Musicians Unite Fallout & Videos (Part 1!!)

This has fallen through the cracks for way too long now, so let's talk about fallout from the Musicians Unite benefit concert at Bird's Eye Outfitters on March 22nd! Held in honour of Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo in order to raise money for her and her family during her ongoing battle with breast cancer, you can read more about all that happened last month in this personal Facebook post by co-promoter & Exit 808 singer Amy Beach (which has been shared publically by some of the bands). Over $5,000 was raised for the Jenkins family on this night, and Bird's Eye was packed all day, so it's awesome to see the support from Sault Michiganders and the E.U.P. at this trying time! I initially had planned to cross the border for it, but the whole tariff/trade war thing came up and I didn't want to risk any hiked up duty payments at customs for whatever I happened to buy. Amy's post also includes 50 photos from the concert, so what is there to see?

While John Bullman was the official photographer, these attached photos are Amy's, and include shots of attendees and performers alike, and there's a lot of quality shots from her camera from bell to bell! In terms of videos, let's start with headlining Marquette hard rock cover band Spun (featuring frequent Exit 808 guest bassist Bob Libick), who live-streamed two vertical videos from their set to their Facebook page. Now, I want to preface this by noting that Facebook will now be removing live-streamed videos from accounts after 30 days in an effort to declutter storage and improve program efficiency (source here). Pages/users will then have a 90 day window to either re-post it as a normal video or "Reel", or save it to their hard drive before it is permanently deleted (one six month postponement will also be allowed). This was announced before Musicians Unite, so I don't know if Spun intended for these to be short-term content or not, but watch them while you can!

I get where Facebook is coming from, as the amount of uploaded videos never ends, but that's a lot of videos that are doomed, so hopefully not all of them are unceremoniously deleted! In any event, Spun's videos (which should be live until around April 21st barring a permanent re-upload) feature a rocked-up cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and, as embedded below, Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine" featuring Amy on guest vocals. Sadly, both videos are vertical, and the filmer was behind attendees in both clips, but both covers are solid, and Amy's voice holds up well for this GNR classic, so check both videos out (while you can?) above and below!

Co-headlining Elmira hard rock band Driving Dawn didn't post videos of their own from Musicians United, but attendee Miranda Bigger got some really good pictures of their set that you can see on the band's Facebook page and/or this link. Acoustic filler sets aside, the aforementioned Exit 808 closed things as far as local bands went, and in terms of their lineup, they were joined at Bird's Eye by the aforementioned Joe Jenkins and Bob Libick as guests on guitar and bass. while Amy's 10 year old niece Stella even joined them on bass for at least one song! Regardless of whether he's officially on guitar or bass now, Amy's son Blaze Beairl was not in attendance, and while I didn't see an official statement as to why, he was on the road with Heavy Lies The Crown that weekend, drumming with them at Cabin Fever Fest 2 in Oscoda the previous day. We'll have more on H.L.T.C.'s March activity soon!

A handful of videos from the show were shared in this batch post of John Bullman's photos that was posted to Exit 808's Facebook page, and one video is of their set, where they were joined by another guest musician, namely Molly Escherich, who fronted The Other Guys to victory at last year's LSSU Battle of the Bands, and was one of three between-set guest acoustic musicians on this night. The 50 seconds-long clip sees Exit 808, Molly, Joe, and Bob covering Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life", with Amy sitting out to allow Molly to handle lead vocals (co-singer Dillon Semasky did the Paul McCoy parts). I have no idea why this video is so skinny (even if you like vertical videos), but everyone performs well on this hard rock staple! Molly does come across a little nervous, but her vocals suit the cover nicely, and remember, she is 13 years old. Good stuff all around, so check out Exit 808 & crew below!

We'll touch on media and fallout from the earlier three local bands and the acoustic performers in an upcoming post, but I'm glad to finally get coverage rolling from Musicians Unite, and our continued best wishes are with Mary Jo and the Jenkins family as he continues her cancer battle! That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

The Musicians Unite Benefit Concert Preview!!

A huge assortment of local and Northern Michigan rock talent will join forces at Bird's Eye Outfitters TOMORROW NIGHT for Musicians Unite, a special benefit concert! As you may know, Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been in a fight with breast cancer for the past year+, and this event is to raise money for her and her family to offset the cost of treatments and medically-related travel downstate. Along with tomorrow's concert action, there will be official t-shirts available for purchase, a bake sale, and a silent auction on site at Bird's Eye, so visit the official Facebook event page for complete non-musical details on what's going on and how you can help May Jo and family at this difficult time! Your headliners tomorrow are Marquette hard rock cover quartet Spun in their first local concert appearance since 2022, though bassist Bob Libick has guested locally with Exit 808 multiple times since.

It's cool to have Spun proper back on a local stage tomorrow at 10:45 PM, and hopefully they rock the house tomorrow, especially given that they're letting the opening bands use their sound system! Elmira hard rock quintet Driving Dawn will co-headline at 9:00 PM in their first ever E.U.P. concert appearance, though Exit 808 fans may know them too, as they won last year's Rock Recovery battle of the bands in Alpena. Driving Dawn's skilled modern rock sound should be welcomed by Yoopers tomorrow night as well! The aforementioned Exit 808 are the highest slotted local band at 7:30 PM, and members Amy Beach & Jackie Moon are the promoters of Musicians Unite as well. Should be a big set for them, and given how open they are to have guest and fill-in musicians, could some surprises turn up? One is definitely hinted, as young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich is listed as making "appearances" mid-set.

Whether just the band, with Molly, or with other guests, Exit 808 should leave a good impression with their double vocalist-led hard rock! Fellow local hard rock quartet Dirty Musky will take the stage at 6:00 PM with their own set of unique hard and alternative covers, and they should make some noise early in the evening, as will hard/blues rockers Project 906, who are (of course) one of the central bands tomorrow given who Mary Jo is married to. Unfortunately, the band will be playing sans singer Billy Bernier due to a previously scheduled vacation, but Exit 808 singers Amy Beach and Dillion Semasky will be guesting behind the mic with 906, returning the favour after both Joe & Dustin have sat in with Exit 808 in recent months, so look for this special set tomorrow as well! The opening local band is new alt-punk trio About: Blank (featuring Tarnished and Midnight Logic alumni), who will kick off the day's musical program at 3:00 PM.

