Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
I wasn’t sure what to expect walking into Last Chance to Reason’s band practice, but it wasn’t to find drummer Evan Sammons still asleep. Sitting up on his couch, he gave me a grin and a quick hello and proceeded to get on his cell phone. “My house . Come practice . Now.” Sammons made the call four times, to each band member, and business was taken care of.
“We always try to be technical and fun at the same time. We try to have a good sense of humor and not be too serious. That’s where you get the rock and roll parts,” said Sammons. The rock and roll parts he refers to are the occasional catchy, seemingly out of place riffs found in songs like “Last Words,” or the southern-sounding lead by AJ Harvey in the closing moments of “Black, White, and Red All Over.”
Elements like the band’s sense of humor, laid back nature, and the variety in style justly put Last Chance to Reason at the front of the pack as one of the best bands in the area. As a group, the band cites Between The Buried and Me, Every Time I Die, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Mars Volta, and Anthony Green as influences.
“The Mars Volta and Anthony Green type influences will be more apparent in our next recording. We’re going to start putting in some synths to add layers to what we’re recording,” says Sammons. Sammons reassured me that the synths won’t be any 80s cheese, but purely for adding depth in layers.
Levenseller’s first musical endeavor was being a metal drummer, which he says is now evident in his rhythmic scream. Dustin Boudreau has played guitar for seven years and grew up on Metallica and Korn. When asked, the entire band was in agreement that Dustin writes some of the band’s most technical material. Bassist Chris Corey has been in several bands previous to Last Chance to Reason, and cites Dream Theater as a large influence on his style.
“You’ll just have to hear us,” says Sammons when asked if Last Chance to Reason put themselves in any specific genre. This is the group’s traditional response to the genre question. The band’s MySpace Web page describes their music as being full of “brutal breakdowns, spastic time-signature changes, and ambient melodies.” However, LCTR truly does need to be heard to be appreciated.
Soon after receiving the group’s EP, “Dreamt of An Angel, Woke With a Nightmare,” I listened to it several times. I had the seen the band live once before, so I partially knew what to expect. During the first few songs, I was once again impressed by the group’s sheer level of musicianship and technicality.
Despite minor drawbacks, LCTR provides something original. Levenseller’s vocals are his own, and his clean singing doesn’t in any way make the songs sound emo or detract from the heavy sound. The breakdowns are done tastefully, originally, and with enough variety that Last Chance to Reason does not confine themselves to being strictly hardcore. The time changes, drum fills, sweeping, tapping and shredding guitar solo breakdowns, and “rock and roll parts” all fit together seamlessly. Last Chance to Reason may be the first local band that I have ever heard that does not sound like they are attempting to be a clone of any bands they idolize.
LCTR’s originality can be attributed to many things. They have a strong ethic for hard work, practicing almost daily in their tiny, padded-wall practice room in Sammons’ basement, playing shows throughout New England almost every weekend, and constantly striving to stay technical while having fun. Sammons’ arrangements of the group’s songs may also be a key to their formula.
“I’m always paying attention to songwriting when I’m listening to music, like what makes a good song good. You’re not going to hear any of our songs with a traditional verse, chorus, verse, chorus flow,” says Sammons of his arrangements of the songs.
LCTR will be going into the studio to record a demo consisting of two new songs, a cover song, and one song from their EP. The demo will be a free, promotional product. The band plans to record a full length album are being aimed at next summer.
Production just recently finished on a video for the band’s song “Somewhere Between the Bedroom and the Abortion Clinic.” It was filmed by Kevin Custer and Toaster in the Tub Productions this summer in New York. The video sees the group playing in an alley in New York, and looks remarkably professional, comparable any videos on MTV2′s Headbanger’s Ball.
If you have yet to hear Last Chance to Reason, check out their songs and the video on MySpace, or better yet, see a live show. The band currently has five tour dates lined up through Jan. 20, including shows in Connecticut and New York. The next opportunity to see LCTR is on Dec. 2 at the Husson College Campus in Bangor.
“We’re doing a snowball fight for a shoot,” says Sammons as he finishes a call on his cell phone as I’m getting ready to leave the band practice. It’s been snowing all day and the band is scheduled for a photo shoot in Farmington. “The photographer’s tired of always doing the same thing for band pictures, and she looked at our MySpace and figured we’re a bunch of idiots, so we’re doing it. We just have to get out there before it stops snowing.”
