The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Preview, An Inactive Band Note, And A New Soundcheck Video!!

Let's take a look at some news and notes on this Monday evening, including our extended preview of a major concert tomorrow, a band newly moved to our inactive links, and a surprise live concert video find, so with all of that said, here's what you should know!

We'll start with today with a huge concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as Norwood, Ontario hard rock icons Three Days Grace and Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet Finger Eleven will return to the Soo at GFL Memorial Gardens! For Three Days Grace, this will be their third time at the arena, and first since headlining there in December 2009, and of course, this is their first local date with ex-My Darkest Days singer Matt Walst on vocals, notably with original frontman Adam Gontier returning to the band in 2024 to give them two lead singers. The two do share vocals throughout the night, so if you wanted to hear Adam do "I Am Machine, or Matt do "Animal I Have Become", let alone new stuff like "Apologies", this is your chance! As for Finger Eleven, local fans last saw them opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop in 2018, and this will mark (at least) their fifth concert appearance here, and first at the former Essar Center.

In the almost eight years since we last saw Finger Eleven here, they have kept touring and released their new album "Last Night On Earth" last year, so expect classics like "First Time" and "Falling On" along with newer cuts like "Adrenaline" as the take the stage! Opening the proceedings tomorrow are Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk in their local debut, and they've been slowly gaining traction on domestic rock radio with songs like "Head Up" and "Hated" from their new album "Altruistic", so don't sleep on their accessible but hard hitting original sound tomorrow! This stop on Three Days Grace's Alienation Tour is brought to you by Live Nation, and while neither local rock radio station is a presenting sponsor, both have had ticket giveaway contests. A 7:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and limited tickets are still available at this link or at the in-person box office, starting at $116.50 in section 119.

Other sections and general/floor seating will run $157.25, but there's not many left. VIP passes are also available, so see above if you're so inclined. The sixteen years long wait for Three Days Grace alone will be cause for excitement, but add in Finger Eleven's return and Royal Tusk, and you've got one hell of a Tuesday night out, so don't miss out on all of tomorrow's action in spite of the work/school night scheduling! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Three Days Grace live!

Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity threshold, I'm now inclined to believe that they quietly disbanded in late 2025, thanks in part to their "Collage" EP's abrupt release in September, their lack of any public updates since, and most members currently focusing on new projects. After a year's hiatus during the pandemic, guitarist Jesse Cook & drummer Johnny Belanger brought Handsome Sandwich back in the summer of 2021, but not as the genre-less cover trio that fans had known since 2017. Now with singer Taylor Emlaw in their ranks, they became favourites at local concerts for the next four years, including two Rotaryfest Stage 2 sets, tour runs in Southeastern Ontario, and their 2023 release party for "Deconstructed" at The Loft.

The band last played live at the Northern Vibe Festival in August. Since then, Johnny has been playing with ex-guitarists in both Eden Plague and The Golden Scoundrels while also joining the revived Stiffler's Mom offshoot Wheelhouse, Taylor is working on a new project with HeadFirst alum Raine Rancourt, and bassist Rafael Medina has moved back to his native Colombia, where he has joined the band Adios Celeste. Handsome Sandwich had a good eight year run locally in two very different halves, and they stood apart musically with a fun alt-rock sound and pointed lyrics. Best of luck to everyone (including James, Mitch, and Brandon) in the future!

We'll close today with a new/old video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck that made its way to YouTube in September of last year! This was uploaded to former drummer Glen Thomas' personal YouTube channel shortly before the band reunited without him, and it comes from Soundcheck's set at Toystock at the Grand Gardens in November 2022. In their fourth of five consecutive Toystock sets, Soundcheck were represented here by Glen alongside founding guitarist Terry Eaton, singer Cameron Oliver (who is not playing guitar here at all), and guest bassist Rob Gilmar, who frequently sat in for Paul Belair in the early 2020s (Jim Michaud would join the band permanently a few months after this gig). Soundcheck were filmed here by an uncredited attendee covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" to close their set.

Alas, this video was shot vertically, but we do get the unique visual of the filmer walking to the stage early on, and they do focus on Cameron as he roams the stage on the latter cover (also note the uncredited guest singer on "Save A Horse"). I admittedly don't have love for either of these cover choices, but the performances are lively and the crowd was receptive, so fans of the 2019-2025 Cameron era of Soundcheck will want to give these covers a watch below, and best of luck to Cameron in Nashville!

That's all for now, but definitely stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Three Days Grace) & Exit 808 Updates!!

No, I didn't forget the big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from yesterday morning, so here's what you should know about that, as well as some updates from a local band's recent Halloween gig!

Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet Three Days Grace will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday, April 28th at GFL Memorial Gardens! Announced yesterday morning as part of the band's world tour in support of their new album "Alienation", this will be Three Days Grace's first appearance in the Soo since headlining at what was then the Essar Centre in December 2009, and third total after debuting at the downtown arena in January 2008. Of course, in that sixteen year gap since we last saw them, singer Adam Gontier left the band and was replaced by bassist Brad Walst's brother Matt, only for Adam to return full time last year with Matt sticking around, giving 3DG two frontmen. We never saw Three Days Grace with Matt Walst as the sole singer here, but they kept on racking up rock radio hits with him like "Painkiller", "The Mountain", and "So Called Life", so how will they sound with Adam singing too?

