LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), Mike McCleary Updates, And Much More!!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to briefly note that today is our eleventh anniversary, and I wanted to thank you all for the support and readership since 2007! I have no major plans or announcements, just business as usual, but I couldn't have done it without you guys, and with one unfortunate exception last July, it's been a great year, with many more to come! And yes, happy Independence Day to our American readers as well! Today's post features lots of assorted recent news and notes, the latest from a prolific solo artist, and leading off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know on our 11th birthday!

Remember defunct local alt-hard rock trio The Din's "July 21th, 2018" teasers on their Facebook page? Well, the jig is up, as that Saturday will see them headline a one-off reunion concert at LopLops Lounge! Nine months removed from their farewell concert at the same venue, Mike Haggith is coming back home for this surprise reunion gig (affectionately dubbed "The Dinunion"), so fans who have missed The Din's high energy live concerts will want to check out this show in July! After all, who knows if there will be another, or when! Opening this show will be local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, fresh off of their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set earlier that same day, and it's cool to see them rejoin The Din for another concert together, so don't be late for their set! As the date may suggest, this show is continuing LopLops' run of post-Rotaryfest concerts involving "redirected"-era Second Stage performers, and even though The Din are not playing Stage 2 proper this year, remember that they did play in each of the last two years, and remain festival supporters.

This 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge, and doors are slated to open at 9:00 PM. It's great to see The Din back, if only for one night, but what will their set look like? Might they break out any of Mike's recent solo originals for a local concert debut? Time will tell, but visit the official Facebook event page for current details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's the latest from another project relating to a solo musician named Mike, namely Mike McCleary! First, I do want to apologize for missing a rare live concert appearance of his, as Mike reportedly played a set at this year's Relay For Life cancer fundraiser at the John Rhodes Community Center on June 15th, as per his Facebook page. Mike didn't acknowledge the venue in his plug, but hopefully his set received a solid response, and we'd have covered it here had we known about it! More recently, Mike has shared a handful of new videos on his Facebook page featuring recent music of his, including of two songs from his new album "What You've Done To Me" (the title track and "Get Out"), but embedded below is the song "What Am I Doing?", which features a graphic describing the warning signs of suicide, which goes hand in hand with Mike's recent work for mental health awareness. That said, he has been keeping things a little light with some other recent postings, which is fun to see in it's own way!

Along with some humorous video shares (some with old school WWF wrestling references), one picture jokingly notes that, if the low money-per-Spotify stream royalties mean that he can only buy a sandwich, why not support sandwiches? Mike's prolific talents and charitable support continue to shine brightly, so be sure to give his new albums and material a listen above and below, whether you're supporting his music and/or sandwiches!



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

• This has likely been inferred by fans for a long while already, but it's time we finally called it here: Jonas Gasperas appears to be The Elements' permanent drummer, replacing Alex Hagerman. Fans may recall Alex starting to miss some dates around the turn of 2016 after becoming a father, with Jonas joining his Winkstinger bandmate Jesse Cook in the band not long after, though The Elements' Facebook page still lists Alex as drummer over two years later. Jonas has been a solid addition with The Elements, so don't miss the guys at Rotaryfest later this month, and hopefully Alex resurfaces on stage down the road!
• As you may remember, The Gore Street Cafe permanently closed following their farewell concert on Wednesday, with SooToday's David Helwig covering the closure in this article, featuring remarks from cafe owner Nicole Dyble. Therein, Nicole noted that she wants to open a new venue in the next year or so that will serve many of the same goals for the local arts community. Nicole deserves a lot of credit for the varied events, "pay what you can" meals, and eclectic entertainment at 164 Gore for the past 3+ years, and hopefully her next projects in event promotion are a success while we await her teased new location!
• Local punk trio Redundant announced on Sunday that they were playing an outdoor concert that night to celebrate Canada Day, and would be releasing their first single from their forthcoming debut CD that same night. The concert appears to have been a private booking (as an inquiry to the location was responded to with "Page responded privately"), while the teased single release didn't occur at all due to "technical difficulties." Hopefully the album's still on track, this has been a long time coming for Redundant!
• SooToday have been confirmed as the official sponsors for this year's aforementioned Stage 2 at Rotaryfest, as per their website and related Facebook event pages. The local news website has long been a supporter of the Second Stage, and it's great to see them helping sponsor their biggest year yet, but will this mean ramped up coverage? We'll find out from July 19th-21st at Clergue Park!
• In their first Facebook posting in five months, "the original crash band" Sykotyk Rampage changed their Facebook page's profile photo to what appears to be the cover for an unreleased album called "Live At The Hilton". No details followed, but is a new studio album (free or otherwise) finally coming in conjunction with the end of their hiatus, or is this just an unused cover for a new profile picture? Stay tuned for updates when they roll in!
• Friday night's Whoop-Szo concert was moved from Outspoken Brewing to LopLops Lounge that very same day, as per updates on the Facebook event page. A reason or the relocation wasn't publically announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened at Outspoken! The move to LopLops saw the show essentially merge with that venue's previously scheduled concert from Ottawa folk solo musicians Catriona Sturton and Pat Maloney. Hopefully the expanded four act bill went over well on short notice!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), A New Local Band, And Much More!!

I was not expecting to have a news post today (more likely Sunday), but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT, I had to rush this one. That said, we can get the postponed Mike McCleary story from yesterday back up, as well as some assorted updates from an upcoming festival and some recent news and notes, but let's start with a new addition to our band links directly tied to that new show, and check out last month's poll results and this month's new poll in the post below this one!

