LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (All The Wasted Years & Jack Spades), Plus New Videos!!

Here's a new news post for your Tuesday afternoon, including some new video postings and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for in over a month's time! Read on below for what you should know!

Reports of July's Rivers of Nihil concert being Live705's promotional return are premature, as they will end their almost 10 month concert hiatus on Friday, June 1st for a Rockstar Bar concert that they are calling The June Jam! This show will feature one touring headliner, they being Timmins punk quartet All The Wasted Years in their local concert debut, and their accessible, familiar punk originals should be up many fans' alley when they hit the soo in just over a month's time! Is it wrong to detect a Surfers resemblance in some of their songs? Despite their involvement, local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven are actually advertised as the headliners on the event poster, in their first concert set of 2018 and just their second since their return from hiatus last fall. It's great to have this union of Sense of Truth, Half Past, and As It Stands alumni back, so don't bypass them either! The other local openers are Live705's flagship punk trio A Dire Setback in their second concert of the year, and new local power rock quintet Re:Born in just their second live concert set to date.

Stacked lineup featuring a number of bands we haven't seen much of on stage in recent months, so don't miss out on all of this action! Also, note that A Dire Setback are heading to Timmins the following day for All The Wasted Years' CD release party, with Coach Bombay (from last year's local Vaultry show) also on the bill. This should be a big concert on it's own, so hopefully that show's a blast too! As for the Soo show on June 1st, there is a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, though a cover charge or ticket fee has not been announced at press time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on The June Jam as they roll in!

Next up, here's another new concert the following week on Friday, June 8th, as local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and "no-genre"/alt-punk trio Handsome Sandwich will make their Room 21 debuts in support of British Columbia alternative folk musician Jesse Stewart! If you're not familiar with Jesse, he's a singer and mandolin player who's attracted a cult following with his energetic, impassioned YouTube videos, and even won a Trailer Park Boys contest in 2014 to appear in the season 9 finale (look for "The Liquor Snurf" episode on Netflix.) It's easy to see why Jesse is picking up steam, his performances are lively and have a punk essence to them, and it'll be interesting to see how he's received locally in June! Jack Spades will be making their first local concert appearance since opening for Archelon in March (in a rare Room 21 set by a band of more than 3 members), while this will be Handsome Sandwich's first announced concert set of 2018.

Solid lineup overall, and hopefully this show helps encourage Room 21 to bring more electric concerts in as the year progresses! This 19+ concert above Low & Slow has a 10:00 PM start time, with $15 tickets going on sale this Friday at Room 21. Promoter/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce has indicated that tickets are "extremely limited", with only 40 tickets guaranteed to be on sale, likely owing to Room 21's smaller size, though I can't confirm if the local openers will have tickets on hand. This should be an intriguing concert for punk and alternative fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and remember that tickets go on sale on Friday!

Moving to some new videos, here's 10 minutes of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's set during their "Hitting the Fan" release tour kickoff show at The Rednecks Saloon on April 6th! This was filmed by attendee Christopher Paci for his excellent YouTube channel, though he unfortunately did not film openers Stegadeth & Id Iota. The video features Shit Liver playing multiple songs across 10+ minutes of brutality, which are predictably hard to identify by track name, but their live ferocity is on full display! The lighting's not overly bright, and I'm surprised that it's not more packed on the floor, but Shit Liver sound as heavy as ever, so give their new video a look below, and stay tuned for our review of their new album soon!



Finally, here's some new videos from Sault Michigan music/record store Crooked Music's Facebook page! One is just a sale video for the Ashmun Street business' 20% of sale last week, showcasing store stock. The sale's passed, but it's a nice idea of what all Zac & Christy have in store for purchase! The former Grooves Music also posted this video in January (apologies for the delay) that operates in place of their cover photo on Facebook, courtesy of local photographer Jay London's company London Media. Not too many Facebook pages that we deal with on the SMS have a cover video of this kind on their page, but it outlines their products and services well for new visitors, so give it a look if you're browsing! That very same video also has an extended commercial version with sound (I presume that's Zac Crook playing guitar), which is the optimal view of this ad. Give it a look below, and head to Crooked Music for your musical listening and performance needs!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Darsombra), An Online(?!) Battle Of The Bands, And New Videos!!

On this summer solstice, here's a new news post to take in this morning, so what will you find? Updates on a recently re-opened and renamed local business, new videos of a reunited hard rock band, and preliminary details on a battle of the bands unlike any you've seen locally before, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!!

Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo Darsombra will make their local concert debut when they headline at The New American Pub on Monday, July 17th! One of the most unique bands to hit a local stage this summer, Darsombra unite a guitarist and synth player (no vocals or drums) into an audiovisual experience with a video screen, extended 10 minute+ jams, and a hard to pin down sound that can be heavy, droning, or trippy at a moment's notice. They're hard to describe, so I recommend watching Darsombra videos online to see what they have to offer (don't just listen!) Local openers will include alternative/funk/hard rock quartet Bizotic and new local drone/noise trio Pointless (featuring Treble Charger, Pillory, and Ashes To Dust alumni), and both should compliment things in their own way in just under a month's time! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time and a $7 cover charge.

This promises to be one of the most unique concert bills of 2017, with Darsombra an experience all of their own, Bizotic continuing their upward momentum, and Pointless playing just their second concert that we've heard about, so be sure to visit the official Facebook event page for full current details, and see above for more on the bands next month!

Next up, here's an intriguing announcement from the aforementioned Six, Two, Oh., courtesy of their Facebook page yesterday, as the local concert promoters will be hosting an online battle of the bands at some point after December 5th! Rather than host a typical battle as part of a live concert, this is actually an online contest, with the aim being to have at least 7 bands enter with $150 entry fees (which is high, but you have over five months to save money if you're interested.) As far as I can tell, competitors will be featured in individual episodes of the label's dormant YouTube series Live @ Six, Two, Oh. in the winter, and after a one-per-person voting period (specific details not yet clear), the winner will earn the chance to record a fully mastered EP of up to 22 minutes in length at Six, Two, Oh.'s studios. The EP will also be released in a limited cassette tape run (a'la AlgomA's upcoming split with Shit Liver) if at least 7 bands sign up for the online battle.

In terms of who can register, Six, Two, Oh. have opened the floodgates to any acts (including rappers) in the Twin Saults, as long as you can make it to their studios to tape the Live @ Six, Two, Oh. episode for your entry. This is definitely a unique idea, and I'm very curious to see how it shapes up come December, especially if some Sault Michigan bands try their hand in it! Entries will start being accepted on November 20th, so if you want in on Six, Two, Oh.'s first online battle of the bands, start saving that $150, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, here's the first videos of local hard rock quartet Eclipse post-reunion, courtesy of their Facebook page on Monday! Filmed at their Rockstar Bar set on June 10th, no less than ten videos were posted from the show, apparently comprising their entire set, and before anyone's scared off, these are full concert videos, not audio recordings! The identical image of the band was added in post as a thumbnail, similarly to frontman Curtis McKenzie's recent solo uploads. Covers from the show include System of a Down's "B.Y.O.B." (with Handsome Sandwich frontman Johnny Belanger on guest vocals) and "Lonely Day", Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", Velvet Revolver's "Slither", Billy Talent's "Fallen Leaves", and Seether's "Remedy", while the other four are of originals or songs taken on from the defunct Haggith & Punch, including two with a pair of songs each. Those include both "Metal Cage" & "Wasted", the newer "Upon the Hills", "Tyranny", and as embedded below, both "Cry Wolf" & "Silver Bullet"

All filmed from a stationary camera amongst the tables at the venue, the quality is mixed on these videos, with solid audio undercut by occasional frame rate drops and attendees standing in front of the camera, sometimes for extended periods. That said, Eclipse sound good compared to their first run, and if you look past the obvious newer touches (Handsome Sandwich's banner, Fred's longer hair), it's like they never broke up at all! Give Eclipse's new videos a look above & below!

Finally, here's the latest from Sault Michigan music store Crooked Music, which re-opened two weeks ago after renovations at the former Grooves Music wrapped up! Now owned by former Half Stupid/Plastic frontman Zac Crook and his wife Christy, the "new" store was profiled in this Sault Evening News article by Nick Nolan, which features interview remarks from the Crooks, so what can we glean from the article? Well, it turns out that Grooves owner Gary Hatch was looking to sell the business (hence the ownership change), Crooked Music is open daily except Sundays, they have expanded their inventory to include vinyl records, band t-shirts, and memorabilia, they explain the meaning behind the new yellow table & chairs in front of the 540 Ashmun Street storefront, and more. I like that Crooked Music is expanding more into record store territory, and hopefully local music CDs are still stocked there to go along with the added vinyl!

