LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Unfortunate Sun) & New Videos From Sault Ontario Bands!!

Now fully out of the holidays, we can settle into some more normal news posts again, and today's features new videos from Sault Ontario acts and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the E.U.P., so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard for one night only on Saturday, February 22nd! The show is the only new addition on their most recent concert calendar posting from January 2nd (again featuring the screaming astronaut motif) on their Facebook page, though the poster still includes their show at The Merch last month despite already having occurred. Next month's one-nighter will be Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason's first stop in Rudyard since headlining a "hunter's widow party" there in November, though no word yet on if this new date will have a theme. If you like varied and crowd friendly hard rock covers, don't miss out on this show if you're in the area or wanna drive to Huck's, but fans will be able to see Unfortunate Sun this month in both Cedarville and the Soo beforehand! Next month's show is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM with no announced cover. See above for more details!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for a selection of new videos, and we'll start with a new music video from dormant local death metal band The Bear Hunters' YouTube channel! Now, the song in question was released by guitarist Mitch Sirie's inactive solo project Sir Hell back in February 2023, and began life as a novelty song by his prior solo project April Eyes, but it is now being credited to The Bear Hunters, who memorably played it live on occasion in the early-mid 2010s. That song, of course, is the iconic "Squirrel Buddy", and the 2023 version features Mitch on all instruments aside from drummer Johnny Belanger, plus prolific local saxophonist Josh Norling for two solos. The music video appears to have been filmed as a Sir Hell video at first, complete with a (fake?) vinyl record copy of "Squirrel Buddy" being purchased, and the squirrel costume worn by Mitch in the cover art is worn by the musicians in the video.

The only on-camera tie to The Bear Hunters is their logo at the start, and the video doesn't feature Nik or Justin at all on camera (Johnny's Handsome Sandwich bandmate Rafael Medina plays bass in the video). Directed by former Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick, the video stars local folk/indie musician Juliana Regan as the titular squirrel buddy, who is seen working at The Rad Zone and acting like a squirrel, while also getting read the riot act from her boss (Big Finish Band/ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi). The heavy death metal parts are basically presented as the squirrel's existential crisis, with dark mood lighting accentuating the musical performances, including Mitch & Johnny doing vocals in blue lighting, while Josh & Rafael join them to play the song proper in red lighting with the squirrel costume on. Fun little video for "Squirrel Buddy" that has some good imagination and lots of brutality from the original song!

What this video means for The Bear Hunters' 2025 activity and future is not yet public, but Mitch had posted on their Facebook page in July to tease that they were planning to release one more album and play one final concert. Given their massive slowdown in activity since 2017, you can't be too shocked that they're looking towards the finish line, but we'll have to see what the guys have in store ahead! Give the "Squirrel Buddy" video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from The Bear Hunters!

Finally, here's some new videos from local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush's Facebook group! On November 29th, the band played at Pioneer Construction Inc.'s Christmas party (complete with 705Live Sound Co. at the controls), and while this was a private event, bassist John Amendola did post two videos from it, though sadly, both are under a minute long and were filmed vertically. One has the band (minus singer John Anderson) covering Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" with the rhythm guitarist/keyboardist on lead vocals, while the other has them covering Sweeney Todd's "Roxy Roller" with John Anderson back on stage for it. The covers sound good while they last, and lead guitarist Wes Greco gets some good room to shine, but the length and orientation aren't ideal. Props to the guys for playing on despite that night's major snowstorm! If you want to see something from a public concert, Headrush have you covered too!

For their last shows of 2024, Headrush rocked The Esquire Club over the December 28th weekend, and the Friday nighter was filmed twice for their Facebook group, and in both cases, the videos are over a minute in length and horizontal! John Amendola shared their night-closing cover of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" from attendee Audrey Marshall's personal Facebook page, but embedded below is his own upload, which is a montage of clips of them covering Journey, Steve Earle, Eddie Money, and AC/DC songs (the latter is black and white for some reason, and the Steve Earle cover has John Amendola on lead vocals). I'd rather hear full songs, but what we hear sounds good, so check everything out below!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Shaner & Sir Hell

With weekend concert previews out of the way, it's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, as we again look at randomly selected local metal, hard rock, and punk bands from the past with surviving online pages of note, in order to spotlight them and their activity for modern readers! Due to a lack of posted information, I added a second band without much to say to round things out with, so here's what you should know for our first double profile in this series in almost two years!

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The Shaner

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Alternative Rock/Metal

Lineup:

Shane Solomon, all instruments

Info/Analysis: Active primarily from 2010-2012 with a brief comeback in the early 2020s, The Shaner was primarily seen posting material on Reverbnation, though given how that site is set up, it's extremely hard to find dates for posted content. There's not a lot posted about Shane's music there, but he used to stream on Twitch. Over thirty songs are posted there, where Shane shows a solid base as a hard rock and metal guitarist on songs like "War", "The Jugular", and "Silks & Dangling", with some songs showing off a bluesy or funk influence. He'd be an asset to bands if he wanted to join one, and it'd be interesting to see The Shaner return, especially beyond what Reverbnation can offer!

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Sir Hell

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Metal/Indie Rock

Lineup:

Mitch Sirie (The Bear Hunters, The Suicide Kings), most instruments

Info/Analysis: After previously manning short-lived solo projects like Animas, By The Gods, and The Sorrow Fields throughout the 2010s, prolific local metal guitarist Mitch Sirie launched a new "vessel for my madness" named Sir Hell early last year, who released a proper studio version of his old April Eyes song "Squirrel Buddy" (as famously covered by The Bear Hunters) that February. Mitch recorded this amusing novelty death metal song at Unsalted Audio with familiar special guests, and the strong production quality and collaborations seemed to hint at a promising future for Sir Hell, but nothing has followed since. Don't miss Mitch's planned final work with The Bear Hunters ahead though!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This series will return on or around November 10th when we return to looking at just one band, as our next randomly chosen group will be 2012-2017 classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook. Watch for that then, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & More Recent Updates!!

