SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The 2025 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands!!)

Six local acts will face off in the third annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands on THURSDAY at the on-campus Arts Center! Apologies for the short notice, the final lineup was only revealed on the Arts Center's Facebook page this past Wednesday, though details on some of the acts were not immediately available, with posts introducing them being staggered over the past week. The second major battle in the E.U.P. this year (following the Superior Whitefish Festival one in Brimley in July), this year's LSSU Battle will feature six acts (down one from 2024) vying for battle supremacy, and we have a guaranteed first-time winner ahead, as The Sole Aggressors broke up this summer and Molly Escherich is attending the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Two performers are returning solo musicians from last year, including veteran folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, which makes him the only act to play at all three LSSU battles.

Joining him again is Kaleb Shannon, who now performs under the solo handle NDN Summer, but don't bypass either as a contender on THURSDAY, as Kaleb did win the $750 second prize at the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle (which Kevin also competed in). Will they appeal to the judges at the Arts Center this time around? Of the four bands competing on THURSDAY, the most familiar to SMS readers will be hard rock/punk band About:Blank (who performed at the Superior Whitefish Festival's Music In The Park concert, but not the battle). This will be a special two-man acoustic set, as guitarist Nathan Webber (one of Molly's victorious Other Guys from last year) will be absent himself, so frontman Parker Talentino (a solo competitor from the 2024 LSSU Battle) and drummer Kade DesArmo will press onward. Will Kade's presence push Parker into the winning position? Find out on THURSDAY!

The other three acts are brand new to me, including Socrates & The Cavemen, a new band from LSSU philosophy/humanities professor Jason Swedene, who played bass for last year's competing indie rock quartet The Undecideds alongside his son Calvin (formerly of the Sole Aggressors). In this new project, Jason is "The Cavemen" while Socrates is his other son William, but the descriptions don't outright say what they'll play beyond teasing a soul/funk influence. We'll find out on THURSDAY! New local rap duo Tunngtyed (featuring MCs Tha Baztad and G-Blunt) and new local acoustic project The Dynamic Duo (featuring singer Danielle Petingalo and guitarist Ben Huyck) round out the battle roster, which means that this year's battle has no bands with more than two advertised members, whereas there were four with 3+ members in each of the last two years. To me, this leaves the field wide open, so it's anyone's guess who will win!

And no, Tarnished/Crush frontman Alex Traynor (with or without his poofy white coat) is not playing on THURSDAY despite being on the promotional poster. If things are formatted identically to last year, the 2025 LSSU Battle will be judged by LSSU faculty and a student representative, who all are scoring on one individual criteria apiece, and acts will likely be blocked for 15 minutes apiece, giving room for 3-4 songs each. Prizes for the battles so far were $150 for first place and $50 for second place (both as gift cards), with third place and beyond not announced. Admission on THURSDAY will be $10 for general audiences and $5 for kids 10 and under, while current LSSU students, faculty, and staff will get in for free. A 7:30 PM start time is advertised, and it should be an early night once again given the formatting. While I wish the lineup was announced with a little more notice, there should be a great batch of music in store for attendees!

I'm unsure if I'll be going to this year's battle, but I went last year (here's my review), and the talent base and support for the performers was very encouraging! This year hasn't been the easiest in terms of cross-border relationships with the tariffs and whatnot, but it'd be great to see some Sault Ontarians come across to check out the Yoopers competing on THURSDAY, and best wishes to everyone as they vie for first place! Visit the above links for more on this year's battle, and stay tuned for results and fallout when/if it goes live! Thanks everyone, and good luck!

The 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands Review!!

Here's a rarity for the SMS that I hope won't be so rare in the future: A review of a concert in Sault Michigan! On Thursday, Lake Superior State University hosted their second annual community battle of the bands at the on-campus Arts Center, and after missing last year's (I was seriously planning on hopping the border for it before getting a cold), I saw a golden opportunity to bear witness to my first local battle since the pandemic began! Just nice to see one take place in the E.U.P., there haven't been many compared to Sault Ontario. For readers unfamiliar, the Arts Center is LSSU's theater/auditorium at the far left of campus, roughly opposite their bookstore, and it remains as nicely laid out and professional as it was when I was a student there over a decade ago! Tickets were at a proper booth with concessions, and while the start was delayed a bit, there was a decent turnout in the auditorium for the battle on Thursday night!

