LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Downtown Street Party), New Videos, And Much More!!

We made it out of July, so let's kick off August with a new news post, including some assorted recent updates, new videos, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations and online page-less alt-punk cover quintet Bookclub will join forces on Thursday, August 10th for the second summer street party of the year on Queen Street East! Put on by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, this follows their first street party of the year on July 13th, which featured the debut of new local rock band Turbo Dad (featuring alumni of Ashes To Dust, Convergence, The Saturday Nights, and The Uncanny Valley), though I don't know if their sound encroaches into heavier territory. Specifics on the family friendly entertainment next week are surprisingly not out yet, but visit the Downtown Association Facebook page for updates when they occur, or to see what happened last month. Expect games, vendors, and a good time (weather permitting) in any event, and both Generations and Bookclub should deliver strong sets to a receptive audience!

The street party will take place on a closed off section of Queen Street between Spring Street and Dennis Street, and while they have not yet specified where on Queen that the bands will be playing, note that last year's street party between Spring & Dennis had the band stage set up at the corner of Queen and March Street. The festivities begin at 5:00 PM on Thursday, and have no cover charge. Hopefully things live up to their usual promise for families and music fans alike, so visit the above links for continuing details on next Thursday's street party!

Next up, here's the first public video from new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook page! This comes from their set opening for North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks at The Machine Shop last month, with an uncredited attendee filming them covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell". It's a shame that this video is only 31 seconds long, as the quality of this camera is really good, and it captures the Obsession successors handling this hard rock classic very nicely across the board! I'm definitely curious to see more, but give it a watch for yourself below!

Also today, this is a bit of a follow-up from my review of Handsome Sandwich's debut album "Deconstructed" on Saturday, as this never made a normal post at the time. On July 7th, the local alt-hard rock quintet posted the album on YouTube via individual uploads of all 11 songs that you can access via their YouTube channel and/or this playlist, with each video creatively highlighting just one individual item on the sandwich on the front cover (two if you count both bread slices on "Darkside"), with the rest blacked out. If you wish that they hadn't changed the album's name from "Lettuce", then you may like that this sandwich's lettuce is highlighted on tracks #5, #9, and #10! The images are static, but have pulsating light effects on the album text. Effectively done way to differentiate what may otherwise have just been a stock YouTube Music upload, so give the opening song "Stick Up" a listen below!

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

• I have regrettably removed defunct local classic/hard rock cover band Obsession from our band links due to the deletion of their Facebook page and closure of their website (I don't believe that they had any other proper social media/band pages). The veteran fan favourites ended their 18 year run in February due to guitarist Gabe Tessaro's retirement from live music (That's Chester reunions excepted), with his bandmates splintering off into Soundcheck and the aforementioned Silent 9. I wish they would have at least left the Facebook page up, but follow Obsession members' current projects to see what they're up to now!
• In a Sault Star article by Jeffrey Ougler last week, he talked about the history of major touring musicians at GFL Memorial Gardens since the former Steelback/Essar Centre opened in 2006, especially in regards to a survey that the downtown arena put out to ask mailing list subscribers about what concerts they should try to book here. Rock & country led the way, and arena general manager Robert Santa Maria was interviewed about the challenges and ideal scenarios for attracting certain acts while minimizing any sort of monetary loss for the promoters. This is an interesting read, and hopefully the survey was fruitful, so read it for yourself above!
• Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric will return to the region on Sunday, September 3rd at Bates Corner Bar & Grill in Gould City, Michigan! This is a 90 minute drive from the Soo, albeit still in the Upper Peninsula, so while it is out of our coverage range (about as far from here as Blind River), you guys may want to consider checking this out, as tickets are just $20. A robust lineup of openers includes local metal quartet Tarnished (no strangers to Gould City on their own), a very rare U.P. set from St. Ignace deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, and oft-seen Saginaw rap rock band Redburn, among others. For such a small town, this is a huge concert, and hopefully there's a solid turnout over the Labour Day long weekend despite the 90 minute trek for many!
  

 

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

Handsome Sandwich - "Deconstructed" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 169th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and continuing our healthy run of new album reviews, we're looking at local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's debut album "Deconstructed"! Independently released on May 6th through their Ugly Salad Records imprint, this album was recorded at Unsalted Audio with producer Bill Priddle & engineer Dustin Goodall between mid-2022 and January 2023, with mixing by Jordan Zadorozny of Skylark Park in Pembroke, and mastering by Toronto's Joao Carvalho. Handsome Sandwich are represented here by singer Taylor "Tea" Emlaw (ex-Big Mistake), guitarist Jesse Cook (ex-Jack Spades), guitarist Mitch Sirie (Far From Fine) on bass, and his Bear Hunters bandmate Johnny Belanger on drums, while Jesse's Wyld Stallyns bandmate Josh Norling guests on saxophone on "No Entry". Current bassist Rafael Medina Cruz is actually not credited as playing on the record, but he did design the album artwork.

