YouTube Channel Profile Series: Small Town Rivals & Chitamo

It's now time for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2020, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of YouTube channels whose uploads are at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and concerts! As usual, channels are randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions, and we're looking at two this month due to the first channel only having one upload, necessitating a second channel selection. This month's choices will kick 2020 off in the punk realm via some high profile and familiar faces, so here's what you should know!
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Small Town Rivals (http://youtube.com/channel/UCpLBDb7tSBomAdeY4MR6QqA)

Owner: Northwest singer/guitarist and ex-Nebraska Arms/Renderware alum Wayne Watkins, launched during his tenure as frontman of the 2010-2013 local/Whistler, B.C. pop punk band The Small Town Rivals

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 9th, 2012; Only video posted on "Stir Friday", April 19th, 2013

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for The Small Town Rivals only saw one video posting, late in the band's life span, where Wayne plays a solo acoustic rendition of their unreleased original song "Algoma Steel." Subtitled as the "late night stir fry edition" (complete with Wayne stirring said dish in his kitchen), this performance is lively and has all the hallmarks of his wider scale work to come with Northwest, with a unique setting to add some flavour, and lyrics are even in the description! However, the video is mirrored, and the channel does not include any other Small Town Rivals content, but click here to see a full band music video of theirs.


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Chitamo (http://youtube.com/chitamo)

Owner: A YouTube user and likely local resident with the last name Chitamo (I am uncertain of their identity otherwise.)

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 3rd, 2006; Videos posted that day and on March 21st, 2009

Channel Summary: Nine of the ten videos come from local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers' headlining concert at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) on September 1st, 2006. The only other video is of an unidentified beatboxer delivering an impromptu performance at a local bar in 2009.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is definitely worth a watch for fans of The Inner City Surfers' mid-late 2000s heyday, though the dark lighting and generally short video run-time will not be to everyone's liking (the nine Surfers videos only run for about 6 minutes total, but there are much more available elsewhere.) As for the beatboxing clip, it is impressive, though Mr. Chitamo's efforts to learn the artist's identity appears to have went cold, and the channel hasn't been visibly used in the 2010s.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Inner City Surfers cover Beastie Boys: Three of this channel's videos have exceeded 500 views, but this 42 second clip of The Inner City Surfers covering The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" edged out the others. The dark and largely out-of-focus video isn't much to look at, but Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey have a solid and entertaining handle on the last verse of this rap rock classic! The guys also covered The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" here, with Dustin and Mikey trading vocal & drum duties, though the video is uploaded sideways.

Surfers-Won't Belong: Stones cover aside, the channel's only Surfers upload to exceed 1 minute in length is of the guys playing "Won't Belong" from their second album "Laughing On The Outside" and their later self-titled CD. This video has solid sound, and better lighting & clarity overall, albeit at the expense of a jitterier angle, and it's a nice showcase of Brad's singing while it lasts! Other song fragments filmed by Mr. Chitamo include "Perfect Moment", "Commandments", "Booze N' Doobs" in three chunks, and this untitled instrumental fragment.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around February 26th when we look at another randomly selected YouTube channel, and we'll be staying in punk mode then by looking at biznasty316's channel, featuring six Treble Charger song uploads from their last three albums. Look for that then, and for more news and this month's CD review this week! Thanks everyone! 

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Small Town Rivals

After a slight delay, it's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as part of our ongoing monthly feature series spotlighting inactive local bands (linked on the SMS) who may not be a functioning project anymore, but deserve a spotlight with current readers. This month's completely random selection features a few familiar faces for fans of modern punk rock locally, so here's what you should know on them!
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The Small Town Rivals

Genre: Pop Punk/Alternative

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/Whistler, British Columbia (the band later listed Toronto, Ontario in lieu of Whistler as a "current location")

Members: (Members not in their last full lineups in italics. Note that the band featured different live lineups depending on where the band was playing, a'la iT in the late 2000s, with Wayne and/or Jesse joined by bandmates local to their respective hometowns. Bassists and drummers who performed exclusively with the local version of The Small Town Rivals are appropriately credited.)