As for the previously teased acoustic performers between the full band sets, organizers confirmed earlier today that three solo musicians will do the honours across the five breaks between bands. The aforementioned Molly Escherich (who was teased to guest with Exit 808) is slated to play unplugged music at 10:15 PM, 7:00 PM, and 4:00 PM, while veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney is blocked for a mini-set at 8:30 PM, and About:Blank frontman Parker Talentino will go solo for a bit of his own at 5:30 PM. Admission is by donation tomorrow night, and while I have not seen a firmly stated age limit at Bird's Eye (which is licensed), Molly's presence alone is noted. Official event t-shirts will also be on sale. While I won't be in attendance (I was hoping to go before the tariff/trade war complicated imminent Sault Michigan trips), this is a huge concert for EUP live music fans, so don't miss it!

Alas, I can relate all too well to what the Jenkins family is going through right now, as I lost my mother (named Mary, incidentally) to ovarian cancer in October 2020. From what I have seen and read, Mary Jo's strength, courage, and devotion to her family (including her three kids) is extremely commendable, and kudos to Joe, his bandmates, and everyone else involved with Musicians Unite for putting on what will be a packed night of live music and good vibes! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tomorrow's benefit concert, and for a preview, here's Spun live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for some new concert announcements on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Musicians Unite Benefit & Dirty Musky!!)

We have a fair backlog of news items to clear out on the SMS as we begin March 2025, so let's start with an all-Sault Michigan post solely devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock cover quartet Dirty Musky will rock The Merchants Bar on Saturday, March 15th! This one-nighter will be their second show of 2025 (after rocking Hessel during Snowsfest last month), and their first gig in the Soo since playing at The Merch right before Christmas. Like in their last two concerts, the festivities in two weeks have a theme, as March 15th falls a couple of days before St. Patrick's Day, so in lieu of a Monday nighter, expect bands to take advantage of the 15th for their Irish themed festivities and green beer! We await specifics on what The Merch/Dirty Musky have in mind though. You can see Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie take the stage that night at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on what should be a fun night of hard rocking tunes, but we're not done with Dirty Musky yet, as they've got one more booking this month in the Soo..

One week later, on Saturday, March 22nd, a huge lineup of rock bands will join forces at Bird's Eye Outfitters for a special cause! As some of you may know, Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has been battling for the past year. To help offset the expenses that her treatments and travel downstate have incurred on her family while she's not working, local musicians are hosting the Musicians Unite benefit concert at Bird's Eye to raise funds for the Jenkins family at this difficult time. Having lost my mother (named Mary, incidentally) to ovarian cancer in 2020, I completely sympathize with Mary Jo and her family as this fight continues, and I hope that this concert goes a fair way to helping the Jenkins clan through this! Entry for this benefit concert will be via donation (I don't know if it's 21+ or not), and a silent auction will also take place.

A huge lineup of six bands will be headlined on the 22nd by Marquette hard rock cover quartet Spun in their first local date since 2022, though bassist Bob Libick will be familiar to local fans for his frequent appearances as a guest fill-in bassist with Exit 808 in the past year. Great to see Spun proper back in town later this month! They're on at 10:45 PM, while your co-headliners at 9:00 PM are Elmira hard rock quintet Driving Dawn in their local debut. While we haven't seen them on stage yet here, readers may recognize Driving Dawn from winning the Rock Recovery battle of the bands in Alpena last year, which featured the aforementioned Exit 808 as competitors, so it's nice to see past coverage get further local links! Exit 808 (who are promoting this event) are the highest slotted local band in their first gig since the I-500 weekend, and will take the stage at 7:30 PM. Kudos to Amy & Jackie for putting this on!

The poster heavily implies that rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich will be making "appearances" during Exit 808's set, so keep an eye out for Molly rocking out with a new set of "other guys"! The aforementioned Dirty Musky are blocked for 6:00 PM at Bird's Eye, while Project 906 proper will play their first Sault Ste. Marie gig of 2025 at 4:30 PM. Odd that they're so early in the night given the benefit's inspiration, but it'll surely be an emotional one for Joe in particular, and hopefully they have a strong set! Your openers at 3:00 PM are About:Blank, the new local punk/alternative trio that Yoopers will next be able to see at Three One Three on Ashmun on March 15th. Multi-band events like this are still not all that common in the E.U.P., but that is changing, and given the very important reason for this one, I hope that a huge crowd turns out to support Mary Jo and family and enjoy this lineup! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Eleventh Hour

As usual for the 10th of a month, here's our latest Defunct Local Band Profile on the site! This monthly feature spotlights one or two local bands (one this month) that, while no longer a publically functioning act, deserves a look back at their run and accomplishments! Once again, this month's band was randomly selected, and with Sault Michigan in our rotation for the first time in 2018, here's what you should know on this month's pick!
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The Eleventh Hour

Genre: Hardcore/Metal/Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. Note that Sean Hanson was credited as their "mascot and cowbell player" back in 2012, but I don't believe he was a formal band member as such.)

Sean Roush (Chained Memories), vocals
Josh North, guitar/formerly bass
Joseph Farrish, bass
Joseph North (7/47), drums

Gus Burgos, harsh vocals
Cathy Burgos, clean vocals/keyboard
Zach Howe, clean vocals
Cody Reed (Hoist The Sails, Analog Deficiency), guitar 
Matt Randazzo, bass 
Alex Boyer, bass

Audio/Video: Material on the their now-deleted first Facebook page included short song samples and vocal demos by Sean Roush, and teasers at an eventual all-original set with songs like "The Weeping Angels". After relaunching in late 2013, The Eleventh Hour announced plans to record an EP named "Eyes of the Wretched", which would have featured a song named "I Have A Voice" (lyrics even made its way to their new Facebook page), as well as later teasing a softer, punk-based cover selection in 2014 ranging from All Time Low to Paramore to Wolfmother . That said, only two songs tied to this band are known to be public nowadays: a vocal/piano selection by ex-singer Cathy Burgos from November 2013, and this scratchy but solid instrumental guitar demo by Josh North from earlier that year!



