It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, continuing our monthly look at a local metal, hard rock, or punk act who is no longer publically active, in order to spotlight their run and activity for current readers! Today's randomly selected project is from a very familiar face to readers who follow the small original metal scene in the E.U.P., so here's what you should know about his solo work!
Audio/Video: Not counting his output with Heavy Lies The Crown, guitarist Ted Olson has released no albums of his solo material, but you can hear studio quality and jam session original recordings from his solo project's active run across his Facebook page (2018-January 2020) and YouTube channel (anything later). Aside from a playthrough video of H.L.T.C.'s "Choke" and a "thank you" video for YouTube viewers, everything relates to Ted's original compositions (complete, teasers, or otherwise), typically played on his favourite headless guitars made by Strandberg or Kiesel. Here's Ted playing his 2021 original song "Odin"!
Info/Analysis: A few months prior to the public launch of his band Heavy Lies The Crown, Ted created a Facebook page for his solo pursuits in mid-2018, later clarifying in January 2020 that content there would be "mostly crappy idea videos". A YouTube channel followed that September, for which his H.L.T.C. bandmate Brandon West helped out in filming some videos with a higher production value. A healthy stream of solo performance videos and original compositions followed through mid-2021, including the song "Devoured" with guest singer Darien Deilami (of the Oklahoma metal band Xeropthalmia), but Ted has not updated his solo accounts since November of that year. Of course, he has focused on Heavy Lies The Crown ever since,but fans of that band will be right at home with Ted's technical and brutal solo work, which often touches on more of a progressive/djent influence than H.LT.C. does!
While typically short, Ted's solo songs like "Pulse" & "Aurora" show him at a strong skill level with heavy riffs with some well balanced melodies that fans of Sault Ontario bands like Convergence and PROV3RB5 will be into, so do check out Ted's solo work to hear what he brought to the table sans Brandon & crew, but look for more from Heavy Lies The Crown soon!
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Our next randomly selected local band will take us north to Sault Ontario for a band that we only belatedly rolled into our links in January, namely 2014-2020 blues/hard rock cover trio Mojo! Look for that on or around August 10th, and for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
News has somewhat been slowing down as of late, but here's a full news post to check out on this Tuesday evening, including a new performance video and some assorted recent stories. Leading off are details on physical copies of a local punk veteran's recent album exploits that may or not be belated for the SMS, so here's what you should know!
This may fly under the radar unless you know frontman Brenton Ellis personally, but he is (still?) selling his acoustic punk solo project Slumshine's 2021 EP "Slumlord" on cassette tapes, as well as tape copies of his inactive punk/alternative duo These Magnificent Tentacles' EP "Surfacing..."! Brent definitely released Slumshine's vowelless debut "SLMSHN" on tapes in 2019, but he hasn't posted on that project's Facebook page since 2021 despite playing live at Fringe North last year, and never promoted an active sale of "Slumlord" on tapes there. However, I saw that Brent (a.k.a. B.G. Ellis) would be selling art at the Fishbowl Festival's flea market at The Klub at the Pall Mall on Queen Street East on Sunday, and in his teaser picture, there were cassette tapes! Not having any of Slumshine's tapes yet, I went down there and bought "Slumlord" and "Surfacing", which he charges $10 apiece for.
Brent is an accomplished painter & visual artist, so he hand-designed the art on his tapes, rather than use the Bandcamp cover art in a cropped or stretched form factor. On "Slumlord", Brent creatively gave the tape reversible artwork and liner notes, and while side A has "Slumlord" as seen on Bandcamp, side B (with reversible referencing artwork) has five bonus tracks named "Reversible Straightjacket", "Doubt For Life", "Prelapse", "Into The Inferno", and "Breeze Of The Sun". This is the sort of thing that I'm surprised Brent doesn't advertise, as it could boost sales of the tapes if people knew that Bandcamp only had 6/11ths of the story! Be advised that the "side A/B" labels fell off of my copy very easily, so have a glue stick handy. As for the These Magnificent Tentacles tape, it is less ornate for packaging and details, and has no bonus songs, but it uses thicker liner notes & promotes their Tidal Records affiliation.
What I didn't buy there was what appeared to be the original "SLMSHN" album on tape, distinguished by abstract painted liner artwork (as showcased in the Bandcamp copy's cover art), but at the time, I just took them for alternate art of "Slumlord" rather than a separate older album. If I described this accurately, then silly me, and hopefully Brent is selling his art again soon so I can grab that tape also and see how different/similar it is to the digital copy! Definitely keep an eye on when/where Brent will be selling art (or playing live) next to see if you can buy his recent albums on tape, and while copies of "Surfacing..." seemed limited, the Slumshine albums were well stocked. See above for more details!
Next up, let's take a brief detour to Sault Michigan for a new video from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel last week! A newly filmed live rendition of the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", this is their first true performance video uploaded here featuring new bassist Luke Bernard, and he and the rest of the band are sure dressed for the occasion here! No videos from their abbreviated (and non-local) Christmas tour last year surfaced online, but this may help make up for that, if a few months late to really be seasonal. Filmed at their own space named "The Cave" (related in name only to Sykotyk Rampage's jam room), it looks like Theatre of Night pulled out all of the stops to give this video the presentation of their live concerts, complete with full staging and light/smoke effects, and it comes across very well in this video. I wonder if they filmed any more songs like this at the time?