This won't be Matt's first time performing in the area though, as he fronted his old band My Darkest Days (of "Porn Star Dancing" fame) at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2012, while Adam fronted his own band Saint Asonia at The Dreammakers Theatre in February of last year, shortly before he rejoined Three Days Grace. No matter which singer/era of the band you prefer, it's awesome to see Three Days Grace coming back to the Gardens, especially with current hits like "Mayday" and "Apologies" in their back pocket, so don't miss out in five months' time! Joining them for most of the Canadian leg of the tour is Burlington alt-hard rock quintet Finger Eleven, in their first local concert appearance since opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop back in April 2018, and their (at least) fifth total here, each one at a different venue. Since we last saw them, they just released their new album "Last Night On Earth".

Fans can expect a set full of classics like "Paralyzer", "One Thing", and "Good Times" in Finger Eleven's return to the Soo after eight years, so don't bypass them either! Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk will make their local debut as the opening act in April, and they have been building decent momentum with their radio-friendly brand of metal originals like "Aftermath" and "First Time" (no relation to the Finger Eleven song of the same name), and they should set things off on the right foot in the spring! No word on whether Rock 101 or 104.3 The Fox will be the presenting radio sponsor for this Live Nation concert, but both local rock stations have announced ticket giveaway contests. Public on-sale tickets go live at the in-person box office or online at this link on Friday at 10:00 AM, and tickets will start at $55 with VIP packages also being available. This will absolutely be an all ages concert, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised.

Tuesday nighter or not, this will be a huge concert for local hard rock fans, and even if Three Days Grace were coming solo, the sixteen+ year wait alone (and all of the hits they've released since) will ensure a strong reception in twenty-four weeks' time! Visit the above links for much more on Three Days Grace and Finger Eleven's show at the Gardens next year, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they are guaranteed to move quick!

Let's close today with some new updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808, starting with the clarification on their Facebook page that bassist Blaze Beairl was definitely at their Halloween weekend "Fright Night On The Bay" concert at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on November 1st. While not seen in videos from the event, they did share pictures featuring him in costume as a rapper, and as it turns out, he was trading off with new band member Brad Pringle throughout the night. Whether the two will juggle/alternate bass indefinitely or if Blaze will hop on other instruments in the future, I don't know, but as the band said, "(we) love our teenagers on stage!". Of note, singer Dillion Semasky appeared to have a mad scientist costume for part of the night but he did not have the coat on in the videos. Speaking of which, we have a new video to share with Blaze on bass, so what should you know there?

Uploaded to their Facebook page on Friday, this Brad and Amy-less cover of AC/DC's "T.N.T." also features guest singer Molly Escherich (as the other two videos did), and has her and Dillion trading verses. Filmed from a strong horizontal angle (if only for 39 seconds), this cover is well handled with the two singers adapting well without cloning Bon's vocal style! No word on how bar patrons were reacting to game 7 of the World Series, but if any Sault Ontarians were in attendance, I feel your pain! Check out Exit 808's AC/DC cover below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1 Review!!

Merry Christmas to all readers who celebrate! I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday and got lots of presents! On this holiday, I wanted to open a present of sorts, namely a disc that I found at Value Village a few weeks ago called "Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1", credited on the spine as "a lo-fi film by Christopher Shoust". Long-time readers may recognize Chris Shoust as the frontman of the inactive indie/punk solo project Telephone & Address, from his work in bands like The Red & Black and Orange, and from his artistic pursuits as a painter and filmmaker, but I had no idea that he once worked on a video magazine project! Two DIY installments of this zine were made up in late 2012 (the first one is dated to September of that year), but I couldn't tell you how they were distributed at the time, as I don't remember him or performers openly plugging this on social media at all.

Interestingly, the disc is not a DVD, rather a data disc containing the 30 minutes of video in one file, so if you have either disc, your mileage will vary on if it will even play on certain devices. Given that I have only seen one of these in the wild in the past 11 years, I'd hazard a guess that their print runs were quite limited, but never fear, as Chris quietly uploaded both Lo-Fi Video Fanzines to his YouTube channel in April of last year. We'll focus on the first one today, which was largely shot across two dates in August & September 2012 inside the old Royal Canadian Legion building on Great Northern Road, aside from one performer, who was partially filmed playing on Queen Street East outside of Reggie's Place. It is worth noting that Chris said that the video is "deliberately low quality" to focus on documenting what happened rather than making the footage "look pretty". I don't necessarily agree, as our eyes see better than the camera was set up to, but Chris always liked lo-fi recordings.

I have no clue whether the Legion performances here were taken from public concerts or private events intended specifically for the zine, but if I had heard about them being public events, I would have at least covered them on the SMS at the time. The 30 minute video opens with defunct local hard rock duo Sounds From The Green Room, an online page-less precursor to singer/guitarist Brad Griffith & drummer B.J. Swire's later band Bizotic. S.F.T.G.R. even played a show in Ottawa in 2011, but their public dates in the Soo were very limited, and I didn't know they were still playing anywhere in 2012! Their song (which ended their set at the fuller Legion concert) was introduced by name, but I couldn't make out the title due to the lo-fi recording quality, though it sounded like Brad said "Fudgel". Very Sykotyk Rampage-esque sound to this song, but with more traditional melodic vocals, and it's definitely heavier than Bizotic were!

