Room 206 Vinyl Re-Release Information, A New Video, And Much More!!

Before everyone opens their presents under the Christmas tree, here's a new news post on this Friday morning, and it includes a new concert video, some assorted recent updates, and leading off, new details on a major album re-release for you classic punk fans! Here's what you should know!

As you may know by now, the long-anticipated vinyl reissue of defunct local punk band Room 206's 1994 album "2 Innies & An Outie" was officially released on Wednesday! Remastered and pressed on vinyl by veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon's new local boutique label Soolebrity Records, pre-orders for Saultite customers can be picked up at The Rad Zone, and surprisingly, there are limited copies for sale for $40, so there must have been less than 206 pre-orders, which is all that will be made. Unless I have missed something, there is not a digital streaming/download copy of the album (at least, not yet). I definitely pre-ordered one in the summer and I finally have the album in my possession (copy #72), making up for the fact that I've never seen a cassette copy of it in the wild. Elements of the album's contents have made their way to Facebook already, but what can I glean from it?

If you didn't see the photo teasers on the Mike's Lunch Music Facebook group, the album comes in a plastic sleeve with the information sticker in the bottom right, and inside, you get a sheet with a collage of band photos & documents on one side, and lyrics, credits, and liner notes on the other, as well as a Soolebrity Records sticker. The remaster-specific information includes the credits for the bonus covers of Room 206's "Good Enough" & "I'll Be Around", which feature Mikey himself on vocals & guitar and his Inner City Surfers bandmate Dave Bahun on lead guitar, plus No Use For A Name/Face To Face bassist Matt Riddle (no, not the wrestler), and mixer Scott James from Greyskull Records on backing vocals. Goldfinger's Darrin Pfieffer drums on the former and No Doubt's Adrian Young drums on the latter, which also features Surfers/Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones on backing vocals.

As for the record proper, it is in a nice translucent gold vinyl, and confirming prior photos, all ten songs are on side A. There is no side B, it's completely smooth and does not have it's own label, which does strike me as odd given that "2 Innies & An Outie" was originally on a cassette tape (unless that was single-sided too?). It's great to finally have the Room 206 vinyl remaster for myself, so visit The Rad Zone A.S.A.P. (well, after the holidays) to see if they have any copies left in stock, and look for our review next week!

Next up, here's a new live video of local garage/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley during their Rockstar Bar debut back in August! For one reason or another, the video of this song (their new original "Fumbling Through") was only just posted to their YouTube channel on Monday, marking their first video there in over a year and their first from a public concert (their Rotaryfest video is on a separate personal YouTube channel). Our best look yet at The Uncanny Valley's current lineup, the video prominently shows a keyboard on stage, though I have not seen footage of them making use of that instrument yet, let alone which band member plays it.  The song proper is solidly composed with more of a southern rock bent and a deliberate pacing, so it should play well with fans, but the bright & warm stage lighting isn't optimal for viewing the band. Give their new live clip a watch below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Wyld Stallyns bandmates Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas are looking for a bass player to join their current band, and while they play all genres, "funk is a must". It is not clear whether this search is to fill a vacancy in The Stallyns (who featured Ben Garcia on bass after becoming an electric band this summer) or not, but note that they have not been seen live since August, pandemic acknowledged. If you want more details, message Jonas at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
  
• Former local rock bassist Nathan (Jonna) Bouliane is back home in Sault Ste. Marie through early January, and he has his equipment on hand if any local musicians with studio recordings want to record a music video while he's in town, as per the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last week. Nathan has extensive work in film production via his own McBully Productions imprint, most recently via the video for Ottawa folk musician Almyr Jules' song "Don't Go", so message him here or above if you want any details on possibly shooting a video with him!
• I have removed 2011-2012 Sault Michigan hard rock band Swayze Train from our inactive band links, as their last surviving online page on Reverbnation doesn't have enough surviving band info to warrant an informative inclusion (their Facebook page has long since been taken down). The bridge between fellow early 2010s local bands Electric Motor Fish and Toast, Swayze Train had a talented lineup, and hopefully Melissa, Mike, Scott, Tony, and Tyler are doing well!

That's all for today, but have a Merry Christmas, and we'll see you guys with more news and notes on the site soon, including this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Sunday if all goes well! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, Mike Haggth's New Album, And More Recent News!!

Well guys, the site is shutting down forever... April Fools! I guarantee that in this post (on day 35 of our posting streak), none of the stories are an April Fools joke, but what do we have today? Along with new video finds from a defunct local hard rock band, and some lineup changes for a show next week, we have news on a new album from a local solo artist, and leading off, a new local metal project, so here's what you need to know!

We have a new local metal band to add to our band links, that being the new local grindcore project Tomgrindy! We've covered them on the site in the past, but this is the first word I've seen of them beyond scattered song postings. This is the newest goregrind project to be signed to Blood Shed Productions, and their lineup features label owner/Crucify The Whore mainman Ringsnaps Gibson on vocals, guitar, and programming, along with vocalists/co-writers Jacob Tombari and Jean-Paul Archambault, neither of which I'm familiar with musically. They've posted two songs on Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel so far, one of which has a title referencing the reality show "Jon & Kate + 8" that some might find offensive, while the other (embedded below) is called "Merry Grindmas". From what I can tell, Tomgrindy (who apparently have a demo in the works) is similar to C.T.W. in musical style, albeit with some different vocal effects to go along with the grind growling/squealing (even with some rapping & spoken word sections), but this is still very much an acquired taste that feels unfinished in both length and instrument use.

