their classic "American Psycho" at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto via multiple cameras, and it's definitely the best footage I've seen yet from this show! The video does focus heavily on Greig Nori over anyone else, but kudos to C.M.W. for this quality upload, and check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, and more next week! Thanks everyone!

Rotopsy Updates, Northwest's Searchlight Run, And Much More!!

Before we kick off this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Foggy Notions owner & bartender Patrick Casey, who suddenly passed away this weekend, as per numerous personal Facebook postings yesterday. Details on services are likely forthcoming, so keep an eye out for more info where appropriate. Though arguably better known from his steady and friendly presence slinging smashlovs at many local concerts, Patrick (alongside Alec Colyer and John Doucette) bought Foggy's from Jon Ferguson in early 2007, maintaining it for the next year before it's first closure in March 2008, though it would re-open in late 2009 under a succession of new owners and names, currently as Coch's Corner. I admittedly can't comment on the original 11 year run of Foggy Notions, as it closed before I turned 19, but I did recognize Pat from his bartending work, and he was always a liked and welcome presence for concert-goers and bar regulars alike!

Just a week after losing Mike Case, it's a shame that another local music scene fixture has passed so soon, but with all of the good memories of Patrick as a friend, fan, or deliverer of shots to the stage, I'm sure he'll be in many people's thoughts for a long time to come. R.I.P. Pat!

Now, today's post will mostly help clear out some recent backlogged news items, including a local band's contest run and some assorted updates, but first, here's the latest from local independent goregrind duo Rotopsy's first full length demo "Sexual Assault Rifle" (they titled it, not me!) on Saturday, which was actually two days ahead of schedule, but it may have been intended for a Dank Fest II release before that show's cancellation. The album (whose cover art isn't embedded here due to potentially offensive content) costs $5 through band members, Blood Shed Productions, or at future concerts, while t-shirts with the cover are also now on sale for $10, so keep them in mind! Remember, two songs from it are now on their Bandcamp page, while a third ("Live at Oddfellows Hall 3") is new to their label's YouTube channel, though no word on when/if we'll see the rest of the songs in a digital format.

A Sudbury concert to be announced has also been hinted at for Rotopsy, and while I won't embed the new YouTube song here due to the cover art, fans of Rotopsy's bass-heavy grind action should enjoy every second, so give everything a look above, and message Tyler or Dylan A.S.A.P. if you want this disc before their next show!

Also today, local indie/punk quintet Northwest have made the semifinals of a national music contest, so what should you know? While a handful of local bands (like Jack Spades, Machines Dream, and Mannapool) entered, only Northwest have made it to the regional semifinals of CBC's Searchlight competition, which is looking for the best new Canadian music act. This fan-voted stage ends tomorrow at 3:00 PM, with Northwest among 25 bands in the Northern Ontario region at this stage, and among 545 national bands remaining in the competition. Finalists will be announced on Tuesday, so VOTE A.S.A.P. at their official CBC Music page to help them make the finals, as the top voted bands will get judged by a panel of Canadian music professionals for the top prize! If they win, Northwest will win $20,000 towards new Yamaha equipment, an opening slot at an upcoming CBC event, and a recording session with CBC.

Note as well that Gates of Winter guitarist Bryan Belleau plays & records with his new wife, Vancouver region semifinalist Melinda Belleau, so throw her some votes as well if you can, as she's a great singer in her own right! Hopefully Northwest can make the top 10 for Northern Ontario and keep the local cause going in CBC Searchlight, so vote for them A.S.A.P., and click here for the recent SooToday article on their run in this competition!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from thelast while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or show name:

• Though announced on short notice, Kinross, Michigan hard rock trio Banned returned to The Northwoods Restaurant & Bar in Drummond Island (which is out of our coverage range) for a show on Friday night. Hopefully it went well, and don't miss them on the May 15th weekend in St. Ignace!
• Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock quartet Haggith will finally release their long anticipated fourth studio album "Apocalypse II" on May 10th (two weeks from today), as per new postings on their Facebook page. You can stream it beforehand on their YouTube channel, but no word yet on when we'll see their EP "XIV". Stay tuned for more as we approach the release date!
• The newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went online on Thursday, but it entirely focuses on the recent God Made Me Funky concert at LopLops Lounge with no extra segments. G.M.M.F. have a fun sound and definitely have a solid local following, so give the new Tuned episode a look if you're a fan!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fuck The Facts), Rosie Metal Night Updates, And Much More!!

