Our Recap Of Brad Example's Afterparty Episode With Dustin Jones & Mikey Hawdon!!

As some readers may be aware, former Room 206 bassist/Role Models frontman bassist Brad "Example" Lacell has been hosting his own live-streamed interview/performance series on his YouTube channel named The Afterparty since 2024, where he jams and talks with musicians remotely from his current Atikokan homebase. Brad is among the local musicians who has gotten involved in the "DIY independent musician networking" community and has made friends and connections from far flung locales (some you'll recognize from Mike Haggith interviews and appearances), but Brad has done episodes with local talent before, like Frank Deresti and Jay Case. Brad's rootsier, country-inflected solo material largely doesn't cross our radar on its own, so that has kept me from covering Afterparty episodes in the past, but that changes today, as 3/4ths of The Inner City Surfers reunited last week!

This unites Brad with singer/guitarist Dustin Jones and drummer Mikey Hawdon (alas, no Dave) for a 58 minute acoustic jam, and despite the AI cover image, they were filmed remotely and not around a campfire with a bear in the lake behind them. In fact, Mikey & Dustin were together at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, so things in familiar in that respect! The episode starts with Brad playing the late-era Surfers original "Excess Express", followed by "Been Done" from their debut self-titled "blue album". Brad hands things off to his old bandmates next, with Dustin starting with a solo rendition of "Screwed" from "Laughing On The Outside" (later re-recorded for their self-titled "black album"). After some light conversation, including pondering why Brad wasn't wearing a shirt, Mikey performs his first song, and rather than do a Surfers cut, he instead covered Sloppy Seconds' "Human Waste".

Remember, Mikey was the Inner City Surfers' drummer, though him switching instruments with Dustin was a common occurrence live. Afterwards, Brad returns for his first covers of the live-stream, specifically Sebadoh's "Rebound" and John Prine's "Souvenirs" (Brad is a massive John Prine fan and it shows in his solo music). We return to the Soo for the next songs, and in a surprise, the aforementioned Frank Deresti (of Lake Effect fame) joins in on mandolin for a rendition of "Father Time" from Dustin's inactive solo project Jonesy Land, which Frank collaborated with Dustin on in the first place. Mikey takes the spotlight next for "Clouds Float By", which is a more recent solo composition of his. The second half of the episode begins with Brad playing two more Surfers originals, including "Get High" from "Laughing On The Outside" and "Rollin'" from their oft-forgotten third album "Time To Travel On".

Dustin (and Frank) return to the forefront next for Dustin's first outside cover of the episode, namely The Commodores' "Easy", and it's definitely not the Faith No More cover given the presence of the second verse here. Mikey's next song actually is a collaboration with both Dustin and Frank, so finally, we can technically say that Dos Amigos played here, albeit with guest mandolin! This song was "Whole New Day", a song of Brad's from The Surfers' "Laughing On The Outside", and if you like that particular album, you'll like that Brad plays "TV" from it when he begins his last chunk of the stream! Brad's last song of the episode is "Backwards", one of the first songs that he and Dustin wrote for the "blue album". The episode closes with Mikey & Dustin (with Frank hopping back in midway through) covering Poison's deep cut "Look But You Can't Touch", followed by thank yous.

Not an interview series here, just an unplugged reunion of most of one of the Soo's biggest punk bands, and fans will like that eight of their songs were tackled here, albeit nothing that 100% originated on the "black album". While mostly an even split between the Soo and Atikokan, I would have liked to have seen Mikey involved a little more, as he only performed on four songs, but Dos Amigos proper did emerge in the back half! There were occasional flubs, and I do miss Brad's beard, but if you love The Inner City Surfers, check out this fun and loose Afterparty episode below, and see much more from Brad and various guests at this link! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2024 Fallout & Videos (Part 2!!)

A few days after our first Rotaryfest recap post, here's our second post featuring videos and news coverage from the Sault's Summer Festival! For the known public videos and articles about Stage 1 on Thursday and Mike Haggith's Friday set, click here for our initial post. The Sault Star was present for Friday bands on both Stages 1 and 2 at Clergue Park, and while the photographer wasn't credited, you can see shots from The Luxury and The Rhythm Sections's Stage 1 sets, plus That There Blues Band's set on Stage 2 at this link. The next known public videos from the Friday bands on Stage 1 come from the Rotaryfest debut of local classic rock duo Frankly Speaking, but this wasn't just a normal set of theirs. Festival promotion never even addressed them under the Frankly Speaking name, rather as "Frank & Frank" or "Frankeeproductions", presumably because this was their special themed set known as "Rock On To The Sound Of Change".

