For a second straight day, here's a single-band post from the E.U.P., as Sault Michigan classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished have been very busy in the past two weeks+, so what have they been up to as of late? Just two days after they were interviewed on Rock 101, the guys got another local FM radio interview on June 14th, this time on Bridge FM, the local classic hits station that was rebranded from Eagle Radio 95.1 in April. WUPN isn't a full rock station, but they have featured Tarnished on the Rise N' Shine Morning Show in the past, and that's where they were interviewed that day by host and station owner Tim Ellis that morning at 9:30 AM. It took over a week, but they posted a "Reel" of them covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" unplugged in studio on June 23rd! Note that we're staring at the back of Parker Talentino's head throughout, but I assume space concerns are to blame there.
Alas, the video itself is horizontal, but rather than upload it as a normal embeddable video, they opted to pillarbox it as a "Reel", so while nothing's cropped as a result, the video is now tiny. Definitely not ideal, but this glam metal classic is effectively acousticized, and I hope that the interview proper went well! The following day, Tarnished hit the road for Gould City (90 minutes southwest of the Soo) to perform again at the outdoor stage at Byce's Michihistrigan Bar & Grill, and photos from that night were shared to Facebook! Since Josh Fair opted to give up drumming in favour of guitar, we never quite know what form Tarnished will take for live gigs unless they specify in advance, but for this show, they called in Rhythm & Brews/ex-Highway 63 drummer Ron Suchey to guest with them again, though he did not drum on every song. Josh returned to the kit (perhaps reluctantly?) on at least two songs, while frontman Alex Traynor drummed while singing on at least one.
At least in what was posted, Parker played bass (no sign of Chris Leask). Three videos from that night were uploaded from June 19th-20th as "Reels", so while I can't embed these short vertical videos here, they include covers of The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" and The Surfaris' "Wipe Out", while the other one has Alex shredding Van Halen's "Eruption". At least on the latter, the vertical framing isn't a problem! Ron drums on the Beastie Boys cover, while Josh drums on "Wipe Out" with mid-song assistance from Ron. Josh is also behind the kit on "Eruption", albeit adding drum hits that weren't there on the original solo. Each "Reel" sounds heavy and lively while they last, and it looks like a good time was had by all! In their next "Reel" on June 22nd, Tarnished uploaded a "throwback to 2012". If you were expecting a throwback to Alex's then-local band Banned, you may be disappointed though!
This is actually a short cover of Anna Kendrick's "Cups" from the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect, which Alex sings while "playing" a plastic lemonade cup. Cute video, and Alex does get some good percussion out of it! On the 25th, Alex was back (in "Reel" form!) to thank their fans for giving their new single "Lightswitch" 1,000 streams on Spotify, and in the fastest time yet for one of their original songs, which is definitely encouraging news! There's much more from Tarnished to come, specifically from the past week, but let's close with a video that I can embed, namely a reaction video to "Lightswitch" by Leigh Spencer of the British YouTube channel Iridium Rock & Metal Reviews from that same day! After some initial confusion as to which band member is the lead singer based on the available credits (it's Alex), it is nice to see that Leigh's first words after he first took his headphones off were "I really liked it!"
Praise was also given to the melodies, smooth vocals and driving beat, and Leigh continued to boast about the song when it completely ended. "Lightswitch" made its way across the Atlantic via a viewer suggestion, and it's always neat to see local music find a receptive audience in a far flung locale like this, so hopefully Leigh helped expose Tarnished to even more fans in the UK and elsewhere! Check out the full reaction video below, and stay tuned for more from Tarnished on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
I've got another new news post for your guys on this Friday morning, and it's packed with a lot of shorter stories from the last little while, plus a concert preview and related updates, and leading off, a brand new addition to our band links! Here's what you should know!
We have a new local hard rock band to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, and they are named Dealing Without! Details are minimal on this band so far, but they have a promising lineup, including Isolation Sessions/ex-Half Past bandmates Jordan Rains and Arthur Lacasse on vocals & guitar respectively, alongside former Big Mistake guitarist Rick Atkins and ex-Fitswitch drummer Larry Mousseau. A bassist has not been brought on board yet, but Arthur had posted in the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday looking for one (they do have a jam spot.) Message Art at this link or above for details! It's not yet clear if Dealing Without's existence will mean anything negative towards The Isolation Sessions' status, though note that they did post on Facebook as recently as January, and remember that their nature & inception were very tied into the pandemic.
