New Videos, Atomic MusicFest Updates, And Much More!!

In what may be our last traditional news post of March 2019, we have some big updates on a Northern Ontario festival with a heavy local component, and some assorted recent shorter stories, but we'll lead off with some new videos, so here's what you should know!

We'll start with a newly posted video of defunct local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester live at Rotaryfest 2016! Posted to drummer Ric Datson's YouTube channel on Wednesday, this is of their cover of April Wine's "Roller" from their final gig as an active project, which was in memory of late guitarist Eugene Orlando, who passed away suddenly the previous fall. Now, footage of this particular performance is nothing new, as guitarist Gabe Tessaro's channel also has a video of this very cover, but the new video captures the full song on a stationary camera closer to the stage. For this song, former That's Chester singer Richard Fullerton provided sole guest vocals in lieu of Greg Simpson (who does come back at the end to give shout outs), while Dan Belanger filled in for Eugene on guitar. Both Rich and Dan returned as guests for That's Chester's one-off Rotaryfest set last year too.

As in Gabe's video of this performance, That's Chester were on their game here, and Richard fit in fine with his old band, so fans of That's Chester's long local run will defnitely want to see this video, on it's own merits and to compare with the other video of this song! Give it a look below!



Next up, here's a new video from local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's Facebook page last week, where Dustin (on location at Mission Control Studios) thanks fans for checking our their new "Lost & Found" music video on Facebook and YouTube. He also mentioned that the single can be heard on Spotify, iTunes, and similar services, and he explained some of the inspiration behind the lyrics. Short video, but it's a nice gesture to thank everyone, and hopefully more updates on their new album come out soon! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from The Tide's camp!



Also today, here's the latest concerning local performers at the Atomic MusicFest in Elliot Lake in August, as some more familiar faces are driving 2 hours east for this well anticipated event! Two more metal-leaning bands from the Soo will be featured over the August 10th weekend, namely power rock quintet Re:Born in their out-of-town debut, as well as funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who will be playing one normal set and separately under their temporary Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band guise! It's worth noting that they are now advertised to be playing under the name Higher Ground rather than Scar Tissue for unannounced reasons. If true, it's an interesting choice, given that "Higher Ground" was a cover of a Stevie Wonder song, not a Chili Peppers original, but it works well enough as a name! As for the previously teased local rappers, they will be Rick E and Kodex, who have performed in Elliot Lake before. Visit the official Facebook event page for complete details on the lineup, including acts from beyond the Soo area!
 
Not everyone will be up for a 2 hour drive for a concert festival of this scale, but if Elliot Lake is a piece of cake to get to, you'll find a full lineup of entertaining music from across Northern Ontario, and hopefully the Atomic MusicFest is a huge hit to encourage an even bigger and better sophomore installment! See above for complete details on how to attend!

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

• The Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association is looking for bands & solo artists interested in playing at this year's Downtown Street Parties on Queen Street East, as per their Facebook page on Wednesday, and you can get more details at info@saultdowntown.com or at (705) 942-2919. For reference, there were 3 Downtown Street Parties last year from July-September, with SMS-covered acts like Northwest, Soundcheck, and The Wyld Stallyns factoring in two of them. Hopefully this year's parties are huge hits, and contact the S.S.M.D.A. above if you want in!
• Barring a sudden sign of life, I'll be moving local progressive death metal band Gates of Winter back to our inactive band links on Monday. We last heard anything new from their camp via a video of members jamming that circulated on personal Facebook accounts on April 1st of last year, with their Facebook page (which hadn't been posted on since July 2017) quietly being taken down since. I hope this isn't it for Gates of Winter, especially after so much work on the "Perihelion" EP, but best of luck to Lee, Bryan, Steve, and other past members in the future no matter what!
• Pixo Control/Vol. alum Steve Edwards is looking to join an original band in a guitar, bass, drums, or vocal role, and he has jam space with essential gear. He did specify that he does not want to play metal, pop punk, or country, and he noted that he's "looking for a project to work on in between my current one" (I don't believe that references Mik & Steve, whose Facebook page has been taken down.) Whether his hoped for project leans close to his old band work or not, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday for details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Solo Artist & EP Release, A New Music Video, And More!!

Here's a new news post for your Friday evening reading, and it includes some details on a big out of town concert event this summer, a new music video, and leading off, lots of information on the newest artist to be added to our links on the SMS. Here's what you should know!

