3rdrail
Residence: East Bay
Style: Melodic, groove-oriented hard rock with razor-sharp, soulful guitar precision
Members: Mark Mrdeza (vocals), Ed May (guitar), Jeff Mullin (guitar), George Aston (bass), Brenn Reichick (drums)
By Erik Fong

Older and Slower
Continuing on the momentum from the positive reviews of their 2000 album Shine, 3rdrail recently finished recording a 7 song industry demo in Concord with Juan Urteaga (Vile). The demo, due in May, breaks some new artistic ground for the band - including a "slow song" (read: cha-ching).

Aural soulmates?
3rdrail's three original members - Ed May, Brenn Reichick and Jeff "Mullin" Mullin - have known each other longer than they've known their own pubes. Ed and Brenn, who originally met in second grade, both discovered Mullin at their junior high talent show playing a Guns n' Roses song on guitar. "He was either playing Sweet Child O' Mine or Paradise City," revealed Ed. "It was hilarious. He's been a bad ass for a long time." See? Best friends really do last forever!

Diversity
The band's brand of rock is an amalgam of their somewhat schizophrenic musical tastes. Proof: Mark's two biggest vocal influences are Phil Anselmo (Pantera) and Dave Matthews. As for Ed's tastes, "B.B. King's in my stereo right now, but I was listening to Carcass on the way here." What? Genuine music fans that refuse to let the limiting rules of one genre dictate their everyday lives? It's almost too not-dumb to be true.

Rock Hurts
3rdrail's first true love is performance - and with live performances come onstage stunts that seem like good ideas until someone breaks their shit. Ed shared two instances of fun gone awry: "I jumped off of the stage at the Pound, tried to land correctly and ended up totally hurting myself. I pulled a muscle in my back and had to see a chiropractor. I was really proud of myself. Also about a month ago, I jumped up - Mark spilled beer on stage and I didn't see it - and my feet went out from underneath me and I hit my head. It was horrible."

Endorsements
The band has taken their "starving, freeloading musician" status to the professional level thanks to endorsements with EMG Pickups, Morley pedals, Dunlop picks and Monster cable. Their endorsement application with Pantene is still pending.

Witness: Saturday, April 19 @ The Pound (420 Musik Conspiracy Festival with Vio-lence, Skinlab, 40 Grit and more)
Albums: Shine (2000) - contact the band to purchase
Sample: Inkblot from their album Shine (3:01)
Website: www.3rdrail1.com