LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned), An Inactive Band Note, And New Videos!!

Let's dive back into news and updates on this slippery Tuesday morning, and here, we have some new videos from the Ontario side of the border, a note on a band moved out of our active band links, and leading off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this summer!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to their hometown for a pair of special post-race concerts at the Kinross Speedpark later in the 2019 auto racing season! Much like they did last year, this veteran cover outfit will rock the on-site stage for concerts on Saturday, July 13th and on Friday, September 6th, which will respectively follow the second annual Baby Show qualifier race and the Four Cylinder Friday events during the Memorial Invitational weekend. For full details on the race aspects of both days, click here! It's great to see Alex, Don, and Wayne back at the Speedpark for a couple of gigs this season, and hopefully they provide a great soundtrack to cap these nights with! The other four races with a scheduled musical performer will feature classic rockers The Whole Shabang and Rudyard country/classic rock quartet Steelhead (featuring Banned alum Alex Schrovenwever.)

Both of Banned's Kinross Speedpark gigs in 2019 have 9:30 PM start times, these are definitely ALL AGES events, and concert admission is FREE post-race, though click here to locate full admission fees regarding the races proper. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more!

Next up, we have a local band to move to our inactive band links, namely Sault Ontario lo-fi punk/grunge project Telephone & Address. While a firm public statement has not been made regarding their status, there hasn't been a public update from Telephone & Address' camp since the release of their album "Monster" on February 3rd of last year, now over a year ago. It's also worth noting that frontman Christopher Shoust's old website (which featured Telephone & Address information and material) has had it's domain expire, and his current website is solely devoted to his painting & visual art pursuits. A recurring presence in our coverage since 2013 (though demo albums were recorded dating back to 2010), Chris achieved a following with his varied albums, which featured acoustic, punk, ambient, drum-and-bass, and grunge influences over the years, while his unplugged solo sets were easy to slide into concerts big and small.

Plans to release an early demo compilation named "The Early Tapes" stalled indefinitely, and not a lot came of their late-period expansion to a duo, but Chris had a good thing going with Telephone & Address, and he had an eclectic range of sounds to apply to his albums, always well suited to his lo-fi production and packaging methods. Hopefully they resurface down the road, but best of luck to Chris and Jackson in the future!

Also today, here's a new video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's set at the Soolebrity Showcase Saturday concert at The Machine Shop from this past weekend's Bon Soo festivities! Posted to their Facebook page on Sunday, this is of the guys playing their lengthy classic rock medley that long time fans will easily recognize, such as from Toystock last year. As a refresher, the 10 minute video features the guys covering fragments of David Wilcox's "Riverboat Fantasy", Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", Metallica's "Enter Sandman", Boston's "Foreplay/Long Time", Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", and Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'", though it cuts off before the "Riverboat Fantasy" reprise. Like previously, Terry Eaton sings for the Wilcox, Metallica, and Van Halen covers, Travis Sharpe handles the rest, and they sing backing vocals for each other.

The vertical cell phone camera angle isn't ideal, especially as Soundcheck proper are only in the video's top half, but the guys have these covers down well, and their chemistry and energy comes through strongly enough! Give Soundcheck's Soolebrity Showcase video a look below, and stay tuned for more updates from Soundcheck when announced!

We'll close today with a new-ish live concert recording from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith's Facebook page! Though uploaded on Friday, this "from the vault" clip was recorded at MacLean Park in Thompson during the city's Concert In The Park series last July that Mike played at, and this is of him playing a stripped down acoustic version of his newer original "An Act of Strength." I presume we'll be reviewing the full version when the "Bridges" CD finally comes out, but in this mid-2018 live form, it's a solidly done number with a sense of purpose, and the recording quality is nice! Based on the video's picture, I can't confirm if Mike has plans to release this concert as a live Bandcamp album or not, though stay tuned if he does. Give Mike's live & unplugged rendition of "An Act of Strength" a listen below, and stay tuned for more from his camp!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm & Banned) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we cover some newly announced concerts (including a big tribute show in March), let's tackle our first hard rock concert previews of February 2019 to end this month! Due to the amount of shows, we're bumping our preview of Saturday night's Chase Wigmore concert at The Rednecks Saloon to tomorrow's post, which will also (in theory) allow an extra day for public information on the lineup, as updates haven't been quick since the postponement. Now, let's kick off this weekend's previews with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will make their first live appearance of 2019 when they rock the beer tent at the annual International 500 snowmobile race in Sault Ste. Marie TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via it's Facebook event page on Friday. In spite of the ongoing polar vortex and frigid temperatures, the show must go on, and Banned are still slated to rock the I-500 pre-race festivities, as they previously did in 2016, not to mention their rare mid-week Kewadin Casino gigs timed with the I-500 in 2017. This will be Banned's first concert outside of Manistique since the fall, so if you've missed the Traynors and Wayne in recent months, and can withstand the cold, head to the I-500 beer tent at the race site at 984 West 4th Avenue! Much like Project 421 did last year, Banned are on TONIGHT at around 8:00 PM after the Woody’s Challenge race, with their set coinciding with the annual I-500 downtown pub crawl, so keep that in mind if you're so inclined.

Musical entertainment is not advertised on other days for this year (usually, the beer tent only has a band on the Thursday), but click here for the full schedule, and follow necessary links there for details on the race proper and potential admission fees where required. Of course, the I-500 race begins on Saturday morning, and I believe 1230 AM will call the action for those curious. Visit the above links for more details, hopefully Banned put on a great show in spite of the temperature TONIGHT, and here they are live!