I hope that our Canadian readers had a good Victoria Day long weekend! We're picking things back up for Sault Ontario news on this Tuesday morning, including some assorted recent notes and a bunch of summer season LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have announced more summer concerts via their website's calendar, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren after June 8th?  The first new shows will see Bone Yard play at the Queen Street Cruise once again on Friday, June 14th & Saturday, June 15th, marking their seventh straight appearances at this annual event and first since tacking "225" to their name. Of course, the Queen Street Cruise is the annual classic car cruise and show taking place downtown, and after moving from its home base at GFL Memorial Gardens to Roberta Bondar Pavilion last year due partly to construction and larger space, the cruise will remain at the Pavilion this year, presumably to keep using the larger locale. Bone Yard 225 will appreciate playing under the tent again in case of bad weather! Like last year, their sets will be at 7:00 PM on Friday and a 12:30 PM matinee during the car show on Saturday.

The Cruise is an ALL AGES event (aside from needing a valid drivers license and whatnot for the cruise itself) and there is no admission fee beyond the $20 registration if you are entering you vehicle for the cruise or show (click here for details). Hopefully the Cruise is another huge hit for car aficionados, let alone music fans, and there's more family entertainment there too, so visit the above links for more on what's going down next month! In terms of traditional indoor concerts, Bone Yard 225 will next return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a one-nighter (as they host DJs most Fridays) on Saturday, June 22nd, in their first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since playing there three nights ago. If you'd rather see them elsewhere downtown, they will be rocking Reggie's Place for full weekends on June 28th-29th (for this year's Canada Day long weekend) and on July 26th-27th, so keep all of these dates in mind!

Yes, they will be at Reggie's on Saturday, June 1st too, but that one-nighter was already announced by the band. Lastly for this batch of shows, Bone Yard 225 will go "uncorked" for an acoustic show at The Water Tower Pub on Friday, July 12th, in their first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub since their upcoming date there on May 31st (which they also already announced). Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly by rule. Sounds like a busy summer ahead, so look for Bone Yard's hard rocking classics at multiple venues in the coming months! Of the bar shows, all are 19+ with no cover charge, and all have 9:30 PM start times except at The Water Tower Pub (8:00 PM). Conspicuous by its absence from their schedule is a gig at Rotaryfest Stage 1, but note that A. the full schedule is not out yet (it was unveiled on May 26th last year) and B. they didn't play at last year's Rotaryfest.

We'll let you know when we know who all is playing at Rotaryfest this year, but in their four Stage 1 appearances from 2017-2022, Bone Yard were a nightly closing band, so one assumes they'd be well positioned if they do come back. Visit the above links for more details on Bone Yard 225's summer slate so far, and don't miss them at Gateway Casino this Saturday!

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

 

• Local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore reportedly dropped out of the Hails concert at The Distraction this past Sunday, as per Ha!ls frontman Brenton Ellis on his personal Facebook page earlier that afternoon. A reason for Chase's withdrawal wasn't given beyond that he "can't make it tonight", and he was not replaced on late notice. Hopefully all's well with Chase, and that Hails still rocked the old barbershop in style!
• Prolific local alt-rock musician Dustin Goodall has received two 2024 Northern Ontario Film & Music Award nominations for Outstanding Engineer, respectively for his work engineering/co-producing The Northwest's 2022 EP "All In" and Handsome Sandwich's 2023 debut album "Deconstructed" at his studio Unsalted Audio. It's rare when NOMFA nominations cross our radar, but it is very cool to see Dustin recognized twice over for his work in the mid 2022-mid 2023 voting period! The awards ceremony takes place in Sudbury late next month, so click here for details on that and the complete nominee list!
• I have moved local metal solo project Sir Hell to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Led by Bear Hunters/ex-Handsome Sandwich guitarist Mitch Sirie, this was his newest solo project after prior attempts across the 2010s under differing names, with Sir Hell releasing a proper studio version of the Bear Hunters live favourite "Squirrel Buddy" to their Bandcamp page in February 2023. I was definitely curious to hear more from Sir Hell, but nothing has publically emerged since the "Squirrel Buddy" re-release, and hopefully Mitch resurrects this "vessel for my madness" when the time is right!
   

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The BAG), A New Local Solo Project, An Album Release, And More!!

Packed news post for you guys on this Monday night, and it includes a new video performance, an album release, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, but first, a familiar face is back in solo form after a few years of focusing on his bands, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local metal act to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are Sir Hell, the newest stab at a solo project from Handsome Sandwich/ex-Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie! Long-time SMS readers and fans/friends of Mitch's may be familiar with his prior solo exploits under the project names Animas, April Eyes, By The Gods, and The Sorrow Fields, with the latter recording unreleased studio material as recently as early 2019. In this case, Mitch appears to be further into Sir Hell than on those acts for an initial splash (lost MySpace uploads acknowledged), as his first song on the project's Bandcamp page is the long awaited studio re-recording of his epic comedy metal song "Squirrel Buddy"! As memorably heard during many Bear Hunters shows, Mitch fittingly got his then-and-now bandmate Johnny Belanger (credited as "John Belanger") on drums and backing vocals.

