Last Call Interview For Plugged In.

Crowding into the corner of a nearly empty Toms bar, I'm joined by four of the five members of Ponty's own epic-blues-metal band, Last Call. With singer Jamie Todd absent and drummer Daniel Parry filling in on his behalf I grill the boys about their upcoming EP, their reputation as Fight Night promoters and once having guitar lessons from Funeral For A Friend's Darran Smith.

As I looked around I think most people, including the band, were all thinking the same thing. Where the hell was everyone?  As this was actually meant to be quite a spectacular event in aid of Noah's Ark charity. With bands including Last Call, Hand Of The Daedra and Working Class Heroes playing, and even an acoustic set from MEA, its suprising the place was so empty. And yet even though they showed no effort in hiding their, slightly comical, annoyance, not that hardly anybody turned up to see them, but that hardly anybody turned up to a free show for a good cause, they still play a truely amazing show, never failing to disappoint.

All reigning from the Ponty area they grew up listening to metal from the start, with some of their first records bought being Guns N Roses, Thin Lizzy and strangely The Temptations. Not so metal, I know, but it just shows that each of them do in fact have their own unique tastes in music and variety in their influences. With their most notable being being Killswitch Engage and the almighty Pantera, you can see where they get the powerful melodies in their songs. Making it clear that their own specific sound is only thanks to all the different music they each enjoy, they proudly display the fact that they are a band like no other in RCT.   

After last being known as Flatline, the boys changed their name after realising that one too many bands were also calling themselves this. So settling on Last Call, a character from comic book The Authority, because it "sounds cool" and also changing their style, they have become one of the Rhonnda's biggest known and most adored bands.

Starting off 6 years ago, originally under the name Callous in Daniel Parry's garage, he and Andrew Webb(guitar), had known eachother from work and after picking up Dwayne Howells(guitar) up at a Lostprophets show they were on their way to becoming a full band. After being introduced to Craig Hodges(bass) through a friend they were almost there, just in desperate need of a singer. That was when Jamie Todd came along.At the time he was singing for another band, but after being asked by the guys he became the temporary vocalist for what is now Last Call. That was four years ago and by the looks of it the boys arent letting him go just yet, although if they did claim if they get signed "then we'll get rid of him." Don't worry though, Im sure they don't mean it.

Having supported bands like Unsung and The Ga*Ga*s, they're slowly working their way up in the music industry, leaving their mark wherever they land and getting their name across as boldly as they can. But their not in any rush to get to the top. They show that a true passion for music doesn't mean standing on anyone and everyones toes to make it, but sitting back, enjoying the ride and taking every step as a blessing. This is something that they enjoy doing, a hobbie and getting signed "would be a bonus" that they would happily indulge in and be grateful for, but never take for granted.

Having grown up in the Ponty area they've seen bands such as Lostprophets become worldwide stars right in front of their noses, and seen the rock scene in Wales get bigger because of it. It thanks to this ever growing scene that guitarists Andrew and Dwayne were lucky enough to have the opportunity to be taught to play their instruments by, now also well-known rock star, Darran Smith of Welsh band Funeral For A Friend.

Both the guys would "frequent the Malsters Arms" in Pontypridd every Thursday night, "as did everyone back in the day as it was the place to be" says Dwayne. After seeing Darran DJ-ing there often he mentioned to them that he was teaching guitar and they both decided to take him up on the idea. For around the three to four months before Funeral For A Friend got together Dwayne and Andrew spent their time with Darran valuably, although it was apparent that Andrew was the star pupil. Since then all the band have come to befriend Darran also, being grateful for all the help he gives them and even wearing their band T-Shirts.

It's not being friendly with the stars thats getting these guys their continuously increasing reputation though. It's working hard at what they do and putting their love for music to good use. With their first EP as Last Call coming out sometime in the summer, the boys are working harder than ever to make sure its perfected to the their new style.

Without any titles in mind yet, we can expect "a completely different sound" to anything we've heard from them before. Wanting to "get away" from their first EP, they've "matured" enough to assure us that it's going to be something that we should be as proud of them for making as they are. All the songs are written and ready to be recorded, and all have an optimistic theme behind them. Having been written based upon personal experiences, they've strifed to turn every bad situation around and made something good out of it, reinforcing a positive vibe for the entirity of the EP.

To put it plainly it looks as though this 2007 could be the year for Last Call. With their new EP coming out they look set to take on the Welsh music scene by a storm, and taking every step one at a time they seem to be enjoying the journey taking them to their expected success. One thing we can guarantee from them though is that no matter where this road takes them they'll always stay true to their roots. Favouring the welsh local bands they've played with like MEA, Johnny Mental, Dead End and many more they claim that "there's so many good bands in RCT it would take too long to name them all", we can always be sure that these boys will forever be ours and forever the band bringing us something different.


Deadstar Promotions
You've probably seen them running around the Muni at every Fight Night, or you've at least heard Daniel Parry shouting across the stage, but its thanks to three of members of Last Call that many of you are attending the popular monthly rock show held in Ponty.
When playing at the muni in 2006, three members of the band were approached by Tanya Walker, the co-ordinator of SONIG Youth Music Industry, and asked if they'd like to put the Fight Night gigs on. Andrew Webb, Dwayne Howells and Daniel Parry had already been putting on shows themselves but a chance like this was not one to be missed as it meant a much larger crowd and much more recognition.
Ever since the first Fight Night its been a major success and "its only thanks to the support from every person that shows up that it's been able to increase every time."
They've had bands such as pop-punkers Miss Conduct, Unsung and Dopamine who even supported Lostprophets on their 2006 tour playing, so it really is an amazing accomplishment. They only thing they can do now is take it further, take it to the highest extreme they can.
With talks of Fight Night in the park as a mini-festival for next year its obvious how commited and ambitious the boys are about doing this, and with help from the people who attend the shows it can only get bigger and better.

*Check out www.myspace.com/lastcalltointervine for updates on the new CD coming out this summer.