LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished), The Unfortunate Sun Concert Preview, And More Recent Updates!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this wet Tuesday night, which is half devoted to Sault Ontario and half to Sault Michigan. We'll start south of the border as our Yooper readers gear up for Thanksgiving, so here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and a related mid-week preview, before we finish things up north!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will rock The Merchants Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig on their Facebook page earlier today, and as usual, The Merch don't advertise bands playing there on their own Facebook page. For Canadian reference, the Wednesday night booking is because Thursday is the American Thanksgiving, so most people will have the day off, and thusly can stay out late and go to the bar without impairing work or school (hence why some call tomorrow "Drinksgiving"). Tarnished have taken most of the past month off, so if you've missed Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's brand of hard rocking covers on a local stage, consider a mid-week jaunt to The Merch for their Thanksgiving pregame action TOMORROW! This is a 21+ event at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live last year!

Next up, hard rock fans in the E.U.P. have one more opportunity to partake in a "Drinksgiving" concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but in this case, it had advance notice, as local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will set up shop tomorrow at The Islander Bar in Hessel! This is a reprise of their Thanksgiving Eve concert last year (also the last time that the Fake Chow successors played at The Islander Bar), with the venue calling it a Drinksgiving Party again, but the band are calling this year's event a "pre-stuffed party". Of course, you can get stuffed early if you want, but we know how Thanksgiving tends to go! Unfortunate Sun's lively and fan-friendly mix of hard rocking covers should draw another solid audience, so come rock out before you settle in for the parade, the Lions game, turkey, and more on Thursday! All of the action begins at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Unfortunate Sun live! 

Also, I have sadly moved Sault Ontario/Toronto punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke to our inactive band links. Guitarist/ukelelist Mikey Hawdon hasn't posted any updates relating to him and his uke since posting the finale of his 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's "Dookie" (the album's closing songs "F.O.D." & "All By Myself") one year ago today, though commitments to his family and local bands BookcluB & Dos Amigos shouldn't be overlooked. Originally launched during the spring 2020 pandemic lockdown as a series of loose solo ukelele "quarantunes" for social media, Mikey's covers quickly caught steam and eventually attracted guest musicians of an increasing scale, and these soon took on their final form as remotely filmed full band covers, with Mikey starting each on ukelele before dropping the pretense and rocking out on guitar. Mikey moved back to Sault Ste. Marie in June 2022, and based the project locally from that point.

There were no inklings last fall that the "Dookie" series was Mikey & His Uke's grand farewell, but if it was, he sure went out with a bang! Truly transcending his home base, the YouTube channel has over 42,000 subscribers, with 10 songs getting 200,000+ views, including the cover of The Ramones' "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" exceeding 930,000. These were always fun covers with cool names to recognize and discover from afar, so definitely check out Mikey & His Uke's litany of all-star covers above, and hopefully he picks up his uke again in the future!

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 station name:

 

• In a programming note for 104.3 The Fox, 2:00-6:00 PM weekday & 12-6:00 PM Saturday DJ Dan Koo has not been on air since (at the earliest) August 15th, with Rogers Radio regional content director and 101.9 The Fox (North Bay) DJ Mitch Belanger replacing him ever since. Assuming that Dan has left The Fox/Rogers, a reason for his departure was not announced (unless it was only on air), but hopefully this isn't a sign of consolidating operations from afar, as Dan was the only fully local on-air personality dating back to final years of Country 104.3. Note that Dan is still credited in his timeslot in the schedule on The Fox's website, albeit without a picture.
• If you follow the Up & Down Lounge on Facebook, you may have seen this vertical video from the 24 Second Line West bar & golf simulator lounge on Sunday, which features a very brief clip of classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 playing there. We didn't miss a concert of theirs (the Up & Down Lounge rarely hosts public concerts), as this was definitely a private holiday party, and the video seems mostly intended to promote that you can book private events there. Silent 9's clip is muted out in favour of a seasonal Drake/Wham mashup anyway. It looks like a lot of fun was had!
• Convergence frontman Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio finished in second place in last month's sixth annual The Soo's Got Talent! We didn't cover this year's due to it being all-karaoke (let alone that there was no house band for the finalists like the last few years), but congratulations to Stephen, who has a really strong voice that goes beyond his recent metal work! This year's winner was David Ikechukwu (a.k.a. Bobbie Lex), making him just the second male champion of T.S.G.T., while perennial finalist Demoy MacSamuels finished in third place, and Shae Levi (the only female finalist this year) finished in fourth. Congratulations to all six finalists!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

A Concert Cancellation, Mikey & His Uke's Newest Covers, And More!!

I hope everyone is staying warm and off the roads on this very snowy Friday! Regarding this weekend's concert previews, the ones covered yesterday appear to be on as scheduled, but we do have a cancellation to note, as local hard rock quartet Half Past are not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow, as per an update to their Facebook page's post about the concert this morning. A reason for the postponement was not announced, but Shooters itself is opening late today. The weather forecast could be to blame, I don't 100% know, but Half Past have promised that there is a "new date to come". Hopefully all is well with the guys, and we'll let you know when this show is re-booked! While there have been a few other announced concert cancellations (especially tonight), hard rock shows covered in yesterday's weekend concert preview post are not visibly affected. Keep tabs with the bands and venues for clarification on this weekend's shows!

Now, let's dive into a new video and more on this snow day, starting with the long awaited conclusion of local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie"! It took almost two months after the previous cover to get the final song up, but the series is ending in style by tackling both the final credited song and the bonus track all in one video! For the last credited song, Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon (on guitar after dropping the ukelele pretense once again) is joined to play the deep cut "F.O.D." by Flatliners frontman Chris Cresswell, while Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot handles bass for the eighth and final time here, and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer returns to the kit as the house drummer of the "Dookie" series (and wearing a Toronto FC jersey for a change!) How is "F.O.D." filmed this time?

