After a slow stretch for news and updates on the SMS over the weekend, we are back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, and yes, our latest YouTube Channel Profile will follow by tomorrow! Here, we have a new concert video, and details on a new contest that four local bands (and counting?) have jumped in on, but first, here's big updates from a band whose days are numbered, but still have a lot to offer!
Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din have finally posted their live album "The Din Does Laundry" on Bandcamp... well, most of it! With their planned disbanding now under a month away, their sole paid non-studio CD (recorded at The Gore Street Cafe in March 2016 and released the following month) is now finally available for digital download on their Bandcamp page, complete with exclusive cover artwork in this format, so if you missed the limited physical release last year, here's your (partial) second chance! It's on a "name your price" model, but for reference, CDs cost $3 last year. If you're a purist, you will want to track down the original CD, as the Bandcamp version is noticeably pared down, primarily due to the four covers ("Fragile Bird", "The Old Apartment", "Times Like These", and "With A Little Help From My Friends") being removed for obvious legal reasons. That said, it'd be cool to see them posted as Facebook or YouTube exclusives if possible.
Apart from that, there have been more edits to the included songs, most notably the merger of the short introduction tracks "Spin Cycle" & "Leamington, Ontario" into the full songs "A Drive Through The Peninsula" & "75" that followed them, while virtually every remaining song has had minor edits to the start and finish (largely to remove dead air.) Finally, two songs were re-titled, with the closing track now using it's shortened title "Potato", while "We Met As Surrogates" (promoted from unlisted bonus status) now has it's alternate title "We Met At The Circus". So, a 16 track, 64 minute CD was chopped down to a 10 track, 45 minute digital album, but if you didn't/can't get the original copy, this is better than nothing, and a nice surprise as The Din wind down their active run, so stream or download it at the above links! In one more solely-Din related note, they recorded a new "cover of the month"-style video, albeit exclusively for their Facebook page on Friday, and it's their version of Matchbox Twenty's "3 AM".
Featuring multiple camera angles of The Din in their jam session locale of similar older clips,this is a solid cover, as fans will have come to expect, but it's not an overly up-tempo or heavy choice of cover. Still, with studio quality audio from Pretoria Hill Productions, this is another nice bonus in The Din's final weeks, so give it a watch below, and don't miss them at The Canadian THIS FRIDAY NIGHT in their third-to-last live concert!
Next up, a few local bands have thrown their hat into the ring for Sunrise Records' Local Artist Contest, where one lucky Canadian band will win nationwide distribution of their CD at the music store chain! The grand prize winning band will also receive 500 copies of said album on CD & vinyl, the album as a personalized plaque, a feature on Sunrise Records' website, plus "social & newsletter support", while a runner-up band will get 500 copies of their album on CD, distribution at regional Sunrise stores, and "social support". As best as I can tell, four local bands (The Din, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., and prog rock quintet Machines Dream) have signed up so far, with Jack Spades leading the way locally in 14th place for total votes, but all four bands could use your support, especially Machines Dream, who are distantly trailing at press time. Your band can get in on the contest too, by signing up at this link, and you can also vote there as well, where you can vote for multiple bands, albeit only once a day for each (a free registration is required.)
Beyond that, voting ends on Halloween, when the ten highest voted bands will enter the "judgement round", where Sunrise representatives will determine the winners, to be announced on November 10th. This sounds like a cool contest that's already attracting lots of local interest, and with a chance to vote for as many bands as you want once each daily, you can help get all four local bands and potential further sign-ups to move up the ranks! Best of luck, and click the above links or visit the appropriate Facebook links for further details on the contest! Remember, Sunrise replaced HMV at the Station Mall earlier this year, so stop in to support our newest record store!
Finally for today, here's a new Facebook video of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906, as shared from guitarist Joe Jenkins' personal Facebook page to the band's own Facebook page yesterday! A nearly-complete cover of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls", this was filmed at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman on Saturday night, marking a rarity in both locale and length for their publically available videos. The video's visuals aren't entirely clear (the constantly changing lighting doesn't help), but it's a fine rendition of this Queen classic on a stationary camera, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more on their upcoming dates!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next, with more news and notes to follow! Thanks everyone!
Before we tackle this weekend's concert previews, here's a new news post for you guys to check out, if you are so inclined! This post contains some new videos from a recent concert, and some assorted recent updates, but let's kick things off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!
