YouTube Channel Profile Series: Curtis McKenzie & dickjerkins983

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we once again shine a spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts! For a second straight month, our randomly selected channels number at two, as the first channel only had two videos period, so a channel with a single video was picked to fill things out. Both take us to side projects of familiar local rock frontmen, so here's what you should know!

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Curtis McKenzie (http://youtube.com/@curtismckenzie8665)

Owner: Prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie, known from bands like Haggith, Project 421, Eclipse, Mike Haggith & The Din, Punch, Sound X, 20 Pack Of Marshmallows, Restricted Illusions, and Wanko Twist

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 4th, 2013; Videos uploaded that same day

Channel Summary: Curtis' then-official YouTube channel features original audio recordings by two prior/side projects of his, rather than his then-concurrent work in Haggith, who had their own YouTube channel at the time.

Why You Should Watch: As a "what could have been" window into Curt's local music career, this channel is notable to give a listen to his prior projects that didn't get far off the ground as presented, and fans of his will want to give these two videos a look on that basis. Nowadays, Curtis is primarily seen streaming on Twitch, where he plays video games, plays vinyl records, and sometimes actually performs music, so follow him there to see what he's been up to post-pandemic!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Rage Train EP: In early 2012, Curt recorded a demo EP called "Rage Train" featuring him and drummer Zach Day Andre (who produced/mixed the songs) playing "No Cure For Insanity", "Rage Train", and "Wanko (Reprise)", which would all be adapted by the band Haggith on their debut studio album "Dragon Joy Ride" that fall. While these songs would be refined later that year, they still come through really well and they sound like the full Haggith band would have recorded them had you not known!

SOUND X - Disengage: Curt's most popular video here is of his short lived side project band Sound X, which featured him and long-time bandmate Daniel Horton (now in Spades GT) playing music separate from Haggith. Sound X had planned to record an album named "Three Year Relapse" at Paperclip Productions, but only "Disengage" made its way online before Sound X quietly fell inactive by the end of 2013. Featuring Curtis on all instruments aside from Daniel on drums, this song is a solid alt-hard rock number that wouldn't have been amiss in Haggith setlists, though I did note at the time that I felt Sound X should be more distinct from Haggith if the two were to co-exist. Follow Eclipse to hear Curt & Dan's later work!

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Dick Jerkins (http://youtube.com/@dickjerkins983)

Owner: Local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase James Wigmore, also known from projects like The Strange Coyotes, This Is Your Band On Drugs, Them, Project Legion, The Autumn Roots, The Black Lodge Masters, The Coyote Speedfreaks, Manitou, and Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 30th, 2018; Only video posted the following day

Channel Summary: Despite having an eponymous YouTube channel that is still used to this day, Chase launched a separate channel in 2018 under the ribald pseudonym above that he initially used for songs released by Awokest, his industrial-leaning metal project. While Awokest proper have paid release albums, "The Tweakening" ended life as a free YouTube EP, whose songs run from 45 seconds to 2:37 in length. Featuring techno influences, black metal-inspired vocals, and lots of bass in the low end, "The Tweakening" will deliver the goods for fans of this side of Chase's ample solo back catalogue! However, be advised of some 18+ song titles.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As it turns out, our run of profiling multiple channels will continue in October, as the first randomly selected channel this time out only had one video, and the second only has two from the same concert set, so we're tripling up on or around October 26th by looking at the YouTube channels of Sam Mick (featuring a video from Hedley's show here in 2017), NorthernFunko (featuring two Three Days Grace concert videos at the Gardens), and Josh Belleau (featuring a 2012 concert video featuring three local metal bands). Look for these then, and for weekend concert previews and much more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Curtis McKenzie

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we're looking at another randomly selected band or solo act from the past, in order to spotlight them for current readers! This month's selection is slightly different in that, while it's a solo project from an established and recognizable musician, it's also one that had a lot of stop-start periods of activity over an extended period, so here's what you should know!

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Curtis McKenzie

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie/Wawa, Ontario

Genre: Hard Rock/Grunge

Lineup (Members not in their last known lineup in italics):

Curtis McKenzie (Haggith, Eclipse), all instruments
Daniel Horton (Spades GT, Haggith), drums

Audio/Video: There is certainly no shortage of videos and music online from Curtis' local bands, most prominently from Haggith's studio albums, but some of his released solo material has found its way online. Numerous videos of songs from both pre-Haggith bands and him solo can be heard on his original YouTube channel, while his Sound X original song "Disengage" was posted elsewhere in 2013. His Facebook page features his 64 minutes long at-home concert from June 2020, a Tears For Fears cover with long-time bandmate Daniel Horton, and six live concert videos from his mid-2017 run as a live solo artist. Here's Curt covering Seether's "Broken" at The Vape Escape that June! Despite the thumbnail, the video is in colour.

