YouTube Channel Profile Series: Christopher Paci

It's now time for our penultimate YouTube Channel Profile of 2021, where we're taking another look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose contennts are at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts. We were spotted a doozy of a channel this month, with literally hundreds of videos to comb through, but any major rock concertgoer locally from the past decade will find a wealth of content within, so here's what you should know!

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Christopher Paci (http://youtube.com/greetingsbychris)

Owner: Sault Ontario resident and regular local concert attendee Christopher Paci

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 14th, 2010; Videos uploaded from the following month through October 19th, 2021

Channel Summary: After some sporadic personal usage in it's first two years on YouTube with five non-musical uploads, Chris uploaded his first concert videos there in September 2012 following Buckcherry's headlining concert in Sault Michigan that month. From there, he hasn't looked back, uploading well over 750 concert videos over the past 9+ years! This includes events in both Sault Ontario and Sault Michigan, with Canadian shows starting to appear with February 2014's Tragically Hip concert. While videos here are primarily from rock concerts, Chris has also brought his camera to country and hip-hop shows, and while most are from major concerts with touring headliners, he has filmed at select smaller venues and festivals.
 
Why You Should Watch: Chris is a saint for filming all of these videos, and browsing his channel will give you a wealth of concert videos from the 2010s to check out, and often from good places in the crowd! Audio is often scratchy, and Chris doesn't have the accurate song titles for some videos, but given the sheer quantity of what he's uploaded, those are all comparatively minor. For very obvious reasons, Chris has only filmed at one concert since February 2020, but hopefully more notable concerts make their way to the Soo area in 2022, especially with border restrictions loosening!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Sebastian Bach - I Remember You LIVE from Kewadin Casino Sault Ste. Marie 20/01/2013: Chris' most popular video is from the original Skid Row frontman's headlining concert at The Dreammakers Theater back in January 2013, and counting that month's Queensryche show at the same venue that Chris also filmed at, four of his five videos to cross 2,000 views are from that month! Some of the commenters are critical of Sebastian's voice on this classic Skid Row ballad, but he sounds serviceable to me, if worn around the edges a bit, and the like/dislike count is good! Chris also filmed Sebastian and his solo band playing "Kicking & Screaming", "18 & Life", and "Monkey Business" at this show, plus one video of local openers 415E (still that band's only publically viewable concert video from any source).

 

 

Theatre of Night - What Child Is This - Soo Theatre, December 16, 2017: While most of Chris' videos of local bands were in Sault Ontario for obvious reasons, he films E.U.P. bands on occasion, including via his annual trip to Sault Michigan from 2017-2019 to see local classical metal band Theatre of Night's yearly pre-pandemic Christmas themed concert, which was held at The Soo Theatre in 2017 before moving to Kewadin Casino. Featuring their 2017-only sextet lineup (including then co-vocalist Stacie McCarthy), Theatre of Night were filmed playing "Little Drummer Boy", "The Nutcracker Suite", "Silent Night", "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "O Holy Night", "Carol of the Bells", and featured here, their set opener "What Child Is This?". Solid renditions of these holiday staples by Craig, Steve, Rachel, Scott, Erik, and Stacie, and it's always nice to see some heavier local bands getting in the Christmas spirit! Even the darker lighting helps the mood!

 

White Cowbell Oklahoma - Loplops, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario - Jan. 26, 2019: Picking just one video to showcase from Chris' ample Sault Ontario video cache is a daunting task, but I knew I wanted a touring headliner in a more intimate locale, and ideally one I hadn't embedded in a prior post. How does Toronto Southern hard rock band White Cowbell Oklahoma sound? A 9+ minute video of W.C.O. covering Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", their crowd pleasing hybrid sound attracted a strong crowd once again, and hopefully they return to our area again! Among his other 6 videos from that night, Chris also shot White Cowbell Oklahoma playing songs like "San Antone", "Cheerleader",  "Shot A Gamblin' Man", and "Put The South In Your Mouth".

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! We'll end 2021 in this series with another single randomly selected channel, namely YouTube user DeformedPie, whose channel is mostly comprised of uploads of Woods of Ypres studio tracks! Fittingly timed given that next month is the 10 year anniversary of David Gold's passing, but this channel was completely chosen at random, this is just a coincidence! Look for that on or around Boxing Day, and look for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Three New Kewadin Casino Concert Video Postings, And More!!

After an admittedly slow weekend, we're back with what should be an active week on the SMS, starting with this all-video post! One video is from this side of the border, but we'll start with a trifecta of videos from YouTube user Dwayne Lehn's channel, all belated uploads from early-2010s concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino. You may recall Dwayne from filming a pair of videos from Shinedown's concert at Kewadin in 2013, but for one reason or another, these three videos didn't make it online until yesterday. Better late than never, so kudos to Dwayne for finally putting these up! First is a video of British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman playing their song "Lowlife" at the casino in November 2012 (it's definitely not from their 2015 show here), and this might be the best video I've seen from one of their local concerts!

Dwayne was front row center or very close to there, with frontman Tyler Connolly in prime view, and the band handle this hit song of theirs nicely! If you're a fan of Theory of a Deadman, this is well worth your time, whether you were at this concert or not, so give this video a look below!



Next up, Dwayne posted this video of former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach covering his old band's classic "18 & Life" during his headlining show at the Soo Kewadin in January 2013! Unlike the Theory of a Deadman clip, this is filmed side-stage, and while Sebastian and band sound good, the audio has staticy bass. Give this belated but entertaining ballad a look below!



