As of this writing, details on services are not online, but I would keep tabs on The Sault Evening News' obituary page for further information. My kindest thoughts are with Nathan (I can relate to losing a parent) and to Henry's wife Kristina at this difficult time, but from everything I've read, it's apparent that he was a fighter, and he will be sorely missed. R.I.P. Henry!
Monkey's Uncle
Remember last week when I covered Shaw TV's Christian Lemay's interview piece on local music store The Rad Zone, featuring comments from 3/4ths of Garden of Bedlam? Well, it's televised run on Channel 10 has concluded, but despite that, you guys can still check the interview out via our local Shaw TV's new YouTube channel! It looks like Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie launched a YouTube presence in September to upload their interview segments from then onward (older videos like the As It Stands & Dismembertainment interviews are not posted there), so that means I won't have to rip the Rad Zone piece from Shaw TV's website to upload, as it's already on YouTube! If you missed it, this features comments from Rad Zone owner Paul Muncaster, every member of Garden of Bedlam except Josh Belleau, and local photographer Rob Majury about The Rad Zone as a store & a supporter of local music and other avenues, and it's a great 5 minute piece on what they do and offer in Sault Ste. Marie! It's great to see it on YouTube, so check out Shaw TV's look at The Rad Zone below, and as soon as I hear of any more SMS-relevant Shaw TV interviews, I'll let you guys know about them!
Next in new videos is part 2 of "The Making of End of Existence"! This is the second 15 minute video exploring the random goings on and music of Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal quintet End of Existence, following the upload of the first "making of" video onto their YouTube channel 5 days ago. It follows a similar style of the first part, though it's hyped as being even more ridiculous, so you know that can only mean entertaining things! Without giving too much away, it features everything from a cat's reaction to End of Existence to keyboardist Craig Harrison's jet ski trip to their reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death, with lots of jam session and rehearsal footage of the band in action, and even some amusing karaoke action! It's good to see End of Existence keeping things light as they make their crushing metal, and again, if you like videos like the Woods of Ypres tour vlogs, you should enjoy End of Existence's "making of" videos, so check out more at the above links, and here's part 2!
And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! I actually screwed up a bit in my aims to tie in our classic videos with bands playing that week, as I uploaded this before I realized their shows this weekend were moved to St. Ignace, but hey, mistakes happen, and it's still a solid video from the past, so here's what you need to know! This is of Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle (back when they were still Jager) covering Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch" at what I think is The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace circa February 2008. This is the fourth and final video posted on Monkey's Uncle's MySpace page, and I purposely left this last as it's not of the full song (the attendee who was filming missed the start & end of the song) and dancing concert attendees do get in the way late, but the band sounds good! The harmonizing on the chorus isn't needed, but they rocked the song well here! This video was posted onto the band's MySpace page on February 15th, 2008, and you can see the original video at http://myspace.com/video/vid/28401581, though my YouTube upload of it was colour corrected to make it brighter. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!
Two more of Sykotyk Rampage's new albums are online for streaming on their Reverbnation page, so get your environ-mental suits ready! The local crash band uploaded their 27th album "Karrs" on Sunday, with their 24th "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Intellect" uploaded over the last two days, finally finishing last night. Only that album's direct successor, "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Stupidity" remains to be posted, though keep an eye out for it! Neither the newest albums nor the last three are on their store yet, but I expect that they'll be there to purchase soon as well. What can we expect from the newest albums? "Genius Mushrooms" is definitely more experimental than some of the other new releases, but it's definitely not the heaviest album they've ever put out. There were also a couple of changes with the track listing, as a song named "Action" replaced "Parked", and the closing track "Nobody" was omitted in lieu of two new songs, "Iditerod" and "Shiver". No reason was given for the changes, but seeing as we got an extra song out of it, it all works out! As for "Karrs", it's similar in sound to "Bucket Of Ham" with it's varying styles, ranging from heavier crash numbers to softer and slower tracks, but all of it is very sykotyk!
