Chase Wigmore Updates, New Videos, And Much More!!

Happy Labour Day, everyone! To end the long weekend, we have an array of news and updates from many familiar faces in local metal, hard rock, and punk, including a couple of videos, so here's what you should know!

On August 31st, prolific local punk/metal solo musician Chase Wigmore updated fans as to the release status of albums from his eponymous and Awokest solo projects on the former's Facebook page on August 31st. There, he appeared to dial back the progress of his two new Awokest albums teased in July due to stubbornness and to make them more cohesive, but he also referenced plans for two new (presumably eponymous) acoustic solo albums, one groove-influenced and one darker and bluesy. As well, he plans to finally complete his 33 part rock opera "A Story About A Kid Named Todd", but given his prolific nature, that's not even all! Chase hinted a a new "black metal flamenco jazz" project named The Bastard Mass, while also teasing a new at-home solo performance video once he resolves wifi connection issues. He seemed uncertain as to how much of this would come out by year's end, but it'll be interesting to hear new stuff from his camps in some form!

Next up, here's some new videos from a pair of local bands, starting with a new clip from young local classic/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley's Facebook page! After an over 5 month hiatus from public updates (no doubt helped by the pandemic), the guys quietly shared this video on August 3rd of them playing an original song named "Stuck In Rotation" in what appears to be a private concert on an outdoor porch. The 2 minute clip doesn't capture the full song, but the 1970s Deep Purple-esque sound is welcome to hear, and despite being far from the band, the quality's good! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from The Uncanny Valley when it rolls in!



Also, here's a short new video from local punk trio Redundant's Facebook page on August 7th, but unlike their at-home videos from the spring, this is from an outdoor gathering of some kind. The video quality is severely lacking, but it shows frontman Justin Langlois covering NOFX's "Linoleum" on vocals, while he and drummer Rick White share guitar duties... literally! Justin's strumming and Rick's handling the fretboard. Fun bit of cooperation, and friends definitely know the song, so give this video a watch below!



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

• It presumably goes without saying given the pandemic, but the annual Oh!No concert festival did not take place this past Labour Day weekend. If things were normal like in the past three years, promoters The Oh!No Collective had planned to move the event from Robbie's church in Leeburn to multiple Sault Ste. Marie venues (source here), but Oh!No have not posted updates on their Facebook page in almost 6 months. Hopefully the festival returns in some form in 2021, it was missed over the long weekend!
• I have moved local folk/outsider punk project Telephone & Address back to our inactive band links. The Christopher Shoust-led act returned after a 19 month hiatus for Oh!No III one year and one day ago, complete with a rumoured full lineup, but they never promoted the set online, and have not posted on their Facebook page since releasing their "Monster" album in February 2018 (pandemic acknowledged.) Chris is a talented and original musician, and hopefully we hear more from him down the line, but click here for his ongoing work in visual art!
• I have also reluctantly moved local indie/punk veterans Treble Charger to our inactive band links due to a year-long period without a public statement on new band activity. This isn't the first time this has happened, but Treble Charger's online presence has always been slight since their 2012 reunion, and nothing has popped up since this Sault Star article in August 2019 promoting their new album's recording sessions. Of course, the pandemic may have thrown a wrench into their studio and Algoma Conservatory plans, but hopefully Greig and Bill resurface in time when things are ready!

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

Mike Haggith Updates, Plus Some Long Overdue Concert Videos!!

Here's another new news post for your Saturday afternoon reading, and while it ends with some newly discovered concert footage from a show late last year, we're mostly focusing on some recent news and notes from a prominent solo musician. Here's what you should know!

In advance of tonight's final weekly #LockdownLive (more on that in a bit), local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith was interviewed in this SooToday article by contributor & fellow local musician Chris Belsito on Monday, so what can be learned here? In the interview proper, Mike discusses his love of aviation (his day job and what he took at college here), his time in Sault Ste. Marie as a musician and fan of the local scene, his musical influences, his progression in studio recordings, his new CD "If Ever Comes The Day", the issues he feels personally about, and the postponed CD release show that we hope will take place in November. Aside from some nice insights about the album sessions and how Mike recorded it, there's no real scoops here, but it's a nice article done by two musicians with a lot of mutual respect, and it's a solid read for fans, so be sure to check it out above!

Next up, let's stay on a Mike Haggith trajectory, as his post-show for #LockdownLive XII took place on his Facebook page on Tuesday, so what is there to take in here? After promoting the above article he discussed what went down in last week's Windsor-heavy #LockdownLive episode, while also lamenting that he couldn't play at the Nickel Days festival in Thompson due to the pandemic, and promoted the free release of "Take Back The Moon" on Bandcamp on Sunday only for National Indigenous Peoples Day. Regarding future episodes, tonight's #LockdownLive XIII will be "The Quarterly Report", where Mike will spotlight the past installments, but this will be the last weekly installment due to the continued re-opening as the curve flattens (viewership has taken a hit since then too). As such, Mike is moving to a monthly format for future episodes, but he will open polls to determine optimal airdates that will work for his and fans' schedules.

Regarding last week's share contest for the person with the most engaged share of the live-stream getting to pick Mike's mandatory cover today, the winner (who got 5 likes and 54 comments) was regular viewer Tianna Rice, who nominated that Mike cover The Jonas Brothers' "What A Man Gotta Do", which Mike has a great initial reaction to! Surprisingly recent pick too, as that song only came out in January. Look for him to cover that one (reportedly in his dragon onesie again) at the end of tonight's episode! As for the fan-requested original on the post-show, Tianna requested the somewhat adult "The Snake" from Mike's 2015 CD "The Warinside", which he performs before wrapping the video and promoting tonight's episode once more. Entertaining and informative episode that helps set the groundwork for the series' future, so tune in tonight to hear #LockdownLive XIII, and check out the whole post-show from earlier this week below!



