YouTube Channel Profile Series: Nostalgic Band

After a delay largely due to a stacked round of weekend concert previews, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again spotlight a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians/concerts! For our last post in this series of the summer, we're looking at the channel of an all-too-brief cover rock band from three years ago that had a lot of promise and in-built chemistry, so here's what you should know! 

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Nostalgic Band (http://youtube.com/@nostalgicband)

Owner: A member of 2023 classic/hard rock cover trio The Nostalgic Band, exact identity unclear (possibly Randy, as he was credited for editing videos in the descriptions)

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 9th, 2023; Videos posted that day, three days later, and on August 1st of that year

Channel Summary: This is the only surviving online source for official content from The Nostalgic Band (f.k.a. Nostalgia), and features three live concert videos of the short-lived group, who featured former Caveman Morrison singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, former Browbeat frontman Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg on bass, and former Nikkfitt drummer Chet Dziergas (note that Randy was in Caveman Morrison from 2012-2013, and he was also a Nikkfitt alum, albeit not when Chet was in that band). 

Why You Should Watch: If you liked The Nostalgic Band during their few mid-2023 concert dates, or have missed any of the members on stage in a band since (Tym's frequent acoustic concerts acknowledged), this will be absolutely worth checking out! This group had talent and chemistry, as fans of late-era Caveman Morrison will know, and it's a shame that things ended the way that they did that September. Note that the band's Facebook group was sadly taken down after their breakup, which Randy was wont to do when any of his prior bands folded. You can, however, see some extra footage of this group via this episode of Randy's Rides, his motorcycle-riding webseries.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Nostalgic Band Promo: The first and most popular video here comes from The Nostalgic Band's live debut at Reggie's Place on May 26th, 2023, which features minute-or-so long clips of them covering Metallica's "Enter Sandman", The Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep", Starship's "We Built This City", The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark At The Moon", The Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl", Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", and The Cars' "Good Times Roll", with Randy on lead vocals for the Cars covers. While I'd prefer full songs, and the camera is way too zoomed out (making Reggie's look cavernous around the band), this is a good sampling of what The Nostalgic Band had in store, and it was good seeing Tym front a band again, even with short hair!

 

 

I DON'T KNOW cover by The NOSTALGIC band: In a sign that Ozzy Osbourne covers were popular for Tym, Randy, and Chet in this band, their other Reggie's video sees them cover "I Don't Know" at another Reggie's concert just two weeks later. Edited by Randy in post-production to include zooms into the stage and individual band members, this is a sound cover that shows off everyone's musical abilities well, even if Chet's head is largely obscured at this angle. The video quality isn't super crisp, but it is nice to see everyone in fuller frame, let alone a full video from a public concert!

 

 

Nostalgtic Band Live at the Ranch July 29 2023: In their final and longest upload, we get 37 minutes of the guys at a private outdoor event at "The Ranch" in July 2023, which was (as far as I can recall) cross-posted to their Facebook group before it was taken down. While edited to remove between-song breaks in post-production, the video features their full covers of Deep Purple's "Highway Star", Metallica's "Enter Sandman", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands", Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69", Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising", "Bark At The Moon", and Whitesnake's "Slide It In". Despite fuzzy video quality and a somewhat sterile feeling without crowd reactions between songs, these covers are strongly performed with good enthusiasm and vocals from Tym, and it's a shame that The Nostalgtic (sic) Band didn't last longer than four months, but hopefully we see the guys down the line!

 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series returns (hopefully on time moreso) next month at around September 26th, but stay tuned next for this month's CD review! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Northwest & Bookclub), Plus Two Inactive Band Notes!!

We're back with a new news post on this Monday morning, and it's half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and half to bands newly moved to our inactive band links. Here's what you should know!

As is usual for LopLops Lounge (at least in years not ravaged by a pandemic), the Queen Street East nightclub is ramping up their concert slate for the holiday season, partly due to their 20th anniversary and recently announced grand re-opening on a more regular pre-pandemic schedule. These include six newly announced dates in December plus the previously announced Fuller reunion concert on the 28th ($20 tickets are now on sale on Eventbrite!). Of these new shows, two fit the SMS' genre range, starting with online page-less alternative/punk cover quintet Bookclub, who will headline at LopLops on Friday, December 15th! Barring an interim show announcement, this will be Bookclub's first show since frontman Mikey Hawdon's pre-wedding party at Soo Blaster earlier this month, and will be an encore to the Christmas show that they shared with The Wyld Stallyns at LopLops in December 2022.