Info/Analysis: While primarily active locally as a singer/guitarist in proper bands, Curtis has dabbled in solo endeavours off and on, first crediting an active solo project on his Facebook page (then otherwise encompassing all of his past/present bands) in May 2011, while also acknowledging some high school-era solo recordings from 2007 onward. Updates on that page primarily concerned his various local bands during their runs, but Curt did announce a solo project named Sound X in May 2013 that would record separate original material, though Sound X were only seen at a private event that summer. In February 2016, Curtis resumed plans to record as a solo artist, but those sessions did not lead to a released album. From May-July 2017, Curt played a series of solo gigs, most prominently at The Vape Escape, but he did not surface in this form again until playing some at-home sets in mid-2020, early in the pandemic.

As of late, Curtis has been seen more on Twitch as a video game streamer, and while he has performed during these sessions, videos are not hosted for on-demand viewing after the fact. Curtis' talents as a musician were definitely prominent, especially from 2013 onward, but aside from the stripped-down sound of his covers, I do worry that his solo output wasn't that distinct from his bands. That said, with Curt's strong vocal range and guitar abilities, he will be easily able to make a mark again on the local scene if he returns as a band member or live musician!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll return with this series on or around April 10th when we head south to Sault Michigan for a look at mid-2000s hardcore punk band Poverty Stricken! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

New Archive Concert Videos, The End Of Docks, And More!!

Let's get a new news post up on this Tuesday evening, including some assorted recent notes, an archive concert video from a couple years back, and a recent concert venue closure, but first, here's a new video upload from a major metal show that we enjoyed over seven years ago!

Courtesy of AlgomA bassist Kevin Campbell's YouTube channel, this video is of defunct metal supergroup Heaven & Hell playing the Black Sabbath classic "Computer God" at The Essar Centre (then known as The Steelback Centre) on March 20th, 2007, and it's great to see another video from this show! Note that Kevin credits them as Black Sabbath in the video, as this was the "Mob Rules" era lineup, but they toured and recorded as Heaven & Hell. As preceded by Vinny Appice's drum solo, this is a nice video, and though Kevin wasn't too close to the stage, he used the zoom on his camera to good effect on this solid rendition of one of the better songs on the "Dehumanizer" album! I stand by this being the best concert to ever hit the arena on a musical basis (Kiss topped it theatrically), and I'll always be grateful that I got to see Ronnie James Dio live before his passing. I wonder if Kevin has any more footage from this event? Check out the full clip below!



Next up, we appear to have lost another local concert venue, as Docks Riverfront Grill re-opened earlier this month as Waterfront Legend, a new higher-end Chinese buffet restaurant. The Foster Drive location was quietly sold to new owner Imee Yeun on May 1st, and had operated as Docks briefly over the summer before the relaunch, though the venue hasn't hosted an advertised band since classic rockers Redline played there in late March. According to a new SooToday article on the overhaul from Michael Purvis, the main dining area is mostly unchanged, and the bar's still there, but there's Asian art and effects, new lighting, and buffet tables in place of the pool tables. Given the changes, it seems very unlikely that live bands will be in the cards for Waterfront Legend, which will be disappointing for old Docks regulars, as it was a nice venue that played host to numerous cover bands over the years!

We have moved Docks to our defunct local venue links under it's Facebook page (as it's website was closed), and if you like Chinese food and buffets, give Waterfront Legend a chance! I had heard rumours for a while regarding Docks' ownership and changes, and the lack of recent band bookings had also been noticeable, but hopefully old regulars there find steady places to play in the near future! Best of luck to all former Docks employees!

Also today, here's another older YouTube video of local classic/hard rock cover band Havadder, as we slowly get up to speed concerning their older videos that we never addressed on here! Courtesy of a February 2012 concert at The Nicolet Tavern (now The Rednecks Saloon), this was uploaded to the band's own YouTube channel at the time, and remains the only upload there. Featuring their 2011-2012 Turner Up-hybrid lineup, then-bassist (and recent live guest) Travis Sharpe handles lead vocals on this cover of The Foo Fighters' "These Days" alongside guitarists Jason Roy (Havadder's founder & usual frontman), Jason Nisbet, and Robert Brown, and drummer Scott McLurg. It's a well done cover shot from a good central angle of the stage, but Travis doesn't have the right force on the chorus vocals. Check it out below though, and stay tuned for more from Havadder, new and old!