Lyrics and imagery aside, I think Ringsnaps' projects would get off the ground more if he got a full lineup to flesh out the material, as many listeners (especially those who don't like grind music) will likely find that it just sounds like pig squeals over distorted guitar effects. Shit Liver are proof that grind music can work locally, so why not take it that next step? I think Tomgrindy & C.T.W. could be more impactful if they did, but for now, check out "Merry Grindmas" below, and Tomgrindy are now in our Sault Ontario metal band links!



Next up, Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's newest solo album "The Present Din" is now available for streaming! Coming just a few months after the release of the oft-delayed
 "Neighbourhood Watch", this is Mike's 46th solo album, it was recorded
at Galactic Records with vocal tracks recorded locally at PaperClip Productions (the Haggith band's label/studio) under the supervision of Mike's Haggith bandmate Daniel Horton. The album in full features 9 songs, including the previously announced "Her Song", "The Issue", "Drown", and "Careless Space", while the new songs include "Lost Time", "November Love Song", "Door To My Mind" (which was axed from early "Neighbourhood Watch track listings), "The Issue (Resurfaced)". and "It Takes Time" (a cover of a song by the Kincheloe alternative project The Black Hole Suns.) The album's streaming copy was posted as one combined YouTube video on Mike's YouTube channel on Saturday, though I'll note that as of today, a for sale copy on his Reverbnation page has not been posted.

A softer and more upbeat release than his other recent albums, definitely check out "The Present Din" above and below, but when might we see a review of it? It won't be for a while if we do, as we just reviewed "Neighbourhood Watch" in December, but if officially goes on sale (rather than being an exclusive free stream), it looks likely for a summer review! For now though, give "The Present Din" a listen, and don't miss Mike and his namesake band at The Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands THIS WEDNESDAY!!!!



Also in the news, here's the latest lineup news for the Rabid Whole-headlined concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on April 11th (one week from Thursday.) Yesterday, the second and final local opening band was announced, and it will be local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage, in what will be their first show since February (also a Thursday night Rosie concert!) It'll be good to see the Beckers and company bringing their alternative/blues/improv hybrid back to the stage, so don't miss them come next week, or on the 17th at the third night of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands! That said, the other previously announced opening band, local progressive rock quartet Machines Dream, has been forced to drop out due to bassist Craig West being scheduled for wrist surgery the night before the show. That's a definite bummer, and it'd have been cool to see them back on stage again after a long break, but hopefully they play a make-up show sooner or later! A replacement band has not been announced, but of course, stay tuned to the SMS in case we hear anything, and click here for full details on this concert!

Finally for today, we've finally found live videos of a defunct local hard rock band, that being the 2011-2012 Sault Michigan quintet Swayze Train! During their brief, yet high profile run, the band (featuring current Toast bandmates Melissa Strand, Mike Libertoski, and Tony Rogers alongside Insipid Brutality guitarist Scott Savoie & ex-Clownsack drummer Tyler Tidwell) never posted videos on their now-deleted Facebook page, but I've came across a few on a personal Facebook page that I thought I'd acknowledge on here! Remember, I don't usually promote personal Facebook video uploads, but when it's all you have, you've gotta mention it. Sault Michigan resident Paul Steinkohl posted 6 videos (some incomplete, all unembeddable) from June & July 2011 gigs, including ones featuring Swayze Train covering Avenged Sevenfold' "Nightmare", Flyleaf's "Cassie", Saliva's "Ladies & Gentlemen", Chevelle's "The Red", and two different clips of them covering Tool's "Sober (here & here), so click each link to check them out! Note as well that Paul also filmed three videos of their partial successors Toast from shows last month, including them covering Rev Theory's "Hell Yeah", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born On The Bayou", and Deee-Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart", all of which were posted on Toast's Facebook page.

Kudos to Paul for filming these, and it's good to finally see both bands in a video! Swayze Train were really good and had a ton of chemistry, with Melissa Strand's vocals and the guitar work really shining, but I wish the lighting was better. As for Toast, their videos, occasional acoustic shows, and indications I'd heard from drummer Bob Helsten do point to a bit more varied sound, but I'll give them credit, not every band can cover both Rev Theory & Deee-Lite and make it work! Check out both bands' only known videos above, and if I'm wrong on Toast not skewing heavier, I'll let you guys know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, a preview of the first night of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fifth Way & Peril), A Band Breakup, And More News From Sault Michigan!!

Hey guys, here's a special auto-post while I'm rocking out at the Ypres Metal Fest, and it's 100% devoted to the Sault Michigan metal scene! Tomorrow, I'll work hard to get videos of all 12 bands from tonight's show online with a review going up likely early Monday, but for now, you Yoopers should enjoy the news we've got tonight, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for Kewadin Casino over the next few months, a local band's breakup, a bassist departure, and Half A Man's latest updates, so here's what you need to know!

According to Kewadin Casino's Facebook page, Detroit hard rock standouts Fifth Way will return to Sault Michigan on April 27th! Though we had heard about their planned concert weekend with Brimley metallers Half A Man that same weekend (more on them in a bit), this show doesn't appear to be directly linked to those plans, as Fifth Way will open for platinum selling Arizona pop rock band The Gin Blossoms that night at The Dreammaker's Theater! Best known for hits like "Hey Jealousy" & "Follow You Down", they're not really a hard rock band, but they have lots of well known songs, and they're worth a listen! As you may remember, Fifth Way feature Rudyard native & LSSU grad Zak Stelmaszek on guitar, and this show will be their first local concert appearance since the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Festival in July 2010, so this is a long time coming! Also, it'll mark their current lineup's first local gig, as Mike McMann & Chris Castro replaced Nicholas Cole-Klaes & Dave Reingardt on bass & drums respectively last year. Fifth Way will be sure to deliver a great set of original material, including songs from their upcoming new album "Sacrifice", so keep their local return in mind later this month!