Second on the zine are two spoken word poems by Denis Robillard, though only the second ("Many Phones Sleep Here, Under The Earth") has its title introduced on camera. I'd have left in the applause after he finished, but Denis did write good thematic poems here! Next is the first appearance of fan favourite local pianist & street performer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda, who performs some original music for 3 minutes or so, and his skill on the keys is as prevalent as ever! More spoken word follows when Cody Rydall reads a well written poem named "Like Flight", while his brother Jake (who we have covered here via the old Swampstravaganza open mic block) gets an almost six minute stretch of the zine next, where he does two original songs on vocals & acoustic guitar. Neither one has its title given on camera, but they may be called "Eye To Eye" and "Broken Guitar Strings".

Jake sings well here and has a knack for good compositions! As the second half of the zine begins, we leave the Legion for the first time to catch Spider Fingerz playing outside on Queen Street (at 3:00 AM, no less!). One wonders what nighthawks must have thought of this, but as always, Damjan's abilities as a pianist are clear as day even if the video isn't! Cody Rydall returns for a second poem next, which isn't titled on camera but only runs for about 30 seconds. Once you're done snapping your fingers to it, you can check out the return of Sounds From The Green Room's Brad Griffith, who is otherwise best known on bass with No Arrow and SBD, and for his more recent solo pursuits under the Gortium85 handle. Brad's solo section is the longest in the zine, and the only one to feature two distinct camera angles. As seen here, Brad is sticking closer to his grunge/hard rock work of the 2000s and early 2010s than what we saw later from him.

His two songs include one possibly named "Black Shadow", but I couldn't catch a candidate name for the second song, which has a livelier classic rock flair, and was filmed beside Brad rather than in front of him. Strong stuff for fans of Brad's pre-Bizotic music in particular, especially his first song! Denis Robillard returns for one more poem next, whose title sounds "Woke Flow Aerodrome" but I may be slightly incorrect with it. That ends the Legion content of the zine, and after a break with Damjan skateboarding downtown, we end with him and Chris joining forces like they did in The Red & Black, but here, it is specifically credited as an improvised joint performance between Telephone & Address and Spider Fingerz. Also filmed outside of Reggie's in the middle of the night, this is basically what happens if you let two guys play piano simultaneously, with Chris playing the high keys and Damjan handling the low keys.

Rather than play side by side, Damjan is playing from behind the keyboard while standing up, and they do pair well together to create music that one pianist shouldn't be able to do alone! While I would have filmed these with better quality cameras/settings, this was a fun watch to capture this chunk of the local music scene from a bygone era, with some good poetry to break it up, and it's a shame that this didn't have a wider release or publicity at the time, as I'd have happily covered it 11 years ago! Give Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1 a watch below, and click here to watch No. 2, which is more focused on the local arts community and does not feature hard rock or punk-leaning musical acts. Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (CureCon), Alberta Intrusion Concert Preview, And More!!

Before our review of last night's Soo Art Rocks! concert makes the site, we have a new news post for your Saturday afternoon, so what's in store? Some assorted recent news and notes, a preview of a concert going down TOMORROW NIGHT, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for an intriguing concert event later this year that, while having a lot of blanks to fill, has a lot of promise, so here's what you should know!

Local classic metal quartet Project 421 will reportedly be on the lineup for CureCon, an ambitious convention on Saturday, August 12th where local vendors and artists will come together to support each other, donate to regional charities, and support local businesses. To be held at the Royal Canadian Legion on Great Northern Road in a rare concert at that venue, this event is a co-production of Live705 and upstart local company Ma Lady Menace, ran by local entrepreneur Douglas Ewen. I'm unsure what the company name means, but Ma Lady Menace specialize in selling "crash course crates", which are basically LootCrate-esque boxes filled with just content for fans or newcomers of a media franchise or band, and now they're experimenting with live event promotion and plan to work with Live705 on some events. Very intriguing, we'll have to see where this all goes, and Ma Lady Menace are now linked on the SMS!

As far as I can tell, Project 421 (who confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page) are the only band to publically say they're performing at CureCon so far, in their first announced concert since Halloween, though we may see them somewhere prior yet. Great to see the guys back regardless, they've been missed! Live705's involvement would suggest that A Dire Setback are playing too, but I have not heard confirmation of any other acts yet. Ma Lady Menace have noted that merchandise tables and advertising are available towards the convention proper, but I'm unsure if they're seeking bands the same way or have groups in mind internally. For more details on that end of things, click here! The live band portion of CureCon will be at 8:00 PM on August 12th after the convention portion wraps up, which itself starts at 12:00 PM. Admission will be $20 in advance or $25 at the door for the whole CureCon events, or $15 for just the convention or concert alone.

