YouTube Channel Profile Series: JoeNiemi17's Channel & Alex Hemy

Here is our last monthly feature post of the summer months, namely our latest YouTube Channel Profiles! This series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels featuring content at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk bands or concerts, in order to spotlight them for modern day readers and hopefully encourage views and subscriptions. This month's randomly selected channel only had two distinct kinds of videos (4 total that are relevant to the SMS), so I randomly picked a channel with only one surviving video to round things out with, and as such, each channel deals with a local solo musician from each side of the Twin Saults! Here's what you should know!
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JoeNiemi17's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/joeniemi17)
 
Owner: Former Analog Deficiency & Hoist The Sails bassist Joe Niemi

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 14th, 2010; Videos uploaded in October of that year

Channel Summary: Joe's channel features five videos, including two of him in solo bass performances and two videos a major Kewadin Casino concert. His last upload is of a pipe flooding at his then-school, which is his most viewed video, but has no music content.
 
Why You Should Watch: Give this channel a watch to see some of Joe's guitar skill from a decade ago, plus live footage of 10 Years' local set! The last video will primarily concern fans of fail videos or students who remembered the pipe incident. Note that this channel has not visibly been used since 2011, in case that changes your mind on subscribing.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out: 

Analog riff: Joe's main usage of his channel came late in his progressive metal band Analog Deficiency's 2009-2010 life span, and accordingly, one of his two performance videos is of a riff for a planned original song, as filmed to test his new iPod. It sounds promising, and Joe was a solid bassist, though both Analog Deficency and their successors Hoist The Sails struggled to break out of the Sault Michigan market, which hasn't been easy for extreme metal acts in the past decade. Joe's other performance clip is of him covering Lamb of God's "Laid To Rest" (and pretty well, I might add!)

Waste land - 10 years: This channel's two concert videos are from the Sevendust-headlined show at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on October 18th, 2010, but Joe did not film them or openers Since October & Anew Revolution. Rather, he filmed co-headlining Knoxville, Tennessee hard rock band 10 Years playing a minute of "Shoot It Out", and in his most popular music upload, their biggest hit "Wasteland". The quality and angle aren't bad for these ironically 10 year old videos, and the vertical resolution isn't too bad given where he was in the crowd! See more videos of 10 Years from their 2018 show here with Seether at this link.

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Alex Hemy (http://www.youtube.com/alexsguitarcovers)
 
Owner: Former Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 20th, 2012; Only surviving video uploaded in April 2020

Channel Summary: Alex created this channel to feature his solo guitar covers, which initially were in a hard rock/classic metal realm before increasingly getting softer, albeit better produced with backing tracks, and even featuring vocals on occasion. Unfortunately, Alex has deleted or privatized all of his old videos, which is a shame, as he is a very talented musician! His only video left is his new cover of "Driving Rain" by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators (with the original song as backing), and it's well handled and heavier than we were seeing from him in the videos previous to this one! I'd have used the alternate camera angle well before the 3:37 mark though. Hopefully new (or old) covers of Alex's surface down the line!


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 I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our random selection has given us a channel that can stand alone, namely defunct local classic metal band Project 421's official channel! Look for that on or around September 26th, and for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone! 

More Solo Performance Videos From Local Guitarists!!

We're back with even more videos on the SMS today, and we're picking things up with Tym Morrison's fourth live-streamed concert, though this one is not on Twitch. Rather, this 2 hour set was streamed directly on his YouTube channel last night, so if you were hoping to see his acoustic home concerts on a more familiar and accessible platform, this should be preferable. Also, there's no 13+ minute wait at the start of the video for things to actually begin, and I can link individual songs by title, so this is easier all around! In order, Tym begins by covering Amanda Marshall's "Trust Me (This Is Love)", Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)", Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", and Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", before briefly pausing to adjust a side door due to the heat. When he returns, Tym tackles Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", Supertramp's "Breakfast In America", Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", Cheap Trick's "The Flame", ...