Tickets are $32.50 for this concert, and you can buy them at 1-800-KEWADIN, this location, or the Kewadin box office. The show starts at 7:00 PM, it's all ages presumably, and there are still tickets in the second row and back available, so act now if you wanna go! I'm aware that this show is probably better suited to Gin Blossoms fans, and Fifth Way may be too heavy as openers, but they'll leave their mark for sure at this show, as they did in 2010 opening for Tesla and Three Doors Down at Kewadin! Stay tuned for more on Fifth Way's next local shows as they come in!

The other new shows come courtesy of new additions to the schedule at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino, as per Kewadin's entertainment page! One was for a planned Swayze Train concert weekend in July, but that's likely off now (more on that in a second), and they also confirmed that Trail's End will ONLY be playing there on Friday, April 20th due to a planned screening of UFC 145 in The Rapids Lounge on the 21st. Disappointing, but they'll be back for much more, and the Jones/Evans fight should be good! However, one new metal concert weekend was added to the Rapids Lounge schedule, as Charlevoix metal trio Peril will return to Sault Michigan on July 20th and 21st! Almost four months after their latest local stops last weekend, they'll be sure to deliver a solid weekend of metal and hard rock covers and originals this summer, so keep these shows in mind this July! They're both likely 21+ events, there's no announced cover charge, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details! Peril are always a fun time with some great covers in store, so don't miss them this summer! Stay tuned for much more in new Sault Michigan concerts as they roll in!

Thirdly for today, here's some surprising news, as Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Swayze Train have disbanded. The news was broken Thursday evening on the band's official Facebook page, where they said that they were "at an end" and thanked everyone for the support during their run. A reason for the band's demise has not been publically made, but the tone of what I've read doesn't indicate an acrimonious split. As a result, the band's scheduled Rapids Lounge concerts through July are likely cancelled, barring a new band with common members picking them up in the interim. Swayze Train had been active since succeeding members Melissa Strand & Tony Rogers' earlier acoustic band Electric Motor Fish at the first annual LemmaFest last June, and have since rocked the Sault Michigan and St. Ignace areas over the past 9 months to solid reviews, despite never posting video footage that I've seen. I'm honestly really surprised to see Swayze Train break up, as they had a very talented lineup and I'd heard almost universally positive things from their live shows, but this is likely the best internal option for right now for them. Best of luck to Melissa, Mike, Scott, Tony, and Tyler in the future, and hopefully they stay active in local music in the near future (or at least post some old Swayze Train videos finally!)

While we're on the subject of ends for bands featuring bassist Tony Rogers, I'll note that when he confirmed Swayze Train's end on his personal Facebook page Thursday afternoon, he also announced that he'd left Clownsack, the popular local funk/hard rock band where he'd performed as Slappy since their inception. In referring to leaving both bands, he said he was just "clearing the slate", and later added that Clownsack were still around, "just not funny anymore", so read into that however you want. Clownsack have not officially confirmed Tony/Slappy's departure, but note that they haven't updated their online pages since August, so imminent confirmation of the news isn't a guarantee. It's really disappointing to see Tony leave the Clownsack ranks, as his considerable bass skills helped define Clownsack's sound, especially on "Rotten Candy", but hopefully he gets into a new band at some point in the near future. He'd definitely be an asset, that's for sure! As for Clownsack themselves, there's big clown shoes to fill, but hopefully they return to activity soon in general! It's been too long since their last concert and the "Funny Farm" release, so fingers crossed that we see them back at it in 2012! Stay tuned for more as I hear of it!

And finally for this all Sault Michigan post, here's the latest news from Brimley metal quartet Half A Man! No, we haven't heard concrete details about their planned concert weekend with Fifth Way on April 27th & 28th yet, but the Gin Blossoms gig for Fifth Way doesn't necessarily mean that they're off. If I hear anything definitive, I'll let you guys know! The rest of the band's recent updates have related to Half A Man's long delayed debut demo release, which they revealed some big news on last month on their Facebook page. It has a planned May release, it will feature their songs "Drunk", "Die In Disgrace", "Cripple", "Bad Way", and a newer track named "Release Me", and it will not feature new singer Dillion Semasky, instead having guitarist Erik Rintamaki handling lead vocals as he originally did with Half A Man. A reason for that wasn't publically disclosed to my knowledge, though they hinted at a new recording location, so that could be linked. I'm still curious to hear Dillion sing on Half A Man's originals, but Erik singing will at least be familiar to their earlier incarnations! Stay tuned for more from Half A Man at the above links, and even if the April shows don't go down, they'll be at LemmaFest this summer, so Half A Man will be back in full force before you know it!

That's all for today, but keep an eye out tomorrow for photos & videos from the Ypres Metal Fest, with my review to follow it! Thanks everyone!

Sault Michigan Concert Previews For Today, Plus New Videos!!

As promised, it's time for our previews of this weekend's Sault Michigan concerts... actually, both of the metal/hard rock ones that I know about are TONIGHT, so pay close attention, especially seeing as the first major Dreammaker's Theater metal show of 2012 is near at hand! We've also got some new solo performance videos from a pair of Sault Michigan artists to round things out, so let's get things started!

