The Future Of The Canadian Motor Hotel, LSSU's Internet Radio Reboot, And New Videos!!

At last, here's our first proper news post of June 2021, and there's definitely some stuff to talk about here! Half of this post is devoted to Sault Michigan topics, including a local internet radio station's big changes from earlier this year, and some new videos from a prominent local band, but let's start in Sault Ontario for some big updates on the future of a popular local venue!

The Canadian Motor Hotel has been sold to new ownership, and big changes are underway at the property. As per this SooToday article by Darren Taylor yesterday, The Canadian was sold by the Marrelli family in April (following the death of owner Carmen Marrelli in November) to developer Jim Brogno from Realty Executives Castle Alliance. Jim has renamed the hotel to The Canuck, and he has big expansion plans in progress, including new signage, adding a second story of hotel rooms, expanding The Upper Deck Bar & Grill (which may be renamed), a new chef, take-out pizza, and more Molson beer offerings. As for the downstairs Canadian Nightclub, the article heavily implies that Jim isn't planning to maintain it as a separate bar and concert venue, and is quoted there "I’m thinking a gym club would actually be a great fit." Jim hopes to re-open The Canuck in mid-June once this lockdown ends.

If this is the end for The Canadian Nightclub as a concert venue, it's definitely very disappointing, as it was a centrally located spot for mid-sized concerts, sometimes even all ages, and many shows there had a strong level of buzz, most recently the cancelled First Jason show there from last year. Personally, The Canadian was my first 19+ concert venue back in 2008, and it's where I judged a couple of major battles of the bands, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. That said, I understand that if the main difference between the upstairs and downstairs floors is a concert stage, and the pandemic has thrown live music into total disarray, I do understand that turning the nightclub into a gym or something else that can generate revenue short term is a better move financially. Besides, maybe The Upper Deck's expansion would lead to more live music (they did host acoustic acts already.)

In any event, it is great to see that The Canuck still has committed local ownership with a strong plan for the future, and I do wish Jim and the old/new staff the best of luck in growing the property into the 2020s! Of course, if we hear anything there regarding the future of live music on any floor of The Canuck, we will let you know!

Next up, Lake Superior State University's campus internet radio station has had another big overhaul! After five years of operation on the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's Student Radio Network via Backbone Radio, the former WLSO 90.1 FM moved it's internet radio operations over to a brand new station in March, as announced on Instagram. Officially renamed Laker Radio rather than The 46th Parallel (or Superior) Radio, this new station was launched via Live365, and airs a completely different rotation than they had through Backbone, with much more of a focus on a mainstream music variety comparable in range to The Moose FM in Elliot Lake. As I was writing this, The Offspring and Blink-182 songs played in succession, which was a definite surprise, but the rotation is clearly on autoplay right now (albeit with student bumpers) and those songs were bookended by tracks from The Lumineers, Chuck Ragan, The Doors, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

Musically, I did prefer their station on Backbone Radio, which favoured independent & underground music, and had more of a music discovery element, whereas the Live365 rotation is mostly artists I already know & usually don't like. Hearing a couple of punk songs in succession was neat, and maybe LSSU will invest in proper programs again in the fall semester, as they do need something to help the station stand out. They're not on FM anymore, and the competition in internet radio is VAST. At least the Live365 player is more reliable & nicer looking, and it doesn't crash on station identifications, but hear Laker Radio for yourselves at this link or above!

We'll close today by staying in Sault Michigan for a pair of new videos from local classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel, both as uploaded on Tuesday! Like their preceding "Military Theme Song Medley" video last week, one was made up clearly as a tie-in to Memorial Day (if posted a day late), and it features another cut from their 2012 CD "The Dawn's Early Light" set to suitably patriotic video clips & photos. In this case, it's for "Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier", and the somber yet uplifting imagery is a fitting match as you'd expect! Embedded below is the other video from that day, which is not from any of their released albums, and it features their song "Sword Of Odin". This is supposed to be themed around a fictional story inspired by Viking lore, but the track as uploaded is instrumental. Like their other recent videos, this features assorted clips that match the theme.

In this case, you'll mostly see nature footage, but it also includes a few alluding to vikings and bonfires. "Sword Of Odin" is by no means a traditional "viking metal" song (don't go into it expecting Amon Amarth), but it has an ominous & atmospheric quality that would befit the story it's intended to score. if only there were vocals! Give Theatre of Night's new videos a watch above & below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 7 (2014-Today)

After six prior installments stretching across 17 years of backups on The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, our retrospective series on Lake Superior State University's long-time FM radio station ends today by looking at the last three years of WLSO's operations at 90.1 FM, plus what happened in the 2016-2017 school year as it rebranded, went dark on the FM band, and moved to internet radio permanently, where it quietly lives today. Due to their website ceasing updates after 2013, much of the information below comes from the station's inactive Facebook page, and of course, listen to their modern day internet station while reading to set the mood.

With the spring 2014 semester beginning, WLSO aired such programs as Sweaters with Joshua Passino (Tuesdays at 9:00 PM), the continuing Soo Sports Talk, and two debuting shows with surviving Facebook pages. One was the freeform program The Borderline Boyz, which ran through the fall of 2014 with co-hosts Chris Cortell, Anthony, and Boots, which you could hear on Fridays & Saturdays at 7:00 PM. The other was Collin's Cinema Show, a movie review/opinion series that aired on Fridays at 4:00 PM that semester, not visibly continuing into the next school year. While short-lived, their Facebook page features a bunch of episode synopses, and even a few polls on what Collin should look at are still up! The station also kicked off daily artist spotlight hours at 12:00 & 6:00 PM that February to look at new bands on rotation there, which definitely pointed to the station's increasing focus on adult album alternative music in it's last years on the FM dial.

