Our Full Rundown Of Purses, Pies, And Pinot @ Home!!

Virtual Rotaryfest wasn't alone last week in the realm of at-home concert/charity events on YouTube, as the Zonta Club of Sault Ste. Marie & Area's annual Purses, Pies, and Pinot gala for Ovarian Cancer Canada took place on Thursday, with a surprising hard rock tie! In case you don't know, the Zonta Club are a service organization who promote and advance women's statuses, and every September, they focus their efforts towards Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which is why you saw signs and teal ribbons down Queen Street East. Normally, Zonta hosts a fundraiser gala at the Grand Gardens North where you can take part in a silent auction for purses and pies while enjoying wine, appetizers, and live music, while also learning about ovarian cancer and the Zonta Club's mission. I won't get too personal here, but ovarian cancer has deep personal resonance, so I was absolutely following what Zonta would do this month in spite of the pandemic.

As posted on the Zonta Club's YouTube channel, this almost hour-long video serves as the 2020 entertainment portion of Purses, Pies, and Pinot, with the auction being conducted online last week, so expect plugs for the auction in between the music. The gala video proper begins with a cover of Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by a band credited as Danger Cat Covers, who are of no known relation to the defunct (and all-female) Danger Cats. I am not certain of this band's identities or background, but they have a faithful handle on this song, and the singer has pipes! Afterwards, you'll see speeches and testimonials, including messages from representatives of Zonta's 15th District (covering the Soo area and most of Michigan), host segments from long-time local news anchor Lou-Anne Young, and a comedy segment featuring Tim Murphy in character as Gina Lollointernationalbridgida leading a pie-making contest of sorts.

The next musical act is local acoustic hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns, (sans guitarist Jesse Cook), and their presence was a complete surprise to me, as they did not plug their involvement online in advance! Their at-home song is a cover of Pharrell Williams' "Happy" with Christina on lead vocals, and while not a heavy number, it's fun and upbeat, which is definitely needed nowadays. Afterwards, we get another stretch of speeches and testimonials, including a special announcement from Ovarian Cancer Canada Vice President Cailey Crawford and more pie making with Gina and friends. The next band on offer is Crackerjack Palace, a classic rock band from the Stratford area featuring Sault native Mark Diotallevi on keyboards (watch for his Dos Equis parody at the beginning.) Their remotely filmed performance sees them cover Jethro Tull's "Living In The Past", which is loose & well performed!

Following more speeches and remarks (including Mayor Christian Provenzano and more pie making action), we get a performance of "Wishing Song" by Paul Reddick, a Juno Award winning blues musician from Toronto. Even in a virtual sense, that's a big get, and the song's nice & smooth! Sault native and former Bachman-Turner Overdrive bassist Mick Dalla-Vee performs his own brand new original song "One Kind Word" next, helpfully subtitled so you can sing along, and it hits the right emotional notes! After another check-in with the pie contest, we get a cover of The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" by Cantation, a local women's choir filmed remotely. The ladies have nice voices, but this cover may take adjusting if you don't listen to choirs often. Some more speeches and "judging" of the pie contest (by the Algoma Repetory Theater's Marc Beaudette) follow, before the musical portion concludes with Virtual Rotaryfest performers Jay Case & Frank Deresti.

Filmed in the same outdoor location as on Saturday, the guys played "Hitchhike To Mexico" from their 2018 joint album "Working Titles", before closing remarks and an "auction" for the pies from the contest. I wasn't expecting to have so much to write about for Purses, Pies, and Pinot @ Home, but the Zonta Club and musicians put on an entertaining and informative hour, and with ovarian cancer awareness being supremely important, I hope people tune in/show their support. The music on offer was solid, if surprisingly more rock-based than I expected, so tune in below, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profiles: Denaturant & Driving Dave Home

News has been oddly slow as of late (pandemic acknowledged), so let's remedy that by posting this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles a day early! This ongoing monthly feature series looks at one or two defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands, in order to spotlight their run and accomplishments for current readers, and as always, bands are randomly selected. We have two bands this month due to the first random selection having minimal surviving information, so a second band in a similar state was added to fill things out, and we have both sides of the border represented as a result. With all of that said, here's what you should know!
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Denaturant

Genre: Metal/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members:

Justin Smith (Hammerspace), all instruments

Audio/Video: Denaturant's only publically posted media during their run was a Facebook video of a brief original sample from the fall of 2011, though it was taken down when their Facebook page was deleted. The project was planned to play only original material with "the raw energy and skill that it deserves", and may have bore similarities to Justin's 2009-2012 local metal band Hammerspace, who do have surviving material online.