Info/Analysis: Launching under the Angelic Genocide name in February 2012 (eventually adopting their best known name that fall), The Eleventh Hour were one of the more recent ventures into extreme metal from young Sault Michigan-area performers, with brothers Josh & Joe North the only constant members. A live concert debut was never publically confirmed, and much of their later updates reflected personnel and name changes, with their lineup fluctuating from 4-6 members at varying points. The band briefly became Changing You For Better Days in early 2013, and eventually changed their name to One Hour Till Dawn in early 2014 to coincide with their shift in genre, before settling on When All Fell Silent that July. The last name was ironically apt, as no public updates followed, with the band itself falling silent for good by year's end. With only solo clips surviving from The Eleventh Hour's run, it's hard to comment on the band as a whole, but they had talented musicians and strong ambitions, and it's a shame they could never get far off the ground in the early 2010s!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll return to Sault Ontario for our next randomly selected profile, and for April 2018, we'll be looking at defunct local classic/hard rock quartet (and Soundcheck predecessors) Mourning Wood! Look for that at this time next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Bear Hunters & Telephone And Address Updates, Plus Much More!!

Before our review of yesterday's Soo Zombie Walk music goes up, here's a post to clear out some recent news stories, including updates on an upcoming concert, news on an upcoming CD, and much more, so here's what you need to know!

We'll start today with some long awaited updates on The Bear Hunters rescheduled CD release concert (now on Saturday, November 29th), starting with confirmation that it indeed has been moved from The Algonquin Pub, and will now instead be held at The Canadian Nightclub, as per guitarist Mitch Sirie on the Facebook event page on Wednesday. A reason for the relocation wasn't announced, but the six week postponement and existing event schedule at The Algonquin may have played a part, and Mitch had hinted since the postponement that the venue may change. At least their debut CD "Eternal Hibernation" will still be launched at a quality venue, and it seems like too long since The Canadian hosted a metal show! For reference, this show doesn't displace Toystock, which was always on Sunday the 30th. As well, Mitch confirmed last week that local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet will be the local openers, marking rare appearances for them at The Canadian, and their intense originals and covers should be welcomed late next month!

Remember to join these bands (plus Brampton's Livid & The Bloodthirsty) on November 29th at 10:00 PM for a night of death and hardcore metal, wherein you can buy The Bear Hunters' new CD and enter prize draws as well! $5 in advance, $7 at the door, 19+, and stay tuned for updates when they roll in!

Next up, here's the latest from Red & Black frontman Chris Shoust's solo grunge/punk project Telephone & Address! Despite just releasing his new solo album "Need Not Apply" last month, Chris is already working on a new Telephone & Address CD that is to be named "Rust Orchid" , as revealed on the Telephone & Address Facebook page yesterday. Apparently, Chris has already laid down the tracks for it and is just waiting for money to press it physically, and it will be "much different than the last", so don't expect it to be a bass & programmed drums release. Might it return to his old acoustic guitar sound, or something else entirely? While we wait for more info and it's release, Chris has also posted digital copies of both of his recent Telephone & Address albums ("Need Not Apply" and "The Rotten EP" on the project's new Bandcamp page, so what should you know concerning their mp3 versions?

Featuring alternate (though similar) cover artwork that differs from the cardboard packaging of the CDs, "The Rotten EP" costs $6 on Bandcamp, while the longer "Need Not Apply" is $15, which is comparable with the physical copy costs. It's cool to see Chris post these digitally so fans can get copies still, especially as CDs were only pressed in limited quanitites, so pick them up above, and stay tuned for more on "Rust Orchid" when it comes in!

Finally for today, here's six shorter recent news items from the last little while, and as usual for stories like these, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, or show name:

• I've deleted defunct local hard rock band 20 Pack of Marshamallows (featuring future Haggith members) from our defunct band links due to their Webs page (and only visibly surviving online page) being "frozen", and though there's no visible explanation why, continued disuse might be why, as the project has been defunct since the late 2000s. Disappointing, but maybe Curt will get it running again! We similarly switched the link on here for defunct local metal duo 2wo Man Baand to their MySpace page due to a Webs freezing.
• Local doom metal trio AlgomA have produced a bunch of official guitar picks featuring their logo and the crow icon that has appeared on recent marketing of theirs, as seen here, though a sale price (if any) hasn't been publicized. If you want yours, contact the band at this link (or be at their next show?), and for a limited time, copies of their new CD will come with a pick if bought on BigCartel!
• In another band link change for the site, I've swapped defunct local metal band ApocalyptiCDistroyeR's link on the site from their now-closed Wix website to their Facebook page. The project has been defunct (barring the occasional solo song posting by Jesse Middaugh) for a few years now, but hopefully everyone stays active!
• Local concert promoters Heavy North Entertainment are asking for thoughts on booking French grindcore band Benighted for a local concert, which is a big opportunity for owner Tyler St. Amour as they're one of his favourite bands. That'd be a cool show if it happened, and not just because of where Benighted are from, so check them out above and voice up at H.N.E.'s Facebook page to show your support!
• Local goregrind/rap label Blood Shed Productions will be putting on a private afterparty for after this coming Thursday's second Devil's Night show at The Oddfellows Hall, which will be called "The Apocalypse Afterparty". but ironically won't feature the band of the same name. This event will be held at Rotopsy frontman Dylan Taylor's house, so keep that in mind if you know the address or want to inquire further, and see above for the full schedule & timeslots for the Devil's Night show itself!
• In yet another link edit for the site, I've removed the short lived mid-2000s metal band Children of the Dawn (fronted by future Stillbroke mainman Jesse Frigault) from the site due to the closure of it's host site Piczo, whose domain name now redirects to a celebrity lifestyle website called Posh24. Given their activity level and lack of media, this won't be a major content removal, but I wanted to mention it!
• Another private concert event from Oh! Right Arm! Promotions (albeit one with public invites) goes down on Saturday, November 1st that will feature San Francisco metal band Castle, local alt-rockers The Pixo Control, and Toronto techno/rock solo act Boxes of Boom. The address is private unless you already know it/plan to ask, but keep it in mind for next weekend, and click here for more info!
• The newest episode of Local2's music spotlight video series Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Tuesday, though surprisingly, it doesn't feature the Rad Zone anniversary concert that they were on hand for, instead featuring interviews and performance footage with out of town indie bands The Wooden Sky and Wax Mannequin from recent local concerts (though the concert calendar segment does plug next month's White Cowbell Oklahoma concert.) We'll let you know when the episode from The Rad Zone & Ripcordz's party comes online, and more!
• One final band link change for today, as defunct local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre's Facebook page was deleted at some point earlier this year for unannounced reasons. I wish bands wouldn't delete pages like this, but we can keep them in our links though via their Reverbnation page. Hopefully we see the guys back up here soon, possibly with D3athcharg3r or (if still alive) Saints & Serpents?

