LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned) & Much More Recent Updates!!

Finally, we have a new news post today, and I apologize for the recent lack of updates, which is due to a combination of slow news in general, and my computer being in the shop for repairs (good thing I have a spare at hand!) Today, we have upcoming concert lineup additions, a lot of updates from a rising Sault Michigan band, and more, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month across the river!

Kinross hard/classic rock trio Banned will return to the regional stage for a show at The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel, Michigan on Friday, February 14th! As announced on their Facebook page last night, these will not be their first shows of 2014, as they'll actually be playing a date in Gould City on February 8th, but that's out of our coverage range, so if you live near there, head to the Michihistrigan Bar that night! Last seen in Hessel three months ago, Banned should be back to their usual prolific schedule next month after apparently taking January off, so keep their Hessel return in mind for a night full of originals and diverse covers! There's no announced cover charge for the 14th, you must be 21 to attend, and a start time of 9:00 PM is in effect. For more details, visit the above links, and stay tuned for more updates from the Banned camp!

Next up, here's some lineup additions for two notable upcoming metal concerts, both concerning punk bands we haven't seen lately. One is local veteran punk trio Redundant, who've been named as the final opening band for Late & Loud's one-off reunion show at The Rockstar Bar on February 21st, which will end a 6 month hiatus from the stage! At least partially related to drummer Rick White's recovery from a broken eye socket suffered last fall, it's great to see the guys back at it next month, and hopefully this is just the start of a big year for these talented punk rockers! The other addition is to the Skynet/Chronobot show at 180 Projects on March 16th, as fellow Sault Ontario punk trio The Northern Tragedy will play (as of today) their first show of 2014 as the final opening band that night! Last seen in October (conveniently also at 180 Projects), this rising young band released a demo last fall, and hopefully they build new momentum this year and give this metal show a punk flavour! Stay tuned for updates on each show as they come in!

Also today, here's the latest from Sault Michigan metal band The Eleventh Hour, who actually just changed their name yesterday to One Hour Till Dawn. A reason for the name change was not announced, but they had experimented with a name change last spring as well, so this isn't completely unexpected. Along with the new moniker, the band has had recent lineup changes, including adding Joseph Farrish as their new bassist (replacing the departed Alex Boyer) and parting ways with clean singer Zach Howe, who still lives out of town. I'm not familiar with Joseph musically, but hopefully everything works out well for the new lineup where earlier incarnations fell short! Finally for recent changes, One Hour Till Dawn unveiled a new cover setlist on their Facebook page that will see them play songs from everyone from Black Sabbath to Paramore, with new genre indications pointing to a punk/metalcore focus. Hopefully the new lineup and name serve them well so we can finally see the guys live, and stay tuned for more from One Hour Till Dawn as it comes in!

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

• Punch bandmates Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton are looking for a bassist & drummer to complete a new project that they're working on that would cover a mixture of classic rock artists, including heavier acts like Kiss & Van Halen down to bands like Foreigner & ZZ Top. If you're interested in trying out, message Curt via his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from last week!
• On Friday, Curt & Dan's former Haggith bandmate Mike Haggith updated fans to the status of his next solo album "A Place Of Our Own" on his Facebook page, where he confirmed that half of the instrumental tracking is now complete, recording is on schedule, and a release next month is still in the cards. Great to hear, so follow the updates on his new album above!
• Advance tickets for the all ages TheKillingField/Buried Out Back show at The Oddfellows Hall are now available through members of Pillory & Crucify The Whore, so message members or contact them at the Facebook event page linked above! Remember, tickets are $10 in advance and $13 at the door, so consider getting a ticket early to save $3, and stay tuned for updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll TOMORROW! Remember, the delay from the 18th was due to the poll accidentally being set to allow multiple votes at first, so we bumped the end date up to make up lost ground. Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Heavier Concert Previews, Including Bret Michaels!!

Today's post is 100% devoted to previews of this weekend's hard rock & metal shows, though of course, any with a late/short notice will be covered if possible in the next couple days. This weekend also features a major Kewadin Casino show for you Hair Scare fans, but let's begin in rough chronological order with shows you should take note of in Sault Ontario!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will continue his current weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT for another evening of unplugged classics! Though unannounced on Facebook from what I can tell, his website's calendar confirms that Tym will be back at the former Madison's Pub for an seventh straight Friday night acoustic event tomorrow, and if you're familiar with Tym's talent and extensive setlist, you should enjoy his latest solo show tomorrow night! Remember, Tym's Harp dates double as open mic events too, so keep that angle in mind. Like his past 6 gigs in his current Harp stint, Tym should be on at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, check the above links! Tym's diverse hard rock and metal covers should get another solid response tomorrow, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Heart at The Service Grill!

