Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Bucksaw

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of inactive metal, hard rock, and punk acts for current readers! This month's randomly selected band was originally assumed to not have enough public information to warrant a solo profile, but I was happily proven wrong, so I will be pushing our announced profile on Sault Ontario's Nowhere Fast to next month with a second low-info band to fill things out. Now, here's what you should know on this fan-friendly E.U.P. outfit from the early 2010s!
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Bucksaw (later known as Dirtbag In A Dress & Mr. Fister)

Genre: Hard Rock/Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information may be incomplete. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Jason VanLuven (Paradise Excuse, 415E, Chump Change), vocals/drums
Bill Ogston (Blind Baby), guitar
Barney Gravelle (Scofflaw, Broke on Sunday, Retro Troop), bass
Mark Bowen (Paradise Excuse, Broke on Sunday), vocals/guitar 
Ryan Franklin, vocals/guitar 
Mikey Bishop (Half A Man, Bludgeoned, Summon), drums

Audio/Video: No public video footage exists of Bucksaw under that name, but under their later names, there is a fair amount of material to check out from LemmaFest III & IV in 2013 and 2014. Yooperlites' own Erik Rintamaki filmed four videos of Dirtbag In A Dress for his YouTube channel at the earlier LemmaFest, while filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah shot Mr. Fister covering Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy songs at this link, as part of their wider ranging video footage from both events. Quality's solid across the board, so fans will want to check thee out, including Erik's longest video of theirs below!



Info/Analysis: First coming onto our public radar with a set at the inaugural LemmaFest outside of Dondee Lanes in June 2011, Bucksaw would reprise that set at 2012's second installment, though if they had any substantive activity at other concert events, they weren't acknowledged well online. In 2013, the band changed their name to Dirtbag In A Dress and finally launched a Facebook page to promote themselves, frequently sharing YouTube videos heavily implied to be songs covered in their setlist. After sets at LemmaFest III and a publically advertised house party in Sugar Island the following month, public updates died down before Bill Ogston & Barney Gravelle (their only constant members) brought the group back under the Mr. Fister moniker for the final LemmaFest in 2014 alongside the returning Jason VanLuven. Public updates did not follow, and the band is presumed to have folded by year's end.

While updates beyond LemmaFest were minimal, especially concerning the Bucksaw years, this band was an entertaining covers-heavy outfit, and from what I understand, they got heavier after their name changes, while still inserting some more general and country covers for good measure. With a lineup full of familiar faces from E.U.P. rock bands, plus solid singing from Ryan, Jason, and Mark depending on era, Bucksaw/D.I.A.D./Mr. Fister had a good thing going, and were surely a welcome sight at each LemmaFest, but don't miss members in their current local projects!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we will look at mid-2000s Sault Ontario alt-hard rock trio Nowhere Fast as promised, but to round things out, I randomly chose a second band with similarly little surviving information to round things out with. As such, we'll also be looking at local hard/progressive rock project The Mourning Glory! Look for all of this on or around June 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Archspire), Sault Michigan Videos, And More!!

Due to the amount of backlogged news and notes, we have a second post today to fill in some of those gaps, but if you're awaiting new punk band showcases, we'll roll three or four more in tomorrow! Today, we have a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, new videos from across the river, and some recent assorted notes, including a possibly inactive band, so here's what you need to know, and check out some more new shows and videos in the post below this one!

