R.I.P. Tony Hubbard (1955-2023)

I'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran Sault Michigan rock drummer Tony Hubbard, who passed away on Monday at MyMichigan Medical Center (nee the War Memorial Hospital) at the age of 67. You can read his obituary at this link, and his memorial service took place earlier today at C.S. Mulder Funeral Home with a celebration of life following tonight at The Merchants Bar. In lieu of flowers, the Hubbard family would appreciate donations to the Hospice of the E.U.P.. SMS readers who have followed our Sault Michigan and E.U.P. coverage should be familiar with Tony for his work behind the kit with local hard rock cover bands Splitshot (from 2010-2011) and 415E (from 2014-2017), joining his son Chris to perform with both bands, though Tony didn't return to 415E when they relaunched in 2019. You may also recognize Tony from local bands like Stonewall Creation and as a former bandmate of Tim Hatfield's.

Outside of music, Tony was a skilled craftsman who owned Hubbard Interiors, and he was an avid hockey player, a loving husband and father, and a kind man who loved to tell a joke. Tony is survived by his wife Cami, four children (including Chris), three grandchildren, and four siblings. Having lost a parent myself, I can relate to what Chris and the Hubbard family are going through right now, and while public media of Tony's more recent bands was always surprisingly elusive, he was an accomplished drummer and a familiar face for many who frequented the local concert scene in the E.U.P. into the late 2010s. R.I.P. Tony!

Recent Sault Michigan Updates, Including Band Breakups, Songs, Page Deletions, And More!!

While I'm out at The Algonquin Pub with The Ripcordz and local metal openers, I have a special auto-post for you Sault Michigan/Eastern U.P. readers on our 48th straight day of SMS posts, so what do we have today? Along with some recent assorted news, we have two likely band breakups and two other familiar hard rock band page deletions, but first, let's start with some more upbeat news courtesy of new material from a regional solo artist, that being Dafter solo musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, who posted a couple of new original songs onto his YouTube channel in the past couple of weeks! One is "I'm Lost Without You" from his most recent EP "Doo Hickey", but the other is a brand new track named "Burn Notice" (title inspired by the show), and the song comes complete with an epic action movie-style graphic! A hard rock instrumental, it's not blisteringly fast, but it's well performed and has a nice groove to it's riffs (though no word on if it will be on an album of the same name or his announced next disc "Perception".) Check out "Burn Notice" below, and stay tuned for more SweetKenny updates!

Next up, we have two band breakups/descents into inactivity to note across the river, starting with the news that young Sault Michigan hardcore band The Eleventh Hour have apparently parted ways. A reason wasn't announced, but their Facebook page (and only online page, sadly) was recently deleted, which usually indicates that a band broke up. Featuring Hoist The Sails & Chained Memories alumni, their early demos showed promise, but I've found that newer extreme metal bands in Sault Michigan have often struggled to get off the ground. Hopefully the guys all stay active in music, and best of luck to Sean, Cathy, Cody, Josh, Joe, and their other former bandmates in the future! The other likely defunct band is Elements of Madness, a Sault Michigan/Newberry hard rock project that was active from June 2011 through last April, and they'll have hit a year since their last Facebook page update on Thursday, so it's very likely they've fallen inactive too. Their YouTube samples had glimmers of promise, but I don't think they ever were able to get off the ground beyond those clips. Like with The Eleventh Hour, I wish Cody, Tyler, Joe, Kyle, and Landon nothing but the best going forward, and hopefully they get in new bands down the road!

Also today, here's notes on two defunct Sault Michigan hard rock bands that now have no surviving online pages, those being the early 2010s Nixxon Dixxon-successor bands Splitshot & Trail's End. Both had their Facebook pages deleted for unknown reasons at some point in recent months, though both haven't been active in a year or more anyway, so that's likely linked. As you may remember, Splitshot saw Nixxon Dixxon's Chris Hubbard & Kyle Beaumont joining forces with their dads and singer Dave Menard for covers-centric shows all over the Eastern U.P. from late 2010 until the end of the next year, later adding Nixxon Dixxon bandmate Jake LaLonde on drums after he returned from the Musicians Institute in California. After Chris, Kyle, and Jake launched Trail's End in the fall of 2011, Splitshot disbanded by the end of the year, and Trail's End (who had some original material) played live a handful of times in early 2012 before quietly parting ways, with Chris joining Dave from Splitshot in 415E, and Kyle & Jake joining forces with Fallen Heroes in The London Gentlemen.

These page deletions haven't meant a loss of major info, and aside from Trail's End's song "Run" (which was deleted from their YouTube channel for unknown reasons too), they had no media, but these (and The Eleventh Hour) still contribute to a pet peeve of mine, which is broken up bands deleting any trace of their existence. Fans still wanna read up on & check out defunct bands, and I wish old pages would be left alone so that we didn't rely mainly on memories for our old band remembrances. Still, I know their current bands have already accomplished a lot more than Splitshot & Trail's End did, and hopefully they see much more success soon, but maybe down the road, "Run" or some videos of either band will finally surface!

Finally for today, here's four shorter recent stories from the Sault Michigan area, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:

• Toast guitarist Mike Libertoski is looking for a singer to provide vocals for at least three of his solo technical/progressive metal original songs ("Information", "Matter", and "Particles"), all of which are streamable on his Soundcloud page. If you're interested, send vocal samples or a message to Mike at this location, and hopefully he finds someone who can match his noticeable talents!
• Local classical metal standouts Theatre of Night have posted a new song named "Winter" onto their Reverbnation page, which may be a reworked variant of the deleted "A Wintery Mix", but it has a very heavy symphonic metal feel that fans of their earlier original work should appreciate! Check it out at the above links, and look for more Theatre of Night originals soon!
• After a few months of quiet activity, Eckerman studio/label Werehold Records revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they may find some new material to share online during "spring cleaning", and it may not have to wait for another Friday the 13th posting spree in September to get unveiled. Might we finally hear Awaken Eidolon in these plans, among their diverse metal/techno roster of Michigan artists? I'll keep you guys posted!

That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for my review of the Ripcordz concert! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Driven), 3 Inches Of Blood Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Our busy July at the SMS continues tonight with another news post, and today, we have some Sault Michigan/St. Ignace concert venue details & changes, new concert videos from a recent hardcore punk show, and a preview of a major metal concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall at a new location for our coverage!

Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven have two more St. Ignace stops lined up this year, but not at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. If you've followed Driven in recent years, you'll know that one of their favourite area venues is Timmy Lee's Pub, "the U.P.'s official welcome center", which has hosted live music frequently in recent years (and we'll talk a bit more about the venue itself in a bit), but Driven will return to Timmy Lee's Pub at 748 West U.S. Highway 2 in St. Ignace for a concert weekend on what should be August 31st & September 1st! Their schedule says September 1st & 2nd, but that'd mean they were playing Saturday and Sunday, which I think is wrong, but if my assumption is what's wrong, I'll correct that on here! These join shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino at the end of that month as well. Also, note that I missed Driven's shows at Timmy Lee's this past weekend, but with the news and posts we've been swamped with this month, I'm regrettably not surprised. Apologies to Driven & their fans for the missed dates, but don't miss their next St. Ignace stops in 2012!

Their upcoming shows at Timmy Lee's should have 9:30 PM-ish start times and 21+ age limits, while a cover charge hasn't been announced. Check the above links for more details! It's good to see Driven coming back to St. Ignace more this year, so stay tuned for more on their next local trips on the site as I hear of it!

We'll get back to some Sault Michigan venue news in a second, but first, here's a big Sault Ontario concert preview, as 3 Inches of Blood are coming to The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! In their at least second show here (having rocked the Soo circa 2003), this very popular and talented Vancouver power metal quintet will bring their fast paced power metal sounds (with occasional death/hardcore flourishes) to what should be an impressive crowd tomorrow at The Rosie, including material from their new album "Long Live Heavy Metal"! Also of note: their current bassist is Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad alum Byron Stroud, which is notable in & of itself! Joining them on their Long Live Heavy Metal Canadian Tour are Charlotte, North Carolina thrash/death metal quintet Wretched (not The Wretched as some local press have called them), and they'll be sure to melt faces with their hard hitting blend of metal sounds and venomous lyrics tomorrow as well! The local openers include local melodic death metal notables The Bear Hunters and Battle For The Blood winners Winkstinger, both of whom will have some diversely entertaining originals for their fans at The Rosie tomorrow night, so be there early so you don't miss them!

Admission will be $10 if there are any tickets left at the door, which isn't a guarantee. At last word, tickets were still available at The Rosie and at Music Depot, while The Rad Zone's supply was sold out, so if you don't have your ticket yet, there's your options! This will be a 19+ event, and the doors open at 9:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be quite a huge concert, and hopefully I'll see you guys all there for it! While I admittedly find the vocals for 3 Inches of Blood to be very forced, their music quality and talent is top notch, and I wouldn't miss this show for anything, and the openers will bring their own brutality as well! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's 3 Inches of Blood's music video for their new song "Metal Woman"!



Thirdly tonight, here's some new videos from a recent concert, namely Maximum RNR's local return at The Rockstar Bar on June 30th! The 705 Video Magazine's Fred Kember shot 3 videos of the Toronto hardcore punk quintet's latest local concert that were uploaded to the 705VM YouTube channel the day afterwards, and though the same scratchy audio problems that plagued their Garden of Bedlam videos are back here, they give a nice quality look at Maximum RNR in action, especially for frontman (and Sault native) Diamond Brent Panther's on/off stage intensity! When I said he's his own mosh pit, I meant it, and you can see proof in this video, this video, and the one below (not sure of the song titles, they didn't mention them live), so give these videos a look above and right here!



Finally for today, here's the Sault Michigan venue news I alluded to above! First, in terms of Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace, it's definitely a popular bar from what I can tell, and they also have a full menu and TVs for sports events, so it seems like a nice enough location, even being featured in the Yooper Bars book from last year, and having merchandise for sale! Regulars will know better than I for it's appeal, but check out their website and their Facebook page for more! Also of note: their Facebook page includes rare live photos of defunct local hard rock band Splitshot (pictured) from a May 2011 show there with their original lineup, and it's good to finally see the guys live over 6 months after they broke up, even as photos! Finally, we've added both Timmy Lee's & the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino to our Sault Michigan (and area) concert venue links at the bottom right, while moving two to our Other Local Metal Links, those being The Savoy Bar & Nightclub and Zim's. Neither have hosted a metal/hard rock show in over a year that I've heard about, so to keep the concert venue links current, I moved them out of that section, but if I hear of one or both returning to active metal/hard rock booking, I guarantee I'll move them back!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Rosie tomorrow night for 3 Inches Of Blood, and if I can get some stories for a new news post tomorrow, I'll get one up! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Turner Up), New Videos, And More Assorted News!!

Hey guys, it's time for another news post at the SMS, and before we get into it, if you notice that the background is now static on the site, that's on purpose. I thought that'd be easier on the eyes for readers rather than a constantly scrolling background when reading posts, and it's easier for future customization, so don't be alarmed! In today's post, we have some new videos from some local acts, a bunch of assorted news items, and leading things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic hard rock quintet Turner Up will return to the local concert stage THIS SATURDAY, but not at a venue you'd expect. In just their third concert weekend since the new Turner Up's launch last year, they'll be rocking the Sportscentre Bar & Grill at 624 Wellington Street West on Saturday, in what I think is the first show from any version of Turner Up at this spot. For reference sake, the Sportcentre Bar & Grill is beside Wizards Cuts, it's a road over from Carmen's Way, and it's close to the Steelton area, in case you're curious of it's location. We haven't seen Turner Up in four weeks (though 4/5ths of them have played more often in Havadder in between), so if you've missed their brand of classic hard rock covers, then don't miss them at this West End concert on Saturday night! There is no announced cover charge, there's no Friday date this weekend, everything starts at 10:00 PM, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Though I'm not familiar with this venue at all, Turner Up should deliver another solid set of rocking covers, so definitely consider attending this concert if you can, and stay tuned for more on it later this week!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with another new album teaser from Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal quintet End of Existence! Hot on the heels of their first teaser from Sunday, the band has posted a 79 second trailer featuring a preview of another song from their planned debut album that's coming out on February 29th. The visuals here use similar effects to the first video, though the featured photo is of guitarist Steven Giles. Are we getting one trailer video featuring each band member in the lead-up to the album's release? I dunno, but this is another promising preview, so check it out below, and I'll keep you guys posted as updates roll in!



Also in new videos are three new solo performance videos from ApocalyptiCDistroyeR frontman Jesse Middaugh, who has uploaded three new videos onto the band's YouTube channel over the past nine days. One is (oddly enough) a short rough guitar cover of Bruno Mars' "Grenade", which seems out of place, but his playing isn't bad. He also uploaded a new cover of Three Days Grace's "(I Hate) Everything About You", this time with a new electric guitar of his, and he sounds alright on it, especially with a plugged in version, though the transitions between verses and choruses are choppy sounding. Embedded below though is his new original demo, tentatively titled "The Special One", and he shows some nice softer acoustic playing here for this newest original, so give it a look below, and check the above links for more solo and band material from ApocalyptiCDistroyer's channel!



