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Get the rock out

Shocore, 3 rd Strike play WSSF Mainstage Who: Shocore and 3 rd Strike Where: WSSF Mainstage, Skier’s Plaza When: April 18 With their Hot Rod look in flame-stitched sound, Shocore hits the stage with alternative Canadian rock next week.

Shocore, 3 rd Strike play WSSF Mainstage

Who: Shocore and 3 rd Strike

Where: WSSF Mainstage, Skier’s Plaza

When: April 18

With their Hot Rod look in flame-stitched sound, Shocore hits the stage with alternative Canadian rock next week.

"We’ve been described as KISS meets the Butthole Surfers, and I guess that still holds true," says Sho, co-founder of the band.

His black shirt covered with orange in the band promo shot matches co-founder Cory White’s outfit, and attests to the fiery energy of their music.

"We’re all about the spirit of rock ’n’ roll and the ’60s and ’70s. You can be having a bad day and you can give someone the finger, or go home and listen to Highway to Hell," laughs Sho.

Nothing like a little aggressive rock to welcome in mountain bike season.

Shocore, who are currently working through which of 25 new songs will land on their next album, will next tour Europe, then shop for a U.S. release.

Devil Rock Disco

is their latest CD in stores, whose track Bonecracker has been a popular favourite this past year for multimedia use. Microsoft used the track for the Xbox series, while High School Punk was incorporated on the Jet Boy Soundtrack as well as episodes of The Outer Limits TV series.

A long-time hockey fan, Sho was pleased that their tunes were even being used inside hockey arenas.

"We’re able to bounce ideas off each other, which is good. Cory has his ear to the ground in terms of what’s going on in radio and the industry," says Sho.

They also produce bands like new outfit Low Profit.

"We’ve all done our times in the trenches. Some shows have been great on the tour, some have not, but we hit every snowstorm in Canada!"

3 rd Strike debuts in Canada

Meanwhile California contingent 3 rd Strike, based in Los Angeles, make their Canadian debut at Whistler during the World Ski and Snowboard Festival. They play from their first release, Lost Angel .

The band takes its name from the three strikes law in California and Texas, where if someone has been convicted of three felonies they go to prison for life.

"I’ve experienced a lot of things, so the writing is pretty much like venting," says Jim Korthe, who spent seven years of his life as a member of an L.A. gang. He’s now using music with poetry to get out those experiences.

3 rd Strike is currently with Hollywood Records, working on a new, self-titled CD. The record will be in stores May 21, featuring the single No Light.

Additional tracks include Cities On Fire, Lisa, and Hang On. Barrio Raid, a song about a neighbourhood policeman dealing crystal meth, was nixed from the album.

"The song was pushing it a bit lyrically, but it’s a true story from the years I spent in a gang," says Korthe.

Writing melody as a child was easy for him to do.

"I thought it came easy to everyone, and I played melodies on an organ that was given to me," he says.

For him, song writing is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.

"I do have some hopeful songs, but party type songs don’t really come out right.

"When I saw five of my friends die in the summer of ’90, it hit me pretty hard – either I was going to end up in prison, or I could do something positive, and maybe be able to reach out to some kids," he says.

3 rd Strike just recorded a cover of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, with a cameo from DJ Muggs (of Cypress Hill).

Korthe founded his first band, Dime Store Hoods, with Todd D in 1995. When their label, MCA, was bought by Seagram’s, they were told to produce another album on the spot.

"So we said screw that!"

Thereafter they developed songs for 3 rd Strike and found a lineup, which features P.J. McMullen on drums, Gabe Hammersmith on bass, with Todd Deguchi and Erik Carlsson on guitar.

The band, who have been together for two years, also appear for three weeks on the Vans Warped Tour, in addition to the Ozzfest Theory, two feathers in the ballcap for their music genre.

"Right now, the sky’s the limit," says Korthe.

The above concerts are free. They take place from 3 to 6 p.m. on the WSSF mainstage.