Sonic inspirations with Half Past's final lineups will be easy to make re: Dealing Without, but time will tell how they truly look and sound. Will they jump in on the social distance-regulated concert scene where available, or will their live debut wait until things are more opened up? Time will tell, but this lineup has the chops! Stay tuned to their Facebook page for more updates on Dealing Without when they rolls in!
Next up, here's a rare weekend concert preview, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished (minus Nathan) will perform publically in Hulbert Township for the first time TOMORROW NIGHT at The Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast! A new venue for us, this bed & breakfast at 9920 South North Hulbert Road has hosted a few live bands in recent months, and hopefully will serve to be a solid venue for Alex & Josh's unplugged cover attack! If you're up for the hour-long drive west to Hulbert, this show has no announced age limit or cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. While we're on the subject, Tarnished will also be taking a rare road trip outside of our coverage range to Traverse City today for a show at The Workshop Brewing Company (details here), and will be appearing again on The Eagle 95.1 with Tim Ellis again at 9:10 AM today for the exclusive public debut of their new single "SDR&R"!
Pre-orders for the single will proceed after the interview, though availability of it beyond the FM dial is to be confirmed. Tarnished are definitely staying busy this weekend, so follow along with all of their upcoming activities on their Facebook page or above, and to preview tomorrow's Hulbert Happy Hour gig, here's Alex & Josh live!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I have removed Sault Ontario death/trance metal solo project Black Cloud from
our band links again due to the unfortunate deletion of their known online
pages & media for unannounced reasons at some point in the last couple of
months. Black Cloud had previously done this in late 2019, before
returning with new pages that were updated from February-July of last year. Peytan has definite potential
in extreme metal, and hopefully we see Black Cloud return (again) in some form
again down the road!
I have replaced the link for local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore from their surprisingly deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page. As far as I can tell, C.T.W. are still active, as their
other social media accounts are still up, and have been updated as
recently as January, though it's worth noting that C.T.W.'s deleted page
was previously Tyler's cybergrind project Malignant Neoplasm's page
after the closure of their original page. Maybe it was taken down due to
content flags, given their very polarizing imagery & subject matter? In
any event, we'll let you know when Tyler has new music updates from any of his projects!
Hard rock musician Mike McCleary has been moved to our inactive
band links due to a year's inactivity, last being seen posting a single on Bandcamp in February
2020. A quickly prolific addition to our coverage, Mike released a
number of digital albums to Bandcamp in the late 2010s, often dealing
lyrically in his own mental health battles & national politics, but
his public profile sharply decreased in 2019 due to personal
concerns, including the deletion of his Facebook page & two of his
more political albums.
Mike's a talented guy, and hopefully he resumes his original music again in the future!
Local post-punk duo Orange are "coming back, baby!", as per their Facebook page on Tuesday. Featuring Telephone & Address' Christopher Shoust on drums alongside Ohio-based guitarist Matt Zook, Orange initially reunited in 2014 for studio work and album plans, but aside from some Soundcloud postings, nothing came of it until their last proper public update in March 2015. Good to see Orange back after six years, and they are back in our active links!
Last week, The Soo's Got Talent posted on their Facebook page to say that they're "looking into going virtual", and asked fans what they thought about the idea. We all know why the multi-week local talent competition didn't take place last fall, and with lingering uncertainty even with vaccines beginning to roll out, hosting the 2021 installment online may make sense to bring The Soo's Got Talent back in the near term. Stay tuned for updates!
Veteran ska/hard rock trio Tripod The Dog have been moved to our inactive
band links due to a year's inactivity. The fan favourite band has not
been seen since rocking The Esquire Club on February 9th of
last year, though the pandemic & their lack of a recent online
page are both acknowledged. After a successful reunion set at Rotaryfest
in 2018, frontman Mark Oliverio brought Tripod The Dog back full-time
in 2019 on the local bar cover circuit, though gigs
were spaced out moreso than other contemporaries. Hopefully we'll see
Mark and the Amendolas back at it when concerts as normal can return!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
News remains slow as of late, but today's post is surprisingly stacked and eventful, including a lengthy live-stream, related concert cancellations, a rising young band's recent busy activity, and leading off, a band reunion almost a quarter century in the making! Here's what you should know!
