Rust, Bone Yard 225, And Curtis McKenzie Concert Previews!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after being on life support following a fall at his home that led to a brain bleed. Visit your preferred music websites for continuing details on this sad news. A highly influential guitarist who co-wrote many of Kiss' biggest hit songs in the 1970s and early 1980s, and fronted what most considered to be the best of Kiss members' four simultaneous solo albums in 1978, Ace made his own name in the late 1980s and beyond with his own band Frehley's Comet and numerous solo releases, including last year's "10,000 Volts". Ace played two solo concerts in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, including at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in November 2009, before headlining the outdoor '80s Rock Invasion concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin in July of last year.

Of course, Ace was not in the band anymore when Kiss played their two Sault Ste. Marie gigs, but his influence was felt from their setlists to the Spaceman costume taken on by Tommy Thayer, let alone the Kiss tribute bands that have played here. With hits like "Shock Me", "New York Groove", "Rock Soldiers", and "Cold Gin" on his resume as writer and/or singer along with ample guitar credits, Ace will be remembered fondly by the Kiss Army, and blast them loud if you can tonight. R.I.P. Ace!

Today's post otherwise looks at more weekend concert previews in Sault Ontario, and we'll start at Beck's Bar, where former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will play their Saturday matinee timeslot TOMORROW! This will be Curt's first unplugged solo date since rocking The Dive Gastro Pub two weeks ago, a date that I regrettably missed covering on here despite teasing that he would be back soon when he announced that there was a scheduling mix-up the previous week and wasn't playing then. I profusely apologize for missing that Dive gig (which was a an outdoor "Patio Play" event), and hopefully he had a great on October 4th! Fans haven't seen Curtis rock out at the former Vibe Lounge since the end of August, so if you want a solid matinee block of alternative and hard rock covers, go west! Tomorrow's show is at 3:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Next up, who's playing the nightcap at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT? Southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will also pull the rare weekend double as the acoustic matinee performer on SUNDAY! One of the few local bands who play both of Beck's usual live band days (Fridays are typically DJ nights, tonight's Joe Mattalo country concert acknowledged), fans of "the dirty three" will have last seen Greg, Alex, and Warren at the Goulais Avenue nightclub in early September. Whether you prefer your Bone Yard in its full electric splendour or would rather see them earlier on and "uncorked", you have options this weekend! Just a reminder, Curtis McKenzie is not "opening" for your local 225 tomorrow, he and Bone Yard have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but with no cover, you can hang out and see both if you choose. Tomorrow's concert is at 9:00 PM, Sunday's is a 3:00 PM matinee, and both shows are 19+ affairs. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Finally for this weekend, we'll head downtown to "The" Soo Blaster, where Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will return for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Fittingly now taking place in the wake of the real Rush's reunion tour announcement for 2026, this will be Rust's first local stop since November of last year, though the Kuthy brothers are far from strangers to the Soo, having played here four times with their Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard, including in April. On this current tour, Rust are playing the album "Moving Pictures" in full and in order during their sets, and with their faithful looking and sounding stage show, fans of the Canadian progressive hard rock legends would be hard pressed to miss Saturday's concert for what should be a solid night of Rush classics! Doors open at 7:30 PM tomorrow for this all ages concert, which has tickets running for $25 online at this link or at the venue, though the door charge will jump to $35. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's the official trailer for this show!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rust & M1), The Clutch Concert Preview, And Exit 808 Updates!!

Today's post features a bit preview for a notable E.U.P. concert and recent fallout from another one, but leading off, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning upcoming tribute band concerts in Sault Ontario, so here's what you should know!

Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, July 9th when they rock Beck's Bar! This is the first instance of a touring band of any genre to headline at Beck's since opening in April, and it comes by way of a tribute to hard rock legends that you don't often see tackled here beyond the occasional "Ace of Spades" cover by local acts. While M1 don't necessarily look like Lemmy and crew, they have the sound down well, and if you check out their videos on their Facebook page, they do a good job in mimicking Lemmy's gravelly vocals in particular! When Beck's announced the show on their Facebook page on Monday, they indicated that there would be an opening band, but we await public confirmation. This 19+ concert will be an early-ish night (ideal for a Wednesday) with the openers starting at 7:00 PM, and there is NO COVER.

