Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Parabol

Before we dive headfirst into lots of big news, notes, and videos, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This monthly feature looks at randomly chosen local metal, hard rock, and/or punk acts from the past, in order to spotlight them and their runs for modern readers, and we've got a very talented (if not frequently seen) local tribute band this month, so here's what you should know on them!

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Parabol: The Tool Experience

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Progressive Metal

Lineup:

John Barber (The Luxury, Redefined), vocals
Steve Myers (Odd Man Out, Sense Of Truth), guitar
Alain Fletcher (Half Past, Skeyes Of Seven), bass
Anthony Gagnon (The Luxury, Late Shift), drums

Audio/Video: Much of Parabol's publically posted media was lost when Facebook took their original Facebook page down for copyright violations (their faithful Tool covers were getting flagged as being Tool's own songs), and when a new one was launched in mid-2020, the band only posted photos and videos from their Soo Blaster headlining date the previous October there. As far as I know, their only other extant public video is from their debut in October 2018, where I filmed them covering "Schism" for the SMS' Facebook page. The band's two official Facebook videos from the 2019 Soo Blaster date include this compilation video, and as embedded below, the guys covering "Lateralus" in full!

Info/Analysis: Debuting as an unnamed Tool tribute band during J.D. Pearce's penultimate Halloween party at The Rockstar Bar in October 2018, the band returned there in December alongside inactive funk/hard rock band The Elements, who adopted a temporary guise as a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band here under the Scar Tissue moniker. After briefly choosing Lateralus as their name, the Tool tribute settled on Parabol in January 2019, and played one more Rockstar Bar show alongside "Scar Tissue" that March. After headlining the Shelby Kerns benefit concert at The Grand Gardens that June, Parabol rocked Soo Blaster to cap off their first year together in October. Following a road trip to Sudbury the following month, Parabol went on a 2+ year concert hiatus, heavily aided by the pandemic. They returned for what would be their final concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, 2022, and have not been heard from since.

While John & Anthony have since moved on to paying tribute to The Tragically Hip with The Luxury, Parabol packed a lot of faithfully and extremely competently rendered Tool classics into their six local dates (and their Sudbury concert), and fans of Tool's progressive metal standards were in very capable hands if they saw them live! The late 2010s proved surprisingly fruitful for locally-based tribute rock bands, and Parabol were arguably the biggest of them all, playing to some big crowds (if not all that regularly), and hopefully the guys return if the time is right!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around September 10th when we return to Sault Michigan for our next randomly selected band profile, as we'll be looking at local thrash metal solo project Drayton Fever! Watch for that then, and for a lot of big news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

A Renamed Local Band, Their New EP, And Much More News & Notes!!

Before we begin today's news post, I wanted to apologize for not one, but two missed concerts in this weekend's concert previews. Firstly, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard played an unplugged concert at Gateway Casino last night, a show that was only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday afternoon. Bone Yard did not promote this show on their Facebook page, and this weekend was left blank in their summer concert calendar, otherwise full for another four weekends, leading me to believe that this concert truly came together on late notice. Interestingly, it was originally advertised for their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge, who last played live at the casino in March, but was later revised to specify that this was "Bone Yard unplugged". Is this in deference to bassist Warren Reville being present, or have The Bearded Lounge been folded in favour of just using the Bone Yard name across the board?

If the former, no reason has been given for the unplugged switch, but the full electric band will be back at the Queen Street Cruise this coming weekend! The other missed show is from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who did indeed play a standard concert at The Esquire Club on Friday night before their special gig with three former Obsession singers last night. Initial advertising focused only on the Saturday nighter with guests, and Soundcheck only confirmed that they were playing on Friday too via their Facebook page at 4:24 PM that day. I profusely apologize for missing both bands' shows, I'd have covered them had they gotten more reasonable advance notice, but hopefully they were hits!

Today's post otherwise features some assorted recent updates, and leading off, a surprise band revival, as local progressive metal band Kraken Mara are back, and have a new name to show for it! Only explained by saying "we've shuffled some things around", their new name is Convergence, as per their Facebook page yesterday, and their social media links are changed to match. In case you forgot, the former Kraken Mara was the long-gestating project from ex-Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie and his brother-in-law Jake Valois that was first active in fits & starts from 2015-2018 before resurfacing in 2021 with new EPs (yes, plural) that were streamable but, despite appearances, not buyable from their Wix website, which was oddly the only place where you could access them. While not hyped up on Facebook, Kraken Mara Convergence have finally posted an EP for sale that actually works on Wix, named "One"!

