With news piling up, let's get this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles up on the SMS! This monthly feature series spotlights 1 or 2 defunct or inactive metal, hard rock, or punk bands from the Sault Ste. Marie area, in order to spotlight them and their material for current readers, all randomly selected from our inactive band links. With last month's choice only having minimal surviving information, we have rounded things out with a similarly limited band, so here's what you should know for this month's profiles! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Info/Analysis: Originally described as "an instrumental bass/keys/drums project" on his former PureVolume page, Andrew MacDonald had used the LikeKissingBricks moniker for solo pursuits from 2003-2004, complete with a demo cassette EP named "Rainy Days". Andrew revived it in late 2016 as "a rough demo recording project" (sans keyboard) on 4 track tapes, though LikeKissingBricks quietly fell inactive by last year. The demo and 3 newer songs can be streamed on his Bandcamp page, which showcase his bass and drum skills nicely, though the lack of guitar is noticeable sometimes, and the "Rainy Days" demo's recording quality is muddy. There's more of a punk bite to the newer demos, and while they admittedly feel more like songs in progress, LikeKissingBricks had promise, and hopefully Andrew revisits them in the future! Here's "Dunhills & Codeine" from his demo!
Members: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)
John Bergeron (Immortal Danish), vocals/keyboard/guitar
Justin Smith (Denaturant), guitar
Denny Breslin (Half A Man), guitar
Tim Podoba (Burn the Day), bass
Paul "Dorothy" Burns (Dystraction, Bent Rollercoaster), drums
Info/Analysis: Formed in late 2009, Hammerspace quickly became a frequent sight at local concerts over the following year, including a Corner Pub battle of the bands victory in June 2010, as well as a number of headlining sets at Zim's, among other Sault Michigan venues. Amidst vocalist uncertainty, the band dissolved in April 2011 for personal reasons, and later cancelled a reunion set at LemmaFest, before returning that fall with teased studio plans. The group dissolved for good in early 2012, though frontman John Bergeron sporadically updates their Facebook & Reverbnation pages with archive demos. You can hear 13 demos there with both John and Logan singing, and while rough in nature, they show promise with a heavy bite, strong guitar riffs, and quality drumming! The vocals weren't overly polished, but the aggression was there, and it's a shame Hammerspace couldn't sustain their potential in the early 2010s, they were a band to watch at their peak! Here's "Changing of the Guard" with Logan on vocals!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This series returns on or around September 10th with another two band profile, as the first that we randomly selected has very slim public information nowadays, so we added a second profile to round things out. As we're starting a new 2-1-3-1-2-1 rotation between the Twin Saults, both are Sault Ontario acts, namely former Valentine's Day Massacre guitarist Andrew Angelic's old solo project, and mid-2000s hard rock quartet The Pisstanks! Look for those next month, and stay tuned for more news tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers! Before (or after?) you take in the parades and football, we have a new news post to take in, and while the U.P. side of things is naturally light over the holiday weekend, there's a big show to take in on Saturday there, plus a good slate in Sault Ontario, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Some bands being removed from our active band links are rounding things out, and we'll cover this year's Toystock in our next post. Now, here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock
cover quartet Soundcheck will hit the stage for one night only TOMORROW
NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Sunday. Fresh off of their return from hiatus last week, tomorrow's
concert will be the first at The Rockstar Bar for the Mourning Wood
successors since early June, so if you've missed Travis, Terry, Paul, and Steven at this popular downtown nightclub, you know where to be for some hard rocking but varied tunes TOMORROW! As well, this could also be seen as a tune-up event before Soundcheck rock Toystock VI on Sunday, so stay tuned for our extended preview of that charity concert in the coming days! Note also that TOMORROW'S show is a one-night-only concert, and while The Rockstar Bar's physical marquee board was advertising The Ride as playing there on Saturday, I have not seen online confirmation of that, so take that with a grain of salt.
In any event, TOMORROW'S Soundcheck concert has no announced cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a late start time of 11:00 PM. This should be a solid concert from this familiar veteran outfit, so if you can or can't make Toystock on Sunday, keep this one in mind as well, and hopefully some public videos of Soundcheck turn up soon!
