LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), A New Din Video, And Much More!!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, let's get a new news post up on the SMS on this Monday afternoon! Below, you'll find some assorted recent updates, a new concert video, and a nice archival discovery, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play a special Valentine's Day matinee concert TOMORROW at Gliss Steak & Seafood! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced on Thursday night via it's Facebook event page. This is unusual for Tym's long-term arrangement at The Quality Inn's house restaurant, as it's not on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and Tym didn't play February 14th last year, but his unplugged covers and classics should provide a nice soundtrack for attendees TOMORROW, and given the Valentine's Day theme, can we expect a higher amount of romance songs and/or ballads? Despite the seasonal theme, this show is otherwise formatted similarly to his regular Gliss dates (he'll be back there on FRIDAY & SATURDAY), so expect no cover charge, a 6:00 PM start time, and no age limit, but again, this is a sit-down restaurant. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!



Next up, here's another new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din's YouTube channel, also from their LopLops Lounge headlining show last month! No word yet on the rest of the extensive footage that The Din have teased, but this video is of their newer original "High Park", which sounds good and lively, but I'm still not a fan of the "ooooooh" choruses (they still feel like a placeholder for lyrics not yet written.) Well filmed and performed as usual, so give The Din's newest video a look below!

Also today, here's a surprise find from a crawl of old Angelfire pages with local music ties: The website for former local punk concert promoters Friendly Giant Productions! Ran by David Hugill, F.G.P. was active primarily in 1999 & 2000, making this one of the oldest surviving local music pages that I've ever seen. Their website notes that Friendly Giant promoted shows at the turn of the millennium with bands like Bankshot, Choke, The Mad Caddies, SNFU, and Strung Out (among others), with the July 2000 show featuring AFI, Choke, and AlgomA predecessors BeefFMoutH at Club Princess being their final listed concert there. At the label's peak, they had their own affiliated radio show on WLSO 90.1 FM at Lake State too, which would have been interesting to hear at the time! Surviving links on the Angelfire page include news updates for shows and planned events in early-mid 2000, photos from Oddfellows Hall concerts, tons of links and touring band write-ups, select concert flyers, and even the remnants of a dating service(?!)

Friendly Giant Productions predates the Sault Metal Scene's launch by 8 or so years, but this is a nice time capsule of the scene as it was 17 years ago, back when The Knights of Columbus Hall and Club Princess were viable and frequent sights for punk concerts, and back when AFI still played punk! David Hugill has since moved on to bigger and better things out of town as a researcher and journalist, but if you recall his days in local concert promotion, this will be a fun flashback, so check out more from Friendly Giant Productions at the above links, and they're now linked on the SMS!

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

• Local rap/metal project The Apocalypse Afterparty are holding a contest where you could win $50 or the first release USB drive copy of their debut EP "Bufflesnort", but what's involved?  To enter, you must invite Facebook friends to like the band, and with the band able to tell who invited whom, the person that invites the most new fans will either desired prize (the money can be available as an e-mail transfer too.) No word yet on when to expect the actual paid release of "Bufflesnort", but if you want the EP (or $50), click "Invite Friends to Like this Page" above!
• Sudbury-based promoters CS International Ontario are planning a "big concert announcement" this coming Sunday for a concert on March 30th at The Machine Shop at Mill Square. There are teases on the Facebook event page that this will feature a "rock and roll" headliner, and while there are no bigger hints that yet, Din frontman Mike Haggith seems optimistic in postings, for what that's worth. If this show indeed fits for SMS coverage, we'll let you know, but see above to check if you can decipher any clues beforehand!
• Local musician Jason Morbin is looking for a bassist for his new local band project, who play "a lot of rock" with "some blues & punk influence", and aspire to play covers & originals on stage. For what it's worth, Jason had been linked to a band project last year where the bassist would have been ex-Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie, but it's not clear if this is the same intended band. If you're interested in trying out, message Jason at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bay Mills Bands Together), A New Band Discovery, And New Videos!!

On this mild Saturday, let's keep our relatively busy streak at the SMS rolling with a new news post! Below, you will find some new videos from Sault Ontario artists, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from the Sault Michigan area, but first, here's a new defunct band to add to our band links!