Next up, we'll stay in Sault Ste. Marie, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will rock The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but that's not all from their camp, as they've announced more 2019 dates for the E.U.P. via a spree of Facebook event page postings last week! We already knew of local gigs from Scarkazm and sister band Peril in the first quarter of 2019, but as linked en masse here, we can now confirm the rest of Scarkazm's Kewadin Casino slate for this year, so where and when can you see them in the coming months? At the aforementioned Rapids Lounge, you can see Scarkazm on May 17th-18th, September 27th-28th, and November 29th-30th, while they'll return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for concert weekends on June 21st-22nd, August 9th-10th, October 4th-5th, and December 20th-21st. Aside from April and July, E.U.P. fans will get their Scarkazm one weekend a month for the rest of the year!

Of course, don't forget about tomorrow & Saturday night's Scarkazm gigs in the Soo, and with convenient timing during the I-500, that should be a nice attendance boost, so consider a run to The Rapids Lounge for some hard hitting tunes this weekend after each day's festivities! All of these Kewadin gigs from Scarkazm have 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for full details, and here's Scarkazm live!

Now, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term arrangement at Gliss Restaurant with matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Unlike the next two weekends (where he has a nighttime concert elsewhere), this weekend's bookings are solely the usual Gliss ones, but his unplugged covers are always worth a listen, especially with his prolific setlist, so don't bypass Gliss on Spring Street for all of the action this weekend! If you'd rather see him at nighttime, be at Room 21 or The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on each of the Fridays after this week. As usual for Tym's shows at this downtown restaurant, both of these shows are 6:00 PM evening events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!



Finally for today's previews, we'll head to The Machine Shop, where this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival will welcome back local bands via the first annual Soolebrity Showcase SATURDAY concert event! Promoted by (Choose) Maxx Entertainment, this will be an indoor event unlike Bon Soo's old Marquee series, and it will unite live bands with local artists of various media (like painting, crafts, and photography), while local craft brewed beer will also be on tap to purchase, so this should be a prime chance to support varying local talent! Visit the official Facebook event page for full details on the artists and brewers you'll see at The Machine Shop on Saturday. Country rock cover quartet Bone Yard are headlining on Saturday at 10:00 PM, preceded by classic/hard rock veterans Soundcheck at 9:00 PM for the night's only heavier kick, and their Machine Shop debut.

The opening bands are both acoustic country duos, namely Bone Yard side project The Bearded Lounge at 8:00 PM & The Jeff & Jeff Show at 7:00 PM. Yes, all four of these bands played at Toystock in both 2018 & 2017, so if you want an encore/spinoff, you know where to be this weekend! Admission is free with the purchase of a Bon Soo button from local merchants or at the door, and despite the craft beer angle, this is an ALL AGES event. While I wish The Marquee lived up to it's potential, it's great to see Bon Soo trying a local-centric concert again, and hopefully this is a big hit for the festival! Check the above links for more, and here's Soundcheck live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Destroyer), Northern Film Showcase Preview, And Much More!!

Before we begin today's post, just one more Joni Radford-related note, as her obituary is finally on SooToday, which notes that memorial contributions to the Canadian Cancer Society, ARCH Hospice, or the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society. Also, it's made clear there that yesterday's services were a private family event, which I didn't know when including in our last post, as the spread on social media among contacts made it seem more open. If I erred in mentioning them here, I do sincerely apologize, and our best thoughts remain with the Radford and Morin families.

Now, let's dive into today's post, which includes some assorted recent updates, a new song, a preview of a special event taking place this weekend, and first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, March 30th at The Canadian Nightclub! This will be Destroyer's fourth local concert appearance in the 2010s, and their first since May 2015 (their July 2017 show at The Rockstar Bar was cancelled on short notice, which slipped us by at the time.) Kiss Army members should definitely keep an eye on this show, as Destroyer's faithful looking and sounding brand of Kiss classics should deliver a solid turnout at The Canadian in March, so don't miss their local return then! In a surprise announcement, the local openers will be reunited hard rock cover quartet Griphook, in their first public concert appearance since Rotaryfest 2017. Griphook had previously opened for Destroyer locally in 2015, so if you loved that show, here's an encore!

It's great to see Griphook finally end their nearly 2 year long hiatus, and they are now back in our active band links, but how will they sound after the layoff? Be at The Canadian in two months to find out! This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and while admission fees have not yet been announced, note that Destroyer's 2015 concert had $12 advance tickets and a $16 door charge. This should be a great chance for fans to get their live Kiss fix and welcome Griphook back to the public stage, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, this isn't a concert, but for an event as unique as this, I felt it deserved one more preview on here, as local filmmaker and rock bassist Nathan (Jonna) Bouliane and McBully Productions are hosting their second annual Northern Film Showcase THIS SUNDAY at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (formerly Breakaway Bar & Grill) at 69 Dennis Street, with a theme centered around music videos from local artists! This event is intended to bring local musicians and filmmakers together to make connections, generate exposure, and network for future collaborations, and creators on both sides are encouraged to attend the showcase, which will feature mystery live performances, speeches from local musicians, and a screening of at least 10 music videos. Two are on the heavier spectrum for SMS readers, including The Bear Hunters' "I Fear No God" & Mike Haggith's "The Nature of The Times", though I'm fairly certain neither is performing live.

