YouTube Channel Profile Series: Brendan Garlick

It's now time for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2024! This monthly feature series is back for another year of shining a spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts, and this time, we've randomly selected a bountiful channel for fans of the indie rock scene of a decade or so ago. Here's what you should know for this month!

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Brendan Garlick (http://www.youtube.com/@brendangarlick43)

Owner: Former Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick, currently known as the owner of local concert promotion agency Sault Noir

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 30th, 2013; Videos uploaded from December 2014 until August 2015

Channel Summary: Brendan's channel is almost entirely devoted to fifteen videos shot at the first two Lopstock concerts that he co-promoted at LopLops Lounge in 2014 & 2015, including the full set of every band from Lopstock II (except that year's opening band Id Iota), and videos from four acts that played at this "bohemian conclave" the previous year. Brendan's last (and sole non-Lopstock) video is still from a LopLops concert, this time featuring inactive indie rock band Great Chamberlain in mid-2015. 

Why You Should Watch: This channel is a great watch for fans of the local indie music scene in the mid-2010s, with some heavier flourish among them, and while none of these bands had staying power into 2024, there's a lot of talent and familiar faces to be had, as well as the featured sets by two touring acts (The Galacticats and Kirby) at Lopstock in 2015! Despite its ample usage at the time, Brendan has not visibly used this channel since 2015, roughly coinciding with his departure from Gnaeus and eventual spell living out of town. The revived Lopstock III from last year had ample video coverage as well, but via SooToday and not on Brendan's own accounts.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

The Pixo Control - Reasons (Live): In a few respects, defunct local grunge/hard rock trio The Pixo Control were the stars of Brendan's channel, garnering the longest full-set video from Lopstock II and three of the seven videos from Lopstock I, with two of those being his most watched videos period. Of them, his first video (of them playing "Reasons") is by far the most popular video on offer. Filmed by Jason Lloyd (as with the other videos posted from 2014), The Pixo Control were represented here by singer/guitarist Michael Mikus, future Skinbox frontman Steve Edwards, and drummer Keeghan Rosso. The camera-work is excellent with nice quality audio of this very grungy and hard hitting original, so it's easy to see why this video caught on at the time, and it's a shame that The Pixo Control didn't last longer! Watch for edited in bits of LopLops' interior and some attendees in the middle of the video.

Caroline Divine - Lopstock II: One of the heavier bands at Lopstock II in June 2015 was the recently debuted Caroline Divine, a hard rock/power pop band featuring Frasiers alumni Anthony Marcello, Brenden Fitzgerald, and Devin Williamson, all later of Jesse Merineau's live band. Caroline Divine proper only graced local stages in 2015 (gigs with Jesse aside), with Brendan Garlick's 40 minutes long full-set video being the best extant video from their local run in terms of audio. The stationary angles used for the bands on this night were largely the victim of obscured vantage points due to fans on the floor, which is unfortunate, but Caroline Divine had a tight and energetic sound on their original material, and it'd have been nice to see them exist on their own in 2016 and beyond!

Gnaeus - Lopstock II: Brendan's sole channel appearance as a member of a band comes via his set with defunct post-punk quartet Gnaeus at Lopstock II, where he was joined by singer/guitarist Aaron Alessandrini, future Far From Fine bassist Matt Fronzi, and synth player Brad Irwin (now also of Skinbox). Their 45 minute set includes their songs "Lovers", "Exercise In Self Awareness", "Fire", "Crave", "Mountains", "Circles", their cover of The Cold War Kids' "Hang Me Out To Dry", "The Edge", "Lacking", "When You're Gone" , and "The Sound". This included every song from their 2016 album "Mediatations" except "Calling Out", plus the non-album cuts "Crave" & "Lacking". Attendee heads remain a liability towards actually seeing Gnaeus in full, but this is a strong performance from the peak of Gnaeus' local run, and they got a deservedly strong reception from the fans!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Our next randomly selected channel in this series will be that of YouTube user justfrenchie, which primarily features old Scary Uncles videos, so look for that on or around February 26th, and for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Clusterfolk Music Festival), A Local Album's Video Review, And Much More!!

I have another news post for you guys on this Tuesday evening, which dives into a notable LOCAL CONCERT ALERT regarding a festival's surprise return, but in this case, not because of the pandemic! Also, we have a video review and some new updates from a prolific local musician to cap things off, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, April 23rd for the return of the Clusterfolk Music Festival! Some readers may recall Clusterfolk as a folk/indie-leaning outdoor concert back in 2010 & 2011, but prominent local musician/promoter Jackson Reed has resurrected it this month as a hybrid youth-centric virtual & concert event, in conjunction with the NORDIK Institute, various grant funds, and 180 Projects on Gore Street, as per this SooToday article by Lisa Dobrovnik earlier today. Clusterfolk in 2022 will primarily give young Northern Ontario musicians exposure and experience for promoting themselves via the gradual release of newly recorded music videos on the official Clusterfolk page on 180 Projects' website. These videos will premiere on the Clusterfolk page each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through April 20th, with the aforementioned concert closing the festival on the 23rd, and black-and-white teaser photos from the video shoots are also posted there.