To close today's post, here's some overdue new live concert videos that we haven't featured on here! Foreign concept, right? During our research on the Oh!No Collective's YouTube channel for yesterday's feature profile, I was reminded that the videos there (and much more) were also on their Facebook page, and as it turns out, we never discussed the last concert footage they uploaded there before the pandemic began. On December 21st, the former Six, Two, Oh. hosted Oh!Noel, a mixed-genre holiday concert at The Rockstar Bar featuring surf rock instrumental band The Dynowaves and rappers Rick E & Kodex, and click on their names to see their well shot videos. The other band on this night was local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, who Oh!No filmed twice for Facebook, including their cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" and, as embedded below, their original "Forget This Memory". Nice Christmas attire on the guys, including what appears to be an ugly sweater on Nick!

We're almost as far away from Christmas as you can get in the year (apologies for the delay), but these are fun videos overall from a good charitable event, and  while the audio is somewhat muffled at times, A Dire Setback and the other acts all perform to their strengths! Give these videos a watch above & below, and hopefully concerts will return in some form soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Oh!No Collective & Jonathan Spike

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we continue our monthly spotlight of YouTube channels with content at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians, in order to give them promotion for current readers to hopefully encourage hits and subscriptions! This month's random selection gave us a channel with just three videos from two different concerts, so I picked a single-video channel to round things out with, and there's some interesting stuff here for metal and punk fans alike! Here's what you should know!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh!No Collective (http://youtube.com/channel/UCOFGm_V7b2sbcm8BR67suSw/)
 
Owner: A member of local concert promoters Oh!No Collective (formerly known as Six, Two, Oh. and Oh! Right Arm Promotions). Their exact identity isn't given, but my best guess would be co-founder Jamie Vincent

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 13th, 2019; Videos uploaded on December 9th, 2019

Channel Summary: Quietly launched prior to the agency's name change in September 2019, the Oh!No Collective channel only features three videos so far from two different concerts that they put on locally late last year.
 
Why You Should Watch: I recommend giving this channel a look to see what the Oh!No Collective was up to before the pandemic, and while they haven't posted much there yet, we may see more here when shows can safely happen again. That said, the Oh!No Facebook page has much more videos from their late 2019 concert slate to check out, including all three videos on the YouTube channel. If there were plans to re-post more Facebook videos on YouTube, then that has clearly fallen by the wayside in 2020. 

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Black Mastiff at Loplops on Oct 21 '19: The earliest video here (but last to be uploaded) is of Edmonton stoner/hard rock trio Black Mastiff headlining at LopLops Lounge on October 21st, and they can be seen here playing two songs (starting with their original "Downed By A Sound"). Their doomy southern rock has a nice groove to it in this performance, captured from two different camera angles, and while scheduling on Election Day (and a Monday) didn't help attendance whatsoever, this is a good introduction to Black Mastiff! Videos of local openers Man Feelings & Chase Wigmore were filmed for Facebook, but were not similarly uploaded to the YouTube channel.



SlumShine - Back In Blue & Blue Shift at Outspoken Brewing Dec 6 '19: Oh!No's other two videos are of local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine's headlining date at Outspoken Brewing on December 6th, including of their rendition of "Thrashmaster 10 Billion" and, in the channel's most popular video, their non-album songs "Back In Blue" and "Blue Shift". Well shot videos of Brent (pink ski mask in tow) in his element with these aggressively acoustic original songs, and the crowd sounds receptive! Despite a "special guest" also being advertised, Oh!No did not film that act for Facebook.

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Jonathan Spike (http://youtube.com/channel/UCgc4HhITS4PLqPbLOMqUwtQ)
 
Owner: YouTube user Jonathan Spike, who I don't believe is locally based

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 17th, 2013; Only video uploaded on March 23rd, 2014

Channel Summary: Jonathan's only video is of local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger's music video for their hit original song "American Psycho" from their 2000 CD "Wide Awake Bored". As it turns out, this is a re-upload of the exact same copy of this video from 98Watts' channel in 2006, complete with Shrapnull Productions credits from an even earlier uploader. However, Jonathan did include song lyrics in the description, and he promised to start uploading gaming videos if he got one subscriber (which has happened, but no new videos of any kind have followed suit). Visit our profile of 98Watts channel from 2017 to read our full recap on the "American Psycho" video, but fans of Treble Charger's pop punk era won't be disappointed!


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I hope you guys liked this month's  YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, we're back to a profile of a single channel, as our random selection is for Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's channel! Consider it a Christmas in July feature, if you go for such things. Look for this on or around July 26th, and for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), More Weekend's Concert Previews, And Oh!No IV Updates!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's concert previews today, specifically concerning two punk-featured shows downtown tomorrow night, but we also have some big updates to an annual concert festival, and leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for year's end!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will end 2019 with a New Year's Eve concert at The Whiskey Barrel on Tuesday, December 31st! This show was quietly announced late in the band's latest Facebook page post from Monday, largely spent thanking everyone from their guest performer-laden gig at the same venue this past Saturday. FYI, they were joined there by Crossroad Magdalenes bandmates Greg MacLachlan & Aaron Dunn, Guitar Gangsters drummer Derek Turner, and prolific local singer Jackie Fuller, so they definitely had some talented friends helping out. It makes sense that The Stallyns would return to their favourite venue for another go-around in 11 days' time, so don't miss all of the action then! Despite the expected New Year's frills, this remains a cover-free event with a 19+ age limit and a presumed 8:00 PM start time. Check out the above links for more details on The Wyld Stallyns last show of the year!

