LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), A New Redundant Video, And Much More!!

Just when we thought there wouldn't be a second post today, we came across enough news and updates to populate one, so let's get it up before we tackle the weekend's concert previews! Today, we have a lot of assorted shorter items, a recent concert video, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next week, so here's what you need to know!

Local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will make a special Thursday night appearance at  The Speak Easy at Algoma University next Thursday, November 27th! Fresh off of this Friday night's Sault Band-O-Rama (which we're previewing on the site tomorrow), this will likely be the first public hard rock concert at Algoma University's campus bar of the year, at least that we've heard of, though I don't know if there is a special reason for the Thursday booking. Opening for them at this show will be Boxes of Boom, a local project that I don't know a ton on, but their music features minimalist rock overtop of techno beats. Interesting sound, and I know they turned some heads when they played with The Pixo Control at a private house party event earlier this month, so keep them in mind! This show has a 10:00 PM start time & no announced cover charge, and while a 19+ age limit is likely, we'll let you know if it's all ages or if underage Algoma students can get in. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates on this intriguing show!

Next up, here's another new video from last week's Rock For Dimes fundraiser concert at The Delta Waterfront Hotel, this time of headlining local punk trio Redundant! Like their Rock For Dimes videos from last spring, this was filmed by frontman Justin Langlois' dad Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Monday, and features Redundant's set-opening cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" (with assists from Justin's sons), though the pre-set encouragement of fans to come onto the floor is left in. Like Michel's Thrill Junkies clip, this is very solid in quality, albeit with fans' heads in the way, so give it a look below, and we'll let you know if Michel shot any more footage at Rock For Dimes!



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

• These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa LeClair is again looking to jam with other rock musicians, though it's unclear whether she's hoping to revive T.S.O.T. (who haven't posted a Facebook update at all this year) or for a different project entirely. It'd be nice to see her in an active band again, so message her at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• Former Frasiers guitarist Charlie Derrer is looking for a drummer and second guitarist for  a new "pop funk" band that he's launching, and it's likely that he already has a bassist. In case this will cross over into punk, we'll mention it here, so message Charlie at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on November 5th if you're interested!
• In their first new song posting in two months, local pop punk solo project For July uploaded a new original track named "Go" onto their Soundcloud page on Monday! Medium-paced while retaining a pop punk and emo bite, it's well done for the genre, but the chorus vocals don't strike me as very imaginative. Still, give the full song a listen above for some lively original music!
• New local punk/grunge duo The Red & Black revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they have a "new CD in the works", which would be their first formal album release. Little else is known at present, but given Chris Shoust's Telephone & Address output, this likely won't be a long wait, so stay tuned for updates!
• Barring an imminent sign of life, we'll be moving the local/B.C. indie punk band The Small Town Rivals to our inactive band links next week due to a year's inactivity, having last posted on their Facebook page in November of last year. This band had a good sound going and some successes, but were arguably succeeded by Northwest, who shared all but one member from their local live lineup. If we hear different, we'll let you know, but best of luck to Northwest, Jesse, Scott, and Liam in the future!
• The new episode of Local2's music spotlight webseries Tuned With Donna Hopper went up yesterday at this link, and while it mostly focuses on a recent concert set and interview from local progressive rock quartet Machines Dream, it does plug this weekend's Sault Band-O-Rama and next weekend's Toystock in the concert calendar segment. It's still a good episode, so give it a look above to see it, especially if you love prog rock!

That's definitely all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Band, Sault Band-O-Rama Updates, And Much More!!

Today's post relates to bands and projects with clear ties to a few local artists in particular, but that's just how things came together on this snowy Monday, and it all fits together nicely! Along with some assorted recent notes, we have a recent concert video, lineup changes for an upcoming concert event, and first, here's the newest addition to our Sault Ontario band links!

