For our last news post of October 2023, let's preview the two known hard rock shows on Halloween night proper (unfortunately on a Tuesday this year), along with a mini-concert review and video from this past weekend, so here's what you should know!
We'll start at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where their stacked lineup of Halloween events concludes with local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns taking the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This Halloween night event will be nothing too new for the Speers' & company, having played at The Whisky Barrel over Halloween weekend last year, while their old sister band The Elements were a frequent sight at Halloween concerts in their heyday. Unless they played somewhere since and didn't advertise it, tomorrow's show will be be The Stallyns' first gig since playing at The Water Tower Pub early last month, and it will feature all of Shooters' Halloween frills, including drink specials, spooky decor, later kitchen hours and a costume contest. Gift cards await the attendees with the best overall costume, best couples costume, and best makeup, much like at the shows on the weekend.
Tonight's festivities are at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. October 31st or not, tomorrow's concert will not be timed ideally for many, hence why it's good that Shooters had Soundcheck playing on Friday and Saturday for those who have work/school to worry about on Wednesday, but if you can brave the work week timing, The Wyld Stallyns' varied and often heavy covers should turn some heads for the occasion tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Stallyns live in concert last year!
Next up, five different acts will take the stage at The Art Hub At Spring for a rare post-pandemic multi-band Halloween concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Now, full disclosure that organizers are calling this a "private event", but the show is being publically advertised with a publically known venue, so the verbiage is intended to reflect that they want you to RSVP to attend rather than just waltz in as normal. Given that, I'll cover it on the SMS, but make sure you RSVP via the Facebook event page if you want to guarantee that they'll let you in. Five acts are scheduled to rock The Art Hub tomorrow, and if the poster order is any indication, local metal trio The BAG will headline the festivities. A mystery act named the Psychic Spies are listed before them, and while I don't know any 100% details on them/their sound, a possible sonic hint is that "psychic spies" are the first words sung in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication". Could that be a red herring?
The middle band are new local rock quartet Skinbox (featuring Pixo Control, Gnaeus, and Stoned To Deaf alumni, plus recent Half Past drummer Jamie Labreche), who are actually putting this event on. Still no word on their sound/genres, we'll let you know when we hear anything! The other acts are solo musicians, including folk punk/emo act Agnosticism (who were supposed to play at the cancelled Goulais River Halloween concert on Saturday) and folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing with The BAG and other acts at Lopstock in July. Costumes are encouraged for this Halloween night event, which has no announced age limit. It is a BYOB event starting at 9:30 PM, and while admission is free (RSVP notwithstanding), a tip jar will be present if you want to support the bands. Again, a Tuesday nighter will be tough for many, but to see lots of rising young talent, this is a very worthy event to attend!
The action takes place at 504 Queen Street East, but remember to RSVP if you want to attend! An event like this with a publically advertised venue but RSVPs to enter is not common for the Soo (at least as heavier concerts go), but hopefully the crowd is good and energetic on a work/school night for some spooky vibes and good music! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The BAG & Hannah live at Lopstock!
Finally, here's a surprise: a mini concert review! On Saturday, I took a friend to Shooters Downstairs Lounge so she could check out the Entomica bug lab exhibit as part of the Dennis Street nightclub's Halloween events, and we coincidentally happened to still be there at the start of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's concert that night! This was unplanned, I didn't have my proper concert camera, but while I was there, I captured a (horizontal!) video with my cell phone and took a picture, albeit far from the stage. I hate being that guy in everyone's road, especially when I wasn't in costume. We caught Soundcheck doing nine songs, three with Terry Eaton (complete with very cool animated mask) on vocals & the rest with Cameron Oliver singing lead, including renditions of Three Doors Down, ZZ Top, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Tragically Hip songs.
Everyone was in costume, with drummer Glen Thomas especially dressed to the nines as an evil clown! What I heard sounded good and familiar for fans of their classic and hard rock cover array, plus a southern/country tinge (we last heard them do Eddie Rabbitt), though I will say that I do think Soundcheck should banter with the crowd more and introduce songs moreso, especially on a big weekend like this. Here's Soundcheck covering Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" with Cameron on vocals as their second song at Shooters on Saturday night!
That's all for now, but to end the month, look for our newest CD review on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
I have a new news post for your Sunday afternoon reading, and it covers a lot of recent ground via shorter stories that have came up in recent months, plus a new cover video and leading off, big updates on a multi-band event at month's end. Here's what you should know!
Remember how a Halloween concert was announced for Tuesday, October 31st at The Art Hub at Spring, but the lineup was only partially known? Well, the full lineup is now out via its Facebook event page and this poster! Local metal trio The BAG announced their involvement on their own, and we correctly inferred that new local rock quartet Skinbox were playing based on members being credited as hosting on the event page, but there will be three more acts. Two are solo acts, namely Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto's folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism, as well as local folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing alongside The BAG and eight other acts at Lopstock III in July. The fifth act is a mystery band named The Psychic Spies, who I can't find anything definitive on, but note that "psychic spies" are the first words uttered in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication", so that could mean something (or nothing.)