Next up, let's conclude this weekend's pre-Christmas concert previews with two big punk concerts TOMORROW NIGHT, starting with local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's last show of 2019! Returning to the site of their St. Patrick's Day concert in March, this will be The Tide's first public show since their festival gigs in St. Joseph Island and at Rotaryfest in July, with recording sessions for their planned fourth studio album taking up much of the year in their camp. Might we hear some more new songs for the upcoming CD tomorrow? Either way, it's great to see Dustin, the Jaaskelainens, Liam, and Chris back for another go-around! Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements (featuring 2/3rds of The Wyld Stallyns) will open in their first live show since Halloween weekend, and while they're not LopLops regulars, their high impact originals and covers should set the tone, so don't be late for their set!

This concert has a special $10 cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on what should be a great night of punk rock action, and here's The Tide live!



Lastly for this weekend's publically announced hard rock or punk concert previews, we'll head to The Rockstar Bar, where local promoters The Oh!No Collective will host their Oh!Noel fundraiser concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Primarily a fundraiser for next year's Oh!No concert festival (more on that in a bit), this will be another genre-hybrid event with a little something for everyone, with alt-punk trio A Dire Setback filling the SMS coverage-void on this night, and their original attack and new material should bode well here tomorrow. Surf rock instrumental trio The Dynowaves and rappers Rick E and Kodex will round out the bill for Oh!Noel, and don't sleep on them, all will bring their own talented and diverse sounds to the table for the occasion! Admission for this 8:00 PM and 19+ event is $10, but if you bring canned good donations for The United Way's Harvest Algoma food resource center, you can knock up to $5 off of the cover charge ($1 off per can, 5 maximum.)

Also, note that there will be an ugly sweater contest tomorrow night, so bring your best (or worst) sweater to see if you can win a prize! This sounds like a fun event for a couple of worthy causes, and there's a bit of punk, rap, and surf rock to go around for the holidays, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's A Dire Setback live!

Finally for this post, let's talk about the Oh!No collective's namesake concert festival, which will be moving from Robbie Adamson's church in Leeburn to Sault Ste. Marie proper for it's fourth annual installment next year, as per this Sault Star article by journalist Brian Kelly earlier this month, which also features interview remarks by Oh!No representative Alex Moore. The move into city limits will reportedly be to make it easier to attend while also giving extra promotion to booked acts, which all makes sense to me, as not everyone was able or willing to drive/carpool to Leeburn, especially with the 2 day model this year. Most of the rest of the article concerns Oh!Noel tomorrow, but one line gives some interesting information, namely that "Oh!No will run in late August at various venues downtown". The past three festivals have been in early September, but a move into the summer season alone may help overall exposure.

As for hosting Oh!No IV at multiple venues, this had been a rumour since even before this year's festival, and the idea of a multi-venue festival like this isn't locally foreign. Remember the Algoma Hope4Haiti fundraiser in January 2010, which had live entertainment at 7 nightclubs simultaneously? Time will tell how ambitiously scheduled things will be for this event, but it'll be interesting to find out how things shape up come the summer. Visit Oh!No's Facebook page for continuing details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (A Dire Setback & Northwest), Plus New Live Videos!!

I have a backlog of recent news to get through, so let's try and continue remedying that today, as this post contains some new live videos from a pair of prominent local bands on each side of the border, but leading off, here is a pair of Christmas-time LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for you punk fans!

Local indie/punk quintet Northwest will hit LopLops Lounge on Friday, December 20th for a holiday season headlining concert! Their Timmins road trip and CBC Searchlight aside, this has been a surprisingly quiet year for Northwest, who have not played a full-band indoor concert at all in 2019 so far (we only saw them outside at Rotaryfest and in partial acoustic form at the Joni Radford memorial concert.) If you've been missing Northwest's high-energy punk attack as of late, you won't want to bypass this show, which is a spiritual sequel to their EP release party at LopLops last December, but might some more new songs be ready next month again? The openers on December 20th will be new online page-less punk cover quartet The Sick Sons, fresh off of their set opening for The Ripcordz earlier this month, and they should provide a solid compliment in their LopLops debut! Visibly self-promoted, this 19+ show has a $10 cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time.

It's great to see Northwest back for an increasingly rare live concert set over the holidays, and with The Sick Sons' talented and unpredictable set list preceding, good times should be had by all at LopLops next month! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Northwest soon, plus another seasonal gig that The Sick Sons are opening!

Next up, we have one more holiday punk-featured concert the very next day to tackle, as local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will take part in the Oh!No Collective's fittingly-named Oh!Noel fundraiser event on Saturday, December 21st at The Rockstar Bar! Ostensibly a seasonal fundraiser for the fourth annual Oh!No concert festival in Leeburn next September, organizers will also be collecting canned good donations for The United Way's Harvest Algoma food resource center, which is a wonderful cause! As well, there will be an ugly sweater contest with prizes for the best (worst?) sweater among attendees, so keep that in mind. Fresh off of their own set opening for The Ripcordz, A Dire Setback are the only heavier or punk band on this varied bill, alongside surf rock instrumentalists The Dynowaves and rappers Rick E and Kodex. The former Six, Two, Oh. are no strangers to multi-genre events like this, and there's a little something to please everyone next month!

