The Last (band)

The Last is an American, Los Angeles-based, early pop/punk band, formed in 1976 by Joe Nolte with high school bandmates Vitus Matare and Dave Harbison. By 1978 the band included three brothers: Joe (guitar, vocals), Mike (vocals), and David Nolte (bass guitar). They released several albums on SST Records, Bomp! Records and End Sounds.

The Last
OriginLos Angeles, United States
GenresPower pop, rock, surf rock
Years active1976–mid-1980s, 1988–1990, 1994–present
LabelsBomp!, SST, End Sounds
Associated actsDescendents
Trotsky Icepick
Wednesday Week
Lucky
Chemical People
MembersJoe Nolte
James Nolte
Philo Van Duyne
Lisa Torres
Paul Rucker
Past membersMike Nolte
David Nolte
Dave Harbison
Danny Winter
Sean Doherty
Mike Clarke
Vitus Mataré
Jack Reynolds
Luke Lohnes
Missy Buettner
Robbie Rist
John Frank
Dave Nazworthy
Larry P. Manke
Ed Urlik
Steve Andrews
John Rosewall
Karl Alvarez
Bill Stevenson
Greg Tarpley

History

The band was initially inspired by the nascent CBGB's scene as well as the first Modern Lovers album. Its sound was a mix of garage rock, surf rock, folk rock and psychedelic rock.[1][2] The first settled line-up included Vitus Mataré (keyboards, flute), the Nolte brothers, and Jack Reynolds (drums).[1] After three self-financed singles, the band was signed by Bomp! Records, who issued the debut album L.A. Explosion! in 1979 (described by Trouser Press as "a near-perfect debut").[2] It was also issued in Germany (Line Records), Japan Trio/Trash Records), and the UK by London Records.[1]

They recorded a second album, Look Again (1980), which has never been released. The original members began to disappear until its demise in November 1985, with David Nolte joining Wednesday Week and later Lucky, and Mataré forming Trotsky Icepick.[1] The band was considered a major influence on the psychedelia-influenced LA bands of the mid-1980s, including The Bangles and The Three O'Clock,[3] as well as the South Bay punk bands such as Black Flag and the Descendents.

Joe reformed the band in 1988 with Mike Nolte along with new members Luke Lohnes (guitar, vocals), Larry P. Manke (bass guitar), and Dave Nazworthy (of Chemical People) (drums).[1] This line-up signed to SST Records, releasing three albums between 1988 and 1996. The early 1980s lineup of the band reunited for occasional reunion shows in Southern California between 2005 and 2013. That year, The Last released a new album for the label End Sounds featuring the Descendents/All rhythm section of Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson.

The Last remains active as of 2020. The current lineup was stabilized in 2019, and consists of:
Joe Nolte: guitar, vocals
James Nolte: keyboard, vocals
Philo Van Duyne: guitar
Lisa Torres: bass
Paul Rucker: drums

James Nolte is former bassist David Nolte's son and Joe's nephew.

David Nolte has worked as a touring bassist, working with Dave Davies of the Kinks, David Gray, The Wondermints and many others. Vitus Mataré went on to become a successful architect and record producer.[2]

On November 20, 2020, The Last will release the remixed and remastered version of "LOOK AGAIN", recorded in 1980. As per Amplify Music Magazine on 10/20/2020:

"In 1980, THE LAST recorded the album on their own to control the process as much as possible, but what they came out of the studio with was completely sonically wrong, receiving zero offers from record companies (interestingly, the original copy of the album has been going for over $800 on Discogs). So how exactly did THE LAST bring LOOK AGAIN back to life? As VitusMataré explains: “Those same master tapes have been carefully baked and transferred by John Strother at Penguin Recording in Los Angeles. Jonny Bell at Jazzcats Studio in Long Beach worked with the damaged files to restore the signals and performances that Joe and I knew were somewhere on those reels. There are no new overdubs and zero digital trickery. Guitar and organ tracks were sent to the same model amplifiers Joe and I used live back in the day and re-recorded. These are the original performances given a proper mix.”

Discography

Albums
  • L.A. Explosion! (August 15, 1979), Bomp!
  • Look Again (recorded 1980, never released)
  • Painting Smiles on a Dead Man (1985), Lolita
  • Confession (July 1988), SST
  • Awakening (August 1989), SST
  • Gin & Innuendoes (May 1996), SST
  • Danger (November 3, 2013), End Sounds[4]
  • Look Again (recorded 1980, remixed and remasted, released November 2020), House Arrest/Fat Possum Records

Singles
  • "She Don't Know Why I'm Here" (November 7, 1977), Backlash
  • "Every Summer Day" (June 10, 1978), Backlash
  • "L.A. Explosion" (November 9, 1978), Backlash
  • "Every Summer Day" (1979), Bomp!
  • "This Kind of Feeling" (1979), Line
  • "Be-Bop-a-Lula" (1979), Bomp!
  • Fade to Black EP (1982), Bomp!
  • "Up in the Air" (October 1982), Warf Rat

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Last", in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 89
  2. Lamey, Charles P.; Robbins, Ira; & Rabid, Jack "The Last", Trouser Press, retrieved 2010-09-21
  3. Whalen, Kathi (1989) "The Last and the Cynics", Washington Post, August 21, 1989, p. B7
  4. "Streams: The Last: "I Know"". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.