YouTube Channel Profile Series: Alex Traynor

 To close another month at the SMS (I am off tomorrow for my birthday), here's this month's delayed YouTube Channel Profile, as we're again spotlighting a YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts, as randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions! We're staying in the E.U.P. for this month's selection, courtesy of a very familiar local hard rock musician, so here's what you should know!

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Alex Traynor (http://www.youtube.com/MrAlextraynor1)

Owner: Tarnished singer/guitarist & solo musician Alex Traynor, previously known from his work fronting Sault Michigan-area groups Banned and Traynwreck

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 30th, 2011; Current videos uploaded from July 2015 through April 2019

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Alex's now-inactive solo project, it features the three music videos he made for his EP "Crazy World", plus a promotional video and an earlier cover song.
 
Why You Should Watch: While not the most amply stocked YouTube channel, it will be of high interest for fans of Alex's solo career, especially as Tarnished took on songs from "Crazy World" for their live setlist, while his early cover song is an amusing rocked-up take! Note that I am fairly certain Alex uploaded videos here in the channel's early years that have since been taken down. Also note that he has not posted official Tarnished videos here, as they have their own YouTube channel (as did Banned).

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Oops, I Did it Again (Cover): The earliest surviving video on Alex's channel (and only one not from his EP release cycle) is this audio cover of Britney Spears' "Oops!... I Did It Again" from July 2015, back when he was still fronting Banned. Set to assorted pictures of Alex with his guitar and his old Nightmare Before Christmas hat, the studio cover shows Alex's raw talent at his then-young age (he was 20 at the time), and while not over-the top in campiness or humour, covering a bubblegum pop song like this is a good sign that Alex doesn't take things too seriously!

Crazy World (Official Music Video): In the lead up to the release of "Crazy World" in March 2019, Alex made & released three music videos on his YouTube channel, starting with one for the title track the previous October, as preceded by a promo video teasing the final product. By far his most popular upload on the channel, the video features Alex performing the song while walking in the woods along a set of train tracks, meeting a mysterious fortune teller, and eventually falling victim to a curse of some kind. While definitely not Alex's heaviest original song, it shows his musical diversity well and would be an ideal live sing-along experience, so fans will take to it!

Jack O'Lantern (Official Music Video): The heaviest of the three "Crazy World" singles is the second one, "Jack O'Lantern", which takes strong musical cues from Avenged Sevenfold. It's a shame that this video wasn't released until February 2019, as it was clearly shot in October with a very seasonal motif, with Alex going to and performing at a Halloween party that eventually attracts creatures of the night as attendees to dance the night away. Well shot with effective use of Halloween party lighting and props, though I'd have tried to get more extras in costume to fill out the party. The song proper shows Alex's hard rock skills very well and his nicely developed vocals, but again, A7X vibes are definitely present here! Click here for the third music video for the near-ballad "What Everything Is Like (High Life)".

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile!  This series will return on or around June 26th like normal, when our newest random selection is YouTube user soanso77's channel, featuring six disparate videos featuring Sault Ontario punk veterans The Inner City Surfers! Look for that and much more on the site next month! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Alex Traynor

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly spotlight feature on one or two local metal, hard rock, or punk acts, in order to give them some deserved press for current readers, and as usual, bands are randomly selected! We're ending 2020 in the Sault Michigan area for a profile oin a talented musician that is still very much active, just in a band rather than solo nowadays. Here's what you should know!

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Alex Traynor

Genre: Hard/Alternative Rock
 
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie/Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Members:

Alex Traynor (Tarnished, Banned), all instruments

Audio/Video: Alex has released one studio album, namely his EP "Crazy World", which came out on CD and for digital download in March of last year, after being recorded in Mount Pleasant in the fall of 2018. Though this is his only studio output to date as a solo musician, he did write similar original material with his main local groups Banned and Tarnished, releasing an EP with the latter named "Down To The Wire" earlier this summer. Select videos of his solo concerts and in-studio covers can be found on Alex's Facebook page as well, as well as three music videos. Here is the official music video for his EP's title track!

Info/Analysis: A steady young presence on the Eastern Upper Peninsula cover band circuit with his 2011-2019 classic/hard rock group Banned, Alex launched his own solo project in the spring of 2017. Much of his early updates were Banned-related aside from a few studio cover videos, appearances on 1230 WSOO, and an early demo of "Crazy World", before he moved to Mount Pleasant that fall. In the summer of 2018, Alex began a run of solo acoustic concerts both in Mount Pleasant and at The Signatures Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch. After the recording cycle and release of his EP, and a couple of Friday Sessions appearances on The Four on 9&10 News in the spring of 2019, Alex kicked off his pre-pandemic run of regular matinee gigs at Biggby Coffee. His last advertised solo concert was in Mount Pleasant in June 2019, after which he moved back to the Soo, dissolved Banned, and launched his current hard rock band Tarnished.