Finally for Dwayne's "new" Dreammaker's Theater video postings, we're going even older with a video of Sacramento hair metal legends Tesla playing their ballad "Love Song" in Sault Michigan in June 2010! While Tesla did play here in 2013 (closer to when Dwayne filmed his other local concert videos), this is absolutely from the 2010 show, their third of four here. Again, this is a side-stage video, which does no favours to the dark mood lighting, but Tesla sound fine here, and Jeff Keith even makes his way to Dwayne's end of the theater for a spell! Check out his Tesla video below, and see more above!



Finally for today, here's a new video of the one-off Bin Hawdon & The Taliband reunion set from last month's Guy Thiffault tribute concert at The Rockstar Bar! Filmed by attendee Amber Sharp with a GoPro camera, this was uploaded to frontman Mikey Hawdon's new YouTube channel (which apparently succeeded his old mykawdon channel) on Friday. A cover of Diesel Boy's "Titty Twister" (that's it's name, don't shoot the messenger), this is a solid video with a nice angle from Mikey's side of the stage, complete with some fans singing along, but the audio is somewhat muffled. Give this new Bin Hawdon & The Taliband video a look below, and hopefully it's not another 8 years for their next concert!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Banned Concert & Swearnet Movie Previews, Plus More New Videos!!

Before we kick off this post, I have a note on a concert cancellation (maybe a mistake?), as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm are apparently NOT playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this weekend. While Kewadin pages still list the local dates, Scarkazm's own pages list this weekend's gigs as taking place in Cadillac instead, with their next St. Ignace shows coming in October. Not sure whether these were tentatively local once or erroneously announced, but best of luck to the guys this weekend, and fans can see Scarkazm back in the U.P. in the fall!

As a result of the Scarkazm switch, we'll instead look at The Chippewa County Fair, as the annual Kinross family festival is putting smiles on faces once again this year, and while the Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands is not advertised to return in 2014, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are still playing their own solo set TOMORROW! As announced on their Facebook page on August 19th, they'll be playing at the pavilion near the Lion's Club building at 4:00 PM tomorrow, so battle or no battle, Banned will be rocking their hometown tomorrow around supper time! Note that the fair's own website lists the 4:00 Pavilion timeslot as "to be announced", which is likely due to it not being updated since Banned's confirmation. Fans of ALL AGES can check out Alex & Don Traynor with new bassist Wayne Lawrence at the fair tomorrow among other events like stock car racing, animal shows, a tractor pull, and more, so click here for all details relating to tickets & admission fees!

As of right now, this is Banned's last scheduled gig of the summer, so keep it in mind if you're at the fair or in the Kinross area for some hard rocking entertainment! For a preview, here's Banned's recent video slideshow of their current lineup covering Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride & Joy"!



Next up, here's a preview of a different sort, as a movie filmed here with a metal connection opens TODAY, that being Swearnet, the new film from the stars of the Showcase (now Netflix) mockumentary comedy series Trailer Park Boys! As you may remember, Swearnet (which is about T.P.B. stars Robb Wells, Jean-Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith forming their own uncensored online TV network) was filmed locally in Sault Ste. Marie in late 2012, and scenery from the Soo is readily seen in trailers! This fits on the SMS however due to ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach's cameo role in Swearnet (following his own Trailer Park Boys guest part), which some of you guys may remember from some Sebastian sightings during filming, including a karaoke night appearance at The Canadian! A little birdie also told me that some familiar band paraphernalia will also be seen from time to time. Yes, Swearnet is showing at Galaxy Cinema at The Station Mall, and it will open there TODAY at 2:10, 4:45, 7:25, and 10:10 PM, with similar screenings times in the following days, though like with any other movie, it's longevity at the theatre will depend on it's overall box office performance.

It's not often where a major movie makes it way to Galaxy Cinema with a ties to both the Soo and metal, and knowing how much many readers like the Trailer Park Boys, I'm sure many of you won't want to miss Swearnet on that basis either! Early reviews are good, and I do hope to check out Swearnet soon myself! I will advise though that Swearnet (which is 112 minutes long) is rated 18A for it's content, so fans under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. For a preview of Swearnet, here's the official green band trailer!

Also, here's a bit of a surprise, as local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements recently made the 8 hour trip north to Moonbeam for this year's 16th annual Hempfest! As you may remember, the annual marijuana culture/concert festival made the full time move to owner Robert Neron's hometown this year due to rising costs and shrinking attendance in Ophir, contributing to the local summer concert festival dropoff this year. Though advertised as "The Hip-Hop Year", The Elements (who haven't played a public local gig since the Jack Spades EP release show in May) played sets yesterday and will again on Saturday, making them the first heavier local band to play Hempfest since 2011. Nice to see a local connection this year, and a slight variance from the rap theme, so hopefully their sets went over well! It's not much of a glimpse of their set, but Hempfest's official Facebook page features this 28 second cell phone video of The Elements' set from yesterday of the guys covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Soul To Squeeze", so what can we see within?

Not a lot due to the length, but there's solid event lighting (the venue in Moonbeam is indoors) and I like the inflatable aliens! The lack of a crowd is concerning, but it may be due to when they played, as they opened the Thursday music lineup at 4:00 PM. In terms of critiquing The Elements' performance, there's not much as I can say due to the length and slow pace, but everything sounds fine compared to the original song. Check out The Elements live at Hempfest (albeit 8 hours away) below, and see more 2014 Hempfest videos at the above links!



