LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), New Concert Videos, And More!!

Before we begin today's news post. I wanted to apologize for missing a pair of recent EUP concerts for coverage on the SMS. Firstly, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished reportedly played a second outdoor concert at American Legion Park in St. Ignace earlier today at 1:00 PM, separate (but still organized by the folks behind) the town's summer concert series, which they played at yesterday. The band only announced the added matinee on their Facebook page last night, too late for me to rush it into a post. I'm assuming that today's rainy forecast didn't impair the show, as I didn't hear about a late cancellation, but regardless, I do apologize for missing it even with the late notice! The other show, I really should have caught wind of, as Sault Ste. Marie promoters Serious Business brought another eclectic multi-act show to the basement of Pizza Hut on the Business Spur on July 18th.

The concert saw Detroit experimental band The Hum and Muskegon post-punk duo The Mollusks make their way north, alongside local acoustic folk openers Shae Tull (by way of Sault Ontario) and Kevin Blakeney. Not the most hard rock/punk-centric bill, but it did have The Mollusks, so I should have caught wind of this concert prior, and I apologize for that. Hopefully that Serious Business show and Tarnished's bonus matinee were both hits for artists and venues alike, and we'll have more from both soon!

Now, today's post is start of a big clean-out of accumulated news, videos, and announcements from last month that got delayed by busy weekend concert previews and our concert reviews from last month, and we'll start today with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet (quintet?) Soundcheck will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Friday, August 28th! A relatively rare stop at this Great Northern Road nightclub, this show was first announced in the venue's August concert calendar on their Facebook page on Wednesday. Soundcheck proper may not corroborate the booking on social media at all, as their haven't posted on their own Facebook page for any reason since May. You'd think they'd want to hype up their Drag Race Nationals gig in Chapleau with Separate Wayz in mid-August, at least, but we shall see how things go for updates this month!

As always for The Water Tower Pub, this is a one-nighter, and the Saturday the 29th band there will be southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who already announced that show on their own. Terry, Travis, Jim, and Johnny (and the new synth player?) will be on that night at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a trip west to The Up & Down Lounge for videos from the first solo musician to play there during their Thursday summer concert series, courtesy of their Facebook page! As you may know, Tym Morrison played there this week, but for the first two Thursdays, the honours went to Dodge This/ex-Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer, who was filmed playing covers at both gigs. On July 16th, the patio party had to be moved indoors due to that day's severely poor air quality, but musicians at The Up & Down Lounge were always playing inside anyway, and you get a look more at the fans than Jason in this 12 seconds-long clip of him playing keyboard that evening. A 31 seconds-long video of Jay covering Shinedown's "Symptom Of Being Human" (also on keyboard) was shared too, with a hard-coded caption above him plugging their Thursday musician search.

The other videos are from this batch post featuring media from the July 23rd concert. Jason is faintly heard on vocals & guitar in three sub-12 seconds videos there promoting the on-site Pizza Wagon by the patio, but I can't make out the song(s?) in any of them. Two slightly longer videos show him on camera, including a keyboard cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist", and as embedded below, a guitar cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". The short lengths aren't ideal, let alone the on-screen captions, but it is good seeing Jason out there during Dodge This' ongoing break, and while most of the covers aren't songs I personally love, he performs them well, so check these out above & below!

We'll come full circle today by heading south to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie hard rock cover quartet The Nameless headlined at The Driftwood Sports Bar on June 26th during the St. Ignace Car Show weekend! The venue shared two videos of their set to their Facebook page that night, and despite being shot and uploaded during the show, neither was a live-stream. Thank goodness, as we can still watch them now! One video is just 7 seconds long, and focuses on the turnout in the bar rather than The Nameless' cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army". Embedded below though is the longer and more band-centric of the two videos (if still only 20 seconds long), which sees the guys covering 3 Doors Down's "Kryptonite". Of note, bassist Mike East was not seen on camera for this cover, and I have no idea if he missed the Driftwood show entirely or just sat out this song.

The short lengths, vertical framing, and complete lack of band focus on the White Stripes cover don't make these ideal looks at this talented group (let alone Mike E.'s apparent absence), but what we hear is soundly performed, and it definitely looks like they had a solid crowd on a packed weekend in Mackinac County! Give these a watch for yourselves above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Our Lady Peace), The Dany Laj/Handsome Sandwich Concert Preview, And More!!