We are 7-8 months out from this performance being timely, but the performance itself is solid and accurate to last year's studio revision, and fans of Theatre of Night's metal versions of Christmas classics should be right at home with this rendition 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 a rare public acknowledgement of their status, Gates of Winter guitarist Bryan Belleau revealed in a comment reply on the Woods of Ypres Fanclub Facebook group on Saturday that the Sault Ontario progressive death metal band "didn't officially disband", but life caught up to them and took them "in different directions", though the guys still talk daily. Bryan noted that "Gates 2" (their unfinished album "Perihelion") "may exist at some point" in the future. Gates of Winter have been inactive since the spring of 2018 after working on the new album since 2010, and they haven't played live since 2008. Fingers crossed that we haven't heard the absolute last from them!
Local indie punk quintet The Northwest's song "Shoreline" was featured on the February 25th episode of the CBC Radio One series In The Key Of C, where host Craig Norris spotlights rising Ontario musicians each Saturday at 5:00 PM. According to the show's Facebook page, The Northwest were the last of 12 bands played on that episode. If you missed the live airing on 89.5 FM (which is easy, as the band only announced that they'd be on that morning), the episode will likely come to the CBC Listen mobile application in time, though at the moment, the newest playable episode is from January 7th. Hopefully The Northwest got lots of new fans here!
I have moved St. Ignace, Michigan metal guitarist Ted Olson's solo project to our inactive Sault Michigan band links. The Heavy Lies The Crown axeslayer has not issued a public update to his solo Facebook page since posting a picture of his headless guitars in November 2021, though of course, he has been more than busy since with H.L.T.C. in studio and in concert. Follow the band for more on what Ted's been up to in the past year+, but hopefully he resumes solo work down the road!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for St. Patrick's Day weekend concert previews and more on the site in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!
I wasn't expecting to start today's post like this, but we have THREE cancelled concerts for this weekend, for different but understandable reasons. First, local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will not be playing at The Mike Case Memorial Stage at The Trading Post tonight due to the rain forecast in Sault Ontario (the stage is very much outdoors), as per the Facebook event page. Disappointing to see Tym's summer-ending weekly string of shows there end like this, but hopefully we see him again soon! I'm not going to rush a September concert schedule of his onto our listings, as the venue's Facebook page strongly hints that they only book live music in the summer season (re: late May-the end of August), but we'll let you know if he announces anything there for September. Meanwhile, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek have cancelled their planned (and already late notice) concerts tonight & tomorrow night at Reggie's West.
The band cited "an unfortunate medical issue with one of the guys" on their Facebook page yesterday. The shows were only announced on Monday, and thusly would have led off
this post, but they will still hold their planned merchandise giveaway
on Facebook. Hopefully all's well with the laid-up band member, and that
Fort Creek are back on stage before you know it! Now, we have previews of a pair of still-on shows, a new video, and some assorted updates, so here's what you should know!
As part of the returning Michigan Paranormal Convention at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend, Madison, Wisconsin hard rock trio Sunspot will make their local concert debuts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge! A rare touring band from outside of Michigan to play a regular lounge weekend set there, Sunspot self describe themselves as "party rock from weird Wisconsin", but they have more than their fair share of heavy and power pop-leaning songs with very distinct and creative subject matter befitting MiParacon, so definitely check them out to hear that Sunspot has in store! These concerts are not explicitly tied to the convention, so you don't need a wristband or special admission to get in, and general attendees who aren't into the paranomal can come out. As such, there is no cover charge, a 21+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time.
And as usual, please respect any and all social distancing measures at Kewadin Casino and/or The Rapids Lounge to ensure everyone has a safe time, and mask up where required! I'm not a huge paranormal follower, but MiParacon is always stacked for ghost and alien aficionados, so be sure to check out the huge itinerary of stuff happening in Sault Michigan at the above links, and of course, give Sunspot a warm welcome east to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! They're a creative, diverse, and often heavy band, don't bypass them this weekend, and here they are live in concert!
Next up, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel this week, namely of another new instrumental song of his named "Pulse"! The video features heavy use of a filter that mirrors the screen in flower and circular patterns (it's hard to explain), but just as a content disclaimer, a sped up clip of a dead & decomposing fox is also included from 1:59-2:21, so don't look at the screen or skip past it if you think that may upset you. The song has a very slow ominous build into a heavy prog-metal breakdown (coinciding with the start of the fox clip, FYI), and musically, this is a nice change of pace that ends on a brutal note! Give it a watch below, but again, be cautious.
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
According to photos in James Hopkin's SooToday article on Sunday, last week's Entomica Insectarium summer social fundraiser at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ontario waskinda/sorta held outdoors. Rather than have everyone inside the museum, the bands performed just inside the open hangar doors with attendees enjoying the music outside at patio tables by the waterfront, an aspect never made clear in pre-event advertising. Fun optics that allow for more open spaces re: social distancing! There are a couple of photos of The Josh Norling Jazz Quartet's set in the photo album as well, but James didn't get any of other bands.
In late schedule clarifications for this weekend's Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir, local punk supergroup Jonesy Land will reportedly be playing tonight at 9:00 PM, and local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters will reportedly be closing the Saturday night bill at 10:00 PM. My sources are frontmen Dustin Jones & Jules Cote's respective personal Facebook pages (it's all we have, alas). I wish a proper schedule had been released, but these at least fill in a couple of late blanks! Hopefully someone films some videos this weekend!
Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's music video for their song "Metalyn" was submitted by director Jay London for this year's Soo Film Festival as one of seven music videos on this year's program. I believe the music video was added after the schedule was made up, but it looks to be part of the Tunes & Toons show at The Soo Theatre on Sunday, September 19th. Congratulations to Jay and Tarnished on this great exposure, and if you're in the E.U.P., consider checking out The Soo Film Festival for lots of diverse independent films!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Monday! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is an all-video one to help catch up on recent news desk items, and we'll start the proceedings by looking at local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase Wigmore's new album "Living Divisions", which was released for free on his YouTube channel on Saturday! Despite teasing on his Facebook page on June 2nd that this album would be released for sale on proper digital services, I have not found it on Spotify, Amazon, or Apple Music at press time, so time will tell if he changed course or if the paid edition is forthcoming. One thing that has changed since June 2nd is that this album is no longer an 8 song, 80 minute release. No, the YouTube copy also includes a "Disc Two" (there's no word on a physical release either, for the record) with three extra songs, with the new closing song "The Bastard Mass" running for over 34 minutes! The total runtime is almost 2 hours & 40 minutes, so strap in!
Also, it looks like an unspecified "Disc One" song after "Soul In Eclipse" was split in two, meaning that there's now nine songs rather than eight. I'll hold comments for now, pending the previously suggested paid release of "Living Divisions" (for all of this work and technicality, it'd be fitting to see it on sale), but this will be absolutely worth your time if you love extreme progressive noise metal, and/or Chase's prior metal output under any project name, so give "Living Divisions" a listen below!
Next up, here's a new original song from local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! In a departure from some of his more political recent songs, this is an uplifting ballad called "Energy Surrounds Me", as set to peaceful (if sometimes trippy) light visualizations. If you like Tym's softer original music (and his reminiscent-in-tone acoustic shows), this will be right up your alley, and the lyrical messages about surrounding yourself with love energy do feel natural and from the heart! Musically, I prefer heavier, but this has it's place, so give "Energy Surrounds Me" a listen below!
Also today, here's a very short teaser clip for Wyld Stallyns frontman Rob Speers' acoustic set on Low & Slow's patio on Canada Day, as shared by the restaurant's Facebook page the day of the show, not long after Rob posted it on his personal Facebook page. The 44 second clip features Rob covering a portion of The Eagles' "Hotel California" with lyrics changed to promote going to the restaurant. Fun promotion, if short and very late notice for when his set actually began, so give it a belated look below!
Finally, here's another new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time a 70 second instrumental named "Visual Justice". Featuring Ted (TedShred, if you prefer) playing indoors on his headless Strandberg guitar, this is another quick but nicely technical and well put together performance by the St. Ignace, Michigan product, so progressive metal fans will want to check out this well shot multi-camera footage below, and stay tuned for more from Ted and/or H.L.T.C.!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
After publishing six posts in six days last week, things have crashed back to Earth more or less in terms of news and notes, but if you're interested in new content from the Sault Michigan-area, then today's post will be up your alley! It includes a surprise lineup departure, new videos, and a preview of a concert this weekend, so here's what you should know!
With news slowing down again in the wake of the Kewadin Casino schedule announcement and the beginning of Stage 2 in Ontario, I'm opting to post this weekend concert preview slightly early to ensure that steady content on the SMS is maintained. That said, if you're in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, look for Sault Ste. Marie hard rock trio Tarnished back at their recent favourite local venue (Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! This is a special concert tied into an American Veterans motorcycle gathering that you can get full details on via the Facebook event page, and there are events relating to that all weekend, including a bonfire and unspecified separate musicians on Friday. Hulbert House did not announce if Tarnished's show on Saturday would be outdoors or indoors, but again, if the weather's good, why not take advantage of their proper stage?
Admission is $50 for the weekend and includes camping priviliges at the Hulbert House site, and while Tarnished's concert is included with admission, inquire within if you want to ask about attending just the concert itself. I assume they'd prefer attendees be related to AMVETS or motorcycling, but you never know! Tarnished will be on at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and if you are up for a trip over the Mackinac Bridge, they will also be playing in Mackinaw City on Friday night, so click here for more details on that. See above for more information on their Hulbert gig on Saturday, and for a preview, here's some new videos of Alex, Nathan, and Josh from their set in Grand Marais this past Saturday! While not promoted much on Facebook, this outdoor show two hours west of the Soo was filmed for two 45 seconds-long videos posted on Tarnished's Facebook page, so what can you see here?
These videos show covers of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", which I chose to embed as it's both a heavier cover and it's filmed in a normal landscape orientation. Both are well done covers that put Alex's strong melodic singing to good use, and it's just a shame that the filmer wasn't closer to the stage (let alone filming vertically for the Seger cover). Give both videos a look above and below, and don't miss Tarnished in Hulbert on Saturday if you're attending the AMVETS gathering!
Next up, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time of a short new instrumental original track named "Kitten Cat Shark Attack"! Well, Shark Week is coming up, perhaps this is getting an early jump on things? Despite the thumbnail, there's no kittens or sharks to be seen, it's just Ted playing a very heavy progressive metal song with his headless guitar. I'll admit, this is one of my favourite of Ted's solo tracks so far, the brutal technicality is great, and the new lighting/camera setup works to it's advantage! Give Ted's new video a watch below!
Finally, we have some surprising news out of Sault Michigan, as new local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews have surprisingly parted ways with bassist Chris Leask before they could even debut at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend. The band did not elaborate on their Facebook page,
but Chris revealed on his personal Facebook page that he left for
medical reasons that will impair his ability to play bass, though it is nothing life-threatening. Given the
non-public source, I won't elaborate here, but Chris has been a frequent presence in our Sault Michigan coverage with bands like Power Slug and Highway 63, and hopefully his condition
improves so he can return to the stage down the road! A new Facebook photo posted by the band from their debut weekend shows the bassist they brought in at least for those gigs, and I may be wrong on this, but he looks like Brett Blackwood, who played in guitarist Chris Hubbard's prior hard rock band 415E from 2019-2020.
