YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Cliffe

nullMild change of plans for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2026, as I had originally randomly selected Mike Haggith's YouTube channel, only to belatedly realize that I already profiled it 4+ years ago. I think the updated channel URL threw me off. While this channel was already covered, definitely give it a watch and/or subscribe, as Mike has posted 50 new videos there since we spotlighted it in 2021, and it's still actively used! With that said, I picked an alphabetically close YouTube channel who we definitely have not profiled before to replace it, and it gives us another local guitarist named Mike, so here's what you should know on it!

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Mike Cliffe (http://youtube.com/@audiofumesmc)

Owner: Local classic, funk, jazz, and hard rock guitarist Mike Cliffe, also known as the host of the Audiofumes podcast

Channel Timeline: Launched on February 22nd, 2009; Videos uploaded from that day through last fall

Channel Summary: A personal use channel, Mike has uploaded over 100 videos over the past 17 years, mostly originals songs and on-camera solo performances, though a handful of covers and outside artists heard on Audiofumes have also turned up here, as have videos related directly to the podcast, from host segments to behind the scenes content. Half of Mike's videos from the past three years have been live footage at downtown outdoor concerts, particularly ones involving local indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous.

Why You Should Watch: While Mike isn't known for live performances or paid album releases, and has been more sporadic in terms of posting his own original music in the 2020s, this channel is full of strong and varied music from a talented guitarist who as always deserved more attention, and this includes for Audiofumes, which was an active podcast with an international reach before podcasting got as big as it now! You can hear more music from Mike, including material that predates and/or was not uploaded on YouTube, via his Reverbnation page and Audiofumes episodes.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Bad Regime: One to collaborate with musicians local and from afar, Mike did both on this July 2010 original song named "Bad Regime", where he (on guitar and bass) was joined by ex-Soundcheck/Flat Stanley drummer Glen Thomas and Swedish vocalist Karin Beckerus, who fronted the alternative/electronic band Out Of Quebec. Featuring some trippy post-production effects with the accompanying slideshow, this is a tight hard rock number with very Cardigans-esque vocals, and Glen gets to let loose moreso than you may see from him in live cover bands, with Mike shining with some solid guitar work too! This is just the tip of the iceberg re: Mike's own original music though, and Karin turned up multiple times over the years on Audiofumes episodes.

 

 

Opening Riff to The Wizard - Uriah Heep: The most popular music-related video on Mike's channel is this April 2016 acoustic rendition of the riff from Uriah Heep's "The Wizard", which he previously recorded a full studio cover of in 2011 with a non-local backing band named The Ducks. The 97 second video features Mike introducing the song and how his guitar is tuned and set up, followed by him playing the riff. While a well received cover by most, Mike did get a critical comment over how tight the camera is, obscuring how he plays the riff to an extent, but you see enough of his right hand to get an idea. Well performed for sure, and he comes off well on camera, but don't bypass the full cover! If you're curious, Mike's most viewed video demonstrates the Enlightenment E17 desktop shell.

 

Rock Funk Fusion (collab): For an actual full-song performance on video, it was hard to pass up this February 2020 video that sees Mike playing three separate guitar tracks and bass separately before being combined in post-production for an original funk rock "collaboration". If one of the videos features someone else playing, they're not credited and you can't see their face, but the videos were all shot in the same location. Good stuff that shows off what Mike can do in a funkier and more carefree setting, and he was ahead of the curve in doing a video like this just a month before the first pandemic lockdown began!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return for two randomly selected channels on or around February 26th, as the first one only has one album upload, so I picked a channel with videos from only one concert to round things out with. As such, we're looking at local punk trio A Dire Setback's YouTube Music channel and YouTube user Chris Bardawill's channel (featuring videos from an Obessesion concert in 2021). Stay tuned for all that then, and for more news and notes on the site this week, plus this month's CD review! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oz, The Rock Show, And Generations), And More Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to belatedly acknowledge that Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night did not play at The Soo Theater on November 30th as was advertised by the venue this fall (like in this event schedule poster). A reason for the cancellation was not publically announced, but the show was never confirmed by Theatre of Night on social media. The band is alive and well, and have been recording and teasing things on their Facebook page that I hope to talk about on the site soon, but it is disappointing to see Craig, Steve, and crew seemingly not playing a Christmas tour this year. Stay tuned for more from them!

Today's post otherwise features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, and some assorted recent updates, so let's lead off with the return of Bay City classic/hard rock tribute band The Rock Show to the E.U.P.! One year after they toplined the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino's New Year's Eve party at The Northern Pines Lounge, The Rock Show will take things an hour north to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo for that Kewadin branch's New Year's party on Tuesday, December 31st! This year's trip north is basically an inverse of last year's, as The Rock Show will also be rocking out in their alternate guise as a Journey tribute band at the St. Ignace branch on Monday the 30th, but like last year's Journey gig in the Soo, this is a private event (at press time, the St. Ignace Kewadin doesn't have an advertised band booked on the 31st this year). The Rock Show have a strong handle on classic and hard rock hits, so don't miss their regional return!