Info/Analysis: Quietly launched by July 2011, Denaturant appeared to have been Justin's primary music project during Hammerspace's waning months, and were at one time looking for band members to complete a full lineup to "take a specific journey through music", though nothing publically followed before their Facebook page was taken down by late 2012. As I recall, Denaturant's lone Facebook video had some promise, and Justin is a good guitarist, so hopefully we'll hear new music from him in some form!
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Driving Dave Home

Genre: Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

John Barber (Parabol, Redefined), vocals
Matt Sibilo (Fort Creek, Redefined, Delay), guitar
Ron Baxter (Sense of Truth, Skeyes of Seven), guitar
David Grawbarger (100 Gran, Renegades), bass
Steve Brogno (The Red Rails, Down In Ashes), drums

Audio/Video: Despite this band's pedigree, no public videos are known to survive from their active run. A few 2008 videos are floating around personal Facebook accounts from shows at Foggy Notions and at Smokey's Patio, but the audio quality is admittedly rough (note that one of the Smokey's videos is of an original song). To hear music similar to Driving Dave Home's output, I recommend checking out John & Matt's prior band Redefined (who do have a CD), as well as John's newer bands like Late Shift, plus Ron's later groups.

Info/Analysis: Debuting in 2007, Driving Dave Home left a solid impression on fans while they lasted, including at the 2007 Hempfest, many Foggy Notions gigs (like their original March 2008 farewell concert), and opening for Sense of Truth's Skid Row make-up show at The Canadian Nightclub show that June. Driving Dave Home quietly disbanded by the end of 2008, though members have all been seen in live bands since, including Steve's high profile output since moving to Ottawa. In spite of the audio quality on surviving videos, D.D.H. had an energetic modern hard rock sound with clear talent across the board, and a seemingly good local following, and it's a shame that they didn't last longer than they did!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This series will return on or around August 10th for another randomly selected profile, and staying in Sault Ontario, we drew a big one for next time, as we'll be looking at inactive hardcore quintet As It Stands! Watch for that next month, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

More COVID-19 Concert Cancellations & Updates, Plus A Concert Preview!?

In what's fast becoming a new normal for The Sault Metal Scene (sigh), we might as well look at the latest on the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and it's effects on the local hard rock/punk concert calendar. The big news that broke today is that Kewadin Casino has postponed the Candlebox-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre in Sault Michigan on April 18th, as per their Facebook page (the Little Texas show was also postponed.) As with the Black Label Society concert, you can hold already-purchased tickets to be honoured when the Candlebox show here is rescheduled, but refunds are available from Kewadin at point of purchase. This is definitely disappointing, but alas, it's not entirely unexpected, especially with the recent news that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order to close all bars, nightclubs, and restaurants in the state through the end of March, as they work to contain the coronavirus (click here for details.)

Now, in terms of our concert calendar in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, this surprisingly doesn't affect that too much, as we didn't have any nightclub shows from local or touring hard rock bands listed there anymore, but this theoretically would interrupt local hard rock band Tarnished's "every Thursday" matinee run at Biggby Coffee, where they were expected to play at 12:00 PM this and next Thursday. I will tentatively remove those dates from our calendar too, but if Tarnished or Biggby confirm otherwise, I will add them back. I suppose they/Alex could play just for people picking up to-go/take-out orders (which will still be allowed in Michigan)... stranger things have happened! Also, I will leave Traverse City hard rock trio Scarkazm's April 10th weekend concerts at the St. Ignace Kewadin in our concert listings for now, as they take place after the March ban ends, but this situation is fluid and could get far more volatile, so stay tuned for updates on those and other April events as they roll in.

Over in Sault Ontario, the provincial government was not issuing a ban for restaurants and nightclubs at this time, as the evidence does not support doing so right now, but Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams is now strongly recommending that they close. Click here & here for more on this subject. In any event. Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street have announced on Facebook that they are closing their regular business hours as of today due to COVID-19, but they will re-open for reservations booked there and will bring in staff accordingly. They did not give a timeline for when they'll be back in full, but this would appear to interrupt Tym Morrison's weekly matinees there on Fridays & Saturdays. Again, I suppose he could be brought in to play for reserved guests, but that's not truly a "public" concert, so I'll also de-list his March gigs there until otherwise stated. Unless given reason otherwise, his March 27th gig at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill will remain in our calendar for now.