For today's news post, I wanted to tackle the huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that has been the talk of local rock fans over the past few days, along with the last straggler from this weekend's hard rock concert preview slate, and a new cover video from earlier this month, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Juno Award winning Toronto alternative hard rock quartet Our Lady Peace will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie on March 2nd when they headline at GFL Memorial Gardens during their 30th anniversary Canadian tour! A staple of domestic rock radio thanks to hit songs like "Starseed", "Superman's Dead", and "Innocent", this will be O.L.P.'s first local concert since they headlined River Rave '98 in Richards Landing during the Homecoming 1998 festival, and in terms of Sault Ste. Marie proper, they have not played in city limits since headlining at The Princess Theatre in 1996. How they've went almost 27 years since playing up here is beyond me, but it will be great to see Our Lady Peace back next year, and hopefully there's a huge turnout of rock fans in March! Lead singer Raine Maida & bassist Duncan Coutts remain from their 1990s shows here, now joined by guitarist Steve Mazur and drummer Jason Pierce.

Local fans may recognize Jason as the live/session drummer for Treble Charger from their initial 2012 reunion until 2015, wherein he played with them locally at their 2013 Searchmont fundraiser at The Water Tower Pub and their 2015 Bon Soo concert at The Machine Shop. Jason himself isn't from here, but it is neat to see him come back to town for another big concert! Joining Our Lady Peace on tour next year are Georgia alternative rock mainstays Collective Soul, who will be familiar to many 1990s-early 2000s rock fans from hit songs like "Shine", "December", and "Precious Declaration". I believe this will be their first show here, and given how often they're still heard on Rock 101, Collective Soul should pull many fans alone with their familiar alt-rock classics! A third touring band is to be announced for the western Canada portion of the tour, which ends in the Soo, so don't go looking for Wintersleep or Ash Molloy.

Tickets for this all ages concert go on sale on Thursday at this link and at the Gardens' in-person box office, and they will start at $75 apiece, with packages also available with early entry, included merchandise, and autographs/meet & greets. It's been a very long time for Our Lady Peace fans to wonder why they don't ever play closer to here than Sudbury, so I hope this concert is a smash hit in five months' time! I've never been the biggest fan myself, but I respect O.L.P. and Raine's activism, and I want this concert to do well so that more GFL Memorial Gardens can bring in more big rock shows in the future! Visit the above links for much more on Our Lady Peace & Collective Soul's local date next year!

Next up, let's finally cap off this weekend's concert previews with TONIGHT's concert from alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich, who will make their debut at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West when they open for Montreal power pop veterans Dany Laj & The Looks! Readers may recall seeing Dany Laj and crew here five times in the 2010s, including a Rockstar Bar show in 2017 that the original cover trio version of Handsome Sandwich opened, and while not a hard rock act, it will be good to see them back for the first time in five years! Also, David Briggs from SooToday's North Bay-based sister site BayToday actually interviewed Dany (who himself lived in North Bay and Sudbury in the past) for this article cross-posted on SooToday earlier this week. Tonight's concert will be Handsome Sandwich's first since last month's Northern Vibe Festival and first in the Soo since Poutine Feast.

A presentation of Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire), tonight's concert has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and tickets running for $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Hopefully tonight's concert is a solid draw, especially given the competition from other shows tonight, let alone the relatively new venue (which P.I.T.S. will run again when Skoff headlines there next month), but if you saw and liked The Looks' upbeat garage rock in the 2010s, or want to order another sandwich, head to The Eagles Club tonight! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Handsome Sandwich live earlier this year!

Finally, here's the first new live concert video uploaded to The Dive Gastro Pub's new Facebook page (I still don't know why they deleted the old one and started over), and it features Dodge This/ex-Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer covering Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" during his solo Patio Play concert there this past Saturday! He's joined by an uncredited guest singer, who is definitely not his Dodge This bandmate Jamie July. Truth be told, I had trouble identifying the song at first because the 30 seconds-long clip focuses on the bridge, but it's well done for hair metal fans, so check it out below, and we'll have more on Dodge This on the SMS soon!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie), New Videos, And Much More!!

I hope everyone is having a good Monday so far! Today's post features new videos, updates from a prominent local hard rock musician, some assorted recent notes, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this summer, so here's what you should know!