We have a new-ish band to add to our active band links, and they are The Wyld Stallyns, a.k.a. the two man acoustic hard rock act from Elements frontman Rob Speers and guitarist Jesse Cook! Yes, it appears that the Bill & Ted homage is 100% their official name now, though remember that they were previously called The Kariokeheads and Rob & Jesse, depending on who was advertising their concert online. This band is nothing new locally, having debuted back in November, but The Wyld Stallyns only just launched their Facebook page today, hence the delay for making our band listings. Their bio indicates that Rob's wife Christina is a permanent member of the band now, and while their cover photo features Rob's Jack Spades bandmate Daniel Horton, he's not listed in their official lineup. The page indicates that they play "rock from the '60s to today", and can customize setlists for specialized gigs, and have encouraged crowd involvement at past shows.

Primarily seen at Room 21, your next chance to see The Wyld Stallyns will actually be TONIGHT,  as they'll play a rare hard rock show upstairs at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above The Canadian Nightclub! Profuse apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this afternoon via it's official Facebook event page. This will be their venue debut, and it will have an early-ish 9:00 PM start time with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Jesse and the Speers' finally expand their online presence, and hopefully the phone booth trip to The Upper Deck doesn't have any hang-ups! Don't miss their unplugged cover action there TONIGHT, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live at The Rockstar Bar earlier this year!

Next up, here's the latest from local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, who was once pencilled in for yesterday's weekend's concert previews himself, as he had advertised recently that he'd be playing a special acoustic set today at the local New Democratic Party office on Queen Street East in the lead-up to the provincial election. Mike cited "the unpredictable nature of politics" for the set being put on hold, as per his Facebook page, but he teased that updates will follow. If you can get past the political nature, it'd have been a unique setting! Leading from that, Mike's Soundcloud page strongly hints that his next solo album will be entitled "The Party Album", based on a preview playlist there featuring 5 songs, including an intro, a title track, "Superstition", "Rain", and "The Great Musical Landscape". This presumed cover artwork is also online, which features the colours of the NDP, Liberal, Conservative, and Green Parties. Is Mike's aim to release this on or around the provincial election on June 7th? Time will tell!

We'll keep you posted when more comes out on it, but Mike has two new videos on his Facebook page to close with! One from this past Saturday is a lyric video for his "Hourglass" song "Lest Ye Be Judged" (which is about the West Memphis Three, and features extra information about the trial and case), but embedded below is something a little lighter, namely a solo acoustic rendition of title track from his "Weight of the Truth" album, featuring a cameo appearance from his son. Solid casual performance, and it's cute to see father and son like this, so check out Mike's new videos above and below, and stay tuned for more on "The Party Album"!



Also today, here's the latest updates for the second annual Oh!No concert festival in nearby Leeburn, Ontario on September 8th, so what's new to report there? Well, there have been two lineup alterations, as the aforementioned Elements have been added as an 18th act for their second appearance at this event, while the still drummer-less Vol. have been replaced by frontman Steve Edwards and guitarist Mikaela Murtonen's duo project Mik & Steve, who fans will have seen at the Steves concert at LopLops earlier this month. Nice to see Steve and Mikaela still on the bill, and hopefully The Elements deliver a fun set once again! This poster was unveiled last week on the Facebook event page to add The Elements, and revised on Monday to replace Vol.. The poster also confirms admission fees and ticket availability for Oh!No II, as tickets will jump from $25 last year to $35 (which is unfortunate, but remember, there are 5 more bands this year.) Tickets are reportedly on sale at both Case's Music and The Rad Zone, and presumably through promoters Six, Two, Oh. and perhaps some of the local openers.

Also, while doors open at 11:00 PM, a full setlist has not been confirmed at press time. That said, the poster does list the out of town bands (including the relocated Shit Liver) above the locals, and if the band placement is intentional, does that mean Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface is headlining? Time will tell, but this is an immense lineup for Oh!No 2018, so visit the above links, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

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

• This doesn't bear directly on the local radio market, but The Bob & Tom Show returned to Northern Michigan last fall after Black Diamond Broadcasting moved the syndicated morning drive radio show from Classic Rock: The Bear (now at 95.3 FM) to 106.3 Mac FM in Onaway, coinciding with that station's move from adult contemporary to classic hits. Read more on the changes at this link. It's great to see that Bob & Tom weren't off of the Northern Michigan FM dial for long, and 106.3 FM arguably gets much better reception here than The Bear's post-Newberry signals ever did, so keep their new local-ish home in mind!
• After a couple years of uncertainty and rumours to this end, The Gore Street Cafe will close by the end of June, as per this photo of the letter received from property owners advising of the rental agreement ending, as shared to the laundromat's Facebook page. I won't elaborate further here, give the negative feelings and personal details in the thread, but I hope business is strong in the final weeks! Nicole's done great work for the community with the unique events and concerts, "pay what you can" meals, and local engagement done there, and hopefully she stays busy in related ventures after June 30th, even if a new cafe isn't imminent!
• I have replaced the link for former local concert/marijuana culture festival Hempfest in our concert festival links, as it's website's domain name has expired and been adopted by a women's clothing seller (there's no visible connection whatsoever to hemp or any fest.) It's new link here is it's Facebook page, which is teasing details on the forthcoming 2018 return after a year's hiatus and ownership change, but it remains to be seen if it will remain in Moonbeam, return to Ophir, or move elsewhere entirely. If we hear anything locally relevant, we'll let you know!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Most Weekend Concert Previews!!

The first full concert weekend of October 2017 is here, so here's another run of hard rock weekend concert previews to take in! Due to the amount and it's high profile, we're holding Saturday night's Ripcordz show for a preview in tomorrow's post, while Tuesday's K-Man & The 45s show will be previewed in full on Sunday or Monday (even if this was a quiet weekend, it's too soon for that one.) Do not worry, they are coming! Now, let's kick off our previews with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

With another month now in progress, here's another month of Tym Morrison shows at Gliss Steak & Seafood for our concert listings! As usual for his long-term arrangement at this venue at this time of year, look for him thrice a week throughout October, with shows taking place TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, before returning there on October 12th-14th, 19th-21st, and 26th-28th! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's trio of gigs, we were waiting for Facebook confirmation before calling them here, which came via their Facebook event page on Monday. No word on if he'll have any nighttime shows elsewhere this month (keep in mind that last week's Barrelhouse show wasn't announced until Friday), but these should provide more solid opportunities to check out Tym's unplugged covers at this popular downtown restaurant, so don't miss out this month, including TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY!