In time for the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, Erica Smith was promoted to station manager, while Joshua Passino succeeded her as music director, among the latest wave of staff changes and hirings. Most updates that fall related to campus events, staff searches, and station maintenance (including 2 weeks off the air that September due to technical difficulties), though WLSO did kick off a song of the week series via YouTube video shares on Facebook, again in the adult alternative/indie rock vein, that ran until the end of the next semester. WLSO also launched an Instagram page in December, which mostly covered on-campus events they DJed at. One notable program to debut that fall was COP DOCs, which was hosted by LSSU criminal justice professors Aaron Westrick & Frank Tridico on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM, as they explored modern issues in criminal and social justice. This show aired as late as the spring 2016 semester, and from what I've found, is the newest WLSO program with a surviving Facebook page.

Updates in the spring 2015 semester were less about the FM airplay and more about on-campus events that they sponsored and provided DJ services at. One striking note from this period was the increased WLSO merchandise that was distributed, including official station megaphones, and even official WLSO toques with the call-sign on them, and toque giveaways were prominently advertised for a time.  By the fall 2015 semester, WLSO had launched a Mixcloud page featuring episodes of COP DOCs and another contemporary show, The Faculty Room, providing one of the few outlets to hear 90.1 FM programs in full. Unfortunately, the 2015-2016 school year saw very little updates to actual on-air content, presaging the heavy changes ahead. In March 2016, WLSO announced a listener contest to find a name for "the new online station" debuting that fall, with The 46th Parallel announced as the winner in April, and the station relaunched as such in September, but aside from some August events that they DJed at, nothing followed online.

Things may have been less ambiguous if you were an active student or faculty member, but The 46th Parallel renaming meant more than just updating their online stream, as had been done numerous times in the past. Nothing was ever announced on social media, but 2017 was the end of WLSO 90.1 FM, with the station going dark on terrestrial radio by the end of the spring semester, as per my own recollections. Their Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2016, their website (which had sat idle since 2013) was taken down permanently after March 2017, the Twitter page was deleted outright, and their Instagram page sat unused for over three years. LSSU's then-president Peter Mitchell officially filed with the FCC to relinquish the school's FM license that November, which is beyond definitive as to 90.1 FM's fate. Henceforth, LSSU's campus radio station has been an internet station only, quietly airing to this day, but even their name has been ambiguous. The 46th Parallel name & logo is used for live DJing and on LSSU's website page for the current station, which does validate the 2016 contest.

However, LSSU's own website page also calls the station Laker Radio, but the current online stream for the modern-day station calls it Superior Radio. Regardless of name, the new station is part of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's Student Radio Network, via Backbone Radio, and you can see recently played songs at this link. Despite the cookie-cutter appearance (the news page hasn't been updated since 2013), Superior Radio airs a distinct 24/7 playlist and isn't fed from a non-local server, but any time I have listened, I have never heard local DJs. Honestly, scheduled DJ breaks have even stopped the feed for me in the past. The modern day playlist is extremely freeform, to the point where the metal band Wild Throne was directly followed by country star Jason Aldean during playback while writing this post. However, most played artists are underground & rising acts, so the station's a great portal to discover new music, and to my surprise, their Instagram page has actually been updated in the 2019-2020 school year!

The Instagram page notes that they still host campus events (including a studio tour for station alumni in October), and promisingly, they did plug wanting to find new student DJs in February, which is presumably on hold due to the school's COVID-19 lockdown. LSSU's radio station has seen heavy changes since the mid-2010s, but I hope things can grow and progress to old activity levels in the 2020s, now that the internet transition is done, and I hope you guys liked this look back into WLSO's tenure on traditional radio and beyond over the last few weeks! Continue to support Laker Radio at above, and stay tuned for more news on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 6 (2011-2013)

Here is the sixth and penultimate entry in our retrospective mini-series on WLSO 90.1 FM, Lake Superior State University's long-time campus radio station, as told through the eyes of The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, now with a big assist from Facebook! We're now into the home stretch for WLSO's run on terrestrial radio, but there is a lot to say, even here! Remember, give LSSU's current internet radio stream a listen while reading and exploring the links below to effectively set the mood.

Following the gradual disuse of their 2008-2011 website layout, WLSO launched their final version of their http://wlso.lssu.edu homepage in December 2011, but predating this was the station's official Facebook page in September, which saw more frequent usage when both were regularly maintained. A Twitter page and a few different video streams were also launched around this time, though these have since been deleted. On Facebook, WLSO advertised the September 2011 debut of their American Top 40 Music Countdown show (hosted by Kevin Palmer & Aaron) on Sundays at 12:00 PM, while Aaron also hosted the Saturday Night Rock Show that semester at 6:00 PM, and the station starting increasing their coverage of LSSU sports teams. That fall, the station also launched a recording studio, and continued sponsoring on-campus events. The new website linked above wouldn't see substantial backups until 2012, but seven diverse albums are listed as being in heavy rotation as of that autumn.

In the spring 2012 semester, WLSO welcomed the rock/oldies program The Jimmy Bones Show (with Facebook page) on weekdays at 6:00 PM, who notably gave away tickets for the My Darkest Days concert at Kewadin Casino that April, and even interviewed the band on-air the day of the concert! Various other shows were advertised on Facebook and their website's schedule then, such as the 2011-debuting Mad Mix, though genre descriptions haven't survived on either source, and the website schedule did not list everything plugged on Facebook, such as the rock/rap Mid-Morning Wake Up on weekdays at 10:00 AM. Along with changing albums in rotation (viewable at this link), WLSO's website in the spring 2012 semester saw a poll on genres you'd like to see more of that year, plus details on their latest staff searches, and the top 10 albums of 2011 by then-station manager Mark Other and music director Baby G, both of whom leaned towards indie and pop music.

WLSO took one last stab at message boards starting in late 2011 on their website, this time entirely hosted through their website, and now geared towards specific shows like Endless Summer and Serious Biz, though only Hot Probz saw any real fan usage, with it's last archived posting in May 2012. By that fall, 90.1 FM resumed active non-autoplay operations, with Citizen Gage added as music director, though most Facebook updates that semester referenced the station's live broadcasting and coverage of LSSU sporting events. While absent from Facebook advertising at that time, music-related shows like the returning The Attic, The Basement, And Beyond (Mondays at 8:00 PM), Hole In The Sky (Thursdays at 9:00 PM), and Good Vibes (Fridays at 7:00 PM) aired in the fall 2012 semester. As well, the station went fully digital with new professional equipment during upgrades in the 2012-2013 winter season, as per their website's last "About" page and Facebook postings.