All of the action goes down two weeks from tonight at The Rapids Lounge, there is a 9:00 PM start time with no announced cover charge, and I am unsure what kind of seasonal frills that Kewadin will have for the occasion, but there should be something. Ring in 2025 the rock way with The Rock Show, and visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will play their first show of 2025 on Saturday, January 4th at The Water Tower Pub! Drummer Tony Santoro announced the gig on their Facebook group on Sunday, and while the venue has not corroborated the booking on social media at press time, a January schedule should be posted at the Great Northern Road location in a couple weeks (hopefully it makes it online, not all of them do). This will be Generations' first show since rocking Reggie's this past Saturday, and their first Water Tower Pub date since headlining their Halloween party. With no gigs planned closer to Christmas or New Year's, be sure to welcome Generations back for a new year in a few weeks' time! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, so no word on who is playing on Friday the 3rd yet. As usual here, expect an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details!

Also this weekend, let's head back to Michigan, where Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to the aforementioned Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th! The band announced these dates via their own Facebook event page, as Kewadin's entertainment page has not been updated to reflect shows beyond February 1st at press time. Oz played two weekends at the Soo Kewadin in 2024, most recently just over a week ago, so it's good to see this talented cover band back in our neck of the woods for another pair of hard rocking nights of classic rock favourites! Like normal at The Rapids Lounge, these show should have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Oz' eastern road trip on Valentine's Day weekend, and stay tuned for possible updates if they roll 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 name:

 

• I have moved Sault Ontario rapper/punk artist Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, last updating the profile & cover photo on his Facebook page in October of last year. As you may recall, Bold Noize debuted a new punk sound at Lopstock 2023, as heard on his "God Save Me" album that August, but all but two songs from it were quietly pulled from streaming services afterwards, hence why I never reviewed it here. No word on if he'll resume his punk work at all, but hopefully we haven't heard the last from Bold Noize!
• I have switched the link for local grindcore solo project Crucify The Whore from their now-deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page. As far as I know, C.T.W. is alive and well, but the graphic content of their song titles and album artwork may have gotten their "jgtdry" page yanked by Facebook, which has happened before. Assuming that Tyler doesn't start a new one, you can get project updates via their label Blood Shed Productions' Facebook page, and they released music on Bandcamp as recently as July!
• I have also moved local hard rock/experimental solo musician Mike Cliffe back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Mike is still very active as host of the Audiofumes podcast, and promotes some upcoming concerts from local musicians thusly, but I haven't seen anything clearly new from him as a musician in well over a year. Hopefully Mike releases some new music or videos of his own music again down the road, but listen to Audiofumes for eclectic underground music from around the world!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down), The Destroyer Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews in today's post, with added SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to boot! As well, we have some new videos on both sides of the border to look at also, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook page yesterday, and the venue didn't acknowledge them until after the band did. We haven't seen Double Down live in over a month, last seen rocking Reggie's, with TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows being Joel, Adam, Brad, and Ric's first at the former Roosevelt Hotel in over three months. We haven't heard too much from Double Down since the summer, but it is good to see this familiar veteran outfit back at it, and hopefully their hard rocking covers go over well in the west end TONIGHT & TOMORROW! These shows have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Double Down live!

Next up, here is one more hard rock concert preview for this weekend, and it's arguably the big one, as Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! Certainly no strangers to Sault Ste. Marie, this will be Destroyer's (at least) sixth headlining concert here, last seen locally at Soo Blaster in April 2022. If you're a Kiss Army soldier, you'll be right at home with Destroyer's faithful sounding & looking stage show, and after so many prior appearances in city limits, you know that they pull a decent crowd, so if you want the best, this is the next best thing! Like last year, there will be a local opening band, with this show being led off by new pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue (featuring Cherry Crush and Settle For Silver alumni). Admittedly, Bourbon Blue do not lean towards hard rock from what I have seen, but they have a talented lineup and should get things off on the right foot tomorrow!

This 19+ concert has doors opening at 7:00 PM and $20 advance admission (well, $22.63 with taxes/processing fees) at this link, and the door charge jumps to $25. VIP booths will also be available, expense acknowledged. Kiss fans will absolutely want to head to Soo Blaster for all of the action tomorrow, so see above for more details, and here's Destroyer live!

