LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & The Nameless) Plus Weekend & New Year's Concert Previews!!

Given the relative news slowdown at year's end, and a lot of tie-in content for the bands playing ahead, let's finish this weekend's hard rock concert previews while also looking at some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and most of the known hard rock previews for New Year's Eve, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Sault Michigan hard rock quintet The Nameless will end 2024 when they headline The Merchants Bar's New Year's Eve party on TUESDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page this past Tuesday, and like usual for concerts there, The Merch hasn't acknowledged this show on social media. Last seen at The Merch's pre-Thanksgiving concert last month, this will be a fine way for fans of local hard rock talent to ring in 2025, so consider a run down to West Spruce Street for all of the action! I don't know what specific New Year's frills will be on tap for attendees on TUESDAY, but admission is FREE for this 21+ event, which starts at 9:00 PM and runs until 1:00 AM. Visit the above links for more on The Nameless' New Year's show at The Merch on TUESDAY NIGHT, stay tuned for much more from them next year, and here they are live!

Next up, we have more new shows to acknowledge from Sal southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225, courtesy of their website's newly updated concert calendar! Gigs for the next 2 months+ are listed there, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren in the new year? Mostly at Reggie's Place, as your local 225 are booked there on the following weekends: January 3rd-4th and 10th-11th, January 31st-February 1st, February 14th-15th (a.k.a. the Family Day long weekend), and February 28th-March 1st. The guys ended 2024 with a bunch of Reggie's dates in a short span, and it looks like their frequency will continue in the first quarter of 2025, which is great news for fans of theirs and the downtown nightclub! Their only current local date elsewhere is their first "uncorked" gig of 2025, which will see Bone Yard go acoustic on Saturday, February 8th at The Water Tower Pub, a venue that historically hosts different nightly acts.

The other new dates will see Bone Yard 225 make their bi-annual return to The Coulson Entertainment Center in Sudbury on January 24th & 25th, so if you're living or travelling four hours east and wanna check out some familiar hometown faces next month, you know where to be! No word on when/if Bone Yard 225 will fill the empty weekends or February 7th with shows elsewhere, but it's a good start for the new year! Meanwhile, back in the current timeline, we have two imminent shows from Bone Yard to preview, starting with their return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the first time since October TONIGHT! Given that they're not (yet?) scheduled to rock Dennis Street again in early 2025, make the most of tonight's southern and hard rock cover action! Lastly, the 225 will end 2024 back at the aforementioned Reggie's Place for their New Year's Eve party on TUESDAY NIGHT!

All of the Reggie's shows ahead start at 9:30 PM, as does tonight's Shooters gig, while the unplugged Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM. All are 19+ events with no announced cover charge, including Tuesday's New Year's concert, though I don't know if Reggie's have any specific seasonal frills for the occasion. Whether you're sending out 2024 on Tuesday or enjoying Bone Yard 225 tonight or next year, there's a lot ahead for fans, so visit the above links for more details, here's Bone Yard live, and click here to sample their third original song "Fuck", which will be released in 2025!

We'll close this post with one more hard rock-friendly New Year's Eve party, and it marks a farewell, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will end their local run when they headline the YNCU Curling Centre's New Year's festivities on TUESDAY NIGHT! Eight years after the then-nameless band debuted at the former Rednecks Saloon in the fall of 2016, Soundcheck will call it a day for publically unannounced reasons after this night, but as this is a New Year's bash at the Anita Boulevard curling rink, they're definitely going out with a bang! Unlike other New Year's concerts with heavier bands this year, there are advertised frills to take in on Tuesday, with the on-site Hard Line Grill being open for anyone wanting something to eat, and complimentary champagne will be offered at midnight. This 19+ concert begins at 9:00 PM with doors opening at 7:30 PM, and while tickets will cost $25 at the door or at this link, remember that there is more being offered here in the advertising, so the proceeds will go to that.

If you'd rather see Soundcheck one last time with no cover, they're playing at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT (as publically announced on short notice), so if you don't plan on going to the Curling Centre, head west to say goodbye to Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen this weekend while you still can! Even if they weren't disbanding next week, the setting and scope of Tuesday's New Year's party is very much of note, so send out 2024 and Soundcheck then! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, best of luck to the guys and their former bandmates in the future, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the Rock Show preview and more, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profile and CD review! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Bone Yard 225, And Dodge This), Plus An Impending Breakup!!