The station's official website saw it's last substantive updates in 2013, primarily to the front page, including a listener request for mp3 files to add to their library, teasers of "the new WLSO" coming soon with staff, music, and sports coverage upgrades, and an end-of-2012 batch of top ten lists of music the world can't live without, courtesy of then-DJs (Ted the PD's will appeal most to metalheads). The last post there was to post their (unarchived) fall 2013 schedule, and though wlso.lssu.edu remained online until 2017, it was no longer actively used after 2013, leaving their Facebook page as their de facto website for the station's final years at 90.1 FM. Updates on Facebook in the spring & summer of 2013 mostly revolved around campus events and staff hires, with John Orttenburger then serving as WLSO's station manager. That September, the station openly asked for local alternative & indie bands to send in material for their rotation, and they also upgraded their DJ booth that fall, as revealed in this Facebook video that John uploaded.

One notable new program to air on WLSO in the fall of 2013 was Classic Rock Nights, hosted by Gerard Guysky, which ran on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM through the spring 2014 semester. A few episode themes survive on that show's Facebook page, and even a couple of episode playlists, so this is definitely worth checking out for old listeners and genre fans. The other show from this period with a surviving Facebook page is Soo Sports Talk, which aired on Wednesdays at 1:00 PM from the fall of 2012 through the spring of 2014, as hosted by Adam Bishop & Eddie Maxon. The show was devoted to LSSU, Detroit professional, and Division 1 NCAA Michigan sports teams. Other shows that aired in the fall of 2013 included The Canadian Invasion (Mondays & Fridays at 11:00 AM), Drop Beats Not Bombs with DJ Calyso (Mondays at 2:00 PM), Rock Around the Block with Mariah Erard (Wednesdays at 4:00 PM), and Reinert Rock (Wednesdays at 9:00 PM), among various others.

A December 2013 update hinted that then-music director Erica Smith was adding even more music to target genres and playlists as their new senior staff got more experience, with "a BIG event" expected for the spring 2014 semester, while the station had begun more of a merchandise push that fall with t-shirt and window cling giveaways, and there was more where that came from, but we'll focus on that next time. I am currently forecasting that the next installment of this series will be the last, as we look at WLSO from 2014 until the present internet radio era, so look for that in the coming days, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 5 (2008-2011)

Here's the fifth part of our WLSO 90.1 FM retrospective, as we now dive into the late 2000s and beginning of the 2010s at Lake Superior State University's former campus FM radio station, by way of The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. This was the period when I started attending LSSU as a history student, so I have fond memories of listening at this time, and it was fun looking back at what I remembered and missed out on then! Remember, listen to LSSU's current internet radio stream to set the mood while reading this post and exploring the content below.

After over a year without an actively updated website, http://wlso.lssu.edu was relaunched under a new server in December 2008, with this basic layout remaining intact for the better part of 3 years. Website archives from this era can be visited at this link, At the time of the WLSO website's reboot, mid-2000s metal DJ Kevin Kainula had been promoted to station manager, with Adam Fischhaber as the head music director. By the next fall, Adam took over as station manager, with Zach Greening becoming the new head music director, and Kevin moving into a new role as "metal manager." As of early 2011, business manager Brian Springett had became the new station manager, though music director posts were not listed. Unlike in prior incarnations of the website, front page posts here were less devoted to staff and technical details, with 2009 postings including the latest relaunch of their online stream, and their automation genre blocks during the summer semester.

During that semester, alternative rock aired for 3 hours at 4:00 PM, followed by a 3 hour classic rock block at 7:00 PM, and metal & hard rock aired for four hours overnight at 2:00 AM. In April 2010, the station announced that they would be playing more top 40 music than ever, with that summer also featuring just autoplayed music. An update that November indicated that WLSO was undergoing behind-the-scenes changes to make the station more secure & reliable, complete with a rebuilt music database and "a new outlook", and would continue in random automation with no hosted programs until February 2011, though no front page updates followed before the website was overhauled again that fall. Intriguingly, polls were also ran on their website from 2008-2011 to gauge listener feedback, though the results were not backed up. Unfortunately, this version of WLSO's website was very plain compared to the mid-2000s, with major updates not coming often, partly due to their 2010 upgrades.

Some schedule data from 2009 has survived on the Wayback Machine (as backed up that January and December, and it's this era of the station where Facebook pages started turning up to promote certain WLSO programs. Kevin Kainula's Classic Rock Show continued into early 2009, now on Mondays at 5:00 PM, while the metal/classic rock show The Delta Dial (hosted by Kyle "DJ Twitchypants" Stockdale) aired on Tuesday nights at 11:00 PM. This is the WLSO program with the oldest surviving Facebook page, indicating that the show didn't visibly survive into the spring 2010 semester, though little was written there about it. That fall also saw the debut of Music Through The Years, a freeform/historical music program hosted by Steve Dishman on Saturdays at 3:00 PM through the spring of 2012. It also has a Facebook page, which has actually continued to be updated to this day with his personal music picks, so old listeners should definitely check that out!.

Other 2009-era programs on 90.1 FM included Tuesday Metal Mayhem that fall at 1:00 PM, plus such intriguingly named programs as Searcy's Slammin Show, Rev. Fischaber's Rowdy Hour of Power, and Sounds of Sargacia, while such DJs as The Dentist, Draco, Moose, and Armando could also be heard on air. At least two other programs to debut during this website's lifespan have surviving Facebook pages, one being Laker Vibe, a house/electronica show that aired on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM from the fall of 2010 through the fall of 2011, as co-hosted by Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick, Brant Coulter and Hannah Morse. The other early 2010s show on Facebook is The Mad Mix, a freeform/by-request program hosted by Audrey Fradette that aired on Monday nights at 9:00 PM from early 2011-late 2013. Facebook writings aren't plentiful for either show, but more exists on them than The Delta Dial!