The concert itself is a 19+ event, but CureCon's prior events have $5 entry for children 3-12 years old, and kids under 3 are free, while there will reportedly attached contests and band Crash Crates, details presumably forthcoming. There are a lot of unknowns yet regarding CureCon, like what kind of convention this will shape up to be (Comics? Home show? Anything & everything?), the remaining band lineup, and more, but I like the ambition on display, and I'm definitely curious to hear more details regarding CureCon, Ma Lady Menace, and other attached entities! Stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's a pair of concert previews for shows over the next couple of nights, starting with The Alberta Intrusion, a concert featuring three touring punk bands from out west that are headlining at The New American Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Those three bands are The bands in question are Edmonton pop punk trio The Old Wives, Edmonton punk rock standouts Worst Days Down, and Calgary punk quintet The River Jacks, and they should deliver their own entertaining takes on the genre tomorrow, so be sure to check all of them out! Of note, some readers will have seen The River Jacks at The Algonquin Pub two years ago as a headlining act during their Gonqshow concert series, so if you wanted an encore, here it finally is! Local punk trio Stegadeth (replacing Talk Shit) will open the proceedings, with frontman Bill Bennett having previously opened for The River Jacks locally with Stereo North, and they should be a fine fit tomorrow, so don't be late!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. in their first fully promoted concert in over two months, you can apparently still get $5 advance tickets at Advance tickets are apparently now available at Northland Music, Case's Music, The Rad Zone and Big Guns Barbershop near the library downtown, though note that the price jumps to $7 at the door. A 9:00 PM start time is listed, and this is a 19+ event. This should be a great concert for punk fans, with a trifecta of intriguing Alberta acts and some local action from Stegadeth in store, so don't miss out tomorrow night, and here's The Old Wives live!



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:

• Local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church are reportedly working on their debut studio album, and have been recording tracks at Mission Control Studios! We were first alerted to this when the studio shared a picture on their Facebook page of Spencer, Elijah, and Beau with Dustin Jones, and the band confirmed on their own Facebook page that they are "working up some new songs... for the album." Very cool to hear, hopefully more updates come out soon!
• The Gore Street Cafe will apparently be forced to relocate to a new venue in July, as per owner Nicole Dyble on their Facebook page on Monday. Plans reportedly called for the cafe to leave the laundromat at month's end, but for "a number of reasons", things have been extended a month. Despite many varied concerts, events, and a fan friendly business model, the cafe has had a rough go in the past year, and while Nicole hopes to find a new venue, she admitted that "the future of the cafe is uncertain." Hopefully things work out for the cafe, they're doing great things there, and fingers crossed that they find a new locale this summer!
• Were you added by a Facebook friend account called "TheSault MusicScene" yesterday? If you were curious, I am NOT behind it, and name aside, I don't believe it's related to the early-mid 2000s music website. The new page is intended to help promote & advertise local concerts of any genre, and while they haven't said who's running the page publically yet, I believe the lead administrator is a musician & former promoter.  If this page is maintained and kept up with, it could be a great resource, so keep it in mind! However, as a personal Facebook account with most posts hidden from non-friends, I can't link it here unless they relax the privacy settings so it's publically vieawable.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Soo Art Rocks! preview next! Thanks everyone!

Mike Haggith's Newest Album, Pillory Lineup Updates, And New Song Uploads!!

As September slowly winds down, we have more news to get to today, so what's in store? New songs from two very different (but death metal-based) Sault Ontario projects, lineup changes from a local thrash band, and leading things off, a new local hard rock album release (and the identity of our next CD review), so read on below to get up to speed!

Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's 47th & newest solo album is now officially on sale! Yes, "Neighbourhood Watch II: Where It Ends" is now available for purchase digitally on Mike's Bandcamp & Reverbnation pages for just $5, which is nice and affordable! A physical pressing is also planned, and if you just want to buy individual songs, they're 99¢ on Reverbnation, but the full album is by far a better deal. All of this was released last Monday, along with the final album artwork that better reflects the "Neighbourhood Watch" aspect of the title (Mike's watch sure has escalated!), and as a result, Mike also deleted & re-uploaded the free YouTube copy of the album to add the new artwork. With the album now on sale, I will now confirm that "Neighbourhood Watch II: Where It Ends" will be our next CD review at The Sault Metal Scene! I chose it over it's predecessor "The Present Din" by virtue of it being heavier, but "The Present Din" remains a review possibility for next year, perhaps if "The Tower" is lighter. Support Mike's diverse alternative hard rock solo material by picking up or streaming "Neighbourhood Watch II" at the above links, and stay tuned for our review hopefully in early October!

Next up, here's the latest lineup news from Sault Ontario thrashers Pillory! First, they've added guitarist Josh Amendola (a.k.a. Jack Parsons) to their lineup, in place of the late Andres Duchesne. A formal statement hasn't been made about his addition, but he's had the Pillory logo on his personal Facebook page since May, and he's quietly been added to their Facebook lineup too. I'm not familiar with Josh as a musician, but I'm very curious to hear how he does live! On the flipside, the band have parted ways with bassist Cole Royal, and they are currently looking for a replacement. This was announced by drummer Bret Shuttleworth on their Facebook page on September 19th, and though a reason for Cole's departure hasn't been announced, he didn't play at their partial return set at Grinded Live In Your Ears last month. Disappointing that he left, especially after only a few months, but best of luck to Cole in the future! The band are hoping to find a bassist who's dedicated, interested in their music, and seriously wants to jam, so if you're interested, message the band at the above links or through members' personal Facebook pages, and stay tuned for more as it comes in!

