The Faps Concert Preview, New Steel Panther Videos, And More!!

In what may be our last news post of July 2019, we are tackling some new YouTube video discoveries (some more belated than others), but leading off, here's a preview of a special Wednesday night concert for you punk fans!

Saskatchewan "post-gar(b)age-punk" duo The Faps will return to Sault Ste. Marie TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock Dryer Fire's pop-up summer venue at 123 Bruce Street! The second stop on The Faps' current Ontario tour, this will be Blair & Skyler's sixth local concert appearance, and first since rocking The New A in April, though this gig at Dryer Fire's temporary homefront may represent new ground for many fans of theirs.  With their intense, fan-engaging, and often intriguingly dressed live show making many local fans in the last few years, hopefully the mid-week placement doesn't scare off too many possible attendees! Local surf rock instrumental quartet The Dynowaves (featuring Brent "Slumshine" Ellis from April's Faps show) will open tomorrow's proceedings with their own proficient and unique originals, so don't miss them either! Promoted in-house by Dryer Fire, this is an ALL AGES concert with a $10 cover and a 7:00 PM start time.

While the Wednesday evening scheduling is unfortunate, The Faps are a proven attraction locally now, and their hard hitting minimalist punk attack should attract new and old fans alike at Dryer Fire tomorrow, so don't miss out on this show if you can help it! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Faps live!



Next up, here's some surprising new discoveries: More video footage from the Steel Panther concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino back in December! One video was only posted online in June, as filmed by attendee Brad Madigan for his YouTube channel, marking his first upload from a local concert. This captures the first 15 minutes of the Los Angeles glam/comedy metal quartet's headlining set, which (after a sampled recording of Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some") featured their songs "Eyes of a Panther" and "Goin' In The Backdoor", before bantering, joking, and jamming for the remainder of the clip. Musically, Steel Panther (and guest bassist Spyder) sound like their usual entertaining and ribald self, which definitely extends into the post-song bantering, and the impressive crowd is certainly on board! Brad got a great front row view of the band and audience, with only a speaker on stage breaking things up.

I don't know what took so long to post this video online, but if you love hair metal and enjoy very adult humour, Steel Panther will be right up your alley, and this video captures them in their element, so give it a look below!



The other belated Steel Panther video comes from attendee Brandan Penno, whose video of Steel Panther covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" is his only upload on YouTube to date, as posted in April. Clever and amusing touch having frontman Michael Starr perform while dressed as Ozzy himself and acting like him on stage, even seeming addled and confused like he often came across on The Osbournes. The cover's solid and lively, and Brandan got a nice zoomed-in view of the front of the stage, so give it a look below also!



Finally, here's SooToday's brief video feature from last month's Go Skateboarding Day festivities at Queen Elizabeth Park in Sault Ontario, as posted onto SooToday staffer (and ex-Garden of Bedlam drummer) Derek Turner's YouTube channel! I have no idea why this isn't on SooToday's proper channel. As was the case in their prior video features from this annual event, there's no audio of any bands, as skateboarding is the focus, though you do briefly see The Cover-Up playing atop the big ramp 22 seconds in. Derek himself does not feature on camera, but the video features co-organizer and Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay promoting the event and it's goals in a one-sided interview, though given his long-time association with Shaw TV, it is very odd to see him holding a SooToday microphone. Go Skate Day is a great event to promote skateboarding with new and old athletes alike, and hopefully this year's installment was a hit as usual! Give SooToday's video a look below, and here's to 2020!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more very shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Michale Graves, The Faps, And Darsombra), Plus Northwest Updates!!

Alright, let's finally get caught up on some big recent news on the SMS, and I apologize profusely for the delays in covering these newly announced concerts on the site, one in particular! We also have big road trip and related coverage for a prominent punk band at post's end, but let's lead off with those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in chronological order!

Saskatchewan trash-punk duo The Faps will return to Sault Ste. Marie for their sixth live concert appearance on Wednesday, July 31st when they headline at the Dryer Fire summer pop-up venue at 123 Bruce Street! Certainly no strangers to local fans or this site, some readers will have just seen Blair & Skylar's intense and irreverent live show back in April at The New A, and while this isn't quite a return to autumn normalcy, it's great to see The Faps back at another downtown venue at month's end, presumably with women's clothing in tow! Local surf rock instrumental band The Dynowaves are advertised to open, and they should deliver a fun set of their own to kick things off! Remember, bassist Brenton Ellis opened for The Faps in April with his solo project Slumshine, more on them in a bit. Note that I have not found a local Facebook event page to plug this show at press time, but it is advertised at Dryer Fire via July event posters like this, so that'll do for now.

An exact cover charge is not public yet, but The Faps' last local show charged $5, and many Dryer Fire events are "pay what you can" or free to enter as it is. While this is a mid-week show, Dryer Fire concerts generally take place at 7:00 PM and are ALL AGES as a rule, so don't let the Wednesday scheduling scare you off. This should be a fine attraction for new and old fans alike who want The Faps' minimalist noise punk attack, so don't miss the action then, and see the above links for more details!

Next up, Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo Darsombra will return to The New American Pub for their second local concert appearance on Saturday, August 17th! This show comes over two years after this exceedingly unique band last played The New A, and if you recall that concert, you'll remember the audiovisual presentation, extended jam sessions, lack of a singer or drummer, and their unique hybrid sound that united psychedelia, drone rock, and classic metal stylings. Darsombra has to be seen to be fully appreciated, I highly recommend tracking down videos (or coming to the show proper next month!) Online page-less folk solo project Slumshine will open in what is advertised as their album release show, while Brent will have original artwork for sale during the concert. A local act launching an album in a support slot isn't unheard of locally (Telephone & Address did the very same in 2016), and hopefully Slumshine make a big splash in this regard next month!