Local concert promotion agency Heavy North Entertainment will end a 3 month hiatus when they host Vancouver technical death metal quintet Archspire at an all ages show at The Oddfellows Hall on Sunday, August 3rd! Previously teased on H.N.E.-linked pages, this show takes place in the middle of Archspire's "Tech Trek II: The Next Degeneration" tour, and if you love brutal progressive metal and complex song structures (plus some of the fastest growling vocals you'll hear live), you won't want to miss Archspire's live set next month! Three local opening bands are signed for this concert, ironically all fresh off of their Touch of Death Festival appearances in Cochrane, and they include local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters, sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA, and local goregrind solo act Crucify The Whore, and all are great fits for this show, so don't be late for their sets, and C.T.W. might have copies of their new demo too! There will be a $10 door charge on August 3rd (no word on if advance tickets will be sold), this is an ALL AGES event, and start times are not yet announced. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

I'll also note that H.N.E. founder Tyler St. Amour revealed on their Facebook page on Saturday that this show "could be Heavy North's last & heaviest", which leaves open the possibility that he may stop promoting concerts after this one. Hopefully he doesn't, as he's put on some brutal and fun concerts since last fall, and the Archspire show should add to that catalog, so just in case, don't take this show for granted, and don't miss out on all of the metal action in 4 weeks!

Next up, we've found some more videos from Alice Cooper's headlining concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino last month, so what should you know on these? YouTube user Saundra K. (user name Duguay1711) uploaded these to her YouTube channel on Thursday, and while they're far from her first concert videos on the channel, they're just her second from a local show (Kellie Pickler was first.) She shot 12 videos at the show, though curiously, all are 92 seconds or less, so maybe that was the time limit on this camera? In upload order, the videos are of Alice playing "House of Fire", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "School's Out", "Caffiene", "Welcome To My Nightmare", "Go To Hell", "He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)", "The Ballad of Dwight Fry", "I Love The Dead", a cover of The Beatles' "Revolution", "I'm Eighteen", and "Poison", so click each link to see each clip! Aside from the abbreviated video lengths, Saundra shot some nice videos from the show, getting a close zoomed in angle of the action, though the audio can be scratchy. Check the clips out above, and here's Alice playing "He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)"!



Also today, I'd meant to share a new Theatre of Night video, but curiously, it (and everything else on their YouTube channel) was recently deleted for unknown reasons. That's a shame, hopefully something big's coming there though! Instead, we have a new guitar performance video from former Insipid Brutality/Swayze Train guitarist Scott Savoie's YouTube channel, marking his first upload there since 2012! This is Scott's submission for The Mayones/Seymour Duncan Worldwide Solo Contest, where the best guitar solo will earn the guitarist a new Regius 7 Custom guitar with Seymour Duncan pickups, and he shreds a pretty nice solo here that should get some consideration in the contest! Judge for yourself below, and hopefully we hear more from Scott soon!



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

• I've moved Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Dirtbag In A Dress to our inactive band links (under their more used older name Bucksaw) due to a year's inactivity. Unless we hear otherwise, we're treating LemmaFest 2014 performers Mr. Fister as a separate band due to the name change and 50% different lineup (Ryan Franklin & Mikey Bishop weren't in the latter band.) If they're the same, we'll add them back, but even still, I have not found a Mr. Fister online page yet. Hopefully we'll see the guys before next year's LemmaFest in any form!
• Apparently, the all ages metal show at The Moose Lodge on May 13th (featuring what's now The Revolution, This Is Your Band On Drugs, and Rotopsy) also featured an additional late notice act, as local keyboardist/street performer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda played a set that night as well. Interesting addition, though Damjan is quite talented and unique, so hopefully everything went well! My source for this info is Revolution drummer Brandan Glew in a personal conversation.
• Since May 10th, you may have noticed photos of the stage setup for three events we didn't cover on here on local hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom's Facebook page, including at the round barn in Sowerby, a nurse's conference at a local hall, and the Sault Accessible Sports Incorporation's "A Night To Remember" fundraiser at The Bushplane Museum last month. The first two appear to have been private events, but the S.A.S.I. fundraiser was publically attendable, and it slipped us by completely when originally announced. Our sincere apologies for missing it, hopefully it was a great event!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our second local punk band introductory post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug & Dirtbag In A Dress), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Our first post of the day is 100% Sault Michigan (and area)-centric, and it includes news on a recent album release across the river, previews of this weekend's known heavier concerts (including one for the Fourth of July), and much more, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for some upcoming dates in the region!