We'll close today's post with new song uploads, starting with a metallized cover by Bear Hunters/Suicide Kings guitarist Mitch Sirie! Uploaded to his solo project The Sorrow Fields' YouTube channel on Thursday, this is a death metal cover of Billy Talent's "Devil In A Midnight Mass", which he recorded as a way to get reacquainted with recording for The Sorrow Fields' first album. Featuring Mitch on vocals & all instruments (plus programmed drums), he may re-record this due to clarity issues, but it's a definite improvement on the original to me! I've never been high on Billy Talent, so there's admittedly a bias there, but it has a punk edged brutality that works well, so give Mitch's first cover upload a listen below!



Finally for today, new local goregrind project Rotopsy (formerly Spitneck) have had two songs from their upcoming three-way split demo from Blood Shed Productions uploaded to the label's YouTube channel yesterday! Entitled "Transfusion of a Reverse Rectaloctopathy" and (as embedded below) "Let Us Rot", the descriptions finally tell us more on the project, which is indeed another band from label head Ringsnaps Gibson (on bass & programming), with new collaborator Dylan Taylor on lead vocals. If you throw The Fury & Crucify The Whore in a blender, and this would probably be what results, and though the vocals are unintelligible and almost sound like random coughs and grunts, but the music's well programmed. Give Rotopsy's newest songs a look above & below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), This Weekend's Concert Previews, And A Cancellation!!

Now into 2 months of constant daily posts at the SMS, there's no end in sight, as today, we have previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock concerts! Before we begin though, just a note that Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings will NOT be playing at The Roosevelt Hotel tonight & tomorrow due to a double booking with local classic rock band Agave Blue (featuring That's Chester alumni.) Disappointing, but we'll see the guys back out there soon, as you know they've got momentum to ride for some more big sets! Now, here's the rest of the concert previews, starting with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will be playing another solo acoustic concert TONIGHT at The Road House Bar & Grill! Apologies for the short notice, but Tym announced the show late on Monday, and we couldn't fit it into anything early enough without a redundant re-posting (but there's still more notice than his show from last Friday!) As usual, Tym's solo unplugged dates are sure to be a solid night of metal & hard rock covers, and his continued relationship with this Trunk Road venue has been a success, so why not go out to The Road House for some music, and perhaps a drink? Plus, Caveman Morrison have been quiet in the past month, so Tym's solo gigs might help fill the gap! Admission should be free for TONIGHT'S show, which starts at 10:00 PM and likely has a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be another fun show from Tym Morrison's acoustic solo project, so keep it mind for this evening, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Heart's "Alone" as part of a 2011 Local2 report!



Now to the previously announced local metal/hard rock shows this weekend, starting with the long awaited return of Garden of Bedlam TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen 6 months ago at The Rad Zone's birthday party at the same venue, Garden of Bedlam remain one of the most prominent local metal bands in the region, and their hard hitting modern metal originals and covers should attract a huge crowd to one of their favourite concert spots later tonight, in just their second concert since opening for Anvil last summer! However, this show will be unique among Garden of Bedlam's Rockstar Bar dates, as for the first time, they have an opening band tonight, that being local hard rock supergroup Skeyes of Seven! Featuring Sense of Truth alumni Cory Murchison & Ron Baxter, Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher, Tripod The Dog bassist Mike Mannarino, and Cherry Crush drummer Jonny Amendola, this will be just their second live concert (and first in 9 months), but I hear they'll have plenty of new originals and covers in store for their sophomore gig, so don't miss out TONIGHT!

A $5 cover is in effect for this 11:00 PM concert (with doors opening at 9:00 PM), and a 19+ age limit is to be expected. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome concert, and I know I'll see you guys there, so don't miss these two big metal band returns TONIGHT! For a preview, here's Garden of Bedlam playing "With A Spark" at The Rockstar Bar in 2010!



In a bit of a jump in styles, there will be an acoustic grunge act playing an ALL AGES concert TOMORROW at The Royal Canadian Legion at 96 Great Northern Road, that being local lo-fi/alternative rock project Telephone & Address! The current musical endeavour from former F.F.B. alum & prolific local artist Christopher Shoust, his material is clearly unplugged but full of heavy-feeling material and themes, and if expanded to a full band, there'd be a lot of harder edged solo material in store! Picture a mix of grunge and outsider folk, if you can. Telephone & Address will be joined at this show (the first in almost 3 years that fits for SMS coverage) by local solo artist Jake Rydall (not to be confused with Blues Harvest/Pesto Shirts member Jake Rendell), and you can click here to check out his own talented unplugged music! This show (the second from AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent's all ages promotion agency) will take place tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, and there's a $5 cover. Check the above links for more details!

Though different from the norm on the SMS, it's good to see Chris playing shows again, and with a new-ish venue and unique sound, hopefully there's a good turnout for Telephone & Address' (perhaps?) live debut! I can't find a video of this project, but click here to see older and newer footage from Chris' local band projects, and keep it in mind this weekend!