This was recorded at Unsalted Audio (presumably during the sessions for Handsome Sandwich's upcoming debut album), and as such, producer Dustin Goodall also provides backing vocals, and Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling even turns up! Veteran local punk musician Mark Rand mixed the track in Peterborough. As for the song proper, this "vessel for my madness" delivers the amusing clean vocals and jarring tonal shift into death metal aggression that fans will fondly remember! Josh comes in via a couple of sax solos, one basically replacing Mitch's lead guitar solo of old, and one being the outro. Fun brutality, so give it a listen above, and stay tuned for more from Sir Hell when it rolls in!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local metal trio The BAG will return to The Esquire Club for one night only on Friday, March 3rd! This show was announced via the band's official Facebook event page yesterday, and while the venue has not confirmed the booking, it would appear that The BAG are replacing Mid Life Crysis that night, based on The Esquire Club's concert calendar for the first quarter of 2023 (I have no clue if Mid Life Crysis are still playing on Saturday the 4th or if they've pulled out of that weekend outright). These will be The BAG's first shows of the year, last being seen at Reggie's Place and The Esquire Club in consecutive weekends in December, and hopefully their blend of hard rocking originals and covers find another solid audience next month! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit as usual. Visit the above links for more details on this show next month!

Now to something that would have toplined a post on a quieter day, as local hard rock solo guitarist Mike McCleary has released his long-teased instrumental album "Fallout From Midnight Tides"! His first new studio album since returning from hiatus and de-listing most of his back catalog, it came out on his Bandcamp page on Wednesday, albeit sans one song that Mike cut as "I just wasn't happy with where it was and no matter what I tried, it just felt forced." The song he removed from the album (actually closer to an EP) was one of the shorter ones, as his teased three 7-ish minute tracks are here as planned. While this is instrumental with no vocals or lyrics, Mike noted that the songs each represent "something I find interesting in life, or is based on something that kind of reflects a certain part of me", and he details the thematic inspiration on each song's individual link on Bandcamp.

Also note that each song has unique single artwork based on the album artwork that he created using an AI art generator. "Fallout From Midnight Tides" is on sale on a "name your price" model, so you can download it for free, but consider buying it to support Mike's work! Yes, a review of this album is planned but it likely won't hit the site until April, as a new Sykotyk Rampage album is already planned for this month, and Forever Will Be's debut album is pencilled in for next month. It is coming though, and buy/stream it for yourself at the above links!

Finally for today, here's a new video of PROV3RB5 guitarist Benjamin Roswell playing a song that the local/Toronto progressive metal band collaborated on last year! Uploaded to their Facebook page last month, the video sees Benjamin covering "Distant" by the Minnesota metal project Stelliferous, who have returned to favour to appear on a PROV3RB5 song as well. The 59 second clip oddly starts with 11 seconds of Benjamin waiting for his part to come in, but it's as technically sound as you'd expect given PROV3RB5's chops, and the multiple camera angles add to the visual impact, so check this one out for yourselves below!

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

New Videos From Three Local Acts, Plus More Recent News & Notes!!

For our last post of February 2020, we're diving into some recent video postings from a few familiar local faces, including a solo cover, a revived band's album plans, and a prolific artist's TV hosting gig, plus a handful of shorter stories at post's end. Here's what you should know!

Here's the latest from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, starting with the fact that his new single "To Be With You" premiered on February 15th on local internet radio station The Borderline! The song has not been posted elsewhere as of this writing, so until it is, you'll have to tune in to The Borderline to see if it comes up in rotation. The song is brand new, and is not from his still-unreleased "Bridges" album, but it's not yet clear whether it's a standalone single or will be part of another new album release. We'll keep you posted! As for new content of Mike's that you can check out on demand, he hosted another Shaw Spotlight virtual community concert that aired locally on TV and radio in Thompson yesterday, specifically Thompson's Winterfest, an 80 minute event that you can watch on the Shaw Community Link YouTube channel and embedded below!

As hyped with this teaser video, this is very similar to the virtual Christmas concert that Mike hosted for Shaw Spotlight in Thompson in December, with Mike introducing acts & talking to viewers, but the tone is somewhat less jokey and sarcastic this time. Admittedly, Saultite interest in Thompson-based acts may be limited, but there's a lot of talent on display, and Mike himself does perform two songs, including "MorningStar" 32 minutes in & "Come On Home" (from "Bridges", which he promised will come out this year) about 67 minutes in. Solid performances from Mike & Thompsonites alike, and this all came together nicely, so give Thompson Winterfest a watch!

Next up, local progressive metal duo Kraken Mara are back (again!) After a public hiatus since September 2019 (their only month with updates since 2017), the band quietly posted a "scheduled video" of a play-through of a song from their upcoming debut EP, which will now be named "Vibe Check" rather than be self-titled. The video is not watchable until it premieres at 10:01 AM on March 12th, which is definitely unique for a local band to post, and it's proof that this return is going to lead somewhere in the short term! Kraken Mara's Facebook page hasn't been newly updated yet, but their Instagram page has new updates, albeit with all prior videos deleted, sadly. Four short clips are there to check out, including two of guitarist Jake Valois practicing solos for the EP, and two featuring his bandmate/brother-in-law Brendan Christie in brief samples from the "Vibe Check" playthrough premiering on the 12th.

The scheduled YouTube video's description notes that drums on the EP are being provided by Cliff Aubut, who drums for the Kelowna, B.C. metalcore band Stasis. I presume he's a session drummer given the distance, but we'll let you know if his involvement is greater. Assuming that "Vibe Check" does see it's intended release, I'll hold comment on the music proper until then (especially with the full song video not watchable yet), but it's great to see Brendan & Jake back at it once again, and fans of djent-laden progressive metal will want to take notice! Give the second of Brendan's teaser videos a look below, see more above, and stay tuned for updates!

