Local heavy metal band PINERIPPER completes first tour
June 15, 2026, 10:39 am
Nicole Taylor
Local heavy metal band PINERIPPER recently completed their first tour, performing four shows across Saskatchewan and Alberta. The tour marked a milestone for the group, which has spent the last several years building its lineup, writing original music and performing throughout the region.
The band consists of guitarist and founding member Mike Strandlund, guitarist Derek Gray, lead singer Kent Ko, bassist Spencer Dowling and drummer Bryce Williams. In May, the group teamed up with Saskatoon-based band Atomic Yeti for shows in Saskatoon, Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton.
Band Orgins
“I played in bands growing up all through high school,” said Strandlund. “That’s kind of how I met Derek.”
The two first met while Strandlund was playing a show at the Elkhorn bar.
“Derek came in, and I think he was underage at the time,” said Strandlund. “He was talking to me and saying he wanted to learn guitar. I handed him my guitar and went drinking off somewhere and left him on stage. He ended up playing for the bar that night, so that’s kind of how we became friends.”
The pair remained friends and continued playing guitar together over the years.
“Derek and I were just playing guitar like we normally would do, and I said we’re both into metal, we should just start a band one of these days. We’re getting older.” said Strandlund.
Finding musicians interested in playing heavy metal was one of the first challenges.
“We started looking at who was from Moosomin who could be in a band around here, especially a metal band,” said Strandlund. “It’s hard finding people who are into the same music you are.”
Kent Ko was among the first members to join the group.
“I didn’t know Kent at the time,” said Strandlund. “I just knew him as a long-haired dude that worked with Derek’s brother. I said, ‘what about that guy? He looks like kind of a metalhead. We should call him up.”
Ko said he was interested when Gray and Strandlund approached him.
“Mike and Derek reached out to me because they’d heard I might be into doing vocals,” he said.
The band continued to take shape over time. Williams joined after previously playing in a band with Ko.
“We looked forever for a bass player,” said Strandlund. “You’d think it would be easy, but it’s not.”
Dowling eventually joined through a chance meeting when Gray went to purchase a bass guitar.
“Derek was going to buy a bass guitar to try and learn himself. The guy selling the bass was Spencer,” said Strandlund. “Derek got talking to him and found out he worked at the mine. It turned out he was only a few offices down from me. I knew who he was, but I didn’t know he played bass.”
Strandlund said the completed lineup spent roughly a year and a half rehearsing before turning its attention to writing original material.
“We didn’t actually start writing music until we found Spencer,” he said.
“Then we started writing our own songs and trying to put gigs together.”
One of the band’s early performances took place at the Uptown Bar in Moosomin. Since then, the group has continued performing throughout the region while developing its sound.
Ko described the band’s music as groove-oriented heavy metal influenced by several styles.
“Some people might call it sludge metal or stoner rock,” he said. “I like to call it Saskatchewan grease rock. For us, touring was the next step,” said Ko. “If you want to be in a band and you don’t want to just be playing within an hour of home, you have to get out there and put your songs to the test.”
First Tour
The four-show run was organized independently by the band.
“It was all self-booked and self-promoted,” said Ko. “Bryce did the vast majority of the work putting everything together.”
Ko said the reaction from audiences was one of the most memorable parts of the tour.
“Every place we went, the crowd was rowdy and into it,” he said. “People were trying to fist bump us and high five us during songs, and then coming to talk to us afterward. We sold merch, made friends and gained followers. It was really cool seeing people connect with our music.”
He said Saskatoon and Red Deer stood out among the four stops.
“There were mosh pits where people were falling down and helping each other back up,” said Ko. “People see that and think it’s aggression, but it’s really a community thing.”
Before heading out on the tour, Ko said there was some uncertainty about how the band’s music would be received outside its usual audience.
“You wonder if people are going to connect with what you’re doing,” he said. “But we were welcomed everywhere we went, and we appreciated everyone who took the time to come out and see us.”
The tour also provided an opportunity for the band to learn more about organizing and promoting shows.
“None of us had really toured before,” said Strandlund. “You learn a lot about promotion and advertising. You learn what works and what doesn’t.”
Strandlund said one noticeable difference compared to the band’s early years is seeing audiences made up of more than just friends and family.
“We’re getting to the point where we’re seeing people wearing our shirts that we don’t know,” he said. “It’s not just friends and family anymore.”
“We made all our load-in times and sound checks, and there weren’t really any equipment failures,” said Ko. “There was maybe one broken bass string, but our friends in Atomic Yeti helped us out. Overall, everything went pretty smoothly.”
Behind the name
The band’s name came together during a brainstorming session after a rehearsal.
“We were sitting in Derek’s basement after a jam, trying to think of a name that hadn’t been used or taken already,” said Strandlund. “I had some thought of ‘Into the Pines’ or something like that, and we kind of took the pine part from it. Kent was on a bit of a horror movie kick at the time, and eventually it ended up being PINERIPPER.
“Everybody asks where it came from,” he said. “Really, we were just putting words together at that point for a band name, and that’s how it happened.”
The band is currently discussing additional tour dates for the fall and recording new material.
“There’s some talks happening right now about another run of dates,” said Ko. “We’re tracking some new songs and working on video content.”
Ko said the group hopes to continue introducing audiences to music created by musicians from southeast Saskatchewan.
“We’re homegrown Saskatchewan heavy metal,” he said. “We’re all small-town people through and through. We’re just trying to make a name for ourselves and shine a light on places like Moosomin, Melville and the communities we’re from.”
The band can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and other streaming platforms @ PINERIPPER.
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