YouTube Channel Profile Series: A Dire Setback - Topic & Hollow Sky - Topic

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we again look at YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists/concerts! As usual, we randomly select channels profiled in this series, but as our first pick just had one album uploaded, I limited things to two songs from it and added a second channel with minimal current content to round things out. Both are actually YouTube Music channels from bands who have released studio material on streaming platforms, so here's what you should know from them!

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A Dire Setback - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCN8MFZB-GJolSUXz9q5PDKw)

Owner: If anyone, a member of local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, though this is an auto-generated channel to facilitate their material being hosted on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 28th, 2020; All videos posted on that date

Channel Summary: A Dire Setback arrived on the YouTube Music platform (and on other major streaming services) with their self-titled album in March 2020, and these nine songs remain their only finished and released examples of studio material.

Why You Should Watch: If you're a fan of A Dire Setback, especially from their late 2010s peak as a live act, then you should appreciate this album and its energetic modern punk rock attack! Of course, the guys had massive misfortune in timing when this came out, as the long-planned release date was just two weeks after the first pandemic lockdown began. As such, the album release party at LopLops was cancelled, the rollout of CD copies was slowed down, and they have only played occasional live dates since the restrictions eased up. If the album got lost in the real world shuffle at the time, why not stream it now? For actual and official videos of theirs, check out A Dire Setback's own YouTube channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

A Dire Setback: The first and most popular song/video on this album/channel is A.D.S.' self-titled song, and as on the rest of the album, they're represented here by Chris Nielsen (from Mike Haggith's Big Finish Band) on vocals & guitar, Matt Quinn on bass, and Nick Kainula (ex-State Of Misery) on drums. A highlight on the album for me, this song benefits from a familiar riff, clear production, and well contrasted melodic yet rough edged vocals from Chris and Matt, but I do find that the ending stretch is way too drawn out.

 

 

Faded: Of my favourite songs from "A Dire Setback", I wanted to highlight "Faded" as it is among the least streamed songs from this album on YouTube Music, and it deserves more love than that. While short and lacking a real bridge, it is among Chris' best showcases of his improving vocal range, and it has a fast and proficiently played pace, so it understandably goes over well in concert! Hopefully we see the guys back at it in 2026!

 

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Hollow Sky - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCaypkpPL23ShoNIOdKUsHSw)

Owner: If anyone, a member of local metal duo Hollow Sky, but this channel is also auto-generated to facilitate the band's music being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on December 2nd, 2023; Videos uploaded from that day through May of last year

Channel Summary: The current extreme metal project from Uncanny Valley alum Adam Fahrer alongside singer Liam Tallon, Hollow Sky (no relation) have released three singles to major streaming platforms to date, including YouTube Music, where you can hear them playing "The Spiral", "To Die For", and most popularly of all, "Burn Away". This technically sound metal track with some nu metal-inspired vocals is a strong showcase of what this young group brings to the table, but you'll get promising djent-influenced metal across all three of their studio songs so far, and hopefully 2026 is a big year for them! Be advised that YouTube Music attributes eleven white noise/sleep aid tracks by an artist named "Fluffy Duffy" as featuring Hollow Sky, and they were uploaded to the band's channel despite being completely unrelated.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around March 26th, but stay tuned next for this month's album review! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Even Flow) And More Recent Updates!!

Before we get too far today, we have another missed concert to acknowledge on the site, from Saturday, February 7th in Sault Michigan, albeit one that had no public advertising that I can find. On that night, local hard rock bands About:Blank and Crush joined forces at The Savoy Nightclub, and for a show that About:Blank plugged after the fact on Facebook & thanked attendees for coming out to, why didn't either band mention it on their public pages? Especially as it was both bands' first gig of 2026, though Crush haven't even posted on their Facebook page in over a month. I do apologize for not covering this show on here, but alas, it's hard to when no one publically advertises it online, especially from the Ontario side of the border. However, About:Blank did post two new videos to their Facebook page from Saturday's show of them playing their original songs "Hearse", and as embedded below, "Unheard", so what can we glean from them?