Wayne Watkins (Northwest, Nebraska Arms), vocals/guitar
Jesse Nelson, guitar
Mike Smykacz (Northwest), local bass
Scott Phillips, bass
Clint Wilson (Bankshot, Northwest, Late Shift), local drums
Liam Murray, drums

Dave Prendergast (Nebraska Arms, Gilmour), local bass
Marc Santos (Northwest, A Fall From Innocence), local drums

Audio/Video: The Small Town Rivals' non-local lineup released one EP to their Bandcamp page on November 9th, 2012, entitled "East vs. West", which is available on a "name your price" model. Video-wise, there's not a lot from this band (there's honestly more of two otherwise unrelated bands of the same name), but at least two videos exist publically, including a solo unplugged "late night stir fry edition" of their unreleased original "Algoma Steel", and as featured here, this studio preview clip from the EP sessions, as set to their song "Heartbreaks & Fairytales"!



Info/Analysis: Formed as a studio project between long-time friends Wayne Watkins and Jesse Nelson in 2010, The Small Town Rivals evolved into a formal live band by the following year after Jesse moved out east, debuting with shows locally (at the original Coch's Corner) and in North Bay in June 2011. Updates were minimal until the band's new lineup began writing for their "East vs. West" EP in 2012. After it's release, the band entered the CBC Searchlight contest in 2013, and returned for a few live concerts that May, opening for The Brains & The Penske File locally & playing at the annual Pouzza Fest in Montreal, while Wayne previously played an S.T.R.-branded acoustic show at Coch's Corner that March. After entering a Hockey Night In Canada song contest that fall, The Small Town Rivals quietly fell inactive and were effectively succeeded by Wayne's new fully local indie/punk band Northwest, which has since featured all but one of the local Rivals in their past or present lineups.

If you're familiar with Wayne, Mike, and Clint/Marc's work with Northwest, you'll be right at home with The Small Town Rivals, whose upbeat punk rock sound, Perry Farrell-esque vocals, and indie sensibility all translated to the later band. The guitar attack isn't as full, and the genre variations aren't as noticeable in studio material, but The Rivals had a strong chemistry and nice recording quality on songs like "Old Hollywood" & "Grave Digger", and they are definitely worth a listen for fans of Northwest and members' related projects! Hopefully Wayne & Jesse pick things up again!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll head back to Sault Michigan to close another 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults, and our latest random selection has given us 2001-2008 Cedarville hard rock quartet Oddfellow! Look for that on or around March 10th, and stay tuned for more this week! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: TWCD

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile at the SMS! Like in past months, this monthly feature looks at 1-3 YouTube channels that have at least a 50% concentration of local metal, hard rock, or punk-relevant videos, in order to spotlight them and their content for current readers, and encourage subscription and views therein, with channels still being randomly selected! This month's random choice is a channel from a talented local punk musician, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profile!
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TWCD (http://www.youtube.com/twcd)

Owner: Northwest singer/guitarist Wayne Watkins, also known from prior work with bands like A Fall From Innocence, The Blockade, Nebraska Arms, Renderware, The Small Town Rivals, and Why

Channel Timeline: Launched on December 26th, 2006; Videos posted from September 2008 until August 2014

Channel Summary: An apparent personal use channel for prolific local punk/indie musician Wayne Watkins (though the meaning of "TWCD" isn't clear), he has posted four videos there, including three focusing on two of his successful recent bands, and an Ice Bucket Challenge video from mid-2014 in support of the fight against A.L.S. (or Lou Gehrig's Disease.)