Alex's solo output has taken a backseat in favour of Tarnished, though that band took over the Biggby arrangement, while also playing songs from "Crazy World" in their setlists. In that sense, Alex is still very active as an original musician, and Tarnished don't stray far in sound either, but Alex's solo EP was a good harbinger of what was to come from him in a full band, with his melodic voice, strong guitar skills, and ambition present on all 5 songs! Follow Tarnished to see what Alex is up to musically nowadays!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will head back to Sault Ontario to kick off 2021, as our next randomly selected band will be inactive 2010s outsider punk/folk project Telephone & Address! Look for that on or around January 10th, and for a new news post by Sunday! Thanks everyone!

Tym Morrison's Newest Live-Streamed Concerts, Plus More Assorted News!!

After a quiet stretch, we're back on this Tuesday night with a post mostly devoted to recent live-streamed content from a prominent acoustic solo musician, but we do have some assorted updates to round things out with. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison held his 36th & 37th live-streamed concerts on his YouTube channel on Thursday and earlier today, so what should you know regarding these at home shows? Starting with episode #36 from Thursday, this took the place of his cancelled Motley Market concert that same evening, and was back at his usual home setting. Tym didn't elaborate on why the Motley Market shows were scuttled, but it doesn't sound like it was his call. Starting later than normal due to vehicle maintenance, Tym's set begins about 3 minutes, and features covers of Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes", Amanda Marshall's "Dark Horse", Roxette's "Listen To Your Heart", Foreigner's "That Was Yesterday", Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", Toto's "Hold The Line", Frozen Ghost's "Dream Come True", Supertramp's "Breakfast In America", Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", ...

...Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", Amy Holland's "Shooting For The Moon",Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", Ludwig von Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 14", White Lion's "When The Children Cry", Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'", The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun", Little Texas' "What Might Have Been", Extreme's "More Than Words", The Beatles' "Blackbird", and The Eagles' "Desperado", before oddly closing with his Spanish guitar instrumental. Another solid set filled with familiar and more recent additions to his extensive setlist, and fans of Tym's vocal and guitar talents will be right at home as usual! That said, there were some video lag issues in the second hour, and we just heard eight of these songs in the previous Thursday's live-stream at the Motley Market (remember, he did not play an at-home show that Tuesday.) However, he did play one this Tuesday, which just wrapped up and is embedded below, so what can you see here? After more of a delay than on Thursday, tonight's show began about 9 minutes with covers of "Blackbird" again, ...

...Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", and three more repeat songs from Thursday ("What Might Have Been", "Free Fallin'", and "When The Children Cry"), before addressing some private gigs he played over the previous weekend. Next, Tym tackles Garth Brooks' "The Dance", seguing right into a lengthy original instrumental, which he demonstrates some tentative lyrics for afterwards. The covers resume with Kansas' "Dust In The Wind", Mason Williams' "Classical Gas", and Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", before he played his own original instrumental "Into The Light Of Darkness". Afterwards, Tym covered Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" & "Interstate Love Song", before closing with another original instrumental. Despite the familiar start with four out of five repeat covers, this episode got it's own flavour over time!

With lots of instrumental sections and guitar demonstrations for viewers, this episode was informative and entertaining, and without major lag in the visual department, so Tym's fans should be happy with the final product here and on Thursday! Give both live-streams a watch above & below, and stay tuned this Thursday for his likely next at-home concert!



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 venue name:

• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock solo musician Alex Traynor to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. As you may know, Alex has been busy focusing on his band Tarnished since last summer, and has not publically discussed new solo work on his Facebook page since playing an acoustic gig in Mount Pleasant in June of last year. Tarnished share a lot thematically with Alex's solo original material, and hopefully they find continued local success!
• Also, I have moved Sault Ontario country/punk quintet The Billy Bastards to our inactive band links, as it has been a year since their last Facebook page update as of Saturday. While The Billys haven't played a public concert set (stags & does don't count) since 2015, they had been working on new original material for a tentative fourth CD as of 2018, and released their "Bathe In Whiskey" album on Apple Music last spring. Personal Facebook postings have hinted at Billys plans in the past year, but hopefully the guys return to public activity at some point down the line!
• SooToday's Darren Taylor covered the impending re-opening of Reggie's Place on Queen Street East via this article on Saturday! New owner Randy Lapossie (in his first business venture of this kind) was interviewed for the article, where he talked about his memories of Reggie's, why he bought the tavern, and what is and isn't changing there. The article didn't elaborate on the initial closure last fall, but the fire and break-ins were acknowledged among it's "troubled story of late". Reggie's Place re-opens on September 1st, and country rock cover quartet Bone Yard will be the first band to play there over the September 11th-12th weekend.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Wyld Stallyns & Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to dive into another weekend of concert previews at the SMS, and barring any late notice confirmations, I think we have all of this weekend's hard rock shows covered here, along with a new video and possible lineup changes for a band scheduled for this weekend. Here's what you should know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's West for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I should have added these to our concert calendar before now, as they are part of the band's 2019 concert calendar on your right. Now that we have 2020 shows listed on the SMS, let's add their other announced 2019 shows from there to our calendar today, as Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen will also rock The Reggievelt on December 13th & 14th (following a private gig the previous Saturday), before ending the year(?) at The Esquire Club on December 27th & 28th. Of course, there are more shows than this to come from Soundcheck (Toystock comes to mind), but help beat some of the early winter blues TOMORROW & SATURDAY at the former Rosie! All of these shows have 10:00 PM-ish start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will provide the musical entertainment THIS SATURDAY NIGHT during The Whiskey Barrel's 1 year anniversary celebration! Again, apologies for the short notice, this event was only announced via the venue's Facebook page this past Saturday, and the band proper has not acknowledged their involvement on their own Facebook page at press time. Yes, the Gore Street restaurant, nightclub, and acoustic venue has already been open for one year, and SATURDAY'S festivities will be a way to celebrate the milestone, with The Whiskey Barrel's ownership mingling with fans and patrons all night, and hopefully there's a great turnout for all of that alone! Of course, most of The Wyld Stallyns' 2019 concerts have been here, so they are a great choice to rock out for the occasion on SATURDAY! The Stallyns will be on at 8:00 PM, I'd expect a 19+ age limit, and there will be no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, congratulations to everyone at The Whiskey Barrel on the anniversary, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live there!



Moving to previously announced concerts, let's take a brief detour over to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock band Tarnished are advertised to continue their regular "every Thursday" run of acoustic matinee concerts going TODAY at Biggby Coffee! It is worth noting that, in Biggby Coffee's latest advertising of this arrangement on their Facebook page, they said that "every Thursday, Alex Traynor from Tarnished plays right here", implying that Josh Fair is no longer joining Alex regularly for these gigs. For what it's worth, Josh wasn't visibly featured in this series as early as October 24th, while in a Facebook page post teasing Tarnished's upcoming Mount Pleasant shows next week, Josh wasn't tagged along with the band members, yet ex-Lift The Broken guitarist Nathan Webber was. Has there been a quiet lineup change? We will let you know if anything is 100% confirmed wither way, but hopefully nothing bad happened with Josh, he is a talented guitarist in his own right!

As usual, today's Biggby Coffee matinee is at 12:00 PM with no cover or age limit. Visit the above links for more from Alex/Tarnished, and for a preview, here's Alex live at the Ashmun Street coffee house last month!



Finally for today, let's tackle the latest acoustic concerts from Sault Ontario hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will return to Gliss Restaurant TOMORROW & SATURDAY for another pair of matinee gigs in his long-term arrangement there! Note that his planned Thomson Farms Cider & Winery concert today has been cancelled, despite still being advertised on his Facebook group. Tym's personal Facebook page confirmed that, and the mill's Facebook page was calling last week's unplugged shows "one last barn party", but no word on if the November 14th gig was cancelled or an erroneous listing. That said, fans have a warm, fully indoor location to see Tym at downtown this weekend, so if you want some unplugged hard rock covers at supper time, you know where to be! Both Gliss shows are 6:00 PM affairs with no cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Tym in action at Thomson Farms!

Filmed at an undated Wine Barn show last month, this is a cover of A Great Big World's "Say Something", which is a surprisingly modern cover in his repertoire. The 24 second video is well recorded, but the square dimensions and flickery lighting won't be to everyone's preference. Give it a look below, and don't miss Tym at Gliss this weekend!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns) & New Facebook Video Uploads!!

Here's another news post for your Saturday morning reading, which mostly focuses on new video postings from a few local bands, but leading off, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will hit the road for a special Halloween party concert TONIGHT at The Island Bar & Grill in Hilton Beach! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig via their Facebook page on Thursday. A road trip to the small village on St. Joseph Island (an hour southeast of the Soo) is not entirely foreign for us, as Stiffler's Mom played at The Island Bar & Grill back in 2015, while Tym Morrison and CASS Cafe-linked metal bands have also played recorded Hilton concerts elsewhere. In this case, TONIGHT'S Halloween party will see the usual frills for such an event, including a costume contest, though if you are at all interested, the bar is on the site of the Hilton Beach Inn, so you can stay the night if need be. A 6:30 PM start time is in effect TONIGHT, and age limits and cover charges are not advertised. See above for more details, and here's Rob, Christina, and Jesse live!