The Uncanny Valley are the advertised headline act at the ClusterFolk concert, and while their inclusion may seem like an outlier for Clusterfolk, keep in mind that RedD Monkey were on the 2011 lineup. Note that The Uncanny Valley have not confirmed their involvement in the festival yet (they haven't played live at all so far this year), but they are advertised in official festival materials. Other artists playing on the 23rd include newer local indie pop rock band Jupiter Marvelous (featuring Caroline Divine and Vol. alumni), Sudbury indie rock musician Will Powers (whose music video for "Proof" was the first to go live yesterday for the festival), and indie/folk sibling duo Distich. These acts and four more will have music videos premiering for Clusterfolk this month, with the other four including indie rock trio Xeno, solo artists Gabrielle Dumas & Storm Rausch, and a joint video from Jackson Reed and Jupiter Marvelous' Jacob Quarrell.

A schedule wasn't announced for the music video releases, but tune in tomorrow to see whose drops next, and we'll definitely let you know when The Uncanny Valley's premieres! The concert proper has an 8:30 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and a $10 entry fee at the door. This should be a fun concert for indie and folk rock fans to enjoy some rising young talent, especially with pandemic restrictions still hopefully much lesser, and it will be interesting to see how Clusterfolk III does in its grand return! Visit the official Facebook event page & the above links for much more on the involved bands & the festival proper!

Next up, remember how local/Thompson, Manitoba solo musician Mike Haggith has long teased a new YouTube series where he'd do video reviews of albums he liked? Well, it finally premiered two months ago on his YouTube channel under the name Mike's Spin, and the first review is of "Ghost Stories" by the New Jersey indie act Project Atlantic, who Mike likes so much that he's covered them in his live-streams. However, if you want something from a local band, Mike had you covered yesterday for his second video review, as he took a look at late lamented post-punk quartet Gnaeus' only album "Meditations", from way back in August 2016! After a cold open where he comically tries to cover "Lovers", he gets into the review proper, which runs for 11 minutes, and it starts with summative thoughts of the album before running through the album's progression front-to-back.

While Mike highly praises the songs, he next criticizes the production quality and how it doesn't feel crafted to Gnaeus' strengths, but from a fellow musician with his own ample studio experience, he will pick up on things that many fans won't. As such, the review is definitely in two halves, and while he loves the songs, he gave "Meditations" a 7/10 due to his production thoughts. I do think Mike should have credited Aaron, Matt, Brad, and Brendan by name to promote their talents and work, but this was a well reasoned and critiqued review of a strong local CD from a band who broke up too soon, so give it a watch below!

Finally, here's the latest from Mike's old Strange Coyotes bandmate Chase Wigmore's Facebook page! On March 20th, the folk punk/extreme metal standout revealed that the back catalog albums he uploaded to his Bandcamp page are all now "pay what you can" deals after previously being posted with the draft $7 price. To his credit, Chase did say that he encourages downloading "most of 'em" for free, but for the ones that he's most proud of, he did express hope that you'll pay something for them if you liked them. The post made it sound like he had now uploaded all of his old albums there for sale, but there are missing releases from his solo profile, most notably the majority of albums he put out during his 12 EPs of Christmas series from 2018-2019. Still, 24 albums is nothing to shake a stick at, and fans of his will find a lot to like and experience on Bandcamp for whatever amount you want to pay (or you can stream them there too!)

He also clarified that his teased new album "Sonic Apocalypse" is still in the works, and will hopefully come out before the actual apocalypse (no word on his long delayed "A Kid Named Todd" rock opera though). Let's close with a new video from two weeks ago, featuring Chase covering The Mountain Goats' "No Children", which makes good use of his distinctive clean, rapid-fire vocals & some oddly grand escalating guitar work! However, the video quality looks like a 15 year old webcam, which is unfortunate. Still a fun performance, so give it a look below!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: GnaeusMusic

Keeping our steady stream of new content going on the SMS, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with content at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk concerts or artists, in order to spotlight their videos to current readers and encourage you guys to check them out and maybe even subscribe. This month's randomly selected channel features a very accomplished band from the past decade, so here's what you should know!
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GnaeusMusic (http://youtube.com/channel/UClp6tPgxTJnU2Py8vD-LCtQ)
 
Owner: A member of 2014-2017 local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus (exact identity unclear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 23rd, 2014; Videos posted from that November until November 2016

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Gnaeus, it features two live concert videos, a lyric video, a jam session performance, and two promotional videos, representing the majority of their active run.

Why You Should Watch: While not jammed with content, this is the most official source for Gnaeus videos, and it captures their talents and high points pretty well! However, if you want more footage from their run, visit Gnaeus' Facebook page and our own Facebook page, while a number of other YouTube channels feature Gnaeus live videos. Also, note that Gnaeus have been defunct for the past 3 years, and accordingly, their channel has not been visibly updated in that time.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Gnaeus - The Curse (Live): Two of Gnaeus' three live videos come from their set at Lopstock I at LopLops Lounge in June 2014, where they played their songs "The Sound" and, as embedded below, the non-album track "The Curse". Filmed by Jason Lloyd, these videos feature Gnaeus' original lineup, including singer/guitarist Aaron Alessandrini, bassist Matt Fronzi, synth player Brad Irwin, and drummer Brendan Garlick. Including nice close-up footage of the band in action (if being too warmly lit with muffled guitars), these are a nice early look at the guys in their first year together, and "The Curse" will appeal to fans of the "post-punk" side of their sound! Gnaeus also played at Lopstock II, and there are more videos from that set.

