New Videos, Plus Lots Of Assorted Recent News & Updates!!

Today's post largely clears out a bunch of shorter and assorted recent news items, and we'll kick things off with some new videos, starting with a new webseries by Blood Shed Productions, entitled "BreakingSh!tWithBloodShed"! The title implies what you think it implies, with label performers and staff (namely, Blood Shed founders/Brutally Fatal bandmates Tyler Gibson & Austin McCrae, plus rapper Jean-Paul "Phat Boii" Archambault) breaking assorted objects on camera. Two episodes of the series are now on the Blood Shed Weekly YouTube channel, and they include the second episode where a pool table is broken, and the one embedded below where the guys break five chairs. If you're wondering what these have to do with music (aside from who's breaking everything), then you'll want to know that both videos feature new Brutally Fatal songs from their forthcoming CD "Blood of the Devil" as backing music, so fans of the goregrind intensity will like that! The videos themselves are escapist fun, and presumably good stress relief, so check them out above & below!



Next up, here's a new solo acoustic cover from RedStone Riot/ex-Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison's YouTube channel from Saturday, this time a rendition of Prince's "Purple Rain", in tribute to the music legend following his death last week. Fittingly played "in the key of purple" (and even tinted that colour), it's a strong cover that Prince fans should like, and Ryan's voice is in top emotional form here! Give it a look below!



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

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Saskatchewan's Chronobot received a new review from Kai Ellerman of the German metal website XXL-Rock in recent weeks, though it is in German, so you'll need a translator to read it if you don't know that language. Receiving a rating of "L" (keeping with their motif of scoring by clothing sizes, basically meaning a 4/6), Kai favorably recommended the split to fans of Eyehategod and Neurosis, and said that AlgomA's half is "somewhat messy, but has charm." Give the full review a look at this link (but have a translator ready), and stay tuned for our review of the split very soon!
• This is more of a housekeeping note, but we had pencilled in a formal write-up today to roll in 2012-2013 local rock band Lazer Queen to our inactive band links finally, as they honestly should have been in our full coverage long ago given their membership & sound, but I discovered yesterday that their Facebook (and only online) page has been deleted. Featuring 3/4ths of Late & Loud alongside The Danger Cats' Kate Drew & Pillory's Bret Shuttleworth, Lazer Queen were a talented band that sadly didn't last too long, but be sure to follow members' more recent work!
• The closure of local news/video website Local2 and it's subsequent merger with sister website SooToday was finalized on Monday via this press release, which notes that existing Local2 links will now redirect you to SooToday, and that it's video programming (including Tuned) will largely continue under the SooToday banner, with archive videos also available there. It's a little sad to lose the former SooNews & LTV News after a lengthy run, but this makes sense as SooToday continues it's growth, and we have removed Local2 from our "Other Local Metal Links" as a result!
• Local grunge/alternative band The Pixo Control's headlining set on May 5th at the Sky's the Limit mental health fundraiser concert at The Tech will be an acoustic set sans drummer Keeghan Rosso, according to the band's Facebook page last night. A reason for the change wasn't announced, but hopefully it's just as simple as Keeghan not being available that night. This should still be a fun set for fans of Michael's unplugged sets, so keep it in mind for next Thursday, and stay tuned for more on the openers!
• The planned Summer Bash! concert at The Rockstar Bar THIS FRIDAY has been indefinitely postponed, as per Gnaeus frontman Aaron Alessandri on the official Facebook event page on Monday.  He cited "unforeseen circumstances" and the ongoing renovations at the venue for the postponement, which seems to imply that there's more going on at The Algonquin Hotel than just the downstairs bar (however, note that Kamloops folk band The Decoys are playing there on Saturday, so the "unforeseen circumstances" may be more to blame.) Hopefully Gnaeus, K.I.C.K., and DJ Fuels get a new date soon for the Summer Bash!
• Lake Superior State University's campus radio station WLSO (90.1 FM) announced the results of their recent naming contest for their forthcoming online station on their Facebook page on Monday, with the (oddly unidentified) winner's suggestion being The 46th Parallel, referencing the latitude circle that Sault Michigan lies on. It should be noted that the post mentioned that "our station name" will change to that next semester, implying that the FM station will also get the new name, but an extension past the new internet station hasn't been otherwise confirmed. We'll let you know if this is elaborated on at all!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Id Iota & Highway 63 Updates, Plus Lots Of Assorted News & Notes!!

As we approach the middle of the month, let's clear out most of our backlogged news items on this Monday morning, so what's on tap? Lots of assorted updates from recent days, and a new live cover video, but let's begin with the latest EP and concert updates from a local band!

Local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota have confirmed that their debut EP will be titled "Maudlin Fair", and that it will officially be on sale during their upcoming tour dates! As per a post and video on their Facebook page this morning, copies of "Maudlin Fair" will first be available on Thursday during the Toronto stop of Tidal Records' Skate By Day, Rock By Night "tour petite", while Sault fans will have to wait until next Thursday (April 21st) during their local return show at LopLops Lounge, unless you contact members directly, one assumes. It's also not clear if "Maudlin Fair" will be available digitally or in stores in some form, but for reference, Id Iota's predecessor band Habitat Shuffle's only EP was released to Bandcamp, so Id Iota are familiar with putting EPs out there. It's great to see that Id Iota's long hinted EP is nearing it's release, and just in time for their long awaited return to the stage, so stay tuned for more on it, but how about the video that accompanied the reveal?

While this is the first public video of bassist Dan Linklater playing with Id Iota, it's just a short 15 second clip featuring the band playing part of an original track, with camera work by frontman Christian Lemay spinning around to each band member mid-song. Sounds good, if brief, so check it out below, and we'll keep you posted when more comes out on "Maudlin Fair"!



Next up, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63, courtesy of their gig at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday! Posted to their Facebook page last night, it's a 79 second clip of them covering John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good", and while it's obviously incomplete, this side-stage angle captures a strong rendition, with Henry Switzer's deep vocals adding some power to the proceedings! And yes, this confirms that they are still playing their announced Kewadin dates, despite not publically promoting shows on their Facebook page in the past couple of months. Give it a look below!



