A Concert Cancellation, Mikey & His Uke's Newest Covers, And More!!

I hope everyone is staying warm and off the roads on this very snowy Friday! Regarding this weekend's concert previews, the ones covered yesterday appear to be on as scheduled, but we do have a cancellation to note, as local hard rock quartet Half Past are not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow, as per an update to their Facebook page's post about the concert this morning. A reason for the postponement was not announced, but Shooters itself is opening late today. The weather forecast could be to blame, I don't 100% know, but Half Past have promised that there is a "new date to come". Hopefully all is well with the guys, and we'll let you know when this show is re-booked! While there have been a few other announced concert cancellations (especially tonight), hard rock shows covered in yesterday's weekend concert preview post are not visibly affected. Keep tabs with the bands and venues for clarification on this weekend's shows!

Now, let's dive into a new video and more on this snow day, starting with the long awaited conclusion of local punk supergroup project Mikey & His Uke's 30th anniversary series of covers of Green Day's breakthrough album "Dookie"! It took almost two months after the previous cover to get the final song up, but the series is ending in style by tackling both the final credited song and the bonus track all in one video! For the last credited song, Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon (on guitar after dropping the ukelele pretense once again) is joined to play the deep cut "F.O.D." by Flatliners frontman Chris Cresswell, while Buck-O-Nine bassist Andy Plafoot handles bass for the eighth and final time here, and ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer returns to the kit as the house drummer of the "Dookie" series (and wearing a Toronto FC jersey for a change!) How is "F.O.D." filmed this time?

We get a little more variance visually here, as the softer acoustic opening verse is seen in monochrome, before going full colour when the song shifts into punk territory, though Chris continues playing acoustic guitar. Also, while Chris handles the opening, everyone else is seen either waiting patiently or setting up for their parts, which is cute! After "F.O.D." ends, we get to watch a sped up video of Mikey and his family putting together a jigsaw puzzle of the "Dookie" album cover while a caption scrolls across the screen thanking everyone for watching and supporting the series... but we're not done yet! The hidden bonus track on "Dookie" was "All By Myself", an acoustic song performed by drummer Tre Cool, and Mikey & His Uke didn't forget about that one! Here, Mikey takes on lead vocals and plays ukelele straight through for the only time in the "Dookie" series.

Guesting here are Vincent Hidalgo and Brad Magers from the Los Angeles punk band The Bronx and, more notably given how this cover was handled, their mariachi side project Mariachi El Bronx (and to that end, Brad is playing trumpet). No Darren here, nor any prior bassist. Two kids also join in banging pots on their heads, while Vincent plays guitar while lying on the floor. Nice little throwback to the early Mikey & His Uke covers here, with a Mexican twist, while "F.O.D." delivered the punk goods with solid vocals from Chris, so you get a good end to this lengthy series! Check both covers out below, and stay tuned for more from Mikey & His Uke!

Finally for today, I wanted to shine a spotlight on a local musician who needs help at a trying time (normally, I don't talk about musicians' personal lives here but I'll make an exception for stuff like this). As some of you may know, former Destroilet drummer Matt Waples was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year that may have spread to his adrenal gland, and he is having surgery to remove the cancerous testicle next month as well as chemotherapy. He has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $8,100 to cover travel expenses to Toronto and back as well as to cover the donation of sperm to be frozen in the event that he decides to become a parent in the future. Matt's fight was covered in this Sault Star article by Jeffrey Ougler earlier this week, where he outlined his goals to start a fully fledged graphic design business (local musicians know Matt's work with Sonigraphix well from posters, logos, and merchandise).

The article has candid remarks about Matt's cancer and what he has been through this year, and he has been similarly open and honest on social media. As of this writing, $2,925 has been raised, and hopefully more comes in soon, especially given how rapidly things are changing with his condition. Matt's a good guy, a strong drummer, and a talented graphic artist, and I hope things work out optimally for his health so he can get back to living how he wants without pain and worry. Click here to read more on Matt's cancer battle and to help him reach his financial goals, and we all hope that he gets well soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2024 Fallout & Videos (Part 2!!)

A few days after our first Rotaryfest recap post, here's our second post featuring videos and news coverage from the Sault's Summer Festival! For the known public videos and articles about Stage 1 on Thursday and Mike Haggith's Friday set, click here for our initial post. The Sault Star was present for Friday bands on both Stages 1 and 2 at Clergue Park, and while the photographer wasn't credited, you can see shots from The Luxury and The Rhythm Sections's Stage 1 sets, plus That There Blues Band's set on Stage 2 at this link. The next known public videos from the Friday bands on Stage 1 come from the Rotaryfest debut of local classic rock duo Frankly Speaking, but this wasn't just a normal set of theirs. Festival promotion never even addressed them under the Frankly Speaking name, rather as "Frank & Frank" or "Frankeeproductions", presumably because this was their special themed set known as "Rock On To The Sound Of Change".