Now, despite the event page being public, and The BAG confirming the event publically, why does the poster say "private event"? If it was truly "private", the event page and/or location wouldn't be publically viewable. As best as I can tell, that basically means that if you want to come, you have to RSVP, so message Skinbox members Steve Edwards, William Wardlaw, or Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) if you want to attend! Their drummer is not credited as an event host. Costumes are encouraged as you'd expect, and while you have to RSVP, admission is free with a tip jar available to support the bands. See above for more details on this kinda-private-ish Halloween party at the end of the month!
Next up, here's a new cover song credited to defunct local grunge trio No Arrow! Uploaded to frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel, the description does give the year 2023, so if this is brand new, my feeling is that it was recorded to send off for consideration on You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which he has submitted back catalog material for. As such, I won't rush No Arrow back into our active band links, but last I heard, Dann doesn't live in town nowadays anyway. Despite the still image being from the music video for Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At", the song is a cover of "Simian Fever" by the post-hardcore band Six Finger Satellite, complete with jokey intro. Whether this is indicative of a return (even if just in studio as a solo project) or not, I can't say, but this is an intense slice of 1990s noise rock and it's good to hear new material from Dann, so check it out below!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I apologize for only discovering this article after the fact, but Jeffrey Ougler from The Sault Star made up this article to promote the Fall Of Earth show at The Queen Of Hearts Club, featuring interview remarks from Fall Of Earth frontman Alex Lye. In the article, Alex talks about his vocals, the Edmonton hybrid metal band's sound, the overall friendliness of the metal music community, and his stage presence, among other topics. While not hyper-local beyond the fact that they were playing here, it's a good read and hopefully it got some more fans to the show!
In recent posts on their Facebook page, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek have acknowledged that they've been quiet in recent months, "but don't worry, it will all be worth it". The band is selling new t-shirts with an updated logo, and on September 19th, they strongly hinted that they were working on new studio material via this picture of a song being tracked on a computer, complete with a piece of paper that seems to hint at a 4:32-long new original song named "Battlefield". Is Fort Creek's long gestating debut album back in production, or are they just working on songs? Stay tuned for updates!
As a bit of clarification from our recent coverage of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' upcoming concert slate, remember how they were scheduled to play at The Esquire Club on Friday and yesterday on the venue's fall calendar, but confirmed on their Facebook group that they were instead playing there this coming weekend? The switch does appear to have been a straight trade with The Steeltown Playboys, who The Esquire Club originally blocked for next weekend, but did indeed play there on Friday & yesterday. At least no one lost a booking here, and don't miss Generations at The Esquire Club later this week!
The Inner City Surfers' reunion concert at Soo Blaster on November 3rd was promoted in this SooToday article by Chris Belsito on Wednesday, where drummer/event host Mikey Hawdon talked about the event's inspiration as an alternative to a traditional stag & doe (this is in support of his upcoming wedding). He also talked individually about all four bands playing this concert, all featuring Mikey himself on guitar or drums. Nothing too new to report here beyond the personal remarks, but it's good promotion for what will be a huge reunion concert, so check it out above!
In another new SooToday article from August, Chris Belsito spotlighted online page-less punk/folk solo project Jonesy Land's new single and music video for "Old Man", where project leader Dustin Jones acknowledged the positive (and negative) responses he's heard for its debut album "Zoom - Out", the themes and inspirations behind "Old Man", working on the music video, and plans to play a live support concert for "Zoom - Out" with a full band this fall (I have heard nothing on this plan at press time otherwise). Good article for fans of Dustin's, so check it out also!
On September 11th, Sault Michigan hard rock/metal band Tarnished announced a musician search to find a new lead guitarist & bassist to replace the departed Nathan Webber & Isaac Royer. Candidates must be determined & flexible, they have gigs lined up, and a new album is planned. It's unclear how tryouts have went so far, but they played in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday with frontman Alex Traynor's dad/ex-Banned bandmate Don filling in on drums (one assumes that Alex and Josh Fair handled guitar and bass or vice versa). Hopefully that gig went well, and if you're interested in trying out, contact Tarnished via their Facebook page!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
We have made it to October, and if today's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS are any indication, local hard rock fans may finally have some big Halloween weekend shows to check out beyond single cover band gigs for the first time post-pandemic! Those lead off today, as well as new videos from an artist playing one of these events, so here's what you should know!
