Tarnished's New Lineup & Full Traverse City Concert Video From Last Week!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Chippewa Theatre Guild actor and director Pirie "Bear" Kaufman, who passed away yesterday after battling cancer in recent years. A familiar presence locally from his long-time work in theatre and as a cab driver, you may recall the #TeamBear benefit concert for Pirie & his family at The Sault Theatre Workshop at 121 Pittsburgh Avenue in October 2018, featuring Re:Born & Tym Morrison in it's varied lineup. Though not a musician, Pirie's impact on the local arts community and as a person are well established, and for further proof, Re:Born guitarist Blair Burch put up a very nice post about him on Facebook that is worth a read if you are able. Of course, our best wishes are with the Kaufman and Zuke families at this difficult time. R.I.P. Pirie!

Now, this is otherwise a single topic post, as a prominent local band managed to play a full concert last week, and it was captured on video for all to see, including their big lineup changes! Here's what you should know!

If you couldn't make it to Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's concert at The Workshop Brewing Company in Traverse City on Friday, then you don't have to worry, as the full concert was live-streamed for the venue's Twitch page! Not only that, but this was a full band set rather than a two-man acoustic joint for the first time since they headlined Rock The Border locally in July, which wasn't emphasized in the show's online marketing. Nice to see the guys back at in their full form... but wait, who was behind the drum kit? Josh Fair, moving from bass to drums in lieu of the departed Gary Croad, which goes along with his recent studio work at that role. On bass here was Donald Alexander, in what frontman Alex Traynor called "his first gig with us", so it looks like he's a permanent addition. I'm not familiar with Donald musically, but he fits right in here, especially for a 2+ hour gig 2+ hours away!

For the record, the band has not otherwise confirmed these lineup changes on social media. In the first half of Friday's concert, the guys tackled The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", Van Halen's "Runnin' With The Devil", AC/DC's "TNT", their own "The Path", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", Skid Row's "18 & Life", C.C.R.'s "Bad Moon Rising", Stone Sour's "Through Glass", Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll", Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box", an instrumental jam while Alex sorted out some technical difficulties, and Neil Young's "Keep On Rockin' In The Free World". After a 10 minute intermission (captured in full in the live-stream), Tarnished return with renditions of  The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band's "Blue On Black", Sublime's "What I Got"...

...Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", their original "Cabin Fever", Incubus' "Drive", Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Mary Jane's Last Dance", Bob Seger's "Turn The Page", Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream", and lastly, their brand new original "SDR&R", which will be your first chance to hear this song if you didn't hear Tarnished's interview on Eagle 95.1 that morning. Solid and energetic set from Tarnished's apparent new lineup, and they tackled a lot of familiar covers for both attendees and regular local fans! That said, I was surprised that they only played three originals, but remember that they don't have an inbuilt local audience in Traverse City to be familiar with them yet. The staging and video quality is strong, but the lighting changed a little too frequently for my liking, the audio wasn't always in sync, and the text over the Twitch stream could be distracting.

It's worth noting that along with the live-stream, The Workshop Brewing Co. actually broadcasted this video outside the venue for attendees on their patio, helping ensure that as many people as possible got to see Tarnished live despite social distancing (they do similarly for other recent concerts too.) Despite the obvious pandemic hang-ups, it looked like Tarnished's Workshop debut went well, and you can see for yourselves above! I haven't had any luck getting Twitch's new embed code to work on the SMS, apologies for it not being embedded below. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site later this week! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, Tarnished Concert Preview & Updates, And Much More!!

I've got another new news post for your guys on this Friday morning, and it's packed with a lot of shorter stories from the last little while, plus a concert preview and related updates, and leading off, a brand new addition to our band links! Here's what you should know!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our active Sault Ontario band links, and they are named Dealing Without! Details are minimal on this band so far, but they have a promising lineup, including Isolation Sessions/ex-Half Past bandmates Jordan Rains and Arthur Lacasse on vocals & guitar respectively, alongside former Big Mistake guitarist Rick Atkins and ex-Fitswitch drummer Larry Mousseau. A bassist has not been brought on board yet, but Arthur had posted in the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday looking for one (they do have a jam spot.) Message Art at this link or above for details! It's not yet clear if Dealing Without's existence will mean anything negative towards The Isolation Sessions' status, though note that they did post on Facebook as recently as January, and remember that their nature & inception were very tied into the pandemic.

