LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), A New Local Punk Project, And New Videos!!

Today's post was going to be our latest Defunct Local Band Profile, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (partially missed, at that) hit my desk this morning, so we're pushing the feature post ahead slightly. To fill things out, there's also some new videos and a surprise new local punk band to take a look at, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local screamo/pop punk project to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely Forever Will Be! This act is led by former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin, though I don't know if this is the same project as his 2019 offering Great West Falls or not, or if anyone else performs on their material. Their Facebook page is mostly a shell so far, but Forever Will Be is considered "the home project" of Ryan's independent studio/label Relentless Audio, who have been covered on the SMS previously for working on his old band As It Stands' posthumous EP "The Lost Tapes" and Christopher Raginskis' online page-less punk solo project 9 Times Dark's debut album "Vicissitude", both from 2020. According to posts on Relentless Audio's Facebook page, Forever Will Be's debut album from November 17th (entitled "Dead & Dishonest") has been "a year in the making" and he hopes to take listeners back to 2004 with the songs.

You can hear the album for free on major streaming platforms linked via this Hearnow page, but it is on sale on iTunes for $7.92, so consider buying it if you want the mp3s and/or to support Ryan's work. I'll hold comment on the songs until I review the album proper (likely next month), but definitely check out the album's preview videos on the Relentless Facebook page, and here's their first music video for "Nosedive" from their YouTube channel, set to clips of people in varying states of despair. If you like Ryan's past local band work, do check out Forever Will Be above & below!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for a concert TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show in our concert preview post on Thursday, I just heard about both this morning via Reggie's Facebook page (who only announced them Wednesday night), and Soundcheck themselves have not mentioned them on their own Facebook page. Yesterday's and TONIGHT'S shows mark(ed) Soundcheck's first at Reggie's since mid-October, and hopefully their fan-friendly blend of classic, hard rock, and country covers found a strong audience last night, and will do so again TONIGHT! It is worth noting that Reggie's is now up for sale for $480,000, as per this SooToday article by Kenneth Armstrong on Monday, noting that Reggie Daigle himself actually still owns the property.

The sale "doesn't include the business", as from what I understand, Randy Lapossie is just managing bar operations, but whether the new owners would keep things as they have been since late 2020 is yet unknown. It sure seems like business as usual for now at Reggie's, but after Reggie sold Reggie's West, this can't be too surprising. We'll keep you posted! TONIGHT'S (and yesterday's) show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, apologies again for missing last night's concert, and here's Soundcheck live!

Also today, here's a couple of new videos from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk guitarist Chase Wigmore's Facebook page! One is just a Facebook copy of his original song "The Guilt And Shame In Being" from his newest solo album "We Are All Going To Die", and while I'll hold comment on it pending our review of the album later this month, Chase did clarify that this is "one of the quieter ones" on the album. The new video proper from Sunday is cryptically titled "$20", and features him playing the guitar solo from Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb". The grainy black & white filter combined with a poorly placed light over Chase's face don't add to the video, but he nails the solo, helping forget about the visual deficiencies. Check it out for yourself below, and stay tuned for more from Chase!

Finally for today, here's some new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's Facebook page, albeit not primarily focused on their "Christmas Blowout" at Soo Blaster tonight. As they have done for a guitar last year, Fort Creek recently held a raffle on Facebook for a custom jazz bass donated by Tommy Lair, with proceeds going to the Algoma Regional Community Hospice (or ARCH). That, along with a giveaway for a band t-shirt and tickets to tonight's show also took place in the past couple of weeks, with bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano appearing in this one hyping all of their draws, and more band members turned up in this video to announce the winner of the shirt/tickets raffle. Be advised that some of these recent videos have awful audio that almost sounds like an old 78 RPM record, not sure what happened there.

