Live Streams From A Dire Setback & The Hair Scare, Plus More Assorted Updates!!

Here's another new post on the site today, and while I am running dry on topics to start the week, I guarantee we will have a new post each day through at least Thursday! This post has some assorted shorter stories of note, and a live-streamed video from a popular local radio show, but leading off, here's even more big updates relating a recently released punk album!

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and widespread concert cancellations may have wrecked A Dire Setback's plans for a CD release show at LopLops on Saturday, but the guys made due by live-streaming a release party on their Facebook page that night! As preluded by Facebook posts about their plans to get the gear set up for live-streaming, the local alt-punk trio ensured that the show went on (albeit from their jam room), and while an actual release concert with CDs in hand is still planned for the future, fans got the next best thing on Saturday! The whole thing is embedded below, though the video began rolling 19 minutes before the promised 10:00 PM start time, so fast forward as such to get to the actual start of the set. In performance order, the guys played "Everlasting", "Faded", "Forget This Memory", their cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" with bassist Matt Quinn on lead vocals, "Catastrophe", "A Dire Setback", "Endless Dream", a cover of Green Day's "Longview", "Drop Dead", ...

..."Kicking & Screaming", "Nightmares", and covers of The Misfits' "Last Caress" & Iron Maiden's "The Trooper", both with Matt singing lead again. One thing I noted way too late while watching is that "Drop Dead" is actually the renamed version of one of A Dire Setback's earliest originals, "Wasting Away", apparently at the suggestion of producer Bill Priddle to make the song angrier. I should have caught on to that way sooner, apologies for sounding ignorant! Performance wise, the analog audio recording setup & warm lighting aren't ideal, and this is a very casual performance, but in light of what's going on in the world, how can you nitpick? The guys are clearly having fun, and I've never seen Chris so talkative between songs! The new covers ("Ace of Spades" aside) are nice surprises too, so fans will definitely enjoy this live-streamed set, as well as this thank you video for fans who watched, where they also reiterate plans for a real release concert, show off their gear, and ask for feedback.

Also, A Dire Setback's self-titled debut CD dropped on other services beyond Spotify yesterday, so you can now stream it on Apple Music and YouTube, and buy it on Bandcamp and Google Play (the latter two for around $9). Whatever your preferred source, definitely buy or stream it A.S.A.P., especially with the CD release in limbo! See above for much more the album, read our review of it in yesterday's post, and here's their full live-stream!



Next up, let's head to Sault Michigan, where long-running Rock 101 program The Hair Scare finally has it's own official Facebook page! Their official Facebook group is still alive & well, but that is more of an officially recognized fan club, compared to the new page, which host Scott Cook created back in January. Of course, The Hair Scare provides a 3 hour blast of hair and glam metal classics from the late 1970s-early 1990s every Saturday at 9:00 PM on 101.3 FM, and you can now see an hour-long glimpse of Scott at the controls from the newest episode via the live-streamed video embedded below, so if you've ever wanted an insider look at The Hair Scare in action, this will do it! In order, you'll hear Scott play Sven Gali's "Under the Influence" (joined in progress), Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In", Skid Row's "Sweet Little Sister", Slaughter's "Mad About You", Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine", Trooper's "Raise A Little Hell", ...

...Whitesnake's "Judgement Day", and much of Tesla's "Modern Day Cowboy", plus all of the breaks in-between where Scott takes requests, reminisces about the Soo area and past concerts, and talks to fans tuning in. This is an entertaining inside look at this popular Rock 101 staple in action, if not as clear for audio as the actual show would be! If you're a hair metal fan, The Hair Scare is appointment listening every Saturday, and if you like when Rock 101 diverts from their standard playlist, both The Hair Scare and Scott Cook In The Morning are your best bets for anything with local DJs! Give this Hair Scare live stream a look below, and don't forget to tune in on Saturday!



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

• SooToday previewed the Facebook live-streamed Coronafest event on March 21st via this article earlier that day, featuring remarks from organizer Brian Cattapan and fellow performer Cory Murchison. The article neglects to mention that there were more than two Saultites on the bill (Brian, his wife Krista and Jason "J Wyza" Wysynski are all from here too), but it's great to see Coronafest get some local news attention! A sequel on April 18th is also in the works for Krista's birthday the next day, so click here for details.
• If Mike Haggith's CD release concert at LopLops goes through on May 15th, then his live backing band that night will include one more musician, as local folk/alternative solo artist Jacob Quarrell (formerly Shit Creek Survivor) will be the lead guitarist on this night, as per the Facebook event page last week. Jacob opened for Mike at his Outspoken Brewing acoustic concert in August, which Mike credits as "the show that kicked off this album in the greatest possible way." While his solo music isn't hard rock, Jacob's very talented and should deliver well with Mike and crew in May... I hope!
• Local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will be interviewed tonight at 9:00 PM on The Taxi Passenger Revue, a radio show hosted by Mike Robillard on new local internet radio station The Borderline. The series features in-depth conversations akin to what you would have with a cab driver, hence the name, and if the Facebook event page is anything to go by, the interview with Tym will heavily deal in his recent conversion to Christianity. This should be an enlightening listen for fans, so check it out tonight at 9:00, especially if episodes aren't posted to stream afterward!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our second installment in our seven part WLS0 9O.1 FM retrospective series tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Hair Scare Live Concert Videos, Plus Big Changes For KLT!!