Physical copies of the CD are on sale for $20 (I can't 100% confirm if The Rad Zone or other retail stores have them in stock), and you can presumably get them at shows and through contacting band members. You can also stream "Deconstructed" on their YouTube channel and through major streaming services like Spotify & Apple Music, and through both Bandcamp and iTunes, you can buy it legally on mp3 for around $15 (iTunes is slightly cheaper). With 11 songs running for about 39 minutes in length, let's begin this review with its first song, "Stick Up"! Lyrically about putting a romantic partner on the spot about their future, this is driving mid-tempo rocker with a bit of a jazzy progression. While not as fast paced and lively as some later songs, it gets the job done to lay out their hybrid genre sound with a well done guitar solo, and Taylor's distinctive Beth Hart-esque vocals help them stand out from other local bands!

The chorus can be a little repetitive, and the abrupt ending really made me assume that one more chorus lied ahead, but this is a solid enough opener! Next is the album's shortest song "All Or Nothing", which is about standing up for yourself and not compromising for others. A very wordy song despite running for under 3 minutes, it's an improvement on the opener for its fast paced power pop energy and spontaneity, nicely jumping from heavy choruses to more funk-inspired verses, and Jesse's lead guitar fits in nicely here! I'd have done more with the bridge, but this is a strong track that everyone contributes to well! Third is the album's second single "Better Off", which is basically about how Taylor is better off without an ex-boyfriend. While the verses are soft, the guitar attack gives the heaviest parts of the album yet on the intro and choruses, and Taylor has her angriest vocals on the album so far to match!

The spare bridge with the title being recited ground the song to a halt (I wouldn't have ended the song in that fashion either), but the all-too-brief guitar solo helped get things back on track in between! Fun song for fans of the Sandwich's heavier side, and Johnny's drumming is a nice compliment here! The album's lead single "Bitter" follows, with lyrics about rising above someone trying to bring you down, while swearing that you're not bitter about the past. This reminds me in ways of "Stick Up" from it's laid back verses and repetitive lyrics on the choruses, and while it's not one my favourites on the disc, the choruses do have a catchy sing-along quality. The spare verses do let us hear Mitch's bass nicely though, and the ending stretch (including a guitar solo) is a nice bonus when it felt like the song had just faded out for good. Good song, but I'd have added more to it to fill it out.

Fifth is "Conquest", another song based around relationship issues, this time trying to cut someone loose from their demanding nature. The softest song on offer yet, I don't think the reserved vocals and relaxed indie-inspired instrumentation on the verses are really to the band's benefit, though the choruses do amp up on the rock quota. Handsome Sandwich do experiment with backing vocals here (Johnny is credited for them on Bandcamp), and they work well enough in the mix. Not one of my favourite songs, but it will be a change of pace if you're up for it! The mid-point of "Deconstructed" comes with "Monkey", with the title referring to the proverbial "monkey on my back", and the lyrics imply a continuation of the relationship argument expressed on "Conquest". This is a better song though, with a nice hard-driving chorus with passioned vocals from Taylor and fuller power pop verses that flow more naturally,

While not as loose as some of their earlier cuts, "Monkey" is well composed and has a nice guitar solo outro, and everyone handles their end of the musical bargain, so this is a good sign leading into the CD's back half! Song #7 is the album's longest track, "Okay", which seems to be about how things will be alright after a failed relationship and how it's better for both parties to move on. This is the slowest and softest song yet, Taylor's rapid-fire vocals at points aside, which don't always fit in with the instrumental tracks as cleanly as I'd like. The choruses do amp up the rock, but for my tastes in music, this is a little too slow and drawn out compared to how I prefer my Sandwich, and the outro going progressively slower and more meandering isn't ideal. It's not badly composed, and the guitar work is high quality, but Taylor is best suited on high energy songs for me, and at points, it feels like they added her vocals onto the wrong song.

Eighth up is the album's third and final advance single "No Entry", which is about sealing yourself off from an ex so they can't hurt you anymore, citing plastic surgery and tattoos as examples of changes to facilitate the further separation. This has more of a 2000s garage rock vibe that is a definite change of pace from prior songs, with Johnny's drumming driving the verses, and Jesse's guitar solo having a bit of a 1970s prog vibe to it. Definitely a creative song compared to predecessors, with Josh Norling's saxophone part coming up after the first chorus and during the bridge and fitting in relatively seamlessly. I do prefer having more guitar in their songs, but this is definitely improvement conceptually from "Okay"! Next is "Shiver", which is about longing for an ex, if perhaps not an ideal partner given how the lyrics go. This is an improvement on the last two songs with a fuller band component and more of a full-on rock sound!