Originally, they had eight songs across two EPs named "Press Start" & "Game Over" that you could stream on Wix in the summer of 2021, but they have been condensed down into this five-track EP, with three prior songs ("Vibe Check" & "Minmaj" from the former and "Escort Mission" from the latter) not present (maybe on "Two"?). Notably, Kelowna, B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut is only credited on "The Woodward" this time out, but he is still listed as a session performer on the "About" page on Wix, as well a name we haven't heard much about locally in years, namely former State of Misery/Valentine's Day Massacre singer Steve Rhodes! Steve moved to London with The V.D.M. back in 2012, and has surprisingly not played a local date with his more recent Southern Ontario bands like D3athcharg3r or Prosector. He is not on the Convergence EP, but it'd be great to hear Steve's screaming vocals again in a local context!

"Many others" are teased as collaborators, but not named. At present, this EP is available exclusively on Wix for $9.99 (despite individual tracks costing $1 each), and can be streamed for free there as well. Note that it was produced & mastered at the band's own Yellow Room Studios, but how much of that work is new this year, I can't say. Yes, I do plan to review "One" on the SMS, but alas, we have quite a backlog for our monthly CD reviews, so it won't hit the site until October, as we're booked solid for four months. Still, it's great to see Brendan & Jake back yet again, and hopefully their djent-heavy, ultra technical brand of prog metal takes off as intended in 2023! See and hear much more at the above links!

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

• The Darsombra-headlined concert from Dryer Fire on Wednesday, June 21st has been moved from the Bellevue Park Bandshell to.... the March Street Stage? A reason for the move was not announced, but this was clarified in Facebook advertising since May 14th, and the new locale will also feature a local vendors market featuring food by Jiggs & Reels Catering from 6:30 PM onward that day. Oddly, they did not specify where on March Street that this pop-up stage will be located, but the event page defaults to the Downtown Association offices, so closer to Queen Street East would be my guess. See above for more on this FREE summer solstice concert!
• We now know who Rotaryfest Stage 1 performers Lands & Forest (not Land & Forest) are, based on personal Facebook posts, and they are a blues/rockabilly quartet featuring Johnny & The Revelators alumni Jason Gasparetto and twins Byron & Marshall Jaaskelainen (the latter of Rising Tide fame), plus Marshall's old Barn Board Trio bandmate Jaime Jacques. This group debuted at The Water Tower Pub last night, and while not a hard rock act, it's good to know who they are! Their Rotaryfest set will be on Saturday, July 15th at 2:15 PM.
  
• I have moved local Tool tribute band Parabol back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band has not issued any public statements or played live since their headlining gig at Soo Blaster on June 4th last year, which is their only concert in the past 3½ years, pandemic acknowledged. Parabol were never a frequent presence on stage, so the potential of them coming back out of the blue for a big headlining date is definitely out there, but best of luck to John, Steve, Al, and Anthony in whatever's next! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Most Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Before we kick off this weekend's hard rock concert previews, just a heads up that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession's planned Esquire Club matinee show on Saturday, June 11th has been cancelled, as per their Facebook page. This is their second straight concert cancellation following their planned May 28th gig at the same venue, and while that one was scuttled due to "health reasons", they emphasized this time that "we are all OK" and it was "due to unforeseen circumstances". Obsession will reportedly return to the stage at Rotaryfest Stage 1 next month, but we await a formal announcement by organizers on this year's lineup. Stay tuned, and hopefully all is indeed well in the band's camp!

Now, let's dive into most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the exception of the Glambition festival on Saturday, which will topline tomorrow's post due to it's size & nature. Today's shows are all pure concerts, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via two separate Facebook event pages (one for each night) launched through their own Facebook page yesterday. These will be Soundcheck's first gigs at the downtown Reggie's in just over a month, and come fresh off of their usual Thursday open mic/jam night that they host at Reggie's West. Hopefully Terry, Cameron(?), Paul or Rob, and Glen have a great weekend!

TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts are 19+ affairs with no cover charge as normal for Reggie's, but in what may be a reversion to pre-pandemic scenatios, the start times for both nights are listed as 9:30 PM rather than 8:00 PM. Good sign towards further normalcy, or a typo? Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's Reggie's Place shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and here's Soundcheck's rock attack live!

Next up, here's some shows this weekend that had lots more than a few days' notice, starting with the return of Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! An unusually fast turnaround for these veteran touring favourites in the E.U.P., as fans in Sault Michigan will have just seen Jeff, Adam, and Brooks three weeks ago, but St. Ignace-area fans last saw Peril this past fall. Peril's talented and experienced brand of hard rock, classic rock, and metal covers should go over well as usual tomorrow & Saturday in St. Ignace, so don't miss out on all of the action if you're able to go! As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. If you can't make it, Peril and their sister band Scarkazm are not advertised for Kewadin dates through July, so keep an eye out for late 2022 dates. See above for more, and here's Peril live!

Also this weekend, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Dennis Street for a second straight week THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! After surprisingly playing both Friday and Saturday there last week, Bone Yard are back to the usual Saturday-only booking at Shooters this weekend, either due to or resulting in their Warren-less acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge (more on them soon) playing at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow night, and click here for details on that. The new Bone Yard lineup has been impressing since their debut in March, and hopefully the guys deliver more southern fried hard & classic rock favourites on Saturday once again! Expect an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's some new live concert videos of Bone Yard playing at Shooters last week!