Local hard rock trio Powerslug have been newly confirmed for three upcoming dates in the region with some advance word, and neither are at Kewadin Casino! One will see them make their first ever live appearance (barring a missed late notice gig) at The Back Door TOMORROW NIGHT in a rare hard rock-leaning set for this venue, which will see Powerslug play live after the Fourth of July fireworks conclude, so how's that for a capper to the evening? Apologies for the short notice on that one, I held it a bit longer to avoid redundantly plugging it twice in a short span. The other new shows will be a full weekend at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on August 2nd & 3rd where they'll share the stage with local rock cover band/Swayze Train successors Toast (drummer Bob Helsten is in both bands), though no word on if these will be outdoor or indoor gigs. It's unique to see local band sharing a weekend engagement like this, but with their own varied and proficient sets, this should be a fun weekend next month!

All three shows (including TOMORROW'S Back Door set) are 21+ with 9:00 PM-ish start times, and I'd bring cash for a cover just in case. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page for next month's "PowerToast" shows! Despite their lack of online pages, Powerslug have a good thing going, and hopefully tomorrow's Fourth of July show starts with a bang, literally! I have no videos to preview it with, but don't miss the action to kick off the holiday weekend, and don't miss their shows next month either!

The other new-ish show is something unique for our Sault Michigan coverage, as it's an outdoor concert (and publically attendable, I'll emphasize) being hosted at someone's house THIS SATURDAY! Think the old F.A.T.I.L. outdoor shows in Thessalon and Laird for a reference, but this one's in Sugar Island, and it will be headlined by recent LemmaFest performers Dirtbag In A Dress! The former Bucksaw (who are apparently looking to change their name once again in the near future) will play their first show that I've ever gotten advance word on for something other than LemmaFest on Saturday at the new home of Brandon McKerchie (a friend of the band) as part of a big outdoor party, though I don't know if there's other causes for the event. On Saturday, Dirtbag In A Dress will be joined by a band named "Bill & The Bare Bottom Boys" (I assume the Bill is D.I.A.D. guitarist Bill Ogston?), though I know nothing else on them at present. Like the F.A.T.I.L. gatherings, attendees are welcome to attend and camp out, and as far as I can tell, there's no admission costs or explicit age limits, but drink responsibly if you do go.

The full event has a 1:00 PM start time, but no explicit band times have been made available. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Also note that I have not posted details about the finite address of the event out of privacy concerns (it is a man's house, after all), but the event page will give you directions for when you get to Sugar Island. This should be a fun and unique weekend for sure, so don't miss the action on Saturday, and for a preview, here's Dirtbag In A Dress covering some heavier songs at LemmaFest last month!



Now to a previously announced show (and our last of the known heavier gigs to preview through Saturday), Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will return to the region for a one night only show at The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel THIS SATURDAY for their first concert at this venue in almost 5 months! This also follows a quiet June for this generally busy band, during which their only dates (in Blainey Park and Gould City) were all outside of our coverage range, so it's great to have the Traynors and company back within an hour of the Soo for their expanding variety of covers and originals! Saturday's show in Hessel (a half hour northeast of St. Ignace, 50 minutes south of the Soo) will go down at 9:00 PM, with no announced cover charge, and a likely 21+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links! Banned should deliver once again as they return closer to home, so keep this show in mind, and for a preview, here's Banned's current lineup covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" earlier this year!