Next up, here's a brand new video of local Tool tribute band Parabol tackling the classic song "Lateralus" at Soo Blaster two weeks ago! This video was only posted on their Facebook page on Thursday, but better late than never. An incomplete 2:43 clip of the song's end, this still captures their faithful and intense stage show very nicely from a close angle, and John Barber sure is channeling Maynard James Keenan throughout! Fans of Tool and/or Parabol won't want to miss this video and it's professional stage setup, so give it a look below, and visit their Facebook page for details on their out of town gigs in Sudbury & North Bay next month!



Also, here's another new live concert video, this time of Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's most recent "every Thursday" matinee concert at Biggby Coffee! This was posted on the venue's Facebook page yesterday, and it features singer/guitarist Alex Traynor covering Tom Petty's "Free Falling" solo for tips and coffee. Where's guitarist Josh Fair? I have no idea, but seeing as the full three-piece band played at LSSU that same night, this appears to have been a temporary absence, maybe even just this song. Alex handles this cover well, and the video's nicely angled, so give it a look below!



Finally, let's continue our look at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's short video uploads on their Facebook page as they continue their Christmas tour prep! On September 28th and again five days later, the channel posted videos of guitarist Steve Giles playing at a table, with the first one featuring more of his electric shredding, and the second being acoustic and far more reserved. Both are under 40 seconds long, but they showcase his musical range nicely, if not the stuff we'll be hearing on tour for the holidays! This past Sunday, another minute-long video was posted of Steve and bassist Scott Andringa (on guitar) acoustically covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". I'm not a huge Pink Floyd fan, but the cover works well, though the video has too tight of an angle. We'll wrap things with their two newest videos from Monday, including this video featuring a pan & scan of the studio while their version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" plays in the background.

While this and the video featured below have a hazy black & white filter put on them, the preceding clip is a solid enough teaser of the work they've been doing! Featured here, we have Theatre of Night proper playing "Carol of the Bells", giving us our first look at drummer Erik Sales in their 2019 Christmas tour teaser videos in the process. The 30 second clip showcases everyone in their element, though we don't see Craig (who's behind the camera), and Rachel doesn't sing at this point, despite being present in frame. Now we are caught up re: Theatre of Night's Facebook page, so give these videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

 
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished), A New Local Band, And Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

This weekend's concert previews didn't seem like they'd be too eventful, but after a new local band turned up with lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE, I'll have to drag this out into two posts. As such, I'll make this an all-Sault Michigan post and keep our Sault Ontario previews (namely Tym Morrison & Soundcheck) for a post either tonight or early tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know for hard rock this weekend in the E.U.P.!

New local classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to Biggby Coffee in Sault Michigan for a fourth straight week TODAY with another acoustic matinee show for tips & coffee! Apologies for the short notice, this "every Thursday" run of shows from ex-Banned frontman Alex Traynor and bandmate Josh Fair is still new to us. As you may have noticed by the above link, Tarnished do indeed have an official Facebook page and are now in our active band links, so what should you know about them? Updates have only shown up there this week, but they are described as playing "a variety of classic/modern rock", and they are available for full band and acoustic sets. As such, they are only depicted on Facebook in their acoustic two man version, as seen at Biggby Coffee all month long on Thursdays, though when they debuted at the Kinross Speedpark, Project 906's Tommy Korcal was behind the drumkit. Given that Tarnished seem to be going all in with regional gigs, is this a sign that Alex has moved back to the Sault Ste. Marie area from Mount Pleasant full time?

If not, will he be able to juggle Tarnished and commitments there like he did with Banned in their last couple of years? We'll find out soon, one imagines. As for their concerts, they're pulling double duty again tomorrow, as Alex & Josh will be playing another special gig TONIGHT (apologies again for the short notice) as part of this year's third Ashmun Alive! festivals, with them playing outside of Phat Boutique at 559 Ashmun Street, just down the road from The Soo Theater. Expect lots of sales, vendors, and varied entertainment once again, and see above for details on that front! That is of course a FREE & ALL AGES event. As for their "every Thursday" run at Biggby Coffee, it makes sense to treat these like Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly matinee gigs in Sault Ontario, especially if Alex has moved back home long term, so we'll treat these a month at a time until/unless otherwise stated by Tarnished or the venue. As such, look for Alex & Josh there playing at Biggby Coffee for tips and coffee on August 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th also!

Also, Tarnished will take a road trip to Curtis (90 minutes west of Sault Ste. Marie) for a 6:00 PM matinee show next Wednesday, and while this is out of our 1 hour coverage range, it's great to see Tarnished picking up where Banned left off for travelling for certain gigs! TODAY'S and next month's likely Biggby Coffee gigs have very early 10:30 AM start times, and while there are no age limits or cover charges, tips are always encouraged here. Visit the Ashmun Alive! Facebook event page and the above links for more details! For a preview, we do have two new videos of Tarnished (in their unplugged, drummer-less form) to acknowledge, including this 26 second clip of Alex & Josh covering ZZ Top's "La Grange" at a private camping function in Sherman, which is 20 minutes northwest of Cadillac. This was filmed by attendee Abby Baker and shared on Alex's solo Facebook page, and it sounds good while it lasts!

