Dave Hopkins posted on February 23, 2011 13:39
Greeting music lovers, I've come to bring you word of another rising St. Louis band, who simply call themselves Last Night's Vice.
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Last Night's Vice is made up of who?
Andrew Ghiassi - Drums
Brandon House - Vocals
Chris Blake - Bass
Joe Fitzsimmons – Guitar
Jordan Phoenix - Guitar
How did the band name originate?
We had been a band for three months and still had no name. A lot of names had been tossed around but nothing really hit us. One day we were sitting around band practice and we thought the word "vice" itself had a nice ring to it. “Last Night's Vice” just spurted out after that.
Is LNV the first band you all played in?
Chris and Joe have played in several bands together over the years. Andrew used to be in bands called Lampshade Charlie and Means of Escape. Jordan played in A Door Between and Princeton. Brandon played in Duke 45 and Richboy Falling.
How did you all come together as a group? Whose idea was it?
We are actually the culmination of two defunct local bands. Chris, Joe, Jordan and Andrew were all part of a band called Blame Gary. We were looking for a singer and Andrew knew Brandon from recording his old band Richboy Falling.
How can you classify LNV music? Or is there a category?
I think a simple answer is Dance Rock. What we really want to do is be able to span the spectrum of Funk and Hard Rock. We want our dance parts to have a lot of groove and our harder parts to be real intense.
What bands or artist inspire y’all?
I think collectively we are inspired by a lot of different genres. Mostly, pop, punk, metal and R&B. We listen to bands like Motley Crue, Slayer, The Temptations, Blink-182, The Used, Isley Brothers, etc…
Favorite venues to play at in St. Louis?
We play a lot of different places, Pageant, Cicero’s, Old Rock House. Our favorite place is probably Pop’s. We have developed a close relationship with them and usually count on playing our biggest shows there. They are very supportive of our band and always go the extra mile to help us out.
Describe how “Perfect Little Noise” came to be?
This CD is basically a culmination of all the songs we have recorded over the last four years. We made a list of all of them and decided to pick the best ten. At the last second we wrote a new song called ‘Gin and Tonic’ and rushed into the studio to record it and added it to the CD. We also have three exclusive digital downloads that fans can get from iTunes. We wanted to use these as ‘B-Sides’ for fans that want more of our music.
What are some of the topics covered in the album?
A lot of our songs cover issues with alcohol. A lot of them have to do with love, whether it is a true love song, relationship issues or just about sex. We also have a nerd element that has a lot of sci-fi and comic book references. The Power Cosmic for instance spans all 3. The Power Cosmic is a reference to Silver Surfer and it’s a love song about getting messed up on the beach.
What were some of your favorite concert moments?
We had an awesome experience touring to LA to play at The Viper Room. We were super nervous and were the last band to play that night. We got to the end of our set and people were actually cheering. We did an encore song, and a bunch of people talked to us after the show saying we did a good job. It was a surreal experience to be that far away from home and still draw an audience, especially at a place like the Viper Room.
What can people expect from LNV live?
One of our goals since the very beginning was to be the most intense live band in St. Louis. We practice constantly and try to keep moving and keep the energy up. On stage we’ve had some cool props that we’ve made ourselves. We made light boxes out of old guitar cabinets that we filled with strobe lights and flood lights. We also have a Last Nights Vice sign we made out of Cardboard and x-mas lights. We also have a few tapestries and banners that we switch out every once in a while.
Out of all of the bandmates, who is the crazy one and why?
Brandon used to act pretty crazy, breaking bottles and spraying people with beer. Andrew may be legitimately crazy. We always joke that the mothership is going to come back and pick him up. He constantly smells things and he has his own weird way of speaking that makes him hard to understand. He has a weird speaking rhythm, kind of like Christopher Walken.
What’s coming in the near future for LNV?
We are just trying to do more of everything. We are going to do more touring, press and recording. We are trying to attack it from all angles. Hopefully we can get our name out there further and just keep progressing.
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Go, check out their album "Perfect Little Noise" ASAP. Don't forget your "boogie shoes," because their album will cause you to dance. Catch LNV live somewhere around town. As always, support your local talents.
For more information check out the band's website:
www.lastnightsvice.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lastnightsvice
Follow the yellow internet road to twitter: @dhop18