Yes, the first major metal concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino of 2012 is almost upon us, and it's a triple header of classic 1980s and hair metal, headlined by Christian metal legends Stryper! Yes, this California quartet known for hits like "Free", "Honestly", and "To Hell With The Devil" will be sure to deliver a positive though hard rocking set of their classics tonight in this stacked concert! Joining them in their first trip to the area in almost 4 years are Las Vegas metal notables Slaughter, and with classic songs like "Up All Night", "Fly With The Angels", and "Gave You My Heart" in store, you know they'll deliver a quality set of old school favourites tonight as well! Rounding out the lineup for this show is original Dokken guitarist George Lynch's metal band Lynch Mob, who had hits in the early 1990s with songs like "Tangled In The Web" and "River of Love", and they should set the tone well for this huge show tonight! With all this talent and all these classic 1980s and 1990s material, a great show can be expected, but there's lots of local ties to take note of as well! Of course, we saw Slaughter open for Jackyl at the now-Essar Center in May 2008, while Stryper's Michael Sweet sang with Boston at Kewadin the following month, and Lynch Mob's Robbie Crane played at Kewadin with Ratt in 2006, so there'll be a bunch of familiar faces tonight for local concertgoers!

If you're interested in going and don't have your ticket yet, then good news, as there's still tickets available from the 9th row and back! They're going for $36 (or just $12 a band), so click here to buy some online, or visit the Kewadin box office in person, or call 1-800-KEWADIN to get hooked up! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised, and I believe this show is all ages. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'm not a huge fan of hair metal, but there's plenty of talent to go around from these three bands tonight, and I know a devoted crowd will turn out in full force at The Dreammaker's Theater to enjoy this tripleheader! Enjoy yourselves if you have tickets, and we'll have concert fallout for sure as it comes in, but for now, let's preview the show with Stryper playing their song "To Hell With The Devil" last year at a Nashville concert!



The other Sault Michigan metal show that I know of this weekend takes place in the same building as the Stryper show, as local hard rock quintet Swayze Train will hit The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino tonight at around 9:00 PM! Originally, Swayze Train were to have rocked The Rapids Lounge tomorrow night as well, but Kewadin's showing of UFC 144 put that half of the weekend aside, so if you want your Swayze Train fix, make sure you're here tonight, not tomorrow! There's still a surpriising lack of Swayze Train media files to preview their sound with, but knowing who's in the band and their local resumes, it's safe to assume that they'll deliver a hard rocking good time to end Friday with, and if you're 21+ and just leaving the Stryper show, the party won't be near over! Swayze Train should be on at around 9:00 PM tonight, there's no cover charge, and as alluded to above, you must be 21 to attend this particular concert. Check the above links for more details! This should be another solid concert from Swayze Train, so don't miss it if you're in the market for local hard rock tonight, and stay tuned for more updates from them as they come in... like the one below!

The other day, we covered some new media from guitarist Mike Libertoski, and now, here's the latest video from his fellow Swayze Train axe slinger Scott Savoie! On Saturday, Scott posted this "classical(ish)" solo video of him playing a classical sounding instrumental piece onto his YouTube channel, and though it's not finished, it does have promise as a song intro, and he's playing it pretty well! Not too much to say, but give Scott's new video a look below, and stay tuned for more of his YouTube uploads if they come in!



Finally for today, here's the latest solo performance video from Trail's End drummer and Grooves Music instructor Jake LaLonde! Yesterday, he posted a video of his cover of Rise Against's "Saviour" onto his YouTube channel, which is filmed from the same angle and camera as his Breaking Benjamin cover from last week. I'm not a huge Rise Against fan, but he definitely knows this song well, and his drumming's on form and very proficient here, so give his latest solo drum cover a look below, and stay tuned for more videos from Trail's End members (including maybe the full band live?!) as they come in!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend hopefully, along with this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Mothership on Sunday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Trail's End), Sneaky Pete Concert Review, And Much More!!

Here's one more news post before we upload this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow, and today, we've got this weekend's concert previews, a half-cancellation for across the river this month, the latest updates on a prominent Sault Michigan band, and this week's classic video, but leading things off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect concerts taking place at The Rapids Lounge through May, and while some are previously announced dates are there from earlier postings, there are some new dates from various local and Northern Michigan bands, and among them is a newly announced concert weekend from Trail's End! The hard rock trio featuring Splitshot & Nixxon Dixxon alums Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde will return to The Rapids Lounge on April 20th & 21st for what will be their third concert weekend at Kewadin's bar since their inception late last year, and you know they should deliver an entertaining set of hard rocking originals and covers this spring! There should be no cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and both nights should have a 10:00 PM start time. It's great to see Trail's End booking some more concerts, and hopefully these add well to a huge month in the local scene, so stay tuned for updates, and go see Trail's End at Kewadin NEXT WEEKEND!

Also, before we move on to the weekend concert preview, another note on Kewadin's entertainment page is that Swayze Train's scheduled concert weekend there in two weeks has been halved to just a Friday show on February 24th. The reasoning for it appears to be a schedule conflict, as The Rapids Lounge will be showing UFC 144 (go Ben Henderson!) that Saturday. No worries, we'll get lots more Swayze Train action later in the year, so all's good!

