Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: The Labour Of...

Before we dive into Halloween concert previews and hype, let's get our final monthly feature post on the site today, and apologies for this being a day late! As usual, this is our monthly Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, which is our monthly look at a metal, hard rock, or punk band that isn't from the Sault Ste. Marie area, but does feature (or used to have) one or more regional natives in any of their past or present lineups. This month's selected band is another in our recent absorption of punk bands into our coverage, and they were a well known Toronto-area band in their heyday, so read on below for what you should know! (Updated on November 27th)
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The Labour Of... (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Julian "Jules" Swift Phillips (vocals/guitar)
Curtis Faux (guitar)
Brenton Ellis (bass)
Tosh Imai (drums)
Noah Earle (guitar)
Christian Wilde (bass)

Official CBC Music page: http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/the-labour-of
Official Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/7741842034
Official Soundclick page: http://www.soundclick.com/thelabourof
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/myspacethelabourof
Official PureVolume page: http://www.purevolume.com/thelabourof
Official Supernova page: http://www.purevolume.com/thelabourof

Local Info: The Labour Of...'s last known full lineup featured two Sault Ontario natives, those being guitarist Curtis Faux and bassist Brenton Ellis (a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther), both of whom have been very prominent here and in the Toronto area! Collaboratively, both guys manned the more comedic Toronto project The Sexual Vigilantes in the late 2000s, and simultaneously joined Brent's then-Lion Ride bandmates Mikey Hawdon & Mark Rand in the hardcore punk band Detroit, with whom Brent sang lead. Brent & Curt reprised their Detroit roles with the Toronto cult favourites Maximum RNR in the early 2010s, while Brent will also be notable locally from work fronting the late 1990s punk band The Bombed Squad & currently co-singing with Destroilet, and Curtis currently plays with the thrash metal band Chainbreaker, and alongside Labour Of... bandmate Jules Swift in their band The Cola Heads. If you like pop punk though, The Labour Of... will be more your style!

Band Bio: Active from at least 2004-2009, The Labour Of... became a prominent sight among Southern Ontario punk bands in the mid-2000s with their "M4K heartcore" style of emo-influenced pop punk, with members all coming from diverse musical backgrounds. Surviving information on their run is minimal (especially concerning their early years), but frontman Jules Swift was the band's visible leader, and also used the band's name for his own independent recording studio. After Curtis and Brent replaced Noah Earle & Christian Wilde circa 2007, The Labour Of... played at the former Foggy Notions in the Soo that November, recorded a demo named "Moving Ahead", and announced plans to record a full length CD, but it's not explicitly stated on extant pages if it came out. Searchable news on The Labour Of... is minimal after 2008, and they likely quietly dissolved the following year, though you can frequently see Jules & Curtis with The Cola Heads in Southern Ontario.

While far removed from the hardcore punk sound that you might be more used to from Curtis & Brenton's other collaborative band work, their poppier and more emo-influenced sound had a good energy that was definitely had a timely sound for it's era, and Jules has a very good voice with a great range to suit the material! Their last full lineup definitely had the more polished sound too, and while there isn't a ton of surviving songs of theirs on their pages, you do get a good sense of The Labour Of...'s chemistry and sound! I'll concede that this isn't my favourite punk subgenre, but The Labout Of... made it work for them, and fans of bands like Nebraska Arms or Northwest should like them! You can check out studio original songs from The Labour Of... at the above links, and there are a scattered selection of YouTube videos from their later run too, including this artistic clip of the guys playing their demo's title track "Moving Ahead" in Toronto in February 2008!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As has been the case in recent years, we'll take a brief break from our normal profiles in this series next month so we can update past installments as part of an extended special post on or around November 26th. Basically, this will be our chance to update posts in this series, restore or replace dead photos and certain links, address band breakups, reunions, and lineup changes, and address what these bands are up to now, if anything. Watch out for that late next month, and stay tuned for more news and Halloween concert previews this week! Thanks everyone!

Amy Ellis Benefit Concert Review!!

Before I head out to TONIGHT'S Biipiigwan show, we have a review of last night's Amy Ellis benefit concert at The Canadian Nightclub, but of course, check out our most recent news post below this one! Despite the cold evening on our hands, there was a solid crowd at the benefit already (there was a preceding dinner at 6:00 PM by ticket admission), and The Canadian (now with a new horseshoe "Welcome" sign above the stage) was decked out for the occasion with plenty of tables for patrons! Now, how about the bands?