Also today, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for a lengthy new video from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel! In July, they posted this 92 minutes-long video featuring 24 original instrumental metal songs, so if you want to hear their recent non-Christmas output in a convenient and free place, this is a good way to do it! With one exception (two if you count the intro), these songs are otherwise compiled on their "Compilation: Epic Instrumental Metal" album, which quietly received a paid release in May of last year on Amazon for $9.49, and is also available on iTunes/Apple Music. Note that this image is the cover artwork, despite singer Rachel Mender being pictured on the cover of an instrumental album. I wish Theatre of Night had better promoted releasing a new album, even if just a compilation of one-off metal songs, as I'd have formally reviewed it on the site last year when it was still new & timely!

Given our backlog of new albums to review already, I won't be able to get to this (or any unreviewed past) Theatre of Night album until next year at the earliest, but give it a listen above, on Spotify, or on YouTube below, complete with dark and suitably epic imagery to accompany each song! I'll hold comment pending a possible future review, but if you like progressive and classical-inspired metal, you'll take to this release! No word on if the track listing being almost alphabetical is intentional or not though. Stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night soon!

Finally for today, here's a new performance video from veteran Sault Ontario hard/progressive rock guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel, his first there in over a year! The video has Mike "noodling" a song that he self-deprecatingly named "'Scuse the Bad Note or Two Around the 2:13 Mark". You can see what he means when 2:13 hits, complete with a momentary head shake, but the performance is otherwise solid and all-business, with the Audiofumes podcast host showing his underrated skill on this short instrumental, so definitely check it out for yourselves below!

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

Fyrbird Concert Previews, A New Video, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of  local rock guitar legend Bob Yeomans and veteran local news anchor Karl Sepkowski, who both passed away in the past week. Bob died on Saturday at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife, two children (one being former Ashes To Dust guitarist Liam Yeomans), a step-son, and a large extended family. Read Bob's SooToday obituary at this link. While not a hard rock/metal musician, Bob was a prominent mainstay of the local scene in bands like Zak's All-Stars, The Vendettas, and The Amen, as well as serving as an instructor at the Thomas Walls School of Music. Nationally, he and fellow Saultite Tim Ryan had success in the 1970s pop rock band Jackson Hawke, who first recorded hit songs like "You Can't Dance" & "Set Me Free", and Bob later worked musically in Nashville before returning home in 1985.

For Karl, he passed away on Monday at the age of 81 in Newmarket after a battle with lung cancer, and he is survived by his wife, three children, five grandkids, and his extended family. Read more on Karl's life & career at this link. While not a musician, Karl was "the authoritative news voice in Sault Ste. Marie" for decades, becoming CKCY's news director in 1963 after starting there in 1959, and he later worked on camera for CJIC and MCTV, returning to the radio in the 1990s with WSOO, and moving to Rock 101 as their news anchor in the fall of 2005. Karl's tenure at The Sault's Rock Station appears to have been relatively brief, as he disappeared from their website's staff page circa March 2006, as per Internet Archive Wayback Machine backups, but this is still a notable for being (as far as I can tell) his final stop as a local news anchor.

From what I've read about both Bob Yeomans and Karl Sepkowski, they were kind and honest men who loved their work and the Soo, and there's a lot of kind words being shared for the both of them online (if you're Facebook friends with Mikey Hawdon, he posted some nice remembrances about Bob as a music instructor). Bob and Karl definitely made their positive marks on the community, and they'll definitely be missed. R.I.P.!

Now, this post (possibly our last news post of the month) has a new video to check out, but first, here's a pair of concert previews for this weekend, as Manistique, Michigan hard rock duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As revealed on Kewadin's entertainment page, these will be Fyrbird's first E.U.P. stops of 2022, after making their casino debut last year, but now that event advertising has their name spelled correctly, we won't miss these ones for the SMS! If you want to learn more about Jamie & Rikk's music and live schedule, visit their Facebook group, which confirms that they will also be back in the E.U.P. for a show in Paradise (just outside of our coverage range) on February 4th. Fyrbird's hard rocking minimalist sound has won them a good following in the Upper Peninsula, so don't bypass them!

As usual for Rapids Lounge concerts, tomorrow and Saturday night's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Of course, please respect and follow any posted or recommended public health measures at the lounge/casino to ensure everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

Finally, here's a new video from local hard rock/progressive guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel  from last week! While the video does feature Mike playing on an acoustic guitar, it's primarily a product review for Tree Picks, a company that sells wooden guitar picks made out of real trees. For each order, the company will plant a real tree, and you can customize the picks with your own logo or label (Mike got the Audiofumes logo on his). A sustainable non-plastic pick that plays good may appeal to guitarists and bassists who see the video, and Mike's a fan, so check it out to see what you think! Hopefully Mike has some new performance videos to come!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Kraken Mara EP Updates, A New Local Metal Radio Show, And New Videos!!