And finally for today, here's three assorted stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, website, or channel name:

• If you're an active local music forum user or reader, you may have noticed that the 705 Video Magazine forums were down lately. This is due to a move to a new host and planned relaunch, and from what I'm hearing, the new site and it's content will be more impressive than ever before. Sit tight, things will be back up and running soon!
• Brimley metal quartet Half A Man have unveiled their first official new band photos since their late 2011 lineup changes, and you can check them out via postings on their Facebook page, which also finally has an updated band lineup on the information section as well. The pictures look good, and hopefully we'll hear some more exciting news from them shortly!
• I've updated our YouTube Channel Profile of myangels1266's YouTube channel to reflect the fact that channel owner Cami Hubbard's son Chris' band Splitshot is now defunct. Not a major change, but I thought you guys should know just in case!
  

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, and just FYI, our very next post on the SMS website will be our 1,000th overall! Amazing how fast three years of blogging go when you enjoy what you do, huh? Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & Powerslug), New Year's Weekend Concert Previews, Plus The End Of Splitshot!!

It's time for our final concert preview post of 2011, and though the Sault Ontario side of things is surprisingly quiet for metal concerts, there's some hard rocking for you guys to take in in Sault Michigan to send out 2011 and welcome 2012 with! So that's the focus today, but there's also some lineup details for one band and a note on one ending their run outside of town this weekend, so let's kick things off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!!

Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to the Sault Michigan stage on New Year's Eve to rock Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) and send out 2011 in style! This New Year's Eve job (as they often call their shows) will be their first since their Pickford concert over Halloween weekend, and their first since confirming their new lineup (who I'll have more on in a second), but the music should be as varied and hard rocking as ever! As far as I can tell, they won't be playing at The Bird tonight, this is a one night only deal this weekend. They'll be on at 10:00 PM tomorrow night, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Banned back on stage, and hopefully they rock The Bird all night long as they welcome 2012 with their fans! And as for their lineup, Banned have added singer/keyboardist Mike Straw to their lineup, and enlisted bassist Jim Pentland to replace the departed Alex Schrovenwever, officially making them a quartet. The new members were quietly added to their Facebook page's lineup at some point in the past two months.

No word on if they played with Banned at the Pickford show in October, and I'm not familiar with either Mike or Jim musically, but hopefully they complement Alex & Don Traynor well for the new lineup, and go see them all rock The Bird tomorrow night! For a preview, here's Banned covering AC/DC's "TNT" in Sugar Island in August!



Also new this weekend, local hard rockers Powerslug will return to the stage to rock Dan's Place in nearby Rudyard for New Year's Eve! No word on if they're playing tonight, I haven't definitively heard either way, so I'll assume they're only playing tomorrow. My source for this new gig, Powerslug's first since their Kewadin Casino weekend earlier this month, is guitarist Chris Gurnoe's personal Facebook page, and apologies for the short notice. As expected, nothing was posted on the old River Witch Facebook page, which was deleted from Facebook anyway earlier this month, so I've deleted it from our band links, but if Powerslug ever launch a new official band page, I'll be sure to let you guys know! This talented quartet will likely be on at around 10:00 PM tomorrow night, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and I'd recommend calling Dan's Place to see if Powerslug are playing tonight or not before risking a drive out to Rudyard in case they are doubling up this weekend. Go check out their hard rocking sounds this weekend at Dan's Place, they'll be sure to impress, and I'll try to keep tabs on future Powerslug updates as they come in!

Now to the New Years Weekend shows we already knew about, starting with local hard rock quintet Swayze Train's debut at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! We've seen this talented band from members of Electric Motor Fish, Clownsack, The Slackjawed Rats, and Insipid Brutality numerous times in the second half of 2011, and now they'll finally land at The Rapids Lounge tonight & tomorrow night to ring in a new year with some solid hard rock and metal covers! I wish I could show you guys how they sound or look in concert (hopefully some media will come next year), but don't sleep on Swayze Train, they're one of the more promising new bands in Sault Michigan, so don't miss them! They should also be on at around 10:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, there's no announced cover charges, and once again, you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details, and definitely consider seeing this talented quintet at The Rapids Lounge this weekend for your year-end hard rocking needs!

Lastly for announced Sault Michigan-area hard rock shows this weekend is the announced return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to The Satisfied Frog tomorrow night & Saturday night in their own New Years Weekend bash! Now, I want you guys to take these shows with a grain of salt, as I've heard extremely little from NoXcape since September regarding a real band update, and though their Reverbnation page still lists these shows, it's possible it's just scarcely updated. As far as I can tell, they're still together, and unless I hear otherwise, I'll treat these shows as on, but be wary in case there's nothing going down at The Frog from them this weekend. If NoXcape are indeed returning to the stage this weekend, they'll be on at 10:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Hopefully NoXcape are playing this weekend, as their Absolute & Shift pasts indicate a solid hard hitting sound, but if I hear anything otherwise, I'll let you know. For now, consider these shows at The Frog tonight & tomorrow!

And finally today, though this is just out of our local range, I wanted to bring these up as they're the last chance you can see this local band before their breakup. Local hard rock quintet Splitshot are breaking up following the conclusion of their concert weekend at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace tonight & tomorrow night, as previously indicated by bassist Kyle Beaumont to me in an e-mail last month. I find it a bit odd that their last shows aren't local, but St. Ignace is only just an hour away, and if you wanna see them one last time before Splitshot parts ways, it won't be a huge drive. Of course, 3/5ths of Splitshot will begin to devote their musical focus to Trail's End next year, but Splitshot will be remembered for giving us a lot of great hard rock sets from their fall 2010 inception through the end of this year, and though the lack of posted audio or video from their sets was always a disappointment, their talents spoke for themselves live. They filled the gap between Nixxon Dixxon and Trail's End nicely, and they'll be missed locally! I'll likely be moving Splitshot into our inactive band links early in the new year, but go check them out in St. Ignace this weekend, and make sure to see most of their lineup with Trail's End next year!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of Garden of Bedlam's "Everything Will Die" and our look back at 2011 below! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Local Metal & Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

It's time to preview this weekend's metal and hard rock concerts in the Sault Ste. Marie area, and the next three days are notable for a number of beginnings, debuts, and ends for local bands in the area, including a new band's debut, another band's rebirth, a new lineup's first shows, and a local band's last shows in the Sault area. What all should you know for your weekend concert plans? Read on for all the details!