We have a newly found local punk band to add to our inactive band links, and they are a short lived all-female punk/emo band from 2005 named Murder By Romance! Launched that July, the band featured Aisha Day on lead vocals alongside singer/guitarist Brianne Fournier, and keyboardist Katie Niskanen (I believe), while an earlier post on Brianne's personal Tripod page indicated that a guitarist named Misty (full identity unclear) was a later addition on lead guitar. At last word, Murder By Romance was a work in progress, without a firmly established bassist or drummer, but a search for them was underway. The band's Tripod page features some basic biography & contact information from that time, and an extensive potential setlist suggested by a friend of the band, which indicates that bands from AFI & Avenged Sevenfold to Weezer and Yellowcard were possible to be covered in concert.

Aside from Aisha's past work as a concert promoter, I can't place anyone from Murder By Romance in a musical context, so I can't comment on how they sounded, especially with no posted media or reference to live gigs. That said, the prospect of an all-female punk/emo band is definitely intriguing, and would have been very unique in the mid-2000s local punk scene had they played live, much like Apocrytha were around the same time. Check the above links for more on Murder By Romance!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as a second Bay Mills Bands Together fundraiser will be held on Sunday, February 25th at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley, Michigan! Nine months removed from the non-profit group's debut concert at the same venue in support of Marissa Kronemeyer, a number of local bands will unite to help raise funds for Liz & Christian Perron, who recently lost their son Wesley after a long medical fight, which you can read up on at this link if you're not familiar with their story. This concert is designed to help raise funds for the Perrons to help cover medical expenses, and bands are donating their time to the cause, which is awesome of all of them! On the SMS-covered front, this show will feature four returning bands from last year, including local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 and the first 2017 date from masked metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution, while female-fronted cover rockers The Whole Shabang are the advertised headliners, and solo artist Ken Jahnke will also return.

New performers on the 25th will include local rock cover trio Absolute Magnitude (featuring Broke on Sunday & Oddfellow alumni), country rockers The Brooks Band, and a mysterious band named The Lost Dogs, whom we'll have info on if found. Bay Mills Bands Together II has a 6:00 PM start time, $5 minimum entrance fee (you can donate more if you want), while there will be tickets on sale for door prizes & a 50/50 draw.  It's great to see another fundraiser concert of this scale at Pickles, so click here for more details, keep the Perrons in your thoughts, and Bay Mills Bands Together is finally in our Other Local Metal Links!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new live concert video posted to Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock trio The Din's YouTube channel on Thursday! This comes from their headlining show at LopLops Lounge two weeks ago, and it's of their original song "The Rose", which kicked off their set that night. The stationary camera footage is nice and close, and while it sounds largely good with nice & clear vocals from Mike Haggith, I will note that Tammy Hill's guitar work is fairly quiet until her guitar solo. The Din teased that they have much more footage from this show to post or share in the near future, so stay tuned, and give "The Rose" a look below!

Finally, here's a new solo cover video from Stegadeth guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! Uploaded there yesterday, this is a cover of Bad Religion's "Sinister Rouge", and while it is visibly well performed, the audio quality is once again an issue, with the loud backing track coming out very scratchy, and it can be hard to make out Tiffany's part. Still well done, so give it a look below, and keep watch for more from her & Stegadeth!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Moss & Neno Jovanovic

Here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, as we're once again looking at 1-2 defunct or inactive local bands (2 this month) that we randomly selected for a look back at their run, accomplishments, and material in the current day! This month's selected acts come from both sides of the border, including one band with a lengthy run and a talented solo artist we haven't heard much from lately, so here's what you need to know for each profile! (Updated on February 11th at 9:26 AM)
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Moss

Genre: Hard Rock

Hometown: Eckerman/Strongs, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics)

David Owen Mills (Life's Eclipse), vocals/ex-bass
Jason Mills (Life's Eclipse, Swampghas), guitar
Nicholas Kabelman, guitar
Terry Carrick, bass
Robert Kabelman, drums
Jason "Ogre" McConnell, bass

Info/Analysis: Moss were a Sault Michigan-area hard rock band that were originally active from 1995-2005, before reuniting under the Werehold Records banner from 2012-2015. Surviving information on their original run is in short supply nowadays, but Moss recorded a handful of demos and cited influences as diverse as Pantera and The Beatles at the time. After ending their 7 year breakup, Moss began work on a planned new EP, and saw four new songs posted to Werehold's YouTube channel (3 for their Friday the 13th music events), but have not issued a new public update in almost 2 years. The band's now-deleted songs with vocals (like "Undefeated") had a solid hardcore punk vibe, but their recent instrumentals had a nice mainstream hard rock groove with quality guitar riffs. Check out Moss' newest song "The Bright Lights Of Anywhere" below, and don't miss the Mills brothers in Life's Eclipse!