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of yesterday's Soo Zombie Walk next! Thanks everyone!

Theatre of Night Updates, The Highest Of Fives' New Video, And More!!

After a day off, we're back with some big news today, and while we're focusing mostly on Sault Michigan, there is a shorter note relating to a Sault Ontario band's upcoming t-shirt plans. Among others, we also have a new video to take note of, and first, some long overdue news and updates from a talented regional band, so here's what you need to know!

Remember how Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night have recently been overhauling their online pages, which coincided with a de-emphasis on older material and drummer Greg Giles' sudden departure? Well, there's more to outline now, so here's what's been going on in their camp! New Theatre of Night pages and websites don't include the past art styles used in their media, which were largely Greg's work, and he's now compiling and featuring them as part of his new artistic company Giles Arts. Surviving regional T.O.N. members Craig Harrison & Steve Giles remain hard at work with the band, remodeling their website again, where they're readily referencing their "Christmas Night" and "The Dawn's Early Light" albums again, even offering free downloads of the latter! A release of their full song "The Killing" featuring Italian singer Ida Elena DeRazza is still planned (likely for this weekend), while their website now includes links to Craig & Steve's own artistic work, plus this interesting "behind the music" feature where Steve remarks on "The Dawn's Early Light".

Aside from retroactive mentions there and in their biography, the new website doesn't mention Greg too much, but he's staying busy with Giles Arts, which encompasses his work in photography, music, and other areas. Though his music work with End of Existence and Theatre of Night is acknowledged therein, Giles Arts (who are now in our "Other Local Metal Links") will also cover a new side project that Greg has yet to announce, so we'll have to see what comes of that! A new Theatre of Night E.P. is still in the works (likely still featuring Gaby Koss on vocals), while assorted newer songs have been posted on their Reverbnation page in recent days, including (but not limited to) the fast and heavy "Hellride", a "Metal Mozart" concerto, and a live version of the dramatic "The 11th Hour" with Craig and Steve's fellow I.S.O.M. alumnus Bart Rennels on guest drums. In terms of YouTube, it looks like all of the postings on their YouTube channel have sadly been either privatized or deleted (for what it's worth, the channel now links to Giles Arts rather than the band itself), but they now have a new active channel, so what's been uploaded there so far?

A mixture of things we've previously seen on Facebook and new uploads, but mostly surrounding recent studio sessions over the past month, so click here to give them a look! Mostly, these are straight jam session videos, with filming done by Electric Motor Fish alum Fran Blackwood, while Sault Realism's Eric Demaray is credited for guest appearances. Interesting fish-eye view of the sessions on most of these new clips, with the guys working well on these newer instrumental tracks, and it will be very interesting to see where things go from here! See above for Theatre of Night's newest uploads, and here's a 12 minute studio session video!



Also today, here's the newest video upload from Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives! In a short break from their recent "Bang!" short film postings, they posted this music video of their previously-uploaded song "Take My Time" from the upcoming "Bang!" album onto their YouTube channel, so what's to expect here? Directed by drummer Devin Anderson with singer Travis Theel receiving co-production credit, The Highest of Fives' in-video lineup features Devin alongside singer/guitarist Mitch Goetz (recently of The Bottom Line) and bassist Marcel Grengs (albeit out of his Crusty Puck character.) Like their other recent videos, this is very well shot, with performance footage, shots of Mitch singing in some very nice looking nature scenery, and even some interesting shots of what appear to be Chinese drummers (apologies if I labelled them wrong.) A light modern rock song with a nice melody, it's good to see the band continuing work on their upcoming album and original tracks, so check the full music video out below!



Finally for this post, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Sault Ontario death metal standouts The Bear Hunters are planning to release their first official band t-shirts as part of the early planning for their "Eternal Hibernation" CD release party, and with that, are looking for input as to what sizes to make for interested fans, specifically if they should make shirts smaller than medium or larger than extra large. Voice your opinion at this link!
• Sault Michigan metal band One Hour Till Dawn (formerly The Eleventh Hour) have changed their name once again, this time to When All Fell Silent. A reason for this newest name change hasn't been revealed, but it quietly happened yesterday morning. We haven't heard from the guys (aside from the name change) since February, but hopefully they have some more news coming soon!
• This is admittedly overdue, but I've promoted Sault Michigan concert venue The Savoy Bar & Nightclub to our active concert venue listings on the site, mainly due to their ongoing Summerfest series of concerts, featuring a number of regional hard rock bands (with that, I also updated their link to change it to their current active Facebook page.) Don't miss Plastic there this weekend!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile in our next post! Thanks everyone!

Danger Cats Lineup News, The Full Bon Soo Marquee Schedule, And Much More!!

As we continue clearing out backlogged news stories the SMS, this post is full of stuff we've missed over the past week, including the full schedule from Bon Soo's outdoor stage, a lineup change for a rising local band, and much more, so read on below for what you need to know! (Updated on Tuesday at 5:38 PM)

Firstly, here's a lineup confirmation for local all female hard rock band The Danger Cats, as they have indeed parted ways with singer Summer Stevens, a.k.a. Summer Snow-Leopard. According to members Kate Kougar and Paula Panther in recent Facebook e-mails, Summer left for medical reasons, but while I'm not at liberty to go into further details, her departure is 100% amicable. There wasn't a public confirmation of her status until just the last few days (hence the confusion by her absence from band photos), and while she had missed a few dates last fall while out of town, she did return for their X-Mess set at LopLops in December. Disappointing news, and she has a nice voice, but hopefully Summer gets better soon! As you saw on Friday, Kate is now handling most lead vocals for The Danger Cats, though both Paula and bassist Jamie Jaguar do a few songs too at their shows, and after their great reception at The Rockstar Bar that night, hopefully they get similar results this weekend at Docks, so stay tuned for our previews of those shows later this week!