A second opening act is to be announced, though for reference, 2017's Darsombra show was opened by Pointless and late fill-ins Pillory. Presented by Six, Two, Oh. once again, this concert has a 9:00 PM start time, an $8 cover charge (up $1 from last time), and a 19+ age limit. It should be quite a night when Darsombra come back to the Soo, and with this being a Saturday nighter for a change, hopefully that + the strong reception in 2017 will help make this even bigger and better! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Lastly for our overdue concert announcements, but certainly not least, former Misfits frontman Michale Graves has finally announced the make-up date from last year's cancelled Canadian Nightclub concert, as he'll be there on Saturday, September 28th, exactly one year & one week later! As many fans may recall, Michale and the two touring opening bands were unable to make it into the U.P. (let alone Canada) last September due to severe winds closing the Mackinac Bridge, and forcing a very short notice tweaking of the concert into a free, all-local jam night. Well, if you've held onto your tickets from last year for this long, then you can absolutely use them on September 28th to see Michale Graves in concert, though on this American Monster Tour, he is performing his two Misfits albums ("American Psycho" & "Famous Monsters") in their entirety during his set, so how's that for extra incentive? Opening bands have not been announced yet, but for reference, Argyle Goolsby & The Roving Midnight, Nim Vind, and locals Jack Spades were to have opened last fall, and I'd be shocked if Jack Spades didn't open still.

Still an ALL AGES and licensed concert promoted by J.D. Pearce, this 8:00 PM event will have slightly lower advance tickets going for $22.50 at this link, with in-person availability to be announced. And remember, tickets from last year's show are accepted for the new date, except if you got a refund. It's great to see Michale Graves finally trying again for a local concert date, and with a year's anticipation and full Misfits albums in his set, this should be a packed house, weather permitting! Visit the official Facebook event page for continuing updates as they roll in!

Finally for today, here's the latest from local indie/punk quintet Northwest, and apologies again for the delay in this making the site! Back in April, you may remember seeing local news releases where organizers of the Rock on the River Festival in Timmins were looking for Northern Ontario bands to send in submissions to play at their Northern Roots Stage on July 26th or 27th. Well, Northwest took them up on it, and they will represent the Soo at the festival on Friday, July 26th! They're the first listed band that would be playing on the Northern Roots Stage, while they'll be playing on the same day as past local headliners like The Sheepdogs, Tim Hicks, and The Road Hammers. Definitely a huge opportunity for Northwest, and hopefully they make lots of new fans 6 hours east in three weeks' time! To hype up the set, the band posted this 15 seconds-long video onto their Facebook page last month, which features black & white band photos, a brief song clip, and text promoting the festival.

Short but sweet advertising that gets the point across, so give it a look below, and click here for full details on the Rock on the River Festival, including on how to attend if you're up for a road trip or live in/near Timmins!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Cancer Bats), Plus New Videos!!

It's gonna be May, indeed, so let's kick off the month with a new news post featuring new videos from recent downtown concerts, and leading off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall! Here's what you should know!

Toronto hardcore punk/sludge metal quartet The Cancer Bats will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, September 12th when they headline at Soo Blaster! Four time nominees for the Juno Award for Heavy Metal Album of the Year, local fans will have last saw The Cancer Bats when they opened for Billy Talent at what's now GFL Memorial Gardens back in March 2010, but as far as I know, this will be their first headlining show here since 2006. Fans will surely know how entertaining The Cancer Bats' subgenre hybrid is, let alone with 9 years of built-up good will and new material to show for it, and they should get a great crowd at Soo Blaster this fall! London post-hardcore quintet The Single Mothers will open in their first local show on record, and their varied sound and often pointed, direct lyrics should attract them to a solid local audience! Also playing is Sharptooth, a female fronted hardcore punk quintet from Baltimore, Maryland.

With a strong political slant in their lyrics and an explosive sound of their own, Sharptooth should get lots of fans in their own right! Local punk trio Redundant will kick things off in their first advertised concert of 2019, though no word as of yet if their teased bassist switch has had any public update. Solid choice to set the tone in their Soo Blaster debut! Notably, this concert is a presentation of Loffredo & Associates, a long-running and respected promotion agency out of Thunder Bay, and their reputation and past concerts both there and elsewhere in Northwest Ontario speak for themselves, so I wouldn't expect any Rock The Border Fest-style hangups. Hopefully Frank and company bring some more big shows out east, it's great to have them doing some work out here! This 19+ concert has doors opening at 8:00 PM, and tickets are available in advance for just $20 at this link (+ a $5 service fee) or at Soo Blaster.

There's a few months of anticipation ahead, but this is a huge show for metal & punk fans alike, and hopefully The Cancer Bats deliver strongly after nine years away! Visit the official Facebook event page for current details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with local promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s own videos from The Faps' headlining concert at The New American Pub on April 23rd! Much like at the West of Hell show, the guys filmed short videos during the show, but here, they did actually film the local openers. These include one video of revived local acoustic folk solo act Slumshine (link here), and Brent does show promise in a more reserved setting like this, hopefully he keeps at it! Two videos were streamed of new local indie/alt-rock supergroup Dusty Hazelwood that you can see linked here & here, albeit from an oddly distant camera angle. While not heavy by any stretch in these videos, Dusty Hazelwood have a talented base and nice melodies, and I think they'd play really well at a venue like LopLops! Of course, Six, Two, Oh. filmed the headlining Saskatchewan trash-punk duo for three videos, so you can see The Faps in action at the links here & here, plus the longest video embedded below.

The Faps delivered in their usual eclectic way on this night, with their impeccable yellow/cross-dressing stage attire and a nice aggressive, minimalistic, and lively sound all at once! I need to get out and see The Faps at some point, as I'm sure these videos don't do their live show justice, but give them a look above and below, and hopefully they come back soon!



