How ThrillFire Was Formed And Where They’re Heading 

If you’re from the Bathurst area, you may have seen Phil Joe Robichaud and the rest of ThrillFire playing at 13 Barrels, the July Block Party on Main Street, or the many private events they provide the soundtrack for. 

The band comprises guitarist/vocalist Phil Joe Robichaud, Charles Dumaresque on bass, and Ben Lavigne on drums. Ben, who also owns a brand new music store in Bathurst, will be featured in a later edition of the Northern Heat Report.

I had the chance to speak with Phil about growing up in Bathurst, playing music, and the formation of ThrillFire. 

Phil was born and raised in Bathurst, graduating from ESN before moving to Halifax to attend St Mary’s University. Getting a job with the Canada Games in 2003 brought Phil back to the region. He’d meet his wife after this and stay put in Bathurst.

He met musicians when he came back and had jam nights on Thursdays in Beresford. From there Phil started playing at Studio 2, where the conception of The Blink Jacks happened. 

But just before the pandemic, Phil and Charles, who is also the bass player for The Blind Jacks, mentioned a drummer that he was jamming with in another side project. The drummer was Ben Lavigne. With no real expectations, the three of them got together and did a complete 180 from The Blind Jacks to focus on cover music, where there are more opportunities to play live.

“As things started progressing, we thought we could do something with this,” says Phil. 

From there, Phil and the others formed ThrillFire. Although The Blind Jacks have not disbanded, in fact they plan on releasing new music soon, ThrillFire is currently the major priority for Phil and Charles.

After playing the July Block Party on Main Street this year, the goal is to play Vickers Field on local night for the next Hospitality Days. 

Until then, they’re going to continue playing different gigs around the city. They have an upcoming show at the Marina on August 24th. After this, they plan on taking a quick break in September before coming back in October. 

Phil’s plans for the band are to hopefully write and record some original music, and start expanding their shows outside of the Bathurst region. 

If you’re a fan of rock and roll music, you’ll enjoy the artists that ThrillFire is covering. They cover classic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors, with alternative acts like The Killers, The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. There’s something for everyone with ThrillFire. 

Phil’s wish is for a community with consistent live shows.

“The more bands we have, the more live shows, the better,” says Phil. 

We want to thank Phil for doing this interview with us and talking a bit about the music scene in Bathurst. It’s great to see some bands playing in the area, and we hope to continue adding some.

There it is. Another edition of The Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.