Firstly is TONIGHT'S 40th Roosevelt Hotel metal night, which is also the third under booker Stephane Vincent and (reportedly) the final one of 2011. Once again, three local metal bands are lined up with a mix of new and old to be seen, including headliners The Bear Hunters & Shit Liver in their record 17th respective appearances at Rosie metal nights! Be it a melodic death metal onslaught or a grimy and crusty brand of death metal, these two talented local bands will be sure to deliver some moshing good times tonight once again! Also joining them tonight is a brand new local band (the first to debut at a Rosie metal night in six months) and they are General Striker, a possibly one-off metal trio made up of the members of Late & Loud (minus Brendan Christie.) How will they sound? What's their setlist like? There's only one way to find out, and that's to head to The Rosie TONIGHT! As usual, there is a 19+ age limit tonight, there's no cover charge, and everything should start at around 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! And remember, there will not be a Rosie metal night on the current bi-weekly schedule on December 22nd for unknown reasons, so if you love this Thursday metal tradition, be at The Rosie TONIGHT!

This should be a very good concert with lots of heaviness in store for fans, and it will sure be interesting to hear General Striker in their debut as well, so definitely keep TONIGHT's show in mind! Be it death metal or some more classic old school metal, you'll find something to enjoy for sure! For a preview, here's The Bear Hunters playing their song "Karma" at The Rosie earlier this summer!



Also in concert previews, while we have a band debuting tonight, another local band makes their long awaited return to the local stage this weekend, as Caveman Morrison will rock The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! After a 5 month hiatus & a concert cancellation two weeks ago, this talented local metal cover trio will play their first concerts since July in Goulais River this weekend, in what will also be the debuts of their current lineup! Since their last shows in the summer, bassist Jacques Marceau has been replaced by James White of Redundant, while drummer Willie Bellerose was replaced by James' brother Rick, who himself returns to Caveman Morrison over a year & a half after leaving the band's bass position. How will the new Caveman Morrison lineup sound this weekend? I've heard positive things, but the only sure way to find out is to head to The Roosevelt Hotel tomorrow or Saturday night! There's is no announced cover charge for either stop this weekend, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is announced. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

It's about time that Caveman Morrison returned to the stage, and I know that their new lineup has a lot of promise for their fans, so definitely consider heading to The Rosie this weekend to take the new lineup in! Besides, if you're used to frontman Tym Morrison's solo shows, The Rosie isn't far from The Service Grill, so it's no issue for location either! Best of luck this weekend for sure, and for a preview, here's an older Caveman Morrison lineup featuring Tym and Rick covering Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" in 2009!



Amidst all the lineup debuts this weekend, there is a notable end in the area as well, as Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Splitshot will make their final local concert appearances tomorrow & Saturday night at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino. As previously reported on November 23rd, bassist Kyle Beaumont had told me that Splitshot were disbanding at the end of the year for unannounced reasons, with most of their lineup (save for Dave Menard & Gary Beaumont) moving on to Trail's End full time next year, leaving just their previously announced dates in the U.P. on their schedule, with their last shows in Sault Michigan lined up for this weekend. Note that these are not the last Splitshot concerts, as they'll be rocking the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace over New Years' Weekend, but St. Ignace is just out of our "local" range. Still, keep those dates in mind as well! Details are mostly scant for this weekend's shows, however, but I'd assume a 10:00 PM start time, a 21+ age limit, and no cover charge will be in effect as usual. Check the above links for more details! Though the end of Splitshot isn't here yet, it is disappointing to know that these are their last local concerts after over a year of successful and well recieved shows in the Upper Peninsula.

Despite never having media to share from their concerts, I know that the members of Splitshot have carried the torch from Nixxon Dixxon well over the past year, and we'll be sure to follow Trail's End next year as most of the band continues their musical journey! For one last chance to see Splitshot live in Sault Michigan, head to Kewadin Casino THIS WEEKEND, and also keep their New Years' Weekend shows in St. Ignace in mind as well, and if I hear anything more, I'll definitely let you guys know!

And finally for this weekend, it's the rebirth of Turner Up this Saturday night at Feedback! Nine months after the original Turner Up morphed into what is now Full Circle, the classic hard rock quintet has been reborn as a new band separate from Full Circle, and that means that for the first time since May, a band named Turner Up will grace a local concert marquee this Saturday! Their new lineup includes founding guitarist Robert Brown, longtime drummer Scott McLurg, and returning frontwoman Krista Marshall alongside new guitarist Jason Roy & bassist Travis Sharpe, and you know they'll have a great setlist of classic hard rock covers for fans at the former Foggy Notions on Saturday night! This is a one night only show this weekend, so don't miss the rebirth of Turner Up on Saturday, where there will likely be a 10:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and probably no cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Turner Up back, and even if they're not as frequent of a sight as Full Circle, the talent will surely be there when they do take the stage, so don't miss their return this weekend! For a preview, here's the old Turner Up covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" in January!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news by the weekend, along with this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Garage Inc. & Savage Roar on Saturday! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, Another Band's Return, And Much More!!

Here's one more news post before we profile the weekend's concerts tomorrow, but first, here's a cancellation to make note of. Earlier today, it was announced that Caveman Morrison's planned return shows this weekend at The Roosevelt Hotel have been cancelled due to a double booking, as local dance rock act Spyder's Web were already scheduled for shows on Friday & Saturday. That said, Caveman Morrison have been rescheduled for a weekend at The Rosie next month that I hope to have more on shortly, so stay tuned! Disappointing news for sure, but they'll be back before year's end, so it'll all work out! So for today, we have a new local band (and another that's breaking up), news from a prominent Sault Michigan band, and this week's classic video, so here's what you need to know!

Splitshot & ex-Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde have formed a new local hard rock trio named Trail's End! The band just launched their own Facebook page and YouTube channel yesterday, and in this new band, Chris, Kyle, and Jake appear to share vocal duties. Apparently, Trail's End will become the guys' primary band starting in January, with gigs to come for the new band starting in 2012. What does this spell for Splitshot? I'll tell you guys in a second, but first, Trail's End already have an original song to share with fans! Entitled "Run", this was posted onto their YouTube channel yesterday as well (along with song lyrics), but how does it sound? It's sort of a slower hard rock number, and it could work well as a single or an anthem of sorts! The band sounds good, but hopefully we'll hear some originals more like "High Life" or "One Shot Woman", but that's the metalhead in me talking. Nice solo from Chris too, and the vocals work for the tone of the song, though I'm not sure who's singing lead.

