LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & The First Of Our Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

A typically busy Halloween weekend is upon us for hard rock and punk concerts, so let's dive right into our concert previews! To spread things out, we are holding our previews of Saturday-only events (namely the Wyld Stallyns' gig and Frightlight's reunion) for tomorrow's post, while remember that the Devil's Night Oddfellows Hall concert on Tuesday was cancelled earlier this month. Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, leading off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Reggie's West TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as part of that venue's Halloween weekend festivities! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page on Monday. While Soundcheck played outside of the former Roosevelt Hotel during the Ride For ARCH street party in August, these will surprisingly be Soundcheck's first ever concerts inside the venue, not counting their predecessors Mourning Wood's shows there. Bassist Paul Belair and drummer Glen Thomas are also presumably back in the fold after missing last week's Esquire Club one-nighter, so here's a second (and third) chance in the west end TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY! Given the seasonal setting, Halloween costumes are encouraged both nights, but the formal costume contest (prizes unclear) will be on SATURDAY, so keep that in mind if you're interested in competing.

A 9:30 PM start time is advertised for both nights, and these are definitely 19+ gigs with no cover charges. These don't feel like Soundcheck's first gigs at the Reggievelt proper, but their familiar hard rock classics should draw a fun crowd over the Halloween weekend, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!



Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with a long awaited punk show TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, as California punk rock veterans Ten Foot Pole will hit Sault Ontario for a show years in the making for many fans! Underground favourites from popular originals like "Never Look Back" & "Racer X", among many others, Ten Foot Pole's melodic skate punk sound won them many fans locally over the past 20 years, and it'll be great to see them rock the Soo with old standards and tracks from their new CD "Setlist" tonight! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will open in their first concert since the Michale Graves cancellation, while veteran punk trio Redundant will hit the stage for their first local concert since the release of their debut EP in July, making this their de facto release party. Redundant are also joining Ten Foot Pole for their other Northern Ontario gigs this tour, having opened for them on Tuesday, and with their Thunder Bay debut coming tomorrow night. Huge opportunity to be sure, hopefully all three dates are big hits!

This concert is the first of three this weekend promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, and while there is no overt Halloween theme tonight, he will assuredly make up for that in the shows to come. Also, note that this concert was moved from the relaunched Harp Pub & Grill to the larger and more electric-friendly Rockstar Bar three weeks ago, despite The Harp remaining on the online ticket site. Admission is $15 via that link and presumably at the door, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a 9:30 PM start time is advertised. This should be a huge show for punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ten Foot Pole live!



Also this weekend, we'll stick with J.D.'s busy slate of concerts, as his annual Halloween party returns for it's 14th straight year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub! Alternately named "The Howling" this year, we'll only focus on tomorrow's concert here, with Saturday's coming in our next news post. Originally scheduled for Soo Blaster, these concerts were moved back to more familiar confines shortly afterward, returning his party to The Algonquin Hotel for the fifth straight year and sixth in seven years. As has been the case since 2015, this year's Halloween party is tribute band themed, and tomorrow's show will see (unnamed) tribute sets to The Distillers, H.I.M., and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Unusually, all three will be represented by the same band, a one-off group comprised of Jack Spades/Stegadeth bandmates Tiffany Stocco and Johnny Belanger alongside A Dire Setback frontman Chris Nielsen & Destroilet bassist Adam Larocque.

How will they handle three very different bands on the same night, and how far will they go to look like the three bands for the occasion? Find out tomorrow! Admission for this 19+ concert is $10 unless you buy a full weekend pass for $15, which will also get you into Saturday's second Halloween party, preview forthcoming. Of course, Halloween frills are expected both nights, and costumes are encouraged, but personal Facebook postings indicate that the costume contest proper will take place on Saturday only. This should be a fun concert to keep the punk rock action going in full force, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll cap off today's preview post with a trip to Hessel, Michigan, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Runway Bar for their annual Halloween weekend concert TOMORROW NIGHT! With frontman Alex Traynor's work on his debut solo EP, a handful of Manistique & solo gigs, and E.U.P. Kewadin Casinos "going in a different direction", this will be Banned's first regional concert since their Kinross Speedpark gig early last month, as well as their first public gig in Hessel since February. Alex, Don, and Wayne's fan friendly range of covers should go over well at The Runway Bar again tomorrow, so if you're in the area, this would be a solid way to enjoy the Halloween season! Again, expect Halloween frills and themes galor tomorrow, and there will be a costume contest at midnight, as per the venue's Facebook page. A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this concert, which has a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Banned live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Howling night #2 and Wyld Stallyns previews next, plus more news and notes! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Ten Foot Pole), Plus Peril & Project 906 Concert Previews!!

Here's our final post of August 2018 (luckily a busier month than recently usual), and it includes our last concert previews of this weekend, and leading off, our long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a major punk show hitting a central venue we haven't heard much from in years, so here's what you should know! (Edited on Saturday at 1:33 AM to replace the assorted short story write-up with the Project 906 preview, which was accidentally left out in this post's original version, in order to keep this post at a similar length. The short stories will return un-edited in a post next week.)

California punk rock veterans Ten Foot Pole will headline in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, October 25th at a rare non-acoustic concert at The Harp Bar & Grill! Mainstays of the American punk scene since the 1990s, Ten Foot Pole have a devoted following from memorable melodic punk tracks like "A.D.D.", "The Getaway", and "Never Look Back", and it'll be very interesting to see them on local soil this fall! Local punk trio Redundant are advertised to open in their first local concert appearance since the release of their debut EP, as part of a mini-tour run supporting Ten Foot Pole on their three Northern Ontario dates, as per their Facebook page. Great opportunity for the guys, but will this be considered Redundant's de facto local CD release concert? Fellow local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' logo is used as the Facebook event page's cover photo, which implies their involvement too, but their name is not included with Redundant's among the openers, and at least one more band is allegedly to be announced.

And yes, this show is definitely at The Harp, marking the first non-acoustic concert that we've covered there since the former Madison's Pub re-opened under it's new ownership & theme in 2013, so we'll have to see how things shape up at 701 Pine Street in two months! Given the relatively small size of The Harp, this concert (promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce) only guarantees 50 advance tickets, which cost $15 at this link, though no word on in-person availability. This is a 19+ show with a 9:30 PM start time, and no, this is not J.D.'s annual Halloween Party event. That has been separately teased in personal Facebook postings, and while we await a public announcement on the bands and location, I would expect the show(s) to be on October 26th & 27th. I'm not a scholar of Ten Foot Pole, but they have been a familiar presence among punk contacts for years, and they have a fun sound that should get a solid audience, so see above for more details!