Sonic inspirations with Half Past's final lineups will be easy to make re: Dealing Without, but time will tell how they truly look and sound. Will they jump in on the social distance-regulated concert scene where available, or will their live debut wait until things are more opened up? Time will tell, but this lineup has the chops! Stay tuned to their Facebook page for more updates on Dealing Without when they rolls in!

Next up, here's a rare weekend concert preview, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished (minus Nathan) will perform publically in Hulbert Township for the first time TOMORROW NIGHT at The Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast! A new venue for us, this bed & breakfast at 9920 South North Hulbert Road has hosted a few live bands in recent months, and hopefully will serve to be a solid venue for Alex & Josh's unplugged cover attack! If you're up for the hour-long drive west to Hulbert, this show has no announced age limit or cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. While we're on the subject, Tarnished will also be taking a rare road trip outside of our coverage range to Traverse City today for a show at The Workshop Brewing Company (details here), and will be appearing again on The Eagle 95.1 with Tim Ellis again at 9:10 AM today for the exclusive public debut of their new single "SDR&R"!

Pre-orders for the single will proceed after the interview, though availability of it beyond the FM dial is to be confirmed. Tarnished are definitely staying busy this weekend, so follow along with all of their upcoming activities on their Facebook page or above, and to preview tomorrow's Hulbert Happy Hour gig, here's Alex & Josh live!

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

 

• I have removed Sault Ontario death/trance metal solo project Black Cloud from our band links again due to the unfortunate deletion of their known online pages & media for unannounced reasons at some point in the last couple of months. Black Cloud had previously done this in late 2019, before returning with new pages that were updated from February-July of last year. Peytan has definite potential in extreme metal, and hopefully we see Black Cloud return (again) in some form again down the road!
• I have replaced the link for local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore from their surprisingly deleted Facebook page to their Bandcamp page. As far as I can tell, C.T.W. are still active, as their other social media accounts are still up, and have been updated as recently as January, though it's worth noting that C.T.W.'s deleted page was previously Tyler's cybergrind project Malignant Neoplasm's page after the closure of their original page. Maybe it was taken down due to content flags, given their very polarizing imagery & subject matter? In any event, we'll let you know when Tyler has new music updates from any of his projects!
• Hard rock musician Mike McCleary has been moved to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, last being seen posting a single on Bandcamp in February 2020. A quickly prolific addition to our coverage, Mike released a number of digital albums to Bandcamp in the late 2010s, often dealing lyrically in his own mental health battles & national politics, but his public profile sharply decreased in 2019 due to personal concerns, including the deletion of his Facebook page & two of his more political albums. Mike's a talented guy, and hopefully he resumes his original music again in the future!
• Local post-punk duo Orange are "coming back, baby!", as per their Facebook page on Tuesday. Featuring Telephone & Address' Christopher Shoust on drums alongside Ohio-based guitarist Matt Zook, Orange initially reunited in 2014 for studio work and album plans, but aside from some Soundcloud postings, nothing came of it until their last proper public update in March 2015. Good to see Orange back after six years, and they are back in our active links!
  
• Last week, The Soo's Got Talent posted on their Facebook page to say that they're "looking into going virtual", and asked fans what they thought about the idea. We all know why the multi-week local talent competition didn't take place last fall, and with lingering uncertainty even with vaccines beginning to roll out, hosting the 2021 installment online may make sense to bring The Soo's Got Talent back in the near term. Stay tuned for updates!
  
• Veteran ska/hard rock trio Tripod The Dog have been moved to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The fan favourite band has not been seen since rocking The Esquire Club on February 9th of last year, though the pandemic & their lack of a recent online page are both acknowledged. After a successful reunion set at Rotaryfest in 2018, frontman Mark Oliverio brought Tripod The Dog back full-time in 2019 on the local bar cover circuit, though gigs were spaced out moreso than other contemporaries. Hopefully we'll see Mark and the Amendolas back at it when concerts as normal can return!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Highway 63

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, continuing our monthly spotlight features on defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands from our band links! This month's band is our first Sault Michigan of 2021, but I just want to emphasize that the band in question was randomly selected when we wrote up last month's installment on February 9th, eight days before frontman Henry Switzer's passing. The timing is entirely coincidental, but hey, this does give us a chance to look back on his mid-late 2010s band work once again, so here's what you should know!