If a second band (The Stallyns or otherwise) are announced or added for the show next month, we'll let you know, but current Facebook advertising only credits Bookclub. That show was Bookclub's second period, so with a year of gigs since, things should be bigger and better for them on the 15th next month! Tickets run for the oddly specific price of $18 (plus online processing fees if bought on Eventbrite), while 10 person "party ticket" packages are available for $180 that also include (presumably alcoholic) drinks. Things start at the early-ish time of 8:00 PM and this is obviously a 19+ event. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, the other SMS-amenable LopLops show taking place next month will see local indie punk quintet The Northwest return to the stage on Friday, December 22nd! This will surprisingly be The Northwest's first public concert since the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing in July, and their first in city limits since May. While I don't know why they've been so quiet in 2023, hopefully they deliver a solid night of original favourites as they mark their 10th anniversary together! No word on why all of LopLops' advertising omits the "The" tacked onto The Northwest's name in 2021, but note that the band proper has yet to publically acknowledge this show on their Facebook page. Similarly, personal Facebook postings do indicate that a known local band will be opening for them on December 22nd, but their identity has not been publically confirmed online by them, The Northwest, or the venue at press time.

Both this and the Bookclub show above are 19+ affairs with 8:00 PM start times, but The Northwest show will be a cheaper night out, with $10 tickets (plus the usual added fees) available at this link, and another "party ticket" deal with included drinks available for $100 for a party of 10. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and see above for much more on LopLops' packed concert calendar next month!

We'll close today with two bands moved to our inactive band links, starting with local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters, who have went over one year since their last public activity, last being seen opening for Metallica tribute band Sandman at Soo Blaster in October of last year. After playing two gigs in the fall of 2017, frontman Jules Cote (and his Dave Grohl wig) resurrected The Soo Fighters with a series of new lineups starting in the fall of 2019, with guitarist Wes Greco joining him throughout alongside three different rhythm sections, also later adding backing vocalist Nicole Ambeault. Revival era-concerts also included J.D. Pearce's final Halloween party at The Rockstar Bar in 2019, the 2021 & 2022 Northern Vibe Festivals, and a Rockstar Bar return for Halloween 2021 with their then-sister band Lockdown.

Given the nature of The Soo Fighters, they could theoretically pop up again at any time (especially around Halloween), but it does seem like Jules & Nicole have put more focus on his current pop rock cover bands like Bourbon Blue and Nicky & The Southpaws, not to mention final bassist & drummer Mitch Sirie & Johnny Belanger's work in Handsome Sandwich & The Bear Hunters. Still, despite frequent lineup changes (I counted twelve band members across their seven publically advertised gigs), The Soo Fighters always had a crowd-friendly grasp on Foo Fighters classics, so hopefully we see them again down the line, and R.I.P., Chris!

Finally, the other band moved to our inactive link is local classic metal/hard rock cover trio The Nostalgic Band, who have reportedly dissolved, as per bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg on their Facebook group two weeks ago. Dutch explained that he and drummer Chet Dziergas left the group, but I'll refrain from elaborating here other than nothing that there were personal differences. Originally named Nostalgia, this group reunited Dutch with his old Caveman Morrison bandmate Tym Morrison (in his first full band project in seven years), and proceeded to play a number of gigs on the weekend nightclub circuit between May and September, last seen at Reggie's midway through that month. Despite announcing gigs into 2024 at three different venues, including a weekly jam night series at Reggie's, all of their announced bookings from late September onward were abruptly cancelled.

While Dutch suggested that the group be taken down due to their breakup (he was one to delete Facebook pages of bands that he fronted after they disbanded), Tym leaving the group up may be a sign that he wants to keep it going in some form, but that's just speculation on my part. The Nostalgic Band were a solid group with seemingly good chemistry, and I can only hope that things aren't as bad as they seemed between the guys. Stay tuned for more from Tym, Dutch, and Chet when/if it comes out, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Mike Haggith & Spades GT Updates, Plus More Recent Notes!!

New news post for you guys on this late Tuesday night, as we continue clearing out our news backlog, if slowly! Assorted shorter topics round things out, but let's first look at some recent updates from two local acts who coincidentally both relocated to Barrie!

Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith is definitely staying busy as of late, and while we do have both his Face To Face concert live-stream and a recent video interview to look at (hopefully) soon, let's lead off with the big news, as Mike's new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" has an official release date of Thursday, July 13th! You can pre-save it on Spotify at this link, though remember that he plans to include Bandcamp-exclusive bonus tracks for the paid release there. An offical lyric video for "Carousel" from the new album went up as a scheduled upload earlier today on Mike's YouTube channel, which features Mike (one assumes) writing out the song lyrics with a Sharpie on pieces of paper, with late input from rose petals. Is the destruction of flowers an intentional visual motif for the album? Note the film grain and the VCR graphics too, albeit in widescreen.

No word on the album cover, but note the release date of July 13th coincides with his Rotaryfest Stage 1 set that same day, so we get the de facto release concert! Mike should have physical copies in tow that weekend. While the lyric video is embedded below, Mike also uploaded this "Shorts" video to YouTube as well to hype the album, which includes an audio sample and recommendations to fans of Tears For Fears, Louis Tomlinson, U2, Coldplay, and Train. In other words, don't expect The Din III here, but the jury's out on the full product yet! Assuming this date holds, and nothing new from metal or hard rock acts beats it to market beforehand, "All The Best In All You Do" is currently slated for an SMS review in... November, alas. We have quite a backlog of new albums to look at, and I don't want to usurp anyone in line from release date, but Mike is absolutely in line, and I know that fans are highly anticipating this one!

Of course, I will hold comment on "Carousel" pending our eventual review of the album, but you know that Mike is moving up in the world when he's putting out a proper lyric video with production values like this for one of his singles! Visit his official website for much more on "All The Best In All You Do", stay tuned for more from him soon, and here's "Carousel"!

Next up, here's some recent non-"Reel" updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's Facebook page! In terms of concerts, their Toronto gigs at Beer Bash VI on June 3rd and Indie Night In Canada last week (allegedly their last Toronto show "for some time") both went really well according to the band, and you can see lots of photos (and, yes, "Reels") from them on Facebook! Apparently, live clips from their Indie Night In Canada set were played on Wallygator's Rock & Roll Swamp on CGCM Rock Radio this past Saturday, continuing their positive relationship with that internet station, so consider giving them a listen, as you never know if you'll hear some "Sewer City Radio" there! Spades GT's next show will see them and guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life join forces at Rhythm & Brews (no relation) in Cambridge on Friday, so click here for details!

Note that none of these shows were branded as a release party for "Sewer City Radio", though I guess Beer Bash VI was the de facto one, as it was a day after the album came out. There are some new "Reels" too, but rather than nitpick the enterprise again, let's hold those for a future post and feature a Spades GT video that I can embed on the SMS! This was filmed by attendee Amanda Schilz and publically shared to the former Jack Spades' Facebook page on June 3rd as part of a batch post of Beer Bash photos. It runs for just 17 seconds, it is sadly vertical, and it mostly focuses on fans before slowly panning to the stage, but it sounds good while it lasts, so Spades GT fans can check it out below!

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

• Local hard rock quartet Half Past announced the addition of guitarist Al Fletcher's old Skeyes of Seven bandmate Johnny Amendola to their lineup on their Facebook page on Saturday, replacing Jamie Labreche. A reason for Jamie's departure was not announced, but they have yet to play a live concert since their fall 2021 reunion despite him coming on board at the time. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Jamie, but it's good to see Johnny (also of Cherry Crush and Tripod The Dog fame) back out there, and hopefully we hear more from Half Past soon!
• New and online page-less local classic metal/hard rock trio Nostalgia have slightly amended their name to Nostalgic, as per this Facebook event page for their Reggie's shows this past weekend. A reason for the name change wasn't announced, but it's one letter (the last letter, at that), so I can see it blowing right by some fans. Stay tuned for more from Nostalgic when it comes in!
• SaultOnline's Heidi Ivany covered the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre last month for this article, where she highly praised the band, stage show, and overall attention to detail for recreating Queen's 1986 world tour. 23 pictures from the concert were also featured, as well as a note that the band promises to return to the Soo on their Canadian tour next year. Good read, so give it a look above! As best as I can tell, there were no Facebook videos on SaultOnline's end here.
   

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another weekend is upon us, so let's dive into most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews for the Sault Ste. Marie area! To spread things out, our preview of Saturday night's Soo Soundcheck multi-band concert at the Sault Community Theatre Centre will be a part of tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know to begin with, including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for a special concert on SATURDAY NIGHT where they will kinda sorta bring Obsession back! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only publically advertised via a shared post on the venue's Facebook page earlier today. As you may know, current Soundcheck bassist Jim Michaud was the only constant member of Obsession from 2005 until their dissolution earlier this year, and to honour that band's run, three of their four frontwomen will guest with Soundcheck on SATURDAY to do some of their old covers to commemorate Jim for his hard work! The singers in question are original vocalist Kim Liguori, current Sinners frontwoman Lorrie Lynn Bolduc, and Generations singer Valerie Powley (final Obsession singer Jessica Amadio is not advertised for this event, though her tenure was comparatively brief).