As for WLSO's website, it was taken down again in the fall of 2011 and relaunched for the final time by that December, with an official Facebook page to match, but that's a story for next time. Also, for full disclosure, Kevin Kainula once sent me metal song charts for inclusion on the SMS around 2010, as site content, late in his station tenure, which was very generous of him! We'll explore LSSU's 2011-present run and online archived content in the final installments of this series in the coming days, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 4 (2004-2007)

It's now time for our fourth installment of our retrospective mini-series about WLSO 90.1 FM, Lake Superior State University's long-time campus radio station, thanks to The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine! We left off in this series in the fall of 2004, around the time of their website receiving some overdue updates, and while we touched on this era's station history page in part 3, all of the then-new and current materials from the mid-2000s are in this post. Remember, to set the mood, listen to LSSU's modern day internet radio station while exploring the content below.

In October 2004, WLSO updated their website into the layout it would maintain for the next 2+ years, harbouring some of the best and most substantive surviving information from the station's FM run, though highlighting text is absolutely essential to read the black-on-black writing. Various versions of the main website (past the logo splash page) can be viewed at this link. The news crawl on the main site mostly relates to staff information, personnel & DJ searches, and website updates, though in 2004, they did promote the Planet Smashers concert in Sault Ontario that October, and also hinted at plans to offer downloadable music through the website. 2005 updates there included a number of live events that the station sponsored (often College Nights at The Back Door), plus a contest for tickets for that fall's Hootie & The Blowfish concert at Kewadin Casino. The big 2006 story there was WLSO's headquarters moving from Brady Hall to the Cisler Center, with updates ceasing in October.

The contact page lists many of the station's key staff members in 2006, including then-station manager Ben Momber and alternative genre manager Lam Nguyen, though as of that May, the metal & punk genre director posts were vacant. Unfortunately, a January 2005 playlog file was not archived, but a treasure trove of the station's CD archives in 2006 can be read there still, listing dozens of albums in their then-current rotation, and most albums I checked still go to their sub-page, with their record label, genre, and track listing, and if songs were safe to be played on-air. Metal is a heavy component here, though local musicians were not represented. In the fall of 2004, a music reviews page existed at this link, though posted reviews were brief at best. Lam recommended metal albums from Diecast & Jet Motor Crash, and punk albums from The Reason and Big D & The Kids Table, among other genres, while Paul Bartunek positively reviewed the Big D & The Kids Table album in a separate post.

The first substantial WLSO on-air schedule data on The Wayback Machine since 2001 can be found via six backups viewable at this link. The late 2004 schedule was mostly on automation mode, but you may have listened to Erik & Jason's metal/alternative block on Monday nights at 10:00 PM or KP's Kickin' Country Hour on Thursdays at 3:00 PM. By the spring of 2005, WLSO was openly experimenting with genre-specific blocks when no DJs were present, with metal & punk usually at night. At this time, likely metal/punk shows like Punking It Up (Mondays & Wednesdays at 2:00 PM), Renegades of Rock (Thursdays at 10:00 PM), The Power Hour (Fridays at 8:00 PM), The Heavy Hits (weekends at 3:00 PM), and Balls to the Wall (Sundays at 5:00) were on the air. The latter continued into that fall, with new shows including the punk show Zero Signal (Mondays & Wednesdays at 3:00 PM), plus Rockin' Out With The Punkmaster on Fridays at 7:00 PM.

DJ Easy Mac & Dirty Blonde's classic rock-featured M.E. Show aired on Monday & Wednesday nights at this time too, while Lam featured alt-rock and rap on Audio Alchemy on Thursdays at 7:00 PM. By the fall of 2006, Zero Signal, The M.E. Show, and Audio Alchemy were all still on, now joined by Kevin "The Mighty" Kainula's Monday Metal Meltdown (12:00 PM) and Classic Rock Show (Tuesdays at 6:00 PM), among other programs. WLSO also aired a Laker Hockey Replay show at this time, plus What To Do In The Soo with Sally Childs on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM. As of December 2006, the Monday Metal Meltdown became the Morning Metal Meltdown airing Mondays-Thursdays at 8:00 AM, while DJ Alan O hosted the metal show Error Mechanica on Mondays at 8:00 PM & Thursdays at 3:00 PM. A few shows continued from prior semesters, but automation was becoming increasingly common, and the March 2007 backup saw no schedule updates.

Copies of the events page with listings were archived twice in 2005, listing a number of LSSU-hosted & WLSO-sponsored events, plus select major concerts, such as that year's David Lee Roth & Quiet Riot shows at Kewadin Casino. A new streamlined message board was hosted through Simple Machines from the fall of 2005 through at least March 2007, and while some sub-forums actually have Wayback Machine archives, it saw less usage, and all posts after 2005 are the work of spambots. The best surviving thread is Zero Signal host DJ Darren's list of his top 100 albums of 2005, with Jack's Mannequin in first place. At some point between April & September 2007, WLSO's mid-2000s website was taken down and replaced with a "Coming Soon" page, with staff confirming the following winter that the website was under construction while they migrated to a new server, only returning with a major redesign in December 2008.

We'll dive into WLSO in the late 2000s next, and with social media becoming more of a going concern at this time, I hope to spotlight programs with Facebook pages in future installments, not to mention, WLSO's own Facebook page, but that's for next time and/or beyond. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 3 (2003-2004)

Here is the third installment of our WLSO 90.1 FM retrospective series, which is relatively thin, but that's for good reason, as their website from 2004-2007 has the most substantive updates and longevity yet, so I want to give that ample time and attention in part 4. This installment looks at another interesting year for Lake Superior State University's college radio station, and while surviving info from The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine then isn't plentiful, we have enough material to touch on before things ramp up! Remember, to set the mood, tune in to LSSU's modern day internet station.

By October 2003, WLSO moved over to their best known and final URL, http://wlso.lssu.edu, though their initial variant with high & low bandwidth versions has not survived on The Wayback Machine. The earliest surviving (text-only) backup here comes from December 27th, 2003, though postings there indicate that it was still clearly a work in progress, and many updates were obviously geared toward station staff. The only schedule data here relates to three blocks credited solely to the DJ's names, though they apparently sponsored a post-game show by juggler Mad Chad Taylor on December 13th. Lorin Kozlowski's 2001-era rock show Fireball Music was still on by this point, and the guests page indicates that he interviewed Failure frontman and veteran producer/engineer Ken Andrews on December 4th. In any event, the version of the website ended updates after January 2004.