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Neno Jovanovic

Genre: Metal/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Neno Jovanovic, all instruments

Info/Analysis: Previously performing under the project name Metallurgy, local guitarist Neno Jovanovic manned his own solo project from 2009-2012, primarily posting original demos and covers to both his Reverbnation page and his YouTube channel, though all solo performances have since been deleted from the latter for unannounced reasons. It's a shame that Neno hasn't been musically active lately, as he was a talented guitarist with a good ear for original metal compositions and solid covers of everyone from Rob Zombie to The Police(?!), though playing alongside the original track at that volume can mask his contributions. As seen on tracks like the death metal number "Cryogenic Freezer Department" (which you can hear below), Neno has some harsh vocal ability too, albeit underutilized on posted files. Most of his surviving clips are under 3 minutes long and/or visibly incomplete, but give his entertaining tracks a listen above, and hopefully Neno returns to music at some point!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Next month in this series, we have randomly chosen mid-2000s local punk band Mayadevi (featuring Ashoka At The Show, Shit Liver, and Undead Warriors alumni) for our next defunct profile, which should be an interesting installment, so look for that on or around March 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stiffler's Mom, Tym Morrison, And Souncheck), Plus More Updates!!

Before we kick off this weekend's concert previews (plus some assorted recent news), I wanted to note that, yes, Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rockers Banned are playing a rare concert in Newberry on Saturday at Zellar's Village Inn, but Newberry actually falls outside of our coverage range (it's 77 minutes from here, we stop at one hour from the Soo.) If you're out in Luce County though, consider going to see them this weekend! Now, let's kick off our previews, largely comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Newer local classic/hard rock cover trio Soundcheck will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via it's Facebook event page earlier this week, and remember that the former Nameus still don't have an online page of any kind. Just a week removed from their most recent gigs at The Rednecks Saloon, this Mourning Wood side project has slowly been gaining steam with their 1980s-centric covers since debuting late last year, and their return to The Rockstar Bar should provide more fun covers TOMORROW NIGHT! No word on if they're not playing Saturday because of a scheduling conflict, or they're filling in due to one, but we'll touch on Saturday's show in a second. As usual for Soundcheck's Rockstar Bar stops, expect a 10:30 PM start time, no cover, and a 19+ age limit. Check the above links for more details, and again, hopefully videos turn up at some point!

Next up, we'll break up the late notice Rockstar shows with the latest from prolific local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison, who will add to his regular Gliss Steak & Seafood shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY with a return to The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey at 476 Queen Street East THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced the Barrelhouse show via it's Facebook event page on Tuesday. While this is Tym's second straight Saturday nighter at the former Embers Grill location, he told me in a personal Facebook conversation that he's filling in for a performer that couldn't play on SATURDAY, hence the sudden re-booking (if there's a possible weekly run there in the works, it hasn't been 100% acknowledged.) This show joins his regular weekly matinees at Gliss, which continue with his recent redaction to Fridays & Saturdays only, so if you're up for an earlier or later blast of acoustic hard rock covers, you have three options!

Tym's shows at Gliss are both 6:00 PM shows with no announced age limit, while SATURDAY NIGHT'S Barrelhouse show is at 10:30 PM and is presumably 19+, and though none have an announced cover charge, remember that both venues are sit-down restaurants first. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live a fee years back!



Finally for weekend concert previews, here's who's playing at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, namely local party hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom! Once again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced earlier this week via it's own Facebook event page. We last saw Stiffler's Mom a month ago when they filled in for Bone Yard at the same venue, and their fan favourite covers should again provide an entertaining backdrop at The Rockstar Bar on SATURDAY, so don't miss Greg, Mike, and Jon then! Again, no word on whether they couldn't play Friday, or if Soundcheck wouldn't have been available for night #2. As usual for Stiffler's Mom's frequent Rockstar stops, SATURDAY NIGHT's concert is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge and a likely 10:30 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live!



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

• A local musician named Dave Giulietti is looking for a drummer for his new band project that would play funk and rap rock with some blues, citing bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine as influences. If you or someone you know are interested in trying out, message Dave at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Friday!
• We surprisingly haven't acknowledged this on the site before, but inactive local progressive metal band Gates of Winter shared a 29 second sample of a new original named "Eta Carinae" to their Soundcloud page in January 2015! It sounds like the opening of the song (named after a star system), and is suitably heavy and orchestral, but there has been no follow-through there, and it's never been acknowledged on their Facebook page. Very promising, and hopefully the full version (and "Perihelion") will be heard at some point down the road!
• On March 4th, local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota will join forces with Pixo Control alum Mike Mikus and folk musician/promoter Jackson Reed for a Fishbowl Festival-featured concert, but it will not be at The Gore Street Cafe due to DJ Seith's ReFind show that night. While the concert is publically announced (here's the Facebook event page), it will instead be a "garage show" of which the address must be requested in private messages, though the description hints that it may be in Garden River. Intriguing, so see the above links for details! As the address is not public, we can't include it in our concert listings.