Can you believe there's no weekend concert previews today? Still wrapping my head around that one. In today's pandemic-free news post, we're focusing solely on Michigan topics, so let's kick things off by belatedly looking at the final known public videos from The Hair Scare Live at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd! One more YouTube user posted footage from that night onto their channel, namely attendee Carter Barsalou, who filmed two of the bands that night, though if you want footage of Kix's set, there's a fair amount from other attendees online. One of Carter's videos is of headliner Tom Keifer tackling his old band Cinderella's classic song "Shake Me". This is a solid rendition that was well filmed from the floor, though attendee heads can take up a lot of space, and the camera zoom can be somewhat choppy. Nice to see one more video of Tom & crew, so check it out below!



Carter's other video from Kewadin Casino last month was of opening Los Angeles hair metal band Faster Pussycat covering The Supersuckers' "2003 song "Pretty Fucked Up" (they titled it, not me!) A surprisingly modern song to cover at a 1980s hair metal throwback concert, it still seems to have gone over well, and drinking songs never go out of style! Unfortunately, Carter filmed this one from a vertical angle, but in this concert-devoid quarantine we're in, this may be the last Dreammakers Theatre metal show we see for a while, so savour all of the footage we can get! Give it a look below as well!

Finally, I wanted to close today with some news that doesn't directly affect the local FM radio market, but given the reach of the station in question, it is relevant for a number of listeners. Since 1991, Kalkaska-based rock radio station KLT has aired a simulcasted feed in Petoskey at WKLZ 98.9 FM, which did often reach Sault Ste. Marie with a fringe reception, and from my experience, picked up better here than Rock 105 or the modern day Classic Rock: The Bear. Well, in December, then-owners Northern Radio of Michigan agreed to sell WKLZ to the Educational Media Foundation, who plan to turn 98.9 FM into a Northern Michigan affiliate of their contemporary Christian radio network K-Love (keep in mind, the E.U.P. and Sault Ontario already have six Christian stations on FM & AM.) If you are so inclined, click here for details on the WKLZ sale. That said, KLT isn't gone from this part of the state!

Last month, Northern Radio of Michigan (who already failed to close a sale of KLT to Blarney Stone Broadcasting in 2016) struck a deal to sell KLT to regional radio giants Midwestern Broadcasting, complete with new digs at their Traverse City headquarters, staffing changes (Omelette's back on in the mornings!), and a new simulcast signal to replace WKLZ. Now, their main WKLT signal at 97.5 will also broadcast in Boyne City at WBCM on 93.5 FM, which had previously served as a simulcast of Traverse City country station WTCM. The rebroadcaster signal swap is similar to what happened with The Bear's tip-of-the-mitt feed two years ago (moving from 97.7 FM in Cheboygan to 95.3 FM in Tuscarora Township), and like then, the new signal isn't a positive for Soo listeners. Boyne City is slightly south of Petoskey already, but according to Radio-Locator's predicted coverage maps, 93.5 FM has a weaker signal, and it's estimated fringe reception doesn't even make it to De Tour Village, which may complicate things for existing northern fans.

I was able to pull KLT on 93.5 FM this morning, albeit with very staticy reception, so it can be done with the right equipment and location. Honestly, KLT's coverage range is now very comparable to Rock 105 and The Bear in terms of it's E.U.P. reach, but the strongest signal from it's originating tower belongs to Rock 105, so I expect you'll have the best luck of pulling 105.1 FM locally going forward. In any event, KLT is still worth a listen for local fans who want a playlist that's more classic-oriented than Rock 101, so click here for much more on the KLT sale and other recent radio changes downstate, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Hair Scare Live Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

We covered the first half of known public videos from The Hair Scare Live last Sunday, so why not wrap things up from that sold-out concert one week later? Most of today's videos will come via videos posted on or shared to The Hair Scare's Facebook group in the days following the event, but we will have a couple from YouTube to share in an upcoming post. Today's footage starts with Troy & Annette Chandler (of the Troy's Trail charity walk), who are ardent Hair Scare fans and combined to share 8 videos from the sold-out Dreammakers Theatre concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd onto the group. In descending order, let's start with Troy's video of headliner Tom Keifer and his solo band covering his old group Cinderella's classic song "Shake Me". Despite a vertical camera angle that's often half crowd heads, Tom and crew sound solid and energetic, so hair metal fans will want to check this one out!