Also, The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser noted on their Facebook group today that they will be closed through this weekend due to the coronavirus, and they may have to cancel events into April pending how the pandemic unfolds. SMS-wise, this would primarily impact next month's Just Heart & Lycanthro concerts, but it is too soon to make judgments on them.

The last surviving hard rock or punk concert left on our calendar for this weekend was The Sick Sons & Slumshine at LopLops Lounge on Friday, and that show has also been cancelled, as per it's Facebook event page. No word on if this will be rescheduled, but both bands are local, so watch their social media accounts for details either way.  As well, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have announced on Facebook that their planned Wawa road trip in two weeks (to play at a women's curling event that they were a part of before) has been cancelled, and they are "officially off for a few weeks", with updates pertaining to scheduled gigs to be announced. Soundcheck have only plugged their concerts on short notice (if at all) in 2020 so far, and accordingly, they were not listed in our current concert calendar anyway, but any heads-up to fans is welcomed! With all of this said, we surprisingly still have a concert to preview, so what should you know there?

The aforementioned Slumshine are still advertised to play their "Story Time With Slumshine" concert at Home Bakehouse Bed & Breakfast at 168 March Street THIS WEDNESDAY! The relatively unfamiliar venue has been gaining fans in recent months with their homemade baking and their requisite B&B operations, and they have confirmed that they are staying open to help serve the community, as of 3:09 PM (they don't have a real dine-in operation anyway.) Slumshine's planned acoustic punk originals will be joined by Brent telling short stories about them, VH1 Storytellers style, and he hinted that more "Story Time" shows are in the works. This special Wednesday evening concert has a 7:00 PM start time, a "pay what you can" entry model, and no age limit. Assuming this show isn't called off amid the coronavirus fears, this should be a unique but entertaining event at Home (2 minutes north of Gliss), and Slumshine's established unplugged punk attack should make and keep lots of fans!

If you're craving live punk music, this could be one of very few chances to see it for a while, assuming it goes on as scheduled, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, here's Slumshine live, and if we hear anything regarding this show's status, we'll let you know!



Unless a short notice concert pops up that boldly tries to go on amidst the COVID-19 panic, we will have no concert previews this weekend, which is bizarre, but isolating and keeping the coronavirus contained is essential, and we can only hope that things improve in the near future for everyone's health and safety. That's what's important, concerts can wait until we figure things out. Stay safe, everyone, and we'll have more news on the site this week!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slumshine), Band Link Updates, And Musicians Wanted Group Updates!!

Before we get into this post, just a heads up that tonight's Handsome Sandwich concert at The Rockstar Bar has reportedly been cancelled due to the inclement weather & related staff invailability, as per singer/drummer Johnny Belanger's personal Facebook page this afternoon. Tomorrow's concert is still on, but if you're hoping to see them, do not come out tonight. Disappointing, but not all is lost, so keep tomorrow's show in mind! However, you can stay warm with today's SMS post, featuring recent musician searches, a band moved to our inactive band links, and leading off, here's an overdue addition to our band listings, with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT too!

We have a new addition to our active band links today, and they are Slumshine, the current acoustic punk solo project from veteran local hardcore punk singer/bassist Brenton Ellis! Slumshine are nothing new, having debuted on stage back in September 2017, but early sound descriptions pointed to more of an alt-folk theme. However, as fans can attest, Slumshine are a full on punk act, just with one musician clad in the finest pink knit ski mask you'll ever find on a local stage! Brent doesn't use his name officially with Slumshine, and curiously uses plural pronouns (i.e. we/us) despite being a solo project. Initially making a splash via sets at the first Oh!No festival and by opening for The Faps, The Ghostly Hounds, and Dany Laj & The Looks in the fall of 2017, Slumshine went dormant throughout the following year, before returning to action in early 2019, appearing at Oh!No III and opening for The Faps again, Darsombra, Femur, and The River Jacks. Also, they released their first album "SLMSHN" on cassette tapes last July, and you can buy/stream it on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model.

