Great Sabatini Concert Updates And Much More Recent News!!

Keeping the recent spread of news going, we have a lot of assorted news and notes from recent days to touch on, and it's mostly Sault Ontario news for the first time since Friday! Along with a new preview video from a talented quartet, but first, we have some short notice changes and promotion for an all ages concert tomorrow night that we first previews yesterday, so read on below to get caught up!

We'll start today with some late stuff to address concerning TOMORROW'S Great Sabatini concert at The Moose Lodge, including the identity of the new opening band, as local all female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats will fill in for the departed Habitat Shuffle tomorrow night, as per the Facebook event page this morning! This will mark the girls' Moose Lodge debut, their first public concert since Dank Fest in April, and their first with a full lineup since March (though they did play a private outdoor event on Saturday, as per their Facebook page.) Solid addition, and a closer genre fit to the other bands than Habitat Shuffle likely would have been, so don't miss The Danger Cats opening tomorrow's show at 7:00 PM or later! Also new to plug this event is a new preview video from fellow openers AlgomA, as uploaded to frontman Boyd Rendell's film production company 62nd Chamber Productions' YouTube channel yesterday, so what should you know from this?

Promoting "show VII" (the first six being the Soul Killing Female, Golers, and Skynet shows, plus Dank Fest, The Big Loonie Bus Show, and the private Tacofest), the video features cryptic live concert audio, spoken recitations, and intentionally blurred concert photos from Dank Fest. It keeps the mystique about them and definitely leaves you wanting more, so give it a look below, and don't miss these local standouts with The Great Sabatini TOMORROW NIGHT for just $8! ALL AGES!



Next up, here's another new preview video from local punk/death metal quartet Chronic Demonic! Posted to the band's YouTube channel on Friday, this video (which has no colour filters like last time) surprisingly features the band covering Sepultura's "Chaos A.D.", and what little we hear of it in the 30 second segment sounds very promising! Of course, that could just be the surprise of seeing a local Sepultura cover, but these guys have the talent, so give it a look below!



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

• Add one more local band to the lineup for this year's Touch of Death Metal & Punk Fest in Cochrane, as local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters will also be taking the trip to play there on Saturday, June 28th! Awesome news, hopefully the guys make some new fans and connections along with AlgomA, Bad Back, Crucify The Whore, and Shit Liver! Note as well that London's own D3athcharg3r (featuring two Saultites) appear to have dropped out. Click here for full schedule details!
• Prolific local bassist Nathan Bouliane (most recently of Like Father Like Son) has recently moved back to the Soo and is working with Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie on a new weekly feature segment called "The Boardwalk Sessions", where he would interview bands who actively play live in the area, with the feature later airing on channel 10 on Shaw Cable. If you're interested or want more details, message Nathan at this link!
• Though not publically confirmed elsewhere yet, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's promotional Facebook group currently lists tentative dates for a return of both Montreal ska-punk band K-Man & The 45s and, most notably for metalheads, a show on August 8th to be headlined by Montreal thrash/extreme metal quintet Endast, who haven't been seen locally since September 2010. Awesome news if confirmed, so stay tuned for updates!
• According to the official press release for the show (as seen on SooToday), the Jackyl/Winger concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on August 21st will have ticket prices of $38.50 and $48.50, which is definitely lower than at Jackyl's Essar Center show in 2008, so take note if you're thinking about attending! Tickets go on sale on Saturday morning at the in-person box office, at this link, or at 1-800-KEWADIN!
• Dafter, Michigan solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton has completed recording sessions for his upcoming solo album "This End Up!" and has already began writing for his 10th solo album "Amazonian", as per this link, even revealing the "Amazonian" cover art on his Facebook page last week! Great news, and it's nice to see Kenny staying busy! Stay tuned for more on both albums, and hear the newest songs from "This End Up!" (including his new song "Time To Let Go!")
• Local grunge/lo-fi solo project Telephone & Address have posted three new songs onto their Soundcloud page in the past couple of months, those being songs named "Anthem To The Queen", "Perfect Circle", and "Army of Losers". It's unknown yet if these will make it to a new CD, but they keep with Chris Shoust's past musical themes, coming across as songs heavier than the style they're played in, if that makes sense. Check them out above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Great Sabatini Concert Preview & New Sault Michigan Videos!!