Unfortunately, these videos can not be embedded on external websites due to their privacy settings, but don't blame the Chandlers, as the Hair Scare group video they didn't shoot is also blocked from external embedding, so it looks like this is a group setting. Very disappointing, but I'll link everything so you guys can watch them there! Next up, Troy filmed three videos of Maryland hair metal icons Kix playing three songs, including "Don't Close Your Eyes", "Blow My Fuse" (with lots of crowd involvement), and "Cold Blood". These videos were filmed in landscape mode, which improves the quality, but "Blow My Fuse" was unfortunately uploaded sideways. Aside from that, these capture Kix's retro glam metal stylings very well, both heavy and light sounds alike, so give these a look too! The Chandlers' only video of Los Angeles rockers Faster Pussycat was via Annette, who shared a clip of them playing their ballad "House of Pain".

Another vertical upload, you do see more of the stage this time, but based on Chris Paci's videos of their set, I think their upbeat metal songs suit them better. Judge for yourself at the above links! Attendee Mike Nicholson also filmed Faster Pussycat playing "House of Fire" in his own video on the Hair Scare group, which runs for only 40 seconds or so, and has a much sharper angle of the stage, not helped by the vertical angle and slightly rougher recording. The music sounds good while it lasts, and it's nice to have an alternate perspective! Back to Annette's uploads, she prefaced the concert clips with three pre-concert videos, specifically from The Hair Scare's live pre-show episode on Rock 101, which aired at 4:00 PM that day so as to not conflict with the concert. One clip is just of them sitting outside the theatre while host/MC Scott Cook is mingling with fans during a song, but the other two feature Scott interviewing members of the two opening bands.

The first 30-ish second-long video includes Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe and guitarist Sam Koltun talking about Sam joining the group last year, while the longer second clip sees them discuss their touring in Wisconsin (nearer to Rock 101's sister stations in the Western U.P.) and their trip to the Soo, but 80 seconds so in, Taime and Sam swap out for Kix frontman Steve Whiteman and bassist Mark Schenker, who talk about their own trip here, how they have maintained their sound, and their favourite newer bands, among other topics. It's not every day when you see public video footage of a Rock 101 broadcast, let alone not in their regular studio, but it's very neat to see Scott interviewing performers that night, and you can tell he's a huge fan of the music, which will be readily apparent to Hair Scare listeners on Saturday nights, of course. Kudos to Annette and Troy for all of the solid video footage during and before this concert, and check out theirs (and Mike's) videos at the above links!

We do have a couple more YouTube videos  to touch on this week, which I can absolutely embed here (as far as I know), so look for those in the coming days, and for other news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Hair Scare Live Concert Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

March is here, so let's kick things off with an all-video post from a major recent concert, namely the Hair Scare Live event at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 22nd! This special concert sold out, proving how big of a draw hair metal is locally, and having branding and co-hosting ties with the popular Rock 101 show never hurts in this regard! This was a Saturday nighter, same as the radio show's regular airtime, so Rock 101 and host Scott Cook got around that by broadcasting The Hair Scare at a special early start time of 4:00 PM that day, live from the casino. Smart move, and if you went to the concert, it meant double the glam metal action! There's a lot more to see from both YouTube and the Hair Scare Facebook group in the coming days, but for now, let's take a look at the always prolific Christopher Paci, who posted sixteen videos on his YouTube channel last week, so what can you see here?

Half of Chris' videos come from former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer's headlining set (his first local appearance in nine years), and they include Tom and his solo band playing his original songs  "It's Not Enough", "Rise", and "Hype", as well as covers of Cinderella's "Somebody Save Me", "Nobody's Fool", and "Gypsy Road", plus a long video featuring two back-to-back Cinderella songs, namely "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" & "Shake Me". Embedded below is Tom's first song, an original named "Touching the Divine". Chris has a good angle of the stage, if a little jittery, but the over-exposed stage lighting can be a drawback at points. Musically, Tom and crew sound good for hair metal fans, and he can still hit high notes pretty well! Fans seemed to like the new originals as well, which is good to see, though of course, bigger Cinderella hits seemed to get the best response. Check out all of Tom & crew's videos above & below!



Next up, Chris filmed Maryland hair metal veterans Kix playing five original songs, including "Midnight Dynamite", "Love Me With Your Top Down", "Don't Close Your Eyes", "Blow My Fuse", and as embedded below, "Girl Money". To my ears, Kix sound the closest to their 1980s sound of the three bands at The Hair Scare Live, and they deliver a strong melodic performance with energy, and what more could you ask for at a hair metal concert? Give Kix's videos a look above & below, and look for more on the site soon!