That same month, WLSO launched an official message board created through phpBB, and under it's original layout, copies of the forum were archived from March-July 2004, though none of the sub-forums or threads got the same.  That August, the message board received a heavy redesign with largely the same sub-forums, though logo/slogan contests launched that spring appear to have been cancelled, and a recently played music section was added, plus one for country music. The last surviving backup of the forum is from February 2005, and it was relaunched under a new host that fall. Unfortunately, no sub-forums in either layout have been backed up, but as of February 2005, there were 43 registered users and 545 postings, mainly in the miscellaneous section. Sub-forums existed for upcoming concerts, song requests, the website, and even a marketplace, while Vicious and Pauliophonic were the board's primary administrators.

On March 16th, 2004, wlso.lssu.edu was relaunched with another new layout, but highlighting the text is essential to read the black text on the black background. This era of the website was backed up numerous times through that fall, so click here to navigate the website during this year-long stretch, though not much is different. The front page updates mainly reflect website maintenance and DJ searches & training, but June 29th saw a bunch of short hard rock album reviews posted by staffer zero, with those CDs soon to be added to the rotation. Updates here did slow down over time, with no front page updates with this layout past September, and the schedule (again only listing DJ names) gradually shrunk as 2004 progressed. WLSO did maintain a chat room at this time that The Wayback Machine did try to archive (unsurprisingly, 0 people are in in the chat room right now.) This layout was tweaked and built upon for in time in October 2004, and would be regularly updated until early 2007.

I wanted to close by jumping to the aforementioned October 2004 updates, as one fascinating addition to WLSO's website then was a page outlining the station's history from it's first 13 years in operation, though it was not updated beyond that month. A lot of it is technical details related to station equipment and licensing, but there is a lot of key information for old listeners. For one, the WLKR call sign was unofficial and was only used in their AM carrier current run, with the switch to WLSO necessitated due to an Ohio adult contemporary station already using WLKR. Plans were made to jump to FM as early as the fall of 1991, and they credit the spring 1998 purchase of a mobile DJ system as "where WLSO comes alive." The 2001-2002 school year saw the station boost their staff promotions and begin their original online stream, with official t-shirts and their first computer database beginning the next year. A paragraph about future aspirations was also included, and those mostly seemed to come true, if not beyond 2017.

Station history aside, we'll dive into the meat of WLSO's busy and well updated mid-2000s website in part 4 coming in the near future, so keep watch for that, plus more news on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 2 (2001-2003)

It's now time for the second installment of our WLSO 90.1 FM retrospective posts, which kicked off this past Tuesday by looking at the station's Internet Archive remnants from the earliest possible date in 1997 through the year 2000. Today, we dive into the early 2000s in their last years before moving to their most familiar URL, and there's a lot of interesting surviving material from this era to look back on! Again, to set the mood, listen to Lake Superior State University's modern-day internet station Superior Radio while reading and exploring the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine links below.

We'll pick things back up with WLSO in 2001, with The Internet Archive logging six copies of the website that year, which you can check out at this link. The big front page news that year related to the station broadcasting live at Lake State's end of the year luau and that summer's Soo Locks Festival. While still managed by Bill Dawson, the station's genre directors had heavily changed compared to 2000, including new hires like Erik Isele (loud rock), Josh Palotti (punk/ska), and Lorin Kozlowski (alternative). Schedules for the spring, summer, and fall semesters that year are viewable at this link, carrying on the same layout as they had in late 2000. A lot of holes were present in terms of these archived schedules, but listeners that spring could hear Lorin host Fireball Music on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM, while Nick (no given last name) and Simon Moon hosted their own midnight punk blocks on Fridays and Saturdays each.

The previous year's metal show Brothers From Other Mothers returned over the summer semester, now hosted by Rustang & DJ Be Seedy, on Sundays at 8:00 PM. That fall, WLSO listeners could hear Erik Isele & Andy host a loud rock block on Fridays at 3:00 PM, while Andy & Robb co-hosted a punk/alt-rock block on Saturdays at 6:00 PM, and Josh Palotti manned a ska punk block on Sundays at 8:00 PM. Among non-heavy/punk shows, 90.1 FM fans could hear such DJs as B-X Rocket, Captain Moon Unit, DJ Spicy Chef, Kon Phusion, and The Tonemyster, while such creatively named shows as Stealthy Chicken Showcase, the possibly metal-focused Shredder's Eve, the returning Homemade Erratic Bear Bones, and What? (which aired "anything but Britney") also made the airwaves. As well, Frank Blissett's long-running Country Roads and Frank's Gay 90s Revue continued into this time period.

This article on WLSO's 2001-era site notes their then-criteria for prospective DJs, including how to sign up for a summer show, their 18+ age limit, priority selection for then-students, and even the dues on-air talent were expected to pay to maintain the station headquarters and events ($5 per semester with a show, though they were briefly $10.) As well, this link noted how you could air public service announcements on WLSO, as part of their FCC licensing. The 2001-era website is the only one to feature surviving photos of WLSO's Brady Hall station headquarters via this link, and while not all work, you do get a decent look at the offices for DJs at the time. Unfortunately, archives of WLSO's 1999-2002 website layout indicate that it didn't receive nearly the same amount of updates and and attention by 2002, with schedule archives not showing any listings, and no affiliated events listed after that February.

Circa November 2002 (and as first archived that December), LSSU's website received a heavy overhaul that only survived until around September 2003, though time has not been kind to it, as the barren white front page would indicate. In the 2002-2003 school year, the station's manager was Hollie Arman, while Kate Andary took over as the punk/ska genre manager. One major disappointment of WLSO's website that year was the station's schedule, which only listed blocks by the DJ's first name (Frank Blissett's programs aside), so hopefully listeners knew who was airing what! The most interesting website additions at this time were their automation charts (viewable here below "Music Department"), which list the most played songs on WLSO during three weeks in the fall of 2002, and which were not visibly updated in 2003. The charts are only listed by title with some exceptions, but if you look them up, you can see that such diverse acts as D.O.A., The Charlie Parker Trio, and Avril Lavigne got heavy airplay then!