The other videos come courtesy of Audiosmile, Renee Landry, Kalle Mattson, Mike Mikus, Jackson Reed, Mic Swiff, Britta Wolfert, and at least one publically uncredited performer (one is in the new Facebook cover video for the event, so you might be able to play detective.) Tickets are $10 and can be bought at Shooters or presumably at the door, while this has a special 4:00 PM start time. This is definitely a unique event for this area, but it'll be a great chance for musicians and filmmakers to meet and discuss mutual interests, and local music and film lovers can see some professionally done music videos as well! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also today, here's some updates regarding the Ozbourne concert at The Canadian Nightclub in March, starting with a date change, as the show has been moved from Friday, March 29th to Saturday, March 23rd, as per updates to the Facebook event page. A reason for the date switch wasn't announced, but it's not often where a concert is moved to an earlier day, so fans will get their Winnipeg-bred Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath tribute action a little sooner! A local opener has also been announced, they being blues rock trio The Paul DellaVedova Band, in a rare non-Rotaryfest support appearance from them. Interesting genre disparity here, but Paul and company can go heavy on occasion, and they should warm the crowd up well in two months! Notably, they replaced acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge as the openers, with that band originally advertised last week at this link, but a reason for their withdrawal wasn't announced either. See above for updates!

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

• As per their Facebook page, local indie/punk trio Northwest will try their hand at CBC's annual Searchlight music competition again this year! The guys made the Northern Ontario regional semifinals in this event back in 2015, and with a new EP, now seems like a good time for them to try again in this national search for Canada's best new artist! Full contest details for prospective musicians can be found at the above links, and stay tuned for when voting kicks off!
• In their first proper Facebook page post since it's launch, new local Tool tribute band Parabol thanked everyone for liking them so far (they're already at 255 fans!), and they teased "possibly scheduling a show in March." With Destroyer and Ozbourne already booked for that month, why not one more tribute band concert for good measure? If this gets confirmed, we'll let you know!
• The most recent installment of Ernest Skinner's Rock Talk column on SaultOnline went online on January 12th, where he largely talked about live albums from bands and his opinions & reminiscences on them. Interesting read with a lot of good points, so give it a look at this link! No sign yet of new Rock Talk columns, including some with more teased musician interviews.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dave Evans & Soundcheck), Plus New Videos!!

Let's get a new news post up on this very cold Saturday afternoon, and it's packed with some big stories, including a new teaser for an upcoming event, new video footage of a new local band, and leading off, here's two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early 2019 that are big in very different ways!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will be among the performers at the Soo-Lebrity Showcase Saturday concert at The Machine Shop on Saturday, February 2nd! Organized by (Choose) Maxx Entertainment, this intended-to-be annual event will take place as part of this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival (which begins the previous day), and it will unite local bands, local artists (photographer/promoter Josh Pace among them), and local craft beer for one high profile event. In fact, you could call this a mini-sequel to Toystock (if more adult in tone), as all four of the bands on February 2nd performed at the last two Toystocks, so fans of that event may want to take extra notice! Soundcheck will co-headline Soo-Lebrity Showcase Saturday at 9:00 PM, preceding country rock veterans Bone Yard at 10:00 PM, with their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge and fellow unplugged country notables The Jeff & Jeff Show kicking things off at 8:00 & 7:00 PM each.

Admission is free with the purchase of a $7 Bon Soo button, and while an age limit wasn't stated, the presence of craft beer may just say it all. It's great to see a local performer-friendly concert back at Bon Soo this year, and while I do think that the outdoor Marquee concerts never lived up to their full potential, everyone can stay warm with the bands while enjoying local art and beer at the same time! Visit the official Facebook event page for more on the Soo-Lebrity Showcase in two weeks' time!

Next up, here's a surprising but very intriguing concert announcement, as original AC/DC frontman Dave Evans will make his Sault Ste. Marie debut on Saturday, May 4th at The Rockstar Bar! Diehard AC/DC fans will know that Dave Evans was their lead singer in 1973 & 1974, and featured on their debut single before being replaced by Bon Scott. While he didn't feature on the vast majority of AC/DC recordings, he does renditions of Bon-era songs live, as well as the two tracks from the above single, select originals, and outside covers. Dave's voice is deeper and somewhat more melodic than his successors, and while he didn't stick around long with AC/DC, it'll be interesting to hear how he handles these classic songs locally! In fact, his backing band will be an actual AC/DC tribute band named Thunderstruck, and while the Facebook event page indicates that they're from Australia, I've seen conflicting posts online about which specific AC/DC tribute named Thunderstruck is playing on Dave's 2019 Canadian tour.

No word at press time on potential opening bands. This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $16 in advance at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, or $20 at the door. Regardless of how long he was in the band, it is very cool to see an original member of AC/DC on a local stage, and hopefully this show is a hit come the spring! See above for more details!

Also today, here's some new videos from new local Tool tribute band Parabol, courtesy of their live concert debut at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar on October 27th during that weekend's Halloween Party! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Wednesday, these feature the then-unnamed band covering "The Pot", "Schism", and as embedded below, "Sober", which we hadn't previously featured here from prior videos shot that night. Camera angles are inconsistent (only "Schism" is filmed in landscape orientation, and the other two can be quite crooked), but their authentic sound and proficiency comes through nicely on each, so give these a look!



Finally, did you notice that the Facebook event page cover video for the Northern Film Showcase on January 27th at Shooters Downstairs Lounge was quietly deleted from our post from last Sunday? Well, organizers McBully Productions opted to replace it with a new video hyping three more music videos to be screened at this special event later this month. As embedded below, it confirms that local death metal band The Bear Hunters' new video for "I Fear No God" will be featured at this event, alongside new videos from solo artists Renee Landry and Britta Wolfert. Nice to see (at least) 8 diverse local music videos on the docket, and get more details at the above links!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Solo Project, Chase Wigmore Updates, And Much More!!

Here's another new post for your Sunday afternoon reading, and it includes some assorted recent updates, the return of the bumped Northern Film Showcase write-up from Friday's post, and the latest from a prolific solo artist, but let's lead off with a new local act that we recently came across!

