YouTube Channel Profile Series: DogRun Stray

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again shine a spotlight on a (as usual) randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts! This monthly feature takes us to a prolific and familiar face in the local metal and punk community, albeit not his most recent YouTube presence, so here's what you should know for this month!

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DogRun Stray (http://youtube.com/@dogrunstray1905)

Owner: Local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase James Wigmore, also known from projects like The Strange Coyotes, This Is Your Band On Drugs, Them, Project Legion, The Autumn Roots, The Black Lodge Masters, The Coyote Speedfreaks, Manitou, and Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 26th, 2012; Videos uploaded from August 2013 through July 2022

Channel Summary: Chase's official YouTube channel for most of his musical projects for the better part of a decade, almost four dozen videos are uploaded here, including studio tracks, live (mostly at-home) performances, full albums, and lots of material linked to his Black Lodge Masters project in particular. A few videos lean more to comedy as well, including his first upload, where he added a smooth jazz soundtrack to old CBC footage of Pierre Trudeau.

Why You Should Watch: This is a must watch channel for fans of Chase's prolific and very skilled solo output, and there's loads to see and hear here from his folk punk, metal, and experimental sides from the mid-2010s onward! However, he largely moved over to a new eponymous channel launched in January 2021 for his more recent videos, though the two channels did co-exist with new uploads for a year and a half. Also, note that Chase does upload unique video content to his Facebook page that was never featured on either YouTube channel

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

The Sapphoerotic Asphyxiations of Shannon and Linda: The only video here of Chase at a formal local concert comes from Heavy North Entertainment's inaugural event, which took place on January 24th, 2014 at the former Oddfellows Hall. This all-local show featured nine acts, including Chase solo and the final gig by his old hard rock trio The Strange Coyotes of their original run. Joined here by bassist James Watterworth (ex-Blackwater) on saxophone and then-Din frontman Mike Haggith on drums, The Coyotes are seen here playing their long experimental original "The Sapphoerotic Asphyxiations Of Shannon & Linda" with Chase playing violin, and you have to take their word on it given how dark this video is. This is definitely more for fans of discordant noise rock, especially thanks to the largely spoken word vocals, but it shows how creative this band was in their heyday! A free upload of The Strange Coyotes' first album can also be heard here.

Running Out Of Beer - Chase James Wigmore: The most popular video on Chase's "DogRun Stay" channel is his non-album original song "Running Out Of Beer" from March 2018. A lo-fi folksy number with a bit of a country sound, the song is obviously about what the title suggests, but Chase elaborates as to what happens as the beer currently being drank is depleting, specifically what happens if you happen to have picked up a girl that same night, and desperately want to stay drunk as problems escalate. I do prefer Chase's heavier and more produced material, but fans of his more reserved folk side will take this this original, which does stand out among the pack on this channel!

She Crawls Towards It - CxJxWx (from Seven Curses 2018): Of the multiple solo performance videos of Chase on this YouTube channel, one of my favourites in a metal context is this December 2018 video of him playing "She Crawls Towards It" from his YouTube-exclusive album "Seven Curses", with the original studio track playing in the background. Despite grainy webcam visuals, fans of black metal will absolutely take to this intense and brutal at-home performance, with Chase vamping for the camera as needed while playing along with one of his heavier songs from one of his heavier albums, even if it stalled as a free YouTube upload! 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will keep on a single channel trend when our next randomly selected channel is that of YouTube user LionelRocks, featuring 16 videos of late 2000s-early 2010s glam metal quartet Dirty Virgin! Watch for that on or around September 26th, and for more news on the site next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: 62ndChamberMedia's Channel

A day early, but here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly spotlight of a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts! This month's pick gives us some prominent extreme metal content from the local scene eight years back, so here's what you should know!