I wouldn't blame anyone for experiencing slight deja vu with this post, as just like yesterday, we have news relating to The Highest of Fives, Power Slug, Theatre of Night, and a Sault Ontario all ages concert! Different topics all around in each category though, including a concert preview for a special Tuesday night show on the horizon, so here's what you need to know on this Sunday morning!

The newest all ages concert from Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions goes down THIS TUESDAY, as Montreal doom/grind quartet The Great Sabatini return to Sault Ontario for a headlining set at The Moose Lodge! Last seen locally at what's now Coch's Corner over 3 years ago, that show will have left a solid impression with attendees thanks to The Great Sabatini's dark, sludgy, and often retro-feeling sound that should strike the right chord on Tuesday! Local openers will include local doom metal standouts AlgomA in their first live concert set since Dank Fest in April, and likely their last before their road trip to Cochrane for the Touch of Death festival at the end of the month. Their intense originals from their forthcoming CD should be right at home as they rock The Moose Lodge for the first time, so don't miss their set! The advertised opening band is Habitat Shuffle, a new local punk project from alumni of Free Beer & The Dirty Few, but guitarist Dustin Goodall revealed on his personal Facebook page on Saturday that they wouldn't be able to play this concert for unannounced reasons.

Though we await official confirmation of their exit from promoters (including a possible late notice replacement), this is definitely disappointing, but hopefully Habitat Shuffle pop up soon! This ALL AGES show has an $8 cover charge, and while everything is supposed to start at 7:00 PM, it could be later if only two bands play. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Doom metal fans would be well served to be at The Moose Lodge on Trunk Road on Tuesday night for this high impact and sludgy event, so don't miss it, and for a preview, here's The Great Sabatini live last summer!



Next up, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! Posted to their YouTube channel yesterday, this video features the band's 2012 instrumental rendition of "America The Beautiful" from their second CD "The Dawn's Early Light" accompanied by footage of the band's local members playing in studio, along with scenes of American flags and nature. I assume the upload was meant to coincide with Friday's 70th anniversary of the landings in Normandy on D-Day, but the video doesn't explicitly confirm that. Great gesture regardless, as this was a well composed metal version of this American standard, and part of a very solid album with an awesome message! Check out the full video below, and hear more from Theatre of Night at the above links!



Also, here's a new live video upload from Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Power Slug, courtesy of their long awaited new Facebook page this morning! Among recent concert photo postings (including media from a set way down in Grand Haven for their annual Ribfest last month, apologies for missing it) is this video of the guys covering Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" at what appears to be The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, date unclear. The video quality isn't great, thanks to dark lighting and a distant angle from the stage, but Power Slug do add extra heaviness and aggression to this familiar song! Give their new video a look below, and stay tuned for more from Power Slug!



Finally, this is more atoning for not posting this at the time, but here's a music video for Sault Michigan hard rock collective The Highest of Fives that we've never formally shared on here! Uploaded to singer Travis Theel's YouTube channel in September, we originally didn't feature it on the SMS because it was initially credited then as a solo song by Travis, but it features other band members, it later got a public label as a Highest of Fives original, and they even confirmed that it's their first released original song (source here.) To be featured on their upcoming "Bang!" album, the song is called "Look How Far We've Come", and while it naturally shares more similarities to Travis' softer acoustic solo work than his bandmates' more aggressive resumes, it's a well composed song that shows off Travis' singing ability well! For followers of the band's ongoing "Bang!" short film, the music video is well filmed and features familiar faces & locales all around, and a fun spirit! Either way, give "Look How Far We've Come" a look below, and stay tuned for more from "Bang!", be it the movie or album!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon, plus this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Great Sabatini & Glitch), A New Local Band Page, And A New Song!!

