February 2015 Music Review: The Last Gatsby

As I have said before I am only going to write about music I like.  Life is too short to waste time listening to music you hate.  So when I set upon finding a local band to feature on the blog I go through an extensive bit of research.  First I go to my ReverbNation fan page, then I go through the local charts of the music styles I enjoy.  Then I listen to the tracks listed for the bands and I know within a few seconds if the music is worthwhile or if the artist or band are just fooling themselves (that may sound harsh, but people who play music are not realistic about the art they create at times and some just delude themselves)  After I have selected the band, I research them online including Bandcamp, Facebook and Spotify.  I also listen to the music A LOT.

I first heard of the band The Last Gatsby over the summer of 2014 when I was finishing up working with Blinded by Truth before my health problems came back.  They were the band that was getting a great deal of press in the Salt Lake Market and everything in the scene was buzzing about them.  So after I took care of my health problems and decided to start this blog I felt that it was very important to research them and listen so I could get to know their music.  I AM VERY GLAD THAT I DID!!!

Chase Gerber

 This band impresses me a great deal, from the powerful melodic vocals of Josh "Chewie" Paul, to the rhythm of Jon Hoopes on drums and Chase Gerber on bass,  to Gary Samuelson III's and Wes Winner's innovative guitar riffs, this band has a sense of magic about them.  

The Last Gatsby plays a style of music that I like to call aggressive pop-punk.  It has its roots in the early pop-punk days but then branches into a sound influenced more by AFI  rather than by other early pop-punk bands. Their music then moves in the direction of My Chemical Romance and The Used and I hear some echoes of the east coast sound like Four Year Strong and All Time Low.  Also when you listen you will hear a Blink182 influence, but that is to be expected noting the generation this band comes from.

Josh "Chewie" Paul

Wes Winner

On January 31, I had the privilege of interviewing The Last Gatsby and got a chance to meet members of the band.  This was an amazing experience for me because I had been listening to their album Hearts and Machines for about a week before the interview and I had an idea of the level of musicianship the band was at, or so I thought.  The members I interviewed were Josh the singer, Jon the drummer and Wes, the guitar player. On the band's website they listed a news announcement of a new album coming out this year where they actually went to The Panda Studios in Northern California and had Sam Pura, who has worked with The Story So Far and State Champs plus a host of other new gen punk bands, record their newest album.  With this information in hand I immediately dove in with the interview.  I asked some fluff questions that would give a hint of the band's sense of humor, For instance when

Jon Hoopes

asked what the most outlandish thing they had seen or done at a concert was, they said it was amazing to watch the singer of a local Salt Lake pop punk band that I know well, get continuously hammered on alcohol while playing on stage before them. They said something unique would be to "have an actual audience at the show," but then went on to say "if they or the audience did anything suggestive or "incorrect" they would be fine with that"  I then asked if they expected to have a public meltdown like Blink182 and they answered "we already have...kind of ...not in public...that is better done in private" then they all laughed and shrugged it off. One thing they did say is that "side projects are not a good thing to keep a band together" which I felt was very mature.  This maturity led me into my next question which was "What was the recording experience like with Sam Pura?"  The answers they gave make me truly hopeful that this band goes forward with success.  First they said "it was the hardest and most humbling experience they had gone through"  They also stated "it was hard recognizing our egos and then putting those egos in check to make the recording better." In addition it was stated that they went into the recording"a little under prepared, hoping that Sam would give them musical insight" but then found that "Sam wanted us to put ourselves into our recordings and he did not tell us how to play our music" They felt that the experience was amazing and that most bands do not know the level of work required to "make it" on a professional level.  At this point I was just enjoying talking with three down to earth individuals who play music.  We talked about the Salt Lake Market and we talked about the different promoter personalities in the valley but generally I felt that I was talking to a different band than I had expected to, a band that had gone through a rite of passage very similar to what I had done when I was making a living playing my horn back in college.  These young men were starting a journey that I myself was envious of and wanted to join.  It makes me excited for them and I get very melancholy yet full hearted remembering that time of my own life.  It is a hard step to be at a level of performing and playing that seems amazing, only to learn that there is so much work to do to get even better than you are now.  The feeling that you can be better than you ever thought you could is exciting.  The key is to be humble enough to recognize it and I am convinced that this band is. 