In any event, Rhythm & Brews have not publically confirmed a permanent replacement for Chris, let alone acknowledged his departure in writing, but they don't have any other Kewadin Casino gigs advertised in 2021, so there may not necessarily be a rush either. We'll keep you posted when more rolls in from Rhythm & Brews' camp, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next, barring any late notice concert announcements! Thanks everyone!
Barring some more surprise late notice gigs, this should end our recent string of posts featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for at least a few days! For our second post of July 2021, we're mostly in Sault Michigan looking at some new original songs and the long awaited return of two touring favourites to the E.U.P. stage, but let's start in Sault Ontario with one more SHORT NOTICE show as Stage 2 of the provincial re-opening continues!
Local acoustic hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns will play their first public concert of 2021 when they play a special outdoor matinee gig on the patio at Reggie's Place TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via their Facebook page on Wednesday. After sitting out the socially distanced concert scene from February-April, The Wyld Stallyns are back in the saddle for singer/guitarist Rob Speers' second outdoor patio gig on Queen Street East in a three day span, following his rare solo outing at Low & Slow yesterday. I don't know if Reggie's is doing the patio concert thing TOMORROW to take advantage of the summer season, or if it's easier to do it there out of deference to public health guidelines, but it's great to see the Speers', Jesse, and Jonas delivering their fan friendly brand of rock covers, perhaps as a good tune-up for Rotaryfest in two weeks! Also, this show is another sign that the current Reggie's ownership isn't country-only.
TOMORROW's concert is at 5:00 PM, it has no cover charge (but I'm sure they'd prefer if you bought something to get in, let alone on the patio), and while this is a matinee gig, remember that Reggie's concerts are typically 19+. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!
Next up, let's head to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, where we're finally closing up our new hard rock concert announcements at Kewadin Casino's two regional lounges, starting with the return of Traverse City hard rock trio Scarkazm to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, October 15th & Saturday, October 16th, before returning for a one-nighter(?) on Friday, December 31st! The October dates will be the first north of the Mackinac Bridge for these Northern Michigan favourites since rocking the same venue in February 2020 (we all know why they haven't played locally since), and while it'll still be a few more months, it's great to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff finally coming back to our neck of the woods! What I don't know yet is if Scarkazm's New Year's Eve gig will be paired by a show on Saturday, January 1st, 2022 as Kewadin's schedule for The Rapids Lounge only covers concerts taking place in 2021.
We'll let you know when/if we get confirmation, but if it is a one-nighter, hopefully Scarkazm deliver a hard hitting night of tunes for fans at year's end! These shows will have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges, but expect the usual holiday frills for New Year's Eve. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not done for Jeff & Adam yet!
If Scarkazm are coming back to the E.U.P., their sister band Peril can't be far off themselves, as this long-standing fan favourite classic/hard rock trio will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branch on Friday, October 29th & Saturday, October 30th! Though Scarkazm play more often than Peril in the modern day, it makes perfect sense that Jeff & Adam would bring Peril back to our area with Brooks behind the kit for their old school attack, and like Scarkazm, this will be their first concert weekend up here since rocking The Northern Pines Lounge in February 2020. If you have missed Peril in the past year & a half, note that the Halloween weekend shows are Peril's only local dates under the Kewadin umbrella in 2021, so keep these dates in mind! Like with Scarkazm's shows, expect 21+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more on Kewadin Casino's 2021 lounge concert schedule!
We'll close today with the latest videos from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel last month! One is entitled "Ignace", and it features fast-motion footage of stormy weather in St. Ignace bookended by footage of Ted (one assumes) driving through the same town at night, albeit with some warm colour filtering. Not the heaviest song Ted has composed, but very proggy and a nice driving tune all the same with some complex riffing! Embedded below is Ted's newest song "Great Wall", which he said was inspired by the idea of not knowing what you had until it's gone. Again accompanied by weather-related video (this time of a rainy night shot by his H.L.T.C. bandmate Brandon West), this shorter number has more of a darker, doomier atmosphere, but it still has the heavy technicality you've come to expect from Ted(shred)'s solo output! Give both videos a look above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin today's post, just an apology for not covering local hard rock band Tarnished's acoustic matinee gig at the Sault Ste. Marie Farmer's Market on Wednesday, marking Alex & Josh's first unplugged show there since 2019 (you can guess why they didn't play there last year). The show was only plugged that same morning by both the band and market, when we didn't have enough time or content to rush a post on here, but it was covered on our Facebook page. I do apologize, and I'd have covered it here had it had more notice! Now, today's post mostly deals in some notable Sault Michigan topics, plus a Sault Ontario band reunion, so here's what you should know!
In a promising sign that a more normal concert calendar is ahead, the Black Label Society-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has been rescheduled once again, and is now slated to take place on Saturday, November 13th! Now scheduled to take place exactly 20 months after the originally cancelled March 13th date, this show is part of B.L.S.' Doom Trooping Over North America tour in October & November, and Tampa, Florida death metal legends Obituary will be back for this tour run, as they were last year. Last year's planned opening act Lord Dying are not on this new tour, but New York groove metal legends Prong (of "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" fame) will open the proceedings this time around, and it'll be neat to see them in their local debut! Standing-room only tickets remain at $27.50 , and you can buy them online at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office.
