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State of Shock is:

Jesse Wainright- Lead Guitar

Kadooh- Rhythm Guitar

Cam Melnyk- Vocals

Johnny Philippon- Drums

Alison Toews- Bass

We were at the Staind, Seether, and Papa Roach show at The Venue in Hammond, Indiana, and were blown away by the opening act. Their music was original, eye opening, and innovative. The lead singer had a ton of stage presence, the lead guitarist wielded a double Gibson guitar for a few songs, the rhythm guitarist had this outrageous Mohawk and was all over the stage, the drummer was full of energy, and the bassist was a chick that rocks! The band immediately caught our eye and we were insistent that we meet them. The band was State of Shock, and the result of that meeting is the following...

M.I.N.: Where you guys from?

Vancouver B.C. Canada

M.I.N.: How did you guys find your way onto this tour?

Lots of hard work! It only took a few hundred thousand dollars and a record deal. We are signed with Universal/Republic Records in the United States. We are getting ready to release our new Record “Life, Love, & Lies” online in December, and it will be in stores March of ’09.

M.I.N.: Is this your first record?

Cam: This will be our second record. Our first album was titled “Guilty by Association.”

M.I.N.: What’s going to be your first single off the new album?

Cam: We have been number one on Sirius Radio with our song Money Honey.

M.I.N.: How did you all meet?

Johnny: We were the only ones left in a bar one night, and we were all drunk and decided to form a band. (Laughs) I’m kidding...we were all just good friends that just came together as this team. We are friends first and foremost, and handle business as such.

M.I.N.: How long have you all been together?

Cam: It’s been roughly 9 years. Some of us have known each other for about 15 years. A lot of us went to the same school or met through friends at school. Johnny and Jessie had gotten together and were making music, and then Alison and Kadooh came aboard not too long after that. Then the next thing you know we have a band.

M.I.N.: Can you describe your new album?

Cam: It’s titled “Life, Love & Lies,” and it lives true to its name. Everything on there has been something that either some or all of us have been through at some point in our lives.

M.I.N.: Do you write as a band then, or is there a main songwriter?

Cam: Yes. Touring on our first record, which was an independent release, gave us fuel for this record. We all went through ups and downs.

Kadooh: We went through Life, Love, & Lies!

M.I.N.: All bands have a Rock -n- Roll story. What’s yours?

Allison: We started in a truck.

Jessie: It was a lot of hard work and a lot of driving the truck back and forth across Canada. Then we landed the Nickleback tour in 2007. Then our singles started to take off. All of the sudden we had 3 top ten singles in Canada.

M.I.N.: What’s with all the great bands coming from Canada? You have Theory of a Deadman, Nickelback, Our Lady Peace, and State of Shock. Why does Canada keep pumping out all these great rock bands?

Cam: That’s not true! A lot of our idols are bands like Staind, Seether and Papa Roach. All of these bands come from the United States.

Alison: We like to think of it as North America and not Canada versus the United States. We are all part of one big Rock -n- Roll family.

M.I.N.: What was your first “WOW” moment as a band?

Cam: Probably when we opened up for Aerosmith in front of 35,000 people. We worked our asses off on the stage for about 25 minutes and the fans gave us a great reception.

M.I.N.: Playing with the likes of Aerosmith and Daughtry, what’s something you have learned from your experiences with them?

Cam: The one thing I have learned is that they are just people. You would think that they would have these big egos and “rock star” attitudes, but after meeting them I found out they are just normal people like you and me.

M.I.N.: You had mentioned that you knew some of the members of Theory of a Deadman...were you guys all from the same town?

Johnny: We all went to school at North Delta High School. It’s amazing that a small area like that has spawned members to so many bands.

M.I.N.: (To Alison) How is it to be the only girl in the band?

Alison: If you have ever seen a movie where there’s a locker room scene after a big sporting event. That’s my life (laughs).

Kadooh: She’s one of the dudes!

Alison: I have seen and heard it all while spending time with these guys.

Cam: She was actually the first to answer an ad that Jessie had put in a paper for bass players.

M.I.N.: Is there anything you would like to tell your fans?

All: Thanks for your support!

Cam: Our new album will be available online in December.

State of Shock really took us by surprise. They are a fun and down to earth bunch of people who truly enjoy what they are doing. It is only a matter of time before their music takes off in the United States. If you want to hear more from the band, you can go to their website here. Their music is available now through most online retailers such as ITunes, and will be available at many brick and mortar stores in March 2009. If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend you go check them out.