As promised, here's a stacked news post with recent news and notes relating to the local metal scene, so what's in this post? Today, we've got a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a big metal show later this month, an update for another show by the same promoter, what lies ahead for a notable concert series, news on an upcoming concert festival, and another popular music site's recent upgrades, so here's what you need to know!

Another huge metal concert from Dismembertainment is now scheduled for May 23rd at The Canadian Nightclub, and it will be headlined by the return of Fuck The Facts! Exactly one year & two weeks after they last rocked Sault Ste. Marie, the Juno nominated death/grindcore metal band from Ottawa will be sure to deliver a brutal and intense set of original songs, including material from their new albums "Die Miserable" and "Misery", to their local fans on May 23rd! They melted the faces of all last year, now it's time for more brutality! There will be four opening bands, including local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam, grimecore trio Shit Liver (the only returning band from last year's Fuck The Facts show), death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and Desbarats' own white masked metallers For All That Is Lost, which should add up to a huge lineup of metal talent! Of the opening bands, all are returning to The Canadian for the first time since the Ypres Metal Fest, except for F.A.T.I.L., who were last seen there at Dead In The Van in March. Doors open at 8:30 PM on May 23rd, there will be a $10 cover charge, and like Dismembertainment's other recent concerts, it will be an ALL AGES event! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This sounds like another huge concert, and kudos for Rich bringing Fuck The Facts back to Sault Ontario! It's good to see Dismembertainment back in the swing of things for booking local shows, and hopefully this string of all ages Canadian Nightclub gigs continues to be a success! I would say that Garden of Bedlam don't seem to fit in terms of genre with the other bands, but knowing their success and local following, they'll only help this show for attendance and collective talent, so don't miss them on May 23rd! Before we move to another topic, I'll also note another recent update for a Dismembertainment show, as a new headlining band has been added to next Sunday's Canadian Nightclub show featuring Tribune and returning local bands State of Misery & Borderline Divine. The new headliners are Vancouver metal band West of Hell, who are fronted by Zimmers Hole singer Chris Valagao, which is an awesome sign in itself! I'm really digging the West of Hell material I've heard, and if you like classic speed & thrash metal with modern influences, you'll absolutely enjoy these guys! With their addition, the cover charge is now $10, but the raise is worth it, so hopefully I'll see you guys at The Canadian on May 13th for this 4 band onslaught! Check the above links for more on Dismembertainment's next two shows!

Next up, here's the latest updates relating to the Roosevelt Hotel metal nights! According to a new post on the Thursday concert series' Facebook page last week, The Roosevelt Hotel has brought on Bear Hunters & Borderline Divine guitarist Mitch Sirie to help promote, book, and schedule future installments of the series. Though not mentioned there, current promoter Stephane Vincent is apparently moving to Toronto this summer (my source is his personal Facebook page), so I assume Mitch will take on primary promoting duties after that. Solid choice, as Mitch has played at Rosie metal nights a record 18 times with The Bear Hunters, and he's recently been ramping up on local concert bookings, so hopefully he can help sustain the series for many more installments to come! That said, is the May 10th Die Mannequin-headlined show at The Rosie being considered the 44th Rosie metal night? Not officially, as the metal nights' Facebook page says that the next metal night will actually come on May 24th, though performers and a future schedule have yet to be publicized. I had my doubts, as next Thursday's show has a different promoter, a heavy punk concentration, and a need for tickets, but it had metal night veterans and was next on the old "every 4 weeks" schedule, so you can see why some would be confused.

No matter what, The Rosie's Thursday metal nights appear to be in good hands, and though it looks like we'll be on our third promoter in under a year for the series in a few months, Mitch should be an excellent promoter to keep metal rocking The Rosie in 2012! Stay tuned for more updates on metal nights at The Roosevelt Hotel as they roll in!