The draw for the bass is ongoing until December 21st (or until all 100 allocated tickets are bought, whichever comes first), so visit their Facebook page for details on how to enter! As for the videos, I'll embed the one from November 29th here, which features a clip of Bones playing the bass to demonstrate its abilities and sound for prospective ticket buyers, as preceded by a clip of their studio original "Hammer Down" and an oddly echoed audio recording of him discussing the raffle. On the gear and performer's end, everything sounds good, so definitely check it out below, get details above, and don't miss Fort Creek tonight at Soo Blaster!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Pop Evil) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, and while this is somewhat of a quiet weekend for heavier gigs (possible late notice shows acknowledged), we're leading off with a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the spring, so here's what you should know!

Muskegon hard rock band Pop Evil will return to The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for their seventh local concert appearance and first post-pandemic on Friday, March 17th! Last seen when they & Buckcherry headlined a special outdoor gig at the local Kewadin branch in August 2019 (and, for shows at The Dreammakers Theatre, in February 2018), it will be great to welcome these modern hard rock mainstays back to the E.U.P., especially as they're still performing quite well on rock radio! Since we last saw them, "Breathe Again", "Survivor", and "Eye of the Storm" have reached #1 or #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, so look for another high octane set of melodic and hard hitting original favourites in three months! This will also be Pop Evil's first local show since bassist Matt DiRito left the band, with Joey Walser currently handling bass as a touring performer.

Opening bands will include two metalcore quintets, namely Phoenix's The Word Alive and Seattle's Avoid, and with the former's techno-influenced sound and the latter's rawer, more abrasive attack, both should set the tone nicely! Brought to you by Allstar Promotions once again, tickets run for $29.50 USD (up from $25 in 2018), and they go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 AM at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, and if you use the password ALLSTAR2023 online, you can get yours today until 10:00 PM. This stop on Pop Evil's Skeletons Tour is an all ages & 8:00 PM event, and it should be another huge one for hard rock fans, so definitely visit the above links for more details on Pop Evil's return!

Now let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and we'll start while staying in Sault Michigan, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the very same Kewadin Casino branch for their last E.U.P. dates of 2022 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their sister band Peril will wrap up the year in St. Ignace on New Year's weekend, but this is the 2022 last call for Scarkazm in our area. If you want to enjoy Dave, Adam, and Jeff's hard rocking and classic tinged originals & covers, you know where to be tomorrow and/or Saturday! As usual for Scarkazm's Kewadin gigs, expect this weekend's shows to be 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario to round out the weekend concert previews (barring any late notice gigs), starting with local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard's return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are the final dates in Bone Yard's six weekend run of steady local gigs, and will mark Greg, Alex, and Warren's first shows at 306 Korah Road since Reggie's West changed names & owners in October, so if you want to see how Bone Yard do in a somewhat new locale, head to the former Rosie this weekend! In fact, these shows will be Bone Yard's last of 2022 before they "go into hiding for a few weeks", if you believe the Facebook event page, so there's extra reason to get out and enjoy their southern fried classic & hard rock covers! As usual, these are 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charge and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Finally, fellow local southern hard rock band Fort Creek will return to Soo Blaster on SATURDAY NIGHT when they headline a special one-night-only holiday concert that they're calling their "Christmas blowout"! Much like their May 7th date at the same Queen Street East venue, this will be a bigger event in scope than just your usual weekend nightclub gig, including a Christmas Cheer element to the proceedings that may make up for Fort Creek not playing at Toystock last month, including food donations accepted at the door for this show's expected merchandise giveaway contest, and Santa Claus himself will reportedly show up too! Beyond that, 705Live Sound Co. will be on hand to make things sound great, and their established hard rock and metal covers, plus burgeoning originals, should be enough of a draw on their own! No opening acts are advertised for this 8:00 PM event, which is for ages 19+ as you'd expect.

Proving the larger scope of this one, "minimal" advance tickets are still available for $10 (higher than in May) at Soo Blaster, Sessions Cannabis at 216 Second Line West, through band members, and in a later confirmation, Stone's Office Supply at 529 Queen Street East. This will be the biggest event yet for Fort Creek's new lineup, so hopefully Bill and his new bandmates leave a great first impression with fans on Saturday! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fort Creek live!

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

Live705 Updates, Plus Lots Of New Video Uploads!!