This sounds similar to Obsession's cancelled farewell show at The Esquire Club in February, based on what I was told in personal conversations, only with Cameron, Terry, and Glen replacing Jess, Gabe, and Steve. Ideal venue, talented musicians across the board, and the potential for joint songs with multiple singers, perhaps? SATURDAY's concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge, and while no one has firmly said if Soundcheck are playing there tomorrow as well, we'll keep you posted if able. Hopefully this show gives Obsession the sendoff they deserve, even if via kind of a franken-band scenario, so see above for more details, and here's Obsession live!

Next up, here's one more new show to the SMS, namely the concert from Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 that I held for this weekend's previews to avoid redundantly covering it twice in the span of four days! Fresh off of their three month break (to give bassist Dustin Paras and his wife some time with their newborn baby), they will return to the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT when they rock Snows Bar & Grill in Cedarville! Again, apologies for the short notice, it was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Sunday when they announced their upcoming concert dates. Last seen at Snows in February, this won't be a return as you're expecting in two ways, as Fake Chow drummer Jason VanLuven has indeed replaced Odin Osgwin behind the kit... just not on SATURDAY. This is because Fake Chow are playing at The Islander Bar in Hessel concurrently with the Project 906 show in Cedarville.

Former Paradise Excuse drummer Brian Duford (yes, Jason was once their drummer too) will be filling in on SATURDAY, and hopefully he fits in well before Jason makes his 906 debut in Kinross next week! Project 906's hard rocking covers and select originals will be on tap on SATURDAY at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Now let's head back to Sault Ontario for concerts that more than a week's advance notice, starting with new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's first concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After debuting at Reggie's with doubleheader weekends in each of the last two months, this union of Bone Yard, Mojo, Griphook, and Mustang Heart alumni will make their way west to the former Reggie's West for what should be a solid weekend of hard rocking covers from four talented local music veterans! Good to see them play at a new venue too (well, new for this particular band). Expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits for Double Down at Jay's tomorrow and Saturday, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Double Down live at Reggie's!

Finally for today's previews, let's head back downtown to the aforementioned Reggie's Place, where new local classic metal/hard rock trio Nostalgia will play their second and third concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This union of Caveman Morrison, Browbeat, and Nikkfitt alumni debuted at Reggie's on May 26th, and while they lack an online page and public media at the moment, clearly their first show went well for them to get called back two weeks later, and for a double header! If you've missed seeing Tym Morrison in a plugged-in, full-band setting, let alone with 2/3rds of Caveman Morrison's 2012 lineup, then don't miss out on all of the action at Reggie's this weekend! No word yet on further gigs beyond this weekend, from Nostalgia or Tym's acoustic solo act, but we'll keep you posted. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts are 19+ affairs with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. See above for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Soo Soundcheck preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Tym Morrison, And Nostalgia), And Weekend Concert Previews!!

A new month is upon us, so let's kick things off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and weekend concert previews, so here's what you should know on this warm June evening!

Nostalgia frontman Tym Morrison will bring his unplugged classic/hard rock show back to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street east for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page this past Friday. After a month+ break from solo gigs, Tym will revert to his recent standby of solo covers with lots of multi-tracked effects and pedals to get a bigger sound out of everything, and after things went well at his spring gigs at Tazzi's, hopefully fans get more of the same hard rocking entertainment from him there TOMORROW! As usual for his gigs at Tazzi's (just seconds from Reggie's), expect an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on TOMORROW'S concert, and here's Tym live!

Next up, Tym's aforementioned new hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will play their second and third concerts when they return to Reggie's Place on Friday, June 9th & Saturday, June 10th! After a successful debut gig there last Friday, this new band (featuring Tym, Browbeat/Caveman Morrison alum Dutch Vanderploeg on bass, and ex-Nikkfitt drummer Chet Dziergas) should provide fans with another fun night or two of classic-leaning hard rock and metal hits next weekend! Note that Nostalgia have yet to visibly make an online page separate from Tym's solo Facebook group, and they have not posted media from their first show yet either. Expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits at Reggie's next weekend. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for an apparent one-nighter on Friday, June 16th! The band has yet to confirm this gig publically, but it was announced by the venue with this Facebook event page, one of many that they put up this week for concerts this month (Bone Yard already confirmed their shows the following week there). This will be Soundcheck's first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since early last month, and it should be a solid chance to fans to check out their hard and classic rock covers with the summer season in full swing! Again, this appears to be a one-night-only gig, as Shooters' wave of June event pages have been for each individual night without doubling up two shows in one event page, and there is none for Saturday the 17th, not even for a different band. We'll let you know if that omission was in error and/or if another band is confirmed!