On May 27th, they live-streamed (sadly vertical) videos of covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" and (as embedded below), Van Halen's "Eruption" & their version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", while an attendee named Becky shot them covering snippets of The Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" & Kim Mitchell's "Lager & Ale" the next night in this (also vertical) clip.  Solid performances, if not optimally  angled, and Bone Yard have a good grip on these covers, especially thanks to Alex's very sound lead guitar work, so check these out above & below, and don't miss Bone Yard proper on Saturday night!

Finally for today's previews, local Tool tribute band Parabol will play their first public concert since October 2019 when they headline at Soo Blaster THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! In the 2+ years since this supergroup of Redefined, Odd Man Out, Half Past, and Late Shift alumni last performed, we've sat through a pandemic and the deletion and relaunch of their Facebook page, but hopefully their very faithful brand of Tool's progressive metal staples will be welcomed back with open arms on Saturday night! Soo Blaster may seem over-sized, but their last show before now was held there, and unlike then, Parabol will have an opening act. The band in question is new local acoustic rock duo Short & Sweet, featuring former Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison (a.k.a. recent Fort Creek opener Cory Daniel) and Kyle Sweet. No online page or public media samples yet, but Cory & Kyle are well established and should set the tone nicely!

Note that Parabol's Al Fletcher is also a Skeyes of Seven alum, and Steve Myers played with Cory in Sense of Truth, so could we see any sort of symmetry during either band's set? Originally set to be a 19+ event, this concert is reportedly now ALL AGES due to popular demand, which does bode well for Parabol's return! Admission is $15 at the door (alas, this is up from the October 2019 concert), and a 9:00 PM start time is in effect. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Parabol's ultra faithful live Tool experience in video format!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Glambition preview and more next, with this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post following this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (These Magnificent Tentacles), New Videos, And Much More!!

Late news post to check out on this Friday night, including some new video discoveries, a few shorter assorted notes, and leading off, a somewhat unique LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next weekend!

Local alt-punk duo These Magnificent Tentacles will play their first public concert of 2022 when they open for surf rock trio The Dynowaves on Saturday, May 21st at the return of promoters Dryer Fire's temporary venue! In this case, Dryer Fire have been renting space at 285 Wilson Street (off Bruce Street, near The Breakfast Pig), and they're celebrating their recent growth with an open house featuring the aforementioned live bands, and even refreshments from the Sweet Aisle Candy Store that's also set up at this building. It is worth noting that in their promotion of the concert, These Magnificent Tentacles said on their Facebook page that this will be "our first show as a full team", so did their teased search for new band members prove fruitful? In any event, frontman Brenton Ellis will be selling his own art on this event on a pay-what-you-can basis, which you Slumshine fans should like!

The open house proper has a 1:00 PM matinee start time, no cover charge, and is definitely all ages, which goes with the community art/candy sale aspect well too! This should be a fun change of pace if you're up for some Saturday afternoon concert action next weekend, and between T.M.T. and The Dynowaves, you'll get some diverse musical entertainment! Visit the above links for more details on this unique matinee concert!

Next up, here's two new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek at their Soo Blaster concert last week! Filmed by attendee Eddie Hernando, one is another acoustic interlude just featuring singer Justin Grayson and bassist Robin "Bones" Lee on acoustic guitar covering Luke Combs' "Beautiful Crazy". I'm not a country guy, but it's a solid rendition! Embedded below is the full band clip of Fort Creek covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and it's a well done version that builds in the instruments well, and fans on the floor definitely appreciated dancing to it, so give both of these a look above & below!

Also today, here's some videos from former Leaked/Mustang Sally drummer Nic Buckner on his YouTube channel in the last few years! While Nic didn't become a major name as a local rock drummer, he did move to the States to further his career, and his YouTube videos reflect his later musical education! Alongside covers of Maroon 5, Sweet Machine, Michael Jackson, and The Color Black songs, Nic posted a cover of "Rule of Nines" by the Victoria, B.C. metal band Spiritbox in April 2020, complete with an inset second camera showing his foot pedal work. Nic's a very talented drummer and I like how he mixed the backing song with the drums to optimize his performances, so give these a watch above & below!

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

 

• I have moved local acoustic hard rock band The Isolation Sessions to our inactive band links. The band has not issued a public update since posting a cover of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late" on their Facebook page in January of last year, with members Jordan Rains & Arthur Lacasse since focusing on Dealing Without and the revival of Half Past. The Isolation Sessions seemed like a promising stopgap band in worse pandemic times, and hopefully we hear more from Jordan, Arthur, and Todd soon (and R.I.P. Chris!)
• Prolific local metal musician Mitch Sirie is looking for a bassist for a hard rock/alternative metal band that he's working on with a sound comparable in range to The Deftones or System of a Down. The sonic description implies that this is not for The Bear Hunters, Exploring Detritus, or Handsome Sandwich (where he is the bassist), so Mitch is definitely keeping busy as things pick up locally in 2022! Message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post yesterday for more details!
• A Facebook event page has been launched for the Parabol-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, and it happens to feature a new local band as openers named Short & Sweet, who are an acoustic two-man project from former Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison & Kyle Sweet (hence the name). I don't think Short & Sweet have an online page yet, but Cory & Kyle should deliver an entertaining set beforehand, and see above for more details on what should be a solid concert!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (White Cowbell Oklahoma, The Midnight Echo, And Parabol!!)

Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at a notable downtown venue that's helping get the local concert scene back in the swing if things in the months ahead, so here's what you should know!

As part of plans to help kickstart the local concert scene after 2 years of damage from the pandemic, Soo Blaster on Queen Street East is launching a concert series there from this month through early June, with seven live events (mostly from musical acts) hitting the stage there. As revealed in this SooToday article from last week, the series kicks off on April 16th with a show by local pop rock cover band The Killer Hooks, while the next two include Canadian rap legend Robbie G on April 20th and touring comedians Kenny Robinson & Darren Frost the next day (tickets for all three are now on sale at this link). We already know about Fort Creek's headlining show at Soo Blaster on May 7th, while the series will end with a show by Fernandez The Hypnotist on June 9th. The other two shows (plus one event not officially part of the series) fit the SMS' coverage range, so if you've been itching to see some more live music, here's what you should know!

First up for hard rock or punk acts at Soo Blaster this year is Vancouver alt-punk quartet The Midnight Echo, who will hit Sault Ste. Marie for the first time on Saturday, April 30th!  Coming around the middle of the band's Whatever Happens, Happens Tour of Canada this spring, The Midnight Echo's sound will definitely appeal to fans of locals Northwest in particular, with a pop punk based amped up with atmospheric synth elements and catchy melodies (think like a middle ground between Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves). The Midnight Echo should appeal to a lot of locals with their distinct yet familiar brand of original music, so don't miss out at month's end! No word on admission fees or start times yet, but expect at least $10 tickets based on other shows in Soo Blaster's concert series so far, and this should be a 19+ event. Visit the above links for more on The Midnight Echo!

Next is a show that is not listed in the official concert series reveal on SooToday, but is still a publically attendable concert at Soo Blaster regardless, as Toronto southern hard rock standouts White Cowbell Oklahoma will return to Sault Ste. Marie for their first ever Soo Blaster date on Friday, May 13th! The show proper is the kickoff event for this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer put on by LopLops Lounge, with this year's festival taking place primarily at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center. The festival went on hiatus in 2020 & 2021 for very obvious reasons, but fans of craft beer and IPAs will be glad to know that it is back, so see above for full details on the festival proper! This will be White Cowbell Oklahoma's first Sault date since rocking LopLops in January 2019, and while they can't return there due to that venue's continued closure since the pandemic onset, Soo Blaster should be big enough to contain their wild stage show next month!

As best as I can tell, W.C.O. still feature former Detroit/Maximum RNR guitarist Curtis Faux in their lineup, but the band is usually coy on official band pages about who is currently enlisted. The sparks will literally fly (remember, they use power tools on stage) on May 13th with a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $25 advance ticket fee, and you can get tickets at this link (nothing is said about in-person availability, inquire with LopLops if you're curious). White Cowbell Oklahoma's over-the-top, southern fried-yet hard rocking blend of music and showmanship will be more than welcomed in the Soo again, so see above for full details!

Finally, local Tool tribute band Parabol will play their first concert in over two & a half years when they rock Soo Blaster on Saturday, June 4th! Be advised that Parabol have not updated their Facebook page since November, and we will let you know if this show does not occur for one reason or another, but it is listed on the schedule in the above SooToday post. As you may recall, Parabol consist of Redefined, Sense of Truth, Half Past, and Late Shift alumni, and were a popular sight on the local concert scene from late 2018-late 2019, last seen in October of that year at Soo Blaster,. Their original Facebook page was taken down for alleged copyright infringement strikes (they apparently sounded too close to Tool), and the pandemic helped keep them off stage regardless, hence the live hiatus. Hopefully the guys shake off the rust in time to deliver another proficient night full of prog metal classics, and it'll be great to see Parabol back in action!

Attendee details are not public yet, but note that October 2019's Soo Blaster show was a 19+, 10:00 PM affair, and tickets went for $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Visit the above links for continuing details on these and other upcoming concerts at Soo Blaster, and it's great to see that they're getting back into the swing of things for live entertainment! Hopefully other venues aren't too far off, and of course, I do hope everyone is sensible re: the pandemic, as while things are more open, it's not done yet. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Three Sault Ontario Bands, Plus Assorted Sault Michigan Updates!!

