the last
Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Music
Press
Hailing from Byron Bay, The Last are about to be big news. In one year, the boys have formed, recorded a six-track EP and are now gearing up to release their latest single, "Devil's Hand". This is certainly not the last you'll be hearing from them.
Wedged between two pot plants at a pub in Byron, in an effort to hide from his boss, guitarist Sahun Bampton explains how The Last came to be.
"Kris (Johnson, bassist) and I met in New Zealand, but there's not much of a band scene over there so he decided to move to Byron," says Shaun. "When he arrived he invited me over to start a band and I didn't have much going on in New Zealand so I said yes. When we got here we started work at a pub, which is how we met the others."
The band, which includes Phil Mayer (vocals), Matty Sheaffe (drums) and Marc Labonte (guitar) has achieved a considerable amount in their first year, including playing with Aussie rock legends Angry Anderson, Stevie Wright, Ian Moss and Phil Emmanuel.
"Phil Emmanuel was amazing, the guy is a freak. The stuff he was playing was so technical but he just played it with such ease, he was laughing whilst he was doing it - it was mad," says Shaun. In a major leg-up for the band, Mr. Emmanuel says The Last are one of the best new bands on the scene and that he would like to collaborate with them at some point in the future.
Having had the oppurtunity to play alongside other legendary figures on the Australian music scene, Shaun says the band have learnt a number lessons early on in their career.
"We learnt about stage presence and how to work a crowd - but probably most importantly, we learnt we have to get all our gear on and off stage quickly!"
The guys, who've not previously toured before, will begin a tour of New Zealand in July. But before they depart, they have another local show to attend to. "Before we go, we're having a release party for "Devil's Hand" at the Great Northern Hotel, Byron. Doors at 9 - expect hard rock and free merchandise - but mostly hard rock."
Courtney Witherspoon
Scene Magazine Issue 791
APR 22 2009 - Scene Magazine
Discography
Singles - Devils Hand
Turn'd
Self titled EP - Find you
le Stadt
Parables
John Fysh
Soldiers
Even as satire
Photos
Bio
the Last
In a dark hall smoke floats over the edge of the stage, a buzz of excitement ripples through the crowd. A hum of guitar feedback cuts through the air. Simultaneously, the siren blasts as the electric blue lights explode on, illuminating the five members of the Last...
Hailing from the neo-hippie shire of Byron Bay, NSW, five piece rock outfit the Last are one the the most exciting musical prospects on the East Coast of Australia. Dismissing the trend of cyber-synth music, the Last are a breath of fresh air - musicians who play and write all of their own music, passionate musicians with an unquenchable desire to create something amazing.
Led by the best vocalist in rock music today, Phil Mayer, the Last are one of the last remaining bands with a shroud of mystery, with intrigue, with something inherently interesting about them. Poetic, melodic, dark, dissonant - the call of something primal, something true, something more than the everyday. Something we all yearn for.
With innumerable successful gigs and a stoic following in the Northern Rivers, a tour to New Zealand under their belts and an East Coast tour in the pipeline, the Last are quickly gaining recognition across the country as probably the most important up and coming rock band in Australia. Also, they are fast gaining a reputation as one of the hardest working and most dedicated bands in existence - doing all their own promotion, internet work, booking and merchandising, all whilst holding down jobs and jamming up to 4 times a week.
Their well received self-titled EP and the Devil's Hand single gained
the Last the ears of many, and the upcoming EP - tentatively titled "All Killer, No Filler" - is bound for great things. Devil's Hand garnered the band over 20,000 myspace hits within 24hours of being posted on the bands site, www.myspace.com/thelast - proving that indie rock is still as popular as ever.
The band is comprised of Mayer, guitarists Marc Labonte and Shaun Bampton, bassist Kris Johnson and drummer Matty "Moleman" Sheaffe. Their style is something new and exciting - a rock band that sounds like no other, taking cues from and giving nods to a wide range of influences, from the classical composers, to jazz, blues, rock, and even today's maufactured stars - finally, a rock band that realises good music transcends all notions of genre.
As the band progresses from strength to strength, their sound is constantly evolving. With tight arrangements ranging from grunge-laden metal to atmospheric ballad, through prog-pop and a dash of punk, the Last is a varied and slick outfit, hook-laden, catchy, intelligent, and with a live show that has blown away every band they have played in front of, according to Mayer, "[the Last] are
only now reaching our full potential."
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