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

• Tyler Gibson's local goregrind projects Crucify the Whore & Rotopsy have both been added to the lineup of THIS THURSDAY'S Metal Massacre house show on Anna Street, as per promoter Josh Amendola on the Facebook event page yesterday. This will notably mark Rotopsy's first live concert appearance since July, but it's not clear if these were the hinted "other guests" or not. Solid choices, especially with Tyler & Dylan's past sets at this location, so see above for more details!
• Have you ever wanted to own a seat from the Sir James Dunn Collegiate auditorium where Dunnplugged concerts were held? An online liquidation auction is being held at this link where various paraphernalia from the inside of the now-closed high school is being offered to the highest bidder, and three lots of chairs from the auditorium are up for bids there! Two have no bids, one has $25, so if you're interested in some Dunnplugged memorabilia, see above for full details on how you can potentially bid!
• Three years after Village Media purchased local news website Local2 and turned it into an all-video site, the former SooNews.ca is being merged with it's sister news website SooToday in the next few weeks. In this press release, Village Media CEO Jeff Elgie cited this as "an important step in the evolution & expansion" of SooToday's local coverage, so videos can better compliment SooToday's existing work and reach a wider audience. This won't affect most existing Local2 programs (like Tuned), so we'll have to see how things continue to shape up, and we'll alter/remove necessary links on the site when appropriate!
• After a successful relaunch concert earlier this month, The Rednecks Saloon is apparently interested in hosting similar multi-band events on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, with Saturday, June 4th tentatively planned for the sequel, which may be longer with a partial all ages format. Co-promoter Terry Eaton revealed the news on two Musicians Wanted Facebook group posts yesterday, where he's looking for bands interested in playing this time around. There's already visible interest from many artists, so if you or your band want in, see the above links for full details!
• We have regrettably deleted local/London deathcore band Saints & Serpents from our band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point in the past year. The Valentine's Day Massacre successors were active from 2013-2014 & only played one show (in London) before quietly dissolving. I wish bands wouldn't delete their online pages like this, but given that The V.D.M.'s Facebook page was also taken down posthumously, I guess I should have expected it. Hopefully everyone stays active in music!
• We've also deleted The Searchmont Music Festival from our local concert festival listings due to the deletion of it's own Facebook page, and expiry of it's website. The festival (which only featured metal bands in it's inaugural year) ran from 2011-2014 before quietly being cancelled last year. Hopefully organizers can bring an event like this back to the ski resort in the future, as it's a great setting for concert events in the area!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as this month rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Shit Liver's Documentary Teaser, And Much More Recent Updates!!

For our last post of this month (our slowest month on the SMS in almost three years), we're covering some recent news items, including a local band's long awaited first song, a new Tuned episode, and a trailer for a band's new online tour documentary, but we also have an acknowledgement of a stay of operations for one of our recurring series' at post's end. Now, here's what you should know!

Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver are planning to release a 3 part documentary of their Western Canada tour from part one of their Homeland Debauchery Tour this spring onto their YouTube channel next month, and a trailer from it is was posted there on Friday! Set to the studio version of their song "You're Scared", it features assorted footage from the full videos to come, showcasing concert footage, antics on the road, in cities on tour, and before & after their shows for the first half, before showcasing a brief clip of "a pretty good party", before closing with a 20 second clip from frontman Josh Penno encouraging fans to subscribe to their channel and watch their other videos (somewhat unique to see that from a local band's channel!) This is a very effective teaser, especially by withholding the actual audio so we're not spoiled as to the full content, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for part 1 of the full documentary in the near future!

Next up, the newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Saturday, and it's actually focused around an interview with local concert promoters/recording studio Six, Two, Oh! Filmed at the K'Man & The 45s concert at The New American Pub three weeks ago (click here for the episode revolving around the headliners), this features Donna interviewing Six, Two, Oh heads (and AlgomA bandmates) Boyd Rendell & Jamie Vincent on what they do as Six, Two, Oh, their work producing local albums, thoughts on that night's concert and how they got it booked, and their ideal bands to bring to Sault Ste. Marie, with footage from the show scattered throughout. I'm surprised they didn't mention punk rock bingo at all, but this is a fun (if short) interview that captures the former Oh! Right Arm's local work in a concise, informative way!  As we can't embed Local2 videos here, give this newest Tuned episode a look at this link!

Also, do you remember Troubled Mind, the newer metal project from ex-Skull After Betrayl bandmates Adam Brett & Mike Vincent? Well, it took nine months, but they finally have a video of them in action so we can check them out! On Saturday, the band uploaded this jam session video to their Facebook page of Adam & Mike playing an original song with the curious title "Richie, Why Are You Being So Fucking Bitchy?", which Mike noted might not be the best quality, may be weird, and won't sound like all of their future material. Featuring Mike on drums & Adam on vocals and guitar, Mike seemed defiant against potential criticism in the video's description, but it's hard to get a bead on Troubled Mind from the scratchy audio quality & lack of video footage after the first 4 seconds. Adam's vocals sound diverse, but I'd want to hear/see higher quality video before really judging. Still, it's nice to see the guys finally back, so give Troubled Mind's first recording a listen below!

Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series and the lack of our usual November post to update past entries in it. I've made the decision to put the series on hiatus for a while, mainly as I'm running low on known bands from outside of the area that feature Saultites in their lineup, and a break is be ideal to gather links and restock our future reserves. I guarantee that the series will return in 2016, but when it does, it may not be a monthly feature like it was, depending on how many non-profiled bands come to our attention by that point. To keep things spread out, I plan to move our YouTube Channel Profiles to the 26th of each month until the out of town profiles return. As for our annual post that outlines changes and updates to past profiles in this series, that's coming, but it's been delayed for two reasons: it's ever-increasing length, and my own personal commitments relating to family health matters

I will have that the update post up in due course, I promise, so keep an eye out for that, and thanks for your understanding! I always try to be forthcoming and honest on here, and the series will return! That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more in the coming week! Thanks everyone!

The Return Of Winkstinger, Tuned Updates, And Much More!!

Another slow news period has hit as of late, but let's help remedy that now that Thanksgiving has come and passed (on the Canadian side of the border), and I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Today, we have lots of assorted recent notes, updates on a popular webseries, and first, a surprise band reunion, so here's what you should know!

Local extreme metal band Winkstinger are back! After almost two & a half years of public dormancy, they reemerged with a new Bandcamp page with live jam recordings this morning, with their Facebook page confirming that "things are happening", among other typically irreverent hype. Guitarist Jesse Cook (also of Jack Spades & The Elements) and drummer Jonas Gasperas are back from the original run, but singer Alan Wells and bassist Jason Bourcier are not back from their last full incarnation in 2013, and it remains to be seen who will fill out the new lineup. Their Bandcamp page features two new original songs in progress (one being over 7 minutes in length), though both are untitled at this stage, so give them a listen at the above links! Of course, fans will remember Winkstinger well from their original 2010-2013 run which saw them win 2012's Battle for the Blood, play numerous fun & heavy concerts (including at 6 Roosevelt Hotel metal nights), and record material for an unreleased debut EP.