...his own Spanish guitar instrumental, Phil Collins' "One More Night", Radiohead's "Karma Police", 10cc's "I'm Not In Love", Tom Petty's "Yer So Bad", A-ha's "Take On Me", Journey's "Lights", Oasis' "Wonderwall", The Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep", Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", Supertramp's "The Logical Song", Tears For Fears' "Mad World", The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" & "Blackbird", Amanda Marshall's "Dark Horse", and another solo instrumental, before closing with the first half of Metallica's "Fade To Black". As usual, Tym's guitar and singing abilities are on point and as consistent as ever, especially given the warmth in the room last night! That said, I can't blame you if you got deja vu watching this, as he was using the lyric book from his first two Twitch live-streams. Only four covers were making their series debut last night, and he did every cover from the second live-stream again except "Lady In Red" and "(I Just) Died in Your Arms".

The repetition may not be to some viewers' liking, but this video is way easier to watch and share, so that may counteract things if you don't like Twitch. Give Tym's fourth live-stream concert a watch below, head straight to individual songs above, and look for the likely next installment on Thursday!



We'll close today with some solo performance videos from guitarists we haven't seen on a local stage in quite some time, starting with former Brain Tuel guitarist Zach Reid, who has posted three solo covers onto his YouTube channel in the past year and a half! Since Brain Tuel fell inactive in 2009, Zach has moved out of town, and fans of his old alt-punk band may be surprised to see the trajectory of these solo cover videos. One's a vocal/guitar cover of Bright Eyes' "First Day Of My Life", which will be the relative closest in tone for Brain Tuel fans, but the other two are classical guitar renditions, including Claude Gagnon's "Les Blues Des Grenouilles" and as embedded below, Agustin Barrios' "Julia Florida". These cover videos are largely spare and intricate, but Zach's growth and maturity as a musician is on full display with these three performances, though fans of his old local band work may be surprised upon listening. Give Zach's solo performance videos a watch above & below!



Finally, here's the first new solo performance video on former Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel in over a year! Sadly, Alex has deleted all of his prior videos from his channel, leaving just this new rendition of "Driving Rain" by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators. That said, it's nice to see him tackle a heavier song than we were tending to see from him in the mid-late 2010s! Alex is playing guitar only alongside the original song, and his skill level s still solid, so old local fans of his will be at home here! That said, why is the alternate camera angle only used in the last 30 seconds? Give this a watch (while you can) below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more videos and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril & Highway 63), Plus New Videos!!

Here's another new news post for your Tuesday reading, and it's half devoted to Sault Ontario solo videos, but let's kick things off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next year!

Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect January 2019 concert weekends at The Rapids Lounge, and a couple of new hard rock announcements for The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace are within, starting with the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 on January 18th & 19th! This is the first announced solo concert weekend for Highway 63 since their return from their 2018 hiatus and their Dondee Lanes show THIS SATURDAY (preview forthcoming), as well as their second & third gigs with their new lineup. Fans last saw the Switzers and company in St. Ignace in December of last year, so if you've been awaiting their new setlist and lineup with baited breath, this could be a good opportunity to check them out! No word yet on a potential return to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo, but remember that after 2016, they announced a break from shows there "for a while" so they could do "some travelling" in 2017, and said break hasn't publically ended.

As usual for Kewadin Casino lounge concerts, next month's Highway 63 gigs have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. This should be a solid way to welcome Highway 63 back to the stage, especially if you can't make it to the Dondee this weekend, so visit the above links for more on next month's action!

Next up, the other brand new St. Ignace Kewadin hard rock shows will come just a week later, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will make their E.U.P. debuts for 2019 at The Northern Pines Lounge on Friday, January 25th & Saturday, January 26th! There will assuredly be more concerts on the horizon from Peril and their sister band Scarkazm to be confirmed at the Soo and St. Ignace branches, so stay tuned for when those are announced publically. This will be Peril's first concert weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge since rocking that venue early last month, and it's always cool to see Jeff, Adam (or Dave), and Brooks bring their hard rocking setlist north of the Mack, so don't bypass these shows next month either! Like with the Highway 63 shows next month, these are 21+ events with 9:00 PM start times and no cover. Visit the above links for more details on these two shows, and stay tuned for more on Peril & Scarkazm's 2019 Sault & St. Ignace schedule!