Eight local music acts will join forces for a special Halloween weekend concert on Saturday, October 28th at... Triple H Cabins in Goulais River? Yes, a cabin/outdoor gear rental business at 317 B Harmony Beach Road is actually hosting a concert of this scale, and yes, it is publically attendable (admission is by donation), with the poster circulating on Facebook pages over the past week, some publically. I am unsure if the poster's order of acts is accurate, but given that many acts share performers, I'll jump around a bit. The apparent headliners are party/rap metal duo (trio?) The Apocalypse Afterparty, and while I don't know if Mikhal Muto will be playing bass with them again on the 28th, he will be playing here with his online page-less folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism as well, if early in the evening given the poster. Highly placed there is a band named The Floor Between Us who we've never mentioned here before, so who are they?
They're an newer outsider folk/comedy band fronted by 2022 Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli, who you may have seen at the Fringe North Festival in August and at an array of private gigs, often ones featuring Agnosticism. There's some humour to be had from their original material, and a comedy band like this is certainly distinct in this market! Colin is also slated to play a solo set on this night. The other four acts playing in four weeks are rising young metal trio The BAG, prolific extreme metal/folk punk solo musician Chase James Wigmore, a rare non-Fringe North set from acoustic punk solo project Slumshine (led by Mikhal's Ha!ls bandmate Brenton Ellis), and DJ Seith's online page-less hip hop duo Planet Rock. Quite a stacked lineup of (mostly) rising younger talent, and it's been four years since we've seen a heavier, multi-band Halloween concert like this here, so keep that in mind!
This all ages event takes place at 5:00 PM at Triple H Cabins, refreshments will be available, and costumes are encouraged (no word on a contest). Again, admission is by donation. A half hour drive north of the Soo may not be ideal for some, but it's certainly a unique event with a very intriguing array of performers, and weather permitting, being up on Harmony Beach may be nice for you nature lovers! Visit the above links for more details!
Next up, you know how I said that we hadn't really had a multi-band Halloween concert like this in the Soo area in four years? Yeah, well we're not done, as another one is taking place on Halloween night proper (Tuesday, October 31st) at The Art Hub at Spring! This one will have no cover charge but a tip jar for musicians will be on hand, and it'll be a B.Y.O.B. event if you are so inclined. The full lineup is not yet out, but The BAG confirmed on a post on their Facebook group last week that they will be playing this event too, so expect more metal mayhem for Halloween before the month is out! The rest of the lineup is to be announced, but the show is being promoted by Skinbox bandmates Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control) and William Wardlaw (ex-Stoned To Deaf), strongly implying that this new local rock band will be playing on the 31st. Despite already debuting live, their full lineup and sound is still not publically posted, we'll keep you posted when more is known.
Stay tuned for updates on the full lineup as well! This show takes place at 504 Queen Street East on Halloween night at 8:30 PM, there is no stated age limit, and again, it's free but tipping the artists is encouraged. Halloween or not, a Tuesday nighter isn't ideal for many, but hopefully a solid turnout comes out to rock out on Halloween night itself downtown! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
We'll close today with new songs from the aforementioned Chase Wigmore, who has posted two new original songs onto his YouTube channel over the past three weeks! Both have attached music videos featuring that choppy and possibly AI-generated style that he has recently been using. The first of the new songs/videos is for "The Speciesist", which Chase noted on his Facebook page was about "our impending extinction and coming to terms with the fact that we probably deserve it". The video realizes this message by showing various demonic aliens laying waste to the planet, so now you know how the doomsday will occur! I don't know if this will be on his long-gestating "Chaotic Rite" album or not, so I'll hold comment for now, but it is definitely a metal song but with drone-style clean vocals. Embedded below is his newest song from September 23rd, entitled "A Song For The Apocalypse", which feels like a direct sequel to "The Speciesist".
The visuals here show destruction of Earth, wastelands, and people observing the state of the planet, so yeah, not the most optimistic video out there, but the visuals are cool looking! This is more of a progressive metal song with more ominous overtones and screaming, plus an acoustic interlude, so you get a wide breadth of his styles here, but again, I'll hold comment in case this song is on "The Chaotic Rite". Give Chase's entertaining new videos a watch above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!
I apologize for this being so late to hit the site, but as you may recall, local/Barrie alternative/hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and folk/country singer/songwriter Brian Tremblay joined forces for a special acoustic concert at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th named Face To Face, which emphasized storytelling about their original music in between live performances. As I alluded to a bit on the site in the ensuing month+, Mike live-streamed the concert (all 2 hours & 50 minutes of it!) to his YouTube channel, but between other posts and life in general, this got pushed back and back and back, and I figured that I better get to it A.S.A.P. before Mike's album release next week, especially as the new album likely came up during the concert! So, if you weren't able to make it to The Art Hub on Spring (actually at 504 Queen Street East), what all went down at Face To Face?