While not all-out heavy from start to end, I appreciate that this is a better showcase for the whole band, and Jesse's guitar shredding late is a nice touch, if buried under the vocals! The lyrics can get repetitive as the chorus goes on and on in the back half, but this uses everyone more optimally while still showing some creative variance, so it's a late album highlight! The penultimate song on "Deconstructed" is "Fine, Right?", which is basically about how one may not come out the "winner" in the breakup of a relationship, but they'll be fine/okay in the end. This is arguably one of the more "traditional" hard rock songs on offer on this CD, but the verses have a nice bouncy guitar riff, and Taylor uses her vocal range to good effect here! I do find that the chorus repitition goes a little too long, but if this shows their heavier side well without sacrificing what them to the dance, so to speak!

The final song here is "Darkside", which fittingly ends things on a more hopeful note towards a possible new relationship, in a "if you can't handle me at my worst..." sort of vantage point. Jesse's immediately laying down some guitar mastery to kick off this song, and this song comes together really well for a full band showcase with heavy riffs, an effective atmospheric outro, and a nice cohesive sound that helps end this album in a nice upward trajectory! This is my favourite song on the second half, and wouldn't have been out of place as a single!

So, what are my final thoughts on Handsome Sandwich's debut album? While inconsistent for what I like out of hard rock, the eclectic styles and proficiency across the board make this a solid debut outing that will please many fans more often than not! In their pre-pandemic days as a cover trio, they used to say that they had "no genre", and that can be exemplified with the sounds used here, with hard rock, jazz, progressive, funk, and punk all glimpsed at points on the eleven songs. Between Taylor's unique cutting vocals, Jesse's always-excellent lead guitar work, Mitch's solid bass playing, and Johnny's skilled percussion, everyone performs well and help most of the band show some different sides from their past metal studio work. Songs like "Better Off", "Monkey", and "Darkside" exemplify the best of their influences and performances, but this isn't perfect for what I go for.

Some songs could have abrupt endings, too reserved instrumentation at points, repetitive choruses, and somewhat buried bass, while I would have liked to have seen more lyrical variance beyond relationship strife, and it is a shame that Rafael isn't on bass on the final product for even a song or two. Anything else is more for my own metal/hard rock preferences, but again, for production quality and mix of sounds, fans should find a few ingredients of this Handsome Sandwich that they like, so definitely buy or stream it at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and look for our review of Jonesy Land's debut album "Zoom - Out" on the site next month! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT & Handsome Sandwich Updates, Plus New Videos!!

Let's keep the news and content going on this Tuesday morning with another well stuffed post, including updates and new album details from two somewhat linked local bands, plus a new rehearsal video from a band taking the stage this weekend. Here's what you should know!

Let's start with more recent updates (the Saliva show aside) from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, so what else is new in their camp? To promote their late notice gig opening for Aunest at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto on Friday, they posted this brief video (not a "Reel" either) of the band, minus Jay, giving a last push to get fans to come out while standing outside. Hopefully the concert went well for all involved! After the Brains/K-Man & The 45s show in Barrie next Thursday, Spades GT's next concert will see them return to Toronto on Saturday, June 3rd for Beer Bash 6, an annual all-day music festival at CineCycle that features free beer for ticket-buyers. That'll be quite a pull for some fans alone! Band announcements are ongoing, with six groups so far confirmed on the Facebook event page, though the only one familiar to local fans from concerts here is the former Jack Spades.

After posting some new promotional images, Spades GT unveiled the first single from their new album "Sewer City Radio" on Friday, and they went with "Hands" as the initial single, as embedded below via their new auto-generated YouTube Music channel. I'll hold comment on the song for now pending our eventual review of the album, which is currently targeted for the fall due to our current album release backlog (there has been no shortage of new albums to review in the past year+!) Tim Henderson from Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles promoted the album in this article on Saturday, which confirms some big new details on "Sewer City Radio". It is now planned to release on Friday, June 2nd, which is delayed from prior May projections, if not by much (no word on if they're counting Beer Bash 6 as the release show or not). A low-res image of the album's back cover is also shown, plus the track listing!

Part of me had a hunch that the album would heavily feature Jack Spades re-recordings, but the eight included songs appear to all be completely newer cuts that were not on "The First" or "Fed Up", and another advance single will be posted online on Friday at 12:00 PM. Sounds like things are definitely on the right track, so do visit the above links for much more on Spades GT's big mid-2023 plans, and here is "Hands"!