Gnaeus - Lovers: The most popular upload on Gnaeus' channel, this March 2015 video is set to the studio track from their fan favourite original song "Lovers", and it features the guys playing the song in studio, intercut with concert footage, the guys hanging out, making a sandwich(?!), and even talking about their then-recent VM Radio Battle of the Bands victory. Sort of an official music video, albeit well in advance of their CD's release the next summer, this is well edited and varied on the whole, and the faster, more up-tempo "Lovers" was one of  my favourite songs of theirs!



Gnæus - Meditations: Available in Galaxy Near You: Despite releasing their only studio album "Meditations" in August 2016, this promotional video only went online in late November of that year, and was the band's final YouTube upload. A creative and amusing commercial, this features the green screened floating heads of the band talking about the album, how to pronounce "Gnaeus", and more eclectic, not-always-relevant topics, with liberal cameos from their blank-eyed Pompey the Great mascot. Then-drummer Alex Proulx (who could fire lasers from his eyes!) is featured here despite joining the band after "Meditations" was recorded. While an amusing commercial for the CD, the guys' dialogue is too quiet compared to the music, so make sure to have the volume dial in hand when listening.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month, this series will focus on another local punk band, as I have randomly selected innercit's channel, an apparently official YouTube channel for The Inner City Surfers in the mid-2000s!  Look for that on or around April 26th, and stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The End Of Gnaeus, The Return Of Ashoka At The Show, And Much More!!

My original plan was to review last night's March Mash-Up today on the SMS, but in the wake of a major band dissolution that hit our newswire earlier today, I found it necessary to get that on the site A.S.A.P., and hold our review for tomorrow. This news also joins another likely inactive band note, a reunited band to also acknowledge, and yes, some videos from last night's concert, so here's what you need to know!

Local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus have surprisingly announced they they have disbanded, as per their Facebook page earlier today. Other than to say that "it's time we move onto different chapters in our lives", a reason for their breakup was not given publically, though they did thank fans for their support over their run, and admitted that they wished that this wasn't such an abrupt announcement. This is extra surprising, as Gnaeus were just storyboarding a music video, and bassist Matt Fronzi had indicated in private conversations that a 4 song EP (to be called "E La Vita") was in the works, so this definitely came out of left field. After launching publically in 2014, Gnaeus quickly became one of the most promising young bands in the Sault area, with the guys winning both of March 2015's local battles of the bands, as well as opening for the likes of The Sunparlour Players & The Archaics, touring Ontario with The Pixo Control, releasing their only CD "Meditations" last summer, and last playing live in Searchmont last month.

This is very disappointing news, especially given how quickly Gnaeus rose to prominence in the mid-2010s, which is all the more impressive when you consider that the guys weren't known commodities in bands prior to their formation. I hope there was no bad blood, as their talent and creativity speaks for itself, though it is a shame that the 2014-2015 core of young local indie/alternative bands (alongside bands like The Pixo Control, Stereo North, and Caroline Divine) is already fading out. Best of luck to Aaron, Matt, Brad, Alex, and Brendan in the future, they'll be assets wherever they play!

Next up, let's break up the inactive band notes with a band reunion, as we can move local/Elliot Lake punk project Ashoka At The Show (formerly Mayadevi) up to our active band links! In preparing for this weekend's intended Defunct Local Band Profile on Mayadevi, I quickly discovered that they offically renamed to Ashoka At The Show in 2008, and are officially considered a punk project like under their old name, with frontman Darren MacDonald turning his solo Facebook page into an A.A.T.S. page last month. Actually, Ashoka At The Show has been used by Darren for a few years prior starting in 2013, now as a solo project, rather than their older full-band incarnations (alongside OBCD and Undead Warriors alumni.) That year, Darren (now long-based in Elliot Lake) released a free "album" called "Eponymous", and plans to follow it up with albums called "Selfish Boy" and "Full Coverage" this year, while he also has two solo albums under his own name that can also be streamed online.

Darren has posted a number of Ashoka At The Show and solo performance videos, song recordings, Tony Sly covers, and even video game footage to his YouTube channel, and hile it'd be nice to see him launch a full band again, he is a talented singer and guitarist, and you do often get a sense that his acoustic guitar performances would be great fits as full punk songs! If only he was based out of the Soo again, he'd have no trouble finding a full band here. Give one of his newer songs "Flowers/Broken Fingers" a look below, and hopefully Ashoka At The Show keeps at it!

Also, we have another band to likely move to our inactive band links, they being local alternative hard rock duo Infinity Grinder. While they haven't posted a public update on their status, the band hasn't made any public updates since their most recent song upload on their their Soundcloud page one year ago this Wednesday, and they haven't played a live gig since August 2015 anyway. A union of ex-No Arrow/SBD bassist Brad Griffith and former Northern Tragedy/Good Morning Gorilla drummer Terrence Gomes, Infinity Grinder were the mystery debuting band at March 2015's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, and followed that up with sets at the final Swampstravaganza and that summer's Ballot Burner show, but all further updates were posted material from studio and jam sessions. Though we haven't heard from Terrence musically since, Brad has been focusing on his new band Bizotic in recent months.

Infinity Grinder debuted on big stages with a lot of promise, and Brad & Terrence played off of each other well, helping bring back the aggressive duo sound that we saw in Brad's prior two man band Sounds From The Green Room (which he also fronted), and it's a shame that they didn't play more than they did! Hopefully the guys pick things back up in the future, but don't miss Bizotic at upcoming gigs!