For what it's worth, I cannot confirm if there will be any Thanksgiving themes this weekend or Halloween themes over the October 28th weekend, so keep posted to Tym's Facebook pages in case something is stated. All of this month's shows (including TONIGHT'S, TOMORROW'S, and SATURDAY'S) are 6:00 PM matinees with no announced cover charges or age limits, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with a headlining date by Vancouver pop punk quartet Jock Tears in their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Gore Street Cafe! Delivering a strong blend of old school punk rock with folk and indie influences, this gender-equal band has a lot to offer in a live setting, and they should help charge the laundromat tonight, so keep this one in mind to experience Jock Tears for yourself! Opening are local alternative hard rock quartet Bizotic in their first announced concert in two months, and first at this venue since July, so look for a top-level set of creative originals as they prepare for the K-Man & The 45s show on Tuesday, preview forthcoming! This ALL AGES concert takes place at 7:00 PM tonight, and while this is a "pay what you can" event as usual, promoters have noted a suggested admission price of $10. Sounds like a good time for alternative and punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Jock Tears live!



Heading across the border now for shows in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, starting with the scheduled return of Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though not advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page, these are among the St. Ignace dates announced by the Jager successors on their Facebook page back in January, so unless otherwise stated, I'd treat these shows as being on. Last seen at this particular venue last month, this should be another fun weekend of classic and hard rock renditions from the Switzers, Chris, and Ron, so keep these in mind if you're in the St. Ignace area! As usual for Highway 63's St. Ignace gigs, expect 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



Finally for today's previews, we'll take a trip north to Sault Michigan for the latest shows from Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned, who are rocking The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT themselves! Two weeks removed from their most recent gigs in St. Ignace, this will be Banned's first concert weekend in Sault Michigan since rocking The Savoy in August, and first at The Rapids Lounge in over three months. Fans of Banned should be out in good numbers to check out Alex, Don, and Wayne's latest weekend of fan favourite and often heavy concerts, so don't miss all of the action tomorrow and/or Saturday night! As with the Highway 63 shows in St. Ignace, expect these shows to be 21+ events with no cover and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Banned live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Ripcordz preview and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Jock Tears & Stiffler's Mom), "Trading Faces" Split Details, And The Loud & Proud Preview!!

I am back home from a trip visiting family, and while I wasn't expecting to have a second post on the SMS today, I came home to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on those, as well as one more new show, an upcoming split's content and release details, and a preview for one more shows this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Esquire Club for headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page this morning, and I was on the road back to the Soo for much of the afternoon. After taking a nearly two month break from public concerts, these will be Greg, Mike, and Jon's first advertised shows since their Rotaryfest Stage 1 sets back in July, and first at the Second Line West venue in three months. Despite the very short online notice, this will be another fun weekend of hard rocking cover favourites for fans and Esquire regulars alike, so don't miss Stiffler's Mom's first shows of the fall season TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Expect 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits each night. See above for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live!



Next up, here's another new show with lots of advance notice, as Vancouver pop punk quartet Jock Tears will make their local concert debut with a headlining date at The Gore Street Cafe on Thursday, October 5th! This gender-equal group meld pop punk with indie and folk rock pretty seamlessly, and they should be a fine fit at the laundromat next month, so keep Jock Tears' short but sweet originals in mind locally next month! The opening act will be local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic in their first date of the fall season and first Gore Street Cafe stop since July, and they're a solid choice to kick off the evening's action on October 5th, so don't be late for their set! This ALL AGES show is once again a "pay what you can" event, as usual for the landromat, but there is a suggested admission fee of $10 in place. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss the indie-tinged punk and hard rock action next month at The Gore Street Cafe!

Also today, here's new details on the AlgomA/Shit Liver covers split album and joint local concert at The New American Pub on Monday, October 2nd! In terms of "Trading Faces", the whole split saw it's online release as scheduled on Tuesday via both AlgomA's and Shit Liver's Bandcamp pages (each band uploaded the whole thing), and the split is available on both pages via a "name your price" model, so consider paying an amount for their hard work! Of course, cassettes will have a firm cost to be announced, likely on September 17th when the physical release was previously teased, but no later than tour kickoff day on the 22nd. AlgomA's Bandcamp page also confirms the recording dates and studios for each half of the split, each appearing to have been self-recorded at home studios earlier this year, though Shit Liver's version of "Fell Down A Well" sounds like the 2015 version (at least, the first half.) Full tour details can be found at the tour's Facebook event page, whose related links confirm that familiar acts like Buried Out Back and Uncle Ray will join the two local bands on specific dates.

As for the October 2nd date at The New A, what can we now learn about that event? Well, the opening acts will be local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters and extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, who are excellent choices to open the night! The show will start at 9:00 PM flat, and there is a $7 cover charge, not including tapes. Visit that show's Facebook event page for full local details, but buy the "Trading Faces" split at the above links if you can't wait for the tapes, and look for our review of it in the coming weeks!

Finally for today, here's one more concert preview for this weekend, as local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SUNDAY as musical entertainment for this year's Loud & Proud kick-off event for the Soo's fourth annual Pridefest! The first of six shows in The Din's farewell run of concerts prior to their planned breakup next month,  their set on Sunday is in support of the Sault Pride Community's annual LGBTQ awareness and support festival, and their first of two shows for this year's Pridefest, joining their outdoor family picnic set at the locks in two weeks. Of course, fans may remember seeing the former Mike Haggith & The Din rock the Bushplane Museum in their acid jam days back in 2013, so it's great to see their tighter and more formal sound hit this venue one last time on Sunday, and for a great cause! Their set will be at 2:00 PM, as sandwiched between local performer and singer Tim Murphy's drag show at 1:00 & 3:00 PM, while there will also be children's entertainment and vendors on site.