Finally for today, here's three assorted Sault Michigan-regional stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring ex-members of Egypt Central) have been confirmed as the openers for the Shinedown concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 21st, as per Allstar Promotions' Facebook page last week. They should be a good fit with their high energy hard rock sound, so check them out above, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they're going fast!
• In their first bit of public updating since August 2012, Eckerman/Strongs hard rock band Moss have welcomed original bassist Terry Carrick back into the fold, replacing frontman David Mills, who will remain as their singer (making them a quintet.) I'm not familiar with Terry musically, but hopefully he adds well to Moss, and hopefully they'll have more news sooner than it has been coming!
• The first live video of local hard rock quintet RamWagon's live debut at LemmaFest was posted on their Facebook page last week, and it's an incomplete cover of Cameo's "Word Up" (or is it the KoRn cover?) Shot on a cell phone camera from a far distance, the guys do seem to know the song and rock it well, but I'd like to see longer, closer, and more videos of them in action before really judging. Check it out at the above links, but note that as a Facebook video, I can't embed it here.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Sault Ontario-centric post later tonight! Thanks everyone!

LemmaFest Fallout & Videos, Including Our First Look At Some Acts!!

Hey guys, I've decided to postpone this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile to tomorrow just to keep the news rolling along, as we're already behind for news, and with a review of last night's Striker concert also imminent, I don't wanna keep these stories falling behind. Today's news post is 100% Sault Michigan-centric, as we're recapping the fallout and videos from the third annual LemmaFest from this past Saturday outside of Dondee Lanes for the entirety of this post! From what I have heard & read, this year's event was another success, with over $960 raised from attendees, the vast majority of which is going to the Ross family to help their son Hunter through his recent medical battles (though some will also go to LemmaFest 2012 performer Caitlin LeBlanc so she can audition for American Idol), so hopefully the money is used well all around! Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki also got a bunch of photos of the bands and fans (though not as many as last year), so click here to see the full album, which features pictures from Tantrym Tyme, Scofflaw, Mark Bowen & friends, and RamWagon's sets! Also to note, the tarp over the stage from last year was not back for this year. As more fallout and major news comes in, I'll be sure to let you know!

In terms of videos, we'll go in rough chronological order by performance, starting with young local metal/hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme, who were filmed for at least two cover songs on Saturday! Those were Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" & Black Stone Cherry's "Lonely Train", but both were uploaded to their Facebook page, not YouTube, so they're unembeddable here. The audio quality on each is pretty good, though the video quality seems jittery, despite the camera not moving much. Check them out at the above links, and hopefully there's more of their set around somewhere!

Now we move to the YouTube-uploaded videos from LemmaFest (at least, the ones I've found), starting with this clip of local metal trio Scofflaw playing their song "Burn One" on Saturday afternoon! One of the few live concert videos I've seen of them (as opposed to jam session clips), this comes courtesy of the YouTube channel of attendee Wayne Kozeyah, who also added a title bug, credits, some interesting video effects, and a picture of Mike Lemma to the footage, which tend to be nice additions. This song in particular reminds me of a more conventional Sykotyk Rampage, and the now short-haired Jeff Barnes has some solid raspy (yet melodic) vocals and a nice guitar solo to add to the track! Catchy song to be sure, so give this new Scofflaw video a look below, and stay tuned in case they have more shows planned this year!

Following Scofflaw at LemmaFest was local singer/guitarist (and regular Merchant's Bar performer) Mark Bowen and "friends", but who were the friends? A drummer named Larry (I can't source anything else about his identity) and at least two guest bassists (Scofflaw & Dirtbag In A Dress' Barney Gravelle, and the aforementioned Erik Rintamaki), with Erik's YouTube channel providing us with 3 videos from Mark's set featuring 6 different covers, as uploaded on Sunday! Only one video & song features Barney on bass (a cover of Sublime's "Scarlet Begonias"), while a lengthy second video features Mark, Erik, and Larry covering Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", Rehab's "Bartender Song (Sittin' At A Bar)", Adele's "Someone Like You" (yes, you read that right), and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". The video embedded below though (and the only metal cover that was uploaded) features Mark and friends covering Black Label Society's "The Blessed Hellride", so how does everything sound?