Also a 19+ event, an 8:00 PM start time is in effect, and while an admission fee of $10 is in effect, a canned good donation will knock $1 off, up to a maximum of 5, so if you bring 5 canned goods, you will get in for half price. Sound like a fun time for worthy causes in both the charitable and entertainment realms, so visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Moving towards some new videos, let's take a detour south to Sault Michigan for the latest from local hard rock band Tarnished, who have officially confirmed the addition of ex-Lift The Broken guitarist Nathan Webber to their lineup, making them a quartet. Nathan appears to have joined the band as early as November 10th based on a Facebook page tag, but his first full electric gig with Tarnished was in their Mount Pleasant show at Soaring Eagle Casino's Ascend nightclub this past Friday. As for bassist Josh Fair, he does appear to still be in Tarnished's full lineup, despite prior Biggby Coffee series advertising implying that he wasn't part of those gigs on the regular anymore. We do have a new acoustic video of Tarnished to share in the coming days, but embedded here is the first public video of Alex, Nathan, Josh, and Tommy on stage together, as they covered Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down A Dream" in Mount Pleasant, as shared from attendee Olivia Eden's personal Facebook page onto the band's Facebook page yesterday.

The vertical camera angle isn't optimal, but the quality is pretty good otherwise, and Nathan fits in well for a first plugged-in look! The cover is effectively rocked up with more varied singing from Alex to match, so give it a look below, and watch for more from Tarnished later this week!



Finally for today, let's return to Sault Ontario, courtesy of a new video of local Volbeat tribute quintet The Guitar Gangsters covering "Lola Montez" at J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party at The Rockstar Bar on November 1st! Shared from bassist Mike Bird's wife Jennifer's personal Facebook page onto their own Facebook page on November 4th (apologies for the delay), this again has the vertical camera angle, but there are some nice close-ups as Buzz enters the costumed crowd, and the audio holds up pretty well! Give this video a look below, and good luck to them in Sudbury on Friday!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Femur And Late & Loud), Plus New Videos!!

Here's a new news post on this rainy Sunday, and it's devoted to some big new video updates from a pair of prominent local acts, plus two notable LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month! Here's what you should know!

Thunder Bay "pisscore" trio Femur will return to the Soo area for the second time this year when they headline at Room 21 on Saturday, October 5th! Some readers will have just seen this band at the third annual Oh!No festival in Leeburn earlier this month as one of the later bands on night #2, but this will be their first ever advertised concert in Sault Ste. Marie proper. Femur impressed many Oh!No attendees with their harsh and unforgiving brand of original hardcore punk, and it'll be great to see them back just four weeks later for an encore! Another act from Oh!No III will be opening this concert, namely local cybergrind solo act Malignant Neoplasm, which you may recall is a side project of C.T.W.'s Tyler Gibson, though much like Slumshine, Tyler played under a mask in Leeburn when representing Malignant Neoplasm. Blood Shed loyalists won't wanna miss this one either! Like at the festival, this is promoted by the former Six, Two, Oh., now known as the Oh!No Collective, who now utilize that full name.

"Co." didn't stand for "company", I wouldn't have guessed that! In any event, this will be the Oh!No crew's first metal concert post-renaming, so come down to Room 21 for all of the action next weekend! This concert has a 10:00 PM start time, it is a 19+ event, and while a $10 suggested cover charge is advertised, so is the "pay what you can" option. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's a surprise, as local classic metal quartet Late & Loud will reunite for one night only on Thursday, October 10th with a headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar! Many local fans will recall their well received active run from 2010-2014, and after over 5 years away, the guys will return for this special concert, intended as a fundraiser for bassist Benn Garside's upcoming wedding to ex-Danger Cats bassist Jamie VanSchooneveld. If you're keeping track at home, this will be the second marriage between the two bands this year, joining Josh & Kate this summer (what are the odds?!) It is great to see Late & Loud back, if only for one night, so if you've missed the Humane Society Battle winners in the mid-late 2010s, don't bypass this one! The surprise opening acts are DJ Seith and his hip-hop duo project Planet Rock, and while not perfect genre-matches, they should keep ther party vibe going! I don't know if Seith will be mixing songs between sets, or if he's just playing with St. James.

A $10 cover charge is in effect on this night, expect a 19+ age limit, and while an early 8:00 PM start time is advertised, I doubt the bands will be playing that early, potential DJ Seith mixing aside. Note that the poster implies that Late & Loud are "returning to the stage one last time", which could very well be true, but we heard similar finality in August 2014. In any event, this should be a must for fans and friends of Late & Loud who've missed them in past 5 years, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback released their long-teased debut music video to their YouTube channel yesterday! Of course, this is for their song "Kicking & Screaming", which is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, which their Facebook page newly confirmed yesterday will be self-titled. If you've seen prior teasers for the video, you'll know that property destruction appeared to be a common theme in the video, and now we get context as to why that is (the song lyrics may have given that away.) If you're hoping to see the full band playing the song, then you may be disappointed (only frontman Chris Nielsen appears on camera), but it's well shot and captures the lyrics and requisite emotion well! Give the full video a look below, stay tuned for more on "A Dire Setback", and don't miss the Michale Graves concert on Saturday!

We'll close with the latest from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt/hard rock musician Mike Haggith, who we haven't heard anything substantive from regarding his solo project since his trip home last month, so what's new to report? Well, Mike posted this teaser video on his Facebook page last night, saying that he's "been hard at work behind the scenes, and we're switching gears a little." The video proper features a computer monitor with what looks like the cover artwork for a new(?) album named "If Ever Comes The Day", plus a 30 second sample of a new song named "The Best You Never Had" that clearly has a full electric band behind it, compared to the music he had showcased from his upcoming solo album "Bridges", which leaned towards acoustic content. Is Mike revising/shelving "Bridges", or is this just another album he's working on too? Remember that he has also announced plans this year for a live album from Nickel Days in Thompson and a remaster of "A Place Of Our Own", neither of which is out yet.