In this performance (which is also done for other community events), singer/guitarist Frank Gioia and keyboardist/accordionist Frank Greco paid tribute to rock n' roll history while emphasizing the original musicians' social impact. A 7 minute video featuring highlights of Frankly Speaking's set was shared to the Frankeeproductions YouTube channel, capturing portions of 13 songs (likely every one played that day), but as each clip only runs for an average of 33 seconds, it'd be a lot of text trying to link to each individual portion when you can easily scan the video timeline on YouTube and see the post-production titles thusly. The set did end with two Elton John and Beatles covers each, while hard rock fans will want to see how Frank & Frank handled Rush's "Closer To The Heart" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". Note that there are some typos in the titles, like how the Coldplay song is labelled "Ticking Clocks" (it's just called "Clocks").

I wouldn't have put this video in such a washed out post-production filter, but I gather that the Franks were aiming to have the highlight video look old fashioned given the themes. These minimalist covers are performed with zest and enthusiasm, and the stationary camera is zoomed in tight on the guys so we get a good side view of Frankly Speaking in action, though if you like seeing more of the stage/audience, this may not be ideal for you. Strong stuff, even if I'd rather see full songs in full colour, so check out "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" below!

Friday's other known public videos are of new local funk/pop rock cover quintet The Rhythm Junction, who are basically the side project of Stage 2 band The Eight Seventies, only with Jason Gasparetto swapped out for singer Marisa Valois-Christie and her brother Jacob Valois (as also seen on Stage 2 with his solo jazz band). On their Facebook page, The Rhythm Junction uploaded a video of them covering Blondie's "Call Me", while videos filmed by attendee Aidan Valois (no doubt family) of them covering Haddaway's "What Is Love?" and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" were also shared there. Alas, all three are vertical, but The Rhythm Junction are talented, and Marisa's smooth voice carries them well, so give them a watch above, and see more from them on Facebook! Now, we'll head to the final day's music on Saturday, July 20th, so what is public from then?

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Stage 1 debut set did get some official video footage courtesy of their Facebook page, where you can see their set-ending cover of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle"! Two problems though: It's a "Reel", so I can't embed it here, and it's one of those "Reels", where a normal landscape horizontal video is pillarboxed into the vertical dimensions, rather than cropped to fit, so it's tiny. It's a strong performance with good energy from Jess, but I may never understand why so many Facebook users intentionally limit their videos by making them "Reels". Later on the Saturday program, local country band The Way Backs (featuring two Rhythm Junction members in their ranks) performed on Stage 1, and while not a formal live video, you can see photos from their set in this Facebook upload! It's set to The Highwaymen's "Live Forever", and it does look like everyone had a good time!

Lastly for this post, Sound Of Sting frontman Mike Ferfolia was interviewed by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly in advance of the Toronto-based Police/Sting tribute band's featured Saturday night set, and it's a good interview that explores his musical career and Sting's influence on him, so read the whole thing at this link! Unless belated new media comes out, our last Stage 1 content will be of the final band on Saturday night (which wasn't Sound Of Sting), and we do have some Stage 2 videos and such to look at also, so stay tuned for all of that next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Re:Born), Plus More Assorted News & Notes!!

Let's tackle some more overdue news and notes in tonight's post, mostly reflecting a lot of updates from a prominent heavier local band, but we have some assorted notes to round things out. Here's what you should know!

In an extended Facebook page posting on Tuesday, local power rock quartet Re:Born announced a number of upcoming concerts in conjunction with some big band news, so what can be said therein? Firstly, their next concert will take place on Saturday, June 29th (one week from today) when they headline at The Rockstar Bar, but there's an ulterior motive here. The somewhat short notice gig will serve as a send-off for guitarist Blair Burch's son Cory, who is moving out of province next month, ending his lengthy tenure as a roadie, filmer, doorman, and overall supporter of Re:Born, Project 421, and their respective concerts. Cory's not a musician (that I'm aware of), but he's a good guy and very encouraging and helpful at concerts, even if his dad's not playing, and this is a nice way to throw one more big bash before he heads west, so hopefully there's a good turnout next week! Re:Born will not be the only band on the 29th, as at least two mystery local bands will be hitting the stage as well, now that they've been shaken from the tree.