Also in recent news, here's the latest updates concerning Sault Michigan concert festival LemmaFest! Tickets are now on sale for the second annual Michael Lemma tribute festival outside of Dondee Lanes on June 23rd, and they are $10 once again in advance, though note that purchases at the door will be $15 this year. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Dondee, Grooves Music, and The Merchant's Bar, where you can also make pre-orders for LemmaFest 2012 t-shirts for $12 ($15 for sizes 3X and up) and mugs at some locations, so visit the Facebook event page for more details! They've also recently confirmed that minors can't be in the bar after 8:00 PM, there will be drink & bowling specials, raffles, and food by donation, which should add up to a great festival in Mike's memory! As well, while the band lineup has yet to be altered, I can confirm that Brimley metallers Half A Man will be performing as a trio in their opening set at LemmaFest next month, as per their Facebook page. While specifics weren't given, I assume that singer Dillion Semasky won't be a part (despite his set with Infathom later that evening), which makes the most sense given that he won't be on their debut EP. If we hear anything more as to his band status, I'll have it here, but Half A Man should rock no matter what! Check the above links for more details, including how you can suggest what covers "3/8ths A Man" should do!

And finally for today, here's yet another music website that recently overhauled it's look! We've had to deal with Facebook, YouTube, and Reverbnation upgrades recently, and now, it's the old CBC Radio 3 music site. In February, CBC launched a new digital music service called CBC Music, and though it was treated as a new site, it essentially saw the imports of all the artists who had band pages on the old CBC Radio 3 page, which is now just for information and streams related to that radio station. CBC Music is now the home of band pages for Canadian bands & artists that previously signed up on CBC Radio 3, but how does the new site compare? For bands on there, the pages are nicely laid out with an effective use of tabs, and the music player's solid, but the experience is definitely better for bands who actively use CBC more for band needs, and I'd like to see more colours beyond grey. There's also a really diverse selection of streaming genre-specific radio stations, though metal & hard rock are lumped together and not given as much attention. Though not the widest used music site for local bands, it's a good and well run site that bands should look into! After all, if Frightlight, Woods of Ypres, and Sykotyk Rampage use it (among many others), then CBC Music must have done something right! Check out the new CBC Music at the above links!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a special all video auto-post this evening while I'm rocking out at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion for the FREE ALL AGES metal show! Thanks everyone!

Theatre Of Night News, New Sault Michigan Audio Tracks, And More!!

Well guys, if you've heard some rumours or informal word regarding some big metal concerts and band returns next month, then so have I, but I'm waiting for official promoter or venue confirmation before plugging them here. Until then, we've got a new news post featuring news from a prominent Sault Michigan metal act, new audio recordings from a pair of bands across the river, and some assorted other recent stories, so here's what you need to know!

In an e-mail to fans and subscribers of theirs on Reverbnation on Monday, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison announced that the Sault Michigan classical metal trio is planning to release a new album by the end of next month! Apparently, this will be a concept album (like their debut "Christmas Night"), only this album will have a heavy patriotic theme with renditions of American standards like "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Though not completed yet, the band is hoping to release the album with some sponsorship that will allow free copies to be distributed to the troops and combat veterans, which would be awesome if it went through! In another recent posting, the band also indicated that they'll be working with a German musician named Gaby Koss "very soon", but the extent of that partnership is not yet known. This all sounds good to me, and it sounds like there's some great plans for the future from Theatre of Night! If this American patriotic-themed album comes out next month on schedule, I'll hopefully make it next month's CD review (our third from a band with Craig and the Giles brothers in 7 months), but time will tell! Check out lots more from Theatre of Night at the above links!

Next up, here's a pair of Sault Michigan audio recordings, though both are fairly quick, so don't let them skip by! First is a short clip of the chorus from Brimley metal quartet Half A Man's brand new song "What If", as uploaded onto the band's YouTube channel on Sunday. Featuring guitarist Erik Rintamaki on vocals (as their debut EP will have), this doesn't tell us a whole lot about the full song, and it's not complete in terms of band members, but he seems to be singing well to match the song's intensity, and I definitely wanna hear the full track! Check out this new Half A Man sample below, and stay tuned for more updates from them!



The other new sample is even shorter, but it actually might be the full song?! Strongs metal trio Swampghas uploaded this 17 second video onto the Werehold Records YouTube channel yesterday, but when you take out the Werehold logo, song title, and dead space, you get only about 4 second of music! That said, the track (entitled "If I Didn't Know Any Better, I'd Say You Were Trying to Kill Me") sounds complete rather than a short clip, so maybe it's an allusion to extremely short songs like "You Suffer" by Napalm Death? I dunno, but the 4 seconds we get sound promising! Check out Swampghas' new song (though short, it may be) below!