Before we get into the meat of this post, today marks the 14th anniversary of The Sault Metal Scene's launch on July 4th, 2007, and I wanted to thank the vast, vast majority of you for your support and kind words over the years! I just wish that we weren't in a pandemic during the anniversary for a second straight year, so I won't get too self indulgent, but hopefully I can time it with a proper concert to mark year #15 in 2022! Today's sixth post in as many days (amazingly) has new videos, the impending launch of a new local internet radio show, and leading off, some new album releases (maybe?), so here's what you should know!

 

Local progressive metal duo Kraken Mara may have quietly released their debut EP "Press Start" for sale.... AND a second EP.... and I mean, quietly! The band has not publically announced anything regarding a release on their Facebook or Instagram pages (they haven't even posted on either since April), but at some point in the past month, Kraken Mara posted "Press Start" and a 3 song follow-up EP named "Game Over" on their website on Wix. Both appear to be on sale for $15 each, but when I attempted to click through to see what Wix's online storefront process is like (I have never heard of a heavier local band only putting out an album this way), neither allowed you to proceed past entering an e-mail address to get the files sent, so I am thinking that they haven't completely finalized the release. In any event, this confirms that both "Press Start" and "Game Over" are complete and fully streamable there, both remain instrumental releases, and like "Press Start", the second EP features session drummer Cliff Aubut.

"Game Over" features the song "Moon's Haunted" (a prior removal from "Press Start") and new tracks named "Escort Mission" & "Antipath", mostly shorter than what made the cut on the main EP. Even if their sale postings worked, I probably wouldn't be reviewing "Press Start" on the SMS until next month (Molten Imp are waiting in the wings already), but if you want to hear all eight songs for free until/unless you can properly buy them, click here or above, and we'll keep you posted when we hear more!

Next up, do you recall the occasional teaser from musician interviews on local internet radio station The Borderline where a guest was suggested/teased as the host of an upcoming metal-centric program? Well, one is finally debuting tonight! This has not been announced on the station's website at press time, but former Winkstinger/Twistory frontman Josh Amendola tells me that he will be hosting a metal-centric series named Metal Morpheus that debuts tonight at 9:00 PM! Naturally, the first episode will go through the roots of metal in the 1960s and 1970s, but Josh did say that local bands will be in the eventual playlist. If you can't tune in live, one imagines that episode #1 will be available for on-demand streaming after the fact, once Metal Morpheus appears on The Borderline's website. For obvious reasons, it's great that The Borderline finally has a metal show!

Adding some musical diversity beyond the occasional interview or one-off interview is very welcomed, and it's nice that it's slotted earlier than you may expect for a metal radio show on an otherwise non-metal station! There are unknowns yet, but tune in to Metal Morpheus tonight at 9:00 PM to hear how Josh does in episode #1, and I apologize again for the delay in mentioning this on the SMS! He originally caught me in a busy stretch what with all of the new concert announcements in the area, no hard feelings whatsoever!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new cover of Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" from ex-Garden of Bedlam frontman Erik "Buzz" Boissineau's YouTube channel on Friday! His first upload there in three months, this vocal/acoustic guitar rendition lets you hear a higher and softer aspect of Buzz's range that isn't as apparent from his proper bands, and while I prefer later, more progressive Radiohead songs, this is well done across the board! Give Buzz's newest cover a watch below!

Finally, here's a new instrumental jam video from veteran local hard rock guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel on June 23rd! An progressive rock playthrough alongside pre-recorded drums by Washington-based drummer Bill Ray, Mike suggested in the description that this isn't finished and may have had a timing slip-up, but it sounds fine so far! Smooth and melodic, well handled by a prolific musician who knows complex prog rock very well, and it's nice to see more new content from Mike's YouTube channel, so give this video a watch below, and hopefully we hear more from Mike soon!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site later this week! Thanks everyone, and to all of our American readers, have a happy Fourth of July!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

A lot of videos have been piling up in recent days from local metal, hard rock, and punk musicians, so let's try to whittle some of them down today before things get too overwhelming! Half are via recent jam sessions from two local bands on side of the border, while the others are solo performance clips from the other side, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 have posted three new jam session videos on their Facebook page, notable as they feature ex-drummer Tommy Korcal one last time! Yes, he did leave the band in the winter due to military commitments, and Gary Croad is his replacement, but with Tommy and family moving to Texas shortly, why not play together once more for old time's sake? Three videos were posted yesterday, including a cover of The Guess Who's "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" from a very poor camera angle, but the other two are at least more central to the band, if too tight (and you can't even see Tommy in them, though they do show him on camera for a shout-out.) The shorter of those two videos sees them cover Robin Trower's "Too Rolling Stoned", while the longer 18 minute one is embedded below, and was actually live-streamed during the rehearsal.

 

In order, you can hear Project 906 cover Collective Soul's "Shine", Audioslave's "Show Me How To Live", and Godsmack's "Awake", and all five covers from these videos are strongly handled with solid vocals from Billy Bernier and some nice guitar solos from Joe Jenkins in particular! Nice way to send off Tommy before his big move, so give these videos a look above and below, and stay tuned for more from 906's new lineup when it rolls in!