Next up, I wanted to acknowledge the full schedule for the Bon Soo Winter Carnival's Marquee, their outdoor performance stage at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion. I know we're very late for this, but I wanted to share a full copy of the schedule so you guys can see the full performer lineup, as the only public schedules were given out at Bon Soo and weren't posted online. In terms of the days with metal bands, you can see that the only actual bands on the Wednesday were The Suicide Kings & new punk quartet Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking, while Jack Spades' set on the Friday followed the still unknown Foreign A Chord and sets by members of The Salty Mollies. Also, this schedule copy shows that the SooToday press release about The Marquee only listed performers on the last four days, and of them, a plugged set by former Chronic Demonic singer Sabrina Strange did not make the final schedule (unless she performed with someone or under an alias.) For earlier days, you can also sense themes, like many indie/folk bands on the 8th, while the Monday schedule lacked any musical performers.

The Marquee's schedule also didn't show performers Maria Parella or the Davey Dance Company that were on other advertising at Bon Soo, while some of the short-formed names didn't detail the performers a lot (i.e. "EMP" are The Enigmatic Monster Project writing collective, and "Mitch Acoustic Set" was a set by performers Mitchell Nielsen & David Williams.) I appreciate that there were schedules available at Bon Soo, but for next year, Marquee organizers really need to expand their social media presence and get schedules online and in the program (a'la Rotaryfest's advertising for their stages.) Fingers crossed, but give the full schedule a look above!

Finally for today, here's eight assorted shorter news stories from the last while, as we're badly overdue for most of these. Like usual, these items are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

• These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa LeClair is looking for a drummer for a rock music project, though it's unclear whether it's to replace Ben Boudreau in T.S.O.T. or for a new band. If you're interested in trying out, message Alexa at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last Tuesday. She's a very good singer, we'll have to see where this goes!
• Garden of Bedlam's song "Around The Bend" is featured in this new video for the Algoma Autism Foundation, which is a nice surprise for this well done clip! Fittingly co-produced by drummer Derek Turner, the softer song fits the mood, though sections with lyrics aren't included, probably as the original song's not about autism. Note that the video's host doesn't allow external embedding, but give it a look at the above links!
• According to their newest Facebook page post, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' upcoming debut EP will be mixed by Cross Dog bassist/prolific local musician Mark Rand! Vocal recordings have just finished, and the tracks will be sent to Mark after some additional tweaking. This marks the second local metal CD that Mark is mixing (after AlgomA's "Reclaimed By The Forest"), and I can't wait to hear how things turn out! Stay tuned for updates!
• Frightlight bassist Mike "Eddie Fright" Gingras was interviewed by SooToday's Donna Hopper for this article posted on Thursday concerning his short film "The Kid Who Made The Face", which will be screened at The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival in April! A local screening in March is planned (alongside a film by AlgomA's Boyd Rendell), while the article plugs the fundraiser show for Mike's short film that took place last summer at The Rosie. Great interview, give it a look above!
• I have switched the link for defunct band management/promotion company New Era Design & Developments in our Other Local Metal Links section to an updated link, as the link we previously had is now "frozen" according to it's hosting company, though the new link is very similar (if not the same) to the old page. Owned by Derek Pearce, the company once worked with Stillbroke, but focused it's early 2010s work on digital media.
• A new setlist from Sault Michigan metal band One Hour Till Dawn (formerly The Eleventh Hour) was posted on their Facebook page on February 15th, and it includes covers of bands like Pierce The Veil, Wolfmother, Atreyu, and The Strokes, among others. Interesting mix, hopefully they can get off the ground where other young Sault Michigan metal bands of recent years have fell short!
• A new video discovery from local goregrind duo Rotopsy is on singer Dylan Taylor's YouTube channel, as uploaded last October, but due to it's non musical-content (including pipe usage), I won't link to it here just in case some readers view it as offensive. If you give it a look, there is some solid bass work in the background from Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson though!
• Local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings have indeed replaced Pillory on the lineup for the Anvil concert on March 15th at The Canadian, following their late notice replacement at the most recent Heavy Thursday at The Rosie. This is disappointing for Pillory fans, but don't miss them at Dank Fest in April, and The Suicide Kings should fit in nicely like they did at last August's Airbourne show!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, along with our last monthly features of February! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned) & Much More Recent Updates!!

Finally, we have a new news post today, and I apologize for the recent lack of updates, which is due to a combination of slow news in general, and my computer being in the shop for repairs (good thing I have a spare at hand!) Today, we have upcoming concert lineup additions, a lot of updates from a rising Sault Michigan band, and more, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month across the river!

Kinross hard/classic rock trio Banned will return to the regional stage for a show at The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel, Michigan on Friday, February 14th! As announced on their Facebook page last night, these will not be their first shows of 2014, as they'll actually be playing a date in Gould City on February 8th, but that's out of our coverage range, so if you live near there, head to the Michihistrigan Bar that night! Last seen in Hessel three months ago, Banned should be back to their usual prolific schedule next month after apparently taking January off, so keep their Hessel return in mind for a night full of originals and diverse covers! There's no announced cover charge for the 14th, you must be 21 to attend, and a start time of 9:00 PM is in effect. For more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more updates from the Banned camp!