Updates were few and far between on WLSO's website from 2002-2003, despite the layout overhaul, but things would tick upward for the station's internet presence when they received their permanent and final URL, http://wlso.lssu.edu, but that's a story for next time. I hope you guys liked this second installment of our WLSO retrospective series, and this will return at some point soon when we start looking at WLSO in the mid-2000s, but stay tuned for more a new news post next! Thanks everyone!

WLSO 90.1 FM: A Look Back In The Wayback Machine, Part 1 (1991-2000)

To help fill some time on the SMS in a slow period, here's the start of a special mini-series looking back at WLSO 90.1 FM, which was Lake Superior State University's college radio station from 1993-2017, before quietly moving to a stripped-down online streaming model, called either The 46th Parallel Radio, Laker Radio, or Superior Radio depending on your source. Literature about WLSO is slim nowadays, so I thought it'd be interesting to look back at the station's history, programs, and interesting information using the best available source: The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, which features archives of LSSU's website dating back 23 years, and as such, many variants of the WLSO website have also been archived through there, allowing us a snapshot into how the station looked and sounded once upon a time. This isn't intended to be a blow-by-blow history of WLSO, just a research project by a former student, so there will be gaps in the timeline.

As a way of setting the mood, I recommend listening to Superior Radio's ongoing 24/7 stream at this link, which still airs much of the adult album alternative & freeform music content that aired on WLSO in it's later years on the FM dial, though even if they had local DJs and hosted programs still, the university campus' shutdown due to the ongoing pandemic would have ensured that it was automated right now. Today's first installment will look at WLSO from it's first decade on air, so let's take a trip back in time!

LSSU first launched their radio station as a low-power AM carrier current station for on-campus listening only in 1991, before getting an FCC license and moving to 90.1 FM in 1993, originally under the call sign WLKR. Online materials relating to station activity from the early-mid 1990s are slim to nil, given the internet's infancy, but The Internet Archive's earliest copy of Lake State's website with a page dedicated to WLSO is from January 31st, 1997. At the time, the station was based in the basement of Brady Hall, and was overtly described as a student life "club" to allow students to gain experience in radio broadcasting. They weren't even running 24/7 yet, aspiring to be on the air for 12 hours a day that year, and having went off air temporarily due to reorganization. At the time, Tony Alati was station manager, while WLSO actually had a dedicated heavy metal music director, Carlos Hempe. At that time, they did not have an advertised schedule.

By November 9th, 1998 (archived on December 6th), WLSO received a new website as part of a web development course project by student Chris Bellini. By this point, the website described their on-air content in more detail, including genres of music, numbers and e-mails for requests, and even noting that non-students could be DJs at that time. Now featuring Dan Kobes as station manager, a full schedule for the fall 1998 semester is listed here, though no shows are described beyond the title. J&C In The Morning was their weekday morning drive-time program, while The Insomniac Show also aired for an hour each weeknight at 12:00 AM. Among the more curious late 1998 show names are Anarchy In The Soo, Fishin' On Da Reef, Lucid Lullaby, Manufacturing Cement, and Screw The Soo, plus various others. Carlos was still one of WLSO's musical directors, so metal likely was still a presence.

That website remained online until mid-late 1999, when WLSO's official website received another URL and visual overhaul, as first archived on April 21st, 2000. By this point, Bill Dawson was the station manager, and they had added many genre-specific musical directors, like Jen Hosafros (punk/ska), Joe Miskiw (loud rock), and Seraig Hopgood (alternative). This era of WLSO has a lot of archived program schedules that you can read by following this link, though highlighted text is essential to read any white lettering. At this time, the station happily allowed DJs to use nicknames or just first names on-air, and the eclectic show titles also continued. In the 1999-2000 school year, you could listen to programs like The Awesome Elmo & Cookie Monster Show, Noise Funnel, Where's My Pelvis, and Wrong Trousers, while DJs like Master O'Boogie, Doctor & Spacemodulator, Kid Icarus, and No Bad Cool were among the on-air roster.

Two programs from that school year have surviving pages through the Wayback Machine, both hosted by long-time country music DJ Frank Blissett, namely Country Roads and the vintage/archival music program Frank's Gay 90s Revue. Also, WLSO was offering mobile DJ services, and hosted live DJing at Dano's Pizza on Friday nights at that time. By the summer & fall of 2000, the WLSO schedule was expanded on to include some genre descriptions, and as such, metalheads may have been listening to Bob host Wednesday Aggression at 7:00 PM, Erik & Oz's untitled hard rock/metal block on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 7:00 PM, or Slush Puppy's metal show Brothers From Other Mothers on Thursdays at 4:00 PM. At least in the fall of 2000, Monday was the destination for punk fans, courtesy of Angela's Raccoon Puppet Show at 6:00 PM and Spinach's Extra Butter at 9:00 PM. Also, don't forget about such bizarrely named shows as Subversion Is Sexy and Homemade Erratic Bear Bones, among others.

Our next installment in this WLSO spotlight series will focus on at least the early 2000s (starting from 2001), but I have not started writing it yet, so I don't know how much material is out there from that period, and whether or not I'll have to slow down the timeline or stretch things out. In any event, our next news post will be about current topics in the Twin Saults and area, so look for that tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A Dire Setback Updates, New Chase Wigmore Videos, And More News & Notes!!

Still trying to keep regular updates on the site during the ongoing pandemic, so we have some assorted recent updates, a pair of videos from a prolific solo musician, and leading off, some big updates from a local band with an album nearing it's release. Here's what you should know!

