Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Murder By Romance & Outshined

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, but with a late notice change. In preparing our intended & randomly chosen profile of mid-2000s punk band Mayadevi, I learned that the band is actually one and the same as Ashoka At The Show, who have newly reunited, albeit now based in Elliot Lake. We'll definitely acknowledge their revival in full on the site next week, but that means they don't fit for a profile on a defunct or inactive local band now. As a result, I've picked the next closest alphabetical Sault Ontario band we haven't featured in the series yet, and as they don't have enough for a full profile, I've randomly picked a Sault Michigan band in a similar state to fill things out. Now, here's what you need to know!
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Murder By Romance

Genre: Punk/Emo

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (This information is incomplete. Let us know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Aisha Day, vocals
Brianne Fournier, guitar/vocals
Misty ?????, guitar
Katie Niskanen, drums

Audio/Video: Murder By Romance never posted any material or played live, but their their Tripod page features an extensive potential setlist that a friend suggested (including such bands as CKY & Fall Out Boy), and given that they posted it there, it must be a decent sign as to some material that they were eyeing. Other than that, I have no hints as to their sound, as none of their members are familiar from other bands.

Info/Analysis: Publically active for just a few months in mid-late 2005, Murder By Romance were unique as one of the few all-female bands playing alternative genres at the time, similarly to Apocrytha from the same time period. As of their final public update, they were still looking for a bassist and drummer, and while they didn't get much further off the ground, frontwoman Aisha Day later became known as a local concert promoter. Given M.B.R.'s lineup and sound, they'd have been a unique attraction in their day, and hopefully there's some recorded media out there so we can hear what we missed at some point!
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Outshined

Genre: Christian Hard Rock

Hometown: Rudyard, Michigan

Members:

Jacob Zeeryp (Chained Memories), vocals/keyboard
Caleb Peters, guitar
Jacob Peters, bass
Jamie Brown, drums

Info/Analysis: Active from roughly 2007-2009, Outshined were a rare example of a Christian-themed rock band in the Soo area, and they were definitely heavier than the better known SeeKing Reverence. Aiming to "praise God and lead others to worship" through their music, the band played at church gigs here and as far as Reed City in Central Michigan, as well as competing at a Yoopers Got Talent event in Rudyard in January 2008, but remaining details are in short supply. Sonically a better fit for Rock 101 than Smile FM or The Promise, Outshined took influence from post-grunge for a good sound and chemistry, but some songs could be a little repetitive or sloppy, and the recording quality of their MySpace page's four songs varies. If you're looking for a heavier side of religious music, this might be your best bet, so check out their heaviest & fastest song "Tragedy" below, and hopefully everyone is still active in music!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, and for those hoping for Mayadevi, we'll cover Ashoka at the Show's reunion next week and their current activity going forward, so stay tuned! As for next month's Defunct Profile, our random band selection take us back to Sault Ontario for a single band profile, as we'll be looking at late-2000s indie punk favourites Nebraska Arms, just a few months removed from their one-off reunion at late frontman Guy Thiffault's tribute concert! Look for that profile on or around April 10th, and I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian for March Mash-Up! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bay Mills Bands Together), A New Band Discovery, And New Videos!!

On this mild Saturday, let's keep our relatively busy streak at the SMS rolling with a new news post! Below, you will find some new videos from Sault Ontario artists, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from the Sault Michigan area, but first, here's a new defunct band to add to our band links!

We have a newly found local punk band to add to our inactive band links, and they are a short lived all-female punk/emo band from 2005 named Murder By Romance! Launched that July, the band featured Aisha Day on lead vocals alongside singer/guitarist Brianne Fournier, and keyboardist Katie Niskanen (I believe), while an earlier post on Brianne's personal Tripod page indicated that a guitarist named Misty (full identity unclear) was a later addition on lead guitar. At last word, Murder By Romance was a work in progress, without a firmly established bassist or drummer, but a search for them was underway. The band's Tripod page features some basic biography & contact information from that time, and an extensive potential setlist suggested by a friend of the band, which indicates that bands from AFI & Avenged Sevenfold to Weezer and Yellowcard were possible to be covered in concert.

Aside from Aisha's past work as a concert promoter, I can't place anyone from Murder By Romance in a musical context, so I can't comment on how they sounded, especially with no posted media or reference to live gigs. That said, the prospect of an all-female punk/emo band is definitely intriguing, and would have been very unique in the mid-2000s local punk scene had they played live, much like Apocrytha were around the same time. Check the above links for more on Murder By Romance!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as a second Bay Mills Bands Together fundraiser will be held on Sunday, February 25th at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley, Michigan! Nine months removed from the non-profit group's debut concert at the same venue in support of Marissa Kronemeyer, a number of local bands will unite to help raise funds for Liz & Christian Perron, who recently lost their son Wesley after a long medical fight, which you can read up on at this link if you're not familiar with their story. This concert is designed to help raise funds for the Perrons to help cover medical expenses, and bands are donating their time to the cause, which is awesome of all of them! On the SMS-covered front, this show will feature four returning bands from last year, including local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 and the first 2017 date from masked metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution, while female-fronted cover rockers The Whole Shabang are the advertised headliners, and solo artist Ken Jahnke will also return.

New performers on the 25th will include local rock cover trio Absolute Magnitude (featuring Broke on Sunday & Oddfellow alumni), country rockers The Brooks Band, and a mysterious band named The Lost Dogs, whom we'll have info on if found. Bay Mills Bands Together II has a 6:00 PM start time, $5 minimum entrance fee (you can donate more if you want), while there will be tickets on sale for door prizes & a 50/50 draw.  It's great to see another fundraiser concert of this scale at Pickles, so click here for more details, keep the Perrons in your thoughts, and Bay Mills Bands Together is finally in our Other Local Metal Links!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new live concert video posted to Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock trio The Din's YouTube channel on Thursday! This comes from their headlining show at LopLops Lounge two weeks ago, and it's of their original song "The Rose", which kicked off their set that night. The stationary camera footage is nice and close, and while it sounds largely good with nice & clear vocals from Mike Haggith, I will note that Tammy Hill's guitar work is fairly quiet until her guitar solo. The Din teased that they have much more footage from this show to post or share in the near future, so stay tuned, and give "The Rose" a look below!

Finally, here's a new solo cover video from Stegadeth guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! Uploaded there yesterday, this is a cover of Bad Religion's "Sinister Rouge", and while it is visibly well performed, the audio quality is once again an issue, with the loud backing track coming out very scratchy, and it can be hard to make out Tiffany's part. Still well done, so give it a look below, and keep watch for more from her & Stegadeth!

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