Former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will bring his revived solo act back to The Dive Gastro Pub for a third time on Thursday, August 8th! Unlike his two shows there earlier this month, Curt's show in August will be indoors as part of the former Low & Slow's "Think It Over Thursday" series of acoustic musicians inside the 648 Queen Street East nightclub. Hopefully Curtis' brand of hard rock and grunge covers go over just as well the third time out, so keep this show in mind, especially if you can swing coming out on a work night! Note that Curt has shared his setlist from his two Saturday patio gigs at The Dive onto his Facebook page, where he has played three sets a night of 11 or 14 songs apiece. No originals from his past bands, but fans of them won't be alienated by what he's covering! This is a 6:00 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details!

Next up, let's stay at The Dive for one of the first videos on their Facebook page from one of their acoustic concerts, specifically from their "Patio Play" outdoor show on Saturday, June 15th headlined by former Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer! Of course, Jason has resumed playing solo shows this year after a four year hiatus, last seen unplugged at The Rockstar Bar in 2020. The Dive's live-streamed video is of him covering Shinedown's "Symptom Of Being Human", a song that I'm honestly not a fan of, but the 29 second clip is well shot with good quality, and it's nice to see video of him performing again! Is this indicative of a hard rock-leaning set in this day and age? Not yet sure, but check it out below!

Also today, let's look at Curtis McKenzie's old bandmate Mike Haggith, so what has he been up to from Barrie as of late? Along with sharing this picture of the Barrie-based musicians' jam space Just Some Noise (no word on if he's working on full band shows down south or not), Mike confirmed that his local live backing band for summer festivals (Northern Vibe among them) in this photo, and while the instrumentalists were already confirmed via jam videos earlier in the year, Mike will 100% welcome back ex-Re:Born singer and 2023 Soo's Got Talent finalist Elly McWatters as a backing vocalist too! Note that in his recent full band shows here, Elly has only sung on select tracks later in the set. Barring an interim announcement, you'll next see Mike and crew at Rotaryfest next month, and hopefully his knee cooperates this time! We do have a new video to share, but it's not what you may be thinking!

On June 13th, Mike (a known baseball fan) was asked to sing "O Canada" before an Intercounty Baseball League game between his adopted hometown Barrie Baycats and the Brantford Red Sox, and Baycats games are live-streamed for free on their YouTube channel! Now, that game was postponed early on due to rain, but Mike's anthem performance made it into the stream beforehand (he walks out at 4:48, and is introduced at 5:30). Mike sings well here, and his deep voice does translate nicely to the anthem, so it's an interesting watch, even if they only got to play ball for a few minutes! 100 copies of his CDs were also to be given out to fans in the stadium. Check out Mike singing "O Canada" 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: 

 

• In promotional images for Saturday's It's The Pits festival in Leeburn on the Facebook event page, the one for local crossover thrash/punk trio Hails features individual photos of four members, the extra one being guitarist Mikhal Muto's brother Carmen, who guested with Ha!ls at The Distraction last month and with Mikhal & Keeghan's other band Vanity First in April. That image aside, Hails have not confirmed Carmen's status with the band on their own social media accounts, but if he's only involved part time like with Vanity First, they could always list him on their Facebook bio with "Rip It Sometimes"! We'll let you know if we get clarification!
• SooToday contributor Chris Belsito interviewed Saultite metal guitarist Matt Hanchuck for this article late last month! There, Matt talked about his local upbringing before moving to Thunder Bay in the early 2000s, leading to discussion of his day jobs since and his more recent work as the guitarist in the higher profile metal bands Wreck-Defy and Gutter Creek (oddly, his show with Gutter Creek at Soo Blaster in September 2022 was not mentioned). Good article that fills in what Matt has been up to in the past decade musically, and it's be great to see him play another show here!
• Minnesota hair metal band Vixen (who are among the openers for Ace Frehley at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 20th) have announced the addition of Rosa Laricchiuta as their new lead singer, replacing Lorraine Lewis (click here for details). A native of Montreal, Rosa finished in third place on Quebec's version of The Voice (La Voix) in 2015, and later had stints as a vocalist with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and The Headpins, so she definitely has the chops! Lineup changes for touring bands with announced dates here are not common, but hopefully Rosa will add to the experience for Vixen fans in St. Ignace, Michigan next month!