By no means was it sold out, but I'd estimate 100-200 people were in attendance, and they were very vocal and loud for all acts! The MC of the battle was Arts Center director and LSSU assistant theater professor Noah Luce, while the four judges included two deans at the university (Mindy McCready and Steven Johnson), Arts Center business manager Melissa St. John, and Jillian Roush, who I believe was a current student representative. In terms of the judging criteria, this battle was handled very differently than others I've seen, as each judge individually handled one metric rather than judging each band on all points. One judge scored solely on originality, stage presence, and preparation each, while Jillian handled the audience vote. To that end, Noah encouraged attendees to cheer as loud as they could for each act after their sets for judging purposes. Acts competing on Thursday had a 15 minute set like last year, meaning that they got to play three or four songs each

Unfortunately, there was a late band withdrawal, as Traverse City hard rock band Sonic Dayze did not perform on Thursday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, it would have been neat to see them in action! The stage setup for the bands was quite cavernous with lots of room to roam if need be, while the three solo musicians performed with a curtain behind them, and regardless, a projection screen displayed the band's name or logo above or behind them. The first act on Thursday was new local rock band Small Town Society, who united vocalist Holly Sibbald, ex-Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, (stand-up!) bassist Chris Bennett, drummer Daniel Jackson, and in a surprise not indicated in advance, veteran local guitarist "Blind" Bob Quinn Musically, the Small Town Society covered three songs, including Radiohead's "Creep" and Hozier's "Too Sweet".

Nothing too heavy, but they were a talented band with some solid professionalism for night #1 together, and Holly sure traveled the stage on most of their set! It was neat seeing Chris break out a big stand-up bass too (shades of The Rising Tide there), and they seemed to get a solid response, but it'll be interesting to see where things go for a longer show! Second was the night's first solo act, namely Kaleb Shannon, a local pop rock singer/guitarist who played four songs, including "Acceptance" and three that he mostly described the origins of, but didn't directly name. Kaleb had a natural ease about him and a good rapport with the audience that masked some of the hiccups between his songs! He has a good voice and writes some direct and honest, but upbeat, lyrics, and he has a bright future! Third up on Thursday was solo performer #2, namely veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, who returned from last year's battle for a four song set of his own.

Kevin played songs named "Thank God For The TV", an instrumental that I think he called "Angry Man", and a short song he wrote for his granddaughter named "Butterfly". Kevin's matter-of-fact folk rock was well performed and had a strong grit to it, with his vocals reminding me of a cross between Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler (which is certainly not a bad thing). It's tough to assess solo musicians against bands at a judged battle setting, but he left a distinct impression! Local metal/hard rock band Tarnished were next, though not as fans have seen them live this fall. Rather than have Chris Leask & Ron Suchey back as the rhythm section, Alex & Josh called in Destini Smith & Molly Escherich (more on her in a bit) to fill in for the night. Kudos for supporting young local talent! Tarnished and crew played a three song set, including covers of Cameo's "Word Up" (yes) and Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight"

Notably, frontman Alex Traynor did not play guitar at all, instead singing in his finest fuzzy white coat. Gotta be honest, I wanted to see him shredding along with Josh Fair (exclusively called Josh Tyler here) on Thursday, but his vocals suited the songs well with good energy! Destini's bass wasn't working on their opening song, but she and Molly acquitted themselves well, and Tarnished got fans going well with good audience involvement and some solid rock throughout! After a brief intermission, the battle resumed with the band advertised as Unsure, but it seems that they were unsure about that moniker, and instead performed as "The Undecideds". So, who are they? Well, if you were wondering why 2023 battle winners The Sole Aggressors didn't come back, this band may explain why! As far as I'm aware, Sole Aggressors frontman Calvin Swedene and drummer Isaac Brindley were in The Undecideds.

They were joined by a keyboardist named Frank, as well as Calvin's dad (I think) Jason Swedene on bass. Jason happens to be an arts, letters, and social sciences professor at LSSU, for the record. Unlike the Sole Aggressors, The Undecideds played a reserved indie/alternative sound, but were the only band on Thursday to play an all-original set, with their four songs including ones named "In Heaven" and (I think) "Strawberry Pond", with Frank singing lead on their closer. I do prefer what I've heard of the Sole Aggressors, but the songs here had merit for indie rock fans! I would heavily encourage the guys to work on their stage presences though, as they were very stiff, and their set ended very abruptly without a thank you to the fans. Promising musicians in this group though, and the crowd response was good! The penultimate performer on Thursday was former Tarnished bassist Parker Talentino.