Crooked Music are still offering instruments, gear, and lessons, with instructors there now including Zac's former Plastic bandmates Matt Williams (bass) and Aaron DePalma (drums), as well as Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins, who stars in the store's Facebook page's only video so far, where he demonstrates a Fender amplifier that they have on consignment. Nice bluesy performance from this talented local axeslinger, and I'm sure he'll be a quality instructor! Best of luck to Zac, Christy, and staff with Crooked Music, and if you're a musician or music lover in the E.U.P., consider a trip there in the near future! Give Joe's new video a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCEERT ALERTS (Vaultry, The Din, And Electric Church), Plus More Recent Updates!!

Before we dive back into Alter Bridge concert videos (yes, there's enough for another post on them!), we have a post full of news to touch on for this Saturday morning! Along with some assorted shorter items, we're leading off with three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the summer featuring some varied lineups, so here's what you should know!

Live705 have announced their next two promoted concerts, and both will mark their first stabs at promoting out of town touring acts! First up from them is a Father's Day concert on Sunday, June 18th at The Canadian Nightclub, and that show's featured touring act is Toronto hardcore quartet Speaker, whose hard hitting punk-influenced fury will be welcomed by local fans for the first time next month, so keep them in mind! Presumably due to their touring commitments, Speaker are not the advertised headliners on the 18th, with local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church reprising their Easter Bash role as the night's closing act. Solid choice, and if you've seen them lately, you'll know the talent these guys bring to the table! A high quality and suitably varied opening lineup continues with Live705's own punk quartet A Dire Setback, rising punk trio Stegadeth, reunited hard rock quartet Eclipse (in their Live705 debut), folk/indie trio The Autumn Roots, and unidentified Soo York City hip hop performers once again.

Curiously listed as an 18+ show on the poster (not by accident, 19+ attendees will have wristbands), this show starts at 7:05 PM on Father's Day, and admission is $10 with Live705's recent requisite $2-off vouchers available from performers in lieu of a cheaper advance ticket price. Also, as this is on Father's Day, dads get in for just $5 (no word on if a voucher applies before or after that discount, but keep it in mind!) This sounds like a fun and varied concert to take in next month, though note that it will be the same night as the Rock the Border Music Fest, so plan accordingly. Stay tuned to the Facebook event page for continued updates!

Next up, here's another Canadian Nightclub show to announce before we get to Live705's July show, as new local promotion agency The SaultMusicScene (no relation to this site or the 2000s website) will host their first concert there on Friday, June 30th to help kick off Canada Day! Headlining at the end of next month are local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau in a rare headlining appearance, while the band he edged out in last year's Speak Easy Battle (local alternative hard rock trio The Din) will also return to the stage fresh off of their Rock The Border Music Fest set as co-headliners! Supporting bands will include two returning acts from Live705's Father's Day show, namely the aforementioned Autumn Roots (fronted by promoter Jeremy Hannah) and Eclipse, while alternative hard rock quartet Bizotic are currently listed as tentative openers on June 30th. If they are confirmed or have to drop out of this concert, we'll let you know!

The lineup may still see an addition, so message Jeremy at the above links or the Facebook event page if your band wants in on this show or planned future events from The SaultMusicScene! This 19+ concert has $10 door admission, $5 advance tickets (details forthcoming), and an 8:00 PM start time, while there will reportedly be two door prize draws, though we await word on what they'll be for. It's been a long time to see Jeremy promoting again after a few false starts under old names, and hopefully this show is a huge hit to spur along more from him in the coming months! See above for current and upcoming details as they roll in!

Lastly for today's new show announcements, we have a true hybrid event on Friday, July 7th when Live705 return to The Canadian Nightclub once again with not one, but two out of town headline attractions! Victoria, British Columbia alternative/punk quintet Vaultry will headline this show in their local debut as they wrap up their This Is Our Eulogy Canadian tour, and their melodic brand of alternative originals should be a nice match this summer! Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface (who headlined at The New A in February) will return to the Soo as co-headliners for another punk/rap fusion event on July 7th, and his dark and unique rhymes should appeal to genre fans that night as well! Local openers will include the aforementioned A Dire Setback (who opened at the previous Garbageface show here), Soo York City rapper Rick E in a solo set, and two more acts to be announced.