Next up, here's the latest solo acoustic gigs from prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will return to Gliss Steak & Seafood as usual TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! Playing his last full concert weekend of the month (next weekend straddles the start of December), Tym should have another triple header of entertaining classic and hard rock covers in store for fans at The Quality Inn's house restaurant over the next three evenings, so don't miss these matinees if you're up for some acoustic entertainment! No, Tym didn't play at Mark's Breakfast Plus this week, breaking a four week run there. Also, note that the Facebook event page for this weekend's gigs also confirms that Tym will be playing there throughout December, but due to the high amount of very similar shows in a short timeframe, we always take Tym's regular weekly bookings a month at a time, and will address his December shows next week.
(FYI, Tym's website's concert calendar lists consecutive weekly Gliss gigs through August 2031, so accurate or not, be glad we tackle these month by month!) Tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday's shows have no announced cover charges or age limits, and they take place at 6:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!
Lastly for this weekend's concert previews (Toystock aside), let's head to Sault Michigan for the highly anticipated return of Poison frontman Bret Michaels to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Soo's Kewadin Casino THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Marking his seventh local concert appearance in the past 12 years (all but one of which being at Kewadin Casino), this show is being billed as their "Thanksgiving Weekend Mega Party", so hopefully the tryptophan is out of your system in time for a night of classic Poison renditions like "Talk Dirty To Me" & "Nothin' But A Good Time", plus solo cuts from Bret's own albums! After all, Bret wouldn't come back time and time again if his shows weren't hits, so expect another good time for you Hair Scare lovers on Saturday! Tickets are still available from the second row and back, but in the prime center section, there was only 18 tickets remaining at press time, so act quick if you want the best possible seats in time for Saturday night!
Tickets are $48.50 unless you buy from the front six rows, then the price jumps to $58.50. This all ages show takes place on Saturday at 7:00 PM, so get your tickets if you haven't yet at 1-800-KEWADIN, the in-person box office, or at this link! A quiet concert weekend in Sault Michigan will end with a bang on Saturday, so don't miss round 7 of Bret Michaels in the Soo area, and here's Bret live earlier this year!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, all relating to bands being removed from our active band links. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
First, we have removed prolific metal/folk musician Chase Wigmore's Coyote Speedfreaks solo project from our links due to the deletion of it's Facebook (and only online) page at some point earlier this year. A creative experimental extension of Chase's earlier solo work, he did note in January that the Speedfreaks were "a series of albums under a unifying name" moreso than a band, but it would be interesting to see him return to this project down the road. Stream some of his Coyote Speedfreaks material at this link!
I have also moved local instrumental black metal duo Dullahan to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, not having posted on their Facebook page since last November, or given a written update since February of last year. Dullahan showed promise as a rare regional example of atmospheric black metal, so hopefully we see Sevriz and Wyrn back at it in the near future, and follow Wyrn's active solo project Abhorrent Forest too!
Lastly, I have moved former Fitswitch/Scary Uncles bassist Andrew MacDonald's Likekissingbricks solo project to our inactive band links as well, as Andrew has not visibly posted any new updates or material for it since September of last year. Likekissingbricks were a work in progress, but had potential, and hopefully Andrew revisits this or other solo work in the future!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend, including our Toystock preview! Thanks everyone!
On this Tuesday afternoon, we have a stacked new post for you guys, so what all lies within? A handful of assorted recent notes, a preview of a well advertised metal concert going down tomorrow night, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall, and to kick things off, a new solo project, so here's what you need to know!
We have a new local punk project to add to our band links, and it is Likekissingbricks, which is led by Winkstinger bassist Andrew "Scary" MacDonald! Recorded via 4-track tapes last week, Andrew has already launched a Bandcamp page to host four demo songs of his own, including "Rainy Days", "@skankhunter42", "Rain is God's Piss", and an untitled track. On these, Andrew plays bass and drums, with no shred of vocals or guitar input yet, so as a result, it's hard to pin these down to a specific genre, but "@skankhunter42" has hardcore punk overtones, and the songs do seem to have a DIY punk attitude about them! For reference, Andrew has played with the likes of Fitswitch, The Scary Uncles, and Glunk! in the past. On the demos, you get a sense of Andrew's already-proven bass skills, and he's a fine drummer at this stage of Likekissingbricks, but we'll have to see what happens when he enlists additional musicians to round out a full lineup. Check the above links for more on Likekissingbricks, and stay tuned for more from Andrew's local projects!
Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota will open for former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus in the live debut of his solo relaunch on Saturday, November 26th at LopLops Lounge! Note that this show was originally scheduled to close their upcoming Ontario tour on Saturday, October 22nd (it's still advertised for that day on Mike's website), but I have not found a public reason for the 5 week postponement. This will be Id Iota's first local concert appearance since Rotaryfest, while it will be local fans' first opportunity to see Michael's poppier solo sound and material, and first public concert from him of any type since The Pixo Control's acoustic farewell in May at The Tech. Will his new solo band resemble the "Drowning Crown" video, perhaps with the eclectic street party vibe? Also, hopefully no one gets punched in the nose!
An oddly early 8:00 PM start time is listed for this concert, and while one assumes it will be 19+, admission fees are not announced yet (it's not yet on LopLops' event page either.) For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an intriguing concert, both for those curious about Mike's new "cock & soul" sound, and for fans of Id Iota's established punk-flavoured originals, so see above for more info, and stay tuned for more from Id Iota soon!
Also today, here's a special mid-week concert preview, as San Francisco doom metal trio Castle will rock 180 Projects TOMORROW NIGHT in their local debut! Featuring a 2/3rds Canadian lineup, some fans may best recognize Castle as one of the bands who lost the Juno Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album of
the Year to Woods of Ypres in 2013, but their doom/psychedelic hybrid sound stands on it's own, and don't miss this dark and powerful trio at the Gore Street venue tomorrow as they wind down their Canadian tour! Local doom/sludge trio AlgomA will open with their own sludgy brand of doom metal in their first local gig since the Iskra show in July, while new local hard rock/punk jam band Gianni Gagoots will kick things off in their second announced concert set, so if you missed their debut, come see what they have in store! This concert was originally scheduled for The New American Pub
before quietly being moved to 180 Projects, though The New A is still
hosting events from promoters Six, Two, Oh., and don't forget about the multimedia possibilities
of that venue (remember the Skynet show?)
Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., admission for this 19+ show is $5 in advance or $8 at the door, with advance tickets available at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, and at Big Guns Barbershop on East Street, though planned Gore Street Cafe availability is no longer advertised. Doors open at 8:00 PM for what should be a great night of doom metal action, so don't miss out tomorrow, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Castle live!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or program name:
I'm surprised that we neglected to mention this on the site at the time (our apologies), but Rock 101 has a new syndicated radio show on Sunday evenings! Entitled The Core, it's a 2 hour program focused on 1990s rock music, and it's hosted by longtime Detroit radio personality Meltdown, so you could call this a weekly sample of WRIF, if you're familiar with that station. Rock 101 has aired it since May, and it's a nice nostalgic listen with a generally heavy & alternative rotation, so listen to it Sundays at 7:00 PM on 101.3 FM before Eddie Trunk Rocks!
The Deathsticks-headlined concert at The New American Pub on October 15th has had two quiet lineup additions via it's Facebook event page, with the debuting Dark Garfunkel (unidentified members of AlgomA playing drone music) replacing the AlgomA/Winkstinger cover union The Eighties. A reason for the switch wasn't announced, though I believe at least one AlgomA member is/was in both bands. As well, a separate act named Sleeping Together was also added, whose sound is "ambient rolling tape loops & sounds", though I know nothing more than that. How will ambient drone music do at a metal concert? Be there to find out!
Local punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address have posted two more songs from their upcoming albums onto their Soundcloud page! One is "He", the planned second song from "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been...", while "I Can Bleed" is planned to close the following release "Monster". I won't comment on them yet, as a review is one is likely, but check them out above! For reference, a demo called "Ignore the Platitudes" went up there last year under the artist name "Are You Now? or Have You Ever?", which was Chris Shoust & Sam Decter's short-lived side project's name, before being reworked as an album title.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
LikeKissingBricks
Info/Analysis: Originally described as "an instrumental bass/keys/drums project" on his former PureVolume page, Andrew MacDonald had used the LikeKissingBricks moniker for solo pursuits from 2003-2004, complete with a demo cassette EP named "Rainy Days". Andrew revived it in late 2016 as "a rough demo recording project" (sans keyboard) on 4 track tapes, though LikeKissingBricks quietly fell inactive by last year. The demo and 3 newer songs can be streamed on his Bandcamp page, which showcase his bass and drum skills nicely, though the lack of guitar is noticeable sometimes, and the "Rainy Days" demo's recording quality is muddy. There's more of a punk bite to the newer demos, and while they admittedly feel more like songs in progress, LikeKissingBricks had promise, and hopefully Andrew revisits them in the future! Here's "Dunhills & Codeine" from his demo!