With that stated, I am pleased to recommend the album Hearts and Machines.  This is the first foray into recording that The Last Gatsby has given us.  Hearts and Machines is a 10 song album available on Itunes, Amazon, Bandcamp (my recommended purchase option) plus if you have Spotify the album is available there as well.  I write this blog as a fan of the bands so in full disclosure I purchased the album on Bandcamp as my way of supporting the bands I write about.

I offer the reviews of the bands on this blog not to criticize but to offer insight into ways to listen so the audience is more educated.This also gives the band an opportunity to have an honest viewpoint of what they sound like to their fans and how the music comes across.

As for the musicianship of the band, at the point this album was recorded, they are all equally matched on a musicianship level.  The band has a good sense of phrasing, they have a fair sense of timing, the playing of each part (Rhythm, Melody, Harmony) enhances the other parts and nothing gets in the way of the music. 

The vocals provided by Josh are clear and concise.  He does not stress out his voice plus he breaths well.  The one area I would suggest for his improvement overall would be to consider not just the beginning of his phrases and sentences but the ending as well, sing through the lyric so the ending of each phrase stays with us. I am a believer in singing like you talk and we as humans do not taper off at the end of a sentence, With this said Josh's voice is powerful and he does not shy away from the heavy guitars and drums and actually carries the melody in a way that organically makes it part of what the instruments are doing.  I would however like to hear more layered vocal harmonies throughout this album.

The Rhythm section made up of Jonathon on drums and at the time Patrick on bass create a good foundation for the band.  Timing is fair and there is a driving force from the drums that help push the music forward.  The bass also does a very good job keep the intonation of the band grounded.  All intonation comes from the lowest fundamental sound and too many bands forget this aspect and are not consistently in tune with their bass voice.  I would like to see the tempo driven more by the bass.  In jazz, the bass player plays on or off the beat as needed for the feel of the music, in Rock music, of any sort, if the bass drives the tempo and stays on the top half of the beat, the drummer becomes free to enhance the melodic riffs of the guitarist and the vocals, then the bass itself can also play around with the tempo to enhance the other members harmonically.  I appreciate Jonathon's skills on his drums on this album I was mainly concerned with his fills not ending in tempo at times and him having to catch up to the beat.  However after what he said in the interview, I am confident that this young man has already made the improvement and I am excited to hear the new album and what his drums sound like on it.

Gary Samuelson III

Hearts and Machines was recorded when the band only had one guitar.  Gary sounds amazing on the
album, his solos are innovative and you can hear his natural musicianship come across.  I actually feel that the guitar work is very strong on this album and if anything I want to hear more of his counter-melodies that he plays over the vocals on certain songs.  I like his harder edge sound

My favorite tracks on the album are the 2nd Track Symphony, (good lyrics and a very strong melody, plus it plays on my romanticism) track 5 The High Road, Track 6 Blue Skies and Track 9 Blacklight, but all of the album is extremely listenable and I enjoy listening from front to back which is rare for albums in this modern age.

I will note an early media article quoted their lyric from The High Road stating "With the words, "Choke on your judgement, I'm here for the moment" lead sing Josh Paul makes it clear that The Last Gatsby is not to be ignored"  This statement is truer than I believe the writer originally imagined.  The Last Gatsby IS NOT TO BE IGNORED.  They are the most innovative musical band that has come from the Utah Market since The Used.  Their sense of melody is second to none and the drive they have to better themselves indicates an ability to adapt and grow no matter what comes their way.  The only thing I think that they have wrong is the lyric.  In my mind it should be "Choke on your judgment, We're here for FOREVER"  I hope that whatever Gods this band holds dear smiles on them and lets the rest of the world discover them for many more years to come.

The Last Gatsby performs this Tuesday February 10th at the Loading Dock with You Blew It! and Tiny Moving Parts.