As usual for their Shooters stops, you can see Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen on Friday the 16th at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and if you're going to miss them at jam night at Jay's tonight, they will have fitting replacements!

Finally, this weekend's only announced hard rock concerts that I'm aware of (Tym Morrison aside) come at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will hit the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Well, "one night only" in the sense of a traditional concert, but they will be at Jay's tonight subbing in for Soundcheck for the the first of three times this summer during Jay's Thursday jam nights! If Bone Yard are scheduled this summer at the former Reggie's West, then they're leading the jam night charge in those weeks, so keep that in mind if you're into such events! Again, we don't cover jam nights as "concerts" for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Bone Yard have been busy in the studio since their last gigs at Shooters three weeks ago, so look for some solid hard rocking tunes from Greg, Alex, and Warren tomorrow night as they kick off their summer slate!

A one nighter due to a private booking elsewhere on Saturday night (new local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will be playing at Jay's on Saturday instead), tomorrow's standard concert from Bone Yard will have a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's next concert (and jam night duties), and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for either this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, or news on new album releases! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nostalgia) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

On this final concert weekend of May 2023, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

New (and currently online page-less) local classic/hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will make their public concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook page earlier today. Nostalgia are essentially the belated successors to defunct local hard rock cover band Caveman Morrison's 2012-2013 lineup, with singer/guitarist Tym Morrison (ex-Hollow/Carbon Black) and ex-bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg (ex-Browbeat) joining forces once again, now joined by Dutch's old Nikkfitt bandmate Chet Dziergas on drums. We don't yet have 100% knowledge on what Nostalgia will be playing, but if you recall Caveman Morrison's late 2000s-early 2010s relaunch, that should give you an idea, and if you've missed Tym playing in a full band setting, this will be especially notable! I don't think he's played a publically advertised set with a full band since 2016.

No word on why they're not playing on Saturday (let alone if someone else is), but come down to Reggie's TOMORROW NIGHT to see what kind of nostalgia that Nostalgia are bringing to the table! This show is at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when/if videos and/or an official band page turn up!

Next up, let's preview some concerts that did get advance notice, starting with a unique event TOMORROW NIGHT at The Art Hub on Spring, as local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and Sinister Hearts frontman, folk singer/songwriter, and Borderline radio host Brian Tremblay will join forces for a special concert named Face To Face! This event is basically themed like the old VH1 Storytellers series, where talking about the inspiration behind each song is as important as the songs themselves, but here, the rapport and camaraderie between Mike & Brian is also being hyped up. I get the sense that there isn't a firm blueprint of what to expect set-wise, just some fun rapport and entertaining music, and it seems like a low-stress way for Mike to return home! That said, Mike (and Brian?) will be releasing a live album from this show that will get a vinyl pressing, so keep that in mind!

Complimentary food and beverages will be available for attendees of this all ages, 7:00 PM concert, and you can buy tickets at this link for $22.63 (presumably $20 at the door too). This sounds like a fun evening for fans of Mike and/or Brian's music, and you'll get to know more about them as people and composers along the way in a new-ish, intimate locale, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more on Face To Face, and here's Mike live!

Also in Sault Ontario this weekend is the return of new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of gigs at Reggie's last week,these should be a fine opportunity for fans of Valerie and/or Jus' Chillin to get their classic cover fix from this new union, and hopefully there's a solid audience both nights! Note that a comment on their Facebook group indicates that Generations will be playing at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, but we typically wait for the official schedule reveal from organizers before addressing them here. Stay tuned though! As usual for weekend cover gigs at The Esquire Club, expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video shared to the band's Facebook group from their Reggie's gig this past Saturday!

Filmed by attendee Josie Weir, the video sees Generations covering the Janis Joplin version of "Me & Bobby McGee", which Obsession fans will recall Valerie doing with that band. Sounds good to me with strong instrumentation, though the vertical camera angle does it no favours. This is exacerbated by drummer Tony Santoro being blocked from view, and the band seems to be playing in an oddly narrow space given where Josie was filming, but everything sounds solid, so check it out for yourself below!