The video quality of these videos isn't the greatest (the vertical orientation and The Savoy's lighting don't help), but the performances are solid and have a good energy that fans of Parker's past work with Tarnished will appreciate! Note that this set appeared to be as a duo following Nathan Webber's departure last month (I knew Nathan isn't in Crush, cold bug-induced error, sorry Alex), and hopefully the guys find the right guitarist and/or bassist to refill their ranks soon! Check out Parker & Kade rocking out at The Savoy above and below, and apologies again! I'd have happily promoted this show had someone said something publically!

Today's post otherwise features updates from a rising young metal band and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll an hour west in Eckerman, where local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will play The Strongs Tavern for the first time this year on Saturday, February 28th! The band just announced this concert earlier today via their Facebook page when thanking everyone for seeing them in Cedarville last night, and it will mark their first show at The Strongs Tavern since July, an unusually long wait given that they historically play there often, especially compared to other regional hard rock bands. Hopefully the guys deliver a fun batch of rocking covers for fans out in Eckerman to end the month! If you're wondering, the picture is from the Cedarville show, but I don't know if hand drummer Brian Duford missed the gig, was just not present for the photo, or if he was one of the Snowsfest Bigfoot mascots in disguise.

If things go identically to 906's prior Strongs concerts, this will be a 21+ event with no announced cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more news and updates from Project 906!

We'll head north to Sault Ontario for the back half of this post, starting with one more new show announcement, as new local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow will play their second concert on Friday, March 27th at Soo Blaster! Coming almost five months after Even Flow debuted on Halloween at Beck's Bar, you know that the guys have high aspirations when they're already headlining a larger venue like this, and while public media of them performing isn't on social media yet, the talent is certainly there! And yes, their singer is indeed Barbarians/ex-Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers, as per personal Facebook postings (the band's bio doesn't give his last name). Also featuring Papa Fogals Chair and Odd Man Out alumni, this grunge and alternative tribute goes down at 8:00 PM on March 27th, it will presumably be all ages, and advance tickets cost $10 at this link or through band members. See above for more details on this event!

Finally, here's the latest from local metalcore duo Hollow Sky, and while they just resurfaced for their first Facebook page update since June of last year, observant fans may have noticed recent activity on streaming services attributed to them. In December, an album named "Echoes Fade Slowly" by a band named Hollow Sky surfaced on major streaming platforms, and the local band's Linktree page kicks to this album on YouTube Music. The three red flags here were A. the genre (indie/pop rock), B. the singer (female), and C. the online footprint (minimal, I have suspicions that this Hollow Sky is AI-generated). I reached out to the local band to tell them about this so they can address the links and attribution as needed, and they confirmed that they are 100% not behind "Echoes Fade Slowly". I fear that this isn't the only time that such a name/credit issue will crop up on streaming, so be observant!

In terms of actual content by Liam and Adam, their new posting is of a cover-ish of the riff from "1. The Many Names Of God", a new song by Birmingham, Alabama progressive metalcore band Erra that isn't even coming out until Thursday. However, Erra posted the tabs for the main riff of the song on social media, encouraging fans to try to perform their own interpretation of the riff to guess how it will sound. The video (with Liam on guitar and Adam on bass) sure sounds good with a nice technical crunch, but it's a hypothetical teaser of another band's song. Check out Erra's new song when it drops later this week, and give Hollow Sky's interpretation a watch below!

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

The Upheaval & Tym Morrison Concert Previews, New Concert Videos, And More!!

Today's post finally wraps up another very busy weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and area, but given what we're in for over Rotaryfest weekend next month, that'll get even more packed soon! Along with two previews of Saturday nighters tonight, we have recent concert videos and assorted updates, so here's what you should know!