 

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

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Human Disorder & Summon

As promised, it is now time for our newest monthly profiles of two out of town hard rock/metal bands that feature at least one Saultite in their lineup! This month, we take a look at two bands that feature local guys we've already talked about here, but are by no means not worth profiling! One's broken up, the other is very much alive, and both are very talented! So, here we go, and of course, if there's something incorrect, missing, or lacking info/details, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 24, 2014)
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Human Disorder (Port Colborne, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; members not in their final lineup in italics)

Scott Bowen (vocals)
Jason Taillefer (vocals/guitar)
Tim Letkemann (guitar)
Keith Gillam (bass)
Joe LaVergne (drums)

Official MySpace page: http://myspace.com/humandisorderon

Local Info: As mentioned in our Phatstick profile, Jason Taillefer and Joe LaVergne were born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, where they played in various local bands in the 1980s and early 1990s! You may recognize Jason from his work in Alyster and Scrooge, for example. Both moved to the Niagara Falls area in the early 1990s to further their musical career, where they eventually both found their way into Human Disorder in 1994. In 1999, the pair formed Phatstick, and have since relocated to St. Catharines. Though neither Jason or Joe live in Sault Ste. Marie anymore, they were known to come back home for the occasional Phatstick concert, so take note of that in case the band reunites!

Band Bio: Human Disorder was formed in 1994 by guitarist Tim "TbOnZ" Letkemann and Joe LaVergne, eventually acquiring the services of Jason Taillefer on vocals and guitar and Keith Gillam (Jason and Joe's future Phatstick bandmate) on bass. The quartet played numerous gigs in the Niagara Falls area in the mid-1990s, recording their debut album "Twisted Sane" in 1995, before independently releasing it in October 1996. After it's release, St. Catharines' based Blue Summit Records (now Stumble Records) signed Human Disorder under the Ruptured Discs imprint. In the late 1990s, the band was joined by vocalist Scott Bowen, and recorded their second and final CD, "Ugly Modern Aggression", which was released in 1999. The band toured all over Canada and The United States in support of the album, and the success of "U.M.A." helped get Human Disorder into the top 50 on FMQB's "Top 100 Metal Bands" list in 1999! The band broke up the next year, playing their final show on April 30th, 2000. Jason, Joe, and Keith went on to form Phatstick, while Tim and Keith launched the industrial metal band InterVenom. In their heyday, Human Disorder did play in Sault Ontario, which I bet would have been awesome!

Human Disorder are the perfect example of why I often curse my age, cause I missed a band this cool! They had a definite Pantera influence that comes through on their songs, though it had a bit of a "nu" flair that made it a bit more accessible, but not enough to sell out with! This is especially evident on "Ugly Modern Aggression", thanks to Scott Bowen's aggressive vocal style! Jason Taillefer, whether as lead or co-lead singer, also shown off some impressive singing, which fans surely saw with Phatstick too. Some of their stuff with Jason singing lead definitely reminds me more of "nu metal", but I like a lot of nu metal, so it works for me, though if you're not big on that style, you my not be as appreciative. The instrumentation is great, though the guitar solos that I've heard aren't the best. To be fair though, I haven't heard any of their full albums, but from what I have heard, I'm very impressed! Very heavy with some good melodies, great singing, and lots of energy! Pantera and nu-metal fans will have a field day with Human Disorder, and if you're craving something a touch heavier than Phatstick, look no further!

Three songs (two from "U.M.A.", one from "Twisted Sane") are on their MySpace page, along with a remix from their last album! Also, you can still buy unopened copies of "U.M.A." on Amazon for as cheap as one cent, click here to check it out for yourself! As for a video, I have found just one video online of Human Disorder, a 1999 music video for their song "Puzzled"! This was originally uploaded on Google Video 3 years ago and was filmed by Black Walk Productions. The original link is at this location, and I've uploaded this video to YouTube to spread it to the masses like it deserves! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! So with that in mind, take a trip back a decade and check out "Puzzled"!


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Summon (Lansing, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; members not in their last lineup in italics)

Chas "Necromodeus" Schoals (vocals/bass)
Ed Ryan (lead guitar)
Mike Jasso (rhythm guitar)
Mikey Bishop (drums)

Sean "Xaphan" Peters (vocals/guitar)
Dan McNeil (guitar)
Mark "Akhkaru" Garcia (guitar)
Chad "Haborym" Metzger (guitar)
Ryan O'Neil (guitar)
Matt "McGoat" McClelland (guitar)
Craig "Oze" Wilson (drums)
Mark "Supmur" Hague (drums)
Joshua "Dominus" Moore (drums)
"Asteroth" (drums)

Official MySpace page: http://myspace.com/cemetarydesekrator666
Official Facebook page (1): http://facebook.com/pages/summon/107242069317984
Official Facebook page (2): http://facebook.com/pages/summon/115792518441039
Official ReverbNation page: http://reverbnation.com/summon666