It's not every day when a touring band plays a free show in the Soo, let alone a tribute band, and hopefully M1's take on Motorhead draws well at Beck's in three weeks, as it may lead to more touring acts playing at the former Vibe Lounge in due course! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, there's more tribute hard rock action ahead this fall, as Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will rock Soo Blaster once again on Saturday, October 18th! Fans may recall seeing Rust rock the same venue in November of last year, but their members are no strangers to the Soo, as the Kuthy brothers also perform in Just Leppard, who have played Def Leppard classics here four times since 2019, including at Soo Blaster two months ago. Rush fans will enjoy Rust's faithful take on the progressive rock legends' catalogue once again this fall, and hopefully there's a sizeable turnout at Soo Blaster once again for Rust's local encore! Notably, Rust plan on playing the "Moving Pictures" album in its entirety in four months. Like last year, tickets run for $25 online and at the door, this is an all ages event, and there is an advertised 8:30 PM start time. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, let's get a slight jump on this weekend's concert previews by way of a major headlining concert in Sault Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT, as Maryland stoner/hard rock band Clutch will make their way to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino! Well known among metalheads (if not necessarily mainstream rock radio) for songs like "Careful With That Mic...", "The Mob Goes Wild", and "10001110101", Clutch's melodic & bluesy but rough edged brand of hard rock stands on its own, and it'll be interesting to see how things go tomorrow in their local debut! Part of me is curious to hear if there's a normal amount of Canadian attendees given the current political climate and tariffs, but we'll have to see in that regard. Opening for Clutch tomorrow are Nashville southern hard rock quartet Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and Washington D.C. folk/country musician Nate Bergman. 

The performers definitely get heavier as the night wears on, but Tyler and Nate are talented artists, so don't be late! Clutch frontman Neil Fallon even plugged the show directly to fans in this "Reel" on Kewadin's Facebook page, which is neay! Presented by Rock 101 (who have played a fair amount of Clutch on air in the past four months), this stop on Clutch's Full Ahead Flank MMXXV Tour is all ages with an 8:00 PM start time, and this is the rare standing room only concert at The Dreammakers Theater. Tickets run for a flat $55 USD at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Should be a good time, and a definite change of pace, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Clutch live!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to end today's post, courtesy of a new video from local hard rock band Exit 808! They kicked off their summer concert season at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino two weeks ago for their only truly local dates of this month, and it sounds like everything went well for Exit 808, aided by a bachelorette party taking place on the Saturday nighter! As per their Facebook page, they welcomed two guest musicians for the weekend, namely About:Blank/ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber (himself a founding member of Exit 808/Double Jack) and Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on bass. While he was tagged in this post featuring photos from the weekend, Blaze Beairl appears to have missed these shows again, but he did rejoin them for their Walloon Lake concert on Saturday. A video was posted from the Saturday the 7th show, so what can you see there?

The video (sadly shot vertically) sees Exit 808, Nathan, and Joe covering the abnormally popular 4 Non Blondes' song "What's Up?" with Amy Beach handling lead vocals. I'll never quite understand how this song is such a popular cover choice (Sault Ontario bands cover it a lot), but it does have that crowd sing-along quality, whether I get it or not. The filmer was more to the side of the stage than we usually see from Northern Pines Lounge videos, and while I'm not a fan of accentuating empty crowd levels on the floor, they do eventually zoom in. Not my personal cover choice, but give Exit 808's newest St. Ignace concert video a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Saturday Night Concert Previews, A New Live Concert Video, And A New Original Song!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed Halloween concert in our weekend concert previews, as newer local acoustic hard rock duo Dodge This played at The Dive Gastro Pub on Thursday night. Originally, advertising just had (ex-?)Wyld Stallyns singer/guitarist Rob Speers playing a matinee there, but Jason & Jamie were booked on late notice as the night cap at The Dive. Alas, I only heard about the booking earlier that same day, hence why I wasn't able to cover it in advance, so I apologize again, but hopefully Dodge This and Rob both had a good turnout!

Today's post otherwise finishes this weekend's hard rock concert previews (neither being belatedly seasonal) along with some new songs from two veteran local bands, so let's start things in nearby Brimley, Michigan for the newest concert from local concert promoter Brighton LeBlanc's agency Serious Business, as he hosts four bands live at Pickles Bar & Grill TONIGHT! Three of them are local, including 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands winning hardcore punk trio The Sole Aggressors (featuring half of The Undecideds) and hard rock quintet The Nameless, who both played at Serious Business' last Pickles show in August. Reunited and online page-less hard rock band The Karstens will also return after playing at Serious Business' first show at The Satisfied Frog last fall, a show that also featured tonight's touring headliner, Grand Rapids experimental/synth project Dick Texas. Not a heavier act, but Valerie is a talented artist!