 

 

Next up, fellow local hard rock quartet Tarnished had their own 18 minute live-streamed performance video to share on their Facebook page last night! This one has many differences from Project 906's though, including a non-stationary camera on a vertical portrait orientation (sadly) and overdone concert lighting, but at least you see everyone... except guitarist Nathan Webber, who was absent for unannounced reasons. Look for dog cameos, however! The music very much holds up, and you can see Tarnished play Aerosmith's "Same Old Song & Dance", their own "Cabin Fever", Sublime's "What I Got", and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". Despite being short a guitar, Alex, Donald, and Josh delivered some strong rock & roll in this live-stream, and fans will enjoy their takes on these tracks! Give the full video a watch below, and pre-order their new single "SDR&R" on Apple Music at this link!

We'll wrap things up today with a pair of solo performance videos from Sault Ontario guitarists, starting with a new cover of Radiohead's "Creep" by ex-Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison! Uploaded to his YouTube channel last week, this rendition is well handled, if somewhat slowed down from the original video, but fans of Cory's talents and band work should be on board! That said, the hazy filter put on it in post-production seems unnecessary. Give Cory's new cover a watch below!

 

Finally for today, here's a new instrumental track from veteran local hard rock/jazz/experimental guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel on Wednesday! Entitled "Scaley Shuffle", this features Mike playing along to a drum track recorded by former Ike Turner drummer Bill Ray. Mike's performance proper is solid, giving this shuffle a nice 1970s classic prog rock vibe with a nice bounce! Give it a watch below!

 

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

Another Local Video Showcase!!

I feel like it's getting tougher and tougher to cobble together content for regular posts on the SMS. Hopefully things pick up at some point before I have to think about spreading out our "at least one post every three days" guarantee! To keep things fair in this all-video post, let's go in alphabetical order by artist name, starting with some new videos from prolific local punk musician Dustin Jones, as shared onto SooToday this month! Much like he did during the first major lockdown last spring, a cover by him (on guitar) and his daughter Jett (on vocals) was posted on SooToday to share with readers as a point of inspiration, this time tackling Jordan Clarke's "Freaks". Fun performance for what it is, and they even included lyrics to sing along with in the article proper! I can't embed videos from SooToday's video host here, but luckily, their other new video from Dustin was merely shared from Tidal Records' YouTube channel!

A live performance from Mission Control Studios, this is of an original song called "For Now" that was newly uploaded yesterday, though it's not clear whether this is just a solo song or if it will end up being on The Rising Tide's forthcoming new album. This is definitely a folksier song, but I can see it being adapted with the full band if that is at all planned. Well performned and sung, and SooToday again has lyrics if you want to sing along, but give Dustin's video proper a look below!

Next up, I was recently alerted to a few new YouTube uploads from veteran local drummer Brian Egglesfield's YouTube channel in the past month! You may recognize Brian from bands like Tripod The Dog and Screwge, and the latter band are kinda the focus here, as Brian uploaded three videos credited to that band from Rotaryfest Stage 1 at Clergue Park back in July 2013! In case you don't have a 2013 program handy, this technically isn't Screwge, rather the Toronto jam rock band Ground Zero, who co-headlined the Saturday lineup that year. As detailed in this YouTube video's description, Screwge were active locally from 1978-1981, with some members later moving down south and playing with Ground Zero through 1993, and the latter band held a one-off reunion here with Saultites Frank Fazi & Shane O'Connell taking part (I'm not 100% certain on if Brian drummed.) Ground Zero proper aren't hard rock centric, but they did cover at least one heavier song!

Brian's Screwge Ground Zero videos include covers of ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'", George Thorogood & The Destroyers' "Move It On Over", and as embedded below, both Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs" and Goddo's "Sweet Thing" (nice to hear some classic hard rock Canadian content!) Despite an unzoomed and often crooked camera angle, the audio quality is really good, and the guys have a good fan-friendly sound on these classic covers. There is more to touch on from Brian's YouTube channel from other bands, but check out his Ground Zero videos above and below!

Also, here's a new solo performance video from veteran local hard rock solo guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel a couple of days ago! His first non-Christmas carol upload here in almost a year, this is an apparent original song called "Persuaders" with him on guitar playing alongside pre-recorded backing instruments, though the video proper is replaced by an AudioFumes card for the last minute. Solid performance of this spacey prog rock number, so give Mike's newest video a watch below!

