Our Recap Of Spades GT's Sofa City Sounds Interview From Last Month!!

Today's, we are heading back to the world of local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, and for this post, we'll focus on a brand new interview that guitarist Daniel Horton and bassist Sean MacNab took part in on September 22nd with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds! This is the third interview that Spades GT members have conducted with Sofa City head Amanda Schilz, following interviews with J.D. and Tyler in December 2023 and Tyler alone in January of this year. We just need her to talk to Fang and she'll have the entire current lineup covered! Our prior links to those interviews have been wiped due to Facebook live-streamed videos now being deleted after 30 days, but I linked to each interview's YouTube copy via Amanda's YouTube channel, which is also where I've sourced the new interview so it doesn't vanish in eight days. 

This 65 minute remote interview begins with Dan & Sean introducing themselves and talking about recent experiences at live events Amanda saw them at. Apparently, Amanda was supposed to interview Spades GT members before their set at Rye Fest in Brantford in August, but unspecified health matters led to that being delayed. She and Daniel discuss how well Rye Fest went to perform at and attend, and assorted experiences at live concerts, before transitioning to how Sean joined the band (he confirmed that he did not perform on "United"). Interesting to hear how he fell into the Spades gig, let alone his jokingly tenuous standing with the band even now! Looser casual talk follows, including everyone's ages, past live concert experiences, and family links (one of Amanda's kids was off camera playing with a loud toy), before they about how they got on the bill to open for The Exploited last year and will again do so later this month.

This leads to Daniel elaborating on how their sound is kind of a punk/metal hybrid that allows them to adapt to multiple bills. After Amanda discusses aborted plans to ask Spades to open for The Dayglo Abortions at a concert she was involved in, Daniel outlines the band's origins (again describing Jack Spades as a different band than Spades GT), and then taking the lost Dayglo opportunity in stride, as Spades opened for Dayglo in in their first post-relaunch gig in Barrie in April 2022. Note as well that Jack Spades' first full concert set in September 2013 was opening for The Dayglo Abortions here at the former Roosevelt Hotel, but of the current GT lineup, only J.D. was in the band then. They next discuss the networking and relationships made through the rock music scene in Southern Ontario, including podcasts, and apparently, Dan and J.D. have kicked tires on starting one to talk to other musicians. If Tyler can do one with Drummers Paradise, why not?

Personal struggles with sobriety and mental health come up next, with Sean rightly pointing out how their new song "Demons" is relevant to the topic at hand, and things also evolve into how the music scene has evolved in good and bad ways, including how the pandemic affected how bands operated, and continued experiences of seeing live music and performing at big concerts. A lot of credit is given by Amanda and Dan to the people who support the scene, be they musicians, promoters, journalists, photographers, stage crew, or anyone else who helps the cause. Near the end, Daniel does tease that "we've got some fun stuff comin' next year for sure", with Amanda planning to contact Spades GT for booking them on a show in 2026, before talking about Amanda's bull mastiff, who helped end the interview a little more abruptly than planned. Nice long interview that had a very friendly atmosphere, and while questions about Spades GT and their past/future plans weren't the firm focus, Amanda and the guys had a good rapport that shows that they knew each other well!

It's clear that Amanda loves what she's doing with the heavier music scene in Southern Ontario, and she gets along well with the Spades crew (lack of an interview with Matthew acknowledged) , though it would have been nice to hear Sean a little more in the discussions. Check out the full hour+ interview below, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT soon! Thanks everyone!

One More Weekend Concert Preview, Plus A New Spades GT Interview Video!!

In this post, we're wrapping up this weekend's concert previews with a special event featuring a band reunion, but the rest of this post references one of the performers' current group, so here's what you should know!