We'll resume things TONIGHT at Soo Blaster, where local progressive metal quartet Convergence will play their second public concert! A sequel to "The Pit" from Good Friday, this concert is similarly named "The Upheaval", and will see Stephen, Brendan, Jake, and David return to the stage with more intense djent-laden original songs, though the promotion for this concert (at least on Facebook) hasn't been as strong as you may expect, with Convergence not posting on their Facebook page in over a month. We still don't have any official video content of them performing live, so unless you were at/in The Pit, you won't yet know how they sound with a permanent vocalist. Well, you can find out tonight! New & Instagram-only hard rock band Maynard Hayes (who also played at The Pit) will have their own sophomore live gig tonight as well, and they too don't have public videos from that night, at least not yet.

New and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad will open things in their fourth ever public concert and first of 2025, and hopefully they kick things off in style tonight! The Upheaval is an all ages event with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets remain on sale on Soo Blaster's website for $15 (the price jumps to $20 at the door), price points that are $5 higher than at The Pit despite this show having one less band. All three bands tonight are still pretty cagey in terms of public videos of them performing, but there's loads of talent on display, so come to Soo Blaster to see what's in store! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Convergence's vertical trailer to promote tonight's concert!

Next up, here's the last show of the weekend (as far as I'm aware) in a hard rock context, as local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will return to The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club TONIGHT! Unlike his past gigs at Aerie #3991, this show (and his further ones there) are all scheduled for 8:00 PM rather than the prior 2:00 matinee timeslot that he had there, so if you prefer your live music at nighttime, you won't mind this too much. Tym's unplugged classic and hard rock renditions always deliver for his fans and anyone into these genres, and hopefully there's a good turnout on Wellington Street West during this very busy day of concerts! Again, this is at 8:00 PM tonight with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Tym's second Eagles Club show this month, and for a preview, here he is live!

Also today, here's some long overdue video from last month's Shae Tull-headlined concert at The Art Hub At Spring! Held on May 26th as a release party for Shae's new album "Statues Of Teeth On Every Street Corner", the concert was unique in that the local artist was the headliner, and the touring bands (Victoria, B.C. noise rock duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o) were the openers. Promoters Piecing It Together Shows had a camera rolling at the 504 Queen Street East venue, posting five clips in a batch post on their Facebook page the following day, and while these are all vertical, I'll save my usual jabs at that orientation because most of these videos focus on single artists. Shae was filmed twice by the former Dryer Fire, if just for a combined 98 seconds, and her raw folk material was well done here, so genre fans should definitely take a look at those clips, but how about the videos from the heavier touring acts?

If the videos are anything to go by, Pet Retina and i.o either shared a set or there was a lot of crossover, as all of the videos feature Pet Retina, though Max (i.o) alone is the focus of two. The contrast of abrasive noise rock in this plain white events space is interesting, but Pet Retina make the most out of their mixing board/drum setup, and Max is a very good drummer! Interesting how the one clip is shot from around a corner in a different room behind Max, which is relatively unique. There's only 93 seconds of footage of Pet Retina/i.o between the three clips, but give them a watch above and below!

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

 

• According to a personal Facebook post, Fuller bassist Mark Rand will not be present for the band's Rotaryfest Stage 2 headlining set on July 19th. A reason for his absence there wasn't given, but remember that he does live/work in Peterborough nowadays, where he performs in his current main band Cross Dog. Honest Work/ex-Nebraska Arms guitarist Dave Prendergast will reportedly step in to handle bass at Clergue Park next month, which should be interesting, and is this a sign that Fuller could have more plans to play live even with Mark not being around as much?
• In a rare video upload, albeit an unembeddable "Reel", local metal duo Hollow Sky posted a clip of singer Liam Tallon performing their new original "To Die For" on their Facebook page on June 8th. If this is legit him growling the song in studio, then the audio isn't synced fully with the video, but it is good to see some new video content from Hollow Sky, so give it a watch above!
• While the album proper remains exclusive to Bandcamp purchasers and mailing list subscribers, Mike Haggith released "Brand New Day" from his new solo album "Frequent Flier" on Spotify and Apple Music yesterday, so fans who prefer major streaming services/applications to the Bandcamp model will have some new content of Mike's to check out there! No word on if the other two free-to-stream songs on Bandcamp will follow, but if you want to hear the full album, buy it there or join the Frequent Fliers mailing list and accumulate your passwords over the next year if you aren't yet!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile and our next CD review before June is done! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos & Curtis McKenzie), A New Song, And More Updates!!