In today's news post, we have a bunch of end-of-year LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of before 2024 is done, with one of the bands in question reportedly disbanding afterwards, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, December 27th! The band hasn't confirmed this booking publically at press time, with the venue's concert calendar on their Facebook page doing the honours. Unless something else is announced in the interim (Jason's solo gigs aside), this will be Dodge This' first announced concert since rocking The Dive a couple weeks ago, and their first gig at The Water Tower Pub since November 8th. If you want to enjoy some live rock cover action from some talented local music veterans post-Christmas, a trip to the Great Northern Road nightclub later this month will definitely do the trick! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, with new-ish acoustic duo The Dustcovers playing there on Saturday the 28th. Jamie & Jason (and Jeff?) take the stage at 8:00 PM for this 19+ show with no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Dodge This!

Next up, we have confirmation of two SMS-amenable bands rocking out on New Year's Eve this year, and we'll first head to the YNCU Curling Centre (née the Community First Curling Centre), where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage on Tuesday, December 31st! The band has not publically confirmed this show yet, but the Anita Boulevard curling rink confirmed it via this Facebook event page on Friday. More details on the event proper are forthcoming, but this is a ticketed event running for $25 a pop (they'll be on sale online at this link in time), but of course, remember that this is a New Year's party with the frills that that entails, including champagne at midnight when we finally begin 2025. Obviously, this would be a 19+ event, and Soundcheck kick things off at 9:00 PM. Importantly, the advertising indicates that this will be "Soundcheck's farewell show", which is definitely big news!

While also not publically corroborated on Soundcheck's Facebook page (which has not seen new updates since October), drummer Glen Thomas has confirmed their impending finality in recent posts on his personal Facebook page. I have not heard a reason for Soundcheck's planned breakup as of this writing, but remember that the band has slowed down their rate of concerts in the past six months, around the time that they ended their run as the weekly jam night hosts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub (at the time, it was said that singer/guitarist Terry Eaton "needs a breather from them"). Soundcheck have been a staple of the weekend nightclub cover circuit since debuting under the temporary moniker Nameus in 2016, and basically merged with the similar Mourning Wood the following year. Though Terry was their only constant member, Soundcheck became a prominent sight locally at bars, festivals, and charity events alike.

Soundcheck have at least three more gigs left this month (including at The Esquire Club next week), but it will be surprising to not have them around in 2025 if what the curling center and Glen are saying is accurate. Soundcheck are a talented and adaptable group of musicians who can entertaining many audiences, as a full four-piece or as a jam trio, and hopefully we'll hear more from Terry, Cameron, Jim, Glen, and their former members in new projects down the line! Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's apparent farewell show in three weeks!

Finally for this news post, let's head downtown to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end 2024 by headlining their New Year's party on Tuesday the 31st! While not listed on their website's concert calendar, the band and venue have both confirmed the booking publically on Facebook. Of course, Bone Yard will be rocking Reggie's first with a one-nighter on Friday (preview forthcoming), and have steady bookings over the next three weekends, but a good old fashioned New Year's party will be of note for many, so if you wanna ring in 2025 with Greg, Alex, and Warren's hard rocking southern and classic rock covers (and perhaps their two originals), head to Reggie's in three weeks! No word on potential frills for New Year's Eve, but this 19+ event at 9:30 PM has no cover charge or tickets, so if you want a much cheaper night to party with, keep that in mind, and see above for more details!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Tym Morrison Concert Preview, New Videos, And Much More!!

Bit later than this should have been posted, but tonight on the SMS, we have new videos, a partially released new album, and leading off, one last concert preview for the weekend, so here's what you should know!

We'll start by wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play an increasingly rare solo date TONIGHT when he returns to the YNCU Curling Centre (née the Community First Curling Centre) as part of their Super Bowl bonspiel festivities! I apologize for the late preview, I confused the Super Bowl theme for this being a Sunday nighter, but in my original coverage, I had correctly advertised this as being tonight. Tym played at a different bonspiel at the Anita Boulevard curling rink back in November, and clearly things went well for him to get called back for tomorrow! Again, this one is themed around the Super Bowl tomorrow night, and three full games of curling (six ends each) are guaranteed before the football telecast ever begins, with wings & an appetizer bar planned for tonight's festivities.