The camera was set up in a stationary spot, directly pointing at (but not completely in front of) where Mike and Brian performed. The stage area for this show is well lit, and if you were in attendance, this would be fairly reflective of your view if you were where the tripod was! The show is introduced by Brian's fellow Borderline radio host Adrian Vilaca (who interviewed Mike for Across The Tracks in 2021), and while everything was introductory and more for live attendees, his remarks are sometimes hard to hear. Brian does deliver the initial remarks from the two performers, but Mike is the first to perform. Structurally, each song is preceded by Mike or Brian outlining the songwriting process and/or inspiration of the song in question, much like the old VH1 Storytellers series/albums, and rather than have an opener and a closer, Mike and Brian trade a song each throughout the night, playing nine songs apiece (with stories to match).
When I link to song names here, I'll link to when the stories are told rather than the song's beginning, so you get full context (plus, it'd be too much wasted text if I linked twice for each song), but both do get linked on the YouTube description. I won't spoil the content of the stories, which I could never do justice to, but they are titled on YouTube. Also, the woman who sits on stage and interjects in Brian's stories is his wife Lynn, who guests on backing vocals, tambourine, or shaker for most songs. Mike's first song is his label namesake "MorningStar", with Brian's first song being his 2000 original "By My Time". Mike next plays "The Best You Never Had", and Brian followed things up with "The Junction Inn". A trifecta of opening songs from Mike's 2020 album "If Ever Comes The Day" is completed with "Into The Setting Sun", with Brian playing a newer song named "I Knew You'd Be Alright" next.
Mike dips into his newest (for another week) album "Bridges" with a rendition of "Come On Home" for his fourth song, followed by Brian playing his own "Last Stand Hill". The last songs before the intermission include Mike's song "I've Seen It Before" from next week's "All The Best In All You Do" (featuring a guest appearance by Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew), then Brian's more downbeat original "Let It All Out". A 25 minutes-long intermission takes place next, which Brian and Mike introduce by outlining contests/the door prize and revealing that they'd both be playing at Rotaryfest next week (this was a new announcement at the time). The second half of the show begins with Mike playing the title track of "If Ever Comes The Day", which was his last Thompson-era original of the evening. Brian returns with his song "Grey Bar Hotel", inspired by a surprising past day job of his.
Fans of Mike's old power pop/hard rock band The Din will be excited by his closing songs, starting with the title track of their last album "Suburban Dream" from 2017, before Brian took the mic for his song "Road Hockey", whose story will naturally pique the interest of hockey fans. Mike's penultimate song is "Out Of My League" from 2015's "The Warinside" (which was covered on "Give In To The Din" one year later), followed by Brian's second-last song, the more recent & harmonica-infused "Steel Man". For their final numbers, Mike brought back "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device" from 2014's "A Place Of Our Own" (titled under its revised "Give In To The Din" name "Potato (Should Have Known Better)"), while Brian played his new song "Wine, Whiskey, and Weed" with Mike guesting on guitar and the audience at large guesting on the sing-along choruses.
Mike gives closing remarks to plug their merchandise sales and announce the winners of that day's contests & door prize. While the storytelling aspect was inconsistent depending on the song's inspiration, this was a fun show that fans of Mike's and Brian's will enjoy, and the loose & casual atmosphere was to its benefit! It was teased before the show that Face To Face would be released as a live album through MorningStar Records, which has yet to occur, but if it does get such a release, we don't know if Mike and Brian's songs would be divided between their own streaming/sale links or not (plus, if they were included together on a Kunaki-enabled physical CD or LP set, it'd have to be a double album at the very least). In any event, you can hear the whole thing free and on demand on YouTube below, but stay tuned for details on a possible "Face To Face" live record, and look for this weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
On this final concert weekend of May 2023, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!
New (and currently online page-less) local classic/hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will make their public concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook page earlier today. Nostalgia are essentially the belated successors to defunct local hard rock cover band Caveman Morrison's 2012-2013 lineup, with singer/guitarist Tym Morrison (ex-Hollow/Carbon Black) and ex-bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg (ex-Browbeat) joining forces once again, now joined by Dutch's old Nikkfitt bandmate Chet Dziergas on drums. We don't yet have 100% knowledge on what Nostalgia will be playing, but if you recall Caveman Morrison's late 2000s-early 2010s relaunch, that should give you an idea, and if you've missed Tym playing in a full band setting, this will be especially notable! I don't think he's played a publically advertised set with a full band since 2016.
No word on why they're not playing on Saturday (let alone if someone else is), but come down to Reggie's TOMORROW NIGHT to see what kind of nostalgia that Nostalgia are bringing to the table! This show is at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when/if videos and/or an official band page turn up!
Next up, let's preview some concerts that did get advance notice, starting with a unique event TOMORROW NIGHT at The Art Hub on Spring, as local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and Sinister Hearts frontman, folk singer/songwriter, and Borderline radio host Brian Tremblay will join forces for a special concert named Face To Face! This event is basically themed like the old VH1 Storytellers series, where talking about the inspiration behind each song is as important as the songs themselves, but here, the rapport and camaraderie between Mike & Brian is also being hyped up. I get the sense that there isn't a firm blueprint of what to expect set-wise, just some fun rapport and entertaining music, and it seems like a low-stress way for Mike to return home! That said, Mike (and Brian?) will be releasing a live album from this show that will get a vinyl pressing, so keep that in mind!