After a day off from the SMS following a busy weekend of late notice show announcements, we're back on this snowy Sunday morning with a batch of new videos and linked updates from three local hard rock bands, two of which fans haven't seen much of in the 2020s so far! To round things out, we have a few shorter notes from the E.U.P., but let's kick things off in Ontario!

Local power rock band Re:Born appear to be getting back into the public swing of things, and to that end, they are back to a five-piece lineup, as they have enlisted A Dire Setback frontman Chris Nielsen as their new second guitarist (replacing the long-since departed Frank McGillivray), while his cousin Elijah Nielsen (ex-Electric Church) has also joined the band on bass, replacing Fred Dunn. A reason for Fred's departure has not been publically announced, and while I do know the details, I don't feel comfortable sharing them out of respect for Fred & the band. Hopefully we see Fred back out there down the line! The new lineup can be seen playing together at their regular jam space in photos uploaded to their Facebook page yesterday, as well as this live video of them covering Motley Crue's "Live Wire" (judging by the extra attendees in frame, this was clearly more than just a rehearsal).

If memory serves, Re:Born only played one formal concert as a quintet with Elly on vocals before Frank moved, so it's nice to see a two pronged guitar attack again here, and the Nielsens appear to be holding their own on this cover, but who knows when we'll hear more, either on video or in concert. Re:Born haven't played live in almost two years, and you can guess the primary reason why not, but hopefully it won't be too much longer before they emerge from hibernation! Check out their solid Motley Crue cover below!

Next up, local Tool tribute band Parabol are back, complete with a brand new Facebook page! As you may recall, this supergroup had been a live act for about a year starting in October 2018, playing a number of well received local concerts during that span, but their original Facebook page was quietly taken down circa January 2020, and they have not played live since. If you're to believe personal discussions after the fact, the band never broke up, and the page was taken down by Facebook over copyright infringement warnings (in other words, Parabol sounded too close to Tool in shared videos). If true, it's not that far fetched, as Parabol's live shows were sonically faithful! This new Facebook page was actually created back in May 2020, and while I do apologize for only adding them back to our active band links now, they also haven't played live in over two years for obvious reasons.

Alongside photos from their October 2019 headlining date at Soo Blaster (still their most recent live appearance), Parabol shared two videos last May, including a montage of Tool covers set to live photos of the band, and the video embedded below of them playing "Lateralus" at the same concert. Strongly done rendition with nice professional stage lighting, though I'd have positioned the camera in a more central spot to better capture the band on such a big stage, especially with how hard it is to see Anthony. Still great to see him, John, Steve, and Al back, and hopefully they can play proper public concerts again when the time is right, but for now, check out both videos!

Also today, here's two new minute-long videos of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck live at Reggie's West on Friday! Posted to their Facebook page last night in advance of night #2 of their short notice weekend there, the videos appear to both be shot by singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver while on stage, effectively making these trio performances with guitarist Terry Eaton on lead vocals. One video features Soundcheck playing a song that, for the life of me, I cannot identify, partly because of Terry's vocals being very muddled through this camera, though it sounds like late '70s/early '80s classic rock. Embedded below is Soundcheck (minus Cameron) covering Golden Earring's "Radar Love". While the vantage point from front & center of the stage is sure interesting, and defeats that cursed pole that often covers up Paul, the muddy audio quality, jittery camera angle, and vertical orientation don't help.

Despite the technical issues with Cameron's camera, Soundcheck sound good on these covers, and the point-of-view angle is definitely unique, so give them a look above and below, and hopefully last night's Reggievelt show went off without a hitch! We'll let you guys know if Soundcheck are playing anywhere on late notice this coming weekend!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, all reflecting Sault Michigan bands in one form or another! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• I have moved local hard rock solo project Hubbard to our inactive band links due to a year's public activity. Led by 415E/Rhythm & Brews guitarist Chris Hubbard, his solo output has been limited to just sporadic teasers on Hubbard's Facebook page towards things going on in studio, last updating fans on October 22nd of last year. Now, Hubbard have been publically silent for longer than this before, having went 15 months between Facebook posts in 2018-2019, so Chris could still be hard at work behind the scenes. Regardless, follow his two live bands in the interim!
  
• Local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 have enlisted Oddfellow alum Odin Osogwin as their new drummer, replacing Gary Croad, as per their Facebook page on Friday. A reason for Gary's departure was not publically announced, but the band oddly didn't acknowledge a drummer change until after promoting that night's Strongs Tavern show. Gary had joined Project 906 in February, and he seemed like a good fit with the 906 camp for their return gigs from June onward, but Odin's drum skill is well established, and it's good to see him back in a local band after way too long!
• Local hard rock quartet Tarnished have finally identified their new bassist as Isaac Royer, as per videos that the band exclusively shared as Facebook "stories" on Friday night where he and frontman Alex Traynor hyped up their Rapids Lounge concerts over the weekend. Remember, Facebook "stories" can only be seen twice before they vanish forever, unless separately posted on their Facebook page, which Tarnished did not do for those clips. Isaac joined the band in August, allowing Alex to move back to guitar following their most recent trio run, and he has seemed to fit in well with Tarnished so far! Look for more from their camp soon!