Finally today, here's a teaser for our review of last night's March Mash-Up concert at The Canadian Nightclub, courtesy of headlining alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback's Facebook page! An uncredited attendee filmed A.D.S. playing at least 5 original songs from this show, including their originals "Wasting Away", "Faded", "Nightmares", "Kicking & Screaming", and as embedded below, their newest original "Everlasting Despair". All filmed from the floor in front of the stage (as opposed to their side-stage clips from the January Jam), the quality is solid for this lively newer band, but we'll elaborate further on their set in our full review coming next. Check everything out!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our March Mash-Up review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & The 3 Day Millionaires) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

In our second post on this snowy Thursday, here's this weekend's concert previews, barring anything on super late notice! This isn't a busy weekend, all things considered, but there's some big shows going down tied to sport-related events, so read on below for those and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including some on SHORT NOTICE), and check out this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post below as well!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via it's Facebook event page on Monday. Last seen at the same venue two weeks ago, this should be a fun night of hard hitting but varied covers at The Algonquin Pub's upstairs venue TOMORROW, so keep this show in mind for your weekend concert plans! Note that this is a one-nighter for unannounced reasons, but regardless on if The Millionaires' personal schedules are to blame or not, the venue has not confirmed Saturday's live performers at press time. If they're a hard rock or punk act, we'll let you know! As for TOMORROW'S 3 Day Millionaires show, it is 19+ as usual with a 10:30 PM start time and no announced cover charge. See the above links for more details, and here they are live!



Next up, prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has confirmed his first gigs of February, so we'll add this month's acoustic shows of his to our concert listings! As such, look for Tym at Gliss Steak & Seafood once again TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, followed by gigs on February 10th-11th, 17th-18th, and 24th-25th, as his weekly arrangement at The Quality Inn's house restaurant marches on! As you may have noticed, we're only going with Friday & Saturday nighters in his Gliss run this month, as his last few weekends (and THIS WEEKEND) were only two night engagements, so it looks like he's doing weekends at Gliss again for at least the season. If this is just a temporary move that will be restored in short order, we'll add Thursday shows, but for now, don't come Thursdays to see Tym's unplugged hard rock covers. As otherwise usual, Tym's February gigs have 6:00 PM start times, and no announced age limits or cover charges, but remember where the shows are being held.

Despite the apparent contraction for now, Tym's skilled blend of hard rock originals should continue to find a solid audience at Gliss this month and beyond, so check the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on this weekend's shows, and here's Tym live a few years back!



Moving to previously announced concerts, we'll take a detour to Sault Michigan, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will conclude their International 500-timed run of shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Today is the off day in their unusual run of four shows in five days, following Tuesday & Wednesday's short notice gigs at The Rapids Lounge. As we noted on Sunday when previewing those two shows, Banned are no strangers to the I-500 snowmobile race and related events, having played at both the Soo Kewadin and the I-500 beer tent last year, and while the mid-week scheduling for those gigs was definitely atypical for Banned, you guys can check them out tomorrow and/or Saturday if you want a more typical timeframe! I-500 tie-ins aside, this weekend's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Banned live in concert a few years back!



Finally for this weekend's currently known hard rock and punk concerts, we'll head back north... way north, to Searchmont Resort, where Tidal Records will host the Searchmont Skateapalooza THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! A spiritual sequel to Tidal Records' Go Skateboarding Day & Gnar-BQ events last year, this event will unite local skateboarders with three fast-rising local bands (post-punk quartet Gnaeus, alt-hard rock trio The Din, and indie rock quartet K.I.C.K.), who we last saw together at LopLops on Boxing Day. Solid choices to perform, especially for those familiar with Tidal's skateboarding concerts! Unlike those, however, the skateboarding events proper will be at 1:00 PM on Saturday, with demonstrations, games, tips, and prizes on hand for local skaters, so keep those in mind if you're up for a Searchmont trip this weekend! That will all take place at the Searchmont Community Center's skate sanctuary at 734 Highway 532, while the concert proper will be at 8:00 PM at the resort, at 103 Searchmont Resort Road, so keep the location shift in mind.

Both the skateboarding demos and concert itself are FREE & ALL AGES, while a chartered return bus will be available to bring fans home at midnight for $10, so message contact@tidalrecords.ca if you want to reserve a seat. This should be a fun and unique concert for fans of Gnaeus, K.I.C.K., and The Din, especially if the concert's outdoors (not sure if it will be though), and with lots of skateboarding action prior, prepare for all day entertainment! Check the above links for more details, and here's Gnaeus live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERS (Searchmont Skateapalooza & Fishbowl Festival), New Videos, And More!!

With our Sault Michigan-heavy stretch on the site seemingly past for now, we're currently in the midst of a strong run of posts with key features about Gnaeus and The Din, which speaks to how busy they've been as of late for show bookings and updates! To round things out, we have some new Facebook videos from another band and a long overdue look at a new face in the realm of band photography, but let's start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Just over a month removed from their joint LopLops Lounge concert on Boxing Day, fans can see post-punk quartet Gnaeus, alt-hard rock trio The Din, and indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. together again on February 4th (one week from Saturday) when they headline the first ever Searchmont Skateapalooza event at the Searchmont Resort! A spiritual northern sequel to last year's Go Skateboarding Day and Gnar-BQ events from promoters Tidal Records, this rare punk/hard rock show at Searchmont is part of a full day of events starting at 1:00 PM on the 4th, where local skateboarders will demonstrate their skills at the Searchmont Community Center's skate sanctuary (734 Highway 532), with games, tips, and prizes available for those inclined to get involved. The concert proper takes place at 8:00 PM over at the resort (103 Searchmont Resort Road), rather than during the skateboarding, but the nighttime setting will prove fitting to cap things off! 