Finally for today, here's a short new video from new local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty, as uploaded to their Facebook page on Monday! It's of members X & Z "partying before their set on Saturday" (referencing their between-band involvement at Soo Band Roulette at The Rockstar Bar), though it mainly features X answering a question about if they're ready, and Z dancing to a live rapper's track. Interesting watch, but of course, you'll see the real Apocalypse Afterparty experience on Saturday night, so don't miss Soo Band Roulette, and give their new video a look below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, plus this month's CD review shortly as well! Thanks everyone!

Woods Of Ypres - "Allure Of The Earth" Single Review!!

Let's end the month strong with our 57th monthly CD review at the SMS, though for the first time in 11 months, we'll be looking at an archive release due to a slow schedule for new local metal/hard rock albums this month (not counting ones within our 6 month buffer period.) This month, we'll be reviewing a single for the first time, that being the "Allure of the Earth" vinyl released by defunct local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres! The last release on frontman David Gold's original independent label Krankenhaus Records, this single saw it's limited release on September 6th, 2009 exclusively on 500 7'' vinyl records, each hand-numbered with lyrics sheets and download cards towards digital copies of this single and Woods of Ypres' 2009 compilation album "Independent Nature 2002-2007". The song "Allure of the Earth" was recorded at Spectre Sound Studios in Tecumseh, Ontario in 2004 and originally released on the "Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth" album (or "Woods II") that August.

Woods of Ypres were represented for these sessions by the late David Gold on all instruments save for Jessica Rose on keyboard, while ex-members Steve Jones & Connor Sharpe went uncredited for their guitar & bass parts due to leaving the band beforehand. As well, the second song on the single is a band-endorsed cello cover of "Allure of the Earth" by Australian cellists Sebastian Simpson & Chris Doig, which we'll cover in a second. Even with David's passing in 2011, this single was only available in one limited pressing (and isn't digitally available for sale), so sale copies can be expensive, but you can buy the original song and it's album on iTunes at this link, and both songs are readily available online in streaming copies.

We already reviewed "Allure of the Earth" as part of our full review of it's album in September 2011, so I won't rehash that here, but check this link to read it in full. Essentially Woods of Ypres' first toe in the water of softer ballad material, the song seemed to be based around the desire for death, which may strike familiar with fans compared to the themes of last year's "Woods V". As an early example of David's range and diversity as a singer, it does the job well with solid passion and emotion, but the first half still feels empty, almost like it needs extra instrumentation. Black metal purists will still prefer other songs on "Woods II", but "Allure of the Earth" helped plot the future course for Woods of Ypres' studio material, and it's dark emotion still holds up! The B-side cover of "Allure of the Earth" by Sebastian Simpson & Chris Doig is well performed and adds it's own haunting quality to the song, though with just cellos, it could be considered empty as well. Also, the arrangement is altered in some spots, making the total runtime of the cover a few seconds shorter.

Overall, the "Allure of the Earth" single was a nice release for diehard Woods of Ypres fans in 2009, and the inclusion of the cello cover and vinyl formats gave some solid incentives to pick it up, but given the length and limited availability, I'd only recommend seeking out & buying a copy to collectors. With only 500 copies printed, the price and availability of this record will only go up when copies turn up on the secondary market, and with just two songs, casual fans would be better off buying or downloading "Pursuit of the Sun..." to get their fix of this song & this era of Woods of Ypres, especially as there's no exclusive band originals on it, but this is definitely a recommended album for collectors to look for! I hope you guys liked this month's local metal album review, but what's coming next month? Given recent indications of imminent releases, our next CD review could very well be the debut EPs from Shit Liver or Jack Spades, which are both pencilled in for April releases, but Telephone & Address' "Rotten EP" could be this month as well, pending acquisition of a copy.

For reference, our next Woods of Ypres review (of their 2011 vinyl single "Home") will be our last of their CD reviews on here, barring any possible posthumous albums, but due to our 6 month buffer period to avoid repetition, that won't make it to the site until September at the earliest. Also, a SweetKenny review (of either "Ink!" or "This End Up") is likely for mid-2014, as it's too soon from our last review of his also. With that said, look out for our next CD review in the next 4 weeks, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

New Queensrcyhe, Sebastian Bach, And 415E Concert Videos From Kewadin Casino!!

A day after we devoted an entire post to videos from Sunday's Sebastian Bach/415E concert, we're returning to similar territory tonight, as even more videos from the show have turned up, including one from another recent metal concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, so without any further adieu, let's begin today's all-video showcase! We'll start with a brand new video from the original Queensryche's concert at Kewadin Casino on January 12th, which is of them playing "Eyes of a Stranger"! Filmed by YouTube user jaymax440 and uploaded to YouTube yesterday, this has great audio quality despite an extremely far camera angle (no zoom?), and though it's just under 2 minutes in length, it's nice to finally see this online! Check out this new Queensryche concert video below, and stay tuned in case there's any more later video postings from it!



Keeping in a rough chronological order, we next have three new videos from Sebastian Bach openers 415E (including the first clips of them playing original material), all courtesy of a familiar video source! As you may remember, 415E guitarist Chris Hubbard's mom Cami was a frequent uploader of live videos from Chris' old band Nixxon Dixxon's last year together, but since their August 2010 breakup, there were no new concert video postings onto her YouTube channel (not even from Splitshot) until last night! Cami shot three videos of 415E's live debut on Sunday night, and these include covers of Van Halen's "Eruption" and their rendition of "You Really Got Me", their self-titled original song, and as embedded below, their song "Livin' It Up" & a cover of Van Halen's "Unchained"! The quality's pretty good, with nice zooming and a good angle of the action, but I still think Dave Menard's stage presence could be a bit looser compared to the other members.