Here's one more weekend concert preview for TONIGHT, as a bunch of familiar faces will join forces at The Dive Gastro Pub! Advertised by the venue as the "jam night for Joy" (the Facebook event page treats it as a normal concert), this special event is the culmination of today's celebration of life for Joy MacMillan, the late mother of Spades GT/ex-Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton, whose support was clear and instrumental throughout her son's local band work in the 2010s, as his friends and bandmates will be well aware of. Joy passed away in late November, but after a GoFundMe campaign, her celebration of life proper takes place today at the Holiday Inn Express (the former Days Inn) from 2:00-6:00 PM, but the concert portion takes place at around 9:00 PM with an advertised reunion of Mike Haggith & The Din, albeit their 2013-2014 acid jam/improv incarnation featuring Daniel alongside Mike & Curtis McKenzie.

It will be nice to see 3/4ths of the core Haggith lineup back for a night, albeit under sad circumstances, and hopefully they recapture early Din sets well in Joy's memory! Curt will also play a solo set tonight (presaging his full solo gig there next week), while Dan's former Jack Spades bandmate Rob Speers will also bring his acoustic solo act there tonight, fresh off playing at The Dive on Thursday. This special 19+ concert has no advertised cover charge, as well as refreshments and a cash bar, though seating will be limited. Visit the above links for more on what should be a special night for Daniel and his family, here's the original Din live, and R.I.P. Joy!

Next up, let's pivot to Daniel's current work in Spades GT, so what are the local/Barrie crossover thrash band up to this year/month so far? You can find out some of that info here, as drummer Tyler Reiner took part in with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds on January 2nd! This was streamed on Sofa City Sounds' Facebook page, and ignore that the video description says that the interview was with Black Absinthe, they labelled the wrong group. If Sofa City sounds familiar, it's because Tyler and frontman J.D. Pearce were interviewed by owner/host Amanda Schilz (and her son!) back in December 2023, and you can watch that 48 minute video at this link. A year+ later, Tyler flew solo for this remote interview, which starts with Amanda reminiscing on the first time that she saw Spades live and other related topics. We next get hype for Spades GT's first concert of 2025, which saw them play at Walterstock III.

Two days after this interview was posted, Spades joined twenty-three other bands to pay tribute to beloved GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich at The Rockpile in Toronto once again, and this discussion leads to some good personal discussion about connectivity and personal interactions among the metal community there, plus coming and going into music and awareness of it, and having the drive and passion to get your name out there and also support other local-to-you bands. Eventually, Tyler does bring up the band's eventful 2024 and plans to return to the studio next month to record their next studio album, as well as plugging some of the band's radio airplay in Southern Ontario last year, while also opening the floodgates to promoters to book them in 2025, especially in markets that they haven't played at before. Following some more Walterstock promotion, Tyler plugs what they have for sale and what they hope to have to sell soon, especially the new CD.

The band's lineup is credited about 52 minutes into the interview, with the bassist search still ongoing at the time, and J.D. was supposed to take part in this year's Sofa City Sounds interview too but couldn't due to commitments with his day job. Most of the rest of the interview is casual conversation and reiterating 2025 plans for Spades GT, but Tyler does reference how he's not the first drummer of the band, crediting their beginnings in the Soo as Jack Spades in the 2010s, and how appreciative he is to be brought into the fold. While Amanda's son didn't help in the interview this time (though pets stopped by on both ends), this was another fun interview for Spades fans! Most of it was admittedly just Tyler and Amanda talking about the scene at large and personal experiences, and not a lot of ground is covered that fans didn't already know from 2024 postings and interviews, but it's a solid and laid back watch that you can check out below!

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

Spades GT Updates & Videos From December & January!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to acknowledge that local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns did not play at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night for unannounced reasons, with no band replacing them. The band & venue never publically confirmed or denied the gig, which new drummer Brandan Glew announced on his personal Facebook page last month. The Stallyns are not known for frequently updating their Facebook page, alas, but I do apologize for the erroneous plug on Thursday. I'd have noted that it was cancelled had someone publically said something in advance! My thanks to Sarah Vikken (who was present for an unrelated event) for confirming the lack of a band last night.