Complimentary food and beverages will be available for attendees of this all ages, 7:00 PM concert, and you can buy tickets at this link for $22.63 (presumably $20 at the door too). This sounds like a fun evening for fans of Mike and/or Brian's music, and you'll get to know more about them as people and composers along the way in a new-ish, intimate locale, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more on Face To Face, and here's Mike live!
Also in Sault Ontario this weekend is the return of new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of gigs at Reggie's last week,these should be a fine opportunity for fans of Valerie and/or Jus' Chillin to get their classic cover fix from this new union, and hopefully there's a solid audience both nights! Note that a comment on their Facebook group indicates that Generations will be playing at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, but we typically wait for the official schedule reveal from organizers before addressing them here. Stay tuned though! As usual for weekend cover gigs at The Esquire Club, expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video shared to the band's Facebook group from their Reggie's gig this past Saturday!
Filmed by attendee Josie Weir, the video sees Generations covering the Janis Joplin version of "Me & Bobby McGee", which Obsession fans will recall Valerie doing with that band. Sounds good to me with strong instrumentation, though the vertical camera angle does it no favours. This is exacerbated by drummer Tony Santoro being blocked from view, and the band seems to be playing in an oddly narrow space given where Josie was filming, but everything sounds solid, so check it out for yourself below!
Finally, let's hop across the border to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino! Their Grand Rapids tour run last month aside, these will surprisingly be Tarnished's first announced shows in the Eastern Upper Peninsula since opening for Scotty Austin at The Savoy Bar in March, and their first at The Rapids Lounge since earlier that same month. While not yet announced on their Facebook page at press time, Kewadin's entertainment page had us covered (assuming nothing bad happened in the interim), and hopefully the guys deliver the goods with their solid originals and hard rocking covers this weekend! As usual for Tarnished's weekend runs at Kewadin Casino, these gigs have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Single topic second post today, featuring the latest from local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith (last month's live-stream aside, though it is coming), so what's new to report from him? As you may recall, Mike returns to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time this year on Friday, May 26th when he shares the stage with local musician, photographer, and radio host Brian Tremblay for Face To Face, a VH1 Storytellers-esque evening of music and stories about their music at The Art Hub on Spring. Mike's website confirms that not only is this event being recorded for a planned live album (it's not 100% clear if it will feature Brian's songs too or not), but it will be available on vinyl records through Mike's Morningstar Records label! The implication is that you might hear your own voice on vinyl if you attend, though whether this is purely via audience cheering or further crowd involvement (questions for the artists?!) is not yet known.
Mike also confirmed on his Facebook page that video cameras will be rolling throughout the night. The planned complimentary food/beverages are still on the table, along with a "top-secret special prize" for one lucky winner, presumably as a door prize draw. It'll be an interesting & informative evening based on what we've heard so far, so click here to get your tickets! Regarding the aforementioned MorningStar Records, Mike has finally launched the label proper beyond teasers and as a solo imprint, and you can visit its website for complete details. In short, Mike calls this "a different kind of label" and a "label minus the label" where artists produce their own material at their own pace and in their own environment, then "affiliate" (not sign) with MorningStar to host the material and have physical copies printed through Kunaki, while still retaining ownership of your own music.
Affiliated artists are hosted on MorningStar's website for digital sales and artist biographies, and won't go bankrupt for the privilege, just paying some small overhead/labour fees so it is as artist friendly as humanly possible. If this interests you, click here for Mike's lengthy write-up on MorningStar, and e-mail contact@morningstarrecords.com for any extra questions. Though Mike moved from the Soo in 2017, MorningStar Records has absolutely been promoted to local musicians as well as Mike's contacts in Manitoba, Southern Ontario, and afar via connections made from Your Music Live and You Rock!, so ideally it will have a wide reach. Alongside Mike himself & his old local power pop/hard rock trio The Din, industrial metal solo project Molten Imp, jam rock veterans Odd Man Out, and the aforementioned Brian Tremblay have all affiliated with MorningStar so far, among other non-local acts.
If you're curious in an SMS-covered sense, Molten Imp's biography is purely hype and teasers along with relevant links, so there's nothing broken in terms of news yet re: Morningstar output, but I am admittedly behind on recent Molten Imp news from their own social media accounts. Lastly from Mike's recent activity (the live-stream aside) is that he unveiled a lot about his upcoming studio album "All The Best In All You Do" via this lengthy write-up on the MorningStar website, so what do we learn about it there? Within the deep elaboration on the concepts and themes of the album/lyrics, we know that the album's ten songs in order are "All You Do", "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", "If Only You Could Hear Me", "Carousel", "I've Seen It Before", "Love Will Light The Way", "The Start Of Something Real", "To Be With You", and "All The Best". The first half will be darker and themed around grief, before going optimistic.
