LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Public Animal), A Likely Inactive Band, And New Videos!!

In what might be our last post of the month, we have some recent news to touch on today, including new videos from some familiar faces, a band that we're moving to our inactive links, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you need to know!

Toronto hard rock quartet Public Animal will make their way north to our neck of the woods on Friday, June 27th for a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar! Though unfamiliar on the surface, some fans may remember seeing frontman Ian Blurton at LopLops Lounge a couple years ago with C'mon, and a similar talent level can be found with Public Animal, a hard/garage rock quartet with a distinct old school feel and solid trade-off vocals with keyboardist Caitlin Dacey, so they should find an audience on June 27th! As best as I can tell, the openers will be a reunion of dormant local punk supergroup Brad Example & The Role Models, who you may remember from opening for The Saigon Hookers at this venue twice in 2011, among some prior gigs. Fronted by Inner City Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell, this band had a rotating supporting cast, but their 2011 gigs both included Brad's longtime bandmate Dave Bahun and current Glitch giutarist Marco Pedalino, so might we see them back for this gig? Time will tell!

Apparently promoted by Brad (who's calling the show "Rock and Roll Mindwarp"), this 19+ show has a 10:00 PM start time, and there's a likely $5 cover charge in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an intriguing concert, especially for the classic heavy mix of Public Animal and the Role Models reunion, so keep it in mind for next month, and stay tuned for potential updates!

Next up, I've reluctantly decided to move a local metal band to our defunct Sault Ontario links, that being local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger. The band hasn't made a public statement since opening for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall exactly one year & one day ago, which itself is their only concert in the past 22 months, so it's not looking great for their active status. Succeeding the similar Operation: Killdozer upon their early 2010 launch, Winkstinger (featuring Soldiers of Misfortune and Issues alumni) became a popular sight at local concerts throughout the early 2010s, including 6 appearances at Roosevelt Hotel metal nights, sets at the first two Sewer Swampstravaganzas, and winning the Battle for the Blood in June 2012 to open for 3 Inches of Blood, while recording songs for an unreleased EP during that time. I'm not sure what exactly happened to Winkstinger, but their chaotic extreme metal sound was always a fun and welcomed presence on the local stage, and despite their increasingly sporadic dates by 2012, I always enjoyed seeing them in concert!

I hope I'm wrong on them no longer being active (we'll let you guys know if they re-emerge), but in the meantime, you can see guitarist Jesse Cook with both Jack Spades & The Elements, and best of luck to Alan, Jesse, Jason, Jonas, and all of their other former members in the future!

We'll close today with new videos, including some new solo guitar clips from former Bring The Fallen guitarist Andrew Chiarello! While largely inactive from local bands since Bring The Fallen's 2011 breakup (last year's reunion show aside), Andrew has recently re-emerged with a new YouTube channel to post some solo videos, so what should you know on these? One from two weeks ago is of him playing an instrumental shred piece named "RockBro", while the other video from earlier this week (embedded below) is his cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets". Both are shot at multiple camera angles with transitions that showcase his gear nicely, and his talent hasn't wavered since his band heyday! If anything, his guitar could be louder on the Metallica cover, but it's nice to see Andrew playing again, and hopefully there's more to come in some form, so check out his new videos above and below!



Finally for today, Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison and Alain Fletcher have recorded another acoustic cover for Alain's YouTube channel, as posted on Tuesday! This time, it's a cover of Slipknot's ballad "Snuff", and like before, it's well performed, but Cory's singing seems a bit slow and shaky. It's a nice teaser while the wait continues for Skeyes of Seven's live return, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news shortly! Thanks everyone!

A New-Ish Local Band, A New Album Release, And New Videos!!

Before we preview this weekend's metal & hard rock concerts tomorrow, we have a stacked new news post today featuring news on a recent local hard rock CD release, a new cover from talented local hard rock musicians, and a new preview video, but first, here's info on our newest addition to our band links, so here's what you need to know!