I won't divulge too much on them though, as I hope to review them down the road, but fans of blue Chinese metal crash punk will be right at home with both of the newest albums! Check the above links to listen to both of them, and stay tuned for more updates! While we're on the subject of Sykotyk Rampage, I would like to formally announce that we will review one of their new albums this weekend on The Sault Metal Scene for this month's CD review! But with 6 new albums (one yet to be released), which one will we review? Well, after listening to the 5 released albums (the second "Genius Mushrooms" album aside, I want to do those in order), I've chosen "Zombies", the 29th and "newest" of the 2011 Sykotyk Rampage albums for the next review! Why'd I pick "Zombies"? Basically, because it's the heaviest of the new albums, though does that correspond to the best? Time will tell, but stay tuned for my review of "Zombies" at the end of the month! And yes, harsh music lovers, I do plan to review the other new Sykotyk Rampage albums released this month, just not immediately, as I space out multiple album reviews by the same band to avoid biases. That said, look out for a new Sykotyk Rampage review of some kind early next year!
Next up, Hempfest is indeed coming back next year! Looks like organizers are getting an early start on preparations for the 14th annual marijuana culture festival to ensure that all the kinks are worked out, especially given the mixed reception I heard fans had for it's return. What should we know almost a year out from the next Hempfest? Well, it will take place in Ophir once again from August 6th to 13th of next year, adding an extra Monday to the schedule for 8 days of Hempfest (presumably camping for the first 4 days and entertainment for the rest again.) I'm a bit surprised it's not later in the month like usual though, but it should all work out! Admission is $100 at the gate or $75 in advance for the full week, with drops if you come later (-$15 or -$10 a day respectively.) Single day passes will be $20 (there's no package deals past Friday), and though tickets aren't available yet, there are purchasing links at the official Facebook event page. This year, there will be vendor fees, so visit that link for details on that front too, but I don't know of medical marijuana exemptees will get free admission again. As for the lineup, no one is confirmed yet, but I've heard preliminary hopes from a few bands that they'll be back next year. Hopefully Robert Neron and the Hempfest organizers have an easier time managing Hempfest next year, as it deserves to succeed and last locally! As details come out for the 2012 Hempfest, I'll have them here!
Now, here's some news from Woods of Ypres as the recording sessions for "Woods V" continue at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario! Producer Siegfried Meier has been keeping fans updated on the sessions via his Twitter and Yfrog pages, mostly via some cool studio photos of David Gold and Joel Violette working on their tracks, but Siegfried did leak a possible song title for Woods V: "Death Is Not An Exit", which David seemed to confirm on his own Twitter page on Thursday with what could be that song's chorus lyrics. If true, it sounds like a good song title! Despite plans to not return to Twitter until September, Joel Violette did some tweeting to say that "Woods V" is "sounding huuuuge" and update fans on the weather situation in Goderich last weekend, which saw hailstorms and a tornado, though from what I can gather, nothing related to the "Woods V" recording sessions was damaged. As for David Gold's Twitter page, he is finally mentioning the sessions, including saying that at least one song has been completed and that there was tracking delays due to the storms. Good to hear everyone's safe, and I can't wait to hear more from the recording, so stay tuned for more "Woods V" updates as they come in!
And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! For a third time, we have an old video of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Monkey's Uncle from the Jager days to share on the SMS, so here's what you should know! Like my previous classic video upload of their cover of "Hair Of The Dog", this comes from likely the same St. Ignace concert in February 2008 at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino. This time, it's of what was then Jager covering Nickelback's "Figured You Out", but how does it sound? Missed start on the video aside, they do mostly a good job, although Henry Switzer's vocal range doesn't pull off the chorus as well, and the guitar sounds a bit off. Bit dark too, but that's the fault of the lighting inside, as the video quality is pretty good. Filmed by a concert attendee and uploaded onto the band's MySpace page on February 16th, 2008, you can watch the original video at http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/28444179. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!! All credit for this video goes to Monkey's Uncle and the original filmer, I'm just spreading this video to a wider audience like it deserves! So with that said, check out this week;s classic video of Monkey's Uncle covering "Figured You Out" below!
This has to be the youngest band we've ever talked about on the SMS in terms of average age, and the band in question is Abstract from Sault Michigan! Formed last summer through Shift guitarist Joey Beairl's Guitar Studio rock camp, their ages range from 11 to 12! They were originally known as Aux, and I briefly mentioned them last year as a possible band to perform at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, which they did end up playing on. Abstract features singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen, guitarist Kyle Burton, bassist Mike East, and drummer Ethan Twardy. They've actually racked up a lot of gigs so far, including shows in Mackinac City, a set at Oktoberfest, and even a show at The Satisfied Frog. They even have band t-shirts on sale at Pro Sports & Harmony Health Foods, which is cool! When I first found out about Aux/Abstract last year, I didn't talk much about them because the only video I found had the band covering The White Stripes & Weezer, neither of which are "metal". However, Abstract do cover The Scorpions (among likely others), they have tons of metal bands as influences, and Jacob Hotlen plays a Dean ML guitar live, which is awesome! Musically, they are very good for their age, and have a good grasp of their covers! If you're of a more critical mindset, don't be, remember the band's age.