Toronto hard rock quartet Return For Refund will make their local concert debut on Thursday, April 6th when they headline at The New American Pub! Harbouring a 1990s-feeling blend of genres like grunge and alternative, with even some bluesy touches, Return For Refund are touring in support of their new CD "Lift You Up", and they should prove to be a well-recieved and entertaining attraction at The New A in three weeks! Local support will come via newer local pop punk quartet A Dire Setback and former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus (in his solo debut at this venue), and while neither are a "hard rock" act, their talents speak for themselves, and they should prove a nice compliment on the 6th! Note that I'm unclear who's promoting this show, as Live705 nor Mike are claiming it, so it may have been through the venue. In any event, this is a 19+ show with a $5 cover charge and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on this intriguing concert!
Next up, here's a pair of new videos posted to the aforementioned Live705's Facebook page during this past Saturday's March Mash-Up at The Canadian Nightclub, showcasing two bands from that day's events. One is of local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, as uploaded during their set, albeit posted twice when promoters weren't sure if the first copy went through. This was one of the band's first songs during their set, though I'm not 100% certain of the title, partly as this is is just 41 seconds long and doesn't feature a part with vocals. Still, this is some quality side-stage devastation from Robert, Jordan, and Bret, so give it a look below!
Live705's other video is of new local alternative hard rock quartet Bizotic playing a song during soundcheck before the concert proper actually began, though given my still light knowledge of their songs by name, I can't title this one. Given that this is from soundcheck, Bizotic are lacking the spontaneity and atmosphere of their actual set (not to mention, their plasma clock), but they sound good here, and the trumpet is largely audible! Check it out below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical orer by artist or venue name:
Project 421 frontman Blair Burch is "looking for an outlet" where he can play guitar in a hard rock or metal setting, though he doesn't want to play in a band with death metal growling vocals, and he has lots of available time and a jam space. What this posting means for the future of Project 421 (who indicated that "we aren't going anywhere" on their Facebook page three weeks ago) isn't clear, but he's a talented guitarist, so message Blair at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Sunday if you're interested in jamming with him!
I have deleted former Gore Street concert venue GLOW (a.k.a. The Other Place, Nite-Life Dance Club, etc.) from our inactive concert venue links due to the deletion of it's last known surviving Facebook group at some point in recent years. Also, it's old FreeWebs page has since been "frozen" itself too, and I doubt Mike would revive it at this point, so there goes the backup plan. The GLOW location always felt like a quality locale for concerts prior to it's ultimate closure in 2010, and hopefully it finds a new long-term purpose!
It's official: Sunrise Records is taking over HMV's spot in Station Mall later this year! The Soo location was among the first 29 new branches announced for the Ancaster-based record store chain's takeover of at least 70 HMV stores, and this has since been confirmed via local news media. I hope Sunrise Records does well in the Soo, and can at least match the decade-long runs that Music World and HMV had in this location of the mall, so stay tuned for when they open hopefully later in the spring! For reference, HMV liquidation sales are now at least 40-60% off everything in store, and they must close by the end of next month.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
February 2017 is now in the rear view mirror, so let's tackle March with a new news/concert preview post! Barring the potential rush of late notice shows, this is a quiet weekend for hard rock fans, and for the record, we'll be covering Sunday's K-Man & The 45s post on Saturday in all likelihood, with this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post coming in between, either tonight or tomorrow. Now, let's kick things off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!
With March now commenced, we'll add local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's next slate of Gliss Steak & Seafood concerts to our band links, including matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, plus an extra nighttime show at The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on those three, we waited for Facebook confirmation of the shows as usual, which came a couple of days ago. SATURDAY'S Barrelhouse show will mark Tym's third show at the downtown tapas restaurant since debuting there last month, but his Gliss shows will march unabated into the spring, with this weekend's gigs also joining presumed & likely concerts at The Quality Inn's house restaurant on March 10th & 11th, 17th & 18th, and 24th & 25th, as well as March 31st & April 1st, as the two months straddle that weekend. Sounds like a solid and busy month of gigs, so don't miss Tym's unplugged cover favourites on the above dates!
All of this month's Gliss shows (including TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S) have no announced cover charges or age limits, though keep in mind their host venue, and they're all 6:00 PM events, while his Barrelhouse show on SATURDAY is presumably 19+, takes place at 10:00 PM, and also has no cover. For more details on this weekend's shows, click here & here or visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Tym live!