Might the new acts maintain the punk/rap hybridization? Time will tell! Like with the Father's Day show, expect a 7:05 PM start time, and there will again be $2-off vouchers from local openers to knock $2 off of the $12 door admission fee. As for the age limit, this is also listed as being 18+ with wristbands for older attendees, in the second show where they're experimenting with allowing in attendees a year younger. Is this a first step towards Live705 all ages shows at The Canadian, or just a bonus for those a little too young to come? Stay tuned, but for more details on this intriguing mash-up show, visit the official Facebook event page!

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

• Sault Michigan music store Grooves Music has changed ownership and name, with Gary Hatch retiring and selling the Ashmun Street business to former Half Stupid frontman Zac Crook and his wife Christy, and the store will fittingly be known as Crooked Music upon it's re-opening in June. The store's Grooves-era services (lessons, gear, local albums) will still be maintained, but the Crooks plan to sell band t-shirts and vinyl records there as well. It's great to see that 540 Ashmun is remaining a music store to serve the E.U.P., so keep tabs above for details on the upcoming relaunch, and we've updated it's link on the site and relegated Grooves' page!
• Local/St. Catharine's death metal trio Shit Liver have quietly dropped out of Oddzfest II at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, June 17th, as per their removal from the lineup on the Facebook event page. A reason for their withdrawal wasn't announced, but remember that the guys do live in Southern Ontario now, and one or more of them may not be able to make the trip home that weekend. Promoter Josh Stephney is looking for a replacement co-headliner and an extra opening band to boost this show to six acts, so message him at the above links if you or someone you know are interested in playing next month! 
• I have replaced the link inactive Sault Ontario concert promotion agency Spotlight Canada in our "Other Local Metal Links" due to it's domain name expiring, so it now links to their Facebook page. A short lived attempt at a promotion agency in 2015 with national ambitions for touring and promoter networking, this was the aforementioned Jeremy Hannah's last stab at promoting concerts before returning to that avenue with the new SaultMusicScene this month. There's not much to speak of left of Spotlight Canada themselves, who never held a concert proper, but I thought I'd acknowledge the link update!

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

New Karstens Videos, A New Solo Cover Video, And Much More!!

Today's news post continues our recent increase in Sault Michigan-area coverage, so make that 6 posts in 10 to touch on at least 50% E.U.P. stories! Along with lots of assorted news stories and a new cover video, we have lots of new videos from a recent band discovery, so here's what you should know!

Though still lacking a formal band page, newer Sault Michigan alt-metal group The Karstens have launched their own YouTube channel! Already five videos strong and including our first public glance at original material, it's great to get so much new material so soon, but what's here? The channel includes a cover of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" live at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley (from the same filmer of their earlier Flipper cover), a guitar-less audio recording of their original "Indian Money", and this amusing clip showcasing The Karstens working "behind the scenes" of music video shoots. Yes, I meant music videos, as they have two posted there, namely "Indian Money" in full, and as embedded below, "Dissatisfaction". The former contrasts the slower & more deliberate song with a light, tongue-in-cheek video featuring the band happily playing instruments in & outdoors, and even tracking a song with a joystick?!

As for "Dissatisfaction", it's more of a lo-fi original (the band jokingly noted that it was "recorded with a potato") and features the core three members playing outside in various locales, even if not always seemingly to the track in question, though this video's filming was the source of the "behind the scenes" clip. The Karstens' originals (as presented here, at least) lack the spontaniety and aggression of their live covers, but they're a nice change of pace and a welcome addition to the Sault Michigan-area scene, so give their new YouTube videos a look above & below!



Next up, here's the newest solo guitar cover video from Stegadeth guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! A cover of "Fate" by SNFU (who she has opened for with Jack Spades), the cover is visibly well performed, but the audio quality isn't great, with her playing sounding tinny through this camera. Check out Tiffany's newest cover below, and don't miss Stegadeth TOMORROW NIGHT at Live705's January Jam at The Canadian!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, half from Sault Ontario and half from Sault Michigan! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, or company name:

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA acknowledged on their Facebook page on New Year's Day that their upcoming split vinyl EP with Hooded Menace has been delayed, and while they didn't elaborate on why, they did note that "2017 is going to be savage." The status also plugged an article by the metal website No Clean Singing that same day where contributor "Islander" praised the cover art and the teased songs so far, and it's worth a look in the meantime!
• Inactive Strongs, Michigan metal solo project East Branch is back in our band links! Their Facebook page was quietly de-activated in late 2014, but it was restored and made public again earlier this month, complete with a new post linking to a song posted on YouTube in January of that year. As a result, that's not truly a "new" update, so they'll stay in our inactive band links for now, but might J.R. have some new music up his sleeves? Stay tuned!
• In a minor update to our links section, we have changed the link for local music instruments/lessons store Grooves Music from their website (whose domain name has expired) to their Facebook page. Grooves is the only music instruments store in Sault Michigan, and one of few places there that carry local musicians' CDs, so don't miss it at 540 Ashmun Street! Also, note that Tantrym Tyme's Jacob Hotlen is teaching guitar there again.
• Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 clarified their break from the stage this month on their Facebook page last week, with frontman Henry Switzer (I believe) noting that the break is to allow him to heal up from a heart infarction that he had a few weeks ago. This is the first we've heard about it, but his health comes first, so hopefully he rests up and comes back even stronger next month!
• Gates of Winter bassist Steve Furgiuele is featured in this new SooToday article by Darren Taylor about his growing culinary career and current work in Edmonton as owner of his own cured meat company Fuge Fine Meat. The article also briefly mentions his Gates of Winter work, noting that he and his wife Mariana first met because she was a Gates fan. Great read, and it's awesome to see that Steve has found so much personal success! For what it's worth, he's quoted there noting that he was in Gates of Winter. Does the past tense mean anything?
• A third annual chili cook-off in support of the Ride For Sight blindness charity motorcycle rally will be held at The Garden River Community Centre on February 25th, but this year, Stiffler's Mom will not be the evening's musical performers for the first time. Instead, singer/drummer Greg Simpson's country cover band Bone Yard will step in, but at least Greg is still playing, and hopefully Bone Yard keep things hot like the chili next month! For reference, Redundant frontman Justin Langlois & his wife Monique are back this year among the competitors.

That's all for today, but in case there's not a new post tomorrow, we'll see you guys at The Canadian for The January Jam! Thanks everyone!

Two Concert Previews, New Pages, And A Woods Of Ypres Note!!

Hey everyone, it's time for some more local metal news, as we get back into a normal groove following yesterday's Clownsack EP review! I decided to split the weekend concert previews up a bit to spread them out and not overload them into one post, so today, we'll only preview the concerts taking place tonight or tomorrow night, with shows on Friday or Saturday being previewed in a separate post tomorrow. So today's top stories are those concert previews, but stay tuned afterwards for news on two new pages and an interesting older note on Woods of Ypres! Let's get things going!

For concert previews, we'll begin TONIGHT at Coch's Corner, as a local horror punk/metal quintet returns to the stage as support for a major touring punk act! Yes, Frightlight are back to take the Coch's stage for their first non-secret show there since adding Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe to the band, as they open up for Southern Ontario hardcore punk rockers The Endprogram tonight! The Endprogram are an energetic hard hitting punk band, and they'll be sure to rock the Sault much like they did two years ago when they opened for SNFU at The Grand Theater! Also opening tonight are local punk trio Motion Carried, giving Rick "Styles" White double duty as their drummer and as Frightlight's guitarist tonight. If you loved The Scary Uncles, or just punk in general, Motion Carried will be up your alley! This show is a 19+ affair, there is no cover charge, and it all starts at 10:00 PM TONIGHT! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun night of punk with a metal and hardcore essence, especially with Frightlight, so definitely consider stopping at Coch's Corner tonight! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the band's current lineup playing "Fright Night" at The Sewer Swampstravaganja!



Also, the 13th Thursday metal night at The Roosevelt Hotel is TOMORROW NIGHT, but hopefully the fact that it's the 13th isn't a bad omen for it! Actually, if you're looking for some different bands than you've seen in recent weeks at The Rosie, this show should be up your alley, so here's who to look out for! Headlining tomorrow night is local metal quartet Sativa Rose, in their first Roosevelt Hotel concert appearance in over 4 months, and their first with new guitarist Anthony Orazietti! Nice to see them get a prime spot like this, they'll be sure to devastate with their new originals and well played covers! Also joining them tomorrow will be Changing Waves, themselves making their first Rosie appearance with new bassist Terrence Gomes. I was impressed with their increasing diversity with their sound, here's hoping they deliver a solid set tomorrow! Rounding out the lineup is local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, replacing State of Misery in their Dismemembertainment AND Rosie debut! This is their last show until the summer, so if you liked them in their past gigs, or wanna see some entertaining old school metal, don't miss them tomorrow! As always, this show has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:30 PM start time. Click here for more details!