In this performance (which is also done for other community events), singer/guitarist Frank Gioia and keyboardist/accordionist Frank Greco paid tribute to rock n' roll history while emphasizing the original musicians' social impact. A 7 minute video featuring highlights of Frankly Speaking's set was shared to the Frankeeproductions YouTube channel, capturing portions of 13 songs (likely every one played that day), but as each clip only runs for an average of 33 seconds, it'd be a lot of text trying to link to each individual portion when you can easily scan the video timeline on YouTube and see the post-production titles thusly. The set did end with two Elton John and Beatles covers each, while hard rock fans will want to see how Frank & Frank handled Rush's "Closer To The Heart" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". Note that there are some typos in the titles, like how the Coldplay song is labelled "Ticking Clocks" (it's just called "Clocks").

I wouldn't have put this video in such a washed out post-production filter, but I gather that the Franks were aiming to have the highlight video look old fashioned given the themes. These minimalist covers are performed with zest and enthusiasm, and the stationary camera is zoomed in tight on the guys so we get a good side view of Frankly Speaking in action, though if you like seeing more of the stage/audience, this may not be ideal for you. Strong stuff, even if I'd rather see full songs in full colour, so check out "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" below!

Friday's other known public videos are of new local funk/pop rock cover quintet The Rhythm Junction, who are basically the side project of Stage 2 band The Eight Seventies, only with Jason Gasparetto swapped out for singer Marisa Valois-Christie and her brother Jacob Valois (as also seen on Stage 2 with his solo jazz band). On their Facebook page, The Rhythm Junction uploaded a video of them covering Blondie's "Call Me", while videos filmed by attendee Aidan Valois (no doubt family) of them covering Haddaway's "What Is Love?" and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" were also shared there. Alas, all three are vertical, but The Rhythm Junction are talented, and Marisa's smooth voice carries them well, so give them a watch above, and see more from them on Facebook! Now, we'll head to the final day's music on Saturday, July 20th, so what is public from then?

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Stage 1 debut set did get some official video footage courtesy of their Facebook page, where you can see their set-ending cover of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle"! Two problems though: It's a "Reel", so I can't embed it here, and it's one of those "Reels", where a normal landscape horizontal video is pillarboxed into the vertical dimensions, rather than cropped to fit, so it's tiny. It's a strong performance with good energy from Jess, but I may never understand why so many Facebook users intentionally limit their videos by making them "Reels". Later on the Saturday program, local country band The Way Backs (featuring two Rhythm Junction members in their ranks) performed on Stage 1, and while not a formal live video, you can see photos from their set in this Facebook upload! It's set to The Highwaymen's "Live Forever", and it does look like everyone had a good time!

Lastly for this post, Sound Of Sting frontman Mike Ferfolia was interviewed by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly in advance of the Toronto-based Police/Sting tribute band's featured Saturday night set, and it's a good interview that explores his musical career and Sting's influence on him, so read the whole thing at this link! Unless belated new media comes out, our last Stage 1 content will be of the final band on Saturday night (which wasn't Sound Of Sting), and we do have some Stage 2 videos and such to look at also, so stay tuned for all of that next month! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2024 Fallout & Videos (Part 1!!)

It's been a week since this year's Rotaryfest concluded, so let's begin looking at the local news coverage and public videos from this past weekend's live musicians at Stage 1 at Clergue Park! Both The Sault Star and SooToday were on hand for day #1 on Thursday, July 18th, with the former's Kyle Darbyson taking photos of Generations and Brendan Hodgson's sets that you can see at this link, while the latter's Dylan Taylor got pictures of Pegasus' set for this article. Both also got other photos of the day's festivities beyond the bands, and the photos are nice as you'd expect! Regarding Pegasus, The Sault Star's Brian Kelly interviewed keyboardist Jeff Holmes for this article last month, where the classic rock veterans revealed that their reunion shows at Rotaryfest and The Water Tower Pub the next day would be their last. Hopefully they had a good sendoff to local fans across both nights! Now, let's look at some videos from a couple of bands on the Thursday program!

I've only found public videos from two of the four Thursday bands, including a clip of local country musician Brendan Hodgson covering Big & Rich's "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy" in this recap video shot by attendee Ron Boulard for his YouTube channel. Not a long glimpse, but it looks like a fine performance for country fans, if not too close to the stage! Their portion is 36 seconds into the video, running for about 20 seconds. The other Thursday videos come from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' set, which were filmed by drummer Tony Santoro's wife Dawn and posted to their Facebook group later that night in a batch post also featuring photos of their set. Within the post, you'll see Generations covering Concrete Blonde's "Joey", Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" (with guitarist Tony Kajnar on lead vocals), and as embedded below, Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet".

Alas, all three videos are vertical, with "Joey" and "The Middle" being filmed at more a skewed angle at that, but Dawn was right close to the stage, and she had a good look at Generations knocking out these three covers with ease! Check them out above & below, and don't miss Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre at Shooters Downstairs Lounge in two weeks!

Moving ahead to the Friday, July 19th program, the very first artist that day was local/Barrie alternative hard rock musician Mike Haggith in his third straight solo set on Stage 1, but this was definitely a chance to make amends for last year, when he suddenly dislocated his knee in a freak accident early in his set, and had to be brought to Sault Area Hospital by ambulance for treatment shortly afterwards. In advance of this year's return, Mike was interviewed by the aforementioned Kyle Darbyson for this Sault Star article on July 11th, where he talked about his mental processes after what happened (especially for his CD release on a big stage), his physical rehabilitation and recovery since last year's accident, his songwriting process & themes, how he has handled the accident publically since, and how he wanted a "shot at redemption" via returning to Rotaryfest for a full set without a similar mishap. Very solid article, so click here to read it for yourselves!