Finally, Chris got three videos of opening Los Angeles hair metal quintet Faster Pussycat playing "House of Pain", two songs in one video ("Bathroom Wall" & a cover of The Supersuckers' "Pretty Fucked Up"), and as embedded below, their set-opener "Jack the Bastard".  A little harder edged than the bands ahead, Faster Pussycat sound solid for genre fans to help kick things off on the 22nd, so check out these videos above & below as well!



Thanks again to Chris for his great work filming these once again, and while there are much more to come, that's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E & The Wyld Stallyns) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, we're capping off this weekend's hard rock concert previews with this post, though we are leading off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE! Yes, I am well aware of a big concert announcement at Soo Blaster, stay tuned for info on that very soon. Now, here's what you should know for those new shows!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will return to The Whiskey Barrel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only acknowledged the show via their Facebook page earlier today, but the venue had advertised it all month as part of their February schedule announcement, as seen on the shows' collective Facebook event page. I must get better at following The Whiskey Barrel's monthly concert schedules, apologies again! This will be The Elements side project's first concert since playing at LopLops two weeks ago, and it picks up where they left off when they played another Friday nighter at this popular Gore Street restaurant/nightclub last month. No word on why they're not playing on Saturday, but look for more hard rocking and varied covers TOMORROW from The Stallyns! Expect an 8:00 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!



Next up, here's a show that the band gave some reasonable advance notice to, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will play at The Hilltop Bar in nearby Sugar Island on Saturday, February 29th at that venue's Leap Day party! This is a very surprising announcement in two respects, one being that this is the first 415E concert in a long, long time while that wasn't under the Kewadin Casino umbrella (at least, not that had a public announcement online.) It'll be interesting to see how Dave, Chris, Brett, and Jason are received here! The other unique aspect is the locale, as seeing a hard concert announcement in Sugar Island outside of the annual Music Festival there in August is completely new for us. The Hilltop Bar is a long-time ticket depot for that event, FYI. The pictured cover photo from the bar's Facebook page indicates that said Leap Day party will have a heavy emphasis on their restaurant offerings, but they have yet to confirm 415E as the live music (the band did that on their Facebook page.)

No cover charge is advertised for this event, and while start times aren't advertised either, Hilltop Bar events usually begin at 7:00 PM, and the bar proper opens at 10:00 AM. The address is 5393 Sugar Island Road. 415E's hard rocking covers should go over well at this relatively unfamiliar venue next Saturday, so see above for more details!

Moving to the rest of this weekend's concert previews, let's stay in the E.U.P., as The Hair Scare Live is hitting The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! A special concert named after the popular 1980s metal radio show on Rock 101 on Saturday nights, this is an event that you may want to see in person rather than just turn on your radio, and it will be headlined by former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer in his first local stop since Cinderella played here in 2011. Tom and his solo band should have plenty of Cinderella classics like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" in store, so don't miss out! Support will come via Maryland glam/hard rock quintet Kix and Los Angeles hair metal veterans Faster Pussycat, both in their apparent local concert debuts. Genre fans will surely know many hits from both bands, from "Don't Close Your Eyes" to "House of Pain", so expect lots of throwback action!

As best as I can tell, Hair Scare host and Rock 101 morning DJ Scott Cook will be on hand as the MC on Saturday, which is only logical given the branding. Presented by Meridian Entertainment, this all ages & 7:00 PM concert still has limited standing room tickets available for $25 and premium seats available at higher prices, so visit this link, the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN to get hooked up. The Dreammaker's Theater has always been very kind to hair metal, as have fans, so this should be a great concert! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tom Keifer live!



Finally for this weekend, let's wrap up back in Sault Ontario, and if you can't get to The Hair Scare Live, Canadian fans aren't completely out of the woods on SATURDAY NIGHT, as Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever will return for this headlining concert! Bon Jovi fans are in good hands here, as this tribute is making their third local concert appearance on Saturday, following well recieved gigs here in May 2016 and this past October. With a faithful looking and sounding stage show for fans of their early hair metal classics and newer, more general rock output, you should find something to like from B.J.F. in their third local go-around! Might they already have Bon Jovi's new single "Limitless" in their repertoire? As was the case last year, this is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 9:00 PM, and tickets run for $15 in advance at The Canadian's front desk, $20 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Bon Jovi Forever live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hair Scare Live), New Videos, And Music City SSM Updates!!

Let's tackle some more recent news and notes as we begin winding down the month of October, and we're roughly splitting things between the twin Saults today. Here, we have some new videos from acts on both sides of the border, updates on ambitious music plans in Sault Ontario, and leading off, a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for you 101.3 FM listeners on Saturday nights!