New-ish local grindcore/experimental metal duo This Is Your Band On Drugs finally have a Facebook page, so now we can add them to our local band links! Launched as early as last June via a Sudbury busking video (though they've only began a major local concert presence this month), their lineup includes Strange Coyotes frontman and creative local solo musician Chase Wigmore on vocals & guitar alongside Nick Burns on lead vocals, with programmed drums for live concerts. If you missed them at the Fuck The Facts show, the Swampstravaganza, or yesterday at The Moose Lodge, never fear, as T.I.Y.B.O.D. are now offering a free "album" to download from Google Drive at this link! The download features 14 original songs (though curiously not "Arthurs Everywhere") and the artwork seen on your right, the songs don't have the clearest recording quality, and vocals are very muffled, but their unique grind blend comes through even still! Check everything out above and via the band's YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more updates!

Next up, we have a new paid album release to plug, as Haggith drummer Mike Haggith quietly released his 48th solo album "A Place Of Our Own" this past Saturday to coincide with his solo set at the Sewer Swampstravaganza! CD copies sold there cost $5, and will be on store shelves (presumably including The Rad Zone) within the next week. The BandCamp digital copy also went up later on Monday, though online, it's available on a "name your price" model, so it can be free if you choose, but pay for it to support Mike's music work! Possibly most surprising to note for fans of Mike's solo project is that there were no song or title changes from the originally announced track listing, though Mike told me in conversation that it was due to the conceptual nature of this release. In terms of when to expect a review of this album, I'm targeting next month for it, as this month is reserved for Jack Spades' EP, and for clarity's sake, note that I chose "A Place Of Our Own" over Mike's last unreviewed album "The Present Din" as it's heavier.

I won't comment too much on my thoughts of this new album until the review, but buy it at the above links to enjoy Mike's new solo material, and stay tuned for updates on his next solo work as it rolls in!

We'll close today's post with new videos, including this cool new cover of Alice In Chains' "Nutshell" by Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison & Alain Fletcher! Posted onto Al's YouTube channel on Monday, this may have been a partial result of their well recieved acoustic set at Medi-Fest in March, but it's just nice to hear new media of these guys, especially as Skeyes of Seven haven't played live in over a year. This is a well done cover, though it does feel a bit slowed down compared to the original. Solid rendition, so check it out below, and hopefully we get some new updates from Skeyes of Seven soon also!



Finally for today, Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night are featured in a unique (and short) preview video for their upcoming studio work, as posted on keyboardist Craig Harrison'sYouTube channel yesterday. The video most notably features a brief stop motion animation clip of a weird looking creature playing guitar and giving the devil horns, before transitioning to close up photos of band members, and closing with credits. Sort of cryptic, but I wonder if this will be expanded on in future projects? In any event, check out this new clip below, and stay tuned for much more from their newly updated website!



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

Lots Of Assorted News And Notes!!

Let's kick off August in a positive way with a bunch of assorted news and notes from the last little while, including new members of a new local band, a local musician's entry in a major contest, a newly revamped Facebook group for area musicians, and some Woods of Ypres related updates, so without any further adieu, let's get this post going!

New Sault Michigan metal band NoXcape (formerly MK-Ultra) have officially announced the additions of Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl and former Absolute drummer Justin Lawless to the band, rounding out their full five-piece lineup. The news was quietly broken on their Facebook page yesterday. Joey's a well known guitarist from his work in bands like Krosswalk, Shift, Wild Fate, and Kickback (plus the Guitar Studio rock camp), and it's great to see him back in a local hard rock band! Justin rejoins his former Absolute bandmates Ben Huyck and Bill Spence in NoXcape, as I had been speculating since they hinted on old MK-Ultra pages that their new drummer was named Justin. Nice to see them back together, they had very nice chemistry in Absolute! However, NoXcape are definitely a different animal than Absolute, with an arsenal of original material with a nu metal influence already raring to go for their debut show at Dan's Place in Rudyard this coming weekend! Should be interesting to see how NoXcape sound this weekend, and we'll have much more from them as we hear updates, so stay tuned for more!