Next up, with the review of Saturday's release concert going live on the site yesterday, let's take some time to talk about local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's debut album "Deconstructed", which is now on sale and available to hear on (according to the band) "all streaming services"! In reality, it is definitely on Spotify, but I haven't seen 100% proven links for it on the services that hosted advance singles, those being Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and YouTube. CD copies were on sale at The Loft on Saturday night for $15 apiece (the normal price for CDs will be $20), and while I don't know if The Rad Zone or somesuch physical store will carry them, definitely contact band members on Facebook or in person if you want one. The albums were made DIY in town, featuring artwork by bassist Rafael Medina, and the liner notes include lyrics to all eleven songs in different font sizes and colours!

The only guest musician credited is Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling, and just in case you were wondering, he did not guest on "No Entry" at the release show (I believe someone said that his sax had a broken reed, but I may be wrong). That all said, when can you expect our review of "Deconstructed" on the SMS? I have it slotted in for July, as this month will be the "Pyrolytic Punishment" split, while next month will be No Funeral's debut EP, as I try to go in release date order. If Jonesy Land's "Zoom-Out" releases on time on May 31st with nothing SMS-suited beating it to market, that'd be in August, with Spades GT in September. Stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich when it rolls in!

To close, let's go from a band featuring two ex-(Jack) Spades band members to a band sharing the stage with Spades GT next month, namely local southern hard rock cover quintet Fort Creek! Two new videos have been posted to their Facebook page in the past week, and while I'll save one for this weekend's concert previews to avoid redundancy, the other is not of them in concert, so it's better suited for a standard post anyway. On Sunday, they noted that they ended the week with an acoustic band rehearsal, and they filmed this video of the band (minus Shane & Tony) covering Linkin Park's "Crawling" unplugged. The cover is heavily altered to suit the acoustic performance (no rapping, removing the first chorus, etc), but it comes through nicely! I can't say that I like the post-production though. The black & white colour scheme and film grain aren't too bad, but the jittery motion never lets up and feels really unnecessary.

I also found that the opening title cards ran way too long (20 seconds?), but adding "For Chester" at the end was a nice touch. Despite my post-production reservations, fans seemed to take to this cover, which is well handled musically, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the full plugged-in Fort Creek on Friday & Saturday at Jay's Piston Broke Pub!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile and more news & notes shortly! Thanks everyone!

Handsome Sandwich CD Release Party Review!!

It's time for our admittedly belated review of Saturday night's Handsome Sandwich CD release party at The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music! This is the first concert of a remotely heavy persuasion that I know took place at The Loft, so what is it like to attend a show there? First off, the Conservatory is located in the old St. Mary's Paper office building at the end of Huron Street right by St. Mary's River, right beside The Mill Steakhouse. The Loft is on the third (and top) floor of the Conservatory, and being inside the building honestly reminded me of being at the courthouse downtown, especially the stairs. Yes, there is an escalator too, something I didn't know about until when I left the show. As a concert venue, The Loft is very nice with good acoustics, a unique layout, and neat sightlines, especially with the slanted roof and industrial beams. Pictures make the space look bigger than it is and obscure the layout a bit.

While photos on The Loft's website show thick seating, these are movable & were pushed against three walls to varying thicknesses to allow for a proper floor section. Rooms are adjacent to The Loft for the connected recording studio, and the bar section for anyone wanting a potent potable was well in view from the main door. Yes, HD video cameras were rolling, seemingly for both bands, and I did notice a camera slowly panning left to right beside the drumkit on the stage, though what we'll see and when, I don't know. My biggest issue with The Loft was the lack of air conditioning, and if that's not practical, at least turn the fans up! Regardless, it's a very nice space for concerts, and I hope more local bands take advantage of it!

The openers were local alternative/indie rock quartet Man Feelings, who were lucky enough to get an hour long set, which is impressive for a support band! As such, they played a lot of unreleased songs, plus material from their "City Friends" EP like "Modest Spouse" and "Long Winter's Night". I don't believe that I've seen Man Feelings live before, and when listening to them, comparisons to The Black Keys came up often, if that band had more instruments and variety to their sound. While bassist Tyler Willson handled most lead vocals, all of his bandmates got turns to sing, which is encouraging from an original band in terms of giving everyone an identity. Not a heavy band, but they have good songwriting, and everyone made the most of their instrumental roles, with B.J. Swire's keyboard work adding an extra element throughout, and Paul "Gabby" Gabrylewicz had some strong guitar melodies!