Here's the latest updates from local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, who still plan to release their self-titled debut album on CDBaby next week, so that's something to look forward to despite the postponement of their CD release concert! SooToday's Chris Belsito interviewed the guys for this article yesterday where they talked about the release show being called off, the new album & it's recording process, how they met and formed the band, their lyrical subject matter (which is often darker than the music may suggest), and how they've developed their presences on the album and on stage. Very informative article that helps explore the A Dire Setback story from the past year or so, and it's well worth reading for fans above! The article also reveals that "A Dire Setback" will be available to stream on Spotify and comparable services, and the guys are planning a short tour and festival dates later this year.

In the meantime, A.D.S. posted on their Facebook page to reveal plans to film live-streamed videos from their jam room, but multi-track equipment availability has slowed that down, and they were looking for advice or gear to borrow to speed things along. However, one video has made it's way there since, albeit an 11 second clip of frontman Chris Nielsen discarding cheap headphones while working in studio. Hey, it's something, so give it a look below if you want, and get more updates above!



Next up, here's a pair of new videos from local experimental/metal musician Chase Wigmore's two active solo projects, starting with his first new performance clip on his eponymous solo project's Facebook page in over a month, where he acoustically plays a new(?) original named "The Ghost of Jane Doe." The video has some blurry ghosting to it, and Chase is awfully close to the camera, but his picking is sound and effective, and his distinctive vocals get as intense as ever, even if this isn't your textbook example of a "ballad." Fans will definitely want to check this out below!



Meanwhile, Chase made a handful of quiet updates last month on his extreme metal solo project Awokest's Facebook page relating to his next album under that name, which he calls "the fourth Awokest full length" despite "Enter The Nightlands" being mostly a compilation & "With Focused Psychosis I Wrote This" not getting released outside of YouTube as of this writing. Apparently, the new release is "halfway done", and the first released song from it is entitled "Human In Theory." Pending a possible review of it (if it goes on sale), I'll hold comment for now, but it is in the vein of the material on Awokest's prior albums. Give it a listen below!



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

• The Black Label Society-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 8th, where they, Obituary, and Lord Dying will resume their North American Crusade tour after the last half was postponed due to COVID-19. It's great to see one of the big concerts affected by the coronavirus back on track for later in the year, so visit the official Facebook event page for complete details! Yes, tickets bought for the original date will be accepted.
• I have restored Bridge Heads frontman Curtis McKenzie's solo project to our band links following the quiet reactivation of his Facebook page this month! Curt had actively performed as a solo artist in 2017, often at The Vape Escape, but he took the page down by year's end, coinciding with Eclipse's breakup and the beginning of his 2 year hiatus from live music. It's great to have his solo page back, and while he's now in our inactive band links pending updates to the contrary, he did tease streaming live video content on Twitch in his first post back there.
• This is admittedly old news, but we finally have concrete word that Lake Superior State University stopped broadcasting their campus radio station at WLSO 90.1 FM, as per this FCC filing by then-LSSU president Peter Mitchell to formally relinquish their FM license in November 2017. There was never a public announcement or reason given for ending their 24 year FM run, but I know 90.1 FM originally went dark early that year, and it's presumably much cheaper to just run the station online as an IBS Student Radio Network affiliate, as they have done since late 2016 as Superior Radio. Give it a listen for more eclectic alt-rock music!

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

Theatre Of Night Updates, More From Sault Michigan, And Other Assorted Notes!!

Here's a new news post for your Monday afternoon reading, and today's is largely devoted to Sault Michigan news and notes, though we do have a handful of shorter Sault Ontario stories to cap things off with. Along with a prominent band's latest happenings, some local radio updates, and a new teaser clip, read on below for what you should know!

We'll start today with the latest from local classical metal project Theatre of Night, starting with some more clarification for dates on their Christmas tour, which starts in Blanchard this weekend! Based on new event pages, the planned December 8th show was moved from Holland (where they are still playing two weeks later) to The Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, while they will be appearing on Grand Rapids cable access channel GRTV on November 16th for a special televised performance. That should be some great exposure, so keep this in mind if you're in the Western Lower Peninsula and have Comcast! No word yet though on the teased December 1st weekend shows in Grand Rapids or the Sunday, December 16th gig in the Soo, those three dates do not have event pages or confirmed venues at press time. The guys have also posted a pair of videos to their Facebook page as the build towards the tour continues, including a re-posting of their version of "Carol of the Bells" with former studio singer Gaby Koss.

Embedded below is their newest video from Saturday night, a live-streamed rehearsal performance of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" by all of the tour performers sans singer Rachel Mender, who hasn't surfaced in any of their jam teaser clips. Filmed by keyboardist Craig Harrison (who's still playing one handed here), this is a strongly done rendition at this stage, and they're sounding good in advance of their Blanchard gigs! Give this a look below, and see much more from Theatre of Night's Christmas tour plans above!



Next up, here's a first, if brief, overture into new Sault Ontario streaming box local TV channel ONNtv (via local news website Sault Online), as this preview video for the Steel Panther concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on December 1st was posted to their YouTube channel last month! The 16 second video just features singer Michael Starr announcing the show and encouraging fans to get their tickets A.S.A.P., even in spite of work the next day. Short but sweet, so give it a look below, and tickets are still available at this link for $25! Center seats are almost sold out, but there are still tickets in the left and right sections from the seventh row and back!




Also, I wanted to acknowledge Lake Superior State University's campus radio station The 46th Parallel Radio, which has been a familiar sight on the dial at WLSO 90.1 FM since 1993. Station followers may have noticed a severe decline in (off-campus) public updates on WLSO after the fall of 2016, with 90.1 FM not visibly broadcasting since early last year, their website closing after March 2017 following years of disuse, and Facebook page updates ceasing before then, despite their well hyped 2016 rebranding and online relaunch. With no major off-campus statements from LSSU, I have done some research, and here's what I've learned. While WLSO still has an FCC license (source here), it does look like the FM signal was taken dark, with operations continuing as an internet radio station only, even if slightly under the radar. LSSU's website links to this web player, and through it's assorted links, we can confirm that the station is a part of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's Student Radio Network, via Backbone Radio.