Next up, have you been noticing a lot of posts, statuses, and replies on your Facebook walls relating to a Facebook group called "Musicians Wanted (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)"? This has actually been around since March 2009 when (I believe) Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher started it, but just in the past day, former Wishbone guitarist Jeremy Salatuk has been spearheading a revival of the group, complete with an upgrade to the new Facebook group format & mass invites to new members, and it's sure gaining steam! The group's aim, as it was in 2009, is to help musicians either looking for bands or new band members to connect and help make connections to that end. Since the relaunch, I'm seeing a lot of good activity from local musicians of all genres looking to get back in the swing of the local scene (including some hard rock and metal artists), and if you're in a similar boat, you should definitely join and see what you can do! Musicians in town who want to gig and play live should have those opportunities, and hopefully this group's second wind will help that become a reality! Join (or request to join) at the above links!

(Also, the group gave me a bit of news relating to Caveman Morrison, as frontman Tym Morrison confirmed in a post there that the band are basically on hold until the winter due to Tym's lengthy solo acoustic schedule. I expected we'd see them sparingly or not at all until later this year due to all the Saturday bookings, but it's nice to see some public word on that! However, if you're craving electric gigs with Tym Morrison, go see the Hollow reunion this weekend!)

Now, here's a cool note on a local artist's entry in a new music contest! We just mentioned Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher above, but he has a neat recent update to share, as he's entered a contest to be featured on a Staind song! In cooperation with Indaba Music, Staind are looking for guitarists to send in their own guitar solos for the solo section on the multi-platinum Massachussets hard rock band's new song "Not Again" from their upcoming self-titled album! One lucky (and talented) winner will have their solo featured on the iTunes deluxe version of their new album, and will also win a Mike Mushok signature guitar, a $1,000 Guitar Center gift card, an autographed copy of the new Staind album, and a one month Tab-Pro subscription to Ultimate-Guitar.com! 10 runners up from the 20 most viewed submissions will win an autographed CD as well. Alain's entered under the handle "Dude705" to try and win the contest, and you can hear his solo at this locaton! Sounds good, it fits with the song's pacing, and it'd be awesome to see him win! Now, the winner is picked by judges, not fan votes, but give his submission lots of listens so he can make the top 20! Unfortunately, we can't see a ranking of the top solos, so give him lots of views, cause you never know! Check his solo out (or register yourself?!) at the above links, and his solo starts about 25 seconds into the clip. Best of luck, Al!

And finally for today, here's the latest from local doom metal band Woods of Ypres! Firstly, the band has finally publically ackowledged the Madden brothers' departure, with both having been quietly removed from their Facebook page's lineup. No public statement has been made concerning their exit, but knowing from past trends, I didn't expect one, and we likely won't hear more until the band announces their replacements. Positive news now, as George Washburn from the website Rock Music Critic posted a review of "Woods IV: The Green Album" onto said website this past Wednesday! He calls it "epic in scope" with lush and thick music, but compares listening to the whole album with eating too much candy: It's very good, but it can be too much after a while. Very positive review though, click here to check it out! And finally, frontman David Gold has posted an interesting sample of a remix of the band's "Woods 4.5" song "You Were The Light" onto his YouTube channel, as done by guitarist Joel Violette! It's just a 79 second clip, but it shows a spacier techno vibe than on the original, and it's an interesting listen! David's also open to fan remixes, so if you're at all interested in making your own remix of the song, e-mail davidypres@gmail.com for the master files. This could be cool if it picks up steam, but check out the sample of Joel's "You Were The Light" remix below! Hopefully the full copy leaks soon!



That's all for now, but if I don't have a new news post later tonight, our next post will be this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" feature post, so definitely look for that tomorrow! Thanks everyone!