Local Info: The only local member of Summon wais drummer Mikey Bishop, who is sure to be familiar to local metalheads, especially ones from Sault Michigan! A veteran of numerous metal bands stretching from Ontario to Nashville, Mikey's probably best known nowadays as drummer for Brimley hard rockers Half A Man, along with former bands like the Grand Rapids death metal band Sadomasochism, playing with them in some high profile tours in the mid-2000s. Mikey's body of work includes stops in bands like Bludgeoned, Cement Pond, Dry Rot, 13 Mile Style, and most prominent of his former local bands, mid-90s groove metal rockers Lower S.E.S.! Look out for more exciting news and updates from Mikey's current projects in the near future!

Band Bio: Mikey joined Summon in 2009 upon the return of the band after a 4 year hiatus. I think Mikey replaced Joshua "Dominus" Moore as the band's drummer. The current lineup also includes founding member Chas "Necromodeus" Schoals on lead vocals and bass, Ed Ryan (who, like Mikey, is also formerly from Sadomasochism) on lead guitar, and Mike Jasso on rhythm guitar. Summon were initially formed in 1991 by Necromodeus and Xaphan, recording one demo before breaking up to focus on their work in another Michigan black metal band, Masochist. In 1995, the duo reformed Summon, releasing a demo that year and their first full length album, "Dark Descent of Fallen Souls", in 1997. Amidst numerous lineup changes, Summon released four more studio albums up to their most recent release, "Fallen", in 2005. The band went on hiatus after the departure of Xaphan in 2006, but returned in the late 2000s. Though beginning a new CD  "A New Beginning" and playing a number of concerts in Michigan in the late 2000s, Summon fell inactive after 2010, though you can now see frontman Chas Schoals with the Lansing death metal band Inebriated.

I have to be honest, black metal isn't a genre I listen to a lot. That being said, Summon are pretty good! From the songs I've heard, I've detected some very skilled black metal vocals from Necromodeus and Xaphan alike, and though I'm sure many fans will miss Xaphan in the current lineup, Necromodeus is more than capable of carrying the total vocal burden! At least with their black metal singing, it's not toneless shrieking like some other bands, so that's great! Excellent drum work too, they made sure they got top of the line guys behind the kit, especially Dominus, and I know Mikey's going to do just fine in Summon! The various lead guitarists from their early albums were good too, though when listening, I just enjoyed the assaulting heaviness of Summon, they have tons of face-melting qualities, and hopefully they return to activity and come up to the Sault area sooner or later! Here's their music video for their song "Sacred Nothing"!


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That's all for today, unless there's some major, must-be-posted-today story that comes out later on. So, are you wondering what bands I'll profile next month? Well, after some thinking and searching, here's who I plan to profile: The Disciples of Rock, the inactive Blind River hard rock band featuring Saultites Aaron LeBlanc & James White, and Violet Fuse, the London Ontario hard rock band featuring the Sault Ontario-born Thom Edwards on drums! Expect that around the last week of June!

Over the next couple of days, expect brand new posts with updates on Bret Michaels, Tesla's show here next month, Stillbroke, Nixxon Dixxon, Energy Rock Radio, and more! Stay tuned for more!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Turner Up), Bret Michaels Health Updates, Jason Taillefer's Return, And More!

Greetings everyone! Got some assorted news to share this afternoon, including a new local band, a prominent local musician's one night return, updates on the health of Bret Michaels, and a little surprise in honour of the SMS hitting 500 fans on Facebook! But first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Turner Up will be the first local hard rock/metal band to play at the newly opened Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue when they take the stage there for two nights this weekend! Look out for them on Friday and Saturday at 10:30 PM both nights! I again apologize for this being short notice, but look at it like this: At least it was announced with a few days notice! There is no announced cover charge either, and seeing as this is a bar, expect a 19+ limit. Checking out Turner Up this weekend could have a double purpose: Entertaining live music AND to get a glimpse of this new local venue from the gang who brought you Nite-Life Dance Club! Check out more from Turner Up at this location, and confirm your attendance for one/both of these shows by clicking here! Also, nice work on the poster!

Next up, I have lots more updates on the health of Bret Michaels, which as we know, could affect his headlining spot on night one of the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival. The most recent update I've heard on his current state is that he's still in critical condition in the ICU of an undisclosed Arizona hospital. He's heavily sedated under 24 hour doctor's care and supervision, and doctors still haven't located the exact location of the bleeding in his brain that caused the hemorrhage. The most recent update to his website said that he currently has "slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness." According to a source close to him, the headache that led him to call 911 felt like like getting "hit in the head with a baseball bat over and over again."