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Highway 63

Genre: Classic/Hard Rock
 
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

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

Henry Switzer (Monkey's Uncle), vocals/guitar
Nathan Switzer (Heavy Lies The Crown), guitar/formerly bass
George Belleau (Full Throttle, Hawk Junction), bass
Ron Suchey (Monkey's Uncle, RamWagon), drums)

Ryan Kitzmiller (RamWagon, Full Throttle), guitar
Chris Leask (Power Slug, Blind Baby), bass
Justin Lawless (Absolute, NoXcape), drums
Russell Mayer (The Mama's Boys), drums
Brian Drumheller (The Mama's Boys, The Hixx), keyboard

Audio/Video: Though Highway 63 did tease working on original material in studio (including a demo in early 2015), surviving material from Highway 63's run is largely in the domain of live concert videos, which you can find on the band's Facebook page, both via official postings and via comments from fans & shares from personal Facebook pages. Here's Highway 63 covering John Mellencamp at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin in 2016!

Info/Analysis: Succeeding frontman Henry Switzer's short-lived band Sir Charge upon their public launch in March 2014, Highway 63 was Henry's last major local band before his death last month, with him and his son Nathan the only constant members. Named after the H-63 highway from the Soo to St. Ignace, Highway 63 fittingly played both communities frequently at their respective Kewadin Casino lounges, as well as select other E.U.P. venues, and even taking a road trip outside of the area on occasion. Their best known lineup (the Switzers, Chris, and Ron) were frequently seen from late 2014-early 2018, before a series of personnel changes occurred into the following year. Highway 63 updates slowed entering 2020 due to the pandemic and Henry's health issues, with their last concert taking place outside of Henry's business Hank's Body Shop in August to send off Nathan before he moved downstate.

As fans of Henry's extensive local music work (especially the very similarly comprised Monkey's Uncle) will attest, Highway 63 were a fun band with a strong handle on their range of covers, and always had a fan-friendly nature suited to both heavy rockers and dance floor hits. Henry's vocal and guitar abilities were always top notch, Nathan was a fine compliment to his dad, and they always had solid bassists and drummers throughout their run. Highway 63 had a good run, but hopefully we hear more from their surviving members in the near future, and R.I.P. Henry!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll return to Sault Ontario to kick off a new 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults next month, but as the first randomly selected band doesn't have much information or media, I have picked another band with a similar lack to round things out. As such, we'll be looking at late-2000s thrash metal band Time Of Ruin and 2010s punk band Programmed To Fail! Look for these on or around April 10th, and for more news on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

New Paid & Free Local Album Releases, New Videos, And More!!

We're back with a new news post on this Sunday morning, including a look back at an almost 20 year old cover song from a local band from a major film soundtrack, recent videos from a prominent active band, and leading off, two sudden album releases, one free and one paid! Here's what you should know!

Revived local "shield rock" duo Swampgut have quietly released a proper self-titled debut album! Posted to their Bandcamp page on Friday, this confirms the vague hand-written teasers from vocalist/drummer Frank McCormick's visual arts page, and it features 11 songs, some that were previously available via the Bandcamp "jam room sessions" and elsewhere. The Bandcamp posting clarifies some of Frank & Rob's musical roles, while also confirming related personnel, including former 12 Gauge Ready bassist Dave "Beano" Barrett as a guest on two songs, and Oh!No co-owner Alex Moore as the "non-sinister minister of information". The album was recorded at Spiderpotty Records (I presume that's their home studio) and mixed by AlgomA bandmates Boyd Rendell & Kevin Campbell at 62nd Chamber Productions, who also provided sound effects. Nice to see them at it again!