If you missed Mike's set with his newly named Big Finish Band last Friday, you can watch the complete live-stream below courtesy of Mike's YouTube channel, and I am happy to confirm that Mike played the whole set and his knee did not blow out again! This year, ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi took over for Jacob Quarrell, while past guest backing vocalist Elly McWatters joined as a permanent member on rhythm guitar and/or backing vocals on most songs. Perhaps due to Elly's expanded role, Mike only played guitar himself on the opening song and tracks #7-9 of the 11 song set, though note that Mike was playing guitar when Kneegate happened last year. Brought to the stage by one of the EMTs that helped Mike last year (nice full circle moment), the set began with Mike's original song "Carousel", which did not feature Elly at all, followed by a surprise cover of Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero".

That song featured just A Dire Setback's Chris Nielsen on guitar, with Elly on backing vocals only, but she debuted on guitar for the follow-up cover of "Missing" by Mike and drummer Brandan Glew's old band The Din. It was actually Brandan's birthday that day, so what a way to celebrate! The next two tracks appear to be debuting new originals named "I Really Hope This Gets To You" and "No Love", Established originals resume next with "Hot & Cold" (the song that they were playing when Mike's knee gave out last year), with Mike picking up his guitar late in time for "If Ever Comes The Day" and "If Only You Could Hear Me". Mike gave The Big Finish Band a break to do a solo cover of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "In Your Time" in honour of his aunt, who passed away a few days prior to Rotaryfest. She was a Bob Seger fan, and this was a nice touch on his part to pay tribute to her! 

The band returned to end the set, with Mike setting his guitar back down for a surprise cover of Louis Tomlinson's "Silver Tongues", before closing with his own "All The Best". From what I gathered in this 40 minute set, Mike and crew definitely made up for last year with a fun, energetic, and even poignant set! Mike seemed in good spirits (and on steady joints), and those two new songs had a strong full sound to them! Elly is clearly developing as a guitarist but she certainly didn't detract from the set, which was shot in high quality (and in landscape!) despite being very skewed to not be in the fans' road. Check out the full live-stream below, and don't miss Mike & the band at next month's Northern Vibe Festival!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next, and we'll have much more news and notes on the site next week, including more Rotaryfest fallout! Thanks everyone!

Go North Music Festival & Bone Yard 225 Concert Previews!!

Here's post #2 of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the high amount of events this weekend, we'll hold our previews of tomorrow's Salty Marie Trails Fest, Neither Could Dylan, and HeadFirst concerts for a post either tonight or tomorrow morning, so don't worry, they are coming! Today's post is devoted to a major returning summer festival and a prominent veteran local band's weekend gigs in town, plus some linked new updates, so here's what you should know on both!

We'll start at Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to the stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! After skipping Rotaryfest for a second straight year, these will be Greg, Alex, and Warren's first traditional plugged-in gigs since rocking the same venue three weeks ago, with their only interim date being an "uncorked" show at The Water Tower Pub on July 12th. Good to see this talented veteran trio back at it, and hopefully they deliver more fun and hard edged classic and hard rock covers for fans downtown this weekend! As usual for their dates at Reggie's, this weekend's shows have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of your local 225 at Reggie's on July 5th! This live-stream from their Facebook page captures the guys covering Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show's "Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'".

Sadly as usual, this video was shot vertically, helping accentuate the lack of fans on the floor at this point in the night (one of my main issues with vertical orientation of concert videos), but the cover is sound, as fans who've seen this song done live or in past videos will know! My mom loved Dr. Hook, so she'd have gotten a kick out of Bone Yard's cover! The overly red/purple lighting won't be for everyone, but check this video out below, and don't miss Bone Yard 225 back at Reggie's this weekend!

Next up, the summer festival season continues with the sixth annual Go North Music Festival, which returns to Centennial Grounds in Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island TOMORROW! Well, it actually started yesterday with David Francey's sold out show at Richards Landing Town Hall, as part of the festival's expansion to a multi-day event coordinated with the town's Community Night weekend, but the main multi-band program is tomorrow at the former Cornfest homebase. This annual concert festival features local craft and food vendors, overnight camping, and good vibes in general, so be sure to visit the official website for complete non-musical details on what to expect whether making the hour's drive as a music fan and/or camper! Unusually, organizers have not released timeslots for the Saturday program, but gates open at 3:00 PM, and I can't assume an identical timeslot placement to 2023 given that there's one more band this year, so I'll address the bands in descending order of how Go North promotes them online.

If there's a kids stage again featuring scheduled acts playing mini-sets in an alternate locale, organizers haven't said. Tomorrow night's headliners are Juno Award nominated Nova Scotia alt-hard rock quintet The Trews in their first local date since opening for Marianas Trench in the Soo in 2022, and their first headlining date up here since 2009. With songs like "Not Ready To Go", "What's Fair Is Fair", and "Hold Me In Your Arms" in their back catalogue, it will be great to see The Trews' diverse but hard rocking sound back on a local stage, and I do like many of their songs, so this will sure be a different way to experience them! Orillia garage rock band Bleeker will co-headline tomorrow in their first local date since opening for Airbourne in the Soo in 2013 under their old name Bleeker Ridge, back when they played an overall heavier style of music. They're still talented, and their current sound is a better Go North fit!

