The Last Call

If The Shins got The Band pregnant it might sound like Jeff Markham & The Last Call. Think hummable folk rock with no artificial ingredients, sung by dudes with beards—in this case Markham. “We’re not really stuck in the vein of doing a rock format or folk format,” he says. “If you come out to see us, the set is more rounded. Metal roots that will kind of pull through from time-to-time.”

The Asheville quartet, which also features multi-instrumentalist Justin Lee, drummer Jonny Darko and bassist John Hamrick, recorded a five song EP “Best of Time” earlier this year. The title track is leafy, Zach Braff-ready indie. Markham says the band plans to record a full-length album, anywhere from 12 to 30 songs, in the near future. The singer says the album will be self-recorded and self-produced. “It’s hard to tell somebody else what you want when you’re recording. We want to go for a little more raw sound, not so polished. We’re tight and together, but we’re kind of a rough band.”

What inspired you to do a music video for “Baby It’s Gone” (on the Lazoom Tour Bus) at a time when MTV is pretty much dead and fans mainly access video via YouTube? "It’s just fun. I’m a visual person and I like to do as much as I can with bands. In between playing shows and writing songs and trying to record demos and albums, I like to explore every possibility that’s out there. Also, I think it helps for people even if they like your music to see what you do."

What was one of your favorite music videos from when you were a kid? "I remember the first one that actually caught me was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana. Just because it was at a time of the hair metal bands, and I remember seeing these guys that looked totally normal. It was just more real than anything I’d seen."

What aspects of Asheville do you find most inspiring as a musician? "There’s a lot of really open-minded people here and also a lot of transients, kind of gypsy people who come through on their way to somewhere else. But also it’s a beautiful place—it’s the mountains. You’ve got great music, lots of bluegrass, country and folk. Tons of musicians for such a small place. This is the perfect place if you’re into that kind of Southern music."

What are one recent artist and one classic artist you guys are into? "Collectively something we discovered a while ago is the Avett Brothers. They’re high-energy folk. It’s just the kind of music that makes you feel good, and they’re incredible songwriters and vocalists and they harmonize. They’re doing folk music but with this younger kind of sound."

Jeff Markham & The Last Call play Smiley's Acoustic Cafe at 9 p.m. July 25. The show is free. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/jeffmarkhamandthelastcall - By Matt Wake - Metromix July 23, 2009

Please visit our myspace site to listen to the interview:

www.myspace.com/jeffmarkhamandthelastcall - By Ashley (Bad Ash) Davis - Homegrown/98.1 The River 06/21/2009

Often when you come across a great live band, you almost cringe at the mention of a CD release. Because how can a group capture, within the confines of a studio, that same free-spirited magnetism that makes them so good on stage? This is especially true in the case of The Last Call, fronted by former Kerouac or the Radio singer/songwriter Jeff Markham. The band, which reformed in part from the ashes of Kerouac, transformed its formerly sleek, dark indie-rock sound into something raw and joyful, rehearsed but loose, thoughtful but heart-on-sleeve. Haven’t seen them live? Just check out their video for “Baby It’s Gone” (below), filmed on the LaZoom Comedy Tours bus. And then rest assured that all of that energy, all of that earnest charisma and barely-contained chaos is evident on the band’s just-released album, Before I Go.

Early on, the pace of Before I Go is set with the galloping, Pouges-reminiscent “Lonesome Travelin Man.” That fiery tempo is revisited in other tunes like “Most of the Time” and in the thrashy power-rock guitar solo at the two-minute mark in the title track. That particular phrase of power-rock comes as a surprise because the song, “Before I Go,” opens with a plaintive melody line and a languid Mazzy Star-tinged intro.

But for all the laissez faire trappings, the Last Call is tight enough to turn on a dime. They play slower numbers, like the waltzy, twighlit “With You” (all “Harvest Moon”-pretty and featuring a duet between Markham and Valerie Phillips) with the same conviction and amplitude they employ for folk-rock numbers like “Darlin’ You’re So Sweet.” It’s that track, on the album, where the Last Call hits its stride. Simple, driving rhythms, finger-style guitar, tambourine, syncopated, up-front vocals and a tender-happy feel make this exactly the kind of song that would bring fans of The Avett Brothers, Jack Johnson and Arcade Fire all to the table.