As Swampgut are a studio-only project, releasing this during the pandemic won't come off as limited, so to speak, but it does appear to be a digital exclusive, with the album running for $5 (or more) in download copies. Yes, you can stream the whole thing for free there as well. It looks like Swampgut are getting their second run going on the right foot, and this is an early front-runner for this month's CD review at the SMS! Buy or stream Swampgut's true debut album above, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

Next up, let's stay in the realm of new album releases (albeit completely free in this case), as prolific local folk punk/metal musician Chase Wigmore has posted another free "album" to his YouTube channel! Basically an EP given it's 20 minute length, this is entitled "Ruins Of Life", and is credited mononymously under his last name. This appears to be one of the acoustic albums that Chase has teased on social media, but don't worry, this is basically an acoustic black metal release, with all of the manic guitarwork and shrieking vocals you could ask for. If you happen to like bands like Impaled Northern Moonforest, you'll be right at home with "Ruins Of Life"! Like his last few "album" releases, this is not for sale, but give Chase's new batch of original tunes a listen for free below!

Also, let's head to Sault Michigan to complete our look at local hard rock band Tarnished's TikTok video uploads so far! As of this writing, nothing new has been uploaded in the past month, though whether this is due to their focusing on recording their single or another factor is not for me to say. In any event, I still cannot get the TikTok video embed code to work on the SMS. On January 12th, frontman Alex Traynor starred in this non-musical video about paying it forward after his car got hit in a minor accident, while two days later, we got to see bassist Josh Fair's dog Barkley having a play date (very cute!) A January 17th slideshow video celebrated Tarnished hitting 200 TikTok followers, and the next day, we got to see their improvised quarantine recording studio in a surprise location, plus a hint from Alex towards something coming up tied into The Mandalorian, details forthcoming.

After a fourth installment of their series "A Note In Review" (with help from Barkley) on the 20th, uploads slowed to a crawl, including a video of Alex & Josh making ice cream (for real) on the 28th, and lastly, a video from February 7th of the guys working on their new single "SDR&R" in studio alongside producer Ryan Nicklas, with Alex playing guitar & drums in the clip. No sign of Nathan in any of these videos, but hopefully Tarnished continue posting entertaining content on TikTok when time and inspiration allows!

Finally, here's another song from local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger that was exclusive to a compilation, and was not on one of their five studio albums! Many readers will be familiar with FUBAR, the 2002 Canadian mockumentary film about two metalhead best friends shotgunning beer and dealing with life's highs and lows. Myself, I didn't love the movie, but is has a strong cult following, and it led to a sequel and TV series. The original film had a companion soundtrack CD named "FUBAR: The Album", largely featuring covers of Canadian classic and hard rock bands by contemporary bands, interspersed with short audio clips from the movie. Most of the songs weren't in the film, but the soundtrack was well advertised at the time. Readers may best recall Sum 41 (as Pain For Pleasure) covering Helix's "Rock You", but many familiar bands like Gob and Sloan submitted covers for the CD.

Treble Charger themselves covered April Wine's "Roller", and it's done relatively faithfully to the original, which is a staple of Canadian hard rock in the 1970s, and you go get to see Greig hit some high notes that their originals didn't call for! Nothing too drastic to report otherwise, if you can picture punk-era Treble Charger covering "Roller", then you'll know what you're getting. "FUBAR: The Album" is not on Spotify, but thanks to YouTube user dfbhcf, you can hear their April Wine cover embedded below!

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

More New Videos & Assorted Updates!!

With no hard rock concerts on the local schedule this weekend (even social distance regulation-infused ones), let's cover some recent news and notes on this Thursday night, including a handful of assorted stories from the last few days, and leading off, some new videos, including a new performance clip from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith! Posted onto the Shaw Community Link YouTube channel on Saturday, this was uploaded as one last bit of promotion for that day's Thompson Winterfest virtual concert that he hosted on their Shaw Spotlight affiliate, and it just so happens to be our first on-demand glimpse of his new single "To Be With You"! As of this writing, it's studio copy remains exclusive to The Borderline Radio, so if you don't want to wait for it in it's regular rotation, this video will be extra notable! No, he didn't play this song during Winterfest proper.

I don't know if this will be part of a new album he's working on or if it will be a standalone single (it is not from his delayed next CD "Bridges"), but in this acoustic format, it's well performed and suitably emotional, and it will definitely please fans of Mike's softer material! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Mike's camp when it rolls in!

 

Next up, here's another new video from ex-Sense Of Truth/Skeyes Of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel on Sunday, uploaded not long after we covered his rendition of Seether's "Broken" on the site that same day. This vocal/guitar cover is of Weezer's acoustic ballad "Butterfly", and was uploaded in black & white for a change. Not a bad rendition, Cory does capture the feelings of the original, but his vocals do sound a little forced on some of the softer verses. Check it out for yourself below!