Dare I say it, the new Winkstinger original jams actually sound more technical and progressive-influenced than back in their heyday, and while they did take a self-deprecating bent when describing the quality, I'd be very curious to hear these fleshed out with bass, vocals, and perhaps rhythm guitar! It's great to have Winkstinger back at last, so check out their new material above, and they're back in our active band links!

Next up, here's the latest from Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper! Alongside newer episodes on Al Wood & The Woodsmen and another from Sudbury's Northern Lights Festival, the newest installment went up on Saturday, spotlighting the Soup Kitchen benefit at The Algonquin Pub earlier this month featuring (among others) the aforementioned Elements and The Bear Hunters! The main interview is with Machines Dream frontman and event promoter Craig West about the inspiration to promote the show and add the benefit side to it, why local musicians are more prone to participate in charity shows like this, and the odds that Machines Dream may do a similar event in the future. Short but respectful interview that shows Craig's good nature well, and it looks like the concert was a hit! In terms of concert footage, Machines Dream, Drew Armstrong & friends, and The Elements were filmed, but The Bear Hunters and Nikkfitt were not.

Most of the music is muted behind the interview, particularly Drew and friends (some of which being very familiar faces), but The Elements get some spotlight during the credits, covering what appears to be the ending of Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". Another solid, if brief episode of Tuned, so give it a look at the above links!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items (including two inactive band notes) from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or website name:

• Project 421 singer Curtis McKenzie is looking for a bassist and drummer for his "sweet new project" in the making. Presumably this references the band he previously posted about that he hoped wouldn't play metal or hard rock, but just in case it fits our coverage, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!
• In their newest update on their Facebook page, secretive local black metal duo Dullahan revealed that they plan to record their second "EP" soon, which they hope to be "even rawer" in production than on older recordings. They also reiterated that they'll "never" reveal their full identities, and have "no intention" of playing live (which is odd, they'd attract positive and unique attention with their sound if they did!) Stay tuned for more from Dullahan above!
• Rudyard, Michigan hard rock quintet Exiled have quietly deleted their Facebook (and sadly, only online) page, which likely indicates their breakup. Featuring Absolute, Full Throttle, and Division of Sanity alumni, Exiled played numerous regional concerts in the latter half of 2014 before announcing a break in December due to drummer Justin Lawless and his wife's impending arrival of their new baby, though no word on if that's a factor for the apparently demise. Exiled had a strong lineup, so hopefully everyone stays active in music, best of luck to Donny, Joe, Myke, Johnny, and Justin, and don't miss Joe with Ten Kings!
• We have moved Sault Michigan hard/alternative rock collective The Highest of Fives to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Featuring Intrepid, 415E, and Free Refill alumni, the band expanded from a young cover group in 2011 to a more fluid studio project that had ambitious plans to record & release short films, an album, and music videos that were only partially complete before their Twitter page's last update over a year ago. I liked The Highest of Fives high goals and diverse skill set, and hopefully they pick things back up again at some point! Best of luck to Devin, Jack, Marcel, Mike, Mitch, and Travis in the future!
• Ex-Late & Loud frontman Jonathan Tiberi is gauging support towards bringing his current Hamilton blues/hard rock quartet Jon & His Friends to the Soo for a concert (for reference, their lineup also features Mike Agostino & Scott Brady, Jon's bandmates in Xanadu from 2013's Apocalypse: The Musical event.) It'd be nice to see Jon and the guys back home, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group on October 7th for more details!
• And just as a house cleaning note for the SMS, we've removed the video bars from the sides of the page, which rotated recent videos from YouTube channels that we're subscribed to. For one reason or another, they no longer work, so I deleted the widgets that ran them. If they're ever restored or replaced by the host, I'll add them back, but I just wanted to acknowledge their absence!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more later this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), Northern Vibe Festival Coverage, And More!!

Before this month's Defunct Local Band Profile makes the SMS, here's a new news post, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on for this weekend! To round things out, we have the first details on an ambitious event for next month,  and some long awaited fallout from a debuting festival last month, so let's get things started! (Updated at 9:08 PM)

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will rock The Rednecks Saloon for the second weekend in the past three TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the shows via drummer Glen Thomas on his personal Facebook page last night. Three weeks removed from their new lineup's debut, things will look a little different for this weekend's shows, as Glen indicated that they'll be playing as a trio this weekend due to a member absence, and Glen himself can't make tomorrow's show, so they will have a fill-in drummer that night that has yet to be identified. While not 100% confirmed online, process of elimination via personal plugs of the shows suggest that new bassist Paul Belair will be absent for unannounced reasons, presumably with Steven Flint back in his old role this weekend. If we get confirmation as to who's drumming Saturday, we'll be sure to let you guys know!

There's no cover charge for this weekend's shows at the former Nicolet Tavern, which both have 10:00 PM start times, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, an intriguing concert event has been announced for next month from the debuting Spotlight Canada, so what should you know about it? Promoted by North Shore/ex-Lorax frontman Jeremy Hannah (in his return to local concert promotion), the event will be a showcase of local musicians of any genre, while also "engaging the youth in the importance of voting", with a targeted weekend date between October 9th & 17th to fall before the election, though a host venue has yet to be announced. There are also hopes for lots of media coverage and vendors on-site, with discount youth tickets and free admission for kids under 15. As far as I can tell, this is not a battle of the bands, but the event is definitely geared to promoting rising artists. This event is planned to be the first of an annual series, and is among the ambitious though still somewhat vague plans for Spotlight Canada, who want to book tours using a promoter & venue database, promote musicians, and grow beyond the Soo so they can create an efficient and effective promotion network to benefit musicians and help them succeed in the future.

There's a lot of unanswered questions & vague notes regarding Spotlight Canada so far (for both the concert & the big picture), but Jeremy has shared lofty goals like this with me in personal conversations before, so it's nice to see something finite coming together at last! There is a lot of interest already in performing or being involved, but if you want in or if you want more details, visit the above link, Spotlight Canada's Facebook page, or Jeremy's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last week, or message him on Facebook at this link, and Spotlight Canada's now in our "Other Local Metal Links" on the lower left of the SMS!

Finally for today, here's the long awaited Village Media coverage from last month's first annual Northern Vibe Festival in Hempfest's old Ophir stomping grounds! On August 31st, SooToday's Donna Hopper posted this recap article from the Saturday portion of the festival featuring 33 excellent photos from the "Forest Stage" bands that day, though she did not capture openers Spider Fingerz & Kylie Precepa or out of town headliners Drew Leith & The Foundation, nor any of the DJs from the "Beach Stage". Punk/country veterans The Billy Bastards were captured in 5 photos, with other photos including 4 of Changing Lanes, 3 each of Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect and Al Wood & The Woodsmen, 2 of The Hustle Brothers, and 1 each of festival host Adam Hayward & beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, who I believe played an impromptu guest set midway through, not unlike at Toystock last year (the rest of the photos were of attendees & vendors on the Saturday.)