We'll close today with new videos from Sault Ontario solo musicians, starting with one from local alt-folk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore's YouTube channel two weeks ago, and it's of him playing along with his black metal original "She Crawls Towards It" from his recent album "Seven Curses"! The video proper is very grainy and somewhat overexposed, but Chase gives a very intense and dramatic performance of this chaotic song, even in this casual setting, and it's definitely worth a watch for fans of his heavier side! Yes, I am well aware of his recent "12 EPs of Christmas" project, stay tuned for info on that soon. Give Chase's newest performance video a look below!



Finally for today, here's a surprise new cover video from former Ashes to Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel! Alex's prolific video output slowed down a ton as of late, having only posted two videos in the past 3½ years, so it's great to see that he's still playing in some form! This is an instrumental cover of John Mayer's song "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room", as shot on five different cameras at once, all focusing on his guitar playing and nothing else. The instrumentation and backing drum track are all very nice on this soft number, though remember that this cover has no vocals. Give Alex's newest cover a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

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

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

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



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



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

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



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



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

New Van Halen Covers By Local Guitarists, Plus Lots Of Assorted Updates!!

(Updated at 3:11 PM) Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert, as Munising, Michigan metal quartet Infathom (featuring former Half A Man singer Dillon Semasky) apparently played at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley on March 12th, marking their first E.U.P. concert appearance since 2014. I profusely apologize for missing it, Pickles is still not a common venue for our coverage, but hopefully it was a blast, and we will keep a better eye out for Infathom's next trips east! Now, today's post features some assorted recent updates, and first, some Van Halen cover videos from two local guitarists, starting with two instrumental renditions by 415E guitarist Chris Hubbard, as posted to his YouTube channel yesterday! Including covers of "Panama" and (as embedded below) "Jump", both feature Chris handling guitar, bass, and drums on multiple camera angles.

These covers are very strongly done by this huge local talent, who has proven his Van Halen fandom is not in vain time & time again, but the overhead camera angle is not a great view for when he plays guitar. Still, give Chris' solid new Van Halen covers a look above & below!



Next up, here's the first cover video from former Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel in over a year, and fittingly, it's also of a Van Halen cover (in this case, "Panama" as well!) Playing along to what sounds like the original track minus the original guitar, Alex has a good grasp on the song, but the camera angles are a little odd. Still, it's nice to see a new performance video from Alex at last, so give it a look below!



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

• In their first public posting of the year, reunited Sault Michigan acoustic hard rock band The Creepy Little Coffee People revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they made a guest appearance during an open mic night at The Merchant's Bar this past Thursday. This isn't their first live performance in such an event since reuniting, but it's the first to get public word that I've found. Hopefully we hear more from The C.L.C.P. soon!
• Sault Ontario alternative hard rock trio The Din played a set at the Fishbowl Festival's closing party last night at Outspoken Brewing on Queen Street, and photos from their set are available on their Facebook page! The closing party was a private event for volunteers and participants of the month-long festival, hence why we didn't plug it here (or know about The Din's involvement beforehand), but hopefully it was a blast, especially at the unique venue, and hopefully The Fishbowl Festival returns for 2017!
• Local alt-hard rock duo Infinity Grinder re-emerged for the first time this year via a bunch of new instrumental song postings on their SoundCloud page in the past month, including an extended track named "Quong" and a 9-track "Green Room Session" featuring Terrence and Brad jamming new originals alongside guest keyboardist "Rudeger Picklefeather" (which I presume is an alias, but I don't know his real identity.) The songs are strong and entertaining, but vocals would be a nice touch. Hopefully we hear much more from Infinity Grinder soon!
• The planned LemmaFest V meeting yesterday was cancelled for unannounced reasons, and will be rescheduled, as per the official Facebook page earlier today. Despite that, there is already visible interest to perform at the returning Sault Michigan festival from bands like Munising's Infathom, a possible Scofflaw reunion, and a local metal band named Stoned Ape Evolution, who have been together since 2014, wear masks on stage, and feature local musicians John Napoletano and Melvin Willis in their lineup, but don't have a known online page that I've found. The anticipation builds, so stay tuned for more LemmaFest 2016 updates!
• Former Bear Hunters guitarist Mike Vincent is looking to put together another new local metal band, preferably a death metal band with him on drums (as you've seen with Faceityoureametalband and Troubled Mind), though he's open to playing guitar if the band plays "an amazing genre". If you're interested in jamming with Mike, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• Apologies for the delay in mentioning these, but four new episodes of the 7L arts/music podcast have went up on their Soundcloud page in the past month! None are fully devoted to metal, hard rock, or punk topics, but host Teddy Syrette talks to friend Emily Youngsen about dreams, Cafe Natura owner Kelly Barton, local musician/writer Jeff Hinich, and a few local rappers in each. Musical performances by The Din (credited as "fill in blank") and Pillory frontman Robert Sartini (who actually fits nicely in an acoustic setting) are also included in the first two. All are fun listens, so check them out above, and stay tuned for more from 7L!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our extended preview of Wednesday's VM Radio Battle of the Bands finals TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Emergency Festival Lineup News, Plus Some New Videos!!