 

 

Also, here's some videos from local southern/hard rock cover quintet Fort Creek's Facebook page that we missed out on entirely during the second Ontario lockdown, so I apologize for the delay in these making the site! On January 24th, a friend (spouse?) of the band filmed in their jam room and got an interview of sorts with bassist Robin "Bones" Lee while he was practicing, and he gave his thoughts about the lockdown and their hopes to play live again and record a planned EP, while also playing a sample that he was working on towards new original material. Two days later, drummer Anthony Fabiano posted a black & white video where he talked to fans on much the same tract as in Robin's video (e.g. stay safe, we'll be back soon, we have plans to record an album), but this video has more of a musical base, featuring overhead shots of him drumming. Solid work behind the kit, as you'd expect!

Lastly, singer Justin Grayson posted a video on January 29th from his vehicle where he acknowledged that his bandmates covered the same ground he wanted to talk about, but he did reiterate the CD plans and their hopes to come back on stage (for what it's worth, he does not sing anything here.) Of course, we can next see Fort Creek live at Reggie's West in three weeks, and it was nice of the guys (minus Shane & Matt) to update fans during the lockdown like this! Check out Robin's video below, and see more above!

 

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

 

• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet 415E back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band from Nixxon Dixxon & Splitshot alumni had returned from an 18 month hiatus for concerts in 2019 through February 2020's one-off Leap Day gig in Sugar Island, but have been AWOL online since (pandemic acknowledged.) Hopefully we hear from Dave, Chris, Brett, and Jason again when proper concerts resume in the E.U.P.!
• Revived Sault Ontario progressive metal duo Kraken Mara have posted four original studio songs on their website, presumably for their debut EP, including the previously public "Stratus", the title track "Vibe Check", and new songs named "MinMaj" & "Moon's Haunted" (a fifth song named "The Woodward" has quietly been removed for unannounced reasons.) Presuming that the EP is finally coming out soon, I'll hold comment for now, but remember to watch the premiere of the "Vibe Check" playthrough video next Friday!
• In their latest non-TikTok updates from their Facebook page, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished have been plugging the progress of their new single "SDR&R" (possibly standing for "Sick, Drunk, Rock & Roll"?), and the date of Friday, March 26th has been teased in conjunction with said postings. This is the song they were seeking gang vocals from fans for. A post on February 18th also noted that Tarnished are planning a run of their debut EP "Down To The Wire" on cassette tapes. Stay tuned for updates on both fronts this month!
  

 

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

Where Are The New Albums? (March 2020 Update)

For our first post of the month, here's our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, looking at the current release whereabouts of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk acts that have at least began recording sessions! This month, we have five entries, including one restored album and one with updates (both as noted with their title in italics), plus an album has been removed due to it's now-unlikely release prospects. Here's what you should know!

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Chase James Wigmore's new albums

Rumoured Songs: Unknown

Background: Ever the prolific artist and songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore posted on his eponymous Facebook page on August 31st to announce two more distinct acoustic albums and the long-gestating completion of his 33 part rock opera "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". On January 17th, he revealed that a new full-length acoustic album was ready to be recorded (it's not clear if it's one of the ones teased in August), while also promoting the impending release of his long-gestating new Awokest album "Beyonder", which was posted for free on YouTube three days later.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine, 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. Chase did say that he hopes to complete the acoustic album plugged last month "within the next two months", but stay tuned for updates from his camp when they roll in!
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Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth album

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

Background: Revived 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 did post a new original song named "For Now" on YouTube" in January, but it's not clear whether it is intended to be for The Tide or not.

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. 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 when more comes out on the album!
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Kraken Mara - "Vibe Check"

Rumoured Songs: "The Woodward", "Vibe Check", "Stratus", "Moon's Haunted", "Kraken Marta (MinMaj)" "Chimera", "Ishka", "Grand Machinations", "Dark Passenger"

Background: The progressive metal project from Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie & his brother-in-law Jake Valois, Kraken Mara immediately commenced work on their debut EP upon their April 2016 launch. In sporadic updates on Facebook, Reverbnation, and their website, the band posted & reworked original demos with Reese Wolf working as sound engineer for the tracks, and they even planned for music videos of each song. After October 2017, Kraken Mara went on hiatus partially due to Brendan's overseas work commitments, and after a brief return in late 2019, they came back fully in February 2021 with new videos on their Instagram page, a scheduled video playthrough hitting YouTube on March 12th, and streaming copies of five songs newly posted on their website. With their return, they have named the previously self-titled EP "Vibe Check", and confirmed that the Kelowna, B.C.-based Cliff Aubut will provide drums as a session musician.