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

• Likely stemming from a prior musician search in May, Social Suicide alum Anthony Boudreau is again looking for a rhythm guitarist for his new local band that would play hard rock & hair metal inspired by the likes of Avenged Sevenfold & Guns 'N Roses, with originals and covers planned. If you're interested, message Anthony at this link (or fellow member Damon King) on Facebook with media of you playing the song of your choice, and click here for more info!
• Former State of Misery drummer Nick Kainula is again looking to join a new local band, citing "any music from the '80s up" and Motley Crue as his biggest influences. Right now, he just wants to jam, but would love to play shows too. It'd be nice to see him back in an active band, but if you're interested in jamming with him, message Nick at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from September 5th!
• I have removed Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie's Sound X solo project from our band links for two reasons. One is that he hasn't posted public updates concerning the project since late last year, and the other is that the link we had for Sound X (Curt's solo music page) has not tended to focus on this project over his more active band work. Hopefully he revisits his solo work soon though, and stay tuned for more on Haggith's new CDs!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews soon, plus this month's poll and last month's poll results on Thursday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) This Weekend's Other Concert Previews, And More!!

Unless there's another short notice concert announcement, today's post covers the rest of this weekend's regional metal/hard rock concerts that I can verify! That leads off today's post (including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), but we also have news on a local concert venue's change in name & focus, and some more assorted updates, so read on below for what you need to know!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Harp Pub & Grill for another solo acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only just announced the show on Wednesday. The third straight Friday night show that Tym has played at the former Madison's Pub, the Facebook event page for tonight's show says that he's live at The Harp "every Friday", which appears to indicate that Tym has another weekly concert arrangement set up with a local venue, which is nice to see! Tym hasn't had an ongoing regularly scheduled series like this since his early 2012 run at another central venue (Bossy's Pub N' Grub), and hopefully this finds similar success (or bigger) if it's of a similar consistent length! Note however that I don't know what this means for Tym's frequent recent appearances at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill, where he generally played his Friday shows at this year. TONIGHT'S show at The Harp has no announced cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM start time.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Tym ramping up bookings at The Harp (his debut there on November 1st must have been a huge hit), and assuming this new series continues, keep an eye out for an announcement of a December 27th show there! For a preview, here's Tym live at Mill Square this summer!



Now to quite a unique concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT for our second hard-rock featured Loplops Lounge concert spotlighted on the SMS in just over a week! The show is X-Mess, an all acoustic punk rock revue at this higher-end downtown lounge, but there will be some hard rock on hand, as all female rockers The Danger Cats will break out the unplugged instruments for their sixth live concert! It'll be interesting to hear how they adapt in this environment, so keep it in mind for tomorrow! Also, no word on if singer Summer Snow-Leopard will be back for this show, but a personal Facebook posting implied she's back in town, so we'll have to see! The advertised headliners are an acoustic punk act named The Debts, and though public information has yet to be revealed on them, I will say they're a trio and feature some established names in local music, so they should put in a great set! The other acts are credited solo performers, including North West guitarist Greg Callaghan (who has played a number of solo unplugged punk shows in recent months) and "Dr." Sal Velinus, of whom I know little regarding his musical background.

Promoted by J.D. Pearce, this concert goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at 10:00 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and there is a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an interesting and unique seasonal concert (you're even encouraged to wear ugly Christmas sweaters), so don't bypass it tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's The Danger Cats covering Hole at their live concert debut!

Also today, a local concert venue has had a major change to it's name and theme in recent months, as The Nicolet Tavern at 304 Albert Street West is now a country themed bar named The Rednecks Saloon. A reason for the change hasn't been publically announced (at least online), but this poster jokes that The Nicolet was "gunned down by a redneck." Renovations took place as well for the new look in late October, with the bar re-opening on Friday, November 1st, and though their phone number & much of the menu are unchanged, I haven't heard a whole lot about bands playing there since. The Nic last featured a hard rock band (Griphook) on October 25th, a week prior to the re-opening, with bands in recent years there generally leaning towards veteran cover groups. I have no clue at present if the new Rednecks Saloon will have an all country focus for music (a'la Reggie's) or if it's just the general theme of the bar now, but hopefully they won't completely forgo some classic hard rock once in a while! Stay tuned for updates if they come in!

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

• A selection of professional photos from Saturday night's Bam Margera/Fuckface Unstoppable concert were taken by attendee Jeff McKersie and uploaded to his photography website earlier this week! Joining some earlier local musician shots, he got 5 great pictures each of F.F.U. and co-headliners Wilson (none of the local bands though), and they turned out great, so check them out at this link, and Jeff's now in our local concert/musician photography links!
• As a thank you to fans for their support during their run, defunct local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith have posted free streaming copies of their two "mainline" studio albums "Dragon Joy Ride" and "Deuce" on their BandCamp page! No word on if "Apocalypse", non-studio album releases, or any unreleased material will find it's way there eventually, but check out the free copies at the link above, and follow the members' current bands!
• Speaking of posthumous Haggith-related activity, the band revealed on the Facebook event page for their final show earlier this month that frontman Curtis McKenzie is "rumoured to be entering sessions" to complete his Sound X solo project's debut album "Three Year Relapse", though nothing further has been publically stated. Hopefully Curtis gets that project back up & running!

