Theatre Of Night & June Jam Updates, Plus More News & Notes!!

I hope everyone's having a great Victoria Day/May 2-4 weekend! News remains at a slow pace this month, so today's post is largely comprised of assorted shorter stories, but we are leading off with some big updates from bands on each side of the border, starting with the latest from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night! Yesterday, the group revealed on their Facebook page that they are indeed planning their second Christmas tour run for the end of the year, and had recently conducted "late night sessions" towards the tour. After the positive response to their gigs last year from here to Illinois and points in between, hopefully the encore is bigger and better for them! While not seasonally timed, this preview video was posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, which is ostensibly of their November 2011 debut CD "Christmas Night", but actually features newer recordings featuring their recent touring band members (as distinguished particularly by the inclusion of vocals.)

The video proper combines live concert footage from the tour with some in-studio performances, as well as some scattered photos. It's well put together and a nice sampling of what to expect this winter, so if you can get past the seasonal content in late May, give Theatre of Night's new video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

Next up, here's some new updates related to the upcoming June Jam concert at The Rockstar Bar in Sault Ontario on June 1st, starting with a lineup withdrawal, as local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven have dropped out of this concert, as per their Facebook page. A reason was not publically stated for their exit, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and that we see them back on stage sooner or later! At press time, they have not been replaced on the bill, we will let you know if they are. Ticket details have also been confirmed for the June Jam, with prices at $8 in advance online (details on that front are not public yet) or $10 at the door, so keep those in mind. Of course, this Live705-promoted show will feature Timmins punk quartet All The Wasted Years alongside locals A Dire Setback and Sault Ontario heavy/power rock quintet Re:Born, who posted four new jam session videos onto their Facebook page last week, so what can be said on those?

The videos include Re:Born covering The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", Saxon's "Denim & Leather", and their precedessors Project 421's original song "Into The Darkness", but embedded below is their new cover of "Lavatory Love Machine" by the German power metal band Edguy. That's gotta be a first from a local band! Though we don't get an optimal look at the band on these clips (we only tend to see singer Robert Nevitt from behind), these performances are solid given the setting, and it'll be cool to see them back on stage next month, especially after their spring break! Give Re:Born's new videos a look above and below!



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

• Local punk trio A Dire Setback (of the aforementioned June Jam) will hit the road for a second out of town show this summer, as they'll be featured on a rock/rap hybrid event at The Asylum in Sudbury on Saturday, July 28th! Full details are not out yet, beyond the involvement of an act named Mooch, but this should be another big chance for A.D.S. to make new fans outside of the Soo, so hopefully this show goes as well as their Timmins trip next month!
• I have deleted the former WLSO radio show CRaMPS from our "Other Sault Michigan Metal Links" section due to the quiet deletion of it's Facebook page for unannounced reasons in recent months. Airing on Friday mornings on Lake Superior State University's campus radio station in late 2010, the student-hosted program hadn't visibly on the air since then, though to be fair, I don't even know if 90.1 FM still broadcasts on terrestrial radio at all. Hopefully Pat and Seth have found success in more recent endeavours!
• Former Din bandmates Mike Haggith and Tammy Hill reunited in Windsor on Saturday when they travelled from Manitoba and Sault Ontario respectively to attend the long awaited Canadian premiere of the movie Ashes of K, whose soundtrack is entirely comprised of songs from The Din and Mike's solo project. It's great to see this movie finally released and distributed, and you can see photos of Mike, Tammy, and Din producer Daniel Schmidt on the red carpet at their Facebook page! (Yes, a review of Ashes of K could make the SMS if we can find a way to see it.)
• I have also deleted former local concert venue Docks Riverfront Grill from our inactive concert venue listings, due to the deletion of it's Facebook (and last surviving online) page in recent months. The Foster Drive nightclub and restaurant had initially been sold to new ownership in 2014, and after brief stints as Waterfront Legend and The River Cookhouse, it became The HD Sports Grill in 2016, and has sporadically hosted live music since Docks itself ended. Hopefully more is on the horizon there down the road!
• The Indie Spring concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday had a late lineup withdrawal, as Sudbury garage rock headliners The Almighty Rhombus were forced to drop out after bassist Laura Willett badly cut her finger in an accident. That's definitely a bummer, hopefully Laura gets well soon! In their place, local indie/hard rock quartet Id Iota played an extended headlining set.
• A local musician named Jay Daug is looking for a "heavily influenced (John) Bonham drummer" between 20 and 40 years of age, as per a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on May 9th. Jay didn't specify if this was for a band he's working on, for informal jamming, or something else, but message him at this link or above if you fit the bill and need more details!

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

New Garden Of Bedlam Videos & Tons Of Assorted Notes!!