I will say that Man Feelings were slow to engage the crowd at first, and they had a few too many songs that just... ended, without a big finish. Not really abrupt endings so much as anti-climactic ones. Still a solid set that helped set the tone for the handsomeness to follow, and of course, how fitting is it that Man Feelings opened for Handsome Sandwich, thereby swapping roles from Man Feelings' CD release show last year? Also, shout-out to Ricky the juggler, who even got to "perform" for a song!

And your headliners were local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their release party at least seven months in the making! True to prior teasers, their set comprised of their entire debut album "Deconstructed" in album order, with an intermission separating the main program from a six song mini-set including four newer/omitted original songs like "No Idea", and two covers: Tones & I's "Dance Monkey" and an encore cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" featuring solo spots by all four instrumentalists. While I have seen the original three-piece, covers-only Handsome Sandwich live, this is the first time that I've seen the version relaunched in 2021, and they definitely have a crowd-pleasing set that rarely sticks to one style for too long, including glimmers of funk, hard rock, punk, indie rock, jam rock... basically anything that they want to play, and the audience was here for it!

Frontwoman Taylor "Tea" Emlaw brought a very unique stage presence to The Loft on Saturday, with lots of unpredictable movements and an infectious enthusiasm that was great to see! Her vocals remind me a lot of the American jazz/blues singer Beth Hart (listen to "Stay" to hear what I hear), and that alone helps this band stand apart from the local pack. Rafael Medina proved that his Algoma University music program training was well utilized on bass, the twin guitar attack of Jesse Cook and Mitch Sirie never hurt (even if I'd have liked to have seen more soloing), and drummer Johnny Belanger kept the rhythm as well as you'd expect, while also filling in the gaps for crowd banter, helping keep things in a loose and carefree spirit despite the anticipation and setting of this concert. Good stuff all around, and if this is the kind of show fans can expect from Handsome Sandwich, then who knows how far that they'll go?

Overall, this was a fun show aided by the unique and high-end locale, and on a kinda-related level, it was awesome to see Mitch & Johnny finally get to have a proper release concert like this after their old death metal band The Bear Hunters' planned release show for their higher quality second album "The Dead Testament" never went through due to the pandemic and the band's own decline in activity after 2017, leading to it getting a digital-only release on Bandcamp in 2020, and only one further live set. 2+ years later, they finally had their big moment, and hopefully Nik and Justin get theirs in some form! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, and I shot a video from each band, namely Man Feelings playing "Bring Me Home" and Handsome Sandwich playing "Better Off"!

Due to the length of this review (which went longer than normal already), I'll hold comment on Handsome Sandwich's newly released "Deconstructed" album for an upcoming post, but I did buy a CD copy on Saturday night and it will be reviewed on the SMS in due course! That's all for now, but a new news post will be hitting the SMS later today! Thanks everyone!

Handsome Sandwich Release Concert Preview, Plus Destroyer Concert Videos!!

As promised, we're rounding out this weekend's concert previews today with a special extended preview of a big event tomorrow night, with some concert videos from last month to round things out with. Here's what you should know, starting with that concert preview!

An album release date months in the making comes to fruition TOMORROW NIGHT when local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich release their debut album "Deconstructed" at their release party at The Loft! As a refresher, The Loft is the concert venue on the third floor of the Algoma Conservatory of Music at 75 Huron Street (the former St. Mary's Paper building), and is managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, whose bandmate Bill Priddle was very much involved in the "Deconstructed" recording sessions. By all public accounts, The Loft is very high end as concert venues in Sault Ste. Marie go, both from attendance and performance standpoints, so click here for full details on the amenities and technical qualities that are in store for this and other concerts. We have not seen Handsome Sandwich on stage since The Soo's Got Talent finals in October, though they've hardly been idle since then!

It's also been at least since T.S.G.T. last year that they had May 6th dialed in as a release date for this album (I still don't know the significance of May 6th), and after 7+ months of final studio work, video shoots, mastering, and promotion, we're almost over the finish line for "Deconstructed"! In the pandemic era, heavier album releases on physical media have been the exception, not the rule, so fans of physical media will love that "Deconstructed" will be on sale tomorrow on CD (price unclear), so bring extra cash to get yours! I do not know if streaming copies of the album go live before the show or afterwards. Set-wise, Handsome Sandwich plan to play every song on "Deconstructed" in order, allegedly the only time that they plan to do this live, and the set will be filled out by newer original songs not on the album (no word on possible covers).

Their set is at 8:30 PM, while local indie rock quartet Man Feelings will open the proceedings at 7:30 PM. Not a hard rock or punk band, but they're a talented group in & of themselves, so don't miss them either! An all ages event, admission is $25 at the door or via this link, though seating is limited. If you can't make it, Handsome Sandwich have confirmed that at least their set will be "live recorded" (The Loft is adjacent to a recording studio and is wired for soundboard audio/HD video), but what form they mean for the recording is not known. This is primed to be a huge night for Taylor, Jesse, Mitch, Rafael, and Johnny, so don't miss out tomorrow, visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's the Sandwich live!