Opening the show was new local quartet Late Shift (complete with wigs and sunglasses), the new local band from former Fingerbone singer John Barber, ex-Scary Uncles guitarist Matt Sibilo, North West's Clint Wilson (on bass), and Matt's ex-Groove Commitee bandmate Anthony Gagnon on drums. Fans from the early 2000s may recognize John & Matt from the former local hard rock band Redefined, but did Late Shift sound similar? While not quite as heavy (and with no originals), Late Shift did skew towards a hard/alternative rock sound, with covers of everyone from Pearl Jam, The Stone Temple Pilots, and Led Zeppelin to The Black Keys, Imagine Dragons, and The Pixies. I will applaud them for effectively adding extra punch to some songs that I wasn't a fan of going in (their version of "Radioactive" comes to mind), and they put a fun and often heavy energy on their songs, with John's solid singing voice really impressing, but he needs work on his crowd banter. Very solid debut set from some familiar faces, and hopefully we hear more from Late Shift soon!

Second on the bill was Rockstar Bar Battle winners The Suicide Kings in just their second concert since opening for Airbourne at The Canadian in August, and they were back in form with a fun and crowd-engaged set! If there was a difference from their mid-2013 gigs, it was in the setlist, which eschewed many original songs (only "Into The Fray", "King of the World", and the intros made it), with them tackling many of their more general rock covers (everything from The Killers & Jet to newly learned Lit and Jimmy Eat World renditions), though I'll note that their setlist credited an encore song named "Two More Jag" (possibly an original?) that didn't get played. Musically, everyone was on form from past gigs, and while I know Mike Gaetano's been through a lot to help Amy lately, he was in full frontman mode and delivered strong vocal performances throughout their set! Steven Flint was on fire on guitar too, and it was nice to see The Suicide Kings back, even if their set was a bit more varied then I'm used to!

Closing the night was the recently reunited cover rock band Havadder, playing just their second show since the end of their Turner Up-infused 2012 incarnation, and I have to admit, this was the first time I've seen Havadder live in any form. Their set was honestly a bit more varied than I would have predicted, with their song choices ranging from The Travelling Wiburys, Jason Aldean, and Tom Petty to Godsmack, Ugly Kid Joe, and Green Day, but it fit with the previous bands shaking things up! Frontman Jason Roy shared lead vocal duties with new guitarist Jamie July throughout the night, with both handling their songs pretty well (albeit with the occasional lyric flub), and I appreciate that their set wasn't predictable (I can't name other bands in town who cover Better Than Ezra), so that all worked! It was also nice seeing Lucas Bugyra playing live again, and their talents were clear overall (Jason has a nice command of the crowd), so if you see Havadder's full show, be prepared for a nice mix of rock covers!

Overall, the musical portion of the Amy Ellis benefit went really well, and though I don't know Amy personally, I hope the event raised a lot of funds and support for her cancer battle, so best of luck to her, Mike, and her family going forward! As we've learned with Luke LeBlanc & the late Ray Brown this year, cancer sucks, so any help is much appreciated! Photos and videos from the show can be seen at this link or at our Facebook page, and in terms of videos, here's Late Shift covering Pearl Jam's "Corduroy", The Suicide Kings covering Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch", and Havadder covering The Beastie Boys' "Havadder - (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)"







That's all for today,but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Moose Lodge for Biipiigwan, The Bear Hunters, and Bad Back, which is ALL AGES and just $5! Thanks everyone!

Chronic Demonic Updates, New Videos, And Much More!!

Before I head off to take care of Thanksgiving stuff and family dinner, let's touch on some leftover news on this Sunday morning! We have new song postings from a pair of regional solo projects, a bunch of other recent updates, and leading off, some news from a recently debuted local band's camp, so read on below for what you need to know!

Let's start with the latest updates from newer local metal/punk band Chronic Demonic, who are NOT breaking up! Over a month after their status was questioned on their Facebook page, a band member posted there on Wednesday to announce that "sometimes, you just can't keep a good beast down", while confirming that they had found both a new singer (to replace Sabrina "Strange" Lavoie) and a new drummer, which means that Rick "Styles" White has also left. A reason for Rick's departure was not announced, but I do wonder if the injuries from the incident at The Rosie last month are a contributing factor? I have no idea for certain, but hopefully the split was amicable, and best of luck to Rick in the future! An announcement of the new members (joining Frightlight guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe and Faithless Sin alum Ryan Gratton) isn't being given away yet, as they said "where's the fun in that?", but all will apparently be revealed soon. I'm curious to see what Chronic Demonic have in store, especially after recent non-activity and the lineup changes, but stay tuned for updates when they roll in!