Now let's dive into more recent news and notes from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what else have they been up to since the turn of the new year? On December 30th, Joe Taylor of the music website Blast Toronto reviewed their newest album "Sewer City Radio", recommending the album to fans of Motorhead, Anvil, The Offspring, and The Ramones. He used a lot of hyperbole to pump up this album in a brief but positive write-up, so give it a look at this link! The rubber chicken frequently pops up in Joe's CD reviews, if you wanted context. On New Year's Day, the band posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page to recap their 2023, featuring assorted live concert clips and posters as set to their song "Cenobites" while guitarist Daniel Horton talked about how the year went & how 2024 will be another big year. My usual "Reel" complaints aside, it hypes up 2023 well!

I can't embed "Reels" here, but I can embed this video, which features a 48 minutes-long interview that frontman J.D. Pearce and drummer Tyler Reiner recorded with Amanda Schilz and her son Andrew The Legend of Sofa City Sounds, a music promotion/interview company out of Niagara Falls. Tyler and J.D. were participating remotely over the holidays, with Tyler in Muskoka and J.D. in the Soo when this was recorded! Note J.D is in front of a local Ripcordz concert poster, and look for his various masks. After asking about their holiday plans, Spades GT talk about "Sewer City Radio", how Spades GT came together in Barrie (Tyler brings up the Jack Spades era here), their live concert experience (which J.D. hopes is close to hearing their studio material), their 2024 plans in concert and studio, bands that they have enjoyed sharing the stage with (Drew from Random Killing saw Spades at the Josey Scott show here last summer) ...

...rumoured major shows for 2024 (not that Spades GT were willing to spill many beans), their growth in the past year, and their advice for young musicians. Fun and loose interview with lots of discussion about bands that Amanda (and her kids) have seen live and worked with, and if you find the idea of a local band interview involving a host conducting it with her son to be unusual, remember that Heavy Lies The Crown did a (sadly now deleted) interview in January 2023 with Ghost Media Entertainment where the host's young daughter participated. Click here for our recap to compare. Give Spades GT's interview with Sofa City Sounds a watch below!

Spades GT's first concert of 2024 saw them play at the second annual Walterstock, the fundraiser/memorial concert in honour of noted GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich, who passed away after being unable to get prompt medical treatment in 2022 despite his best efforts (click here for more on that sad story). Like with the inaugural Walterstock last year, twenty-seven acts played at The Rockpile in Toronto on January 6th, and while none of the other bands are familiar from local gigs, frequent Spades GT show partners GFU played, as did headlining Pantera tribute band Cowboys From Hell, while Spades bassist James Roy Daley also played with the psychobilly band The House of Haunt immediately following Spades' set. Videos were not in short supply from Spades' Walterstock set, and we'll start with two fan-shot videos that, while both sadly vertical, are not "Reels" and therefore embeddable here!

Attendee William Wai Yun Lum (who previously filmed Spades GT at Indie Night In Canada last year) live-streamed this sub-2 minutes clip of them playing "Succubus" for his personal Facebook page, which the band later publically shared on their Facebook page. The somewhat low framerate and muffled audio are noted, but it's an intense performance from the front row, and while I wouldn't have shot it vertically, it does get a good look at J.D. in particular, so check it out for yourself below!

There's definitely more from Walterstock to come, but we'll finish up here with attendee Dawn Faller's video of Spades GT's closing song, namely the title track of their album "Sewer City Radio"! Dawn posted this three days after the event on her personal Facebook page before the band re-posted it. This is a longer video capturing the full song, and while vertical, she wasn't shy about rotating the camera around to catch things at skewed angles while zooming in and out, so it's an interesting watch! She was at more of a sharp angle too, but still clearly in the front row. Good audio quality here too, so check this clip out below as well!

 

When we pick things back up for Spades GT, it'll be with more Walterstock fallout, so look for that in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!