This 18+ (not 21+ concert) takes place in Pickles' basement level, and will have an 8:00 PM start time and a $10 cover charge. Multi-band concerts like this still don't take place in the E.U.P. all that often, so definitely support the ones that you can to ensure that more could happen! It does seem like Brighton has been getting the word out about tonight's show well, and Brimley is not a far drive at all (20 minutes west of the Soo), so definitely consider coming down tonight if you're able! Visit the above links for more on tonight's action, and for a preview, here's a brand new full-set video of The Sole Aggressors live at Pickles in August! This was uploaded to their YouTube channel shortly after that event, and features what appears to be an all-original 40 minute set, including "Ventilation", "Reject", "Teenage Guide", "Time To Commercialize!", "Melted Plastic", "Hypocrite", ...

..."False Hope". "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Kill Thy Neighbour", "Fool", "State Of The World", "Kill A Celebrity", and "Down By The Bay". I didn't recognize any covers off hand, so if this was indeed all-original, kudos to the Sole Aggressors as they continue their growth, as they're developing well with a good ear for fast paced punk music! The guitar could stand to be a little louder, and the lighting could definitely stand to be not so green, but it's awesome to see a substantial punk band out of Sault Michigan for a change, and Brett, Calvin, and Isaac are gonna turn a lot of heads if they stick with it! See more from The Sole Aggressors (and more) tonight!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for this weekend's last known hard rock concert, and it's a big one for fans of progressive hard rock legends Rush, as the Sudbury-based Rust: A Tribute To Rush will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at Soo Blaster! While fans may have seen a separate Rush tribute band at Reggie's two years ago, Rust are a newer project by Alex & Eric Kuthy, who you may recognize from fellow Sudbury tribute band Just Leppard, who entertained hair metal fans locally in tour dates from 2019-2022. They know their way around 1980s rock, and from what I have seen of Rust in videos, they'll go Geddy, Alex, and Neil proud with a professional and technical sound that Rush fans won't want to miss, especially on the big Soo Blaster stage! As far as I can gather, there are no local openers tonight. You can buy tickets online at this link or at the door for $25 (less than Just Leppard's last show here.)

This appears to be a 19+ event, and everything starts at 8:30 PM. If you're a fan of Rush, you won't want to miss out on Rust's faithful tribute tonight, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Rust live!

Finally for today, let's address something that debuted during one of the Halloween concerts this weekend, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's second studio single "Gypsy Spell"! The guys launched the song with a late-notice Halloween concert at Reggie's Place, where it was played live, and it was released to major streaming services (ie. Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube) that afternoon. More of a loose dancier rock number with a bouncy riff, this song gives everyone in the band lots of time to showcase their talents, with Warren's bass really driving things along, and Greg's singing is at a full voiced enthusiasm, which works well! Fun track from your local 225, so give it a listen below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

Pillory & Hails Updates, Plus Much More News & Notes!!

Happy September, everyone! Yes, it's just a month, but as things start to quiet down with the fall season truly beginning, I hope to catch up on lots of backlogged news items in the near term, and that starts with some assorted recent notes related to current live bands, so here's what you should know on this sunny Sunday afternoon!

We'll start with new videos from reunited local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, courtesy of drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel! Three weeks ago, Bret uploaded seventeen videos from their return set at the all-local metal show at Robbie Adamson's old church in Leeburn in July, though the catch here is that they are all "Shorts" (a.k.a. YouTube "Reels"). Thusly, they are all vertical and none exceed a minute in length, though at least you can embed them on external websites! Most of these "Shorts" are clearly from the high balcony vantage point seen in the previously uploaded full-set video on Bret's channel, but from different filmers. Only six were filmed at floor level, and one is embedded below, but Bret didn't give any unique titles or descriptions or any of these "Shorts", so I can't tell you individual song names for every clip. Still, Pillory are definitely back in full force for fans of their mid-late 2010s death metal era!

It is worth noting that attendee Cole Speers shot a 2 minute video of them opening for The Fixer at Soo Blaster last month, as seen in a comment reply on a post on Pillory's Facebook page on August 24th plugging that event. As it was uploaded from a personal account to a comment thread, I can't embed it here, but the (unlabelled) song is suitably brutal, and shot horizontally(!), so it's a shame that it's not easier to access! Check out one of the longer(-ish) Pillory "Shorts" below, and stay tuned for more updates from Robert, Blair, and Bret soon!