You can tell that some songs aren't ones that Larry and the bassists know, but Mark has a solid melodic voice and guitar ability, and he has good chemistry with the guys, including Erik (a former bandmate of his.) I assume he added well to Bucksaw when he was in that band, and the friends do adapt well on songs they're not as familiar with, especially on such a diverse assortment! Check out Mark Bowen & friends' performances above, and here's their surprisingly good cover of "The Blessed Hellride", complete with effortless lower register singing!



Transitioning to the end of the night, here's a video of announced headliners Half A Man playing their original song "Freedom Ride" at LemmaFest! As you may know, this was the Brimley metal trio's first live concert since last year's LemmaFest, so how'd they do after such a long hiatus? They sound as heavy as ever, and there's no visible stage rust, so fans shouldn't be disappointed! If anything, I'd like to see Erik and Gary Croad move around more, and I lament the fact that the video cuts off before the song ends, but it's great to see Half A Man back it, and hopefully we're not waiting another year for their gritty and very heavy original sound! Give their performance of "Freedom Ride" a look below!



Finally for today, as you may remember, Half A Man split their set at LemmaFest with the debut of the former Bucksaw's new lineup, sound, and name (Dirtbag In A Dress), and they got a lot of time to rock out! In fact, Erik filmed Ryan, Bill, Barney, and Mikey playing 12 songs across 4 videos (two other uploads are less than 10 seconds each and fairly unneeded), so here's what you should know on each! One video features just one performance (a cover of Young The Giant's "My Body"), while another video features D.I.A.D. covering The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" (albeit cut off at the beginning), Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out", and The Refreshments' "Banditos". A third video has the guys covering Lady Antebellum's "We Owned The Night" (also cut off at the start), The Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You)", and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" (the latter two with Mark Bowen providing guest backing vocals), but there's one more featuring Dirtbag In A Dress playing hard rock covers!

The last video (which is embedded below) features covers of Alice In Chains' "Would" (also with Mark Bowen helping on vocals), Seether's "Tonight", Jason Aldean's "She's Country", Velvet Revolver's "Slither", and The Foo Fighters' "Everlong", so how does Dirtbag In A Dress sound overall? Pretty good, the guys have chemistry, and Ryan Franklin's voice suits their more rock-based covers (and they definitely de-countrify the country songs, if that makes sense!) Very diverse, but I assume solo shows will have more metal covers, lining up with what Mikey told me. There's a good workman-like rock sound here with a hard edge, so check out Dirtbag In A Dress' heaviest covers and more below!



I'm not done with the LemmaFest videos, as debuting local rock band Plastic have a pile of videos from their set on frontman Zac Crook's YouTube channel, including hard rock covers, but this post is already longer than I'd probably like, so I'll wait to touch on them so they don't get lost in the shuffle. That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for our Striker concert review, especially if you're on the Ontario side of the border! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug) & Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, Including LemmaFest!!

Keeping with our recent abundance of Sault Michigan-centric updates, we're focused on Yooper country once again in our first post of the day, which is devoted to two topics: LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, and previews of this weekend's heavier regional shows, including two dates in St. Ignace, and a nice long look at a returning local music festival, so read on below for what you need to know!

Local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to the stage for shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on August 23rd & 24th, and December 6th & 7th! These were the other heavier shows confirmed on Kewadin's entertainment page that I alluded to on Wednesday, but I postponed them on purpose to tie them in with our previews of their shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, so there's your next chances to see Bob and the two Chris' live! Though still without an online page or frequent advance online updates, this talented hard edged local band are definitely live favourites, so don't miss their next Soo Kewadin dates in August and December, and of course, don't miss this weekend's St. Ignace shows either! Plus, even though they won't be at LemmaFest this year, you can still see them tonight or tomorrow! Admission should be free for all dates, you must be 21 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and if I ever come across live video of them again, I'll have it here!