Nothing is concretely said about if tickets bought for Black Label Society's cancelled March or August dates last year will be honoured, and while I don't see why they wouldn't be, inquire within if you are at all concerned, or if the new date doesn't work for you and you want a refund. Regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ticket page says "masks may be required, more info closer to the event", so keep that in mind, though case counts have definitely been dropping in both Ontario and Michigan as vaccinations become more and more widely available. Of course, the border shutdown is still a concern, especially with how many ticket sales that Kewadin pulls from residents in Sault Ontario and the surrounding area, but Kewadin seems to be optimistic that the border will be opened this summer, as Big & Rich will be playing an outdoor show in St. Ignace on September 4th.
Also, note Kewadin's free Cue The Music series of smaller touring bands at The Dreammaker's Theater taking place on select weekends this summer (including Mac Saturn this weekend), and while none of them feature hard rock acts, it's definitely a good sign that the casino's willing to host live music again. A lot can change (for good and for bad) with the pandemic, but hopefully there's no further waves to worry about, and that we can get back to seeing concerts in the fall and beyond! See above for more details on Black Label Society this fall and other upcoming Kewadin Casino concerts (so far!)
Next up, here's some new videos from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel from earlier this week! One video sees Ted thanking viewers and subscribers for their support, as well as plugging Heavy Lies The Crown, and hinting at his future plans & new gear. Sincere words for sure, and you do get a softer instrumental composition to hear during a teaser, but the "Oh wait, there's more!" hype is a little anticlimactic. Embedded below is Ted's newest full song upload, for his instrumental track "Blood Moon", as accompanied by sped up sunset footage on the Mackinac Island waterfront, as shot from a boat (you can even see a window reflection at times). The personal hyperbole in the description is subjective at best, but Ted's progressive metal guitar skill is put on good display here, and you can't say Ted is lacking in confidence! Solid while it lasts, so give Ted's new song a listen below!
Finally for today, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, as local alternative/punk band Handsome Sandwich are back, but with big changes! We were first alerted to their reunion yesterday via their new Facebook page, despite their original Facebook page still being online, and I have no idea why they didn't just update that one. Handsome Sandwich had been inactive since the cancellation of the Jean Paul de Roover show last March that they were to have opened, and the pandemic seems to have been at least a partial factor in their year+ absence. In any event, they will look different when they return to the stage, as drummer Johnny Belanger's Bear Hunters bandmate Mitch Sirie has replaced James White (now of Dealing Without) on bass for unannounced reasons. Surprising, but hopefully we'll see James back on stage soon, and Mitch should have easy chemistry in his new band!
As well, Handsome Sandwich have enlisted Taylor Emlaw as their new frontwoman, replacing Johnny on lead vocals. Aside from her guest parts on a few Haggith songs & her brief tenure singing with Big Mistake, I don't know much about Taylor musically, but it'll be interesting to see what her presence adds and changes to Handsome Sandwich's genre defying sound! Now self-described as "4 weirdos making weirder music than your uncle's Jorts", stay tuned for more on the new Handsome Sandwich when it rolls in, and they're back in our active band links! That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!
Well, this is a rare sight: two posts in a two day span! I wasn't planning to have anything new on the site today, but surprisingly, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT dropped into my lap courtesy of a prominent Sault Michigan band, so I cobbled together stuff I was saving for next week to fill this post out. There are some Sault Ontario topics to get to, including a new album release and more, but we're mostly staying in the E.U.P. here via some new videos and that concert, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock trio Tarnished will return to Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast (well, outside of it) in nearby Hulbert Township TONIGHT for a special "summer rock party" concert! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the event via this poster on Wednesday, but the venue had posted the Facebook event page for it over a month ago. While I'm surprised Tarnished waited until this week to plug the event, I should have caught Hulbert House's own event page before now, and I profusely apologize for that! Tarnished have played a few shows downstate in the interim, but this will be their first publically advertised local concert since March (also at Hulbert House), and this will mark their first E.U.P. date since the departure of bassist Donald Alexander. As per this low-res photo from their concert in Vandalia last week, it looks like Josh is still on drums, but I can't tell whether someone's playing bass instead of guitar or not.
As best as I can tell, Tarnished are the only band playing TONIGHT, and with no lockdown order in Michigan, why not come out to see some live hard rock, let alone outdoors! Be advised that 9&10 News is calling for isolated thunderstorms in Hulbert around 10:00 PM. TONIGHT'S all ages concert has a 6:00 PM start time, a $15 cover charge, and takes place outside of the B&B at 9920 South North Hulbert Road. Concerts, let alone outdoor ones, have been rare for obvious reasons in recent months, so if you can make the drive west, don't miss Tarnished under the stars TONIGHT, and here they are live!
Next up, defunct Sault Ontario classic metal quartet Late & Loud are back (kinda) with a new album.... kinda! While the band proper did dissolve following their two standalone reunion gigs in 2014, with members largely moving out of town at least temporarily, they obviously remained friends, as evidenced by the creation of their role playing game podcast Late & Legends last fall. I'm not super knowledged about D&D-style role playing games, but clearly the guys know their stuff and have made up a detailed fantasy world and characters to work with, and you can get links on their website towards audio and video episodes of their exploits in Renlan. Much to my surprise, the podcast has led to the release of a "new" album in April entitled "Late & Legends 1" that is on sale for $5 on the Late & Loud Bandcamp page, marking their first album since 2013's "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal" reissue!
Honestly, this is more of a score than a proper album, compiling backing music heard in the podcast proper, so expect something more along the lines of SweetKenny's late-period albums than a true sequel to "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal". Still, it does feature 12 new instrumental compositions, six each by guitarists Brendan Christie & Jonathan Tiberi, though I don't know if Benn or Josh contributed to the recording sessions. As this is technically a new Late & Loud album, it is eligible for a review on the SMS (perhaps this month?!), but in any event, give the podcast and/or album a listen, watch the pilot below, and Late & Loud are surprisingly back in our active band links!