Events kick off at 12:00 PM on Sunday, and this is a FREE & ALL AGES event, which should be a great way to kick off Pridefest, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on Loud & Proud, and here's The Din live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of TONIGHT'S Project 421 concert at The Canadian next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Spun & Dri Hiev), Plus New Videos!!

In the first news post of our second decade, we're splitting things between the border for some new videos and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month! Here's what you need to know!

Marquette, Michigan hard rock quartet Spun will return to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan on Friday, July 14th and Saturday, July 15th! Making their third trip east next weekend, the Nudge successors have proven to be similarly popular and talented in their first four gigs at The Frog, and here's hoping that Tim, the Bobs, and Doug deliver another pair of hard rocking nights of favourite songs in just over a week's time! No major frills for next weekend's shows otherwise, which have start times of 9:30 PM each and lack an announced cover charge, and as usual for E.U.P. concerts at bars, have an age limit of 21 years old and up. Also, just as a related reminder, former Nudge frontman Danzo McCracken's current 1990s rock cover band Reality Bites are playing at The Frog this weekend, so get details at this link, but as for Spun, click here for details on next week's shows, and don't miss out on all of the action at The Satisfied Frog for their return!

Next up, we'll head north to Sault Ontario for a concert at The Gore Street Cafe on Monday, July 31st that will be headlined by Calgary industrial punk trio Dri Hiev in their local concert debut! Presumably an intentional misspelling of "dry heave" moreso than a Dirty Rotten Imbeciles allusion, Dri Hiev are definitely not your average punk band, with their music sounding what happens when you have a noise punk band record an album in a hydraulic factory. How in the world will this fit at the laundromat? Be there at month's end to find out, but Dri Hiev are definitely worth a listen, as you won't hear this every day in the Soo! The local opener is acoustic punk solo project Telephone & Address in their first concert since Chris Shoust opened for Benj Rowland on short notice at the same venue in February. Nice to see Chris playing live again, his shows have been more infrequent lately, so keep this one in mind for later this month!

Note that Telephone & Address' newest album "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been..." will be on sale at the laundromat on the 31st, but unlike some of Chris' recent shows, this will not be a release party for his still-upcoming CD "Monster". As usual for Gore Street Cafe shows, this concert is a 7:00 PM ALL AGES concert, and while this is a "pay what you can" event as usual, a $10 entry donation is suggested. Check the official Facebook event page for more details on this unique punk show!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with the newest solo performance video from veteran local hard rock guitarist and Audiofumes podcast host Mike Cliffe! Inspired by Robin Trower's blues rock standard "Bridge of Sighs", this is an instrumental performance using the Rakkarak processor tio emulate a guitar pedalboard, and it's solidly done with a very bassy tone and effect, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's that other video from YouTube user spiritinthesky blue's YouTube channel filmed at last month's Jack Russell's Great White concert at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, Michigan! This is of the meet & greet after the show, visibly held indoors at the casino proper, and it's nice to see some candid footage of an event we don't typically see video of! Granted, it's a 27 second clip that largely showcases autograph seekers, but for those of us who don't buy VIP tickets or inquire about meet & greets at Kewadin, give this video a look!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bizotic), An Inactive Band Note, And New Out-Of-Town Concert Videos!!

In our last news post of the month, here's some all-Canadian news and notes in advance of Canada's 150th birthday next week! Along with some recent concert videos from out of town events involving local bands, we have a note on a move out of our active band links, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic will make their Gore Street Cafe debut on Friday, July 21st when they play alongside two touring pop bands from Victoria, British Columbia! The bands in question are "lazy pop" quintet Bridal Party (whose laid back indie-pop originals should fit the laundromat well) and Bright Boy (a more dream-like "shoegaze" group who should provide some interesting material of their own next month), so check out both acts to see what you think in advance! Bizotic will provide some extra heaviness and alternative stylings as the local featured attraction, and fresh off of last night's Deathsticks show, hopefully they can continue to ride the forward momentum at the cafe in three weeks' time! Note that Bizotic are actually billed first on the Facebook event page, but so are every local band on the Bridal Party/Bright Boy tour for other stops, so I'm not sure if they're playing first or last. In any event, this is an ALL AGES & "pay what you can" event with a 7:00 PM start time. See above for more details!

Next up, we have a band to move to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, they being local/Toronto celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide. Now, this is by no means an assumption that they're defunct, especially given members' busy personal lives and outside musical projects, but they have not issued a public statement or played live since opening for Hedley one year ago tomorrow at The Yard, and I have to keep our links current (also, that show is the only public local concert that they've played since August 2015.) Upon their launch in 2007, The Rising Tide united Inner City Surfers frontman Dustin Jones with the violin & stand up bass-wielding Jaaskelainen brothers (of Boot Hill Crooners & Wild Turkeys fame) and a rotating array of drummers, and they quickly became a fan favourite attraction locally and on the road with their unique brand of punk rock, which also saw them release three albums and even rock the Vans Warped Tour.

Dustin and company have been a reliable and original band with a solid reputation over the past decade, and they managed to make punk rock work with ease alongside a violin and stand-up bass! I don't think The Tide are 100% done, and would not be surprised when they announced a return show, but in the meantime, best of luck to Dustin, Sheldon, Marshall, Mikey, and their other former/live drummers in the future, and follow Tidal Records and Mission Control Studios for Dustin's recent work in local music production and promotion, as he's been busy on some great stuff!