Now to our LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll start with a show at The Rockstar Bar on March 4th! On that night, Kitchener hard rockers The Saigon Hookers will hit Sault Ontario for a long awaited concert! In case you didn't know, The Saigon Hookers used to feature Lion Ride bassist Carmine "Cobra Carmander" Romano in their lineup before he joined Lion Ride full time in January, and the two bands are good friends, so there is some local good will for them! Full details on this concert haven't been unveiled yet, though "friends" will join them presumably as opening bands. Doors open at 9:00 PM (I'd assume it has a 10:00 PM start time), there's no listed cover charge, and you must be 19 to enter. It's nice to see The Saigon Hookers finally coming to Sault Ontario for a concert, I was wondering when they'd finally come to their Lion Ride friends' hometown for a show! Hopefully this goes well, as their punk/metal hybrid sound is sure to get fans out to The Rockstar Bar on March 4th! Check the above links for more, and I'll keep you guys posted when updates on this show come in!
Next up, here's another new concert that I have for you guys! When I was browsing the local concert listings on Reverbnation, I came across a concert scheduled for March 6th at The Vibe Lounge! The band in question is We, The Undersigned, a progressive metal trio from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and they have a good sound going for them! Chaotic energetic metal with unique vocals for their genre, they should impress on the live stage! This concert is announced to be taking place at The Vibe Lounge, the Goulais Avenue bar that has hosted the scattered metal show, on March 6th at 9:00 PM. 19+ and no cover charge are likely too. My source for this information is the band's official Reverbnation page, but note that We, The Undersigned still have the venue as "TBA" on their MySpace page, with a TBA local date for this Saturday listed as well. That show was moved to Thunder Bay though, so don't get your hopes up. I don't know a ton about this show, but if they say they're coming to The Vibe in March, then there must be a level of truth to it! I like their sound, they should pull in some fans next month! Check the above links for more!
Now, finally, it's this week's weekly classic video! It just got pushed back and back from filled posts over the last few days, but I at least got it uploaded last week! Again, I'm tying it in with an upcoming concert (well, it was upcoming last week), and it's of Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle! I've never seen a video of them on YouTube, and they deserve the views and attention, so I decided to upload one of their MySpace videos onto the SMS' YouTube channel! This is taken from a concert circa February 2008 at The Northern Pines Lounge at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, back when they were still known as Jager and had a second guitarist, and it's their cover of Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog"! The original video was filmed by a concert attendee and later uploaded onto Monkey's Uncle's MySpace page not long afterwards. The original video can be viewed at http://myspace.com/monkeysuncle3/videos/hair-of-the-dog/28440633, and I mean NO HARM OR INFRINGEMENT WITH THIS UPLOAD! Monkey's Uncle deserve extra attention, I want people to check them out more! They do a good job on this cover, no major quibbles, but I do like how Henry Switzer adapted his vocal range well to the song! Good stuff, check it out below, and I have more Monkey's Uncle news to share tomorrow!
And finally, I wanted to share some updates that I made to our links on the SMS. In the Sault Ontario concert venue info, I added The Big Cheese in Heyden and Docks Riverfront Grill, and moved The Algonquin Pub and Madison's Pub to the Other Local Metal Links, as neither have hosted a metal or hard rock concert in over a year. In the Sault Michigan concert venue info section, I added Joe's Bar in Rudyard, The Merchant's Bar, The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, and Zim's, while removing The Big Bear Arena, as I don't believe they've hosted a "metal" concert in a year either. All of the added venues include addresses, phone numbers, and internet links where applicable. I adjusted the old Sault This Week link in the Other Local Metal Links section to reflect the inactivity of the old Hot Spots section (now it links to the main page.) In the Sault Ontario music stores section, I added the new Facebook page for Gore Street music store Music Depot, and I corrected the phone numbers for Real Rock 105.1 & Classic Rock: The Bear in the local radio stations section, as they no longer share a number. I edited the Sault Metal Video Bar to remove channels with a now low percentage of local metal videos, and added 8 new YouTube channels. I also re-added a Facebook badge for our page on there, as well as a badge to link to our Reverbnation page. These were long overdue, hopefully everything's up to date now!