Let's tackle some big recent updates and media on this Tuesday morning, including new live videos from two E.U.P. bands, and our first look at a new Sault Ontario band on a public stage. However, we're leading off with the teased return of a once prominent concert promotion agency, so without any further ado, here's what you should know!

It looks like local concert promoters Live705 are gauging interest in returning to concert promotion after a 2+ year hiatus! On November 13th, they posted on their Facebook page to see if any local bands would be interested in opening for Orillia experimental/progressive band Tangents on their upcoming tour. They didn't specify the intended date or venue, but Live705's Matt Quinn did message me last month to bounce some ideas around, though I'll hold on any of the specifics until they say something. Tangents are a solidly brutal and proficient extreme metal band who would surely be welcomed on a local stage by genre fans, but of course, touring shows like this are still a work in progress in many respects post-pandemic. Live705 (the promotion agency founded by the members of local punk trio A Dire Setback) were very active from their 2016 launch through helping bring an Elton John tribute to The Rockstar Bar in November 2019.

Live705's planned shows in 2020 (including A Dire Setback's own CD release party) were all cancelled for obvious reasons, but the guys have kept the page active by plugging and hyping other local concerts, album releases, and musicians sporadically since then, which they had also done between their own events previously. They also still provide live audio and DJ services at other promoters' events, not unlike the confusingly named but separate 705Live Sound Co.. It is great to see Live605 kicking the tires on getting back to their late 2010s normal, but message them A.S.A.P. if you want to open for Tangents next year!

Next up, here's the first public videos of new local metal trio The BAG, courtesy of their Facebook group! Despite not posting there at all in over three weeks, The BAG did indeed play at The Esquire Club this past weekend, and attendees Jordan Dubois and Val McGillivray (likely a relative of Spencer's) both posted videos from the Saturday nighter to the Facebook group that are publically viewable! Unfortunately, all four of the videos are shot vertically, and none capture the full song. Jordan posted this clip of the guys playing a very familiar instrumental breakdown, with his other two videos (a cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" and Spencer playing a guitar solo) being lumped in with pictures from that night. The longest of the four videos is Val's, who filmed their metallized cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", as uploaded below.

While it is a shame that these are all vertical (primarily focused on Spencer as such) and don't capture full songs, you get a good sense of their sound and talent, and he, Austin, and Bradley are definitely on their way locally with a tight, heavy sound! Very strange hearing a band this heavy at The Esquire Club though, could this be a positive sign for 2023?  Good stuff, so check out The BAG's new videos above & below!

We'll close today's post with new videos from two bands in Sault Michigan and area, starting with a highlights video of local hard rock quartet Tarnished's experiences opening for Steel Panther at The Dreammakers Theatre at the local Kewadin Casino last month! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Sunday, this video was edited together by former drummer Gary Croad, and features footage of them playing "Shortcut", as uniquely shot from behind the stage. I don't believe this video has been posted without the post-production edits, for the record. You'll also see clips of Tarnished being interviewed by Rock 101's Scott Cook at the venue for that night's episode of The Hair Scare, them getting ready backstage, their meetings & pictures with 3/4ths of Steel Panther (no Spyder, alas), plus the actual photos, including one with their merchandise crew, and some great concert pictures by Kayla Kirkwood (hopefully those get posted separately!)

The video ends with some thank yous to everyone who made this experience happen. Gary did a very professional job compiling everything, and while the raw footage of "Shortcut" would be nice to see (especially given the angle), it sounds good and Tarnished look like they had a blast, so fans won't want to bypass this one below!

Finally for today, a surprising amount of live videos from St. Ignace metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown have surfaced on drummer Jaxon Massaway's new YouTube channel in the past two weeks! These primarily come from their Summerbash gig in Gaylord (2 hours south of the Soo) in July, where an attendee filmed ten videos of H.L.T.C.'s set, including them playing "Friend", "Every Step Of The Way", "A Hell Bound Heart", "A Sold Soul (A.S.S.)", "Voices", "Knucklebutter", "*69", "Time Diffuser Or Something Else", and "Choke". That's every song from their full length album except "Princess" and "Interlude", for the record. The videos are all shot from a side-stage angle and given the poor lighting at this outdoor camping-friendly event, it kind of looks like the guys are playing in a void, first row fans with cameras aside. The audio holds up for fans though!