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

Notes From Two Progressive Metal Bands, Plus New Videos!!

On this Wednesday morning, we have some recent news to touch on, including a newer local metal band's latest updates, and two new video postings from a pair of metal trios, and to lead off, an acknowledgement of the status of a major band that we haven't heard much from in months. Here's what you should know!

First up, I wanted to note a band that we have to move to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, that being local progressive death metal band Gates of Winter. This is a reluctant move, given how the band has been working on their third CD "Perihelion" since 2010, and they have acknowledged the slow recording process before (not helped by surviving band members now living in separate provinces), but they have not posted anything publically since their latest Facebook page update on January 4th of last year, and just twice there since 2014. After becoming one of the biggest local metal bands in the Soo in the mid-late 2000s (last playing live in November 2008), Gates of Winter went on hiatus the following year, re-emerging as a studio project in 2010 to work on "Perihelion", whose teasers have continually showcased a more technical, brutal, and progressive sound than we had previously seen, but updates have increasingly came further and further apart over time.

Gates of Winter were the first headlining local band that I ever saw live in concert, and continually a personal favourite since then, and while their slow updates in the mid-2010s have been disappointing, I know that personal lives and relocation haven't helped things go any faster towards "Perihelion" or a future return to the stage. That said, given the nature of the band as it currently stands, they could re-emerge with a big update at any moment, but as they've been publically silent for a year, I have to move them from our active links for now. Hopefully we hear from Lee, Bryan, and Steve again soon, they have been missed!

Next up, here's a pair of new videos, starting with a teaser from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, as posted to their Facebook page on Monday! Following a busy run of tour dates and Southern Ontario gigs in mid-late 2016, this teaser strongly implies that they either have begun or are soon commencing work on their second CD, as the 20 second video silently focuses on a camera panning to singer/drummer Matt Baic just before he hits the drums, then ending with the Roman numeral II. If we're reading the hint correctly, than fans of Shit Liver will surely be anticipating a sophomore effort in 2017, but see for yourself below!



Also newly posted is a new jam session clip from local death/thrash metal trio Pillory! Posted to drummer Bret Shuttleworth's new YouTube channel on Saturday, this is of Pillory (visibly sans bassist Jordan Leach) playing a newer original named "Specimen of Egotism", and no, it has not been posted to the band's Facebook page as of this writing. Filmed by an uncredited attendee, the song sounds good considering the lack of bass, but unfortunately, the video is tinted in pink & purple, which just looks bizarre given the music being played. If you can look past the colour choice, then look for a promising early look at this new Pillory song, which you can check out below!



Finally, here's the latest from newer local progressive metal project Kraken Mara, who have launched their own Wix website in recent months! Though the band hasn't posted on their Facebook page in recent months, this website gives us our latest updates on this band, so what should you know now? Firstly, the band appears to have parted ways with bassist Benn Garside, as he's not listed as a band member (anymore?) on the Wix page. A reason for his departure hasn't been announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, as he and lead guitarist Brendan Christie have had a lot of successes together dating back to the Late & Loud days, and hopefully we see Benn in a new band soon! Brendan is now currently listed as playing bass for Kraken Mara, but if they announce a new bassist or search for one, we'll let you know. The page itself is still a work in progress, with many links being empty so far, and the only recent "new" posts relate to Brendan's use and endorsement of Halo Guitars.

However, the page looks professional and well designed, and should serve Kraken Mara well if maintained! As for media, there is one new demo instrumental posted there entitled "Ishka" (you may have heard it's intro on Reverbnation already), and it continues Kraken Mara's promising djent-heavy trajectory, with strong and proficient riffs and structures on display! Hopefully we hear much more from Brendan and Jake in 2017, so check out more from them at the above links, and stay tuned for more news and concert previews shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who, Peril, And Scarkazm), And More Recent News!!

On this Super Bowl Sunday, let's get a new news post up early so that everyone can focus on the game! Below, you'll find some assorted shorter stories, but mostly LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on each side of the border, so here's what you need to know!