No public word on their identities as of yet (we'll let you know if something is said), but the Facebook event page does strongly hint that jamming and a looser, more casual atmosphere will be present, especially as they're calling this "a party that happens to have a stage." Given the occasion, this concert has no cover, but a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit remain in effect. Hopefully this bash can help give Cory the best possible send-off, so visit the above links for more on this show in particular!

Next up, here's another new Rockstar Bar show for Re:Born this summer, as they'll be back at this venue on Saturday, July 20th in honour of drummer Brandan Glew's birthday! This looks to be more of a traditional concert than next week's party, but hopefully there's a great turnout again to help give Brandan a great night for the occasion! This show notably takes place on the last night of Rotaryfest, so if you find that day's music lineup at Clergue Park to be lacking for hard rock and punk acts, this show may help remedy that. In fact, two bands that played Stage 2 last year (alt-punk trio A Dire Setback & funk/hard rock quartet The Elements) will play support on the 20th, so cast your gaze to The Algonquin Hotel to see them next month instead! Notably, this is A Dire Setback's first announced concert set of 2019, following the completion of their CD recording sessions, and it's great to see them back at last, though for full disclosure, A.D.S. themselves have not confirmed this date publically at press time.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this concert, presumably also having a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit, though it doesn't have a Facebook event page (yet?) This should be another fun concert as we get deeper into the summer season, so visit the above links for full details on this event!

One more show was announced in the above post (an apparent set as part of the Loud & Proud concert at The Bushplane Museum on July 21st during this year's Pridefest), but given that organizers have not publically announced details at press time, I will defer a write-up here until more comes out beyond Re:Born's involvement. The other breaking news from Re:Born's Facebook page earlier this week is that they have officially parted ways with guitarist Frank McGillivray. Back in November, the band announced that Frank would be taking a hiatus from the band until April due to work commitments out of town, but he ended up more or less moving there permanently, hence the belated confirmation of his departure. After being a member of Project 421 throughout their run, Frank & Blair launched Re:Born last year, with Frank playing at their first three concerts, though aside from early jam videos with new singer Elly McWatters, he never played a public show with the current lineup before he headed north.

If there are plans to replace Frank in Re:Born, they weren't stated on Facebook, but remember that they've been playing as a four-piece all year without the need for a fill-in guitarist. It's a shame to see Frank leave, as he is a kind person and a very strong musician, and he was always good to discuss politics and philosophy outside of a band setting. Of course, we wish him the best, and hopefully we'll see him on stage again down the line!

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

• After two years in the old Grooves Music building at 540 Ashmun Street, Sault Michigan music store Crooked Music is packing it's bags... for 539 Ashmun Street, taking up residence in a spot beside Austin Oak Tobacco & Cigar starting in August. Whether the move across the road is due to increased space, better rent, or another factor isn't clear, but the "Abbey Road" parody image on their Facebook page is clever! Hopefully this move is the best move for all parties, and luckily, customers won't have to go far for the new Crooked Music locale in a couple of months!
• Remember how Kewadin Casino was going to have a battle of the bands in Sault Ste. Marie last week to find an opener for the Great White concert in Manistique on July 27th, with entry open to any U.P. bands local to their five casinos? Well, the battle was cancelled outright on June 12th, citing a "lack of participation" as the reason. No word on how they'll pick an opener now, but Manistique is outside of our coverage range anyway. Very disappointing, but maybe a battle this ambitious was too complicated for it's own good?
• Sault Ontario acoustic hard rock duo Tattoos & Scars are looking for a second guitar player to join the group, who they describe as "a southern rock/rock band." We haven't heard a whole lot from Tattoos & Scars (or Halfway Loaded) as of late, but maybe finding a new guitarist to join Justin & Shane will help speed things along? There is some interest, but if you'd like more information, message Tattoos & Scars above or via their Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!

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

A New Local Punk Band, Project 421 Updates, And Much More!!