We've made it to the month of June, and as far as I'm concerned, the summer season has also begun! Starting off things for June 2025 is a new news post featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on very SHORT NOTICE), a new single from a local metal project, and some assorted recent notes, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

Former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert TODAY! Apologies for the short notice, this gig is legitimately a late notice replacement show due to folk singer/guitarist Matthew James dropping out of his planned Sunday matinee date there for publically unannounced reasons. Hopefully all is well with Matthew, but kudos to Curt for slotting in on a day's notice, and if you missed him at The Dive on Thursday, you have another chance to see his hard rock covers earlier than you may have realized! However, TODAY's matinee is a change from the former Vibe Lounge's usual scheduling, as it will have a special start time of 1:00 PM rather than 3:00 PM. This is to accommodate Beck's Bar's late involvement in the United Ironworkers Motorcycle Club 786's annual Poker Run, which will see participating bikers stop in at Beck's en route. Click here for full details on the Poker Run itself.

Should be a unique atmosphere for this concert, especially so recently into Beck's run since re-opening, and hopefully there's a good turnout for Curtis' covers at this Goulais River nightclub TODAY! As usual, expect a 19+ age limit and no cover, and remember, this show starts two hours early for the Poker Run's benefit, so Curt's not guaranteed past 5:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TODAY'S late notice concert, and here's Curt live!

Next up, new local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will take part in the Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam outside of Forty Five Social on Saturday, June 14th! This special multi-act concert is being held concurrently with the annual Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer, and will take place in the parking lot of the men's clothing store in the former Salvation Army building at 117 Spring Street, which is just a stone's throw from the Festival of Beer itself, and "crafty cocktails" will be offered on site while checking out Lot & Loaded. We await full confirmation on the Downtown Plaza music lineup for the festival proper, but the Parking Lot Jam means that Mikey Hawdon & Dustin Jones will be pulling double duty, as they'll be playing prior at some point with their alternative cover band Bookclub. Should be a fun, if busy day for Mikey & Dustin, so don't miss out in two weeks at both locations! At Forty Five Social, Dos Amigos are co-headlining at 7:00 PM, which is when the Festival of Beer itself ends.

Headlining here is veteran local musician Jay Case at 9:00 PM, while the other musicians are the aforementioned Matthew (or "Matty") James at 4:00 PM, Pillory bassist Blair St. John at 2:00 PM, and country music veteran Marty Frolick at 1:00 PM. There is no announced cover charge for this outdoor concert, and while there isn't a stated age limit, remember that this is coinciding with the Festival of Beer. Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's a brand new studio single from local deathcore duo Hollow Sky! Their third original song and first in just over a year, the song is called "To Die For", and according to the band, it's streaming "everywhere". Definitely not an accurate claim, as unlike their first two singles, it's not on Boomplay (yet?), let alone Bandcamp, Tidal, and so on. By "everywhere", they mean Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Deezer. To promote the single, Hollow Sky ramped up their social media presence in the preceding weeks, including teaser "Reels" featuring the single cover artwork and clips of the song, one featuring guitarist Adam Fahrer playing a djent riff from it. While we're in the unembeddable and vertical portion of this post, they also shared a "Reel" of Adam playing along with Dream Theater's "Strange Deja Vu", a song whose riff he loves. Sounds good to me!

The last teaser video (not a "Reel" despite being vertically framed) features on-screen lyrics for the sample clip, implying that they might be posting a full lyric video for "To Die For", but as best as I can tell, there isn't one yet. Featuring clean vocals along with death growling from Liam Tallon alternating relatively frequently, this track has a catchy bounce to it while still displaying really solid technical guitar work, and the production suits everything well, so it's great to see Hollow Sky back at it! No word on if we'll be waiting another year for their fourth song, but give yourself something to die for below, and stay tuned for more Hollow Sky updates!