Before we get to the meat of this post, just a late notice reminder that the announced Tym Morrison show TONIGHT at The Harp has been pre-empted due to an Easter weekend set from prolific local musician Jay Case & friends, but Tym will be back on his new usual double bookings there next weekend! Today's post features a new original song from an upcoming album, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next while, and first, a long awaited local band's online page launch, so here's what you need to know!

It took a breakup and reunion for it to happen, but local acid jam/hard rock band Mike Haggith & The Din finally have their own official Facebook page! Launched last May before breaking up in October (and then reuniting in January), fans may best remember this band from appearances at last July's second Bushplane Musical Madness event, along with being a late addition for Heavy North Entertainment's Oddfellows Hall show in January, plus various private events in 2013. Not solely a live concert outlet for Mike Haggith's own solo material, him and The Din play a free-flowing and often improvised brand of music that takes from various genres across widely varying song lengths, as seen on their four free "albums" ("Perpetual Musings", "Chaotic Symphony", the live "Despite The Insects...", and the half-finished "Dinner With The President".) Their new Facebook page confirms that their current lineup features (but isn't limited to) 5 members, similarly to the variable collective lineup of Sault Michigan's Highest of Fives.

Mike and drummer Daniel Horton are now joined by founding bassist Curtis McKenzie, newer bassist Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson, and returning saxophonist James Watterworth, though keep in mind that everyone in the band is multi-talented, so members can cover other instruments if need be. Also, note that the cover photo features a Haggith jam session, not The Din, so don't be confused by Caleb Cachagee's appearance there. It's great to finally see a Din Facebook page, so stay tuned for new updates from this unique band, they're now in our active band links, and hopefully we see them live again in the near future!

Next up, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, starting with a surprising new gig from local classic/hard rock quartet Glitch, as they're apparently playing at the OLG Casino at 30 Bay Street West one week from today on April 26th! Apologies for the short notice, guitairist Marco Pedalino announced the show on their Facebook group three weeks ago but it slipped through the cracks since then. In that post, he said info was to be announced, but as we're still waiting, I thought I'd help get the word out! The local Sault Ontario casino has never been a frequent concert venue for heavier shows, so I'm not familiar with it for our purposes, but they have both the Northern Gateway Restaurant and Bivouac Bar on site, so I'd have to assume Glitch's show will be at one of the two areas. Hopefully we get some more info by then (including on a possible cover charge), but a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit are likely. This should be an interesting diversion though for this talented veteran outfit, so stay tuned for updates!

Also in new concerts is the newest metal show from local concert promoter Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions, as they're bringing back Montreal doom/grind quartet The Great Sabatini for a headlining show at The Moose Lodge on Tuesday, June 10th! Last seen at the former Foggy Notions in April 2011, this band left a solid impression with their classic-influenced and very sludgy sound, and hopefully fans welcome them back with open arms after 3 years away from our area! The local openers include local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA in their first announced show since TONIGHT'S Dank Fest (and first ever Moose Lodge appearance), while a debuting local band named Habitat Shuffle are advertised to open this show. At present, there's no public information on them beyond a confirmation from AlgomA's Darby Wigwaus that they're "awesome", so we'll have to see if anything leaks out before showtime, or if they're operating under intended secrecy until then. This ALL AGES concert (Jamie's second at The Moose Lodge in under a month) has a 7:00 PM start time and an $8 cover charge at the door. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more on this promisingly brutal summer show!

Finally for today, we come full circle with some more Mike Haggith updates, as the prolific local musician posted the first finished studio track from his upcoming 48th solo album "A Place Of Our Own" onto his YouTube channel yesterday! Entitled "Let Me In", it was projected to be the album's first song, but as we've learned, his albums often see late order and song changes, so it remains to be seen if it still is. As we do hope to review "A Place Of Our Own" on the site, I'll hold thoughts on the song until review time, but it does have an orchestral rock base, and isn't as soft as some of his recent solo work, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more on Mike's album plans!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys in a few hours at The Oddfellows Hall for Dank Fest! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Local Hard Rock/Metal Concert Previews!!