Next up, here's our last hard rock concert previews for this weekend (barring super late notice confirmations), starting with Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Despite being advertised as taking place at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on their Reverbnation page, Peril's Facebook page has since changed the venue to St. Ignace's Kewadin branch, though I don't know whether this was a mistake on Peril's part or if the shows were moved south. In any event, apologies for the short notice on the venue change! These shows will be Peril's first in St. Ignace since June, and their hard hitting classic covers should be a fun soundtrack for the weekend there, sso keep these in mind if you're in the E.U.P.! Expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!

Finally for today, here's one more weekend concert preview post (apologies for this missing this post's original version), as local hard rock cover quartet Project 906 will kick off September with a one night only concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley! While not recently plugged on 906's Facebook page, the band acknowledged this show back in July, and it is listed on the casino's event calendar. Last seen in the Soo three weeks ago, this will be the second of three scheduled gigs for this popular local attraction at "your perfect up north retreat" in 2018, following their Back Bay show in June, with one more lined up for December. Project 906's tried and tested hard rock covers should find a receptive audience at this waterfront nightclub, so don't miss out tomorrow for all of the action! This 21+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live in concert earlier this summer!



That's all for this month, but stay tuned for our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Sunday! Thanks everyone!

Happy 10th Anniversary To The Sault Metal Scene!! (2007-2017)

On this day 10 years ago, on a whim and a lark, I launched the initial Facebook group for The Sault Metal Scene as a group to network local metalheads and alert them to pertinent concerts and news. 10 years later, we've evolved into a full blog/website covering metal, hard rock, and punk concerts in each of the Twin Saults, and I wanted to take a rare opportunity to mark this milestone on the site and thank every single one of our readers for 10 awesome years! It hasn't always been smooth sailing for readership, concert activity, and not to mention growing pains as I learned how to manage the site and report news effectively, but it's been an extremely worthwhile decade, and it has been an extreme privilige to be a source of news, media, and entertainment on local metal, hard rock, and punk over this time!

With Scott McLeod's old Sault Music Scene website having closed the year prior to our launch (to the dismay of myself and other fans), I affectionately named the Sault Metal Scene in homage to it with a more genre and local-specific focus, and even after we formally started covering punk bands three years ago, the original name has stuck. I admit that it can be hard to read some of my older posts, especially after I refined and cleaned up my writing style, but for someone with no formal journalism training, I hope that I've been able to be a useful resource for concerts and bands of the past decade, especially in connecting Sault Ontario fans to Sault Michigan bands & concerts, and vice versa. In case you're reading into anything from what I've wrote, don't worry, The Sault Metal Scene is not  going anywhere, and there is a lot of gas in the tank with more than enough opportunities to fill up along the road! How could I fold things before our 100th monthly CD review in October anyway? There's so much more to do!

Of course, it's immeasurable how much the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes have changed in the past 10 years. You can count the number of SMS-covered bands that are still alive and functioning that were here when we launched. Of course, Stiffler's Mom are about as active on the bar circuit now as they were then, while Mayadevi (now Ashoka At The Show) remain active as an Elliot Lake-based solo project, Mike Cliffe still records solo music & Audiofumes collaborations, and As It Stands, Life's Eclipse, and Syktoyk Rampage may still be functioning bands, even if they haven't had much to say in recent months. The days of Gates of Winter, Fitswitch, The Inner City Surfers, Free Beer, and Clownsack have given way to The Bear Hunters, Jack Spades, A Dire Setback, Id Iota, and Stoned Ape Evolution just a decade later, and many of the visible active sights in the local scene when we launched have moved on to new bands, new hometowns, and even new creative focuses.

Sure, we've seen such 2007-era musical standouts as Mikey Hawdon, Bryan Belleau, Jake Lalonde, and (soon) Mike Mikus relocate from the Soo area in the past 10 years, but we've also seen key musical players like Mike Haggith, Tym Morrison, Terry Eaton, and the late David Gold all move (back) to the Soo since, so there's always been a lot of talent to cover! Think of all the huge and well received concerts that took place locally in 2007, like Kiss' outdoor show at Kewadin Casino, the Heaven & Hell and Three Days Grace concerts at The Essar Center, Matthew Good at The Speak Easy (well, maybe not the last one), and it's very hard to believe that these all took place 10 years ago, not to mention such locally-headlined landmarks as Lion Ride's live debut, Gates of Winter's huge pre-album release show at Algoma University, and The Inner City Surfers' live music video shoot, among many others.

Also, look at the bands locally that weren't even a thing in 2007, and aren't active now, that made a huge mark, like Garden of Bedlam, Gnaeus, Bring the Fallen, The Pixo Control, Late & Loud, and Half A Man, among many others. Even the venues of the era have seen a major shift, with Foggy Notions, GLOW, the original Coch's Corner, Madison's Pub, The Outback, and The Bird/Golanka's Bar ending their local runs, while The Rockstar Bar, The New American Pub, 180 Projects, and (for a time) The Roosevelt Hotel became top destinations to host metal & punk concerts at. Even in general, we've seen sweeping changes, like the early 2010s rise of death metal to the mid-2010s surge of young alternative bands, and with each, they've given way to exciting young and new artists that helped define the scene in their day, including some performers that were still children when the Sault Metal Scene proper launched! It's been very exciting to see things develop over the past decade!

The SMS has given me so many opportunities, friendships, and learning experiences, and I can only hope that the next decade will provide much more of the same, so my sincere and endless thanks to all of our readers, supporters, fans, and yes, even critics for all of their input and readership over this past decade! Even I only heard from you to give corrections or to announce a concert on very short notice, I appreciate any input to make our coverage better, and there's much more ahead. Thanks everyone for the past 10 years, and here's to another decade!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Deathsticks, Gianni Gagoots, And Tym Morrison), And A New Music Video!!

I was intending today's post to be a video-only feature from Tuesday's Alter Bridge show (yes, we have enough for at least one more), but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT (plus two more new concerts), I couldn't put this off. Now, alongside a new music video posting, here's what you should know on this Saturday evening!

Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will play a headlining concert at The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey TONIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via it's official Facebook event page earlier this afternoon, and non-Gliss shows are not listed on his website's calendar. Fresh off of his matinee at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, Tym will hit the Queen Street tapas restaurant for (at least) the seventh time with this late notice gig, his first announced there in two weeks, and fans of Tym's unplugged hard rock covers should take to TONIGHT's action, so keep this one in mind just in case! Presumably a 19+ event with no announced cover charge, everything starts at 10:30 PM, so visit the above links for more details, here's Tym live, and apologies again for the late notice, we'd have plugged it sooner had we known about it!

Next up, here's some upcoming shows with advance notice, starting with the next concert from local funk/hard rock jam quintet Gianni Gagoots, who will open for Niagara Falls experimental prog rock quartet The Road Waves in that band's local debut at The New American Pub on Friday, June 23rd! Though not quite crossing over into hard rock or punk territory, The Road Waves will be a nice compliment in the improvised jam arena to Gianni Gagoots, who will be playing their first announced concert since opening for The Hazytones last month. Of note, this is the first show from the sauce masters since announcing that they're now self-promoting concerts under the name Like Ten Productions, though they had previously booked gigs internally without a company name. I'm unsure of the meaning behind "Like Ten", but hopefully they can attain similar heights as contemporary number-named agencies Six, Two, Oh. and Live705!

Doors open at 9:00 PM for this 19+ concert, which has a $5 cover charge. This should be a fun time at The New A for fans of improvised and experimental rock & roll, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on Like Ten Productions' next announced show in the fall!

Today's other new show comes from the aforementioned Six, Two, Oh., as Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks will finally make their local concert debut when they headline at The New American Pub themselves on Thursday, June 29th! Fans may remember hearing about this band's intended local concerts at The New A in October and at The Gore Street Cafe last month, with the former cancelled due to the work commitments and the latter (promoted through the laundromat) quietly called off without public word, so third time should be the charm next month! Promoters played with Deathsticks during AlgomA's summer touring last year, and they thought highly of Deathsticks' unique brand of "power slop", so don't bypass them! Local alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic will return to the site of their live debut as local openers next month, while an additional opening act may be added too.

As a thank you and show of appreciation for fans who have attended Six, Two, Oh. shows over the last couple of years, this will be a FREE CONCERT, while it is still a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time. Hopefully this show goes off without a hitch, as I know the hype Deathsticks have received since last fall, and fingers crossed all goes well for this FREE show at the end of June, so see the above links for updates!

Finally for today, here's a brand new solo music video from Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel! Unlike his past solo dalliances (which were primarily acoustic for live sets), this is a fully electric song named "Asleep At The Wheel", which has a definite Alice In Chains vibe, and wouldn't be out of place with Skeyes of Seven proper! For the record, we haven't heard a public update from them in four months, and no word on if this solo video means anything regarding the band's status, but the description notes that the song "represents an awakening" and "remembering who you used to be." The light hearted video features Cory playing in and performing a silly walk in a cemetery, as mixed in with clips of him playing with (and alongside) his baby daughter, and while the camera angle changes can be a little jarring, this is a fun video overall that shows off Cory's soft side while maintaining a dark grungy edge! Give it a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Pixo Control), Plus New Videos!!

Here's another news post to open a new week, so what can you find within? New videos from two very different recent concerts, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for a rising young band's next three shows, all with some big developments attached, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control will indeed play a CD release concert in honour of their debut album "Probably Not" on Saturday, December 12th... two of them, in fact! The band announced on their Facebook page last night that they'll headline two separate concerts at LopLops Lounge that day, the first being an ALL AGES afternoon gig and the latter being a nighttime 19+ show, so fans of all ages will be able to check the guys out and be the first to get a copy of their first CD! Notably, these will be The Pixo Control's first concerts since The Emergency Festival in August, and consequently, just their second & third with new drummer Matthew Thibert (no word as of yet on if he recorded tracks for the album.) Support will come via post-punk quartet Gnaeus (fresh off of their Devil's Night concert at LopLops) and glam/punk trio Caroline Divine (in their first announced concert since July), and both are great fits, so don't miss them on the 12th!

No word yet though on if the openers are playing both shows, or if each band has one each, but we'll treat them as playing both unless said otherwise. Presented by label Tidal Records, each show has a $10 cover charge (it's not clear whether that includes a copy of "Probably Not" or if that's separate from entry), the all ages show is at 2:00 PM, and the 19+ show is at 9:00 PM, both on December 12th. For more details, visit the above links! This is an ambitious idea to play two release shows in the same day, but hopefully The Pixo Control have a successful launch(es) of their debut CD, and we'll keep you posted as extra updates roll in!

Next up, we have another new Pixo Control concert to mention, as they'll apparently be opening for Saskatoon blues rock favourites The Sheepdogs at The Machine Shop at Mill Square on Tuesday, February 9th! While not announced via other sources as of this writing, The Pixo Control's Facebook page indicated that they'd be opening for The Sheepdogs on Saturday. The second February gig in as many years to feature the guys as an opening band (joining this year's Treble Charger concert), this is another huge showcase for Michael, Steve, and Matthew, and hopefully they can make some new fans in February! If you're not familiar with them, The Sheepdogs are well known from hit singles like "Feeling Good" & "The Way It Is" from their platinum self-titled album, and have made lots of fans with their roots & southern rock-influenced originals, so there should be a very solid audience for their Soo debut! Also, the show is definitely on February 9th, SooToday's advertising accidentally has it listed for the 8th.

An 8:00 PM start time is listed for this 19+ concert, and tickets are available for $30 & $35 ($25 early bird tickets are sold out) at this link, so visit the above links for full current details! While The Sheepdogs aren't a "heavy" band, they're very talented and have a great fanbase, and they should rock the house on February 9th (and it's nice to see a big non-country show at The Machine Shop, hopefully there's more to come!) Stay tuned again for updates as we hear them on this and The Pixo Control's release shows!

We'll close today with new videos, including a look at Shot In The Dark Productions' production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop earlier this month, featuring local classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester as the house band! Uploaded by drummer Ric Datson to his YouTube channel yesterday, this is of That's Chester and the cast of Tommy performing The Who's "Pinball Wizard" during one night of the production (which one isn't specified), and it gives a nice five-camera look at arguably the most famous song from Tommy! Greg Simpson does his best Elton John for the rendition, complete with the cast acting and singing in turn, and while everything looks and sounds good, Greg's vocals are very muffled (and note that there's a 31 second intro before the video actually starts.) Excellent crowd, and good details for the set and acting (yes, that is a real pinball machine being lowered in), so hopefully we see more live stage musical productions like this in the future, and yes, more That's Chester concerts! Give everything a look below!