Finally, let's hop across the border to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino! Their Grand Rapids tour run last month aside, these will surprisingly be Tarnished's first announced shows in the Eastern Upper Peninsula since opening for Scotty Austin at The Savoy Bar in March, and their first at The Rapids Lounge since earlier that same month. While not yet announced on their Facebook page at press time, Kewadin's entertainment page had us covered (assuming nothing bad happened in the interim), and hopefully the guys deliver the goods with their solid originals and hard rocking covers this weekend! As usual for Tarnished's weekend runs at Kewadin Casino, these gigs have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (First Jason) & A New Local Punk Band!!

Today's post will be very notable for you punk, horror, and horror punk fans, as we have two big topics to address on those spectrums. One is a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with some unique hooks in the spring, and leading off, here's a new addition to our band links that was over four months in the making!

We have a new local punk band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they The Sick Sons, who have became a quickly prominent sight in the second half of 2019! Originally named The Filthy Dadicals, they made a big splash via two major punk concerts at The Rockstar Bar, where they opened for Random Killing in July and The Ripcordz last month, though they only just launched their Facebook page on November 26th. Fans of defunct ska punk group The 12 Gauge Ready will be very interested in The Sick Sons, as they feature guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf, bassist Dave Barrett, and drummer Clint Wilson in their lineup! Of course, don't forger that Luc and Clint were previously bandmates in both Bankshot and the short-lived 2017 group The HTs. This band's lineup is rounded out by former Downshift guitarist Steve Zuppa (who shares vocal duties with Luc), and their Facebook bio says that they are "fueled by their love of punk rock and craft beer."

You can next see The Sick Sons opening for Northwest on December 20th and The (former?) Cover-Up on the 28th, both shows taking place at LopLops. With a stacked lineup of local punk veterans from numerous high profile groups, it's no wonder they have got such a good reception at their initial gigs! While they don't dip too far into the ska well a'la The 12 Gauge Ready, they easily tackle lots of 1990s and 2000s punk favourites with skill, so give their first public videos a watch at this link, and stay tuned for more!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and it's a newsworthy one, as New York punk/metal band First Jason will make their local concert debut at The Canadian Nightclub on Sunday, April 26th! The band's name is surprisingly literal, because their frontman is Ari Lehman, who played Jason Voorhees in flashbacks and the climax of the original Friday the 13th movie from 1980, filmed when he was just 14 years old. Afterwards, Ari moved onto a music career as a keyboardist and soundtrack composer, but he formed his own horror punk band in 2004, where he is the lead singer and plays a keytar shaped like a machete. How's that for a back story for a band playing here? As a band, First Jason have an entertaining sound that merges a few different genres into a heavy package with lots of Friday the 13th and horror movie fan service for good measure, and they are definitely worth checking out to see what you think! Adding to the intrigue, local horror punk standouts Frightlight will return as local openers for their third post-reunion show!

Last seen opening for Michale Graves in September at the same venue, it would admittedly be ridiculous to call this another one-off concert when we just saw them live less than three months ago, so I have restored them to our active band links for the first time since 2014. It looks like their status nowadays is to only play special or major concerts, and this definitely counts, though no word on if Rick will be back after missing the Graves show. At least one more local opening band is to be announced, we'll let you know when they are. Promoted by Frightlight's own J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints), this show is a co-production with Steel City Events, the organizers behind the first annual Steel City Nostalgia Fair taking place that same day, where Ari Lehman will be signing autographs and meet local fans, so click here for full details on that event! The organizers also hold the annual Steel City NerdCon at the Bushplane Museum, FYI.

This concert is considered to be the official after-party of the fair, though if there's a bundle admission option for both events, it's not yet public. Concert tickets go on sale online tomorrow (link to be posted on the Facebook event page), and they will run $15 in advance or $20 at the door, with physical ticket availability to be announced next week. A limited "Crystal Lake VIP package" will also be offered where you can get early entry, a photo with Ari, and an autographed Jason mask, so if that interests you, that runs for $40. This is a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time. There's a lot to take in here, but if you love horror punk and the original Friday the 13th, how can you pass this show up? Visit the above links for complete details, and here's Ari's preview video for both the Nostalgia Fair and concert here, as shared from Steel City Events' Facebook page on Friday! It's short, but Ari hypes things very well, and the neon Jason mask is a nice touch!



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