While the album will be available on "all streaming platforms", those who buy it on Bandcamp will get bonus songs under the name "All The Rest To Get You Through" which will include originals not yet heard publically as well as a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City". In terms of guests, the only one listed by name is Hetriani, a Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist who Mike likely discovered via being featured in episodes of Your Music Live With Pete Johns, and who will feature with solos on "Hot & Cold". Also worth noting that there will be a flute solo on "The Start Of Something Real", though if Mike isn't channeling Lizzo there, I don't know who is. Mike gives a lot more details on the songs as compositions and for the themes they embody, but if you want to be more surprised, you may want to hold off on reading all of the write-up. In any event, when is "All The Best In All You Do" coming out?
Mike says that it is "targeted for release this summer", which basically implies any point between June and August, whereupon it'll join our monthly album review backlog (it'd be reviewed in the fall at this rate). There's a lot of excitement ahead for Mike as a musician and now as a record label owner, and fans should be excited at a busy mid-late 2023 to come, so visit the above links for much more on Mike & MorningStar, and weekend concert previews are on the way next! Thanks everyone!
We have a packed news post to check out on this Monday night, including a recent live concert video and, to lead off, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS over the next two months, so here's what you should know!
Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return to the stage with headlining concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, May 12th & Saturday, May 13th! Last seen opening for Kiss tribute band Destroyer at Soo Blaster earlier this month, these shows will be Fort Creek's first traditional nightclub gigs since rocking Jay's early last month, with studio work filling much of their time since then. Good to see the guys back at it, and hopefully sizeable crowds turn up at the former Reggie's West next month for their hard rocking covers and select originals! On Friday the 12th only, they will have an opening act, namely ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison, who we last saw in his dormant acoustic duo Short & Sweet. Cory's a talented singer & guitarist, so don't be late on the Friday! No word on possible merchandise giveaways, but these are 19+ concerts with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. See above for more details!
Next up, remember how veteran local musician/photographer Brian Tremblay revealed at the end of his interview with Mike Haggith on Rock N' Roll Heaven on The Borderline that they'd be taking part in "a very intimate singer/songwriter evening" next month? Well, the details are finally out on that, as Mike and Brian will join forces for what they're calling Face To Face, a joint concert to be held at The Art Hub on Spring on Friday, May 26th! The second show that we've covered at the relatively new Art Hub (joining the Hails/Chase Wigmore concert last month), this will be Mike's first show in Sault Ste. Marie since Rotaryfest last summer and since his move to Barrie last fall. The conceit of this concert feels very reminiscent of the old VH1 Storytellers series, where performers in a more intimate location play their songs and talk about the origins and backgrounds of them, and some intermingling between the two is implied for their sets.
Sounds like a fun evening, especially with the storytelling aspect that comes so naturally to Brian (a folk rock veteran who fronts The Sinister Hearts) and Mike given the former's radio show and the latter's ample Facebook live-streams and personal lyrics! The show may be recorded for a live album of some kind, and there will be complimentary food & drinks for attendees, so how's that for a bonus? This all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $22.63 (this includes extra processing fees) at this link. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Lastly for new concerts is the only show in local promoters Dryer Fire's mid-2023 slate of concerts with a heavier component, as Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo Darsombra will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday, June 21st for a rare rock concert at the Bellevue Park Bandshell! I can't think of the last time that a scheduled and advertised metal/punk concert (re: not a pop-up gig) was held there, but it's great to see Nicole and crew giving it a shot! You may recall seeing Darsombra live in 2017 and 2019 via shows at The New A and LopLops respectively, both courtesy of the now-inactive Six, Two, Oh., and if you saw one/both, you'll recall Darsombra's minimalist instrumental sound well, including extended jams and quite a different audio/visual presentation than what you may expect. How will this translate to an outdoor setting? Be there to find out! Local folk punk/metal solo artist Chase Wigmore is slated to open this concert.
Last seen opening for Hails under the Dryer Fire banner at last month's Fishbowl Festival, it remains to be seen how his long gestating "Chaotic Rite" album will play into his presumably unplugged set, but it''ll be good to see him on stage again! Notably, Dryer Fire's six shows from April-June are being funded via an Indiegogo campaign, and backing it for $10 will get you admission to one show, Darsombra or otherwise, but general admission will be low/non-existent if they get $2,100 crowdfunded. Click here for full details on what rewards are available and for full details on what Dryer Fire have planned. Fingers crossed that things go well, as the varied acts are more than welcome, so see above for more details!