Next up on the heavier weekend concert schedule, local hard/classic rock quintet The Thrill Junkies will make their first live appearances of 2014 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they return to The Roosevelt Hotel! Last seen at The Rosie almost two months ago, the Turner Up successors will be the second act for at least tomorrow's entertainment at this Korah Road venue, as local classic rock veterans Highway 17 are playing a matinee set tomorrow afternoon, so keep that in mind. The Thrill Junkies have been thrilling fans constantly since their local debut last fall, and their return to The Rosie should continue the trend, so if you're up for some entertaining hard rock, head down to the West End this weekend! There should be no cover charge for these 19+ events, and both Friday and Saturday night will kick off at 10:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's The Thrill Junkies live at Toystock last month!

Moving to some out of town hard rock action to close today's post, prolific local musician (and former Lion Ride frontman) Mikey Hawdon will bring his Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Merves back home TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, continuing their annual trend of playing a Soo date in January, but there's an added hard rock wrinkle. While they still cover Ramones songs that all you punk fans should enjoy, they added singer Amy Zuccheto to their lineup last year, and began dividing their setlist to cover Ramones and Joan Jett songs in equal measure, so they'll have a lot of hard rocking Blackhearts & Runaways songs to play tomorrow as well! The Merves will be on at 10:30 PM tomorrow night, there's a likely $5 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I haven't heard a lot of The Merves doing Joan Jett, but Amy's a talented singer, and the guys all rock out well on Ramones songs, so don't miss The Merves' new half-sound tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's their original lineup covering "Judy Is A Punk"!

Finally for the known heavier concerts today is the first major hard rock show of 2014 at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as Poison frontman and reality TV personality Bret Michaels will play his (at least) fifth local concert date THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen locally almost two years ago in December 2011, Bret's proven to be a local favourite with his mix of Poison classics like "Talk Dirty To Me" and newer diverse original songs, and with his new collaborative CD "Jammin' With Friends" still on sale, he's bound to have lots of quality and memorable tunes to rock his Saultite fans with on Saturday! Opening for Bret are North Carolina glam rock notables FireHouse, who will finally open for Bret almost six years after dropping out of his March 2008 show due to singer C.J. Snare's wife going into labour. Though we saw them open for Skid Row at Kewadin the following year, we're finally getting the original 2008 package, so don't be late for FireHouse's hits like "Don't Treat Me Bad" either!

Tickets for this stop on Bret Michaels' "Life Rocks Tour" have went fast, with only 7 seats (from the 9th row and back) and 100 or so standing room tickets remaining as of this writing, but if you don't have a ticket yet, buy yours A.S.A.P. at this link, 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office before it's too late! The show has a 7:00 PM, it is ALL AGES, and check the above links for more details! Bret Michaels & Firehouse (and Poison) have a lot of local fans, and Bret's held up well over the years if his successful past local dates are any indiciation, so don't miss it THIS SATURDAY, we'll have fallout as it comes in, and for a preview, here's Bret live in the Soo in 2011!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as soon as we have it! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Late & Loud, The Suicide Kings, And Skynet) And More!!

On this Wednesday afternoon, we have a stacked news post featuring some very notable LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS over the next three months, along with some more recent news items, so read on below for what you need to know!

Local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings will play their first live dates of 2014 when they headline at The Roosevelt Hotel next weekend on Friday, January 24th & Saturday, January 25th! These will be the Rockstar Bar Battle winners' first shows since playing at Heavy Winter at The Rosie on Boxing Day, and their first solo appearances there in 8 months, so if you haven't caught their entertaining hard rock originals and covers lately, you know where to be next weekend! Dates for The Suicide Kings haven't been as plentiful since the summer, but hopefully next weekend's shows are just the first of many for Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben in 2014! There's no announced cover charge for either night, you must be 19 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more updates from The Suicide Kings' camp as they come in!