Current Release Status: Assuming that the five streaming songs on their website will be the only five songs on "Vibe Check" (nothing was firmly said in that regard), then the EP is very likely done the recording sessions, and it does sound like Kraken Mara are nearing a paid release of some kind! That said, the pandemic is still very much a concern, and who knows what format the EP's release will take, though as a studio-only project with no live concerts or full-time bassist & drummer, they wouldn't necessarily be hamstrung by not being able to play a release show in the near term. Stay tuned for more on Kraken Mara's new EP when it rolls in!
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Mike Haggith - Bridges

Rumoured Songs: "From The 55th Parallel", "Over Indecision", "The Nature of The Times","An Act of Strength","The Catalyst", "Dangerous Town", "Come On Home", "Blue Highway", "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost", "Bridges"

Background: After moving to Thompson, Manitoba in November 2017, prolific local/Windsor hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith relaunched his dormant solo project, and soon commenced work on a new CD named "Bridges", which finished recording sessions in early 2019. His Facebook page has documented songwriting sessions, acoustic videos of new original songs, plus solo concerts in Thompson largely featuring new tracks. Despite the unveiling of the cover artwork, three singles, and even a music video for "The Nature of The Times", Mike indefinitely postponed the release of "Bridges" in late 2019 due to mixing delays, personal life concerns, and the quick development of a new album named "If Ever Comes The Day", which was released in June. Note that Mike has released a new studio single named "To Be With You" that has exclusively been aired on The Borderline Radio, but he has not confirmed whether that will be part of a new album of it's own.

Current Release Status: Mike has largely kept his next music plans close to the vest aside from some promising teasers, though he did perform "Come On Home" in Thompson's virtual Winterfest concert last month, and said there that "Bridges" will be released this year. Though this album has been surprisingly delayed since before the pandemic, Mike's typical candor & honesty bodes well if anything sudden occurs. Keep tabs for updates, and watch #LockdownLive IV to hear the whole album unplugged and hear his side of the album's progress and delays as of April!
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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”

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, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" in October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album, though no other details have followed suit.

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, and the apparent departure of bassist Adam Fahrer in recent months. That said, they are a talented group who seem to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on their debut album follow when ready!

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As well, we have one album to remove due to the band in question falling inactive and it's now unlikely release prospects, so here's what you should know on that: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Elements' debut EP 

Rumoured Songs: "Liar", "G20", "Triple H", "The Rut", "I Need A Friend", "Riptide"

Background: Arguably better known for their funk, ska, and hard rock covers, local quartet The Elements had been adding original material to their sets since 2015, and have since publically confirmed earlier teases that they are working on a debut EP. Frontman Rob Speers had confirmed in personal conversations in early 2016 that they were working in studio on the release, which would have had at least 5 tracks, and I believe it was being self-recorded, but further public updates were minimal at best. A studio recording of "I Need A Friend" was quietly posted onto their Facebook page on February 17th of last year, following personal Facebook postings that revealed that EP sessions were further along than public statements indicated, though they never elaborated on that publically.

Reason For Removal: As I moved The Elements to our inactive band links on February 17th of this year, that leads me to assume that the EP plans are similarly inactive, though their members (minus James) have been seen in the interim with their acoustic covers-only side project The Wyld Stallyns. Pandemic-related complications are certainly possible as to why The Elements have been A.W.O.L. in the past year, and hopefully we'll see them return to their usual rocking ways (perhaps with EP in tow) when a more normal concert environment can resume!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around April 2nd, while our next monthly feature will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next Wednesday. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site within the next couple of days! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Three Local Acts, Plus More Recent News & Notes!!

For our last post of February 2020, we're diving into some recent video postings from a few familiar local faces, including a solo cover, a revived band's album plans, and a prolific artist's TV hosting gig, plus a handful of shorter stories at post's end. Here's what you should know!