Finally for today, here's a new video find of the aforementioned Caroline Divine from their Rotaryfest afterparty concert at LopLops Lounge on July 18th! Apologies for missing it for this long, it slipped us by in prior Facebook scans. Filmed by attendee Katie Huckson and shared on the band's Facebook page the next day, this is an incomplete video of Brendan, Devin, and Anthony playing one of their originals (title unclear, possibly "Looking For A Fight".) Solid audio and energy to be had from this promising young band in their most recent concert, albeit with dark lighting, so check it out below, and don't miss them back at LopLops on December 12th!


 
That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

Ten Kings Updates, Plus Lots Of Recent Assorted News!!

Believe it or not, this is our first full news post at the SMS without concert previews attached in almost two weeks, but hopefully the news will pick up in short order! Today, we're touching on a number of shorter assorted recent notes, but first, here's a pair of new Sault Michigan video finds, including some updates on a recently dissolved band, so here's what you should know! (Updated on Sunday at 11:08 PM)

Here's the latest on the now-inactive local hard rock quartet Ten Kings, so what should you know on them now? While it's still not public what happened to them, it looks like singer Brandon Carr made use of their St. Ignace Kewadin Casino bookings for this weekend by playing both last night & tonight with half of fellow local hard rockers 415E (guitarist Chris Hubbard and bassist Mitch Goetz), as well as ex-Absolute drummer Justin Lawless. Our sources are personal Facebook posts by Brandon & Chris yesterday. No word on if this is an official new band or not, and if they'd still skew hard rock if they were, but Chris did jokingly muse on if they should call themselves Nixxon Dixxon (his and Brandon's old local band) or Two Weeks Notice (presumably referencing the time they had to get ready following Ten Kings' dissolution.) Whether this is just a one-off group, a Nixxon Dixxon revival, or something brand new, we'll keep an eye on things, and hopefully this weekend's concerts went well!

As for Ten Kings, we had embedded a YouTube video of them covering Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace in August here that was still online when this post went up, but the band member that controlled the account took their YouTube channel down as well yesterday. I wish bands wouldn't erase their existence from the internet like this when they break up, as there are fans that still like and enjoy their material, even if something bad happened behind the scenes, but it is what it is. Hopefully their breakup was amicable, and best of luck again!

Next up, here's a new solo video from ex-Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins' YouTube channel! Uploaded last week, this is of Joe's musical discovery when stacking his guitar pedals, and he definitely seems to like what this produced! Also, this is unique from his past videos that we've shared here, as he talks to the camera about his gear and the pedals' effects on his playing. You get some solid instrumental playing too, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, album, company, or venue name:

• Former local concert venue Club Princess (a.k.a. The Princess Theatre) has had it's iconic arrow sign taken down amidst ongoing renovations by new owner Marc Muto (yes, the former Lion Ride drummer), who bought the Gore Street location and is planning to reopen it in the future in some form. The sign was removed due to safety concerns and that it was showing it's age, but it will be put in storage towards a possible restoration and return to the building. It's nice to hear that the Princess is being revived, and hopefully the sign returns down the road! Click here for more details!
• According to a post on Mike Haggith & The Din's Facebook page on Thursday,  the band shared the stage with funk/hard rock quartet The Elements (an apparent late addition) and DJ Seith during that night's Jason Michaud fundraiser at The Marconi Hall, without crediting the publically listed Redundant, Project 421, and Eclypse. No word on if those bands dropped out or not, but remember, official event advertising oddly didn't credit the full lineup. Nice of The Elements to rock this benefit too, and hopefully lots was raised to help Jason out!
• The recap article and photos from SooToday's Donna Hopper's coverage of last month's "Fed Up!" split CD release party at The Algonquin Pub can at last been seen at this link! Featuring brief remarks from Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce & Destroilet singer Mike Hull, the article recaps the show and CD, and reiterates plans to release the split in other formats, while the photos (all in black & white) include 7 from headliners The Ripcordz' set & five each of the local bands, including a guest return from the departed Brent Ellis during Destroilet's set. Despite the delay, Donna got some great shots again, so see everything above!
• Local classic metal quintet Project 421 will replace Destroilet on the lineup for the Sabrina Pelchat memorial concert at The Rednecks Saloon on Friday, as per updates to the official Facebook event page yesterday. A reason for Destroilet's exit wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and Project 421 will fit in nicely in their return to the former Nicolet Tavern! Stay tuned for more on this show next week!
• We have moved local grindcore/experimental duo This Is Your Band On Drugs to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The Blood Shed Productions project has not made a public update since being advertised to play at last October's Devil's Night concert at The Oddfellows Hall, which they dropped out of after being on hiatus since last spring due to work commitments. T.I.Y.B.O.D. were an entertaining and creative band in their genre, complete with a demo CD, and hopefully Chase & Nick revive them in the future!
• As you may have seen, there was not a Friday the 13th new music event from Sault Michigan independent metal label Werehold Records yesterday, breaking a streak of six straight Friday the 13th events dating to April 2012. Label owner Jason Mills said in a personal conversation that it was due to many artists on the label having "downtime" as of late, and he didn't want to post new songs from just his own projects. Hopefully things pick back up come the next Friday the 13th in May!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site in the coming week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stiffler's Mom), More Weekend Concert Previews, And A Band Breakup?!

With an unusually busy concert weekend for early November, here's our second weekend concert preview post, and if there's any extremely late notice hard rock shows to touch on, look for them tomorrow! Now, we have previews on both sides of the border, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and an apparent band breakup impacting shows this weekend, so here's what you should know, and check out our first of the weekend's concert previews in the post below this one!

Local party hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to the stage for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced on the venue's Facebook group on Wednesday. Filling in for singer/drummer Greg Simpson's country band Bone Yard after guitarist Alex D'Ettore broke his wrist, the bands are still returning to The Canadian this weekend after Maxx Entertainment took last weekend off to focus on the Tommy production. Hopefully Alex heals up fast, but Stiffler's Mom's fun sound and strong reputation should lead to a good turnout on Saturday! No word on why Stiffler's Mom aren't playing tomorrow night though, but for reference, Bone Yard were scheduled to play the Friday too before they dropped out. There is no announced cover charge on Saturday, you must be at least 19 to attend, and there's a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live last summer!