We'll close today with videos from the concert from Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer at Soo Blaster on April 15th! Apologies for the delay in these making the site. Filmed for Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, he uploaded ten videos from this show, including eight of the headliners tackling the Kiss classics "Firehouse", "Shout It Out Loud", "Calling Dr. Love", "I Was Made For Loving You", "Love Gun", "Detroit Rock City", "I Stole Your Love", and as embedded below, "Rock & Roll All Nite". Really nice seeing a sizeable crowd on the floor for this show, and while the audio can be scratchy with the audio setup and/or through this camera (I can see why Chris didn't title "I Stole Your Love"), you get a really good sense of Destroyer's authentic sounding and looking presentation! I wonder if the Kiss cabbie was there? I imagine he'd approve! Give these a watch for yourself a look above and below!

Chris' other two videos are of local openers Fort Creek, with their videos being of them covering Black Stone Cherry's "White Trash Millionaire" and, as embedded below, The Goo Goo Dolls' "Long Way Down". Unexpected cover in the latter case, but the southern hard rockers pull it off well and it lets Justin flex his melodic vocal abilities! Possibly thanks to not being on the floor while filming, the audio quality is clearer on these too, so check them out for yourselves above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Handsome Sandwich News & Updates, Plus A New Drum Cover Video!!

To try and get some of the news backlog cleared out, here's another full news post on this Tuesday morning, including a new drum cover video, and leading off, lots of updates from a prominent local band in the midst of quite a big week, so here's what you should know!

Here's some more recent news and updates from local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich, in advance of their CD release concert at The Loft this Saturday night! Our preview of that is coming later in the week, but there is more to talk about in the interim, starting with the confirmation on their Facebook page on April 14th that they will return to the Northern Vibe Festival in nearby Ophir in late August! The band debuted their new lineup twice over at the last two installments of this event, so it makes sense for them to return, but of course, it may be a while before we hear what day they're playing on. Organizers never released daily schedules in the past two years, and didn't do so for the DJ centric River Stage's lineup reveal last month. For the record, the full band lineup for the Forest Stage is expected to be announced soon, and we'll keep you posted when they announce everything, with or without dates.

To promote their recent activity, SooToday contributor/musician Chris Belsito spotlighted them in another article on April 27th, which features interview remarks from all five band members, including guitarist "Jessie Cooks" (odd typos there!). The article features talk of the positive response to the band's first two music videos (an unidentified friend of the band in Great Britain apparently covered "Better Off" in some form), technical details on their video shoots, saxophonist Josh Norling's contribution to "No Entry" (if not the video for it), and hype for Saturday night's release concert. The biggest scoop in the SooToday article is that they're planning to return to the studio to record a five song EP with Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori at the Algoma Conservatory of Music this fall, with a single planned to be recorded first "within the next couple of weeks". Remember also that they teased recording the release show in some form.

Informative and positive article that hypes up Handsome Sandwich's upward momentum towards the release show on Saturday, so give it a read above! While there were a few vague teasers about the release plans for their debut album "Deconstructed", the band confirmed on their Facebook page on Friday that the album will be released on CDs and not just via digital downloads and streaming services, and they're going the DIY route here rather than getting them packaged and sent back from afar. The album cover proper was unveiled on Saturday, and can be seen on the right. Kind of shows the titular sandwich in progress, as it takes some effort to get it to be handsome! Finally from the Sandwich crew, they posted a new video interview conducted by the aforementioned Greig Nori with drummer Johnny Belanger and release concert openers Man Feelings' guitarist Paul Gabrylewicz yesterday, so what do you learn here?

In the video, Greig promotes the release concert proper, and asks Johnny about the recording of and release plans for "Deconstructed", while asking Paul (a.k.a. Gabby) about his vision for "collaborative creativity" and Man Feelings' existing studio output, plus both Johnny & Paul's support for fellow local musicians and their past shows together. Not a deep expose or anything, but good promotion and it's interesting seeing Greig front and center here (gives me old disBand vibes!). Check out much more from Handsome Sandwich above and below, and look for our preview of the release show proper on Thursday or Friday!