Finally, here's local power rock band Re:Born's own videos from last week's Killer Dwarfs concert at the aforementioned Soo Blaster, as per their Facebook page on Sunday! Three videos were taken from their own camera during their set on the "Soo Lounge", including their covers of Edguy's "Lavatory Love Machine" and Black Sabbath's "Children of the Sea", but embedded below is their original/Project 421 carry-over "Running Away". Nice quality aside from somewhat over-exposed lighting, and the performances are overall very solid, with Elly more than holding her own on vocals! Give Re:Born's videos a look above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews & our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The River Jacks), A "New" Local Band, And The Faps Concert Preview!

Here's a new news post for your Sunday evening reading, and it covers a few big topics, including a preview of a special Tuesday night concert and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer, but first, let's formally (and very belatedly) roll a prolific local band into our links on the site!

We have a "new" band to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, they being reunited ska-punk/hard rock band Tripod The Dog! An official band page has not been launched (that I know of) since their return gig earlier this month, but I recently discovered this Facebook group that was actively maintained by the band in 2007 & 2008 before their prior break-up, so we can belatedly list them here. When this group was regularly used, Tripod the Dog were comprised of founding singer/guitarist Mark Oliverio (later of Thin Ice), alongside Billy Bastards guitarist Greg Beharriel & ex-Role Models/Comedics drummer Phil Greco. Bass was supplied at the time by Sean Berlinguette (later a bandmate of Mark's in Glitch), though he was replaced in late 2007 by future Skeyes of Seven bassist Mike Mannarino. Mark and Sean returned for Tripod the Dog's reunion set at Rotaryfest last year alongside ex-Ground Zero drummer Brian Egglesfield.

1990s-2006 lineups are not well publicized online, but on 1998's "Local Steel" compilation, Mark & Greg were joined in Tripod The Dog by bassist Matt Miller and drummer Tracey Hilderley (a future bandmate of Mark's in Boogie Fever), and postings heavily imply that Scott Aultman and Kevin Becker were also prior band members. Updates on the Facebook group largely concern shows played by Tripod The Dog in their last active year of this era, including multiple dates at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) and Stir (later The Vibe Lounge), though some reminiscing also occurs there from past gigs, as well some loose hints & suggestions for tour dates and new studio material. Apparently, Tripod The Dog were transitioning from their ska punk/alternative leaning set to one more based in hard rock after Mike joined the group, but given Sean's involvement in their reunion last year, one assumes that the new Tripod the Dog reverted to their old sound.

As Greg (who I don't believe is back in the band) was the primary administrator of this group, I doubt it'll receive new updates, but fans of Tripod the Dog's mid-2000s incarnaton should be interested in checking it out. Tripod the Dog were a skilled and fan favourite band in their original run, and it'll be interesting to see what comes next now that Mark has brought them back, so visit the above links for more on their work a decade+ ago!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Calgary punk quintet The River Jacks will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert on Monday, June 3rd at The New American Pub! This will be The River Jacks' third local concert appearance (at least), following their set opening for The Old Wives at The New A two years ago, and a prior Algonquin Pub headlining gig in 2015. This stop on their spring tour should bring another entertaining night full of message-laden, well influenced punk rock, and genre fans would be well served to check this show out, whether you saw them locally before or not! Local openers have not been confirmed at press time, but for reference, Stegadeth opened for The River Jacks locally the last time out, while the now-defunct Gnaeus and Stereo North did so in 2015. Presented by Six, Two, Oh. like in 2017, this 19+ show as an early 8:00 PM start time, and while a cover charge isn't publicized, prior local dates were both $5.

There are some unknowns yet regarding this concert, but The River Jacks' skilled and familiar brand of original punk action should attract a solid audience at The New A in June! It's just a shame this is a Monday nighter. Visit the official Facebook event page for continuing updates!

Finally for today, here's our preview of a special mid-week concert, as Saskatchewan trash-punk duo The Faps will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining show at the aforementioned New American Pub THIS TUESDAY NIGHT! Unusually being held in the spring after four prior autumn concerts locally, this will be The Faps' first local concert appearance in six months, and their first at The New A since 2017. Blair & Skylar's high impact & irreverent stage show should be welcomed back by many local fans for this stop of their No Name, No Fame Tour, but what music will they bring to the table, and what will they be wearing? Believe me, that's a valid question! Openers will include new local indie rock quartet Dusty Hazelwood (featuring Lion Ride, AlgomA, Dynowaves, and Fever Tops alumni), as well as singer/bassist Brenton Ellis' online page-less acoustic solo project Slumshine, in their first SMS-covered concert since 2017. Nicely varied lineup, there should be something for everyone!

Also promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who are partly led by Dusty Hazelwood's own Jamie Vincent), this 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time and a $5 cover charge. The Tuesday night scheduling is unfortunate for anyone with work and school commitments the next morning, but if you can make it to The New A for all of this action, you'll get a wide array of talented musicians, including a ferocious and unpredictable Faps set, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Faps live!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Faps), Plus Tea Party Concert Fallout!!

Before we dive into weekend concert previews, here's a new news post for your Wednesday afternoon! This mostly concerns our long awaited coverage of a major concert last week, but we'll lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Saskatchewan trash-punk duo The Faps will make their fifth local concert appearance when they headline at The New American Pub on Monday, April 23rd! Last seen at LopLops in October, this will be their first New A appearance since headlining there in 2017, and as far as I can tell, their first local gig that's not in the fall season. It's always welcome to see Skyler & Blair's experimental and grunge-tinged brand of minimalistic punk back in the Soo, and hopefully The Faps deliver another explosive set in just under three weeks' time! Local openers will include new local rock quartet Dusty Hazelwood (interesting name), whose lineup unites Dynowaves bandmates Jefferson Childs & Brenton Ellis with AlgomA's Jamie Vincent on guitar and ex-Fever Tops drummer Mitchell Harris. While punk is an advertised sub-genre on their Bandcamp page, their two songs so far lean more to softer pop rock, but I'm curious to hear more from Dusty Hazelwood, they have a lot of talent!