There's definitely promise here from Trail's End, so keep tabs on them as news comes out, and as I hear more from them, you guys will know, so check them out at the above links! Here's "Run", and Trail's End are now in our Sault Michigan active band links on your right!



That said, what does the birth of Trail's End mean for Splitshot? Well, according to bassist Kyle Beaumont in a recent e-mail (thanks to him for the above info!), I can confirm that Splitshot are breaking up at the end of the year. A reason for the split wasn't elaborated on, but we may hear more publically over the next month, and I don't know if Trail's End's inception is directly linked. Splitshot will play at least six more shows (four of them in St. Ignace), including one final weekend in Sault Michigan at The Rapids Lounge on December 9th & 10th, with their last shows taking place in St. Ignace at their Kewadin Casino over New Years weekend. Thanks again to Kyle for the above information! I have to say, despite never having media from their shows available, I'm surprised to hear that Splitshot are parting ways at year's end. That said, Trail's End have promise, and we'll of course look forward to seeing them around the U.P. next year! If the members' past resumes are any indicator of what to expect, then the sky's the limit! So keep Splitshot's last local concerts on December 9th and 10th in mind, and if anything else comes out concerning Splitshot's last month together or what Trail's End have in store for fans next, I'll be sure to let you guys know!

Next up, Half A Man are back in action with some interesting band updates! News from the Brimley hard rockers has been scant since the summer, mostly relating to stuff to watch out for, but they recently returned to the studio towards their forthcoming debut album with some news and updates to show for it! Firstly, it looks like Half A Man will be reduced to a 3 piece (or "3/8ths A Man") until "further notice", and from what I can gather, the absent member is guitarist Denny Breslin. It wasn't publically elaborated on if Denny has left the band or will simply be absent for a while, but if I hear more, I'll let you guys know! That said, the rest of Half A Man have posted two new videos onto their Facebook page, one of which features some new riffs towards new material, while the other is a very promising jam video which sounds very brutal! No vocals to speak of, and the angles and lighting ain't perfect, but it's awesome to hear some new Half A Man samples after a few months of waiting! They're still plugging away, and you know when more news from Half A Man comes out, I'll have it all here! Check the above links for more band news and to watch their new videos! (I can't embed them here.)

And finally, here's this week's classic video! For a second time in four weeks, we'll tie in the week's video with new local deathcore quartet View To A Kill (who headline TOMORROW'S 39th Roosevelt Hotel metal night), only this week, we'll focus in on singer Steve Rhodes! As you may know, Steve's also well known for his work in his other (possibly former?) local band State of Misery, and while we wait for new word on them, there's still videos from their late 2010-early 2011 heyday to share, like this jam session video of them playing their original song "Don't Break The Silence"! Like our earlier classic video from May, this is from a jam session circa December 28th, 2010, and it features the band's original lineup, with Steve on vocals, Ray Cowan on guitar, current rhythm guitarist Kevin D'Orazio on bass, and Nick Kainula on drums. It's similar quality to their "Cowboys From Hell" cover from this same day, but they shine more here because their originals are suited to their style, and it's a good performance! This video was uploaded onto Facebook on January 3rd by attendee Ashley Lacasse, and you can see the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=116057411799885.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Ashley and State of Misery, as they did all the hard work here, I'm just sharing this video with a wider audience like it deserves! With that said, give State of Misery's jam session rendition of "Don't Break The Silence" from last year a look below, and go see Steve with View To A Kill at The Rosie tomorrow night!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow, including a possible LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Just a week ago, we devoted a whole post to new videos, and now, we're doing it again! A bunch of new local metal-relevant videos have came to my attention over at YouTube, so today, we have another local metal video showcase for you guys! Included below are new solo performance videos from members of a Sault Michigan band, more archive audio from a 1980s Sault Ontario band, and a solo original from a local band frontman, so let's get things rolling!

Splitshot guitarist Chris Hubbard has posted two new solo performance videos onto his YouTube channel! Uploaded yesterday, the videos feature Chris rocking out some very nice solos on his Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar, one of which is a cover of Van Halen's "Eruption"! Comments from viewers on YouTube say it all, but this is a great cover of the classic Eddie Van Halen solo, and if you like Van Halen, definitely check it out at the above link! Chris has clear skill, and he puts it to use here! For length and content though, I've embedded his other new video below, where Chris tested out his new pickup. It's 10 minutes of varied solo guitar jamming and very cool soloing, and he's on fire through the whole video! Chris deserves more credit for his guitar work locally, and remember, you can next see him live with Splitshot on December 9th and 10th at The Rapids Lounge! Definitely check out his new videos above, and you can watch his new 10 minute video below!



Meanwhile, Chris' Splitshot/ex-Nixxon Dixxon bandmate Jake LaLonde has posted his own new solo video onto his YouTube channel yesterday, but it's not what you might expect. In this video, Jake is covering Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You", surprisingly enough, but honestly, Jake seems to have the drum track for this song down well! I'm no Cee-Lo Green fan, but "Fuck You" has a catchy element going for it, and it beats that Auto-Tuned garbage, so it could be a lot worse. Jake sounds good here, nice and clear, and he knows the track well! Nice performance overall, so give Jake's cover of "Fuck You" a look below!



Next up, here's some cool new recordings of a 1980s local hard rock band! Like his earlier upload of a Satric song, these come from Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci, who uploaded two audio recordings of his mid-1980s band Exodus onto his YouTube channel over the last two days! These came from a live cassette that he recently found from a concert circa 1985, and they featured Mario along with then-bandmates Steve Scali on vocals, Ernie DiBerardino on guitar, Tony Rota on bass, and Angelo Foggia on drums. The posted songs are of Exodus covering Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and, as posted below, Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", but how do they sound! Pretty good, they seem to know the songs well and inject their own flavour, but the recording is slightly muddy. This was the 1980s though, so I'm not expecting the world, I'm just letting you guys know.

Sounds like they were a talented band with chemistry, but the Blue Oyster Cult cover needs more cowbell.... too obvious? Good stuff, so check out more from Mario's past and present output above, and here's Exodus covering "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" from the mid 1980s!



