The Music Obsession: Interview: Last Nights Vice

>> For my latest interview, I sent some questions to Last Nights Vice, a group of 5 guys from St. Louis who "like to get loud." Be sure to check out their music after you read this because their songs are as fun as their answers :)

Introduce yourselves.
Joe Fitzsimmons - Guitar - 25
Jordan Phoenix - Guitar - 23
Chris Blake - Bass - 25
Brandon House - Vocals - 28
Andrew Ghiassi - Drums - 24

Where are you from? Describe the local music scene there.
We’re from St. Louis MO. It seems like our scene is making a comeback, a lot of new venues are opening and you can find a good show any night.

What kind of music did you grow up listening to?
Blues, Punk, Metal, Pop, Funk, Glam Rock, Michael Bolton, M.C. Hammer. Over the years I’m sure we’ve been obsessed with every genre.

How long has the band been together? How did you get together to form the band?
Last Nights Vice has been a band for almost 4 years. A lot of us have been playing together in previous bands for a long time though, close to 8 years.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it yet?
Dance Pop Rock with a lot of energy and emphasis on the “Rock”. We like to get loud.

According to your tweets, you're “working hard on the record,” haha. How's that going? When can we expect it to be finished/released?
It’s basically complete . At the last second we wrote a new song and rushed into the studio to record it. We just finished it last week and it’s sounding good. We are looking to book its release 3-4 months from now. We want to promote it and get some press around its release. Right now we have 15 songs recorded. We are thinking about putting 10 or 11 on the CD and use the other tracks as exclusive downloads. The artwork for the album is near complete and the tentative title for the album is “Perfect Little Noise” which is also a track on the CD.

Out of all the songs you've written, which are you most proud of & why?
Brandon - I love them all like my little children. But if I had to pick one and kill the rest, I still love "The Power Cosmic"
Jordan - Rags to ruins. My girlfriend drives around town with the sunroof open blasting it. Andrew - All I, because it sounds really pretty

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far as a band?
We think recording this CD will be big for us. We’ve spent a lot of time on it and feel as if every song could be a single.

Do you have any shows coming up?
We have a big show on April 27, 2010 with Foxy Shazam at Off Broadway in St. Louis. We will be spending most of our time promoting this show. We will also have a big release show at Pop’s in Sauget, IL sometime this summer.

Do you have any specific pre-show rituals?
Andrew likes to do push-ups. Joe has to stretch out before each show. We like to get active on stage. I usually tweak my knee and neck each show. Brandon always sings “Shout” by The Eisley Brothers before each show. Jordan drinks gasoline level booze.

Who would you love to tour with someday?
A collective list would probably be The Killers, Blink 182, Jay-Z, David Bowie, Green Day, George Clinton, The Used

Do you have a specific method or process when it comes to writing?
One unique thing about our band is that we don’t have songwriters in the group. We are really able to go to our practice space, jam on one little idea and form it into a song. Our singer, 90% of the time, comes up with the vocal melody and lyrics, but everything else kind of happens organically. Somehow it comes out as a Pop song. I think we are able to do that because we have been playing together for so long.

What are some goals that you want to accomplish with your music in the future?
Our one goal is to tour full-time and do this for a living so hopefully everyone can hear at least one song by us. Also, a tour bus would be sweet.

If there was a reality show about Last Nights Vice, what would it be called?
Joe - Dick Jokes with Mort Weinstein
Jordan - The Fantastic 5
Brandon - Making the Band 30

Fan Submissions:

Is Jordan a grandpa pigeons model; I believe he models Timberlands®? - John Mathieson
Only a dirty old man would make a grandpas reference. Is this Johnny?

Joe, was that you last Saturday driving a 92 LeBaron with the top down and no shirt singing Cher? - John Mathieson
The top was up and you weren’t meant to see that.

Brandon, remember when you described Karen from Will and Grace as "fabulous"? - John Mathieson
She IS fabulous! Now she's got a job singing about butter... Poor woman.

Chris, remember that time you auditioned for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and you started crying when I refused to rehearse lines with you? - John Mathieson
I do remember that time Johnny. Is there something in particular you wanted to know about it?

Andrew; True or False: Banana Republic has THE best khakis?- John Mathieson
True

What motivates you to keep going when times get rough? - Amy V
It seems like every couple of months if things seem to get rough, we usually have a band practice were instead of rehearsing, we just talk things out and figure out what we need to work on. It’s quite the sob fest but it works.

How would you spend your time if you weren't in this band? - Pete Lanwes
Joe would be a web designer. Brandon would be a comic book writer. Blake would be playing bass somewhere.

Bonus Round:

Favorite:
Song to play live? Our big song right now is “All I”. It’s kind of our ballad and we’re always surprised at how many people sing it at our shows.

Thing about being in this band? Writing songs and playing shows makes being in a band all worth it. Also, free drinks at the bar.

Album(s)? At the Drive-in “Relationship of Command”, Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”, Rage Against the machine “S/T”The Used “S/T”

This or that:
Mac or PC? Jordan and Andrew are Mac. Joe, Chris and Brandon are PC

Digital downloads or Physical albums?
Digital Downloads. I haven’t bought a CD in a while. I might buy the new Coheed and Cambria CD though.
Acoustic or Plugged in? Plugged in and loud.

Behind The Scenes:
What else should we know?
Facebook | Myspace | Twitter | Youtube | Flickr |

Pet peeves?
People who ding your car door, Loud TVs, Oversized trucks

Nicknames?
Andrew – G, Heli-Vice
Jordan – Mort, Jojdan
Chris – Guitarasauras Plex, Hulk
Joe – J-Feezy, Hose
Brandon – Duke (The Duke of Vice)

Additional interests?
Andrew – Remote Control Helicopters
Jordan – Graphic Design
Chris – Space
Brandon – Cartoons
Joe - Computers

Members Only: Who in the band is most:
Outrageous? Andrew (believe it or not)

Creative? Jordan or Brandon

Organized? Joe

Thanks again to Last Nights Vice :)