Today's news post is full of shorter recent items, but we also have some details on what's been up with a popular local band recently, and first, here's a new local hardcore punk band to add to our band links, and they are called Programmed To Fail! Note that they spelled it "Programed" with one M, no word yet on if that's intentional. This is actually the band who formerly went as The Transjenners (presumably referencing Caitlyn Jenner), and who had recently deactivated their Facebook page for unannounced reasons, but now it's back with the new, less-topical name. As of this writing, we don't know a lot about Programmed To Fail (including who all is in the band), but they do have a Soundcloud page under their original name that has a short original song named "We Push Back". Running for just 74 seconds, it has the requisite intensity, but it's staticy, ends abruptly, and has very loud vocals. I'm curious to hear more from Programmed To Fail though, so check them out above!

Next up, here's the latest from local classic metal quintet Project 421, who clarified their recent inactivity and concert removals via their Facebook page two weeks ago (our apologies for the delay, I only saw the personal Facebook posting about this at the time.) In a nutshell, guitarist Frank McGillivray's daughter Casey has been brought to the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto due to abdominal tumours, and while she has undergone surgery, they were awaiting further details on her prognosis as of February 7th. As a result, the band is hoping to host a benefit show (date & venue unclear) for Frank's family in order to cover medical costs, and are looking for bands and a P.A. system for said event, though the posting notes that Project 421 themselves likely won't be playing if it happens. This is definitely sad news, but our best wishes and thoughts are with Casey, the McGillivray family, and all affected by this, and hopefully she gets well soon!

And if you're interested in helping out towards the proposed benefit concert, message guitarist Blair Burch at this link for details! Hopefully we see Project 421 back on stage when the time is right, but family comes first, and if you want your fix in the meantime, remember that Curtis, Daniel, and Chris are also in Eclipse! Stay tuned for more when it's announced!

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

• Remember how the Facebook event page for last night's Like A Pisces Nirvana tribute concert at The Gore Street Cafe replaced the individual performer names with the monikers "Brash Gash" & "Insoosticide"? Well, those weren't just stage names, as they were actually (one-off?) bands that played the event alongside The Pixo Control, presumably with some of the same performers that were previously listed, with a shared photo showing Brash Gash's frontman wearing an elaborate fish mask. Very intriguing, we'll have to see if these bands prove to be more than one-offs!
• Newer local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse are the fourth publically confirmed band for next month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands (as per the Facebook event page), joining The Din, K.I.C.K., and Stereo North on the bill! Eclipse are also the first band confirmed to be playing next month's Speak Easy Battle, but can members improve on their performances in last year's battles with The Din, Haggith, and Project 421 come next month? Stay tuned for much more on both events!
• Speaking of Haggith, the defunct local grunge/hard rock quartet revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they're giving fans the chance to bring the band back for a reunion concert (date and venue undetermined), but only if they get 500 shares/likes on the aforementioned post by May 10th. If this campaign gets that far, the 475th person to share or like the post will win a gift package of band merchandise. It'd be nice to get full closure to their run, so visit the above links to help support the reunion campaign!
• Local drummer John Ethier is looking to jam some "fast punk" with other local musicians. There's some early interest, but if you'd like more details, message John at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this past Monday!
• Local classic/hard rock quartet Mourning Wood's special evening show at Cocina Del Diablo this past Thursday (as "Jukebox") was held without guitarist Steven Flint for unannounced reasons, as per personal Facebook postings by band members. Hopefully "Jukebox" had a great show despite Steven's absence! Also, just to clarify, last night's New American Pub gig was apparently an 8:00 PM show (not 6:00 PM, but still unusually early.)
• The original crash band (Sykotyk Rampage) have posted their newest free "album" onto their Reverbnation page! Entitled "Messa-Chords", it was released last week, is considered their 56th album (and first of six this year), and is an instrumental release with all song titles starting with the letter B and consisting of four words, with all but two having at least two words starting with B. It's up to their usual creative standards, so give it a listen at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as this week progresses! Thanks everyone!

Bushplane Musical Madness II Review!!