Finally on the weekend schedule (for metal/hard rock leaning shows that I know of, at least), Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock quintet Banned will return to one of their recent favourite venues (Todd's Tavern in Moran) TOMORROW NIGHT! This is a one night only gig, I mistakenly put it as a full weekend engagement on our concert listings, so apologies for any confusion! Announced on the band's Facebook page last month, this continues Banned's frequent recent concert pace, and with Todd's Tavern being familiar ground for this widely varied quintet, expect a great set from their current lineup come tomorrow! Like other Moran shows, they'll be on at the early 8:00 PM start time tomorrow, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Banned always put in fun gigs, so take the drive down to Moran tomorrow if you can, and for a preview, here's Banned covering a Carrie Underwood song earlier this year!



That's all for now, but stay tuned likely before or during the Garden of Bedlam show for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Flint (featuring the aforementioned Jamie Vincent), and for a new news post of some type tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Telephone & Address), Gates Of Winter's New Demo, And Sault Michigan Updates!!

41 days into our posting streak, today's updates are thankfully more positive than yesterday's mostly were, so what's on tap as we start another week? Today, we have our first major Sault Michigan updates since April Fools Day, courtesy of a new video and some recent shorter items, but first, we have a long awaited new song posting from one of the area's biggest metal bands, and first, a different sort of LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in a couple of weeks, so here's what you need to know!

In a definite change from what we tend to hear from shows not involving Tym Morrison, we have an SMS-fitting acoustic show to announce tonight, as the Chris Shoust-led grunge/lo-fi solo project Telephone & Address will headline an ALL AGES gig at The Royal Canadian Legion at 96 Great Northern Road on April 27th! This is the first time that we've hyped a concert at the Legion since the original Turner Up played there in May 2010, and it's the first time I can recall Chris playing a live concert under the Telephone & Address handle. Chris' acoustic work definitely fits for SMS coverage, as it's all influenced by grunge and alternative hard rock, despite the one-man nature of much of his recent musical output, and though there is an outsider feel to much of it, these all sound like the seeds of heavy full-band material! Telephone & Address will be supported by local solo musician Jake Rydall, who has his own softer material that you can check out at this location, and he has talent himself! Admission will be $5 for this show (the second to be promoted by AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent through his new all ages promotion agency), and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. Check the above links for more details!

We don't get a varied array of acoustic metal/hard rock shows here, and though I imagine Telephone & Address would be an acquired taste for some, I can appreciate Chris' solo work! He's very artistic and accomplished in various fields, and his music reminds me of Daniel Johnston crossed with Nirvana in some ways. Plus, I imagine this is rare to see him playing live, so keep this show in mind in two weeks, and stay tuned for any possible updates!

Next up, local progressive death metal standouts Gates of Winter posted a new demo original onto their YouTube channel yesterday! Their first sign of life in almost five months (and their first new media posting in over a year), this is of a newly unveiled original song named "Prometheus", which is expected to be a part of their long gestating second EP (and third total release) "Perihelion", though it's unclear if they're still planning to change the name like what was said last fall. Featuring the song's lyrics on the video, this shows more signs of their more technical and death-metal influenced current sound, along with minimal clean vocals, and some orchestral and ethnic flourishes, though I can't confirm yet if they're using programmed drums or have found a new drummer for the recordings. I still hope to review "Perihelion" when it's released (hopefully sooner rather than later), so I won't go in-depth on my thoughts yet, but fans shouldn't be disappointed!

The long wait for band news, updates, and (of course) a return to the stage for the first time since 2008 has been excruciating at times, but hopefully this helps, so check out "Prometheus" below, and stay tuned for more Gates of Winter news as it creeps in!

We'll transition to the Sault Michigan area for the rest of today's post, including our first video glimpse of newer local hard rock quintet Full Throttle! Lake Street Studio owner Taylor Brugman was in attendance for their concert at The Bird (a.k.a. Golanka's Bar) on March 16th, and posted this video of Full Throttle covering Velvet Revolver's "Slither" onto the studio's YouTube channel a week later, so what do we know from it? Well, it does confirm later lineup information on them that I had found, so their current lineup does indeed feature Absolute singer Donny Newell, guitarists Jason Lamoreaux and Steve Pevarnic (of Steve's Music Center fame), Powerslug guitarist Chris Gurnoe on bass, and (I assume) Mark Gillotte on drums, but let me know if I have anything wrong! The video's well lit, but Jason & Chris are often hid behind speakers or other band members at this angle.

As for the song, it's pretty well performed, but Donny does sing some chorus lyrics at the wrong points, and the guys do seem somewhat stiff on stage. Good first video though, and hopefully there's more to come, so check out Full Throttle's cover of "Slither" below!