No word on if the bands will be playing indoors or outdoors, but it would be neat if the latter was the case, I love the concept of outdoor winter concerts. Both the skateboarding and concert are FREE & ALL AGES, but given the potential difficulties of travelling from Searchmont, Tidal Records are providing a return bus from the resort where fans can come home at 12:00 AM at a charge of $10. This is an intriguing event that should give a unique locale to the extreme sports and music action next weekend, especially with these talented & familiar bands, so check the above links for more details, and message contact@tidalrecords.ca to reserve a seat on the return bus!

Next up, the aforementioned Din will return to The Gore Street Cafe on Friday, March 10th when they headline one of the last events of this year's second annual Fishbowl Festival! Yes, the laundromat is bringing back the month-long arts festival from early February-early March (timed with the Pisces astrological sign's duration), with an assortment of community, music, and culture events once again planned throughout the month, and it's great to see Nicole and company bring the festival back! With all the difficulties that The Gore Street Cafe had last year, this can only be a positive sign, and hopefully they see a great turnout throughout! The Din toplined an acoustic show last year (which resulted in their debut live CD), and while it's unclear if their March show will be similarly formatted, note that this venue typically hosts acoustic acts. As of this writing, no openers are confirmed, but the festival's Facebook event page notes that ex-Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus and folk musician/promoter Jackson Reed were once planned to open.

No word yet on potential other concerts with SMS-covered bands (there were three total last year), nor on admission details, but for reference, last year saw $5 general admission for each event, or $25 for a full festival pass. The laundromat is typically ALL AGES, and shows tended to start at 7:00 PM. This should be another fun and varied arts festival on Gore Street, and there's more events to be announced, so check the above links for more on The Din's show and currently announced events, and for details on how to perform at or host your own, message gorestreetcafe@gmail.com!

Also today, we have a trio of new videos (albeit incomplete) from new local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback's co-headlining set at last week's January Jam at The Canadian Nightclub! Filmed by uncredited attendees beside the stage, these are all under 2 minutes long, and include their original songs "Catastrophe", "Nightmares", and as embedded below, a song whose name I can't verify (currently posted A.D.S. songs with titles don't match.) Larry Babic's vocals can be hard to make out, and the vertical angle on "Catastrophe" is unfortunate, but these are solid videos of this promising newer band in action, so give them a look above & below!



Finally, I wanted to give a belated but very deserving acknowledgement of a relatively new face in the local photography community, namely Josh Pace, who you may have seen taking some great pictures at a few recent concerts! As far as public photos through the Josh Pace Photography Facebook page, we first were alerted to his work at last month's Guy Thiffault benefit concert at The Rockstar Bar, where Josh photographed the aforementioned A Dire Setback (pictured), Stegadeth, and AlgomA in both colour and black & white, though he sadly didn't shoot the final bands. However, Josh actually started posting concert photos in late 2015, typically of shows with AlgomA, such as that fall's Sabrina Pelchat benefit. Most recently, Josh was on hand for the aforementioned January Jam event, where he got great pictures of every band except headliners Gnaeus, but despite their absence, his photos are awesome!

Using shadows, colour, and angles very well, his work is very professional and crisp, and he looks to be a very promising addition to the local band photography circle! Also note that one shot from last weekend features A Dire Setback being interviewed by Shaw TV, so look for a feature with that in the coming weeks. Josh is planning to sell limited edition prints of the above A.D.S. photo at their next concert, and is looking to do promotional photography with bands, so visit the above links for more from Josh Pace, and his photography page is now linked in that section on the SMS! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gnaeus & The Din), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Lately, I'd have had this weekend's concert previews at least partially up by now, but with an apparent Thursday night cancellation (elaborated on later), we had wiggle room to get this up today, after this month's YouTube Channel Profile seen below this post. Tonight, we have this weekend's known hard rock and punk concert previews, plus a new cover video, so here's what you need to know!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to LopLops Lounge for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice,  the show was only just announced via the official Facebook event page on Monday. Just a month removed from their Boxing Day show at the same venue with KI.C.K. and Gnaeus (more on them in a second), The Din should have a solid set in store for fans at what frontman Mike Haggith calls his favourite stage, so don't miss this concert despite the late notice TOMORROW NIGHT! Two solo acoustic performers will open this show, including folk solo project Shit Creek Survivor and Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, both playing their first advertised shows of the year, so come early for some entertaining unplugged music! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ show, which has an advertised 9:00 PM start time. See above for more details, and here's The Din live!