The originals remind me of old Nixxon Dixxon tracks, and I find they have an energy that the studio demos didn't fully capture! As for the Van Halen covers, while Chris' guitar work is expectedly great, I don't know if Dave has the right voice for them compared to some other tracks (he really fit with their Stone Temple Pilots cover, for example), but overall, I like what I'm seeing & hearing! Check out 415E playing "Livin' It Up" & "Unchained" below, see the rest of their new videos at the above links!, and kudos to Cami for posting these!



We'll close with Sunday's headliners, as there's a few new Sebastian Bach videos to talk about! The first ones we'll mention come courtesy of Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki's YouTube channel (all posted last night), and they're of Sebastian covering Skid Row's "Monkey Business" and "18 & Life", as well as the video embedded below, his 2007 original song "(Love Is) A Bitchslap", complete with a tease of a special guest at the beginning! Though appearing to be in the front row, complete with some cool crowd shots, Erik's camera has scratchy audio, though Sebastian's singing is very clear, and the quality is otherwise great! Check out more from Erik's channel above, and here's Sebastian playing "(Love Is) A Bitchslap"!



Finally, here's one new video of Sebastian covering Skid Row's "I Remember You" on Sunday night, as filmed on a cell phone camera by YouTube user markandy08 and uploaded to YouTube last night! The quality's good despite the dimensions, but I wish Mark had shot this at a different point in the song (as it catches a lot of the instrumental bridge, especially given the video's short length.) It's still worth watching, so give Mark's video of Sebastian Bach a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews TOMORROW, along with plenty of news and notes in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

Sebastian Bach & 415E Concert Videos!!

In this video-heavy Tuesday, we've got (as promised) the first video footage from Sunday night's Sebastian Bach concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in tonight's post! That's the focus here, but of course, check out this morning's YouTube Channel Profiles on Phil Temporao & Tantrym Tyme's YouTube channels in the post below this one. Given the types of videos we have from Sunday night, I thought we'd go in rough chronological order for them, starting with this video from... Sebastian Bach himself? Uploaded on Sunday night before the concert to Sebastian's own YouTube channel (which is named after his old band Damnocracy from the VH1 reality show Supergroup), this is a very short cell phone video which appears to be from shortly after the former Skid Row frontman arrived at Kewadin Casino. Despite it's 12 second length, it's full of sarcastic jabs at the bad winter weather we had on Sunday, which you may take any way you want. Still, we don't see a ton of videos of touring acts arriving in the area, so it's notable on that basis as well, and give it a look below!



Next up, while we started with Sebastian's arrival, let's transition to his opening band, as Sault Michigan hard rock band 415E (featuring Splitshot & Highest of Fives alumni) made their live concert debut on Sunday night, and we have the first video of them in action to share on here! Uploaded by recent Queensryche video uploader Christopher Paci on Sunday night after the show, this is of 415E covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song", but how do 415E sound? They seem to have this song down well, with Chris Hubbard shining on guitar, and Dave Menard's vocals suit it really nicely (a bit better than their heavier originals, in fact), so it's a nice taste of what Splitshot may have looked & sounded like live (they never uploaded any videos, as you may recall.) That said, Dave's stage presence is a bit stiff, and Christopher's camera work is somewhat jittery (plus, the audio fades when the camera zooms in & out), but this is still a good first glimpse at 415E, and hopefully we hear a lot more from them in 2013! Check out their first live video below!



And now, for the Sebastian Bach videos, starting with four from his set from the aforementioned Christopher Paci, where he filmed Sebastian performing the title track from his latest solo album "Kicking & Screaming" as well as covers of the Skid Row classics "Monkey Business", "18 & Life", and (as embedded below) "I Remember You", so click each link to check them out! Similar quality to the 415E video, with good audio but jittery camera work, and that faded audio when zooming in & out. Sebastian sounds as good as ever, aside from a bit more reserved chorus singing than I'm used to. Nice videos, so check out Christopher's concert videos above, and here's Sebastian covering "I Remember You"!



Finally for videos from Sunday night are four videos from attendee Loris Rugolo, who uploaded these last night onto his YouTube channel. These include Sebastian playing his 2007 original song "American Metalhead" and the Skid Row songs "I Remember You", "Youth Gone Wild", and (as embedded below) "Monkey Business", so again, click each link to check them out! Loris' videos are of a better quality, with clearer audio and a far closer seat to the stage, with easier flowing zooming, and these are pretty good to see what went down on Sunday! I'll embed my favourite of the four songs below (featuring some fun audience call & response), but check out the rest of the new videos above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the week wears on, including previews of this weekend's concerts! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Suicide Kings & Peril), Sebastian Bach Preview, And Haggith Updates!!

Today's post is quite stacked, as we have a major concert preview to get to, some cool new updates from Haggith, and kicking things off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next month or so! Now, without any further adieu, here's what you need to know on this Saturday morning!

Sault Ontario hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings will finally play their first concert of 2013 this coming Friday when they return to The Nicolet Tavern! Visibly a one night only affair (but I'll correct this if it's not), this show follows the band's cancelled gigs at Docks and The Rockstar Bar over the past two weekends, and for the sake of everyone, I hope their show at The Nic on Friday goes off without a hitch! The guys have also confirmed that they'll have some new originals for this concert, which will be interesting to hear for sure! Admission for this show should be free, with a 19+ age limit and 10:00 PM start time to be expected. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Saying this doesn't get cancelled, this should be a great concert from The Suicide Kings, and hopefully their energetic alternative hard rock leaves a great impression to kick off the year on Friday! Stay tuned for more updates from them as they roll in!