Here's the latest from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, starting with the fact that his new single "To Be With You" premiered on February 15th on local internet radio station The Borderline! The song has not been posted elsewhere as of this writing, so until it is, you'll have to tune in to The Borderline to see if it comes up in rotation. The song is brand new, and is not from his still-unreleased "Bridges" album, but it's not yet clear whether it's a standalone single or will be part of another new album release. We'll keep you posted! As for new content of Mike's that you can check out on demand, he hosted another Shaw Spotlight virtual community concert that aired locally on TV and radio in Thompson yesterday, specifically Thompson's Winterfest, an 80 minute event that you can watch on the Shaw Community Link YouTube channel and embedded below!

As hyped with this teaser video, this is very similar to the virtual Christmas concert that Mike hosted for Shaw Spotlight in Thompson in December, with Mike introducing acts & talking to viewers, but the tone is somewhat less jokey and sarcastic this time. Admittedly, Saultite interest in Thompson-based acts may be limited, but there's a lot of talent on display, and Mike himself does perform two songs, including "MorningStar" 32 minutes in & "Come On Home" (from "Bridges", which he promised will come out this year) about 67 minutes in. Solid performances from Mike & Thompsonites alike, and this all came together nicely, so give Thompson Winterfest a watch!

Next up, local progressive metal duo Kraken Mara are back (again!) After a public hiatus since September 2019 (their only month with updates since 2017), the band quietly posted a "scheduled video" of a play-through of a song from their upcoming debut EP, which will now be named "Vibe Check" rather than be self-titled. The video is not watchable until it premieres at 10:01 AM on March 12th, which is definitely unique for a local band to post, and it's proof that this return is going to lead somewhere in the short term! Kraken Mara's Facebook page hasn't been newly updated yet, but their Instagram page has new updates, albeit with all prior videos deleted, sadly. Four short clips are there to check out, including two of guitarist Jake Valois practicing solos for the EP, and two featuring his bandmate/brother-in-law Brendan Christie in brief samples from the "Vibe Check" playthrough premiering on the 12th.

The scheduled YouTube video's description notes that drums on the EP are being provided by Cliff Aubut, who drums for the Kelowna, B.C. metalcore band Stasis. I presume he's a session drummer given the distance, but we'll let you know if his involvement is greater. Assuming that "Vibe Check" does see it's intended release, I'll hold comment on the music proper until then (especially with the full song video not watchable yet), but it's great to see Brendan & Jake back at it once again, and fans of djent-laden progressive metal will want to take notice! Give the second of Brendan's teaser videos a look below, see more above, and stay tuned for updates!

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Also today, here's a new cover video from ex-Sense Of Truth/Skeyes Of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel on Friday, where he covered Seether's ballad "Broken" (not the version with Amy Lee.) The video quality is a little hazy, but the music comes through well enough, and Cory's voice is a good match for this song (the descripion notes that he plans to do more Seether covers), so give this well done rendition a watch below!

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

• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock trio Mackinaw Trail to our inactive band links due to the sudden passing of frontman Henry Switzer earlier this month. It's certainly possible that George and Ron could continue forward in a band, bur they hadn't posted anything on their Facebook page about Mackinaw Trail in particular since late 2019, rather sharing info on Highway 63 and Henry's solo pursuits (and don't forget about the pandemic either). Hopefully we hear more from George & Ron musically down the road!
  
• On a similar note to the Mackinaw Trail link update, I have removed Henry's old classic/hard rock band Sir Charge from our inactive band links, this time due to the page's deletion at some point last year. Sir Charge were the short-lived successors to Henry and his son Nathan's old band Monkey's Uncle, and were active on the E.U.P. bar circuit from 2012-2013, though I don't believe they ever had videos to show for their brief run. Hopefully Nathan and the Mayers stay active in music!
• Sault Ontario-based Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters have quietly added Isolation Sessions/ex-Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse to their lineup, replacing Max Ambeault, as per an update on their Facebook page this month. A reason for Max's departure was not announced, but he only played live with The Soo Fighters once in 2019 before the pandemic scuttled their 2020 plans. Hopefully we hear from Max musically again, but Art should fit in fine when The Soo Fighters play live next, whenever that is!
  

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