We get a little more variance visually here, as the softer acoustic opening verse is seen in monochrome, before going full colour when the song shifts into punk territory, though Chris continues playing acoustic guitar. Also, while Chris handles the opening, everyone else is seen either waiting patiently or setting up for their parts, which is cute! After "F.O.D." ends, we get to watch a sped up video of Mikey and his family putting together a jigsaw puzzle of the "Dookie" album cover while a caption scrolls across the screen thanking everyone for watching and supporting the series... but we're not done yet! The hidden bonus track on "Dookie" was "All By Myself", an acoustic song performed by drummer Tre Cool, and Mikey & His Uke didn't forget about that one! Here, Mikey takes on lead vocals and plays ukelele straight through for the only time in the "Dookie" series.

Guesting here are Vincent Hidalgo and Brad Magers from the Los Angeles punk band The Bronx and, more notably given how this cover was handled, their mariachi side project Mariachi El Bronx (and to that end, Brad is playing trumpet). No Darren here, nor any prior bassist. Two kids also join in banging pots on their heads, while Vincent plays guitar while lying on the floor. Nice little throwback to the early Mikey & His Uke covers here, with a Mexican twist, while "F.O.D." delivered the punk goods with solid vocals from Chris, so you get a good end to this lengthy series! Check both covers out below, and stay tuned for more from Mikey & His Uke!

Finally for today, I wanted to shine a spotlight on a local musician who needs help at a trying time (normally, I don't talk about musicians' personal lives here but I'll make an exception for stuff like this). As some of you may know, former Destroilet drummer Matt Waples was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year that may have spread to his adrenal gland, and he is having surgery to remove the cancerous testicle next month as well as chemotherapy. He has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $8,100 to cover travel expenses to Toronto and back as well as to cover the donation of sperm to be frozen in the event that he decides to become a parent in the future. Matt's fight was covered in this Sault Star article by Jeffrey Ougler earlier this week, where he outlined his goals to start a fully fledged graphic design business (local musicians know Matt's work with Sonigraphix well from posters, logos, and merchandise).

The article has candid remarks about Matt's cancer and what he has been through this year, and he has been similarly open and honest on social media. As of this writing, $2,925 has been raised, and hopefully more comes in soon, especially given how rapidly things are changing with his condition. Matt's a good guy, a strong drummer, and a talented graphic artist, and I hope things work out optimally for his health so he can get back to living how he wants without pain and worry. Click here to read more on Matt's cancer battle and to help him reach his financial goals, and we all hope that he gets well soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Chase Wigmore/Del Boy Druid Concert Preview, New Videos, And ARCH Run Clarifications!!

Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that Tym Morrison's previously advertised concert at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar has apparently been cancelled, as per the deletion of its Facebook event page and earlier reporting by Bone Yard 225 bassist Warren Reville that acoustic patio concerts there in general had stopped. Disappointing, but we'll have more from Tym soon, and we still have a Wednesday concert preview leading things off, as well as new videos and recent updates, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday morning!

We'll start with a special mid-week concert preview, as local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase James Wigmore will rock Soo Blaster TONIGHT when he opens for Winnipeg "hobo rock" singer/guitarist Del Boy Druid! Last seen earlier this month at Soo Blaster opening for Sylo, tonight's show promises to lean well into Chase's folk punk side more than anything, so while we may not get harsh vocals and such, his intense and passionate original music should be at the forefront as he helps kick off the proceedings! Del Boy Druid will bring his own distinct and original brand of folk rock to the local stage for the first time tonight, and he should turn some heads among folk and indie music fans, so definitely check him out on Bandcamp to see what he brings to the table! Outsider/anti-folk solo musician Shae Tull will kick things off tonight with another opening set that should leave a strong impression also at Soo Blaster once again!

Another presentation by promoter Mikhal Muto (kinda surprised that Agnosticism aren't playing this one), tonight's concert is a 19+ affair at 10:00 PM with admission costing $10 in advance at this link or $15 at the door. If you like anti-folk, outsider folk, and folk punk, you won't want to miss this concert despite its scheduling on a work/school night, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Chase live!

Next up, the twelfth song in Mikey & His Uke's series of 30th anniversary covers of songs from Green Day's 1994 album "Dookie" went live on their YouTube channel on Monday! Unfortunately, this was our longest wait yet for a new remotely filmed all-star cover in this series, coming six weeks after "Coming Clean" dropped. As Mikey's tribute to "Dookie" continues the deep cuts-only home stretch, song #12 is "Emenius Sleepius", and if you're a fan of Bowling For Soup, you'll be very interested, as singer Jaret Reddick and bassist Rob Felicetti are on hand for this cover! Fans may recall Jaret covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" with Mikey and crew last year, while Rob's involvement makes this the first "Dookie" cover in this series to not feature Andy Plafoot or Randy Bradbury on bass. Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon plays guitar and (initially) ukelele once again.

Ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer continues his run as the series' house drummer here, and he has another hockey jersey for the occasion! No major frills here for production or video settings, but everyone delivers an enthusiastic performance of this Green Day hidden gem, and it is neat to see half of Bowling For Soup involved in this one! We have just two songs left (three if the bonus track "All By Myself" is tackled separately), so look for "In The End" next! Given past timeframes, it should drop between Sunday and October 7th (the current average would be September 14th). Check out "Emenius Sleepius" for yourselves below!

Also today, here's some updates from local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who have been announced as the local openers for the Blood Opera-headlined Steel City NerdCon afterparty at The Queen Of Hearts Club above Shooters on October 19th! They will be taking over for The Apocalypse Afterparty in this role for Blood Opera's local return, and hopefully their skilled originals and covers prove to be a fitting appetizer for the violent horror-influenced stage show to follow later this fall! In terms of new videos, HeadFirst posted a "Shorts" video to their YouTube channel earlier this week of drummer Anthony Boudreau dancing to Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub during the ARCH Run while in work clothes! Yes, HeadFirst were the headliners outside that day, but he is seen here dancing during Bourbon Blue's set (I don't think they were playing "The Safety Dance" though.)