Moving to previously announced concerts, we were planning to look at this weekend's concerts from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for tomorrow & Saturday night, but I have doubts that they're playing now. Why? Because their Facebook page was quietly deleted for unannounced reasons at some point in the past three weeks, and that has historically been a good indicator that a band has broken up (also, their Instagram page was made private.) I have not seen any official statements about Ten Kings' status on members' personal Facebook pages since their last shows in the Soo over the October 24th weekend, and I'll monitor things in case something comes out, but we won't treat these shows as on unless something is publically said otherwise. Sadly, without an active online page (I wish they'd have left it up), we'll have to delete Ten Kings from our band links as well.

If Ten Kings are indeed defunct, this is very surprising and sudden, especially given how fast they'd risen since launching in January, including their set opening for Theory of a Deadman this summer, and a strong lineup featuring many familiar faces, but you can still see bassist Barney Gravelle in Retro Troop in the meantime. It'd be nice to be wrong, but if they have dissolved, best of luck to Brandon, Joe, Barney, and Will in the future!

However, there is one hard rock show that is definitely going down this weekend in the E.U.P., albeit at an unusual venue, as Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to play a rare concert in their hometown THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Kinross Township Hall! More specifically, they'll playing at the Orioles' Club inside the hall at 4916 West Curtis Avenue, and while I don't recall prior hard rock concerts at this venue, I'm sure Banned don't mind playing in their hometown for a change! Saturday's show follows an off weekend for the Traynors & Wayne, and will mark their first show within an hour of the Soo since their St. Ignace stops three weeks ago, so if you've missed Banned's diverse & often heavy covers, head to Kinross on Saturday! If you'd prefer a local bar show however, they'll be live at The Runway Bar in Hessel next weekend, so keep those dates in mind.

For what it's worth, a Fall Fest has been held at The Orioles Club at this time in past years with dancing, music, beer, and so forth, and you can click here for details on 2013's, but I can't definitively say if Banned are playing at a 2015 Fall Fest installment or not. If it is, expect a $5 cover and 21+ age limit, but in any event, they are playing at an early start time of 8:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Banned live last year!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock previews, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for the long awaited return of Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells, as they'll be headlining at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Though we've never had a shortage of AC/DC tributes coming through the Soo in recent years (notably Who Made Who), this will be Hells Bells' first local stop since headlining at The Canadian Nightclub way back in May 2010, so if you liked and missed this band's dose of high voltage rock 'n roll in particular, the 5 year wait is over on Saturday night! I have seen them live, and they will definitely get AC/DC fans going, so keep this one in mind! Advance tickets for $12 are still available at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, but The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser noted on the venue's Facebook group that tickets are 90% sold out, and there's no guarantees of availability at the door (but if you want to try, note that there has been no announced hike in the price at the door either.)

This concert is definitely a 19+ event, and a 10:30 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and if you love AC/DC, get your tickets A.S.A.P. to check out Hells Bells' faithful tribute set on Saturday night! For a preview, here's Hells Bells live in Orillia!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Sabrina Pelchat Funeral Details, Speak Easy Battle Of The Bands Updates, And More News

I hope everyone had a great Halloween, despite the rain! Our first post of November includes new live concert videos, assorted updates, and updates to an upcoming battle of the bands, but first, here's some details on final services for a departed local musician, so here's what you should know!

The obituary for late Chronic Demonic singer Sabrina Pelchat has been posted on SooToday, which confirms that her services will be held on Tuesday at 3:00 PM at the Northwood Funeral Home at 942 Great Northern Road, with visitation beginning there at 1:00 PM. Helen Smith will officiate the service, and interment will be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. She is survived by her parents, four siblings, partner/Shadowthrone bandmate Robert Sartini, her grandmother, and numerous other extended family members. The family is asking for donations to the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society in her memory, and you can also offer condolences at this link. This is all still very sad for family and friends of Sabrina's, but hopefully everyone can remember the good times on Tuesday, and if you were a friend or colleague of hers, definitely consider going to the service on Tuesday, and/or the memorial concert at The Rednecks Saloon later this month!

Next up, here's some bad news for fans eagerly awaiting the second Speak Easy Battle of the Bands on Thursday, November 19th, as it has been postponed until March 2016. Co-promoter Jordan Leach (now going under the name Ye Tang Che on Facebook) revealed the news on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Friday, citing "sponsorship issues" for the delay. He didn't elaborate further on what the issues were, other than to say that he announced the postponement "with great distaste, but there's no way around these difficulties." A fixed March date for the battle will be announced "within a few weeks", and while the four previously announced acts (Mike Haggith & The Din, Pillory, Jesse Merineau, and the yet-to-be-revealed Eclypse) are still signed up for the battle, they are free to drop out if necessary for scheduling or other concerns. Jordan was hoping for 8 competing bands the last time out, so if you're interested in playing the delayed Speak Easy battle in March, message him above or at this link!

This is disappointing news, but honestly, the lack of updates regarding the lineup and prizes in recent weeks was a giveaway that something was up with the battle. At least with a March date, it'd (in theory) begin an annual pattern for the battle to be held in March like it was this year, and I'd assume it will be on a Thursday like before, but specifics are to be confirmed. Could it fall on March 3rd to loosely be a one year anniversary? Will these four acts remain come then? Who exactly are Eclypse? Stay tuned for more updates!

Also, here's some long teased media from Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins' Instagram page, which has no less than 224 videos uploaded, far more than on his YouTube channel! There's beyond too many solo videos to cover at the moment, so while I figure out how to best approach covering them, Joe did upload three short clips there of him performing with Ten Kings in the past year! They include a guitar solo of his (song unclear) from July's Theory of a Deadman concert at The Dreammaker's Theater, and two brief clips from concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, including one of the second guitar solo from their cover of Guns 'N Roses' "Paradise City". Embedded below is a snippet of Ten Kings' cover of Billy Squier's "Lonely Is The Night", his only band upload that isn't of a guitar solo, and while you don't hear a lot, the guys sound good! It'd be nice to see more videos from Ten Kings concerts, but give Joe's Instagram clips a look above & below!