We have a new local death metal solo project to add to our band links, namely Black Cloud! Publically launching their Facebook page in November, Black Cloud is led by local singer/guitarist Peytan Andreola, who some readers may recognize from musician searches that he conducted in 2015 & 2016. Public details are minimal as of yet for this project, but Peytan has posted four original demo tracks onto Black Cloud's Reverbnation and Soundcloud pages, as well as three videos on their Facebook page, so what can be said on these? The most unique aspect of these songs so far is their inclusion of Shamanic and trance elements, plus what he calls "world drums", so much so that two of his videos are just of him playing skin drums rather than a traditional kit. You'll even here a flute instrument of some kind at times, and "Fade" & "Count The Calling" are the most experimental in the above regard.

The audio quality of the demos isn't pristine, and Peytan should work on the song structures and vocal clarity, but there's enough unique elements here that Black Cloud already stand out on their own merit, and I'm curious to see what he has in store next! Here's Peytan playing Black Cloud's death metal original "Blood Red Hands", and give more a look/listen above!



Next up, here's the latest from local experimental/folk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore, who posted on his Facebook page on Friday to update fans on his recent studio work. In that post, he admitted that the other four unreleased EPs in the "12 EPs of Christmas" series are complete, but he didn't post them as page likes allegedly dropped while he was posting the first eight, and he apologized to fans who may have been turned off by him posting too much. I can't speak for everyone else, but for someone who covers Sykotyk Rampage and Mike Haggith (two acts who have far more canon albums in their repertoire than Chase), this amount is nothing, and I'm glad to see him pumping out so much new music! Partially thanks to our coverage of the first 8 EPs of Christmas last week (thanks for the positive words!), Chase said that he will get the other four posted, but before that point, he has some teaser material from another EP to share.

As previously hinted, he plans to put out a 27th canon "album" after the 12 EPs series concludes, entitled "Solving The Human Condition", and this (untitled?) teaser track was shared on Friday from it as a Facebook video. The song sounds a little like Chase shredding over top of the sounds of city life and traffic (complete with police sirens), and if nothing else, it's a nice showcase of his guitar skill and soloing! How will the full release turn out? We'll let you know when more goes public, but give Chase's new upload a listen below, and stay tuned for updates, including on the teased Rednecks Saloon show later this week!



Also, here's some information on an upcoming event that has some SMS-relevant content! Prolific local bassist & filmmaker Nathan (Jonna) Bouliane and his local/Ottawa company McBully Productions are hosting their second annual Northern Film Showcase on Sunday, January 27th, and following last year's surreal/fantasy theme event, this year's will be centered around music videos from local artists. The idea is to unite local musicians and filmmakers for networking, collaborations, and exposure therein, and students, filmmakers, and musicians are encouraged to attend. There will be a music video viewing party, live performances to be announced, and some industry experts will speak about the music industry and how filmmaking and video production can play in. The cover video on the Facebook event page confirms that Mike Haggith's video for "The Nature of The Times" will be screened, alongside videos from Mike Mikus, Jackson Reed, Kalle Mattson, and Audiosmile.

No word on if we'll see more videos than these 5, and for reference, Audiosmile are the new EDM/rock project from Anthems vs. Oceans' Dave Hunter. The Northern Film Showcase will be held at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (formerly Breakaway Bar & Grill) at 69 Dennis Street, just down the road from The Oddfellows Hall, and it is a 4:00 PM matinee, with tickets available for $10 at this link & presumably at the door. There are some unknowns yet, but this sounds like an intriguing way to spotlight musicians and video producers alike, and hopefully there's a great turnout in two weeks! Give the full cover video a look below, and see above for more details!



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

• In a post thanking fans for their successful return shows at The Rapids Lounge this weekend, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E noted on their Facebook page this morning that "we'll see you in a month." No word as of yet when or where the presumed show(s) will be, but there are four weekends in February you may want to keep an eye on until a public reveal!
• I have restored Sault Ontario death metal solo project Gorrifier to our inactive band links! As you may recall, this was headed up by Pillory frontman/Id Iota bassist Robert Sartini in 2014, but their initial Reverbnation page was quietly deleted by year's end. Well, Gorrifier quietly launched a new Reverbnation page at some point after Pillory's 2016 reunion, so they're back at last. I don't believe Gorrifier have fresh updates, so they'll remain in our inactive links at the moment, but Rob's six brutal death metal instrumentals are still highly worth checking out at the above links!
• Local/Thompson, Manitoba hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith was interviewed on Thompson adult contemporary station 102.9 CHTM on Friday morning! The interview was conducted by DJ Maxwell Healey, where they discussed "The Nature of the Times" and Mike's upcoming album "Bridges", and his single was also played, marking Mike's debut song appearance on FM radio. No word on if the interview was recorded for posterity, but it's great to see Mike getting more exposure and recognition in Thompson!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, Northwest, And Chase Wigmore), Plus Other Notes!!

Things have picked up as of late for stories, and with lots of shows to preview this weekend, we're going to have at least 5 straight days of new posts on the SMS, and this is day #2! We're focusing primarily on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, plus some new video postings related to one of these performers, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

Local alt-folk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore will apparently be playing a solo set at Soo Blaster's second Indie Music Showcase on November 30th (or, one week from Friday!) Though not listed on official event advertising yet, Chase has played around with that by Photoshopping the poster and claiming that "Special Guests" are his new band, and that "TBA" is a separate act following them. In reality, Chase has been sharing new songs to his Facebook page credited to "Chase & The Bastards", implying that he has launched a full solo band of that name, but we don't know much about them beyond his involvement. His set will be at 8:00 PM, and he will be opening for the reunited veteran rock trio Wishbone (nice to see Dennis & company back!) and The Blackmagic Bluegrass Band, a new supergroup featuring members of Tex & The Ride and A Band Named Soo, who will apparently play both originals and rock covers in a bluegrass style. Intriguing shades of Hayseed Dixie there!