Juno nominated musician Daniel Romano and his solo band Daniel Romano's Outfit will also make their way to St. Joseph Island with their Welland-based prog rock stylings, as will Hamilton folk/blues singer/guitarist Terra Lightfoot. Three local bands will take the stage tomorrow, including local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich (last seen at Poutine Feast), indie/pop rock standouts The Hollow Heads, and Central Algoma Secondary School's Mustang Sally-esque student band CASS FM (surprisingly this year's only returning act from any prior Go North Festival). It's worth noting that both Bleeker and Handsome Sandwich took part in local news interviews to promote Go North, the former with Bleeker singer Taylor Perkins by SooToday's Chris Belsito and the latter with Handsome Sandwich drummer Johnny Belanger by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly, so what should you know on each?

The Bleeker article is good to reintroduce the band to local fans, and Taylor sounds excited to play at Go North! In the Handsome Sandwich article, Johnny (credited as "John") talks about their recent push to play more shows out of town, implies that they chose the Handsome Sandwich name to spark audience curiosity (I'd say that worked!), and their recent studio work with Treble Charger members. Brian notes in the article that the seven new songs being worked on at the Algoma Conservatory "will likely be released as singles", but whether that is a shift in approach from earlier EP plans or just noting that they're being released individually alongside, I don't know. Handsome Sandwich will also be playing an Ottawa date on September 12th, which I believe was first announced via this article. Good promotion to get the word out about Handsome Sandwich, even without them at Rotaryfest this year!

Also, the expanded Go North Music Festival will host a free concert at Centennial Grounds TONIGHT featuring local pop rock cover quartet Lime during the main Community Night celebrations, so don't miss that if you're on the island! The main festivities at Go North VI take place tomorrow with gates opening at 3:00 PM, and while timeslots are not out, note that The Monowhales' headlining set last year was at 9:40 PM. Admission tomorrow is $60 for attendees 13 years of age & older (kids 12 and under get in free), while $140 camping passes for two are also available (otherwise, camping is a separate $20 rate for those with a tent, $35 if you are bringing a trailer). If you're not paying at the gate, click here to get your tickets online! Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 26° temperatures and partly cloudy weather during Go North tomorrow, so it'll be warmer than last year but will have less of a chance of rain.

Between getting The Trews this year and the move three weeks ahead in the calendar to line up with Richards Landing's Community Night weekend, this is shaping up to be a great time for fans of live music, especially indie and folk-leaning bands, but there's enough hard rock on tap to keep a multitude of fans invested! Visit the above links for full details on what to expect on St. Joseph Island tomorrow, and for a preview, here's The Trews live at GFL Memorial Gardens two years ago!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hazytones) & Treble Charger Reunion Concert Coverage!!

Keeping our recent string of daily posts up at the SMS, today's post features lots of pre- and post-show coverage of a recent reunion concert that got a lot of attention, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related band lineup note for next month!

Montreal stoner/hard rock band The Hazytones will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, April 25th when they rock The Distraction! Readers may recognize The Hazytones from headlining appearances at the former New American Pub in August 2016 and April 2017, and it's good to see them back after six years! Developing a heavier influenced sound on newer material, including their upcoming album "Wild Fever", fans of psychedelic influenced hard rock won't want to miss this show next month!  The local openers next month include local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their Distraction debut and their first announced local gig with new guitarist Brandon Ruch, who the band has finally confirmed is replacing Mitch Sirie on guitar, as per a quiet update to their lineup on their Facebook page. A reason for Mitch's departure was not announced, but Brandon did take Mitch's place during their January tour run.

Hopefully all's well with Mitch, and assuming nothing else happened behind the scenes, he and drummer Johnny Belanger are still bandmates in the reunited Bear Hunters! No word on if Brandon will play any role on Handsome Sandwich's upcoming EP, but Mitch did record material for it before leaving. Back to the Hazytones show, the other openers are young local hard rock quartet Sylo (née Raincourt) in their second show since reuniting and since adding Alder Devries on guitar. They're a talented group on the rise, so don't be late for their set either! As usual for The Distraction, this show has a special "$15 or pay-what-you-can" entry model, and doors open at 7:30 PM. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, here's some Sault Star coverage & fallout from this past Thursday's Treble Charger reunion concert at The Machine Shop! Two articles were posted, one from before the show and one after it, and we'll start with Brian Kelly's article from this past Tuesday, featuring interview remarks with singer/guitarist Greig Nori. I will note before we get too far that I, along with Sault Star reporters, have recently noted that the reunion concert was their first show since Rotaryfest 2018. Locally, that is true, but I completely forgot that Greig & Bill played at the final Burger Fest in Vaughan back in July 2019, and you can see pictures from that event at this link. My apologies, but it's still been a near five year wait! That said, in Brian's article, Greig noted "I’ve never gone this long not playing a Treble Charger set", and while that may be true in terms of him alone, Treble Charger's 2012 return was after a near 8 year hiatus from live concerts.