Now to a concert preview for this weekend, and in an otherwise fairly quiet weekend in the twin Saults (anyone know of any other metal/hard rock shows?), some hard rocking good times will go down at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night, as Sneaky Pete will return for another concert! Just three weeks after their last show at the Algonquin Hotel's upstairs bar, Sneaky Pete promise to rock away your winter blahs with their eclectic set of hard rock covers and classic renditions, and if you wanna step out on Saturday night to rock out, you know exactly were to be! This is a 19+ show, they are not playing at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow (just Saturday), a 10:30 PM start time is listed, and there will likely be a cover charge of around $5. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see another Sneaky Pete concert go down, especially so close to the last one, so definitely consider their show on Saturday night for your concertgoing needs! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Sneaky Pete covering Saliva's "Ladies & Gentlemen" at The Rockstar Bar last month!



Thirdly today, I wanted to address recent news from the young Sault Michigan hard rock band Abstract, and why we haven't publicized much of that news on here. Last fall, you may remember when they quietly removed guitarist Kyle Burton from their lineup, and it later became public knowledge why he left earlier this year. I initially resisted mentioning the details on here because things got very public and unamicable in recent weeks relating to Kyle's departure, the reasoning behind it, and attached issues, and I didn't want to add more negativity or speculation on to everything. All I'll say on that is that Kyle left partly due to his religious beliefs and their conflict with some of Abstract's planned covers. I'd suggest that such issues shouldn't be publically viewable, as fans will just worry and assume for the worst, but Abstract's Facebook page was recently deleted anyway. That could be at least in part due to a planned name change, as a statement released to the remaining members' personal Facebook pages about Kyle (which is positive, don't worry), ends with "formerly known as Abstract". Makes sense for a new beginning, I suppose, but I don't know why they had to delete their Facebook page over it, they could have just renamed it and deleted posts they didn't want to be seen.

As their Facebook page has been deleted, I've replaced it with their Google-hosted website until we hear more about their new name and any future Facebook presence. This is a lot of disappointing news for sure, but hopefully Jacob, Mike, and Ethan get back into the swing of things this year, as they're very talented for their age, and we miss them around the area! I'll keep you guys posted as updates come in, and best of luck to Kyle in the future, he deserves to get into a new band!

And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! With another light concert weekend on tap, I'm dipping into the archives this week, and I've chosen a video from local classic metal quartet Late & Loud to feature on YouTube! Most videos of theirs are on YouTube already, but one exception is this video from of Late & Loud covering The Surfaris' instrumental "Wipeout" at Foggy Notions (most recently known as Feedback) from last February! This is a popular cover at Late & Loud shows, and they put a good heavy spin on it! The video quality's nice too, but I wish the camera was better positioned to capture Brendan Christie in frame, as he's cut off frequently on the far right. Filmed by an attendee of this concert, you can view the original video on Late & Loud's Facebook page (where it was uploaded on February 22nd of last year) at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1856412968398. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to the original filmer and Late & Loud, they did all the hard work, I'm just sharing this video with a wider audience like it deserves! It's a nice energetic performance of a very recognizable song, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Defunct Local Band Profile on Shift tomorrow, along with more news this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (That's Chester & Tym Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, And The Return Of Moss!!

Alright, who's ready for weekend concert previews? I've got some for you guys in our first concert preview post of 2012, but it's supplanted by a notable band reunion across the river and the face that most of the weekend's shows are newly announced, making them LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know! (UPDATED: Friday, 2:52 AM)

Sault Ontario classic hard rock quintet That's Chester are returning to the local stage TOMORROW NIGHT!! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only just announced yesterday. Almost two months after their last concerts, this talented veteran local outfit will return to Docks Riverfront Grill for their first gig of 2012, in what appears to be a Friday-only engagement this weekend (but if hear of a Saturday concert, I'll let you guys know!) No matter what though, it's great to see That's Chester back on the local concert stage, and they apparently have four new songs to add to their live setlist tomorrow night, so you know you'll wanna be at Docks to hear the new stuff (along with their old standards!) Admission is likely $4 for this show, you must be 19 to attend, and there's an announced start time of 11:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you're in the mood for some solid classic hard rock covers, Docks is definitely the place to be tomorrow night, so consider a trip down to the riverfront to rock out with That's Chester! For a preview, here's their cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at Docks in 2010!

Also in new concerts, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's solo acoustic show is coming back on SATURDAY (and next week), but not at The Service Grill. One month after his most recent solo concert took place, Tym will break out his unplugged covers at Bossy's Pub & Grub on Pim Street (seconds from The Canadian Nightclub) over the next two Saturdays in what is hoped to be the start of another weekly concert arrangement for him! These concerts do have a unique early listed start time of 1:00 PM, so if that's accurate, the Bossy's arrangement won't impact likely night concerts from Tym or Caveman Morrison in the future, which is handy! Notably, this Saturday's show will also be Tym's first appearance at Bossy's (formerly Smack Daddy's) since the Hollow reunion gig in August, and it's good to see him back there for an unplugged show! As I mentioned above, both this Saturday & next Saturday's shows are at 1:00 PM, I'd bring ID just in case you're carded, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, click here & here for each show's respective Facebook event page.

Hopefully this is the start of another successful concert arrangement for Tym, and I live pretty close to Bossy's, so maybe I'll drop in one of these Saturday afternoons to check out his solo work! It's been too long as it is. As this new arrangement starts THIS SATURDAY, let's preview his return to the solo stage with this 2008 video of Tym and ex-Half Past singer Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words"!