Embedded below though is an interview and performance with Alex & Josh, which was conducted by Phat Boutique owner Tara Behlingkelgar outside of the store. In the video, the guys talk about how they formed Tarnished & what music they play, before plugging the Biggby Coffee series, and closing with a cover of Incubus' "Drive", then transitioning to Tara discussing news with the store proper. Aside from the implication that Alex & Josh will be seen at more Ashmun Alive! events (that series runs through August), there's nothing new to learn here, but the cover is well done with a strong melody! Give it a look below, and don't miss Tarnished live TODAY!

Finally, let's preview a pair of shows in the Eastern Upper Peninsula that had lots of advance notice, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! In an unusually quick turnaround for them, this will be Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' second concert weekend at this very Kewadin branch this month, so if you like Peril's old school cover action, and you missed out in St. Ignace three weeks ago, here's your second chance! For what it's worth, this concert calendar for Peril and their sister bands notes that Peril will not be seen anywhere in August, though given their 2/3rds identical lineup to Scarkazm, don't read into that too much. You can take in Peril's hard hitting classics tomorrow & Saturday at 9:00 PM, these are 21+ gigs, and there is no cover. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Sault Ontario weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Downtown Street Party & Alex Traynor!!)

The busiest non-holiday concert weekend of the year is upon us, so here's what you should know regarding our scheduling. As best as I can gather, our Rotaryfest Stage 1  previews will be coming on the site this afternoon, while our Stage 2, Tym Morrison, Highway 63, and Re:Born previews should hit the site in two more posts on Friday. Fingers crossed there's no more short notice gigs on the docket, as this post is already solely comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, both with an element of apologies for missing prior gigs with these artists, so here's what you should know to start!

Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan hard rock solo musician Alex Traynor will return to Biggby Coffee on Ashmun Street for another acoustic matinee gig TODAY, but he's not alone! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard public confirmation of it earlier this week via the venue's and Alex's Facebook page. In fact, if you've been paying attention to both sources, you'll know that more is up than just Alex playing for tips and coffee. As it turns out, the band Tarnished that replaced the now-defunct Banned at Kinross Speedpark this past weekend is in fact Alex's new local band, featuring him on vocals & guitar alongside bassist Josh Fair (who I'm unfamiliar with from past local music) and Project 906 drummer Tommy Korcal. No online pages or public media yet, but a personal Facebook video is floating around of Tarnished covering ZZ Top and Bob Seger, and they sound good with some grit! I mention this here in part because Josh was the uncredited guest from Alex's 4th of July set.

Leading from that, Alex & Josh played Biggby Coffee together last Thursday too as well as that day's Ashmun Alive! festival downtown (apologies for missing those short notice sets here), while Josh will also be joining Alex TODAY at 10:30 AM, and if Biggby Coffee are to be believed, they will be playing there "every Thursday." Is this a sign that Alex is back home for the foreseeable future, or is it just a sign that Biggby Coffee don't know how long he can play Thursday mornings regularly? Tym Morrison aside, this verbiage isn't common for our coverage, so we'll play the wait and see game for now. In any event, Alex & Josh sounded good in the preview video embedded below from two weeks ago, but how long does "every Thursday" go, and will we see more of Tarnished on the public record? As usual for Alex's (and Josh's) Thursday matinees, there is no cover or age limit TODAY from 10:30 AM-1:00 PM.

Hopefully this set goes well for Alex, Josh, and fans alike with their hard rocking cover selections, so see above for much more details on Alex's solo and band pursuits, and I apologize again for missing his recent local gigs, we'd have covered them here had more information been available!

Next up, Sault Ontario funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns and acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will be reportedly be among the entertainment at TONIGHT'S first Downtown Street Party of the season! Again, apologies for the short notice, the full lineup was only announced on the official Facebook event page yesterday. Similarly to last year's three Downtown Street Parties, TONIGHT'S festivities will see vendors, family entertainment, refreshments, and various other activities going down Queen Street East from Pim Street to Spring Street, so see above for full non-musical details! Like last year, there will be a multi-"stage" setup on Queen, with Tym and The Wyld Stallyns both opening the lineup at 6:30 PM at their designated location (Tym at Queen and Pim, The Stallyns at Queen & East.) Tym's opening for classic rock veterans Flathead Ford, while The Wyld Stallyns will open a pseudo-Stage 2, preceding sets by surf rockers The Dynowaves, and two of this Saturday's Stage 2 acts (indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. and solo standout Jesse Merineau.)