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62ndChamberMedia's channel (http://youtube.com/62ndchambermedia)

Owner: 62nd Chamber Productions owner Boyd Rendell (a.k.a. Darby Wigwaus), who is also known for his work as a vocalist and guitarist in extreme metal projects like AlgomA, BeeFMouTH, and Molten Imp

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 11th, 2013; Videos posted from May 31st of that year until June 8th, 2014

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Boyd's inactive film production company, it's contents are primarily devoted to local musicians (mostly metal ones) that were active in 2013, which he either worked with or hosted shows featuring. While primarily of live concert footage, uploaded videos also include two interviews, a jam session clip of a private BeeFMouTH reunion, and teaser commercials for two AlgomA concerts.
 
Why You Should Watch: Local metal fans will be most interested in 62nd Chamber Productions' channel, and it captures a lot of the highlights of the scene from eight years ago! Hard to believe it's been that long since these were filmed. However, the channel has not been visibly used since 2014, preceding 62nd Chamber's website being taken down in 2016. As well, the channel does not include 62nd Chamber's short film work from the early 2010s, most notably their short film "The Last Strand".

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

GIWAKWA - Iron Lung --- from a LXII bootleg currently in production: The first concert video here is of inactive local death/doom metal quartet Giwakwa playing their original song "Iron Lung" when they opened for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall in May 2013. The video title hints that this was from a "bootleg currently in production", but whatever that was alluding to never got publically released. Despite a green post-production filter and a low frame-rate, this video captures Josh, Chris, Nolan, and Chris at their usual brutality during this brief run, and hopefully the personal teasers about a Giwakwa reunion of some kind do come to fruition!

 

 

Sabrina Strange interviews The Bear Hunters: The most popular videos on 62nd Chamber Prouctions' channel are two interviews conducted by late local metal musician Sabrina Pelchat (a.k.a. Sabrina Strange), specifically with AlgomA and (as featured here) The Bear Hunters, a video which garnered over 1,200 views. Posted in October 2013 in advance of their set at The Big Loonie Bus Show, Sabrina asks the band (minus Josh) about their musical influences, songwriting, album release plans, experiences on the road, among other topics, before closing with a jam room performance of their song "Servitude". Both the interview and song are well done, despite some abrupt cuts, and this is a must-watch for Bear Hunters fans! Note that Sabrina's first public interview (with The Cretin from The Dayglo Abortions) was not posted on this channel, and has since been taken down anyway.

DESTROILET live @ Bark at the Loon I: Four videos on the 62nd Chamber channel come from The Big Loonie Bus Show, a special one-off concert held at La Cucina (underneath Bucci's Place) in Echo Bay by AlgomA's promotion company Oh! Right Arm Promotions, with a bus being rented to get fans unable/unwilling to take the 40 minute drive there and back. With the exception of AlgomA (presumably as band members were the ones manning the camera), every band was filmed across multiple songs, including The Bear Hunters, Crimson Crusade, mystery act Telephone & Address, and as featured here, hardcore punk quintet Destroilet, whose black & white video captures 37 minutes of their usual fury. It's always been hard for me to identify individual songs in Destroilet sets, but lots of familiar originals and covers can be seen here, and everyone puts in a blistering performance!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection has given us YouTube user skam705's channel, featuring dozens of local punk concert videos from the early-mid 2000s and the old (705)VideoMagazine. That should be a good one, so look for it on or around June 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site by month's end! Thanks everyone!

Tarnished, Project 906, And Chase Wigmore News & Videos!!

Let's cover some recent news and updates on the SMS today, primarily from a pair of notable hard rock bands in the E.U.P., but there is lots of recent stuff to touch on from a prominent Sault Ontario musician as well. Hopefully there's more where this came from, but here's what you should know!

 

Here's the latest (non-TikTok) updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished, starting with a surprise lineup change, as they have officially parted ways with drummer Gary Croad. Unlike in their prior drummer departure last year, the band did elaborate on their Facebook page on Thursday, where they implied that Gary made the call to leave, as "he's got his own path to follow", but they praised him and the great ride they've had with him. Gary was confirmed as Tarnished's new drummer in May of last year, replacing Tommy Korcal behind the kit, and he played with them at the Rock The Block concert in July, but he only sporadically took part in their videos posted to social media. Tarnished hinted that Gary "got in with Project 906" (if true, ironically replacing Tommy again), but that has not been confirmed by Project 906's camp at press time. We'll keep you posted on if that proves to be an accurate report or not!