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

 

• I have moved local hardcore punk solo project Choking On Appendages to our inactive band links. A heavier solo project than we had previously seen from Hails/Agnosticism guitarist Mikhal Muto, C.O.A.'s only public activity was the release of their debut EP "Macabre" on Bandcamp on May 30th last year, with no further social media pages launching for the project. I liked what I heard from Choking On Appendages, and hopefully Mikhal revisits them down the road, but follow his current bands and promoted concerts to see what he's currently up to!
• Also back in our inactive links is local death metal band Chronic Demonic, who have not posted on their Facebook page since one year ago yesterday. A long-gestating group led by ex-Frightlight guitarist Kevin Powe & ex-Faithless Sin bassist Ryan Gratton, Chronic Demonic played live just once, covering The Misfits at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in 2013, though they continued updating fans on their updates (or lack thereof) for over a decade afterwards. Their perseverance was always nice to see, and it'd be great to see that proper concert down the road! Hopefully we hear more from Nik, Kevin, Ryan, Jonathan, and other ex-members soon, and R.I.P. Sabrina!
• In a late addition to the Derev-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on May 23rd, promoter Tyler St. Amour (also using his middle name William in the advertising) opened the show with a solo set, as per his agency Heavy North Entertainment's Facebook page that morning. Tyler's addition was "due to some scheduling conflicts", but whether he was replacing advertised solo opener Chase Wigmore or was an extra act, I can't immediately confirm. As a musician, Tyler is best known as a metal bassist and vocalist with bands like Them and Bardo, but this was implied to be an acoustic set, so it'd be interesting to hear how he sounds in that format!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Tarnished, And Exit 808), And More!!

With something of a backlog accumulating for local metal, hard rock, and punk news/notes, let's begin digging ourselves out of that hole with a primarily Sault Michigan/E.U.P. post on this Monday night, along with a new original song teaser from a metal band on the Ontario side of the border, but let's lead off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Kewadin Casino's website's entertainment pages have been updated to reflect concerts at their on-site lounges through the end of June, so who is taking the stage and when among hard rock/metal acts? Three definitely heavier bands are scheduled, with the first being local classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished, who will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin branch on Friday, May 16th & Saturday, May 17th! The band has yet to corroborate these bookings on social media, but they will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first stops in St. Ignace since their gigs at the Driftwood Sports Bar last month, and their first at The Northern Pines Lounge in almost two months. Should be a fun time for fans of Tarnished's old school covers and hard hitting originals, so don't miss out, in just under two weeks! These are 21+ concerts with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times as usual.

I also wanted to acknowledge that, in the original schedule listings on Kewadin's entertainment pages before the June shows were added, the casino had listed shows from local hard rock cover quartet Rhythm & Brews at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin that same weekend. Of course, bassist Chris Leask and drummer Ron Suchey are in both bands, so unless there was something I didn't know re: lineup changes, I assumed that there would be a cancellation on one side or the other, and in the current listings, the Soo shows that weekend now belong to online page-less local classic rock cover group The American Band. Hopefully we hear more from Rhythm & Brews in time! 

Next up, Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will make their way north of the Mackinac Bridge for two Kewadin Casino weekends in this two month stretch, starting with shows on May 30th & 31st at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace before rocking The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on June 27th & 28th! Their month-ending dates in St. Ignace will be their first there since mid-March, but their Sault stops next month will be their first at The Rapids Lounge yet this year. It's good to see this Jeffrey Hudson-led band back at both branches in relatively quick succession, and hopefully there's a strong turnout across both weekends for their tried and true old school covers! Like with Tarnished this month, all four Peril shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charge and 9:00 PM start times (and no, their sister band Scarkazm are not scheduled in this timeframe). Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Peril up here!

Lastly for verifiably heavier bands under the Kewadin Casino umbrella, local hard rock band Exit 808 will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on June 6th & 7th! Fans last saw Exit 808 at the Musicians Unite fundraiser concert at Bird's Eye Outfitters last month, with next month's St. Ignace stops being their first at that Kewadin branch in 2025. It's always good to see this talented and modular hard rock group back with more double vocalist-led cover action, so keep both of their upcoming shows These dates should have Blaze Beairl back on guitar or bass after he missed Musicians Unite, but it's not yet clear if Exit 808 will have any guest musicians or new additions over that weekend. Expect these to be 21+ shows at 9:00 PM with no cover once again, and see above for more details on Exit 808's mid-2025 plans!