Before we get this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile up on the site, let's touch on some news so we don't fall too behind. Today's news post features some new video finds from each side of the border, but first, some early lineup announcements for a returning summer concert festival, so here's what you should know!

The first lineup announcements have been made for the second annual Emergency Festival on Saturday, August 15th! The LopLops Lounge-promoted concert & arts festival (that more or less replaced Rotaryfest's Second Stage) will once again welcome numerous local and out of town artists back downtown for another year, so who all is playing so far? Punk and hard rock fans will notice alt-rock trio The Pixo Control & post-punk quartet Gnaeus (both from last year's Shock stage) and local indie/punk quintet Northwest among the announced bands, and it's nice to have them all on board! The out of town lineup is completely different (so far) from last year, including Toronto folk duo The Sunparlour Players, Alberta reggae band Tasman Jude, Toronto/Calgary indie rockers The Fast Romantics, Thunder Bay rock quintet The Poor Young Things, and Saskatoon country musician Zachary Lucky, many of which will be familiar from past local concerts. Though nothing "heavy", there's lots of talent to go around!

More artists are to be announced, as are performance venues, hence why we aren't calling The Emergency as a concert on here yet. For reference, last year's event featured three outdoor stages on Queen Street (the main stage for headlining bands, and two mainly for solo performers), and the indoor "Shock" stage in LopLops Lounge for local rock bands, so the same might apply here. For reference, a planned stage name this year is "Triage", which is being booked by Ears & Eyes Online's Jackson Reed, but again, we're waiting for official word on stage locations and lineups. Also expected like last year to have local arts vendors, beer tents, and FREE & ALL AGES admission, this will likely begin again in the late morning with music and entertainment all day, so be sure to stay tuned at The Emergency's Facebook page for full and future details as they come in!

It's great to see The Emergency Festival back for year 2, and after the positive response to last year's event, hopefully everyone at LopLops sees an even bigger turnout and reception for the sequel! Stay tuned as we hear more on where bands are playing, and for future lineup announcements!

We'll close today with new videos, including footage of Sault Michigan cover rock band The London Gentlemen covering some familiar songs at a wedding last year! Though this popular area band does cover the occasional heavy tune, posted media mostly points to general and indie rock covers, but given that their lineup includes Nixxon Dixxon alums Kyle Beaumont & Jake Lalonde, plus the extremely talented Mike Libertoski on guitar, you know the talent's there no matter what sound! Fronted by Fallen Heroes alum Mike Russo, 40 minutes of video from a wedding that The London Gentlemen played at in January 2014 at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino can be seen at the band's YouTube channel, and while I can't make out every song due to the audio quality and vocal levels, the first video includes covers of The Marshall Tucker Band, The Black Keys, and Blind Melon, among others.

