LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (That's Chester & Tym Morrison) And Our Recap Of Posted Around!!

Lets keep the news coming on this Tuesday night, so in this post, we've got LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS over the next couple of weeks in Sault Ontario and a recap from a recent exhibition with a metal relevance, so read on below for these latest stories!

After taking the month of April off, classic hard rock quintet That's Chester are returning to the stage THIS WEEKEND at The Roosevelt Hotel! This talented collection of local music veterans will bring their cover assault to The Rosie on Friday & Saturday night, in what are relatively rare stops at the Korah Road bar for them. From what I can tell, they have not played a public show at The Rosie since at least 2010, maybe earlier, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! Notably, this weekend's concerts will be with a special guest, as Cleveland Steamer drummer Mike Blair will be filling in for Ric Datson behind the That's Chester drumkit for both gigs, as per a comment on the Facebook event page. From what I understand, Ric suffered a joint injury last weekend that will prevent him from playing this weekend, but I hope he gets well soon! Both the Friday & Saturday night shows have 10:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits, so check the above links for more details! If nothing else, these will be a unique pair of gigs to see That's Chester rock out their proficient classic hard rock covers, so if you love The Roosevelt Hotel and That's Chester, you know where to be this weekend! Stay tuned for our previews of these shows later in the week!

The other new shows I have this weekend are for the return of Tym Morrison's solo acoustic concerts! Though Tym has kept busy with his band Caveman Morrison in the past month, his shows next weekend at The Service Grill will be his first solo dates in 6 weeks and his first since his Yamaha acoustic guitar was stolen last month. The new guitar won't be all that's different from his usual acoustic shows though, as the Facebook event page says that his May 18th & 19th shows will start at 3:00 PM and run until midnight! I assume they'll be laid out as two 4 hour gigs at 3:00 PM & 8:00 PM respectively, which he's done before, as I can't see these being 9 hour sets with only normal breaks. Admission should be free for these concerts, and likely all ages given the restaurant setting. Check the above links for more details! It's always good to see Tym break out his unplugged set again, and hopefully the concerts next weekend are huge successes that can set off even more acoustic gigs! Stay tuned for more from Tym's projects as it all comes in!

We'll close this post with my recap of the Posted Around art exhibition, as it's last night helped end National Youth Arts Week yesterday! It was at the Circle of Creative Arts Centre on Queen Street East, in the space between Anipeg Tattoo & Top Hat Bar & Grill, so it wasn't completely obvious to find, but it has a nice setup inside! Kinda minimal, but there's an artistic sensibility for sure. The posters themselves were from a wide range of concerts and events from the 1980s through today, including posters by artists like Frightlight's Kevin Powe, local NYAW organizer Rihkee Strapp, and former Arcadia owner Matt Ceolin, alongside donations from Giwakwa's Nolan Rainville and other groups and artists. Very solid selection of posters, though it was skewed to recent years and the 1980s in many cases, and it'd have been cool to have seen more 1990s posters. Some of these brought back some good memories (I'd completely forgotten about Woods of Ypres' show here circa 2004), and others just had nice designs that I liked, even if I didn't know the band or their genre! One poster by Matt Ceolin for an October 2007 show at the former Eargasm Records headlined by a band named Mothra really caught my eye, and though I'm still not 100% on who they were, I'd have grabbed it if I had more cash at hand!

The evening also included the "Night at the C.O.C.A." open mic night with refreshments on sale, though there wasn't too much in the way of performers after I shown up. It was nice to finally see Rihkee play accordion live (I never got a chance to see The Night Owl Meme Makers live, sadly), and though I don't know him, the bassist that performed was really talented! The rest were varying levels of good too, but it'd have been nice to see more participation. There was some other artistic items dotted around, including some really solid work from Dayna Rainville (Nolan's sister), and a tree that somehow had a shovelhead in it, among other interesting works! As it was the last night, I was able to buy & bring home framed prints right from there (they'd be reserved if bought earlier in the exhibition until it closed), so now I have the posters from The Dayglo Abortions' show at The Rosie last year and Woods of Ypres' second-last local concert (August 2009 at The Speak Easy) hanging in my room, and they look very nice! I'll try and get pictures at some point. If there was one thing I'd change about the exhibition, it'd be having more posters. Probably the most glaring absence for recent posters was stuff by Destroilet's Matt Waples (he does awesome work), but if this exhibition returns, hopefully word is larger to encourage more submissions and involvement!

Overall, this was a fun display of local artistic talent, and I hope that these poster prints continue to be sold in some fashion! Either bring back the exhibition itself or sell them at the C.O.C.A. centre year round, because there's definitely an audience for all of this, and there's a ton of room to grow it! I got photos from the exhibition, including every poster I could prove had a metal band, and some select other posters that I liked or thought may have had heavier acts, so click here to see those, or visit our Facebook page! There's also some photos of the open mic performers and other works of art there. Kudos for a great National Youth Arts Week, and here's to an even bigger one in 2013!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post shortly, plus weekend concert previews and our next Defunct Local Band Profile! Thanks everyone!