It's about time that we rolled them in, so we're officially welcoming Mourning Wood to our full coverage at the SMS! We had previously been referencing them as country/rock, but given their setlist at Rock For Dimes (which included Metallica, AC/DC, and Billy Idol songs), that's a good sampling and indicator of how their longer shows would go. Debuting in August at The Rednecks Saloon, their lineup features Asylum Country guitarist Terry Eaton & drummer T.J. Case (both veterans of older metal bands) alongside T.J.'s Urawk bandmate Steven Flint (also of Beaumont Avenue & Haggith), and while Terry sings most lead vocals, Steven & T.J. take turns for certain songs also. Mourning Wood have been playing fairly frequently since debuting, splitting their solo gigs at The Rednecks Saloon, The New American Pub, and (in the first shows we've heard that fit on the site) Reggie's West, a.k.a. the former Roosevelt Hotel. The band is next scheduled to take part in this year's Toystock at The Canadian on November 29th.

Also, note that T.J. has had conflicts where Mourning Wood and his other hard rock band Havadder have played on the same weekends, but we've tended to see him play with Mourning Wood in these cases. Mourning Wood have a solid sound that has a lot of quality hard rock action and reliable covers, and while the guys could be livelier on stage, fans who see them live won't have a lot to worry about! Don't miss them at Toystock, and stay tuned for updates on their next headlining shows!

Next up, here's a new video from the aforementioned Rock For Dimes at The Delta Waterfront Hotel, and it's of fellow local classic/hard rock cover band The Thrill Junkies' set! Filmed by bassist Justin Langlois' father Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday, this is of their opening cover of Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy", as preceded by MC Lou Turco's introduction and some pre-set tuning and preparation. The video is of nice quality and shot close to the stage's right, and it captures this solidly done rendition well! Give it a look below, and we'll let you know if Michel has any Redundant footage!

Also today, here's some updates concerning the lineup of the Sault Band-O-Rama all day concert event at The Primavera Hall on Friday (as promoted by 2/3rds of Mourning Wood), including two band changes. One reflects the re-addition of local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements to the lineup as the opening band at 3:00 PM, as they've pulled out of the show again for unannounced reasons, as per co-promoter Terry Eaton on the Facebook event page on Saturday. Disappointing, but we'll be sure to see them again soon! The show will open at 4:00 PM again now, but with a new band kicking things off, as local experimental metal trio The Strange Coyotes will now open the show in their first non-house party gig since reuniting! As per co-promoter Steven Flint yesterday, they're replacing local doom/punk band The Revolution due to the recent departure of bassist Rainey Vincent (despite a guarantee that they'd play this show with or without a replacement), but hopefully things get sorted out, and the Coyotes should set the tone well on Friday!

There's still 12 varied local acts to take in on Friday (including the mystery project Infamous), and remember that this ALL AGES show has just a $5 admission, so keep it in mind for this Friday! Stay tuned for updates and our preview of it later this week!

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

• We've moved local hard rock quartet Punch to our inactive band links. While the guys posted on their Facebook page as recently as July, the band (who replaced Haggith during their brief breakup) have slim future prospects given that most of their members are now playing with the reunited Haggith, who have also taken on Punch's originals as their own tracks, even including the song named "Punch". Follow Haggith to keep tabs on where Punch would have went, and best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, Steven, and Ben!
• Following up on their mention of it at Rock For Dimes on Friday, Redundant frontman Justin Langlois has posted on numerous Facebook pages (including the Musicians Wanted group) this weekend to confirm that the local punk trio is working on finishing their long hinted debut album, and a CD release party for it is in the works. To that effect, the band is looking for at least one local opening band, so if you're interested in opening, or have a suggestion, message Justin at this link or above, and stay tuned for more on their CD plans!
• Don't cry for the end of Urawk (Beaumont Avenue & T.J. Case's live band karaoke series) just yet, as the grand finale at The Rednecks Saloon was just for their run there. A cover photo on the new Urawk Facebook page reveals that the series is moving from the former Nicolet Tavern to The Rockstar Bar in the coming weeks, though a reason for the move in venue hasn't been announced. Keep tabs on Urawk if you want to sing karaoke with a live band when they return!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Rock For Dimes 2014 Concert Review!!