Fun video for what it is, and we'll have more from the ARCH Run in a second! For now, we actually have proper new live videos of them at their late notice Hilton Beach gig on August 17th from their Facebook page, where you can see HeadFirst covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising", and as embedded below, either a very obscure cover or an unreleased original song, as I couldn't match the lyrics to anything. Both of these videos are vertical and were shot in "selfie mode" by singer Red Jettison, capturing a lively crowd dancing along at this community hall kitchen fundraiser, and while neither video is very long, the band sounds good on both! Check these out above & below!

Finally for today, here's four brief clarifications from the band lineup at the ARCH Run outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Saturday! Partial credit goes to Audrey Marshall for these notes, as photos shared from her personal Facebook page helped confirm some missing or incorrect details from our coverage last week. These are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Bourbon Blue drummer Alvaro Scheid was in attendance for the motorcycle rally/concert, and actually played guitar in their debuting Pink Floyd tribute sister band Dark Side Of The Soo (Jules Cote drummed). Alvaro did drum with the pop rock cover band for their matinee outdoor set (which was also short-handed alongside just Jules and Nicole), but he did indeed miss Bourbon Blue's indoor nighttime show at Jay's, with Double Down's Ric Datson filling in instead. Hopefully both bands' sets were a success! 
• Though personal Facebook postings indicated that new local acoustic rock project Dodge This was a duo, guitarist Jamie July is not pictured in Audrey's photos from the ARCH Run, with just singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer performing. I haven't heard why Jamie missed the event, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and fans of Jason's recent shows at The Dive will have taken to his covers on Saturday!
• New local classic rock band The Hoovers welcomed Soundcheck's Terry Eaton, Jim Michaud, and Glen Thomas (no Cameron) to back up singer/guitarist Dwayne (not sure of his last name). According to Glen's personal Facebook page, they knew Dwayne via performing with them when they were jam night hosts at Jay's. Time will tell how The Hoovers will progress as a live concern, but Dwayne found a very capable backing band for the set!
• "The Preacher" has nothing to do with Lindsay Pugh or his song of that name. Rather, that is a handle being used for former Crossed/Deter guitarist Josh McNally's current blues solo material, which has recently been garnering attention at some more intimate indoor venues. In fact, he makes his Jay's debut as a solo musician on Friday! It is good to see Josh back performing locally, even if he's playing very different material nowadays than old Oddfellows Hall regulars will be used to!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Plus Mikey & His Uke, Mike Haggith, And HeadFirst Updates!!

Before we dive head first into this weekend's hard rock and punk concert previews (we have no choice, it's Rotaryfest weekend), let's get one more news post up, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, a new cover video, upcoming album updates, and more Rotaryfest band updates, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday morning!

Joining the previously announced concert by Bone Yard 225 at this year's Laird Fair on Friday, August 16th, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will also hit the road for this annual event just outside of town one day later on Saturday, August 17th! One week after Bone Yard will take over for Soundcheck at this year's Algoma Tree Services meet & greet, both bands will head outside of Echo Bay to deliver their brands of cover hard rock for fans at the Laird Fair (a.k.a. the North Shore Agricultural Fair), so keep both shows in mind! Of course, visit the fair's Facebook page for complete non-musical details on that weekend's family friendly events. Note that Bone Yard 225 are debuting at Gino's Fired Up Kitchen on August 18th, but I don't know if that is due to or the result of Soundcheck playing in Laird that night. Both bands are playing under the covered stage at the fairground site at Lake George Road East at 9:00 PM.

I don't believe there's a cover charge to just see one of the bands, and there's no age limit for fair attendees. Note that camping is encouraged if you are so inclined, and buses will be provided to get Saultites home safely if needed. Summer concert-goers have some solid options here, with Soundcheck's brand new confirmation rounding out what should be a fun weekend out in Laird, so visit the above links for more details, and look for our preview of Soundcheck's Rotaryfest return soon!

Next up, here's the latest from local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who will be releasing their debut EP "Head Trauma" a week sooner than originally thought! The release party at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Saturday, July 27th will still be happening, but as "we're so excited" for it, they've decided to sell limited CD quantities of "Head Trauma" at both of their gigs this weekend, including their sets at Rotaryfest Stage 2 at Clergue Park on Saturday and at Sault Pridefest's Loud & Proud family fun day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday! Just 20 copies will be available (they weren't clear if they meant total this weekend or 20 each day), and they will cost $15. The cover artwork for the EP was also released, which has a good concept but the layout isn't as even for the filmstrip proportions as I'd have liked. The wide physical release of "Head Trauma" begins at Shooters next Saturday, as does its release on major streaming services.

While not super transparent in advance about their EP plans (we still don't know the full track listing, and the guys hadn't even confirmed that it'd be on CD until yesterday), it's awesome to see HeadFirst move so fast to have their debut EP ready, so look for copies at both of their downtown festival gigs this weekend! I currently have "Head Trauma" pencilled in for review on the SMS next month, as this month is reserved for new hardcore punk solo project Choking On Appendages' debut EP "Macabre".

Also, song #11 in local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie" went live on the project's YouTube channel on Monday! While it took just over a month after song #10 ("When I Come Around") for this one to be uploaded, it wasn't as long as the prior wait, for what it's worth. For the rest of the series, Mikey and crew are tackling late-album deep cuts, as all of the "Dookie" singles already occurred in chronological order, so while this cover of "Coming Clean" may not seem like it'd be of more note than prior covers, don't pre-judge. Here, the guest singer is Gob frontman and Sum 41 guitarist Tom Thacker, who is a huge get for Canadian punk fans! Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon (on ukelele, then guitar) and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer are back as usual, while Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot returns on bass here for his sixth appearance so far.