He played three originals (including "Already Been Said" & "Barter") as well as a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". Despite a brief technical glitch at the start when there was no microphone for him to use (Noah lent his for the set), Parker performed well with his own brand of alternative rock originals, showing off a good melodic singing voice and a relatability with his lyrics! Definitely a far cry from what he played with Tarnished at this event last year (the 2023 battle was his debut with them), but a strong effort and it came off naturally! Last but not least were Molly & The Other Guys, a one-off(?) live band to support last year's runner-up artist, Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich. She was joined here by former Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber, founding/current Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor on bass, and Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon.

I'm not one to make a big deal about musician ages, but Molly is twelve years old, and even if you put aside the ample cheering section that came out to support her and The Other Guys (they even brought signs and t-shirts!), her talents were on full display both here and when she drummed with Tarnished! The crew covered Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" during their three song set, and while the intro to the latter song felt kind of off, everyone performed well, and it was nice to see Nathan shredding with good enthusiasm on stage again! Molly got a strong backing band here, and while her voice did get a bit strained late, she has a very bright future, and again, she's twelve! While judges deliberated and tallied the scores, Noah promoted upcoming Arts Center events, and the prizes were unchanged from last year ($150 for first place, $50 for second, both as gift cards).

The winners of the 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands are... Molly & The Other Guys, and given the rock attack and fan response, I'm not too shocked by that! It's a solid jump for Molly after finishing second as a mostly solo act last year (fan-only voting acknowledged), and hopefully she rides this momentum well as she develops as a musician! Tarnished claimed second place after missing the podium outright last year, so kudos to Alex and Molly for sweeping both prizes! Like last year, third place was not announced. Everything ended around 10:00 PM, so it was a nice early evening for this all-ages event, and things seemed to go well for all involved! As a relative outsider to Sault Michigan concerts (I really must continue fixing that), there was a lot of strong talent on display from the bands, Kaleb, Kevin, and Parker, and I do hope that the university brings this back next fall!

You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, and yes, I did get a video of each band, namely everyone's first song! Given the short sets, that was the easiest way to ensure everyone was filmed, so apologies to Tarnished for filming the one song where Destini's bass wasn't working! If it helps, it wasn't obvious in the moment. In order, here's The Small Town Society covering The Black Keys' "Wild Child", Kaleb Shannon playing an un-introduced original song, Kevin Blakeney playing "Gone Are The Days", Tarnished covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", The Undecideds playing an original song that may be named "Sad People Are Beautiful Things", Parker Talentino playing "When I Fall", and Molly & The Other Guys covering Flyleaf's "Fully Alive"!

I hope you guys liked this extended battle of the bands review, and for Sault Ontario readers, don't bypass the bands and musicians in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Its a smaller area, but there's a lot of talented artists who would benefit from getting hits and fans in Canada, let alone attendance at their shows if you've able to cross the border! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, Plus More LSSU Battle Of The Bands Fallout!!

On this (American) Thanksgiving eve, we're heading back to Sault Michigan to continue looking at the fallout of a big concert event last week, tied in with a new addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!

In resuming our coverage of the Lake Superior State University battle of the bands from this past Thursday, let's add the winners to our links and full coverage, namely new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors! While they were already on Instagram and YouTube, it's their new Facebook page that gets them linked on the SMS, though be advised that it was created as a personal account rather than a proper "page", so you have to add them as a friend or follow them rather than "like" them. Oddly, The Sole Aggressors haven't posted their identities online publically at press time, but thanks to an e-mail from the band over the weekend, I can confirm that their lineup consists of singer Henry Boucher, guitarist Brett Siesel, bassist Calvin Swedene, and drummer Isaac Brindley. None are familiar from prior local bands, though most of them get Google hits from their involvement in Sault Area High School sports competition in recent years.

The Sole Aggressors debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August, with the battle at LSSU's Arts Center being just their second concert, and not every band can say that they won a battle of the bands within two gigs of their inception! Yes, it was fan voted, but even if you read that as a popularity contest, they still already have a good following and/or were impressive enough to sway the audience! While not filmed for Molly Escherich's channel (more from her in a bit), a band representative did film The Sole Aggressors' entire set, and partly thanks to punk lending itself to shorter songs, the guys crammed in seven songs into their allotted 15 minutes on Thursday. The set started with original songs named "Reject" & "Kill Thy Neighbor", followed by a trifecta of Black Flag covers ("Six Pack", "Jealous Again", and "Depression"), and two more originals to cap things off with ("State Of The World" & an instrumental named "Fool").