Also in new concerts is the newest heavier concert announcement for The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, as Charlevoix metal trio Peril will make their first scheduled live appearances in the region of the new year on February 22nd & 23rd! These local favourites were last seen in St. Ignace in November, and I'd look for a very similar onslaught of metal classics from Jeff, James, and Brooks once again when they melt faces at the St. Ignace Kewadin next month! I'll note as well that these were the only heavier shows among the newest additions on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page for the three regional Kewadin branches (unless Perry Hatch is a new hard rock act), so that's why we're not doing a post centered around new metal concerts at Kewadin Casino... at least not yet. Admission should be free on February 22nd & 23rd, these should both be 21+ gigs, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. Check the above links for more details! Peril always put on a good show, so don't miss their classic metal sets in St. Ignace next month!

Next up, here's a preview of the second major concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in a nine day span, as ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach is finally coming to the area for a full concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Five months after he filmed scenes for "Swearnet" in Sault Ontario (and years after his old band's completed & cancelled local dates), Sebastian will bring a night full of hit songs ranging from Skid Row classics like "Youth Gone Wild" & "I Remember You" to newer solo tracks from his latest album "Kicking & Screaming", and believe me, he's still got it live and in studio! Amazing singer and a very charismatic showman (as his TV appearances indicate), so don't sleep on this show, as Sebastian should deliver in his long awaited local debut! This concert will also feature a local opening band, that being new local hard rock quartet 415E, the band featuring Splitshot alumni Dave Menard & Chris Hubbard (ex-Nixxon Dixxon) alongside The Highest of Fives' Jack Slater & Devin Anderson, and expect a mix of covers and originals from their upcoming debut album in their opening set tomorrow! Hopefully it's a huge set for them, and may it lead to a banner year going forward! This concert is being promoted by Allstar Promotions in a rare concert headlined by an "older" act, but Sebastian should blow the roof off the joint, so don't miss out tomorrow!

Tickets are just $26.50, and there's still a surprising number available from the second row and back, so pick yours up A.S.A.P. at this location, at the Kewadin box office, and at 1-800-KEWADIN! This is an all ages show, and it starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow night, while I'd call ahead in case there's another ill-advertised meet & greet. Check the above links for more details! This should be an awesome show full of great heavy metal classics, so don't miss it if you can help it, and we'll of course have fallout from the show on the SMS as it comes in! Until then, here's the music video for the title track from Sebastian's new album!



Finally for today, here's the latest updates from the band you voted as your favourite new local metal/hard rock band of last year, that being Haggith! In one interesting update, the local grunge quartet have started an official store as of yesterday, where you can buy official t-shirts, hats, and even a hockey jersey(?), along with the band's 2012 albums "Dragon Joy Ride" and "Apocalypse", but possibly most notable is that their live album "Flight 75" is now on sale through there for $5! Apparently only available on a limited basis as a special order through January, it marks their third released album overall and first live release (as filmed at their Bushplane Museum show in November), so if you wanna pick it up, click here for ordering details online or by phone! For the record, this won't get an immediate SMS review, as it's too soon since we reviewed "Dragon Joy Ride", but I do project a new Haggith review in the spring. The other news is that the band posted their studio version of "Leon The Janitor" from their upcoming third studio album "Deuce" onto their YouTube channel on Wednesday!

A cover of a Mike Haggith solo track from last year's "Neighbourhood Watch", it's much faster paced than the original, though oddly muffled compared to it, so the Haggith band's version has plusses and minuses. I'm sure the preferred version will vary by listener, but give this newest version of "Leon the Janitor" a listen below, stay tuned for more updates on the "Deuce" album, and their store's now in our Other Sault Ontario Metal Links!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow, and of course, all of the Sebastian Bach fallout from tomorrow's concert as it comes in! Thanks everyone!

415E's Debut Concert, Woods Of Ypres Tribute CD Previews, And More!!

We're back with some assorted news stories on this Sunday morning, and luckily, they don't involve any cancelled shows! Today, we have a new solo guitar cover, new online pages from a prominent local company, and our first glimpse at full songs from an upcoming tribute album, but we'll start with a new local act's upcoming concert debut, and what a debut it is!

New Sault Michigan hard rock band 415E have announced their first ever concert, and it will take place on January 20th when they open for Sebastian Bach at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! This huge news was announced on the band's Facebook page last night, though I'll note that concert promoters Allstar Promotions have yet to confirm their addition. Assuming this is 100% official, this will mark the first live concert appearance from the new quartet featuring Splitshot alumni Dave Menard & Chris Hubbard alongside The Highest of Fives' Jack Slater & Devin Anderson, and it comes one year to the day of Chris' old band Trail's End's own live debut at the Soo Kewadin. Also, Chris is no stranger to opening for major bands at the casino, as he opened for Bret Michaels & Pop Evil (among others) with Nixxon Dixxon late in their run, so hopefully 415E debut with a bang in two weeks! It'll be great to see 415E's Van Halen-inspired covers & originals on stage, so remember to get your Sebastian Bach tickets at this location before they're gone (there are still tickets in the front rows to buy), and stay tuned for some hopeful information on some planned contests for concert tickets!

Next up, I really apologize for having these so late, but the first full songs from the Woods of Ypres tribute album have been posted online! On December 21st (the one year anniversary of frontman David Gold's death), three final versions of songs from "A Heart of Gold" were posted onto YouTube to stream by user Lord Scavenger, and they're covers of "Finality" by Kuhrzarth, "Lightning & Snow" by Earthen, and "The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part Doom)" by Anemic. I profusely apologize for these being so late, as I had them pencilled in for a post last month, but they just fell through the cracks somehow. I won't give a full analysis on the songs right away (as I plan to review the tribute album when it's released), but I will confirm that Earthen's cover features no harsh vocals, Kuhrzarth's cover features singer Paul Kuhr's daughter, and Anemic's cover takes on a harsher and more experimental essence. All are well recorded too, and these give me good hopes for the final product!