We'll close today with a pair of new concert videos from local bands on tour, starting with one from local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback's out-of-town debut at The Asylum in Sudbury this past Sunday! Filmed by frontman Larry Babic's wife Karen for her personal Facebook page, she has more from this concert, but this video is the only one that the band shared publically onto their own Facebook page the following day. The video features the guys playing their original song "Everlasting Despair" from a good central angle of the stage, and while it's of very solid quality, venue lighting gives everything a blue/green tint. Also, it's worth noting that they're on the front cover of the current issue of Sault This Week, via this photo taken by Ali Pearson at last week's Go Skateboarding Day concert, with skater Mika Lindback grinding the ramp as well. Nice to see A Dire Setback get some visual play on one of our local newspapers, so check out the photo on the cover of this week's issue, and give their Sudbury concert video a look below!



Finally, here's a new video that only just surfaced from local doom metal trio AlgomA's headlining concert in Windsor a year and a week ago! Filmed by attendee Nancy King, this was only just publically shared by guitarist Boyd Rendell on Wednesday onto the Facebook event page for the Uncle Ray concert at The New A in two weeks that AlgomA are opening. There is synergy afoot here, as Uncle Ray opened for AlgomA at The Windsor Beer Exchange during that stop of AlgomA's 2016 summer tour, but now the roles are reversed as Uncle Ray travel north! The video in question was live streamed by Nancy at the time, but re-posted by Boyd this week, and it features AlgomA playing their songs "Extinct Volcanoes" & "The Longest Swim" (well, the first chunk), but it sill adds up to over 13 minutes of crushing sludge metal to kick off their set that night! Inconsistent lighting but solid audio and a nice close vantage point, though unfortunately, it's privacy settings mean that it can't be embedded on external websites, even though it's publically available on Facebook.

Until/unless that's changed, I can't embed it here, but give it a look at this link if you want to see AlgomA live in Windsor last year! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (A Dire Setback & Telephone And Address), Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to note that local classic rock quartet RPM are playing at this year's Passport To Unity multicultural festival tomorrow at The Machine Shop! Though not a full hard/metal band, drummer Ben Pascuzzi asked if I could mention it here, especially as they don't have any online pages, so if you're at this year's Passport To Unity, look for RPM's fan favourite covers tomorrow afternoon! Unfortunately, a full performer lineup hasn't been announced publically. Now, today's post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus a unique concert preview and a new live video, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic post-punk solo project Telephone & Address will return to The Gore Street Cafe TONIGHT to open for Mayhemingways frontman Benj Rowland! Apologies for the extremely short notice, the show was only just announced via it's Facebook event page on Friday, with the venue confirming that this was a last-minute booking. Taking place just one day prior to the official kick-off of this year's Fishbowl Festival (click here for full details on that event), this will mark Telephone & Address' first local concert appearance of the year, last seen launching their new CD at the laundromat when the Chris Shoust-led solo project opened for Iansucks in October. It's great to see Chris back out there with a new unplugged night of punk originals, so don't miss him TONIGHT! As for Benj Rowland, folk and indie music fans will remember him from playing with the Peterborough-based Mayhemingways four times locally since 2014, most recently at the Gore Street Cafe's Fortnight Festival last summer.

Benj should be a nice fit at the laundromat once again, so if you're a folk fan, don't miss him TONIGHT either! This all ages concert takes place TONIGHT at 7:00 PM, and while a $7 admission fee is suggested, this is technically a "pay what you can" event, and is not visibly included with any ticket package deals for official Fishbowl Festival events. This should be a quality night of reserved folk and punk solo music, so check the above links for full details, and here's Telephone & Address live!



Next up, here's a newly announced concert with advance notice, as newer local promoters Live705 are hosting their third concert on Saturday, March 11th at The Canadian Nightclub! Entitled "March Mash-Up" presumably to reference the genre disparity of the night's lineup, promoters have enlisted six acts, so who all is scheduled to play in three weeks? In listed order, the lineup includes Live705's flagship alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, alternative hard rock trio The Din, and the 2017 debut of young online page-less classic rock trio Electric Church, while three newcomers to Live705 shows will round things out, including death metal trio Pillory in their first show of the year, newer alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic (more on them in a bit), and DJ Seith spinning some vinyl mixes, though it's not yet clear if he'll get his own set block, or if he'll play a bit between the other bands. Solid lineup with a little something for everyone, including some extreme metal, which I think is a first for Live705!

This is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 8:00 PM and a $10 door charge, but rather than selling advance tickets, Live705 are experimenting with vouchers for $2 off admission, which you can obtain from band members upon request. I don't know if that idea will take hold, as it sort of introduces an extra step when you could just buy an $8 advance ticket and leave it at that, but we'll see how it goes! This is shaping up to be a fun concert with a nice and diverse but largely heavier/punk base, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also today, here's a special concert preview for a show THIS TUESDAY NIGHT, as promoters Six, Two, Oh. are merging the worlds of punk and rap at The New American Pub! The rap half of the show will sandwich the punk half, with the latter bands including the local debut of Toronto punk trio Pseudo, whose energetic hybrid sound should prove to be a well received attraction at The New A on Tuesday! The aforementioned A Dire Setback will play beforehand, and should continue to be riding high following their January Jam set last month, so if you want a preview of next month's March Mash-Up, you know where to be this week! The rappers on Tuesday will include headlining Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface, whose industrial and dark material should appeal to many fans, while local rap standout Mikey Thomas will open the show with his own skilled rhymes. An intriguing blend of styles to be sure, so keep this in mind for Tuesday!

This concert has a $5 cover charge, 9:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on everything on Tuesday night, and here's A Dire Setback live last fall!