Of course, Brent is among the staff of the Oh!No Collective, who distributed "SLMSHN" in their first release as a planned cassette tape-centric indie label, and his talents as a painter and artist are very evident in Slumshine's online marketing. Fans can see Slumshine back at it on Friday, March 20th when they open for The Sick Sons at LopLops (details here), but in a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, you can see Slumshine in a rare solo headlining appearance on Wednesday, March 18th at... Home Bakehouse Bed and Breakfast at 168 March Street?! This is a new downtown business whose name suggests what they do, so if you like homemade baked goods, or need a place to stay, Home is where the heart is! The locale is very atypical for an ostensible "punk concert", but Home has partnered with the returning Fishbowl Festival for sourdough classes, for what that's worth. This mid-week show has an early 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and a "pay what you can" entry model. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Currently also a bassist with The Dynowaves, Brent's vocal work here and in Toronto is well known, and musically, I get more of his earlier straight punk vibe here rather than his later hardcore punk screaming, albeit with the stripped down unplugged format. Solid lyrics and strong melodic vocals mesh together well, and I think these sounds would be a great fit with a full plugged-in band, but even in this format, it's easy to see why Slumshine turn heads even beyond the pink mask. A smattering of videos are on Facebook & YouTube, but here's Slumshine playing their songs "Back in Blue" and "Blue Shift" at Outspoken Brewing in December!



Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/indie rock quartet Id Iota to our inactive band links. The group has not issued a public statement since their cover of Pup's "Free At Last" was uploaded to their Facebook page one year ago today, though that performance was sans frontman Christian Lemay, and regardless of his status with the band, they have not played a live set since the 2018 Rotaryfest weekend. Active since mid-2015 when they succeeded the studio-only Habitat Shuffle, Id Iota quickly became a popular sight at a variety of local concerts in the mid-2010s, including at Lopstock II, three straight Rotaryfest Second Stages from 2016-2018, two Ontario tour runs in 2016 with The Pixo Control and Mike Mikus, and opening slots for touring bands like Saturn Alien, Windigo, and The Almighty Rhombus. Along the way, Id Iota also released their "Maudlin Fair" EP in April 2016, and they were working on a full length album as recently as April 2018.

I have no clue what happened to Id Iota, but they were a creative band that had enough genre diversity to slide into hard rock and indie shows with relative ease! Genre preference-wise, I did take to their 2000s ska punk predecessors Free Beer more, but Id Iota showed their growth and progression as musicians very well, and they left a wide footprint locally and with their tours 4 years ago. Hopefully we see Id Iota and their planned full-length CD resurface down the road, but best of luck to Christian, Dustin, Robert, Blair, Justin, and Dan in the future!

Finally for today, here's three recent Musicians Wanted Facebook group postings relating to musician and band searches from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Former Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse is starting an acoustic rock band with him on guitar, who would cover modern hard rock acts like Highly Suspect, Shinedown, Seether, and Three Days Grace. He already has a singer lined up, and is looking for a bassist, drummer (ideally on cajon), and maybe an extra guitarist. It'd be great to see Arthur back out there, but if you're interested in more details, message him at this link or via his group post from February 8th!
• A local rhythm guitarist named Jayrald Micky is looking to join a local band, and while he is aiming to play guitar in said group, he does have drumming experience. He didn't give a genre preference, just that he was "looking for anything at this point" and that he just wants to jam again. I'm not familiar with Jayrald as a musician, but if you want more details, message him at this link or via his group post from February 12th!
• Fluid 5ive guitarist Liam Vaillancourt posted here on February 11th looking for a keyboard player for "a gigging band" that is capable of playing signature lines from various rock, blues, and country cover songs. Liam did not specify in the post if this was for Fluid 5ive or another band, but if it is referring to the 5ive, we have not heard anything regarding Rob Irving's status with the group (note that Rob played rhythm guitar as well as keyboard.) In any event, message Liam at this link or above for more details!

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

Woods Of Ypres - "Home" Single Review!!

It's now time for our 125th CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with no major local metal, hard rock, or punk albums out in November 2019, and a few obvious archive selections being put aside in lieu of upcoming new releases from involved artists, now seems like a good occasion to finally look at the only Woods of Ypres studio release that we have yet to formally review on the site, namely their April 2011 vinyl-exclusive single "Home"! Recorded locally at Stereo Soul Studios with producer Miguel Gauthier (a'la "Woods IV") in August 2010, this two-song release was part of recording sessions that resulted in five songs for what was then planned to be an EP called "Woods V: You Were The Light", before their false breakup and eventual signing with Earache Records that fall. With the label desiring a full length album for Woods' first new release there, this EP was shelved in favour of 2012's Juno-winning "Grey Skies & Electric Light.", and re-allocated as "Woods 4.5".