Posted Around Preview, New Videos, And The Return Of State Of Misery?!

Hey guys, I wanted to first apologize for the delays in getting our YouTube Channel Profile up, but it completely slipped my mind while trying to get the Humane Society battle recap up and other related stuff, but I promise it's coming TONIGHT! Until then, here's a new news post featuring a preview of a cool art exhibition this week, a local band's possible return, and some new videos, so here's what you need to know!

Firstly for today, I wanted to preview an art exhibition that you guys should definitely be interested in attending! In cooperation with National Youth Arts Week next week, some of the organizers are hosting an art exhibition named "Posted Around" starting today and until Friday that will showcase local concert posters from the 1980s through last year! Metal concert posters are among those being displayed at the event (including the poster from the 11-band Sewer Swampstravaganja show at The Oddfellows Hall last year), and prints of said posters will be on sale for as little as $5, so if you like any or fondly remember a specific concert, you can own the poster for yourself! I'm not sure of how wide or large of a selection there'll be, but I bet it'll be a great exhibition with lots of memories and talents on display, both in the posters and the bands that played them! The event will be hosted at the Circle of Creative Arts building across from The Grand Theater on Queen Street East, with the grand opening taking place TONIGHT at 7:00 PM, though if you miss it, the exhibition runs until Friday. Admission is free and all ages (to my knowledge), but proceeds from sales of the prints will go to arts programming in Attawapiskat. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

I will 100% be there this week to check out "Posted Around", and I will definitely have photos and a recap for you guys this week as well! I wanted to make the grand opening, but my exam schedule doesn't gel well with it, so I hope to be there Tuesday evening, and I wanna buy at least one print to help the cause and support local art and music! I hope to see some of you guys there this week, and hopefully this jogs some memories of the scene as it once was, while introducing old school posters and bands to a new audience! Go check it out if you can, and stay tuned for my coverage of it!

Next up, remember last August when local death metal quintet State of Misery returned to activity after a three month breakup, only to quietly dissolve and delete their Facebook page by the end of last year? Well, it may be deja vu all over again, as recent postings on their Facebook group are hinting that State of Misery may have reunited for a second time. Nothing officially indicating a reunion has been announced, but drummer Nick Kainula posted a status there yesterday that says "big news regarding May 4th!", followed by posting a link a live video from a January 2011 concert. I'm not sure what the allusion to May 4th would indicate, but for reference sake, May 4th is one week from Friday. If they're reuniting, I'm not sure what their lineup will look like (given Steve Rhodes & Ray Cowan's current work in The Valentine's Day Massacre & Social Suicide), but the fact that Facebook is hyping up a date in May must mean something. If I hear anything positive or negative towards a potential State of Misery return, I'll have it here, but keep posted for updates, as their hard hitting death metal originals would surely be welcomed back to the stage if this is indeed another band reunion!

We'll close today's post with some new videos, starting with a new solo performance video from Bear Hunters bassist (and "Best Bassist" winner at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands) Justin Lam! The first solo video he's uploaded to his YouTube channel of him on bass in almost four years, it's a cover of Trivium's "A Grey So Dark", and I like that he plays in the video like he does on stage in terms of presence! He seems to know the song very well, and compared to some other musicians, he doesn't have the backing track at an overpowering volume level. Solid work as expected, so check out Justin's new Trivium cover below, and fingers crossed it isn't another four years before he posts a new bass cover!



Finally, here's another archive audio upload from Flat Stanley/Wishbone drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel! Posted last week, this is of one of Glen's early 1990s hard rock bands named J.A.B. (short for "Just Another Band") covering "Rock Candy" by Montrose at an unknown local bar (it was in the Jamestown area), and while this is newly posted, it's one of three J.A.B. videos that Glen has put on YouTube. He originally uploaded tracks of J.A.B. playing an untitled original and a song named "Solar Angel" onto YouTube in November 2009, and all 5 feature Glen on drums alongside vocalist Gigi Micelli, guitarists Gerald McKinnon & Jean Paul, and bassist Dan Jones. The three songs are pretty interesting, and they sound like they had talent way back when! Gigi's singing has that retro melodic feel that flows with the material, Glen's drumming is as great as ever, and the band seems to have good chemistry! I like when Glen posts old audio recordings from his bands, they're a nice glimpse back at the local scene's past, and I can see myself rocking out to J.A.B. 20 years ago if I was of age to!

Check out the songs above, and their Montrose cover below, but note that the audio fades in and out here and there on these recordings. Also, click here for an interesting story relating to what happened after the concert that the song below came from!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes very soon, including our overdue next YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Turner Up & As It Stands), The End Of Sneaky Pete, And More!!