Finally, here's the two weekend hard rock shows I already knew about, and they're courtesy of Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Swayze Train! One weekend after rocking The Rapids Lounge for the first time, this talented local supergroup will return to Kewadin Casino's bar for a second consecutive weekend of proficient metal and hard rock covers, and I'm hearing great things, so you know this will be worth attending! Notably, the band will be featuring End of Existence frontman Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten on drums in lieu of the absent Tyler Tidwell for this weekend's concerts. A reason for Tyler's absence wasn't publicized, but the news was announced on the band's Facebook page last night. Good choice to fill in, as Orb is more than capable as a drummer (his recent work with Elipzis and Great Bodily Harm is proof), so watch out for some great drumming this weekend! As usual for Swayze Train's increasingly frequent stops at Kewadin Casino, these concerts (tomorrow & Saturday night) will be 21+ affairs with no cover charge and 10:00 PM-ish start times. For more details, visit the Kewadin Casino entertainment page and the above links!

It's always good to see Swayze Train gracing the local stage, and though I still have no media of theirs to preview them with, I know their talent will speak for itself, so consider their shows this weekend for your concert planning! Visit the above links for more, and I'll keep you posted as Swayze Train updates chug into the SMS station!

And finally for today, we have a band return to note on here, as Eckerman/Strongs, Michigan hard rockers Moss are back! You may remember them as "Moss of Eckerman" from their now-deleted PureVolume page, though that name was just to distinguish themselves from similarly named bands on there. Information was lacking on them back then, partly owing to their mid-2000s breakup, but they're back after 7 years away as part of Werehold Records! Moss' current lineup features 4/5ths of their old lineup, including Life's Eclipse members & brothers David Mills & Jason Mills on bass/vocals & guitar respectively, along with Nicholas Kabelman on guitar & Robert Kabelman on drums, with only a former member named Jason (a.k.a. Ogre) not a part. According to the bio on their new Facebook page, Moss were originally active from 1995 onward, are influenced by bands like Pantera & The Beatles, and describe their sound as "rock from a better time". Media isn't posted there yet, and though I do have mp3 copies of songs they posted on PureVolume, I know that members weren't entirely satisfied with the quality, so time will tell how the new Moss sounds!

Moss always piqued my interest with their 1990s-styled hard rock/metal sound, and if they can build on the promise I heard on songs like "Undefeated", they'll definitely make a mark in the Sault Michigan area once again! As always, I'll keep you guys updated on Moss as news comes in, and they're now back in our Sault Michigan band links on your right! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news & our Defunct Local Band Profile on Bring The Fallen over the next few days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Monkey's Uncle & Swayze Train) And More Assorted News Stories!!

Let's help ring in the new year with our first proper news post of 2012! All of this is from late last year in terms of when it was announced, but hey, you get to some stories when you can, as it was a hectic end of the month. Today, we've got a new video and photos relating to major Kewadin Casino concerts, details on some local musicians' band member searches, and leading things off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated again to reflect a few concerts at The Rapids Lounge through August, including the local returns of Monkey's Uncle to Kewadin Casino's bar! The talented local hard rock quartet was absent from Kewadin's schedule for the first three months of the year, leading to some questions about their status, but they'll definitely be rocking The Rapids Lounge for at least three weekends midway through 2012. That said, you can see them there on April 13th & 14th, June 1st & 2nd, and August 3rd & 4th, which doesn't seem as frequent for them as we're used to, though it's possible that they have more shows at other venues that we have yet to hear about. For reference sake, they'll be playing at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino in late March, as an idea of when they're returning from this likely break. That said, these six new local Monkey's Uncle concerts should be 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! It's good to see Monkey's Uncle alive & well, and hopefully big crowds show up for their shows this spring & summer! Stay tuned for more on Monkey's Uncle as it comes in!

The other new Kewadin Casino concerts at The Rapids Lounge are for local hard rock quintet Swayze Train, who have added an additional two weekends onto their 2012 concert schedule for Kewadin's bar & concert spot! The local supergroup will return to The Rapids Lounge on May 11th & 12th and June 13th & 14th to deliver their trademark sets of proficient hard rock covers, and you guys won't wanna miss them! Like with the Monkey's Uncle shows, there's no cover charge, likely 10:00 PM start times, and 21+ age limits for these four new concerts, similarly to Swayze Train's shows there this coming weekend & next month. Though neither band has confirmed the shows on their respective pages yet, check the above links for all current details! I wish Swayze Train would post some media online, but I know from what I've heard that they're very talented and will definitely rock this year, so don't miss them at The Rapids Lounge over the first half of 2012! As always, stay tuned for much more from Swayze Train as I hear it!

Thirdly today, let's stay in the vein of Kewadin Casino concerts with another new video from the Bret Michaels concert on Tuesday, but this time, it's from the Poison frontman's official YouTube channel! Just 77 seconds long, the video is of scattered footage from behind the stage showing an enthusiastic crowd and Bret moving and grooving (along with a Bret Michaels nutcracker?!) set to his solo song "Human Zoo", but I have to say, I'm underwhelmed by the video. Besides it's length, I wish they could have left the concert audio in, or at least synched it with "Human Zoo" if it was played at the show, but there's still some nice footage from the concert. Check out this new Bret Michaels video from his show on Tuesday below!



Finally for Kewadin-related posts, some new photos from recent Kewadin Casino concert meet & greets are now online! I wish these were better advertised online, as I'd plug them on the SMS in advance if they'd actually advertise them wider, but hey, there's some nice photos to check out! Among other newer Kewadin photos, albums of meet & greet photos with Joan Jett & Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale are now online to check out, so click the artist names above to see the posted photos! Nice overall, and everyone seems happy in the photos that are on Kewadin's website, but hopefully these get better advertising in the future. Stay tuned for more from Kewadin Casino metal & hard rock concerts as the year rolls on, including if Bret Michaels had a meet & greet or not last month!