Next up, local 1980s-themed cover hard rock band Soundcheck will return to The Rednecks Saloon for their St. Patrick's Day party on Friday, March 17th! Announced on unusually early notice for one of Terry & Steven's bands, this will mark their first show for the former Nameus since rocking The Rockstar Bar last month, and to fit the holiday theme, expect drink specials, green beer, and even hot dogs for the occasion! The Facebook event page (from members' promotional company Twin City Sound) also notes that Soundcheck have "a new addition to our band", implying that they're expanding to a quartet, but unless the band launches a Facebook page or indicates their identity on a personal Facebook page, we may have to wait two weeks for the reveal. Given Steven Flint's multi-instrumental talents and ease of moving to them, the implied new member isn't necessarily a second guitarist, but we'll let you know if we hear anything!
No word yet on a potential Saturday the 18th booking at Rednecks, but as for Soundcheck, expect a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit, and while there isn't an announced cover charge, bring cash in case there's special holiday admission fees and/or to partake in the refreshments. Check the above links for current details on this St. Patrick's Day bash, and stay tuned for possible updates on Soundcheck's teased "new addition"!
Also today, here's a very delayed new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, courtesy of their Facebook page from two weeks ago! Apologies for the wait in getting this on here, especially as it commemorates a milestone for The Din, as they surpassed 500 fans on Facebook last month! The video features drummer Brandan Glew noting to Mike and Tammy that he watched a Star Trek episode about alternate dimensions where there are slightly different copies of everyone, as they wonder how things would be different in the band if they were in such a dimension. This leads to two different clips of The Din with members swapping (Brandon on vocals, Mike on guitar, and Tammy on drums, then Tammy on vocals, Brandan on guitar, and Mike on drums), plus the real band's reactions. Without giving anything away as to how the alternate Dins sound, this is a cute video that showcases everyone outside of their usual roles, and one variant comes across better than the other!
Just as an aside, did they miss the boat by not showcasing an evil alternate version of The Din where everyone's wearing goatees? Now 535 likes strong, The Din are showing no signs of slowing down, so check out their newest Facebook video below, and stay tuned for much more from them!
Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge on there that Ancaster-based record store chain Sunrise Records have announced that they are moving into at least 70 current HMV
locations once they close by the end of next month, which has led to
speculation that Sunrise is taking over the local HMV's place at Station Mall.
In articles from both The Sault Star & SooToday,
mall officials would
neither confirm nor deny that Sunrise Records are opening up there, but
if you ask me, they'd have denied it if they weren't at least talking. This would make sense if it happens, as that location at the Sears end of the mall has had a music store since Music World moved there in the late 1990s, so we'll have to see what happens! For what it's worth, write-ups on Sunrise Records indicate that they sell albums from local musicians, plus a fair amount of vinyl records, and they encourage HMV employees to apply to work at new Sunrise branches. In the meantime, what is known is that HMV's liquidation sales are now 30-50% off, as per their website, so keep the increasing deals in mind!
In one last somewhat related note, novelty gift store chain Spencer's Gifts (which is opening at Station Mall in the coming months) is obviously not taking over the HMV location. Spencer's is actually opening in the corridor between Sportchek and Roots, and if it's not opening in the former Bluenotes location, it's opening near it. They do sell band merchandise though, so keep them in mind when Spencer's finally opens! That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's"Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!
Next up, a few local bands have thrown their hat into the ring for Sunrise Records' Local Artist Contest, where one lucky Canadian band will win nationwide distribution of their CD at the music store chain! The grand prize winning band will also receive 500 copies of said album on CD & vinyl, the album as a personalized plaque, a feature on Sunrise Records' website, plus "social & newsletter support", while a runner-up band will get 500 copies of their album on CD, distribution at regional Sunrise stores, and "social support". As best as I can tell, four local bands (The Din, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, indie rock quartet K.I.C.K., and prog rock quintet Machines Dream) have signed up so far, with Jack Spades leading the way locally in 14th place for total votes, but all four bands could use your support, especially Machines Dream, who are distantly trailing at press time. Your band can get in on the contest too, by signing up at this link, and you can also vote there as well, where you can vote for multiple bands, albeit only once a day for each (a free registration is required.)
