Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Brad Example & The Role Models And Second Guess

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, as we continue our monthly looks back at local metal, hard rock, and punk acts of the past! This month's randomly selected double header are due to the first band not having enough surviving info, but I just wanted to clarify that I decided to keep that band despite our removal of their MySpace page from our links, as nothing's changed with it beyond our knowledge (in hindsight) that MySpace lost their songs. However, un-profiled bands deleted from our band links will not be considered for future installments unless posthumous pages are launched/found. Now, here's what you should know!
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Brad Example & The Role Models

Genre: Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information may be incomplete. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Brad "Example" Lacell (The Inner City Surfers, Room 206), vocals/bass
Dave Bahun (The Inner City Surfers, The Boot Hill Crooners), guitar
Marco Pedalino (The Cover-Up, Lion Ride, Bondar), guitar
Marc Muto (Lion Ride, Bondar, The Hangdowns), drums
Phil Greco (Tall Boy & The Smokes, Tripod the Dog), drums

Audio/Video: With MySpace's loss of millions of songs on their servers last year, The Role Models' four demo originals hosted there from 2006 are no longer streamable. No other media is known to exist publically online, but Brad's own solo recordings may harbour some similarities to The Role Models, if in a more stripped down format, and you can check out recordings of him at this link and at scattered other locations. Of course, Brad & Dave's past work with The Inner City Surfers also shared some obvious thematic links.

Info/Analysis: One of many Surfers side projects, Brad Example & The Role Models only played live sporadically, including sets opening for The Revue in December 2006, The Saigon Hookers (twice) in 2011, and Public Animal in June 2014, while also playing at 2011's Tailfeathers Music Festival in Bruce Mines. Brad has focused on solo music since 2015, but The Role Models' chemistry-laden & fan-friendly punk attack was always a solid presence, complete with some surprise metal covers, and Brad's gritty but soulful singing fit their live shows nicely! Hopefully some media turns up and/or they reunite down the road, they deserved a busier run!
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Second Guess 

Genre: Alternative/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information is incomplete, particularly concerning Dylan's role in the band. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Cody McMillan (John Hewitt & The New Americans, Blackwater), vocals/guitar
Garrett Masters (As It Stands, Break The Violence), guitar
Angelo Huckson (As It Stands, Break The Violence), bass
John Mignacca (As It Stands, Break The Violence), drums
Dylan Cook, ????

Info/Analysis: Formed by best friends & high school students in 2004, Second Guess reportedly played a gig at The Downstairs Bar in January 2005, and had teased shows that same year opening for Kiros and The Crossed, though it's unclear if those sets took place. Second Guess were reportedly working on an original CD, and listed 7 songs on their setlist on their Tripod page, though aside from a brief reference to covering Nirvana material, no direct hints towards their sound were made. Garrett, Angelo, and John moved on to the short lived ska punk band Break The Violence in 2005 before forming their best known band As It Stands later that year, while Cody would find greater renown locally as a folk musician, currently performing in Edmonton under the alias John Hewitt. I have no way of knowing how Second Guess would have sounded, but their lineup definitely had talent that blossomed very well in the ensuing decade+, and hopefully some media surfaces!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Next month in this series, we have a Sault Michigan band next in our rotation, but because the randomly selected band that I drew for next month doesn't have enough surviving information, I randomly added a Sault Ontario band to fill things out. As such, we'll be looking at inactive Sault Michigan hard rock band Bucksaw (a.k.a. Dirtbag In A Dress) and a Sault Ontario band we just added to our links last month, that being defunct alt-punk trio Nowhere Fast! Look for these on or around May 10th, and for weekend concert previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood), Weekend Concert Previews, A Band Discovery, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to briefly acknowledge the upcoming Guy Thiffault benefit concert on Tuesday, which was announced on short notice just a couple of days ago. This will be a massive show, and we will absolutely cover it in our next news post, as with only a week's notice, I didn't want to basically say the same things about it twice in a few days' time. Look for our full preview over the weekend, and I promise, you will NOT want to miss this one! Now, we have this weekend's concert previews, updates for an upcoming concert, and first, a surprise defunct band discovery, so here's what you should know before Christmas!