Next up, here's some lineup additions for two notable upcoming metal concerts, both concerning punk bands we haven't seen lately. One is local veteran punk trio Redundant, who've been named as the final opening band for Late & Loud's one-off reunion show at The Rockstar Bar on February 21st, which will end a 6 month hiatus from the stage! At least partially related to drummer Rick White's recovery from a broken eye socket suffered last fall, it's great to see the guys back at it next month, and hopefully this is just the start of a big year for these talented punk rockers! The other addition is to the Skynet/Chronobot show at 180 Projects on March 16th, as fellow Sault Ontario punk trio The Northern Tragedy will play (as of today) their first show of 2014 as the final opening band that night! Last seen in October (conveniently also at 180 Projects), this rising young band released a demo last fall, and hopefully they build new momentum this year and give this metal show a punk flavour! Stay tuned for updates on each show as they come in!

Also today, here's the latest from Sault Michigan metal band The Eleventh Hour, who actually just changed their name yesterday to One Hour Till Dawn. A reason for the name change was not announced, but they had experimented with a name change last spring as well, so this isn't completely unexpected. Along with the new moniker, the band has had recent lineup changes, including adding Joseph Farrish as their new bassist (replacing the departed Alex Boyer) and parting ways with clean singer Zach Howe, who still lives out of town. I'm not familiar with Joseph musically, but hopefully everything works out well for the new lineup where earlier incarnations fell short! Finally for recent changes, One Hour Till Dawn unveiled a new cover setlist on their Facebook page that will see them play songs from everyone from Black Sabbath to Paramore, with new genre indications pointing to a punk/metalcore focus. Hopefully the new lineup and name serve them well so we can finally see the guys live, and stay tuned for more from One Hour Till Dawn as it comes in!

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

• Punch bandmates Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton are looking for a bassist & drummer to complete a new project that they're working on that would cover a mixture of classic rock artists, including heavier acts like Kiss & Van Halen down to bands like Foreigner & ZZ Top. If you're interested in trying out, message Curt via his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last week!
• On Friday, Curt & Dan's former Haggith bandmate Mike Haggith updated fans to the status of his next solo album "A Place Of Our Own" on his Facebook page, where he confirmed that half of the instrumental tracking is now complete, recording is on schedule, and a release next month is still in the cards. Great to hear, so follow the updates on his new album above!
• Advance tickets for the all ages TheKillingField/Buried Out Back show at The Oddfellows Hall are now available through members of Pillory & Crucify The Whore, so message members or contact them at the Facebook event page linked above! Remember, tickets are $10 in advance and $13 at the door, so consider getting a ticket early to save $3, and stay tuned for updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll TOMORROW! Remember, the delay from the 18th was due to the poll accidentally being set to allow multiple votes at first, so we bumped the end date up to make up lost ground. Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Palms To The Sky), Plus Additions & Removals To Our Band Links

Happy Saturday, metalheads! We have another big post today, including three three bands removed from our band listings and three brand new additions, but kicking things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!! Here's what you need to know!

Two weeks ago, I first alerted you guys to a potential upcoming hardcore concert featuring Saskatoon metalcore band Palms To The Sky and Ottawa breakcore rockers The Breathing Apparatus. They needed a booking then for this show, part of their "WinTour Sucks" tour, and now they have it! On December 17th (one week from Friday), both of these talented hardcore bands will make their way to Foggy Notions for this hard hitting concert! A 10:00 PM start time is listed on the Facebook event page, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend this show. It's also interesting to note that Mike Gaetano, a former concert booker from The Other Place (now GLOW) is putting this show on! Nice to see him booking again, I remember him bringing some great bands to town a few years back! It's great to see these bands get a finalized concert in town, their hardcore sound will be sure to attract many fans to Foggy's on the 17th! Check out both bands and more concert details at the above links, and thanks to Mike for alerting me to this confirmed concert! Also note that on the event page, Mike alludes to a Garden of Bedlam concert at Foggy's on December 18th. I won't report this as confirmed until either the band or the venue do, but let me just say that there is something to that statement. I'll keep you posted!

Now, we'll discuss three newly found local bands! All are from Sault Michigan, two are older, one is new, and the new one links with an older one! Here's what you should know!

Firstly, it's the new solo project from Sault Michigan metal guitarist Nathan Switzer! You may recognize him from his work in the local metal bands Analog Deficiency, Traces, and Deprecor (more on them in a second), along with the fact that he's the son of Monkey's Uncle frontman Henry Switzer. Well, with updates on his bands slowing in recent months, it's nice to know he's still active in the local scene, thanks to this very new project of his! Nathan's playing instrumental progressive metal in his solo work, and is apparently hoping to release a solo album entitled "Life" in the future. He's currently writing original material towards that goal, with current song titles including "The Beginning", "First Breath", and "The End". Might this be a concept album detailing the progression of a person's life? Time will tell! We haven't heard much on the project since mid-November, but Nathan has uploaded two solo originals onto his official SoundCloud page! I have to say, I'm impressed so far! He's got a firm grasp of his instruments, he's playing at a very proficient level, and the production is surprisingly good! "The End" is especially heavy and technical, while "The Beginning" shows a nice melody and it's own heaviness! I can't wait to hear more, Nathan's solo work is very promising! Check out the above links for more!

While we're on the subject of Nathan Switzer, I came across another old band of his on MySpace! Entitled Deprecor, they only appeared to be active in February 2008, but played a style of industrial death metal. Nathan covered guitars while "T.J." played bass and drums. I'm not entirely sure who T.J. is, so if you can fill me in, e-mail me! Apparently, Deprecor formed out of boredom, and the band hoped to write heavy and melodic metal from varying influences. Honestly, their profile is pretty sparse (can't say if it's their fault or the new MySpace layout's), but one thing makes it worth posting on the SMS: A song! Entitled "Break", you can stream it on their MySpace page, and it has promise itself! It's slightly repetitive, but the riffing's solid and if expanded on, it could be a great base for a metal song! Quality's good too, Nathan has a good ear for home recording quality! Check the above links for more on Deprecor, who are now in our SMS band links as well!

The final new band that we have to share today is BlisteringBane, a solo death metal project out of nearby Kincheloe, Michigan! Active since August, the sole member of BlisteringBane is local musician Jordon Jones, who supplies all instruments on his original material. He's influenced by everyone from Slipknot to The Smashing Pumpkins, and has 10 original songs uploaded on this project's MySpace page! The recording quality isn't sparkling, but Jordon has talent! He has some good riffing talent, and the addition of keyboards on some songs is interesting, but a lot of the BlisteringBane songs sound very similar, and have a few too many sections where it feels very empty except for the guitar playing. His singing, what little of it we get, needs work too, though I think on songs like "Look Into My Eyes", he does succeed at a more experimental sound! I think Jordon does have promise, and it'd be interesting to hear these songs with better production and a fuller more fleshed out sound! Check out BlisteringBane at the above links!