In the article, Greig discusses how hard it was for him to get back in the swing of things re: playing a full Treble Charger set, how exciting it is to play the songs again, and how new music could happen in the future (they had actively teased hitting the studio in the 2010s but clearly not much came of that). Now to the show proper, which was a fundraiser for the Algoma University music program in order to buy instruments, fund scholarships, and bring in touring musicians. The show was covered in this article by newer Sault Star journalist Kyle Darbyson. "Several hundred fans" packed The Machine Shop for the proceedings, which raised over $10,000 for Algoma's music program, which is awesome to hear! Alongside established originals, Treble Charger played Pixies, Golden Earring, and Iggy Pop covers. Official advertising never outlined openers or guests, so who all else played on Thursday?

The opening act was local pop singer/guitarist Tianna Legacy with a backing band of Algoma University music students, including drummer Will Carnes, but full performer credits weren't listed. At least three guests joined Greig, Bill, and (session?) bassist & drummer Frank Deresti and David Peredun, including Greig's daughter Ava on backing vocals and Algoma assistant music professor Andree-Ann Deschenes on keytar. Both joined in on "American Psycho". As well, aforementioned Handsome Sandwich guitarist Brandon Ruch guested with Treble Charger for their set-closing cover of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" (if he, Ava, Andree-Ann, or anyone else played on other songs, they weren't mentioned in the article). Of course, Brandon is an Algoma music program alum himself who has worked with Greig a lot at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, and has further plans with him in the pipeline.

No public videos from Thursday have surfaced (yet?), but I have moved Treble Charger back to our active band links, as this was not a one-off set! They will play their first non-local date since Burger Fest 2019 when they play at Riverfest in Elora (outside of Guelph) in August, though full disclosure, festival organizers have not announced any performers yet. Greig noted in Kyle's article that they have other offers to play in Southern Ontario, and "we’re hoping to get out there a little more". It's great to see that everything went well for Treble Charger and Algoma University alike on Thursday, so read Brian & Kyle's Sault Star articles above, and look for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Halloween Concert Updates, A New Cover, And Much More!!

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!

Rotaryfest 2023 Fallout & Videos (Part 1)!!

After managing to dodge most of the rain in the weather forecast, Rotaryfest is in the books for 2023, and there is a fair amount out about the Soo's summer festival from its music stages! We'll start with Stage 1 bands at Clergue Park on Saturday night, and while a featured touring band hasn't closed the main stage since 2016, it does make sense on paper to start with Winnipeg-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bed of Roses, who had pictures taken by an uncredited Sault Star photographer that you can see at this link, There are also photos by Ron Jokelainen from First Local News, which is the rebranded and relaunched SaultOnline, whose website was abruptly taken down on June 12th despite posting new articles just two days prior, as well as videos of new local cover band Bourbon Blue on their Facebook page. While site staff were vague on the reason for the change, issues with the prior domain host may have been a factor.

Losing years of site content is not ideal whatsoever, and a little transparency in that regard may have been ideal for SaultOnline readers, but First Local News has improved in the ensuing weeks, and hopefully they can pick things up reasonably well! New name's not especially "local" to the Soo though. As for Ron's Bed of Roses coverage, the photos are not on the same quality as The Sault Star's, but you do get more of a write-up of their set, so click here to see everything of his! The only other Rotaryfest coverage there to touch on the music was this article featuring a photo of The Wyld Stallyns' set on Saturday, coincidentally also the Stage 1 band performing in three photos from Alex Flood's coverage on SooToday (he also got one of Stage 2 performers Distich's set). One more news coverage note, as Renegade/Bed of Roses frontman Darryl Clayton was interviewed by The Sault Star!

In advance of Rotaryfest's kickoff, this article by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly went up on Wednesday where Darryl talked about the differences in paying tribute to both Bon Jovi and Styx, what it was like playing live in front of Bon Jovi bassist Hugh McDonald, and how he first got into covering Styx, among other related topics. Good read for fans, and apologies for being late to the party in addressing it here! As far as videos go, we do have some public footage to check out of the closing bands on Saturday, as the ever-prolific Christopher Paci was back at Rotaryfest to film a few bands this year for his packed YouTube channel, including two clips of Bed of Roses' sister band Renegade in their headline set on Friday. I wouldn't say Styx are a "hard rock" band, but you can check out their faithful renditions of "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto" by clicking there or above, and they had a good turnout!

As for Bed of Roses, Chris filmed three videos of them tackling the Bon Jovi classics "Wanted Dead Or Alive", "It's My Life", and as embedded below, "Living On A Prayer". Chris was nowhere near the stage (a possible consequence of arriving for just the later sets), but he got a good central vantage point and made optimal use of the zoom function. Bed of Roses delivered a solid sound for Bon Jovi fans, especially compared to how the real thing sounded in concert last year, and the crowd was very receptive and eager to sing along, which you love to see! Check out Chris' videos above & below, and stay tuned for more from him soon!

We'll close today with the one-off headlining reunion of local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester (yes, their recent Facebook rehearsal video is also coming soon), as Chris filmed them covering Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" and as embedded below, AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock". Of course, this set was fronted by original singer Richard Fullerton rather than Greg Simpson, so mid-2000s That's Chester fans were definitely excited. Everyone performs strongly in both clips, and the Chesters get lots of time to rock out and show off during the AC/DC cover, with guitarist Gabe Tessaro (nice to see pause his retirement for a night) even pulling off some Angus Young moves and a nice extended guitar solo! Whether you prefer Ritch or Greg (or even Jim) is a matter of personal preference, but Ritch had strong enthuasiasm and vocals to match on these covers, so check everything for yourselves out above & below!

