Like many bands, 2020 was shaping up to be a big year for The Last Gang. They had seen audiences since debuting 2018’s Keep Them Counting continuing to grow; they had almost completely booked a new tour—one of their largest yet—and had plans to finally record their sophomore effort for Fat Wreck Chords. And then the world shut done.
“It was extremely difficult to have the rug pulled out from under us, mainly because we had most of our 2020 tours booked, and we wanted to get this album recorded as well. This, we thought, was going to be our year,” said bassist Sean Viele. “In the end, we salvaged what we could and made the best of what was out of our control.”
The result is Noise Noise Noise, a brilliant 10-song, ska-soaked, pop-adjacent punk album that draws in influence from The Clash and Rancid, while chiseling the band’s own name onto the statues of their influences.
With the world (mostly) starting to open up again and The Last Gang finally getting their opportunity to get back on the road, Viele and singer and guitarist Brenna Red were kind enough to speak with New Noise Magazine about the new record.
Had you already started writing for this record before the pandemic shut everything down?
Viele: Yes. We started writing and recording demos for the album in January 2019. We were in no rush at that point. We just wanted to write, continue to tour, and maybe get into the studio by late 2019 or early 2020 for a late 2020 release. We had about 15 demos by the end of that year, but we absolutely were not ready for the studio. Thus began the rewriting process, and by March of 2020, we narrowed it down to something like 12 songs. We hoped to get into the studio by April to start tracking, but the pandemic quickly upended that. At that point, tours had been canceled, or I guess they were calling them “postponed” then, but live music and everything we knew was an uncertain disaster.
We regrouped, and within a few weeks, Brenna was back at the helm in what she calls her “cry room,” working and reworking the songs that would become Noise Noise Noise. She’d email them to us; we’d give our feedback, learn the revised songs, and I think by late May, we formed a bubble amongst us so we could rehearse and try to get this album recorded.
By late July of 2020, we finally arrived at Maple Sound Studios, both excited to finally get these songs out of us and utterly uncertain of when the damn thing would be released. So, it was quite a journey, and yes, to answer your question, it did start pre-pandemic.
As a band that tours a lot, was it odd to be at home for such a long period of time? Did any of you take up any new hobbies?
Viele: Personally, I had just quit drinking in January. So, I used the time to get myself back in good mental and physical health, which I’d neglected for many years up until that point. I started riding my bike and working out as well as hiking. I rediscovered my love for the outdoors, whether it was taking a stroll through nature or biking the trails around Orange County that I never knew existed.
Obviously, the past year and a half have been tense—not only with COVID, but it seems like the country has finally had enough with the treatment of minorities by cops, trans hate, Trump’s xenophobia … As a band, how much of the day-to-day social events make it into your songwriting?
Viele: Quite a bit. We are very aware of what is going on. The undeniable hate that encompasses the policies and actions of today’s GOP and the far-right Extremism that seems to be becoming normalized is fucking disgusting and downright scary. We live in a country where certain politicians refer to misinformation and propaganda as “alternative facts.” And ignorant people take this BS as fact. These politicians know they are lying, but they do it anyway just to remain in power; meanwhile, their draconian policies drag us backward as a country. The helplessness we feel in the face of this monster is released the only way the four of us have ever known how, and that’s through our music.
You worked with Fat Mike and Cameron Webb. What was that experience like? How different are their producing styles?
Viele: Brenna personally worked on the songs with Mike, so I’m not real sure how that experience was. I can tell you he added some really rad elements to the songs and pushed Brenna in some new directions, which is fantastic! Mike is a great songwriter.
Cameron is super fun to work with. He pushes you until both you and he are satisfied with the effort and the final result. There are no first takes with Cam, at least not for me. He is good at getting the best out of people, but there’s always a light feeling in the room mixed with an exciting energy.
Red: Mike’s head works a million miles a minute. I could see the wheels spinning so fast as he adapted and evolved the songs we wrote. I made sure I had a recorder on constantly, so I didn’t forget any bits. Plus, all these chords I’ve never used before in songwriting he was throwing at me. At some point, I was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down, I’ll have to cheat on those and have Ken do the hard stuff!”
You’ve finally started playing shows again. Were you worried at all about your health getting back into clubs playing again? What has the vibe been like at these shows?
Viele: I wasn’t back in June. We’re all vaccinated, and at the time, things seemed like they were getting back to normal, and I felt a good deal of protection from the vaccine. Now, with the Delta variant spreading, I think we’re all a little more cautious. The shows have been great, though. There is a lot of energy from the crowds, and people seem happy to be back out and going to shows.
Brenna, you play a telecaster, and aside from Joe Strummer, there’s not a ton of people in punk who play telecaster. What made you decide to go with that guitar?
Red: It was exactly because of Joe Strummer. He was one of my hero’s growing up. When I could finally afford to buy my own guitar, I wanted a tele, no question. I even used to mimic the stomp he used to do on stage. I’ve had it since 2002 and had a guitar friend relic it out to make it look like I had already owned it for 20 years. I remember he said he lit parts on fire, put it in the oven, gave it cigarette burns, and sanded down a huge area of belt rash on the back.
The album cover for Noise, Noise, Noise is fantastic and a great nod to The Damned. Does that band have an influence on The Last Gang?
Viele: Thanks so much! We had several options to choose from, and I was so happy we voted on this photo. I absolutely love the Damned, and the cover for Damned Damned Damned is one of my favorite album covers. They’ve been a massive influence on me personally for many years.
What’s next for the band?
Viele: We wanna continue to grow as a band and as humans in this ever-changing world. It’s a scary place. The idea of bringing positivity into so much uncertainty, to bring joy into people’s lives, if even for just a 45-minute set, is true beauty. It’s what drives us to pile into a van and drive thousands of miles to share these songs. We want to keep doing this! We’re super excited about this new record, and we absolutely can’t wait to share it with the world and tour in support of it.
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Watch the video for “Gimme Action” here:
For more from The Last Gang, find them on Facebook, Instagram, and their official website.
Photo courtesy of Alan Snodgrass