Embedded below is the only new video on Jaxon's channel from a different event, namely them playing "Choke" at the French Road Bash in Alpena in August. While incomplete, this is the best video I have seen yet of the current Heavy Lies The Crown lineup, with the filmer getting a nice front row angle of the guys in action, aided by the daytime setting and neat forest backdrop. Cool to see all of these videos, so kudos to Jaxon for uploading them, and also check out his two solo vocal/guitar covers on his channel, as they're not bad either! Give "Choke" in Alpena a watch below!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (December 2022 Update)

After a slight delay, here's our final "Where Are The New Albums?" post of the year, where we're looking at the newest public updates on the whereabouts of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands! This month has no removed entries, but Chase Wigmore's successfully released "We Are All Going To Die" is obviously removed from his existing write-up. Five of the seven acts below have newly updated information, as noted with the titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: Multiple

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera earlier this year, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs from the album have surfaced on his Facebook page, as well as the final artwork, while in promotion for his last release, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!
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Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth album

Rumoured Songs: "Lost & Found", "All Broke Down", "No Control"

Background: Local Celtic punk veterans Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide began recording sessions by October 2018 at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, as per their Facebook page. In January 2019, the band confirmed that they were indeed recording a fourth studio album (and first since 2012), which will presumably be released through Tidal Records, and will also be their first album with second guitarist Liam Seymour & drummer Chris Johns. While "All Broke Down" was initially cited as the first single in December 2018 (source here), the first two released singles were "Lost & Found" in March 2019 & "No Control" in December 2020. Credits on the above songs' music videos note that Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studios in St. Catharine's is mixing the album, as he has done for multiple Tidal/Mission Control releases. Dustin posted a handful of solo songs on Tidal Records' YouTube channel in 2020, but it's not publically known whether or not they'll also be used as new Tide originals.

Current Release Status: When The Tide shared a teaser clip for "Lost & Found", they mentioned that the album was "coming soon", which doesn't tell us much, especially as the band has only posted sparingly on Facebook since the end of 2020 (in fact, they're nearing our one year's public inactivity marker). This may be partially due to fiddler Sheldon Jaaskelainen's recent out of town commitments, with Dustin focusing on Jonesy Land, The Cover-Up, and Bookclub since. Still, with recording sessions well along the way, and two music videos now public, it's likely that Dustin and company aren't early in the process, but we'll let you know if more comes out on the album!
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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release a sample from the sessions until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. It's not clear if new rhythm guitarist Bill Brouillard will be part of the recordings, or if his predecessor Matt Sibilo's tracks will remain on the final product.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek originally planned to release the EP in "late summer", but their Rotaryfest Stage 1 write-up says that it will come out in "late 2022". We're there now, and the band has since returned from their three month hiatus, but whether the break was to work on the EP isn't publically known There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 2 years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!
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Handsome Sandwich - "Deconstructed"

Rumoured Songs: "All Or Nothing", "Bitter", "No Entry", "No Idea"

Background: After taking a year+ long hiatus during the pandemic, local "no genre" band Handsome Sandwich reunited last summer with a new lineup, with Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger now joined by singer Taylor Emlaw, guitarist Mitch Sirie, and (as of this summer) bassist Rafael Medina. Via their new Facebook page & YouTube channel, the band almost instantly began teasing a debut album (after previously being covers-only from 2017-2020), posting videos of them playing original songs. In June 2021, Handsome Sandwich revealed that the album had began pre-production, with recording at Unsalted Audio with producer Dustin Goodall. The band also confirmed in July that guest saxophonist Josh Norling will appear on their new song "No Entry". Last month, the band confirmed that the album's name was changed from "Lettuce" to "Deconstructed", and that recording sessions had wrapped, with Jordan Zadorozny set to mix the tracks at Skylark Park in Pembroke

Current Release Status: If you believe Taylor's on-stage remarks at The Soo's Got Talent in October (source here), the album is slated to be released on May 5th, an oddly specific date given the then-7 month time gap. Regardless on if that date will prove to be true, the new look band has definitely hit the ground running since resuming activity last year, and they have gotten a positive reception for the new material so far, so stay tuned for updates from Handsome Sandwich's camp when they have them!