That's all for now, but look for more from Rotaryfest and elsewhere on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Project, A New Album Release, And Marianas Trench/Trews Concert Fallout!!

After a weekend trip out of town, I'm back home to play catch-up with recent news and notes as we enter September's final week! Today's post is half devoted to fallout from a major recent concert, but we're leading off with a new band and a new album release you guys should hear about, so let's get things rolling before the day drags on any longer!

We have a new local hard rock solo project (for now) to add to our band links, entitled Less Than Zero! This is the new project from former Winkstinger rhythm guitarist Jason Ladouceur, who has moved back home and has been working on Less Than Zero since at least July via their page on Bandlab (no sign of a Facebook page yet). Surprisingly, Less Than Zero are a rap rock project, which might seem like an odd concept in 2022, but it's not unheard of nowadays. Remember, The Apocalypse Afterparty already fly that flag, and the now-inactive Stoned To Deaf favoured the sub-genre also. Jason has been very enthusiastic about Less Than Zero as of late, as Facebook friends will attest, and he does hope for this to expand beyond a solo studio project, with a Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on September 3rd looking for band members so they can play live in town.

Over a dozen original song demos are on Less Than Zero's Bandlab page, plus an off-subgenre cover of Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets", so head there to check those out. Jason handles vocals for the project, and he uses sampled drums at the moment. The songs on offer vary in heaviness, with some having a mild techno beat and others being straight up hard rock, and while there is definitely promise here, I do think Jason needs to dial in how his vocals sound, which often come across like overly processed spoken word than the more aggressive rapping that some of these sounds would seemingly call for. Interesting ideas though, and a change of pace in many respects, so give Less Than Zero a listen above!

Next up, here's a surprise new album release, as local alt/blues hard rock veterans Sykotyk Rampage surprisingly released their 67th canon studio album (and third of 2022) on Friday to their Bandcamp page! No sign of a matching Reverbnation upload yet, but their prior album "Scott's Pub & Crash Music" (also from this month) hasn't gotten one yet either, Entitled "Love Muffin", the album has a dark cover image reminiscent of some of their earlier releases in layout, if without their usual irreverence (for that, listen to the songs!) The album is another long one (if not as long as "WYRD Radio 2") with 20 songs that would require two CDs if released physically. Three of the songs are labelled as "Live22" at the end, implying that they are live re-recordings at The Cave, and with new songs on offer like "Doodahoopaloo" and "Circus of Konfusion" on offer, you know their usual blue Chinese metal crash punk stylings will be on full display!

As I said when I mentioned the release of "Scott's Pub & Crash Music", an SMS review of a new Sykotyk Rampage album is not imminent, as we only just reviewed "WYRD Radio 2" in July, but one or the other is tentatively pencilled in for January 2023. In the interim, "Love Muffin" runs for $7 on Bandcamp , and can be streamed for free there as well, so fans of the Beckers, Shane, and Tony won't wanna miss out above!

We'll close with news coverage & media from a major recent concert, namely the Marianas Trench/Trews show at GFL Memorial Gardens on Thursday night! I don't believe SooToday were on hand to cover the show, but the Sault Star's Jeffrey Ougler and SaultOnline's Mike Chikoski were present to get pictures for their respective publications, For SaultOnline's article (otherwise written by Craig Huckerby), Mike snapped 26 pictures, with thirteen being of Marianas Trench, seven of The Trews, three of local openers The Northwest, and three of front row fans during the headliners' set. The Sault Star's article has a little more said about the show itself, but less pictures (23), and not in the exact performance order, but there are nine of Marianas Trench, seven of The Trews, five of The Northwest, and two of fans. Solid pictures on both fronts with some really good angles!

In terms of videos, there is surprisingly only one public YouTube video that I've found at press time, and it's from The Northwest's set! This was filmed by the ever-prolific Christopher Paci for his YouTube channel, and while it was uploaded on Friday, further videos have not followed from the touring bands. He has staggered uploads before, so if more surface, we'll let you know. Chris filmed the local indie/punk quintet playing what appears to be either a new original song or a cover (if the latter, I couldn't make out the lyrics). Regardless, it features guitarist Greg Callaghan on vocals for the verses with Wayne Watkins on choruses, which is reminiscent of "Lights" from "All In", but not a match. The audio isn't overly crisp through the camera, which can be a hazard of shows at the Gardens, but Chris had a strong angle, and I'm curious to hear this song in studio form! Check it out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!

More Updates From Recently Active Local Hard Rock Artists!!

Before we begin this news post, I just wanted to note that Frightlight/Soo Fighters/et al. drummer Chris Thompson's obituary is now up on SooToday, confirming that he suddenly passed away on Monday night at Sault Area Hospital with his family by his side. Chris is survived by his wife Stephanie Nelson, his kids Destiny & James, his parents, his sister, and numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews, among other extended family & friends. At Chris' request, there will not be a public funeral service, but a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. Arrangements will be handled by the Arthur Funeral Home and Barton & Kiteley Chapel, and the family would appreciate donations (by check) to the Canadian Diabetes Association or the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Having lost my mother last fall, I know all too well what the Thompson clan are going through, and my continued thoughts go out to them!