 

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

More New At-Home Performance Videos & Some Assorted Recent News Items!!

Another video heavy post today, but we do have some assorted news and notes to get to at the end, which does include a couple of concert cancellations. Let's start in video-land though with the first new videos from prolific local punk/metal guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel in over a year! Not long after helping her Guitar Gangsters bandmate Buzz out with his recent live-stream, the Jack Spades/Stegadeth/et al. guitarist posted play-along covers of The Distillers' "The Young Crazed Peeling" (which will definitely please Coral Fang fans) and, as embedded below, Bad Religion's "American Jesus". The backing songs can drown out her playing a little, but she knows these songs well, and the videos are nice quality, so fans of her local band work and prior cover videos will definitely want to check these ones out above and below!



Next up, let's head to the U.S.A. for some new videos from former Bad Side guitarist and The Bear/Yes FM DJ Jason Mapes! We haven't heard much locally from Jason since 2010, when he was let go from his radio gigs in the wake of the Sovereign/Northern Star buyout, with Bad Side dissolving that summer. Jason has since moved to Nashville and has continued recording as a solo musician, releasing his star-studded debut album "The Devil Plays Guitar" in July. Bad Side fans will like that it features drummer Jonah Brockman on each track, while fellow Bad Side alumni Dan Furmanik, Rob Johnson, and Paxton Olney all feature as guest musicians. The songs resemble Bad Side's 1980s-influenced bluesy hard rock stylistically, obviously differed by having Jason on vocals, and while his solo project isn't locally based, don't bypass his strong recent output! In terms of videos, Jason does have two new performance clips to check out on his YouTube channel!

Credited to a series named "Songs From The Squeaky Floor" (I think I can tell why they're called that), these are new at-home covers of Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and, as embedded below, Bon Jovi's "Superman Tonight". The motion blur effect doesn't feel necessary, but these covers (on a double-necked guitar!) are effective and make good use of his higher but edgy vocal range, and it's great to see that Jason is staying busy with quality solo music in the past decade! Give his new covers a look below, and buy/stream "The Devil Plays Guitar" at the above links!



Let's head back to Ontario for a new cover of Fall Out Boy's "Thriller" by local/Elliot Lake alt-punk solo project Ashoka At The Show, as uploaded to the 184Films YouTube channel earlier today! I'm not a Fall Out Boy fan, but Darren matches it nicely to an unplugged form factor, and the recording quality is as great as ever, so give it 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 event name:

• The fourth annual Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as per their Facebook page, and tickets are refundable at point of purchase. Had the festival take place, it would have expanded to a two night format over the July 10th weekend, and some of the scheduled touring bands were tagged in the post about the cancellation, though no word on if The Rising Tide or other punk/hard rock acts would have played too. Very disappointing, but look for the festival's expected return in July 2021!
• I have removed next week's Numbing-headlined concert at The New American Pub from our concert calendar due to the extension of Ontario's emergency order until May 19th, which means that non-essential businesses like nightclubs will be closed until at least that date. Click here for details on the emergency order. For full disclosure, this concert has not been publically called off by Numbing, The New A, or promoters Dryer Fire, but it's status was on thin ice at best given what's going on in the world.
• Reports of local Tool tribute band Parabol's demise are premature! While their Facebook page was indeed taken down over the winter, it was due to Facebook flagging the page for copyright violations, as per Facebook comment replies. In other words, their Tool covers were too close to the real thing! That said, Parabol still haven't played a public concert since headlining at Soo Blaster in October, and I don't think they have replaced that page yet, but in the coronavirus era, that may be of secondary concern. We'll let you know when they publically resurface!

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

The Soo's Got Talent At Bon Soo, An Inactive Band Note, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday night, and it includes some assorted shorter notes, a surprising band dissolution, and leading off, here is lots of fallout from a recent young artist showcase!

As you may recall, this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival kicked off this past Friday at The Machine Shop, with finalists from last year's Soo's Got Talent competition performing before the fireworks, and we have fallout from that to touch on here! Five of last year's seven finalists hit the big stage, and both SooToday's Darren Taylor and SaultOnline's Megan Pounder were on hand to take photos of the performers, so click on each website's link to see their pictures! Darren only posted seven pictures from this concert, including 2 each of The Apocalypse Afterparty and Adrian Sullivan, while Megan uploaded eight pictures, albeit omitting The Dancing Diva. Keep the above notes in mind, but they are all solid! SaultOnline's YouTube channel also posted this 27 minute video featuring the opening song each from all 5 acts, though it curiously calls them "the final five" from The Soo's Got Talent, despite the absence of fourth place finisher Coulson Perri. Maybe that refers to the 5 finalists who were able to perform?