Next up, here's the latest from local skate punk/crossover thrash quartet Ha!ls, so what's new from their camp? As you may recall, they took a road trip to Southern Ontario for two concerts this past weekend, with a "Reel" being posted on their Facebook page on Thursday from their set at the Humber River Arts & Music Festival in Toronto! The short, vertical, and unembeddable video sees Hails (sans guitarist Carmen Muto, who didn't make the trip) playing their non-EP original "Crustal Displacement". though the clip focuses on Carmen's brother Mikhal's guitar solo. Was it raining, judging by the camera lens reflection? What we see in the video is promising (if way too short), so give it a look above! The Vanity First sister band will be hitting the road again for a multi-band event in Bay City, Michigan later this month (details here), but in a new confirmation, they'll also play downstate in Ypsilanti at a similar concert on November 28th!

Ypsilanti is 5 hours south of here (outside of Detroit), but it is neat to see Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan continuing to get opportunities to play across the border, and if you want to know how they're jumping through the necessary hoops, give them a shout! In the meantime, we have a new video from Hails' Facebook page to share here, and while it is short & vertical, it is not a "Reel", so I can embed it here! The video sees Ha!ls playing their original "Ghosts" at the aforementioned Leeburn concert in July, specifically focusing on Carmen's guitar solo, as filmed from the high balcony seen in much of Pillory's footage. Impressively performed & very heavy, and well framed for a vertical clip, so check it out below!

Now, let's look at a rarity: a commercial hyping an upcoming touring band's gig here! This comes to promote Sudbury-based Rush tribute band Rust's local debut at Soo Blaster on Saturday, November 2nd, and was shared to the Facebook event page while also making the rounds as a paid/sponsored post on relevant user news feeds. It features lots of footage of Rust (featuring members of past local touring tribute headliners Just Leppard) playing "YYZ" in concert, along with text to promote their concert at "the Soo Blaster". It's always good to see specific promotion for local concerts like this straight from the touring band, so give it a watch below, and tickets are still available at this link and at the venue!

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

 

• In the first public update on his last(?) studio album "The Chaotic Rite" in months, local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore revealed on his Facebook page last week that the album was 95% done when it "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and without an available backup, he is still trying to recover the files. Also, his three newest original songs "The Speciest", "From Beyond The Clouds", and "A Song For The Apocalypse" were never planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but may be packaged in a separate digital EP. Hopefully Chase can save the files, especially after the years of work that he's put into the album!
• In an e-mailed press release from Fort Creek guitarist Bill Brouillard last month, he confirmed to me that the southern hard rock band have abandoned their previously released/teased original songs like "Hammer Down" from their long-gestating debut album "as a show of good faith" to former members Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano (now of Bullet Train), who quietly left Fort Creek a year ago. Justin, Shane, and Bill have effectively started from scratch to rebuild their studio and write new original material, so it'll be interesting to see how things progress for Fort Creek in studio and for their presumed eventual live return!
  
• Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will run it back this Friday when they will indeed serve as local openers for North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks' second local headlining date at The Machine Shop! Silent 9 debuted on the public stage at Cory's show here in July 2023, and it's good to see that fans will get an encore, so stay tuned for our preview of that concert later this week, and click here to get your tickets! Yes, Silent 9 are double booked on Friday, and will head west to The Esquire Club for their return to the weekend nightclub circuit after their set.

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Cory Marks, Rust, Half Past, And The Nameless!!)

Today's post is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, and we're going into the fall for some of these dates, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band did announce the show on Tuesday, May 28th via its Facebook event page, but it completely slipped me by last week when I could have covered it in a timelier fashion. Last seen live with shows in Cedarville and at The Merch in February (unless they had an unadvertised gig in the interim), TONIGHT's show should prove to be a solid night of hard rocking covers from this talented (if not regularly seen) local band, so keep it in mind if you want some heavier tunes in the E.U.P. this weekend! Everything goes down at 108 West Spruce Street TONIGHT at 9:00 PM, there is no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, click here to watch their (unembeddable) full debut concert stream!