Next up, defunct local classic metal quartet Late & Loud are indeed reuniting! The Sault Humane Society Battle winners will return for a ONE NIGHT ONLY concert on Friday, February 21st at The Rockstar Bar, where we last saw them 9 months ago at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar Battle, and this news is bound to get Loudmouths excited! Late & Loud were always a blast in concert thanks to their high energy originals and old school attitude, so don't bypass their reunion gig next month! Remember though, this is a one-off reunion, as singer/guitarist Jon Tiberi still lives & works out of town, but it will be nice to see them back on a local stage! Local all-female hard rock quintet The Danger Cats will open in their first show at The Algonquin's upstairs bar (and as of right now, their 2014 debut), and they should fit in nicely with the Late & Loud reunion next month! At least one more band is to be announced, and we'll keep you posted as we hear more.

Promoted by J.D. Pearce, this show has a 10:00 PM start time, $5 cover, and 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great concert, especially to give fans at least one more chance to see Late & Loud live, and hopefully they come fully prepared to rock The Rockstar Bar next month, so don't miss it, and keep an eye out for updates!

Finally for new concert announcements, an intriguing package of metal bands will hit 180 Projects on Gore Street for that venue's first metal show of the new year on Sunday, March 16th, courtesy of Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions. The headlining band is Hamilton groove/djent metal quartet Skynet (featuring Straight Reads The Line alumni Adrian Levasseur & Blake Prince), so there's some familiarity if you saw that band locally! You may also remember Skynet from briefly being advertised to headline the Locals Attack show at The Canadian in November 2012, and it's about time we finally get their brutal hardcore metal sound in the Soo! Joining them in March are Saskatchewan stoner/doom metal quartet Chronobot, who have a unique spacey sound that should set them apart for this concert, so check them out and see what you think! Local doom metal trio AlgomA will open in their first show of the new year (and first public announced date since August), and it will be great to see them live again after a way too scattered recent schedule, so be prepared for their sludgy attack!

At least one more band is to be announced, and we'll let you guys know when we hear more. Admission is $5 for this ALL AGES concert, and given that, there's an earlier start time of 7:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Despite being a Sunday nighter, there's a very interesting (and heavy) blend of metal genres in effect for this concert, so definitely consider swinging by 180 Projects on March 16th to check everything out, and stay tuned for updates!

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

• A new melodic death metal instrumental with the interesting name "100% of the Pie Chart That Is a Wheel of Options" was posted onto local metal solo project The Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe's Soundcloud page last week, and it lives up to Matt Parr's earlier technical metal promise (really catchy too), so check it out above!
• The call is out from the Bon Soo Winter Carnival to get performers for their second annual Marquee, their outdoor showcase of local artists from all fields at their winter playground area from February 8th-16th. Though last year's event had no full "heavier" bands, defunct local rockers Lazer Queen (featuring Late & Loud members) did play at The Marquee, so maybe your band will fit! For more information, visit this link, and submit an entry to snow@bonsoo.on.ca if you want to play at The Marquee next month!
• Returning local thrash quartet Pillory have been named the final local openers for Anvil & Caym at The Canadian Nightclub on March 15th, joining Jack Spades & Project 421, and returning Pillory to the site of their debut show in November 2012. Awesome news, and very unexpected, so hopefully they thrash hard in March, and don't miss their first return gig next Friday at The Oddfellows Hall! Click here for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews either today or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Pillory - "Cringe At The Cross" EP Review!!

With news coming slowly right now, it's a great time to post our 55th monthly CD review at the SMS (and first of 2014), as we're looking at local thrash metal band Pillory's debut demo EP "Cringe At The Cross" today! Independently released on December 19th in honour of the one year anniversary of founding guitarist Andres Duchesne's passing, the disc was recorded locally last year at Shez Studios, with production by Pillory and their Issues bandmate Chris "Mullet Studborne" Shelbourne. "Cringe At The Cross" features founding & current Pillory members Robert Sartini on vocals, guitar, and bass, and Bret Shuttleworth on drums, with no other past or present band members featured. Copies of Pillory's EP can be bought for $5 via band members or presumably at their upcoming concerts, and you can also stream the entire disc for free at Robert's personal YouTube channel (each song title is linked below to it's YouTube version), but support the band by buying it Featuring 31 minutes of music in just 5 songs, let's begin the review with the first song!

The EP begins with "Fatal Woods", an almost 8 minute long track that opens and closes with quotes from the movie "Friday The 13th" before actually beginning with a slower building intro with nice melodic guitar and solid drumming for two minutes. The song unleashes into thrash metal fury with very cool guitar soloing from Robert, and it might be worth noting that compared to their only full concert to date (in November 2012), Robert's vocals are much harsher, aggressive, and higher pitched, perhaps taking influence from Chuck Schuldiner, or his other band Crimson Crusade? The instrumentation on this song is well done and melodic while retaining a metal bite, and despite the length, it never feels like it's dragging on for too long, but something doesn't feel full about the sound when there's no vocals, almost as if a guitar track was left out. Very brutal and well performed beginning to this EP though, and Pillory fans should be right at home!