Tonight's concert is at the curling rink's on-site restaurant The House, and there's no cover charge to just see Tym perform, but I believe there is still a 19+ age limit, and he is not playing there tomorrow (the game is on). Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, the teased split album from local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore and industrial metal solo act Molten Imp has been (half) released! I am admittedly behind on covering recent activity from Blood Shed Productions, I hope to remedy that in a post shortly, but this is the newest of news from them. Despite announcing that "Pyrolytic Punishment" would be released on February 1st, it was delayed a week for unannounced reasons, and released on Wednesday... albeit just on C.T.W.'s end. You can buy their half of the split on a "name your price" model (or download/stream it for free) on Bandcamp at this link, and it features 10 songs, some shorter and/or more provocatively titled than others. More recent songs of theirs have tended to not be quite as short as fans saw in the 2010s. As of this writing, Molten Imp's half of the split has surprisingly not been posted in full on Bandcamp, but we will definitely keep you posted when it surfaces!

A preview song from each act was uploaded to the Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel, where you can hear C.T.W.'s "River Valley Slaughter" and (embedded below) Molten Imp's "Pedestrian Blues (EYEHATETRUCKS)". When fully released on both sides, I do plan to eventually review "Pyrolytic Punishment", which will be a first for us on C.T.W.'s end, believe it or not. Nothing against Tyler whatsoever, he has developed a loyal following with this brutal & minimalist goregrind, but between the recording & performing methods and the controversial lyrics/themes on offer, they're kinda critic-proof and I've been concerned about how I'd approach their songs. Stay tuned, and hear more above & below!

Also today, local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich have recorded their debut music video and it will be released to their YouTube channel on Wednesday! It will premiere there at this link at midnight sharp, adding to the prolonged hype for the release of their debut album "Deconstructed" on the oddly specific date of May 5th, but if you want to hear the full song early, they first uploaded a jam session performance of it (albeit pre-Rafael) in 2021. In advance, two videos were uploaded to their Facebook page in the last couple of days to get the word out, including this one where band members flash their devil horns over the YouTube scheduled upload, but embedded below is a 13 second teaser of the video, which features everyone performing outside, clearly where one of those five big blue chairs are given where singer Taylor Emlaw is sitting during her close-up scene (I think they were at Topsail Island?)

Just as an aside, I finally figured out who Taylor's voice reminds me of: Beth Hart, the American blues rock/jazz singer (listen to "Stay" by her to hear what I mean). We'll have more on the full video when it drops next week, but give their Facebook teaser clip a watch below!

We'll close today with two new live videos from local southern hard rock cover quartet Bone Yard's Facebook page, as a band associate was back live-streaming videos of them in action last night at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! Note the red & white balloons, likely a tie-in with the ongoing Bon Soo Winter Carnival. The videos include an incomplete clip of Bone Yard (with bassist Warren Reville on lead vocals) covering The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated", but embedded below is a nearly full cover of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" with drummer Greg Simpson singing lead as usual. Alas, these are vertically shot & uploaded, which doesn't help the framing of the clips when the filmed was further back (too bad more fans weren't up close on the floor), but Bone Yard sound solid & lively on these classic rock staples as you'd expect! Give them a look above and below, and round 2 at Shooters for them is ongoing right now!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hails & Tym Morrison), An Inactive Band Note, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906's planned show at Jack's Grub & Pub in Brimley tonight has been cancelled, as per their Facebook page this morning. The cited "health reasons" for withdrawing, but didn't specify what was wrong and with which band member(s). Of course, hopefully he (or they) get well soon, and that we see Project 906 back on stage before you know it! Now let's head back to Sault Ontario for some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) and related updates!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for an acoustic matinee concert on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page yesterday, with the notification popping up minutes after yesterday's post hit the site. While we're on the subject, Tym will also return to the YNCU Curling Center at 124 Anita Boulevard on Saturday, February 11th for his second gig there in three months, so if you want to see him in a traditional nighttime timeslot, that's your next opportunity! SUNDAY's show comes just two weeks removed from his last matinee concert at Reggie's, so expect more of his fan-friendly unplugged classic and hard rock hits then, and while it's standard fare this weekend, the show at the former Community First Curling Centre next weekend is again coinciding with a bonspiel, this time themed after the Super Bowl.