Hey guys, before we get to our review of Friday night's Rock For Dimes, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert on the site, as local alternative rock cover quartet Lucky 13 played at The Rockstar Bar last night, but the band never plugged it online, and the venue only did on their Facebook group an hour before showtime. We mentioned it on our Facebook page last night to at least address it for fans, but I sincerely apologize for not getting it on the site, and we'd have plugged it in our weekend previews had we heard about it! For what it's worth, the gig wasn't a replacement for the cancelled Whiskey Shits show, as that was going to be downstairs.

Now, to the concert review, as Friday night saw the second annual local installment of Rock For Dimes, the March of Dimes fundraising concert event, which took place at The Delta Waterfront Hotel rather than The Grand Gardens for the first time. I haven't been to this building for a concert since it was the Holiday Inn, back in the last years of the Bon Soo Battle of the Bands, but over the years and since the new owners moved in, things looked very different. The show itself took place at the hotel's Algoma East Ballroom, and in terms of non-musical aspects, there was a 50/50 draw, a door prize draw, a live auction for a guitar from Case's Music, and a number of silent auction prizes. The ballroom was nicely laid out with professional staging, an ongoing slideshow of bands and sponsors, a pleasant ambiance, and pizza, nachos, and drinks on hand for attendees to partake in, which was all a nice touch! Ward 4 councillor and local radio personality Lou Turco was on hand to MC the event, and while he was friendly and seemed happy to be there, you could tell that the bands generally weren't his thing.

The opening band was supposed to be The Damon King Band (the last remaining holdover from the cancelled youth battle of the bands), but they dropped out of the show for unannounced reasons on Thursday. Hopefully all's well with the guys, but it is a shame that every aspect of the youth battle completely eroded away. In their place, local alternative/hard rock quartet Late Shift (accidentally announced as "Last Shift") filled in on short notice, and it was nice to see them jump in, especially with how good their set was! Covering everyone from Led Zeppelin to The Offspring during their 6 song set (including an original song that I think was called "Freight"), the guys showed some good chemistry and talent, with John Barber's impressive vocals shining brightly, and Clint Wilson providing some dependably good bass! Though their shows are sporadic (and they lack an online page), Late Shift impressed, and don't miss them at Coch's Corner this weekend!

Also, as an aside, John was excellent in interacting with some of the younger kids in attendance during and after their set, he was a natural! Yes, this was an all ages event, remember that the battle of the bands would have featured high school-aged acts.

Though The Elements were advertised as the next band, they traded places with local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith on the lineup for unannounced reasons, but Haggith had a surprise in store, as they've apparently added Beaumont Avenue guitarist Steven Flint (also of Mourning Wood) to their lineup as their new bassist, replacing James White. While a reason hasn't been stated, James told me it was related to his personal schedule, and I'll leave it at that unless the band elaborates. It's not clear yet whether Steven is officially in Haggith now or just filling in, but given that he played with Curtis & Daniel in the similar & dormant band Punch, he fits in just fine! In fact, half of Haggith's six song set was comprised of songs that Punch played live (i.e. "Metal Cage"), which was nice and convenient! The bassist change aside, the guys were tight and energetic, and put in a solid effort as usual, so fans had nothing to worry about!

Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements were on next after the band trade, and though their set shared surface similarities with Late Shift's (both bands covered Sublime, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Led Zeppelin), they upped the funk rock quota with an entertaining set of their own! If there was any lingering feelings from bassist James White's exit from Haggith, it didn't show in his solid output, while Jesse Cook was predictably very good on guitar, and Rob Speers jumped genres well and made the most of his range! It was nice to see The Elements again, but compared to their surrounding bands, why'd they only play 4 songs? They could have slotted one or two more in, but beggars can't be choosers, and their set was still entertaining and delivered the goods for fans! Keep an eye out for The Elements at more upcoming shows in the coming months!