Donna also interviewed Adam Hayward for the newest episode of the webseries Tuned on Local2 (which finally went online yesterday), where she asked him about why they launched the festival, challenges in hosting the festival, the double stage layout, the appeal of some fans just hanging out in the bush, and future plans for The Northern Vibe Festival. Informative if grainy-looking interview that definitely paints the first year festival in a good light, and hopefully next year's even bigger! I will note that a picture of the set times for the Forest Stage included one surprise addition that wasn't advertised online: Ottawa indie rock trio The Red Rails (featuring Sault native Steve Brogno on drums), who were listed there as the Friday night opening band. They were already in town that weekend for a Rockstar Bar headlining show the next night, and while it's odd that neither the band or festival advertised their set online, it's nice to see them rocking out in Ophir too!

In terms of video footage from the event, there are scattered muted clips during the interview (including of Drew Leith & The Foundation), while there are clips with sound of The Billy Bastards and Killabeatz after the interview wraps up. What we hear sounds good, and it's nice to have The Billys back, so give the full Tuned episode a look at the above links, and here's to a bigger & better Northern Vibe Festival in 2016!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for, at last, this month's Defunct Local Band Profile later today! Thanks everyone!

Project 421 Jam Session Recap, Emergency Festival Fallout, And More!!

Before we get too far into this post, we have a very late lineup change for TONIGHT'S Ballot Burner-headlined concert at The New American Pub, as local rapper Mikey Thomas has replaced grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back on the lineup, as per the Facebook event page yesterday morning. A reason for Bad Back's exit hasn't been announced, but seeing as frontman Jamie Vincent is still promoting the show, an external commitment for Nathan Sauve would make sense. Hopefully we see the guys back soon, and don't miss Mikey Thomas TONIGHT! Now, today's post features Emergency Festival fallout, some assorted updates, and first, a surprise jam session recap!

Due to personal family health matters, I haven't had a whole lot of time or opportunities to attend concerts recently, but that was partly remedied yesterday afternoon, as Project 421 guitarist Blair Burch invited me to check out their latest jam session! I don't live far from where they jam, which made things extra convenient! The roughly 2 hour jam was the first time that I've seen the guys with new drummer Chris Thompson, though guitarist Frank McGillivray couldn't make the jam due to personal commitments. As a result, the guys didn't play all of their regular songs, and some sounded empty without Frank's parts, but I got a first hand look at 4/5ths of Project 421 tackling classics from bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Dio, along with their newer original "Into The Darkness"! You can't judge a jam session on the same level of a concert, as a lot of it is meant for practicing and getting everything down for a show, but the guys sounded really good, and it's nice to hear Curtis McKenzie's impressive vocals back with the band!

Me and Blair chatted for a while after everyone left, and it was a nice break from the hectic personal stuff I've been dealing with lately! I also saw and heard some intriguing things concerning future plans, but we'll wait for official public word before saying anything here. I got a handful of photos from the jam that you can see at this link or via our Facebook page, and here's Project 421 (minus Frank) jamming their song "Into The Darkness"!

Next up, here's some fallout from yesterday's second annual Emergency Festival at Rocky DiPietro Field, which appeared to be a hit (despite the hot weather) according to early social media reports! First, there was an act that dropped out of the festival, that being Saskatoon country artist Zachary Lucky due to bronchitis, as per his Facebook page on Friday, though he hopes to play here again later this year. Disappointing for fans, but at least he let everyone know beforehand! As for the festival itself, it was MCed by SooToday's Donna Hopper, and of course, she got lots of great (and colour) photos from the show that you can check out at this article! They include 5 photos of headliners The Fast Romantics, 4 photos each of Gnaeus, Northwest, and The Poor Young Things, 3 each of The Pixo Control, Tasman Jude, and The Sunparlour Players, 5 of concert attendees, and 4 of art vendors on site. Excellent work as usual, and I like how nightfall made the closing set seem like it was at a different venue entirely!

A likely Tuned episode is forthcoming, but Local2 cameras were on site for this (unembeddable) video from The Emergency, which features abbreviated video footage from The Fast Romantics, The Sunparlour Players, Tasman Jude, and Gnaeus' sets (I wonder why The Poor Young Things and the other locals didn't make the cut?) Strong footage, and nice to see fans dancing up front for The Fast Romantics, so give this video a look above!

Lastly for current festival fallout, here's the latest from local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control, as we can finally confirm that their new drummer (replacing the departed Keeghan Rosso) is named Matthew Thibert, who made his public debut with the band on Sunday. The band has yet to confirm this on their Facebook page, but photos from the show confirm his identity. I'm not familiar with Matthew from past local bands, though he did once play with the defunct Bawating Collegiate jazz band Reverse Fozmosis shortly before the school's 2010 closure, alongside The Boatload Killers' Liam Seymour and others. I'm curious to see how he does live with Michael & Steve in The Pixo Control, so stay tuned for more on the new lineup! And we were holding this for when we mentioned their new drummer, as the cover art for the band's upcoming debut CD "Probably Not" is now posted on Facebook!

Similarly to the defunct Habitat Shuffle's EP, it's of a picture hanging on a wall, but this picture of mushrooms will be familiar for Pixo Control fans, as a framed copy of it has sat on stage for the band's recent concerts. I'm unsure of the symbolism, or if it connects to the name "Probably Not" at all, but it's recognizable and to the point! Stay tuned for more from the guys this week!

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

• Just as a general site updated regarding our sidebar links, I've finally added The Emergency Festival and The Northern Vibe Festival to our links concerning concert festivals in the Sault Ontario area, while amending information on venues and dates for existing festivals, mainly concerning events impacted by this year's Downtown Association debate and cancellation of Queen Street East outdoor events. Hopefully things are updated there now!
• Sault Michigan bar/concert venue Golanka's Bar (commonly known as The Bird) has closed at some point in the last two years, though their (now-deleted) Facebook page wasn't updated frequently enough to post a statement on why that I've seen. According to London Gentlemen guitarist Mike Libertoski in a Facebook conversation, the East Portage Avenue building was bought by new owners who are turning it into an outdoor retail store of some kind. The Bird hadn't hosted a hard rock concert that we'd heard of since early 2013, but it's sad to see it go, and hopefully Yoopers have good memories of The Bird!
• Sault Ontario alternative hard rock duo Infinity Grinder have posted seven new demo recordings on their Soundcloud page in the past 3 weeks, which confirm that they play improvised jams as well as original songs, Brad & Terrence both handle drums and guitar parts in studio, and that they formed last year. The songs are solid, often hard-edged, and nicely varied, but only "A Few Weeks" has vocals. Give them a listen above, and don't miss Infinity Grinder's New A debut TONIGHT!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our newest poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Return Of The Halloween Party, New Treble Charger Videos, And More Rotaryfest Fallout!!

