1) The Last Gang … Read Full Bio ↴The Last Gang is the name of more than one artist:
1) The Last Gang is a punk/rocksteady quartet that burst on the scene in 2004 with the velocity and destruction of a sawed off shotgun blast. Hailing from So Cali, their sound has a hint of pop appeal while still maintaining its gritty punk rock roots. Lead by the sexy growl of Brenna Red’s vocals and guitar, The Last Gang will have you dancing one minute and swinging with the kid beside you, hands on throat, the next. Brenna’s powerhouse vocals can only be matched by her uncanny ability to write melodies that can only be described as money. Accompanying Brenna on lead guitar is Devin D, who’s raw guitar licks add a third dimension to the sound. On the bass guitar is Adolf, who was born to melt faces. Backed by the dynamic drum beats of Robby, The Last Gang’s unique styles all come together to create some of the most relevant punk rock of our time. The Last Gang completed their second EP “Red 27” 2 years back and
is currently in the midst of conquering the local scene while maintaing the rights to the road on several tours. They have dropped into fourth gear and set their sights for complete worldwide musical domination.
The year is 2021. America is still fighting its way through an ongoing pandemic, currently fueled by the ignorance of millions who have decided science isn’t good enough for them. Countless lives have been lost or disrupted by an inefficient government loaded with corrupt politicians, egged on by snake oil salesmen who are inexplicably given nightly platforms on cable TV or allowed to spread their disinformation through social media. Make no mistake: Rome is burning. We are fiddling.
Pissed off yet? So is The Last Gang. This California punk quartet had big plans for 2020, with a seemingly endless string of tour dates keeping them on the road in support of their Fat Wreck Chords debut, Keep Them Counting. Crowds were getting bigger. Sing-alongs were getting louder. Spirits were getting higher. The only problem? The band was trying to write a new record simultaneously, and it wasn’t going well.
“Our downfall is we want to tour a lot, but it’s sometimes hard for us to write because it takes so much out of me,” begins frontwoman Brenna Red. When the world came to a standstill in March 2020, it was actually a blessing in disguise for Red. She could finally focus on everything happening outside of their tour van — and she quickly realized it wasn’t pretty.
“Because COVID happened, I was allowed to not rush, and we stepped back and re-wrote songs,” she explains. “Then I went to Fat Mike’s to write with him, and he challenged me to write more Clash-influenced reggae. I listened to London Calling to get inspired, but I think Joe Strummer once said if you want to be inspired, don’t listen to your idols — listen to your idols’ idols. So I also listened to a lot of Toots And The Maytals and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and a ton of Trojan Records compilations.”
One listen to Noise Noise Noise, and you’ll discover a band who has not only pushed their musical boundaries in new and unexpected ways, but a lyricist in Red who has unlocked a new side of herself, spitting barbs both personal and political at whoever might listen. We’re obviously punk at our core,” she says. “People expect to hear something, and that can become tedious and somewhat boring. But when you throw somebody a curveball, if they hate it, that’s fine. But more than likely, they’re gonna go, ‘What is this?’ and it’ll pull them more into the album.”
Noise Noise Noise is nothing if not full of curveballs. The album opens with the “Guns Of Brixton”-esque title track, the first of the album’s many forays into guitar upstrokes and elastic basslines. The next curveball comes in the very next track, “WFTW,” the rare punk song that’s four minutes long, and feeling a little bit like Searching For A Former Clarity-era Against Me! with Red cramming as many syllables into her verses as humanly possible. It’s also one of many new songs elevated by lead guitarist Ken Aquino, making his recorded debut with the now-quartet.
“Ken is a great lead guitar player, but my huge thing I love about Ken is at his core, he’s a melody man — he can sing pretty,” she gushes. “He adds so much to our band.” Aquino, also used to work in the same studio as producer Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Sum 41), who just so happened to be behind the boards for Noise Noise Noise (which was also co-produced by NOFX’s Fat Mike and Useless ID’s Yotam Ben Horin). Red was thrilled to reunite with Webb, who previously produced Keep Them Counting. “I know he’s not going to let me sound bad,” she says. “He’s going to push me.”
Look no further than “Shameless,” a true gem of the album, a melodic punk banger with Red turning in a career-best vocal performance. The curveballs keep coming deep into the tracklisting, with the sludgy 6/8 tune “Intelligence Is A Plague.” In it, Red fires salvo after salvo at the ignorant masses as well as the publications that prey upon them (marking what is probably the first time alt-right “news” outlet Breitbart has been name-checked in a song).
“It was inspired by this overwhelming feeling of ‘Why aren’t we listening to the people who can tell us how to fix these huge problems?’ COVID, climate change, you name it. To me, it’s like, ‘I don’t know what to do, so I’m going to listen to you.’ But those people don’t want to be humble. They’d rather be ignorant and feel like they’re right.”