We'll close by heading south to Sault Michigan for the latest from local hard rock quartet Tarnished! Publically speaking, we haven't heard much from them this month in a musical sense, but a Facebook page posting on January 18th did hint that they were "hard at work". At least partially, this relates to non-musical endeavours, including a video of a planned side series called "Tarnished Talks", where band members (Alex & Josh in the premiere's case) talk about something, starting with what they love about AC/DC. As well, they launched another pilot for a "Tarnished Plays" series where band members play a video game together, with Alex and Josh playing Fortnite in episode 1. Sounds like a fun way to stay busy during presumed pandemic-influenced downtime, and they do have creative observations about AC/DC! Tarnished have also launched a Patreon page for fans to back them and crowd-fund future band endeavours, with exclusive content planned there.

Their only new Facebook video in the last couple of weeks featuring the band on camera is this 33 second clip of Alex & Josh thanking everyone for crossing both the 200 followers threshold on TikTok and 600 likes on Facebook. Not too substantial, but length-wise, it's par for the course for their TikTok page. I should really give their TikTok page more of a look re: the SMS, as most videos there are not shared to or re-uploaded on Facebook, and despite the short video lengths, there is a lot of exclusive videos to see. Stay tuned on that front, but give Tarnished's AC/DC discussion a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post of some kind by month's end! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal/Punk Video Showcase!!

News remains glacially slow around the SMS, but I've cobbled together a video-centric post for you guys to check out on this Monday evening, including a solo cover, a new studio track, a podcast with some familiar faces, and leading off, a prominent solo artist's recent hosting gig on local TV!

Have you been wondering what local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith has been up to as of late? This won't entirely answer that, but Mike recently hosted Thompson's virtual community Christmas concert, which aired on their Shaw Spotlight affiliate yesterday! As teased via this TV commercial and this teaser video on his Facebook page, the full concert was indeed streamed online via the Shaw Community Link YouTube channel, and Mike's hosting segments are often full of bad one liners, to the point that he jokingly walks out between acts to complain about their quality! In other words, if you liked his #LockdownLive concerts, you'll be right at home in this regard! I do like that the Shaw Spotlight staff there let Mike joke around and inject some personality as host, you don't always get that!

Much like virtual concerts we've seen in the Soo this year, there is a wide array of performers from Thompson and area in this video, so local interest here may be limited unless you want to discover unknown talent. However, Mike does perform near the end of the concert (66 minutes or so in), specifically a cover of Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas", while the concert proper closes with Mike playing a version of "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" that goes off into a tangent about the weather in Thompson and social distancing. Looks like everything was well handled under the circumstances, so give Thompson's virtual community concert a watch below!

Next up, here's the first full song from St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal quintet Heavy Lies The Crown's upcoming full length album! Entitled "Every Step Of The Way", this was uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, and it is also available on Spotify, while H.L.T.C. have teased more singles to come in advance of the release, schedule to be determined. I'll hold full comments on the song for now, pending our presumed review of the album in 2021, but give "Every Step Of The Way" a listen below!

Also, here's a bit of a surprise from Sault Ontario: a podcast from Redundant drummer Rick White's YouTube channel two weeks ago, where he interviewed his bandmates (with input by friends of the band) using funny job interview questions that he found online. This is over an hour long, so it'll be a time commitment to check out, but it's a funny and clearly unscripted listen that Redundant fans should get a kick out of, especially during this screwy time we're in right now! I wish Rick would have edited out the background hiss with Audacity or something, but give it a listen below!

Finally, veteran local hard rock/jam guitarist Mike Cliffe has posted another Christmas carol cover on his YouTube channel, this time featuring him playing "What Child Is This?" in two different acoustic tracks combined in post production. A lot of wasted space in the video proper as a result, but Mike handles this carol well in a soft & intricate way, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post of some kind by Christmas Eve! Thanks everyone!

As It Stands & Tarnished Updates, Plus New Videos!!

We're back with more news on this Tuesday evening, including a few new videos from both sides of the border, and leading off, here's some big updates on what a fondly remembered local band has been up to as of late!

Defunct(?) local hardcore quintet As It Stands have elaborated on their teasers regarding "The Lost Tapes" via their Facebook page, so what is going on in their camp? Well, "The Lost Tapes" is indeed an EP that they recorded 10 years ago but never released, and it will officially be released on FRIDAY at midnight! No word on physical copies, but you will be able to stream and/or download "The Lost Tapes" via Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, and Google Play. You can hear glimmers of the studio output in the teaser videos they've posted (embedded below is their newest one from Thursday.) As best as I can gather, the EP they are referring to was recorded at Metalworks Studio in Mississauga with producer Kevin Dietz in June 2011, and those five songs ("A Sinking Sinner", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For the Kids", and "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky") were previously uploaded in unmixed form on Soundcloud, only to be pulled from there presumably recently.

In fact, early A.I.S. guitarist Ryan McLaughlin's production company Relentless Audio plugged "The Lost Tapes" on their Facebook page, so is that a hint that he mixed his old band's EP? Time will tell! Unless there is a bigger surprise in store, I don't believe "The Lost Tapes" will include the also-unreleased songs recorded locally at Stereo Soul Studios in mid-2010 ("Rise Above" & "One Last Chance") or in Stoney Creek later that year ("Conception" & "Big Problem, Little Lock City"). We'll have more on As It Stands' long awaited EP later this week, so stay tuned for more details, and watch the newest teaser clip below!