Former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for a special headlining concert on Saturday, February 22nd! Fans last saw Tom on a local stage when he and Cinderella rocked this venue in April 2011, and while Cinderella proper disbanded in 2017, he has a full solo band now and new original material with them, so look for new songs and his old classics like  "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" & "Nobody's Fool" early next year! Support will include Maryland glam/hard rock quintet Kix in their apparent local debut, who will bring a repertoire of classic songs like "Don't Close Your Eyes" & "Girl Money" to the table in February, so genre fans should be right at home with their set! Los Angeles hair metal veterans Faster Pussycat will round out the bill on this night, and with songs like "House of Pain" and "Nonstop To Nowhere", they should set the tone very well in four months' time!

Notably, this concert is branded as "Hair Scare Live", after the popular Saturday night hair/glam metal show on Rock 101, who first announced this concert this past weekend, and have the exclusive pre-sale ticket code on air. Very cool for Scott and company to get the show's name on a concert very much up their alley! This all ages, 8:00 PM show has tickets going on sale on Halloween at 10:00 AM, with general tickets starting at just $25, and you can get yours then at this link, the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. You couldn't ask for a more Hair Scary show than this, so rock the winter blues away at this one, and visit the above links for full details!

Next up, let's continue playing catch-up with local classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook video postings that we missed covering on the SMS this year, now focusing on their Facebook group! Generally, this is where keyboardist Craig Harrison shares videos originally posted on his personal Facebook page, rather than brand new exclusive content. On April 28th, Craig shared this video featuring their original (and non-seasonal) instrumental named "The Drowning", which first went on Reverbnation back in 2017. Described as "a somber anthem of beauty & sadness", this has a delicate ethereal sound that suits their classical ties well, and Steve's guitar work is really solid, so fans should give it a listen if they haven't already! On June 9th, Craig shared a video of singer Rachel Mender beautifully covering Evanescence's "Hello" in studio, and it's got very strong emotion to it, possibly inspired by her then two month-old son Grey's major health battle (click here for information.)

Best of luck to Rachel & Ryan at this difficult time, no parent should have go through something like this! We'll wrap for now on a happier note, namely this video Craig shared from August 20th of Rachel tracking vocals in studio for Theatre of Night's version of "O Holy Night", complete with another shot of the monitor as things get recorded. Short by excellently done as usual, it's nice to hear an isolated vocal track recording (which isn't common for heavier bands to show off around there), so give that video a look below!

 

Moving back to Sault Ontario, remember how local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty ran a private venue named Mellow D's Underground that hosted a handful of concerts in early-mid 2017? Well, it returned in a new (private) location on Friday at a Halloween party that the Soo's Got Talent third place finishers headlined! The band never acknowledged the show (entitled "The Spooktacular Soiree") publically until yesterday via their Facebook page. The A.A. shared the stage on Friday with hip hop acts, including Killabeatz, Kodex, ex-As It Stands frontman Justin "Nadj" Pregent, and Conika, who filmed this video of Paul, Alice, and Amanda covering Lorde's "Tennis Courts." Lighting is what it is given the location, and the video only runs for 63 seconds, but it's a lively and intense rendition as you might expect, and this seems like a fun way to bring Mellow D's back after a 2+ year hiatus! Give this video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally, remember the discussion of "Music City Sault Ste. Marie" and an event with music industry professionals (including Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori) at The Water Tower Inn two weeks ago? Well, here's what we know about that, though you can get more technical details via the SooToday articles linked here & here. In a nutshell, representatives from numerous municipal and arts organizations have came together to help build up Sault Ste. Marie & it's music industry to become a true "music city" and a full destination for tourism, jobs, city development, and artistic growth therein. London was cited as an inspiration, based on the economic activity, publicity, and tourism there following their hosting the Juno Awards in March, with the Soo hosting the Junos cited as a potential goal. The involved groups and sponsors hosted the "Mastering of a Music City" event on October 17th, outlining their vision and what we could take from London's example, followed by a networking session.

I'm all for bolstering the Soo's music community, it'd be a huge boost for local recognition and tourism if done right, and we have loads of musical talent here, past and present! This is a tricky market in some respects given how Sault Michigan largely controls local radio, and as such, Canadian acts often don't have the same visibility. Maybe that could be addressed via Music City SSM? The Junos is a lofty goal, especially as they haven't been held in a venue as small as the Gardens since 1994, but it sure would be cool to have them here. Visit the above links for much more on these plans, and stay tuned for more news on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63), A New Local Band, And Much More!!