The aforementioned Brent Ellis (of Detroit, Lion Ride, and Maximum RNR fame) will lead off on the 23rd with his online page-less solo project Slumshine, which we haven't covered on the site since he opened for Dany Laj & The Looks in November 2017. It's very good to see him bring Slumshine back after a quiet 2018! Promoted by Jamie's own Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Despite it's Monday scheduling, this stop on The Faps' No Name/No Fame Tour should provide a diverse blast of alt-rock, so visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Let's continue today's post with the long awaited fallout from last week's Tea Party concert at The Machine Shop, and I apologize for the delay in this regard, I was waiting to try and get enough content for a full post (we fell a little short.) Starting with local news coverage, SooToday's Donna Hopper was on hand to cover the show for this article, where she noted that the Windsor hard rock trio "sounds as tight and fresh as it did in it's mid-90s prime" in this brief article. She posted 17 colour photos from the concert there, including 13 of the headliners and 4 of Winnipeg southern rock band The Proud Sons' opening set, and they look fantastic as usual, so give them a look above! We missed this at the time, but The Sault Star's Jeffrey Ougler interviewed Tea Party frontman Jeff Burrows in this article on March 22nd, where he discussed the band's lineup stability, the current state of music distribution, and more related topics, albeit not overly focused on the local date in the interview proper.

Solid interview that goes in-depth on it's topic subjects, and Jeff is well-versed here, so definitely give it a look at the above links! Moving to videos, we'll start with a lot of videos from Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, as he shot 10 videos at The Machine Shop on this night, including 9 of The Tea Party! One video is of The Proud Sons playing a song I can't immediately title, and it's worth listening if you like country rock with a folksy bent! As for The Tea Party, Chris got a handful of videos that feature multiple songs and cover segments, so keep that in mind regarding the linked performances. Chris filmed "The River", "The Bazaar", "Save Me", "Heaven Coming Down" (with U2 cover interlude), "Black River", "Temptation", "Sister Awake", and that song continued plus Rolling Stones & David Bowie cover breaks. Embedded below is a three song medley of their live exclusive  "Zahira/Rakim", which leads into "The Halcyon Days".

Strong video and audio quality throughout these clips, with Chris having a good vantage point of the bands while still capturing the nicely sized crowd throughout, and Jeff Burrows' stage presence and deep voice are ever present. Videos filmed here capture their hard and alternative rock sides as well as their world music influences, so you may prefer certain songs to others, but there's enough to go around from what Chris filmed, so give these 10 videos a look above & below!



The other known YouTube videos from the local Tea Party concert come from Wawa author Duane Roy (of "Castle Stories" & "Soo Stories" fame), who filmed two videos for his YouTube channel as part of his occasional uploads from local concerts there. Alongside a fragment of their "Paint It Black" interlude during "Sister Awake", Duane also filmed "Heaven Coming Down" (+ "With Or Without You) last week, and both videos benefit from him being in the front row, though they primarily focus on Jeff Burrows compared to his bandmates. Very nice quality to boot, so give Duane's footage a look too!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Shit Liver), Redundant & Faps Videos, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for your Saturday evening, and it includes some assorted shorter stories, new videos from recent concerts here and afar, and leading off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! Before we all focus on Thanksgiving, here's what you should know!

Three local metal bands we don't see very often nowadays and a favourite band from the Oh!No festival will join forces for a special New American Pub concert on Thursday, November 22nd, toplined by the local return of Shit Liver! 7 months removed from their "Hitting the Fan" release tour stop at the same venue, the local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio will return home following the end of their summer break, so prepare for another fast paced and ferocious night of original action! Sudbury "party violence" quintet The Therapists (who incidentally replaced Shit Liver at Oh!No II) will make their Sault Ste. Marie debut that night as co-headliners, and if you recall their costumed and creative blend of hardcore punk in Leeburn, look for much more of the same next month! Veteran local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet will end a nearly 2 year long hiatus from the stage when they rock this concert, in what will be their first gig since the 2016 Guy Thiffault tribute show, and since co-lead singer Brenton Ellis returned to the band last year. It appears "later, rather than sooner" is November 22nd, so prepare for Destroilet's long awaited return then!

And if that's not all, prepare for the return of local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters as the advertised openers, marking their first live concert set since October of last year. I don't know where they've been, but will we get any teasers towards their long-gestating new album? Find out next month! This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time, and while an old poster cited a "pay what you can" option, a $10 admission fee is advertised. This may be on American Thanksgiving, but fans of the old Rosie metal nights should be giving thanks for the death metal and hardcore punk returns coming to The New A then, so visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's a 25 minute long video from local punk trio Redundant's trip to Toronto in July for their one-off gig at the final Vans Warped Tour! This was uploaded to bassist James White's YouTube channel two weeks ago, in his first upload there in 6 months, and the footage here was shot on a cell phone camera from their hitting the road on Monday, July 16th through their set the following day at at the Flats at Budweiser Stage. The band (plus two spouses) are featured in this footage as they drove east through Ontario, and while there's far too much to individually break down, what are some highlights? Well, you can expect lots of road trip footage, in-car banter and music, stops at Legoland and Bass Pro Shop, and exploring their hotel room, among other moments (some sped up, and some with James narrating to the camera.) Footage at the Warped Tour proper begins at about 12:27, and you'll get to see the festival grounds, attendees, and setup in nice detail until footage of their set begins, so if you never went, enjoy the last look!

After we see them set-up, you'll get performance footage of Redundant starting at 18:22 with a clip of their cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" before we see their original "Miles Apart" in full. The video ends with James using an amusing camera effect before closing with scattered photos set to their EP's closing track "What Will You Do". Despite being filmed almost entirely in portrait orientation (the exception being when Justin doles out Jagermeister in red solo cups), this is a fun look at their big road trip this summer, and hopefully the crowd grew as their set progressed! Give the full video a look below, and don't miss Redundant at the Ten Foot Pole show later this month!