We'll close today with a new video from the aforementioned Jay's Piston Broke Pub's Facebook page, as a venue representative filmed fellow local southern hard rock band Bone Yard during their show there on Friday! The video (uploaded on Saturday morning) is short and vertical, but thankfully, it's not a "Reel", so it can be embedded externally, and it features the guys playing an unidentified instrumental section for 15 seconds. Not a lot to comment on, but the band sound good while it lasts, and fans are having fun! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Jay's!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!
Irish eyes are definitely smiling upon the calendar this year, as with St. Patrick's Day falling on a Friday this year, it means the concert calendar is quite stacked, so be sure to check out your favourite nightclubs' and venues' online pages & schedules to see if bands are playing, let alone if they will have St. Patrick's Day themes. However, the weather gods are not smiling upon the Sault Ste. Marie area, with a winter storm watch currently in effect from late tonight through Saturday morning, with up to 3-8 inches of snow expected, so if you are at all concerned that a band or St. Patrick's Day party will be impaired by the impending storm, keep tabs on their online accounts for further details, as things can easily change.
Due to the amount of scheduled hard rock/punk concerts this weekend, I'll save the Bone Yard, Scarkazm, and Tym Morrison shows for tomorrow morning's post, and maybe anything that falls into our lap beforehand. Now, let's start with three Friday-only shows, including the big one this weekend, as Muskegon, Michigan hard rock mainstays Pop Evil will make their long awaited return to the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT when they headline at The Dreammakers Theatre! This will be Pop Evil's seventh local concert, sixth at the Soo Kewadin, first since their outdoor gig with Buckcherry back in August 2019, and their first here with touring bassist Joey Walser in place of Matt DiRito. Of course, Pop Evil have loads of familiar rock radio hits, including "Breathe Again", "Eye Of The Storm", and "Survivor" since their last local date alone, so fans should be in good hands tomorrow!
Support bands include Phoenix metalcore band The Word Alive and Seattle metalcore quintet Avoid, and while both are more aggressive than Pop Evil by rule, their fast rising takes on the subgenre shouldn't be avoided tomorrow night! A presentation of Allstar Promotions, this 8:00 PM & all ages concert is actually a big deal on a wider scale for Pop Evil's sake, as it is both the full kickoff show for this tour, as well as the day that their new album "Skeletons" is released, so get your copy while it is hot off the presses! Tickets run for $29.50 USD (up from $25 at their last Dreammakers Theatre show in 2018), and limited seats in the left and right sections are still available, albeit in the back three rows only. If you want any seat that you can get, or want standing room only admission, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the in-person box office. For the record, this concert has no overt St. Patrick's Day ties in the promotion.
Pop Evil have been very good to Sault Ste. Marie in the past decade+, and with their upbeat, high energy brand of modern hard rock still going high on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, they should be in fine form with a huge crowd to match tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Pop Evil live here!
Next up, local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel TOMORROW NIGHT! Their first trip to The Islander Bar (almost an hour south of the Soo) since Halloween weekend, tomorrow's festivities will definitely be St. Patrick's Day-themed, including a traditional corned beef/boiled cabbage dinner if you are so inclined beforehand, plus multiple Irish-themed drink specials. Project 906 themselves will bring the rock as usual, and they should deliver entertaining hard rock covers and select originals for Mackinac County fans tomorrow!This is a one-nighter due to or resulting in Gary Hatch's show there on Saturday, and be advised that The Islander Bar will actually close for nearly a month starting on Sunday (the venue didn't say why, but renovations seem likely)
Tomorrow's concert has a 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. Between this show and Scarkazm in the Soo (more tomorrow), hard rock fans in the eastern U.P. will have some solid options for St. Patrick's Day, so don't miss out, and for a preview of Project 906's Hessel gig tomorrow, here they are live a few months back!
Lastly for this preview post, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where debuting local skate punk trio Hails and folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore will join forces for a special concert/art exhibition TOMORROW at The Art Hub at Spring! Named the "Full Circle Rock & Roll Spectacular", this event is being held at the former Big Brothers Association property at 504 Queen Street East, and it is being held as part of the Fishbowl Festival and, within that, Hails frontman Brenton Ellis' own art exhibition named Full Circle, which celebrates "connectivity & continuity". Remember, if you've seen any of Brent's recent concerts or him at events where sale of his artwork occurred, you'll know his painting talents and this should be a good showcase for his visual art endeavours! Hails feature Brent alongside Vanity First's Mikhal Muto & Keeghan McAllister (yes, Vanity First is still active) and shouldn't be far off musically.
As for Chase, this will be a rare pandemic-era live concert set from him, but will this lean more to his recent metal studio work or his past unplugged folk punk live sets? Come out tomorrow to find out! This all ages event has a 7:30 PM start time, and admission is $10 or "pay what you can", and if you are so inclined, tickets are available at this link. If there are St. Patrick's Day themes tomorrow, then they go unsaid in Facebook promotion. Should be a fun evening for punk fans and art aficionados alike, so visit the above links for more details, and here's one of Chase's recent acoustic videos!
