Thick Shakes are a fun-loving ‘60s-style garage-rock trio from Boston, Massachusetts, who will be crossing the border for their first Canadian shows this weekend, including a stop at Soybomb HQ for Wavelength tonight, plus Le Divan Orange in Montréal on Sunday. We’ve been told their live shows are a “non-stop meltdown,” so we hope Soybomb have turned their A/C on. You can sample some of their various seven-inch tracks on their Bandcamp page, but hold on to some of the loonies you save on cheap beer to spend at the merch table. As an added bonus in the spirit of post-Eastern Conference semi-final co-operation, Kurtis B. Marcoux of Toronto band Tails (and the 2012 Fake Prom Band) will be filling in for Thick Shakes’ drummer Matt, who is unfortunately ill and forced to stay home for this long weekend mini-tour. Wavelength bday gal Dorice Tepley spoke to singer/bassist Lindsay Crudele.

How long have you guys been together?

We played our first show in June, 2008 at the Milky Way, a bowling alley in Jamaica Plain, Boston.

Where does the name "Thick Shakes" come from? Is there an inside joke there?

Tim and I were at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a famous hot dog place in Washington, DC, and there was a big sign outside that said “Thick Shakes” (seen here). We liked how it felt slightly churlish out of context, with an added bonus of referencing food. The previous contender was “Hot Garbage,” so this was for the better.

You and Tim are married...did the relationship come first or the band?

We had been a couple for two years prior; we met through our mutual taste in local bands. We function well as both creative partners as well as domestic, and had collaborated on other endeavours in such a way (my writing plus his graphic design for example) previously, so this was a pretty comfortable extension. I dragged him somewhat back into music after he was in bands for several years, but I was just getting started.

Do you think having that close relationship helps create a stronger bond in your band?

We’re also close friends with our drummer, Matt, with whom I share a buddy tattoo and who officiated our wedding, so we’re all quite comfortable. It makes logistics generally casual for one thing, and travel fun for another; we’d already be taking road trips together, so travel shows are like regular vacation with stops in between to play.

Who does the song writing in the group? And what inspires them to write?

It usually starts with me, then I bring the basic structure and lyrics and let the others have at it; Tim does some songwriting too. Most of our songs seem to come down to people we especially like, people we especially don’t, plus one about money and one about being a good pedestrian.

Your music is high energy fun, what sort of fun-time activities do you guys as a band like to do... or does your excitement/energy come from playing together?

Tim and I keep bees. Swimming, cooking, outdoorsy things, attending other shows, flea markets, kite flying and homebrewing are the immediate things that come to mind. Some of those we do all together; especially not usually the beekeeping but somehow I have a picture of that:

Toronto has a thriving music scene for all tastes and speeds. What's Boston's music scene like? Do you have any favourite local bands you highly recommend?

We’re pretty lucky here that most nights of the week there is at least one and probably more choices for seeing something great. We love Royal Wedding, Radio Control, Hands & Knees, Spoilsport, White Pages, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, Electric Street Queens, Courters; to name just a few.

It's almost been a year since you guys have released new material. What do you have in the works?

We just released a new single, part of a 4-way split 7” on La Parca, called I Said So; and by the time you see us we’ll have a new single out for our upcoming video, Polyommatus Blues. We’re looking forward to an upcoming tape split with the aforementioned Courters.

What's something you wish people would ask you about your band but never do?

“Would you like to play at our beach house this weekend?”