And finally for today, I have deleted a handful of bands from our band links. Do you remember late last month when I mentioned that MySpace had converted all profiles on the site to the new layout, regardless of existing themes or preference for the old style? Well, for the most part, this didn't affect band specific materials beyond custom themes, but some bands have seen their profile hit harder than others. In the past, I've only added bands to our links that had were currently active, had audio/video material, sufficient bio information, and/or professional-looking page design elements. That being said, after looking at older MySpace pages of defunct local bands recently, I've found a few defunct/inactive band profiles that are just too bare and lacking compared to the vast majority of other bands we list on the SMS. This is partly because of their old profiles being crippled by the new MySpace layout, but their sound descriptions and lack of qualitative information were major too. With that said, I have removed these three defunct local bands from our listings: the local hardcore bands 9MM of Hate and Bloodshed At Dawn, and local metal trio Eyes Set Fire. No offense is meant to the members or fans of these three bands, there just isn't enough information or material there for them to be worth keeping on the SMS. There might be more coming, so keep an eye out!

That's all for tonight, but I will have more news and notes very soon, and yes, our next CD review will be over the coming week at some point! Stay tuned for more!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Sykotyk Rampage), Who's Replacing Sense Of Truth At Hope4Haiti, Garden of Bedlam Show Updates, And More!!!

Packed post today, everyone! We finally have confirmation on every band at Algoma Hope4Haiti, and some updates on next weekend's Garden of Bedlam concert, and lots more! But first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! (And thanks everyone for voting in the new poll so far!)

Your favourite local blue Chinese metal crash punk rockers are back! Sykotyk Rampage, fresh off of their third place finish at the Sault College Battle of the Bands, will be back on stage in the spring! In fact, they will be making their debut at The Rockstar Bar on April 7th, with special guests Nebraska Arms, who also competed (and placed 2nd) at that very same battle! If you're wondering why Sykotyk Rampage are headlining, it's likely because this is the first monthly Metal Militia Wednesday at The Rockstar Bar, which will (I assume) feature a metal band on the first Wednesday of each month! So it only makes sense for the metal band to headline the metal night! The show will be at 10:00 PM on April 7th, with a $3 cover charge! This should be a fun show, pencil me in to attend! Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page, and if I hear anything else about this show, I'll have it for you!

EDIT: The planned Caveman Morrison set for Algoma Hope4Haiti has been cancelled, due to a venue mix-up, apparently The Fury agreed to a show at a different venue. This has been confirmed by Paul Stanghetta from The Fury and from J.D. Pearce from Coch's Corner in his Facebook status and further e-mail discussion. That sucks, I thought I might swing by for some great metal covers after Bring The Fallen wrapped up! However, there will be an open jam night at Coch's, everything's set up if you wanna swing by and jam out some tunes! Just letting everyone know!

And now, five more assorted updates to the Algoma Hope4Haiti lineup, so check all this out! I'll see you guys tomorrow night at Nite-Life!

• Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes will be making a special appearance at TONIGHT'S show at LopLops Lounge as bassist during Craig West's set. Interesting to note that two past or present Gates members (including Kalle Mattson drummer Jimmie Chiverelli) will be performing there tonight! And for those of you who are unfamiliar with Brian's bass skills, click here to watch a Gates of Winter acoustic cover of a Demons and Wizards song, when Brian played bass in lieu of Steve Furgiuele, who just did backing vocals. Not bad! My source for Brian's involvement is his Facebook status.
  
• An event page for both nights of LopLops' Haiti benefit shows is online at this location! No word on the silent art auction, so I'm doubting if it's still on, but it does note that all servers will donate their tips tonight and tomorrow to the Red Cross for Haiti relief, which is awesome!
• It looks like the DJs weren't completely excised from Foggy Notions in tonight's set there, as DJ Seith is listed as performing alongside Nebraska Arms and Brad Example. So if you were hoping for some great dance mixes at Foggy's, it's not all completely gone! Click here for my source.
• SooToday lists Stillbroke bassist Kyle McKey as playing a solo set at Bottoms Up Lounge tonight at 10:00 PM. Note that this is NOT a Hope4Haiti show, Bottoms Up Lounge only has Haiti stuff tomorrow night. No word on how Kyle's solo stuff sounds, but keep it in mind if you wanna do something tonight elsewhere!
• A second event page for the Bring The Fallen/Out Of The Mouth of Babes/DJ Spruceau show at Nite-Life has been launched at this location! This one was created by the guys at Nite-Life, the original one has no listed creator, oddly. Keep that in mind!

Next up, a new band has been added to the lineup of next weekend's Garden of Bedlam/Papa Fogals Chair concert at Foggy Notions! Pistols At Dawn, a London Ontario punk/hardcore band, will open the show on February 27th, and you can check out more of their stuff at their official MySpace page! They honestly seem more like an Oddfellows Hall kind of band than Foggy Notions, but they're not bad at all, nice solid hardcore sound! Thanks to Buzz and Derek Turner for the updates! There also may be some other lineup stuff to announce, but we'll wait for official word. But I can tell you this, Crank Sound Distribution will be there doing sound, so everything will sound awesome! I wish I could be there for this one, but alas, we're going to Detroit that day. But damnit, I want you all to go for me, and make this show a huge success! Get full details on this concert as they come in at the official Facebook event page!