Second is "No One Answers", which leads off instantly into a fast thrash pace with solid bass and great drumming from Bret, though it did seem to take forever to get into the first verse of lyrics. I love the aggression and galloping guitar riffs, and the vocals are constant from "Fatal Woods", but the softer stretch 3:30 in (including the solo) feels like it came from a different song, but it ends strongly! I would like to hear Robert contribute more vocals, but this continues with the speed metal success of the first song! Next is the EP's title track "Cringe At The Cross", which opens softly like on "Fatal Woods", but benefits from awesome drumming from Bret and a shorter length, but again, the vocals take too long to be introduced. A bit slower when it's fully going, there's still a lot of very nice instrumental work, and Bret really shines, but it could stand to be a bit more melodic, and once the verses and choruses come in, there's not a lot of variance, but there's plenty of aggressive action to go around!

Despite being over 5 minutes long, the next song "Onward To Death" is the shortest track on the EP, and by far the most brutal and straightforward, with well used vocals, very nice guitar riffing, and a full catchiness to everything that works to the band and song's advantage! A surefire mosh pit inciter, Robert and Bret are firing on all cylinders, with only the guitar solo underwhelming somewhat based on how it flows with the rest of the song. The ending is slightly abrupt too, but I really enjoyed the intense metal edge to "Onward To Death", and it shows the guys' strengths well! "Cringe At The Cross" closes with "Shattered By War", a 7 minute original that fits well with it's predecessor tracks! Another long melodic instrumental intro kicks this one off, and while it shares a lot of similarities with songs like "No One Answers" in structure for the first half, it seems to end after 4 1/2 minutes and then restart as a mellower instrumental ballad of sorts that builds back into metal territory to close the EP on a high note. Another very solid track, but it really feels like two joined together (albeit well done for each half.)
 

So, what were my final thoughts on Pillory's debut demo EP? It's a very nice and brutal sampling of their early original material, and for a city that hasn't had a lot of straight thrash bands in recent years, Pillory fill that void well! Though only half of Pillory's lineup features on the disc, it's hard to tell, with Robert Sartini proving up to the task on guitar & bass, and Bret Shuttleworth continues his promise as a rising drum talent to watch! Robert's aggressive Death-esque vocals are also nice to hear, but at times, they did seem strained and rough, and with the exception of "Onward To Death", the verses seemed to come too late and run too quick. The production was really solid too, but at times, there were emptier patches, and a couple songs seemed too similar to each other. I was also curious to hear some of their newer tracks, or contributions from newer members, but much of the aims of "Cringe at the Cross" were to honour the memory of Andres Duchesne and the songs he wrote and played with Pillory, and in that regard, I can see why some decisions were made.

Overall though, Pillory's EP is a well made, very brutal, and nicely performed first disc from this promising young band, and I'm very curious to hear where Robert, Bret, Josh, and Tyler go in 2014! Pick it up A.S.A.P. at their concerts and by messaging band members! Our next CD review is to be determined, and though I'm leaning towards The Hiroshima Mutant Mindframe's new digital album, Telephone & Address' "Rotten EP" is possible if I get a copy. Either way, stay tuned for updates soon on that front, and for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Thrill Junkies), New Videos, And More!!

It's time for another news post, and while things have been slow to kick off 2014 for heavier bands, I have some interesting stuff today! Along with some assorted notes (including a band addition for an upcoming concert, and Anvil ticket availability), we have a new solo cover video, a new instrumental recording, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this weekend, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 5:34 PM)

Local hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies will make their first live appearances of 2014 with concerts at The Roosevelt Hotel THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT! The Rosie's Facebook page announced the Friday event this morning (along with a matinee performance by classic rockers Highway 17), but The Thrill Junkies confirmed via their own Facebook event page this evening that they'll indeed be playing on Saturday night too. It's good to see The Thrill Junkies back at it on Friday night, so don't miss this rising veteran outfit's mix of heavier and older rock classics this weekend! Admission should be free, you must be 19 to attend, and a start time of 10:30 PM is in effect. For more details, check the above links, and stay tuned for more later this week during our weekend concert previews!