Embedded below is the second video from their wedding show, including covers of Imagine Dragons and Foster the People, but punk fans will especially want to check out their solid cover of Sublime's "Santeria" about 7 minutes in! None of the songs here are badly done, but the video quality is mixed at best, and the camera is oddly distant from the stage (also, it's too bad more people weren't dancing, given that this was a wedding gig.) Check out these London Gentlemen videos above & below, and stay tuned in case we find more hard rock or punk covers from them!

Finally, here's the latest videos from ex-Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's personal YouTube channel! One is from February (apologies for the delay on this making the site) and it's a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again" alongside guest singer Jon Scott, who had also featured on Alex's Kodaline cover from last year. Solid performance of this softer number, and both guys handle their parts well! Alex's newest video (embedded below) is a cover of Dustin Lynch's "Hell of a Night", which is uniquely staged as a music video with Alex playing and singing in outdoor locales, including a beach. A country cover is a little unique considering Alex's usual cover range, but he handles this one well with an improving vocal range and nice guitar work! Check out Alex's newest videos above and below, and stay tuned for more videos from him when posted!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile next! Thanks everyone!

A New Album Release, New Videos, And More!!

As our backlogged news is slowly chipped away, we'll touch on a few more assorted items, new videos from two separate Sault Ontario acts, and leading off, the release of the first new hard rock album of the year, so here's what you need to know!

Dafter, Michigan hard rock artist Sweetkenny (Kenneth Sutton) released his 11th solo album "Slobber" on Sunday via his Bandcamp page! Coming in advance of a planned CDBaby release on January 15th, "Slobber" will likely be the first of three 2015 albums if his recent recording frequency is maintained for the coming year. Recorded last year at Waterfall Records, this is self-described as a "heavy rock, vocal, instrumental, high energy, fun album" which mixes instrumentals and full songs with vocals, "Slobber" has songs based around a "let me help you" feeling, though the intent of the "Slobber" name and pirate motif are somewhat vague. The album features 10 songs (all recorded solely by Ken), and it can be bought at the Bandcamp link above for $12, though physical copies will likely be $9.99 on CDBaby when released. If you're a fan of SweetKenny's prolific hard rock output, you'll want to check this out, but is a review of "Slobber" on the horizon?

We do plan to review a new SweetKenny album soon (very likely later this month), but we're actually going to take a look at his last 2014 CD "Amazonian" instead, as it's slightly heavier, but "Slobber" remains very possible for a review as soon as the summer once the 6 month buffer period (to avoid showing a bias) is cleared, though we may have to pick between that and a future SweetKenny release if his recording schedule remains busy. In any event, pick up "Slobber" and more albums at the above links!

Next up, here's the first new video from Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel in six months, as posted yesterday! A cover of Def Leppard's instrumental "Switch 625" (itself Alex's first hard rock cover in over a year), this will be of extra note to A.T.D. fans via drum tracks provided by drummer David Peredun, though he isn't drumming live in the video (and I have no clue if this collaboration is a sign of life for Ashes To Dust.) More similar to Alex's earliest covers due to the lack of vocals, it's a strong rendition with nice energy, and it's great to see Alex posting videos again, so give it a look below!



Also, here's a new teaser video from local doom/punk band The Revolution, as posted on their Facebook page on Christmas! The video features Austin McCrae & Brandan Glew (no new bassist yet) playing a new original song that is planned for their forthcoming debut EP, though it suddenly cuts off 86 second in, and was uploaded sideways for some reason. It's a little cymbal heavy, and Austin's hard to hear, but I imagine this will hold up with other tracks when they have a full lineup and work out the kinks! Check out The Revolution's new video below!