And finally, here's four local metal/hard rock artists looking for musicians towards new local projects, and these are in alphabetical order by the name of the artist inquiring on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, so click here for details if any of these bands interest you. Apologies for the lateness, but hopefully the word gets out, so read on for details!:

• Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher is looking to join or fill in with a local hard rock or metal band on guitar, and is open to both covers & originals. No word on how this may impact Half Past, but if you'd like to enlist Al for your project, click here to shoot him a message! He'd sure be an asset!
  
• Blackberrys drummer Frank Cuglietta is looking for musicians to complete a new classic hard rock project that would cover bands like Y&T and Whitesnake. There's visible interest, but if you want to audition or inquire about further details, contact Frank at this location!
• Blackwater bassist James Watterworth is looking to form a new experimental metal band as a singer. Honestly, his description of his singing style and what he's looking for in musicians is so hard to sum up that I can't do it justice, but click here and scroll to his post on December 6th to check it out. If you're interested, visit this link to inquire about the band!
  
• Local metal multi-instrumentalist Mitch Sirie (The Bear Hunters/Borderline Divine/April Eyes) is staying busy with yet another project, this time a progressive death metal project that would cover bands like Dream Theater, Opeth, and Mastodon. Specifically, he wants a drummer, but I don't know who else (if anyone) is connected with this project. Click here to contact Mitch if you're interested in trying out!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow, and for much more news in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison, Swayze Train, Trail's End, And Peril) Plus Weekend Concert Previews!!

We've got lots of new concerts to get to in tonight's post, adding up to ELEVEN LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in total, but first though, I'll note that the previously advertised concerts from Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle at The Rapids Lounge this weekend were moved to the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace earlier this year for unannounced reasons, with rock n' roll cover band Crossroads replacing them at the Sault Kewadin. Disappointing, but Crossroads have talent, and St. Ignace isn't light years away if you wanna rock out with Monkey's Uncle one more time this year! That said, we have just one metal/hard rock show to note this weekend for previews (to my knowledge), so we'll start with that, and it's new as well! Here's what you need to know!

Fresh off their successful return to the stage this past weekend, local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison will hit Feedback on Saturday night for their third show with their new lineup! Apologies for the shorter notice, I've been dealing with exams over the last little while. This concert will be the band's first show at the former Foggy Notions in over a year, so this is a long time coming for them to hit the popular Queen Street bar, even with their return fresh in our minds! That said, the Saturday placement of it implies that frontman Tym Morrison won't be at The Service Grill on Saturday night, but I'll keep you guys posted if any new dates there pop up in the coming weeks. So if you wanna rock out with Caveman Morrison on Saturday night, be there at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge (bring cash just in case though), and you must be 19 to attend. And remember, they are ONLY playing at Feedback on Saturday night, with tomorrow is reserved for a house music night with live DJs (click here for details), so keep that in mind. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Caveman Morrison keeping busy after their return, and if I can swing it, hopefully I can make it to Feedback on the weekend for the show! Hopefully you guys keep this show in mind for the weekend, and for a preview, here's Caveman Morrison's new lineup covering Judas Priest's "The Ripper" at The Rosie this past weekend!



Now to the remainder of the new shows, and they come courtesy of The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan, as they've updated their entertainment page to reflect scheduled bands at Kewadin's bar through March! Luckily, 10 of the confirmed dates through the first quarter of 2012 involve some form of hard rock, but if you check out the concert listings, you'll also notice scheduled dates from the aforementioned Crossroads and local country singer Paul Perry. There are also some notable absences from the early 2012 Kewadin schedule, such as Monkey's Uncle and Powerslug, who were both frequent sights at The Rapids Lounge last year. I wonder if that means anything towards either band's status? With no actively updated pages, this could be hard to prove, but I'll keep an eye out for news on their next steps! Now to the newly announced metal & hard rock concerts at The Rapids Lounge in 2012, so here's what you need to know!

First up, local hard rock quintet Swayze Train have two more concert weekends lined up for 2012, including new concerts on January 7th & 8th (one weekend after their Rapids Lounge debut over New Years' Weekend) and on February 24th & 25th! We haven't heard a whole lot from Swayze Train over the fall, and they have yet to publically confirm any Kewadin Casino appearances on their Facebook page, but you know that this talented quintet featuring Clownsack, Electric Motor Fish, Slackjawed Rats, and Insipid Brutality alumni will be sure to deliver the goods at their upcoming dates! I imagine all four of their new 2012 concerts will have 10:00 PM-ish start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! It sounds like Swayze Train have some great concerts lined up for 2012, and hopefully as more details come out, the anticipation will grow for this very promising local band! Before all that though, keep their shows at the end of the month in mind, and as more news from Swazye Train comes in, I'll be sure to have it here!

Also next year at The Rapids Lounge is the local debut of new hard rock trio Trail's End! The new band from Splitshot & ex-Nixxon Dixxon bandmates Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde will make their live debut (barring another show announcement) on the weekend of January 20th and 21st, followed by another weekend at Kewadin Casino on February 17th & 18th. Like with Swayze Train, Trail's End have not officially announced these shows yet, but Kewadin Casino itself is a good source, and I imagine that once Splitshot part ways at the end of the year, they'll devote more time into Trail's End updates. The same 10:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 21+ age limit should be expected at these new concerts, so check the above links for more details on these shows! It's great to see Trail's End getting off to a quick start next year, and hopefully Chris, Kyle, and Jake continue their high promise for years to come in Trail's End, so help get them started on the right foot on January 20th and onward! Stay tuned for more Trail's End news as it all comes in!