Here's another packed news post for your Tuesday afternoon at the SMS! Along with long overdue coverage of some Rotaryfest videos, and new footage from a prominent local band's recent our of town gigs, let's kick things off with an upcoming fall concert that, while lacking a venue as of this writing, should be a great time like usual, so here's what you should know!

Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party will return on Saturday, October 31st! Listed as his 11th annual Halloween show (though 2005's wasn't officially branded in the series until last year), this will be the first to be presented through Tidal Records since J.D. began working with the local record label, and will return to it's usual Saturday night placement after being on Friday last year so it could (like this year) fall on Halloween night. This year's lineup is a bit of a throwback to 2008, as all three bands will be tribute bands, or at least bands adopting that theme for one night, so who all's playing? The listed headliners appear to be Toronto extreme metal quartet Caym in their second show of the year, and if all goes according to plan, they'll play a Metallica tribute set, which should be interesting! Also, this will mark the third time in four years that an out of town band is headlining this annual Halloween party, so keep that in mind as well.

The presumably local openers are listed as Misfits and Rancid/NOFX tribute bands, and while we can assume that J.D. will front the former like he did in 2008, will they be one-off tributes or renamed versions of existing local bands (like Redundant's 2012 turn as The Brews?) We'll keep you posted if there's confirmation! Notably, a venue is to be confirmed for this year's event, but for reference, two of the last three were at The Algonquin Pub,. This year's party will be a 19+ event with a $10 cover charge and 10:00 PM start time, and a costume contest is likely also, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more info on the venue, bands, and more as it all rolls in!

Next up, here's some new videos from local/Toronto indie punk quartet Treble Charger, courtesy of recent out of town gigs that they've played! Apologies for not acknowledging them on the site, they slipped us by when announced, but remember, priority for the SMS is on local events. Two come from YouTube user Mike Maracle's channel, courtesy of (I believe) their show in Belleville on July 9th when they headlined this year's Canadian Independent Music Festival. One video is a summary video of clips from their set as set to the studio version of "American Psycho", which is well put together, but embedded below is a formal concert video of the songs from their encore. Featuring their memorable tracks "Red" & "American Psycho", I like the angle and stage lighting for this performance, but the audio is very staticy, and Mike did apologize for the shakiness of the actual video. Still, give these new Treble Charger clips a look above & below!



The other video comes from Treble Charger's outdoor set on Canada Day in Kitchener, also of the guys playing their early hit "Red". On one hand, this video (from YouTube user Angela Uttley's channel) is very clear, stable, and easy to watch, but on the other hand, it's only 20 seconds long. Still, nice to see Greig, Bill, and company rocking out again, and hopefully they're back home for more shows in the near future! Give this one a look below too!

Finally for today, here's, at last, our final major Rotaryfest stage coverage from local news media, courtesy of videos from Local2! Remember, Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding. One of the videos (posted on July 20th) is a summary video of Rotaryfest events set to pleasant background music and featuring remarks from Sault Ste. Marie Rotary Club president Rod Stone, and it features brief clips of Second Stage performers Gnaeus, The Pixo Control, and Caroline Divine (sans their own audio.) Also, the returning Stage 2 was the focus of the newest episode of Tuned with Donna Hopper, as posted on Saturday, so what should you know about that? Focused on an interview with new Second Stage director Chelsie Parayko, she talks about the return of the all-original stage, the response to this year's installment, why it was moved from Queen Street to Clergue Park, the chances that it will be back for 2016, and how bands were chosen.

In terms of specific info, Chelsie cited an attempt to get more young people to Rotaryfest as a reason for Stage 2's return, and specifically acknowledged redirecting the stage to Clergue Park to get it closer to the rest of the festival, without addressing the Downtown Association debate that would have forced the move anyway (also, nothing she said implied this was a temporary change.) The band selection process she outlined was interesting too, I wonder if that will recur next year? Informative video, albeit without much audio of the bands, so give it and more a look at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Lopstock II Video Showcase, Plus Our First Look At Two New Bands!!

Before we head off to TODAY'S Go Skateboarding Day concert at the skatepark at the John Rhodes Centre, here's an all-video post now that this weekend's concert previews are cleared out, all courtesy of the Lopstock II "bohemian conclave" concert on June 6th at LopLops Lounge! With one unembeddable exception, these are courtesy of promoter and Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick's YouTube channel in recent days, but unlike his single song videos from last year's Lopstock, he filmed full sets of every performer, save for Id Iota for unannounced reasons, but we do have a video of them to touch on in a bit. Brendan's videos include footage of the full sets of Burlington folk rock artist Kirby, Guelph blues rockers The Galacticats, local folk/garage quintet Honest Job, acoustic rock trio K.I.C.K., and indie rock solo project Aldous, so click their names to see their videos! The audio quality is very good on these videos, but the strong attendance in front of the staationary camera limits our viewpoint on most of them.

First from Brendan's channel is headlining local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control, whose hour-long set can be seen below, or more accurately, heard below, given the crowd of fans in front of the camera, and the often blurry view of the band itself given that the camera focuses on what's closer. The (I believe) 13 song set had it's titles mostly unannounced by the band, but familiar tracks like "Sixty Extra Chances Called Minutes", "Quick Little Quarter", and "Tall Ships" can be heard, plus their set-ending "Twist & Shout" cover. You can't see much, but The Pixo Control sound great, so give their Lopstock II video a look below!



Next up, here's Brendan's own band Gnaeus, who headlined the afternoon portion of Lopstock II before the unusual three hour break. The 45 minute set from the rising post-punk quartet can be seen below, and while it is easier to see the guys, an attendee's head is near constantly right in front of the camera. Songs like "Fire", "The Edge", and a cover of The Cold War Kids' "Hang Me Up To Dry" can be seen, and Gnaeus demonstrated their considerable talent once again throughout their Lopstock II set, so give their video a look below as well!



The last of Brendan's Lopstock II videos is of new local glam rock/power pop trio Caroline Divine (successors to The Frasiers), which gives us our first look at their sound, so what can be detected from their 40 minute set? Musically, they remind me a little bit of what would happen if Dirty Virgin and Gnaeus were blended together, thanks to their mix of 1980s glam rock with indie punk, and while I won't get a chance to see them live until tomorrow afternoon, I do prefer them to The Frasiers musically! Don't miss them and The Pixo Control tomorrow at Tidal Records' Go Skateboarding Day, and here's their Lopstock set!