Given his deep musical connections, a tribute concert would be extremely apt, whether that's what the celebration of life will be or not, but I have no inside information. With Christmas just a month away, keep Stephanie, Destiny, James, and the rest of their family in mind over the holidays, and hopefully they hold their great memories as close as they can. R.I.P. Chris!

Now, today's post features some assorted updates from a couple of local hard rock/metal acts, and we'll start out in Thompson, Manitoba (literally), as prolific local alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith will play his first public concert since before the pandemic there this Saturday! Of course, Thompson is ever so slightly out of our coverage range (22 hours west of the Soo), but if you're curious, Mike is opening for a stand-up comedy show benefiting Thompson's Seniors Community Resource Council, and he will have a full backing band with four additional musicians, finally realizing a goal from his cancelled CD release party last year! It'd be very interesting to see Mike with a full band again, hopefully someone's filming! Mike will also be hosting the annual Thompson Santa Claus Parade earlier that day, but if he's performing any music there, no one has confirmed that.

Sure, none of this is taking place locally, but in the wake of the "Bridges" release (our review coming in the next few days) and with the long wait for Mike to return to some sense of normalcy as a live musician, I had to mention his busy weekend ahead. Moving things more towards "Bridges", the album did get a review on the Winnipeg-based blog Bad Gardening Advice, which didn't grade it proper or really analyze individual tracks, but the review uses a lot of symbolic and regional references for the overall concept, which helps when you're in the same province and know about the Mystery Bridge already! Finally for today's Mike updates, let's finally take things truly local, as The Sault Star's Brian Kelly interviewed him for this article last week, so what should you know there? Mike discusses isolation and mental health, his adjustment in moving to Thompson, and the album release proper, ...

 

...though most of the interview is via Brian's solid write-up, hitting most of the relevant bullet points about Mike's recent activities. Solid read, so give it a look at this link, above, or in the November 18th edition of The Sault Star, and look for our review of "Bridges" by Tuesday!

Finally for today, here's the latest from local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty, who may not be a duo for long! As per the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday, they're looking for "a willing musician... to balance the band", specifically looking for a second bassist or a keyboardist, and similarly to prior musician searches they held in the past, skill level and experience are not required and they'll teach interested parties. The A.A. were a trio pre-pandemic with two bassists (Alice Rose being their last publically named bassist aside from Paul), but in their masked days, they were a quartet with Amanda playing an MPC controller before moving to drums (they have never had a guitarist). Given their wide criteria, it's anyone's guess who The Apocalypse Afterparty will bring on, but we'll let you know when/if a new members signs on, and message the band above or here for more details!

Lastly from the Stanghetta camp, The Apocalypse Afterparty's newly released studio cover of Saul Williams' "List of Demands (Reparations)" has been included on "Nooooooo!!! Volume III", a Noise Rock Now compilation album to benefit German indie rock band Trigger Cut after they lost all of their gear in a fire two weeks ago. This is the third such compilation album already, and all three are available for €1 minimum. The A.A. are the only locally recognizable band on any of these compilations, but give them a listen to see what you think, and consider buying one to help Trigger Cut out! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next, plus a review of "Bridges" before the month ends! Thanks everyone!

Tym Morrison Concert Preview, Rotaryfest Fallout, And New Videos!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Friday evening, and it includes a concert preview for this weekend, some news and notes from the return of Rotaryfest this past weekend, and a couple of new videos. Things have been quiet lately, but hopefully this will help, and here's what you should know!

 

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for one night only THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Last seen at The Mike Case Memorial Stage at The Trading Post last week, this will be Tym's second show of the month at the downtown Reggie's, following his patio gig there on Canada Day. No word on if he'll be confined to the patio again or if he'll be properly indoors, but remember that we were still in Stage 2 on July 1st. Given Reggie's long-term Sunday matinee gigs, I'm surprised that Tym's show is in a later timeslot, especially on a work night, but hopefully he delivers a fun night of classic covers for patrons at Reggie's on Sunday, and with his vast setlist, you know he'll play something for everyone! This is a 19+ event at 7:00 PM with no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live in concert before the pandemic!

Next up, here's some fallout from the drive-thru Rotaryfest at the former Lowe's Plaza from this past weekend! SooToday posted this article featuring photos by Violet Aubertin of activities at the festival on Saturday afternoon, including a few pictures of The Northern Jazz Ensemble and Spyder's Web's sets. Not as populated as it would be when I came later that day, but still nice to see a little normalcy, if adapted for the times! Four pictures of classic rockers Obsession's set from later that night can be seen in The Sault Star's photo album from the festival, photographer uncredited, and while the picture quality is better, the focus here is more on attendees having fun. The Sault Star's Brian Kelly published this article online/in the paper on Monday which features reflections from Rotary Club personnel on how successful this year's festival was in spite of the pandemic.

Nice read that shows that the changes they made this year worked for the best, but what about 2022? Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the first local Rotary Community Day Parade, and Rotary Club president Michael Stone is quoted as saying “I think the plan is for it to be a lot bigger than what we’re doing this year". A presumed return to Clergue Park would definitely allow that, but how big are we talking for the milestone year? Time will tell, but congratulations all around for pulling off Rotaryfest at all this year! Also, we do have a video from one of the heavier acts to share today, courtesy of young local garage/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley's set on Saturday afternoon! This was uploaded to what I believe is new bassist Brendan Betrand's personal YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it features the band covering about half of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times, Bad Times".

