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That’s Mr. Solid for you

Who: Mr. Solid Where: The Boot When: Sunday, Nov. 4 You need energy to rock punk, and energy is what Mr. Solid has got, with members holding down full time jobs while rehearsing pop and hardcore – with a touch of reggae – every Sunday.

Who: Mr. Solid

Where: The Boot

When: Sunday, Nov. 4

You need energy to rock punk, and energy is what Mr. Solid has got, with members holding down full time jobs while rehearsing pop and hardcore – with a touch of reggae – every Sunday.

Guitarist Dom Koric, formerly of Whistler’s Going Blind, recently joined the California-influenced punk trio, making them a quartet. With Ryan C. also on guitar, Jo Solid on bass and Duncan Ius beating the drums, the band is extremely solid.

"Generally we prefer to bring ideas to the jam," Koric says of the band’s collective approach to writing songs. "Basically we get the songs structured, then record and mix it up. As soon as we have it we lay it down, and generally you know once you’ve got your song."

Pre-recording for their latest CD, Straight Up, was completed in house, while mixing and finishing was done at Wreckage Recorder and Baker Street Studios in the Lower Mainland.

There’s some new sound this time around.

"We wanted to record drum and bass on old school analog equipment, where you can bring a bigger, fuller sound (to the music)," notes Koric. Hence, the combination of studios.

The band, which will be performing new original material at The Boot on Sunday, cites Rancid, noFX, and Morning Maker among their musical influences.

Since 1995, Mr. Solid has released three CDs, including Straight Up. Sales of the CDs and related band merchandise have helped fund each new project.

While Koric assumed the role of manager with his previous band, this time around he just plays music.

"I used to do everything, from the merchandise like T-shirts and pins, to the bookings and media packs, to getting our CD into stores like Whistler Music – it was a lot of work," he says.

Ius handles that end of the business for Mr. Solid.

"It’s basically a lot of harassing," Ius says. "I have to send our record out to every place (we want to play) and we are looking at 50 shows for our planned nationwide tour next April."

The process from demo to display usually involves a member of the band contacting sales reps at music outlets or music managers for venues, forwarding a media kit to them and a demo or two, then following up by phone or playing the waiting game in an effort to get the music heard.

"You fill out forms at the shop, say I want to charge $10 per CD. I let them know and they do the mark-up. A lot of our friends work in the punk rock section," he laughs.

You can find their album in Sam the Record Man, HMV, and A&B Sound in Vancouver. Having played Skatespace for the past two years, they’d like to be playing additional winter events as the next demo recording progresses.