Finally for today, let's hop across to St. Ignace, Michigan for a new cover video from Heavy Lies The Crown drummer Jaxon Massaway's YouTube channel!  In the description for the video below on March 31st, Jaxon revealed that he had a full drum setup at home again, and plans to begin posting drum covers there, starting with this one of Breaking Benjamin's "Sooner Or Later". Playing in a well lit room, the cover (along with the original studio track) is solidly done, but I'd move the camera next time, as Jaxon's head is right behind a cymbal at this camera angle. Give it a look below, and if you like country, give his guitar covers of country songs from last month a look as well, as he has musical range!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Handsome Sandwich And Tym Morrison) & The Leash Concert Preview!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews in this post (barring anything on super late notice), but leading off are a couple of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at two relatively unfamiliar venues as the SMS goes, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the live stage on Friday, March 17th when he debuts at... Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant?! If you're unfamiliar, Tazzi's is located at 478 Queen Street East (just down the road from Reggie's Place) and it's by no means new to the Soo, having been open since at least 2008, but they've only really been getting into live music bookings since last summer. They typically bring in acoustic country and classic rock solo acts, and often film them for their Facebook page, so keep that in mind! Tym appears to be the latest to give Tazzi's a whirl, and will be doing so on St. Patrick's Day, but I have no idea if they go all out for that holiday or not there (be advised that Tazzi's has not promoted Tym as playing yet). Concerts at Tazzi's have early 8:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 19+ age limits. Visit Tym's official Facebook event page for more details on this hard rocking debut!

Next up, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's album release party for their debut album "Deconstructed" will take place on Saturday, May 6th (not May 5th) at.... The Loft?! Yes, another new-ish venue for our coverage, as The Loft is the concert venue opened in 2021 on the third floor of the Algoma Conservatory of Music at 75 Huron Street (the former St. Mary's Paper office), and is actually managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, who also runs the recording studio on the same floor. You can read all about The Loft's specifications, atmosphere, and amenities at this link, and most tantalizingly for casual fans is that The Loft has HD cameras by default and is wired straight to the recording studio if bands want to have concert sets recorded. In fact, Handsome Sandwich confirmed that this set will be "live recorded", so whether audio or video, keep that in mind!

The show proper will be Handsome Sandwich's first of 2023 (unless they announce anything beforehand), and they plan to perform both the entire "Deconstructed" album alongside new songs not on the album that night. Indie rock quartet Man Feelings will open in their own first concert of the year, and while not as heavy as the Sandwich can get, hopefully the guys deliver their entertaining originals with zest to kick off the evening! No word on if their set is getting recorded/filmed too or not. Tickets will run $25 for this show (if physical CDs are being sold, I don't know what they will cost individually), and there will be a cash bar on site. You can buy yours at this link, but be advised that The Loft advertises a capacity of 180 people for concerts, so get yours A.S.A.P. just in case! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised, and there is no stated age limit. Colour me impressed by the scale and setting for the release party!

I had known about what Greig and everyone at the Conservatory was doing for a couple of years, but concerts at The Loft so far have more leaned more towards what you'd see at LopLops or on CBC Music (certainly not a criticism), hence why it took us this long to mention it in any detail. Given Handsome Sandwich's existing ties with Treble Charger's Bill Priddle (who produced the album), that can't have hurt for connecting the right dots! The long wait for the album release continues (remember, they had May 6th announced as the date last fall), so definitely visit the above links for more details on this show and to buy your tickets, as it will be quite a concert from the setting and atmosphere alone!

Finally for today, here's that final concert preview for this weekend, as Hamilton-based Pearl Jam tribute band Leash will hit Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT in their first ever local appearance! The first of two touring hard rock tribute bands scheduled at Soo Blaster in the spring months (joining Kiss tribute Destroyer next month), Leash deliver a very proficient brand of Pearl Jam's distinct grunge & alternative classics, and while the vocals aren't a 100% match, genre fans should get their money's worth tomorrow! In a late confirmation on Monday, local punk trio Vanity First will serve as local openers tomorrow in their first announced concert set of 2023, and first set at Soo Blaster since opening for Gutter Creek in September. Vanity First aren't a perfect genre match, but they weren't for Gutter Creek either, and this should give them a solid audience to deliver their up-tempo originals and covers to once again, so don't be late!

A 19+ concert as you may expect, tomorrow's festivities have doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $25 in advance at this link or $30 at the door (a $320 VIP table package is also on sale at the online ticket link). If you like seeing talented touring tribute bands in the Soo, and want to see a different range of them compared to what usually stops in town, coming out to see Leash would definitely be a good idea, so come enjoy Seattle by way of Hamilton tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Leash playing multiple songs live!

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

Handsome Sandwich, Soundcheck, And Vanity First Updates!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing a concert in this past weekend's previews, as local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns headed north for a gig at Searchmont Resort at their in-house venue The Kiln on Saturday night. The band did not promote this show on their Facebook page, and Searchmont's Facebook page only first mentioned it on Friday, later hyping up the campfire jam aesthetic and requests angle for it. Searchmont only host bands sporadically at The Kiln, so it's not a regular spot for me to look for concerts at, but I do apologize, I'd have plugged it on here had The Stallyns said something in advance! Now, here's what you should know from three active local bands!

