The Last Show e il loro Punk Alternative

NOTIZIE PRINCIPALI

The Last Show is a New York City punk power trio with a sound that lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Justin Lizama describes as “bipolar rock.” You can hear what he means on “DC (Choose a Side),” a track from the band’s recently issued EP Honestly is a Word Used by Liars. As the song begins, Lizama’s dark melody and foreboding lyrics are propelled by a sonic assault of driving bass, relentless drums and howling guitar feedback. But in an abrupt mood shift, the band breaks into a triumphant punk chorus with the lyric “People, people, Take a walk outside / Save your soul, save your mind.”

Lizama says that as a musician and writer, his job is to “confront those issues you have no words for and make words to describe them.” A native of Washington, D.C. with family roots in Guam and the U.S., Justin says he “always felt a formal education would take away from the natural spontaneity of playing music.” Untutored he may be, but Lizama sings, plays electric guitar and writes songs with a fine balance of punk style, musical control and technical proficiency.

Brian Clemens lays the foundation for the group’s sound with rhythms as diverse as jazz grooves and tribal drumming. He was born in a white-collar suburban part of Brooklyn, New York. He says that where he comes from influences his music “not so much my upbringing as my own self-inflicted life lessons.”

The bass player on Honestly is a Word Used by Liars was Maria Theodosiadou, now in her own band Her Vanished Grace, and Tennessee native Dexter Wayne toured with The Last Show for several months. Eric Hauptman of the group Stellar Tuesday is currently filling the spot.

This summer, in addition to releasing Honestly is a Word Used by Liars, The Last Show has been touring heavily, including shows at the NXNE Music
Conference in Toronto, ON (6/11), The Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburgh, PA (6/24), The Walk in Atlantic City, NJ (8/14), and the AMPLIFY! Fest in Las Vegas, NV (8/19). They are also participating in IMC 2005 in Philadelphia, PA (9/2), Indie Music Week 2005 in Toronto, ON (9/23) and The Mid Atlantic Music Conference in Charlotte, NC (10/8). And they’re eager to bring their music to the rest of the country. As Justin Lizama says, “THE LAST SHOW IS OVER MY DEAD BODY.”

Justin Lizama 30 agosto 2005 01:09