Adding to their surprise victory at the battle is that Henry was unable to perform at the event for unannounced reasons, so Brett handled vocals in his place (reminds me of when the future Bring The Fallen debuted short-handed at a battle of the bands in Sault Ontario and still won it). We'll share their Bird's Eye concert video (featuring Henry) in an upcoming post, but they did pull of a solid set without him on Thursday, and Calvin's loud, crunchy bass was nice to hear too! Seeing teenagers in the E.U.P. playing hardcore punk this capably is extremely welcomed, let alone with originals already, and hopefully The Sole Aggressors have much more ahead, but give their battle set a watch below!

The Sole Aggressors edged out Molly Escherich by three votes to win the battle, and as we already featured her battle set the last time we covered the event, let's jump to the third place finishers, namely new local hard rock quartet Double Jack, who made their live debut on Thursday. Molly's YouTube channel actually got uploaded two different copies of their set (and much more, stay tuned), including the raw vertically shot copy, but I embedded the longer version that was zoomed/cropped to normal landscape orientation to focus on the stage, which looks much better. The last of the six acts to perform at the battle, Double Jack's set started with covers of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild", Seether's "Gasoline",  and a medley of portions of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets", The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (coincidentally covered in full by Tarnished earlier that night), and Green Day's "Brain Stew", all with bassist Isaac Royer on lead vocals.

In a surprise at set's end, Molly walked out on stage and jokingly shoved Isaac away before taking over vocals for covers of Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" & "Wonderwall" Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy". We'll have more from the Double Jack/Molly collaboration soon, but the band sounded good for their debut live gig, no doubt helped by Isaac & Nathan's existing Tarnished chemistry, and Isaac was up to the challenge vocally, though it'll be interesting to see how big his range is. Molly fit in well on plugged in rock songs, and it was a neat bonus to cap the battle of the bands with, so give Double Jack's complete set a watch below!

Finally, local singer/guitarist and Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney also competed on Thursday, and like Molly and the Sole Aggressors, he had his set filmed for his own YouTube channel. With Molly also filming Tarnished and Double Jack, that just leaves Heavy Lies The Crown without a public video from their set (that I presently know of), but stay tuned in case one turns up! Kevin was the only performer on Thursday who did not play metal or punk, but seeing as this is a battle of the bands that I was actually planning to attend before catching a cold last week, I'll talk about his set here! Kevin started with original songs named "Gone Are The Days", "Won't You Come With Me", and "Thank God For The TV", before covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and (I kid you not) Pinkfong's "Baby Shark". If you like gritty acoustic folk music, you'll take to Kevin's set!

Kevin possesses a distinct, deep & weathered singing voice that will appeal to Tom Waits fans, and while the audio quality on his camera isn't as pristine compared to his battle cohorts, you can tell that he has songwriting talent! Unfortunately, the video was mostly uploaded sideways, and between songs, they put the camera down, leading to black screens and shuffling noises, so be advised of technical quirks. Check it out below!

Whether Heavy Lies The Crown's battle set surfaces in video format or not, we're not quite done with LSSU battle fallout on the SMS, so stay tuned for that in the coming days, but for all of our American readers, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), The Doors & Fours Concert Preview, And Much More!!

As promised, our preview of this weekend's Doors & Fours concert is now back on the site, and to fill things out, we have some assorted recent news and notes, a surpsise throwback to channel 48 almost 13 years ago, and leading off, here's some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will end a three month concert hiatus when they return to The Esquire Club for shows on Friday, November 17th & Saturday, November 18th (yes, next week!) After taking a few months off, with a handful of concert cancellations in between, it's great to see the Mourning Wood successors back in advance of their Toystock debut in a couple of weeks, so be sure to welcome this fan favourite band back next week! Soundcheck also hopes to have new tunes added into their setlist for these shows, their first at The Esquire Club since Rotaryfest weekend. As usual for their stops at this west end venue, expect 9:30 PM start times next Friday and Saturday, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and look for more in our preview next week!

Next up, here's our delayed preview of the other big concert at The Algonquin Hotel,  THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, where fans can check out the local debut of Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours downstairs at The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub! Attentive fans may recognize Doors & Fours from sharing the stage with local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in Hamilton back in July, so it's cool to see the inverse happen as they come north on Saturday! With a grungy but heavy sound that will remind listeners of the 1990s, Doors & Fours are definitely worth checking out, so keep them in mind for some hard hitting original action this weekend! Jack Spades will open this show in their first local stop since their Wolves on Parade tour of Northern Ontario with Archelon and The Elements, while local punk trio Stegadeth were quietly confirmed recently as the second opening band on Saturday, marking their first set since opening for The Ripcordz last month. Solid choice, and they should set the tone well!

Coming midway through Doors & Fours' Canadian tour this fall, Saturday night's concert (promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce) has a 19+ age limit and 9:00 PM start time, and while there has surprisingly not been an announced cover charge, bring at least $5 just in case. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Doors & Fours live!