In an admittedly belated addition to our Sault Michigan band links, let's finally roll Banned frontman Alex Traynor's solo project into our full coverage! A regular sight in our E.U.P. stories and concert previews throughout the 2010s via his work with his Kinross classic/hard rock trio, Alex has been performing solo as a permanent endeavour since at least March 2017, but I hesitated to include him in our full coverage before as his solo music seemed to lean softer than Banned. From what I've heard, that's no longer the case, so what should you know about Alex as a solo artist? Long-time Banned fans may recall them playing originals of Alex's in the past, but they appear to solely focus on covers now, while Alex posted his own solo covers & occasional audio original demos throughout 2017, not to mention increasingly frequent acoustic solo gigs across Northern Michigan. For what it's worth, Alex himself moved to Mount Pleasant in late 2017, though he & Banned still play live in our area often.

Last fall, Alex hit the studio to record his debut EP "Crazy World", which was successfully released online on March 1st via his official website & iTunes for $10, while you can stream the whole thing on Spotify and Soundcloud for free if you are so inclined. Not to mention, Alex has already released two professionally shot music videos for songs from "Crazy World" to his YouTube channel, including the title track and, as embedded below, his brand new video for the very Avenged Sevenfold-esque "Jack O'Lantern". His prior videos there were a "Crazy World" promotional clip and a surprise cover of Britney Spears' "Oops, I Did It Again."  At this juncture, I am definitely leaning towards reviewing Alex's debut EP on the site this month, which would be our first non-SweetKenny review of a Sault Michigan-area album in over 6 years, so keep tabs for updates on that front! Naturally, I'll hold full thoughts until then, but 3 of the EP's 5 songs are definitely heavy in tone.

Given Alex's frequent line blurring of his solo work and Banned gigs on social media (as well as Banned's online presentation focusing solely on Alex), it's almost a wonder why "Crazy World" wasn't advertised as a Banned EP, but Alex is a very talented musician who built on his adolescent promise very well, and it's great to see his solo career going well in the Central Lower Peninsula, plus frequent trips home! Stay tuned for much more on Alex's solo work, including unplugged gigs of his up here, and here's the "Jack O'Lantern" video! Creative visuals, this would be perfect at Halloween!

Next up, Sault Ontario Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide released their own new music video to the Tidal Records YouTube channel on Wednesday! This is for "Lost & Found", the first single from The Tide's forthcoming fourth studio album, and the description confirms that the song (and CD, I assume) was mixed by Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studio in St. Catharine's, who previously handled releases from local artists like Northwest, K.I.C.K., and Brendan Hodgson. The video proper was shot by young local filmmakers Avery Obeng & Matt Hroch, and it is The Rising Tide's first in 7 years, and their first with their current lineup. I'll hold full comment on the song until the album release, but the video is fairly straightforward, with the guys performing the song on a dark soundstage with deliberate lighting. Well filmed and put together, and Tide fans won't want to bypass this one, so give it a watch below!



Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge the big Elliot Lake concert festival going down at their airport this summer, as while Elliot Lake is 2 hours from Sault Ste. Marie (an hour past the end of our coverage range), a good amount of local artists will be performing. Entitled Atomic MusicFest, this special event will take place from August 9th-11th at the Elliot Lake Municipal Airport, and it will feature bands on all three nights, leaning primarily to metal acts in the headline spots. The Friday, August 9th lineup will feature the out of town debut of local Tool tribute quartet Parabol as headliners, alongside punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and uncredited local rappers. Advertised performers on Saturday the 10th will include a couple of bands who've played in the Soo before, like Metallica tribute band Sandman & Sudbury death/thrash metal quintet Archelon, while Redefined alum Jon Rioux sings for the Ottawa-based Pantera tribute band Fantera that same night.

This is an all ages and licensed festival, with $45 weekend passes among other admission tiers, so visit the official website for complete details on how to attend. Kudos to AstroRabbit Entertainment for trying a big festival like this, and while I'm not sure how the tribute band-heavy lineup would play with some fans, this is a huge event for Elliot Lake, and hopefully there's a sizable turnout from Saultites in August! See above for more details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (OZbourne), Two New Local Bands, A New Album, And More!!

We're back with a new news post on this Wednesday morning, and it includes some assorted recent updates, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and first, two new additions to our band links, one with a new album, so without any further adieu, here's what you should know!