Next up, here's the newest video from Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, and it's of his new song "The Scorpion King"! Posted on his YouTube channel last week, this is set to footage of the 2002 Dwayne Johnson movie of the same name,  it is an instrumental (at least in this form), and it will be included on SweetKenny's next album "Cracks in the Wall", which is still slated for a Halloween release. Slower overall, it has a good hard rock influence with some blues flourishes, though I will admit it doesn't seem to fit the Egyptian setting of the movie. Check out SweetKenny's new song below, and stay tuned for more on the CD release!



Also today, here's a new song from Sault Ontario grindcore solo project Brutaly Fatal! A cover of The Beatles' "Come Together", it's the only Brutaly Fatal song on their recent split demo with Malignant Neoplasm and Rotopsy (why not include more songs if it's supposed to be "split" between the three acts?) Uploaded to their label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on Thursday, this maintains Austin McRae's usual "growl & bass only" work, albeit cutting the original song down to 95 seconds in length. If you love death metal & the original song, you might find value in this cover, but it could stand to be longer and more fleshed out. Check out Brutaly Fatal's Beatles cover below!



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

• Suicide Kings frontman Mike Gaetano is looking for artists who can donate their time for an upcoming benefit event for his girlfriend Amy Ellis, who is currently battling cancer. The event will take place at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday, November 23rd, and tickets will be $25, with live entertainment and a pasta dinner both planned. If you're interested in playing the event, message co-organizer Stephanie Lynn-Poitras at this link, and get more details at the Facebook event page. Hopefully this event's a huge help, stay tuned for updates, and our best wishes go out to Amy, Mike, & her family!
• I've moved local hard rock musician Shane "The Shaner" Solomon's solo project to our inactive band links, as I don't believe he's posted any new material on his Reverbnation page since last fall (though this isn't easy to 100% verify, as Reverbnation doesn't allow you to see the date of song postings.) Shane has guitar talent, so hopefully we'll hear more from his solo work sooner or later!
• Following in singer/guitarist Josh Penno's lead, it looks like his Shit Liver bandmates Mike Kyle & Matt Baic have moved (or soon will be moving) to Southern Ontario, according to personal Facebook posts, with the band beginning work in the Toronto scene afterwards. I hope that this works out for them, but I have seen local bands relocate south and do less as a unit after the fact, so be careful. Stay tuned for updates!

That's likely all until Tuesday, but have a great Thanksgiving weekend, and don't get too stuffed with turkey! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Maximum RNR

Our special feature posts keep coming in, and as I promised, our next one is tonight! In our ongoing series on bands who feature Saultites but aren't from here, we've explored many bands and artists, and today, we're focusing on a band featuring a local musician that's both a year after our first series entry on their out of town work, AND in the lead-up to their next local concert! So here's what you should know, and as always, if there's anything wrong, missing, or in need of editing, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 26th, 2014)
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Maximum RNR (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Keith Carman (lead guitar)
Keith "KK Mauronik" Maurik (rhythm guitar) 
Curtis Faux (bass)
Mike Childs (drums)

Louis Durand (vocals)
Gymbo Jak (vocals)
Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis (vocals)
Mike Sidney (bass) 
Davey Dee (bass)

Official website: http://www.maximumrnr.com
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/maximumrnr
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/maximumrnr
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/maximumrnr
Official CBC Radio 3 page: http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/maximum-rnr

Local Info: Two Saultites reside in Maximum RNR's most recent full lineup, those being longtime bandmates Brenton Ellis on vocals & Curtis Faux on bass! They've been a part of numerous bands (local or not) in recent years, notably the Toronto indie punk band The Labour Of..., comedy metal project The Sexual Vigilantes, and the inactive local hardcore punk band Detroit, who sound very similar to Maximum RNR! You'll also be sure to recognize Brenton from his work as the former bassist in Lion Ride from 2008 to 2010, the late 1990s punk band The Bombed Squad, and currently as Destroilet's co-lead singer, while Curtis can also be seen in the Toronto bands The Cola Heads & Chainbreaker, so both have lots in the works!