As well, Gaul metal project Catuvolcus' cover of "Thrill of the Struggle" was separately posted onto YouTube yesterday at this location, in a rare English-language song for them, and it throws a more chaotic spin on this "Woods III" track! Give these advance preview tracks a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for updates on "A Heart of Gold" as they come in!

Also in the news, a prominent local business finally has an online presence, as Crank Sound Distribution now has their own website & Facebook page! The George Ravlich-ran sound/lighting company hadn't previously operated any internet pages, but now, they have two that feature contact information, testimonials, a short biography, and more information promised, so follow and become a fan of them A.S.A.P.! As you may know, Crank Sound Distribution has ran locally since 2004, and is often called on to provide sound and lighting for many major local events, including many of the area's major hard rock and metal-featured concerts, so you're bound to recognize Crank's awesome work if you're a local concert regular! Their website already features testimonials from customers like Rotaryfest Second Stage organizer/LopLops owner Stephen Alexander and local musician/Maxx Entertainment owner Greg Simpson that attest to George's high quality & fair work, and hopefully Crank Sound Distribution's online homes continue to build in content and notoriety in 2013! Check the above links for more, including how to book Crank for your next event or concert, and they're now in our Other Sault Ontario Metal Links!

Finally for today, here's the latest solo cover from Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy! Posted on his YouTube channel last week, this is a cover of Green Day's "Basket Case", continuing with his recent trend of non-metal cover videos,and even still, he does a solid job! If anything, the twangy guitar vocal melody takes away from the cover (I'd rather he done this over the original song), but Alex knows the original and gives it some good punk energy, so check it out below, and watch out for a cameo from the Canadian Pickers!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Thursday and hopefully our review of Destroilet's new CD soon as well! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: vflindall & sisuunicorn705's Channels

After a couple days marred by remembrances of two fallen metal musicians, we could use a pick-me-up post, so here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As always, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, so you guys can know more about them, the contents, and why you should watch and subscribe to each. This month, we're looking at two Sault Ontario-specific channels that, though not featuring the highest quality videos, are both notable in their own ways, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! (Edited on October 16th, 2013)
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vflindall's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vflindall)

Owner: YouTube user and Toronto resident V. Flindall (full identity not clear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 10th, 2008; Videos posted on January 14th, 2009

Channel Summary: Though not from Sault Ste. Marie from what I can tell, V. Flindall's YouTube channel consists entirely of 11 videos from a January 2009 concert at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto, which featured defunct local hardcore punk quartet Detroit! Capturing at least a half hour of their set, the included videos feature Detroit playing most of the songs from their 2008 demo "Let The Hammers Fly" (save for "Shithouse Ratt" & "KilloRama"), along with "Pyre Driver" & "Bloodlet" from their second/final disc "Brace For Impact", a couple of unreleased originals named "Inhuman Macheens" & "Earthbound", and covers of 7 Seconds & Minor Threat material. As Detroit were known for their very short original songs, four of the posted videos feature two songs each.

Why Should You Watch: I'd check this out to see one of Detroit's earliest concerts, and to enjoy their old school fast paced hardcore fury from a good viewing angle! However, these videos are not of the highest quality, with staticy audio, too warm lighting, and a visibly low resolution, with singer Brenton Ellis' vocals noticeably hard to pick out at times, so if you want higher quality videos, these might not be what you want. (If you want a higher quality alternative for live Detroit videos, try dnahahaha's YouTube channel.) Note as well before subscribing that V. Flindall hasn't used their YouTube channel in at least 3 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

DETROIT Lord, Beer Me Strength / Pyredriver '88 : It's hard to pick just one video of Detroit's originals from this channel, so I settled on the one with the most music, that being the third last clip from V. Flindall's uploads, which features Detroit playing their originals "Lord Beer Me Strength" & "Pyre Driver", the latter of which had yet to be released on CD. Brent, Curtis, Mark, and Mikey are in full brutality on the former song, while the latter sees their more punk influenced style, and Brent's on stage charisma & crowd banter are as good as you'd expect! If only the video quality was better overall.



DETROIT Walk Together Rock Together (7SECONDS): The most viewed video on V. Flindall's channel (and the last) is Detroit's cover of 7 Seconds' "Walk Together Rock Together", which is only slightly longer than most of their originals. The quality is similar to the other videos on this channel, but if you can get past the quality issues, the guys pump out a solid cover here, and their energy's on full display!


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sisuunicorn705's channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/sisuunicorn705)

Owner: YouTube user & likely Sault Ontario resident sisuunicorn705 (real name unknown)

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 8th, 2012; Videos posted from then through August 25th, 2012

Channel Summary: I'm not sure who sisuunicorn705 is, but kudos to her for making it to The Canadian Nightclub on August 24th, as ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was there for karaoke night! He was in Sault Ste. Marie that weekend to shoot scenes for the new movie "Swearnet" with cast members of The Trailer Park Boys, and while in town, one of his stops was at The Canadian, where he and Mike "Bubbles" Smith celebrated his early birthday with some karaoke, and 1:55 of their rendition of AC/DC's "TNT" is in this video! This is admittedly more notable for the circumstances of it all & seeing Sebastian locally in a non-concert setting, as it is cut short, and has VERY loud & staticy audio (so make sure to turn down your volume), but it's still awesome to see this! Note however that sisuunicorn705's only other video is of her cat talking to birds, which is cute, but has no music connections.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! So, what's coming up next month in this series? We're gonna take a look at former Amethyst/Meatplow drummer Phil Temperao's YouTube channel, which features three solo videos from early last year, including songs from his most recent project Sebastien 6, so look out for this profile on or around January 22nd! Stay tuned as well for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sebastian Bach & April Wine) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

We're back with another news/preview post, and it mostly covers Kewadin Casino concerts in the Eastern U.P. through February, so what's specifically on tap? We have previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock shows (including a date correction for a show this weekend in Sault Ontario), but first, here's some major LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next year at The Dreammaker's Theater!