While this band is folky, down to its acoustic guitars and banjo parts, it’s also born of rock stock and never comes off as bluegrass-y. Instead, perfectly-placed electric guitar solos lend garage-y influences while nods to The Pretenders and Dire Straits root this album firmly in classic rock territory.

From start to finish, Before I Go is a pleasure and, while not suggested as a substitute for the live show, makes for an apt second-best option. - by Ali Marshall on 06/02/2010 (Mountain Express, Asheville, NC)

Jeff Markham & The Last Call bring stripped-down folk rock to Mo Daddy's

"Just because the audience isn't dancing doesn't mean they don't like the show," says singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Markham. The musician admits that he, himself isn't "much of a dancer, but I'll get up and do the robot from time to time."

Chances are, not many people are doing the robot while listening to Markham's band, The Last Call. They are dancing, though. The group's energetic (sometimes bombastic) folk rock offers up plenty of fodder for rug cutting and booty shaking; the upbeat lyrics add to the celebratory air.

Markham is quick to point out that the Last Call isn't about "happy music" in the strictest sense. Instead, "It's truthful. We're true to ourselves." But try watching the band's video for "Baby It's Gone," shot on the LaZoom tour bus earlier this year, and not crack a grin. The song's slow-core intro gives way to a raucous snare and banjo-fueled melee. Bus riders dance in the aisles, pedestrians on the street look on with bemused jealousy, and the band itself looks about to burst with sheer exhilaration.

"We wanted to do a video like a house party. We wanted it to be really chaotic," Markham recalls. "I saw the LaZoom bus drive by and I thought, 'That's it!'"

Bassist John Hamrick describes the video experience (recorded by John Robinson of the URTV show Pleasure Saucer) as "a four-hour party with no expectations."

There is a parallel between that video and another, more famous YouTube clip: The Avett Brothers' live from the tour bus "Will You Return." The slow start, the pulse-racing creshedo, the acoustic instruments. But — and feel free to disagree — the Last Call's bus trip is more immediately accessible, more engaging, more hooky, more happy.

Markham's musical journey hasn't always been so Abderian. His earlier project, the excellent indie-rock outfit Kerouac or the Radio, produced much darker and heavier elements of T-Rex, The Cure and Nirvana songs.

Last Call drummer Jonny Darko was also in Kerouac or the Radio. "In the past we had lots of problems in our lives and we'd play this dark, depressing music," he half-jokes. After a couple years' break from Kerouac or the Radio, Markham and Darko started hanging out and talking music again. Both had gone through a change in tastes: For Markham it was a return to the country music he'd grown up with, and a discovery of Asheville's old-time community.

"I was at Jack of the Wood one night and I saw the old-time jam," he says. "I was like, 'I want to do something like that, because these guys are great.'"

For Darko, the switch from complex, electrified rock to pared-down acoustic folk wasn't necessarily an easy one. "I have a wide variety of music I listen to, from metal to country," he says. "What was difficult was that I had to relearn to play for a simple song."

He adds, "This stuff is like playing naked."

But once Markham and Darko decided to start a band, all the pieces (and players) fell into place. In a period of six months they'd recruited Hamrick, guitarist/banjo player Justin Lee and recent Philadelphia transplant/vocalist Valerie Phillips (who played with Lee in another band, The Curious Crandalls). The group recorded an EP, The Best of Times, and went on tour. And, though still new to the local music scene, the Last Call has plenty of big plans for the future. More touring, festival dates, hopefully a slot at South By Southwest and a full-length album due out next spring.

"People do like to have something to hold in their hands," says Markham. He'd like to record on vinyl in the future (in fact, he muses about the possibility of revisiting the cassette tape) but for the time being the Last Call just wants to get songs to its growing fan base.

"You'll hear rock, you'll hear folk, you'll hear bluegrass," the songwriter says of the band's sound.

Adds Darko, "Individual people have their favorite songs, but there's not just one." Which gets them back to the idea of dancing: As long as listeners are, well, listening, the Last Call seems happy. The fact that their audience often ends up getting down right in front of the stage (robot or not) is a bonus.

For that matter, the Last Call plans to get down, too. "People can expect screaming yelling, and I'll break every string I possibly can," Markham promises. "And somebody's probably going to fall off the stage."
- by Alli Marshall in Vol. 16 / Iss. 21 on 12/16/2009 (Mountain Express, Asheville, NC)