Why You Should Watch: Give Wayne's channel a look for some solid videos from a pair of recent musical projects, as he's a talented multi-instrumentalist with a lot of familiarity! However, no videos of his current band Northwest are featured (nor anything pre-2008) despite the channel's 2006 launch date, and it hasn't visibly been used in almost two years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Nebraksa Arms: Wayne's first video on his channel is a live clip of his then-new indie punk quartet Nebraska Arms playing their original song "Lighthouses" live at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on September 5th, 2008. Featuring Wayne on guitar alongside Hangdowns alum Guy Thiffault on vocals & bass, ex-Gilmour guitarist Dave Prendergast, and Wayne's old Renderware bandmate Adam Sauve on drums, this is a lively rendition of one of Nebraska Arms' better known songs, but despite a solid camera angle, the video suffers from grainy audio and inconsistent visuals when zoomed in.



Nebraska Arms: This channel's most viewed video is of a posthumous music video for their song "I Was a Writer", with it's studio version from their album "We'll Never Sleep Again" set to assorted band photos, and live video footage from their set at February 2010's Sault College/Scotties Tournament of Hearts Battle of the Bands (which was professionally shot by organizers) at what's now the Community First Curling Center. Posted online three years after the battle, this is a nice retrospective look at Nebraska Arms' two year run in the local scene, which quietly ended a few months after their battle set, and with a clear & well produced studio track to boot, fans of Nebraska Arms won't want to bypass it!



Small Town Rivals Heart Breaks & Fairy Tales: Wayne's other music-related upload is this preview music video for his defunct local/Whistler, B.C. pop punk band The Small Town Rivals' song "Heartbreaks & Fairytales". Posted a month after the release of the band's only studio album "East vs. West", the video features Wayne and company jamming, hanging out, and rehearsing in studio, with guitarist Jesse Nelson, bassist Scott Phillips, and drummer Liam Murray (all from their British Columbia lineup) representing the band here. Ending with some lighter outtakes and cut segments from the shoot, this is a well edited clip that captures The Small Town Rivals' studio process well, and while the band is now inactive, catch their local wing in Northwest!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll again look at a single channel that was randomly selected, and you've gotta love when things line up, as next month's channel actually features more video footage from the aforementioned Sault College Battle of the Bands! Next month, we'll take a look at the original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage's inactive YouTube channel, which has 5 in-house music videos of early studio favourites, so look for that on or around July 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), A New Redundant Video, And Much More!!

Just when we thought there wouldn't be a second post today, we came across enough news and updates to populate one, so let's get it up before we tackle the weekend's concert previews! Today, we have a lot of assorted shorter items, a recent concert video, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next week, so here's what you need to know!

Local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will make a special Thursday night appearance at  The Speak Easy at Algoma University next Thursday, November 27th! Fresh off of this Friday night's Sault Band-O-Rama (which we're previewing on the site tomorrow), this will likely be the first public hard rock concert at Algoma University's campus bar of the year, at least that we've heard of, though I don't know if there is a special reason for the Thursday booking. Opening for them at this show will be Boxes of Boom, a local project that I don't know a ton on, but their music features minimalist rock overtop of techno beats. Interesting sound, and I know they turned some heads when they played with The Pixo Control at a private house party event earlier this month, so keep them in mind! This show has a 10:00 PM start time & no announced cover charge, and while a 19+ age limit is likely, we'll let you know if it's all ages or if underage Algoma students can get in. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates on this intriguing show!

Next up, here's another new video from last week's Rock For Dimes fundraiser concert at The Delta Waterfront Hotel, this time of headlining local punk trio Redundant! Like their Rock For Dimes videos from last spring, this was filmed by frontman Justin Langlois' dad Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Monday, and features Redundant's set-opening cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" (with assists from Justin's sons), though the pre-set encouragement of fans to come onto the floor is left in. Like Michel's Thrill Junkies clip, this is very solid in quality, albeit with fans' heads in the way, so give it a look below, and we'll let you know if Michel shot any more footage at Rock For Dimes!