Finally for the new hard rock shows at Kewadin next year is the return of Cheboygan classic metal trio Peril to The Rapids Lounge! Last seen in the area in September, the band featuring former Bad Side drummer Brooks Elliott are lined up for just one weekend at our local Kewadin Casino so far in 2012, that being on March 30th and 31st, but it will be nice to see them back in town after 6 months away! Once again, Peril haven't publically confirmed these shows yet, but a 2012 concert schedule of some type should be coming onto their online pages, so it's only a matter of time! Again, I'd assume that both of Peril's shows in March will have 21+ age limits, 10:00 PM start times, and no cover charges, as is standard at The Rapids Lounge. Check the above links for more details! It's been too long to see Peril and their classic metal onslaught locally, but hopefully they'll remind Saultites how much they rock when they come back to the area in the spring! Get more on these and all other upcoming announced Rapids Lounge concerts at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more by the weekend, including new videos and much more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Monkey's Uncle & Swayze Train), Sue Inside's Return, And More!!

Let's take a break from concert previews for a bit to get some news on the site! Today, we have videos from a re-activated local band, some new solo demos from a local guitarist, and leading things off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for you Sault Michiganders, so here's what you need to know!

Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect concerts at The Rapids Lounge through the end of the year (and River Witch's name change to Powerslug), so thanks to that, we have four new concerts to announce, starting with the return of Monkey's Uncle to Kewadin Casino's bar & concert venue! Though already scheduled for Kewadin dates on November 25th & 26th, this talented hard rock quartet will also hit The Rapids Lounge two weeks earlier on November 11th and 12th to rock fans with their originals and covers! I believe these shows replaced a cancelled booking, but I don't recall who was originally listed for that weekend. As I sadly expected, Monkey's Uncle haven't confirmed these new dates, but Kewadin Casino's own site is as good a source as any! Admission should be free for both of these new concerts on the 11th & 12th, you must be 21 to attend, and both should have start times of around 9:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! Even if they only update pages sporadically to not at all, Monkey's Uncle have a lot of hard rocking tunes to show off at their shows, and they've now got four in a 15 day span, so get your fill of Monkey's Uncle next month for sure! Stay tuned for updates if they come in!

Also newly listed, Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Swayze Train are coming to our local Kewadin Casino for the first time(?) in December! Though no strangers to the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, the local quintet featuring Clownsack, Electric Motor Fish, Slackjawed Rats, and Insipid Brutality alumni will make what I think are their first ever weekend appearance there for New Year's weekend on December 30th & 31st! What better way to send in 2012 then with this talented new band? Like with Monkey's Uncle, Swayze Train have yet to publically confirm these dates, but I have more faith they'll acknowledge these in advance, so something's probably coming! The same house rules as the Monkey's Uncle shows above will likely apply here, so nothing's too different (21+, no cover, after 9:00 PM, etc.) Check the above links for more details! It's nice to see Swayze Train branching beyond The Frog for some local shows, and though I still don't know how they definitively sound, the band is very accomplished all around, so keep these shows in mind for your New Years weekend plans! As always, stay tuned for more from them and the casino as everything comes in!

Next up, have you been curious lately as to the whereabouts of Sue Inside, the Oil Springs metal project that originated locally in 2007? We hadn't heard anything major from them since January, but as it turns out, the band returned to activity for at least one live gig in August, and the videos from it are online! These come from a live acoustic outdoor concert that bassist Adam Veen played under his solo project pseudonym Dr. Jeremiah Rabishi on August 12th in Oil Springs, and Sue Inside bandmates (and ex-Sault Ontario residents) Shane Lipsit-Fraser & Jeff Vogel joined in for some live originals and covers! The posted videos include acoustic covers of Five Finger Death Punch's "Far From Home", The Foo Fighters' "Skin & Bones", and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", and they do a good job! I continue to like Adam's singing too, he should do vocals on more Sue Inside originals, as in all honesty, he has a better range than Shane does. These videos come from Adam's solo project's YouTube channel, which mostly features Dr. Jeremiah Rabishi material, but there's also an actual video of his & Shane's old band Paricide, a promising acoustic Sue Inside audio demo named "Get Busy", and yes, one live video from August of the band playing a Sue Inside original song!

Entitled "Saved On T.V.'s", it's a live acoustic jam that I haven't heard before in other versions, and it has promise to it! Much of Sue Inside's non-local output has been unplugged, but it's a well played track with some nice acoustic guitar work from both Shane and Adam/Dr. Rabishi, and I missed hearing Jeff's drum work too! Good stuff, so check out some new Sue Inside video footage above and below, and if I hear anything new on them from Southern Ontario, I'll have it here!



And finally, local solo artist (and awesome Napalm Death filmer) Neno Jovanovic has uploaded two more solo guitar demos onto his YouTube channel earlier this week! Both have also been posted on his Reverbnation page. Following his trend of playing the guitar tracks over the original song, these newest tracks are of Neno covering The Police's "Message In A Bottle" and (as featured below) The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop"! Not the heaviest songs, but hey, he plays them well! I'm no Police fan, so I can't say how it compares, but it's well performed. The Ramones cover isn't bad, he knows and plays the song well, but the pacing seems too hectic during the singing. Good stuff though, Neno has lots of talent,. and hopefully we hear some more originals and covers from him soon! Check out these and more audio demos at the above links, and here's Neno's cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop"!



That's all for now, but in case there's no new news post later today, I will see you guys TONIGHT at Coch's Corner for this year's Halloween party (with Frightlight and more!) Thanks everyone!

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

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