Finally for today, here's the first public video of the aforementioned Bizotic live in concert, as posted to their Facebook page on Thursday! This comes from their debut set on December 30th at Six, Two, Oh.'s holiday funk show at The New A, and it's of an original song named "Subway Delay". Filmed on multiple cameras, the song itself reminds me of a 1990s alternative song, which is certainly not a bad thing, and it has a bit of an edge to it, especially from Brad Griffith's hard-worn lead vocals, and he has some solid guitar solos too! I will say that Louise Lamothe's trumpet playing is really buried on this video, but I'd need a better look at Bizotic to know if it's the song's fault or if she needs to be louder in the mix. Musically, Bizotic aren't as aggressive as Brad's other band Infinity Grinder are (were?), but they have a fuller alternative sound that definitely fits our coverage, and that plasma circle item is a nice addition to their stage setup! Give "Subway Delay" a look below, and don't miss Bizotic in their Canadian Nightclub debut on March 11th!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! 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 (Stiffler's Mom & Project 906) And Most Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another weekend of concerts is upon us, so let's kick off this weekend's hard rock concert previews with most of the currently announced shows in the area! This isn't a quiet weekend, so we're holding our previews of Saturday's Blackwood Sinners and Deathsticks shows for TOMORROW's post, alongside any late notice gigs that come our way. Now, here's what you need to know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two of which are SHORT NOTICE!

Local party hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their Facebook page on Tuesday. A one-nighter due to Saturday's Blackwood Sinners concert (which is being previewed in tomorrow's SMS post), this will mark Stiffler's Mom's first publically announced concert in over a month, so if you missed Greg, Mike, and Jon in September, be at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW for their high energy covers! Also newly announced is a rare Stiffler's Mom solo concert with advance notice, as they'll provide the musical entertainment for "Halloween at The Tech" on Saturday, October 29th, which is a seasonal event to benefit the former St. Mary's College's athletic programs. A haunted hallway, contests, prizes, and some sort of mystery "unveiling" will be among the night's entertainment, so definitely keep this event in mind for a Halloween weekend attraction!

No word on ticket prices for this 19+ event as of this writing, but there are advance tickets on sale starting today at The Tech. An 8:00 PM start time is advertised, and while the concert proper will presumably be held in The W.W. Baldwin Auditorium, this isn't publically confirmed. As for TOMORROW'S Rockstar Bar show, expect a 10:30 PM-ish start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover. Stiffler's Mom are staying busy this month, and they should have a solid show TOMORROW & over the Halloween weekend, so see above for more details, and here they are live!



Next up, Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT when they return to the Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley for one night only! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their Facebook event page on Tuesday. Despite announcing last month that they were taking "a short break" due to new or expecting fathers within their ranks, Project 906 are back sooner than that news implied, which is great news for fans, especially after guitarist Joe Jenkins' old band Exiled never returned from their baby-related hiatus! THIS SATURDAY'S show will mark Project 906's first show at Bay Mills' waterfront bar since April, and they should be in fine form with their entertaining hard rock covers, so don't miss out! This 21+ show in Brimley has no announced cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live earlier this year!

Moving to previously announced concerts, the long-term weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood will march on for the prolific Tym Morrison, as he's scheduled to rock Gliss again TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! This prolific veteran singer/guitarist will once again provide the music for the next three evenings at The Quality Inn's house restaurant, and if you're familiar with Tym's extensive local music work, you'll know that hard rock covers should play a big part in his large setlist this weekend, as usual! As usual for his frequent weekly appearances at the downtown restaurant, these three matinees are at 6:00 PM, and while none have an announced cover charge or age limit, remember where these shows are taking place. For more details on Tym Morrison's shows tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday, visit the official Facebook event page, and here's Tym live!



Finally for this concert preview post, Winnipeg pop punk trio Mulligrub will make their local concert debut at The Gore Street Cafe TOMORROW NIGHT! Making their second stop of their "Fall Outta Love" tour of Eastern Canada, this 2/3rds female power trio should leave a solid impression on fans with their indie punk originals, and much like Iansucks last week at the laundromat, they should give a nice sampling of the Winnipeg scene for local fans tomorrow! Local support will come via an acoustic set from The Din, albeit sans drummer Brandan Glew, who is apparently missing tomorrow's show due to work commitments. However, Mike & Tammy will soldier on with a rare duo set, and expect many of their fan favourite originals in an acoustic setting, which isn't a foreign concept if you're familiar with the band! As usual for concerts at The Gore Street Cafe, this ALL AGES concert will take place tomorrow at 7:00 PM, and admission is under their typical "pay what you can" model. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mulligrub live & unplugged!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Blackwood Sinners and Deathsticks previews (and more) TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Iskra Concert Preview, Plus New Concert Videos Of Local Bands In Sudbury!!

Before we unveil this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's a new news post for your Monday morning, mostly devoted to some recent concert video finds of local bands out of town, but first, here's a special Tuesday night concert preview, as Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to Sault Ste. Marie TONIGHT with a headlining show at The Gore Street Cafe! Coming less than a month after their headlining concert at The Oddfellows Hall, this brutal grind outfit should devastate fans at the laundromat as they make their way back west on their current tour, and the locale should add some spice to the proceedings, as Iskra may be the heaviest band to ever play at the cafe! Note that this show doesn't have an official openers lineup, but it will be preceded tonight at 6:00 PM by an open mic night hosted by local musician Kody Penno, though these are considered separate events.

Like last month's Oddfellows Hall show, this is an ALL AGES event, and it will start at 9:30 PM tonight, but like usual for Gore Street Cafe events, admission is via the "pay what you can" model, so keep that in mind! After the 12 year wait for Iskra to come back to the Soo, the short turnaround this time is a nice surprise, so kudos to the laundromat for bringing them back so soon, and don't miss out tonight! For a preview, here they are last month!