Next up, local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus will themselves headline at LopLops Lounge THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue again only announced the show via it's own Facebook event page on Monday. Having joined The Din at this past weekend's January Jam (and on Boxing Day at LopLops), both bands find themselves back on that stage a week later at LopLops, just on concurrent days. Unlike tomorrow's event, Gnaeus' show on SATURDAY features no advertised opening bands, similarly to their Movember fundraiser there, so if you want a night of wall-to-wall Gnaeus, you know where to be this weekend! Similarly to tomorrow's Din concert, expect a 19+ age limit, $5 cover charge, and 9:00 PM start time to be in effect for SATURDAY NIGHT! Visit the above links for more details, stay tuned in the coming days for word on their and The Din's big upcoming show in February, and here's Gnaeus live!



Finally for currently known hard rock/punk previews, we have some previously announced concerts to touch on, as long-time Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Note that there's no advertised show tonight, as the Facebook event page doesn't acknowledge a Thursday gig at all, which would mark his third straight week of just Friday & Saturday nighters at Gliss. No word yet on if this is a permanent shift or a seasonal adjustment, but remember that Tym had been playing twice a week through June before returning to a thrice weekly schedule there. If his February-opening gigs next week don't include Thursday, we'll add them to our listings accordingly, but hopefully nothing bad happened! In any event, Tym apparently has new songs to debut in his extensive setlist tomorrow and Saturday, so keep these in mind if you're at The Quality Inn's house restaurant over the weekend!

As usual for Tym's long term arrangement at Gliss, expect 6:00 PM start times tomorrow and Saturday, and while these still don't have an announced cover charge or age limit, remember where these are being held. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!



Finally for tonight, here's a new solo cover video from former Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel! It's been a long 10 months since Alex last posted a cover there, and while I don't know what took him so long, his return is welcomed! Now attending university in Southern Ontario, this cover is of Def Leppard's "Foolin'", though unlike some of his recent covers, this is more of a basic guitars-only rendition played alongside the original track. This is a solidly performed & recorded take on this hair metal classic, if a little reserved, so give it a look below, and see more from Alex above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Shaw TV's OnStage Premiere, Plus More New Videos!!

With our review of Saturday's January Jam now online, let's dive back into the news with an all-video showcase from four local bands, and coincidentally, three of the four played on Saturday night! These include some new assorted Facebook clips, recent live concert footage, and first, the debut content of a recent local TV debut, so here's what you should know!

As you may know, Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie premiered a new series called OnStage this past Saturday night at 9:00 PM, and in the first episode of the planned weekly program on channel 10, the featured concert was August's CD release concert from The Din & Gnaeus at The W.W. Baldwin Auditorium at The Tech! Fans may recall Shaw TV's Christian Lemay and crew filming the show live on multiple cameras, and with music clearances and red tape out of the way, we can finally see the finished product after a 5 month wait, so what should you know? Ironically, both bands were playing at The Canadian on Saturday during the premiere, but they, you, and I can now see the full original contents via Shaw TV's YouTube channel, and kudos to them for getting these online so fast! Starting with The Din's headlining set, the local alternative/hard rock trio can be seen below playing the band Haggith's "75" (with "Leamington, Ontario" intro), then their originals "Alleyways & Apartments",  "In Search of the Perfect Moment", ...

..."Out Of My League", and "Remember", an abbreviated cover of Mike Haggith's solo song "Of Cars & Criminals", "Flux", Mike's own "Potato (Should've Known Better)", "The Rose", "A Drive Through The Peninsula", and for an encore, "Differences". Featuring their entire debut album plus two non-album tracks, this is a solid set of original alt-rock action, with great filming by the crew at Shaw to accentuate the scale, but at times, the audio can be slightly muffled, and The Din's covers of bands outside of Mike's career are not included. Still, this is an awesome extended look at The Din, so be sure to give it a look below!



Next up, here's the video of opening post-punk quartet Gnaeus, who were filmed first that night in their own Tech debut! Coming off of their own CD release show at the time (The Din opened for that one in return), Gnaeus mostly played tracks from "Meditations" on this August night. In order, the video features the guys playing their songs "Mountains", "Circles", "The Edge", "Exercise In Self Awareness", "Lovers", "Fire", "Electricity", and "The Sound", notably omitting "Calling Out" and "Where You're Gone" that night, while a performed Cold War Kids cover is not included in Shaw's public footage. Notably starting with Mike Haggith introducing Gnaeus and apologizing for delays (a fire alarm went off in the building before their set), this video is of comparable quality and stature to The Din's video, and given that they only covered one outside artist, it's is a fuller video for those that recall this set, so you aren't missing too much!

Solidly and reliably performed as usual, so check out Gnaeus' half of the OnStage episode below, and stay tuned for more on both bands' next concerts in the coming days, which are sooner than you may think!



Also today, here's a couple of new video finds from new local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, and while they also have some new videos from Saturday's January Jam concert to share, these are actually from last month's YouTube Party at The Canadian Nightclub. Guitarist Chris Nielsen's wife Heather filmed these and posted them to A.D.S.' Facebook page a few days afterward, and they include renditions of their original songs "Wasting Away" and, as embedded below, "Catastrophe". The stage set-up seems to be a little standard despite the teasers and hype for the YouTube party, but Heather had a great view of the band, who were their usual energetic selves for these solid performances! For reference sake, a banner in memoriam to late Canadian Nightclub DJ Jay Perron (who died in October) can still be seen on the back wall of the stage in these clips. Give these "new" A Dire Setback videos a look above and below, and apologies for the month's delay!