That's all for now, but we'll wrap up the St. Patrick's Day weekend hard rock concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906's planned show at Jack's Grub & Pub in Brimley tonight has been cancelled, as per their Facebook page this morning. The cited "health reasons" for withdrawing, but didn't specify what was wrong and with which band member(s). Of course, hopefully he (or they) get well soon, and that we see Project 906 back on stage before you know it! Now let's head back to Sault Ontario for some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) and related updates!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for an acoustic matinee concert on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page yesterday, with the notification popping up minutes after yesterday's post hit the site. While we're on the subject, Tym will also return to the YNCU Curling Center at 124 Anita Boulevard on Saturday, February 11th for his second gig there in three months, so if you want to see him in a traditional nighttime timeslot, that's your next opportunity! SUNDAY's show comes just two weeks removed from his last matinee concert at Reggie's, so expect more of his fan-friendly unplugged classic and hard rock hits then, and while it's standard fare this weekend, the show at the former Community First Curling Centre next weekend is again coinciding with a bonspiel, this time themed after the Super Bowl.
As you can see on the poster and in the write-up at this link, there's lots of entertainment lined up for competitiors and attendees online, with Tym providing musical entertainment in their on-site restaurant The House at 8:00 PM. SUNDAY's Reggie's matinee is at 3:00 PM, and both events have no cover charge and 19+ age limits (you don't have to enter the bonspiel to see Tym's set next week only). Visit the curling concert's Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and for a preview of SUNDAY's concert, here's Tym live in concert last year!
Next up, debuting local punk trio Hails and local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore will join forces at a special art
exhibition/concert on Friday, March 17th at... The Art Hub at Spring?!
Located at 504 Queen Street East (the name references the space being at
the corner of Queen & Spring), The Art Hub is located at the former
Big Brothers Association office, and it opened there as an art gallery and
events venue last year, with this being the first concert to cross our
genre radar. In fact, it is one of many arts and culture events behind
held by the returning Fishbowl Festival,
which takes place at various downtown venues during Pisces season
(February 20th-March 20th), though this is the only SMS-amenable concert
so far. This will mark a relatively rare live appearance by Chase, who
has been largely focusing on studio material during the pandemic, so
it'll be interesting to hear how he does next month!
As for Hails, they are the new band from Slumshine/These Magnificent Tentacles frontman Brenton Ellis, which sees him on vocals & bass joined by Vanity First bandmates Mikhal Muto and Keeghan McAllister on guitar & drums respectively (my source is Brent's personal Facebook page, as Hails don't have a public page of their own yet). This band will apparently be playing skate punk, so not too far off from Vanity First (just with Brent rather than Andrew), and remember that Vanity First are still active and have been regularly posting on their Facebook page so far in 2023. Despite their placement on the poster, Brent confirmed that Hails are headlining, which makes sense given the art exhibition angle of this event, entitled the Full Circle Rock & Roll Spectacular, as Brent is an accomplished painter & visual artist and will be showcasing art "celebrating connectivity and continuity" on this night.
Between his music and artistic endeavours, Brent has a big night ahead next month, and hopefully there's a great turnout for him on both fronts in six weeks! This event has a $10 cover charge ("pay what you can" is also an option), it is ALL AGES, and doors open at 7:00 PM at The Art Hub on Spring. Visit the official Facebook event page for much more on this event, and if you're a Facebook friend of Brent's, do check out his pictures of his paintings and such to get an idea of what he's bringing to the table for this!
With Brent having launched this new band, I have reluctantly opted to move his local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles to our inactive band links. Their last public update was only in July when plugging their participation in the Open Act contest, and while 6+ months on its own isn't enough for us to be consider them inactive, Hails' launch is definitely of note, while founding guitarist Steve Edwards has been posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in the past week, noting that he's "getting back out there after a short hiatus" and is now working on a 1990s-centric cover band that already has a singer and bassist attached (click here if you want to try out on guitar or drums). All of this doesn't paint a supremely positive picture for the Tentacles' future, alas. T.M.T. launched as a two man studio band in May 2021, releasing their "Surfacing..." EP one year ago this month.
After adding Handsome Sandwich's Mitch Sirie and half of Gnaeus' original lineup last May, the expanded Tentacles played a handful of multi-band events in the ensuing month+, but updates ceased in July, and their quiet withdrawal from the Northern Vibe Festival in August may make a little more sense now. It's a shame that These Magnificent Tentacles appear to have dissolved, as they were an entertainingly diverse yet punk-leaning act, and I liked their EP, but between Hails, Handsome Sandwich, and Steve's new group, most of the band is definitely keeping busy. Best of luck to Brent, Steve, Mitch, Brad, and Brendan no matter what, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!