Next up, here's some new concert video finds from three local metal bands during 2016 tour dates in Sudbury! These all come from Sudbury concert venue The Asylum (co-founded by Wolven Ancestry frontman Mark Howitt), whose new YouTube channel is the site of a spree of recent uploads from shows there, with six of those videos being of Sault Ste. Marie talent, so what should you know about them? Three are of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's headlining show at The Asylum on April 29th, and they include their songs "Helen Kellers", "It Won't Change" (focused on drummer Matt Baic on a vertical camera angle), and as embedded below, the guys playing their self-titled song, "You're Scared", and "Fabricated Nonsense" one after the other. The videos can be a little dark, and fans' heads get in the way until the filmer gets closer to the stage, but Shit Liver sound ferocious as usual, so give their Asylum concert videos a look above & below!



Two more videos came from local doom metal trio AlgomA's set opening for past local headlining acts Striker and Archelon at The Asylum on June 15th, and yes, the channel has videos of those bands too if you're so inclined! AlgomA's videos include a portion of their newer song "Brazen Bull" (kudos to guitarist Boyd Rendell for confirming the title on his personal Facebook page), and as embedded below, most of their song "Extinct Volcanoes". More of a stationary camera angle here, capturing AlgomA's sludgy and down-trodden brand of metal nicely, so give their Sudbury videos a look above & below too!



Finally for today, The Asylum's channel does have one video of local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades from their set opening for recent New American headliners Cocaine Moustache on July 13th, and it's of their original song "Negative Headspace"! This may be of extra note as the first public video that we've found of Jack Spades' current quartet lineup, following guitarist Tiffany Stocco's departure last month, and while the song sounds a little emptier with only one guitar track, Jack Spades are in fine form during this "tiny disastour" stop, with J.D. Pearce delivering some fun pre-song banter! Give their Asylum video a look below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, which is definitely next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Iskra), Gnaeus & Din Album Updates, And More!!

With weekend concert previews complete, let's tackle some big recent updates in this stacked news post! Today, we have the latest from a veteran local band, big updates concerning two upcoming local alternative hard rock albums, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a familiar touring band coming back to our area next month, so here's what you should know! (Updated at 11:06 AM)

Just under three weeks after their headlining date at The Oddfellows Hall, Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to the Soo on Tuesday, August 2nd at... The Gore Street Cafe?! In what may be the heaviest show to ever hit the laundromat, fans of Iskra's brutal crust originals will return for what should be a devastating encore next month, so if you want a second helping (or missed their Oddfellows show last week), be at The Gore Street Cafe on August 2nd! This confirms the earlier teases that Iskra would return to the local stage on this date on the way back during their Canadian tour, but contrary to the original & now-cancelled plans, Blood Shed Productions are not promoting this show anymore. Local openers haven't been announced yet for this month, and while there was a local opening lineup for the original Blood Shed-planned date, don't expect those acts to be carried over verbatim.

As usual for Gore Street Cafe shows, this is an ALL AGES concert, and will operate under the "pay what you can" model, so don't let the admission fee scare you away! It's great to see Iskra finally secure the long hinted return date on August 2nd, and that we'll see them much sooner than the prior 12 year gap, so stay tuned for updates, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details on this grind encore!

Next up, here's the latest from local post-punk quartet Gnaeus' upcoming debut CD "Meditations", so what should you know about it now? Well, according to this shared meme photo on their Facebook page, it will apparently be released on Friday, August 5th! We're under two weeks from the release in other words, and while Gnaeus hasn't publically elaborated further on the release, bassist Matt Fronzi indicated plans for a release show in a personal conversation (which we'll wait for the band to publically announce before covering here.) The full official album cover has also been unveiled, as you can see on the left, and it is indeed one and the same as the original "Loomings" cover, just with Gnaeus' name and new album title in all lowercase with a new and weathered font. Looks good and fitting to their style, though still no word on if the preview image from the Rotaryfest program was ever officially intended to be the cover art.

As a preview for the release, Gnaeus posted a lyric video for their song "Fire" onto their YouTube channel yesterday, which is a rarity alone in the fact that it's a lyric video from a local band! It's yet to be established if the physical album booklet will have printed lyrics or not, but it's nice to have words to sing along with if need be! Check the above links for more on "Meditations" and Gnaeus' upcoming plans, look for the new CD next month, and give their lyric video a look below, and keep an eye out in just in case we have an advance review in store in the next week or so!



Also, here's some of the latest updates from local alternative hard rock trio The Din, who are also nearing the release of their own debut CD "Give In To The Din"! We're badly behind on Din updates so far this month, so let's start rectifying that with this preview of the album artwork & booklet courtesy of CDBaby (where their album is being manufactured), which lets fans get a full 3D look at the front, back, and inside of what you'll get in physical copies! The preview is very tricky to maneuver with a mouse, especially when trying to look inside, but if you buy the album proper, you can avoid any issues! The full CD will have 9 songs, including "In Search of the Perfect Moment", "Flux", "Alleyways & Apartments", "Out Of My League", their cover of Haggith's "75", the newer "Remember", "Potato (Should Have Known Better)", another new song "The Rose", and "A Drive Through The Peninsula". Everything looks good and professional so far, and of course, copies go on sale on August 12th at The Tech!

As another preview, The Din unveiled the studio version of "Alleyways & Apartments" on their YouTube channel on Tuesday, which is notable as the song that the band recorded at Mission Control Studios with Dustin Jones engineering things, though Pretoria Hill Productions' Daniel Schmidt produced the track along with the remainder of the album. We'll hold comment until our review of the album (likely coming next month), but check it out below, stay tuned for more from The Din soon, and don't miss the release show!