Next up, here's some more new concerts taking place later this year (all in Sault Ontario), starting with reunited local hard rock quartet Half Past's return to the stage, when they make their Reggie's Place debuts on Friday, July 5th & Saturday, July 6th! If you'd told me that Fingerbone/Half Past (during their original 2008-2011 run) had booked gigs at the then-country only Reggie's, I'd have been very surprised, but a lot has changed in the decade+ since! The shows next month will be Half Past's second and third since their 2021 reunion, finally returning at Shooters in February for a one-nighter that also saw the debut of Skeyes Of Seven/Cherry Crush alum Johnny Amendola behind the drumkit. After a five month wait, hopefully this talented veteran hard rock group delivers a strong selection of tunes to fans at Reggie's next month! These are 19+ events with no cover charge and 9:30 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Now to the fall for a pair of big show announcements, starting with North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks' return to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, September 6th when he headlines at The Machine Shop once again! Cory made his local debut at the same venue this past July, with his show in September coming exactly 60 weeks later. With a planned full length album in the works and continued momentum on both country and rock radio from hit songs like "Outlaws & Outsiders" and some high profile guest appearances by and tour dates opening for hard rock and metal stars, Cory should draw another solid crowd of cross-genre fans this fall, so don't bypass this show in three months! A local opener is to be announced, but for reference, the then-debuting Silent 9 did the honours in July (they are booked at The Esquire Club that night, so it likely wouldn't be them again.)

Tickets for this all ages & 8:00 PM concert run for $35 (identical to last year) at this link and likely at the door. With country/hard rock crossover musicians like Jelly Roll and Hardy picking up a lot of attention in recent years, Cory's coming along at the right time, and it is very neat to see a Northern Ontario musician getting such mainstream attention, so hopefully his Soo encore this fall is another success! Read the SooToday press release for more information on Cory's show this fall!

Finally for this post, we'll head to Soo Blaster on Saturday, November 2nd, when Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will make their local concert debut! If you recall the Rush tribute band that played at Reggie's in July 2022, that was Crush: The Ultimate Rush Experience out of Toronto, so if you made it to that show, you can compare and contrast tributes to the Toronto progressive hard rock legends. In the case of Rust, this band features Alex & Erik Kuthy on vocals and drums, who you may recall from the Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard, who played here multiple times from 2019-2022. Rust debuted in 2022, and while they don't have a ton of official public videos, this fan-shot video from two weeks ago points to a faithful sounding and looking tribute that Rush fans should enjoy, and while there's a bit of a sonic leap from Def Leppard, I do greatly prefer Rush, so I appreciate that side of things!

This 19+ concert has an advertised 8:30 PM start time, and tickets run for $25 (this is lower than when we last saw Just Leppard here, but their last two attempted local dates had two touring bands). You can buy tickets online at this link and presumably at the door. Rush fans should definitely circle this date on their calendar, and while pricier than the Crush show in 2022, the bigger venue and Saturday night scheduling should help Rust's case, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details on the action this fall, and stay tuned for lots more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

Telephone & Address - "Rust Orchid" Review!!

After looking at Treble Charger's debut album last month, we're back with new releases for this month's CD review (our 69th total on the site), as we're looking at local grunge/punk solo project Telephone & Address' newest album "Rust Orchid"! The seventh album from this project (though the third since their recent local resurgence), "Rust Orchid" was released online via Bandcamp on February 17th, with physical copies being launched earlier this month at a CD release concert at The Gore Street Cafe. Featuring project founder Chris Shoust on all instruments, this album was recorded last fall, is SOCAN registered, and was again released through Harmisntus Productions. Physical copies (with slightly varying artwork) can be bought through Chris directly in limited quantities for $15, while digital copies on Bandcamp (with a totally different cover) cost the same amount, and can be streamed in full there too. As well, all song titles linked below are to their Bandcamp copies.

Featuring 16 tracks coming in at around 38 minutes in total length, let's begin this review with the first song, fittingly titled "One"! The first of six songs on "Rust Orchid" to run for under 2 minutes (and of 8 to be titled by their track order), this song gives our first glimpse of the direction of the album, as it shifts from the bass/drum aggression of "Need Not Apply" to an instrumental ambient rock sound, with "One" harboring a dark, repetitive melody that still maintains Telephone & Address' lo-fi recording nature. It's an interesting track, but it ends before you really get into it. Next is "Abstract Poem", which is the only track on "Rust Orchid" to surpass 3:30 in length, and the title is an accurate representation of the song. Feedback-heavy instrumentation, programmed drums, and hard-to-decipher spoken word recitations are the theme here. There's almost a techno vibe at times, and while it's different from anything I usually hear for the site, it's intriguing in it's own right!

