Time to start up with 2016 and the continuation of a blog
that has seen little posting for the last quarter (more on that later). The reason I have started up a bit before I
was ready is that I was approached by a band I interviewed in early 2015. Jonathon Hoopes of
The Last Gatsby reached
out to me and asked if I would be interested in talking to them again and then
listening to their new extended play “The Art of Recovery” before it was even
released. Needless to say an opportunity
to spend time with music no one has heard yet is as good as opening a bottle of
amazing whiskey, enjoying the first taste and then losing yourself in it. So on Thanksgiving weekend I met with three
members of the band; Josh Paul, the vocalist; Jonathon Hoopes, the drummer;
Chase Gerber, the bassist. We met on a
cold Saturday morning at a coffee shop close to my house, grateful for the
respite of a hot beverage and excited by the anticipation of sharing something
we were all passionate about as either artist or fan. I note this because as I have said before I
do not support or listen to musicians that I am not a fan of. This is not objective journalism, this is an
unapologetic review of something I support.
Criticism is only important if it furthers improvement and makes the
artist better and believe me I WANT THIS BAND TO KEEP PLAYING AND KEEP GETTING
BETTER!!! With this introductory
statement out of the way, let us get into what we talked about and I will put
forth my impressions of the EP. Next I will then talk to what I want to see
improved moving forward and lastly wrap everything up in a neat package.
We started our conversation talking about the journey the
band has experienced since we last talked.
Salt Lake is a very hard market for Punk/Pop Punk bands to work in. It is dominated by wannabe pseudo metal and
everyone being hardcore and aggressive plus the millennial generation here has
a hard time supporting local music because of the many roadblocks put forth by
the powers that be in this state. The
Last Gatsby has weathered this market very well, they have good show attendance
and a proper business attitude, becoming the go to punk/alternative option for
several of the local promoters. In
addition they have developed great rapport with the touring bands they have
opened for. Most notably we were a few
days outside of the Paris attacks and I knew that Gatsby had opened for Chunk,
No Captain Chunk, here in Salt Lake and I asked if they had heard from them and
it was confirmed that they had but in a way that was not bragging (I love
the humility of this band as well). After
talking about the band I started delving into the individuals that were there
and making inquiries into motivation.
This was the first time I talked to Chase and I will tell you this guy
is a band musician no ifs, ands or buts.
Chase will always be in a band no matter where he is in life. He will always be looking forward to when he
gets to play and his energy is infectious, he holds this band together enthusiastically
and he is the perfect bass player mentality because he is the energy that I
hear on the tracks. Chase gets that the
bass player maintains the tempo and keeps the band moving forward. I would love to spend every day with Chase
just to experience his musical joy. It
was nice meeting Jonathon in person, last time I interviewed the band Jonathon
phoned in from Arizona so I have talked to him but never met him. I also had the pleasure of meeting his
beautiful wife Natalie (which allowed me to talk about the support system the
band has). Jonathon is the nurturer of
this band. He looks at the image the band portrays by paying attention to the branding and he is very thoughtful about where he wants this band to go. I respect the vision because Jonathon does
not take this role as an authoritarian but rather as a caretaker. He wants the opinions of all to matter and he
wants the interest of the band to remain what the band wants and guards it
ferociously. Before I talk about my
impressions of Josh Paul, I want to mention the two guitarists who were not able
to make the interview. Gary and Wes are
integral to The Last Gatsby because they allow for the innovation that we hear
in their music. The versatility these
two express through Wes’s rhythm playing and Gary’s counter melodic
expressionism allows Gatsby to soar above most local bands in this genre. Now onto Josh Paul. This is my second time meeting and talking
with this young man. If Chase is the
enthusiasm, Jonathon is the mind and Wes and Gary are the innovators, then Josh
Paul is the soul of this band. It is not
something he expresses outwardly, in fact he avoids the outward appearance of
individual importance. It is hard to
express in words what makes him the soul of the band, it is more a feeling of
the passion that emanates from his presence.
This perception I had was reinforced when Josh Paul had to leave before
the others and Jonathon and Chase both stated to me that, to paraphrase, this
project (the EP) is Josh Paul…the music is from his soul and the story is his. The Last Gatsby
is a sum of its members, take one away and you would not get the same art that you hear now. Contrary to what you assume with the number of bands in the world, this mix of individual chemistry into a greater musical entity is very rare. So now onto the music.
“The Art of Recovery” is a 6 song extended play that tells a
story from beginning to end. I like that
because in this modern world we are more interested in the song than the album,
but the album is a more important statement. Yes, I have heard songs that make
me feel but I have heard albums that make me feel, live, feel some more, not
want to feel, drain me of emotions and then bring me back in a way that I am a
better person. I did not want to be melodramatic
as all that but now that I have written it and go back to my memories of
listening to “The Art of Recovery”, the more I feel that it fits exactly what I
wrote. The EP makes me relive the pain
of loss, the questioning of myself, the questioning of society, the feeling
that I will never recover and then the hope that I will. The beauty of this music is that it will mean
something similar to everyone changed only by each new listener's individual experience.
The lyrics driven by the melodies and rhythms are very archetypical in a
way that they have the ability to touch the universal core of experience. I do not know what the back story is for
these songs and frankly I do not care, because I hear MY story and experience
in the songs. Because the album is not
out yet I do not want to break down song by song because I feel that it is
important for all of you to listen and make your own opinion. Technically the music is very solid, as a sophomore
project the improvement is evident, not just from a recording standpoint (this
was produced by Sam Pura and Panda Studios) but also the playing on this album
is noticeably better. I find it fascinating that Jonathon stated recording was a very hard experience for him personally but this adversity brought something out in his playing, for the drums add some truly amazing
emphasis on every song. I already spoke
to Chase’s playing, he is rock steady which allows the other members to shine. Amazing
bass players do that. The rhythm guitar
does a great job helping out with emphasis to the vocals and the lead guitar
bring an impressionistic surrealness to the whole. Another highpoint on this EP is the phrasing
of the vocals. The singing itself portrays
an aggressive resilience yet has moments of fragility and insecurity creeping
out at you. Then before you realize it
they hit you with unapologetic defiance and a desire to face whatever comes
towards you. I like the experience The
Last Gatsby is giving us on “The Art of Recovery”
Going forward musically I just want to see Gatsby grow and
get better as a natural evolution of their own abilities. Going forward as a band I want to see them
take the next step. It is time they
hired a business manager and a booking agent.
They need to do this with the same approach that they have done
everything, wary, attentive and uncompromising.
Find people who want to be a part of what the band has created so that those new members give what they can to improve and support the band.
I believe they need to get away from Utah as much as possible so the
rest of the world can hear them. Tour,
play, write and repeat. Pay the dues now so
that later they get everything that they are deserving of. I truly can’t wait to hear what is next from
this band and I hope that in the future I get to work with them on some of my
projects going forward. Here is the
link to their
website to find out more about them. Here is the link to their
Facebook so you all can like them and keep appraised of their next concerts. Lastly here is the link to their
Band Camp so that you can preorder “
The Art of Recovery” and purchase other merchandise and songs. From what I see they are offering a pre-release of the EP and are also selling select songs early. Please support this band and enjoy your own experience with The Last Gatsby.