Today's post is different from the norm in it's content, as we only have one major story, and the rest is completely made up of short assorted stories from recent days, more than we've ever grouped together in one post! Before all of those though, we have some new videos from a recent metal concert, so here's what you need to know! (Updated on October 28th, 2013)

If you missed Garden of Bedlam's Devil's Night concert in honour of The Rad Zone's 18th birthday party, then this might help make up for it, as the Wellington Square Mall music/skate shop posted two videos from the show onto their YouTube channel yesterday! The first video features assorted footage from the event, including Garden of Bedlam on stage, attendees in & out of costume, and the various prizes that were given away, as set to their song "Stand Your Ground". It's very well packaged, and it makes me wish I could have made it even more so! The video posted below is similar (though longer & more band-centric), and it features real audio from the concert, including clips of Garden of Bedlam playing "Three Days" and what sounds like their cover of The Deftones' "Be Quiet & Drive (Far Away)"! The video quality on each works well, but the original audio is very scratchy compared to the one with "Stand Your Ground" dubbed over. Awesome to see these both though, so check out the longer of the two videos below, and hopefully we'll see Garden of Bedlam back on stage sooner rather than later!



Lastly for today, here's TEN assorted shorter news items from the last little while (yes, 10!) Might as well cover them all while they're in mind, so as always, these are in alphabetical order by artist, website, location, or show name:

• The 705 Video Magazine forums appear to have been compromised in recent days, with tons of recent posts flooding their message boards in the past month from spam accounts spreading spam links. This attack is something I don't remember happening on the 705VM's old forums. If you're browsing there, DO NOT click on any suspicious links, and let administrators know about the spam infiltration if you can!
• I've added the Facebook page for the old WLSO radio show CRaMPS to our Other Sault Michigan Metal Links section. A 2 hour classic rock & metal show hosted by Lake Superior State University students Pat Reed & Seth Witucki, CRaMPS ran on 90.1 FM locally Fridays at 11:00 AM from October-December 2010. There's not a whole lot to say on it, but I remember catching it occasionally, and become a fan if you wanna above!
• Local metal band Crimson Crusade may have found a new guitarist to replace the departed Brock Pinder, as recent posts on their Facebook page credit "Rob #1" & "Rob #2" as band members. One is drummer Robert Crossley, but I can't yet confirm who the other Rob is (possibly Robert Sartini from Pillory?) If we don't get confirmation before next weekend, we'll know for sure when Crimson Crusade return to the stage at The Canadian Nightclub on the 26th, so stay tuned!
• You may have noticed that the electronic marquee board in The Rockstar Bar & this Facebook event page indicate that Crush: The Best of Bon Jovi returned to the Sault on October 27th, but The Rockstar Bar never visibly plugged it online, and their advertising for that night on Facebook only credited it as the Halloween-themed "Night of the Living Bar Crawlers". I'm not entirely sure whether they played here or not, but if they did, I apologize profusely for missing this show!
• New Sault Michigan hardcore band The Eleventh Hour have apparently parted ways with clean singer Cathy Burgos, as per her quiet removal from their Facebook page's lineup. No reason was announced, but Cathy's personal Facebook page lists her as living out of state, so she may have moved recently. Best of luck to her in the future though! Also in lineup news, guitarist Josh North is currently handling bass duties as well in place of the departed Alex Boyer, so we'll have to see how he handles both roles in the interim!
• Former Dark Salvation singer Kevin "Kevyn Kross" Calder has posted some metal tracks onto his current solo project's Reverbnation page! Though primarily an instrumental electronic project, Kevin's song "Celestial Warcry" as well as a metal track with collaborator John "Morkryd" Verdone are definitely heavy and show some promise, so hopefully he makes some more metal tracks like this! Check them out above!
• I forgot to mention this last week, but some lucky local metalheads got to meet members of Hellyeah when they stopped in at Joey's Twisted Italian Grill at The Station Mall on Thursday! T-Rex Manning guitarist Tiffany Stocco was among the lucky few who got to meet Pantera alum Vinnie Paul & other band members on their off day between tour stops, and I am extremely jealous! (If only they'd played here too!) If you know Tiffany, check her photos out on Facebook!
• Sault Ontario music store Northland Music finally has their own Facebook page, which was just launched on Sunday! Though minimal so far, it already features posts referring to new instruments and items in stock at the Queen Street East storefront, so hopefully this new Facebook page picks up steam, and become a fan of Northland Music at the above links!
• I edited our GarageBand Profile on defunct local metal trio Sin Stereo to note that their successor band Stiffler's Mom appear to be back full time! They originally broke up in August 2011 but have played and scheduled a number of 2012 concerts, Toystock included, so it looks like they've effectively reunited. Great to have them back, and hopefully they still have some heavier songs up their sleeves!
• Among recent photo album uploads from Kewadin Casino concert meet & greets are shots of the meet & greets with Stryper, Slaughter, and Lynch Mob from their Sault Michigan show on February 24th! There are 4, 8, and 10 photos with each band respectively. Click here to check them all out, and if I hear anything on future meet & greets or photo uploads from them, I'll let you guys know! 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Adelitas Way concert fallout soon, along with weekend concert previews and anything else new down the pipeline! Thanks everyone!