Mike does have a lot on his plate on the best of days (remember what his day job is), but if this is basically "Bridges" being reworked or replaced in his discography, I can't complain about it having more of a rock edge with a full band, be it all him or with other collaborators. Time will tell what exactly is going on, but give the teaser video a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Hellbent), Local Promoter Updates, And Much More News & Notes!!

Before we dive into another round of weekend concert previews, here's a new news post for your Wednesday morning! This covers some some big updates from two local punk-influenced bands, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related promoter changes to keep note of. Now, with all of that said, here's what you should know!

Hamilton hardcore punk trio Hellbent will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Rockstar Bar on Sunday, October 13th!  A late addition to their 2019 Canadian tour, Hellbent are touring in support of their new EP "Dead on the Floor", and with their brutal, fast-paced, and no-nonsense original attack, they should make lots of new fans in this Thanksgiving weekend bash! Local openers are to be announced, we'll let you know when they are confirmed. Notably, this is the first punk/metal concert to be promoted by the newly-renamed Oh!No Co. following the retirement of the Six, Two, Oh. name earlier this week. Obviously taking the new moniker from the yearly festival in Leeburn, staff are citing having "great ideas" that they think will "fit better under the Oh!No banner" as the reason for the change, though note that the Six, Two, Oh. name at least partially came from inactive filmmaking company 62nd Chamber Productions, as ran by AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell, who hasn't visibly been involved with recent company events.

Oh!No Co.'s Facebook page is effectively the Oh!No festival page with slightly new branding (Six, Two, Oh.'s is still up, thankfully), and it gives their launch date as 2017 with the festival's inception, without crediting Six, Two, Oh.'s 2015-2016 run, or prior work as Oh! Right Arm! Productions. There, the company's current staff are given as AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent still, now alongside Oosik Records owner/DJ Al Bjornaa, Slumshine founder/veteran punk musician Brenton Ellis, and Alex Moore. The new name will take some adjusting, but for synergy reasons and to tie in with the festival, I understand the move! The first show promoted under the Oh!No Co. name will be a psychedelic concert at The Whiskey Barrel next week headlined by Poly Trap Super Six, while a gumbo night (a'la the prior "punk rock ramen" event) will be held at the Feeding Your Soul Cafe on White Oak Drive East on October 18th, presumably as the first fundraiser for Oh!No IV.

As for the Hellbent concert (which is definitely advertised to take place upstairs at The Rockstar Bar), expect a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and a 9:00 PM start time. With the holiday long weekend, there's all the more reason for hardcore punk fans to make it to this show next month, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and see above for more on Oh!No Co., which is now linked on the SMS, as is the festival proper in that section!

Next up, here's the latest from reunited local ska/hard rock band Tripod the Dog, who still don't have a newly updated online page to promote activity with (their Facebook group was manned by the departed Greg Beharriel), so what's new from their camp? Well, as it turns out, the Mark Oliverio-led band actually played their first advertised concert in five months this past Friday when they made their apparent debut at The Esquire Club. The venue plugged the show the day prior, and Mark himself had posted a Facebook event page on his personal account, but none of this crossed our radar last week. I profusely apologize for missing it on here, but hopefully it was a huge hit, and that we hear more in advance from Tripod the Dog in the future! Based on photos floating around personal accounts, it looks like Mark has enlisted ex-Cherry Crush/Soo Fighters bandmates John & Jonny Amendola as their new bassist and drummer, ostensibly replacing Sean Berlinguette and Brian Egglesfield.

Reasons for the lineup changes haven't been publically announced, but remember that Sean & Brian were only advertised for 2018's Rotaryfest Stage 1 set and never turned up in an online public form regarding their April show at The Rockstar Bar. Father and son Amendola always have good chemistry, and hopefully they fit in well with Tripod the Dog! Personal postings imply that their show on Friday was a hit, but when will we see this veteran band back out there? Stay tuned for more when/if it rolls in!

Finally for today, here's some new updates from local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback from earlier this month, starting with the reveal on their Facebook page that they have made official band t-shirts that are now on sale for $25 in all sizes! Designed by Celeste's Art & Photography (Celeste and bassist Matt Quinn pictured), the primary artwork takes more inspiration from tarot cards than traditional punk imagery, though you can easily make a tie to their song "Everlasting Despair", and it's a cool design! As well, A Dire Setback shared this new teaser clip for the studio version of "Kicking & Screaming" to their Facebook page and YouTube channel around that same time, which only runs for 25 seconds, but it shows us more of the song and music video than their prior teaser! The nicely put together video features a longer sample of the song, plus small preview images of the video, seemingly informing us that building vandalism is a running theme and expands beyond hurling a toilet off of the second floor.

We will know very soon how the video and full song have came out, as the final video will apparently be posted online this Saturday, so keep that date in mind. In the interim, t-shirts can be ordered through band members at the links above, and all proceeds will go towards physical printing costs for the CD. Give the video teaser a look below, and stay tuned for updates!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oh!No & Doreen!!)

Before we dive into this weekend's post (devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), just a heads up that I learned of a trio of shows this coming weekend too late to cover on here before their weekend concert preview cycle. Between low advertising and my own personal schedule, they should have been on here well in advance (which I apologize for), so just to get a jump on things, visit the links here & here for info on two FREE Roberta Bondar Pavilion shows next week with hard rock content, and here for details on this year's Rudyard Musicians Festival, before we preview them on Thursday. Now, here's what you should know for those new shows!