Let's touch on some more news and updates on this Friday morning, so what's in store today? Some assorted shorter notes, a new guitarist addition for a local band, and late SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, but first, we have a new band discovery that links to the new guitarist write-up! Here's what you should know, and best of luck to Jack Spades as they open for The Misfits in Toronto this weekend! (Updated at 2:48 PM)

We have a new local band to add to our links, and they are Leaked, a young classic rock/punk trio! Formed by classmates at Korah Collegiate & Vocational School, their lineup features singer/bassist Matt Schell, guitarist Tammy Hill (more on her in a second), and drummer Nic Buckner, and Korah students may recognize Tammy and Nic from being current members of Korah's school band Mustang Sally. Updates on Leaked have not came since June, but the band played at two outdoor school events at the end of the spring semester, including at the Buick Drive For Your Students event in May, and at their Relay For Live event the following month. Also, I believe this is the band Tammy was referencing when looking for members on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group earlier this year. I'm not sure if Leaked are still active and functioning or not, but they do have one video from the latter gig, so what should we know from it?

I can't identify each of the (at least) five songs by name, as some are short and/or instrumental clips, and Matt's voice is hard to hear, but the second song is a familiar punk cover, and they also tackle The Beatles' "Come Together" and Golden Earring's "Radar Love". It's not a huge glimpse at Leaked, but they have instrumental skill, and Tammy shows some solid guitar ability, but again, Matt's singing isn't that strong. Hopefully Leaked keep at it though, it's great to see more young talent emerging! Check out their video below, and they're now in our active band links!



Next up, we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will reportedly be back at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced them on their Facebook page this morning, and Kewadin Casino's entertainment page still hasn't been updated to reflect dates at The Rapids Lounge for this latter stretch of the year (at least we know that they're still hosting bands!) Last seen at the Sault Kewadin last month, it's good to see the Jager successors back at it as we slowly approach their Halloween gig at the Legion, and definitely consider checking them out TONIGHT and/or TOMORROW NIGHT if you're across the river this weekend! Both shows are 21+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!

Also, we can now reveal the identity of Mike Haggith & The Din's new guitarist, as they've enlisted the aforementioned Tammy Hill to round out their new lineup, replacing the departed Curtis McKenzie. The local alternative hard rock trio had originally revealed her addition two weeks ago via this Facebook video of the band playing "Out Of My League" during a jam session, but opted to keep her full identity secret until posting this photo on Wednesday. Tammy will make her live debut with The Din at the second Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on November 19th, and the band also teased "some studio surprises coming soon", so we'll keep you posted when more comes out on those! This is a surprise addition, especially with Tammy being a somewhat unknown musical commodity (unless you're a current Korah student), but she did show clear talent in the brief clips from the above Leaked video, and it's great to have another female musician getting into the local hard rock scene! Stay tuned for more from Mike Haggith & The Din when it comes in!

Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or show name:

• Local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA posted the interview that they did with the Northern Darkness Print Zine onto their Facebook page on October 1st via three photos of the physical copy, though Halloween props obscure some of the questions. The interview was conducted with frontman Kevin Campbell apparently in the winter (quite a delay to print!), and it includes remarks about their debut CD, the cover artwork, and their influences, but questions about their name's meaning and closing remarks are obscured from view. If you want to read the full interview (in case the band never posts it), click here for purchasing details!
• Local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet's studio cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (from the upcoming "Fed Up!" three way split) was briefly posted onto their Bandcamp page yesterday, but was suddenly pulled today due to "an audio glitch", but will apparently be re-posted in the near future. For reference, the song features Billy Bastards guitarist Greg Beharriel, Jack Spades drummer Johnny Belanger, and Joni Radford as backing vocalists, while it did not credit co-lead singer Brent Ellis as being on the recording.
• We have finally added the official Facebook group/fan club for Rock 101's Saturday night program The Hair Scare to our "Other Sault Michigan Links" on the right! Hosted by Scott Cook, The Hair Scare has long been a favourite show for it's assortment of 1980s metal and hard rock (including songs not usually heard on the regular rotation), and the Facebook group is active with diehard fans of the program, even attracting official fan club status over the years, so join in above and tune in Saturday nights at 9:00 PM on 101.3 FM!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll on Sunday, and more news soon! Thanks everyone!

Last Month's Poll Results, This Month's Poll, And New Riverin Songs!!

Hey guys, it's poll day at The Sault Metal Scene! Today's post is mostly dedicated to going over last month's poll results and kicking off this month's new poll, but we'll also have some updates from Riverin after that! So we'll begin with results for last month's poll, and if you remember, I posed this question: What is your favourite radio show on Rock 101? 24 votes, not bad, though it'd have been nice to see more! Luckily, the results speak for themselves, so here's how the totals break down!