Our busiest month ever caps off today, and in this 37th post of March, it's time to preview this weekend's local metal and hard rock concerts! I know of eight, but I could be missing some. For now though, here's all you need to know for this weekend's concerts!

We'll start TONIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel, where Dismembertainment presents the latest metal night! Three more local metal bands are ready to melt some faces to close out March, including one local band making their live debut! Headlining tonight are local hardcore quintet As It Stands, fresh off some successful recent concerts in Southern Ontario! With a rapidly increasing profile and some hard hitting and aggressive metal to share with their fans, get ready to mosh when they take the stage tonight! Also scheduled tonight are grimecore trio Shit Liver, coming off well received supporting slots for We, The Undersigned and The Rebel Spell earlier this month. Will their crusty blend of punk and death metal be what you're looking for tonight? I could very well be! Opening tonight's concert will be the debuting Skull After Betrayal, the new metal quartet featuring Bear Hunters guitarist Mike Vincent, Despised Eyes bassist Adam Brett, guitarist Justin Polutanovich, and drummer Anthony D'Agostini! Though their posted demos are rather poor in quality, be prepared for some entertaining covers and originals when they make their live debut tonight! As always, tonight's show is a 19+ affair, there is no cover, and it all starts at 9:30 PM! Check out the above links for more details!

Sounds like a fun night of metal, fingers crossed that I can be there! I definitely intend on being at at least one Dismembertainment show this weekend, optimistically both, so I hope I can see you guys there tonight! For a preview, here's As It Stands playing their song "One Last Chance" at The Rosie last month!



Next up, it's the debut of Turner Up V4.0! After 3/5ths of the band left earlier this month, the local classic hard rockers will have a new look in their return to the stage this weekend, with only drummer Scott McClurg remaining in the exact same position as he previously had! Talented local singer KT Antler replaces Krista Marshall, Asylum Country/ex-Stillbroke bassist Kyle McKey replaces Len Ward on guitar, and founding member Robert Brown switches from guitar to bass to replace Jeff Gray in this new four-piece Turner Up incarnation! So things will look (and sound) a lot different when Turner Up return to the stage this weekend, but where will they be? They'll return to The Nicolet Tavern tomorrow night & Saturday night to debut their new lineup in what should be a good weekend of music! I don't know how the band will sound as a whole, but Rob & Scott have good eyes for talent, and KT and Kyle will deliver! There is no announced cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and it all starts at 10:00 PM! For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page, and if audio/video material comes online featuring the new lineup, I'll have it here!

Also in Sault Ontario this weekend for your Friday and Saturday concert needs are AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who! One of the most frequently seen tribute bands in the area, Who Made Who recently upped the ante from just playing one show this weekend to two, making this an even bigger weekend of high voltage rock n' roll than we're used to from this talented band! AC/DC fans should have all the more reason to go now, as Who Made Who deliver an authentic AC/DC sound at each show they play! As usual, they'll be back at The Canadian Nightclub tomorrow night and Saturday night, there is a $5 cover to attend either night, and as always, you must be 19 to enter. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you're an AC/DC fan, do yourselves a favour and check Who Made Who out this weekend, they'll deliver just what you're looking for! For a video preview, here's Who Made Who playing the AC/DC classic "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" live in Thunder Bay last year!