And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Though their next local concert isn't known yet, Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are hitting the road for concert dates in Hessel & Gould City, Michigan next month, as per their Facebook page! For reference, the Hessel show on May 12th is closer than the Gould City show the following week, being only about 50 minutes from here compared to 90. Still, check out Banned's latest "jobs" if you can!
• Local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight have released their first CD for free download via torrent website The Pirate Bay! Their October 2010 live EP "It's Alive" from their earlier quartet lineup can be downloaded for free at this location, though download speed is pending on if seeders of the album are seeding it at that time. It's an official free release from the band, so give it a download if you wanna!
• In case you missed it, local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam got some airplay across Ontario on CBC Radio One on Sunday! The Rad Zone's Paul Muncaster called in to their music series "Bandwidth" towards their International Record Store Day broadcast, where he briefly plugged The Rad Zone and requested "New Rain" for airplay! Nice feature for sure, though shorter than some other call-ins on the broadcast, but it's awesome to see CBC continue to support Canadian music!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile tomorrow and much more news shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug) And Some New Videos!!

Well guys, last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands is in the books, and I have a recap (not a review, per say) coming tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because the videos I filmed are taking forever to upload, but don't worry, it'll be a good one, and you can check out the videos from earlier bands last night and the results at our Facebook page if you wanna until then. So to keep things rolling here (and because of a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), we've got a post with some recent news today, including new videos, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Powerslug are playing at Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but guitarist Chris Gurnoe only just announced the show this morning on his personal Facebook page. This has become a common occurrence with the band formerly known as River Witch for about a year now, since their former Facebook page fell into disuse, as I've only tended to hear about their non-Kewadin shows late or on short notice. I'm doing my best to keep on top of things though, so bear with me! This will be Powerslug's second straight Saturday night concert at The Bird, and though I've yet to hear media of them in action, members' pasts in their predecessor band Blind Baby indicate a solid sound, so don't miss them TONIGHT! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and there's likely a start time of 10:00 PM. For what little I can gather about this concert, get more at the above links! Hopefully Powerslug knock it out of the park again this weekend, and go check them out tonight for some hard rocking across the river!

Now to some new videos, starting with a new song from prolific local solo guitarist (and judge at last night's battle) Mike Cliffe! Entitled "Nose Hair Sweater", it was uploaded to his YouTube channel last Wednesday, and it's definitely one of Mike's harder rocking and more upbeat instrumental tracks! Employing lots of time signatures and some interesting vocal samples & visualizations, Mike did note that it was "quite unfinished", but complimented how fun it was to play. It's a really cool track as it is, and has lots of creative heavy parts, so check it out below!




Also in new songs is a new solo track from Wearwithal frontman and veteran Sault Michigan singer/drummer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former voice of bands like I.S.O.M. and End of Existence posted a new original solo song named "Destination" onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it's pretty catchy! Completely clean sung, it's got a nice groove to it with solid melodic vocals, and if this is the direction is solo material is going now, I definitely wanna hear more (though with some harsh singing too, of course.) Very nice, so check it out below, and hear more from Orb's recent band work at the above links!



Finally for today, I'm sharing this last because it doesn't work in the United States, so it has a limited view range. Two weeks ago, former Swayze Train guitarist Scott Savoie uploaded a video of him covering the Devildriver song "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" onto his YouTube channel, but it was blocked in the United States shortly after on copyright grounds by WMG (probably because the original song was in the background.) That said, it was not blocked in Canada, creating the odd scenario of a video by a Sault Michigan guitarist that only Sault Ontario metalheads can watch without an IP switching tool. If you can see it, you'll get a very proficient and well played cover, and Scott's on high form here, but maybe he should redo it without the backing track for American fans? Check out Scott's newest solo guitar cover below if your country allows it!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for my recap of last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands, and also, tune in to CBC Radio One (89.5 FM in the Twin Saults area) at 5:00 PM TODAY to hear Garden of Bedlam's song "New Rain" on the CBC Radio One program "Bandwidth", which is all about Ontario music! Not sure if they're just being played or if anything else will come up, but listen in at 5:00! Thanks everyone!