Newer local cover rock band Mourning Wood came on next, and they're one of three that I'd never seen live before, so how'd they do? Their 5 song set featured covers of Joe Walsh, Billy Idol, AC/DC, Metallica, and Black Crowes songs, with guitarist Terry Eaton generally singing lead on them, aside from bassist Steven Flint handling "Rebel Yell" and drummer T.J. Case singing "Highway To Hell", though across the board, the guys sang each track well! Honestly, Mourning Wood were heavier than I thought they'd be, and while there wasn't a lot of visible energy and movement, these are three very talented musicians who know a number of genres, and it showed well! Terry handled singing and guitar work very well, and while some songs sounded a bit empty without a second guitar, they have a good thing going so far! Stay tuned for more on Mourning Wood on the site this week!

Fifth on Friday was the local progressive/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, who were somewhat of an unknown commodity to many despite being together since 2012. They left a good impression though with a skilled sound that I don't think many people were expecting to see at Rock For Dimes! Playing four originals (I think), the songs went from slower and darker to more upbeat and lively, but all had a technical progressive vibe with good talent all around and solid effect usage. Locally, I'd compare them to Machines Dream, but is it wrong to say that they reminded me of a mix of The Black Keys and Anathema? Though I wasn't familiar with any of the members before hearing of their Toystock involvement, they all showed clear talent, with Josh Ingram's melodic vocals flowing very well, and bassist Michael Dempster kept up solid energy with his playing! Though not a "heavy" band, Mannapool were impressive, and I hope to see them again at Toystock!

Co-headlining this year's Rock For Dimes was local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies, making their first live concert appearance since January, so 5 songs or not, this was a long time coming! The Turner Up successors covered Lit, The Foo Fighters, and Radiohead before tackling two Weezer songs, and while there was some minor stage rust, these local veterans were in their element, and it showed well! Travis Sharpe's versatile singing was on full display (nice to see him fronting a band again), and both Robert Brown and Jason Nisbet showed their guitar talents throughout their set! This was also the band's first show since Redundant's Rick White replaced Scott McLurg on drums, and he fit in pretty good with The Thrill Junkies, though we'll get more of a sense of the new lineup when they're back playing at bars. Solid comeback for The Thrill Junkies, and don't miss them at Sault Band-O-Rama!

Headlining in their second straight Rock For Dimes set was local punk trio Redundant, who capped the night with a 7 song set of covers and originals that definitely kept the remaining fans going! Encouraging everyone to join them on the floor (the only band to do that), their set featured cameo appearances by two of frontman Justin Langlois' sons, who ran around, talked into extra mics, and added a cute family element to their set! Redundant covered songs from the likes of Rise Against, Operation Ivy, and Weezer with the ease that you'd expect from them, and aside from a brief stoppage to announce silent auction winners, they had good momentum and definitely seemed to be having fun! It should also be noted that bassist James White indicated on stage that their debut album is planned to come out by February, which is the first I've heard of them making one in many months, so we'll have to see if that comes to fruition. If you left early, you missed a solid punk set, but you'll see Redundant again soon!

Though a "jam session" was teased to close the event after Redundant wrapped up, it didn't take place for unannounced reasons. Even without that, I'd call this year's Rock For Dimes a success based on what did occur on Friday, and it was nice to see a variety of local bands join forces to help support The March of Dimes and the United Way! It's just a shame that the youth battle of the bands didn't take place, but if they try it again next year, hopefully they advertise and promote it more locally (or maybe open invitations to adult bands?) SooToday's Donna Hopper was on hand too for coverage of the event, so we definitely await her quality photos and more! Of course, we got lots of photos of each band that you can check out at this link or at our Facebook page, though I apologize for the quality on most, as I didn't want to impose on other fans by getting on the floor to get closer when no one else was.

As for our videos, here's Late Shift covering Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Sublime's "STP", Haggith playing their song (formerly a Punch original) "Road Rash", The Elements covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Hump De Bump", Mourning Wood covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", Mannapool playing an original song whose title wasn't announced (let us know if you know it), The Thrill Junkies covering The Foo Fighters' "My Hero", and Redundant covering Green Day's "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"!

Late Shift & Haggith

The Elements & Mourning Wood

Mannapool & The Thrill Junkies

Redundant - Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Rock For Dimes Concert Preview, Inclufing The Battle Of The Bands' Cancellation!!