Finally for today, the third annual LemmaFest goes down TOMORROW outside of Dondee Lanes, so here's our extended preview! As usual, this event is in memory of the fondly remembered Michael Lemma, who suddenly passed away at this time of year in 2010, and each year since, the fourth Saturday of June has played host to this local music festival. Tomorrow, there will be bands all day along with merchandise sales, food by donation, prize draws, drink specials, and bracelets for the first 100 attendees. As well, this year's LemmaFest will see proceeds going to help local infant Hunter Ross, who was born 15 weeks premature with a chronic lung disease, so keep that in mind, and read more on all of this year's non-musical events at the Facebook event page! The band lineup this year is technically smaller than last year (down to 8 acts from 9), with set times varying depending on the band, but there's still wall to wall music to enjoy, and lots of heavier bands (including some newer faces), so read on below for the complete schedule, including two newly confirmed performers that were only just announced on Sunday!

LemmaFest 2013 will open with a newly confirmed solo artist named Matthew Carl at 12:00 PM tomorrow, though I admit knowing nothing on him, his sound, or if he's even local. If anyone can fill in any blanks, let me know! Following them at 1:15 PM is young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme in their LemmaFest debut, and their fast improving metal & hard rock covers should be a welcome sight tomorrow afternoon, so don't miss the former Abstract this year! A 90 minute set goes to local metal trio Scofflaw at 2:30 PM, who return to the stage after another hiaturs from publically confirmed shows, and with two past LemmaFest sets under their belts, Jeff and company should have another gritty and fun set of originals in store for the Dondee tomorrow! They're followed by the other new confirmation, Bucksaw alum Mark Bowen and "friends" for a 90 minute set at 4:15 PM, and while I don't know much about Mark's solo work, he's been a favourite regular performer at The Merchant's Bar in recent months, and he and his friends should have a fun and varied cover set tomorrow!

A pair of debuting local hard rock acts will take the stage afterwards, including new trio Plastic (featuring Half Stupid's Zac Crook, Cherubic Red's Nick Moreau, and Bent Rollercoaster's Paul Burns), and while I don't know much else on them yet, their lineup and past band work is promising, so don't miss their set at 6:00 PM tomorrow evening! Following them with a 90 minute set is newer cover hard rock quintet RamWagon (featuring Full Throttle & Analog Deficiency alumni) at 7:15 PM, and they should have a familiar yet new sound in store for LemmaFest attendees (especially if you liked early Full Throttle gigs), so be there to get rammed! This year's headliners are Brimley metal trio Half A Man (in their first live concert since last year's LemmaFest), and hopefully there's no stage rust for their return, which should be full of extreme metal originals and select covers for their 90 minute set at 9:00 PM! Note as well that drummer Mikey Bishop will join his new band Dirtbag In A Dress (formerly Bucksaw from the last 2 LemmaFests) for at least a few songs at the end of their set, so keep an eye out for their debut under this name and lineup at the end of the night!

Admission will be $10 for this ALL AGES event, and everything starts at noon tomorrow, so check the above links for more details! This year's LemmaFest should be another awesome tribute to Mike Lemma, and there's lots of newer and established talent to rock the outdoor stage at the Dondee, and hopefully the Ross family gets some much needed funds to help Hunter through this tough battle! We'll have plenty of fallout as it comes in, but for a preview, here's the first part of Half A Man's slideshow from last year, featuring live audio of their set and lots of slideshow pictures of the bands!



That's all for today, but stay tuned later today for my review of last night's Golers-headlined metal show at The Roosevelt Hotel in Sault Ontario! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E & Sir Charge) And Two New Sault Michigan Hard Rock Bands!!

For the second time in the last 4 days, we're devoting an entire post to Sault Michigan-area bands and concerts, as we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and newer local bands to announce, and these sure are helping to inject some quantity and quality to our active band links and concert listings! As usual when we have new bands to launch, we'll start with them first, so here's what you need to know!