After two months of public silence, local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich posted on their Facebook page on Saturday to reveal that recording sessions for their debut album "Deconstructed" are complete! Now, they did say the same thing in November when attached to this picture, so clearly they fixed something up since then. The tracks will now be sent off to be mixed, and while they didn't specify details on Saturday, they confirmed in November that Jordan Zadorozny was going to mix the album at Skylark Park in Pembroke. The plan is still to release the album on Saturday, May 6th, which has been the plan since at least October when singer Taylor Emlaw announced it during The Soo's Got Talent (I believe I misheard her say "May 5th" at the time, my apologies). Regardless, publically setting such a specific album release date seven months out is kinda odd.

May 6th must hold some sort of special in-band meaning, but if they've announced it publically, it must have been in concerts only. A release show for the album is planned, which does imply that there will be physical copies to sell at one, but we'll keep you posted when more comes out on it! As a teaser, the band shared this video with the new Facebook post featuring a 12 second clip of one of their original songs, as set to footage of guitarist Jesse Cook laying on his back performing bicycle kicks to his bandmates' (and now our) amusement. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich soon!

Next up, here's some big news from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, as they have added Obsession bassist Jim Michaud to their lineup, replacing Paul Belair. The band announced the news on their Facebook page yesterday, and while they did not publically explain his departure, they did note that he "will be missed huge". Drummer Glen Thomas did elaborate on his personal Facebook page on the amicable reasons Paul left, and as it turns out, he actually left the band in November, something that the band never announced on Facebook. Paul had been Soundcheck's bassist since replacing Robin Lee in 2017, but he increasingly missed gigs for personal reasons, leading to guests (usually RPM's Rob Gilmar) filling in, including Jim at their Esquire Club dates on the 20th & 21st. With the similarly ranged Obsession ending their eighteen year run at the same venue next month, Jim coming on board does make a lot of sense!

It's worth noting that Jim & Glen played together in Lyrx, albeit in 1982 & 1983! No word yet on when the new Soundcheck lineup will debut, but they did jokingly ask on Facebook if Rob could fill-in again this weekend, so if that's legit, we'll be on the lookout for a short notice announcement (let alone if Jim carries over Obsession's planned March-December dates to Soundcheck, the idea is not unheard of). Stay tuned for more from as it rolls in, and best of luck to Paul in whatever he has planned next!

Finally, here's some new videos from local punk trio Vanity First's Facebook page in the past week! One is actually a re-post of their 2021 cover of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn" that was first seen on their YouTube channel, notable as it features former bassist Nick McClelland (singer Andrew Beggs has pulled double duty since Nick left). Cool to see again, they tackle this punk staple well! Another video is a re-post from their TikTok page, under the pretense that Andrew's "father" demands to know what he's doing behind closed doors. Of course, it's not what it looks like, and "it" is Andrew listening to punk music, specifically their 2022 standalone single "Get Out". Cute promotion for what it is! The other new Facebook uploads on offer actually have Vanity First covering Rage Against The Machine, including a vertically shot video of them covering "Bombtrack" at Go Skateboarding Day at Queen Elizabeth Park in May of last year.

Notably, Andrew didn't play bass while rapping on this one, so it was up to guitarist Mikhal Muto & drummer Keeghan McAllister to fill in all of the gaps, The 24 second clip comes off well with good angles of the ramp-top stage, though I'm surprised it took this long to come to Facebook! While seemingly formatted for TikTok, that video is not posted on their TikTok page, with the only post-EP release video there that isn't on Facebook being this clip of Keeghan having a "drummer moment" during what appear to be rehearsals at the Sault Community Theatre Centre. Light and amusing, but I feel you have to be in on the joke to an extent. Embedded below is a new 33 second clip of them covering "Killing In The Name" when they opened for Gutter Creek at Soo Blaster in September, and this video is extra notable given what did and didn't happen during the runtime.

As the band noted in the video description, Andrew has epilepsy, and if you know someone with that disorder, you'll know that they're often recommended to not look at strobe lighting or other rapidly flashing light patterns, as that could cause them to have a seizure. During the song's bridge, strobe lighting went off at the venue, and thankfully, nothing serious medically happened to Andrew, who kept his composure and played the song off perfectly normally! If you didn't know he was epileptic, you still wouldn't have if the band never said. I find "Killing In The Name" to be severely overplayed, but credit to Andrew for powering through here, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Vanity First!

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