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Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do"

Rumoured Songs: "I've Seen It Before", "Twist of Fate", "If Only You Could Hear Me"

Background: During his live-streamed Facebook concert in February, local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith revealed that he was working on his newest studio album, entitled "All The Best In All You Do". Like his other Thompson-era albums, this will have an overarching concept, this time about the transition out of depression and being manipulated by others, into a happier personal life. At the time, Mike was 35% done with the album, and he has played two new originals planned for it in live-streams and in his 2022 concerts in both Thompson and the Soo, as well as "If Only You Could Hear Me", a still-unreleased song from early in his time in Thompson. A single version of "Twist of Fate" was unveiled in July, and live videos of all three songs can be found on Mike's Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.

Current Release Status: Given Mike's day job and personal commitments, he hasn't been as active on social media in recent months, but he is playing live dates and presumably working on recording the new album where time allows. It is worth noting that Mike strongly hinted that he's moving out of Thompson in his live-streamed concert from last month, but he has yet to publically elaborate on that or how it may affect the album. Hopefully things are progressing naturally in studio, and we'll keep you posted!

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Mike McCleary - Fallout From Midnight Tides

Rumoured Songs: Unknown

Background: After taking a couple of years off from public updates on his solo music (and taking down much of his prior back catalog from streaming services), local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary announced on his Facebook page in January that he was working on new original music. In April, Mike clarified that this would be an instrumental album (his de-listed albums all had vocals) inspired by his own curiosity and creative thinking. Mike has since posted a sampler video featuring the planned album artwork and title, and he also revealed the album's planned track structure (seven songs, three being 7+ minutes long), but has kept most specifics close to his vest.

Current Release Status: Mike was very optimistic about the album's progress, but was intentionally not putting a public timetable on when it will be completed, and things were complicated when his hard drive containing his new music crashed last month (the files still hadn't been recovered as of the 10th, and no updates have followed). Hopefully he can recover everything and that this isn't a huge bump in the road towards his new album, but we'll keep you posted when we hear more!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" last October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, not to mention the complications of the pandemic, but they have played a number of local concerts in the past few months. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series should return on or around January 2nd to kick off 2023 in this series, while our next monthly feature profile will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Saturday. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & The Northwest), Ravencore Updates, And More!!

With some big news that I didn't want to fall by the wayside being announced today, I'm postponing this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post to tomorrow so we can dive into the news and notes, including a new music video, early details on a new local hard rock band, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the holidays!

Local indie punk quintet The Northwest will end the year with a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge on Wednesday, December 28th! The post-Christmas gig will be their first live appearance since their North Bay show in October, their first on a local stage since opening for Marianas Trench in September, and their first at LopLops since the pandemic began, so in the latter case, this is definitely a long time coming, and their upbeat indie and punk originals should fit right in there at month's end! The opening band is The Gambit, who are actually the newly renamed and revived Sick Sons, the 2019-2020 punk supergroup whose last public act before last month was to cancel a planned headlining gig at LopLops in March 2020 (we all know why), though they never fully disbanded during their pandemic hiatus. A reason for their name change wasn't announced, but it is great to see The Sick Sons Gambit back after well over 2½ years!