Finally, here's a trifecta of new Facebook videos from local death/thrash metal trio Pillory! At the moment, these are Facebook exclusive, and aren't on Bret's YouTube channel yet. One video features bassist Jordan Leach (in fake voices) jokingly interviewing frontman Robert Sartini, with occasional asides by drummer Bret Shuttleworth, while another shorter video features Bret getting similar questions, before turning the tables and interviewing Jordan briefly. Both are light and amusing, and give you a more casual look at the band! The other video is a sideways jam session instrumental clip, and the band seemed to acknowledge that, titling the video "Sideways, 'The Foundational Esoterica'" If that is the case, I guess I'm out of the loop for understanding the angle choice, but the performance is suitably brutal and heavy, and fans of Pillory's recent work will enjoy the metal action regardless of angle! Give them a look above & below!

 
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

The January Jam Concert Review!!

At last, here's my review of Saturday night's January Jam concert from Live705 at The Canadian Nightclub! Good turnout, if uneven, and the venue had it's usual fine layout, with the night's three final bands all selling merchandise at the door, including brand new buttons from A Dire Setback (including some that just said "Support Local Music", which is always a good message!)

After a 15 minute delay, the opening band on Saturday was indie/acoustic trio The Autumn Roots in their first show of the year, wherein the band debuted new second guitarist Chase Wigmore (Coyote Speedfreaks), who was a former bandmate of frontman Jeremy Hannah's in The North Shore. Solid addition, and even unplugged, you got a sense of Chase's guitar abilities, and it's nice to see him back on stage! The band also parted ways with drummer Travis St. Amour last month, and have not (yet?) replaced him, though for what it's worth, the band interestingly noted that last night was their first "official" concert. Well, I saw them on Halloween, and while the lack of a drummer was noticeable, they kept things going from last fall with a solid set of folk rock originals like "The North", "Falling Down", and "The Sink". Jeremy's well-suited vocals complimented the music, he and Chase continue to mesh well on guitar, and Greg Carscadden was solid on bass, if somewhat reserved. Look for much more from The Autumn Roots in 2017!

Next up was the local debut of Ottawa electronic solo project Sleepwellcity, featuring former local punk/alternative bassist Nathan Bouliane in his long awaited homecoming. It was great to see Jonna Maximilian himself back on a local stage, but how did Sleepwellcity sound? Well, they are truly a one man band, with Nathan playing keyboard, drum machine, and bass throughout their set, not to mention utilizing a computer throughout, and also singing, so he had a lot on his plate! Nathan is multi-talented, as fans of his local and recent music will attest, but the Sleepwellcity set had some glitches. Early in the set, there was some type of computer malfunction that ground everything to a halt for a whike, and the timing and clarity of some musical elements could have been polished better. As well, vocals were very low in the mix, so it was hard to get a full idea of how he is as a singer. Sleepwellcity are an intriguing project with something of a dreamlike quality at times, and it'd be interesting to see Nathan bring this project back home!

Third was newer punk/metal trio Stegadeth in their Canadian Nightclub debut, and they continued in their upward momentum from late last year with another well received set! Along with covers of the likes of The Ramones, Blink-182, Nirvana, and their predecessor band T-Rex Manning, this power trio unveiled their first true original song, entitled "Kingdom of Ashes", which sounded good and fits in with their sound! As well, the band dedicated their cover of SNFU's "Fate" to late local punk frontman Guy Thiffault, which was a nice touch! If you saw Stegadeth at Guy's tribute show over the holidays, then you'll be glad to know that they were on form from that concert, with Tiffany Stocco gaining more confidence as a singer, Daniel MacDonald keeping the energy going on drums, and Bill Bennett delivering a forceful presence of his own (his vocals are channeling Nate Olp from Demiricous a bit, just in a punk style.) Stegadeth are building things nicely so far, and here's to more!

Fourth on the night was local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, who were still riding high from their Toronto gig a few weeks back, and they were in their usual fine form! Alongside established hits like "Potato" & "Out Of My League", The Din covered The Tragically Hip's "Blow At High Dough" and played a handful of newer songs, like "High Park" and "Suburban Dream", which got a good reception from fans, who were increasingly starting to crowd the floor by the stage. Mike Haggith continues to showcase a fine ease as frontman, and even joined fans mid-song as if often seen, while Tammy Hill and Brandan Glew handled the guitar and drums as well as you'd expect! I did notice that there wasn't as much on-stage banter as we have seen at recent Din shows, but musically, their alt-hard rock originals sounded as good as ever, and it'll be interesting to see how things shape up this year!

Co-headlining were new local punk quartet A Dire Setback in their second Canadian gig, and they delivered a fun set of their own! Showcasing a lot of energy (especially on the part of guitarist Chris Nielsen), A.D.S. played original songs like "Wasting Away" and "Kicking & Screaming" alongside their punk version of OneRepublic, and with the night's peak crowd, they played it up and delivered a solid attack of alt-punk action! Vocals could be hard to hear at times for both Chris and frontman Larry Babic, but they have a good command of the stage, as fans of members' old bands can attest, and Nick Kainula's drumming was on point as well! A Dire Setback have sure accomplished a lot in a short time, already hosting two big concerts and performing a number of originals, and if they can keep this up, they'll be a force this year!