Finally, we'll touch on the opening band at Lopstock II, new local rock band Id Iota, as while Brendan didn't apparently film them, Local2 did for the newest episode of Tuned with Donna Hopper! Focusing entirely on Id Iota's set, we get our first video look at the new band from Free Beer and Dirty Few alumni, and if you were curious about their sound, I can confirm that Id Iota more or less carry on the sound that 3/4ths of the band played in their short lived predecessor band Habitat Shuffle, so they play alternative rock with a punk/grunge tinge, rather than the ska-punk of the Free Beer days. Frontman Christian Lemay and guitarist Dustin Goodall are interviewed by Donna in the video concerning topics like how they formed and their upcoming plans, so what kinds of new info do we get? The guys revealed that the Id Iota name is inspired by Freudian psychology, the two of them share vocals live, and they've been doing behind-the-scenes work at Tidal Records beyond recording material.

I'm sure there's more from Id Iota to come, but this is a nice introduction to this new yet familiar band, and Christian & Dustin also give some nice compliments and props to how the local music scene is developing and some of the newer and younger talent! Check out Id Iota's new Tuned episode at this link, and remember that we can't embed Local2 videos here, as their video host doesn't allow external embedding. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more this week, and we'll see you guys at the skatepark this afternoon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stinkbox), New Video Postings, And Much More!!

As we'll be focusing our next posts around weekend concert previews (and this month's newest poll), let's get one more news post up on this Tuesday night, but if you're wondering about some recent show announcements (including one on Sunday featuring a major returning local band), don't worry, we will touch on them in short order! Now, we have some new videos and assorted updates, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

A unique concert will go down at The Gore Street Cafe on Friday, July 10th that will be headlined by Toronto folk/punk trio Stinkbox! A creative hybrid band that plays solid punk originals in a folk/roots style (complete with a tin canjolele and double bass), Stinkbox should leave a mark in their local debut, so check them out and see what you think! Toronto folk musician Caela Butt will join them on tour and at the local show next month, and her own originals are talented and fun in their own right for genre fans, so give her a listen too! Local support will come via Ye Olde Mold Pickers frontwoman Rihkee Strap in a solo set (nice to see her back in town), while an initially advertised set by Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti has since been removed from the Facebook event page for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing bad happened! Thois show has a 7:00 PM start time, no announced age limit, and a suggested admission price of $5 (though you may "pay what you can".)

For more details, visit the above links! This should be an interesting concert for both folk and punk fans, and at a venue that's increasingly gaining traction as a concert spot in recent months, so keep this show in mind for next month, and The Gore Street Cafe (as 164 Gore) is now in our local concert venue listings!

Next up, here's some new videos, including a new concert video of local goregrind duo Rotopsy laying 3 songs during their recent set at Little Montreal in Sudbury last week! Embedded without the title due to potentially offensive names of the first two songs (the third is "Live at Oddfellows Hall 3"), this was posted on Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel yesterday. The lighting's a little too red, but this captures Rotopsy's goregrind action well, though they do look a little out of their element and not quite as energetic as at local shows. Still, give this one a look, and remember to hit upcoming Blood Shed house parties if invited!



Also, here's a new video from local solo guitarist/Audiofumes podcast host Mike Cliffe! Uploaded yesterday to his YouTube channel, this is a 66 second clip with the curious name "Glutinous Maximus Peanution Vulgaris", and it's his first solo original video of the year. Solid jam rock instrumental that has a nice harmony and edge to it, though it ends before it really gets going. Hopefully Mike has more in store, but check out his prolific original work above and below, and don't forget to check out his solid podcasts as well, featuring local artists!



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

• Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will open for horror punk legends The Misfits in Toronto on Friday, October 16th at The Phoenix Concert Theatre! Fans may remember that frontman J.D. Pearce has a long association with The Misfits, from Frightlight opening for them in Toronto to what happened at 2010's famed "secret show", so this should be a great showcase for the guys as they continue to jack the planet! Click here for full details, including incentives if you buy $40 tickets from the band!
• We'll likely be moving local hard rock solo project StonesmithGC (formerly StrykerGC) to our inactive band links next week. While their Facebook page is still updated frequently, all posts since last June have been shares of guitars and gear from other Facebook pages, with no visible posts about new music or recordings. Hopefully Troy posts some new band updates at some point again, he is a talented musician!
• The three newest episodes of Local2's webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper are now online at this location, with each based around recent shows from Craig Cardiff, The Mudmen, and the #youthesoo youth empowerment event. As Tuned episodes now only focus on one event or band, there's no extra bits in them, but they're all well done and great to watch if you liked these shows or bands! Note that the teased Id Iota episode is still forthcoming.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and this month's new poll next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Destroyer), New Punk Videos, And Much More!!

Before we head off to The Canadian Nightclub for TONIGHT'S fifth annual Sewer Swampstravaganza, here's a new news post for your Saturday afternoon featuring big updates from a local news website, new videos from two popular punk bands, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, so here's what you need to know!

Kiss fans should pay attention, as Destroyer, Canada's premier Kiss tribute band, are coming back to Sault Ontario on Friday, May 29th for a concert at The Rockstar Bar! Making their (at least) third appearance in the Soo, this will be Destroyer's first local stop since rocking the same venue in July 2013, and it will come amidst their 20th anniversary tour, which is a great milestone! If you're in the Kiss Army, you won't want to miss this one at month's end, but in an uncommon occurence for a local tribute band show, there will be a local opening band, as local hard rock cover quartet Griphook are listed as openers! Though the band has yet to confirm this, their set would be their first in almost two months, and their first Rockstar Bar appearance of the new year. Griphook haven't played all that often in recent months, so if you've missed them in the last while, write this show on your calendar!

This concert has a listed start time of 10:30 PM, it is a 19+ event, and tickets are $12 in advance at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk or $16 at the door. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Destroyer have the Kiss sound and look down pat, as videos of their shows will attest to (not to mention fans who saw them locally in the past), so if you want the best, you'll get the next best thing on the 29th! Stay tuned for possible updates!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with the newest episode of Local2's stripped down performance webseries Bare, which features members of local Celtic/punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide! Specifically featuring singer/guitarist Dustin Jones and stand-up bassist Marshall Jaaskelainen for this performance, the video is of them playing their song "Sticky Situation" from their newest album "Dancing Our Demons Away". Played in an acoustic form, it's well done and puts an interesting new spin on this recent original, so fans of The Rising Tide should get a kick out of this! For reference, the end-of-video credits do not list a drummer among their current lineup, which seemingly confirms that Mikey Hawdon isn't their full time drummer anymore (though to be fair, they've largely played with guest drummers for the past year or so.)