Also, we have a surprising number of videos from the Faps-headlined concert at LopLops Lounge on Wednesday night to share, courtesy of Precision Design & Apparel head Aaron Reed, who shared seven videos from the concert to it's Facebook event page the following day! All of these are just 20 seconds long, on the same portrait orientation angle, and all have medium/scratchy audio, so mind that going into these. Two of Aaron's videos are of the opening acts (Conika and her new rap/jazz group Bom Cronik), with the rest focusing on the Saskatchewan noise punk duo, and yes, they are wearing dresses on stage. These go by too fast to easily identify the songs being played, but the chaos of The Faps' live show is on full display, and it looks like attendees at LopLops had a fun time! Give one of the five Faps videos a look below, and see above for the rest, including some guest drummer appearances, including from co-promoter/AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent in two of them!



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

• I have moved local power pop/hard rock quintet The Noochin' Lanterns to our inactive band links, as they have not issued a public update since releasing their "Drop The Gloves" single on October 3rd of last year. A side project of The Apocalypse Afterparty, this pajama-clad band only played a couple of of advertised concerts last year (pop-up gigs aside), but they had creativity and a lively stage show, and hopefully we hear more from Paul, Amanda, Tyler, Matthew, Sarah, and Amber in the future!
• Local indie punk quintet Northwest quietly noted on their Facebook page on September 3rd that the release party for their second EP "Songs From 2015-2017" will take place at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, December 22nd. Nothing else has followed regarding the event, even a month later, so I am hesitant to begin covering it normally, but that is the teased date and locale. Stay tuned for fuller updates on the EP release when they roll in, but fans may want to remember that date over the holidays!
• This is very belated, but I have added Sault Michigan videography company Third Cinema Productions to our "Other Sault Michigan Links" section. Led by Eric Cairns, long-time readers may recognize Third Cinema from their frequent relationship with Kinross classic/hard rockers Banned and their frontman Alex Traynor's solo project, with Eric filming each on multiple occasions (Eric's even played with Banned as a guest bassist in the past.) Third Cinema do great work with concert footage, music videos, weddings, and more, so give them a look above, and apologies for the delay in responding to your e-mail, Eric!

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

Faps Concert Preview, Plus New Videos!!

No need to wake up with September ending, as we're already raring to go with a new post to kick off the month of October 2018, and it is largely devoted to new videos, but leading off is a special Wednesday night concert preview, so here's what you should know! (Edited at 10:09 AM)

October will kick off with a bang at LopLops Lounge on WEDNESDAY NIGHT when Saskatchewan trash-punk duo The Faps return to Sault Ontario for another headlining concert! After three prior local concerts (one in 2014 and two last year), this fan favourite two-man band should be in fine form with another high impact set of noise rock intensity, so don't miss Blair and Skyler's fourth local jaunt on Wednesday! Local rapper Conika (who opened for The Faps locally in 2014) will pull double duty at LopLops tonight, as while she has been advertised with a solo set right along, she will also front her new jazz/hip-hop quartet Bom Cronik to kick off the show, alongside Honest Job, Blackwater, and Bananas Guerrillas alumni. While not a metal band, it'll be interesting to see how Conika, Mister, James, and Brendan do in a hybrid genre show like this, so keep Bom Cronik in mind as well! This stop on The Faps' Grimelda Goes East Tour is a 19+ event with a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time, as is often the case for LopLops concerts.

While the mid-week scheduling isn't optimal for many, you should consider a trip to LopLops on Wednesday if you can swing it, as The Faps are known for their fun and hard-edged live concerts, as anyone who saw them here will attest, and there's some intriguing hip hop to open also! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Faps live!



Next up, here's the newest video from local/Thompson, Manitoba solo hard rock musician Mike Haggith's YouTube channel, namely an entire concert set of his from Saturday! This was recorded at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Thompson as part of their acoustic coffee house series, which Mike first performed at back in April. Mike's entire 40 minute set was filmed, where he played 6/10ths of his upcoming studio album "Bridges", and in order, those songs are "The Nature of The Times","From The 55th Parallel", "Over Indecision", "Dangerous Town", "Bridges" (after talking about moving to Thompson and the inspiration for the title track), and "Come On Home". The set closed with two covers, namely his old band The Din's "The Price That You Pay" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".... no, seriously, he actually knew/learned it! The church acoustics can make the audio a little muffled, but it's nice to hear more of Mike's new material in a casual setting!

While these may be stripped down compared to how the final studio product sounds, these showcase Mike's vocal and guitar talents nicely, and fans should get a kick out of this full concert! However, note that the camera angle changes to a side-stage position for the final three songs (there is a clear edit when this happens), and the "Free Bird" cover alone was also posted on Mike's Facebook page. Give Mike's recent concert a look below!



Also today, here's another new rehearsal video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night as they continue their preparations for their second Christmas tour! As uploaded to their Facebook page on September 23rd, this is identical in composition to their most recent jam videos (Craig filming Steve, Scott, and Erik), but it is definitely the following day, and nice to see Scott dressed in some holiday red! The carol being rehearsed here is "Carol of the Bells", which sounds solid in this instrumental form, and is well filmed from behind the keyboard once again, so give it a look below, and watch for Steve and Scott getting close to the camera late!



Finally for today, here's a new video discovery of local pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks dabbling into a few heavier songs! This was filmed and edited by YouTube user DeMenezes-Erme (likely a relation of drummer Paolo Erme) when the guys took a road trip to Burlington for a concert there in February. It's basically a supercut of songs that they played during said concert, and in order, you'll catch the Tonys, Rob, and Paolo covering AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", alongside covers of songs by Walk The Moon, Rick Springfield, an artist I can't place, Robin Schulz, another I can't 100% identify, The Neon Trees, and Loverboy. When songs change here, DeMenezes-Erme changes the camera angle, orientation, and/or filter to match, so some clips will look better than others. The Killer Hooks are a diverse and appealing band for cover fans, and there's some solid hard rock within the poppier stuff, so give these a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Awokest's New Song, And Much More!!