This cover is very soundly performed for Green Day fans, with a good melodic base that Tom's vocals definitely help amplify! No concept or story within the remotely filmed clips here, but everything is crisply filmed & edited, with Tom singing from the comforts of a bathroom, while Darren broke out another baseball jersey for his video, albeit one that many readers will be A-OK with! We have two songs (three if they tackle the bonus track "All By Myself") left, with "Emenius Sleepius" coming next. Given past timelines, it should arrive between Sunday and August 20th (the current average would be on July 31st). Stay tuned as the series resumes, and check out "Coming Clean" below!

Finally, here's some updates from local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, who recently took part in a 2+ hour YouTube interview, but we'll touch on that in an upcoming post given how busy things are on his and our fronts. Next week, Mike will get a complete do-over as anthem singer and guest at a Barrie Baycats baseball game after the game that he sang "O Canada" at on June 13th was rained out. Yes, the anthem happened last time, and you can watch it at this link, but they called Mike back for another game on July 10th that was also postponed due to rain before it even started, and will now be on July 24th. Hopefully the game and CD giveaway go off without a hitch then, and we'll keep you posted when the live-stream goes up! Mike returns to the local stage for the first time in 2024 when he opens Rotaryfest Stage 1 this Friday, and his local band appears in this new Facebook "Reel" jokingly modeling stage attire!

Now named "The Big Finish Band", everyone (sans Mike) is seen wearing clothing that drummer Brandan Glew (if he isn't the one modelling the outfit) criticizes. Amusing for what it is! Embedded below though is a new video (sadly vertical, but not a "Reel"!) where The Big Finish Band rehearsed for Rotaryfest, but noticed that something was missing, namely Mike himself. Was he missing for normal "lives/works out of town" reasons? Watch on below, but it's another fun clip for fans, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for our Rotaryfest previews on the site in the near future!

That's all for now, but stay tuned as we begin the biggest weekend concert preview run of the year next! Thanks everyone!

Vanity First's New Album, Mikey & His Uke's New Cover, And More!!

News hasn't been super fast as of late, but here's a reasonably stuffed post on this Monday evening, leaning more to punk acts, including some new videos and big details on a new album, so here's what you should know!

As promised, local skate punk trio Vanity First released their new studio album "Identity Crisis" at their release party at Soo Blaster on Saturday night, and if you didn't attend to pick up a CD copy, you can also stream it online! No word on videos from the show, but Honest Job alum Drew Armstrong did snap photos at the concert, and a black & white one of drummer Keegan McAllister has already been posted to the band's Facebook page, with more promised to be coming. The band claims that "Identity Crisis" is available on "all streaming platforms", a claim immediately disproven by not being uploaded on Bandcamp yet (despite "Off With Their Heads" being posted there). In actuality, you can stream it on Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Deezer, while mp3 copies are on sale on Amazon and iTunes for $8.91 if you'd prefer actually owning the mp3 files. 

As hyped in detail on MorningStar Records' website, the album can be bought via Kunaki's print-on-demand method on CD ($10) or vinyl ($40) at this link, though at press time, I cannot confirm if Vanity are stocking the album at The Rad Zone or another local physical retailer (members do have CDs if you contact them directly). "Identity Crisis" is effectively an expanded re-recording of their 2022 "Vanity" demo, now including the three advance singles posted this year, their late 2022 single "Get Out", and one more new song named "When I Fall". All songs from "Vanity" were redone for "Identity Crisis" except "Breathe", a campfire jam-esque acoustic ballad which ended that demo. Quite frankly, if one song had to be scrapped, they picked the right one, as it doesn't jive with their skate punk base, but it wasn't a bad song, if more suited to guitarist Mikhal Muto's folk punk solo project Agnosticism than a full plugged in band.

At present, I have "Identity Crisis" pencilled in for review on the SMS in June, as this month and next are already committed for the newest albums from Convergence and the aforementioned Agnosticism. Stay tuned for that, but local punk fans will definitely want to give Vanity First's brand new album a listen (or optimally buy it) above & below!

Next up, the long awaited eighth installment of local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's series of covers of Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie" finally dropped on their YouTube channel earlier today! Four weeks removed from song #7 in this 30th anniversary series (the longest wait yet between songs), project leader/Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon and crew are back to tackle the next song on "Dookie", that being the single "She". On this one, vocal duties fall to K.J. Jansen of Calgary punk mainstays Chixdiggit, while Pennywise bassist Randy Bradbury (in his fourth appearance in the last five covers) is back here, as is ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer, who has yet to miss a "Dookie" cover in this series. Once again, Mikey plays guitar after his usual ukelele intro. Everyone delivers as you'd expect on this classic cover, and K.J.'s vocals are a great match for a Green Day rendition!

After last month's "Basket Case" cover had no real visual frills, we do get more variance here, with K.J. notably singing while shaving his beard, which is a new one for me to cover! Granted, Sault Michigan readers will appreciate Darren's choice of hockey jersey more than Sault Ontario ones. Next up in Mikey & His Uke's "Dookie" cover series is the deep cut "Sassafras Roots", which could drop at any point between Sunday and May 20th (the current average would be May 4th), so keep an eye out for that, and check out "She" for yourselves below!

Finally for today, here's a brief new promotional video from local alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich's Facebook page to plug their set opening for The Hazytones at The Distraction on Thursday! The 12 seconds long & vertical clip sees the entire band (all wearing sunglasses) promoting the concert, with each member handling a part of the sentence. No new information, but hopefully it helps get the word out, so give it a watch below, and check above for details on the concert! And of course, our best thoughts go out to drummer Johnny Belanger following the passing of his brother, the obituary is linked here. I went to high school with them, and I can't imagine losing a loved one so young like this.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Vanity First & Generations), Plus New Videos!!