Finally for today, here's a mild surprise, namely a new teaser video from Sault Ontario metal duo Hollow Sky! In their first public update since May of last year, Liam and Adam revealed on their Facebook page on April 18th that they are "working on some new material", attaching this vertical video of a tracking computer featuring a snippet of a new original song featuring clean and harsh vocals. Way too soon to comment on the song proper (which would be Hollow Sky's third original), but it's promisingly heavy, and Adam seems to like it! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Hollow Sky!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Master Nate & The Reprobates), Plus New Videos!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday morning, and it includes a bunch of new videos from the last little while, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Napanee, Ontario ska punk band Master Nate & The Reprobates will make their local concert debut on Saturday, July 13th when they headline at Soo Blaster! A prolific band who has quickly made a name for themselves in the 2020s with a planned eight album suite currently in the home stretch for its release schedule, Master Nate & crew's upbeat but in-your-face brand of original punk rock should be more than welcomed to Soo Blaster next month! While this will be M.N.R.'s first local appearance, fans of The Northwest may recognize them from the two bands sharing the stage at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in April of last year. However, a different local band will open on July 13th, namely skate punk trio Vanity First in their... first Soo Blaster stop since their "Identity Crisis" release party in April. Hopefully the guys (and Carmen?) deliver a strong night of originals and covers for punk fans at Soo Blaster next month!

Doors open at 9:00 PM for this presumably 19+ concert, and admission will be $10. You can buy advance tickets on Soo Blaster's website, and possibly in person there or via Vanity First members (it has not been publically confirmed whether admission at the door will be higher or not). Add another quality punk concert on the 2024 calendar for fans of Mikhal Muto-featured bands, so definitely visit the above links for more on next month's action!

Next up, here's the latest from new local metal duo Hollow Sky, who quietly released their second single "Burn Away" on May 24th on "all platforms"! They actually mean that it's on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Boomplay, and as embedded below via their YouTube Music channel. No Bandcamp (among others), so it's definitely not on "all" platforms, but it's easy enough to find! Nice technical metal sound here from ex-Uncanny Valley bassist Adam Fahrer, and singer Liam Tallon seems to be showing more of a nu-metal influence here with pseudo-rapped chorus vocals, which is certainly not something heard much nowadays! Good stuff with solid production, so check it out for yourselves below!

Also, let's go back to Vanity First (well, 2⁄3rds of them) for one more new video of their sister band Ha!ls' headlining concert at The Distraction on May 19th! This was uploaded to the band's Facebook page ten days later, and features the guys (and a mostly obscured Carmen Muto on guest guitar) playing their song "Nowhere Wolf", which closed their debut EP "Rock And Rolls". Unfortunately, this video is both vertically shot and only 25 seconds long, but Hails sound good and intense as you'd hope for the duration, and the filmer did pan around late to let fans see more of the barbershop's unique interior, so give it a watch below!

We'll close with two new videos from prolific local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, who posted two rare videos onto his Facebook page over the winter, and by "rare", I mean actual videos with him on camera! On January 7th, he dug deep to post this video from a performance at the former Bawating Collegiate & Vocational School in 2003, where he and unidentified friends covered Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" before Mike played a guitar solo. Yes, that's Mike with the afro! He didn't specify when in 2003 this was shot, but I started grade 9 at Bawating that September, so if it was from late that year, I very well may have been in the cafeteria to watch! Mike and crew sound good, if unpolished here, and given that the video is 21 years old, I think you can excuse the soft visuals to an extent. Embedded below is a much newer video from December of last year featuring Mike nowadays, so what should you know there?

While Mike didn't have much of an update at the time on his current musical exploits (and hasn't had one since), he admitted to forgetting to post this when he first filmed it, and the 28 second clip sees Mike covering "Pretty As You Please" by the 1990s southern hard rock band Cry Of Love. It's mirrored and the camera glare from the window doesn't help the visuals, but Mike's guitar talent is clear as day here, and hopefully we hear more from him soon! Check out Mike in 2003 and 2023 above and below!