Today's news post (possibly our final of the month) is half devoted to lots of assorted shorter stories as of late, but we also have a new video upload to take note of, and first off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TOMORROW, giving this weekend at least one SMS-fitting concert to cover! Things will be busier in October, I guarantee it. Here's what you should know!

On this unusually quiet concert weekend, we do have one hard rock show to take note of, as local acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will be playing TOMORROW at the Fall Fest at... Scott Coffee Co.?! Apologies for the short notice, neither Tym nor the venue have publically confirmed his involvement, though he is mentioned in personal Facebook advertising. This special event will be taking place at the coffee shop at Lowe's Plaza at 248 Northern Avenue (beside Golden Dragon), and Scott Coffee Co. will have free samples and seasonal blends ready for patrons, while there will be face painting, a vintage clothing sale, and a used book sale from the Friends of the Library Bookstore at the Centennial Library downtown, so keep those aspects in mind for TOMORROW! Tym is cited as performing at the Fall Fest alongside at least two other solo acts, namely indie standout Jackson Reed and folk/jazz veteran Britta Wölfert (whose personal Facebook page confirmed the lineup.) Solid and diverse array of performers, so look for all three inside (outside?) of Scott Coffee Co. TOMORROW!

A special early start time of 4:00 PM is in effect for TOMORROW'S Fall Fest, and while I can't confirm when Tym's set will be, the event is advertised to end at 9:00 PM. This is n ALL AGES event with no announced cover charge, so if you're up for some seasonal coffee, local vendors, and live music, swing by Scott Coffee Co. TOMORROW, even if you're already shopping or just curious! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live! (FYI, he's not playing at La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing this weekend, that restaurant closed for the season after last weekend.)



Next up, here's a new "EP" from new local grindcore solo project Awokest's YouTube channel, as uploaded there two weeks ago. This appears to be one 10+ minute song rather than a traditional EP, and it has an incredibly long name to match (too long for the video's title!) It'd be easier to just call it "Screams of the Primordial Lord...", which saves 38 words. The music on display here is of the instrumental cyber-noise variety, with heavily processed vocals in the background. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but you can't say it's not original locally, so give Awokest's new song a listen!



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

• New local jazz/hip-hop quartet Bom Kronik have been added as a second opening act at the Faps concert at LopLops Lounge on Wednesday, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Local rap followers may have seen this band open for Naughty By Nature in July, and their lineup is comprised of vocalist Conika (who's still advertised with a solo set) alongside Honest Job's Mister Tahti on keyboard, Strange Coyotes bassist James Watterworth, and ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick. Eclectic and talented lineup, so look for some intriguing tunes from Bom Kronik before The Faps' noise-punk attack, and stay tuned for our preview!
• Hudson Street adult nightclub & occasional concert venue Studio 10 formally changed it's name to The Dime in June, following a two month period of renovations, as per it's Facebook group and radio advertising. The name change goes along with the venue's "new look" and "great vibes", though I believe The Dime was an informal nickname used by some regulars already. SMS readers will best know Studio 10 as the site for a few late-era Havadder concerts, and we'll let you know if live bands return to The Dime!
• If you've noticed a Facebook event page floating around advertising a Jackyl concert at The Machine Shop on December 14th, be advised that the show is not taking place in Sault Ste. Marie. The show is actually taking place in Flint, Michigan (4 hours south of here), where they also have a concert venue named The Machine Shop that long predates ours in that usage. Similar confusion arose regarding Devildriver's show in Flint in November. It'd be great to welcome Jackyl back to Sault Ontario, but alas, not yet!
• Following the brief advertising of J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party concerts at Soo Blaster, the Queen Street sports bar/arcade have announced their final Halloween events for the same days, via the Facebook event pages linked here and here. Friday's will be a dance party with live DJs, while Saturday's will feature rappers, including familiar names like the aforementioned Conika, Rick-E, and Kodex. I don't know whether these events are due to or the cause of J.D.'s concerts moving to The Algonquin Pub, but keep them in mind if you want some turntable mixes or hip hop for Halloween!
• Sykotyk Rampage have belatedly posted their last 31 studio albums for sale on their Reverbnation page, after originally going online as free streaming copies only. This includes everything from 2011's "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Intellect" to 2016's "Sanctuarium", joining their prior releases and their newest album "Live At The Paris Hilton" in having $9.99 or $10 sale copies. It's great to see the option finally available, so visit the above links to pick up these albums if you are so inclined to buy tons of original crash music! Yes, we could review these on the site down the line.
• Toystock is returning for a seventh annual installment on Sunday, November 25th! As per organizers Choose Maxx's Facebook page, the Christmas Cheer fundraiser concert will return to The Grand Gardens North for it's fourth straight year, with appearances from Santa Claus and Mr. Bon Soo planned alongside kids entertainment, plus another stacked musical lineup. Performers have not been announced yet, but the last 6 Toystocks have proudly featured "10 bands in 10 hours", and I'd be shocked if Bone Yard weren't involved, given that they've only missed one installment. Stay tuned for the lineup reveal when announced!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Faps), New Videos, And Much More!!

Before we begin this news post, I want to apologize for a missed concert, as Tym Morrison played a short notice concert at La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing on Sunday, which Tym only posted the Facebook event page for that afternoon. As such, we didn't hear about it until it was far too late to cover on the SMS. Profuse apologies, we'd have covered it had it even had a day's notice, but hopefully it was a solid concert! Now, we have some assorted recent updates, new videos from each side of the border, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Saskatchewan noise-punk duo The Faps will return to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert on Wednesday, October 3rd at LopLops Lounge! This will be The Faps' fourth local appearance, after headlining at The New A in 2014, before playing here twice last October, including one show at LopLops, so Blair and Skyler's brand of "post-gar(b)age-punk" is not foreign to Sault audiences. Expect another hard hitting night of minimalist noise rock originals from this entertaining live outfit in just over two weeks' time, whether you've seen them locally before or not! Local rapper Conika will open in a rare LopLops appearance, and while she may seem like an atypical choice to open for a punk headliner, Conika actually opened for The Faps in their 2014 show here, so this is nothing new, and she should put in a solid performance! No other openers have been announced at press time, but past Faps shows here have always had at least three bands, and like those concerts, this is a presentation of Six, Two, Oh..