Here's a surprise news post on this Good Friday evening, which is half devoted to new punk videos featuring former Lion Ride bandmates, but leading off, here's two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage on Saturday, April 13th when they rock The Water Tower Pub! Unless something gets booked beforehand, this show (announced by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group earlier today) will be their first since playing at Jay's in early March, and their first at The Water Tower Pub since a Friday nighter the previous week (the Great Northern Road nightclub historically hosts different nightly bands). Generations are celebrating their one year anniversary since succeeding Jus' Chillin last year (they debuted at Jay's on April 7th, 2023), and while they aren't returning to the origin site for this particular gig, hopefully Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's classic and hard rock covers find another receptive audience! This 19+ show will have an 8:00 PM start time and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Generations' next gig!

Next up, local punk trio Vanity First will indeed release their new album "Identity Crisis" on Saturday, April 20th with a formal release party at Soo Blaster! Confirming the Facebook comment from drummer Keegan McAllister's dad earlier this week, the concert will indeed see Vanity selling CD copies (no word on pricing yet), but unlike the limited pressing of their 2020 demo CD, this album is getting a more professional treatment, as "Identity Crisis" is getting released through local/Barrie rock musician Mike Haggith's label MorningStar Records. Now you know how Mike "played a small part in bringing the album over the finish line"! The album will be available to order through MorningStar's website too via the Kunaki on-demand printing process, but if Vanity First have properly signed with the label, they/Mike haven't confirmed it yet. Local metal trio The BAG will open the proceedings on 4/20, and they'll set the tone well with their heavy attack!

As per the poster by Mikhal & Keeghan's Hails bandmate Brenton Ellis (more on him in a bit), this all ages & licensed concert will cost $10 if you buy advance tickets from Vanity First band members (Keeghan's dad reportedly had them too), but the price will jump to $15 at the door. The concert proper begins at 8:00 PM. It's great to see that Vanity First have gotten this far already, and hopefully everything goes according to plan next month! Visit the official Facebook event page for more info!

Also today, let's look at the newest video in Mikey & His Uke's ongoing cover series paying tribute to Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie" for its 30th anniversary! After an unusually long 18 day gap between songs #5 and #6 in this series, the new video came just a week later on Monday, so we're back on the normal "6-8 days between videos" scheduling. Next up in track listing order on "Dookie" is Green Day's classic single "Basket Case", and here, the guest singer is none other than Descendents frontman Milo Aukerman in his fifth appearance with Mikey & His Uke and first since 2022. Mikey Hawdon plays guitar and (initially) ukelele once again, with ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer behind the drumkit once again, while Pennywise bassist Randy Bradbury returns for his third "Dookie" cut out of the last four. Everyone puts in a strong performance here, and Milo's intensity with the camera is noted throughout!

No major setting quirks or post-production effects here, but this video legitimately got shared on Instagram by no less than Billie Joe Armstrong himself, which has to be a huge feather in Mikey's toque! As a fan of sports jerseys and logos, I do think Darren could do better as Buffalo Sabres jerseys go, especially given their current set, but that's irrelevant to the cover. The next song in the "Dookie" series (track #8, their single "She") should arrive at any point between Sunday and April 12th, but the average gap between videos so far would place it on Wednesday. Punk fans will absolutely want to give this cover a watch below!

Finally for today, here's a throwback to local punk fans of the 1990s... remember Gutwrench? While their mid-1990s heyday long predated the SMS, their lineup included four very notable names, including current Hails/Slumshine frontman Brenton "B.G." Ellis on vocals and bass, guitarists Mike "Vinyl" Muto (ex-Issues/Band Camp Rejects) & Paul "Paulo Rage" Melanson (of newer Alberta-based metal bands like Castigate and Syryn), and Mike's brother Marc Muto (ex-Lion Ride) on drums. A lot of local bands of this era don't have much in the way of public media in the 2020s, but Gutwrench are now an exception, as Mike's son Mikhal (now on guitar in Ha!ls with Brent) has had three vintage cassette tapes of theirs to his personal YouTube channel for over two years now! These include their 1995 debut "Phantasmagoria" (recorded before Paul joined the band), and its 1996 follow-up "One Nation Under The Gun".

The other tape is a live bootleg from a show at the former Knights Of Columbus Hall (also, Mikhal posted a tape of fellow 1990s punk band The Kite Eating Maples but it has no imagery or information on the band/album there). With artwork (albeit with camera glare) and track listings on the two albums posted, the Gutwrench studio albums are absolutely eligible for reviews on the SMS once our new album backlog is cleared (perhaps this summer?), and given that Brent still plays live with his current projects, it could get priority on that basis when we do run out of new albums! Have a blast from the past with this fast paced local punk band above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, in all likelihood! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Double Down), Heavy Lies The Crown Updates, And More!!

Before we get into today's post, just a heads up that the Matthew Good concert at The Machine Shop next month has been moved up from Thursday, April 25th to Sunday, April 14th due to "some scheduling conflicts", as per promoters Cabin Media Entertainment on the Facebook event page on Monday. It's rare to see a show like this moved to an earlier date, but everything is identical otherwise. All tickets bought for the 25th will be honoured on the 14th, and contact Cabin Media or your point of purchase for details on a refund if you can't make the new date! Now, we have some new videos, a local band's big lineup news, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT. so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to the stage on Saturday, March 30th for their debut at Shooters Downstairs Lounge!  Announced on their Facebook page, this will be their fifth concert of 2024 and first in over two months, following their surprise cancellation of shows at Jay's last month due to "unforeseen circumstances". I was a little worried that those cancellations were a sign of other things amiss in Double Down's camp, given how abrupt the announcement was, but it looks like everything's alright, so expect some strong classic and hard rock covers from this talented foursome next Saturday! This is a one-nighter due to Shooters hosting DJs on Fridays this year, and Double Down have not announced a Good Friday show elsewhere at press time. This show will have a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, here's the sixth installment of local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's series of covers of the songs from Green Day's "Dookie" for that album's 30th anniversary! After posting new covers every 6-8 days for the first five songs, track #6 in this series was only uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on Monday, eighteen days after the previous cover. No word on why there was such a delay this time, but at least the covers are ongoing in order! The next song on "Dookie" for Mikey & crew to tackle is the deep cut "Pulling Teeth", and here, the guest singers (plural) are Gwendolyn & Lucy Giles, the sister bandmates of the Sacramento punk duo Dog Party! You may recognize Gwendolyn alone from her guest spot as a guitarist on this Jawbreaker cover from 2021. Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon returns on guitar and (initially) ukelele as you'd expect, as does ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer.