The hard rock-free "Stage 3" will be in the block of Queen Street between Brock and Spring, and will feature North Bay indie rock trio David Dino White alongside local blues rock veterans Five Below Zero, country/bluegrass quintet Johnny & The Revelators, and acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge. Presented by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, the party proper begins TONIGHT at 6:00 PM, and this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, so see above for more details! While we're on the subject, The Wyld Stallyns aren't done for this weekend, as they'll also return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street TOMORROW NIGHT for one night only, after apparently playing a show there on Saturday, July 6th that we missed on the site. Apologies again for the short notice (and for missing the July 6th gig), the venue had announced both weeks ago via this Facebook event page covering all July concerts there, which completely slipped us by until now.

For what it's worth, The Stallyns never publically confirmed the July 6th show online, and The Whiskey Barrel never plugged it alone beforehand, so I am uncertain if it took place. If it did, I profusely apologize, I will do better to cover Whiskey Barrel concerts in the future! Downtown Street Party aside, the Elements side project have seemingly made their home at The Whiskey Barrel in recent months, and their hard rocking yet varied covers should go over well there TOMORROW! Here, there's an 8:00 PM start time, no cover, and a likely 19+ age limit. See above for more details on both of their shows this weekend, and here's The Stallyns live!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest Stage 1 previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Life Like Fire Concert Preview, An Upcoming Live Album, And New Videos!!

Here's a new news post for your Tuesday night delectation, so what's on tap? New videos, mostly, with one attached to album news from a prominent solo artist, but let's kick things off with a preview of a special Wednesday night concert featuring out of town talent that you can hopefully check out!

Calgary hard rock quartet Life Like Fire will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT when they headline at The New American Pub as part of an all-touring package of bands! This female fronted group have an edgy yet accessible brand of rock n' roll to bring to Soo fans tomorrow, and if you like bands like New Years Day or Halestorm, you might not want to miss this stop on their ongoing It's Too Spicy Tour if you can help it! In fact, this show is a merger of converging tours, with Life Like Fire sharing the New A stage tomorrow with Powassan, Ontario alt-hard rock band The Long Nines, also making their Sault Ste. Marie debut here. Solid, no-frills melodic rock sound from this rising Northern Ontario group, and they should put in a well received set also, especially with their new single "Northlander" now out! Temagami folk/indie rock solo artist James Crate will open as part of his ongoing dates opening for The Long Nines, and he should set the tone well with his reserved material!

Seemingly promoted in-house (albeit with involvement from The Long Nines' label Ego & Pessimism Records), this 19+ concert has an advertised 8:00 PM start time and a 10:00 PM start time. While the Wednesday night scheduling and lack of local openers may not be optimal for many fans, this should be a solid triple bill of performers, with a little something for every heavy music tolerance level, so consider a trip to The New A tomorrow! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Life Like Fire live!

Next up, here's the latest from prolific local alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, so what's he up to in his current Thompson, Manitoba homebase? You may have caught some of this already in last week's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, but either way,  Mike returned to Thompson's annual Nickel Days summer festival on June 22nd for a second solo set, and like last year, he recorded the set for another live album! Similarly to "From The Nickel Stage" (his first album release since the big move), Mike worked with Thompson's The Music Makers to record his whole headlining set, and while Mike disclosed some difficulty with the single tracking technique therein, he does seem pleased with how everything turned out. A sample video was posted on his Facebook page on June 28th featuring Mike's newer original "Come On Home", and the featured image, presumably the album cover, indicates that the live album will be called "Carnival: A Live Spectacle By Mike Haggith."

As precedence for our monthly CD reviews goes to studio albums, I won't immediately review "Carnival" upon release, due to the (hopefully) impending release of his upcoming CD "Bridges", but I can tell you that the audio recording sounds good, and this will be reminiscent of many of Mike's Thompson-era videos, where many of these songs were already in an acoustic setting. Give the live Nickel Days version of "Come On Home" a listen below, and stay tuned for more on "Carnival" & "Bridges"!



Also today, here's a new video from the Slaughter-headlined concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino last month, courtesy of attendee/Troy's Trail co-organizer Annette Chandler's YouTube channel on Sunday! Like her videos from 2017's Bret Michaels show in Sault Michigan, this is an untitled clip, but it's actually of opening Pasadena hair metal band Autograph playing their song "Send It To Me." Nice and melodic performance that suits their style well, and the house looks nicely packed for this one, so kudos to Annette for filming this one! Check it out if you want below!



