Interview with Todd Deguchi and Jim Korthe of the Band, 3rd Strike

In the late 90's the third wave of the rap/rock/nu-metal scene was in full swing and one of the bands touted as "the next big thing" came straight out of my own hometown. San Pedro California is not known for its cutting edge music scene, although it is home to Mike Watt and has been referenced by the Beastie Boys once or twice. The sleepy town is indeed just that, a sleepy small town connected to the south bay. In 1999 the band 3rd Strike came roaring out of Pedro with an aggressive take on the nu-metal/rap/rock sound that was all the rage (no pun intended).

I had a vested interest in the band and I wanted to see them do well even if it was for selfish reasons. I liked the fact that this type of band came out of San Pedro. We were finally going to be seen as a cutting edge place thanks to the group. I was also excited to see two former classmates of mine doing well in the music business.

Guitarist Todd Deguchi and I went to the same Jr. High School together and before he went on to San Pedro High School vocalist Jim Korthe was a classmate of mine at Bishop Montgomery. We may have been trapped in a Catholic school but that did not stop Jim from turning me on to Metallica! The band seemed on a trajectory for success.

The title track from their debut disc "Lost Angel" got some airplay on KROQ and the band landed gigs on The Warped Tour, Ozzfest and The Cypress Hill Smokeout. The group seemed poised for bigger and better things and then within the blink of an eye 3rd Strike was gone. Now after a four year hiatus the band is back with a new lineup and a new sound. What has not changed however is the songwriting partnership and friendship of Korthe and Deguchi. Their bond over music has kept their eyes on the prize and it has made a friendship last through the toughest of times.

The first band Deguchi and Korthe put together, Dimestore Hoods, was a rap/rock outfit that eventually landed a record deal. At the time Korthe was doing double duty in that band as both the singer and the drummer.

"We tried having Jim drum and sing and we realized we really needed a frontman," Todd explains.

"We started trying out singers but a lot of the vocalists were still stuck in the glam thing and it just was not working out. "I became the singer by default, and we decided that we would have to get a drummer so I could front the band. Dimestore was signed to MCA and put out one disc. 3rd Strike evolved out of that band and we were signed to Hollywood Records around 1999."

"Once the band was signed and a single was released local radio picked up on the title track "Locally we did well...KROQ started playing the single and the disc started to sell...we started to do a lot of shows, festivals and we had a lot of good opening slots with big bands."

When asked to elaborate on what slowed the momentum, Todd explains, "We were ready to do another record...things just started to fall apart with the record company...things started to fall apart with the company and the band so we decided we should just take a break and go on hiatus for a while. I was doing a side project and Jim was working with members of the Boo-Ya Tribe."

Jim adds stoically, "Todd and I did our own thing for a while...we just went out separate ways musically and did different things but we always kept in contact and then we just started writing again...we have written some different sounding stuff...it's the same type of style but there has definitely been growth. We came up with some new stuff and decided to put the band together and try it again."

The group not only reformed but ended up playing their first gig in years opening for Drowning Pool. When asked to elaborate on how it felt to take it to the stage after a few years off, Korthe simply smiles and says, "It felt really good...felt good to be back on stage with Todd and the band...he and I have been writing music since Jr. High...when you have written with someone for that long you just start to have a certain chemistry with that person...you start to understand where they want the song to go before they tell you."

"We have been writing music together for a long time" proclaims Todd, "we have been into the same type of music, we have grown up together and we just a developed a style of working together."

Make no mistake the musical bond between Korthe and Deguchi is a strong one and it has stood the test of time and some very tumultuous events. When Jim Korthe turned eighteen his life took a turn that few would have expected.

"A lot of my really good friends who I went to high school with were from Wilmington CA. I started hanging out, out there...one thing led to another and it was just a natural progression...by the time I turned eighteen I was jumped into a gang in Wilmington. It was not something I planned...my family life was not going to well...I was looking for that father figure...my dad was not around mentally for me when I was young.

I grew up with three sisters so I was always looking for those brothers...I found them through this gang...it was a very different and hectic lifestyle than what I was used to and I am not active in it anymore...my focus now is my music."

When asked if this had a negative impact on their friendship Todd states emphatically, "music has just been the bond...it's been the number one passion for both of us".

Jim continues, "Our friendship has always been there. I kind of left for a while and got lost in this other lifestyle but we would always keep in contact...music and our friendship literally kept me alive."

Korthe chooses his words carefully as he describes this chapter of his life and it is understandable. Both musicians feel that writers, publicists and their own record company used Korthe's time in a gang as a way to try and sell records and promote the band. "It just got ridiculous! We would be on tour, rehearsing or recording but then I would come home I would read or hear all of these stories that were supposed to be about me and my life...it was all lies...it just got out of control and the focus became my life on the streets and not the music."

When asked what he would say to someone who might be thinking of getting caught up in this type of street life, Jim sighs and states, "All I can say is, that type of life is filled with a lot of negativity...jail time, death of friends...it is just not worth it. I was looking for something within that lifestyle. I thought I could find it but I was wrong. The guys who were running around with me are glad that I am doing the music thing now...they are proud that I am doing this." Both musicians are excited to have the band back together and they have been enjoying the writing process.

"Our sound is expanding but at the same time some elements of our sound remain the same. We still have a lot of hip-hop elements in our sound but right now I am not listening to a lot of new hip-hop. I am more interested in melody and I am doing a lot more singing. I have rediscovered rock. We are always going to try and recreate ourselves and grow."

Deguchi adds, "We still have the same type of vibe happening in our music but we are progressing and adding new elements to what we do."

In terms of getting back into the limelight again the band is prepared to do it themselves.

"Everything is DIY nowadays" says Todd, "we have new band members and we are rehearsing with this new lineup and we are writing and recording....its a work in progress but its going. We are going to try and record something on our own and see how things go. For now we need to keep writing, playing shows and see where it goes. Right now the metal stuff that is popular now is the stuff we were into back in the day!! It has come full circle and we should be able to fit right in. The number one goal is to play shows, write, and record and then we will see what happens from there".

As the interview winds down and the three of us reminisce about friends and classmates who have come and gone, I can't help but notice Jim and Todd going over the rest of their day. It will be filled with rehearsal, practice, dealing with family stuff, more rehearsal, maybe a photo shoot and still more rehearsal. As I watch and listen I am struck by how the friendship between these two musicians has withstood tours, losing band members, gaining and losing a record label and sadly the perils of gang life.

Throughout it all Jim and Todd's passion for music and the band they call 3rd Strike has kept them both sane, sober and in some cases alive. They will indeed have an uphill battle to get back into the limelight and the industry may not welcome them with open arms. No matter how things play out, you can rest assured that for the members of 3rd Strike friendship and music remain the key elements to the ties that bind.