After being replaced by Randy Bradbury on the last two "Dookie" covers, Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot returns here for his fourth turn in this series so far. This cover is well handled across the board, and Gwendolyn & Lucy harmonize well here (they sing the whole thing together) with a good tone to match the original! In terms of filming locations and/or post-production, it's a fairly standard watch, but props to Darren for wearing a Tie Domi #28 Maple Leafs jersey here! Song #7 in Mikey's "Dookie" cover series will be Green Day's classic "Basket Case", which could drop anywhere from Sunday to April 5th (the average would be next Wednesday), so stay tuned for that, and check out "Pulling Teeth" below!

We'll close today with the latest from St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, starting with very surprising news, as they have parted ways with guitarist Ted Olson. In a video posted to their Facebook page yesterday, frontman Brandon West and drummer Jaxon Massaway revealed that it "was a mutual agreement", and that Ted "doesn't really wanna play shows anymore". Of course, it is worth noting that the vast majority of H.L.T.C.'s shows are over an hour's drive away downstate, so perhaps Ted wants to stay closer to home for future musical projects rather than travelling as frequently? Granted, that is conjecture on my part. At least he finished recording their new album "Built For Us" and appeared in the "Cigar For The Devil" video before leaving, but Ted & his headless guitars have been a constant since Heavy Lies The Crown debuted in 2018, and hopefully we haven't heard the last from him!

H.L.T.C. have already found a replacement, as ex-Highway 63 guitarist Nathan Switzer has returned to the band in Ted's place! Of course, Nathan was their second guitarist from June 2019 until early 2022 when everyone but Brandon & Ted left, and he featured on their 2021 full length album, so he's no stranger around these parts. Nathan does still live downstate, moving out of the U.P. in 2020, but if most of their shows are in the Lower Peninsula anyway, hopefully they can work things out! In the video embedded below, Jaxon also mentioned that the band is also considering adding a DJ to their lineup, which would definitely be interesting (and very unique as local bands go). After plugging the Born Of Osiris concert that they're opening in Pontiac in May, they ended the video with new multi-camera footage of Nathan playing the "Built For Us" song "Heartsex", giving us out first glimpse of him playing something from the new album.

While it is sad to see Ted go, Nathan is more than capable as a lead guitarist, and while many will best know him locally in cover bands, he has lots of technical skill for original extreme metal, and hopefully he fits in with Brandon again, plus the new-to-him rhythm section! Unfortunately, I can't embed the video here, as Facebook content matched "Heartsex" beneath Nathan's playthrough, but click here to check the full video out, and stay tuned for more from Heavy Lies The Crown in the near future, as well as our review of "Built For Us" by month's end! That's all for today, but look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTTS (Bone Yard & HeadFirst), Plus New Punk Videos!!

Plans for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post to go up today have been slightly delayed due to a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT hitting the news desk. To fill things out, we have more new shows for later this month and some high profile new studio material from two local punk projects, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will play their first ever show at The Water Tower Pub TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I only heard about this concert after seeing the band post a "story" on Facebook yesterday featuring this poster for their March concert slate. While I have never understood the conceit of posts that are designed to disappear after 1-2 viewings, I do thank the band for giving even a fleeting promotion for TONIGHT's concert, as they only previously mentioned it on their Facebook page on February 23rd, and only via the poster, not in writing. The Water Tower Pub never announced on social media who was playing TONIGHT either, so unless you know the band personally, you'd have to have seen and clicked on that image from the 23rd to have heard anything at the time. Regardless, it's great to see HeadFirst spreading their wings to another new venue, and hopefully things go well TONIGHT!

Remember, The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts different bands nightly, with Generations having played there last night. You can enjoy HeadFirst's classic-leaning hard rock covers TONIGHT at 8:00 PM, and expect no cover and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's central gig from HeadFirst, and here they are live!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard have announced their upcoming concerts for the rest of March via this concert schedule image on their Facebook page last night! We'll separately cover this coming weekend's shows during our next round of weekend concert previews due to them being announced barely a week's notice, but their other upcoming dates are both Saturday nighters with no current shows scheduled on Friday the 15th or 22nd. On Saturday, March 16th, Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge (who are hosting DJ nights on Fridays) for a traditional electric concert, their first at the Dennis Street nightclub this year. If you've missed seeing Greg, Alex, and Warren at Shooters since this past December, then keep this show in mind! Note that there could be a St. Patrick's Day theme that night given that the holiday falls on Sunday the 17th, but there has been no confirmation of green beer and such yet.

If you prefer your Bone Yard "uncorked", then they will return to Gateway Casino for one night only (they only book bands on Saturdays) on March 23rd, a little over a month after last playing an unplugged concert there. Fans of their acoustic sets should be right at home at the casino that night, so don't miss out then! At this juncture, possible dates for March 29th-30th have not been announced yet. These 19+ concerts have no announced cover charge, and start at 9:30 PM (Shooters) and 9:00 PM (the casino). Visit the above links for more details on their upcoming concerts, and don't miss Bone Yard at The Esquire Club tonight!