Next up, here's a new original song from Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, as uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday! Entitled "Mystical", Tym describes it as an "evil sounding instrumental that could be used in a movie", and while it does sound cool (great guitar work especially), it definitely has more of a mystical vibe than an evil one. Very solid and well done track though, and fans of his heavier originals should be right at home, so check out Tym's new song below!



Also in new YouTube postings, As It Stands/Rancor drummer John Mignacca posted another solo electric drum cover onto his/A.I.S.' YouTube channel yesterday, this time a cover of The Recieving End of Sirens' "The Rival Cycle", which is closer to his band work than most of his other cover videos. Again, his drumming is skilled and nice to see again given As It Stands' ongoing concert hiatus, especially with a rock song featured this time, so check it out below, and see more of John's solo drum covers at the above links!



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

• Tickets for the Anvil/Caym concert at The Canadian Nightclub on March 15th are now on sale for $20 at The Rad Zone, The Canadian Motor Hotel's front desk, and via members of openers Project 421 and Jack Spades frontman/promoter J.D. Pearce, so message a band member or head out to get your tickets A.S.A.P., as you know they'll go fast! Stay tuned soon for the reveal of the final local opening band!
• After some surprising reluctance, local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore are indeed the last added band for the all ages TheKillingField-headlined show at The Oddfellows Hall on January 24th! However, they have swapped slots in the band order with The Bear Hunters for unannounced reasons, so C.T.W. are now fourth highest next Friday. Check the above links for more details, including the slightly earlier timeframe and updated event poster!
• Local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven updated fans to their recent whereabouts on their Facebook page yesterday, revealing that although the end of the year was hectic, and studio time scheduling for their "Fallen Faith" single recording has been slow, guitarist Alain Fletcher has finished the second round of his recordings, and singer Cory Murchison records his vocals this weekend. Keep an eye out for updates, and hopefully everything turns out well!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, including perhaps this month's CD review? Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Self Control & Mike Vincent

After a brief delay due to the recent news slowdown, it's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This monthly feature looks at one or two randomly selected local metal/hard rock bands from the Soo that, though defunct or inactive at present, deserves a look back for current readers and fans! For the fourth time in five months, we're looking at two bands due to the first selected band (from the Sault Michigan area) not having enough surviving information, so I've added a Sault Ontario act to fill things out. Read on below for this month's profiles!
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Self Control

Genre: Hard Rock

Hometown: Pickford, Michigan

Members: (This information is incomplete concerning some member's band roles and full names. If you can fill in any blanks, e-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com!)

Donny Newell (Full Throttle, Absolute), vocals/guitar
James Kibble, vocals/guitar
Nate Reid, ?????
Jammie Brown, ?????
"Cletis", ?????

Info/Analysis: A short lived hard rock quintet that was active in the Eastern Upper Peninsula in 2010, Self Control launched publically that January. During their brief run, they played at least one live concert and wrote at least two original songs before taking a break partly due to frontman Donny Newell's military commitments. Self Control appeared to quietly dissolve by early the following year, with Donny joining bands like NoXcape and Monkey's Uncle afterwards. I don't know a lot about Self Control or most of their members other music work, but they had promise from their surviving original material, including a mellow & effective ballad named "Regret" and (as embedded below) a hard rocker named "Allowed To Hate". Though the recording quality is poor, the gritty vocals and solid drumming come through on each, and the guitar work is nice, so Self Control probably could have made more local waves had they lasted longer. Check out "Allowed To Hate" below, and hear more at the above links!


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Mike Vincent

Genre: Death/Thrash Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Performers:

Mike Vincent (Chronic Demonic, The Bear Hunters), all instruments

Info/Analysis: A common sight in recent metal bands in Sault Ontario, then-Skull After Betrayl frontman and Bear Hunters rhythm guitarist Mike Vincent launched a solo project in April 2011, through which he planned to record & release original instrumental material through. Curiously naming both of his songs ("Cheese" & "Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich") after food, future material was planned to also feature unique song titles, but nothing public surfaced for Mike's solo project after that month, and it's presumed to have fell inactive by the end of 2011, though Mike re-emerged as Chronic Demonic's new drummer in 2013. Mike is a multi-talented musician, and it shows on his solo material, though both songs suffer from major repetition, and "Cheese" is especially monotonous in that regard concerning the drum tracks. His guitar work is really good though, and as some of his most recent original music, his songs are worth checking out, including "Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich" below, but hear more above!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Next month in this series will begin another 1-1-1-1-1 cycle for bands from each of the Twin Saults, and while we'll start with another Sault Ontario act, I've added a Sault Michigan band to next month due to the first not having a lot of public info. With that said, the February 2014 installment will focus on defunct Sault Ontario goregrind trio Tomgrindy and another inactive band from Pickford, the short-lived 2011 hard rock band Beyond The Surface! Watch out for their profiles on or around February 10th, and stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Merves, That's Chester, And The Danger Cats) & Much More!!