Also today, here's a bit of a change of pace from our usual coverage. In recent searches of SMS-relevant videos on YouTube, I recently came across a new posting of an episode of the 1999-2005 Comedy Network original series Kevin Spencer, with the episode name "Treble Charger". This isn't just the name, the local/Toronto indie/punk quartet voiced themselves in this episode, and I never knew about it until this year! If you're not familiar with the series, it was very much an adult cartoon about a delinquent teenager and his white trash parents. The episode in question aired in January 2005 during the show's seventh season (though early in the band's original hiatus), and it's about Kevin winning a contest from a MuchMusic-esque station to hang out with and interview a band of his choice (Treble Charger), though nothing goes according to plan, especially with his parents tagging along. The band was voiced here by their 2003-2004 lineup, including then-guitarist Devin Bronson in place of Bill Priddle.

I will not embed the episode here due to it's explicit content, but I might as well give a brief review. Crude animation & even cruder humour, but it has a few amusing moments, especially from Kevin's narrator, the "April Wine room", and some of the inside remarks on the music industry & personalities covering it. Treble Charger themselves get lots of screen time, as do their friends-turned-enemies in Sum 41 (also voicing themselves), while clips from "American Psycho", "Brand New Low", and "Wear Me Down" can be heard throughout. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you like adult humour, this & many more episodes can be found on YouTube!

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 event name:

• Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters did play the Special Ops show at The Rockstar Bar last week after all! Frontman Nik Deubel confirmed on the Facebook event page that the scheduling conflict that came up for "one of us" was delayed a day, allowing them back on the bill, while a personal Facebook posting noted that they played last that night. Hopefully the show was a hit!
• In case you haven't been following the municipal elections in Sault Michigan, City Commissioner and former Rock 101/The Bear DJ Ray Bauer lost the mayoral election to incumbent mayor Anthony Bosbous on Tuesday. Ray pulled in almost a third of the vote, against Mayor Bosbous' healthy majority of over 61%, continuing his run as Sault Michigan's longest serving mayor. Congratulations are in order, as with Ray on running a good campaign! Click here for more from local news media on Tuesday's elections.
• Timeslots for this year's Toystock at The Northern Grand Gardens on November 26th were revealed via the Facebook event page earlier this week, which confirm that Bone Yard and The Peace Vibe will headline once again, while The 3 Day Millionares & Soundcheck will bring the hard rock at 4:00 & 3:00 PM. Also confirmed there is the exit of blues rock band Mojo from the event, who were replaced by guitarist Alex D'Ettore's acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge. With all of Mojo playing in Bone Yard that night, an afternoon scheduling conflict for Brad or Ric is likely to blame for the change, but don't miss everyone in over two weeks!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: The Dyadics

It's time for our final monthly feature post of 2012, and after a month to update past profiles in this series (and some illness/vacation related delays), we're back to normal doings in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series! Once again, we're looking at a band that is based outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, but features at least one past or present member that has shared a local residence, and like in earlier installments, we're telling you about the bands, their local ties, their material, and more! This month's chosen band is small by member count, but big in sound and promise, so read on below for our last entry in this series of the year, and if anything's missing or incorrect, please tell me! (Updated on November 26th, 2014)
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The Dyadics (London, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Kevin Kennedy (vocals/guitar)

Matt Weston (drums/bass)

Official website: http://swampsongs.com/dyadics/
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/dyadics
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/dyadics

Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/dyadics

Official SoundCloud page: http://www.soundcloud.com/dyadics

Official CBC Music page: http://music.cbc.ca/artists/the-dyadics

Local Info: The Dyadics have 50% local representation thanks to frontman Kevin Kennedy, who is a native of Sault Ontario! I don't know a ton on his local background (beyond any mutual local contacts), but he moved to London to attend the University of Western Ontario at some point, likely in the early-mid 2000s, and still lives and works there in both the education field and in various musical projects. Along with his work in The Dyadics, Kevin has toured Canada playing guitar with The Neverending White Lights, and also performs with his wife in the London folk duo The Marrieds.

Band Bio: Formed in 2009, The Dyadics a two man project featuring two London-based teachers and UWO graduates playing a diverse blend of hard rock and experimental styles. Started following frontman Kevin Kennedy's spell opening for Our Lady Peace with The Neverending White Lights, he called in friend Matt Weston to produce and drum for the project, which opted to remain a duo following unsuccessful bassist auditions, with Matt playing bass parts on a Roland Octapad simultaneously while drumming for live concerts. Since The Dyadics' debut, they independently released their self titled debut album in 2010, followed by the EP "Dead & Gone" in 2011, and have steadily made a major name in the Southern Ontario music scene, including numerous concerts since their debut gig in March 2010, and being nominated at the 2012 Jack Richardson Music Awards. Currently recording a new CD, keep an eye out for Kevin & Matt on stage and in studio in 2013!