Gary's a solid musician, and while he did seem to be somewhat detached from their social media videos, he will be missed, and hopefully we hear from him again soon! Before Gary left, he did feature (at least) one more time with Tarnished in their fourth "Friday Sessions" appearance on 9&10 News' lifestyle newsmagazine series The Four last week! Here, they played their original song "The Path", in a similar setting to their prior CBS performances, but here with more stage lighting. Solid work as usual, and if you missed The Four on channel 10(.1) last week, check it out at the above links! I can't embed videos from 9&10 News' website here.

Next up, here's a new video from the aforementioned Project 906's Facebook page! Apologies for the delay on this clip, which was uploaded on Christmas Eve, but it remains their most recent posting there (again, no word on if they did switch drummers as of this writing). Around three weeks after posting a Chris Stapleton cover as part of a planned "Songs From The Bedroom" solo performance video series, frontman Billy Bernier returned with a new video, this time not visibly in a bedroom, and this time of a new 906 original song! Entitled "Where's The Love?", this acoustic vocal/guitar rendition is obviously incomplete from how the band will play it, but it has a bluesy rock base that fits their usual sound, and it's well sung! That said, I'd have framed the camera better, too much dead space in the top half. Give Billy's new video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Project 906!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for the latest from prolific local singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore! In a lengthy post on his Facebook page on January 17th, Chase revealed that he has a new full length acoustic album ready to be recorded, and while he was in the process of scheduling record time for it, he hoped to finish it within two months. Later in the post, Chase noted that he is planning to release "The Chase James Wigmore Collection" for sale on USB sticks, featuring his entire solo discography, from raw early trials to his more refined and seriously approached work of more recent years, as part of three volumes. He is currently in "Volume 3" of his solo career, which he teased "will probably be the end" of his solo work, but he never plans to stop playing guitar. Hopefully that's not too finite, he still has a lot to offer musically! Chase also teased further work with The Strange Coyotes, who reunited in late 2019 for a one-off gig at the Dryer Fire pop-up venue, but the pandemic is obviously in the way.

At the end, he noted that he's working on writing a book about the guitar, under the title "Ars Cithara" (which stands for "The Art Of Guitar"), and Chase called it "the single most important project I will ever work on" and "perhaps even my life's purpose." No pressure, clearly, but I'd be very curious to read this when completed! The other note from this post regarded his side project Awokest's new album "Beyonder", which had recently been mixed after some prior technical issues, and two weeks later after this post was made, the album came out as promised as a free upload on his new YouTube channel! If you like Chase's electronic and industrial works with a tinge of extreme metal, you should take to "Beyonder", especially as it's free, though this is a primarily instrumental album. Give Awokest's new music a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Chase's camps when it rolls in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week, plus our latest Defunct Local Band Profile on Monday or Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

Squatfest Concert Preview, Plus A New Live-Streamed Concert!!

Let's close up our first true hard rock concert weekend in the Soo in over four months by previewing a big outdoor house party event tomorrow night, with a live-streamed concert to round things out! Here's what you should know!

With the hard rock concert schedule in Sault Ontario easing back into operation this week, here's the first public multi-band event in the pandemic era, as lots of Blood Shed Productions-affiliated artists will congregate in nearby Heyden TOMORROW NIGHT for Squatfest! To be held outdoors at 5 Dixie Drive (near Christie's RV; look for Nessie), promoters have confirmed that this is a publically attendable event with paid admission, despite the Facebook event page being set to private. Similar in spirit to the Oh!No festival in Leeburn, attendees are welcome to camp at the Squatfest site, enjoy the outdoor amenities on the property, stay overnight, and even come by tonight for a planned bonfire jam and to help set the stage up. Promoted by Blood Shed owner Tyler Gibson and assorted collaborators, a huge lineup of familiar and somewhat newer acts are slated for tomorrow night at Squatfest, so who all can you expect? I will go in order of listed acts on the event page here.