We have another new band to add to our active links on The Sault Metal Scene, and they are Parabol, the name finally bestowed upon the local Tool tribute band that debuted last fall! Taking their name from the Tool song "Parabola" (though they were briefly known as Lateralus upon their Facebook page's launch), fans will remember this band's live debut at The Rockstar Bar during the second night of last October's Halloween Party, with a headlining encore taking place at the same venue last month. There's very little posted on their page as of yet, but assuming there's been no quiet lineup changes, they are comprised of former Redefined/Driving Dave Home singer John Barber, Wild Iris/Odd Man Out guitarist Steve Myers, Skeyes of Seven bassist (and John's former Fingerbone bandmate) Alain Fletcher, and ex-Groove Committee drummer Anthony Gagnon (who also played with John in Late Shift.)

It's great to see the guys keep this tribute going with a permanent name, and as anyone who saw them at The Rockstar Bar in late 2018 will attest, their brand of Tool covers was extremely proficient and entertaining, and they put in the time to ensure that the songs sounded just right! If Coral Fang and Poison Girl can become actual bands following Halloween, why not Parabol? Become a fan of theirs at the above links!

Next up, here's a surprise: A Chase Wigmore solo album with a paid online release! Rather than his free EP postings and sporadic physical pressings, he has released an apparent paid debut album for his experimental metal project Awokest via their new Bandcamp page, which is sufficient to add them to our active band links as well! Still using the ribald alias "Dick Jerkins" in Awokest, he describes this project as an "experimental metal band (that) shifts between genres", with "old school industrial" cited alongside phases of black metal and grind. Though ostensibly a solo project, Chase/Dick alluded to frequent membership changes, despite never indicating any identities. The album itself is not the forthcoming "12 EPs of Christmas" entry named "The Mostest Awokest", rather a full studio album named "Enter the Nightlands", which features 10 songs, including "The Tweakening", a carried-over title from the free EP of the same name.

Chase certainly knows how to stay busy, doesn't he? Strange Coyotes aside, Bandcamp wasn't on my radar for his studio work, but it's great to see a digital download album of his there, and you can buy it for $7 right now. Also, "Enter the Nightlands" is now the favourite to be our next CD review on The Sault Metal Scene, so look for that later this month! I'll hold comment on the album until then, but fans of his diverse material will want to check it out above or below via a new upload on Chase's YouTube channel!



Also, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Winnipeg-based Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath tribute band OZbourne will make their local concert debut on Friday, March 29th at The Canadian Nightclub! To my knowledge, this is the first Ozzy/Sabbath tribute band to hit Sault Ste. Marie since Blizzard of Ozz played at The Canadian in 2011, so fans of the Prince of Darkness have been waiting a long while for a comparable local tribute show, and this should make up for lost time. OZbourne call themselves "The Ultimate Ozzy Experience", and from the videos I've seen, they look and sound the part, and Ozzy lovers should definitely consider a trip to The Canadian in March for their faithful brand of old school metal! A cover charge is not yet advertised on the Facebook event page, but a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit are expected. It's great to see The Canadian hosting a metal tribute again, so visit the above links for current details!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, promoter, or event name:

• Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback revealed on their Facebook page two weeks ago that they have finished pre-production on vocals for their debut album, and were getting ready to record the final vocal tracks. They also teased that they'll return to the stage "this summer when it's all done." Hopefully things are on track for the album, and stay tuned for updates!
• Elliot Lake promoters AstroRabbit Entertainment are planning on hosting a major metal concert of some kind at the Elliot Lake Airport in early August, with hopes being to attract 10,000 fans. Elliot Lake is over 2 hours east of Sault Ste. Marie, well past our coverage area, but I mention it here because SooToday did cover it yesterday. There are a lot of unknowns regarding this event, including lineup, ticket prices, and the exact date, but there is clear ambition here, and might this be a spiritual replacement for Rock 'n Roar in Spanish? Follow AstroRabbit for more details!
• Local promoters Choose Maxx (or Maxx Entertainment) posted a photo on their Facebook page on Monday featuring the logo for a teased Bon Soo concert event called "Soo-Lebrity Showcase Saturday", which will take place at The Machine Shop on Saturday, February 2nd, and will feature local entertainment, artists, and brew. No word as of yet regarding the full format, lineup, prices, or Bon Soo frills, but there's already some positive buzz, so visit the above links for more details, especially if hard rock bands are in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!