Friday, July 10, 2015

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Late & Loud

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we once again profile a randomly selected metal, hard rock, or punk band from either of the Twin Saults, in order to spotlight their run & accomplishments for current readers! This month's selection were among the most prominent Sault Ontario metal bands of the early 2010s, so if you've missed them in the past year+, read on below for what you should know!
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Late & Loud

Genre: Classic Metal/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Jonathan Tiberi (The Daybreak Johnnies, Pillory), vocals/guitar
Brendan Christie (Stillbroke, The Hydra's Teeth), guitar/vocals
Benn Garside (The Glass Statues, Lazer Queen, The Hydra's Teeth), bass
Josh Hatherley (The Glass Statues), drums

Audio/Video: Late & Loud released their only EP "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal" during their first reunion concert in November 2012 at The Rockstar Bar, later reissuing it with the subtitle "Still Hard" the following April during their Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Finals appearance (also their last show as a fully active band.) Both feature 5 songs recorded at The Smoke & Oak Room with producer Dave Pihlaja, and while the original release features two self-recorded bonus tracks, those were re-recorded with producer Steve Hopkin alongside two new songs for the "Still Hard" rerelease. The EP is now out of print, but you can stream it in full at this link! There are numerous concert videos and extras also online from Late & Loud's run, including from our YouTube channel and the band's Facebook page, but here's the guys playing multiple songs at The Canadian in 2012!



Info/Analysis: Launching publically in late 2010, Late & Loud helped bring 1980s-style hair metal back to the local music scene, debuting that November at The Outback at Sault College. The guys slowly grew in profile in the early 2010s, including playing a number of Foggy Notions and college headlining dates in 2011, a set at that year's first Swampstravaganza, and four Roosevelt Hotel metal nights. Late & Loud edged out As It Stands to win April 2012's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands, but surprisingly announced their breakup after opening for Skull Fist that August. That proved to be brief, as they reunited to open for The Saigon Hookers that November and to make a finals run in the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands in April 2013 (with EPs in tow for both), then disbanding due to Jon Tiberi's move from the Soo. However, the band played two one-off reunion shows at The Rockstar Bar in 2014, with August's dubbed their "final show" in advance of Brendan Christie's own move overseas.

Late & Loud were a fun and talented band that definitely gave a classic spice to the local scene, effectively capturing the 1980s look and essence in concerts and on their CDs! Everyone was very talented in their roles, with Jon & Brendan's dual guitar attack one of their best assets, but the band's constant gap was the lack of a formal lead singer, with members' vocal ranges often not as rangy as their songs and genre usually call for. No band members are currently active in local bands, but hopefully we hear more from all four guys soon, wherever the road takes them!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next in this series, we're heading back to Sault Michigan, and through 100% random selection, we're looking at London Gentlemen guitarist Mike Libertoski's inactive solo project (not to be confused with his more recent Galactic Alignment solo work, the two projects are distinct.) I don't believe there will be enough there for a solo profile, so we'll supplant it with an extra randomly chosen Sault Ontario profile, that being of Gates of Winter frontman Lee Maines' own inactive solo project, so look out for one or both on August 10th, with Lee's coming in September if Mike has enough to cover alone! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

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