Finally for today, here's a new video of Kinross/Mount Pleasant hard rock solo artist Alex Traynor live at Biggby Coffee in Sault Ste. Marie during his two most recent acoustic matinee gigs there! One is from his Independence Day show there on Thursday, where the ex-Banned frontman and an uncredited guest performer are jamming a familiar instrumental piece for the requisite tips and coffee. Short video on a vertical camera angle, but Alex and the guest sound good together, so check it out below! For what it's worth, the new video that wasn't working during Facebook's outages on July 3rd was actually a re-upload of his Stevie Ray Vaughan cover from March.



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Alex Traynor & Tym Morrison), Plus A Band Breakup!!

Well, our regular news posting schedule was thrown slightly for a loop this week, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to tackle from not one, but TWO artists who are playing shows TOMORROW... MORNING?! You read that right, so here's what you should know, plus some more new shows from one artist in question! Yes, Graves and Faps fans, those shows are coming, I apologize for the continued delay!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play a special matinee concert TOMORROW MORNING at...the Duty Free Store?! Apologies for the short notice (and for missing one he played today as well), these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page this morning. While a concert at the 127 Huron Street store at the International Bridge plaza may seem wildly odd, this isn't new for Tym, as he played at least one more (publically unadvertised) show there this past weekend. Why? Well, the Duty Free Store has been hosting Duty Free Celebration Days to coincide with Canada Day and Independence Day, with the first two taking place on Friday and Monday, with Tym returning to headline today and TOMORROW. Well, this time out, Tym is advertising the shows on social media publically rather than through solely his personal accounts, so if you can head to the International Bridge, you can see his acoustic hard rock covers there! Expect refreshments, giveaways, and draws on both days for the occasion among other family friendly frills.

For what it's worth, Tym is not advertised by name on the Duty Free Store's Facebook page, but he has more than confirmed his involvement elsewhere. Given the cross-border outreach and with this being as close to the border as you can get for a show without actually entering the States, this may have some extra perks going for it! TOMORROW'S (and today's) concerts have special early start times of 11:00 AM, and there are no cover charges or age limits, but remember, this is a store, not a nightclub. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details! While we're on the subject, we may as well cover Tym's other shows this weekend (and this month) rather than redundantly go through his announcements tomorrow. As such, his long-term Gliss Restaurant arrangement will continue with matinee concerts THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY, as well as July 12th & 13th, 19th & 20th, and 26th & 27th! Apologies again for the short notice on this weekend's shows, we held them from last week's previews due to post size concerns.

At press time, Tym hadn't publically announced any other shows elsewhere, but if you'll recall, his shows at Pointe Des Chesnes and The Old Stone House last week never got a public confirmation either (for what it's worth, the Old Stone House show was on Canada Day and was definitely open to the public, so I apologize for not covering it here despite the lack of promotion.) In any event, the Gliss shows (FRIDAY & SATURDAY included) are 6:00 PM matinees with no announced age limit or cover as usual. Click here for more details, and here's Tym live a few years back!

Also taking place TOMORROW MORNING is the return of Kinross/Mount Pleasant solo hard rock musician Alex Traynor to Sault Michigan, as he'll play a special Independence Day matinee concert at Biggby Coffee! Again, I apologize for the short notice, the venue only announced this show via their Facebook event page yesterday, while Alex has not publically confirmed it that I am aware of. This will be the first local concert from the former Banned frontman (more on that in a second) since May, also at Biggby Coffee, and while it's unclear if this will be another "play for tips & coffee" setup for Alex, the Ashmun Street coffee shop will celebrate the Fourth of July by knocking $1 off of all drink prices during Alex's set, which will be at an even earlier start time of 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Very unusual to see two hard rock shows on one day at this kind of hour, but hey, if you're a Yooper, you probably have the day off, so why not enjoy some live music?

Alex's talented covers and (maybe) originals should be more than welcomed back up north TOMORROW, so don't miss his latest solo return then! Of course, this is an ALL AGES event with no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Alex live at Biggby Coffee! I am aware that there's a brand new video of him on their Facebook page, but due to Facebook video streaming issues at press time, I will hold that for a future post when the bugs are worked out. If this video doesn't load for you, it's not my fault, #facebookdown is trending on Twitter for a reason.

Finally for today, we have a related band breakup to announce here, as Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned have officially ended their active run, as per a post by Alex on their Facebook page on Monday. A reason for their disbandment was not announced, but Banned had been unusually quiet since their last shows in Sault Ste. Marie & Grand Marais back in March, and his solo career has been more and more of his focus as it is. Of course, Alex's move to Mount Pleasant in late 2017 may be a factor, as the 3 hour drive from here to there can't have been getting any easier to manage, but Banned did make it work for well over a year. Launched in 2011, and continually featuring Alex and his dad Don in their various lineups, Banned became a favourite sight at Eastern U.P. venues and community events with their varied and often heavy selection of covers, even with some early original material, while they weren't afraid to hit the road for shows out west or even in the Lower Peninsula.