This gets to the crux of Noise Noise Noise: These songs speak to her, and she hopes they speak to you, too. “I write music just to be alive,” she concludes. “I hope there’s something that can be taken from it to make you feel that electricity inside of yourself, whether happiness, pain, bittersweet memories… Just pick apart the art and put it inside of your own life.”
https://www.thelastgang.com
2) The Last Gang are a UK based new wave / post-punk band.
Turn The Record Over
The Last Gang Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Running thru the city with an adolescent refrain
It's just me and my best friends
I said you feeling all right now?
He said "I will with another round"
Turn the record over again
Can′t shake this feeling
Line them all up and we'll drink them all down
Bottle on empty, boots hit the ground
Gotta find me another love
A copping mechanism
These people, this city, our songs
We belong united as one
Turn the record over again
Can′t shake this feeling
Let′s go
I've got my radio blaster
I′ve got my one Telecaster
I've got it good
I am surrounded by the great disaster
I wanted shelter, a new religion
Somewhere I can lay my head without defaulted criticism
This song′s for all the punks
This song's for all the skins
This song′s for all the freaks who never were believed in
Take this night it's ours
Living for the lyric hour
Running thru the city with an adolescent refrain
It's just me and my best friends
What′s make you get up and go
I′ve learned to live it, love it, and let it all go
Thru music we will never die
Take this night it's ours
Living for the lyric hour
Running thru the city with an adolescent refrain
It′s just me and my best friends
The Last Gang's song "Turn the Record Over" is an ode to the carefree spirit of youth and the power of punk rock to bring people together. The song begins with a call to action to get up and go, running through the city with an adolescent refrain. It's a song about the thrill of adventure and the joy of doing it with your closest friends. The lyrics evoke a sense of urgency, of not wanting to waste a moment of this precious time before having to face the harsh realities of the world.
Amidst the pulsing rhythm and driving guitars, there's a deep emotional undercurrent to the lyrics. The singer asks her friend if he's feeling alright now, to which he responds that he will with another round. The escape from reality that drinking can often provide is juxtaposed with the desire to find a new love, a coping mechanism for the hurts and disappointments of life.
For The Last Gang, the key to survival is the strength that comes from being part of a unified community of punks, skins, and freaks. They see themselves as part of a grand tradition of misfits who have been rejected by mainstream society, but have found solace and purpose in their shared love of music. As the song's chorus repeats "let's go" over and over again, it's a call to action, to seize the night and make the most of the fleeting moments of youth.
Overall, "Turn the Record Over" is an anthem for anyone who's ever felt like they didn't fit in, but found a home in the punk rock scene. It's a celebration of the power of music to bring people together, to provide an escape from the mundane, and to give life meaning in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's get up and go
We should be active and do something.
Running thru the city with an adolescent refrain
We are running around the city while singing teenage songs.
It's just me and my best friends
I am only with my closest friends.
I said you feeling all right now?
I asked my friend if he was okay.
He said "I will with another round"
He said he would feel better with another drink.
Turn the record over again
Let's play another song.
Can't shake this feeling
I can't get rid of this feeling.
Let's go
We should move or do something.
Line them all up and we'll drink them all down
We will drink every bottle lined up in front of us.
Bottle on empty, boots hit the ground
We finished our bottle of alcohol and are walking around now.
Gotta find me another love
I need to find a new coping mechanism.
A copping mechanism
A way to deal with problems or stress.
These people, this city, our songs
We are connected to the people, city, and music around us.
We belong united as one
We are all one community.
I've got my radio blaster
I have a powerful radio device.
I've got my one Telecaster
I have one Telecaster guitar.
I've got it good
I am in a good position.
I am surrounded by the great disaster
I am in a bad situation.
I wanted shelter, a new religion
I wanted a place to feel safe and a new set of beliefs.
Somewhere I can lay my head without defaulted criticism
A place where I can relax or sleep without people judging me unfairly.
This song's for all the punks
This song is dedicated to all people who identify as a punk.
This song's for all the skins
This song is dedicated to all people who identify as a skinhead.
This song's for all the freaks who never were believed in
This song is dedicated to all people who were considered different or outcasted.
Take this night it's ours
We should take advantage of this night.
Living for the lyric hour
We are enjoying ourselves through music and songs.
What's make you get up and go
What motivates you to be active?
I've learned to live it, love it, and let it all go
I have learned to enjoy life and let go of negativity.
Thru music we will never die
Our love for music will never die.
Contributed by Christopher G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Leandro Morais
love this music, True Music will never die!
Matrix Master
True That^^
Halie Anna
The Last Gang always killing it 💯 we wanna hear more!
The Jaguar
Awesome band! And this is my favorite song...
Nathan 'Nate' Smith
Love it!
grouch87
Great song! 👍
Harry Phillips
Need more of these guys,MORE
Nicholas Kaminski
This is soooo good.
Cristhian Aguirre
his voice it's really amazing <3 It reminds me of Brody dalle of the distillers :) it's good i loved !!!!
your face
Fat wreck always finds the best bands.