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Also today, here's a new cover video from ex-Sense Of Truth/Skeyes Of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel on Friday, where he covered Seether's ballad "Broken" (not the version with Amy Lee.) The video quality is a little hazy, but the music comes through well enough, and Cory's voice is a good match for this song (the descripion notes that he plans to do more Seether covers), so give this well done rendition a watch below!

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

• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock trio Mackinaw Trail to our inactive band links due to the sudden passing of frontman Henry Switzer earlier this month. It's certainly possible that George and Ron could continue forward in a band, bur they hadn't posted anything on their Facebook page about Mackinaw Trail in particular since late 2019, rather sharing info on Highway 63 and Henry's solo pursuits (and don't forget about the pandemic either). Hopefully we hear more from George & Ron musically down the road!
  
• On a similar note to the Mackinaw Trail link update, I have removed Henry's old classic/hard rock band Sir Charge from our inactive band links, this time due to the page's deletion at some point last year. Sir Charge were the short-lived successors to Henry and his son Nathan's old band Monkey's Uncle, and were active on the E.U.P. bar circuit from 2012-2013, though I don't believe they ever had videos to show for their brief run. Hopefully Nathan and the Mayers stay active in music!
• Sault Ontario-based Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters have quietly added Isolation Sessions/ex-Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse to their lineup, replacing Max Ambeault, as per an update on their Facebook page this month. A reason for Max's departure was not announced, but he only played live with The Soo Fighters once in 2019 before the pandemic scuttled their 2020 plans. Hopefully we hear from Max musically again, but Art should fit in fine when The Soo Fighters play live next, whenever that is!
  

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

R.I.P. Henry Switzer

The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local singer/guitarist Henry Switzer, who suddenly passed away earlier today, according to numerous postings on Facebook from friends and family. A staple of the Sault Michigan music scene dating back to the 1990s (if not further) as both a musician and guitar instructor, Henry will be more familiar to current readers from his work fronting the 2014-2020 classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63 and their sister group Mackinaw Trail, but bands of his have been a staple of our E.U.P. coverage as long as I've been following Sault Michigan. You may have seen Henry live with local favourites The Mama's Boys, his 2006-2012 band Monkey's Uncle (née Jager), and their successors Sir Charge through 2013, with his son Nathan (now of Heavy Lies The Crown) a regular bandmate of his throughout the 2010s.

I don't feel comfortable going into great detail here about Henry's health battles in the past year or so, but he was candid on Highway 63's Facebook page in March about wanting to come back to live performances following a heart ailment (obviously before the pandemic began), and the band ultimately cancelled a planned Rudyard Days festival in June. Highway 63 would return for one more concert in August, when they played outside of Henry's automotive business Hank's Body Shop to send off Nathan before he moved downstate, and his last public music work was in a series of classic rock studio covers that you can check out above and on his YouTube channel. I never had the honour of meeting Henry, but the outpouring of condolences definitely paint him as a kind soul, a devoted husband and father, and a great music teacher, and his strong vocal range and guitar skills were apparent throughout his local music career.

As of this writing, details on services are not online, but I would keep tabs on The Sault Evening News' obituary page for further information. My kindest thoughts are with Nathan (I can relate to losing a parent) and to Henry's wife Kristina at this difficult time, but from everything I've read, it's apparent that he was a fighter, and he will be sorely missed. R.I.P. Henry!

New Airbourne Concert Videos & Assorted Sault Michigan Updates!!

Keeping the news rolling on this Friday afternoon, we have some more fallout from a big recent concert to touch on, along with some recent Sault Michigan updates, so read on below for what you need to know!

A bunch of Airbourne concert videos from Sunday night have turned up online yesterday, so we'll start with six from YouTube user Christopher Paci's channel! A frequent uploader of videos from Kewadin Casino hard rock concerts in the past year, the Airbourne concert was just the second Sault Ontario event he's uploaded footage from (following one video from the Tragically Hip show in February) Four of Christopher's videos are from Airbourne's set, including "Ready To Rock", "Diamond in the Rough", "Raise the Flag", and (as embedded below) their extended closing number "Runnin' Wild", so click each link to see the clips! Chris would have a good angle, but The Canadian Nightclub was very packed, so attendees' heads are definitely in the way often, but I imagine this was a problem many people had unless they were very tall or in the first few rows, so I won't judge. The audio is also a bit scratchy, but it's not unlistenable. Solid attempt to catch the action, so give "Runnin' Wild" a look below!



Christopher's other videos are from openers Bleeker Ridge's set, as he filmed them playing their originals "Shine" and (as embedded below) "Last Cigarette", so again, click each link to check them out! They have a better and more central view of the Orillia hard rockers, and Taylor Perkins is definitely easier to hear from Christopher's angle, but front row fans do block some areas of the stage, albeit not as much as the crowding for Airbourne. These actually don't sound as scratchy either somehow, so give Bleeker Ridge playing "Last Cigarette" a look below, and see more of Chris' Airbourne concert videos at the above links!

Closing today's post, we'll head to Sault Michigan starting with some news relating to newer local hard rock trio Plastic (who, like Power Slug, still don't have an online page.) In rather surprising news given that they only first played live two months ago, they'll apparently be opening for The Misfits at Harpo's Concert Theater in Detroit on October 21st! I have no idea how that came about, but my source is drummer Paul "Dorothy" Burns' new solo Facebook page, which he recently started to keep fans to date on his music projects (Plastic or otherwise.) Paul also launched a number of Facebook event pages there for gigs all over Northern Michigan (including in Alpena and Rogers City), along with the Misfits/Detroit show and a pair of local dates (Dan's Bar in Rudyard on September 7th & The Merchant's Bar in the Soo on September 20th), but I can't verify at present if these are all Plastic dates or not, as he uses the page for all of his music work. If I hear more, I'll keep you posted, but if you want tickets to see Plastic open for The Misfits, message members Zac Crook, Nick Moreau, or Paul Burns on Facebook!