Local/Hamilton alternative/hard rock band Foothill Road are back after a 24 year hiatus! In an e-mail, ex-bassist Ron Pyette alerted me to a brand new song that the band quietly recorded last year, before finally being produced this year and posted onto guitarist Mark Oliverio's new YouTube channel this past weekend. Entitled "Heard Of It", the song features Mark (last seen with Tripod The Dog) alongside original singer Ken Luxton and drummer Rick Bain, with veteran local musician Steve Cardiff on bass in lieu of Ron, though he was involved in the songwriting. Mark's former Glitch bandmate Mario Carlucci is not visibly back on guitar for the Foothill Road reunion. I have no idea if this will lead to a new album or concerts when available, but the song is promising, with a 1990s hard rock bent injected with some progressive and bluesy flourish, and their talents are still visible! It's easy to learn too, as this is a lyric video, which isn't common for local bands to post.
Just for context, Foothill Road's original run was circa 1993-1996, before members moved on to the now-defunct Hamilton-based bands Sara Inksetter & Cousin It. Time will tell how much more we hear from Foothill Road 2.0, but give their new song a listen below, and amazingly, they are now in our active band links! Stay tuned for possible updates!
Next up, let's take a detour to Sault Michigan for the latest from local hard rock quartet Tarnished, so what have they been up to since Rock The Block? On August 4th, they played a private outdoor set for a graduation party (photos are on their Facebook page), and then on Friday, frontman Alex Traynor and bassist Josh Fair returned to Eagle 95.1 FM's morning show to promote their now-released debut EP "Down To The Wire", and play acoustic versions of "Shortcut" and a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. Bizarrely, this wasn't hyped in advance on social media, but hopefully it gave them and the CD some great exposure! And yes, I meant "CD", as physical copies of "Down To The Wire" can now be bought online at this link, so if you haven't had any luck at local retailers, here you go! CDs run for $10 American, and you can see the back cover of the case there as well. Finally, Tarnished got some big exposure on 9&10 News' lifestyle newsmagazine series The Four last week!
Much like Alex had for prior solo performances, Tarnished performed "Cocaine Riot" on their week-ending "Friday Sessions" last week, and yes, this was the full band with electric gear. It's always great seeing E.U.P. talent on the local news, and kudos to our local CBS affiliate for heading north to film Tarnished in action, from multiple solid angles to boot! Allegedly, Tarnished did more songs to be included in future episodes of The Four, so tune in on channel 10 (Spectrum) or 10.1 (antenna) on Fridays at 4:00 PM to see if Tarnished are that week's artist! View last Friday's performance at this link, as I cannot embed videos from 9&10 News here.
Finally, I was planning to preview Sault Ontario hard rock musician Tym Morrison's announced return to the Motley Market on Gore Street tomorrow, but his remaining August dates there (including on August 20th & 27th) have quietly been cancelled, as per the Facebook event page. A reason for their cancellation has not been announced by Tym or the venue, but remember that the pandemic is ongoing, and the market is still very new to the downtown sector, so one or both may have played a part. At least Tym is back playing public concerts of some form, and hopefully we'll see him there or elsewhere soon! As for his live-streamed concert series, the 35th installment did indeed take place live at the Motley Market this past Thursday, and it remains his most recent episode at press time, as Tym did not film an episode yesterday for (again) unannounced reasons. We'll let you know if he has one tomorrow, but for now, how did last Thursday's live-stream go?
... Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", Yes' "Love Will Find A Way", 10cc's "I'm Not In Love", and finally, Tom Petty's "Yer So Bad". Entertaining set as usual for Tym, and it seemed like he was glad to be playing an actual concert again, but he is definitely chattier in the at-home streams. It's hard to gauge Motley Market as a venue given the camera angle, and the attendance didn't seem huge, but there were people coming and going. Note that 7 covers filmed on Thursday were already done in the previous Tuesday's live-stream. Give Thursday's video a watch below, and we'll let you know when Tym goes live next!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site by week's end! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of SNFU frontman Ken Shinn, better known as Mr. Chi Pig, who passed away last night at the age of 57. A mainstay of the Canadian hardcore punk scene since co-founding SNFU (short for Society's No Fucking Use) in Edmonton in 1981, Chi Pig achieved wide acclaim for his songwriting, captivating live performances, and his kind and outgoing nature, as has been attested to by fans and friends across social media today. Readers will be very familiar with SNFU from their numerous tour stops in Sault Ste. Marie, including at The Grand Theater in 2009, at The Rockstar Bar in both 2015 & 2016, and in many shows that predate the SMS at venues like Centennial Lanes and Club Princess. SNFU's influence was also felt in the setlists of local punk bands like Jack Spades, Stegadeth, and Talk Shit, who all covered their songs live.
Given the known health issues that Chi Pig was going through in the 2010s, I made sure not to miss SNFU's last local date in September 2016 (read our review here), and while his voice was quieter than in the past, his stage presence and enthusiasm were off the charts. He lived a difficult life, as documented in the 2009 documentary Open Your Mouth and Say... Mr. Chi Pig that I definitely recommend tracking down, and you can also see Donna Hopper interview him for SooToday at this link. He was a true original, and will be deeply missed across the hardcore punk community. R.I.P. Chi Pig!
Now, today's post is reflective of the continued slow news cycle during the pandemic, and while we do have some big news from a recently prominent local band, this post does end with some assorted shorter stories of recent note. That said, let's start by heading to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock band Tarnished will end the heavy concert drought locally by headlining the Rock The Block event at Crooked Music THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! I apologize for erroneously promoting this show as taking place last night in our last post, wires were crossed earlier this week, but at least I caught my error early! Our preview of the show in Wednesday's post has been updated with the correct date. Now that everything's accurate, Tarnished's Facebook page revealed yesterday that this concert is getting a local radio push, but not on the station you would think, as Paradise classic hits station Eagle Radio 95.1 has been giving away tickets on air!
In the lead-up to the concert, frontman Alex Traynor and guitarist Josh Fair were guests on the Eagle's morning drive show this morning with DJ and new station owner Tim Ellis, where Alex & Josh promoted Rock The Block and performed an original song. I didn't catch it, but hopefully it went well and served as good promotion as we ease back into having live music in the area! This may have also filled the void for Alex & Josh's on-hiatus live-streams, especially if you had audio issues on those. Lastly from the Tarnished camp, the guys have revealed the cover artwork and release date for their debut EP "Down To The Wire", which will be released on Friday, July 24th (next week), way sooner than I expected! Part of me is surprised that Rock The Block isn't a CD release party, but alas, social distancing would limit the attendance. The EP will initially go on sale or for streaming on digital music platforms.
As well, it will go on sale "everywhere very soon after that" (presumably meaning physical outlets.) Visit the above links for further details on "Down To The Wire", but I am thinking we have a CD lined up for this month's album review! We'll let you know more details when the album is on sale, but it's great to see everything progressing so well for Tarnished despite the pandemic, so stay tuned for updates, and don't miss Rock The Block TOMORROW NIGHT at Crooked Music if you're in the E.U.P.!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Barring a sudden sign of life, I'll be moving Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook to our inactive band links on Monday due to a year's inactivity. The band has not issued a public update since July 20th of last year, when they thanked Facebook fans for attending their Rotaryfest Stage 1 set the previous day. After falling inactive in 2017, Griphook reunited to open for Kiss tribute band Destroyer last March, but these were their only two shows since their return, ongoing pandemic acknowledged. Hopefully we see Joel, Brian, Dan, and Anthony back on stage together down the line!
If you're wondering why we haven't covered Mike Haggith's fourteenth #LockdownLive concert (advertised for this past Monday) on the SMS yet, it's because it didn't take place at all. Mike acknowledged on his Facebook page that extensive renovations at his place stretched into the window where he would have been able to film the live-stream, and the episode will instead take place in early August, specific date to be announced. Disappointing, but life can get in the way sometimes, it's totally understandable. We'll let you know when more comes in on episode #14!
Former Bear Hunters guitarist/Skull After Betrayl frontman Mike Vincent is again looking to get back into the local scene via two separate posts on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in the past week. One was regarding him and an unspecified bassist looking for a punk/rock drummer, while the other one was more open to Mike just jamming with like-minded musicians, perhaps towards starting a genre-variable band with him on guitar. I guess it depends what you're looking for, but if you're interested in playing with Mike or getting more details, message him at this link or above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!