Check out the new Bare episode below, and be sure to check out all 12 episodes (including locals and out of town bands alike from various genres) at the official Bare YouTube channel, which is now in our "Other Local Metal Links" on the SMS! Strong work all around, and hopefully we see some more punk or hard rock bands on there!



Also, here's a new video from VM Radio Battle of the Bands winners Gnaeus, before they headline TONIGHT'S fifth annual Swampstravaganza at The Canadian! Uploaded to their YouTube channel on Thursday, this is seemingly from a jam session, and it's of the guys playing a new(?) original named "Fire". Shot from a low camera angle with dark purple lighting, this captures the post-punk quartet channeling more of their garage rock sound (is it wrong to get a Killers vibe from this?), but it's well done oversall, and the lighting actually helps set the mood fairly well! Check it out below!



Finally, here's some overdue updates from local news/video website Local2, who overhauled their official website on May 1st to emphasize and focus 100% on video content, severing it's last traditional news ties from the old SooNews.ca days. As outlined in this SooToday article from their sister website, the new site features a new layout that's easier to navigate to find and watch video content, including new webcams, categories for different content, and pages for individual webseries like Bare and Tuned with Donna Hopper, the latter of which we can also now add to our "Other Local Metal Links" section as a result! Note however that the player for videos on Local2 still doesn't permit external video embedding. Speaking of Tuned, three new episodes have been posted online of that popular music webseries, so what lies within that has a hard rock or punk element?

The April 23rd episode spotlights local DJ Shane Erickson (a.k.a. DJ Seith), and includes brief footage of his live collaboration with The Elements at The Rockstar Bar in February, though the episode is largely about DJ Seith's general live work and crossovers with various local projects like Honest Job & Conika. The other new episodes are on recent concerts with out of town bands My Son The Hurricane (featuring the Soo's own Danno O'Shea) and B.A. Johnston, and all are similarly well done, so givem all a look at the above links! The new Local2 layout is much more user friendly, so give their videos a look and see what you've missed!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our newest Defunct Local Band Profile TOMORROW, and we'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian for the fifth annual Swampstravaganza! Thanks everyone!

Rotopsy Updates, Northwest's Searchlight Run, And Much More!!

Before we kick off this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Foggy Notions owner & bartender Patrick Casey, who suddenly passed away this weekend, as per numerous personal Facebook postings yesterday. Details on services are likely forthcoming, so keep an eye out for more info where appropriate. Though arguably better known from his steady and friendly presence slinging smashlovs at many local concerts, Patrick (alongside Alec Colyer and John Doucette) bought Foggy's from Jon Ferguson in early 2007, maintaining it for the next year before it's first closure in March 2008, though it would re-open in late 2009 under a succession of new owners and names, currently as Coch's Corner. I admittedly can't comment on the original 11 year run of Foggy Notions, as it closed before I turned 19, but I did recognize Pat from his bartending work, and he was always a liked and welcome presence for concert-goers and bar regulars alike!

Just a week after losing Mike Case, it's a shame that another local music scene fixture has passed so soon, but with all of the good memories of Patrick as a friend, fan, or deliverer of shots to the stage, I'm sure he'll be in many people's thoughts for a long time to come. R.I.P. Pat!

Now, today's post will mostly help clear out some recent backlogged news items, including a local band's contest run and some assorted updates, but first, here's the latest from local independent goregrind duo Rotopsy's first full length demo "Sexual Assault Rifle" (they titled it, not me!) on Saturday, which was actually two days ahead of schedule, but it may have been intended for a Dank Fest II release before that show's cancellation. The album (whose cover art isn't embedded here due to potentially offensive content) costs $5 through band members, Blood Shed Productions, or at future concerts, while t-shirts with the cover are also now on sale for $10, so keep them in mind! Remember, two songs from it are now on their Bandcamp page, while a third ("Live at Oddfellows Hall 3") is new to their label's YouTube channel, though no word on when/if we'll see the rest of the songs in a digital format.

A Sudbury concert to be announced has also been hinted at for Rotopsy, and while I won't embed the new YouTube song here due to the cover art, fans of Rotopsy's bass-heavy grind action should enjoy every second, so give everything a look above, and message Tyler or Dylan A.S.A.P. if you want this disc before their next show!

Also today, local indie/punk quintet Northwest have made the semifinals of a national music contest, so what should you know? While a handful of local bands (like Jack Spades, Machines Dream, and Mannapool) entered, only Northwest have made it to the regional semifinals of CBC's Searchlight competition, which is looking for the best new Canadian music act. This fan-voted stage ends tomorrow at 3:00 PM, with Northwest among 25 bands in the Northern Ontario region at this stage, and among 545 national bands remaining in the competition. Finalists will be announced on Tuesday, so VOTE A.S.A.P. at their official CBC Music page to help them make the finals, as the top voted bands will get judged by a panel of Canadian music professionals for the top prize! If they win, Northwest will win $20,000 towards new Yamaha equipment, an opening slot at an upcoming CBC event, and a recording session with CBC.

Note as well that Gates of Winter guitarist Bryan Belleau plays & records with his new wife, Vancouver region semifinalist Melinda Belleau, so throw her some votes as well if you can, as she's a great singer in her own right! Hopefully Northwest can make the top 10 for Northern Ontario and keep the local cause going in CBC Searchlight, so vote for them A.S.A.P., and click here for the recent SooToday article on their run in this competition!

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

• Though announced on short notice, Kinross, Michigan hard rock trio Banned returned to The Northwoods Restaurant & Bar in Drummond Island (which is out of our coverage range) for a show on Friday night. Hopefully it went well, and don't miss them on the May 15th weekend in St. Ignace!
• Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock quartet Haggith will finally release their long anticipated fourth studio album "Apocalypse II" on May 10th (two weeks from today), as per new postings on their Facebook page. You can stream it beforehand on their YouTube channel, but no word yet on when we'll see their EP "XIV". Stay tuned for more as we approach the release date!
• The newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went online on Thursday, but it entirely focuses on the recent God Made Me Funky concert at LopLops Lounge with no extra segments. G.M.M.F. have a fun sound and definitely have a solid local following, so give the new Tuned episode a look if you're a fan!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Long Shot), New Drum Cover Videos, And More!!