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

Shit Happens Concert Preview, New Videos, And Much More!!

Let's kick off the last week of the month with a new news post, which features some new videos, updates on an upcoming album release, and some shorter recent updates, but first, let's preview a punk concert taking place sooner than you may think!

Here's a special Monday night concert preview for TONIGHT, as Winnipeg punk quartet Shit Happens will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Distraction! The first full metal or punk band (i.e. not a solo project) from out of town to play at the East Street barbershop-turned-concert venue, this female-fronted group are currently touring throughout eastern Canada and even in a few American cities. Shit Happens' up-tempo and in-your-face original attack should find a solid audience tonight, so don't miss out if you can swing coming by on a work/school night! Rising young metal trio The BAG will open in their second show of the year and first ever at The Distraction, and while not a punk band, their intensity should start things off on the right foot! This all ages concert begins at 7:00 PM tonight, and admission is "$5 or pay what you can", as is typical for this venue.

The Monday night scheduling won't be ideal for many, but as an all ages show with two bands at 7:00 PM, it won't be a late night, so consider coming down to The Distraction for some hard hitting punk and metal action! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Shit Happens live!

Next up, here's the latest from local punk trio Vanity First, who have released the second advance single from their upcoming album "Identity Crisis"! Entitled "Habitual Vanity", this partial namesake song can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and (as embedded below) via YouTube, though at press time, the song is not yet on Bandcamp. If you believe a comment on their Facebook page from Jim McAllister (possibly drummer Keegan McAllister's dad?), Vanity First will release "Identity Crisis" on Saturday, April 20th with a CD release party at Soo Blaster, and he allegedly has tickets. The band has not confirmed this publically, so stay tuned for official word on the album's on-sale date and/or a possible release party when it comes in! It's also worth noting that prolific local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith "played a small part in bringing the album over the finish line", as per his Facebook page.

How involved Mike was, I can't say yet, but this is shaping up to be better produced and distributed than their 2020 "Vanity" EP! Lastly, the album's first advance single "Off With The Heads" somehow got included in Hamilton indie punk label Lockdown Records' brand new compilation "What A Wonderful World We Exist In" alongside 32 other notable bands like The Ripcordz and Broomfiller. Very neat, and there's many other name punk bands from Canada and abroad there, so buy/stream the whole thing above! As before, I'll hold comment on "Habitual Vanity" pending our eventual full album review, give it a listen for yourselves below!

Also today, here's a new live video from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook page! Despite the thumbnail being at what appears to be last year's Cory Marks show at The Machine Shop, the video was instead filmed at one of their gigs over the March 8th weekend at The Esquire Club, with the band seen covering Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk". Definitely a more poppy cover, and as is usual for Silent 9's Facebook videos, we don't see the full song (just 70 seconds of it), but this horizontal video captures a good angle of Jess and the guys in action earlier this month, and the performance is well done! Give it a watch below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short-form stories, these are in alphabetical order by band or company name:

 

• Local concert promotion agency Dryer Fire has changed their name to Piecing It Together Shows (or P.I.T.S.), as per their Facebook page, complete with a logo of a peach to tie in with the acronym. Owner Nicole Dyble stated that the Dryer Fire name (inspired by the former Gore Street Cafe's attached laundromat) "was only ever meant to be a temporary name", but didn't give any direct insight into the new name's inspiration. I will admit that the Piecing It Together name will have to grow on me, but look for more shows from them as 2024 progresses!
• Newer local metal duo Hollow Sky revealed on their Facebook page on February 5th that they have a "new track coming soon", complete with a picture of singer Liam Tallon presumably tracking the new song in question. So far, this is their only post in 2024, but hopefully the new song (their second to be released) is coming along in studio as planned!
• I can't embed it here, as it's a "Reel", but Sault Michigan metal band Tarnished posted a clip (a horizontal landscape clip pillarboxed to fit the "Reel" dimensions, mind you) of them playing the guitar solo to Ratt's "Round & Round" on their Facebook page yesterday! It sounds good, but it's not clear who the second guitarist with Alex Traynor is, with Alex even acknowledging in the comment section that "tis a mystery". Stay tuned for updates on their identity, but give the "Reel" a watch above! No sign of their Alpena battle of the bands video yet though.
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rhythm & Brews), A New Local Band, And New Videos!!