Finally today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook, as per their latest post from their Facebook page last week! The post reveals that frontman Joel Syrette is taking a hiatus from the band while attending Queens University in Kingston, and as a result, he did not play with them at Rotaryfest on Saturday. As a result, bassist Dan Beaupre's former Hollow bandmate Adam King (recently of Mustang Heart) filled in for him, which is a solid and fitting choice, and hopefully Adam performed well last week! It's not clear if he'll join Griphook for future gigs or not, but the band did note on Facebook that their hiatus since January was due to band members "going through some ups and downs", and while they didn't elaborate further on that, they said that they remain "dedicated to keeping rock n' roll alive." It's great to see that Griphook are alive and still kicking, so stay tuned for more on their next shows when announced, and best of luck to Joel in Kingston! Hopefully we'll see him back on the local stage in time!

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

A Major Lineup Departure, Gore Street Cafe Updates, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post on this Saturday morning, so what's on tap? Some assorted recent notes, a removal of a major annual concert event from our links, and big news concerning a local concert venue's future, but first, here's a big lineup update from a prominent local band!

We'll start today with a surprising lineup departure, as guitarist Tiffany Stocco has left local metal/punk band Jack Spades. The band hasn't acknowledged her departure beyond quietly removing her from their Facebook page's lineup, but she didn't play at last night's Anti-Queens show at The Rockstar Bar, and won't be joining them on their upcoming tour. In a personal Facebook post yesterday (which I won't detail in full out of respect to it's personal nature), Tiffany said that she "loved my band more than anything", and wishes her ex-bandmates the best, but "big personal changes" led to her decision to leave, and she wants to have "fun with music again". With that said, Tiffany apparently has a new band in the works, so we'll keep you posted when that makes it's way to our radar! Tiffany was an original member of Jack Spades dating back to their 2013 debut, playing at all of their shows and on both their EP & the "Fed Up!" split, and had previously played with their covers-centric predecessor band T-Rex Manning from 2011-2014.

Tiffany's been a fixture in local metal and punk concerts in the 2010s, whether as a guitarist or as the promoter of Skull Fist's local gigs, and while it's disappointing to see her exit Jack Spades, hopefully this truly is the right move for her, and that we hear more from her musically soon! And yes, when/if Jack Spades add a new second guitarist, we'll let you know!

Next up, here's some news that may impact a newer but artistically beneficial concert venue downtown, as Gore Street Cafe co-owner and local experimental musician Sam Decter has moved back to Toronto. A reason hasn't been publically announced, but after the high profile Fortnight Festival and his own recent music work, it does seem fairly sudden. Hopefully it's for the right reasons, as Sam is a talented guy with a lot of ambition! This presumably explains why his band The Leash Kids dropped out of Wednesday's Astral Gunk show, but more importantly, his departure may impact the future prospects of the laundromat, cafe, and concert venue. With Sam moving and construction on Gore Street already affecting business, remaining venue owner Nicole Dyble is hosting a community consultation event at 164 Gore Street on Tuesday at 6:00 PM, so she, friends, and supporters can talk about ideas to keep the cafe open.

The Gore Street Cafe has really grown in prominence for the local arts scene in recent years, especially with their accessible "pay what you can" model for most concert and food events there, and while it's not a steady sight for metal and punk acts, the ones that have played there have spoken highly of the environment and atmosphere! Hopefully Nicole, staff, and customers can push through these difficulties and continue to prosper as redevelopment of Gore Street continues, and consider attending Tuesday's consultation to see if you can offer anything for the cause!

Also today,  I wanted to acknowledge a deletion from our "Other Local Metal Links", that being for the Swampstravaganza, the van fundraiser-turned-all ages concert marathon that was held annually mid-year from 2011-2015. It's website (and only online page) has been deleted from it's host site Wix for unannounced reasons, and a rumoured sixth installment for this year likely isn't in the cards, given promoter Steve Mozarowski's move back to Toronto last year, and that it's intended timeframe of early May (where the last two were held) has came & went. The Swampstravaganza (a.k.a. Swampfest) was a fun event that saw 9 or more bands play all day at The Oddfellows Hall (or The Canadian last year), with band merchandise & even some refreshments on sale some years. Though attendance varied as the day wore on, a diverse lineup of metal, punk, indie, and more could be seen throughout each installment, with 38 different acts playing scheduled sets across the 5 years, plus 8 open mic artists in the last two.

Frequently seen bands included The Bear Hunters (the only band to play each Swampfest), and three-timers RedD Monkey, Sykotyk Rampage, and Haggith, while Steve himself played each year in varying projects (with RedD Monkey through 2013, solo during 2014's open mic block, and with the one-off Faceityoureametalband in 2015.) I was lucky enough to be at all 5 Swampstravaganzas, which could make for a long day, but they always delivered musically, and even if their website doesn't return, hopefully Steve hosts Swampstravaganza VI in the future if possible!

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

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA have parted ways with label Dead Beat Media and have signed a new deal with Indian metal label Transcending Obscurity Records! A reason for their split with Dead Beat Media hasn't been publically announced, but AlgomA bassist Boyd Rendell did thank them on his personal Facebook page yesterday, so it sounds amicable. AlgomA plan to release their second full length album through Transcending Obscurity, though no word on if that will come before or after the Hooded Menace split (which is through that band's label, not AlgomA's.) Read the full press release at this link!
• A press release for the aforementioned Jack Spades' upcoming "Disastour" can now be seen on SooToday at this link! The press release doesn't break any news that we didn't know before, but it features some good promotion for the tour, particularly their return to Spiderfest in Meyersburg next week, as well as a quote from guitarist Jesse Cook, so check it out below!
• In a late update for TONIGHT'S Ride For Sight musical entertainment at Stokely Creek Lodge in Goulais River, we can now confirm that country rockers Bone Yard (returning from last year) and blues musician Paul Dellavedova will join The 3 Day Millionaires on this year's music lineup! Bone Yard confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page yesterday, while drummer Ric Datson's personal Facebook page verified that Paul was also performing. I wish organizers had announced the full music lineup well in advance, but it's great to see everyone fighting the cause against blindness, so don't miss these acts at 8:30 PM TONIGHT!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!