As we wind down a stacked weekend of concerts in the Sault area (with Shinedown & Rotaryfest fallout to come), let's keep things rolling with our review of Saturday night's Bushplane Musical Madness II event! Apologies for the delay, but the videos I shot took forever to upload. Before we get to the bands, here's a bit of a look at the layout and setup for the evening. The performances were in the main "museum" hangar area of the Bushplane Museum, and compared to the first Bushplane Musical Madness event in November, the stage looked better and more professional (the lighting helped.) Also, the stage was now set up near the concessions building, flanked by actual bushplanes on exhibit, rather than it's placement on the wall on the other side of the museum from last year, so it was much more interesting visually and looked more like it was in the advertised venue in pictures. I also liked how the hangar doors were open to allow for mingling on the waterfront, and it added a nice view and ambiance that you don't get often at heavier shows! Note however that the draws and raffles from November did not return, the only sold merchandise (that I could tell) were copies of Haggith's "Deuce" album, and the size of this location (though impressive for concerts) did detract a bit in terms of the audience level, but being counter-booked against Rotaryfest, you'd have to expect that somewhat.

After a slight delay, Bushplane Musical Madness II kicked off with local solo musician James Watterworth playing a solo set, which I'll concede not knowing much on going into the show. All I knew is that I last saw him live winning a battle of the bands with Blackwater in 2010, and that he'd do slap bass solos. We did get that, but much of his set was based around solo vocal/guitar performances (including covers of The Delusionaires), with only a handful of bass songs at the end. Regardless of instrument, he's clearly a talented musician, with a solid rock/clean singing voice, and his bass skills are as good as advertised! What struck me about James' set was his constant optimism and cheery nature (he was definitely happy to be there) and the sort of avant-garde nature of some originals, complete with amusing lyrics and Mike Patton-esque tics. I definitely think James should get a full band going, as some of his songs are asking for a full band to flesh them out, but his set left a positive impression on Saturday, and I'm eager to hear more at Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up this Friday!

Next up was local jam/alternative rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din in their public concert debut, but if you saw their private Goulais Mission gig over Canada Day weekend, their set will be familiar, as they essentially repeated the same songs, including "Analog Palace", "Lay My Body Down To Rest", and "Limb Coast". This was my first time seeing Mike Haggith front a live band for a full concert, and he had a good stage presence and used his voice well for the material, though I'd like to see more adaptations of his best original material in a live setting. Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton fit well on bass and drums, and this looser jam/acid feel does add a unique element to their set, but they could be a bit more energetic (maybe they were saving up for the Haggith set that night.) At the end of their set, the guys called on fellow Paperclip Productions artist Frank McGillvray (who manned the camera for official concert footage that night) to play three songs in a surprise mini-set, with the same performers backing him (aside from Mike & Daniel swapping roles), so how did Frank do for the first time I've seen him live?

He's a skilled guitarist and had good chemistry with Mike and The Din, giving more of a classic rock sound with heavier influences to the three songs they played (including one instrumental), and his voice had a determined and carefully timed effect that seemed to fit what he was playing! I don't think Frank has any online pages for his music yet (any past references I've seen were from Paperclip Productions posts), but I'm curious to hear/see more of what he can do!

Third on the bill was local punk trio The Northern Tragedy (replacing Redundant) in the first time I've seen them since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, and they've definitely improved their all-around game since then! Musically, their originals (like "Excuse My Choices" & "Dragon Drums") flowed well and shown solid all around talent, with Terrence Gomes' energy and vocals giving a good punk vibe to their set, and unlike at the battle, the guys were outwardly showing some emotion, seeming like they wanted to be playing their songs. Mike Ivany and Corry Rideout still need to loosen up a bit and not look down for long stretches, but they're making the right steps, and they're getting better at every aspect! Straight punk bands haven't been overly prominent locally in recent years, but if The Northern Tragedy keep on the up & up, they can help change that, and I hope they can find long success that some of Terrence's older bands didn't hit!

(Also, if anything shockingly different or bizarre happened during The Northern Tragedy's last couple of songs, I missed it due to my brief detour to the Second Stage to see Sailor's Tongue and get their CD. For my thoughts on what I saw of their set, check the post below this one!)

The second half of the concert kicked off with Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings, in perhaps their last show as a quartet before auditioning for a permanent bassist, and they put in an entertaining mix of covers and originals for the gathered fans! Following their all-covers turn at Rotaryfest, originals like "Into The Fray" and "Beaten Down" were welcomed back along with renditions of System of a Down, Rage Against The Machine, and Collective Soul songs (among others), and though their talents were clear as day, Mike Gaetano's vocals were somewhat hard to hear (especially when singing higher notes), and their cover of "Aerials" had a lot of lyrical mix-ups. Steven Flint was on fire on guitar though, and Mitch Sirie's bass work went off without a hitch, though I was hoping to hear more originals than we got. Very good set of hard rock action, and stay tuned for updates from The Suicide Kings' next plans as they come in!