It's time for a stacked news post at the SMS, featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next two weekends, a brief note on a concert postponement, a disappointing band breakup, and details on an upcoming art event with a local metal affiliation, so here's what you need to know!

Three weeks after their latest local concerts, local classic hard rockers Turner Up will hit The Rockstar Bar THIS FRIDAY! This will be the current Turner Up's first ever stop at The Rockstar Bar, but the old Turner Up that became Full Circle played there frequently during their run, and it'll be good to see a band under that name back there! In what may be their last local concert set until the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th, this will be a one night only affair, as Boogie Fever are booked for this Saturday night, and it remains to be seen if Turner Up will book a Saturday show elsewhere this weekend. The show starts at 10:30 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd expect at least a nominal cover charge, knowing the usual Rockstar Bar local concert. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a solid concert for sure, and hopefully lots of fans can make it out to rock with Turner Up this Friday night! Stay tuned for more details on Turner Up's upcoming concerts as they come in!

Also, here's a brief concert date change, as Tym Morrison's show this weekend at The Service Grill has been moved from Friday to Saturday. A reason for the postponement wasn't announced, but the Facebook event page was quietly updated last night. I just hope the new date doesn't take an attendance hit due to the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian, but Tym's acoustic solo show sounds good no matter when, so take note of the new date!

Now to the other new concert, as an all ages metal concert is in the works for Friday, April the 13th! Yes, that unlucky day is coming next weekend, but with 6 high profile Algoma metal bands, this is shaping up well! According to the Facebook event page, the lineup currently includes local hardcore quintet As It Stands, Debarats death metal quartet For All That Is Lost (in their Oddfellows Hall debut), grimecore rockers Shit Liver, local hard rock notables Borderline Divine (more on them in a second), hardcore quartet Changing Waves (in their first concert set in almost three months), and local extreme metallers Winkstinger, which adds up to a very solid lineup of bands! Notably, this concert marks the return to concert booking by local musician Jeremy Hannah, and it's good to see him booking local metal shows again, as it's been too long since the 2010 Soo Music Mash-Up event! Full details beyond bands are not out yet for this concert, but I'd assume it's all ages. Check the above links for all current details! Hopefully word spreads fast, as there's less than 2 weeks to get the word out for this concert, but there's a lot of great bands, so it can't be too hard! As updates come in, I'll have them here!

As for Borderline Divine, this show marks a lot of firsts, so let's go through them briefly. This will be their first concert since changing their name from Stillbroke, their first show in over 2 years, their Oddfellows Hall debut (I believe), their first concert since the departures of Chris Villeneuve & Kyle McKey and the additions of Mitch Sirie & Justin Polutanovich, their first show with Jesse Frigault only singing and not playing guitar, and it'll mark the live debut of their new original material as well. In short, this is a big return for the guys, and hopefully all their hard work over the last couple of years will begin to pay off starting next weekend, so come out and see Borderline Divine on Friday the 13th!

Next up, here's some disappointing news, as local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete have officially disbanded after a three year run. A statement was made on the band's Facebook page last night, and though the reasoning for the split was left vague, "challenging obstacles" and "hurdles" were blamed for leading to "the unavoidable". The band thanked their fans, families, and local concert venues for the support and the good times over the past few years, and assured fans that we'll see the members down the road in new musical projects. This is really surprising to hear, especially knowing the momentum they've had since they finally debuted on stage last April! Though Sneaky Pete only gigged locally for 10 months, they produced some solid great concerts and covers during the span, and even before they debuted, they unveiled some nice demos and got people talking in the leadup to their first show. I don't know the full details on the breakup, but hopefully it was amicable, and I do know that the members' talents will take them far when they get back in new bands! Until then, I wish Mike, Mario, Bill, and Sean all the best in whatever comes next for them, and fingers crossed that we see the guys back out there soon!

And finally for today, remember last week when I mentioned the planned local concert poster exhibition through National Youth Arts Week? Well, it's now official, so here's what you should know! Entitled "Posted Around", the exhibition will be held at the Circle of Creative Arts Center at 648 Queen Street East (not far from The Grand Theater), and it will feature concert posters ranging from the 1980s through last year, with prints available to purchase of the posters starting at $5. Part of the proceeds will go towards arts programming in Attawapiskat, and the exhibition will run from April 23rd to April 27th with the opening at 7:00 PM on the 23rd. Posters from metal concerts will be featured, including last year's Sewer Swampstravaganja 11 band show at The Oddfellows Hall, which actually gets name credit on the event's poster, even mentioning three bands from the show in the process. Click here for more details! I'm really curious about this exhibition from a concert fan's persepctive, and I hope that organizers have a nice large selection of posters to share and sell! I hope to hit up "Posted Around" at least once when it goes on, and I'll give a recap with photos when I do, so keep an eye out, and hopefully you guys can check it all out yourselves!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and feature posts soon! Thanks everyone!