While I didn't agree with their late-period marketing that solely focused on Alex, and their brief country phase was tricky to maneuver on a metal/hard rock-centric site, Banned were always a reliable and talented source of live music in the region! It'll be odd not seeing them at the Sugar Island Music Festival this year in particular, but after 8 years, I think Banned have done all they can, and now's a good time to see how far Alex can go as a solo artist. Best of luck to him, Don, Wayne, and other former band members in the future! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Parabol & Tripod The Dog), An Inactive Band Note, And New Videos!!

Let's tackle some more big news items on this Sunday evening, including some new live concert videos, a band being moved to our inactive links, and leading off, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks!

Reunited ska-punk/alternative veterans Tripod The Dog will play their second show of the year on Saturday, May 25th at The Rockstar Bar! This show hasn't been publically announced online that I know of, but I first heard about it via the venue's physical marquee board last week, and remember that an updated online page controlled by current band members has not been launched yet. After successfully returning to the stage after a decade+ hiatus as a full-time band ended last month at the same venue, Tripod The Dog will bring their fan favourite blend of genres back for another go-around, and it will be great to see Mark Oliverio and company rock out once again! Hopefully more comes out on the new lineup online, especially if things are different compared to their Rotaryfest one-off last year. Expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge on May 25th. See above for details when & if they roll in on this show and Tripod the Dog version 4.0!

Next up, a few familiar faces will hit The Grand Gardens North (the site of Toystock) on Thursday, June 6th for a special benefit concert in honour of Shelby Kerns, a local realtor, loving mother, and the partner of Skeyes of Seven/ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison. Shelby was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and will be receiving specialized treatments out of town, so this fundraiser will help cover related costs for her and her family. The event proper will include a pasta dinner, raffles and prizes, and yes, live music, including local Tool tribute band Parabol in a rare non-Rockstar Bar set. It's great to see Parabol throwing their support behind Shelby at this diffcult time, and they should deliver a solid set of Tool hits for the occasion! Parabol frontman John Barber will also front a (one-off?) group known as The John Barber Band on this night, though no word as of yet regarding their lineup, sound, or similarities to his old bands like Redefined, Late Shift, and Fingerbone.

Also, no word on if Cory will guest with either band, but given that his relationship with Shelby, it'd definitely be a fitting sight! Tickets for this presumably all-ages benefit (at 5:00 PM) are $30 at Exit Realty Lake Superior at 207 Northern Avenue or through employees there, while you can also show your support and still be entered for the door prize if you can't make it by donating a $20 minimum. I don't know Shelby, but everything I've heard points to a friendly, generous, and caring woman, and I hope this benefit does everything it sets out to for the Kerns/Murchison clan!! Visit the official Facebook event page for details as they roll in!

Also today, I have moved local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church to our inactive band links due to a year's public inactivity. The band was last seen on stage at last year's Sky's The Limit fundraiser concert at The Tech, but they never publically promoted that event online, and hadn't posted on their Facebook page since the end of January 2018. First coming onto the SMS' radar in the lead-up to The Sky's The Limit I in 2016, Electric Church would grow in prominence from White Pines Collegiate gigs to proper concerts in Sault Ste. Marie through the end of 2017, including sets at a bunch of early Live705 concerts, that year's Go Skateboarding Day, K.I.C.K.'s CD release party, and opening slots for Kenny Wayne, Speaker, and Return For Refund, among others. However, recording sessions at Mission Control Studios for a debut album never reached their intended conclusion, despite optimistic teasers for big plans at the start of last year.

I don't know what happened to Electric Church, but they were a very promising band that gave a unique retro zest to many local concerts during their run! With a maturity beyond their years and an old school sensibility from their early Jimi Hendrix covers through to their original songs, it looked like the sky was indeed the limit (pun intended), but hopefully they're just lying low and will be seen again, as there's a lot of talent to go around in their ranks. Best of luck to Spencer, Elijah, and Beau in the interim!

We'll close today with some new videos from Kinross/Mount Pleasant hard rock singer/guitarist Alex Traynor's second "music for tips & coffee" matinee set at Biggby Coffee in Sault Michigan yesterday! These were uploaded to the coffee shop's Facebook page in the last couple of days, including one belated upload from last week of Alex covering Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's "Pride and Joy". The distant from-the-side angle isn't great, and the video's short, but what you hear works out! The Saturday videos also include Alex playing "Pride and Joy" again, but this clip is longer, somewhat closer, and has some attendees dancing, which is a fun sight! Embedded below is Alex covering Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which has a much better and longer view of Alex's performance, and he has a good handle of this hair metal classic! Hopefully he got lots of tips, but see how he did for yourself above & below, and stay tuned for more from Alex!



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