Edmonton art punk quartet Doreen will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, August 20th when they headline at Dryer Fire on Bruce Street! Not your typical sound for a punk band, Doreen take a lot of inspiration from indie and garage rock, but they have a creative blend of styles, as seen on their new CD "Ruthless Severance", and they should be a fine fit at this temporary venue later this month! Local experimental musician Chase Wigmore (not playing as Awokest) will open with a set of his own irreverent, in-your-face original material, and it's always an experience seeing him live, so don't miss his set either on this special Tuesday nighter! Yes, we have a lot to discuss regarding him and Awokest, stay tuned for what we've missed as of late. This ALL AGES concert has a $10 cover charge and a luckily early start time of 7:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on this show, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, the full schedule for this year's third annual Oh!No concert festival at Robbie Adamson's church in nearby Leeburn was finally announced via their Facebook page on Wednesday, so what should you know in this regard? We announced the lineup for the September 6th-7th event on the SMS two months ago in this extended write-up, but as Oh!No III is a two night event, I waited to call these as a true LOCAL CONCERT ALERT until organizers Six, Two, Oh. confirmed each day's itinerary, and there are a few changes from what was announced in June. The band lineup on Friday, September 6th is a shorter nighttime affair, which will be toplined by Sudbury "party violence" quintet The Therapists, who are night #1's only touring attraction. Remaining performers will include rapper Kodex at 11:40 PM, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades at 11:00 PM, folk/pop musician Hannah Lindsay at 10:20 PM, punk trio Stegadeth at 9:40 PM, and alt-folk solo project Slumshine opening at 9:00 PM.

In case you didn't notice from the lineup reveal in June, Hannah Lindsay is a new addition to the bill, replacing Dusty Hazelwood for unannounced reasons, though note that everyone but drummer Mitchell Harris will still be present as a promoter or in other bands. As for Saturday, September 7th, the surprise headliners will be St. Catharines crossover thrash band Pisser at 1:00 AM, as preceded by Peterborough hardcore punk trio Cross Dog at 12:00 AM, Sudbury punk standouts Lightmares at 11:00 PM, Thunder Bay hardcore band Femur at 10:00 PM, and Montreal classic rock project Wrecker at 9:00 PM. Local drone rock trio Pointless (no longer billed as a Bill Priddle solo set) will be the only local act playing after dark via their 8:10 PM set, with Peterborough rapper Garbageface, Thunder Bay hardcore group Lord Hidetora & desert rockers The Franquilizers, and Toronto indie quartet Forest City Aurora playing at 7:30, 6:50, 6:10, and 5:30 PM respectively.

With two exceptions, earlier acts that day are all local, including surf rock band The Dynowaves at 5:00 PM, revived lo-fi punk project Telephone & Address at 4:30 PM, funk/hard rock quartet The Elements at 4:00 PM, and rapper Conika at 3:30 PM. The mystery band named The Angry Spells (who are on at 3:00 PM) actually aren't local, as their updated Facebook page reveals that they're a new side project of Beaver Slap vocalist Midge Beaver's, so if you were hoping to see them back this year, hopefully this new band will fill the void! Local hip hop duo Planet Rock will play at 2:30 PM, following Barrie punk quarter The Speed Humps at 2:00 PM, while the two local opening solo acts will be indie/folk musician Shae Tull at 1:30 PM and C.T.W. side project Malignant Neoplasm in a rare live set at 1:00 PM. As previously announced, tickets are $40 for both nights, and tickets are on sale at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and at Dryer Fire.

Remember that camping on-site will be available for fans making the 45 minute trek to Leeburn, and this is a B.Y.O.B. event. It's great to finally have each night's schedule, and there's lots of hard rock and punk action to go around on both nights, so visit the above links for complete details on Oh!No III!That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Oh!No Concert Festival Lineup Information, Plus The Anvil/Striker Concert Preview!!

Today's post features a preview of a big Sunday night concert, but first, here's the full lineup for the third annual Oh!No festival is now out! Returning to Robbie Adamson's church in nearby Leeburn, this year's installment is the biggest yet, as Oh!No III will be a two night event on Friday, September 6th and Saturday, September 7th! As such, we're not calling this as a proper local concert alert until daily schedules are revealed, but the odds that there will be a day without heavier acts are basically nil. After having an 18 act marathon last year, the two night structure will allow promoters Six, Two, Oh. to spread this year's 25 acts out, but who all is scheduled for this fall? Eleven of the scheduled performers are from out of town, including 6 returnees from past Oh!No festivals. Sudbury punk quartet Lightmares and Thunder Bay desert rock quintet The Franquilizers will return to Leeburn for a third straight year each, while Peterborough hardcore punk trio Cross Dog (featuring the Soo's own Mark Rand) is among the returning performers from last year.

The other touring attractions back from 2018 include Sudbury "party violence" quintet The Therapists, Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface, and Toronto indie rock quartet Forest City Aurora. No Beaver Slap this year, but the five Oh!No (and Sault Ste. Marie-area) newcomers from afar will include Thunder Bay hardcore-influenced bands Femur & Lord Hidetora, St. Catharine's crossover thrash quintet Pisser, Barrie punk quartet The Speed Humps, and Montreal classic rock solo project Wrecker. Lots of old and new talent here, be sure to check all of these bands out before September! The local performing roster will feature punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and funk/hard rock quartet The Elements back for their own third straight appearances, while surf rock quartet The Dynowaves, hip-hop duo Planet Rock, and indie/folk musician Shae Tull will all return from last year, and Dynowaves bassist Brenton Ellis will bring his online page-less solo project Slumshine back to Oh!No after last playing there in 2017.