For the second time in four days, we have a post that focuses mostly on Sault Michigan bands and events, which is great for our recent coverage across the river! That includes recent updates on a young local metal band and their drummer's surprising new project and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the end of the year, but stay tuned at the end for some Sault Ontario musician searches! Now, here's what you need to know!
Remember how prolific Charlevoix metal musician Jeff Hudson has recently been adding to his Peril gigs at the regional Kewadin Casino branches with recent St. Ignace dates from his groove metal band Scarkazm? Well, Jeff's other active band will apparently be making their Eastern U.P. debuts later this year, as Charlevoix hard rock quartet Audio Circus will make their way to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on December 5th & 6th for a full weekend! There's not a lot of online media concerning Audio Circus (despite being active since 2010), but note that a number of bands share the name, so it's not easy to pick through media under that name. This Audio Circus have an old school hard rock sound though that has saw them play at a number of state festivals and open for the likes of Quiet Riot and Slaughter, so they should fit right in at the St. Ignace Kewadin in December! Admission is likely free for this 21+ show, and everything will start at 9:00 PM both nights. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss Jeff's dates with Scarkazm in St. Ignace later this month!
Lastly for our recent Kewadin Casino concert announcements is a newly confirmed weekend at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for Kinross hard/classic rockers Banned, who will reportedly return there on December 12th & 13th! Also scheduled to play there this weekend and in August, there is still some uncertainty from the Banned camp given their lack of online updates in the past two months and no non-Kewadin dates announced for the rest of the year, but we'll treat these shows as on unless Banned or Kewadin Casino makes any announcements to the contrary. If all's well and they do play these Kewadin dates, look for an entertaining & varied blend of heavy originals and classic rock covers from this Alex, Don, and Jim! Like the new Audio Circus gigs, admission is free, you must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and assuming they're playing, don't miss Banned at The Rapids Lounge TONIGHT!
Next up, have you guys been curious as to the lack of updates from Sault Michigan metal band Tantrym Tyme so far in 2014? So have I, but it appears to be due to just not updating their Facebook page, as drummer Ethan Twardy was interviewed back on February 27th on Newberry classic hits station Eagle 95.1 (the area's newest FM station), and a clip of the interview is online to stream at this location! After a brief weather forecast, Ethan and DJ Paul VanWagoner discussed Tantrym Tyme's recent appearances at Soo Eagles hockey games, the improved audio setup for when they played, and recent original recording plans (including lyrical subject matter.) Nice to see the band getting some local radio attention, though with the lack of recent online page updates, who knows what else we've missed from their camp. Check it out above though! Speaking of Ethan, a recent post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group points to him being involved in an unlikely project (unlikely in that it's from Sault Ontario), so what should you know on that?
According to said post from last week, he's apparently drumming in These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa Leclair's current band (whether it's T.S.O.T. or something else isn't known yet), while Acention's Dalton Boissineau is apparently back on guitar, and a bassist is still being sought. If this lasts into a live project (which is the plan, including originals and covers), I'll be very curious to see how they handle the cross-border angle, as it's definitely not the norm for the area, but stay tuned for updates, and if you want to try out for this band, message Alexa at this link!
Finally for today, here's three more recent updates concerning the Musicians Wanted Facebook group linked above, so who's looking for a band or a musician in Sault Ontario that might have hard rock connections? As usual, these shorter notes are in alphabetical order by artist name:
A local drummer named Brandan Glew is looking to join a local band on drums, and though he didn't specify any genre preferences, he'll be out of town until April 27th. He does like harder bands, so just in case, message him at this link or from his group post from Thursday!
A local guitarist named Corey McIntyre is looking to jam with other local musicians, and though he doesn't want anything too fast, he can play many different styles, and is a fan of metal. If you're interested in working with Corey, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted group post on Thursday!
A local bassist/guitarist named Justin Girardi is looking to join a hardcore punk band or play it in a new project, and he emphasized "angry fast fun tunes" like Black Flag and Minor Threat as what he's hoping to play. If you're interested, message Justin at this link or through his Facebook group post from March 15th!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!