Unfortunately, the uncredited filmer was both far away from the stage AND shot the video in a vertical orientation, but they do zoom in a bit. The Uncanny Valley seem to have a good grasp on this Zeppelin classic, and Adrian's voice is a good match, so if you've missed this rising young band since last year, give their Rotaryfest video a watch below!

Finally for today, here's a new video from St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's YouTube channel on Wednesday, and it serves as a playthrough video with bassist Danny Tucker playing alongside the studio track for their song "Time Diffuser" from their 2019 debut EP "Scatter Brain". Recorded outside with some post-production effects and extra camera angles (including Danny providing backing vocals in close-up), the unique setting gives this video some extra interest, even if it isn't the most metal visualization. Danny's a solid bassist as shown here, so give his playthrough a watch below!

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

Early Fallout From Rotaryfest's Music Stage In 2021, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar, who suddenly passed away on Wednesday at the age of 58. At press time, a cause of death hadn't been revealed, but he is survived by his son, Tantric guitarist Sebastian LaBar. Visit your preferred rock music news sources for further details as they roll in. Local fans may recognize Jeff from his appearance with Cinderella at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2011, not to mention their Hair Scare-approved classics like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", "Nobody's Fool", and "Shake Me" that fans got to see singer Tom Keifer perform solo here just before the pandemic began. I'm not a diehard glam metal fan, but Jeff was a talented guitarist who supplied strong work where needed, and our best wishes go out to everyone affected by his loss. R.I.P. Jeff!

Now, today's post is otherwise all about Rotaryfest, which returned to in-person activities yesterday in drive-thru form in the parking lot outside of the former Lowe's, and you can see video from early in The Steeltown Playboys' opening set yesterday in this SooToday article, plus shots of Ribfest and some of the paths vehicles take. From what I have seen in Facebook photos, organizers opted to bring the Clergue Park-era Stage 2 set (or a close facsimile) to Lowe's Plaza for the bands, rather than cart the much larger Stage 1 set north. If you want to have your FM radio ready before arriving, the frequency carrying the music is 107.1 FM, which is interference free, as there are no proper local stations immediately around it. I can confirm that 107.1 FM does carry music before/between bands, presumably to keep the music going for everyone who attends if they choose, so you can leave the radio there for convenience.

A video of Blues Harvest's reunion set is floating around personal Facebook pages, and things seem to go smoothly, but I can't confirm if the audio is from a car radio or if it's the much quieter live sound. Chris Paci (who filmed a lot of major concert videos pre-pandemic) told me that attendees could get out of their vehicle to see the bands if they wore a mask and maintained social distance, and vehicle-less attendees were asked to watch in the grassy hill by Pennington's. The live music feed was loud enough to be audible without an FM radio, so while it's still quieter than normal, keep that in mind. Lastly from his report, there was a lot of honking in usual applause breaks, which seems to go with the territory (thanks again, Chris!) You can also read more about the 2021 Rotaryfest changes in these preview articles by SooToday's James Hopkin and via The Sault Star's Brian Kelly, plus new photo postings from the newspaper.

The Sault Star's article said that only every second parking space in the stage area would be allocated for attendees, with 50 cars estimated as a maximum attendance, and organizers saying that most attendees would likely only stay for two bands. Be advised that all of this came out while Ontario was in Stage 2 of re-opening, and specifically planned to abide by it's regulations. Despite the province entering Stage 3 yesterday, this follow-up article by Brian Kelly confirms that the already-planned format is not changing, as it's too late logistically and organizers are fine with how safe it is. Most of the articles otherwise are just going over the rules to enter and safely get ribs/see the bands, while optimistically talking up this year's format and the hope for a return to Clergue Park in 2022. Kudos to The Rotary Club for doing what they can to ensure that this year's festival takes place safely!

Finally, here's the debut single from Rotaryfest newcomers Jonesy Land... at least in name! While the band you'll be seeing at 7:00 PM tomorrow is a proper punk band paying tribute to frontman Dustin Jones' back catalog, the Tidal Records YouTube channel posted this video last month for their song "Sunshine Parades" which features a softer reggae-inspired sound and motivational lyrics about seeing better days and coming together, with suitable photos interspersed with videos of Dustin singing neck deep in water and while strumming the guitar on the beach. So far, this is the only Jonesy Land-branded song that has been released, but Dustin had been posting occasional new acoustic originals online during the pandemic that were never tied to one of his bands, so are they for Jonesy Land? In any event, the video does not feature any of the backing members of the live band you'll see tomorrow.

The song is fun and cheerful, and perfectly fits the lyrical content, so fans of Dustin's softer and folksier music won't jump too far to see where he's going with this! Time will tell if Jonesy Land is just a name for Dustin's truly solo exploits of if tomorrow's show is actually the debut of a proper full-time band (they don't truly have social media pages yet), but give "Sunshine Parades" a watch below, and maybe we'll hear it tomorrow?

That's all for today, but stay tuned for new news posts in the coming days, and don't miss day #2 of Rotaryfest tonight, with the final 7 bands playing tomorrow! Thanks everyone!