Tied for last with no votes each were The Denny Lambert Show, Flashback, In The Studio, and I just like the normal music rotation and/or the DJs. I'm not surprised by their placement, for the most part, as Flashback and In The Studio air at funny times, and The Denny Lambert Show didn't get a warm reception from metalheads and non-hockey fans. But no one picked normal DJ rotation over a specific show? Odd, but hey, it all depends who votes! Seventh place with a single vote was In Concert, nice to see it has support! You'll often hear a good band on there, though it does air pretty early. Most surprising to me was the sixth place choice, Eddie Trunk Rocks, which only got two votes. I'm a huge Eddie Trunk fan, and his show has some diverse and heavy material to rock your Sunday nights away to! Trust me, it's worth checking out!

In a four way tie for second place, with three votes each, were Sault Transit Greyhound Hockey, Scott & Brian In The Morning, My favourite radio show is on another station, and I don't listen to the radio. I figured these would be higher up in the totals, cause the Greyhounds have a good following, Scott & Brian are a great morning duo, there are some quality radio shows on other stations, and there are a number of you who don't bother with the radio. I'm not surprised that these made it this high, but I never would have bet on a four way tie! And with a clear first place victory, with 9 votes, 38% of the total: The Hair Scare! Yes, Scott Cook's Saturday night show dedicated to the best of '80s metal, hair or otherwise, topped the poll, and frankly, I'm not surprised! He knows his stuff, he spins some songs you never hear on normal rotation, there's some great memories and discussions shared, along with requests and the occasional guest! Great show, especially if you loved hair metal and the '80s scene, so make sure to tune in Saturday nights at 9:00 PM!

So there is last month's poll, so what's in store for our new poll? Well, I figured I'd assess public opinion towards a certain major concert, now that it's been over a month since it happened. I contemplated putting a poll up about this topic last month, but I reasoned that people would be more likely to objectively gauge their thoughts about it when it wasn't fresh in mind. So I pose this question to you guys: What's your verdict on last month's Kiss concert? I have 7 choices this time around, so hopefully one of them will accurately say your feelings towards their concert at The Essar Center on August 10th! Here are your choices!

It was awesome!: If you thought the Kiss show lived up to they hype, blew you away, was amazing, or whatever else you could say as high praise, vote for this choice! I really liked it, their stage show was incredible and they sounded good, but I'm not voting. You are, and if you thought their local show was awesome, you know what to choose!

It was alright: So lets say you liked the show, but it wasn't the be all end all amazing concert that many say it was. You liked most but not all of the songs, and so on. If that fits your description, vote for this choice!

It was disappointing: After months and months of hype, a postponement, endless speculation and skepticism, the Kiss show was bound to be judged higher than some major shows. If it didn't live up to your hype and expectations, and left you cold, this is the choice for you! Honestly, I think they delivered, but not everyone will agree.

It sucked!: Let's say you went, and had a bad time, be it cause Kiss didn't play well, the stage show was underwhelming, the crowd got on your nerves, et cetera. If you somehow had a bad time and hated the Kiss show, vote here!

I couldn't get a ticket: For a show of this magnitude, there was bound to be ticket issues. Many people couldn't get one, others couldn't afford one, or possibly were out of town, and therefore had to miss this show. If you fall into this boat, and wanted to see Kiss but couldn't, this is the choice for you!

Kiss sucks, I didn't go: No band is universally loved, and we sure heard from some people in the past year who openly voiced a dislike for Kiss, be it musically or beyond. If you're among the group who doesn't like Gene Simmons and company, and didn't go see them as a result, then vote for this!

VOTE TODAY! With a month to sit in, I'm interested to see what people thought of this, one of the biggest concerts we've ever seen in Sault Ontario! Remember, the poll is on the left hand side of the page, and you have until October 18th to vote! Yes, we're getting back to our old poll schedule finally. Now that poll stuff is out of the way for today, I have an overdue news story to share, so here's what you should know!

Local industrial hard rock duo Riverin (featuring former Dirty Virgin and Silver Dream bandmates Matt Clement and Matt Hicks) have posted three new original songs onto their MySpace page on Thursday! Presumably, these will find their way onto their debut self titled E.P., though I haven't heard much lately referring specifically to that. One new song, entitled "Deflower" is half ambient technological sound effects and half pretty aggressive hard rock with harsh singing and a hard charging riff! Great second half, though the first half works in a unique techno way! "Valentine" is a slower more emotional, with softer verses, nice instrumentation, and effective use of grittier sounds, which contrasts well! Vocals don't really match up 100% though. The other new song, "Raining In December", is almost 7 minutes long, and is a piano driven ballad that has nice ominous tones and good lyrics, though it does drag at parts. Good stuff, definitely unqiue from the typical harder stuff we hear locally, check them all out at the above links! More from Riverin as I hear it!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for news from As It Stands, End of Existence, and much more in the coming days! Also, stay tuned for out new Defunct Local Band Profile on Sault Michigan's Lower S.E.S. by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Lion Ride), Sykotyk Rampage's New Album, A Newly Discovered Local Band, & More!