Second last on the evening was local alternative/grunge quartet Haggith, who pumped out a well recieved set of fan favourite songs for their loyal following in attendance! There were some differences though, as Kristi-Lee Marshall (who provided backing vocals at their last few dates) did not do the same on Saturday, and frontman Curtis McKenzie largely stuck to only vocals save for a few acoustic guitar parts. Their set was familiar however, with tracks like "Clifton Hill" and "Anthem" joined by some fun covers (including Jimi Hendrix and Cheap Trick classics), and the guys were definitely feeling the energy and gave back in kind, playing with a carefree attitude and some clear intensity when called on! Though the absence of his guitar work was disappointing, Curtis' singing was very strong, and the rest of the guys were consistently good, with Caleb Cachagee's bass work showing some impressive qualities! The guys were also joined by guest guitarist Rainey Vincent on a song late, and though he fit well, I'd need to hear more of his work before judging his skills.

You know a band does well when an encore ("Rage Train") is required, and Haggith delivered a fun aggressive set that we should get a reprise of at The Oddfellows Hall on Friday, so be there to check it out, and stay tuned for more from their camp as it rolls in!

Finally, the headliners of Bushplane Musical Madness II (again) were the original crash band themselves, Sykotyk Rampage! Their first concert in three months saw them whip out a mix of old standards and newer songs, with "Sicked", "Lowest of the Low", and "Bucket of Ham" seeming to draw a lot of enthusiasm and pent up energy from the remaining fans, including on-stage partying, moshing, and even some interpretive dance! Muscially, Sykotyk Rampage were on form from their other recent gigs, though I'll give some extra notice to bassist Tony Briglio for adding a gritty metal edge to their backing vocals and stage setup since joining last summer! Guitarist Dirk Becker also had a wild spell for three mid-set songs, dropping the guitar to focus on an triptych of crash metal originals, including breaking out the baseball bat to use on their monkey mascot George, which led to some continued "monkey baseball" games! As before, you can't easily judge Sykotyk Rampage against other bands just because of their style and how they record, but I like them, they clearly had fun, and the fans had a ball!

Overall, while this show was very long and rough on my feet, the music was very entertaining wall to wall, and the atmosphere was great! It's just a shame that the attendance wasn't better, but when you're booked against Rotaryfest (let alone the last day), I can understand the crowd situation. Hopefully a lot of money was raised for the musem though, and it'd be nice if this became annual as an official "Third Stage" for alternative, punk, and metal acts, but who knows what will happen. I did get a bunch of photos (the airplanes and environment let me be creative), so click here to check them out or visit our Facebook page! As for videos, I got one of most of the performers, so here's James Watterworth playing his bass original "Sneeze", Mike Haggith and The Din playing Mike's solo song "The Ballad of K2/K3", Frank McGillvray and Haggith playing an untitled instrumental, The Suicide Kings playing a cover medley of The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, and Finger Eleven hits, Haggith playing their non-album original "Public Enemy", and Sykotyk Rampage playing "Sweet Young Thing"!













That's all for now, but I fully expect a new news post today, as with expected Rotaryfest and Shinedown fallout looming, I don't wanna fall behind any more than I already am. It'll definitely have a preview of TOMORROW'S Resignators/Side FX show at The Rosie, but anything else is up in the air as of this writing (and yes, that means our YouTube Channel Profile on David Gold's channel is being postponed to tomorrow, but don't worry, it's packed!) Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for what I expect to be a busy stretch!

A Band Name Change, A Possible New Show, And Lots More News!!

Before we get to today's previously scheduled local metal stories, I wanted to take a second to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sault Star reporter Frank Dobrovnik, who suddenly passed away just recently while vacationing in Italy with his wife. Frank had been a well respected writer & reporter for The Sault Star since 1998, and regular SMS readers may remember us featuring articles he has written surrounding certain major Essar Centre concerts, along with the Kiss concert campaign and aftermath, although his body of work stretches far beyond just those topics. I never met Frank, but I've been a fan of his writing style & articles for some time now, and this is completely shocking news to hear, especially for his young children and his own young age. Click here to read Frank Rupnik's tribute article from the paper, and local news sites should keep you guys posted on arrangements and donations to the family as they are made public. R.I.P. Frank!