Also today, the fifth song in Mikey & His Uke's 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's "Dookie" album was uploaded to their YouTube channel on Thursday! Keeping with the album's track listing order, this week's song is "Welcome To Paradise", which is the second of Green Day's proper singles to be tackled as a result. The same backing musicians as on the prior "Longview" cover are back here, with local punk standout Mikey Hawdon (guitar/initial ukelele) joined by Pennywise bassist Randy Bradbury and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfeiffer. Vocals are provided here by former Screeching Weasel bassist Dan Schafer, a.k.a. Dan Vapid, who currently fronts Dan Vapid & The Cheats. Dan arguably has the most Billie Joe Armstrong-esque voice of the five guest singers so far, so keep that in mind, but everyone performs well on this cover overall!

Visually, this is probably the most straightforward "Dookie" cover yet for post-production and background settings (only including some crossfading between performers), but everything is still well shot and edited! Yes, Darren is wearing another hockey jersey (the sleeves are rolled up), but detectives may have trouble figuring out the team in question this time. If the scheduling pattern of 6-8 days between "Dookie" cover videos continues, then look for track #6 (the deep cut "Pulling Teeth") between Wednesday and Friday, but give "Welcome To Paradise" a watch below!

Finally, here's a surprise announcement from local punk trio Vanity First, as they have released a brand new single! As revealed on their Facebook page yesterday, the song is called "Off With Their Heads", and is apparently "streaming everywhere". If that was actually true, it'd be quite impressive! By "everywhere", they actually mean Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, and (as embedded below) via their auto-generated YouTube Music channel. On Bandcamp, the guys revealed that this song is "the most hilariously inaccurate viking song", and lyrics for it are posted there as well. "Off With Their Heads" will also be a part of Vanity First's second album, named "Identity Crisis" (cover art pictured), which follows their 2020 self-titled demo EP "Vanity" (released just before they tacked "First" onto their name). The guys had not publically said that they were recording an album, maybe this is why they've been so quiet lately?

No word on if their 2022 single "Get Out" or the re-recorded version of "Playboy Magazine" will be on the final product or not, but "Identity Crisis" is slated to be released "in April". If that holds, and nothing else beats it to market from local metal, hard rock, or punk acts, then its review will hit the SMS in May. I'll hold comment on "Off With Their Heads" pending our album review, but give it a listen for yourselves below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next, for sure! Thanks everyone!

News & Updates From Treble Charger, Mikey & His Uke, Handsome Sandwich, And Far From Fine!!

Let's tackle some big recent news and notes on this Saturday morning for a punk-leaning post focusing on some notable Sault Ontario bands. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

We have some big news from local alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich, namely the addition of ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch to their lineup. He's a solid guitarist, and is known to the band already via his graduating from Algoma University's music program alongside bassist Rafael Medina (click here for SooToday's article on that), so hopefully he fits in well! The announcement was made in this "Reel" on their Facebook page on Thursday where they otherwise thanked fans for seeing them on their recent tour dates out of town and for getting them to 1,000 Facebook followers. The "Reel" was shot by drummer Johnny Belanger, and also features input from Taylor and Rafael (who is "back" after missing their tour last month), but conspicuous by their absences are guitarists Jesse Cook and Mitch Sirie. Remember, Brandon had filled in for Mitch during their shows last month (as seen in this "Reel" from their impromptu jam night set).

That video aside, we haven't seen either guitarist in new official band materials since late last year, and the band hasn't 100% confirmed whether one/both of Mitch & Jesse have left or not, but we'll keep you posted if they say anything! Lastly from Handsome Sandwich, they were briefly spotlighted and plugged on the Ottawa internet radio station White Water Rocks following their show in Ottawa last month, and while we don't hear the band in any facet in the 8 minute clip posted at this link, it's a good bit of promotion, even if their name gets as much love as their music! Stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich when it rolls in!

Next up, I have a band to move to our inactive links on the SMS, namely local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine. While we're not at our typical one year inactivity threshold, guitarist Mitch Sirie revealed that "we're no longer a band" in a comment reply on a personal Facebook post on Monday by Northern Vibe Festival Forest Stage curator J.D. Pearce concerning the search for bands for this August's festivities in Ophir (click here for more details). I normally wouldn't go off of personal postings like this, but this may be all that we get re: an confirmation of their status, especially as the band has been dead silent on social media for the past 5+ months. In any event, a reason for their dissolution was not publically announced. Debuting as Ravencore at Toystock in 2022, Far From Fine united Suicide Kings and Gnaeus alumni for four high profile gigs last summer (Northern Vibe, Rotaryfest Stage 2, Lopstock, and opening for The Ripcordz).

I have no idea what happened to Far From Fine after such a big initial run of concerts, but if they had to only play five gigs, these aren't a bad five events to have sets at! Their album sessions from last spring did seem decently far along too, and hopefully those songs see a public release at some point. Given their existing talents and Mike & Mitch's prior Suicide Kings chemistry, their take on punk rock was definitely a welcome addition, but hopefully we see Mike, Matt, Austin, and Blair back at it soon, and don't miss Mitch with Handsome Sandwich(?) and The Bear Hunters!

Also today, here's a new promotional video for local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger's reunion concert at The Machine Shop on March 7th! The 14 seconds-long clip was posted to the Algoma University music program's Facebook page on Wednesday, and features the band hyping up the Thursday nighter upstairs, with singer/guitarist Greig Nori even noting that we can "relive the '90s" at this show (granted, their biggest hits were in the early 2000s). Note that they're in The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music for the video but the concert is 100% at The Machine Shop. Interestingly, their new rhythm section (bassist Frank Deresti & drummer David Peredun) are featured in the video, but whether this is a nod to the Algoma music program ties or if they're 100% band members for a larger reunion, I couldn't say at this point (I don't ever recall their 2010s session bassists/drummers featured like this though).