Co-presented by prolific local drummer Anthony Fabiano, this 19+ concert will mark the first Soo Blaster concert featuring a metal act, and it has a $5 cover charge. It'll be interesting to see how the second Indie Music Showcase does at this new-ish Queen Street East sports bar, so visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned at post's end for Chase's new songs!

Next up, here's two concerts for next month at LopLops Lounge, both courtesy of promoters/local indie label Tidal Records, starting with the long awaited Northwest EP release party on Saturday, December 22nd! As first quietly teased on their Facebook page two months ago, the indie/punk quintet will indeed release their second CD "Songs From 2015-2017" in just over a month's time, in what is already looking like a bigger and splashier release than their 2014 debut got. While details are slim as of yet regarding the release formats, price, and track listing, the first 50 attendees in the door will get a free download code for the EP, so if that piques your interest, don't be late! Local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will play their first concert in over a year as the opening act, following months of studio sessions, medical mishaps, and work commitments. It'll be great to have the Keep It Cool Kids back on stage themselves, so there's all the more reason to come early next month for all of the talent on display!

A cover charge was not announced, let alone the EP cost, but bring $10 just in case, as $5 for each makes sense. This is a 19+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. Indie punk fans won't want to miss Northwest finally wrap up the lengthy album process with a big holiday season party, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates on the show and album when they roll in!

Lastly for this batch of new shows, fans can check out local/Toronto Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide as they return to the stage for a headlining joint at LopLops Lounge on Friday, December 28th! Though they have played live since in Thessalon, this will be The Tide's first local concert appearance since their very rainy set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, and their first where everyone is under a roof since March. It's seemingly rarer and rarer to see Dustin and company on stage, so don't bypass this post-Christmas opportunity, especially given their recent studio sessions! The poster (as shared on the band's Facebook page) confirms that Lake Effect drummer Chris Johns will be back behind the drumkit, while Barn Board Trio guitarist Liam Seymour is also pictured in the fold. The Tide are still listed as a quartet with Mikey on drums on Facebook, but is this a belated new lineup confirmation? Local country/pop duo The Steeletown Girls (featuring ex-Din guitarist Tammy Hill) will open this concert, in what should be an intriguing style clash, so definitely give them a look as well!

Also promoted by Tidal Records, this 19+ concert has a $10 cover charge, and a likely 10:00 PM start time. With the holiday season still ongoing then, this would be a fun way to help send 2018 off with a bang, so visit the above links for current details! (Yes, I am also aware of the cover band concert that Tidal is hosting on Friday, December 21st, but all advertising for it that I've seen is via personal Facebook accounts, so I am waiting for public confirmation before covering it here. Stay tuned!)

Finally, let's tackle those new Chase Wigmore songs, as he posted four new videos onto his Facebook page on Sunday featuring new original material, so what should you know there? Three are audio tracks credited to "Chase & The Bastards", including a reworking of his previously pulled original "Psychic Driving" and new tracks named "Scabies" (an experimental folk/punk number) and "Running Out Of Beer" (an eclectic song that reminds me of outlaw country meets Daniel Johnston, if that makes any sense.) Very creative overall, and never boring, hopefully we hear and learn more about the full band! Embedded below is "A Story About A Kid Named Todd (Episode 1: The Art of Busking)", a 26 minute video of Chase playing largely continuously, which is very impressive alone! As described on his new Wix website, this is a lengthy conceptual piece about "adventure, desperation, madness and beyond" that has only been selectively performed in the past.

If you love Chase's acoustic alt-folk concerts and material, this is a must watch, and it's very cool to see him seamlessly perform so naturally and casually like this, though it'll be old hat if you see him live often. With his vocal, guitar, and lyrical versatility, and his irreverent storytelling, this is bound to entertain, and hopefully Episode 2 isn't far off (or perhaps an album?) Give it a look below, and hear more above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

News has been somewhat slow as of late, but I have cobbled together a video-centric post on this Sunday morning, largely on Sault Michigan acts. Alongside some new YouTube song postings and a familiar group from a recent concert, let's start with a new video from local classical/metal band Theatre of Night, who filmed a special televised performance on Grand Rapids-area cable access channel GRTV on Friday! I am not familiar with the channel to know if this was part of a specific program or not, let alone when you can catch it on TV there or online, but we do have a video look at them from that day, as shared to Theatre of Night's Facebook group via bassist Scott Andringa's wife Sara's personal Facebook page. The performance is of the Christmas carol "We Three Kings", and is our first video look at the band with Rachel Mender on vocals for this holiday season. The performance is solid, and while there is muffled audio, the final TV copy will no doubt remedy that.

You also get a brief look at the actual TV camera view late, and you do get a sense of their live concert scale this year, including Scott hitting a big drum for some added percussion dramatics, so one assumes this will be similar to what local fans see next month. In the meantime, give (part of?) Theatre of Night's GRTV performance a look below!



Next up, here's a 40 minute long live-streamed video of a one-off band from The Superior Cafe's Musicians Showcase event over the Halloween weekend! Alongside Project 906 & Raven Griffin, fans that night saw Das Spööky, who are actually a de facto reunion of the final full lineup of the 2013-2014 local alt-hard rock trio Plastic, with Crooked Music owner Zac Crook on vocals & guitar, Matt Williams on bass, and Superior Cafe manager Aaron DePalma on drums (Matt & Aaron have also served as instructors at Crooked Music themselves.) Plastic were a solid band that deserved a longer run, and while I have heard no public word about "Das Spööky" being more than a one-off, it's nice to see the guys back at it! As uploaded to Crooked Music's Facebook page three weeks ago, you'll see the guys covering (in order) The Misfits' "Ghouls Night Out", Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", The Misfits' "London Dungeon", The White Stripes' "Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground",  ...