As we continue to catch up on news and notes from last month, today's post includes new video discoveries from both sides of the border, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month, and leading off, a new addition to our Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local metal band to add to our links, namely Hollow Sky! This is the new project from former Uncanny Valley bassist Adam Fahrer, who also played in country musician Brendan Hodgson's backing band. Primarily credited now on guitar, Adam is joined by singer Liam Tallon, who you may recognize from competing in the Soo Youth Songwriting Contest in 2017 and later via recording hard rock material at Tidal Records in 2018, project unclear, but you can sample what he was doing at this link. Hollow Sky publically launched via their Facebook page on December 2nd, and haven't posted there since December 4th, but they did release their first studio original that day, named "The Spiral". They said that the song can be streamed on "all platforms", those being Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer (all handily linked via DistroKid), plus YouTube, Amazon Music, and Boomplay.

At least far as this song goes, Hollow Sky are very promising with a modern metalcore sound including strong clean vocals and some djent influence in the guitar riffs, and the production quality is pretty good too! Again, we haven't heard anything from their camp in over a month, but give Hollow Sky's first song a listen below, and look for more from them this year!

Next up, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, January 27th & Saturday, January 28th! These come courtesy of Kewadin's entertainment page, and mark the only hard rock-leaning shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin this month. These shows will be Rhythm & Brews' first in three months, last seen rocking the Soo Kewadin branch over the Halloween weekend, though given their infrequent usage of their Facebook page, something definitely could have been missed since then. Hopefully Brandon, the Chris', and Ron deliver another entertaining weekend of fan favourite rock covers for fans in a few weeks! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details!

Let's make our way back north now, starting with a stop in Sault Michigan for a much belated video from the Pop Evil concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in March of last year! This was actually uploaded to the Muskegon hard rock band's Facebook page right after the show took place, as filmed by videographer Matt Akana from what appears to be the end of their set. The video was uniquely shot on stage with the camera generally pointing towards the audience, with Matt weaving his way through the band while frontman Leigh Kakaty thanks the crowd (admittedly, what he says is hard to hear). Sadly, this was shot vertically, and a film grain was added to it in post-production that doesn't seem entirely necessary, but this is a neat look at a side of major local concerts that you don't always see, and the crowd was definitely receptive, so give this Pop Evil video from their Sault Ste. Marie date last year a watch below!

We'll end things back in Sault Ontario for a video promoting last year's tenth annual Toystock! In advance of the annual Christmas Cheer charity concert at The Grand Gardens on November 26th, Toystock got some deserved hype from CTV News Northern Ontario during their evening newscast, with anchor and former Sault Ste. Marie city councillor Tony Ryma interviewing promoter/Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson on air! If you missed this on the former MCTV at the time, never fear, as Greg posted the 2+ minute segment to Toystock's Facebook page, and it is embedded below. In the interview, Tony asks Greg about how Toystock came together, the format for this year, how much help families do need in the Soo at this time of year, and about the family friendly aspects of the event. During the interview, we even see some video footage from a prior installment, rather Toystock VIII in 2019, which CTV was there for!

At the time, Jairus Patterson had led this news piece to cover parts of the event, but we only briefly saw a bit of Kaitlyn Parr's set in it. Four years later, the new interview features her set again, but now joined by Brendan Hodgson, Soundcheck, their frontman Cameron Oliver, and the Case's Music instructors' band. That constitutes five of the first six acts in 2019, with only The Jeff & Jeff Show not included in the 2023 interview footage, so kudos for the local CTV crew for staying as long as they did! It'd be nice to see the raw footage, but good on CTV for digging these up to back up some very nice promotion for this year's Toystock, and check it out below!

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