Finally for today, it looks like Sault Michigan classic hard rock quartet Sir Charge have dissolved. This hasn't been officially confirmed (their Facebook page hasn't been updated in almost 3 months), but members Henry Switzer, Ray Mayer, and Ruseell Mayer have apparently reformed their pop rock cover band The Mama's Boys, re-debuting at at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on August 5th. My source is Ray's personal Facebook page, and like before, I believe he sings lead rather than Henry. Also, with Sir Charge guitarist Nathan Switzer taking on their existing Kewadin Casino dates for his other band RamWagon,  that helps lead me to think that Sir Charge have at least ceded focus to the Mama's Boys' reunion. Sir Charge had been active since succeeding Henry & Nathan's similar earlier band Monkey's Uncle last fall, playing a number of gigs at regional bars through at least June of this year, and while it is disappointing to see Henry-fronted bands end locally, at least everyone from Sir Charge is still active in local music, so best of luck all around!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more this weekend, including a few more Airbourne concert videos! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Suicide Kings & Haggith), This Weekend's Concert Previews, And A Cancellation!!

Before we get into the concert previews for this weekend, I wanted to note that the previously announced Sir Charge shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this weekend have been cancelled. A reason hasn't been announced, but talented local country duo The Perry Hatch Band are now listed for The Northern Pines Lounge in their place via Kewadin Casino's entertainment page. Disappointing, but Sir Charge will return to the Soo Kewadin next month, so keep that in mind! With that said, today's post previews concerts going down this weekend through Saturday (Airbourne's coming on Sunday, probably), starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next two nights, so here's what you need to know!

After 4 weeks away from the local concert stage, local hard rockers The Suicide Kings will return to The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT for the first time since their Battle of the Bands win there in April! Apologies for the short notice, they only just announced this show yesterday. After their packed Rotaryfest weekend, it'll be nice to see the guys rocking a local stage once again, especially for a solo headlining gig, a type of show they haven't played in 3 months! Note that their hyped bassist search has not concluded publically yet, so unless they're keeping things very secret, I'd assume Mitch Sirie will still handle bass on most songs tomorrow. An 11:00 PM-ish start time is hyped for this 19+ show, and bring $5 or so for a cover. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! The Suicide Kings' talented and hard edged sound should be welcomed back to the stage after a long break (for them), so don't miss their next live concert TOMORROW NIGHT! For a preview, here's their first two songs from the battle finals in April!



Also, and in adding to the recent emergence of hard rock shows at The New American Pub, local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith have struck a deal to play one show a month through November at this Bay Street venue, including dates on September 25th, October 20th, November 22nd, and THIS SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice for the first show of the run, Haggith only just announced it on Tuesday. For reference, the shows are not on the same day of the week, with the fall dates coming on a Wednesday, Sunday, and Friday respectively. Each show will reportedly feature an opening band, with local acid jam/hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din opening on Saturday in their own New A debut, while guitarist Daniel Horton told me on Facebook that they, Stone Temple Pilots tribute Purple Core (who feature Mike & The Din in swapped roles), local solo rocker James Watterworth, and fellow PaperClip Productions artist Frank McGillvray are all opener possibilities for the other dates. All 4 shows have 19+ age limits and 9:00 PM start times, while Daniel also told me that the cover will be $4.

For more details, check the Facebook event pages linked above (through each show's listed date.) For a band known for originals, a regular run at the same venue like this is somewhat different, but it's great to see them playing some headlining dates, Mike & The Din playing more Sault Ontario shows, The New A booking more original bands, so don't miss these fast rising hard rock bands THIS SATURDAY at The New American! For a preview, here's Haggith playing an STP cover and "Rage Train" at The Rockstar Bar in April!



Now to previously announced weekend concerts, starting with Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's third show of his "every Friday in August" concert arrangement with The Road House Bar & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT! Easily his favourite recent concert venue for his solo acoustic gigs, this will be his fifth Friday night show in the past 6 weeks at this Trunk Road tavern, and it sounds like things are going well so far! As usual, Tym should have a night full of metal and hard rock covers and renditions for fans and bar regulars to check out, so if you're up for a trip out east, The Road House will have you covered for some acoustic metal action tomorrow night! Admission should be free for this 10:00 PM show, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Tym's solo gigs are always a good time full of familiar songs, so keep tomorrow's show in mind, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Heart live at The Service Grill!



Finally for today, Frightlight will bring some local metal flavour to what's being billed as a "Horrorween" concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring two out of town horror punk bands, including Oshawa horror punk quartet Black Cat Attack and Welland punk/psychobilly trio Chainsaw Lobotomy! The Black Cat Attack (featuring Sum 41 alum Dave Baksh) have a unique female-voiced blend of horror punk and rockabilly that local fans should take to, while Chainsaw Lobotomy's hard to define mix of genres (everything from hardcore to bluegrass) should find an enthusiastic audience of their own! As for Frightlight, this will be their second show with James "Slim Cadaver" White filling in for Eddie Fright on bass, and he should fit in well again for their high impact originals and Misfits covers on Saturday, so if you crave metal, they'll have the majority of it! Note that the Facebook event page still lists a band to be announced, but recent press for the show has treated the show as having only 3 bands.