Let's take a quick detour to Sault Michigan, as Cheboygan hard rock quartet The Darwin Project return to the area for another weekend of hard hitting original music! Unlike their most recent local stops, they'll in face hit The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for the first time in a noticeable while! These will be their first of at least three spring concerts in Sault Michigan, and their original radio hard rock should attract some good responses from local fans this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend either tomorrow's or Saturday's show, and everything starts at 9:00 PM or later! Unlike past concerts, there's no Facebook event page for this one, but the band hyped these shows on their Facebook page, and Kewadin Casino's entertainment page also lists it, so click the above links for more! The Darwin Project are a talented and often catchy band, and you should check them out this weekend if you're in the area! For a preview, here's The Darwin Project playing their song "Pushing Daisies" early last year!



And finally, we'll end as we started: With a Dismembertainment concert! On Saturday night, an out of town metal band hits Sault Ontario for a night of metal, and that band is Montreal sludge quartet The Great Sabatini! With a slow and heavy sound with some classic metal influences, get ready for a unique and brutal set from this talented Canadian metal band! You don't see stuff like them much here, so make note of their show on Saturday night at Foggy Notions! Opening for them on Saturday are local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and in their second show of the weekend, Shit Liver! The Bear Hunters were hyping the possibility of new original material for Saturday, so that in itself is notable, and Shit Liver fans must be eager at the thought of two shows in a four day span! There will be a $3 cover on Saturday night, you must be 19 to attend, and everything starts at 9:00 PM or later. For more details, visit the Facebook event page! Sounds like a brutal night of metal, and I definitely plan on being there for this show! I hope to see you all there! Check the above links for more, and for a preview, here's The Great Sabatini playing their original "Fire & Flood" at a Saskatoon concert in 2008!



That's all for now, but I might have one more post to cap off the month tonight, and I hope I can get to The Rosie tonight as well! Stay tuned, and thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Skull After Betrayal & The Great Sabatini) & My Browbeat Concert Review!!

Let's close this weekend off right with my review of last night's Browbeat concert, but we'll lead off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS that should interest you metalheads! Here's what you need to know!

The next Roosevelt Hotel metal night will take place on March 31st (one week from Thursday), and it will feature the debut of a new local metal band! Skull After Betrayal (featuring Bear Hunters & Despised Eyes alumni) will make their first ever appearance on a local concert stage as one of the headliners at this concert! Remember to check them out on MySpace as a preview, but due to the quality of the posted recordings, you'll likely be better served to judge them live for a first impression. They do sound promising though from what I've seen! Joining them will be local hardcore quintet As It Stands in their first local show following a recent out of town swing. With new studio material in hand and a continuing heavy assault to bring to their local fans, look for another impressive set from them next week! Though the final band has not been publically announced by bands or promoters, I can confirm that the third band will be grimecore trio Shit Liver, in their first local concert since opening for The Rebel Spell earlier this month! They have yet to announce the show, but promoter Rich Moreland confirmed their involvement with me earlier today. The same house rules apply here from earlier metal nights, those being 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover. Stay tuned for updates if they come in!

The other new show will take place on Saturday, April 2nd, and it will feature an out of town band headlining! On that day, Montreal progressive sludge metal band The Great Sabatini will finally make their way to Sault Ontario over five months after a planned local date on Halloween last year that never found a secured booking, but this time, they'll for sure be playing at Foggy Notions! Their sound is quite unique compared to what we tend to see locally, with lots of doom metal inspired aggression, but they should make lots of local fans! One local opener is confirmed, and once again, it's Shit Liver (thanks Rich for confirming this with me!) It's a wonder they're not plugging these shows on their pages, time's ticking! A second local opener is expected for this show as well, but they have yet to be announced. This concert will be on April 2nd at Foggy Notions, and it will have a $3 cover, a 19+ age limit, and a likely 10:00 PM start time. Stay tuned for updates as they come in! This also sounds like a good concert, with some nice noisy and technical metal in store, hopefully I can make it out for this one! I'll keep you guys posted!