And finally, here's another new solo performance video from ApocalyptiCDistroyeR frontman Jesse Middaugh, who posted this video of him playing an acoustic original song named "You Mean The World To Me" on the band's YouTube channel on Monday. It's rough and slightly repetitive, but it does have some emotion and meaning in the lyrics, and everything's clear enough. Not the heaviest thing that Jesse or the band have released, but if you wanna hear a rough take of an acoustic song, this is worth a listen, so give Jesse's new video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news over the next few days, including another metal-relevant Sault Star article, our next YouTube Channel Profile on Garden of Bedlam guitarist Josh Belleau's old channel, and more! Thanks everyone!

Sault Michigan Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

With a typically stacked Halloween weekend for concerts, I've been left no choice but to separate this weekend's concert previews by city, and because I'm waiting for additional confirmation on a pair of dates in Sault Ontario, we'll start the previews with the Sault Michigan metal and hard rock shows over the next two nights! If you want to know where the heaviest Halloween shows are across the river, this should tell you, though a couple of the shows are kinda iffy on their statuses. That said, here's what you need to know for the announced Halloween weekend shows across the river!

First for Halloween weekend metal concerts in Sault Michigan is the return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to the concert stage tomorrow night and Saturday night! These are the first scheduled concerts for the band featuring the classic Absolute lineup and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl in over a month, but they're listed on band pages to return to The Satisfied Frog for two hard hitting Halloween weekend shows over the next couple nights! I'm slightly concerned though, as band pages have not been updated since September, and there's been no advance promotion for these concerts in recent weeks, so part of me is worried that these bookings are or were in jeopardy. Unless I hear otherwise though, I'll treat these shows as still on, but I'll keep tabs on them! That all said, there's no announced cover charge for either night, you must be 21 to attend, and I imagine they'll be on at 10:00 PM or later for both shows. For more details, check the above links!

Saying that these shows go down as scheduled, I'd expect NoXcape to rock The Frog with some awesome covers and (maybe?) originals, so keep these shows in mind for your Halloween weekend plans! Though there's no videos of NoXcape to my knowledge, get a preview of their sound by clicking here to see old Absolute videos from their heyday!

Next on the weekend schedule across the river, it's two metal bands for the price of one at The Merchant's Bar for their Halloween bash, as local hard rock acts Scofflaw and Powerslug will join forces for two consecutive nights! The two bands, who both share drummer Ivan Schliska, will play their first joint gigs since LemmaFest (when Powerslug was still River Witch) this weekend, and look out for some different but always entertaining varieties of hard rock from both bands over the next two nights! The Merch has Halloween plans for the weekend as well, including a Halloween costume contest for $100 on Saturday and Halloween-themed drink specials, so keep those in mind for if you head there this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and though the announced start time is 7:00 PM, I expect the bands wouldn't actually take stage until after 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Scofflaw back, and it gave us more and fuller concerts for the holiday weekend to boot, so hopefully their grungier hard rock style and Powerslug's newer covers mesh well this weekend! Go see the two bands rock The Merch if you can, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their song "Love Destroyer"!



The other metal/hard rock Halloween weekend shows that I know of across the river take place just outside of town, but they're certainly not far from Sault Michigan, so keep these shows in mind! Firstly, local hard rock quintet Splitshot will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan tomorrow night & Saturday night! The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde (along with Dave Menard and Kyle's dad(?) Gary) will play for what could be the first time at the Barbeau restaurant & concert spot this weekend, and yes, there'll be lots of Halloween stuff going on this weekend as well, including a costume contest on Saturday night as part of The Cozy Corners' own Halloween party! And yes, Splitshot are sure to have lots of hard rock covers in store for you hard rockers, so don't forget about the music! There will be a 9:30 PM start time both nights, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Though I still can't tell you much about Splitshot's sound, they'll be sure to rock you guys all weekend long, especially for the Halloween party on Saturday night, so keep these shows in mind as well for your weekend plans!

And finally, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford, Michigan on Saturday night only for that bar's own Halloween festivities! This show was originally scheduled for tomorrow night, but the band confirmed it was moved to Saturday last month, so don't get thrown off! Now, I'm slightly wary of this concert's status too, for a couple of reasons. Banned still haven't announced a replacement for bassist Alex Schrovenwever, who left the group a few weeks ago, and the status that confirmed this show was deleted from their Facebook page. However, other statuses there still reference it, as does the promo video that guitarist Alex Traynor's sister Ashley uploaded two weeks ago, which is still online without changes. Are they playing on Saturday, and if so, who'll be playing bass? I can't say for the latter (former live guest bassists Steve Jacobus or Eric Cairns are good guesses), but with no official retraction of the date, I'll treat this show as on unless I hear otherwise. If they're on, they'll hit the stage at around 10:00 PM, a Halloween costume contest with prizes is planned, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details!

If Banned are indeed rocking The Sundown Lounge this weekend, they'll deliver some great hard rock covers for sure, so head to Pickford on Saturday night if you know they're playing and wanna rock out for the Halloween season! For a preview, here's Banned covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock N' Roll" in Pickford last month!



That's all for now, but our next post should have Sault Ontario weekend concert previews, so stay tuned for all that! Thanks everyone, and have a spooky good weekend of Halloween concerts!

Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews (Including Joan Jett) And New Videos!!

It's Sault Michigan concert preview time, and there's a pretty major concert going down this weekend for your live music fix, so we'll give that the proper attention to kick things off! Stay tuned afterwards for the other weekend previews across the river (Sault Ontario previews are likely coming later today) and some new videos from a recent major concert, but now, here's what you need to know for this weekend's main event!

Multiplatinum hard rock legend Joan Jett is coming to Sault Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT! The female rock pioneer known for hits like "Bad Reputation", "I Love Rock N' Roll", and "I Hate Myself For Loving You" will take the stage at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino with her band The Blackhearts for a night of rock classics! To my knowledge, this is her first time playing a show in the twin Saults, but if memory serves me correctly, she headlined at Cornfest on St. Joseph Island years back, so she hasn't been too far from the area! I haven't heard a ton of buzz for the show compared to some other major Kewadin concerts, but rest assured, Joan still rocks as much as she did in the 1980s, and you won't wanna miss her tomorrow night! As far as I can tell, there's no opening band. Tickets are $44.50 American for this show, and they are still available, but if you're buying general admission tickets, only standing room only is currently available. Click here to buy tickets online, visit the Kewadin box office in person, or call 1-800-KEWADIN to get hooked up! This show should be all ages, and everything starts tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. For more details, check the above links!

It's always good to see some hard rock superstars at Kewadin Casino, and Joan Jett fits the bill nicely! She's made her mark with tons of memorable hits dating back to The Runaways, and good times should be guaranteed tomorrow night! She's aged really well too, so the songs shouldn't sound too different than back in the day! Hopefully you guys can make it to the show, stay tuned for fallout from it as it comes out, and here's Joan's music video for her cover of Sweet's "A.C.D.C."!



