Another New Battle Of The Bands, Haggith Videos, And Much More!!

Before we head off to take in the Super Bowl, here's our first news post of the month! Today, we have some assorted recent news and notes, new video uploads from a prominent local band, and leading off, news on another battle of the bands hitting the Soo this spring, so here's what you should know!

Only a week after the Twin City Sound Battle of the Bands was postponed, we now have word about another battle of the bands coming up soon, so what should you know about this one? Entitled The Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, it will be held on Thursday, March 5th at The Speak Easy (Algoma University's campus bar & concert venue), though it was originally scheduled for this Wednesday before being postponed for unannounced reasons. Promoted by Boxes of Boom's Sam Decter and Haggith's Jordan Leach in cooperation with the Algoma University Students Union, this will be the first battle of the bands to be held at The Speak Easy since December 2009, so this has been a long time coming if you like this venue! The battle will feature short 15 minute sets for each band, and though an upper limit for bands hasn't been announced, the event will take place between 9:00 PM and 2:00 AM on March 5th.

Competing bands will be judged by a crowd vote (similarly to November 2013's Viva La Battle), but it's not clear yet whether voting will be via paper ballots, crowd applause, or another method. All prizes will be cash, with the winning band receiving $400, second place getting $200, and third place winning $100.  No bands have been officially announced yet, but local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith have expressed interest in playing (despite Jordan Leach's promotional involvement in the battle), as well as solo musician Jesse Merineau. There are no age limits to compete in the battle (whether there are any at the door hasn't been stated), but if you or your band are interested in competing on March 5th, message Algoma University representative Meghan Rix at meghan.rix@algomau.ca to register, and the deadline to enter is on February 26th! Admission for the public will be $5 at the door, and visit the official Facebook event page for all current details!

Also, I don't know what the "Scan to Win" contest for iPads entails. I'm very curious to hear more on this battle, and I hope there's a solid turnout, but the timing is a little odd for this battle, as it's being held just one day after the first night of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian, which takes place each Wednesday in March. I hope this battle is a success and can stake it's own claim despite it's proximity to the VM Radio Battle, but we'll keep you posted on this new battle when more comes out on it!

Next up, here's the latest from the aforementioned Haggith, who uploaded five videos from their set at November 21st's Sault Band-O-Rama event at The Primavera Hall onto their YouTube channel yesterday! Notable as their last concert appearance with original bassist Caleb Cachagee (who briefly returned to the band last fall before Jordan Leach signed on), the videos include Haggith's renditions of Bad Company's "Rock 'N Roll Fantasy", Don Felder's "Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)", and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", along with their older originals "Loverbeam" and (as embedded below) "Clifton Hill", so visit each link to see each video! Filmed from a close corner-stage angle (especially capturing guitarist Daniel Horton), these videos are a nice throwback to their grungier days via both Caleb's presence and the softer originals, and everyone sounds good on these solid videos, so give everything a look above and below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last few days! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, company, or show name:

• In their first post on their Facebook page in over seven months, Sault Michigan concert promoters Allstar Promotions revealed yesterday that they have "one new show on the books", and they're working on two more. Despite teases, Allstar Promotions (who generally book modern hard rock bands at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino) have not held a local concert since the Team Jessica benefit with Pop Evil in August 2013, so this is great and long overdue news! We'll keep you posted when more is announced!
• According to posts by singer Kris Padavona and their management on this local Facebook group last month, Montreal based Dio tribute band Magica are interested in playing live in Sault Ontario on their upcoming Canadian tour, and are fielding suggestions for venues and local opening bands. A Dio tribute would be awesome to have here, so message Shelley Padavona at this link or above if you can help out in some way!
• Though otherwise not focused on metal or punk bands, the newest episode of Local2's webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper (as uploaded on Thursday) does plug the upcoming Benighted & Exes for Eyes shows in the concert calendar segment, so keep that in mind! The episode's lead story is on a local music class for mothers & their babies, while the closing clip is of Josh Norling and friends performing at LopLops' 12 Musicians of Christmas event, and both are well covered, so give this episode a look above!