...The Ramones' "Pet Sematary", The Who's "Boris the Spider", five more Misfits songs ("Return of the Fly", "Teenagers From Mars", "Children in Heat", "Horror Business", and "We Bite"), and an interpretation of Bobby Pickett's "Monster Mash" in almost a slow jazz/Wesley Willis-hybrid style, if you can make sense of that. If you love Danzig-era Misfits, this video will be extra notable, but Das Spooky/Plastic deliver a fun set full of Halloween-alluding covers, and while the vertical camera angle and dark lighting don't help, you should get enjoyment out of this set! Give Das Spooky a look below, and click here to see their White Stripes cover rehearsed that morning!



Also today, let's take a brief detour to Sault Ontario for the long awaited upload of local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore's half of their "A Couple of Degenerate Bastards" split with Chase Wigmore from earlier this year! This was posted to label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on November 7th, and it features 11 songs with such names as "Sudafederal Offense", "26", and "Big Boy in a Small Pond". Of course, some titles and lyrics could be seen as offensive by some readers, which is nothing new for C.T.W. original material, but these songs are slightly longer on average than you may expect, as their average length is about 2:35. The music on display here retains the usual minimalist grind hallmarks of Tyler's sound, including pig squeal vocals and noise effects, so this won't win over any prior detractors, but Blood Shed diehards should like the new music, and give it a listen if you want below!



Finally, here's the latest from Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton, who is still our likely CD review topic for this month, but what has he been up to lately? While his album focus as of late has been towards his scores, he has posted five singles online this year that (largely) aren't attached to a credited new studio album, which you can stream at his website. Four are entitled "Pork N' Beans" (featuring guest guitarist Jamie Woodfin Jr.), "American Monster" (a 10 minute long score composition), and "Superhero", while two songs were posted for an intended album named "For The Love Of Funk", namely "Her Mama Put The Funk On Me" & "The Landing of George Funk", the latter about a fictional astronaut. Aside from the funk elements, these retain Ken's usual hard/jam rock hallmarks, albeit with some requisite score-fitting drama, and fans should give them a listen! In the meantime, SweetKenny's YouTube channel has seem some scattered updates this year, so what's new there?

Much of his recent postings there have been towards demonstrating his original material (largely songs I don't recall being released previously) as soundtrack music to outside video footage, often with attractive women in revealing clothing, as you can see in this "Monster" demo reel, this song for a planned video game, and this copy of his "Epic" song "Maddy's March" with a glossy presentation. Hopefully these uploads are getting Ken some attention in the score and soundtrack arena, but here's his "Her Mama Put The Funk On Me" video, and stay tuned for more from SweetKenny when it rolls in!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Soundcheck, And Fluid 5ive), And Weekend Concert Previews!!

The final concert weekend of April 2018 is upon us, so let's tackle most of this weekend's concert previews for you guys today! Due to the amount, we'll hold our previews of the previously announced Scarkazm shows in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's post, so don't worry, they are coming, but let's start today with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck are advertised to return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the shows were only confirmed online via the Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page this week, though note that Soundcheck proper have not publically confirmed these dates on their Facebook page at press time. After their Water Tower Pub shows two weeks ago, this will be the Mourning Wood successors' first concert weekend at The Esquire Club in a couple of months, and with another round of Catch the Ace ongoing at this popular west end venue, hopefully there's a solid crowd TOMORROW & SATURDAY for all of Soundcheck's hard hitting yet varied cover action! As usual for Soundcheck's Esquire Club stops, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows should be 19+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and we have no public videos of theirs yet!

Next up, we'll head to Sault Michigan, where local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will play at The Superior Cafe on SATURDAY as part of their first musician showcase event! Again, apologies for the short notice, a performer lineup was only announced late last week, which we couldn't immediately slide into a post at the time. This event is basically the sequel to The Superior Cafe's prior two musicians competitions, but as they are "trying something a little different", SATURDAY'S concert is "no longer" a competitive event, as per their Facebook page earlier this month. No word on exactly why they're not having a battle this time out, especially as band registration seemed to be good, but hopefully this change works out as well as cafe staff hopes! Project 906 are joining at least four advertised acts on SATURDAY, including alt-rock quintet Midnight Logic, and a new(?) local band named Halfway to Hanna who I know nothing about. If you can identify them, let us know!

The other two listed performers are Ordinaires frontman Raven Griffin and Dead Water Tapes alum Garrett Chevrette, while more acts are also teased. If you want in on this musician showcase at the Bird's Eye Outfitters-hosted cafe, you can sign up for FREE at Crooked Music or via contacting aarondepalma@yahoo.com, while performers will get a free drink. There is a 5:00 PM matinee start time on SATURDAY, no announced cover charge, and this is an ALL AGES event. It'll be interesting to hear how this event does without a competitive element, but the talent is certainly there regardless, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!



Finally for late notice hard rock shows this weekend, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, where new-ish hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive will make their Canadian Nightclub debut with a one-night-only concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we only heard about these shows via guitarist Joe Miller on our Facebook page earlier this week, with SooToday also confirming the dates, though like with Soundcheck, the band proper hasn't plugged them on their Facebook page at press time. Conversely, they haven't acknowledged another newly announced show of theirs either, as they'll return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only on Saturday, May 12th, as per the venue's Facebook event page. Fans will recall seeing this veteran quartet finally make their live concert debut in late February at that venue, and after taking March off, they're back for more live shows at The Canadian and Rockstar Bar, so be at the former on SATURDAY for your next shot at seeing them live!