Now, if you're in the mood for more rock n' roll at Kewadin after Joan Jett wraps things up (or if you're at the casino on Saturday), good news, as Splitshot will return to The Rapids Lounge tomorrow & Saturday night themselves! These shows are new additions to their concert schedule, following local Southern rockers The Hixx's exit from this weekend's dates, so don't forget about the shorter notice new concerts! Also, these are the first Splitshot shows I've been able to confirm featuring new drummer Jake LaLonde (ex-Nixxon Dixxon), but I believe he played at least one or two weekends with them before I found out he replaced Tony Hubbard last week. Either way, it's cool to see him back in a local band! They'll be on at around 9:00 PM or later tomorrow & Saturday, so you Joan Jett fans (of age) can stop right in after she's done! There's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! This sounds like another good weekend for Splitshot, so don't miss their hard rock cover attack if you can help it! No videos to preview their set with though, but hopefully soon, so go check them out!

Let's close this post with new videos, and first, we have new videos from the Napalm Death concert at Feedback on Saturday night! Once again, these are from attendee & local guitarist Neno Jovanovic, and he's uploaded three more videos from the show onto his YouTube channel, including another from Napalm Death's set! This time around, the video features the British grindcore legends playing SIX songs, almost all from their 1987 debut album "Scum", and in order, they played "Scum", "Life?", "Control", "M.A.D.", and "You Suffer" (the Guinness World Record holder for the world's shortest song... blink & you'll miss it!), followed by their cover of The Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks Fuck Off"! With only one of these songs exceeding 2 minutes in length, we get a lot of bang for our buck in this video, so definitely check out Napalm Death revisiting songs from their first album live in Sault Ontario below! Also, here's an interesting fact: No current member of Napalm Death played on the "Scum" album. They still brutalize when playing these songs though!



And finally, Neno also provided us with two new videos of the local openers, including out first video glimpse at Shit Liver's set! First though, he uploaded a video of The Bear Hunters playing their original song "Render This Void", which apparently capped off their set, and they did it in style for sure! Nice and heavy, as you'd expect, but I prefer "Bloodthirst" from the last video just for song preferences. Click here to check it out! The other new video is of Shit Liver's co-headlining set, and in this video, they covered Macabre's "Unabomber"! About as grimy as you'd expect, but it's some of the best quality audio I've heard to go with their music, and they appear to be playing as well as we've come to expect from them! It'd be interesting to see video of the new songs that the local bands reportedly played on Saturday, and of course, video footage of Calgary death metal band Wake's set, but I don't know if Neno filmed anything else. Great stuff all around though, so check the above links for the rest of the currently uploaded Napalm Death footage, and here's Shit Liver covering Macabre from this past Saturday night!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Ontario weekend concert previews either later today or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Splitshot, Half Past, And Helix) Plus Updates On The Coch's Corner Halloween Party!!

Alright, we have a stacked news post to get to today, probably our best for news quality in a while! I say that because we have updates to this year's Coch's Corner Halloween Party, a new addition to a local band, and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for SIX newly announced concerts, so here's what you need to know, starting in chronological order for the new shows!

Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Splitshot have announced an additional four concerts in the Sault area for their remaining 2011 schedule, all of which take place this month! Firstly, the band featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni will return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino next weekend for two shows! They're replacing local southern rockers The Hixx, who were previously announced for October 21st & 22nd on Kewadin's entertainment page. A reason for the switch hasn't been publicized by either band, but I know The Hixx parted ways with guitarist Gary Hatch (from Grooves Music) last month, so that could be connected. Should be good to see Splitshot back at the casino sooner than expected, so keep their shows next weekend in mind! The next weekend, Splitshot will play The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill for the first time since forming last fall for shows on the 28th and 29th, the latter of which will be a Halloween bash, so you know that'll be worth hitting in your best costume! Nice to see some more Halloween weekend concerts on deck, and Splitshot should do great! All four new shows should have 9:30 PM-ish start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Click here for more details!

Splitshot (despite no audio or videos to preview them with yet) should have some great hard rock in store over the next two weekends, so don't miss them at Kewadin or in Barbeau if you can help it! Also in Splitshot news, according to their Facebook page's info section, the band added former Nixxon Dixxon drummer Jake LaLonde to their lineup earlier this fall, replacing Tony Hubbard. No reason was publicized for the switch, but it strikes me as odd, as I thought Jake was still attending the Musicians Institute in California? Either he only went for one year, or they changed the lineup in preparation for his local return, but I don't know either way. If this is accurate, it's great to see Jake back with his old Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Chris Hubbard and Kyle Beaumont, and you know they have chemistry, so hopefully the new lineup does well! Maybe we could see a Nixxon Dixxon reunion sooner than we'd thought now? I dunno, but it'd be cool! Best of luck to Tony too, hopefully he gets into a new band down the road! Stay tuned for more Splitshot news as I hear it!

Also for new concerts, it's the return of Half Past to the concert stage, as they'll rock The Rockstar Bar next Saturday! This will be the talented quartet's first concert since they debuted with new singer Jordan Rains in August, and just their fourth in the past 19 months (following their last Rockstar Bar show in February and their two Hempfest sets this year.) They'll also have a guest bassist for this October 22nd concert in lieu of Arthur Lacasse, but band pages have yet to publically acknowledge the guest's identity or why Arthur isn't playing. For the record, I do know who's filling in and why, but I'll wait to comment until the band announces something on their bass situation formally. This concert will have a $3 cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and it all should start at around 10:30 PM. Band merchandise will also be on sale. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Pencil me in to check out Half Past next Saturday, as I am long overdue to see a local concert of any type, let alone a Half Past one! It does conflict with this year's Zombie Walk which I hope to attend, but I think I can hit both! Stay tuned for more Half Past news as it comes in, and make note of their return to the stage on October 22nd, it will be a good one!

While we're on the subject of Rockstar Bar shows, here's possibly the biggest one of the post, and if you've missed them since their last local appearance, you'll be amped up for this concert, as Helix are coming back to Sault Ontario! The Kitchener metal legends (best known for their classic single "Rock You") will headline at The Rockstar Bar on December 3rd, almost three and a half years after they last rocked fans at The Canadian Nightclub in July 2008! This will also be their current lineup's first show here, as most of their 2008 lineup left the next year due to a reunion of Helix's classic 1980s lineup's surviving members. Full details are not out yet for this concert, but posters for it are reportedly already up at The Rockstar Bar in advance of it, and Helix also lists the show on their website's tour schedule, so that's as good of proof as any! I expect this show will be 19+ with a higher than usual cover charge, but exact specifics (including start times and possible openers) aren't known yet, unless they're on the posters at The Rockstar Bar, but I haven't seen them yet. For reference sake, Helix's 2008 show here featured Stillbroke as openers, in case that helps at all. Check the above links for the current details on this show!