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

• These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa LeClair is again looking to jam with other rock musicians, though it's unclear whether she's hoping to revive T.S.O.T. (who haven't posted a Facebook update at all this year) or for a different project entirely. It'd be nice to see her in an active band again, so message her at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• Former Frasiers guitarist Charlie Derrer is looking for a drummer and second guitarist for  a new "pop funk" band that he's launching, and it's likely that he already has a bassist. In case this will cross over into punk, we'll mention it here, so message Charlie at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on November 5th if you're interested!
• In their first new song posting in two months, local pop punk solo project For July uploaded a new original track named "Go" onto their Soundcloud page on Monday! Medium-paced while retaining a pop punk and emo bite, it's well done for the genre, but the chorus vocals don't strike me as very imaginative. Still, give the full song a listen above for some lively original music!
• New local punk/grunge duo The Red & Black revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they have a "new CD in the works", which would be their first formal album release. Little else is known at present, but given Chris Shoust's Telephone & Address output, this likely won't be a long wait, so stay tuned for updates!
• Barring an imminent sign of life, we'll be moving the local/B.C. indie punk band The Small Town Rivals to our inactive band links next week due to a year's inactivity, having last posted on their Facebook page in November of last year. This band had a good sound going and some successes, but were arguably succeeded by Northwest, who shared all but one member from their local live lineup. If we hear different, we'll let you know, but best of luck to Northwest, Jesse, Scott, and Liam in the future!
• The new episode of Local2's music spotlight webseries Tuned With Donna Hopper went up yesterday at this link, and while it mostly focuses on a recent concert set and interview from local progressive rock quartet Machines Dream, it does plug this weekend's Sault Band-O-Rama and next weekend's Toystock in the concert calendar segment. It's still a good episode, so give it a look above to see it, especially if you love prog rock!

That's definitely all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Meet The Local Punk Bands!! Part 3

This morning marks our third and final post to "introduce" active local (non-hardcore) punk bands to our expanded coverage, and check out our feature on Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, Gnaeus, Northwest, and the now-defunct Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking in the post below this one! Also, for clarity, I have not included the yet-to-debut Habitat Shuffle and the secretive ska-punk duo Them in these posts due to a lack of information and public appearances, but if either rectify that, they'll be on here! Now, for our last of the active punk bands, we have one that recently came back, one with out of town ties, and two with Inner City Surfers & Lion Ride alumni, so here's what you should know!

We'll start this feature with a band that, much like Northwest, don't have a known online page, and they are local punk quartet Brad Example & The Role Models! Active off and on since opening for The Revue at the former Foggy Notions in December 2006 (and possibly before), you may best remember this band from a string of 2011 appearances where they opened twice for The Saigon Hookers at The Rockstar Bar and played at the Tailfeathers Music Festival that fall, before falling dormant until last month's Public Animal concert, but I won't rehash that show's unfortunate ending. Similarly to Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, The Role Models merge two members of The Inner City Surfers with known local artists, in this case featuring singer/bassist Brad "Example" Lacell and guitarist Dave Bahun alongside former Lion Ride bandmates Marco Pedalino (most recently of Glitch) and Marc Muto on guitar and drums, while the prolific Phil Greco was their former drummer, and I may be missing other ex-members.

I don't recall a public video existing from one of Brad and The Role Models' concerts, but Brad did recently tell me that they've been working on original material, so I don't believe last month's show was a one-off. Hopefully we see more of the guys soon, as I remember this band having a solid punk sound with occasional metal covers, effective vocals for the style, and clear on-stage chemistry! If you miss the Surfers, follow both The Role Models and The Rising Tide for their members' current collaborative work, and hopefully some online pages and media from the former turn up soon!