The first act performing here was local rap/metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their 2020 debut, and their first show since their advertised temporary bassist search in December to fill in for the absent Alice Rose. The bassist was unveiled at Bon Soo, and while he does look familiar, I don't have his name off hand. The A.A. are seen here playing their original song about being on an island, and it's a lively rendition that shows why they turned heads last fall! The other performances (in order) include reigning Soo's Got Talent champion (and Uncanny Valley frontman) Adrian Sullivan playing his song "Something To Believe In", runner-up Juliana Regan covering Melody Gardot's "Your Heart Is As Black As Night", Killabeatz delivering a trademark beatbox performance, and 1/3rd of The Dancing Divas (no word on where the other girls are) covering Katy Perry's "California Gurls" with edited lyrics to reflect our northern locale. Note the on-stage branding for The Soo's Got Talent 2020, though formal details on year #3 are to be announced.

Everyone performs well and showed why they deserved their deep runs into this competition last year, though things did seem a little rushed in the back half, and much like in the actual competition, everyone was capped at two songs or less (even the video is structured identically to what aired on ONNtv.) Give everything a look below, and watch for details on T.S.G.T. 3!



Next up, I have a surprising band to delete from our active band links, that being local Tool tribute band Parabol, whose Facebook (and only online) page was quietly taken down at some point in the past month. A reason for the band's apparent demise was not announced, but they had not issued a public statement of consequence or played live since their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in October. Despite that, their year-long run (kickstarted at J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party in 2018) went above and beyond the life-span and activity level of most locally-originated tribute bands, which saw them headline a number of notable local concerts, as well as perform at the Shelby Kerns benefit show last June. I have no idea what happened to Parabol, but they had an extremely talented lineup who could tackle Tool classics with ease, and they were always welcomed on stage. Best of luck to John, Steve, Al, and Anthony in the future!

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

• In their first updates since November, local extreme metal solo project Awokest revealed on their Facebook page today that their new album is "halfway done", while also sharing a cryptic Facebook event page for an apparent Sudbury event in May called "The Secret Rites of Stray Dogs & Raccoon Gods". Is that a concert, or is it to mark an album release of the same name? Will this be a proper paid album, or a free posting a'la the 12 EPs of Christmas? Stay tuned!
• The Music City Sault Ste. Marie organization launched their own Facebook page last fall, as part of their efforts to encourage further musical development and promotion locally. The page has mostly devoted it's activity since to sharing links to news articles on local musicians  and upcoming concerts, but hopefully this is just the next step for their lofty goals! Become a fan above, and Music City SSM is now in our "Other Local Metal Links"!
• Local record/book/skate/etc. store The Rad Zone closed it's doors at The Wellington Square Mall on January 28th, following two months of close-out sales in advance of their move to the former Foch Cleaners at 721 Queen Street East. That said, their Facebook page has revealed that the store will re-open there on Friday, February 14th, so circle that date on your calendars to you can check out the new digs! I know I'm excited to see how things look there!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns) & New Facebook Video Uploads!!

Here's another news post for your Saturday morning reading, which mostly focuses on new video postings from a few local bands, but leading off, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will hit the road for a special Halloween party concert TONIGHT at The Island Bar & Grill in Hilton Beach! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via their Facebook page on Thursday. A road trip to the small village on St. Joseph Island (an hour southeast of the Soo) is not entirely foreign for us, as Stiffler's Mom played at The Island Bar & Grill back in 2015, while Tym Morrison and CASS Cafe-linked metal bands have also played recorded Hilton concerts elsewhere. In this case, TONIGHT'S Halloween party will see the usual frills for such an event, including a costume contest, though if you are at all interested, the bar is on the site of the Hilton Beach Inn, so you can stay the night if need be. A 6:30 PM start time is in effect TONIGHT, and age limits and cover charges are not advertised. See above for more details, and here's Rob, Christina, and Jesse live!



Next up, here's a brand new video of local Tool tribute band Parabol tackling the classic song "Lateralus" at Soo Blaster two weeks ago! This video was only posted on their Facebook page on Thursday, but better late than never. An incomplete 2:43 clip of the song's end, this still captures their faithful and intense stage show very nicely from a close angle, and John Barber sure is channeling Maynard James Keenan throughout! Fans of Tool and/or Parabol won't want to miss this video and it's professional stage setup, so give it a look below, and visit their Facebook page for details on their out of town gigs in Sudbury & North Bay next month!



Also, here's another new live concert video, this time of Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's most recent "every Thursday" matinee concert at Biggby Coffee! This was posted on the venue's Facebook page yesterday, and it features singer/guitarist Alex Traynor covering Tom Petty's "Free Falling" solo for tips and coffee. Where's guitarist Josh Fair? I have no idea, but seeing as the full three-piece band played at LSSU that same night, this appears to have been a temporary absence, maybe even just this song. Alex handles this cover well, and the video's nicely angled, so give it a look below!



