Maybe it's just me, but these guys are full of surprises.. I suspect the best is yet to come.

Note to artists: listen to questions before you start answering.


I went to your MySpace and got all excited when I saw 'Pictures of You' thinking it was a cover...

Ahhh yeah. We love The Cure! You know, we had that title for that song forever. We have been working on that song for years but kept making changes to it. Tempo changes and other things, but the one part that always stuck was 'pictures of you, pictures of me.' We thought about calling the song Pictures of Me, but that would be weird. We love the song though...and we love The Cure.

For a new band, you seem to have taken a lot of control over what happens to you guys. Why is so important to you to be involved with the little stuff?

It's a very hands on thing. I need to know whats going on at all times on all fronts. I like to know whats happening. I don't want to feel like something is happening behind the scenes and then jumps up and surprises us. We work with everyone to make sure everything works together the way we want it to. Better to be hands on than hands off and end up with something that isn't what you wanted. It's gotta be the right stuff for us.

Did something happen to you or did you see something go down with another band that made you afraid...

I'm afraid of snakes.

Like...figurative snakes?

Real snakes. I'm really scared of them. That's why we put one on the cover.

Ah..I see. That's not what I asked though. Why are you scared to hand over control to a label?

Part of it was like we have been a band for 8 years. We never had a label. We all grew up together and stuff. We did all our own stuff, booked our own tours, were on an indie for 2 albums. When we got signed, we suddenly had all this power behind us. Virgin is great because they're so open to ideas and creativity, so we do everything along with them. There isn't a fear that things will go wrong.

You have toured with a number of solo artists. Solo artists tour with bands. As an 'insider' how are the dynamics different on stage for those types of performers and a band like yours?

I think all artists work differently from others. We all work together. Like we have a core, 3 of us write the songs primarily. I do all my parts, they work on their parts and all the parts come together. Artists who use songwriters or whatever..I don't know. Like with us it usually starts with me but we all get our hands on it and make it something awesome. We also do a lot of improvisation...we'll jam on stuff and sometimes that lets things come out that have been sitting in the back of your head. We wrote Poison Kiss in 5 minutes. That was the song where I met Eli...he was jamming on something and I just sang off the cuff and there it was. That's what brought Eli into the band. He plays keys and after that moment I knew he had to be in the band. Songs like Pictures of You, that took years. We were never happy with it. The only thing that stayed the same was the chorus. Finally we got the right version out and it was torture for us. We spent so much time on that song but always ended up hating on it later. It was just one of those songs. Like 'The Streets Have No Name' by U2.

A lot of artists talk about their influences. I think it's because it's important to people to be able to identify where things come from. Find the familiarity. What I really want to hear about from you though is what you're putting into this world that wasn't there before.

We just want to make great music. Given all of our influences, we knew it would be different. We incorporate a lot of different sounds into what we do. We wanted something big, but organic. We wanted a record that could have all of these infuences but could throw a brick through the window of pop radio. We write guitar and piano drive soul and r&b with some rock thrown in there and a little 80s. We want it to be a record of all sorts. Have the pop songs and have the ballads that sound desperate. We used a lot of old beat up gear and recorded in an old studio. It came out really polished but we were shooting for something really organic. We all have such a wide variety of tastes and that really comes through. So, ok. Break it down. Rhythmic and upbeat. Desperation in the ballads. Soulful, like good love r&b. I don't know. This is always a tough question.

What's your ethnicity?

[laughs] uh...I mean the inspiration question is a hard one to answer..but...you didn't ask about my inspirations, did you?

Nope...sure didn't. [laughs]

Oh man.

That's ok. What's your ethnicity?

Irish and Italian and a little German

You, personally, have a really interesting history, being raised by a blind audiophile father. You talked a lot about your father's inspiration on your music and teaching you how to listen. Do you feel as though it is your destiny to be a musician, given how you were raised?

It's always been in my blood. I don't remember NOT loving music. I would sing theme songs, like cartoon theme songs, GI Joe, Inspector Gadget and bang on pots and pans for a tape recorder. It was always there. I was in awe of my father playing piano. I mean, I grew up with a blind father, so it was never weird. I never saw it as something different. We tried to play catch one time with a baseball, and I gave him a balck eye, but that's another story. [laughs] I would watch him play the piano. I mean he couldn't read music, obviously, but he knew what he was doing. I picked up instruments really young, drums and guitar. He didn't know technical music but his perspective on things like melody and harmony...it's almost like he just showed me what to do and I just did. Like I knew it before and he was reminding me. He taught me how to ornament songs. We listened to music all the time. I would finish my homework and we would sit around and listen to records. I would listen to my music...punk and stuff. My first tape was Appetite for Destruction. He would get into it, and I would listen to his music- jazz and soul and funk. It was an interesting way to grow up I guess, but its all I knew.

Do you think music more a cereberal or spiritual endeavor?

All good music comes from the soul. The music I create, there definitely is a spiritualness about it. I write about what inspires me. It's about my life. I've always lived my life through music. It's always there to help me find the answers.

You changed your band name from Renata to The Last Goodnight. I have to ask..why did you go from a name that was so unique to one that is so derivative?

[laughs] Yeah. We were Renata for sooo long. People would say it wrong or spell it wrong. It was so odd. The band has been in a constant evolution so we thought the name should change too. Once we wrote Poison Kiss...the last goodnight was a lyric in the song and it had this cinematic feel to it. we all loved it and it just stuck.

What really grinds your gears?

People who judge others without knowing shit about them.

I was told you're something of an expert on this, so weigh in: Was 28 Days/Weeks Later a zombie movie?

Of course it was. I mean, the word 'zombie' was never used in the movie...it was more... I wouldn't call them zombies. They were like freak-a-droids. It was something toxic that got in the blood. It's like if a zombie could smoke crack. I've never really thought about it, but I guess they aren't zombies.

Ok, let's say the label came to you after you're done with this album and said, "Bad news guys, money is really tight. We can either put you on the road for a year with a camera and hope a great live record/dvd comes out of it, or we can put you back in the studio, make a big shit record with your dream producer, but you won't be able to tour on it." What do you pick?

I would pick...going into the studio and making the next record. We have been so prolific since we finshed the record...we have so much new material I would love to get in the studio and learn from all that we couldn't change once this album was mastered and done. I mean we love the way it came out, but you learn so much from all of those experiences. I can't wait to go back in.

Put these things in order of importance: girls, music, god, party/friends, family, money

1. family
2. girls
3. music
4. party
5. God
6. money

That's it! Thanks for taking some time out to talk to me.

My pleasure! This was great! We should do this again!

Be successful and we will!

[laughs] Fair enough. SPEAK TO YOU SOON!!!

I love the confidence! [laughs] Take care!