As you can see on the poster and in the write-up at this link, there's lots of entertainment lined up for competitiors and attendees online, with Tym providing musical entertainment in their on-site restaurant The House at 8:00 PM. SUNDAY's Reggie's matinee is at 3:00 PM, and both events have no cover charge and 19+ age limits (you don't have to enter the bonspiel to see Tym's set next week only). Visit the curling concert's Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and for a preview of SUNDAY's concert, here's Tym live in concert last year!

Next up, debuting local punk trio Hails and local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore will join forces at a special art exhibition/concert on Friday, March 17th at... The Art Hub at Spring?! Located at 504 Queen Street East (the name references the space being at the corner of Queen & Spring), The Art Hub is located at the former Big Brothers Association office, and it opened there as an art gallery and events venue last year, with this being the first concert to cross our genre radar. In fact, it is one of many arts and culture events behind held by the returning Fishbowl Festival, which takes place at various downtown venues during Pisces season (February 20th-March 20th), though this is the only SMS-amenable concert so far. This will mark a relatively rare live appearance by Chase, who has been largely focusing on studio material during the pandemic, so it'll be interesting to hear how he does next month!

As for Hails, they are the new band from Slumshine/These Magnificent Tentacles frontman Brenton Ellis, which sees him on vocals & bass joined by Vanity First bandmates Mikhal Muto and Keeghan McAllister on guitar & drums respectively (my source is Brent's personal Facebook page, as Hails don't have a public page of their own yet). This band will apparently be playing skate punk, so not too far off from Vanity First (just with Brent rather than Andrew), and remember that Vanity First are still active and have been regularly posting on their Facebook page so far in 2023. Despite their placement on the poster, Brent confirmed that Hails are headlining, which makes sense given the art exhibition angle of this event, entitled the Full Circle Rock & Roll Spectacular, as Brent is an accomplished painter & visual artist and will be showcasing art "celebrating connectivity and continuity" on this night.

Between his music and artistic endeavours, Brent has a big night ahead next month, and hopefully there's a great turnout for him on both fronts in six weeks! This event has a $10 cover charge ("pay what you can" is also an option), it is ALL AGES, and doors open at 7:00 PM at The Art Hub on Spring. Visit the official Facebook event page for much more on this event, and if you're a Facebook friend of Brent's, do check out his pictures of his paintings and such to get an idea of what he's bringing to the table for this!

With Brent having launched this new band, I have reluctantly opted to move his local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles to our inactive band links. Their last public update was only in July when plugging their participation in the Open Act contest, and while 6+ months on its own isn't enough for us to be consider them inactive, Hails' launch is definitely of note, while founding guitarist Steve Edwards has been posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in the past week, noting that he's "getting back out there after a short hiatus" and is now working on a 1990s-centric cover band that already has a singer and bassist attached (click here if you want to try out on guitar or drums). All of this doesn't paint a supremely positive picture for the Tentacles' future, alas. T.M.T. launched as a two man studio band in May 2021, releasing their "Surfacing..." EP one year ago this month.

After adding Handsome Sandwich's Mitch Sirie and half of Gnaeus' original lineup last May, the expanded Tentacles played a handful of multi-band events in the ensuing month+, but updates ceased in July, and their quiet withdrawal from the Northern Vibe Festival in August may make a little more sense now. It's a shame that These Magnificent Tentacles appear to have dissolved, as they were an entertainingly diverse yet punk-leaning act, and I liked their EP, but between Hails, Handsome Sandwich, and Steve's new group, most of the band is definitely keeping busy. Best of luck to Brent, Steve, Mitch, Brad, and Brendan no matter what, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

Sykotyk Rampage Concert Preview, Woods Of Ypres Updates, And More!

Good afternoon metalheads! Hope you guys enjoyed my review of "Brace For Impact" by Detroit yesterday! If you haven't read it, it's the post immediately below this one! Next review is in just under 4 weeks when I finally take a look at the newest album from Sykotyk Rampage, who return to the live scene tomorrow for this concert we're going to preview! Stay tuned afterwards for more assorted news stories!