\m/ #guitar #guitarist @tenkingsband #cover #billysquier #classic #rock #musician #band #drums #fender #stratocaster #peavey #mapex #sabian #jackson #shure #guitfiddlin #likeforlike #tone #tonegeek #toneheaven #live #livemusic #supportlocalmusic #savethemusic #samplessuck #knowyourtone #instarock #instalike #beard

A video posted by Big Joe Jenkins (@bigjoeguitar) on Oct 14, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT

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:

• Local post-punk quartet Gnaeus launched a contest on their Facebook page on October 19th, where they're looking for silly suggestions. The best suggestion (which would presumably be performed by the band) would net the winner a free copy of their upcoming debut CD "Loomings" and a chance to touch guitarist/synth player Brad Irwin's hair. If you're interested in submitting a suggestion, visit the above links!
• In a pair of house cleaning notes from last night's annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub, The Elements enlisted Lake Effect saxophonist Josh Norling to round out their Sublime tribute set (nice touch!), while a personal Facebook post by Jack Spades drummer Johnny Belanger indicated that the one-off punk tribute band that he played in last night apparently had the ribald name of Ball Licker Inc. (but I have not seen references to that name elsewhere.) No word on who played what in the band, but we'll let you know if we hear anything! I wish I could have been there!
• Once again, Asylum Country/ex-Mourning Wood drummer T.J. Case is looking to join a new local band, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on October 13th. T.J. is a very skilled drummer, as fans of his band work will surely know, and he has experience in hard rock and punk acts, so message him at this link or above if you want more details!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Ten Kings), And New Video Uploads!!

I wasn't expecting to have a second post today, but with two more SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS that came to our attention earlier today, I got this mostly Sault Michigan-centric post ready! The rest of the content revolves around new videos, including a song from a Sault Ontario project, so read on below for what you should know, and check out more weekend concert previews and Sault Ontario updates in the post below this one!

Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Ten Kings will apparently return to the stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Apologies for the extremely short notice, we only heard about the shows via frontman Brandon Carr's personal Facebook page this afternoon (we missed their Facebook page's plug of them yesterday), and Kewadin's entertainment page still isn't updated to reflect October dates at The Rapids Lounge. After about two months off from public concerts, it's great to see this popular and very talented band back on stage, and believe it or not, this is their first announced concert weekend at The Rapids Lounge since February! Of note, Brandon indicated in the personal posting that TONIGHT'S show followed the annual Dancing With The Stars charity event for the Hospice of the E.U.P., and he's among the local celebrities and dignitaries who danced for the mirror ball trophy, so hopefully he got high marks at this great event earlier today!

Presumably due to the D.W.T.S. event's scheduling, TONIGHT'S show only will have a special 10:00 PM start time (TOMORROW'S will start at 9:00 PM as usual), and both have 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, and don't miss Ten Kings' entertaining hard rock covers this weekend! Here they are live this summer!



Next up, local metal/classical project Theatre of Night have posted three new videos to their Facebook page last week, so what should you know? Two of them are just 10 seconds long each, and feature keyboardist Craig Harrison working on parts for new original material, and while they're too short to effectively comment on, you can watch them here & here! Embedded below though is a 2 minute clip of Craig performing an instrumental passage for a new song, this time with a stationary horizontal camera. Suitably dramatic (albeit obviously incomplete at this stage), it's good to see Theatre of Night staying busy, so give this video a look below, and see more from the guys above!



Also today, here's a new original song from Sault Ontario goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore, as uploaded to label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on Monday! Entitled "Don Q", the song references Tyler's favourite rum brand (not Don Quixote, the rum's literary namesake.) Aside from a late hiccup of a different song entirely, this is a nice wallop of goregrind brutality for C.T.W. fans, and the song has been teased to be included on their next full length CD, planned to be released by the spring. Give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from the Blood Shed!



Finally, here's a new solo performance video from Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins, as uploaded to his YouTube channel on Sunday! It's the third version of his own solo composition "Pitch Black" to be posted there, and he noted in the description he re-recorded it for an uncredited friend that wants to add a drum track to it, and he does plan to upload that when complete. Sounds good as before, but definitely empty without added instruments. Give it a look below, and don't miss Ten Kings at the Soo Kewadin TONIGHT & TOMORROW! (Note that the Guitfiddlin reference is to an Instagram page that spotlights guitarists daily, Joe included.)



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm & Ten Kings), And New YouTube Postings!!

Keeping things rolling on this Saturday morning, we have some new videos from each side of the border, but leading off, we'll touch on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the remaining new hard rock show announcements for late 2015 from Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, which ideally would have been their own post, but we tied Highway 63, Banned & Peril's with their separate own concert previews and/or announcements in our last two posts, hence the wider spread. Now, here's what you should know!

Traverse City, Michigan metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, November 6th & Saturday, November 7th! As announced via Kewadin's entertainment page, this will mark the Peril sister band's first weekend in St. Ignace in about 4 months, though they have played at the Kewadin Casino in Manistique since. Since we last saw them, the guys won $10,000 in a battle of the bands at the Traverse City Music Festival and opened for Pop Evil, so they're bound to still be riding high with their metal covers and originals in four weeks' time, and this will likely be your last chance to see Scarkazm live in the E.U.P. this year as well! As usual for Kewadin Casino concerts, there is no announced cover charge, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there will be 9:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more on their and Peril's next regional dates as they roll in!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings are advertised to rock The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace themselves the following weekend (Friday, November 13th & Saturday, November 14th!) Aside from a private event last month, Ten Kings have been fairly quiet since the summer (and haven't announced the November shows yet themselves, for the record), but this talented local cover band should attract a solid crowd once again next month, so keep their advertised returns to the stage in mind then! And again, there's no word from Kewadin Casino's entertainment page regarding new Rapids Lounge shows at the Sault branch from any band, though it remains to be seen if it's an oversight or if something's going on with that venue. Like with the previous week's Scarkazm shows, these are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charge, so keep their entertaining hard rock covers in mind for then, and stay tuned for more from a band member in a second!

Also, here's a surprise new studio recording by Sault Ontario/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, as per their YouTube channel yesterday, and it's a cover of fellow local metal trio AlgomA's original "Fell Down A Well"! You don't see a local band covering another local band very often (not counting cases of bands covering songs from a member's prior band, like with Shit Liver's old OBCD covers), so this is a nice surprise, and it's interesting to hear this sludge metal song effectively sped and grimed up all at once! Fans of both bands should get a kick out of this, so check it out below!