This stop on The Faps' Grimelda Goes East Tour has a $5 cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and an advertised 9:00 PM start time. The Wednesday scheduling is unfortunate for many potential attendees with work or school in the morning, but if you can swing a LopLops trip on October 3rd, you'll get a solid night of post-punk action with some local rap for good measure, so visit the official Facebook event page for current details!

Next up, are you still wanting some details on Awokest, the mystery band playing TONIGHT'S Truth Of All Death concert at The New American Pub? Well, we know a little more now, as concert promoter Chase Wigmore plugged Awokest in his newest Facebook page posting, so what can be said on them now? Well, Chase said that they're a one-man grindcore band led by a musician with the stage name "Dick Jerkins" (I'll ignore the obvious innuendo there.) I can't confirm his identity otherwise, but that name is also used for his personal Facebook page and YouTube channel. On the latter, Dick posted a free EP named "The Tweakening", which features six (often short) songs with titles like "War Machine" and "The Great White Flail", among other more provocative names. While there's no public ties to that label, the music on display here is definitely Blood Shed-esque, but Awokest stand on their own with a bass-heavy, techno-tinged attack and black metal-styled vocals.

It'll be interesting to see how they do TONIGHT at The New A, and hopefully glean some more information on Awokest and/or Dick afterward, but give "The Tweakening" a listen below, and click here for more details on TONIGHT'S concert! (For the record, Awokest don't have a known public online page outside of YouTube, but if one surfaces, we would add them to our band links. Stay tuned in case they expand their online presence!)



Also today, here's some new videos from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's Facebook page, as live-streamed there yesterday morning! Aside from an intro from keyboardist Craig Harrison on the first video, these primarily feature guitarist Luke Bernard (who you may recognize from guest spots in a few Theatre of Night Facebook uploads back in May) alongside pre-recorded orchestral tracks, with Luke even playing his acoustic guitar on his lap in the second clip. While not heavy songs, they're well done for fans of Theatre of Night's classical side, and is Luke joining their Christmas tour? Give these clips a look above and below!



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:

• Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned's remaining 2018 concerts at the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos have all been cancelled, as per a post on the band's Facebook page yesterday. According to Banned, Kewadin told them that they are "going in a different direction", a reason that I honestly never liked, as it tells you precisely nothing. Regardless, only four publically announced E.U.P. Kewadin gigs (September 28th & 29th and December 14th-15th, all in the Soo) have to be removed from our concert calendar. This is disappointing, but hopefully Banned can be a part of the "different direction" down the line!
• J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party concerts (a.k.a. The Howling) have quietly been moved back to The Algonquin Pub in Sault Ontario, after original event advertising listed the shows as being held at Soo Blaster. A reason for the relocation wasn't announced, but given that the post-Coch's Halloween parties (2013 aside) have all been held on a floor of The Algonquin Hotel, this just makes things more familiar for long-time attendees. See above for more details on this year's parties, including a new event poster from Frightlight guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe!
• Local/Thompson hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith announced the track listing for his new solo album "Bridges" via this photo on his Facebook page on Thursday. The album will feature 10 songs, including all of the Manitoba-era original tracks he's publically shared or previewed (except "If Only You Could Hear Me"), as well as two newly revealed titles, namely "The Catalyst" and "Blue Highway". It sounds like things are going well on the mixing and editing front too, so keep tabs at the above links for continued updates on "Bridges"!

That's all for today, but stay tune for more news and updates on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The 3 Day Millionaires & Tym Morrison), Plus Faps Concert Videos!!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Before we begin this post, I wanted to acknowledge that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 played a short notice Halloween concert at The Inn Gastropub & Smokehouse in Paradise on Saturday night, but as Paradise is just past our coverage range of one hour from the Soo, I didn't rush it into a post. Hopefully their Paradise debut went well though, you don't hear of many shows out there! Now, here's some new videos and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

Sault Ontario hard rock solo singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Mark's Breakfast Plus at the Market Mall for a special mid-week matinee concert TOMORROW, with further gigs planned there on from Monday, November 13th through Wednesday the 15th! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S show, Tym only confirmed it via it's Facebook event page on Friday, while the mid-month triple run of gigs are currently advertised on SooToday's events calendar. Continuing his late-year increase of shows at the former Kackleberry's location at the west end mall, these new shows mean that Tym will have played three out of four Wednesdays at Mark's dating back to last week, while the shows in a couple of weeks mark his first Monday and Tuesday nighters there since last month. I don't know if a Gliss-esque weekly regular arrangement could be in the works, but don't miss Tym's new west end gigs at Mark's TOMORROW and/or in a couple of weeks!

And yes, we will touch on this month's string of Gliss Steak & Seafood shows in our weekend concert previews, likely coming Thursday morning. As usual for Tym's shows at Mark's, expect no age limit or cover charge for these 6:00 PM events taking place TOMORROW and from the 13th to 15th, but remember that this is a restaurant first. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's some shows with more advance notice, starting with a new show from local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires, who will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only on November 11th (one week from Saturday!) Apologies for the delay in this show making the site, it was announced earlier this month, but fell through the cracks. This special concert will see the guys perform as musical entertainment at a fundraiser event for the Community First Wild, an Atom Major A hockey team in the Soo Pee Wee Hockey League. Solid cause, it's always a good idea to support kids in their hockey careers and dreams, and hopefully this event is a big boost for the team as they continue their regular season! Admission is $10 for the fundraiser, which has an advertised 9:00 PM start time, and while I know Atom Major A players are kids, I would expect this is still a 19+ event. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss The 3 Day Millionares in action next weekend! 