Tomorrow night, Sault College, in association with this year's Scotties Tournament Of Hearts, are holding a Battle of the Bands as part of the festivities for the tournament! As you may remember, private auditions were held on January 21st at The Outback at Sault College, where local bands with at least one Sault College student competed to fill one of four spots for this battle, the first local one since the Kiss battle in December! Each band will play a half hour of music, and when all is said and done, the first place band will leave $750 richer! Second place wins $500 and third gets $150. As I hinted above, Sykotyk Rampage are one of the four bands competing tomorrow night, in their first live performance of more than two songs since October at The Outback! Bringing their unique brand of hard rock to the masses once again, Sykotyk Rampage are the only metal act on the lineup tomorrow night, though there's no shortage of talent! The other bands are, in alphabetical order: local classic rockers Blackwater, local rock band Middle of Nowhere, and indie rockers Nebraska Arms! Though not metal, all three bands have large fanbases and should put in great performances tomorrow night!

Admission is FREE to all area post-secondary students, so bring your Sault College, Algoma, or LSSU IDs tomorrow night! Guests are welcome if accompanied by a student. I don't know if there's an admission price for non-students without guests, they haven't said if there is or if it's restricted. Doors open at 8:00 PM, the battle commences at around 10:00 PM! The battle will be held at The Heartstop Lounge, which is the bar/lounge area in The Soo Curlers Association Curling Rink on Anita Boulevard (on Northern Avenue past Alexander Henry Collegiate.) It is 19+, so make sure to be of age! It's great to see another battle to give local bands a chance to show their stuff, even if only four bands are competing. One might look to the Kiss Battle results to predict a winner, as Nebraska Arms were finalists, while Sykotyk Rampage and Middle of Nowhere were not, but this is a whole new ball game! Don't count Blackwater out either!

And of course, being a metalhead, it's great to see Sykotyk Rampage back on the scene! Will we hear songs from "22"? Who knows, but it will be another fun set from these guys! I'll be there, best of luck to them and all the bands! To preview what to expect, head to their Soundclick page to hear hundreds of songs from their back catalog! And here's a video for one of their signature songs, "Drinking On The Weekend"!



While we're on the subject of videos, here's two that will interest Woods of Ypres fans on a more lighthearted level! Both come courtesy of frontman David Gold's YouTube channel. Firstly, he uploaded a video where he shows where he's storing the ideas for the band's next album, "Woods V"! I won't spoil anything, just watch it. Is this how all bands come up with song ideas?



Keeping with the kinda offbeat tone, here's the other video! Have you ever thought to yourself "I wish washing my car was more metal?" Here's how to make it metal: Put Woods of Ypres decals on your car and blast "The Northern Cold" while you run it through an automatic car wash! And boom, even the car wash becomes a headbangable exercise! Check it out!



Next up, some local music forum related updates. If you're a casual viewer of The705Scene forums, and you noticed that the forum selections aren't popping up, you're not alone. Looks like admins are disabling casual views of the forum at present, so if you want to read without posting, you're gonna need an account. Luckily I have one, so it won't impact any news from The705Scene still making it to the SMS as I hear it! Just figured those of you without accounts might want to know. The other updates come from the new forum for local metallers Caveman Morrison! Lots of activity and new topics there, among the more noteworthy ones: Caveman Morrison are available for special gatherings and parties, they've been trying to get bookings in St. Joseph Island, and they are learning songs from bands like Slayer, Living Colour, and Kiss! Check everything out, and join the discussions, at this location!

Two more quick topics to get to today. Remember when I mentioned that Nixxon Dixxon's weekend dates at the end of the month at Kewadin Casino conflicted with concerts already scheduled featuring Peril? Well, something did indeed give, as Peril moved that weekend's shows to Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace. But if you were hoping to see Peril that weekend, don't worry, they'll be back at The Rapids Lounge on the March 12th weekend! And finally, a new DJ for Energy Rock Radio has been announced, and it's none other than "Castle Farms" author Duane Roy! I guess his radio exposure on Rock 101 has led to some great positive heights! Congratulations Duane! And yes, I will review "Castle Farms" on the SMS, school and general SMS activity have been consuming a lot of my free time. Soon though!

That's all for now, next post could be this month's preview of two more out of town bands with local members! Or it could have my review of tomorrow night's Sykotyk Rampage show! OR, it could be another news/preview post. Or a combo? We'll see how things shape up, but you guys will get one of the three next! So keep on the lookout!