Substance Now
Interview With Last Calling
San Fernando Valley
From Issue 1.1, September/October 2004
All things considered, Last Falling is somewhat of an anomaly. They are not alternative rock. They are not a bunch of Nirvana knock-offs. They are not a bunch of pretty boys out to make an audience of girls swoon.
At a time when the music industry pays homage to bands that recycle whatever successfully came before, this San Fernando Valley group’s music maintains the integrity of everything that was once good with the now trite expression “alternative rock.” The three who comprise the band do all of this while maintaining a refreshing sound minus the pretentious “I am so original” attitude many musicians sport these days.
With Bryan Ferguson singing and playing the guitar, James Callaghan on bass and Gabe Valencia on drums, Last Falling offers something of substance for music fans.
The band’s music and lyrics have a very raw sound in the sense that it is personal. It is the kind of music that makes a listener want to stop, step back and ask themselves what they were just privy to hearing.
The song “Heroine No. 1” is a good example of the emotional charge that can be felt from this group’s music. Some simple chords set off the song followed by Ferguson’s voice (which many would liken to that of Kurt Cobain) and the methodical, yet moody beats of Callaghan’s bass and Valencia’s drums. It is emotional set at just the right tempo and rhythm.
However, do not get this band’s music confused with the sort of groups who produce trashy love songs ready for overplay at high school proms across the country just because the lyrics are emotionally in check.
This is a band whose members are more concerned with maintaining the integrity of the music rather than selling a bunch of hype packaged in matching outfits (a la a rock star group such as the Hives).
“A lot of the metro music sounds the same to me,” said Callaghan of the bands whose reputations are equal parts music and fashion. “They could swap songs and you wouldn’t know the difference. It’s like the new wave of 80s pop.”
Ferguson agreed. “It’s almost like you have to go back in time [to hear quality music]. This shit is so fashionable right now. We’re not against it, but we’re just not really into it.”
Onstage or off, these are nice, well-mannered guys with a talent for articulating their thoughts through the music.
“I do find it discouraging though,” said Ferguson of how lyrics have become disposable to many listeners. “But I think we’re living in a different time. People have different emotions. Today is more of an instant gratification type of world that we live in,” he said.
Luckily for Last Falling, their music is equal parts instant love for the sound mixed with a deeper second layer found in the lyrics that Ferguson writes which evolve from real experiences.
Much of the band’s credibility can be attributed to their individual music histories.
As a child, Valencia recalls lining up the pots and pans in his parents’ home in tone sequence.
“It’s just a talent that my parents saw in me. Everyone in my family is pretty musically inclined,” said Valencia.
Family played a large part for Ferguson too. He remembered how his dad, a radio host, recorded a studio conversation the two had when Ferguson was 4. However, it was Nirvana’s MTV performance that really got the wheels turning. “That was when I knew I wanted to play,” said Ferguson. “I just saw how amazing it was and basically learned how to play the guitar by ear.”
Ferguson and Valencia played together for six years in another band which put out an album before meeting their bass player.
It was not until February of last year that Last Falling was born with Callaghan whom Ferguson and Valencia found through an ad. In high school, Callaghan did a lot of promotional work for a local metal band.
“I really didn’t take it too seriously until my dad died,” he said. “Then, I just wrote the angriest music I could. It went from being a hobby to something I need now, so I’m not a wreck at night.”
One-and-a-half months after the three formed Last Falling they played at the Viper Room. Their early success can be attributed to how diligently they practiced (every other day for one-and-a-half months), working up to the performance.
The band sold all of their tickets to that show on their own. They did so well, that they were invited back to the Viper Room.
That sort of dedication and work ethic is part of the band’s success. Due to poor management in the past, Callaghan assumed the role as the band’s manager.
“We’re just getting so much more response and more feedback than before,” said Valencia of Callaghan’s work.
“It’s just the do-it-yourself stuff,” added Callaghan. “You just take things more seriously and more to heart.”
The band’s 3 Song EP and the Callus Heart EP were released last year in April and October respectively. This June saw the release of their single Heroine No. 1. Now, the band is set to release an album at the end of the year.
Last Falling is definitely not being handed anything. They worked hard to get to the positions they are in right now and are working even harder to maintain the longevity of life implied in the band’s name.
Essentially, it all comes down to quality music for them. Last Falling serves up a lot of heart in each song. Call them alternative. Call them the descendents of the Nirvana breakthrough. Call them honest because they mean what they sing and play. Just don’t ever say they are metro.