Finally for today, here's three shorter news items from the last little while, and these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Barring a sudden sign of life, we'll be moving local modern hard rock band Acention to our inactive band links by Saturday due to a year's inactivity, last posting on their Facebook page on January 10th, 2014. Featuring alumni of Haggith, Skeyes of Seven, and These Sins Of Time in their various lineups since 2012, Acention showed some promise and ambition, but they never played live during their run. I was hoping that Acention would have finally gotten off of the ground, but best of luck to Dalton, Josh, Cayne, and other former members in the future!
• A new review of AlgomA's "Reclaimed By The Forest" was posted on Boxing Day on the Italian metal site Metalhead.it on Boxing Day, albeit in Italian. Reviewer Matteo Piotto gave the CD an 8.5/10, calling it (according to Google Translate) "pitch black, claustrophobic, and oppressive" but also "a monument to the heavy sound", comparing the vocals to that of Godflesh. Good review, so give it a look at this link and with a translator!
• A new individual award has been announced for the Tidal Records Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub in March, as Bomb Energy Drink will be providing the "highest energy act" with a case of cans of Bomb and large t-shirts for each band member. Interesting, and I'm curious to hear what other awards are announced for what should be a huge event! Our source is promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page yesterday.

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

Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews (Including Heart), Plus New Videos!!

Hey guys, it's now time to kick off this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews in the Sault area, but to give it proper emphasis and to pair it with some other Sault Michigan stories, our preview of the fourth annual LemmaFest will go up on the site tomorrow, so look for it then! Today, we have previews of a major Essar Center show and a regular acoustic attraction on the Canadian side of the border, plus new videos from two local solo artists, so read on below for what you need to know!

Seattle hard rock legends Heart will bring their classic sound to Sault Ontario for a rare hard rock headlining show at The Essar Centre TOMORROW NIGHT! Arguably the first major hard rock event to hit the arena since Kiss played here in 2010, this will be the fifth stop on Heart's Rockin' Heaven tour of Canada this month, and with memorable songs like "Barracuda", "Crazy On You", and "These Dreams" under their multi-platinum selling belts, I'd expect a great show from Ann & Nancy Wilson and company in their local debut! As well, Heart will be joined by ex-Foreigner drummer Jason Bonham (son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) for a special Led Zeppelin tribute set to cap off the night, and if you saw Heart & Jason cover "Stairway to Heaven" last summer, you'll understand how good of a fit this will be on this tour! Tickets are still available for this ALL AGES show for $69.50 and for $40 in the upper back bowl of The Essar Centre (which will be in a half-arena setup), so pick them up A.S.A.P. at this link or at the in-person box office if you haven't already, and everything starts tomorrow at 8:00 PM. Check the above links for more info!

I'm very curious to hear how this show does, as it's success (plus the Brad Paisley show this fall for you country fans) could go a long way to prove the Soo's readiness for more big concerts on the Ontario side of the border. Heart have definitely held up over the years, and their songs remain memorable whether rocking out or playing a softer ballad, so if you're a fan of theirs (or of Led Zeppelin), do not miss this concert TOMORROW NIGHT! For a preview, here's Heart and Jason Bonham covering "Kashmir" last year!



Next up, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill is scheduled to enter it's 29th consecutive week with solo gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though unannounced on Facebook as of yet, these shows are confirmed on Tym's website, and unlike some recent weekends, Tym will likely be playing both nights again, with his hosted jam night tomorrow and a normal acoustic solo gig on Saturday. Featuring a diverse and often heavy cover setlist (which does indeed include some Heart material), fans up for a softer and more intimate night of hard rock will want to keep this weekend's shows in mind at the former Madison's Pub, so don't bypass them if available to go! There's no announced cover charge this weekend, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times both nights. For more details, check the above links, and for a preview, here's Tym's newest original song posting via his YouTube channel on Tuesday!

This is a late Father's Day gift of sorts for his dad, as it's a song named "My Dad" about him and the impact he's left on Tym's life. Not a heavy song, but it's upbeat and melodic, and is has clear emotion & passion, which Tym has always been good at showcasing! The first original upload on his channel in 5 months, give Tym's new song a listen below, and don't miss his cover attack at The Harp this weekend!



Finally for today, here's a new video from Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's solo YouTube channel! His first upload there in 2 months, this shakes up his usual norm by both being shot outside at night, and by featuring a guest artist, singer/keyboardist Jon Scott (who I'm not familiar with from other local music work.) Posted on Sunday, this is of their cover of Kodaline's "One Day", and while I don't know this group offhand, the cover does fit Alex's recent cover choices. The video is well shot and very well lit, and both Alex and Jon show clear talent, with Jon's singing voice showing a strength that would be nice to hear again in other projects! Check out this unique video below, and stay tuned for more from Alex's channel hopefully soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our LemmaFest preview and more from the Sault Michigan area TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Random Killing), New Videos, And More Updates!!

