As promised, here's a new news post on this rainy Tuesday, though things are still creeping along at an unreasonably slow pace for local metal, hard rock, and punk activity, so unless there's late notice concerts to preview, I'm not forecasting a new post on the site until Friday. Hopefully things start picking up sooner or later! Now, all of today's topics have an attached video, and we'll start with two uploaded to St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page this fall! One is a 7 second clip from September of their tracking computer, with singer Brandon West screaming a bit in the background (the Snapchat-esque caption notes that "screams sound funny without music.") Not too substantial, but it is a sign that their new album is getting closer! Embedded below is their newest album teaser video from exactly one month ago, whose attached post notes that "mastering starts next week" and that they "will be dropping a couple (of) singles very soon."
Clearly, "very soon" means more than a month, but there is definitely visible progress from their camp! The video in question features a 42 second sample of one of their new original songs, as accompanied by a heavily filtered shot of the tracking computer, and the words "Almost Done" end the video. Sounds like things are well at hand for H.L.T.C., so give these videos a look!
Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison posted another original song onto his YouTube channel earlier today! Entitled "God Vs. Drugs", it's about how praying to God will help a drug addiction, and as such, it fits well with Tym's modern day Christian beliefs. No Filmora trial watermark here, this actually has a proper video made up with song lyrics, visual effects, and a slideshow of relevant photos. The song itself is a mid-tempo rocker that is well composed, but starting so many verses with "God" feels a little overdone to me. Give Tym's new song a listen below!
Also, local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback shared a new video on their Facebook page on Friday, but it's not what you may be expecting. Here, bassist Matt Quinn is on (standing) drums playing alongside Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" from the Frozen movie soundtrack, with his daughters (kinda sorta) joining in on karaoke vocals. Cute for what it is, and Matt does have some hidden percussion talent put to surprising use! Give it a watch below!
Finally, I wanted to belatedly address a studio-released song by local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger that has definitely flown under my radar over the years, but came up in my research on their Defunct Local Band Profile last week. In August 1994, just a month after the release of their debut album "nc17", Treble Charger were featured on "Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young", a two CD set released by Sony Music that was also split into two halves and released separately (in this format, Treble Charger appear on "Into the Black: An Electric Tribute To Neil Young"). Proceeds from the album's release went to The Bridge School for special needs children that Neil's then-wife Pegi co-founded, which is a wonderful cause, as fans of his Bridge School Benefit concerts will know! Treble Charger submitted a cover of "Albuquerque", a deep cut from Neil's 1975 album "Tonight's The Night", and their cover is track #8 on "Into The Black".
This cover (let alone the album) is not on major streaming services at press time, but you can buy used CD copies, and the songs do circulate online, with this YouTube copy thankfully uploaded by user Yrret Noskcaj two years ago. Admittedly, I'm not an ardent Neil Young fan, but I definitely respect his songwriting and career, and this Bill-sung cover is respectfully done with a rock edge, and it would fit in well on Treble Charger's first two albums! Give their take on "Albuquerque" a listen below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site by Friday! Thanks everyone!
For our first news post of the fall, we have two topics to get to: A preview of a (sadly) rare concert from a local band at this stage of the pandemic, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this weekend from a prolific musician who has a new video to share from a concert that slipped us by earlier this week. Here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will return to The Motley Market on Gore Street for his fifth public show there THIS SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, he only announced it via his Facebook event page yesterday, but it's still more notice than his concert on Monday got! In case you didn't catch Tym's late notice advertising that morning or our Facebook page post that afternoon, Tym played the new performance/vendor space for a third time in four days on Monday around supper time, but this gig served as live entertainment at the end location of A Walk To Remember, a march downtown in honour International Overdose Awareness Day, as put on locally by Save Our Young Adults. Of course, this is a wonderful cause and very relevant locally, as anyone who saw the W5 documentary will know, and it looks like a great time was had by all! Of course, had Tym or S.O.Y.A. announced his set with even a day's notice, I'd have covered it here.
Apologies for missing it on the SMS proper! As far as I know, SATURDAY'S show is just a regular concert, but if you want some live entertainment at this rising downtown locale, keep this one in mind! An early 3:00 PM start time is in effect, there are no cover charges or age limits advertised, and please use common sense re: masks & social distancing. For a preview, and as he has done for his other Motley Market dates, Tym did live-stream Monday's show on his YouTube channel, making this episode #41 of his live-streamed concert series, and the third straight to be shot at 132 Gore Street. For the record, he skipped at-home shows again this week, so barring a second virus wave, those may have ended outright. If you like Tym's unplugged covers, you are in luck, as Monday's live-stream runs for over three hours, his longest to date, so nothing was lost from that set if you missed out at the time! The set proper begins after 8 minutes of setup.
Yes, the camera is rolling for the duration, and there are some important things said about the organization and the walk, so keep all of that in mind! Tym returns for another 40 minutes of music to close, including covers of Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", The Bangles' "Eternal Flame", The Beatles' "Blackbird", Starship's "We Built This City", The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark", Kim Mitchell's "Patio Lanterns", Aerosmith's "Dream On", and finally, Abba's "The Winner Takes It All" (the last of three repeat songs from Saturday's live-stream, joining "All By Myself" & "Blackbird"). This was another solid set from Tym, full of established covers and a few surprise inclusions (I did not expect Nine Inch Nails), and this was easily the best crow he's had at the Motley Market! That said, he was a little too far left for the camera's viewpoint, and his banter with the crowd between songs could stand to be boosted a bit still.
Despite the very short notice, Tym's set was well recieved and well performed, so give it a watch below, and look for more similar live entertainment there on SATURDAY, perhaps with another live stream?!
Finally, new local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will become the first live band at the re-opened Reggie's Place
on Queen Street East when they play there for one night only TOMORROW
NIGHT! Well over a year after their public launch, this will be your
first public opportunity to see Justin, Shane, Matt, Robin, and Tony on
stage together, and while no one could have guessed it would be in the
midst of a pandemic, hopefully the Halfway Loaded successors deliver a
hard hitting night of covers (and perhaps originals?) tomorrow at
Reggie's! Of course, Reggie's re-opened on Tuesday after a year-long
closure and the sale of the nightclub from Reggie Daigle to Randy
Lapossie, and while a lot of the old accoutrements and menu will remain
the same, how much will be freshened up in this new era? Also, is this
show the first sign of a live music slate there that isn't dedicated to
country cover bands (Soundcheck aside), or are Fort Creek more
country-leaning than past teasers let on?
An 8:00 PM
start time is advertised for this 19+ show, there is no announced cover
charge, and while social distancing measures aren't elaborated on in
promotional materials, wear your mask (Fort Creek are even selling official band masks for $10), and use common sense.
Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a
preview, here's one of Fort Creek's few public videos with a full band
performance, namely a snippet of the guys covering Lynyrd Skynyrd last
fall! Trust me, the band is playing off camera.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
