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He said he'd do it before Christmas and he came through.

Songwriter Lloyd Thrasher loses himself in a guitar solo as he performs at Sam's Monkey Tree in Yellowknife. The guitarist finished his debut CD last week and is distributing the disc at businesses and in the streets around town. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Aklavik-born musician Lloyd Thrasher finished recording all the tracks for his first album, which he plans to release immediately.

The 20-year-old songwriter won a music competition in Yellowknife in July, earning him 10 hours of studio recording time at Spiritwalker Productions. He recorded about a dozen songs for the debut album.

"The album is a relationship on disc," Thrasher explained.

Songs include I'll Make It Back To You, a story based on the end of a long-distance relationship with a woman who worked in Northern mining camps, Every Time, which features dreamy lyrics expressing the feelings of being parted from a loved one, and When It's Over, a song about heartbreak.

Thrasher performed all the lead guitar, rhythm guitar, drums and violin parts himself.

Some of the tracks have already aired on Radio Taiga, the Francophone radio station in Yellowknife, and on CKLB radio.

Thrasher has big plans for career in music.

"If the people of radio land enjoy my music, then most likely I will become fairly famous," he said. "I want to make it as far as I can as fast as I can and stay at that position as long as I can."

Thrasher is selling copies of his album around downtown Yellowknife, allowing prospective buyers to sample the songs on a pair of headphones before they make a purchase. He has already sold a few hundred copies.

"I want to live life as a musician," he said. "Having control over my work. Being able to do as I please with my professional. I'm not big-time, yet, but I think I can call myself a professional because it's work."

He regularly appears on stage in Yellowknife at The Gold Range and After Eight jams and has played on stage at almost every venue in town.

About a year and a half ago he formed The Helm, a hard-rock band inspired by classic heavy metal. They played at the South Slave Friendship Festival earlier this year.

Sometimes he brings his guitar onto the sidewalk downtown and plays for passers-by, stopping only to sell a CD to an interested listener now and then. When Thrasher performs for an audience his eyes close, his head tilts back as if he is about to fall asleep and he appears to lose himself in the music.

"I feel kind of uplifted and joyful when I play," he said. "I usually don't have a thought in my head while

I'm playing. It just flows out. It's like an energy. It's something special that I get when it happens.

"It's a good feeling."