Now to my review of last night's Browbeat concert, and before anyone asks, their pages aren't down because of a band breakup. They're just down so the band can relaunch them completely with new info, material, and customization to reflect their current lineup. So last night, this was my first time seeing Browbeat live with new drummer Johnny Belanger, and the first time I've seen one of their standard length concert sets since their lone "Social Play" concert, and luckily, they delivered a very good show! It was nice hearing Dutch Vanderploeg's voice in top form after their abbreviated set in October especially, though the cold bug hit again this time around, with bassist James White's voice hit by the flu. It didn't affect their set too much though, and by the second set, his voice was getting stronger! Browbeat launched into three lengthy sets of hard rock and metal originals and covers, including original tracks like "Walk Away", "Sorry", "The Sound You Need", "Days Gone By", and "Narrow Mind", but their launched into some hard rocking covers as well! Along with heavier fare like Metallica, Megadeth, and Judas Priest covers, we also got some interesintg hard rock covers of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" and even "The Cover of the Rolling Stone", which was definitely interesting!

The band were mostly in top form last night, despite a smaller than expected crowd, which peaked at maybe 20 people. I don't encourage poor attendance, but I do like one aspect of shows like last night, and it's the increased camaraderie and personalization that the band has and gives to the fans that do shows up, which is welcome! Respect who does show up, and you'll get respect back. Dutch made the most of his voice on almost every song, exmplying some nice aggression and melodies where needed, though his vocals on "The Ripper" could have been ramped up a bit. Nice guitar work too, he pulled off some great solos and never seemed to lose a step! James was great on bass too, I like his slap playing and he proved to be good at improvising when Dutch's guitar string broke mid-song! And of course, Johnny was solid on drums, and seemed to be a natural fit in Browbeat! He seemed at ease, and his sense of humour showed, as did the whole band's! Some guest singers even got a chance to join in, including Johnny's Bear Hunters bandmate Nik Deubel, who sang on "Master of Puppets" in clean vocals, oddly enough! I think his clean tone doesn't match what I'm used to for the song, but he proved he can pull it off!

Overall, this was a fun night of music, all things considered, and hopefully next time around, Browbeat can pull in a bigger audience! They've always been a very good hard rock band, and they've put in a lot of work to get to this point, so hopefully there's much more in store from Browbeat in 2011! I did get photos, so click here to check them out, or visit the SMS' Facebook page! And yes, I did get a video, so check out Browbeat playing their song "Sorry" right here!



That's all for tonight, but I have some long overdue news to share tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Breaking The Fourth Wall) & Five Bands Looking To Play Here!!

Some big updates today, mostly of the concert variety! The bulk of today's post comes from FIVE new bands that want a local booking! Well, three, but one need help again to secure a date I'd already posted here about. I'll give you all the details in a second, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Montreal hardcore band Breaking The Fourth Wall are coming back to Sault Ontario! A year after their planned show with Constructed Apocalypse quietly evaporated without notice, they will make their long awaited local return on July 30th at The Oddfellows Hall! Good, bookings there are picking up! Joining them are Calgary metalcore group Fall City Fall! This reminds me of some of the shows we used to get so often at The Oddfellows Hall from 2008 and earlier, maybe this is a sign of things to come? Well, that depends on how successful this show is. Click on the band names above to check out their material on MySpace, solid stuff from both bands! And the lineup doesn't end there, as local openers are needed! If you or your band would like to open at this all ages hardcore show, message Jasmin Nott at this location to show your interest! Start times and cover charges will be announced next week. Promoter Nathan Bouliane (Lorax/ex-As It Stands bassist) is hoping to bring lots of lights and a smoke machine to help make this show as good as possible! Sounds good to me, as soon as I hear more on this show, you'll be sure to find out here!

And now, pay attention, anyone who might wanna help these bands! FIVE more bands are looking for help getting a booking in Sault Ontario, and I'm always willing to help out, so I'm gonna tell you what you should know about these bands and how you can contact them! This goes for concert promoters, venue workers, and local band members who might want to play with them at a show, if you like what you hear and would like to help them get a show here, take the initiative! So, here's what you should know!