Third is "Factory Song", which again has a fitting title, with the instrumentation, drum beat, and effects helping give a vibe of a factory or machine shop, albeit with beeping effects that sound like they came from an old video game. The song has a dark marching quality to it, almost as if there was a factory uprising, but this song does get repetitive by it's latter stages. That's followed by "Slow Time/No Time", a slower ballad that features minimalistic guitar work and heavily processed vocals reciting the song title in the background here and there. This trajectory never really changes, and while it gives an ominous vibe, it ends too quickly and it feels like it's going somewhere that never arrives. Fifth is the appropriately titled "Five", which is an album-low 16 seconds in length, and comprises mainly of a techno-styled beat that fades in and out. It's not bad sounding, but as it's so short, it's also hard to compare to what came before.

Sixth is "Looking Glass", which comes the closest yet to a "punk" sound, but still makes use of a trance-like quality, softer effects that almost sound like an xylophone is being played, and more spoken word recitations in the background, including what sounds like "Paralyze" being said at times. This song has good qualities, and the instrumentation is solid throughout, but it's arguably the most jumbled song yet for what is played and added to it. The next three songs are fittingly titled "Seven", "Eight", and "Nine", with "Seven" giving off the vibe of slowed down carnival music amidst it's ambient instrumentation, and though it is well performed, it never really deviates from the existing melody and gets repetitive fast. "Eight" is just 52 seconds long, and comprises of distorted music for it's duration that almost sounds like an mp3 file is glitching up, while still maintaining a musical beat. It's not much of a song, but it's interesting!

As for "Nine", it has more of a techno beat for it's melody, which is almost danceable, but doesn't harbour the dark ambient qualities of the longer songs that came before it. Catchy, but there's more substance on the tenth song "Traffic", which has a stop-start guitar riff that continues the techno-styled beat of it's predecessor somewhat. This song in particular sounds unfinished, almost as if it was written for a full band that wasn't there, but it's not a bad listen! The next three songs (and last to be titled by track order) are "Eleven", "Twelve", and "Thirteen", with "Eleven" harbouring a feedback-heavy sound with what sounds like a minimalistic keyboard melody over-top. This song is a little challenging to listen to straight through given it's repetition, and I'd like the guitar to be more prominent here. "Twelve" is a slower darker number that's more standard in structure, but again, it gets repetitive by it's latter stretch, despite it's short length.

"Thirteen" continues with the dark themes of "Twelve", but with more feedback and with a slower, more deliberate pace. This song stretches on a bit long, but the tone is fitting given the unlucky themes around the number 13! That's followed by "Plumbers", a slow paced song that has another deliberate structure, though with a nice slow guitar performance and a bit of a guitar solo, which is a nice change of pace! This song more than any other feels like a full band is present, but it's not as ambient or dark as some preceding tracks, nor as aggressive as material on old albums. Second-last is "Sunrise", which has an optimistic sound that adds as much lightness to the distorted ambient rock on "Rust Orchid" as you can, and while it is a bit muddled, it's well performed, and Chris showcases his diverse talents here! Fittingly, the album closes with "Sunset", which is dark in tone, but also minimalistic with it's guitar work and effects, but it does reflect the title, and it's an effective way to turn the lights off on this record!

So, what are my thoughts on "Rust Orchid"? Overall, this is one of the toughest albums I've ever reviewed for the site, especially as we've never really looked at an album like this before. When Chris Shoust hyped that this would be very different than "Need Not Apply", he meant it! There's few glimpses of punk or grunge here, instead with distorted, effect-laden ambient rock, and all instrumental save for a few early songs with spoken word passages. I can't say I was bored by "Rust Orchid", and there were some effectively entertaining songs (like "Abstract Poem", "Factory Song", and "Plumbers"), but I'd argue that some of the shorter numbered songs don't really stand on their own as full "songs", and others still got repetitive or jumbled by their last halves. I like and appreciate what Chris has done with "Rust Orchid", and while as a punk and metal fan at heart, I did enjoy "The Rotten EP" & "Need Not Apply" more, this is a bold album that definitely deserves a listen, and I'd be curious to see how these songs are approached live! Check it out above!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! So, what album is coming next to review on the site in April? I honestly have no idea, but here's what I can tell you. In terms of what's not coming next, we won't be looking at anything from Telephone & Address, Treble Charger, SweetKenny, or The Bear Hunters next, as we're not past our 6 month buffer period for them to prevent showing a bias to them or against other bands. Thursday's next "Where Are The New Albums?" post will have some possible albums, pending if any of them come out next month, but if no major new metal, hard rock, or punk albums come out next month that we can obtain, we'll dip into the archives, but with only a handful of April concerts currently announced, it's premature to see what could possibly tie in with a band or artist playing next month. If nothing works, might we look at a Rising Tide album for the first time, or perhaps Woods of Ypres' "Home" single? We'll know for sure next month, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Another Older Punk Band Discovery, A New Album Release, And Much More!!