News has been slow lately, but for the first time since Monday, we have a post without any concert previews, and there's some big things to take note of! Just to clarify, this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles are coming, but given the recent quiet news stretch, I'm bumping it to tomorrow to spread things out better. Today, we have some random assorted recent news, some new drum cover videos, and first, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you need to know!

Remember The Merves, the Toronto-based Ramones tribute band featuring ex-Lion Ride frontman Mikey Hawdon? Well, they'll be back at The Rockstar Bar next Friday (January 17th) for the first time in almost a year, but with a hard rock twist. They're splitting the song selection to cover Joan Jett & The Blackhearts for half their set, so now there's a hard rock edge to this popular band! Featuring respected Toronto-area punk musicians, and with talented Toronto-area singer Amy Zucchetto channeling Joan Jett, it should be nice to have The Merves back in town after such a long time away, so don't miss their return next week! A $5 cover charge is likely for this 19+ concert, and a 10:30 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to have Mikey back for another local concert, and hopefully punk and hard rock fans get an equal dose of great tunes from The Merves' Ramones & Joan Jett covers next Friday! If any updates roll in, we'll have them here!

Next up, local classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester will return to Docks Riverfront Grill's Playroom for a full weekend on February 14th & 15th! Though yet unannounced on their Facebook page, we can confirm these dates through Docks' event calendar on their website, so there's my source. Last seen at Toystock on December 1st (and at Docks that same weekend), these currently sit as That's Chester's first shows of 2014, and it will be nice to have their diverse and often heavy covers back after a two and a half month break, so keep these shows in mind next month! These are 19+ events, 10:00 PM start times are likely, and like other recent Docks events, there is NO COVER CHARGE. For more details, visit the above links! Though live gigs for That's Chester have been more sporadic since their reunion, That's Chester's talents and skill are still ready and present, so keep their (presumably) first shows of 2014 in mind for next month, and stay tuned for updates!

Lastly for our recent batch of new Docks concert announcements, all female hard rock quintet The Danger Cats will make their official Docks debuts on Friday, February 28th and Saturday, March 1st! Apologies for the late announcements on these shows, as they were originally announced on December 20th, but they slipped through our radar until today. Barring an interim announcement, these will be the girls' first live dates of 2014, but not the first time that they've played there, as Stiffler's Mom invited them to play a few songs during their October 2013 weekend there. That should be some solid experience for these early March dates, so don't miss their entertaining covers and slowly expanding original repertoire then! Like the aforementioned That's Chester shows, there is no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more as we hear it!

Also, As It Stands drummer John Mignacca has posted a pair of new drum cover videos onto his/the band's YouTube channel on Wednesday! His first solo postings in 9 months, these are (once again) electric drum covers to songs you may not expect, including Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" and (as embedded below) Christina Grimmie's cover of David Guetta's "Titanium". John's drum skills are on full display, and he adds well to these tracks, but the volume of his drumming is too muted, and it could stand to be louder. Note that while it's great to see some new work from John, As It Stands have not made any public updates since October (or played live in almost a year & a half), but John has stayed busy as a drummer with the Hamilton djent studio project Rancor. Hopefully we hear some more from As It Stands soon, but see Jon's new solo work above & below!



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

• Local metal/punk quintet Jack Spades aren't just opening for Anvil & Caym once in the Soo on March 15th, as they're actually hitting the road to open for the Canadian metal legends during their Sudbury & North Bay gigs on the surrounding days. Awesome news, and hopefully these are just a start for Jack Spades' rise and Anvil's northern takeover! Check the above links for more details on the other Northern Ontario dates!
• Are local classic metal quartet Late & Loud reuniting? A post on their Facebook page saying "Get stoked for February more details soon." was added this morning, and if it points to a reunion of some kind, it would end (at least temporarily) their inactive period since their Rockstar Bar Battle appearances last April. When we hear more, we'll be sure to let you guys know!
• Dafter, Michigan hard rocker Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton now has an official Android/Google Play application! Created through Reverbnation (similarly to Sykotyk Rampage's application), you can download it or get more details at this link, so give it a look!

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