We have a "new" band to add to our defunct local metal & punk band links, and they are Second Guess, the 2004-2005 predecessors to the short-lived ska-punk band Break the Violence, and more famously, hardcore favourites As It Stands! I'm surprised it took this long to find their Tripod page, apologies if you've been wondering why it wasn't linked here already. Their last publically stated lineup featured A.I.S./B.T.V. bandmates Garrett Masters on guitar, Angelo Huckson on bass, and John (then going by Johnny) Mignacca on drums, though intriguingly, their frontman was noted local folk singer/guitarist Cody McMillan, of Blackwater & Soft Shoe Shufflers fame, while current actor Dylan Cook was credited as an ex-band member. Second Guess didn't directly cite their genre, other than to say that they have "a little something by the late Kurt Cobain for your eyes", but they did play a gig at the former Downstairs Bar on Great Northern Road on January 21st, 2005.

A CD with 7 songs was in the works at one point, and Second Guess had teased playing shows with alternative/emo favourites The Crossed and Calgary Christian rock band Kiros, though I'm unsure if these sets went ahead. There's not much else online about Second Guess, but it's interesting to see this page and check out what As It Stands members and Cody were doing before their local music work really took off! I'd love to hear the music that the guys were working on, but alas, if Break the Violence material and As It Stands' EPs still haven't publically surfaced online, what are the odds? Give Second Guess a look above!

Next up, here's that SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will play their last show of 2016 TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rednecks Saloon! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the concert via it's Facebook event page yesterday, though at least this show had one. Despite some Facebook postings implying that their Reggie's West shows earlier this month would be their final of the year, this absolutely will be, so if you've missed their request-heavy, fan favourite covers since their last Rednecks show early last month, don't miss Mourning Wood TOMORROW NIGHT! Presumably, Mourning Wood aren't playing on Saturday due to the venue closing early for Christmas Eve, but this isn't publically stated by band or bar. Expect a 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit for TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!

Lastly for announced concerts on this holiday weekend, longtime Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for solo acoustic concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Similarly to Mourning Wood, Tym is not playing there on Christmas Eve, again presumably due to The Quality Inn's house restaurant closing early for the holiday, so we have removed that show from our concert calendar (at the time we added it, there was no public word regarding any holiday preemptions.) Making his penultimate Gliss stops of the year, Tym's unplugged hard rock covers should provide some solid entertainment before Christmas, so don't miss out tonight and/or tomorrow at Gliss! As usual for his long-term run at this venue, expect 6:00 PM start times, and no announced age limits or cover charges, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



Finally for today, here's some updates for new local concert promoters/label Live705's second official concert on Saturday, January 21st, starting with word that the event has been relocated from The Oddfellows Hall to The Canadian Nightclub, as per the official Facebook event page yesterday. A reason for the move wasn't announced, but performers and Live705 flagship band A Dire Setback did have a well received set at The Canadian during last week's YouTube Party, so that could have been an impetus for the venue shift. Works for me, The Canadian's a big and high quality venue, and it should be a nice backdrop for this event! As for the lineup, it has been rounded out with three more bands, including local alternative/hard rock trio The Din & new local punk/metal trio Stegadeth (both of which played Live705's first concert), as well as a band named SleepWellCity, which is the current Ottawa-based electronic project from former local alternative/punk bassist Nathan Bouliane!

You may recognize Nathan (a.k.a. Jonna Maximilian) from bands like The Crossed, As It Stands, Stillbroke, and Like Father Like Son, so he's played it all locally, and it'll be interesting to hear his new electronic material in his long awaited return to the local stage! Finally for updates, Live705 have confirmed that the show's cover charge has jumped from $8 to $10 (possibly due to the relocation), though advance tickets will still be $8, though availability hasn't been confirmed. Things look like they're shaping up well for this concert, so check the above links for full current details, and stay tuned for more news this weekend! Thanks everyone!