Originally scheduled for The Algonquin Pub before being relocated, this show (which is promoted by Frightlight frontman Johnny Pints) has a 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and a $10 entry fee, but it can be halved to $5 if you bring your Airbourne concert ticket, or it'll be FREE if you show your Airbourne & BFGs tickets! Also, there will be a prize package going to the winner of a Halloween costume contest on Saturday, and costume wearers get in for $5 too, so keep that in mind as well! For more info, visit the Facebook event page, and if you love punk, rockabilly, horror, and a dash of metal, be at The Rosie THIS SATURDAY (and have your costumes!) For a preview, here's Frightlight (and Slim) live at The Rosie in June!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news likely tomorrow, including hopefully some Pop Evil fallout, and yes, short notice show alerts if they come in! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Peril, Powerslug, Sir Charge, And RamWagon)

Today's post is 100% dedicated to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, as they've  recently added new dates to their entertainment page's schedule through the end of the year! Note that The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has not added any new dates to their schedule that I have seen, so all of these new shows will require a road trip to St. Ignace, which is 50 minutes south of the Soo. Now, let's look at these new show announcements in rough chronological order!

We'll start this coming weekend, as newer local hard rock quintet RamWagon will make their Kewadin Casino and St. Ignace debut on Friday & Saturday at The Northern Pines Lounge! Fresh off their fourth and fifth shows (on late notice) at The Satisfied Frog, this union of Full Throttle and Analog Deficiency alumni should have an entertaining and proficient slate of hard rock covers for attendees in St. Ignace this weekend, so keep them in mind for this coming weekend's schedule! Admission should be free for these 9:00 PM-ish concerts, and you must be 21 or older to attend. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see RamWagon's bookings picking up steam, and hopefully this is just the next stop in a successful local run, so don't miss this new band's latest concert weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge on Friday and Saturday, and stay tuned for more updates as they roll in!

The rest of the new hard rock show announcements for the St. Ignace Kewadin are in the fall and early winter, starting with two new concert weekends from Monkey's Uncle successors Sir Charge! Though their Facebook page hasn't been updated in two months, sporadic online updates for Henry Switzer-fronted bands are par for the course, sadly, but at least Kewadin Casino keeps us up to date on their next shows at their local branches! The veteran local hard rock cover quartet will return to The Northern Pines Lounge for shows on October 4th-5th & December 6th-7th, so if you're up for some gritty old school hard rock and more recent hits, don't forget about these dates! (Also to note, guitarist Nathan Switzer is also in the aforementioned RamWagon.) 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges are all very likely, so get more at the above links, and don't miss Sir Charge's next shows in St. Ignace in two weeks!

Two weeks after the first of the new Sir Charge shows, The Northern Pines Lounge will welcome Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril back to the region for a pair of shows on October 16th & 17th! Curiously, Peril's Facebook page hasn't seen updates for two months either, but according to frontman Jeff Hudson's concert schedule, they don't have any dates for the rest of the summer, with his other bands Audio Circus and Scarkazm (neither of which are local regulars) playing most weekends. Given the new local bookings (Peril's first St. Ignace shows since February), I'll assume this is just a break unless I hear otherwise, so circle the middle of October on your calendars for some classic metal originals and covers from this talented trio (featuring ex-Bad Side drummer Brooks Elliott!) Also, this will likely be their first local weekend since the departure of bassist James Cvengros, with either Adam Crawford or Steve Gauthier rotating bass duties in his absence. Like the above shows, expect 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges, but check the above links for more details, and hopefully Peril rock the U.P. again come October!

Finally for the new St. Ignace concert announcements, Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Northern Pines Lounge on November 22nd and 23rd! Their first shows in St. Ignace since June, Powerslug's busy (though often online-elusive) schedule sees them play often in the area (as seen this past weekend at The Corner Pub), and their hard rock covers should get the crowd going and lots of mugs chugged for their Northern Pines Lounge return in November! Still wish they had an online page and more shareable media though, it'd help their exposure. Same as the above shows for ground rules, with a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no likely cover charge for both nights, so check the above links for more details! Nice to get some more advance notice gigs of theirs, so keep Powerslug's November Kewadin dates in mind, and (barring a short notice announcement) go see them live next at the Sault Kewadin on August 23rd & 24th!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for an all-video post TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Griphook, The 7 Year Itch, & Powerslug) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With such a big weekend for concerts upon us, we're gonna break this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews into three posts: Today's post for the general Friday-Saturday shows in the region, one dedicated to Rotaryfest's music stages tomorrow, and we'll touch on Saturday's Bushplane Musical Madness and Sunday night's Shinedown concert either on Friday. With that all said, let's begin this busy weekend with previews of the non-Rotaryfest/Bushplane/Shinedown hard rock shows this weekend, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on each side of the border!

One day before playing Rotaryfest for the first time, local classic/hard rock quartet Griphook will play their first ever concert at The New American Pub House THIS FRIDAY! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show last night. Coming just days after the announcement of next month's Catgut/Bad Back show at The New A, it's interesting and nice to see some heavier bands playing at this downtown venue, compared to past bands there generally attracting an older clientele with much older covers. It's also been announced (on short notice) that following their Rotaryfest set on Saturday, 3/4ths of Griphook (minus guitarist Brian Oja) will be playing later that night at The Rockstar Bar under the name The 7 Year Itch, though I don't know why Brian will be absent (scheduling conflict?), why they're using a different name, or how different The 7 Year Itch's sound will be compared to Griphook's. I'm thinking it's likely a scenario of the guys not wanting to play under that name if someone's absent (i.e. General Striker or Pools of Booze), but regardless of name, the guys are hoping to attract Rotaryfest attendees after the bands wrap up at Clergue Park, so keep these shows in mind!