I'm happy to see Helix back, and I know they went over really well their last time here, so hopefully a huge crowd turns out on December 3rd for most of their classic lineup! Definitely give them a listen, they're Canadian metal legends, and hopefully I'll be there to rock with other fans! Stay tuned for more official details on this concert as they come in!

And finally for this stacked news post, more official word on this year's Coch's Corner Halloween Party is now out, thanks to a new Facebook event page! Like every year since 2006, we know that Coch's Corner will be decked out in Halloween decorations and ambiance, and lots of people in costume will be ready for good times and great bands, but now we have mostly complete details on what to expect! For bands, we already knew Frightlight were headlining, in their first local concert with new drummer Chris FreaknStein (a.k.a. Chris Thompson from Half Past), but what other bands will join them? T. Rex Manning and The 151s, but I have no clue who they are. I assume "T. Rex Manning" is a reference to Rex Manning from the movie "Empire Records", and "The 151s" could refer to Bacardi 151, but I'd be lying if I said I knew anything about either band. I wouldn't be surprised if one had the same lineup as The Mothermakers from last year's Halloween show, but I can't say definitively. If you can identify one or both bands, let me know! As previously predicted, there will be a $5 cover (which isn't standard for Coch's Corner, but totally worth it for the Halloween experience), a 19+ age limit, and there will be a costume contest with prizes, with doors opening at 10:00 PM. Check the above links for all current details!

This is shaping up to be a great Halloween party, whether I know who the opening bands are or not, and you can guarantee I'll be at Coch's Corner with a costume in tow! If I hear anything extra on this year's Coch's Corner Halloween party, bands or otherwise, you'll hear it here, and kudos to Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe on another quality poster!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for more weekend previews or some videos, I'm not sure which yet. Stay tuned!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fifth Column & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

The weekend is near, so let's preview this weekend's local metal and hard rock concerts! I might be missing some late notice shows, but for now, here's all that's going down on the heavy end of the local music spectrum from Thursday-Saturday, including some Sault Michigan shows, and leading things off, SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know!

The 36th Roosevelt Hotel metal night will indeed be going down TONIGHT, though it's probably the most punk-leaning we've seen yet, so if you love punk, take note! The only true "metal" band tonight is Espanola metal quartet Fifth Column, who are making their first ever appearance in Sault Ste. Marie for this show! Nice to see some new Northern Ontario blood making their way to the Soo, and they're definitely talented with some clear hardcore and death metal influences, so definitely check them out at their official Reverbnation page! Hopefully this won't be the last we see of Fifth Column! Aside from them, we've got a ton of punk in store, including headlining punk trio The Nailheads from Montreal! I dig these guys and their old school punk sound, and if you miss seeing attitude-filled punk rock shows in town, The Nailheads will be up your alley for sure! As well, local punk trio Redundant will return to The Rosie as local support, and with a talented lineup of local veterans (all with metal pasts), you won't want to miss them tonight either! I apologize for the short notice of this show, Dismembertainment only just formally announced it last night. There will be a $2 cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and everything should start at 9:30 PM or later TONIGHT! Check the above links for more details!

This should be another solid Thursday nighter at The Rosie, so head there TONIGHT if you can! Punk fans will be right at home, but there's something for you metalheads too, and with Fifth Column making their local debut, you know you're in for some heavy metal you've never seen locally before! Check out the above links to hear each band, and for a preview, here's Fifth Column's music video for their original song "Beyond Good & Evil"!



Also new to the weekend schedule is the return of Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison to Service Grill Pizza on Saturday night! This is his third straight weekend at the Korah Road restaurant, and note that the Facebook event page says that he's playing there "every Saturday" again, implying that he's back on a weekly schedule at the Service Grill. Good to hear if this sticks, I know his summer series there went well! So look out for Tym's acoustic hard rock and metal covers all night on Saturday, I know they'll be great! Like his last few Service Grill shows, Tym will only be playing the night set at 8:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and I don't believe there's a cover charge. For more details, check the above links! It's always good to see Tym break out the acoustic guitar for a solo concert, so don't miss him on Saturday night at the Service Grill if you want some live hard rock! For a preview, here's Tym Morrison and former Half Past singer Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words" in Heyden in 2008!



Now to the previously announced hard rock/metal concerts in the Sault area (all in Sault Michigan that I know of), and we'll start with the return of local hard rock quintet Splitshot to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino! The band featuring former Nixxon Dixxon members Chris Hubbard & Kyle Beaumont will return to the local stage for the first time in almost two months when they rock Kewadin Casino's bar tomorrow night and Saturday night for what should be two hard rocking nights of music! The band haven't plugged the shows on their Facebook page yet, but they should be on as scheduled, especially with Kewadin Casino plugging them on their entertainment page. So head to Kewadin to see Splitshot tomorrow night & Saturday night at around 9:00 PM each night! There's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter. Check the above links for more details! These should be good shows, and you know there's talent to be had, so don't miss Splitshot this weekend! I wish I could preview them further with a video or some audio samples, but I still have nothing from them, despite the fact that they've been around for almost a year. Hopefully soon, but check them out over the next few days, they'll rock!

And finally, local hard rock quintet Swayze Train are scheduled to return to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan this weekend as well! The new-ish band formed out of the ashes of Electric Motor Fish this summer were originally scheduled to play at The Frog tomorrow night & Saturday night, but the Friday show's Facebook event page is no longer featured on their pages, with just Saturday's event page remaining. I take it that means the Friday show is now off (for publically unknown reasons), but in all fairness, I haven't seen plugs on their pages for Saturday's show either. That's slightly concerning, but unless I hear otherwise, I'll assume that Swayze Train are still rocking The Frog on Saturday night. With that said, they should be on at around 10:00 PM on Saturday, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! Swazye Train should deliver a great show this weekend, and if you want something to do on Saturday night, head to The Satisfied Frog for some talented female fronted local hard rock, you won't wanna miss them! Stay tuned for possible videos or media from Swayze Train if it comes in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this week's classic video, another archive album upload, and more either tomorrow or Saturday! Thanks everyone!