Sebastian Bach is indeed coming back to Sault Ste. Marie next month, and yes, this is for a concert! Sault Michigan promoters Allstar Promotions have pulled the trigger, and will be bringing the former Skid Row frontman to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Sunday, January 20th! Though Skid Row and Sebastian have had a lot of local passes (from the current Skid Row's shows here and later cancelled gigs to Sebastian's Swearnet film shoot this year), this will be Sebastian's first formal concert in the Twin Saults that I can tell, but there's already big anticipation for him to play here! Best known of course for his Skid Row tenure (which is full of huge hit songs like "Youth Gone Wild" & "18 & Life"), Sebastian Bach's solo career has taken off even more in recent years thanks to his well received albums "Angel Down" and "Kicking & Screaming", along with various stage and reality show appearances, and his classic influenced heavy metal has stood the test of time for sure! An opening band is to be announced for this show, but I'll note that Newberry hard rockers Smashcan are still campaigning on Facebook to open the concert, in what would be a rare Sault Ste. Marie appearance for this talented Eastern U.P. band.

Though Kewadin Casino's online pages have yet to confirm this show at present, tickets will apparently go on sale TOMORROW for $26.50, which is a great price, so make sure to get your tickets starting tomorrow morning at the Kewadin box office, this location, and at 1-800-KEWADIN! A 7:00 PM start time is likely, and I believe this is all ages. Check the above links for more details! It's different to see Allstar Promotions bringing in what could be called an older act, but Sebastian's timeless and still current, and his Skid Row classics and originals should go over excellently on January 20th! Stay tuned for updates as they come in, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

The other newer hard rock show at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has actually been announced for a bit now, but it's new to me, as three early hard rock pioneers are coming to The Dreammaker's Theater in their own right on February 9th, including headliners April Wine! The multi-platinum Halifax quartet are well known for hits like "The Whole World's Goin' Crazy" and "Just Between You & Me", and while it seems odd to see them headlining on the Michigan side, they have a good fan base with classic and early hard rock fans, so it will be great to see Myles Goodwyn and company live in the area! Joining them are British rock legends Sweet (best known for hits like "The Ballroom Blitz" & "Little Willy"), who memorably helped pioneer glam rock in the early 1970s, and have a lot of entertaining heavier material from their later repertoire as well! Note that the version of Sweet playing here in February is the one led by founding bassist Steve Priest that formed in 2008, not the original version that are currently led by guitarist Andy Scott.

The opening band will be Illinois hard rock band Head East, they had some success in the mid-1970s with songs like "Never Been Any Reason" and "Love Me Tonight", and they should entertain with their own classic hard rock originals on February 9th! Tickets are $38.50 for the closest rows and $35 for all other seats, and there are plenty of tickets still available from the first row and back, so click here to pick them up online! And yes, you can buy them now at Kewadin's box office in person, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, while there's also a 7:00 PM start time and no likely age limit. Check the above links for more details! This is a great package of classic hard rock bands, especially if you grew up with the early days of hard rock in the 1970s & 1980s, so do not miss this show if you can help it, and stay tuned for updates on these and more hard rock/metal shows at the Sault Kewadin as they come in!

We'll close this post with this weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews, and in a slightly slow weekend, we still have a handful of gigs, including a partial correction stemming from Tuesday's post. Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is bringing his unplugged solo concerts back this weekend with two concerts at different venues, including a show TOMORROW at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road, but he'll also be playing at The Eagles Club in Heyden on Saturday. This is one and the same as the show we plugged on Tuesday that Tym apparently played that night, but after that post went up, he fixed the Facebook event page to correct the date to Saturday night. I rushed that post to get it up A.S.A.P., so it made it on the site before the date correction, and I apologize profusely for any confusion! Nonetheless, Tym has a busy schedule for shows this weekend, so if you're in the East End tomorrow or in the Heyden area on Saturday, head out to see Tym rock some acoustic hard rock and metal covers!

Admission should be free for both of these 19+ shows, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss out on Tym's latest unplugged gigs if you can help it! For a preview, here's Tym covering Extreme's "More Than Words" with a special guest at The Big Cheese in Heyden a few years back!



And finally for the weekend's heavier concerts (at least, the ones I currently know about), as Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will play their last Kewadin Casino concerts of 2012 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! I'm sure that the former Jager has played more recent shows too at other venues (and potentially more this month), but it's always good to hear some advance notice shows from this talented veteran band, especially as their online pages are only rarely updated! Expect lots of entertaining hard rock covers (and maybe originals?) from Monkey's Uncle this weekend, so don't miss out for some heavier weekend entertainment! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts tomorrow & Saturday, with 10:00 PM start times likely as well. Click here for more details! If you're up for some hard rock in Sault Michigan this weekend, head down to the casino for Monkey's Uncle, and for a preview, here's the band covering Nickelback's "Figured You Out" a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow, including release details for a new local metal CD! Thanks everyone!

Skull Fist Concert Lineup News, Sebastian Bach's Soo Weekend, And More!!