Not every video of this length will have this much stuff to say about it, but after all, Treble Charger are the biggest punk band that ever came from the Soo (even if they've only actually been based here since their reunion). Hopefully this concert is a huge hit for Greig, Bill, and crew, plus the Algoma music program, so click here to get your tickets, and check out the promotional video below!

Finally, let's cap off with the fourth song in Mikey & His Uke's thirtieth anniversary series of covers of Green Day's seminal album "Dookie"! Just six days out from the local punk standout's remotely filmed all-star cover of "Chump", track #4 from "Dookie" was uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on Thursday, this time a cover of "Longview", which is the first single from this album in track listing order. While Mikey (on guitar as usual and ukelele at first) is joined again by ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfeiffer, this rendition has a different bassist (Pennywise's Randy Bradbury), so Andy Plafoot is not the house bassist for the "Dookie" project. Vocals here are provided by Tilt frontwoman Cynthia "Cinder Block" Morgan, marking the first female performer in these Green Day covers. The performance is pretty straightforward but fans of Green Day's will be happy with it, especially as a more popular single!

Lots of little Green Day nods throughout, plus allusions to watching TV given the lyrics/original video, and some good post production effects, so there's a lot to see (and yes, Darren is wearing another different hockey jersey for his clips). With new covers dropping 6-8 days apart now, look for Mikey & His Uke's cover of "Welcome To Paradise" likely dropping between Wednesday and Friday, and much more to follow, but for now, check out everyone tackling "Longview" below!

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

HeadFirst Concert Review, Plus The Latest Mikey & His Uke Cover Videos!!

I hope everyone is having a good Family and/or Presidents' Day! This post leans more to readers who have Family Day off, specifically via a surprise Sault Ontario concert review and an ambitious new punk cover project, so here's what you should know!

For my first concert review of 2024, I went to see local hard rock quartet HeadFirst's solo headlining debut at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Saturday night, also the first time that I've seen everyone except drummer Anthony Boudreau in concert. We saw the band's first two sets, in which HeadFirst covered multiple songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Tragically Hip, along with songs by the likes of The Band, The Cranberries, Pink Floyd, Green Day, and... The Flobots? I did get the sense from the set contents that HeadFirst were backloading their heavier/metal-leaning songs for the end of the night, perhaps to appeal to a wider audience when things were busier early on. While pictured instrument roles were largely unchanged from their promotional materials, singer Red Jettison showed his multi-instrumental skills by playing guitar, bass, and keyboard on select songs, with bassist Claire Jeffrey took over lead vocals on three tracks.

Performance-wise, HeadFirst impressed with a strong talent base, with Raine Rancourt's lead guitar work & Liam Dinsmore's rhythm playing showing a lot of promise, and Anthony's drumming was as solid as fans should expect from his 2010s metal bands. As a pure frontman, Red exuded stage presence when he was just singing and not playing an instrument, which is instantly welcomed and will definitely help set HeadFirst apart locally! Much of that was negated when he was playing an instrument though. The rest of the band could be more animated too, but Raine & Anthony aside, they're new to me in local bands, so that should improve in time. On the songs with Claire singing lead, she did showcase a good voice, but I do think that they could pick songs better suited to her range, especially not The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", which I find to be exceedingly overplayed by local bands, even ironically.

Overall, HeadFirst have a strong talent base and old school-leaning set to attract an audience, and I know the best is yet to come from them, so be sure to see them live to see what they bring to the table, including this weekend at Jay's and back at Shooters on June 1st! While an official band photographer got some much better/closer pictures of them on Saturday for their Facebook page, you can check out mine at this link or via our Facebook page (I hate being that guy in everyone's road). I also got a video of HeadFirst covering The Arctic Monkeys' "Do I Wanna Know?", so check that out for yourselves below!

Next up, it's been a while (4+ months!) since we've seen new content from local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke, but there may be a good reason for that in progress. As you may know, February 1st of this year marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Green Day's breakthrough studio album "Dookie", which founder Mikey Hawdon has noted as being a highly influential release that was his gateway into not just punk music, but towards playing and writing music of his own. To honour "Dookie" and Green Day for the anniversary, Mikey plans to record and release all-star covers of every single song on this album, which will add up to fourteen covers when all is said and done (fifteen if Mikey & crew decide to tackle the bonus song "All By Myself"). Each song is being released in order of the album's track listing to the project's YouTube channel, and three have made their way there at press time, spaced 7-8 days apart each.

Given the circumstances of this being a wider project covering the same album by the same three-piece band, each of the songs (so far?) has the same three instrumentalists. Mikey is on guitar and (initially as always) ukelele here alongside Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfeiffer, both no strangers to Mikey & His Uke. Each of the "Dookie" covers will feature a guest singer, and on the first three songs (the deep cuts "Burnout", "Having A Blast", and "Chump"), the respective vocalists are Loved Ones/Falcon alum Dave Hause, Pulley singer Scott Radinsky, and Ataris frontman Kris Roe. The "Burnout" video is mostly in black & white, albeit with some post-production filters, with Darren wearing a Soo Greyhounds jersey for his footage (nice touch!) On "Having A Blast", things are in colour, and Scott is filmed singing in multiple unique locales and angles.

"Chump" is also in colour and is moreso a straightforward remotely performance clip. In all three, watch for nods to Green Day, plus more hockey jerseys from Darren, and a newly shot outro/Patreon plug at the end of each, featuring Mikey and his baby daughter. As a fan, I think my favourite of these is "Having A Blast" (it helps that I was already a Pulley fan), but all three are tightly performed covers that Green Day and Mikey & His Uke fans won't want to miss! If the release pattern of 7-8 days between videos continues, then look for "Longview" later this week, and look for the rest of "Dookie" to crop up into early May, but give "Burnout" and the rest (so far) a watch above and below!

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