This should be a fun concert and a change of pace if you crave more classic sounds, so definitely consider this show! For a preview, I was gonna embed one of their high quality videos from the Sewer Swampstravaganja, but they were made private, oddly enough, so here's my video from that night of the band playing their original "Fall From Grace"!



Speaking of Changing Waves-related topics, here's a pair of new pages I recently came across! One is their new Facebook page, which is formatted like a fan page rather than their sparsely-updated "personal account" style page. This is brand new, with only one posting so far (it's about the show tomorrow), but it does feature update bio information that the other page doesn't have! It also has a good photo selection, but they're all from Devan Lauzon's time with the band. Click here to get connected, let's expand on their current total of 4 fans! As well, Sault Michigan music store Grooves Music has launched a second Facebook page, which strikes me as odd given that their original Facebook page is still active. Hell, the last two posts on both are exactly the same! The only major differences I'm seeing are a slightly different logo, some "check-ins" from fans, and adjusted hours. I imagine this might become the store's primary site, so check the above links to get hooked up!

Finally for today, I have a note that I wanted to share from Woods of Ypres! I contemplated adding this to our next Woods-centric post, but considering it's age, I decided to separate it from more recent band news. When you think about Woods of Ypres' back catalog, you don't tend to think of covers, live or studio, but a number of sites have reported that the band recorded a cover of Bathory's "Lake Of Fire", for a 2006 tribute album named "A Tribute From The Hordes To Bathory". The song originally came from the pioneering Swedish black/viking metal band's 2001 CD "Destroyer of Worlds", and you can click here to listen to Bathory's original version. Sites like Blabbermouth promoted the planned track listing for this 2-disc 27 song package, but by the time it was released, 5 songs were removed, and 2 were added to the final product, with one of the removed songs being Woods of Ypres' contribution (source here.) What happened to the "Lake Of Fire" cover? I don't know, I can't find official band statements referring to it, but it must have at least been partly recorded given that it was on early track listings. I think Woods of Ypres could pull this song off really well, it has that doomy melodic quality that they do so well, hopefully the Bathory cover surfaces down the road! Check the above links for more, and if you have more background info on this rare Woods of Ypres cover song, let me know!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more concert previews tomorrow, plus a Woods of Ypres-centric post and more very soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Monkey's Uncle, Blind Baby, And Nixxon Dixxon), A New Local Band, And More News From Sault Michigan!

And now, we finally get to more of the assorted news I've missed over the past couple of days! And there's more after this too, I'm still behind! Today, we have a pile of stuff from across the river, as Sault Michigan is the total focus of today's post! This includes new Facebook pages for a local music store AND a local venue, all relating to Sault Michigan, and a newly discovered local band! But kicking things off is both LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and an apology.

Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino on April 30th and May 1st! They were also there over the April 9th weekend, and possibly other times before then, but I never knew about the shows. Why? Because the band doesn't update their concert listings on their MySpace page, they haven't since they were still known as Jager. It took a Facebook mention and a check to Kewadin Casino's website to even find that out. Now I could easily blame the band for not keeping us updated, but I'll take the fall for this one, because I admittedly don't check Kewadin Casino's website as much as I should. In fact, there's some local bands advertised for playing at The Rapids Lounge that I can't find anything on in the first place, like Gary's Driving, Rainbow, and Crossroads. Anyone know anything on them either? Well, in any event, Monkey's Uncle will be there on Friday April 30th and Saturday May 1st, there's no cover charge, and it all begins at 9:00 PM! And I'm really sorry for missing out on Monkey's Uncle news, I will try really hard to keep up on shows of theirs on Kewadin's website! Though it would be nice if the band updated us on MySpace too. Even still, check out more from them and some original songs at this location!