Finally for today, here's three recent shorter news items from across the river, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or station name:

• Barring a new sign of life by Friday, we'll be moving Powerslug/Toast drummer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten's solo project to our inactive Sault Michigan band links then due to a year's inactivity. Reminiscent of his singing work with I.S.O.M & End of Existence, Orb's solo material has seen no new public updates since his solo version of "12-21-12" was featured in Werehold Records' Friday The 13th new music posting event, but hopefully Bob returns to singing locally in the future, as he's got a great voice!
• Cheboygan rock radio station Real Rock 105.1 FM (which picks up here on better radios) has changed it's name to Rock 105, complete with a major rebranding that saw it's main Traverse City signal switch from 95.5 FM to 105.1 FM as well. The playlist (leaning towards modern rock) will remain the same, so this isn't a major change from what we knew, but check the above links for the new look Rock 105!
• Local classical metal trio Theatre of Night have proved that they still play full on metal, posting a new instrumental named "A Wintery Mix" onto their Reverbnation page on Thursday, and it has a darker symphonic metal feel with some solid tempo changes and instrumentation, so give it a look at the above links, and stay tuned for news on their next album projects!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news in the next couple of days, including our preview of Wednesday's second night of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands! Thanks everyone!

Concert Lineup Additions, What You Don't Know About Concert Photography, And New Videos!!

I've got some more news and notes for this cooler Wednesday afternoon, so here's what's on tap! Today, we have new videos from a pair of talented local guitarists, an interesing article on the truths of major concert photography from a prominent local journalist, and some new bands on a pair of summer all ages shows, so read on below for these latest stories!

Let's start with lineup additions to two upcoming all ages concerts with metal bands at The Oddfellows Hall this summer! First, a new out of town band has been added to the June 20th Weak Ends-headlined punk/metal show, and they are the Regina garage/punk quartet The Royal Red Brigade! Promoter/Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie quietly added them to the lineup on the Facebook event page this afternoon. The Royal Red Brigade have a fairly unique blend of genres while still unleashing some solid punk riffs and aggression, and make sure to not miss them on June 20th as part of a two pronged Saskatchewan punk onslaught! Nothing else new is out yet, so tickets aren't yet on sale, but I'll keep you guys posted on this show (also featuring Frightlight & Redundant) as news comes in! The other new band on an upcoming all ages Oddfellows Hall show is Desbarats death metal quartet Inhuman Methods (pictured), who were quietly confirmed recently as the 8th band for the Sewer Swampstravaganja II concert on July 13th! This will be both their Oddfellows Hall debut and their first gig with new singer Anthony Tverdal, who replaced Curtis Moir in the band late last month. No idea how he sounds yet, but hopefully he does well, and best of luck to Curtis in the future for sure! Stay tuned for more news on these and other concerts as they roll in!

Next up, I wanted to give some deserved attention to a new blog posting by SooToday journalist and photographer Donna Hopper. Her official photography website (which I've just changed her link to in our "Other Local Metal Links") now featured a post entitled "What you think you know, but don’t", which outlines many of the realities and truths about being a concert photographer at major concert events (Essar Center & Kewadin Casino mainly) and what you may not realize about what she does. Some people are known to criticize her SooToday photo albums for their size, content, or angles, but from what Donna writes, this is mostly out of her hands. I won't detail every point she makes, but I encourage you guys to read the article at this link, as it's interesting to see what photographers have to go through and sign off on to be allowed to take professional shots at concerts. Let's just say Bret Michaels sounds much cooler about concert photography than Bryan Adams does. Photojournalism sounds rewarding, and Donna's great at what she does, but some artists are too restrictive and particular in many cases, and legal hangups can prevent some great photos from reaching a wider audience or from being taken at all.

Personally, I'm fine taking pictures from the crowd, as it gives the feeling that that's what a fan would see, but professional photography has a place and shouldn't be as tied down. On the same token, readers and fans shouldn't be shocked or annoyed that Donna and photographers like her can only get so many photos of certain bands, from certain angles. You've gotta play the game in many cases, and she's not just taking the photos she does to irk anyone. Very interesting read, I highly recommend it!

We'll close with some new videos, starting with this new performance video of Trail's End guitarist Chris Hubbard! Yes, he's back on guitar here, and he's showing off his new OLP Eddie Van Halen signature Music Man guitar with over 7 minutes of solo riffing and soloing. Posted on his YouTube channel on Sunday, Chris' immense talents are on display here, and his love for Van Halen is as clear as ever throughout (gotta love the Frankenstrat-painted stool), so definitely give his new video a look below, and stay tuned for more solo (and band?) clips from Chris as they come in!



Finally, a new recording of ex-Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg's original song "Brighter Day" was uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday! Featuring former bandmate James White (now of Redundant & Caveman Morrison) on bass and production, it's still fairly soft compared to Dutch's usual original output, but it's well performed and has a heavier riff & a nice guitar solo late laid in with his lighter singing! Interesting contrast, but it all works well, so check out thsi new recording of "Brighter Day" below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews, last month's poll results, this month's new poll, this week's classic video, and more shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Turner Up), More Local Videos, And Rush In The Soo?!