9:30 PM start times and 19+ age limits are to be expected for each show, and while The Rockstar Bar should have a cover charge in the $5 range, I have no idea if The New American generally does (remember, we only started hearing finalized hard rock shows there this week.) For more details on both Griphook & The 7 Year Itch's shows this weekend, click here and here, and remember, our Rotaryfest preview is coming TOMORROW! Now knowing that Griphook's sets do lean heavier, they should deliver some good times on Friday in their New A debut, and The 7 Year Itch should sound similar for fans, and don't miss their set either on Saturday if you couldn't get enough of the full Griphook sound at Rotaryfest! For a preview, here's Griphook covering Alice In Chains' "Would?" at The Rockstar Bar last month, and if it's not familiar, don't worry, we have a lot of videos from this channel to share on the site shortly that have never been referenced on here, so stay tuned! (Also, The New American is now in our active Sault Ontario venue links on your left!)



We'll close this post in Sault Michigan (Shinedown's coming in a couple of days), starting with another short notice announcement, and as you may have guessed, it's for local hard rock trio Powerslug! The pageless but talented trio (featurning Clownsack and Blind Baby alumni) will play their next gigs THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill, though no word yet on if these are outdoor parking lot gigs like their last show there or not. Apologies for the short notice, frontman Chris Leask only confirmed the shows last night on his personal Facebook page. Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Powerslug's hard rock covers should find another solid response at The Corner Pub this weekend, so don't miss out if you're up to chug your mug with the guys, and if we ever find media to preview their shows with, we'll let you know!

Finally for today, Monkey's Uncle successors Sir Charge will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Friday & Saturday as well! Announced in advance via Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, I believe these will be their first shows since playing the St. Ignace Kewadin last month, and it'll be good to see the band featuring Mama's Boys & RamWagon alumni back at it for a weekend of hard and classic rock covers! Both shows will be 21+ affairs with 9:00 PM-ish start times and no announced cover charge, but check the above links for more details! Long time fans of Henry Switzer's bands (regardless of name) should be right at home with Sir Charge's shows this weekend, so head on down to the Soo Kewadin to rock out with Sir Charge this weekend if possible, and if I come across videos of them in action, I'll let you know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned at midnight for last month's poll results and this month's poll, and later tomorrow for our preview of Rotaryfest's stages, featuring 3 hard rock-leaning bands this year! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E & Sir Charge) And Two New Sault Michigan Hard Rock Bands!!

For the second time in the last 4 days, we're devoting an entire post to Sault Michigan-area bands and concerts, as we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and newer local bands to announce, and these sure are helping to inject some quantity and quality to our active band links and concert listings! As usual when we have new bands to launch, we'll start with them first, so here's what you need to know!

Our first new band is Sault Michigan hard rock metal/quartet Dirtbag In A Dress (interesting name), but you may have previously known them as two-time LemmaFest veterans Bucksaw! I haven't heard why they changed their name, but Bucksaw seems too common for it not to have been used by another existing band. Their lineup is mostly the same as it was last year, including singer/guitarist (and local boxer) Ryan Franklin, ex-Blind Baby guitarist Bill Ogston, and Scofflaw bassist Barney Gravelle, but with Half A Man drummer Mikey Bishop now a member in place of Chump Change's Jason VanLuven (no word on why Jason left though.) Aside from the band's LemmaFest appearances, news and information on Bucksaw was fairly elusive to find, but according to posts on their Facebook page (and recent correspondence with Mike), they'll play a lot of heavier material (moreso than Bucksaw did), including Seether, Slipknot, and Volbeat covers, and that definitely is a good sign!

It's great to finally see Bucksaw (now Dirtbag In A Dress) launch an online page, and their sound descriptions are promising, but when can you see them live? This Saturday at LemmaFest again, as they're gonna take part of Mikey's other band Half A Man's set to make their debut under this name, and they reportedly have another gig of some kind next month in Sugar Island, though I'm waiting for more information before calling it on here. Stay tuned on Friday for our full extended LemmaFest preview for more!

The other new band is also quite familiar given the members' past work, and they're a local classic/hard rock quartet named Sir Charge! We've alluded to them on here before via their listing on the Kewadin Casinos entertainment page, but I had no concrete info on them to establish whether they fit on the SMS. As it turns out (and this was actually a hunch I had), they're essentially the successors to the (I assume) similar sounding Monkey's Uncle, though I can't 100% verify if they're a completely new band or just renamed. Their Facebook page was launched in November, but only saw major updates commence last month, including confirmation of shows at Kewadin branches and Dondee Lanes, and some live photos. Sir Charge's lineup includes longtime frontman Henry Switzer on vocals & guitar and his son Nathan (also of RamWagon) on guitar, along with Henry's old Mama's Boys bandmates Ray & Russell Mayer on bass & drums respectively, both of which are newer additions.

And yes, this more or less confirms that other recent Monkey's Uncle members like Donny Newell and Ron Suchey are not involved with Sir Charge. The lineup is promising and has chemistry from their past collective band work, and if they have the same gritty hard rock sound as Monkey's Uncle, they should be a must see band locally! That said, when can you see them next? In the first of our LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, Sir Charge will hit The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 19th & 20th, September 6th & 7th, and November 1st & 2nd, along with dates at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on August 16th & 17th, so make note of these if you've missed the various named acts that Henry Switzer has fronted locally! Admission should be free for each, you must be 21 to attend them all, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and both they and Dirtbag In A Dress are now in our active Sault Michigan band links!