Now when I was looking at Kewadin Casino's Entertainment page (note to self: LOOK AT IT MORE OFTEN!), I noticed a band scheduled to play two weekend dates there soon. The name was given as "Blind Baby". It took a bit of searching, but I can confirm that they are a hard rock band from Sault Michigan, so there's some exciting news! I can confirm three members of the band: Singer Tadd "Booze" Gravelle, guitarist Darian Causley, and drummer Ivan Schliska (you may recognize him from Scofflaw), with "Bill" on guitar and "Crib Bisque" on bass as well! I am about 90% sure they're a hard rock band, but I can't find video or audio of them online. However, they do have a Facebook fan page, so click here to become a fan! That being said, Kewadin Casino lists Blind Baby as playing at The Rapids Lounge THIS WEEKEND and then on May 7th and 8th! Same deal as the Monkey's Uncle shows, no cover, it all starts at 9:00 PM. They look promising enough, especially with Darian possessing a Zakk Wylde Gibson Les Paul, but like with some local bands, I can't judge until I hear them or know more. I'll keep you posted if I do, and Blind Baby are now in the local metal band links on your right!

Oh yeah, there's more! Nixxon Dixxon have scheduled an additional TEN shows this year, all at The Bird! Nice to see them back there! If you're looking for some exciting local metal and hard rock from one of the best young bands around, head to The Bird on the following weekends: May 14-15, June 25-26, July 2-3, August 6-7, and August 20-21! Awesome to see so much on the horizon, hopefully each and every show is a success! There's no announced cover charge for any of these shows, it is 21+ (bar, remember?), and each one has a listed start time of 10:00 PM. For more information, visit their official MySpace page! That June 25th weekend might be something I can hit, cause I'll be 21 then, but that'd depend on me figuring out ways to get there and back. The joys of being Canadian! I'll keep you posted, and remember, they'll be at Kewadin Casino at points this summer too!

Keeping with the Sault Michigan theme for this update, local music store Grooves Music have launched an official Facebook page! Lots of interesting stuff to say there, and let's go over some of it! First, some of the music instructors there just happen to be from local metal bands, including Nixxon Dixxon's own Kyle Beaumont & Jake LaLonde, and Slackjawed Rats frontman/solo guitarist Mike Libertoski! Also, prominent local drummer Glen Thomas used to teach there too! (The proof's in the ad.) They also uploaded some TV commercials for Grooves Music that have aired on local television, which is really cool! This is also where I found out about the new Monkey's Uncle activity that I hadn't previously discovered, so kudos to Gary Hatch at Grooves Music for alerting me! Also, there's plenty of news relating to music lesson programs, if you're interested in that. Nice to see Grooves Music extending their reach to Facebook, I'll have to stop by there one of these days and see what local albums they have in stock (Hopefully "Bad Side II" for an SMS review!)

And finally for this Sault Michigan-infused SMS post, a local concert venue has also made it's way to Facebook! Dondee Lanes have a Facebook page now too! The bowling alley/concert spot has played host to bands like Nixxon Dixxon, Riot! By Night, and Monkey's Uncle in the past, and apparently stay very active with updates on scheduled bands and drink/meal specials there, though I curiously see little mention of bowling. Oh well, at least this gets regular updates, unlike their website. The most recent update mentions that Nixxon Dixxon are scheduled to play there this weekend, despite no mention of it on their MySpace. HOWEVER, I have recieved confirmation from band contacts that they WILL be playing at The Dondee this weekend, so consider that an extra LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Two shows Friday and Saturday, both starting at 8:000 PM, no cover! Thanks to Ernest Beaumont for the info! Also, The Dondee's Facebook page has tons of photos, though mostly of people and partying, with the only band featured during a performance in any photo being A Touch of Class, who are good, but not metal. Become a fan of The Dondee by clicking here!

Believe me when I say this: There's much much more coming. I'm at best half done my cache of news from today's post, so expect something tomorrow afternoon with more, including the stuff I alluded to in my post yesterday. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect so much from Sault Michigan, I couldn't fit it all in without some stories getting lost! Stay tuned for more!

(P.S. Remember, when it comes to Sault Michigan bands, concerts, and events, I admittedly aren't as knowledged as I am for the Canadian side of things. I do miss the occasional show or fail to mention things on time in a few notable cases, be it for the band/venue's lack of advertising, my own personal neglect, or both. I have gotten better at staying in tune with the Michigan side of the metal scene, but I do make mistakes. I welcome any help, news alerts, suggestions, ideas, or reminders that you may have! PLEASE let me know if you have something relating to Sault Michigan that I should know, post, or correct! I want the SMS to be as useful, correct, and concise as possible, and sometimes, my own research doesn't totally cut it. Thanks everyone!)