By Michelle Saturley
Staff Writer

Manchester Mirror/Michelle Saturley From left, Tristan Omand, 18, Brian Wheeler, 20, and Corey Minsky, 17, make up The Asthmatics, a Manchester-based punk band. The trio discusses music over coffee and sandwiches at the Red Arrow.

If Weezer and Green Day secretly mated, and had an illegitimate love child, that offspring would sound like The Asthmatics, a Manchesterbased punk band. Their songs capture the high-energy sound of Green Day, with the snarky, self-deprecating lyrics and attitude of Weezer.

The Asthmatics formed two years ago, when the trio was still attending Central High School. Bass player Brian “Boney” Wheeler, 20, met guitarist Tristan Omand, 18, and the two soon discovered they had a huge love for music.

“We were both into punk, but we had a lot of different influences that were definitely not punk,” said Omand. “We are influenced by Green Day and Weezer and The Pogues, but we also like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty,” Wheeler said.

“And AC/DC,” Omand added. “They’re the reason I started playing guitar.”

The members all credit their moms for their eclectic tastes in music.

“My mom listened to The Ramones and The Pogues when I was little,” Omand said.

“Yeah, our mom was an influence on us,” Wheeler said. “I can remember singing along with Tom Petty’s ‘Full Moon Fever.’”

Wheeler’s half-brother, Corey Minsky, is the youngest member at 17 years old, completed the trio by taking over as drummer after their first drummer quit the band.

“When the band broke up the first time, Corey and I started jamming together,” Omand said. “We had to lure Brian back to start playing with us.”

Since then, The Asthmatics have been learning the hard way what it takes to make it as an original punk band in a town filled with Top 40 cover bands.

“You can’t wait around for other people to help you get discovered, or get you on bills with other bands,” Omand said. “You have to do it yourself.”

Wheeler said that the “do-it-yourself” attitude of the punk scene is one of the things he likes best. “We don’t have a booking company,” he said. “We make the calls. We make the flyers, we get the word out about our shows.”

Even the band’s recording process is homegrown. “Our first demo CD was recorded in a friend’s basement,” Wheeler said. “We’ve recorded in basements, and bedrooms, and dorm rooms.”

Their next collection of tracks, however, will be recorded in a studio.

“It’s going to be our first time in a real studio,” Omand said. “People keep asking us for CDs at our gigs, so we figured it was time to go and do it right.”

Though The Asthmatics have what they call a “loyal, hardcore army of kids” as their fans, they haven’t had much luck in the Manchester club scene. They appeared on a bill of punk acts at Milly’s Tavern, but most of their fans aren’t old enough to get into a club.

“We love playing at Milly’s and it’s cool that they’re trying to start an original scene, but the way the scene is set up in Manchester, you’re not there to play music, you’re there to sell drinks,” Wheeler said. “And most of our fans aren’t old enough to drink, so we aren’t profitable. We’ve had more success playing at VFW halls and churches.”

“Success,” of course, being a relative term: the band said they’ve only played one gig where they actually turned a profit.

“We’ve played to, like, five people. We’ve played to 20 people where we didn’t get paid,” Omand said. “We just played a gig where we actually walked away with money in our pockets for the first time – January 20, 2006. I won’t forget it.”

Meanwhile, the guys are keeping their day jobs – or, in Corey’s case, going to high school – by day, and dreaming big by night.

“We’re paying our dues,” Wheeler said. “I can’t think of any band who doesn’t. But I guess we’re starting early.”

The Asthmatics will play at The Bridge Café on Wednesday, Feb. 15, before embarking on a small club tour of New York and New Jersey, during Minsky’s school vacation. The show starts at 7 p.m.

For more information call 603-552-5213, or go to www.myspace.com/asthmatics or NewHampshire.com.