Next up, let's continue getting caught up on Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished's prolific string of video uploads on their Facebook page as of late! Many of them into early December related to their now-concluded merchandise giveaways and the winner announcements (with or without the fox mask), so you can check those out at your leisure on their Facebook page to see who won what and when! On December 5th, the guys shared a TikTok video of them (minus Gary) acoustically covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California", and it's well done while it lasts, though the tight vertical camera angle isn't ideal. Also, did you know that the fox masked-character is named Puzzle Piece? He tells us so in this TikTok shoutout clip, whicb leaves us with more questions than answers! On Sunday, they shared a comedy sketch called "Never "Saw" It Coming", where Puzzle Piece plays a Saw-style torture game with Josh and Nathan.

Amusing, especially if you're familiar with the Saw movies and the options Josh is given! Lastly, following it's own gradual Facebook teasers (like this western-style one from last week, Tarnished unveiled the long-awaited music video for their original song "Metalyn" on Facebook and their YouTube channel yesterday, so what should you know about it? Filmed by Jay London Photography, the video features Tarnished performing on a roof-top in Sault Ste. Marie (with the International Bridge behind them), intercut with scenes of actress Malia Lefebre finding a cassette Walkman on the ground and getting her groove on to (presumably) this very song, before ultimately finding Alex's guitar at the end. Well edited and shot, this is a good first video from this fast rising band, and it straddles the line between hard rock and mainstream accessibility well! Give it a watch below, and see much more above!

We'll close with something festive for the holidays, namely this video of Sault Ontario progressive/hard rock solo artist Mike Cliffe covering the Christmas carol "We Three Kings"! Posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday in his first upload there in ten months, this is a relatively simple but effective guitar rendition with a nice and intricate ending, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on Friday, barring sudden and unforeseen news that has to come sooner! Thanks everyone!

Acoustic Heartstrings Concert Videos, Plus A Solo Musician's Return!!

As we did yesterday, this post is largely devoted to musicians who played at Acoustic Heartstrings at the now-closed Room 21 this past Friday night, but in this case, we're actually looking at the show proper, courtesy of videos live-streamed from the venue's Facebook page that night! We also have a video to close from a resurgent local solo musician, but to start, let's relive that Valentine's Day unplugged concert at Room 21, albeit without videos of pop rock quartet Big Mistake. Even if they tackled a hard rock cover, they weren't filmed that night for Room 21's page, alas. We'll start with local punk/alternative trio Handsome Sandwich, who were filmed twice that night, including covers of 'N Sync's "Tearing Up My Heart" (you read that correctly) and, as embedded below, Blink-182's "Aliens Exist". Much more casual than their regular sets, especially in regards to Johnny's drum setup, but the guys are clearly having fun with these renditions, and that 'N Sync one took me a bit to register, so good work on their part! Give these a look above & below!



Next up, Room 21 also filmed debuting local hard rock quartet The Bridge Heads covering System of a Down's "Lonely Day", which won't be a shocking development for fans of these musicians, given that their predecessors Eclipse's last show was as a one-off S.O.A.D. tribute band at J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party in 2017. A short 78 second clip, this won't be representative of their electric sets to come, but everyone adapts well for the occasion, and they are well dressed too! Unlike Handsome Sandwich's Johnny Belanger, drummer Chris Thompson played his part on a cajon. Give The Bridge Heads' first public video a look below!



Finally from Acoustic Heartstrings, this isn't of any of the actual scheduled bands, but this video was filmed before Big Mistake's headlining set, and it's of Handsome Sandwich bassist James White in a rare vocal/guitar appearance! Here, he and an uncredited percussionist are covering the second half of Alice In Chains' "Nutshell" followed by Rise Against's "Hero of War". The vocals are a little rough, but this has an authentic yet laid back nature despite the heavy lyrics, and it'd be interesting to see James in this mode more frequently! Give both covers a look below, and see more above!



Finally for today, a prolific local progressive/hard rock solo guitarist has re-emerged with new music, namely Mike Cliffe! While his Audiofumes podcast remains on visible hiatus, Mike has quietly been uploading new music onto his Reverbnation page over the winter, and while Reverbnation's usual lack of providing dates on material and posts is one of my pet peeves of that service, the first four listed songs there appear to be new. The songs include the experimental "Space Junk", the self-explanatory "Blues-In-T", and two songs with out of town collaborators. If I had to point to one for hard rock fans, it'd be "BWH1" featuring Washington drummer Bill Ray, but if you recall Mike's diverse influences and technical nature, there will be a lot to like if you crawl through his posted songs, new and old. As well, Mike posted his first new video in almost two years onto his YouTube channel last week, and it's entitled "Rock Funk Fusion", which features four different small windows of Mike recording separate tracks.