Let's begin with the remainder of the new hard rock concert announcements from Kewadin Casino's newly updated entertainment pages (linked here & here), let's start with Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril, who have a reasonably busy slate of shows planned for 2017 at both of the regional concert-hosting Kewadin branches! Jeff, Adam, and Brooks will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace on April 7th & 8th, May 26th & 27th, August 11th & 12th, and October 13th & 14th, while they'll also return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 14th & 15th, September 15th & 16th, and November 17th & 18th. These shows don't include previously advertised gigs on March & June, which we'll elaborate on in a bit, while the Soo shows this summer will mark their first at The Rapids Lounge since September.

Peril's entertaining hard rock and metal covers should continue to find an audience all year at the Soo & St. Ignace's Kewadin lounges, and it's great to see them playing a little more frequently in the new year, so don't miss out on these new shows, or their already announced June gigs! All are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. See the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more details!

Next up, let's take a detour to Sault Ontario for the long awaited return of Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who to The Rockstar Bar on Friday, April 7th! Just for clarification, this is not the same AC/DC tribute band that were forced to drop out or postpone Rockstar Bar shows twice last year, that was Hells Bells, so if you're feeling wary about buying tickets after last year, don't worry, it's not the same band (though hopefully Hells Bells can finally come back to the Soo at some point!) Who Made Who have played here a bunch of times in the past, but not since November 2014, so it'll be nice to get Who Made Who's faithful sounding and looking blend of high voltage rock & roll back on a local stage again in April! This 19+ concert will have doors opening at 9:00 PM on April 7th, and advance tickets are on sale for $10 at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, though no word on if the price will jump at the door (2014's show here had a $14 door charge.) Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and if you love AC/DC or missed this tribute, don't miss Who Made Who this spring!

Also, let's wrap up the new Kewadin Casino concerts with Peril's sister band, Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm, who also have a number of shows scheduled for this year at both branches! In terms of The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan, the casino's entertainment pages have Scarkazm (misspelled there as Scarcasm) returning there on April 21st & 22nd, August 25th & 26th, and October 20th & 21st, while they're scheduled to rock The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on May 5th & 6th, July 28th & 29th, September 29th & 30th, and December 15th & 16th! However, there are some inconsistencies between Kewadin's schedules and Peril/Scarkazm's own advertising. As per this photo's comment reply, Scarkazm noted Soo gigs on May 21st & 22nd in the Soo, which are actually on a Sunday & Monday, so it looks like the band mistakenly credited their April gigs as being a month later. Also, that picture and their early 2017 concert calendar lists the March 10th-11th St. Ignace and June 16th-17th Sault weekends as being Peril gigs, where Kewadin's entertainment page says those are Scarkazm gigs.

Who's right here? I believe the latter are now Scarkazm shows, as Peril didn't appear 100% certain about the date for them when they gave it, but given that the March weekend is on an official Peril concert calendar, I'll leave that weekend alone unless they/Scarkazm confirm otherwise. In any event, Scarkazm will be welcomed back to the E.U.P. this year, and it's encouraging to see them playing in Sault Ste. Marie much more than recently usual! Again, these are 9:00 PM shows with no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for potential clarification on those March and June weekends!

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

• Last month, in their first Facebook page posting since April, Sault Ontario experimental hard rock solo project The Coyote Speedfreaks (led by The Autumn Roots' Chase Wigmore) noted  that while he considered the project "a series of albums under a unifying name" moreso than a band, "recent developments" may lead to him making a live band that plays some of their material. That would be cool to see, Chase has been missed in the metal and hard rock scene, so stay tuned in case there are updates!
• This is somewhat old news now, but music/video retail chain HMV is going out of business, with all locations (including the store at The Station Mall) liquidating stock, and all must be closed by the end of April, while extant gift cards can be used until the end of this month. You can read about the receivership and overall chain struggles leading to this news on major news outlets, but this is very disappointing for music fans, as this was always a prime stop at the mall to get new CDs, movies, and gifts, and it was the same when the spot was Music World prior. HMV will be missed, but take in the sales while you can, which are currently up to 30% off!
• We have moved Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie's Sorrow Fields solo project to our inactive band links, as that project hasn't posted a public update in well over a year (not helped by the deletion of their most recent Facebook page prior to that.) Previously known as Animas, April Eyes, and By the Gods, The Sorrow Fields had long been working on a pair of different studio albums, but what was posted was later taken down, and the albums haven't had any form of recent follow-through. Hopefully Mitch revisits his solo work again down the road, there was a lot of promise there!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned, 415E, And Project 906), And More On New Kewadin Casino Concerts!!