Also today, here's another new original song from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel on Tuesday! Entitled "Devoured", this is a collaboration that the St. Ignace product made with Darien Deilami, an Oklahoma-based metal vocalist from the band Xeropthalmia (among others). Given the long distance, it's surprising that the final product is only 73 seconds, but it's a brutal death metal track while it lasts, and Darien's brutal vocals fit very well (there's even a lyric track on the video if you want to try and sing along!) Give "Devoured" a listen for yourselves below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:
The Buckcherry-headlined concert at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario has been rescheduled once again, this time to Tuesday, October 19th, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Organizers and bands haven't made a massive deal of the new date yet, perhaps due to the uncertainty on the border and if normal concerts will have the go-ahead in the province by then, but optimistically, I have listed the new date on the site. Fingers crossed that things will be more opened up by the fall! If you do want tickets for the new date, or to inquire about refunds, click here.
St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown teased on their Facebook page last week that they are in "talks of a music video for a new song that has never been heard yet", but followed that up a day later by apologizing for not posting lately (despite the previous day's post), saying that "things have happened recently that has changed our route a little." Nothing too detailed has followed since, just vague teasers, but hopefully all is well in their camp!
The rescheduled Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert at the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ontario did not take place on Wednesday for obvious reasons, but it has been rescheduled once again, as their website's tour schedule now lists it as taking place on Sunday, May 22nd, 2022. Surely, we won't have to worry about lockdowns and social distancing by next spring.... right?! Again, fingers crossed, and the new date is listed on the site! Yes, tickets are on sale at this link.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
As tomorrow is my 32nd birthday, I am getting this post up beforehand so I am free for whatever the day brings, but it is nice to get a new post up two days after the previous one for a recent change! To end May 2021, we have a post half devoted to Sault Ontario topics to start, but we'll end things across the river with new videos from E.U.P. artists. Here's what you should know!
New local noise metal project Molten Imp have released their first proper single release via their Bandcamp page on Friday! Entitled "Double Dose (Me)", this features two songs publically, both with two titles (Double Dose (Me)/Steeltonia" & "Rusted Hinges/News at 11:11"), but paid download copies do include two very short bonus tracks. Planned to be the "first in a series of virtual 7'' singles", this was independently recorded, but it was mixed by former Free Beer/Id Iota guitarist Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio (nice to hear him working on new music again!) Copies of "Double Dose (Me)" run for $4 at the above links. Without giving full thoughts on these tracks yet (as we might be properly reviewing this single on the SMS next month), these songs do have more of a metal component than Molten Imp's two prior standalone noise tracks, but still don't hold a lot in common with Boyd's AlgomA work.
Molten Imp are definitely off to a quick start, and with a proper paid "single" already out, who knows how fast things will proceed for their upward trajectory! Again, "Double Dose (Me)" may very well be our next CD review on the SMS, so stay tuned in that regard, and buy/stream it above!
Next up, here's at least one more Treble Charger song that I've discovered from a compilation album that was not on one of their five studio albums! Back in 1998, Treble Charger's old indie label Sonic Unyon put out their compilation CD "Now We Are 5" in honour of their fifth anniversary, and it features recognizable acts like Shallow North Dakota, The Kittens, and Danko Jones, among others. Sonic Unyon had put out print runs of Treble Charger's first two albums, and while the local/Toronto indie/punk quartet had left Sonic Unyon prior to 1997's "Maybe It's Me", they did contribute to "Now We Are 5" with a live recording of "Ever She Flows" that is labelled as being from Rock 100.5 with Pat DiNizio in New York City. However, I can't find any record of a station there with that frequency. Also, Pat DiNizio was The Smithereens' frontman, not a radio DJ, so what's the story there?
As best as I can gather, the "Now We Are 5" booklet has an erroneous (but close) credit. From my research, I would hazard a guess that Treble Charger's performance was on WDHA 105.5 in Dover, New Jersey, a rock station then & now that Pat DiNizio made a number of on-air appearances with over the years. As for the song proper, it's a fine acoustic rendition of one of Treble Charger's signature songs from their pre-punk, Bill-led era, and it's nice of them to help support their old label on their anniversary like this! Give this acoustic version of "Ever She Flows" a listen below, and thanks to YouTube user CanuckShoegazer for uploading this last month!
We'll close today with some new videos from Sault Michigan, starting with a fresh upload from local classical metal project Theatre of Night's YouTube channel, set to "Military Theme Song Medley" from their 2012 American patriotic-themed instrumental album "The Dawn's Early Light"!
Uploaded yesterday as a clear tie-in for Memorial Day tomorrow, this
video is set to assorted pro-America and pro-US military video clips &
photos, including a few of the band proper at the start and end. It's
easy to forget that Theatre of Night have more public activity than just
their Christmas album and tours, but with their momentum stalled during the pandemic, it is good to see that Theatre of Night are still working on stuff behind the scenes, let alone on something so timely! Give it a watch below, and hear/buy "The Dawn's Early Light" above for more metallized historical American standards!
Finally, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel last night, specifically of an instrumental composition named "Aurora". Despite the thumbnail, the video does not feature Ted on camera at all, instead only showing sped up footage of clouds in the sky, bookeneded with shots of power lines. As for the song proper (apparently recorded with his Strandberg headless guitar from the "Odin" video), it delivers the progressive metal goods and has nice forward motion without getting too brutal! Give it a listen below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site on Wednesday! Thanks everyone!