Band Bio: Brenton Ellis joined Maximum RNR in the fall of 2010, replacing former Dayglo Abortions frontman Gymbo Jak in the band. With Maximum RNR, he still utilizes his "Diamond Brent Panther" stage name from the Lion Ride days. The next summer, Maximum RNR enlisted Brent's longtime bandmate Curtis Faux to replace Davey Dee on bass. Maximum RNR formed in 2002 in the Toronto area, and have toured and recorded frequently ever since, including a show at Foggy Notions in Sault Ontario with their original lineup in September 2002. The band's back catalog includes a number of seven inch vinyl singles, giving an old school flair to their musical output. As a result, they only have three official non-compilation CD releases, including June 2013's "Rough Side of the Dial". The band operates without major label support with mostly self-promotion to spread the word on the band, which has given them a noted cult following! They've played hundreds of concerts in the past 9 years, including some gigs in Europe. The band's lineup remained mostly stable through 2009, with numerous lineup changes leading to their current lineup's debut in 2011. Describing their sound as "ham fisted rock n' roll", their punk/metal attack continued to draw crowds through mid-2014, including two stops in the Soo in recent years, so check them out if you can!

I can safely say that if you liked Detroit, you'll love Maximum RNR! Their songs effectively ride the line between hardcore and punk, and are hard hitting, raw, and well played! Many of their songs are rather short (some clocking in at under a minute), but for bands of their style, this is something I've come to expect. Brent's aggressive punk-tinged singing will be familiar, and he was a great addition to the band, in a similar vein to original singer Louis Durand, though former singer Gymbo Jak's voice was heavier and deeper, so metalheads will probably take to his singing style more. It's all good though, and Brent & Curtis are fine additions to the Maximum RNR arsenal, with Brent giving them an intense one-man moshpit fury at live shows! Their songs are generally brutal, the guitar work from the two Keiths is a true standout element musically! With mostly vinyl singles, there isn't a high number of Maximum RNR originals, but if you enjoy aggressive old school hardcore punk, you'll get a kick out of these guys, and if you were at any of their local shows, you'll know why!

Maximum RNR's internet pages (linked above) have a high number of their original material, including their last album "Rough Side of The Dial" with Brent & Curt, so click here to buy it! Many old albums are out of print though, but click here for details on their releases' availability. There's a healthy number of videos on YouTube of the band in action, and now, plenty with their local-infused lineup, including this video of them playing two songs at a British concert!


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Hope you guys enjoyed this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month, we're going to focus on a band that we briefly mentioned on the SMS last summer when we discussed one of their old bandmates' local work. The band in question is Buster Cherry from St. Thomas, Ontario, featuring former Carbon Black alumni Terry Eaton and Vince Milosevich! Never hurts to explore all avenues of local metal alumni, and I better talk about them while I have them in mind! Watch out for this profile between March 10th and 16th! That's all for tonight, stay tuned for (hopefully) our next CD review and our new poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Papa Fogals Chair & The Sexual Vigilantes

Hey guys, it's time for the second installment of our profiles of out of town bands with Saultites in their lineup...does anyone know of a shorter name I could use for it? Meh, that's off topic. Today, we'll talk about two Southern Ontario based bands that feature local members in their entirety, yet were never based here! One features two prolific local musicians' lighter side, the other of which is reuniting later this month! Maybe you remember them, maybe you don't, but they are sure worth profiling! So here's this month's profiles! (UPDATED: November 24, 2014)
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Papa Fogals Chair (London, ON)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Andy Chillman (vocals/guitar)
Joey Grisdale (guitar/backing vocals)
Mike Bird (bass)
Derek Turner (drums)
Adam Chillman (percussion)

Official MySpace page: http://myspace.com/papafogalschair 
Official SoundClick page: http://soundclick.com/papafogalschair 
Official CBC Radio 3 page: http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/papa-fogals-chair
Official StereoKiller page: http://stereokiller.com/bands/papafogalschair 
Official Supernova page: http://supernova.com/papafogal 
Official AudioStreet page: http://audiostreet.net/papafogalschair

Local Info: Though never based out of Sault Ontario, all five members of Papa Fogals Chair either lived or now live in Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding areas. Friends since Grade 3, the members of Papa Fogals Chair played in a few local bands growing up, including Sulfur and Spit, among others, with Sulfur releasing an EP entitled "How Empty I Am". Following the lead of a few other Saultites, these guys headed to Southern Ontario in the early 2000s, where Papa Fogals Chair took shape. Most notable to local fans nowadays is drummer Derek Turner, who now mans the kit for Garden of Bedlam, though the other members of the band have kept busy in various other projects, notably frontman Andy Chillman's work in the London acoustic bands Too Much Unsaid & The Bird Stone Revival, and the local hard rock band The Side FX, which features both Derek & bassist Mike Bird.