Before we get into our newest post, we have a note on TONIGHT'S Elements/Late Shift concert at The Rockstar Bar, as SooToday's newest "Soo-To-Do List" mentions that DJ Seith will be making a "special guest appearance" tonight as well. The Facebook event page hasn't confirmed this, but he should add his own flavour if true, so look for him tonight! Now, for our surprise second post today, we have info on the latest Tuned episode, the complete lineup for an upcoming battle of the bands, and a new album release, but first, here's another older punk band to add to our links! (And check out another new band addition, two new concerts, and more in the post below this one!)

We have another archive punk band to add to our defunct local band links, and they are Good Morning Gorilla! Active circa 2008-2010, you may remember them from their mid-2009 peak, where they opened for Upheaval of an Exorcist, Broadcast Zero, and Michael Froh at Oddfellows Hall concerts. I may be missing some members, but their original lineup featured singer/guitarist Craig Jackson, lead guitarist Montana Sebastiano, bassist Chas Dalton, and drummer Terrence Gomes (now of The Northern Tragedy), though Montana left the band later that year, and they would add lead singer Shawn Creedon, who partially inspired a late 2009 name change to Creedon & The Animal Detectives. Under that name, they're best known for finishing in fourth place at December 2009's Algoma University Battle of the Bands, but they would quietly disband in 2010. G.M.G. still have a surviving MySpace page & Facebook group, and the former has 3 songs, so how do they sound?

Harbouring more of a ska-punk sound than any of Terrence's later bands, Good Morning Gorilla had a slower and more casual style that had good qualities, but the vocals sometimes felt like they were held back, and they lacked the faster punk edge that The Northern Tragedy have. G.M.G. had promise, so give them a look at the above links!

Next up, we have a new local album release to take note of, as local grunge/punk solo project Telephone & Address released their seventh solo album "Rust Orchid" on their Bandcamp page on Tuesday! As previously teased via uploads on their Soundcloud page, the album features the same track listing that was previously unveiled on their Facebook page, but like with past digital releases, the album artwork is different from the cardboard & silkscreened version you'll get in physical copies. An experimental & ambient release that differs from Chris' bass/drum sound on "Need Not Apply", digital albums can be bought on Bandcamp for $15, which is likely also the cost for CDs, but a release date for physical copies hasn't been announced (though we should see them when Telephone & Address return to the stage.) With all of that said, when might we see our review of "Rust Orchid"?

While a review this month would make sense, we're not quite past our 6 month buffer period from our "Need Not Apply" review in September (to avoid accusations of showing a bias for or against any bands), but "Rust Orchid" has the all clear for next month, so might it be our March review subject? Stay tuned to find out, as well as which album we're reviewing next week, but check out the new Telephone & Address album above!

Also today, here's the complete lineup for next month's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on Thursday, March 5th! As quietly confirmed by promoters on the Facebook event page in recent days, this one-day fan-voted battle at Algoma University's campus bar will now see local post-punk quartet Gnaeus (who are also competing in next month's VM Radio Battle at The Canadian), local solo musician Jesse Merineau (who you may remember from the Bon Soo Marquee), and a mystery band named Infinity Grinder, who I have absolutely no info on. We'll let you know if we hear anything! These acts join the previously confirmed Bear Hunters & Project 421 (both also in the VM Radio Battle), Long Shot, and Mike Haggith & The Din in this battle, completing the planned 7 act lineup, meaning that both battles will share 3 bands. Promoters have also confirmed that this battle is 19+... except for underage Algoma students with student I.D. cards, so if you fit the bill, you're in luck!

Infinity Grinder are still a question mark, but Gnaeus should put in a solid effort in their first battle appearance, and while it is unusual to see a solo artist in a battle of the bands, Jesse is a talented singer & guitarist that will hopefully leave a big impression! Stay tuned for more updates in the next two weeks on this second battle of the bands next month, and see the above links for current info!