We'll close today with some new videos from a surprising source, namely AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's Instagram page! While largely a personal use page, Boyd did share five videos there from last week's Faps concert at The New American Pub that he promoted with Six, Two, Oh., and while Instagram videos are limited to a minute or less, at least these give us a look at that show! Boyd filmed all three bands that night, including one video of new local acoustic solo project Slumshine (led by former Detroit frontman Brent Ellis) playing what appears to be an original song that may be named "Carry On". While a departure from Brent's past electric work as a singer and bassist, this has a good tone to it, and fans of folksier solo rock should enjoy what he has on offer, though this is admittedly a small sample! Three of Boyd's videos are of The Faps in action (including these videos linked here and here), so what should you know from the Saskatoon punk duo's set?

While these are also short samples, you get a good sense of The Faps' chaotic punk onslaught that suits their two-man lineup well, even with minimal clothing! Yes, both have something on in those other two clips, but just in case, I embedded the one below when a little more was being worn. Also, does the song below sound a little like "Guerrilla Radio" to anyone else? Check out Boyd's Faps videos above & below!

A post shared by Boyd Rendell (@boyd.rendell) on Oct 23, 2017 at 8:26pm PDT

Finally, here's Boyd's video of local extreme/death metal quartet Winkstinger from their opening set at The New A last week! Capturing another minute of brutal original action from the reunited band, this video is the only one of Boyd's from this show to get filters put it on it, turning it black and white with a little blurrier visuals. Not sure why, but the guys sound good, and Josh remains a firecracker on vocals, so give their new video from last week a look also, and kudos to Boyd for filming these!

WINKSTINGER

A post shared by Boyd Rendell (@boyd.rendell) on Oct 23, 2017 at 7:23pm PDT

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next, in all likelihood! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Incredible Woman), The Faps Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Here's another news post for your Saturday morning reading, so what's contained in this one? A few assorted recent notes, some new videos, and a special Monday night concert preview, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for early next month!

St. John's, Newfoundland post-punk quartet Incredible Woman will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 4th when they headline at LopLops Lounge! A unique band whose sound ranges from aggressive noise punk to indie and new-wave inspired melodies, these guys should deliver a fun set at LopLops in two weeks, in the second show of their Canadian tour next month, so keep this one mind! No opening bands have been announced at press time, and it's unclear if any will be added. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for Incredible Woman's local stop early next month, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a $5 cover charge is likely. This should be a solid concert for punk fans to take in, and is it wrong that I detect a Smiths influence on some of their originals? Don't miss out on all of the action as Incredible Woman hits LopLops on November 4th, and stay tuned for potential updates on this concert if they roll in!

Next up, here's our preview of a special post-weekend concert taking place THIS MONDAY NIGHT, as Saskatoon noise/punk duo The Faps will return to our area for a headlining concert at The New American Pub! An unusually quick encore, this show comes just under two weeks after Skyler & Blair opened for K-Man & The 45s here, but this will mark their first local headlining date since their 2014 stop at The New A. Whether you saw The Faps here before or not, they're worth a listen for a blast of minimalist noise, garage, math, and punk intensity, so don't bypass them on Monday if you can help it! Opening bands were quietly confirmed for this concert just over a week ago, and they will include extreme death metal quartet Winkstinger and Destroilet co-lead singer Brenton Ellis' Slumshine project, though the latter still has no public hints as to genre and sound yet online. Come out to The New A on Monday to hear Slumshine for yourself, plus some of Winkstinger's brutal original onslaught for good measure!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who also put on The Faps' two prior local gigs),  this 19+ concert has an early start time of 8:00 PM due to the Monday scheduling, and while the cover charge is listed at $5, a "pay what you can" model is also being advertised. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this stop on The Faps' Good Tour, and here they are live!



Also today, here's the latest from local hard rock band Halfway Loaded, who we have reverted to that name in our band links, as their announced name change to The Twin City Saints has had no public follow-through. If the name does publically change in the future to that or another name, we'll switch it back! After taking September off from public postings on their Facebook page, Halfway Loaded resurfaced with two new videos last week courtesy of guitarist Shane Biron, including this 10 second clip of him playing a pentatonic riff (it's really solid, albeit short!), but embedded below is a longer black & white video of him covering  Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". Shane and/or the band are "thinking of giving this one a go", and while I'm not a Bon Jovi fan, he plays this one well and with a good tone, even in monochrome! Give Shane's new videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more from Halfway Loaded when it rolls in!


 
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:

• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie is looking for production companies or people that can press physical CDs for smaller or local bands, preferably ones in the Sault Ste. Marie area. While one presumes this search is meant for The Bear Hunters' sophomore album "The Dead Testament', Mitch wasn't specific in the posting. If you want to help, message Mitch at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!
• In another Musicians Wanted group posting from Thursday, Obsession drummer Steve Porco  noted that he's looking for one or two guitarists (preferably one with vocal ability) for a new acoustic band that he's working on, with acts like Bob Seger, Collective Soul, and Kiss cited for covers. Steve has a female lead singer, bassist, and drummer already enlisted, and he doesn't want someone with an ego. No word on if this is an Obsession side project or entirely separate, but if you're interested, message Steve at this link!
• Today's ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk does not appear to be featuring music as a main component for the first time since year #1. While live music of some kind will take place at The Pita Pit mid-walk, the Facebook event page no longer lists music in the pre-walk activities, there's no advertised afterparty again, and the Pita Pit performer(s) have not been announced publically. Disappointing, but hopefully the walk is a hit as usual, and that the zombies get their fill of brains! For what it's worth, Sykotyk Rampage (who played the last 6 Zombie Walks) curiously haven't made a public statement since December of last year.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on The Sault Metal Scene over the coming days! Thanks everyone!