Here's an eventful post for this evening, lots of cool and exciting stuff to get to, and let us begin with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

According to an upcoming lineup schedule for The Rockstar Bar & this band's MySpace page, Lion Ride will be back in Sault Ste. Marie at the end of the month! The band appear to have scheduled a concert for December 27th at The Rockstar Bar, with a start time of 10:00 PM! This is enough proof to call it as a definite concert, but I still don't know total details. When I hear more, I'll let you guys know! My other proof is from this image that shows the upcoming concert listings at The Rockstar Bar, which is booking a lot of other good stuff this month too! This will be Lion Ride's first local appearance since their heartbreaking loss to Garden of Bedlam at the Kiss Battle of the Bands, and their first full concert set since the last edition of Hempfest! I should be at this show, the end of the month is shaping up nicely for concerts, including Half Past at The Rockstar Bar & Detroit's CD release concert too! I'll keep you guys posted!

Next up, after months of waiting, Sykotyk Rampage's 22nd album (appropriately named "22") is finally available for purchase! Not sure how you can obtain CDs, though contacting band members should work, and the album's also available online to purchase! You can snag your copy for $7.99 (or 75¢ for an individual song), and trust me when I say that this is one of the more unique albums you'll come across this year! Sites are giving November 28th as the release date, which is also the day that the band uploaded the album onto their Soundclick page for streaming and purchase (songs off of it are available on other sites too!) As promised, the album has 22 songs, 6 of which are new live re-recordings of band classics like "Drinking On The Weekend" & "Called In Dead"! Among the new songs, there's loads of "blue Chinese metal crash punk" to go around, coming from many different influences! Drummer Paul Becker handles most of the singing, though guitarist Dirk Becker chimes in with lead singing on some tracks too, and Paul's daughter Krista even provides guest vocals on a song!

Their style and sound are so unique that I couldn't sum it up here without a proper review (I still need to fit this in on my review schedule!) So I recommend at least head to their Soundclick page to check out every song in their back catalog, especially the new album, and if you like what you hear, buy the albums! Great value for the money, and you're guaranteed to be entertained by at least one song!

What else to share tonight...well, I did come across another local band from back in the day! Flat Stanley drummer Glen Thomas, an invaluable resource for old local music info, found a local group by the name of Foothill Road on MySpace, and told me about them, and now I'm passing them on to you guys! Formed in 1994 or earlier, Foothill Road were a local hard rock group who eventually moved to Hamilton to further pursue their musical goals. Though the band endured some lineup changes and a name change to Cousin It, they managed to record not one, but TWO albums in the mid 90s, entitled "Seventy" and "Foothill Road" (cover pictured.) The band originally featured former Spy Vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton (who vocally reminds me of Billy Corgan) and Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci, among others! Now this is a band I've got to find out more about, they had a good hard rock sound going for them, and it's great to see an old band member (possibly drummer Rick Bain?) post a page to bring the back to the masses! Check out some of Foothill Road's solid original material at this location, and they're now in the local metal band links to your left! Thanks for the find, Glen!

Here's something cool: Have you ever wondered what it looks like where they broadcast Rock 101? Here's a glimpse of it, a live video taken from a recent installment of "The Hair Scare", the hair metal block hosted by Scott Cook that airs on Saturday nights! Let me say this: I NEVER would have guessed that they did radio broadcasts from a yellow room! But hey, it's cool seeing the inner workings of local radio! Usually we just picture radio DJs as random voices coming out of speakers! This is also notable for another reason, as local author and metal fan Duane Roy was on to talk about his book "Castle Stories: A Rock N' Roll Scrapbook", which details the concert history from the old Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan! I've already plugged the book on here, but it's worth mentioning again, especially with this cool radio feature that Duane got on Rock 101! Details on how to buy "Castle Stories" at this location, and check out Scott Cook and Duane Roy on "The Hair Scare" immediately below!



And finally, for those of you Kiss fans still on the hunt for a ticket for the December 15th show with Garden of Bedlam at The Essar Center, I have discovered a possible way to get tickets! When browsing the Entertainment page on SooToday, I saw listings on the entertainment schedule hyping this: The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above The Canadian Nightclub is holding a draw for a chance to win two Kiss tickets! Just head upstairs at The Canadian A.S.A.P. to fill out a ballot for your chance to win! The entries are drawn ONE WEEK FROM TODAY (December 14th) at midnight, so if you want to take a chance on this draw, head to The Canadian today! My source is every link on the "What's Happening" area of the entertainment page that says "Draw for 2 KISS tickets!!" That's all for tonight, stay tuned for my preview of tomorrow's Three Days Grace concert later today! Thanks everyone!