Finally, here's some new YouTube video postings from Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins, courtesy of his YouTube channel in the last few days! His new postings (with varying filters added in post) include covers of Soundgarden's "Outshined" and Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "True Lies" (both with his own spin on them), along with this demonstration video and song "Jedi Flip" using his new fuzz pedal, and as embedded below, this original funk rock guitar solo. Not bad at all, he shows his range and skill nicely on these, though on the covers, the original songs could be a little louder, and sound thrown in. Check out Joe's new videos above and below, and stay tuned for more new solo content from Joe's Instagram page!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Broomfiller), Tym Morrison Concert Previews, And More!!

With another slow concert weekend (barring late notice shows) upon us, let's combine the only set of previously announced hard rock concerts with some extra stories, including an intriguing event and a new video, so here's what you should know, starting with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Toronto punk veterans Broomfiller have finally secured a local concert date for Thursday, September 17th (one week from today), as they'll be headlining at The New American Pub next week! Last seen at the former Foggy Notions way back in 2002, this high energy quintet have a fun sound that is reminiscent of everyone from Bad Religion to The Foo Fighters, so be sure to give them a listen! It's nice to finally see them get a local booking, I know they were struggling to secure a Soo date, though no word if their hoped October 3rd date here will also go down. Kudos to Destroilet's Brenton Ellis for putting this one on on a week's notice, so don't bypass the action at The New A in seven days time! At least one local opening band is to be announced. There is no announced cover charge (yet?), you must be 19 to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, long time Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert runs are advertised as continuing this weekend, with his usual Gliss Steak & Seafood appearances taking place TONIGHT, TOMORROW, AND SATURDAY, which will be followed by Harp Bar & Grill appearances TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though oddly not yet announced via Facebook event pages, his website's calendar and SooToday's entertainment page confirm the bookings as part of his lengthy arrangements at both venues, but of course, we'll correct this if there are any announcements to the contrary. Tym's skilled and prolific blend of acoustic hard rock covers are a fan favourite sight, so whether you're a recent Gliss or Harp regular, or haven't seen Tym in a long time, keep this weekend's shows in mind for some solid live entertainment!

None have an announced cover charge, the Gliss shows have no listed age limit and are at 6:00 PM, and The Harp shows are 10:00 PM, 19+ affairs, but remember that Gliss is a restaurant. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live at the former Bossy's!

Also today, here's some new videos Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings, courtesy of their Facebook page and, in a new find, their Instagram page! A new Facebook video (shared from attendee Michelle Leazier's personal page) is actually not of the band itself, but of the reason why they played a private gig in Hulbert Township on Saturday, as it features regional musician Tom Adams drumming and jamming "Folsom Prison Blues" with Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins. Tom's battling health issues of some kind, but it's good to see him rocking out, and hopefully he gets well soon! As for their Instagram page, it features two short videos from recent concerts, including this short clip of Joe playing a guitar solo (song unclear) at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in June, but embedded below is this video of the guys covering Billy Squier's "Lonely Is The Night" at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino last month.

Not the best song for Brandon Carr's vocal range, but what little we hear points to a solid rendition, so give it a look below, and see the rest of Ten Kings' recent video postings above!

A video posted by Ten Kings (@tenkingsband) on Aug 12, 2015 at 10:30am PDT

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:

• The title for the upcoming Ripcordz/Destroilet/Jack Spades split CD is "Fed Up!", as confirmed via the new Facebook event page for their CD release show at The Algonquin Pub on October 24th. Is there a context to the name? I'm not yet sure, but the release concert will have $10 advance admission and $15 at the door, with CD copies (price to be confirmed) on sale that night, though promoter/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce hopes to have future printings in other formats. Check out new details at the above links!
• Ex-Suicide Kings frontman Mike Gaetano is looking to get back into a local band, as per his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Tuesday. He didn't offer extra details, but fans of his band work will know his singing talent, and he can play guitar as well. If you're interested in jamming with Mike, message him at this link or above!
• Former Haggith bassist Jordan Leach (currently going as "Whate Ver" on Facebook) is looking for bands interested in playing the second Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, following March's inaugural fan-voted event won by Gnaeus. There's no genre restrictions, and cash prizes again await the winners, but other details (including the date) are not yet known. Mike Haggith & The Din have expressed interest in playing again, but if you or your band want in, message Jordan at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Tuesday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (K'Man & The 45s), Mike Haggith & The Din Updates, And New Videos!!

Let's keep the news rolling now that I'm back home, including a pair of new Facebook video uploads, some recent updates from a local band that we touched on in yesterday's post, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall, so here's what you should know!

Montreal ska punk quintet K'Man & The 45s will return to Sault Ontario on Sunday, November 8th for their third headlining concert appearance, though this time at The New American Pub! After two fall appearances in the past two years at The Rockstar Bar via promoter J.D. Pearce, this lively and entertaining band will bring their originals & "Ska-mones" tribute set to The New A this time around with promoters Six Two Oh at the helm, but expect the same great time from K'Man & The 45s come November 8th, especially if you love and/or miss ska punk in the Soo! The hoped opening band is local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who made their first posting on their Facebook page in seven months earlier today to note their involvement, but promoters haven't finalized them yet. The Elements have not played an announced concert since Sault Michigan's Superior Festival last month, and last played publically on this side of the border in the spring, so it'd be good to see them back!

Note that The Elements also indicated on their page that they're working on a concert in early October with bands to be announced, and we will keep you posted on that when/if things are announced! The K'Man & The 45s concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and a $5 cover charge, $2 less than last fall's show. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more updates on this concert and The Elements' autumn resurgence when we get it!

Next up, here's the latest from local alternative hard rockers Mike Haggith & The Din, though I will give the caveat that the posts came before guitarist Curtis McKenzie's sudden departure, so I can't say how they'll be affected as a result.  On August 11th (a month after their most recent concert), the band revealed on their Facebook page that they had begun recording their "legitimate debut album", and recording a re-release of Mike's 2012 solo album "Neighbourhood Watch", though no word yet on if it will be considered a Din release or just a solo revision with guest performances like "The Warinside" had. Though a complete album re-recording may seem like a little much, Mike is no stranger to revising old material for newer projects, including albums, singles, and even the live performance versions, so we'll have to see how this shapes up! As for the regular Din debut CD, the band indicated that "Potato" would be the first single for the planned new album.