Firstly, we have a band I plugged a few months ago for a show here in July, but apparently had an issue with their planned promoter falling out. I won't say anything else about why here, but the band really would like to play here, and I've helped them in the past, so I've gotta try again! They are Aquila, a metal band from Windsor, and frontman Mark Arruda recently sent me a MySpace message seeing if I could help them with a date here for either July 6th or 7th. Trust me when I say this, Aquila kick ass! Very heavy band with some good thrashy qualities, and your head will sure be banging if you see them live! I'd love to see them here, and hopefully someone out there does too! Time's running out to lock up an Aquila show here on this tour, so if you can help in some way, send the band an e-mail through their MySpace page to show your interest, and check out their material! They really wanna come here, can you help?

Secondly, we have a band that I first heard wanted to play here today! They are The Great Sabatini, a progressive sludge metal band from Montreal, and if you want some slow grinding doom-ish heavy metal, this is what you'll be looking for! Very down-tempo and methodical, but very heavy, it's definitely something we don't see here often! The band itself actually didn't contact me, I was actually e-mailed by a booking company they're represented by, Tugnut Booking out of Cambridge, Ontario, and they're hoping to get The Great Sabatini booked here for...Halloween! Yes, Sunday, October 31st, and I was told that they always have trouble booking here for tours. If nothing else, this would be a unique show for here, and fitting too considering the night of it! Doom/sludge metal fans take note, if you want to help get a booking for The Great Sabatini here in Sault Ontario on Halloween, e-mail Tugnut Booking at this location! Click the above links to check them out too!

The other three bands I'm plugging concerning their search for a Sault Ste. Marie booking came to my attention me via e-mail, and in the case of this band, we've seen them here before! They are Fredericton, New Brunswick punk/thrash trio Hard Charger, and you may remember seeing them at a headlining show at The Oddfellows Hall in July 2008 with various local openers, including an early version of Bring The Fallen! I got an e-mail from drummer Tom Blizzard a few days ago, and he told me that Hard Charger would like to play here again on Wednesday, August 4th. I'd be up to see Hard Charger again! Despite a bad turnout for the 2008 show, I was impressed with their raw energy and mix of styles! I of course gave him some contact info, but if you'd like to help Hard Charger get a booking for here on August 4th, e-mail Tom at struggles999@hotmail.com or by messaging them through MySpace! There, you can check out some of their songs, lots of short, but heavy and relentless death/thrash/punk that will be sure to get a crowd moving! Want Hard Charger back? Then e-mail them and see if you can book them or help at all!

Finally, we have a double bill of bands hoping for a show here! Prince George, British Columbia electronic metal band Throat Kick (pictured) and Vancouver metal band GFAP are hoping to play in Sault Ontario on their upcoming Canadian tour! Looks like the show might be in September, but a specific date wasn't given, so there may be some flexibility here! The bands are both solid, Throat Kick have kind of a "breakcore" vibe and lots of electronic influences, interesting mix! GFAP are more straightforward groove metal with nice aggressive vocals, I'm really digging them too! Throat Kick frontman Kyle Pigeau e-mailed me today looking for some help to get both bands a show on their upcoming tour, anyone out there wanna help out? E-mail Kyle at kylepigeau@gmail.com or message either band at their above MySpace pages to offer your help to bring them here for a show! They're good bands, they just need a venue, or local openers, or a promoter, or something!

There's got to be someone out there that can help out these bands for a local booking of some type! We need more shows here, and if no one shows any interest, then these concerts won't happen! Even if you're just a local musician that would wanna play with them on that date, that would help! If you're interested in booking one of these bands for a show on the dates they'd like, playing with them on said show, or bring them to your venue, PLEASE e-mail them today! Let's bolster the scene with more concerts!

That's all for now, I don't know if I'll have a post tomorrow or not, it's actually my 21st birthday tomorrow so I could be busy, but I do have some cool things on the newsdesk to share, so keep an eye out, you may see something tomorrow!