Our first new band is Sault Michigan hard rock metal/quartet Dirtbag In A Dress (interesting name), but you may have previously known them as two-time LemmaFest veterans Bucksaw! I haven't heard why they changed their name, but Bucksaw seems too common for it not to have been used by another existing band. Their lineup is mostly the same as it was last year, including singer/guitarist (and local boxer) Ryan Franklin, ex-Blind Baby guitarist Bill Ogston, and Scofflaw bassist Barney Gravelle, but with Half A Man drummer Mikey Bishop now a member in place of Chump Change's Jason VanLuven (no word on why Jason left though.) Aside from the band's LemmaFest appearances, news and information on Bucksaw was fairly elusive to find, but according to posts on their Facebook page (and recent correspondence with Mike), they'll play a lot of heavier material (moreso than Bucksaw did), including Seether, Slipknot, and Volbeat covers, and that definitely is a good sign!

It's great to finally see Bucksaw (now Dirtbag In A Dress) launch an online page, and their sound descriptions are promising, but when can you see them live? This Saturday at LemmaFest again, as they're gonna take part of Mikey's other band Half A Man's set to make their debut under this name, and they reportedly have another gig of some kind next month in Sugar Island, though I'm waiting for more information before calling it on here. Stay tuned on Friday for our full extended LemmaFest preview for more!

The other new band is also quite familiar given the members' past work, and they're a local classic/hard rock quartet named Sir Charge! We've alluded to them on here before via their listing on the Kewadin Casinos entertainment page, but I had no concrete info on them to establish whether they fit on the SMS. As it turns out (and this was actually a hunch I had), they're essentially the successors to the (I assume) similar sounding Monkey's Uncle, though I can't 100% verify if they're a completely new band or just renamed. Their Facebook page was launched in November, but only saw major updates commence last month, including confirmation of shows at Kewadin branches and Dondee Lanes, and some live photos. Sir Charge's lineup includes longtime frontman Henry Switzer on vocals & guitar and his son Nathan (also of RamWagon) on guitar, along with Henry's old Mama's Boys bandmates Ray & Russell Mayer on bass & drums respectively, both of which are newer additions.

And yes, this more or less confirms that other recent Monkey's Uncle members like Donny Newell and Ron Suchey are not involved with Sir Charge. The lineup is promising and has chemistry from their past collective band work, and if they have the same gritty hard rock sound as Monkey's Uncle, they should be a must see band locally! That said, when can you see them next? In the first of our LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, Sir Charge will hit The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 19th & 20th, September 6th & 7th, and November 1st & 2nd, along with dates at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on August 16th & 17th, so make note of these if you've missed the various named acts that Henry Switzer has fronted locally! Admission should be free for each, you must be 21 to attend them all, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and both they and Dirtbag In A Dress are now in our active Sault Michigan band links!

Leading from the above shows, the Kewadin Casino entertainment pages for each venue have been updated at the above links, with Sault Michigan now mostly scheduled through the end of the year, so visit those links for details on new dates from non-metal regional acts like Perry Hatch, Bittermoon, The London Gentlemen, Crossroads, Chump Change, Helen Debaker-Vorce, Touch of Class, The Backyard Boys, and Jimmie Cowles, along with all previously announced gigs from local hard rockers Banned.

We have more Kewadin Casino dates from one more regional hard rock band to plug on here too, but we'll cap today's post with the newest concerts from local hard rock/classic metal quartet 415E, who'll return to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on August 30th & 31st and to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on July 26th & 27th, joining their already announced dates at each this month and next. The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni have made a great impression with their metal and hard rock covers & originals since their debut in January, and hopefully these new Kewadin Casino dates add to their growing repuation locally! Odd that there's no fall dates announced though. Like the Sir Charge shows above, admission is likely free, you must be 21 to attend, and I'd assume these shows will start around 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss 415E next weekend in St. Ignace!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews (including a new show announcement) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!