With a surprisingly busy weekend for concerts on the horizon (unusually so for November), we've broken this weekend's concert previews into three posts: One for Sault Ontario, one for Sault Michigan and potential late notice confirmations, and this first post all about a notable charity concert taking place at a somewhat unfamiliar venue tomorrow night! However, one of two planned shows for the same cause was cancelled yesterday, so read on below for that and all of the details regarding this show!

A special charity concert will take place TOMORROW as part of the second annual Rock For Dimes charity event in Sault Ste. Marie! Moving from The Grand Gardens in March of last year to The Delta Waterfront Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn) at at 208 St Mary's River Drive, this is the local branch of the national Rock For Dimes concert events to raise money for the March of Dimes' charitable work in improving the health of (expecting) mothers and their children, which is a very worthwhile cause! Now, the event was supposed to feature two linked concerts tomorrow, including a headlining lineup of adult bands and a youth battle of the bands at 5:00 PM, but the battle was confirmed to be cancelled via promoter Dennis Ullman on the Facebook event page. The news follows scheduled performers The Pixo Control's exit due to frontman Michael Mikus having a health scare (source here) and a slow public search to find a full lineup of four competing youth bands, as there was only two ever confirmed publically.

This would have been the first local battle of the bands since last year's Viva La Battle, and likely the only Sault Ontario battle of 2014, but at least the later adult bands are still on! Michael will be just fine after what happened, so look for The Pixo Control at Sault Band-O-Rama next week! As a result, the only remaining youth band will open tomorrow's show, which now starts at 7:30 PM, while there will also be presentations, draws, and auctions bookending and in between the bands during both halves of the day. With the changes, there will be 7 bands (up from just two last year) lined up to play tomorrow night, with the existing non-battle acts including local punk trio Redundant (who played at last year's Rock For Dimes), returning local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies (who last took the stage 10 months ago), newer alternative/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, local country/rock cover trio Mourning Wood, local grunge quartet Haggith, and local funk/alternative rock favourites The Elements, and that's a solid lineup on it's own, even if each band has only half hour long sets!

With the cancellation of the battle of the bands, the opening set at 7:30 PM (originally planned to be the first place encore set) goes to The Damon King Band, so I guess they're the de facto battle winners? I don't know a whole lot on them, but they're definitely a high school aged band, and they may be one and the same as the band Damon and Anthony Boudreau were looking for band members for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in September. We'll find out more tomorrow! Note that you could also see this as a preview of next Friday's Sault Band-O-Rama at The Primavera Hall, as all of these bands (save for Mannapool and The Damon King Band) are either playing or have members promoting that event, so keep that angle in mind! Public timeslots have mostly not been posted for the adult concert, but each band was slotted at having 25 minutes (thanks to Redundant drummer Rick White for the info), and a jam session is slated for 11:30 PM to close the show.

Admission tomorrow will be $15 for adults and $5 and a non-perishable food donation for "youth" attendees, while tickets bought for the cancelled battle of the bands will indeed be honoured at the door. If you don't want to buy at the door, you can order tickets online as well at this link, and this show is definitely ALL AGES. For more details, visit the above links and the Facebook event page! Though it is disappointing that we lost the battle of the bands, this is still an intriguing event, and greatly expanded from last year! It'll also be neat to have a concert with hard rock and punk bands at the former Holiday Inn again, which some of you may remember as the host of Bon Soo's old battles of the bands. I definitely plan to come out for Rock For Dimes, as it's got a lot of entertaining bands for a great cause, and for a preview, here's Redundant live at last year's Rock For Dimes!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more Sault Ontario weekend concert previews later today! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rock For Dimes & Battle Of The Bands) And More!!

Before we get to the meat of this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed show on here, as local classic/hard rock quartet RPM returned to the stage to make their Rednecks Saloon debut on October 24th, as per the venue's Facebook page. That completely slipped us by last month, but with RPM lacking an online page that I know of (and already playing only here and there), there were less ways to hear about it. Still, our sincere apologies to the band and their fans, hopefully we hear about their next gigs! Now, here's a stacked new post featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two linked concerts on the same day that should definitely be followed, plus some more updates!