So how does the prognosis look for Bret Michaels? Well, we won't definitively know until his doctors say something, but some sources have their own theories. Some are theorizing that what happened to Bret could be emerging complications from his accident at last June's Tony Awards, when stage props dropped on his head. However, doctors have said that this could be a diabetes related issue, and seeing as it's almost a year since his Tonys accident, it seems unlikely to me. Other news reports have said that what happened to Bret has essentially become a stroke. According to a report on ABC's "Good Morning America", what happened to Bret has a 75% survival rate after one week, so if he makes it through that, we'll hopefully be in the clear. A troubling news article I found (link here) has some less than encouraging theories, with appropriate medical backup, about what may be in store for Bret health-wise. But I don't want you guys to even THINK about a negative possibility in this. I'm pulling for Bret, I never want to see anything like this happen to anyone, and hopefully he will get better! It's honestly not looking like he'll be here in July, but as long as he pulls through this, I wouldn't care about that. Hopefully you guys feel similarly. I'll keep you posted with updates on his condition, and expect a doctor's statement at some point this week too (Source here), and check the links below for more sources for the above information.

BRET MICHAELS Remains In Critical Condition
Report: BRET MICHAELS Felt Like He'd Been 'Hit with a Baseball Bat'
TRUMP Thinks TONY AWARDS Mishap May Have Contributed To BRET MICHAELS' Condition

Bret Michaels condition caused by Tony awards head injury?
Bret Michaels Brain Hemorrhage Update: ICU, Prognosis Unclear

Alright, now here's an intriguing little tidbit of news! Now I don't usually discuss acoustic shows from local hard rock/metal musicians because, with the exception of Tym Morrison, they tend to be lighter non-metal stuff, and usually more of an informal performance compared to what we're used to. That being said, the show I'm about to discuss is like that, but with an intriguing twist. Jason Taillefer, Sault native and frontman of the St. Catharines metal band Phatstick, will be in town TOMORROW for an acoustic set at Foggy Notions! Also known from his work in Human Disorder, and from assorted local bands like Alyster and Scrooge, this has got to be Jason's first local set (Phatstick or solo) in at least a couple of years! Now his acoustic solo material (which is sometimes marketed under the name "Jason Taylor") is definitely a far cry from his heavier Phatstick/Human Disorder back catalog, but it's still very well performed! Nice voice and a very good guitarist to boot! Sure, it's not a Phatstick return, but it's the next best thing until we see them again! Maybe not metal, but I figure there's some people out there who wanna see Jason live in the Sault after so long! Get more details at this location, the above links will bring you to Jason's MySpace and his assorted bands!

Next up, we have a new local band! I don't know a ton about them, but thanks to band member Jason Ladouceur, I can show you how they sound! It looks like this band is named WinkStinger, and they play a fast pace hardcore kind-of style! Not bad on first listen, it has that raw underground intensity going for it! It seems tailor made for a mosh-filled Oddfellows Hall kind of show! The song has audible bass, but according to Jason, they are looking for a bassist, and the need for one is the only thing keeping them from gigging. I like what I hear so far, I'd love to see them live, but they need a bassist first. So if you, or someone you know, would like to try out as bassist for WinkStinger, contact Jason through Facebook! If you need extra proof as to how they sound, here's a video featuring a demo of their song "From Bullshit to Buzz (Lies=Weed)", thanks to YouTube user (and likely band member) joeyvelcro for the upload!



And finally, I'm proud to announce that The Sault Metal Scene's Facebook page gained it's 500th fan yesterday! And yes, I know that you now "like" fan pages, not "become a fan", but I like the old method better. You guys are awesome, thank you all so very much for following us on Facebook! I appreciate every fan, every visit, and every moment you guys take to visit anything SMS-related, you guys are the reason I've kept this going for so long! Hard to believe that it took just 9 months and 3 weeks for the SMS Facebook page to hit 500 fans! In honour of this milestone, I'm rewarding you guys with this: An actual SMS domain name! saultmetalscene.blogspot.com still works, it always will, but I thought that a domain name would help to shorten typing time and make it look a touch more official! If you wanna use it, here's our new secondary domain name! Thanks again everyone, more news to come!

www.saultmetalscene.co.nr