The Dyadics have a different sort of sound from what we usually look at in this series, and while the duo aspect helps for that, Kevin & Matt have crafted a melodic and often poppy take on hard and classic rock in this band! Their songs don't sound like just two guys are playing, which is proof of their talents, and they employ some nice hooks and catchy melodies into their songs, even if not all of their originals are of a face melting quality. I prefer their newer output, which has a slightly darker and heavier feel than their 2010 debut, but on both, they show solid skill and chemistry, with Kevin's guitar work impressing (along with his nice vocal range) and Matt's drumming and bass supplying also adding well! The Dyadics' sound is familiar in some ways and original in others, somewhat coming across to me as a mix of indie and hard rock, but if "Dead & Gone" is any indication, the best is yet to come from Kevin & Matt, so don't let them slip you by!

For online media, both of The Dyadics' albums are available for free streaming at this location, but feel free to support the guys by buying their albums at this location, and both releases on BandCamp by clicking here! They go for about $5 for the EP and $10 for the debut. For videos, there are some solid quality live videos from YouTube user Anthony Silvestro that I recommend checking out, but The Dyadics' own YouTube channel has some quality videos of it's own, including two music videos, such as this one from the title track from their latest EP, so give it a look below, and check out more above!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! We'll kick off 2013 in this series on or around January 26th with a long awaited profile of Bury Your Demons, the Montgomery, Illinois metal band featuring Sault Michigan native Scott Mills, so watch out for that next month, and stay tuned for more news and out look back at the year 2012 in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Lion Ride & The Isosceles Project),Two Lineup Changes, And More!!

Well guys, as promised, here is that extremely packed new post! We have a lot more than just what is here now, but I don't like overloading posts and burying stories, so this is just the icing on the local metal cake! Today, we have news on a pair of bands with guitarist changes, the completed lineup for a major upcoming concert, and kicking things off, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Lion Ride are coming back to Sault Ontario next month for their first local concert of 2011! Over three months after rocking The Canadian Nightclub at an insanely packed show, the hard hitting quintet will make their way to The Rockstar Bar for their first show there in over a year when they headline there on April 9th! Like at their last show, local country punk quintet The Billy Bastards (featuring Destroilet & Harsh Heads alumni) will open for them, giving a nice Southern flavour to compliment Lion Ride's punk inspired metal attack! Also, ironically, this concert is the same night as the Sewer Swampstravaganja concert at The Oddfellows Hall (more on that later), making this the second straight Lion Ride show to fall on the night of a major all ages concert (their December show was the same night as Soo Music Mash-Up.) There will be a $5 cover for this concert, you must be 19 to attend, and the doors open at 9:00 PM! This sounds like a great concert, and with the all ages concert preceding it, I don't know if I can handle all this great live music! I'll give it my best though, and if nothing else, I'll try and be there for Lion Ride's set! For more details, check the Facebook event page, and I'll keep you posted if updates come in!

Meanwhile, a few well known metal bands from out of town are coming back to Sault Ontario in May! Last August, you may remember a high profile metal concert at The Canadian Nightclub that featured Toronto instrumental progressive band The Isosceles Project and North Bay extreme metal trio Thekillingfield as opening bands. Well, they're both coming back to town, this time on May 23rd at Foggy Notions! This time around, The Isosceles Project will headline with their brand of instrumental and very technical music on their upcoming "Total Vandemonium" tour, with Thekillingfield set to devastate as openers! A third opening band is also confirmed, and ironically, they're also a three piece! This band is Orillia, Ontario experimental progressive band Like Animals, who possess a unique sound of their own that you'll have to hear for yourself! Check all of the above links to hear the three bands in question! Promoter Rich Moreland tells me there will be a local opener (which one isn't confirmed yet) and there will be a cover charge of around $4. I'd expect this to have a 10:00 PM start time, and you must be 19 to attend. Sounds good to me, I'll absolutely be there for this one, as all three bands are very talented, and brutal! Click here for more details!