Locally based newcomers to Oh!No this fall will include punk trio Stegadeth, cybergrind solo project Malignant Neoplasm, rappers Conika and Kodex, and new pop rock band Dusty Hazelwood (featuring co-promoter Jamie Vincent & Dynowaves members.) A new & yet online page-less punk trio named The Angry Spells are also advertised, though we await information on them beyond a description of their sound. We'll let you know when/if anything is said! Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle is advertised with a solo set this year after playing in his drone/noise band Pointless in the past two Oh!No festivals, though note that Oh!No's own 2019 artist bio on him credits him jointly as Pointless. Finally, local lo-fi acoustic punk solo project Telephone & Address are advertised to play this fall, marking their first live appearance since 2017 after being on public hiatus for well over a year. This is very encouraging news, and hopefully Chris has more in the pipeline, so Telephone & Address are back in our active band links!

No sign of A Dire Setback or Winkstinger this year, but still, how's all this for a stacked and nicely varied lineup? Tickets will go on sale for a flat $40 at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and Dryer Fire's pop-up location on Bruce Street, while camping will be available on site as usual, and while there's no stated age limit, a "B.Y.O.B." policy remains in effect. Doors open at 8:00 AM on Friday and 11:00 AM on Saturday, with daily schedules to be revealed. This should be another excellent time for concert goers able to make the trip an hour east to Leeburn, but there's still a lot to learn, so visit the above links for complete and ongoing details on Oh!No III!

Finally for today, here's our preview of a special Sunday night concert TOMORROW at Soo Blaster, as Toronto metal legends Anvil will return to Sault Ste. Marie for their fourth local show in the 2010s! It's been a long four year wait since we last saw Lips, Robb, and Chris deliver their requisite "metal on metal" to a local audience, and with the momentum of their newest CD "Pounding the Pavement" still ongoing, they should deliver another heavy set of classic hits and newer originals tomorrow night! Co-headlining tomorrow are Edmonton metal quintet Striker in their first local concert appearance since headlining at The Rosie six years ago, and with their finely tuned NWOBHM throwback sound, they should melt many faces in their own right at Soo Blaster! Remember, this was originally advertised as a Striker headlining show before Anvil were confirmed. The aforementioned Jack Spades will join power rock quintet Re:Born as openers, who should set the tone well with their own diverse takes on their genres!

Advance tickets are on sale for $20 at Soo Blaster (or $25 at the door), this is a 19+ event, and a somewhat early 7:30 PM start time is advertised. Also, note the $200 VIP booth option for a party of 6, if you are so inclined for that experience. It's great to have Anvil and Striker back for a night full of old school metal intensity, with Re:Born more than up to the task on another big stage for them, and don't forget about Jack Spades' punk-influenced attack either! Don't miss out on all of tomorrow's action if you can swing it, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Anvil live!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E), A New Battle Of The Bands, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for you Sunday afternoon reading, and it includes some assorted recent updates, the latest from a prolific local solo artist, and preliminary details on the first local battle of the bands in far too long. First up though, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Reunited Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will play their second concert weekend since their return on Friday, March 1st & Saturday, March 2nd when they rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! While not yet publically acknowledged on their Facebook page (a vague hint last month aside), the shows were recently confirmed on Kewadin's entertainment page, as part of a mass listing of concerts at the Rapids and Northern Pines Lounges through June. There's not a lot of verifiable hard rock gigs that we didn't already know about, but we'll have a couple more later this week. This will be 415E's first concert weekend in St. Ignace since their final pre-hiatus gigs in July 2017, as well as their first St. Ignace appearances with new bassist Brett Blackwood and drummer Jason VanLuven, so if you missed last month's return weekend, here's your next chance! These 9:00 PM shows have a 21+ age limit and no cover charge.

With the stage rust shaken off last month, hopefully 415E have a great weekend at the Northern Pines Lounge next month, and might we finally get some new video footage of 415E with the new lineup in the near future? Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, a battle of the bands will hit Sault Ontario this spring for the first time in almost two years, and a spot opening for The Killer Dwarfs is on the line! The event will be held at Soo Blaster on Friday, March 1st, where the winners will earn the opening slot for the highly anticipated Killer Dwarfs concert at the same venue on April 27th, a'la the early 2010s battles to find local openers for 3 Inches of Blood and Bam Margera. No competitors have been publically announced at press time, but promoter (and Rock Talk columnist) Ernest Skinner is looking for bands to play sets containing "4 or 5 of your best 80s-ish rock tunes." As such, it seems like bands playing songs in a similar orbit as The Killer Dwarfs would at least have a leg up. Full details aren't public yet (i.e. how judging is formatted, entry fees for bands and fans), but each participating band will get 5 tickets to The Killer Dwarfs show proper, and the winners will also get 5 more tickets and five $50 gift cards for Soo Blaster

The battle proper on March 1st has a 7:00 PM start time and a 19+ age limit, and for more details on attending and registrations, visit the official Facebook event page and/or message Ernest at this link. It's been a long wait since May 2017's NLFB Meltdown event at LopLops for another true battle of the bands in Sault Ontario, so this alone should warrant high interest on March 1st, but who all will enter? Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information as it rolls in, and see above for more details!

Also, here's the latest from local solo hard rock artist Mike McCleary, who posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page on Wednesday to outline his recent work. In the post, Mike noted that he's been working on "heavier, more aggressive" music lately to challenge himself, and while much of his work during his recent musical hiatus related to political activism, that's not a theme in his newest music, specifically his upcoming EP "Propaganda Model", apparent cover art on the right. Mike outlined the lyrical inspiration for his newest songs, including a brand new track named "Y.V.L.M." that he posted onto his Soundcloud page, and the songs have an overarching theme against hate and racism. He was very blunt and direct in his write-up regarding his personal views, so keep that in mind just in case. Mike closed the post by saying that the EP "will be ready tomorrow night" (Thursday the 7th), but at press time, it has not fully posted in sale format that I can tell.

