This year has been pretty decent for The Thrashers.

They recorded the theme song to the upcoming web series Brad Even Paler and released their critically acclaimed debut LP, Make a Splash, through local imprint Transistor 66.

Jesse Bercier (24, guitar/vocals), Sean G (24, drums) and Iaian Loeppky (23, bass/vocals) have definitely carved a niche for themselves as possibly the most energetic live band in the city.

The Uniter sat down with the boys at The Toad for a few beers to discuss the past year.

The Uniter: How do you take music seriously without playing serious music?

Bercier:  I’ve said right from the get-go that the minute this starts being not fun, that’s when I don’t want to be a part of it - but we still take it very seriously. We still write the songs and practice, it isn’t just some side thing like playing Nintendo that I’ll do when I’m bored.

Loeppky: It’s safe to say we’re serious about having fun.

Let’s talk about the experience you had in the studio with Make a Splash.

Bercier: It was just having fun in front of microphones.

Loeppky: We booked five days at Platinum Gold Studios on Selkirk - they do a lot of (aboriginal) recording and polka music. The engineer was Shane Ward, a really cool guy. We booked a week with him and did the first three days and everything came together really quickly, so we decided to kind of take a day off and listen to it and come back on Friday and touch it up.

So this was about a year ago. When did Transistor 66 come into the picture?

Loeppky: In February, Art (MacIntyre, the label’s owner) propositioned us. They’re really looking for bands that are self-sufficient. They’re not looking to take over a band and bring them to the top, they’re looking for bands that want to do that themselves.

Do you guys have any “first week of school” stories?

Sean G: I went to (the University of Manitoba), but I just showed up when I had to. I did get freshied in high school with my own skateboard, actually! So that was fun.

Loeppky: I was at (the University of Winnipeg), but that didn’t last. I think I talked to, like, one person.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Loeppky: Buy our record or buy records in general. I download stuff, too, and it’s a great way to get into new stuff, but I’m an avid collector. This is music (holds up a stack of freshly purchased LPs) - you’ve got to actually hold on to it. It just creates such a good emotional connection to what you’re listening to. I could probably go through my CD or record collection and tell you when and where I bought all the stuff
I have. There’s a story attached to each one. It helps you stay close to the art.

Published in Volume 66, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 2, 2011)