Next up is a band that entertained at many shows at the turn of the 2010s, and are coming back, them being The Fury! Led & fronted by former Smeltzer bassist Paul Stanghetta (last seen with the never-launched Keep It Lit), you may remember The Fury best as the band with two bassists and no guitarists, and though they hated being classified into a genre, punk was an obvious match to their early sound, at least back then. Two time battle of the bands runners-up in 2009 and 2010, The Fury's old incarnation featured RedD Monkey's Joe Bumbacco on drums, while their second bassist was originally Josh McNally (ex-The Crossed) and later Tony Briglio (now of Sykotyk Rampage.) Writing original material and opening for the likes of Upheaval of an Exorcist, Blind Witness, and Broadcast Zero during their first run, The Fury originally disbanded in mid-2011, but after a three year breakup, Paul's working on a comeback, and was looking for a new drummer to join the new Fury (now with a DJ too) as of June 4th, so click here for more information!

It's hard to know how the new Fury will sound (Paul's hinted that they'll be "super heavy, fast, and fresh"), but in their original 2009-2011 run, they had an original yet familiar sound that fans of intense modern punk would have loved, even if they hated being classified as such! Paul's vocals were also a great fit when singing or even pseudo-rapping at times, and after a while, you forgot there wasn't a guitarist on stage with them! We'll let you know when their new lineup debuts or properly launches, but check out old material at their MySpace page, and here they are playing their song "Rebel Scum" at Foggy's in late 2010!

Also in new punk band additions are The Small Town Rivals, a partly local pop punk/alternative quartet that you may recognize as being either the predecessors to or the sister band of the all-local Northwest! Launched in 2010 as a studio project by frontman Wayne Watkins and Whistler, B.C. guitarist Jesse Nelson, The Small Town Rivals (who have also been billed from Toronto) released their debut (and only?) EP named "East Vs. West" in the fall of 2012, which you can buy at this link. Similarly to the partly local progressive rock band iT, The Small Town Rivals had separate lineups in two separate homebases, with Scott Phillips & Liam Murray playing bass and drums outside of the area, and Wayne's Northwest bandmates Mike Smykacz & Clint Wilson handling those roles in the Soo, while Wayne has played solo gigs under this band name as well. Opening for the likes of The Penske File & The Snips here and away, this band has not been visibly active since November 2013 plugs for a Hockey Night In Canada song contest, and Northwest may have replaced them since.

Fans of Wayne's local band projects should like The Small Town Rivals, who take on a lively pop punk sound with well composed original songs, nice vocal harmonies between Wayne & Jesse, and a fun melody, and if you like Northwest, you'll be at home with this band as well! Check out more from The Small Town Rivals on Facebook, Twitter, CBC Music, and Bandcamp, and here's a preview video for their song "Heartbreaks & Fairy Tales"!

Finally for our active punk band features is The Wing-Its, a somewhat newer punk quartet signed to Tidal Records! Though they don't have a proper online page that I've seen, their profile on Tidal Records' website says that they're a "straight forward power pop/punk band" with a "no holds barred... kind of rock 'n roll" that's full of energy and soaked in hooks. Their lineup is comprised of label co-owners Dustin Jones (also The Rising Tide's frontman) on vocals & guitar and Dan Nystedt (also a local filmmaker) on drums, alongside Role Models guitarist Marco Pedalino and former Spigots frontman Trevor Harding (another partner in Tidal Records) on bass. From what I've seen, The Wing-Its don't play live that often, but they debuted at The Rockstar Bar last February, and they were among the bands at Tidal Records' kick-off show at the same venue last November. Live concert footage isn't plentiful online, but Marco did upload three videos of a Wing-Its jam session to his YouTube channel in October, so how do the guys sound here?

Curiously uploaded upside down (with Dan completely out of frame), the songs are either all originals or I can't discern the songs well. The three songs don't strike me as having a lot of the hinted indie rock influences, but the talent is present on these well filmed videos, and there's a familiarity for fans of the members' older bands! Nice solid punk rock, so give the videos a look at the above links and below (though note that "tune 3" has a camera mishap late), and hopefully we hear more on The Wing-Its soon!



I hope you guys liked our recent look at active local punk bands! When we pick things up on local punk features, we'll be looking at defunct and inactive ones in the coming days, so stay tuned for them soon, and look out for much more on our current active punk bands, no matter the subgenre, in the coming months and beyond! Thanks everyone!