I like the funk sound and upbeat melodies here, and this is an easy track to like, but is this just the tip of the iceberg for Mike's return to his solo music in 2020? In any case, he's back in our active band links. Give Mike's new songs a listen above and below, and stay tuned for more from him and/or Audiofumes when any news rolls in!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll on the site next!

Two Band Reunions, An Update To Our Band Links, And Much More!!

Let's keep the news train rolling on this Monday evening, so what will you find here? A couple of videos, bands being moved out of and into our inactive band links, and leading off, big updates concerning the openers of a major concert next month, so here's what you should know!

Inactive local horror punk quintet Frightlight and local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will provide support at the Michale Graves concert at The Canadian Nightclub on September 28th, as per updates on the Facebook event page last month! A surprise announcement to say the least, this will one of A Dire Setback's biggest trio-era platforms ever, but of course, this will be Frightlight's first show since the Halloween weekend last year, and just their second since 2014, though this is being advertised a one night only reunion once again, so they remain in our inactive band links. Of course, Frightlight were well known for their covers of and inspiration from Graves-era Misfits, so they are a beyond fitting choice to open! Notably, this will also see the return of rhythm guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe after he missed their reunion set last year, and as a teaser, Frightlight posted this short video onto their Facebook page on July 31st of Kevin (sans makeup) covering "Rust Angel".

Of course, "Rust Angel" began life as a surf rock-inspired Fitswitch song before their successors adopted it in a heavier form factor, so fans of both bands will like this! The over-exposed lighting and tight camera angle don't add to the visual quality, but it's great to see Kevin playing this song again, and you can see him do so with his Frightlight brethren once more at The Canadian Nightclub next month, so give it a look below!

Next up, here's another notable band return for this fall, as inactive local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters announced on their Facebook page last week that they have reunited with a new lineup! As such, they will return to the stage on November 1st, very likely at J.D. Pearce's previously announced Halloween Party that night, which they played at two years ago in their second and final concert to date. It does make sense that they would be the Foo Fighters tribute for this year, so if you liked them in 2017, here's your next chance! In a time where Parabol, Coral Fang, and Poison Girl can all exist as local tribute bands, why not one more? However, only singer/guitarist Jules Cote (with Dave Grohl wig in tow) will be back for their return, as he will now be joined by ex-2 Minute Warning guitarist Wes Greco, Jules' Chunks of Manh bandmate Max Ambeault on bass, and Elements/Winkstinger drummer Jonas Gasperas, all replacing Jeremey Salatuk and John & Jonny Amendola.

A reason for the lineup departures has not been announced, but remember that this lineup was from two years ago, and Jules & the Amendolas haven't played together with their primary pop rock cover band Cherry Crush since August of last year, so we would be considering them to be inactive for SMS purposes. The new lineup seems promising, but how will they sound at this year's Halloween party? Stay tuned for updates, and unless this proves to be a one-off, The Soo Fighters are back in our active band links!

Also today, I wanted to acknowledge a solo musician being moved to our inactive band links, namely Mike Cliffe. A constant presence in our band links as long as we've had them, Mike is a skilled veteran guitarist whose progressive and often heavy originals are always worth listening to, but as you may know, his music was increasingly entwined with his work as the host and curator of the local music podcast Audiofumes. The 24 archive episodes showcase an eclectic collection of music from the Soo and far flung locations that would be more than at home on public or freeform radio, and collaborations between Mike and artists heard on Audiofumes were once very common. While I have never found a statement confirming it's status. no new episodes have been posted since April of last year, nothing has been posted on the Audiofumes or Sound Bacon pages reflecting Mike's music or new episodes since last summer, and the Audiofumes Facebook group is now largely used as a posting board for songs and some local concerts.

Mike's a very nice guy and an extremely creative musician, so whether or not the podcast ever resurfaces, I hope he dives back into his own music again when the time is right, and you can hear lots of his surviving music on his Reverbnation page. As one of the few Sault Ontario-originated rock radio/podcasting outlets, Audiofumes deserved more listeners, and with the diverse, unconventional array of music in each installment, there was always something to hear and nothing you expect! We'll let you know if Mike and/or Audiofumes return to activity in some form in the future!

We'll close today with a new teaser video for local Tool tribute band Parabol's headlining concert at Soo Blaster on October 12th, as shared to their Facebook page on Thursday! Featuring an assortment of new-ish images and band logos alongside some opening post-production effects, the video is set to a bunch of assorted audio clips of the guys playing live, and while it'd be nice to hear the full songs, you do get a sense of how faithful their sound is to the real thing! Give it a look below, and click here for more concert details!



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