Chase Wigmore's 12 EPs Of Christmas (Part 1!)

I profusely apologize for the delay in starting coverage on these, but let's finally tackle the first half+ of local experimental/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore's "12 EPs of Christmas", which began being posted on November 25th! Kicked off before December began as he was "sick of waiting", this was Chase's plan to record and upload 12 free streaming albums to his Facebook page under his own name as well as alternate project titles. As per Facebook updates, he planned to issue one bonus release on his 27th birthday last month, to total 27 canon albums that he has recorded, including prior releases with his old bands Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes, The Strange Coyotes, This Is Your Band On Drugs, and The Coyote Speedfreaks. Not all of these have seen a full paid release that I'm aware of, at least not with the cover artwork depicted on Facebook, but I recall seeing a few at Blood Shed Productions events in the past, and Chase did imply that some could get individual CD prints if there's demand.

As of this writing, Chase had only posted 8 of the above 12 EPs credited to the "12 EPs of Christmas" event onto Facebook (which he lampshaded via a Futurama screenshot already.) If he does conclude the series, the last four will be "The Mostest Awokest" by his late 2018 project Awokest (it appears "Dick Jerkins" is an alias of his), a belated(?) Smiling Giraffes release, an EP entitled "How To Totally Sell Out & Still Not Make Any Fucking Money", and an album credited to Chase & The Bastards, which is the band name he has attached to more recent plugs of live concerts, and who he has hinted will be a larger focus this year. We'll let you know if these surface! Chase had previously also indicated that the 27 canon solo albums of his will be reissued as "The CxJxWx Collection" in a flash drive collection to encompass his mid-late 2010s solo work, and it would be really neat to see that come to fruition, especially as a means of getting his solo oeuvre all at once!

As for the 8 EPs of Christmas so far, six of them are all tied to his techno/electronic moniker The Black Lodge Masters, including three linked releases ("The First Degree", "The Second Degree", and "The Third Degree"), plus three unrelated EPs ("Secret Rites", "Forbidden Sanctum", and "The Shadow Crowd".) Each runs for 15-25 minutes in length, so the EP branding is apt, but if you let these run, you'll have 2 hours of intriguing electronic action! Often dark and industrial tinged, these are more thematically heavy than instrumentally heavy, but Chase has fun with the production, effects, and musical performances within, and I like the progressively more ominous tone (on average) that the "Degree" EPs have as they go along! For heaviness, "Secret Rites" is arguably the leader in that regard, but these are hard to sum up in just one paragraph, especially without given song names. Check out "The First Degree" more, and hear much more above!



We'll close this look at (most of) Chase's 12 EPs of Christmas with "Stray Dog and the Holy Mother of Chaos Church Band", which is a 14 minute jazz EP. I can't confirm whether "Stray Dog" et al is the name of a real project of Chase's or just the EP's title, but this is definitely a departure in styles for him! The jazz influence is present, but the keyboard instrumentation gives this more of an ethnic European flair, and you do get a lot of electronic undercurrents as well. I don't know that this would be a clean fit on 98.3 FM overnight, but the experimental mashup is definitely an interesting listen, and showcases Chase's range nicely! Give this EP a listen below as well!



We have much more from Chase to cover, including the other remaining EP of Christmas (with 4 more still to come?), plus even more solo albums that he's working on that aren't attached to the 12 EP project. so stay tuned for all of that, and for more news and updates elsewhere! Thanks everyone!

New Video Postings, Plus Lots Of Assorted Recent News & Notes!!

Today's post is mostly of the catch-up variety, in order to cover some recent assorted updates and tackle a couple of new videos, so here's what you should know on this Monday morning! We'll start with the newest song from Sault Michigan metal solo project The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, as posted to their label Werehold Records' YouTube channel on New Year's Eve! Entitled "Long Walking Upright", project leader Jason Mills indicated that this is his first new song recording with his new 9 string guitar. While it's a short showcase, it's a strong technical go for a first unveiling, and while the guitar's the star, I can't fault the bass either! Give it a listen below!

Next up, here's a surprise cover of AlgomA's "Reclaimed By The Forest" by The Black Lodge Masters, a new Sault Ontario electronic project from former Strange Coyotes guitarist & recent Autumn Roots member Chase Wigmore! Perhaps the end result of Chase's earlier plans to form an industrial band, The Black Lodge Masters already have a YouTube channel chock full of material, including their entire intended debut album, and while not a hard rock or metal band in the usual sense, there are glimmers of heaviness on many tracks. Creative and original, especially for this area, and despite these being instrumental, note that the song names seem to have a concept about a secretive fraternal lodge. That all said, The Black Lodge Masters do dip into metal waters with this cover of the title track from AlgomA's debut CD, so how does it sound? Definitely harbouring an industrial bent, this is a solid and unexpected cover of who Chase called "one of (if not) the best Sault bands ever"!

On a quick glance, you wouldn't even connect the two songs, but it's strongly performed with quality drums and effects, and if you're at all a fan of electronic and doom metal, this will be worth checking out! You can do so below, and hopefully Chase keeps churning out some quality music here!



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

• Highway 63 frontman Henry Switzer announced on their Facebook page yesterday that, despite some fans fearing that he quit the Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet, they're just taking time off until May, adding his automotive repair business Hank's Body Shop & his health as additional reasons for the break. However, Henry did announce plans to play a half-hair metal/1980s set when they do return, as he wants to play music he likes & excels in while he can, so keep their planned return in mind for then, and don't miss their side project Cousin Eddie in the interim!
• Former Sneaky Pete/Glitch drummer Mike Oakley is looking for a keyboard player (preferably one with a synthesizer or piano/organ tones) for a new "rock & blues" band that he's working on in Sault Ontario. No word on if the band in question will fit our coverage range, but just in case, message Mike at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from New Year's Day if you're interested in trying out!
• Want to hear more studio material from defunct local indie/punk quartet Nebraska Arms? Good news then, as drummer Adam Sauve posted 11 studio tracks to their new posthumous Soundcloud page last month! At least four of the songs aren't publically available elsewhere that I know of ("Presenteeism", "Clockwork", and two untitled demos), but this isn't entirely comprehensive, as "I Was A Runner" isn't featured. No word on if we'll ever get a full album-formatted posting of the entire "We'll Never Sleep Again" CD, but it's great to hear more from Guy, Dave, Wayne, and Adam, and you can do so at the above links!
• Ride For Sight Northern Ontario chairman Dave Ostrowski-Gallant announced on their Facebook page on New Year's Eve "that there will not be any (Ride For Sight) events" locally this year. Dave and his wife Nicole had previously announced that they were stepping down in September for personal reasons, but a search to find new organizers doesn't appear to have panned out in time to put on the annual blindness motorcycle rally/concert in July. Very disappointing, especially given the event's successes and reception, but hopefully someone can take it on for 2019!
• By chance have you seen reference to a new hard rock band named Sault on social media? Just to clarify, this band has nothing to do with Sault Ste. Marie, with the name being an intentional misspelling of "salt", in it's informal definition of having a resistance or toughness. Sault are actually the new side project from Kamelot bassist Sean Tibbetts, but they have more of a mainstream hard rock sound compared to his usual power metal material. While there is no local connection, give Sault a listen above, they aren't bad!
• I have regrettably deleted local pop punk quartet Stereo North from our inactive band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page at some point late last year. Stereo North had been on hiatus since June of 2016, but with their Facebook page gone (I hate when bands delete their pages like this), it's clear that they've fully disbanded. Hopefully we see them back again down the road, they were a fun sight in the mid-2010s, and don't miss Andrew Pucci's solo project or Bill Bennett with Stegadeth!

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