As well, the band followed up that post with the revelation that their older "albums" ("Dinner with the President", "Chaotic Symphony", "Perpetual Musings", and "Live In Goulais Mission") were on sale through The PaperClip Productions' store for $5 a piece, finally marking confirmation that they actually had sale copies, though Mike confirmed after Curtis left that they'd left PaperClip (which Curt co-owns), so you'd have to ask PaperClip staff if Din albums are still available. None are new anymore, so reviews on the SMS would only be as archival picks, but of course, the new album plans would get first dibs if they're still on. Get much more from Mike & The Din above!

We'll close today with new videos, including one of two new video postings by Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings! We'll touch on the second (from a recent private gig) in an upcoming post, but this comes from their set (with guest bassist Chris Hubbard) opening for Theory of a Deadman at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in July, where they covered Fuel's "Shimmer"! Shared from attendee/ex-These Sins Of Time frontwoman Alexa LeClair's personal Facebook page, this is incomplete (Alexa admitted cutting out a part where she sings), but fans will get a good glimpse of Ten Kings in action, including a nicely elevated Brandon Carr for the duration! Note as well that a recent posting by Ten Kings noted that they have no bookings until November (which haven't been announced themselves yet), but did post contact info if you want to book them for a concert. Give their Fuel cover a look below, and stay tuned for that private gig video soon!



Finally, here's one more video of local rock cover quartet Changing Lanes from last month's Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir, this time of the guys covering The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These". Not the heaviest song from the Foos, but it does fit Changing Lanes' softer and more general cover range. Also, you do get to see Buzz rocking a guitar, which won't be anything shocking for fans of Changing Lanes, but it's definitely something that Garden of Bedlam loyalists don't see a lot of. Pretty good rendition, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

It's now time for for the first of this weekend's concert previews, but first, just some notes on expected shows that won't occur this weekend. The long-hyped Superior Festival in Sault Michigan will not take place on Saturday night, as it's been postponed & relocated, and we'll detail it's changes in an upcoming post. As well, I don't believe Tym Morrison's regular weekly concerts are taking place this weekend, as his personal Facebook page says that he's on vacation out of town this week, even nothing that he's "finally getting to rest with no worries of shows". He'll be back next week though, and we'll cover those in the coming days as well! Now, here's what you need to know for tomorrow & Saturday night, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic metal quintet Project 421 and pop punk quartet Stereo North will join forces for a concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, Stereo North only announced the show on Monday, with confirmation of Project 421's involvement coming later via the official Facebook event page. In a similar vein to The Rockstar Bar's split-bill shows from early last month, this will unite two bands from June's Summer Bash event, and if you like old school metal or punk rock, you'll like this show! This will also be Project 421's second show, and first at The Rockstar Bar, since Curtis McKenzie's return on vocals, but if you can't see them on Saturday, be sure to check them out opening for Lie Among Us & Eternal Prophecy downstairs on Monday! Yes, that preview is coming soon as well. This 19+ concert has no announced cover charge (but bring $5 just in case), and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Project 421 live last year!

Moving to previously announced concerts, the ninth installment of J.D. Pearce & Tidal Records' Gonqshow concert series goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub, and it will be headlined by Montreal folk/punk quartet Hard Up in their local concert debut! Harbouring similarities to bands like The Sunk'n City Gypsys, Hard Up blend a folk & roots style with edgy punk rock, with songs taking on similarities of one or both genres, and their intriguing hybrid sound should find a good audience tomorrow! Originally planned to be opened by rap/metal quartet The Apocalypse Afterparty and alternative hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din, both bands have since dropped out of the show for unannounced reasons (though in the Afterparty's case, they still haven't publically confirmed their new lineup, so that could be related.) In their place, Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti will play a solo folk set to open the day, and he's a great fit for that side of Hard Up's sound, so if you're a fan of this genre, come early!

Note that despite the new Rockstar Republic club nights on both floors of The Algonquin Hotel on Fridays, previously booked Friday events will go on as scheduled, so the Hard Up show's still on, and the Rockstar Republic will only be upstairs tomorrow night (our source is The Rockstar Bar's Hayley Warnock at this link.) The only official Gonqshow event of August, there's a 19+ age limit in effect tomorrow, as well as a $5 cover, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and don't miss this folk/punk attack tomorrow! For a preview, here's Hard Up live!



We'll close things in  the Sault Michigan area, starting with Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned's shows this weekend, as they'll return to The Sugar Island Music Festival once again TOMORROW, before rocking The Runway Bar in Hessel on SATURDAY NIGHT! The former is the long-running annual summer music festival on nearby Sugar Island, which Banned has played each of the last few years without fail, and they'll be playing roughly in the middle of tomorrow's lineup at 7:15 PM, preceding 3-Zip, Missy Zenker, 3 1/2 Men, and 2 ¢, and ahead of All Arms, Frank Kieronski, and Band of Friends (like in prior years, most bands at this festival aren't familiar from other regular E.U.P. shows that we cover.) Note that there's no other heavier bands on the lineup that I can tell, but 5 of tomorrow's bands are playing on Friday and/or Saturday too, and click here for the full schedule! As for Saturday, this will keep up Banned's recent streak of monthly Hessel shows, so if you're up for a regular bar show, keep this one in mind too!

Saturday's Runway Bar show has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ cover charge, and no announced cover charge, while tomorrow's Sugar Island Music Festival has $10 admission for the whole weekend (there's no single day deals), it is all ages (kids 12 and under get in free), and you can click here for full details on non-musical events and directions to the festival itself. Check the above links for more details on Banned's busy weekend, and here's Banned live!

Finally for today, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings are scheduled to return to The Northern Pines Lounge in the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their Savoy Bar concerts this past weekend (which weren't announced publically by the band until after the fact, hence why we missed them on here), these will be Ten Kings' first St. Ignace shows in almost a month, and hopefully their hard hitting covers get another solid reaction with fans at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend! Note that the band hasn't plugged this weekend's shows on their Facebook page yet, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms them, and again, they didn't plug last weekend's Savoy shows online either. Like usual for their Kewadin gigs, there are 9:00 PM start times in effect, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and here's Ten Kings live in the Soo!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!