Today's post is entirely devoted to new concert announcements from both of the regional Kewadin Casino branches with regular weekly concerts, as their entertainment pages have finally been updated to reflect 2017 concerts in both Sault Michigan and St. Ignace's lounges! To go along with last year's website layout overhaul, the entertainment pages (here & here) are now completely separate from each other, and have new URLs, so we have updated them and added both to our "Other Local Metal Links". The new show announcements stretch until December of this year, and it's worth noting that 40 (perhaps 42) of the 66 listed weekends are from bands who are based outside of the E.U.P., though whether you chalk this up to Kewadin attracting bigger touring names or a decline in live local band availability is up for debate. For reference sake, some of the unfamiliar touring bands include Trowbridge classic rock trio Playin' Jax, Lansing classic rock band The Showdown, Traverse City dance rockers Risque, and Columbus, Ohio R&B outfit NuCorp.

Also among the out of town bands is Reality Bites, a new 1990s-themed rock cover band from Marquette featuring Nudge alumni Danzo McCracken & Scott Kusmirek, who are scheduled only at the St. Ignace Kewadin. It's great to see Danzo & Scott playing out east again (they've already been back at The Satisfied Frog too), but their sound descriptions point to more of a general & varied 1990s tribute with only select hard rock songs from the decade. A band named Stuck In Reverse is also advertised for two Kewadin weekends in 2017, and while this Facebook page might be theirs, we don't know anything on them, their hometown, or their specific sound otherwise.

We will tackle new Kewadin gigs from Jeff Hudson & Adam Crawford's two Traverse City hard rock bands (Peril & Scarkazm) in our next news post, given that we've previously covered their announced shows through March, but let's now get into new shows from three regional hard rock bands! First up, we'll see Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E back under the Kewadin umbrella for shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 24th & 25th and on May 26th & 27th, while they'll be back at The Northern Pines Lounge at St. Ignace's Kewadin Shores Casino on March 17th & 18th, then on June 2nd & 3rd! The St. Ignace shows will mark the former Hubbard-Menard Band's first there since playing consecutive weekends a month ago (apologies for missing that their December 30th show was all acoustic), while they haven't been seen at the Sault Kewadin since September. If you've missed them in recent months, here's your early-2017 schedule!

As usual for Kewadin Casino's lounge concerts, expect 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges for these four weekends, and while there's nothing announced beyond June, note that there are open weekends on Kewadin's schedules that could end up going to 415E for all we know. It's great to see 415E back for more concerts in this new years, especially in the Soo, which they definitely haven't played at as much as St. Ignace, so check the above links for more on these shows!

Also newly confirmed for 2017's Kewadin Casino schedules are a pair of Rapids Lounge gigs in the Soo from Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned, who will be back there on March 10th & 11th, and then on May 5th & 6th! At press time, this is it for Banned's upcoming dates at either Kewadin branch, with nothing scheduled in St. Ignace at press time. Alex, Wayne, and Don are no strangers to The Rapids Lounge, as fans who saw them at this week's four-nights-in-five run for the I-500 week will attest, and I'm sure Banned will be up to their usual tricks when they return there in the spring! Like with the above 415E concerts, these will also be 21+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more show announcements elsewhere from Banned!

Finally for today's concert announcements, local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 are advertised to return to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan themselves on March 31st & April 1st, and then on May 19th & 20th! A relatively new sight for Kewadin Casino concerts, Project 906 only just debuted at The Rapids Lounge last month, and they just played St. Ignace for the first time this past weekend, so now we can tackle their next Kewadin stops with some advance notice. Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Will have became a fan favourite sight at concerts in the E.U.P. in the past year, and it'll be interesting to see how 2017 shapes up in the 906 camp, especially in regards to their relatively new run at Kewadin Casino branches! Like with Banned, they aren't currently advertised for any upcoming St. Ignace weekends. Again, expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover, and 21+ age limits, so be sure to check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for updates from Project 906!

And just for clarification's sake, all of the listed Highway 63 gigs on Kewadin's calendars are already in our listings, with no brand new additions, but for one reason or another, the casino doesn't list the post-June gigs that Highway 63 previously announced. If they are off, we'll let you know, but we'll treat them as on unless otherwise stated. That's all for today, but stay tuned for details on Peril & Scarkazm's post-March gigs at the Kewadin Casinos next, and more! Thanks everyone!