Four solo acts are listed at the top of the event page's lineup, including ex-Brutally Fatal/Revolution frontman (and Blood Shed co-founder) Austin McCrae in a rare solo set, former Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti, prolific folk/punk musician (The Ghost Of) Chase James Wigmore, and Tyler's drum-and-bass side project Alegendary. Chase will reunite with Strange Coyotes bandmate James Watterworth for that funk metal band's second reunion set tomorrow night, while Blood Shed-affiliated death metal one man bands Black Cloud and Tyler's own Crucify the Whore will also take the stage. Party/rap metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will make a rare live appearance at Squatfest, as will rappers Joonas "JSK" Kamula and Austin's rap alter ego Miracle Man. Lastly, the Strange Coyotes will split off into two more solo acts, including James' scarcely seen solo set, while Chase will deliver some extreme metal under his Awokest handle. More unadvertised performers are also planned, we'll let you know if we hear anything.

This presumably all ages event has a 12:00 PM start time, and while a $5 admission fee was previously advertised, it is no longer referenced on the event page. Band and Blood Shed merchandise will be on sale, food and drinks will be available (please don't bring glass bottles), and while Tyler is asking attendees to respect the area and stay clean and on the property, nothing directly references social distancing measures, but of course, please use common sense. This sounds like an ambitious but fun event, especially if you love the Blood Shed roster of artists, so consider a trip up to Heyden tomorrow for Squatfest! For a preview, here's Chase live!



Finally for today, let's get into local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's 34th live-streamed concert, which took place on Tuesday on his YouTube channel! I won't lump yesterday's live-stream in here as it was at a separate location (the Motley Market, host of his Thursday matinee gigs this month), but I am currently planning to hold that one for when we preview his show there next week. After blocking external embedding privileges of his last 7 live-streams, that quarantine has quietly been lifted, so this episode is embedded below! Again, I hope it wasn't because of anything I said or did. Yesterday's live-stream begins about 7 minutes in with a Spanish guitar instrumental, which seems rare to lead off these at-home shows with, but it's well performed as usual! The covers proper lead off with Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", Supertramp's "Breakfast In America", Amy Holland's "Shooting For The Moon",  ...

...Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", and Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart", before Tym played an original song named "The Hardest Stone", which he originally did with his old Hollow bandmates. Tym next tackles Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver", before dipping into the instrumental well again with an adaptation of a classical piece, followed by a cover of The Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon", a partial version of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". and two Days of the New songs ("Shelf In The Room" & "Touch, Peel, and Stand"). After playing a lengthy original instrumental, Tym finished with covers of Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", and The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun". Fun set with lots of classic and occasionally heavy cuts to check out from this talented local veteran!

There did seem to be more chatter between songs with the live viewers, but Tym offered good insights into certain songs and his compositions! However, fans who aren't as into instrumentals may not like their extra focus here, and the Bryan Adams and Jim Croce songs were repeated from last Thursday's live-stream. For the first time in almost a month, give this live-stream a watch below, and stay tuned for his Thursday show in an upcoming post!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Squatfest) & A New Solo Performance Video!!

Kicking off a new and hopefully a much busier (and more positive) month at the SMS, we have a new solo clip to check out, but first, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the Sault Ontario area, believe it or not, and much sooner than you think! Here's what you should know!

Over four months after the Sault Ontario concert calendar ground to a halt, Blood Shed Productions head Tyler Gibson is planning to host a outdoor concert festival called Squatfest on Saturday, August 8th (one week from today!) The Facebook event page is set to private, but Tyler confirmed there that the show is publically attendable and will have paid admission. To be held at 5 Dixie Drive in nearby Heyden (down the road from Christie's RV; look for the Loch Ness Monster statue), this seems to be formatted similarly to the Oh!No festivals, even down to encouraging attendees to stay the weekend and partake in outdoor activities in the vicinity. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic isn't over yet, and while this is outdoors, use common sense if you take the trip north next week. The stacked lineup includes a lot of acts shared between prior projects, many with ties to the Blood Shed label, so I'll be deviating from the Squatfest's advertised artist order here, and it is subject to change.

