Coming Soon to the Cover of ‘Rolling Stone’
Northwestern Student’s Band Signs a Record Deal

By Laura Stroup, BA, staff writer

Trevor Potts hopes his band, Last Night, be on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine sometime in the next two years. The second-trimester chiropractic student may just be, if the band’s recent success is any indication.

Potts, vocals and guitar; Matt Lawrie, guitar and vocals; and Chris MacLeod, guitar, joined forces in November 2005 for a jam session that lasted for days. It didn’t take long for the group to find themselves a gig, the capstone that officially transformed the impromptu jam sessions of individual musicians into one band practice for Last Night. The group added bass player, Brent Jones, in April 2006 and continued to play local venues in Thunder Bay while recording their first CD, 7TRACKS, which was released in January.

How do they describe their sound? “Acoustic-rock. Catchy lyrics. Hooks with thick guitar sounds and multiple vocal harmonies,” says Potts. Who are they most influenced by? Dispatch, Sublime, Zeppelin, silverchair, Pennywise, Jack Johnson, and KISS. “Ya, ya, ya. It's a weird list, we know, but we'll listen to pretty much anything,” says Potts.

Recently, the band posted big news on its Web site, http://www.lastnightmusic.com, alerting fans to their new recording contract with Argento Records, a recording company based in New Jersey. With its new CD available online and a signed record deal behind them, the group is excited about the future of the band.

Since Last Night’s formation in November 2005, the group has been very busy. How do you balance your music with school?
Good question. Sometimes I ask myself the same thing. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but you make time for the things you need in your life. My music/business came to the forefront in a hurry last year and making a choice between a solid education and career or a dream was one that I decided not to make. There have been days where I thought music had to take a backseat and others where my education has for sure – ask my roommates – but it’s all going fine and I can’t complain because I brought it all on myself, with the help of my support group.

How has the band managed to stay together now that you live in Minneapolis? How do you practice?

Great friendship and understanding have been the keys to maintaining lines of communication. I get home about once a month to play or practice and a two to three week break after last trimester gave us the opportunity to rehearse for a week and play shows for a week. Big thanks go to all the loved ones that are OK with just getting some “hellos” before I’m off to rehearse until all hours. Appreciation is shown whenever possible but it takes a special support group [like mine].
Rust can develop and creativity can suffer when we [the band] aren’t spending five hours a day together, but as a band I think this time away has helped us all as individual musicians, furthering our skills with the instruments, writing styles, and business. We were on a similar vibe for a while, writing loads of material, but we needed a change. There are quite a few works in progress that we hope to hammer out next time I’m home in Thunder Bay. The new stuff’s great! We’ve also been lucky enough to have a sit-in percussionist because Derek’s away in Granada until mid May, attending med school.

I heard that Last Night signed with Argento Records at the end of March. Had your group been looking to sign a record contract with someone? Why Argento?

The [band’s] goal to sign a record contract by Dec. 31 was set in February. I won’t bore you with the details of the goal, but within about a week we had received contact from Argento. There were many questions and negotiations within the band and support group regarding the level of marketing support and rewards that Argento could bring us. In the end it just was another way to help spread the Last Night vibe and continue looking for a major [label].

What do you think the biggest change for Last Night will be now that you are signed?

This gives us more negotiation power for sure. Trying to get a show to pay-out for five musicians is not an easy task when you’re just Trevor, Chris, Matt, Brent or Derek calling with a cool band from Thunder Bay. It’s status. Period. Kind of a silly thing but it makes a difference already.

What are you most looking forward to about your two U.S. shows?

A few things pop into my head…being on stage is such a rush, for one. Spreading the news that acoustic-rock is hip is also a big deal for us. Reaching the American market is something that we desire, too. The pond is much bigger here. There’s more fish, but a lot of that is filet-o-fish. We’re like wild, fresh Canadian walleye: organic and easy on the senses. There’s a reason why walleye is Ontario’s favorite table fish. Am I digressing?

You mention on your Web site that other Minneapolis shows are in the works. Any venues or shows in particular that people should keep their ears open for?

Updates have occurred on the site. We contacted various local favorites such as Major’s and Sports Page to run another show in the area the weekend of the Northwestern show, but two venues from Duluth/Superior contacted us with an opening first and we had to make a choice. If anyone knows anyone in Duluth/Superior, tell them to check out Last Night’s My Space page or Web site for up-to-date show information for May 5. As of now, we’re booked for Thirsty Pagan Brewery in Superior.

If anyone wants to hear more of the band, help would be greatly appreciated. E-mailing radio stations would probably be a great idea. Cities97 is likely the best fit for the band. We’re working on it.

Last Night’s first CD, “7TRACKS,” which was released in January, is currently available online. Is the band thinking about when it would like to start recording its next CD?

That’s a great question and I’m glad you asked it…We’ve got a ton of material that’s work in progress and it’s all looking good. We’ve also thought about re-recording some favorites, too. Sometime this summer I think we may get some more studio time. School is still here, so I’ll likely make some weekend trips to get some solid tracking done in the summer. You may be able to hear some more recording by next Christmas.

What is next for Last Night?
New goals. I’d like to see a Rolling Stone cover within two years…no joke. I think the talent that this band has to write songs is at the top of the heap and exploring new diversified sounds may be on our horizon. With some great management and support group we can continue to grow exponentially. We’ve only just begun.

Time on earth is limited, but Jack Johnson says “There’s no such thing as time… It’s our time.”

So, we’ll ‘Let Life Happen.’

If you’d like to check out Last Night online, visit their Web site at www.lastnightmusic.com or their My Space page at www.myspace.com/lastnightmusicspace.