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

Lots Of New Local Metal Videos!!!

The posts just keep on coming, and today, we'll go a bit lighter in some respects. Why, you ask? Just videos today, that's why! Two relate to a certain new band, one to a classic local band, and kicking things off, some newly uploaded video from a major local concert!

It's hard to believe that it's been three and a half days since Ronnie James Dio died, isn't it? It still doesn't seem right. Well, since the news was announced on Sunday, I've had a hunch that at some point, someone would upload a new video from Heaven and Hell's March 2007 show at the then-Steelback Centre onto YouTube or a similar site. And my hunch has proven correct! YouTube user exyurock (the same user who uploaded the video from Megadeth's set at that show on May 2nd) has uploaded a video from the show of Heaven and Hell playing the Black Sabbath classic "Lady Evil", which you can check out below! Decent quality, same camera and angle from the Megadeth video, but it turns out better audio-wise! Now I'm not inflating my opinions of the concert and song due to Dio's death, but man, he sounded good! For a then-64 year old, his voice was still incredible! I just wish the video was closer to the stage, it's hard to make out the band. Not the best Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell song from the Dio era, but it's still great, and check this clip out! Hopefully more video from this show comes online soon, now's a perfect time! Oh, and once again, R.I.P. Dio!



Next up, a double shot of WinkStinger-related videos to share with you all on this Wednesday evening! Keeping with their influx of YouTube demos, the band have uploaded a new track onto joeyvelcro's YouTube channel, entitled "Where'd We Go Wrong"! Well, in my opinion, they haven't went wrong at all, this song is pretty good! Nice and fast and heavy, these guys have tons of promise! Harsh face ripping vocals, good instrumentation, and I really like the guitar solo! These guys have music tailor-made to get some moshpits going, and I have no doubt they will! Click here to check out this song, and six others, or you can listen to "Where'd We Go Wrong" right here too!



The second WinkStinger-related video I have today may not feature the exact same group as in the same as the clips we've seen over the last while, but there is a definite link! Drummer Jonas Gasperas (also formerly of Soldiers of Misfortune) has his own YouTube channel, where he has two videos up from jam sessions with a band of some type. No indication if it's the same as WinkStinger or not, but for what it's worth, the videos were uploaded in January. One is called "chuddnugget", which is a 4:12 rough jam of a new song with no bass guitar. Doesn't sound too bad, fast and heavy, though it needs some polish. The other video is over 9 minutes long, encompassing two unnamed songs! Still no bass, but they sound good for what we get a taste of! One major problem I have is the videos are incredibly dark, I can't make out a ton. But from what I can see and hear, Jonas' drumming is at top form! WinkStinger or not, I like what I'm hearing! Click here to check out both videos, and for your convenience, here's "Songs 3 & 4" for you all to give a listen!



And finally for tonight, I have one more local album upload onto YouTube to share with you guys! And this is the third and final album from defunct local hard rockers Foothill Road! Entitled "Live: End Of The Road", it was released in 2005 to help bring some closure to the band's run. Produced by guitarist Mario Carlucci (huge thanks to him for sending me this and the rest of the band's back catalog), it includes live performances and some recording session outtakes from Foothill Road's 1990s heyday! This includes live versions of four tracks from their debut "Seventy", two jam clips, the unreleased song "Where's My Hat", and a cover of Rush's classic song "Working Man"! Good stuff, though again, I'll hold detailed criticism and compliments for an eventual review. Hopefully I can get to a "Seventy" review this year at some point, cause I'll 100% start with that first. And as was the case with their two prior albums, this is out of print, and I'm uploading this to The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel to share these songs with the world like they deserve! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! With that in mind, check out track one from "Live: End Of The Road", which is a live rendition of "Centerpiece", but click here to check out the rest of Foothill Road's last CD!



There, I think we're caught up for videos, for the most part! Tomorrow could be one of three things: A new news post, my review of "Castle Stories", or my next profiles of out of town bands with local members! Which will it be? Stay tuned to find out, but all will be covered by Monday!