And finally, your headliners were local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus, and despite a drop-off in crowd numbers following A Dire Setback's set, they sent remaining fans home happy with their skilled originals! Starting with an extended improvised instrumental jam, Gnaeus soon launched into established originals like "The Sound", "Electricity", and "Fire", plus a lengthy new song named "È La Vita" (Italian for "That's Life") that visibly got a good reception! Heisenberg... I mean, Aaron Alessandrini was his usually reliable self on vocals and guitar, with Brad Irwin complimenting him well on the synth, Matt Fronzi was a positive and skilled presence on bass, and Alex Proulx is fitting in more & more on drums! It's a shame that so many fans left before their set, but alas, things did get delayed a half hour from advertised set times, but if you stayed, you weren't disappointed

Overall, The January Jam was a solid concert for fans of alternative and punk music, complete with new and familiar faces in equal measure, and kudos to Live705 for putting this one on! As you no doubt noticed, Shaw TV was on hand filming bands all night for a presumed future On Stage episode and perhaps interview features, while Josh Pace Photography was on hand taking pictures of the bands, and we will give Josh a proper feature on the site in the next while, I promise! I did get photos myself, which you can see at this link or via our Facebook page, but due to a combination of those reflective paint road signs on the stage's back wall and not wanting to get in the road of the Shaw cameras, the quality of mine is mixed. As for our videos, here's The Autumn Roots playing "Means & Circumstance", Sleepwellcity playing "Bombs", Stegadeth covering The Rebel Spell's "All We Want Is To Be Left Alone", The Din playing their new song "Up In The Air", A Dire Setback playing their new original "Faded", and Gnaeus playing their new song "È La Vita"!













That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned), New Videos, And Much More!!

Make it 7 in 11 for our run of posts largely geared towards the Sault Michigan area, which is very nice to see, and hopefully the E.U.P. scene continues to grow in the coming months! Today on the SMS, we're tackling some assorted recent notes, new videos from each side of the border, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino over the I-500 weekend on Friday, February 3rd & Saturday, February 4th! Announced yesterday on Banned's Facebook page (the venue has yet to publically confirm 2017 shows online), the shows are great timing to coincide with the annual snowmobile race, with Banned having also played last year at both Kewadin and inside the beer tent at the race proper, so hopefully there's some great crowds next weekend to take in Banned's varied but often heavy originals! No word yet on who'll be playing in the beer tent this year, or on if these shows will officially be a part of the annual I-500 pub crawl. Aside from the I-500 timing, next weekend's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits. For more details, check the above links, and stay tuned for more updates on their 2017 concerts soon!

Next up, here's some new videos from Sault Ontario death/thrash metal trio Pillory! Drummer Bret Shuttleworth (under the name "Bret Martin") has launched his own YouTube channel featuring 6 Pillory videos, and while four are re-postings of videos from their Facebook page, one of those is new on either source, and there's also two exclusive concert videos too! The new clip is of a new "song" entitled "Juicebox", though the video is just of Bret playing a drum solo with his shirt over his head. Considering he's playing blind, the solo works out even better! Of the re-uploads, their drum-cam performance of their newer original "Exhaustive Incarnation" is especially worth mentioning as it's angle has been fixed (remember how it was sideways when posted on Facebook originally?) As for the concert videos, those were quietly uploaded on Halloween, as filmed by an attendee when Pillory opened for Norilsk at The Oddfellows Hall on October 28th, so what should you know on them?

The videos feature Pillory playing their originals "The Passing" and, as embedded below, "Abhorred Apprehension", but the video quality of these leaves something to be desired. The audio is alright, but the picture is grainy, the venue lighting gives odd tints with this camera, and the filmer switches from portrait to landscape view during the songs (halfway through the former, a minute into the latter.) Still, it's nice to see some new Pillory live footage, and the audio works, so give these a look above & below!



Also today, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel, that being a rough draft of a new original song named "Break Down These Walls". Uniquely filmed at a top-down angle with only Craig Harrison's hands showing (and shot in black and white), the song is apparently "about those you are trying so hard to help", so I'd have to assume there's a personal meaning here. The song (so far) is somewhat morose, yet also orchestral, and it's true to that side of Theatre of Night, so check it out 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, promoter, or channel name:

• Sault Michigan concert promoters Allstar Promotions asked on their Facebook page yesterday what people thought of Orlando hard rock quartet Alter Bridge, best known for hit songs like "Isolation", "Open Your Eyes", and "Rise Today". They didn't firmly say if they were considering booking Alter Bridge for a show here or not, but it'd be huge if they did, so comment above if you're interested in voicing support! For reference, Alter Bridge are playing a couple of midwestern U.S. gigs in May.
• Former Fitswitch/Sense of Truth bassist Curtis Beauchamp is looking for a singer for a new metal band that he's working on, and they play heavier stuff than we've previously seen him in, like All That Remains, Children of Bodom, and Trivium. It's great to see Curtis back in the scene, but if you're interested in trying out on vocals, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie will premiere a new series TONIGHT at 9:00 PM called On Stage, which is intended to be a weekly series featuring full local concert performances. The premiere episode will feature The Din's CD release concert at The Tech on August 12th with openers Gnaeus, so if you're wondering what would become of Christian Lemay's full footage of that event, here's your answer. Ironically, the premiere comes during tonight's January Jam at The Canadian (which both The Din & Gnaeus are playing, and I'm attending), so I can't watch the premiere live, but I'll try and tape it so I can give it a review!

That's all for today, but again, I'll see you guys at The Canadian TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!