Tyler himself will perform as his grindcore solo project Crucify The Whore and as his drum & bass side project Alegendary, while his frequent collaborator Chase Wigmore will be performing as himself (presumably doing his folk/punk originals) and as his extreme metal project Awokest. As well, Chase will reunite with Blackwater alum James Watterworth for The Strange Coyotes' second reunion set, though I have yet to hear publically if the band proper is back beyond one-offs, let alone if they will be formatted similarly to their December acoustic gig. James will apparently also play a solo set, much like he frequently did in the early 2010s. Blood Shed co-founder Austin McCrea is scheduled twice for Squatfest, including a regular solo set (perhaps doing Brutally Fatal or Revolution material?) and as his scarcely seen rap alter ego Miracle Man. The remaining acts are not shared elsewhere, including ex-Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti, death metal project Black Cloud, ...

...party rap/metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, and rapper Joonas "JSK" Kamula, who has collaborated with Chase in the past. More yet-revealed acts are also advertised, we'll let you know if they are announced next week. Squatfest is an ALL AGES event with a recommended $5 donation upon entry, and merchandise from Blood Shed and performing acts will be on sale. Camping is welcomed, and while food & drinks will be on sale, Tyler is asking attendees to not bring glass. As well, Tyler is welcoming possible attendees to come to the site as early as Friday to hang out, jam at a planned bonfire, and help set up the stage. Given the climate with the pandemic, any ambitious multi-band concert like this would have to be outdoors due to indoor space limitations and what have you, and Squatfest seems like a workable alternative, if under somewhat limited notice! If you love Blood Shed Productions and Tyler, Chase, James, and Austin's back catalogues, this will be well worth a trip north to Heyden, so see above for more details!

Finally for today's post, here is a new solo performance video from ex-Brain Tuel guitarist Zach Reid's YouTube channel, as posted last month! An instrumental acoustic number, this folksier song is well done (if a little repetitive down the stretch), and it's nice seeing Zach still working on some new music during these crazy times. Give this video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

More Offspring Concert Videos, Plus A Recent Live Clip!!

Tonight, let's finally look at the rest of the publically posted videos from last month's Offspring-headlined concert at GFL Memorial Gardens, plus a bonus live video from last week! I had held off on covering the rest of the Offspring videos as I was waiting to see if any more footage popped up, but we've waited more than long enough now. All of these are of the headlining California punk legends, as only one public channel filmed either of the openers, which we covered already on here. We'll start with local concert promoters Live705's video for their Facebook page (they got some photos too), where they filmed The Offspring's first four songs, namely "Americana", "All I Want", "Come Out & Play", and their new track "It Won't Get Better". Nice and close angle, the footage looks and sounds good, and they make use of the camera zoom when needed, so fans will want to check this one out below!



Next up, let's head to YouTube, where Wawa-based author Duane Roy (of "Castle Stories" & "Soo Stories" fame) uploaded three videos from The Offspring's set onto his channel, in his first local concert uploads since The Tea Party's show here in February. Two of Duane's videos are fairly short, namely of the songs "Gone Away" & "Why Don't You Get A Job", but embedded below is their local rendition of "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)", as preceded by guitarist Noodles praising Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for it's sexiness. Filmed from the seats to the stage's right, the stage is well lit and the audio mostly holds up, so give these a look above & below!



Lastly for Offspring videos that I know of, here is a 20 second clip uploaded by YouTube user Gary Robertson during their performance of "Bad Habit". Aside from the very beginning and end, this focuses on a young attendee (perhaps a relative?) air-drumming to the song, and he definitely has energy! The music sounds good while it lasts, so give this a look if you want below!



Finally for today, let's head north to Sault Ontario for a video from local funk/metal band The Strange Coyotes reunion gig at Dryer Fire's pop-up venue on Bruce Street on Thursday! Filmed by the promotional agency's Facebook page, this minute-long video answers a few questions about how the band would look in 2019. Specifically, they played an acoustic two-man set with Chase on vocals & guitar, James on the hand drum rather than bass (nice gloves!), and no replacement drummer in sight. Effective and intense performance while it lasts, so give it a look below, and time will tell if this proves to be more than a one-off gig!
 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more updates soon! Thanks everyone!