We're back with some more news and notes on this Tuesday morning, and if you're waiting for news on the battle of the bands at the Chippewa County Fair on Thursday, that's coming, I'm just waiting for word on the complete lineup if possible. Today, we have new material from a local guitarist, some updates relating to links on the site and their connection to a recent feature post, and all of the latest from a notable metal musician's recent weekend in the area, but first, here's some news on the bands playing at the next metal show in Sault Ontario!

The lineup for Friday night's Skull Fist-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub has taken a lot of hits in the last few days, with two band dropouts, leaving only the returning Late & Loud as a confirmed local opening band. One of the dropped bands is local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre, and though an official reason for their exit hasn't been revealed, frontman Steve Rhodes' personal Facebook page indicated that he was leaving for London (where the band are collectively moving for college) tomorrow, which is earlier than we'd previously heard, so that's likely connected. It'll be disappointing to not see the guys one last time before they head down south (if you saw them at the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem, nice work!), but hopefully they'll be back on holidays & breaks & what have you to melt more local faces, and best of luck to the guys in London until then! The other exited band is local punk trio Redundant (who had replaced Frightlight on the bill initially), as per their quiet removal from the event page, though I have no idea why they're out. I was hoping to see them too, but they'll be back for some more shows sooner or later, especially with the recent frequency of them!

Whether new bands will be added to replace The V.D.M. or Redundant isn't known yet, but knowing how big Skull Fist shows here tend to be, there's already visible interest from some bands in potentially jumping on board! Besides, we still have Late & Loud opening (even with some disappointing news I'm waiting for more confirmation on before mentioning here), so keep posted for more on this show in a couple of days, and I hope to see you guys there!

Next up, here's more notes and information from ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach's weekend jaunt to Sault Ontario for the "Swearnet" film shoot with The Trailer Park Boys cast! Beyond just filming scenes for the movie, some lucky Saultites were lucky enough to see Sebastian at some local bars over the weekend, including a stop at LopLops Lounge on Saturday night to see local country band The Wild Turkeys, and I heard he stayed for their whole set too, which is awesome of him! Before leaving, Sebastian also shared this Last Supper-esque photo from the Soo on his Facebook page of him with Swearnet/T.P.B. stars John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, and Mike Smith, along with two more familiar guest stars in the movie (comedian Tom Green and Pat Roach, a.k.a. Randy from The Trailer Park Boys), so it sounds like the deck is being stacked for names in "Swearnet"! For the record, I heard that Tom Green was at LopLops on Saturday too, which would have been cool in & of itself! Finally for our Sebastian Bach notes, while he didn't play a live solo concert while in town, lucky fans at The Canadian Nightclub on Friday night got the next best thing, as Sebastian stopped by for karaoke night, and there's video footage online to prove it!

Filmed by YouTube user sisuunicorn705 and uploaded on Saturday, this is of Sebastian and Bubbles himself, Mike Smith singing AC/DC's "T.N.T." in honour of Mike's early birthday, and though the quality isn't great (dark lighting, extremely loud, and staticy audio), it's great to see this footage, and it must have been something else to see Sebastian live (and doing karaoke at a local bar no less!) I'm still kicking myself that I missed this, as I live right near The Canadian and really enjoy Skid Row's later work with Sebastian, so this is like missing Michael Moore at Sault College all over again. Still, this must have made many a night this weekend, so check out Sebastian Bach singing karaoke in the Soo below, and trust me, turn your volume down!



Thirdly, here's a couple of notes relating to some research and links that I took in for our profile of As It Stands drummer John Mignacca's YouTube channel on Wednesday. First, I've added a new link to our Other Local Metal Links section on the left of the page, that being the MySpace page for John's old concert promotion company Infamous Productions! John promoted concerts (mostly of the hardcore variety) from roughly 2006-2007 under this banner (including the 2006 Blind Witness show promoted in this commercial), though as far as I can tell, the company itself fell inactive by 2008. There's not a whole lot on their MySpace page beyond some old concert advertisements & lineups, but there's some neat looks back in the comments and so on, so check out Infamous Productions at the above links, and stay tuned for future concerts that John puts on! The other note is a link removal from that section, as the Facebook group for GLOW Nightclub has been taken down for unknown reasons. The Gore Street bar/concert spot previously known as The Nite-Life Dance Club & The Other Place was last used in November 2010, but the closure of the Facebook group came much later than that, and it probably wasn't a huge surprise. Still, it's a nice venue that I'd love to see restarted, but who knows what the future holds!

Finally, here's a brand new solo performance video from local solo guitarist and AudioFumes podcast host Mike Cliffe! Though he's been busy with his podcasting over the summer, this video is Mike's real solo performance clip in 3 or 4 months, so if you've missed his original music, rejoice! Entitled "SoundBacon", it's a work in progress experimental instrumental that Mike adlibbed and filmed, and while he notes the mistakes, it has promise and creativity! It ranges from what sounds like progressive rock elevator music to some more melodic and heavier melodies later on, and Mike shows his skills well here even if refinement is needed! Why play so far off to the left though, and in the dark? Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday, you can check out "SoundBacon" below, and also, you guys should check out and submit original material to Mike's AudioFumes podcasts! He's increasing his local playlist selections for Audiofumes streams, which are sort of like an internet streaming radio show without a station if you're not familiar with podcasting. Mike gets worldwide airplay and he plays a wide variety of bands and musical partners from all over on AudioFumes, so listen in and get schedules at this location, message Mike at this link if you wanna submit any songs to play on air, and AudioFumes are now in our Other Local Metal Links!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, including weekend concert previews and our review of Oddfellow's only CD! Thanks everyone!