Now, we have some more positive news to share on this rainy Tuesday, including some new songs, a band looking to play here, and kicking things off today, a local death metal band has changed their name! Yesterday afternoon, Bring The Misery officially changed their name to Unleash The Blackened Sky, after just two shows under their old name. With the name change, their Facebook page's link is different too, so we've updated our band links to reflect the change as well. No reason was publically given for the name change, though I imagine it's partly due to Dan Souliere's departure, as the "band merger" style of the old name (Bring The Fallen + State of Misery) doesn't have the same meaning when only one BTF member is left in the current lineup. Plus, the new name is more original, and it sounds very metal, so hopefully it sticks! Curiously though, their page still doesn't mention Daeson Lesage as their new rhythm guitarist, you think that would be updated by now. Stay tuned to the SMS for when we hear about Unleash The Blackened Sky's next shows!

Next up, there's another band looking for a local booking, so here's what you should know! I got an e-mail yesterday from Chris Woodford of the Toronto metal band Titan (not to be confused with Titans Eve), and he's looking for a local booking this summer! The band, who play sort of a mix of sludge and hardcore metal, are hoping to play a local concert on August 5th, between their Toronto & Thunder Bay shows on the surrounding days, and are open to playing anywhere that will book them! Dismembertainment can't do the show due to prior engagements that day, so Chris asked me if I could promote their search on the SMS, and I happily obliged! Titan are inspired by bands like Converge and Neurosis, and they have a nice slow and heavy sound with lots of aggression and intensity to get some moshpits going! It'd be cool to see Titan here on August 5th, so if any of you guys are interested in booking, helping book, or playing with Titan for a show that night, give the band a shout at their MySpace page linked above or at titanslays@gmail.com! Remember, if you wanna see Titan here, consider messaging them, they'd love to play here, someone just needs to extend an olive branch to start the process!

Now to some new updates from new local metal band AlterWhite! The band has uploaded two new demo covers onto their Facebook page (and their brand new YouTube channel), which may seem a bit odd when you think of metal covers. One is a cover of Creed's "My Own Prison" and the other (believe it or not) is of Wham!'s "Careless Whisper"! Now that's unexpected, especially the latter! Both end up sounding similar to their originals, as in they have some musical promise, but are very empty and unrefined, but remember, the band has just two guys at the moment. I find with both songs, the songs are obviously ratcheted up in heaviness, but honestly, Mike Matthews would be better served to actually try and sing the covers, not go into James Hetfield-mode, as it doesn't flow consistently with Kevin McCarthy's riffing. That said, I've never been a fan of George Michael, so I find the "Careless Whisper" cover to be an improvement! I want to hear these songs with another guitarist and a bassist, and maybe some more controlled singing, cause there is something there with AlterWhite that they need to expose musically! Check out the new covers (and more) at the above links, and here's their "Careless Whisper" cover!



And finally, if you've been a reader of the SMS in it's various forms over the years, you may know that July 4th is not just Independence Day, it's also the SMS' anniversary. We're coming up on 4 years since I started The Sault Metal Scene on Monday, and you may have seen a bit of a "countdown" of sorts on our Facebook page lately. That's just to build suspense, as we have 4 "surprise" announcements to make! Two involve the SMS blog/website itself, though what is happening there is up to you to speculate. One involves monthly features (all I'll say is none are being cancelled), and one involves one of our external pages. Yes, I'm keeping things vague for a reason, cause I want you guys to speculate and not know what's up my sleeve! Rest assured, nothing bad is happening, nothing drastic is going to happen in terms of overhauling our goals and aims, and (as I often reiterate), it's not related to me personally booking a concert. These announcements are all good, and in at least one case, I'll be able to provide you guys with something more than just text and media. Let the speculation run wild, and on Monday, you'll know exactly what we're doing to celebrate our 4th anniversary!

That's all for today, but stay tuned TOMORROW as our final monthly feature post of June is unveiled, where we profile Saultite Jeff Nisbet's solo work in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series! Stay tuned for that, and much more to come! Thanks guys!