Next up, here is the latest news from local hard rockers Sense of Truth! Drummer Ryan Haryett sent me a statement yesterday by e-mail to discuss some recent events and their long hiatus, so here's all that you should know! The band have officially parted ways with founding member & guitarist Steve Myers. The decision was due to artistic differences, and was completely mutual. As such, the statement said that the band "may be looking for a new member", which might not mean they will get one. Steve was a member of Sense of Truth from their 2008 inception onward, and it's definitely disappointing to see him leave! I wouldn't be surprised if his next musical work resembled his old Odd Man Out material, given the reasons provided for his departure. Still, if any of you guys are interested in the vacant guitar position in Sense of Truth, click here, and best of luck to Steve! As well, Ryan detailed the band's recent hiatus (not having played live since May), explaining that the band haven't been active lately due to the editing problems with their upcoming EP's artwork and scheduling conflicts. However, they have been focusing on heavier & more complex material since last year's studio sessions, and the band are "confident that things are finally progressing to a new groove"!

Ryan also confirmed that there was still no word on a release date for the EP, but they are working with a media company in Northwestern Ontario on some mystery projects. This 10 month hiatus sure has been disappointing for fans, but it's nice to know that they're still plugging away! Ryan's return from work out of town should help get the band back in gear, and when I hear more on their next steps, I'll let you guys know here, be it for their possible guitarist search, their EP, or anything else! For more details, check the above links, and e-mail senseoftruth@shaw.ca for any inquiries!

Now, to the other guitarist change in a local band, and in this case, it's an addition! Local horror punk/metal rockers Frightlight have quietly announced the addition of rhythm guitarist Kevin Powe to the band, officially making them a quintet! To go along with the horror theme, Kevin will use the stage name "St. Mayhem". Local fans will no doubt recognize Kevin as one of the original members of the defunct local punk/metal band Fitswitch, playing with them at numerous local concerts through 2007, and being featured on their "Rust Angel EP" before moving to Sudbury for a few years. Now back in town, Kevin will reunite with his old Fitswitch bandmates J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints) and Rick "Styles" White once again, which will definitely be cool to see on a more regular basis again! Plus, his graphic design prowess will be put to good use even more now, hopefully! Surprisingly, this news wasn't publicized on band pages, though he was added to the band's lineups on Facebook and on Battle of the Bands (more on that soon), so there's your sources. It's great to see Kevin back locally for good, he'll add a nice dimension to Frightlight going forward! But when can you see the new five-piece Frightlight lineup next?

...at The Sewer Swampstravaganja, that's when! Frightlight have officially been announced as the last band on the lineup for this massive 12 band all ages show at The Oddfellows Hall on April 9th, replacing The Fury! Sounds good to me, and it's fitting to see the new lineup debut at a massive old school all ages concert like this! With that said, a lot of the lineup has been shuffled, so here's what's changed. Frightlight aren't co-headlining in the old Fury slot, they'll instead be playing at 6:00 PM, bumping Shit Liver back to 5:15 PM. Now in the second-to-last slot at 10:30 PM is Bring The Fallen (saying they don't break up), with WinkStinger moving up a slot to replace them at 9:00 PM. The Bear Hunters will also jump a slot on the lineup into WinkStinger's old 8:15 PM placement, leaving Sativa Rose to make a large jump from the 5:15 PM slot to 7:30 PM on this final lineup! The previously announced set times for The Tenagens, Changing Waves, State of Misery, Late & Loud (replacements for SBD), As It Stands, and RedD Monkey are no different than before. For full lineup and concert details, click here! This concert will be awesome, and even if I can't stay the whole night (Lion Ride, again), I'll be there for the vast majority! Stay tuned for updates as they come in!

That's all for now, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Rosie for their punk night, featuring Sykotyk Rampage! And yes, I have a LOT more news to share as well, so expect some of that tomorrow night as well! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Free Refill) And More Assorted Updates!