Let's get one last news post on the SMS before the month of April is over, so what's on tap today? Mostly Sault Michigan updates, including a couple of videos and some shorter recent updates, but let's lead off on this side of the border with a new metal project to take note of!
We have a new local metal act to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, and they are Molten Imp, the new project led by former AlgomA singer/guitarist Boyd Rendell! I know Boyd's involved based on Facebook conversations, but this project is otherwise fairly cryptic in it's public presentation. Their Bandcamp page description calls them an "industrial metal project from one of the Molten Bros.", and it lists four possible pseudonyms above it: SGs, H5, KaOssilator, and DAW (Darby A. Wigwaus?) Molten Imp has seemingly been in the works since last year, and they have two songs posted to Bandcamp so far, those being parts 1 & 2 of a song called "Winter XX/XXI". However, both are industrial-tinged noise tracks that don't have much in the way of "traditional" metal instrumentation. Honestly, these aren't my thing, but at least it's not ambient shoegaze music, which I've never liked.
Apparently, heavier metal tracks are forthcoming for Molten Imp, and with Boyd's past resume, he can definitely crush in the metalsphere, so stay tuned for more from Molten Imp when it rolls in, and stream or buy both "Winter XX/XXI" tracks at the above links!
Next up, here's some new videos from Sault Michigan-area artists, starting with a new video from local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906's Facebook page last week! This is of a new original song that they're working on entitled "One Glance", but it's strictly a vocal/guitar performance, and only Joe is visible on camera. One commenter compared this song to The Grateful Dead, which I can hear a bit of, and it suits a nice laid back sound well, but of course, I'd gravitate to something a little heavier. Visually, the mirrored image and Joe's head being mostly cut off aren't ideal, but give Project 906's new song a look below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!
Also, here's a new solo performance video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel last week, which is curiously titled "Disgusting", complete with a disclaimer not to watch if you have a weak stomach, as it may cause seizures. Don't worry, that is all hyperbole and self deprecation, the video has no flashing lights, it's just heavily filtered in green and almost out of phase with itself. Apparently planned for a collaboration (vocals to be added), the performance proper is brutal and technical, and Ted makes solid use of his 8 string guitar! Give "Disgusting" 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 or event name:
I have removed Sault Ontario-based Kiss tribute band Creatures Of The Night from our inactive band links due to the deletion of it's Facebook group, which was it's only surviving online page, though a handful of videos still exist on YouTube. Featuring Free Beer and Sindicate alumni, this band was comprised of then-Sir James Dunn students during the 2007-2008 school year, and were active in the Dunnplugged series at the time. Hopefully Andrew, Mike, Nick, Keith, and Ryan are doing well nowadays!
In the first of likely multiple concert festival cancellations for this summer, the annual Musicians Festival in Rudyard, Michigan in August was called off again due to the ongoing pandemic, as per the festival's Facebook page last week. The event, which typically features at least one hard rock band, is a fundraiser for local school district music programs, and was held annually from 2016-2019. Fingers crossed that the Musicians Fest can return in 2022!
Last week, local hard rock band Tarnished shared a video to their Facebook page from a special acoustic performance that Alex & Josh gave at a wedding proposal, where they performed a personalized love song written by the groom-to-be. That was very nice of them to take part in such a special moment, and congratulations to the happy couple! Due to the extremely personal nature of this video, I won't embed it here, but Tarnished's page linked above will fill you in if you're so inclined.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next month! Thanks everyone!
As we settle into another lockdown on the Ontario side of the border, let's focus solely on Sault Michigan and the Eastern U.P. for today's post! Mostly, this relates to one band in particular (who have a surprise LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the summer), but we do have some solo videos to cap things off with. Here's what you should know!
Local hard rock band Tarnished will return to the Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township on Saturday, August 14th when they open for Grand Rapids country band Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys! Odd genre mix, but it would appeal to a wider audience. The band has yet to confirm this date, but the venue's Facebook page announced the show last week. Time will tell how pandemic restrictions impair this event, but Hulbert House postponed it from a planned April 14th date to work out further details. Note that while Tarnished's previous appearances at Hulbert House were indoors (more on them in a bit), the venue's Facebook page has been teasing that Tarnished will be playing outside of the B&B at dates to be announced this summer, so will this be outdoors too? Details on time, admission fees, and potential age limits are to be announced, so stay tuned to the SMS when we hear more!
While we're on the subject, Tarnished have been busy of late, including releasing their new single "SDR&R" (short for "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll") on Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, and Spotify on March 29th! Assuming it won't be on an album (at least imminently), I will give my thoughts on it here, and it's an effective 1980s metal throwback with a modern hard rock bite and strong guitar work, but ending the song with a solo did feel like a slight anticlimax. Fans should enjoy it, so give it a listen! The black & white photo at the top right is from a new shoot Tarnished did with Jay London Photography, but new bassist Donald Alexander is not included for unannounced reasons. Hopefully he was just unavailable that day! Lastly, remember their Nathan-free live-streamed performance on Friday, March 19th? Well, here's some more details on where that took place!
As it turns out, the March 19th video was filmed at the aforementioned Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast, so they must have returned less than a week later, despite neither the band nor venue advertising the return engagement on their respective Facebook pages. Assuming this wasn't a private event, I do apologize for not covering it on the SMS, but again, neither Tarnished nor Hulbert House plugged it in advance. An implied Alex/Josh acoustic set may also have taken place at Hulbert House, based on photos the venue shared on March 18th (again, apologies if we did miss something, but it wasn't announced beforehand.) One more concert video was shot during the March 19th set, as uploaded on Hulbert House's Facebook page two days later, where Alex, Donald, and Josh covered Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water".