Sault Michigan's own Riot! By Night have confirmed four more concert dates for across the river! Two are admittedly short notice, the band might only have posted them as late as Monday, but I can't verify that. Either way, my apologies!!! The two short notice shows are THIS WEEKEND at The Satisfied Frog, which they'll be playing at at 10:00 PM Friday and Saturday night! Then, Riot! By Night will hit Dondee Lanes on February 12th and 13th, which will be (I think) the band's first local concerts outside of The Frog! Those concerts will both begin at around 8:00 PM. Great to see Riot! By Night back playing more shows, I bet they rock very hard! Consider this a preview of this weekend's concerts too, I again apologize for the short notice of it, hopefully some of you guys will make it out to see Riot! By Night this weekend! I still have no audio or video to share, but click here to visit their MySpace page!
That's not all for local hard rock concerts this weekend, there's three more to get to! Take these two with a grain of salt though. According to Kewadin Casino's events calendar, Monkey's Uncle, the local band formerly known as Jager, will be playing at The Rapids Lounge on Friday and Saturday night! However, Monkey's Uncle don't list concerts of any type on their MySpace page, which hasn't listed a schedule since before they went on hiatus and changed their name & lineup. But, seeing as Kewadin are listing shows featuring them that weren't previously on their cancelled dates, and with the new name, they must have some truth to them. So with caution, I'll talk about them. There is NO COVER for both shows, and they'll start at 9:00 PM both nights! As you may know, Monkey's Uncle is the hard rock trio fronted by Henry Switzer from The Mama's Boys, alongside Jim Belleau on bass and Ron Suchey on drums. They used to be a frequent sight at The Rapids Lounge and elsewhere, hopefully they're back playing shows on a regular basis again! Great band, check out some originals at their MySpace page! For a preview, here's a clip from the Jager days of the band playing the Nazareth classic "Hair of the Dog"!
Saturday, all double weekend dates at venues in Sault Michigan! We'll go in alphabetical order this time, starting with Pickford Michigan's own Absolute! They will mark their return to the Sault area tomorrow night at 10:00 PM at The Bird! It's nice to see Absolute back around these parts, and The Bird hosting a good metal show again! Now, if you want a taste of the Absolute live show, check out this live video of them performing the Rage Against The Machine classic "Killing In The Name"!
Ok, let's keep the alphabetical order going, with a band known as Jager! Yes, these Sault Michigan locals are back for a pair of weekend dates tomorrow and Saturday as well! But unlike Absolute, they will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino, and at 9:00 PM! These guys have a pretty good reputation across the river, and it's no wonder from the great songs they have on their Myspace! But don't take my word for it, check out this live video of Jager performing the Nazareth classic "Hair of the Dog" from a show in St. Ignace!
a pair of shows on Friday and Saturday night at 10:00 PM! Now, I still don't have any audio or video to share with you guys, but by all accounts I've heard, Shift are a great hard rock band in their own right! Now, if you wanna check out the band in general, head on over to their official Myspace page!
to talk about! If not, well get yourselves ready for some news from the Woods of Ypres side of things, and guess what? THEY NEED OUR HELP!
Pickford Michigan hard rockers Absolute are playing at The Bird in Sault Michigan on February 6th and 7th at 10:00 PM! Nice to see The Bird putting on shows again, I hadn't heard much from that venue in a while! Absolute sound pretty good, check out some of their covers at their Myspace page! Also, Absolute are NOT playing at Dondee Lanes this weekend, just the next band we're gonna talk about will be! 
hard rock band I've been calling "Jager 4.0" are actually just called Jager. But when their Myspace and it's URL are referred to as "Jager 4.0", it's easy to miss. So my apologies, I've fixed the name throughout the page! Check out Jager too, they got some great sounding stuff on their Myspace as well!
Also, a couple local bands are hitting the road for concerts out of town this weekend! Sault Ontario's own Lion Ride are playing in Toronto at The Bovine Sex Club with Common Dears on Saturday night, followed by a show in London at Call The Office with The Saigon Hookers the next day! Meanwhile, in the Detroit area, Sault Michigan's own Bad Side will take the stage at TNT's Bar in Clinton Township, supporting SkinDeep! Best of luck to both bands on their road trips!