I don't know if "Propaganda Model" is indeed completely finished or not (or if it has more than the three publically unveiled songs), but it's great to see Mike back in his usual prolific mode for studio recordings, and I can't complain about a heavier album! If this does see a paid public release in February, it'll instantly become a favourite for our next CD review on the SMS, but stay tuned at the above links for more on "Propaganda Model"!

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

• To help fundraise for this fall's third annual Oh!No concert festival in Leeburn, promoters Six, Two, Oh. will host another 1990s-themed dance party at The Rockstar Bar on March 15th, while also launching an "online fundraiser" a'la Kickstarter or GoFundMe. If you e-transfer donations, you'll get the associated perks for your contribution, ranging from personalized post cards ($5) to early bird tickets ($35) to a lifetime spot on the guest list ($1,000), among other rewards. It'll be interesting to see how well this does, and get more details above on how to make Oh!No III happen!
• If you wondered why we didn't cover Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906's late-notice show at Huck's Pub & Grill (formerly Joe's Bar & Grill) in Rudyard yesterday, it's because they played at guitarist Joe Jenkins' dad Jeff's retirement party. Even though the band publically acknowledged it, I typically don't cover shows here with an overtly personal nature like this, similarly to why we don't cover bands playing at stags & does. Hopefully their set was a hit, and best of luck to Jeff in retirement!
• Former Suicide Kings guitarist Steven Flint is looking to jam "more often" with like-minded Sault Ontario musicians, though he is "not looking to play live". While he prefers to play guitar, and is looking primarily for bassists and drummers, Mourning Wood/Soundcheck fans will recall his skill on those instruments. If you're interested in jamming with Steven, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Friday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

White Cowbell Oklahoma Concert Videos And Much More Recent News & Notes!!

Today's post is largely one to play catch-up on recent news and updates, including details on a national music contest, some assorted update, and a new metal song, but let's begin with some new videos from a recent show!

A handful of videos are now online from the White Cowbell Oklahoma show at LopLops Lounge last month! Christopher Paci was on hand to film seven videos of the Toronto southern hard rock veterans in action for his excellent YouTube channel, and these include their songs "San Antone", "Cheerleader", and "Shot A Gamblin' Man", plus their cover of Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", a longer song that I can't identify off-hand, and this clip of frontman Clem Clemsen using a flamethrower (you read that right!) Embedded below is their set-closing original "Put The South In Your Mouth", complete with angle-grinding action at the end. Solid videos for fans of their country-tinged hard rock sound, and the fans are clearly into everything! W.C.O.'s crowd favourite and high energy songs are always welcome around here, and you can relive that concert above & below!

Next up, CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition begun it's voting period yesterday, and at least two local acts are in the running! The ultimate prize this year includes the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class, a trip to next month's Juno Awards in London, a week of recording time at the National Music Centre in Calgary, and a chance to perform at this summer's 2019 CBC Music Festival, with airplay and exposure on CBC stations along the way. Compared to the last time Searchlight had a major thumbprint on SMS coverage (2015), things seem very streamlined, with artists seemingly in the same national pool, and you can only search by province or territory for entered bands. You can vote once per day, no registration needed, at this link, and the top 100 acts (50 by CBC's selection committee, 50 by fans) after Valentine's Day will proceed to the next stage on February 20th. As best as I can tell, only two local bands have enterted, so who can you vote for in this contest to find the next great Canadian music act?

As expected, one is local indie/punk quintet Northwest, who are looking to better their 2015 Northern Ontario region semifinal run, but new indie rockers Man Feelings (featuring Bizotic alum B.J. Swire) are also in, as is London musician and former Saultite Andy Chillman, potentially among others with local ties. Not having a CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) station in the market doesn't help for contest advertising locally, but it'd be great to see a local act make a deep run, and you can do your part to help by voting at the above links! Best of luck all around in this first round!

Also today, here's the latest song from local experimental/death metal solo project Awokest's Facebook page, entitled "Machine God of Hate"! Inspired by the Harlan Ellison sci-fi story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", it's not clear how this fits into Awokest's/Chase's prolific album plans, but this will appeal to fans who like his more brutal and aggressive metal material! This has a black or noise metal quality with solid shrieking vocals, and is worth a listen for genre fans, so give it a listen below!



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

• Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide are recording a music video for their upcoming single "Lost & Found"! Two teaser photos were shared to their Facebook page from the shoot, which confirm that young local filmmakers Avery Obeng and Matt Hroch are behind the camera for this video, The Tide's first since "A Day Will Come" in 2012. It'll be interesting to see how this video stacks up to their prior ones, and stay tuned for updates!
• In their first Facebook post of the year, local promoters Six, Two, Oh. announced that they are already working on the third annual Oh!No concert festival, which will have some "deadly out of town acts", and will also feature co-organizing roles from fellow promoters Dryer Fire and Batchewana Bay mobile record store Oosik Records. No word on further details, but I have no reason to believe that Oh!No III won't be back at Robbie's Church in Leeburn in early September. Stay tuned for more on this fast rising festival!
• Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have announced another new concert via this Facebook event page, which will take place on Thursday, May 16th, venue to be announced (though note the Oddfellows Hall crowd shot as the cover photo.) Described as "a little shindig with music and other sounds claiming to also be music", the event name is "Degenerate Bastards Vol. 2", which seems to imply that Crucify the Whore and Chase Wigmore will at least be playing on this night, though is that it for connections to their prior split? Stay tuned!

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