The news keeps flying in, and luckily, we'll get back to talk of local metal and hard rock bands today! If you were expecting more Kiss updates, I do have some, but I'm postponing that until later today or tomorrow, just to focus mostly on local bands today. Before we start, just a quick look at what to expect in the next few days: Tomorrow will feature previews of this weekend's concerts, I'm tabling Friday for a possible news post (if I have enough stories), and Saturday will have my reviews of the concerts I hit on Friday (Downtown Showdown and Phatstick, if you forgot.) Now, we'll begin with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Thanks to the Facebook statuses of Len Ward and Jeff Gray for this: Local hard rock cover band Turner Up are back for another show THIS WEEKEND, and yes, that is in the singular! Rather than their standard pair of weekend shows, the band are playing just one concert this weekend, at a slightly unconventional venue, at a strange time to boot! On Saturday night, Turner Up will be headlining at The Royal Canadian Legion on Great Northern Road (across from A&W), with a start time of 8:30 PM! The Legion is mostly known for hosting country bands, but they have flirted with heavier bands on occasion, notably being the planned host for a Garden of Bedlam all ages show last year before it was indefinitely postponed. No cover charge for Turner Up's show has been announced, and I don't know if this show specifically is all ages or not. I wish the band made up event pages on Facebook again, they'd likely tell us more! According to Len Ward, the band really needs our support for this show, so there must be a more special/one-off significance to it. I'd go if I was free, but I have tickets for Sault Area Wrestling that night, so I can't make it, but if you guys wanna hear some great hard rock covers, head on out to The Legion on Saturday! And again, my apologies for the short notice, I only found out about this concert yesterday.

Three new videos to share with you guys in this update, so get yourselves ready! Firstly, we finally have new audio to share from local metal band Silver Dream! If you've been wondering why we haven't heard much from them in recent weeks, it's part their originality in issuing band updates, and partly my own ignorance. Frontman Matthew Silver does frequently update people on Facebook on Silver Dream's status and progress, but not through typical means. He actually issues them in pictures, uploading image files onto Facebook with many different band updates, ranging from songwriting to how they're doing in jam sessions, to even song lyrics! It's unconventional, which I applaud, but also hard to keep track of when searching for news and updates. To sum things up, they are close to playing live! The band are currently working on 10 originals for their live set (and presumably their first album, which they want to release sooner rather than later.) They haven't played live yet due to some outside problems, but hope to soon! Click here to check out Matthew's photos, where he has posted these updates, along with some other goodies from when he first started working on this band project to now!

That being said, Matthew uploaded the first public Silver Dream demo onto his YouTube channel! This really reminds me of a slower hair metal song from the '80s, and that's not a bad comment! I like his voice, his singing ability we've seen at his solo shows really comes through! Nicely mixed too, this sounds like it could be on an album already! However, I'd love to hear some heavier stuff from Silver Dream too, but this'll do for the time being! Check it out below, and thanks to Matthew for taking my advice to upload it to YouTube! Facebook Video's alright, but they don't let you embed videos on external sites, which can be bothersome. No matter, here's your first taste of Silver Dream!



Next up, we have new video online of Nixxon Dixxon to share! YouTube user myangels1266 has uploaded two new clips of the Sault Michigan hard rockers from their show this past Sunday at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! The audio is fantastic on both, but the stage lighting hurts the video, you can't even see Chris or Kyle's heads most of the time! Aside from that, the videos are great, now how about the music? One video has the band covering the Van Halen classic "And The Cradle Will Rock...", which really turns out well, they played this almost to a T! Chris Hubbard continues to impress on guitar especially, he's a guitarist to watch out for! The other video, which I've embedded below, has the band covering the Ozzy Osbourne classic "No More Tears"! Aside from a bit of patchy vocals, I have no complaints! Great singing, great instrumentation, I see big things in Nixxon Dixxon's future! Check out "No More Tears" below, and more live videos from the band at this location!



Today's last video comes courtesy of Stillbroke, or, half of Stillbroke! A new video has been uploaded to the band's YouTube channel featuring frontman Jesse Frigault and new guitarist Chris Villeneuve performing a new song called "I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye"! It sounds like a hybrid of their heavier and softer material, it's a good mix! Nice to see some solo work from Chris in here, and the presence of a bit of a solo duel as well, that'll be interesting to see live! Jesse, as always, sings with a mix of passion and aggressiveness that works really well, and the lyrics are good too! Check it out below, and click here for more Stillbroke videos!



And finally for today, you know how Canadian rock legends Rush played in Sault Ste. Marie in the 1970s? Well, if you're a fan of Rush, here's a treat. Local drummer Glen Thomas has uploaded two photos from Rush's show at Sault Memorial Gardens in 1975 onto his new local music news site The Barking Eye, and you can check his post about them at this location! This picture is one of the two he uploaded, of Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart in action at the show! Glen also shared some interesting tidbits on Rush's local appearance, including the fact that they played here more than once, they were quite LOUD (as he intentionally capitalized), and their stage setup at the time included shag carpeting! Rush have got to be the biggest Canadian band to have not played here in the last 30 years, and Glen surmised that it might be because of their massive current stage setup. Maybe, but I'm sure they could scale it down if they did a smaller tour and knew there was demand here! Glen noted that he also sent these pictures to "Castle Stories" author Duane Roy for inclusion in his upcoming book about concerts at Sault Memorial Gardens, which is really cool! Check the above links for more, and cross your fingers that one of these days, Rush will come back!

Alright, that's all for now! I just realized that maybe I shouldn't promise certain things to watch out for in my next update, cause there was a few things not in this update. Well, I guarantee these are coming either later today or tomorrow: Updates on the Kiss show (or lack thereof), Energy Rock Radio, and WinkStinger! Stay tuned!