No word on why either show is a one nighter, but axe throwing fans will be happy to know that the Northern Axperts throwing cages will be open at The Canadian on SATURDAY between sets! You can see Fluid 5ive cover everyone from (perhaps) The Allman Brothers Band to Kim Mitchell to Deep Purple both nights at around 10:00 PM, neither venue has a cover charge, and these are 19+ events. Hopefully this is a good sign for future local cover bands at The Canadian Nightclub, and that Fluid 5ive knock it out of the park for their second and third live concerts! See above for more details, and when public videos turn up, we'll let you know!

We'll close this concert preview post with shows that did have lots of advance notice, namely prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's ongoing Gliss Steak & Seafood arrangement, as he'll return for two more matinees there TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Fresh off a busy stretch that included shows at Gliss, Mark's Breakfast Plus, and even Boston Pizza, this weekend appears to be just focused on the Quality Inn's house restaurant, with another quality weekend of hard hitting and fan friendly covers expected for fans downtown over these two evenings! Note that we will tackle Tym's May concerts (including his expected Gliss continuation) next month when publically confirmed beyond his website. As usual for Tym's shows at Gliss, expect these to be 6:00 PM matinees with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale, this isn't a typical nightclub. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Scarkazm previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal/Punk Video Showcase!!

For our first news post of 2017, we're dipping into the video well for this all-video post, as we're tackling a handful of overdue videos from a selection of talented local musicians, including a full album posting, a cover video, and a recent live clip, but let's begin with the latest from a fast-rising trio!

We'll start with local alternative/hard rockers The Din, who are continuing the push towards their Toronto debut THIS FRIDAY when they rock The Revival Bar during Landmark Events' Showcase Festival that night! The Din have been hosting a contest on their Facebook page where if you like or share the designated post, you will be entered to win e-tickets to watch the live stream of their set on Friday, which is a nice bonus for fans who can't make the trip south, so see above for details on that front! It's also worth noting that this festival is a battle of the bands of sorts, with winners moving onto a semifinal showcase at The Mod Club in Toronto, so if The Din really turn heads, they might be back! Click here for full details on the festival proper. As for their new video, this was posted to their Facebook page on December 22nd where they hyped up the Toronto show, so what's within this clip?

It starts with an amusing prologue where drummer Brandan Glew plays a bouncer continually asking for tickets from Mike and Tammy who were the only people to purchase any tickets to enter, before transferring to serious hype for the concert, as they really can't buy all of the tickets, with the three making things as simple as possible for how you can buy an e-ticket to watch from afar. Good promotion, complete with a nice look at their merchandise trunk, so give it a look below, and click here to get your $13 e-ticket for Friday's show (they're only $1 more in advance in person!)



Next up, local post-punk quartet Gnaeus posted their entire debut CD "Meditations" onto their YouTube channel for free streaming on December 30th! Rather than go the Bandcamp route, fans can now hear all 9 songs of their solid freshman effort via this video posting, complete with hotlinks to each individual song in the description, so give "Meditations" a listen below, and stay tuned for much more from Gnaeus over this new year!



Also, here's a pair of new Facebook video uploads from newer local funk/hard rock instrumental quintet Gianni Gagoots, as uploaded to their Facebook page shortly after their set opening for The OM Sound at The New American Pub last week! There is more to share from YouTube in the coming days, but for now, let's tackle these two clips (one linked here), as filmed by an uncredited attendee. Sadly both filmed on a vertical portrait camera angle, the shorter clip features a fun sing-along of the band's name, while the latter has an intriguing mid-tempo composition. Fans do get in the way, but it's nice to hear some solid new footage, so check everything out below!



Finally for today, here's a new YouTube channel upload from former WFO/Nikkfitt guitarist Robert Ross! His first video in four years, this is of Robert covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain", or as he noted in the description, "trying to do Randy (Rhoads)." The mix of the audio could be cleaner, as it sounds very muddy, and I'd have pointed the camera lower so you can see all of Robert's playing, but he definitely has the song down for the most part, and it's nice to see a new video from him! Give it a look below!



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

RedD Monkey Video Showcase (Part 2)

Following up from last month's showcase of videos from local/Toronto hardcore punk trio RedD Monkey (now that we're covering them fully on the SMS), here's our second all-video post covering their existing online videos! There could be more videos on other sites or not labelled under their name, but I'll address any I've missed in the future for sure! We're touching on two very different sources today, including an official channel with lots of 2011 live videos, and a pair of interviews from a Toronto web series at the turn of the 2010s, so read on below to see and find out more!

We'll start with an older official YouTube channel of RedD Monkey's, which features live videos from four different concerts during the band's Southern Ontario tour run in February 2011, though none of them were uploaded until this past December. The videos all appear to have been filmed on the same camera, with trial program watermarks sometimes visible, though they are small. The earliest videos come from their show in Ottawa at The Rainbow Bistro on February 21st, with one video featuring them playing "Lethargic Rampage", "Broken Parts" (which isn't on their first two CDs), and their cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades", while the other video features them covering One Day As A Lion's "Wild International" and playing their song "Zombie Epoch". Two other videos come from their show at The Spill in Peterborough the next day, one featuring just their cello rap number "Fo' Dozen Cookies" and the other featuring their "All Baroque" originals "Monkey's Paw (5th Wish of the Swamp Donkey)" and "Turbosledt 2027".