Capturing the full song (if short a guitarist), Tarnished handle this classic hard rock standby with ease, though Alex does put some extra oomph into the vocals at times. Again, the lighting seems overkill when the indoor stage setup there looks so plain (hence why I didn't assume the prior video from this set was from a scheduled concert at first), but if the gang at Hulbert House see an opportunity to host live music during a low time, and can do it safely, why not give it a shot? Check out Tarnished's other new video below, and stay tuned for updates when they roll in!
Finally, have you been wondering what St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown have been up to lately? We're nearing a month since their last update relating to actual band activity (allegedly, they are waiting for mastering to wrap up on their upcoming CD), but two members have been working on some solo endeavours in the past month! Singer Brandon West has been supplying vocals for a couple of far-flung musicians' original projects that have been shared on H.L.T.C.'s Facebook page (both via YouTube postings and Brandon's TikTok page), but will these provide any sonic hints towards the band's upcoming album? They're brutal enough to match, for what it's worth! Meanwhile, guitarist Ted Olson quietly resumed his dormant solo project over the winter, and has posted a handful of original composition playthrough videos to his new YouTube channel (largely filmed by Brandon), with an outdoor video for his own track "Odin" posted yesterday.
Embedded below is Ted's solo song "Just Chill", uploaded almost a month ago. Excellent progressive metal guitar work from Ted, who is an underrated player locally, though whether you consider his solo to be as "insane" as advertised is up to your preferences. Hopefully Ted's YouTube videos will help tide everyone over while we wait for Heavy Lies The Crown's album, so give his videos a look above and below, and Ted is back in our active Sault Michigan band links! Here's hoping he has some more content in the works!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site by the end of the work week! Thanks everyone!
In case there's no new post before then, I'll wish all of our readers a happy Valentine's Day! This post features some assorted updates, new original songs from some familiar hard rock artists, and some more updates from a prolific local band, so here's what you should know!
We'll kick things off with the latest (non-TikTok) updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished, who revealed on their Facebook page on Sunday that they are working on a new single, with plans to release it to major music platforms next month. Former Chained Memories guitarist Ryan Nicklas (who mixed & mastered Tarnished's cover of "Run Rudolph Run") is back in studio with the guys for this new single, and given Gary's recent departure, I imagine frontman Alex Traynor will be behind the drum kit again, knowing that that the single is already being recorded. Tarnished are looking for fans to contribute to planned "gang vocals" on the track, and if you're interested, comment on their Facebook post from Wednesday for more details. Finally, a new video of Alex and bassist Josh Fair performing acoustically at Crooked Music was posted to Facebook last night!
Entitled "A Crooked Jam", this was filmed by Pick-Me-Ups alum Trevor Yake in what looks like an empty store (I don't think we missed a surprise gig), the video features Alex & Josh covering a fragment of Metallica's "Fade To Black" and all of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", across multiple camera angles. Well done renditions with much better audio than their acoustic live-streams from last year, and I like the camera-work and atmosphere shots that Trevor got in this video! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Tarnished, on or off TikTok, next week!
Next up, Sault Ontario hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has two new original songs to check out! Now, I want to preface this by noting that these are not hosted on YouTube, rather Rumble, a video hosting website that has been gaining popularity in recent months among conservative-leaning content creators. From what I understand, these two new songs ("COVID-19" and "Declassified") were pulled from YouTube due to being flagged for misinformation, and they each have very strong personal viewpoints. I try and keep the SMS apolitical, so I won't go into specifics on the lyrics or the detailed video content on these songs, especially as YouTube and Blogger (this site's host service) are both Google properties. On strictly musical terms, both of these songs are very heavy and will definitely please fans of Tym's old metal work, with some strong guitar solos included in both. Give them a watch if you want at the above links!
Also today, here's a new solo original song from Skeyes Of Seven/ex-Sense Of Truth frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel! Entitled "Sorry & Forgotten", this is about rising up against "the global elite" and their control on Earth. I won't get into the lyrics, but this modern hard rock song is intense and well performed (I can easily see one of his bands playing this), and Cory makes good use of multiple camera angles! It is an odd visual seeing him sing through the pop filter though. Give Cory's new song a look below!
Finally for today, here are three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Veteran local musician Greg Simpson revealed on his promotional company (Choose) Maxx Entertainment's Facebook page on January 27th that he's closing the page "sometime in the next few weeks", and encouraged everyone to follow his personal Facebook page for continuing business needs in event promotion & graphic design. Greg's personal page indicated that it was "time for a change up", as "this pandemic has forced me to shut down the corporation & move on as sole proprietor." Hopefully we'll still hear more from Greg in the future! As of this writing, the Maxx page is still online, so "the next few weeks" clearly means more than two.
In their first Facebook page update in nine months, local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine shared a picture of a box full of blank cassette tapes, and noted that "SllMSHN" is coming soon. The two lowercase Ls seem to imply that these will be used to record a sequel to their 2019 debut album "SLMSHN" (note the one L), which was only released physically on cassette. It's great to see Brent is still working on new Slumshine material, so stay tuned for updates!
I have moved Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's solo project to our inactive Sault Michigan band links due to a year's inactivity. The St. Ignace product only sporadically updated this page after it's May 2018 inception, and despite hyping it as his "new artist page" in January 2020, only three videos followed that month before updates quietly ceased. Of course, pandemic woes and his work with Heavy Lies The Crown may have slowed Ted's personal page's activity, but stay tuned for more updates as H.L.T.C. progress towards their new album!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Monday! Thanks everyone!
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3367220-1327586297.jpeg.jpg)