It is worth noting that LopLops are undergoing some type of redesign, including a garage door installed on the front of the Queen Street East building and some extra interior changes, as per this SaultOnline article, though I have no clue how far along things will be come the 28th. If this is a sign towards LopLops re-opening on a pre-pandemic basis, then fantastic! This 8:00 PM and 19+ event has $20 advance tickets that you can buy through Eventbrite at the official Facebook event page (no word on in-person availability yet). The Wednesday timing isn't ideal, but if you the next day off still for the holidays, don't miss out on the punk action on the 28th, and see above for more details!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Saturday, December 31st as their New Year's Eve party headliners! While not yet confirmed by the venue's Facebook page (which hasn't even plugged Soundcheck's shows there this weekend), the band announced the event via this Facebook event page. 2022 is profoundly lucky to have New Year's Eve proper on a Saturday night, so Soundcheck's hard rocking array of covers should attract a sizeable audience of revelers sending out 2021 the right way! No word yet on what kind of seasonal frills to expect for the occasion, but there should be something extra beyond the band & a New Year's countdown. As such, while a cover charge hasn't been announced yet, bring cash just in case. This is obviously a 19+ event and it starts at 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, let's answer an unanswered question from our Toystock coverage: Who are Ravencore? They still don't have an online band page that I'm aware of, but they actually got spotlighted on SooToday via this article by Darren Taylor this morning, confirming some of my suspicions from personal Facebook posts. As best as I can gather, their lineup features former Suicide Kings vocalist Mike Gaetano and guitarist Mitch Sirie (last seen together when that band reunited for the 2018 Rotaryfest) alongside ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi and former Brutally Fatal/Revolution frontman Austin McCrae on drums. The article on SooToday actually primarily deals in Mike and his 10 year old son Gavin, who joined Ravencore on stage for their live debut at The Grand Gardens North last week, taking over on drums for a cover of Weezer's "Beverly Hills" that reportedly was well received!

A couple of brief, brief videos of Ravencore's set are on personal Facebook accounts, one seeing them cover Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous", but neither are publically shared. The article notes that Ravencore formed shortly before band applications for Toystock began, they have been working on original songs, and that they hope to record a debut album in the spring. The article has some minor mistakes (i.e. it wasn't 11 bands in 11 hours at Toystock), but it's a nice article especially for the sake of Mike's family, and hopefully we hear more from Ravencore ahead, especially if(?) they launch an online page of some kind!

Finally for today, here's a brand new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's YouTube channel! A rendition of "Silent Night", fans will have first heard it instrumentally on their debut album "Christmas Night" over a decade ago, but this new version features singer Rachel Mender and has recently been uploaded to streaming services like YouTube Music as "Silent Night V2". The video features Rachel, guitarist Steve Giles, and keyboardist Craig Harrison (no Luke or Erik) performing individually in close, low-lit monochrome, though the performances are sometimes layered over each other or included in inset windows. This is quite a good rendition of this classic carol if you like symphonic metal, and Rachel's voice is a nice fit as you'd expect, and with cool visuals to boot, so check it out for yourselves below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next, guaranteed! Thanks everyone!

Rhythm & Brews Concert Previews, Plus New Videos From Both Sides Of The Border!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's announced hard rock concert previews today, and rounding things out are some videos from two E.U.P. bands and one solo performance clip from this side of the border. Let's stay in Michigan to start, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Surprisingly acknowledged on their Facebook page this week (the band often doesn't plug their shows publically there), these gigs see the Nixxon Dixxon alumni-bolstered group back at it following a show in Rudyard last week, with these being their first Rapids Lounge gigs since September. While Rhythm & Brews still don't post videos online from their shows (possibly on purpose to encourage that you actually attend in person), their talented and experienced lineup should deliver the hard rock cover goods for E.U.P. fans this weekend, so head to the Soo's Kewadin branch to see what they have in store! As usual for The Rapids Lounge, these are 9:00 PM events with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on this weekend's concerts!

Next up, here's a new live video of fellow local hard rock quartet Tarnished from their set opening for Steel Panther at the local Kewadin Casino's Dreammakers Theatre last week! Uploaded to their Facebook page yesterday (in between lots of photos, including one with half of Steel Panther), the video sees Tarnished playing their original/Banned carryover "Cocaine Riot" from a close but sharp angle near the stage's far left corner. While not a stationary camera, the steady view of the guys is effective (Josh being obscured acknowledged) with good use of zoom where needed. They sound good here and "Cocaine Riot" was a good choice for a hair metal show like this, so check it out for yourself below!