Continuing our steady recent pace on this Friday morning, we have some assorted recent updates, new drum cover videos from two veterans of the local scene, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next month, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Long Shot will return to the stage for two concerts that are both taking place on Friday, May 1st! After an almost two month break following their runner-up finish at the Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, Long Shot will make up for lost time with a set at this year's ninth annual Passport To Unity festival, which will reportedly be during that day's Downtown Diversity events outside on a shut down block of Queen Street East between March & Spring between 11:45 AM & 1:15 PM. Readers may remember that The Pixo Control were scheduled for this event last year, but rain forced a postponement and move indoors to The Essar Centre, so hopefully there's no hang-ups this time! This will obviously be an ALL AGES event, there's no announced cover, and see above for more details! The other Long Shot event on May 1st will see them make their Canadian Nightclub debut that night when they headline a party held by the Sault Ultimate Players' Association!

If you don't know, that's a local league for players of ultimate frisbee and related disc sports, and if this seems random, remember that Long Shot members Evan & Adam Dawe both are SUPA members, and the band has played at least one SUPA function in the past. The event at The Canadian will be a party and deadline to sign up for their summer leagues, and it will take place at 7:00 PM with no announced age limits or cover. Sounds fun, so see that show's Facebook event page & the above links for complete details on both events, and it's great to see Long Shot back on stage finally!

Next up, here's new drum cover videos from two veteran local musicians, including this video of Fairmounts frontman and prolific local drummer Mikey Hawdon covering The Descendents' "All". Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is a change from his usual solo covers there, which tend to be of him singing and playing guitar, but without giving anything away to readers who aren't familiar with "All", I'll just say that it's perfectly covered! Give it a look below, and also check out his recent out-of-town band videos too!



Also is this cover of Audioslave's "Original Fire" by Flat Stanley/Peace Vibe drummer Glen Thomas, which compared to his recent classic rock uploads and band work, is a bit of a throwback to his older hard rock/metal days! Posted to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is a solid rendition of one of Audislave's bigger hits, albeit not my favourite of their tracks, but give it a listen below, and check out his other recent uploads if you like 1960s rock!



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

• Local classic metal quartet Project 421 have been added to the lineup for the announced Menstural Munchies concert at a venue to be announced on June 25th, as per the Facebook event page. They're honestly not a perfect fit given that they're not a death or grind band, but their talent speaks for itself, so look for them then, and let promoters know if you can help find a venue or in other ways for this concert!
• The fifth annual Swampstravaganza at The Canadian Nightclub on May 9th will indeed see a return of the open mic block that kicked off last year's Swampfest at The Oddfellows Hall, as per a recent update to the Facebook event page. It's way too early to guess on who might play during it, given that it is "open mic", but it will open the day's events at 4:00 PM before the 10 scheduled bands hit the stage at 5:00. Great to see it return, and hopefully there's a solid turnout!
• The newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went online last week, and it's 100% devoted to The Boot Hill Crooners' CD release party at LopLops Lounge last month, including an interview with frontman/Rising Tide member Sheldon Jaaskelainen. Fans of the Crooners and Sheldon's band work should definitely check it out, so do so above! Note however that there's no footage of the opening bands.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days, plus this month's poll and last month's poll results TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Griphook), New Videos, And Much More!!

Here's one more news post for your Saturday, as we continue to clear out some backlogged items from the last week+! Now, we have some assorted news and notes, videos from two prominent local bands, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next weekend, so read on below for what you should know, and check out a new local band, new show announcements, and more in this morning's post below! (Also, note that SooToday's Soo-To-Do List implies that Mourning Wood are playing at Reggie's West TONIGHT, but we have not heard that from the band as of this writing. If we missed something, our sincere apologies!)

Local classic/hard rock quartet Griphook will return to the local stage this coming weekend when they rock The Rednecks Saloon on Friday & Saturday! After a few months away from the stage, these will be Griphook's first concerts of 2015, their first anywhere since December, and their first at the former Nicolet Tavern in five months, so it's been a while for fans to take in their hard hitting covers on a live stage! Featuring alumni of 100 Gran, Hollow, Bigsuit, and Thin Ice in their experienced lineup, Griphook have received a solid reception since their 2012 debut, and hopefully we see more of that next weekend, so keep these shows in mind for this coming Friday and Saturday! There's no announced cover charges for either night, you must be 19 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times would make sense. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from Griphook and these shows as we hear them!

Next up, here's the latest from local garage/punk quartet Gnaeus, who we haven't heard much from since their victory at last month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, so what are the champions up to? Well, the guys did get some belated exposure from their win via a photo by Sault This Week's Ali Pearson of them celebrating on stage in this week's issue of the paper (it's on page 2, albeit with their drummer's name misspelled as Brandon Garlick.) Still, nice to see them get noticed by Sault This Week, so look for it in your current copies! As well, Gnaeus posted this video to their YouTube channel on Monday in (so far) their only major public activity since the battle, and it's sort of a music video for their first studio track "Lovers" which features the guys talking about their battle win at the start, performing the song in studio, hanging out, playing in concert, and even making a sandwich?! Well edited and a nice sample of the guys in their element, so check it out below, and stay tuned for much more from Gnaeus as it comes in!



Also today, here's a new video of local party/hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom from their Ride For Sight Chili Cook-Off set at The Garden River Community Centre last week! Filmed by attendee Trudy Archibald for her personal Facebook page and later shared by the band on their own Facebook page, it's of Stiffler's Mom putting a hard-edged spin on Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", and I'll concede that I didn't know what the song was until the chorus, so they made it their own! Though fuzzy looking, and very blue/purple from the lighting, it's a solid & fun rendition of this 1980s classic, so give it a look below!



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

• On Sunday, local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet announced on their Facebook page that their next album will apparently be a three-way split CD with fellow local favourites Jack Spades and Montreal punk legends The Ripcordz! If confirmed, this would be Destroilet's third release and first with Brent Ellis sharing vocal duties, and the second release from Jack Spades, though recording hasn't started yet. This is intriguing if it holds up, so stay tuned for more updates as they roll in!
• Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock artist Ken Sutton (a.k.a. SweetKenny) posted a new instrumental named "Heartbeat" onto his Reverbnation page last month, and while it will be familiar to fans based on it's general style, it  has a nice groove! No word on if this will be on his next studio album to be announced, but we'll keep you posted when more is announced!
• The first Tuned episode since the end of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands was posted on Local2 on Thursday, and it features Donna Hopper's interview with local folk/indie rock quintet Aldous and performance footage of them at LopLops in February. No 12 Musicians of Christmas videos this week, and the concert calendar segment is again completely absent, but Donna did mention that next week's episode will be headlined by The Boot Hill Crooners' CD release show, which had alternative openers. Give this week's episode a look above if you want!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more from the local scene over the coming days! Thanks everyone!