In the interim, frontman David Gold's independent label Practical Art Records put out two of the "You Were The Light" songs in a limited run of 500 coloured vinyl records the following April, in what would sadly turn out to be Woods of Ypres' last studio release before David's tragic death that December. To this day, the remaining three songs from the 2010 sessions have not been publically released, but "Home" has been retroactively called "Woods 4.5" in interviews and among some fans. Woods of Ypres are represented here by their final live lineup, including David on vocals & guitar, the debuting Joel Violette on lead guitar, and in their second & final appearance on a Woods release, brothers Shane & Evan Madden on bass and drums. As well, cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne makes a guest appearance here, as he did on "Woods IV" & Woods V". Physical copies of "Home" sold for $20, and while they are long since out of print, you can buy each song for $1 on Bandcamp.

Streaming copies are available on those services as well, but consider buying "Home" to support Woods of Ypres' work, if belatedly. Running for just 13 minutes, let's begin this short review with the record's 6:50 A-side track, "Falling Apart"! Sonically very similar to the aggressive blackened doom sides of "The Green Album", David's harsh vocals are great on this song, which has excellent guitar riffs, almost like a harsher version of Clutch. I like the low bass work, and the drumming holds up nicely, though the cleanly-sung choruses almost come out of nowhere and very much stall the song's forward momentum. They are effective for fans of Woods' doom metal side, of course, and I like the mournful "ooooh" near the end but I don't know that the verses and chorus gel here. Joel has a quality guitar solo in his first outing as well! Overall, this is a very solid track that fans of local-era Woods of Ypres will easily take to!

The B-side is the intended title track for the unreleased EP, "You Were The Light", which runs for only 6:02. A slower and more deliberate track from the get-go while still retaining a heavy ambiance, this song is a better showcase for David's impressively deep singing, though if you like his aggressive screams, they aren't lacking here in the early bridge and last stretch. Evan has some excellent drum fills and rhythms on this one, and I like how the instrumentation is nicely varied and constantly going at full bore in the background no matter what route the vocals are going,. If anything doesn't work, it's how they integrated Raphael's cello work, which is technically proficient and orchestral as you'd expect, but I don't find it flows with the song that well. Raphael is a great cellist, but it just feels like too many cooks in the kitchen. That aside, this is another high quality song that showcases Woods of Ypres in their late-period best!

So, what are my final thoughts on Woods of Ypres' penultimate studio effort? While this isn't complete from what was originally recorded, David and company selected two highly entertaining songs for this single, and even if they're not on "Woods V", the quality has not suffered at all! David, Joel, and the Maddens worked well together on these songs, which were never boring or repetitive despite their 6+ minute run time each, and if you like your Woods of Ypres to be hard hitting, abrasive, and melodic all at once, these songs will do the trick! I just wish the choruses on the A-side and the cello on the B-side were better integrated. The limited physical release on a now-defunct indie label won't help get these songs to the masses, but Woods fans shouldn't bypass them. Will we ever hear the remaining 3 songs from the "Woods 4.5" sessions? I don't know, especially with Earache not involved in the sessions, but if any band alumni or associates have access to the tracks and permission, I am positive fans would want to hear them, even as a free upload.

David's memory lives on with all of Woods of Ypres' fans and supporters, and while "Woods V" gets most of the retrospective attention, "Home" is well worth your time, especially if you can track down one of the original vinyl copies. For now, stream or buy it digitally at the above links, and I hope you guys liked our final(?) Woods of Ypres album review at the SMS! So, what will be our last CD review of 2019 next month? At this juncture, I don't know, but here's what I can say. New releases from metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands will always take precedence, but none that I know of have a stated release date for December at press time. Check out our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Monday for ideas as to what may be on the horizon. If we do look at an archive album again next, a strong possibility would be The Inner City Surfers' 2002 sophomore album "Laughing On The Outside", to tie in with upcoming holiday concerts featuring at least one band member, details forthcoming. That said, nothing's official, so stay tuned for updates, and for more news and notes on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!