That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes as we get it, along with this month's YouTube Channel Profiles on Sunday! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Solo Project, Crimson Crusade's EP, And New Videos!!

Tonight's news post is essentially a local metal video showcase, but it's full of big news beyond just that, so what's in store? Well, we have a commercial for a major upcoming concert, video footage from a recent show at a newer local concert venue, and all that you should know on the newest Sault Ontario metal CD release, but first, we have a new local band to introduce, so here's what you need to know (and check out our review of last night's Skeletonwitch show in the post below this one!)

Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie has returned to solo work with a new side project named Sound X! You may remember that Curtis fronted various similar bands like Restricted Illusions & 20 Pack of Marshmallows (many with Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton involved) since the late 2000s, but this is a completely new project that Curtis has been posting about on his solo Facebook page since May 22nd (it'd previously focused mostly on his Haggith work.) He's already announced plans to release a Sound X album this fall named "Three Year Relapse" featuring a mix of older originals and newer songs (including the former Haggith band song "That Cold Winter Breeze"), and this project will feature Curtis on all instruments except drums (Daniel Horton's covering that), while Haggith drummer Mike Haggith will produce and mix the material at Paperclip Productions. To that end, Curtis has posted the first Sound X song named "Disengage" onto his new YouTube channel, so how does it sound?

It sounds good so far, nice catchy alternative hard rock sound, but I worry that it might sound too similar to Haggith originals, and I'd like to see Curtis shake things up a bit to separate the two projects musically. I like where it's going though, so check out Sound X's first public song below, and as I've added them to our active Sault Ontario band links! (There's no official Sound X page yet, but Curtis' solo page fills that need in the interim.)



Next up, here's what you should know about local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade's debut EP! Released after their set at the Skeletonwitch show at The Canadian on Monday night, "Upon The Eve Of War" does still feature 5 songs (all of which are streamable online as well), and the songs are "Vanquish The Tyrant", "Left For Dead", "Crimson Crusade", "Pillage", and the last to be unveiled online, "Consumed", with a total runtime of about 20 minutes. Featuring their current lineup (including singer/guitarist Devon Lucier, guitarist Robert Sartini, bassist Riley Marshall, and drummer Robert Crossley), this was recorded in the winter at The Smoke & Oak Room Studio with producer Dave Pihlaja, and it's packaged in a slim jewel case with cover artwork as pictured, and liner notes secured in the case (though they're surprisingly minimal in content.) I won't comment on the songs in full yet though, as I plan on reviewing this in either July or August (Haggith's "Deuce" is this month, and I'm not sure whether to do this or the Woods of Ypres tribute album next month), but it will get a formal review, I promise!

I presume Crimson Crusade will have copies of "Upon The Eve Of War" on sale at future concerts for $5, but for now, stream the tracks at the band's Reverbnation page and Devon's YouTube channel, and as we haven't plugged it formally on here before today, here's the EP's last song (on the disc and in uploading order) "Consumed", so give it and the rest of the songs a listen!



Also in the realm of new videos, Local2's Mike Caruso was on hand for last Saturday's Faces of the Soup Kitchen event at the Machine Shop building at Mill Square (the former St. Mary's Paper site), and he uploaded a video of the musical performers from the event onto Local2's YouTube channel (and as part of this article), which amounts to our first footage of live acts at the Machine Shop. The video features local cover rock band Obsession covering Vanity Fair's "Hitchin' A Ride", M.D. Dunn playing what I think is an original track, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison covering Little Texas' "What Might Have Been", Frank Bock playing his rendition of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me", and Griphook frontman Jim O'Leary and friends (including Obsession's Valerie Powley) covering Nazareth's "Sunshine", so click each link to go directly to those songs! Note that Tym didn't play solo entirely on Saturday, as you can see Caveman Morrison drummer Johnny Belanger behind the kit in the video, so there was some full band performances as well.

Though not the heaviest show, it was for a great cause to both benefit the Soup Kitchen and introduce locals to what's going on at Mill Square now, and you can catch up on more of the day's events, vendors, and sights at this location! The Machine Shop looks nice and seems to have good acoustics, and I hope we see more live bands there in the future! As for the performers, all put in good sets, and it's nice hearing a Nazareth cover especially from Jim and company, so give them a listen below! (For metal/hard rock seekers, Tym's on about 6 minutes in, and Jim and friends play about 11 minutes in.)



Finally for today, here's something a little different: A commercial for Tesla's fourth concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 27th! 30 seconds in length, it features plugs for the show and where to buy tickets, along with live clips of them playing some of their hit songs (including "Signs" and "Love Song"), and though it's well put together, the voice over narration could be more excitable for a show of this size. Posted onto Kewadin's YouTube channel on Friday, I don't know if this is running on TV, but give this commercial a look below, and get your tickets before they're gone!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more in the next few days! Thanks everyone!