On a listen to what LSSU alternately calls "Laker Radio", it still has an adult album alternative/indie rock base for it's setlist, albeit with an even more underground roster of artists, and even a few metal surprises like Deafheaven. Oddly, the streaming player above crashes before scheduled station identification breaks, and I have to restart it to resume the music, so make of that what you will. Barring a sudden resumption of WLSO on the FM dial, this appears to be where we're at, and while the move off of terrestrial radio is disappointing, hopefully the internet station is working as well as hoped for university and station staff! Give it a listen above!

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

• 11 months removed from their last public update, Sault Ontario rap metal/party rock group The Apocalypse Afterparty resurfaced on their Facebook page on October 19th to say that "hibernation is ending", complete with a photo of a guitar and amplifier for good measure. The band has only posted three times on their Facebook page in the past 2 years, despite a handful of gigs last summer (largely of the unadvertised "pop up" variety), and an unfulfilled teaser of something coming on November 8th of last year. Hopefully X, z, X, and z have more up their sleeves in the near future!
• Prolific local rock bassist & SleepWellCity mainman Nathan Bouliane is looking for local musicians & bands with music videos for an upcoming Northern Film Showcase that he is holding next year, similar to a fantasy-themed film event he held in April. The idea is to unite musicians and filmmakers as a means of promoting visual arts locally, with the creators introducing and discussing their work on the big screen, and perhaps even performing live. If you're interested in submitting a music video or getting more information, message Nathan at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Friday!
• I will be moving local hardcore punk trio Programmed To Fail to our inactive band links soon, as they have not issued a public update since their last Facebook page posting one year ago tomorrow. Active off and on from 2016-2017, Programmed To Fail (p.k.a. The Transjenners) never appeared in a public concert, and never visibly revived their deleted Soundcloud page from their first run, despite showing some raw promise on "We Push Back". Hopefully we hear more from Justin, Craig, and Corry in the future!

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

Lots Of Theatre Of Night Updates, A New Video Find, And More Recent Updates!!

Here's another new post for your Tuesday morning, so what can we find out today? Alongside some shorter recent stories, we have another recent video find that hadn't previously been shared here, and leading off, some long overdue news on a local metal band's surprising resurgence of activity, so here's what you should know!

We'll start today with some intriguing news from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, who are teasing a Christmas tour run to take place at some point over the winter! When you consider that this band's only public concert (that I'm aware of) took place back on Memorial Day 2013, this revelation four & a half years later is even more surprising! Keyboardist Craig Harrison has been teasing the planned tour in Facebook page posts since last month, with specific updates slowly making their way online in the ensuing weeks, and while a potential local date isn't confirmed yet, one comment reply implied shows would take place in the Grand Rapids area. Craig & guitarist Steve Giles have enlisted five extra musicians to join them on tour, and they include singers Jordan Flesch & Stacie McCarthy, former Elipzis guitarist Chris Webster (great to see him working with a local band again!), and bassist Scott Andringa of the Holland blues rock band Shame on Susan.

Finally, the lineup is rounded out by prolific Grand Rapids-area rock drummer Erik Sales (replacing the long-departed Greg Giles), who has performed with Stacie in some recent ventures there. How's that for a massive lineup? No word on if they're all official band members now or if they're just touring performers, or if Germany's Gaby Koss will still perform on studio material with Theatre of Night, but this all sounds very encouraging! There are precious few details on the tour proper at press time, but there are a decent amount of preview videos uploaded or shared to Theatre of Night's Facebook page of tour preparations, so here's what you should know on those! All comprised of Christmas carols in a symphonic metal style (remember their "Christmas Night" CD?), the videos include a preview of a studio version of "O Holy Night" with vocals, Craig playing "Silent Night" on the keyboard, and Jordan singing "Away In A Manger" in two videos (linked here & here). All are abbreviated previews, but you get a skilled sampling of what's to come!

The other two videos are of the full septet rehearsing in Holland, though "Away In A Manger" also serves as the preview carol in both. One video is a montage of Snapchat-style clips of rehearsals & preparation therein, but embedded below is a fuller video showing the band in action, though Craig and Chris don't play at this point, and Stacie is obscured from view. There is more to share from Theatre of Night unrelated to the tour, but for now, this is all very interesting to hear, and this will spice up the holiday season with some partially local T.S.O.-style action! Stay tuned for updates on the band & tour as they roll in, and give all of these videos a look above & below!

Next up, here's another new find from Obsession guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel, this time from his old classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester's involvement in the local stage production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario back in November 2015! Poignantly uploaded the day of bandmate Eugene Orlando's passing (three weeks after Tommy wrapped it's local run), this is of the early numbers "Captain Walker" & "It's A Boy", and while not heavy songs by any stretch, the guys handle things well on these softer numbers, and Gabe & Eugene have a nice moment where they take center stage to perform together! For reference, there's no sign of frontman Greg Simpson here, who's not visibly performing with the ensemble at this point in the production, but he did play Cousin Kevin and front other songs later on. The video has a nice camera angle from the balcony to show the whole stage, and it's worth a watch for The Who & That's Chester fans, so give it a look below!



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

• I have changed the link for Lake Superior State University's campus radio station The 46th Parallel Radio (WLSO, 90.1 FM) from their website to their Facebook page, as the former was taken down during LSSU website upgrading earlier this year. Though still broadcasting, the Sault Michigan station hasn't had an active online presence this year, had been off air when I scanned it over the summer, and have not visibly commenced their previously stated plans to move all station operations to internet streaming. Hopefully things pick up, but click here for details on the station and/or student volunteering with WLSO!
• As documented in a SooToday article by David Helwig on Friday, Essar Center events manager Robert Santa Maria proposed a new system to create an event development fund so that the Sault Ontario arena can bring in more major touring events and concerts in which up to $1 from every ticket sold be put aside towards bringing more things here, capping at $50,000. Most responses seem to be positive, but will City Council approve the idea? Time will tell, but it'd be nice to have more concerts there beyond Dokken!
• The ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Saturday, October 21st for a fifth straight year, and music will return with it pre-walk once again! Performers have not been announced yet, but for reference sake, dormant blues/crash rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage and Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan have each played the walk in the past 6 and 4 years respectively. Visit the official Facebook event page for current details on the walk, and stay tuned in case punk or metal music returns next month!

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