Hey guys, before I head to Manitoulin Island, I have more assorted news stories to share with you today! Some are backlogged from last weekend's inactivity, while others still are newer! Let us begin with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! (And if you're here hoping for Kewadin Festival recaps and updates, you're out of luck, but I PROMISE to share what I know and have on Sunday!) Sault Michigan hard rockers Free Refill have announced another upcoming concert, this time at an upcoming battle of the bands! The United Way of the Eastern U.P. are holding a battle of the bands on August 5th at The Strahl Theater at Sault Area High School on August 5th as a fundraiser to raise money for Kids Against Hunger! Free Refill announced their involvement on their MySpace page and Free Refill's Devin Anderson confirmed the news with me by e-mail, so there's one act for the battle! I can't confirm any other bands, but the lineup isn't finalized or complete, so if you're in Sault Michigan, there's still time to enter! Registration is $25, forms are available at the Facebook event page, or e-mail Chrystal Tharp at this location for details! If you're interested in attending, it's at 7:00 PM at the high school on August 5th, with an admission price of $5. Check the above links for more details! Best of luck to Free Refill, I wonder who else will join the bill? Also, Devin gave me the news that apparently, they're playing at the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival at 1:00 PM tomorrow on the second stage! This would mean that they are replacing Electric Motor Fish on the bill for that day. I wonder what happened? No matter, great to see Free Refill again! I'll keep you all posted with more updates! Next up, I promised you all continued Mike Cliffe coverage after I discussed him in the GarageBand Profile Mini-Series, and I'm making good on that! The veteran local experimental hard rock guitarist has uploaded three new songs onto his Reverbnation page! My favourite is called "Waiting For World Cup", and it's a hard charging instrumental that is seemingly inspired by this year's FIFA World Cup! I can't picture this song fitting with a soccer game, but it's well played and catchy! A bit too much dead air between the chugging riffs, but it's a solid song that would work especially well with backing instruments! Another new song is a collaboration with Utah indie/progressive outfit Higher Than Pope (Mike has a wider reach for his material than you may realize!) It's definitely not the heaviest thing in his catalog, it has sort of a techno influence with bouncy progression to it, and decent vocals! Not bad, though don't expect metal out of it. The other new song is a cover of The Mothers of Invention's "Any Way The Wind Blows", which is a nice experimental carefree cover of the original! Not personally a huge Frank Zappa fan, but Mike breathes some nice energy into this cover! Check out the new songs, and much, much more by clicking here! There's something for everyone in his catalog! Thirdly today are some intriguing new YouTube uploads from Duane Roy, the Wawa-based author and metalhead who frequently attends major Sault-area concerts! You've likely seen his concert videos, but did you know that he also makes bootleg audio recordings too? Good quality ones, no less! Duane's uploaded ten audio recordings from local shows onto his YouTube channel, and lucky for us, five of them are metal! This includes Tesla performing their song "Gettin' Better" from their show at Kewadin Casino last month, Ace Frehley playing "Snowblind" at Kewadin Casino last fall, Alice Cooper singing "Is It My Body?" from his August 2007 show at Kewadin, The Scorpions performing their classic song "Holiday" at Kewadin in September 2007, and Kiss playing "I Love It Loud" from their Kewadin outdoor show in 2006! I'm really impressed by the audio quality here, I wonder what device he used? Particularly of interest to me are the Alice Cooper and Scorpions songs because we don't see a lot from their local concerts online! Check out the songs (really good quality all around) and more at the above links! I'll embed one here to show you guys, The Scorpions in Sault Ste. Marie playing their song "Holiday"! And finally, I found a pretty cool discovery on Facebook the other day that I wanted to share with you guys! Former Fitswitch guitarist Kevin Powe, it turns out, is a very talented graphic designer! Of course, if you were in and around Fitswitch and the local music scene in the mid-2000s, this will be no surprise to you, but Kevin recently uploaded his graphic design portfolio onto Facebook to share! I don't typically share Facebook photo albums on personal pages, but there's too much cool stuff on here for me to not share! Kevin's designed logos for bands like Fitswitch, Frightlight, Faithless Sin, Time of Ruin, what is now No Arrow, and classic local bands like Tyrants of Euphoria (remember them?) and others! There's also album artwork and scans for Fitswitch albums, including a few that I've definitely never heard of! Lost in my searches, or never released? If real, I'd love to get my hands on them, hint hint! Also, you'll find assorted other logos, and best of all, loads of concert posters! Everything from classic Fitswitch shows, to Gates of Winter, Lion Ride, No Arrow, Caveman Morrison, Behemoth, The Downfall, and more! Awesome to see some of these posters again, it's like a flashback to when bands like Coalesce, Soldiers of Misfortune, Hellbound, and much more were in their heydays! The Time of Ruin poster above is really awesome, but check out all of his work, cause Kevin's got HUGE graphic design talent, and I wish he'd get back into making posters and logos, cause his work really stands out! The posters we get nowadays, when we do get them, don't have a lot of graphical flair like Kevin's work did, and I never would have guessed this was all courtesy of a band member! Check out his portfolio at this location, you won't be disappointed! And if anyone out there knows if the Fitswitch album artwork posted there led to any albums besides "The Rust Angel E.P.", let me know!! That's all for today, hope you guys enjoy your Friday! An auto-post is coming TOMORROW AFTERNOON with the first installment of our Defunct Local Band Profile series, where we discuss AtrophiA! Stay tuned, and I'll be back home on Sunday!