Band Bio: Likening their music to furniture being bashed over your head, P.F.C. rose quickly among the metal scene in London. They released a demo and two albums, 2004's "Face Melter" and their 2006 followup, "Two Faced Is Never Pretty", both of which got some deservedly great reviews and radio airplay. A frequent sight in Southern Ontario at their height, P.F.C. were nominated for a London Music Award in 2004 in the Best Metal/Hardcore category, though after their 2006 peak, the band quietly dissolved. However, reunion shows happened on occasion, usually alongside Derek's new band Garden of Bedlam, including a notable performance at their first concert at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) in 2008. Papa Fogals Chair would later make one-off returns to the live stage at Foggy's in February 2010, and at Mike Bird's stag & doe at The Moose Lodge in May 2013, though plans for future concerts are unknown.

Papa Fogals Chair are awesome, there is no way around that! I've been a fan since I first checked them out a few years ago, they're exceedingly heavy and they have some nice grooves in a lot of their songs too! Andy Chillman has some unique vocals compared to other singers of their type, but they work very well! I love the guitar work too, awesome riffs and solos! Very little for me to complain about here! But don't take my word for it, check them out on their MySpace page. It's great to see locals hit the heights that PFC reached, and though I'm still bummed that I missed them in February 2010 though, but hopefully that's not their farewell! With 2013's MySpace overhaul, no videos of theirs survive that I know of, but here's one of their best original songs "Disgust"!


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The Sexual Vigilantes (Toronto, ON)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Curtis Faux (vocals/guitar)
Brenton Ellis (bass/backing vocals)

MySpace page: http://myspace.com/thesexualvigilantes
Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/thesexualvigilantes

Local Info: If you know your local bands, Brenton and Curtis should be very familiar! Brenton (a.k.a. Diamond Brent Panther) & Curtis were recently best known as the singer & bassist for the cult Toronto hardcore punk band Maximum RNR, but you may also recognize them as bandmates in the Toronto bands The Labour Of... and Kuah, and of course, from the inactive local hardcore punk band Detroit, releasing two EPs during their run! Also, Brent's well known locally as Destroilet's current co-lead singer, Lion Ride's former bassist from 2008-2010, and as The Bombed Squad's former frontman, while Curtis has been seen locally and in Southern Ontario acts, currently with the garage punk band The Cola Heads and the thrash outfit Chainbreaker. Brent and Curtis were the only members of The Sexual Vigilantes, with a drum machine handling the kit on studio recordings.

Band Bio: Formed in 2005, The Sexual Vigilantes played a varied style of metal/hard rock, ranging from classic rock inspired songs like "Back In Brown" to more hardcore songs like "Phantom Limb", to even some songs with electronic influences. In fact, some SXVGLNTES songs eventually became Detroit tracks, like "Pyre Driver" and "Kill-O-Rama"! Not ones to take themselves seriously, the band infused a lot of comedy into band discussions, from their many different stage names to various band descriptions and bio information, which you can get tastes of at their various pages! The Sexual Vigilantes were mostly known for their studio output, rarely playing live concerts, and employing guest musicians where needed when they did. The Sexual Vigilantes have not updated their MySpace page since March 2009, and are long since defunct, but check them out at the above links, and maybe they'll turn up again down the road!

The Sexual Vigilantes were unique soundwise, harbouring an interesting combination of genres! Curtis isn't a bad singer, he and Brenton play as good as ever on their instruments, and they can be pretty funny! Though not locally based, they brought The Sexual Vigilantes home on December 28th, 2007 for two shows that night; an acoustic show at the former Eargasm Records, and then a normal set at what's now Coch's Corner, with their Detroit bandmates Mark Ranᶁ & Mikey Hawdon joining in on guitar and drums. I think those were their only concerts. Solid band, it'd be cool to see them reunite down the road, as their stuff was pretty entertaining! For a video preview, here's The Sexual Vigilantes' playing "Motorbike The Song" live at their last show!


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Hope you guys enjoyed this month's out of town band profiles! Just cause you take a metalhead out of the Soo doesn't mean you take the Soo out of the metalhead! Next month, I will take a look at two bands who aren't from Ontario: Feral Noise, the Calgary metal band featuring Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison on guitar, and Michigan's own Sadomasochism, one of many bands to feature local drummer Mikey Bishop! Stay tuned for that in the first couple weeks of March!

That's all for today, tomorrow will feature my review/recap of tonight's Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle of the Bands at the curling rink on Anita Boulevard! Will Sykotyk Rampage win it for the metalheads, or will one of the other bands win a well deserved $750? I'll let you guys know tomorrow afternoon, plus news on a local band's new frontman, and hopefully more! Thanks everyone!