Finally for today, here's Thursday's new episode of Local2's music spotlight webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper, which takes a look at the Treble Charger concert at The Machine Shop from earlier this month! The episode features performance footage that we hadn't seen before, including Treble Charger covering ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'" during the set-ending cover jam (with the local openers and Ed Turgeon joining them on stage), before transitioning to an interview with Justus Veldman, the founder and CEO of Riversedge Developments, who were responsible for the development at The Machine Shop to turn it into a performance venue. Justus talks about what was envisioned about the building at first, it's potential for the future, and upcoming plans for the venue, so what's coming to The Machine Shop next? He said that they'll be booking events again starting next month, and they're looking for a long term operator for the venue as well.

The episode also features performance footage of local openers The Pixo Control and Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect (albeit sans prominent audio), while all 3 members of The Pixo Control talked about the energy of the venue and the experience of playing there. Ending with more footage from The 12 Musicians of Christmas at LopLops, this is a quality episode of Tuned again, and it's nice to get more info on the venue and future plans! Give it a look above, and also note that there's no concert calendar segment again, instead plugging 2 shows (including Friday's Cover Up concert) in text on the page.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Cover Up), Telephone & Address Updates, And Much More!!

With a new week upon us, let's keep the news rolling, so what's in store today? Upcoming album updates, some unique new videos from bands on each side of the border, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Three local punk/alternative bands will share the stage THIS FRIDAY at The Rockstar Bar, with newer local punk(?) quartet The Cover Up headlining! In case you don't know, they are the new band from Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino, Late Shift bassist Clint Wilson, and Room 206 alum Mike Yorke, and while I don't think they have an online page yet, you may remember them from December's Tidal Records Christmas concert, and I believe they more or less replaced the similar Wing-Its. Strong lineup, and it will be interesting to hear how they do in their second public show! Clint's old indie/punk band Northwest will also return to The Rockstar Bar on Friday for their first show of the year, and they should put in an entertaining set of their own! This concert will be opened by rising young grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control in their first ever Rockstar Bar appearance, and fresh off of opening for Treble Charger, you know they'll be riding high on Friday night!

Announced on The Pixo Control's Facebook page yesterday after earlier personal Facebook posts by performers, this show has a likely 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links! This sounds like a quality concert for punk and Tidal Records fans, so keep it in mind for THIS FRIDAY, and remember, The Elements & Late Shift rock The Rockstar Bar themselves on Saturday night!

Next up, here's the latest from local grunge/lo-fi punk solo project Telephone & Address, who have revealed more on their next studio album! Yesterday on their Facebook page, project mainman Chris Shoust revealed the physical album cover (pictured) and track listing for their next CD "Rust Orchid" via new photos, so what do we know? The artwork doesn't reinvent the wheel from his last few albums (cardboard packaging, silkscreened art), though this likely won't be the exact artwork for digital copies on Bandcamp. Physical CDs are only available in a limited print run of 50 copies like usual, but what songs are featured? In listed order (and yes, half of them are titled by a number), the included tracks are "One", "Abstract Poem", "Factory Song", "Slow Timed No Time", "Five", "Looking Glass", "Seven", "Eight", "Nine", "Traffic", "Eleven", "Twelve", "Thirteen", "Plumbers", "Sunrise", and "Sunset", three of which have been previewed on Soundcloud.

Planned to be an experimental rock album (and possibly all instrumental), a release date is yet unannounced for "Rust Orchid", but for reference, last year's "Need Not Apply" was launched at a Telephone & Address concert, so might we be on wait for his next one? We'll keep you posted, but find out more on "Rust Orchid" at the above links!

Also today, here's a new Facebook video from Sault Michigan classical metal trio Theatre of Night, as shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page yesterday! The 33 second video is of Craig writing new drum parts for an new original song using a computer program (remember, original drummer Greg Giles left last year), and while it's not representative of how the full song will sound, it's a nice preview and sounds well written! Give it a look below, and hopefully we hear more soon!



Lastly today, we were going to share a new video from Kinross, Michigan hard rockers Banned on here that they shared on their Facebook page from a personal account, but for me at least, it's not viewable (it might have privacy settings so non-friends can't see it.) In it's place, here's a brief new video from the aforementioned Pixo Control's Instagram page, which the guys have teased will include more teasers into their debut CD's recording process. This video is extremely brief, but it captures some of the goings-on backstage at the Treble Charger concert last weekend, giving us a unique look at a different aspect of a local concert (including a cameo by The Lake Effect's Jay Case, a British accent, and shots of the food.) Give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from The Pixo Control in the coming weeks, including their Bare episode!

Backstage...

A video posted by The Pixo Control (@thepixocontrol) on Feb 6, 2015 at 4:32pm PST

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