Leading from the above shows, the Kewadin Casino entertainment pages for each venue have been updated at the above links, with Sault Michigan now mostly scheduled through the end of the year, so visit those links for details on new dates from non-metal regional acts like Perry Hatch, Bittermoon, The London Gentlemen, Crossroads, Chump Change, Helen Debaker-Vorce, Touch of Class, The Backyard Boys, and Jimmie Cowles, along with all previously announced gigs from local hard rockers Banned.

We have more Kewadin Casino dates from one more regional hard rock band to plug on here too, but we'll cap today's post with the newest concerts from local hard rock/classic metal quartet 415E, who'll return to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on August 30th & 31st and to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on July 26th & 27th, joining their already announced dates at each this month and next. The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni have made a great impression with their metal and hard rock covers & originals since their debut in January, and hopefully these new Kewadin Casino dates add to their growing repuation locally! Odd that there's no fall dates announced though. Like the Sir Charge shows above, admission is likely free, you must be 21 to attend, and I'd assume these shows will start around 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss 415E next weekend in St. Ignace!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews (including a new show announcement) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: soundguyjoe's Channel

It's time for this month's latest YouTube Channel Profile, and for the first time since the spring, we're looking at just one channel, but it's full of stuff! As always, this monthly feature looks at 1-3 randomly selected YouTube channels with at least a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, and we're once again looking at said channel's background, videos, information, and reasons why you should check it out or subscribe. There's plenty to get to this month from a few years back in the local scene, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profile! (Edited on October 16th, 2013)
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soundguyjoe's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/soundguyjoe)

Owner: Sault Ontario native and likely Sir James Dunn graduate soundguyjoe, real name unclear (though his first name is likely Joe or something similar)

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 30th, 2007; Videos posted between then & November 2009

Channel Summary: This channel serves two distinct purposes, with soundguyjoe focusing it's uploads on local concert videos through the summer of 2008. These include two videos each of defunct local metal bands Fabio, Sindicate, and Creatures of the Night from mid-late 2000s concerts, along with two videos from Dunnplugged concert sets from the former Sir James Dunn Collegiate & Vocational School's student concert series, and one video of local punk band Free Beer (now Sarah's Valley) in 2008. However, the channel's last six videos from late 2008 & 2009 are focused on original film productions that he worked on, likely after he moved out of town & at least partially in conjunction with a college course. These include a parody "As Seen on TV" commercial, a partial adaptation of "King Lear", and a 12 minute short film named "A Trio of Treatments", among others.

Why Should You Watch: For the first nine videos, you should check them out because they offer an interesting glimpse at a few inactive local metal/punk bands, most of which are only publically visible by these uploads! Joe's video quality tended to be good or better, and there was talent visible in these bands, but it's too bad he's gotten no concert footage since 2008. That said, the original films and movies are of varying quality for acting and intent, but they tend to be well edited and produced, and they are worth checking out if you like and support independent film production! Note however that this channel has seen no new uploads in almost 3 years, in case that may change your mind on subscribing, but the channel is still sporadically used for personal needs.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Fabio - Hit The Lights: The earliest videos on soundguyjoe's channel (by film date, not upload date) are these two videos of defunct local metal quartet Fabio performing at a 30 Hour Famine event at Sir James Dunn Collegiate (I think) in April 2006. The videos are of Fabio covering Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets" and (as embedded below) Metallica's "Hit The Lights", and despite generally dark lighting, the videos are of good quality with clear sound! Though Fabio have no surviving online pages, and I don't remember their full lineup, I remember them fondly from some of my earliest local metal shows, and aside from some vocal messiness on the "Sweating Bullets" cover, their talent and intensity comes through well here, especially if you love pure thrash metal!



Rock In The Park - Sindicate - The Trooper: The only metal concert videos here to come from a non-school event are two videos of defunct (and pageless) local metal quintet Sindicate's set at the Rock In The Park event at the Bellevue Park Bandshell on August 18th, 2007, where they joined The Unforgiven and other local metal bands for an all ages night of outdoor metal mayhem! Featuring James Green on vocals, guitarists Nick Rhodes (Creatures of the Night) and Jared Lambert, and Sarah's Valley's Ryan Gray & Keith Gagnon on bass & drums, the videos are of Sindicate covering Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" and (embedded below) Iron Maiden's "The Trooper". The videos are well shot (even including professional looking title bugs), but the music is patchy on both, especially vocally, as James is hard to hear and doesn't really have the range to pull off either song flawlessly. The guitar work's great though, and it's nice to see these videos so long after Sindicate broke up!



KISS: Creatures Of The Night - Detroit Rock City : The most popular (and latest) metal video on Joe's channel is of defunct local Kiss tribute band Creatures of the Night playing "Detroit Rock City" at a Sir James Dunn event on February 21st, 2008! It's one of two videos from this performance online (joining a version of "Strutter"), and their lineup featured Andrew Addante on vocals & guitar, Mike Gualtieri on bass, and the aforementioned Nick Rhodes & Keith Gagnon on guitar & drums. The video quality is nice (if very blue), with a surprisingly good stage setup given the high school setting, but the band are inconsistent. Great instrumentation and knowledge of Kiss, but the vocals don't have the range or power to match up with Paul Stanley, which is a problem. Still, for a high school tribute band, Creatures of the Night did better than I would expect, and these videos show promise!


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 I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll return to a multiple channel model, as the first channel we randomly selected only had two metal videos, but what are we looking at on or around October 22nd? Next month, we'll be profiling former The Shit guitarist Austin Pine's YouTube channel (featuring two videos of them playing live covers) and the channel of YouTube user hoopy31, featuring one live video from Buckcherry's first concert here at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, so watch out for that next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes likely tomorrow! Thanks everyone!