Finally, let's continue our look at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's short video uploads on their Facebook page as they continue their Christmas tour prep! On September 28th and again five days later, the channel posted videos of guitarist Steve Giles playing at a table, with the first one featuring more of his electric shredding, and the second being acoustic and far more reserved. Both are under 40 seconds long, but they showcase his musical range nicely, if not the stuff we'll be hearing on tour for the holidays! This past Sunday, another minute-long video was posted of Steve and bassist Scott Andringa (on guitar) acoustically covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". I'm not a huge Pink Floyd fan, but the cover works well, though the video has too tight of an angle. We'll wrap things with their two newest videos from Monday, including this video featuring a pan & scan of the studio while their version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" plays in the background.

While this and the video featured below have a hazy black & white filter put on them, the preceding clip is a solid enough teaser of the work they've been doing! Featured here, we have Theatre of Night proper playing "Carol of the Bells", giving us our first look at drummer Erik Sales in their 2019 Christmas tour teaser videos in the process. The 30 second clip showcases everyone in their element, though we don't see Craig (who's behind the camera), and Rachel doesn't sing at this point, despite being present in frame. Now we are caught up re: Theatre of Night's Facebook page, so give these videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

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

This Weekend's Remaining Hard Rock Concert Previews, Plus A New Video!!

Before we get into this post, just a heads-up that the Hellbent concert at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday appears to have been cancelled, as per the quiet deletion of it's Facebook event page by promoters Oh!No Collective at some point in recent weeks. A reason for the cancellation was not announced, but Hellbent themselves have not posted on their Facebook page in three weeks. Hopefully nothing bad happened! Now, let's dive into this weekend's remaining hard rock concert previews, plus a new video!

The finals of the second edition of The Soo's Got Talent go down TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster! After a few weeks of strong local competition from local musical entertainers here and at The Verdi Hall, plus a two-week layoff from the semifinals, the final 7 acts will return to the Queen Street East establishment to see who will take home the top prize! Oddly, what the champion will win isn't advertised yet online, we'll let you know when we hear something. The five automatic semifinalists will include revived rap/metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, singer/guitarist Adrian Sullivan, and pop singers Bethany Pelletier LeBeouf & Juliana Regan, while vocalist Coulson Perri and young pop trio The Dancing Divas were also advanced as this year's two wild cards. It's hard to predict what way the judges will vote, but for reference, Bethany was a Soo's Got Talent finalist last year, Juliana won the Soo Youth Songwriters Contest in 2017, and The Apocalypse Afterparty were finalists in 2015's VM Radio Battle of the Bands.

Alongside the seven finalists, tomorrow's festivities will see guest performances by 2018 Soo's Got Talent champion Daniella Brewer and guest judge Tim Murphy, a veteran of the local arts community who you may recognize from ONNtv's morning show. As well, "a surprise celebrity tribute artist" will also perform, identity not yet known, but remember that Tim's impersonation of Joan Rivers is a popular sight locally. This should be a fun night of diverse local entertainment, but who will take home the top honours in 2019? You can find out tomorrow at Soo Blaster! Like in preceding rounds, admission for this ALL AGES event is $10 (or $5 for kids), and the show starts at 7:00 PM. I'll refrain from showing a preview video of any one act here to avoid showing favouritism, but visit SaultOnline's YouTube channel for video interviews with all of the finalists (except The Apocalypse Afterparty, oddly enough.) Good luck to everyone tomorrow night, and stay tuned for fallout!

We'll wrap up this weekend's publically announced concert previews by staying at Soo Blaster, where local Tool tribute band Parabol will headline a special solo headlining concert there THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! It's not every day were a local band plays alone at a venue of this size with no openers, chartiable aims, or special frills, but Parabol's faithful tribute to Tool's prog-metal stylings should be enough to fill the room with sound, and hopefully fans! With Tool's long awaited new album "Fear Inoculum" now out, what are the odds that John, Steve, Al, and Anthony have learned any songs from it? A self-promoted event with 705Live (not Live705) handling sound, this 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and admission is $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Tickets are on sale at Soo Blaster, through the band, at Case's Music, and in two atypical Great Northern Road locales, namely Myers Chiropractic Clinic & Fratelli's Kitchen.

If you've seen Parabol at all since their debut last year, you'll know how well the guys handle Tool's classic songs, and this could be their biggest headline appearance in scope yet (their road trip to Sudbury next month acknowledged), so if you're up for a couple of hours of prog metal brilliance, you know where to be! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Parabol live last year!



Finally for today, here's a new video from local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's ongoing album recording sessions! This was posted to label Tidal Records' Facebook page earlier today, though it's share on the band's Facebook page marks their first public update there in almost four months. The video featured fiddler Sheldon Jaaskelainen playing for a few seconds at Mission Control Studios while frontman/label head Dustin Jones does a bit of an Irish jig, before saying "Tide tracking" to the camera. Fun while it lasts, and hopefully the album's on schedule, so give the video a look!



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