Also today, here's some new videos from St. Ignace metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page in the last few days! On Monday, singer Brandon West shared a 34 second video from his personal Facebook page of him drumming, joking that he just wants to go faster and might quit singing. He drums well in the black & white clip, but it's hard to gauge how technically sound he is from the video's length. Still a fun watch! The next day, they posted a link to a campaign on Opnr to find in-demand regional bands to open for certain concerts. In this case, they're angling to open for Escape The Fate when they play in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. That doesn't leave a ton of time to garner support, but click here if you want to help the cause! Their newest two are gag videos that aren't musical at all with this one featuring guitarist Ted Olson running in a green wig.

The other clip features Brandon running at a similar angle with something to say. I feel like I'm missing important context, but fans seem to get a kick out of them! As the only new video with music is the drumming clip, I'll embed it below, but visit the above links for more from H.L.T.C.!

Let's close things up north in Sault Ontario via a new solo performance video by local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore! Uploaded to his Facebook page late last night, the four minute video sees him playing an acoustic guitar piece on a tight camera angle, with almost a Spanish guitar vibe alongside faint rock music in the background. Definitely not on the spectrum of genres we usually hear from him, but it's a wonderful showcase of Chase's pure guitar talent, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) And Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

The first concert weekend of December is upon us, so let's kick off the month right! Due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'll hold the Rhythm & Brews shows in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's post, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario for hard rock concerts, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these gigs via their Facebook event page earlier today, and at press time, the venue has not confirmed the dates online. Fresh off of their return to Toystock this past weekend, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts will be Cameron, Terry, Paul (or Rob?), and Glen's first shows at the Dennis Street nightclub since a one nighter in mid-November, but it's been a wait since the summer for them to double up for a weekend at Shooters like this. Despite the late notice, hopefully Soundcheck's classic, hard rock, and country covers find solid audiences TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 8:00 PM gigs with 19+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live in concert earlier this year!

Next up, local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will return to Outspoken Brewing for a concert at their Taproom TOMORROW NIGHT as previously announced, but following that, their new run of gigs on the first Friday of every month will take them back to the same venue on Friday, January 6th! The description on event posters confirms that The Stallyns have agreed to play the first Friday each month there, end date unclear, hence us listing the January gig. Last seen at The Whiskey Barrel a couple of weeks ago, the Speers & company have ingratiated themselves well with Outspoken this year, and hopefully tomorrow's show at the newly confirmed January date both go swimmingly with their hard rocking cover set! Both shows have 8:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and entry to the Taproom has a suggested $10 cover, though "pay what you can" is also offered. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Wyld Stallyns live!

Now, we'll stick entirely with this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return for headlining concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of their headlining duties at Toystock (fallout forthcoming), these will be Bone Yard's first shows at the Queen Street East mainstay nightclub in three weeks, and these comprise the penultimate weekend in Bone Yard's six week run of steady weekend concerts. Of those six weekend bookings, Reggie's is the only locale to be booked twice, so hopefully existing and new Boneheads alike come out for Bone Yard's southern fried hard rock covers tomorrow and/or Saturday night! As usual, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Finally for today, new local metal trio The BAG will reportedly make their public concert debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they headline at The Esquire Club! For full disclosure, the band has not posted on their Facebook group for any reason since November 13th, and The Esquire Club still haven't acknowledged The BAG as playing this weekend, but unless given reason otherwise, we'll cover these shows as normal. After months of house/backyard parties and recording sessions towards a handful of singles on streaming platforms, this will be The BAG's first test in front of a public audience, and if you want a sampling of what Spencer, Austin, and Bradley bring to the table, check out this setlist from one of their private gigs. Their original material so far points to a solid groove/thrash metal hybrid sound, but hopefully their covers will carry them to a strong reception in the west end (assuming these are still on!)

Originally scheduled for online page-less local cover band Buzzsaw Jaw before dropping out for unannounced reasons, tomorrow & Saturday night's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's one of two brand new songs from The BAG! Quietly posted on their YouTube channel on November 12th and recorded in their Mission Control Studio sessions in the summer, the new tracks are "Roadkill" (which is a short groove metal rocker with a nice guitar solo) and embedded below, "Get Out", a slower and thrashier track that delivers a promisingly intense sound, so definitely check both out above & berlow!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Rhythm & Brews preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!