For the first time since last year's Viva La Battle, Sault Ontario will get a battle of the bands as part of this year's second annual Rock For Dimes fundraiser event this coming Friday! Actually, you'll get TWO concerts on Friday if you wait it out, so here's what you should know! Completely expanded from the first regional Rock For Dimes in March 2013 (where the only bands were Redundant and the sporadically seen RPM), the event moves from The Grand Gardens to The Delta Waterfront Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn) at 208 St Mary's River Drive this year, but like before, this event is a major fundraiser for the March of Dimes and their ongoing work in improving the health of pregnant women, mothers, and babies, which is a great cause! If last year is any indication, there will also be presentations, draws, and an auction between and bookending the bands to help the effort, and you can visit the above links for more public information on the event in general!

The battle of the bands itself will be at 5:00 PM on Friday, and is geared towards high school and youth bands, with only one band publically confirmed for it at present, that being local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control. They've been on a solid rise so far since their launch, and here's hoping they put on a good show at the battle on Friday! The other competing bands have not been announced, though a second slot is reportedly going to a band led by a young local musician named Damon King (thanks to Rick White from the later lineup for the info!) I don't have much else on Damon's band yet, but they could be the same metal band that he and former Social Suicide member Anthony Boudreau were looking for musicians for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in September. If we hear anything, we'll keep you posted! At last word, promoters are still looking for one more youth band to play the battle, so contact promoters at the Facebook event page for details!

Prizes for winning or placing bands haven't been announced other than to say that the winning band will play an encore set at around 7:30 PM on Friday (thanks again, Rick!), which will lead right into the showcase concert for non-youth bands, of which there are 6. They include local punk trio Redundant (the only returning band from last year's Rock For Dimes), local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies (in their first live concert set in 10 months), newer alternative/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, local country/rock cover trio Mourning Wood, local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith, and local funk/alternative rock favourites The Elements, so that's a diverse lineup with some familiar faces! Also, kudos to bassist James White, who will be playing with all three of his current bands (Redundant, The Elements, and Haggith) on Friday! Each band will play a short set on Friday, with battle competitors getting 20 minute sets, and older bands getting 25 minutes each.

A jam session of some type will close this year's Rock For Dimes, and admission for each of the two halves of the night will be $5 for the battle, and $15 for the later bands, and you can buy tickets online "from" individual bands at this link, or presumably at the door. Advertising also notes that a youth ticket plus a toy or food donation will get you entry for the later adult bands, so keep that deal in mind as well, though it may only apply to "youth" attendees. For all current public details, visit the above links! Everything sounds bigger and better for the second local Rock For Dimes event, and it's nice to see so many bands joining together for the cause! The double concert format is a little odd, especially when seeing the adult bands in a battle would be cool, but I get the focus on high school acts for their own battle, and a win would be a nice feather in the cap for their development!

Also, it'll be nice to have a battle of the bands at the former Holiday Inn for the first time since Bon Soo's old battles, so if you miss that annual event, be at The Delta Waterfront Suites THIS FRIDAY! Stay tuned for more public updates as they roll in!

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

• I've switched The Canadian Nightclub's link in our active concert venue listings from their older inactive Facebook group to their more active current Facebook group. Not a huge change, but it helps to have the most accurate updated links on the site!
• Local hardcore punk favourites Destroilet have been forced to drop out of their opening set at The Bear Hunters' CD release concert at The Canadian on November 29th due to "unforseen work circumstances" for an unidentified band member, as per Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie on the Facebook event page on Tuesday. Disappointing, but we'll see the guys again soon, and if you or your band want to open for this big show at month's end, message The Bear Hunters at the above links!
• Local classic metal quartet Project 421 have been announced to fill in for the aforementioned Elements at Sault Band-O-Rama at The Primavera Hall due to bassist James White's work commitments, as per the Facebook event page and a Musicians Wanted Facebook group thread, though this surprisingly won't affect Redundant & Haggith's sets. Disappointing, but don't miss The Elements on Friday at Rock For Dimes, and it's nice to see James' Haggith bandmate Daniel Horton fill in for him with Project 421!

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