Next up, time to update you guys on Sense of Truth's new E.P.! As you know, they have been in studio recently working on their first release, and there's some cool stuff to bring up! Drummer Ryan Haryett posted on their Facebook group's wall to mention that the drum and bass recording is done, with some guitar soloing left to finish before that wraps up. Then it's just vocals left! He also says that their E.P. will have a song never before heard live or otherwise, and apparently, after hearing it "five gazillion times", it still has all the awesomeness! Now that sounds cool in and of itself! Remember, get your first glimpse of Sense of Truth post-studio NEXT FRIDAY at The Canadian Nightclub with Groove Committee! Now I won't commit to this show because every time I get excited about seeing Sense of Truth live, it backfires on me and I get screwed by outside forces. So, I'm going to use reverse psychology. With that in mind, I am not going to see Sense of Truth next Friday, I will not be headbanging and enjoying myself, and I will not have a review and videos posted the night after! Remember, reverse psychology!

And finally, more videos have popped up online from Half Past's recent sets at Foggy Notions! There's videos of Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Sick Puppies covers, as well as (most excitingly to me) decent quality video of their original "War Inside My Head"! Thanks to drummer Chris Thompson for uploading these to his YouTube channel! Click there to check them all out, but here's "War Inside My Head"!



That's all for now, if you don't see a new post tomorrow, I will definitely see you guys tomorrow night at Nite-Life for Hope4Haiti! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Algoma Hope4Haiti) And More Assorted Stuff!!

I promised I'd be back, and I have lots of stuff to get to this afternoon! And we'll start with updated lineups for Algoma Hope4Haiti THIS WEEKEND, including some new metal/hard rock bands at different venues. So in other words, LOCAL CONCERT ALERT time!

According to updated Hope4Haiti lineup listings on the Facebook event page, local hard rockers Sense of Truth will be playing at Coch's Corner on Saturday night! The band have not officially confirmed this, but if it's on the official page, there must be truth to it! Joining them will be fellow locals The Fury, who'll deliver more of their unique brand of music (No genre defining from me) this Saturday! For Sense of Truth, it will be their first show since last month's show at Coch's with Ultraviolence, and it surprised me to see them listed, especially with EP recording in full swing! If this is definitely a go, I'll have to see if I can make it down on Saturday (still need to work out my own plans for Saturday for where I'm going.) Meanwhile, at The Algonquin Pub & Sports Bar (which IS hosting bands despite what I said earlier), local hard rock cover band Turner Up will be there rocking out Saturday night! For them, it will be their first official concert (not counting jam nights) since the Bon Soo shows at The Nicolet Tavern last weekend (Again, I'm sorry for missing those!)

Also, two personnel changes to go over: Firstly, it appears Out Of The Mouth of Babes (who'll be rocking Nite-Life Dance & Comedy Club on Saturday) have replaced frontman Josh McNally with Matt Maccarone, who you may recognize from defunct local screamo bands like A Fall From Innocence and Stay Seventeen! No word on how he sounds in this heavier setting, the only audio that's been released so far was from Josh's tenure with the band. We'll get our first glimpse in three days! Thanks to drummer John Mignacca for the update! Also, the Friday lineup at Foggy Notions has been completely changed. It was three local DJs before, but now it features Nebraska Arms with a band (or bands) to be announced. I think Nebraska Arms fit Foggy's better than DJs, but it sucks that they're out, hopefully nothing bad happened!

Remember, for full details on Algoma Hope4Haiti visit this location! All proceeds go to Haiti relief, tickets are $10 at all participating venues and other local establishments, all of which you can find at the link I just provided! This event depends on you guys to make it a success, hopefully you'll be somewhere Friday or Saturday! I'm thinking I'll start at Nite-Life, check out Out Of The Mouth of Babes and a few Bring The Fallen songs, then head to Coch's for Sense of Truth, that's my tentative plan, we'll see though! Full preview post tomorrow!

Next up, I have came across another band that would like to play in Sault Ontario this year! New Brunswick thrash metal band Rusted Dawn are looking to play a show here on April 26th as part of their upcoming Canadian tour! A band member was asking about if they could get help with a booking here on a post on The705Scene forums, nice to see them reaching out to help get booked! If you want a taste of their sound, click here to check out their MySpace page, and I gotta say, I really like what I hear! You know how often we get an awesome out of town thrash band here? Not damn nearly enough, that's how often! I'd be at this show, no fucking questions asked! If anyone wants to book these guys, which I do recommend, e-mail struggles999@hotmail.com to set up a booking!

Now let's update you all on Woods of Ypres, because there's a bunch of new stuff to talk about from them! Firstly, remember when I discussed their appearance in the newest issue of Exclaim! Magazine? Well the interview I mentioned had more than was posted on their site, as David has posted even more than the magazine could fit online! Click here for more, including more insights on their independent status & the green qualities of "The Green Album", how autobiographical David's lyrics are, his work with Necramyth & Musk Ox, the new album's irony & dimensions, the band's musical influences, the lyrics of "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery", the band's frequent lineup changes & infrequent touring, and their musical evolution! Very comprehensive and a great read! Also, the band are now selling a limited edition t-shirt through The End Records that's essentially the artwork for "Woods IV" in full t-shirt form, which you can see in the image on your left! The shirts are LIMITED EDITION, and are available in sizes S-2XL for $16.99 at this location! Buy before it's too late!

And finally, though this band isn't really "metal/hard rock" per say, it's only fair for me to mention this, as they do play a few heavier songs live: There's videos on YouTube of local classic rock cover band That's Chester, including performances of songs by AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Sammy Hagar, and Queen! Now they mostly cover non-metal stuff, like INXS, The Tragically Hip, Molly Hatchet, and The Kinks, but they're still a very talented band! Also nice to see Greg from Stiffler's Mom fully fronting a band too! Reminder that they play often at various local venues, including this weekend at The Rockstar Bar as part of Algoma Hope4Haiti, so head on out there for some great classic rock covers, and maybe something heavy! They're not the only non-metal band that plays metal songs in town, if I come across any other metal covers from bands like that online, I'll share them here! So check out this clip of That's Chester playing "The Number Of The Beast"!



That's all for today, tomorrow's post will be a double hit of two big topics: We're going to preview Algoma Hope4Haiti, and we're gonna close voting on this month's poll and open next month's poll! It'll be a big one, so you'll wanna stay tuned for that! Remember to vote for your favourite local metal album of 2009 above, you only have one day left! Tomorrow's poll will be about, once again, the best "something" in 2009. You'll see when we get to it! Stay tuned for all that tomorrow!