The other three videos come from their Toronto concert at Rancho Relaxo on February 23rd, and they include the guys playing "Friar's Ire" & "Bog", and "No Teeth & A Lazy Eye" & their cover of Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" (though the second half of that song is taken from a separate show at Norma Jean's in Tillsonburg from that same tour.) Embedded below though is five songs from their Toronto gig, including "The Attic", "Fight Skateboard With Fire!", "Losing Friends", "The Clock's Dement", and "The Jock Song", but click each link above to head straight to a specific track! Note that "Losing Friends" & "The Jock Song" are not on their first two albums, but "Losing Friends" was actually the second song of the video I shot at the Sewer Swampstravaganza last month, so I've since edited the title & info to reflect that (apologies for the omission!) It's great to see so many RedD Monkey videos online, which I believe captures their entire early-2011 setlist (albeit taken from different shows), though the watermarks and generally dark lighting can be an issue.

The sound's generally really solid, I like Steve Mozarowski's casual demeanor and occasional fake song titles, and the crowds tend to be active at these four gigs, so if you love RedD Monkey, you'd be well served to check these videos out! The five song video from the Toronto gig in February 2011 is featured below, so give it a look and see more at the above links, including some outdoor happenings outside of the Rancho Relaxo after the "Break Stuff" cover!

We'll close this post with a pair of interviews that RedD Monkey had with Hugh Reilly of the Toronto online talk show Liquid Lunch! There was at least one more from early 2009 with a different host, but I can't find it at present. The more recent one (which is embedded below) was filmed and uploaded to Blip.TV in March 2010, and they were the first interview subjects on this episode, though their segment doesn't begin until 9:45 in. Featuring then-drummer Kevin Overton in their lineup, the interview is actually held in between in-studio performances where they played songs from their then-upcoming EP "Thought Control Tower" (including "Fight Skateboard With Fire!", "Friar's Ire", and "No Teeth & A Lazy Eye") in an acoustic format, so this is definitely a unique way to hear these songs! The interview itself includes Hugh & co-host Stella Hunt asking about how they classify their sound, Pete Mozarowski's cello background, what they were doing in the Soo recently, their musical inspirations, how often the play acoustically, and info on their upcoming tour (which I believe was their last with this lineup.)

RedD Monkey's segment is 24 minutes long, and though there are some technical quirks (Pete's microphone gets very quiet later on), they seem relaxed and happy to talk about their music on air, and Hugh & Stella come across as genuinely invested in their material! The earlier interview (which came from an August 2009 installment of Liquid Lunch) can be seen at this location, and it includes three early MySpace copies of their original songs 7 minutes in, followed by an interview with Hugh and then-cohost Erin Ademoglu on how the band formed, their then-plans for the future, and how they got the band's name, while they also played a handful of early originals in between guests on the episode (again in an acoustic format.) The video quality is much lower on the earlier episode, but the audio sounds good, and it's great to see the guys get some early exposure! Check out the longer and higher quality 2010 interview below, but give the earlier video a look at the above links for more early RedD Monkey performances, and if I find the early 2009 video, I'll let you guys know!



Also, I apologize for early mentions of their 2009-2010 lineup being their original lineup. They played with drummer Christopher Langevin (source here) and an uncredited bassist briefly during their late 2000s infancy, with photos of this lineup available here, though little else for specific information remains online. We have one more RedD Monkey video to share on here, but for now, that's all for today, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums? post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

CASS Cafe Metal Video Showcase (Part 4)

It's time for our final CASS Cafe Video Showcase, and though it's probably a month later than it should have been, we're ending with a slightly smaller post than the other three, but there's some pretty cool and talented performances here to end with in our look back at videos from Central Algoma Secondary School's student concert series! For reference, click here, here, and here for the first three installments in this short series. To close, we have three more CASS Cafe videos from recent years to share, so check these out if you wanna!

Going in chronological order, we'll start with this May 2008 performance by 5 then-CASS students as they covered Children of Bodom's "Bed of Razors"! Filmed by Durera guitarist A.J. Biron and uploaded to his YouTube channel shortly afterwards, this unnamed band consists of guitarists Alex Pierce & Andy Turbin, bassist Tom Leindecker, drummer Mike Christie (a regular in a few of the other CASS Cafe videos we've shared) and keyboardist Benn Garside (now known as Late & Loud's bassist.) I'm not familiar with most of these musicians, but they handle this song well for the most part! Filmed on the CASS Cafe stage during practice for the full performance, they know this song pretty well, and Alex's guitar work especially is really good, but vocals would have helped, and the camera angles are weird and jumpy, with members often cut off or shot from behind (or in Benn's case, not even really seen on camera.) I'm glad A.J. posted this video though, as these five musicians sound good together, and it'd be cool to hear more from the majority of these guys musically! Check out their cover of "Bed of Razors" below!



Also new from A.J.'s YouTube channel is this video from December 2009 of four future members of local metal quartet Crimson Crusade at a CASS Cafe set! Featuring most of their current lineup (with ex-guitarist Brent Beaulieu in Brock Pinder's place), it's of their cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight" (which has survived into recent Crimson Crusade setlists), and it's a hit and miss performance from what I can see. My main gripe is Devon Lucier's vocals, which sound forced and not well suited to this song, but I hope things have adjusted to flow better with this song since. Other than that, the cover is pretty well played, if a bit reserved, but check out this proto-version of Crimson Crusade covering Judas Priest in 2009 below!


Finally, we'll close this series where we started, with local death metal quintet For All That Is Lost's CASS Cafe set circa April 2010! We already featured a 1:54 clip from this performance via Chrissy Paetzold's YouTube channel, but another filmer was present at this show, and they filmed their entire two song set that day, including the first song that I still can't place a name for, followed by an early version of their original song "Viscosity of Blood"! The video quality is higher than on the other video, and this early F.A.T.I.L. incarnation (including original guitarists Allen Piche & Graeme Caughill) sound good and promising, but unfortunately, this video is only on the band's MySpace page. Solid stuff though, so check the above links for more, watch this video below, and stay tuned for more F.A.T.I.L. videos from their MySpace page next week!