Even though March is leaving like a lion rather than a lamb, the news keeps on coming around these parts, so for today, we have a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall, new videos from each side of the border, and some more recent news items, so read on below for what you need to know!

A very influential punk band is returning to the Soo on Sunday, September 13th at The Rockstar Bar, and a trifecta of heavier local bands will be opening for them! The headliners in question are Toronto punk legends Random Killing (featuring Sault native Andrew "Drool" Kiteley on vocals) in what I believe will be their first local stop since the late 1990s, and if you know how intense their local stops were, and how much they affected many local musicians back then, you'll know that this is a big deal! Taking place during Random Killing's upcoming 30th anniversary tour, the scheduled local openers are local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, hardcore punk veterans Destroilet (in their first announced show of the new year), and new local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, all of which will be making (barring interim announcements) their Rockstar Bar debuts that night, if memory serves me correctly! Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this show (which is being called "Hardcore Homecoming") will have $15 advance tickets, a $20 door charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! The 1990s local heyday for Random Killing was before my time, but the optimism is clear from fans and performers, and hopefully we welcome Andrew and the band back with open arms in September! Tickets go on sale for the concert tomorrow, and only 150 are being printed, so get yours A.S.A.P., as this is sure to be a big show come September! Stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, here's a new Sault Michigan-area videos that I recently came across, this time from last year's third annual LemmaFest outside of Dondee Lanes! Courtesy of attendee Wayne Kozeyah's YouTube channel, this is from local hard rock trio Scofflaw's set from last June, and though we had shown Wayne's clip of their original "Burn One" on here last June, this one came over a month later on July 31st, so it slipped past our radar. This video is of Scofflaw playing their original "Knock You Down A Peg", complete with creative transitions and zooms once again, and it's of great quality even beyond that! Nice bluesy bite with lots of aggression too that fans will want to check out, so hopefully Scofflaw will pop up again at this year's LemmaFest, and check out this video below! (Just in case anyone asks, I know of the rough edit of Wayne's LemmaFest documentary that's online, but given that it's an unlisted rough edit of a school thesis project, I'll refrain from showing it on here until the end of the semester and/or the final public release.)



Also in new videos, Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's newest solo cover video is now online via his YouTube channel, and it's a cover of John Mayer's "Daughters"! Like his other recent videos, this is a softer rock cover with vocals, but like usual, it's performed well with great camera work! Also, this is an acoustic piece with no bass or drum input, so if you have a preference, keep that in mind! Check out his new video below, and don't miss the long awaited return of Ashes To Dust at the fourth Sewer Swampstravaganza!



Finally for today, here's three recent assorted shorter news items to clear out of our cache, and like usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or website name:

• The aforementioned Jack Spades announced the track listing for their upcoming debut EP on their Facebook page yesterday! In order, the songs are "They Live", "Ride", "Breakneck Speed", their cover of The Ripcordz' "X", and "To The Left", with songs like "Motorwolf" and "Frederick" not included. Sounds good all the same, stay tuned for updates on the planned release next month!
• Longtime Sault Star reporter Michael Purvis (who authored some metal-relevant articles for the paper) joined SooToday and Village Media's news team earlier this month, which is a huge gain for them, as Michael's experience at journalism will only add to their future coverage! Read more on Michael's SooToday hiring at this link, and best of luck at SooToday!
• The long awaited Earache Records re-releases of Woods of Ypres' black metal-era albums have officially begun, as the reissue of 2008's "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & Darkest Blues" came out on Monday through Earache's online store! Copies are available on CD and vinyl (with limited coloured discs too) along with shirts, hoodies, and patches, so if you don't own "Woods III" yet, click here to get your brand new copies!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, plus this month's CD review tomorrow! Thanks everyone!