The Last Republic
Swansea rocks! No, really.
The Last Republic are a good example of not judging a book by its cover. Though you'd probably expect them to churn out some less-than-thrilling mid-tempo indie, they actually make pretty impressive, epic rock music - the meeting point between Muse, Linkin Park and Kings of Leon. Like fellow Rocklouder interviewees Young Guns, the band were recently picked from relative obscurity to support Bon Jovi at the O2 Arena. Having just released debut single '(C'Mon) Flood The Gates', we sat down for a chat with the band's Jonnie.
You supported Bon Jovi recently. Mental, yeah? Is every other gig now a disappointment in comparison?
It was really mental! Other gigs are different and for me very exciting because you never know what to expect from any gig. The Bon Jovi gig was so difficult to fathom, there was so much going on. What you see at the actual performance is so glorified compared to the mayhem that's going on backstage behind those blackened curtains.
The crowd though were spectacular, though. You never know how you're going to be received being the support band for anyone, but from the minute we got on the stage to the minute we left, the crowd just went nuts for us. We even had them singing along to one of our songs after lowering the music during the middle section to teach them the words in that 'festival' kind of way. And it was the largest choir I have ever been part of, haha. A glorious day, though, and a damn good party afterwards, too.
In comparison, we recently played our single release show in South Wales and played to a crowd of 500 people. And the obvious difference was the intimacy, just the fact you can see peoples faces in a smaller venue can make a difference to the show, but with the O2 the people seem miles away and all you can see are camera flashes, like little flames of communication. Think the closing scene of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - the view of the O2 from stage isn't far off. I equally loved both shows. Each gig is different, as long as the crowd are in to it we'll have a good gig. We just love playing live.
You're from Wales. We recently interviewed Boys With X Ray Eyes and they said there was definitely 'something in the water', which is why there's so many decent rock bands from there.
Haha, well it's certainly nice water, not the hard water chalk-tastic stuff you get in London that's for sure. But seriously, I just think that Welsh bands have an advantage over bands from the city because we are under less pressure in our early days, it's far more laid back living in the country. This also means that we can spend far more time experimenting and fine tuning our trade before exposing it. There are plenty of venues in Wales to play your gigs without worrying about ruining your chances with a big management or record company. This is why I think Welsh bands 'emerge' out of nowhere... it's kind of true I suppose, especially if you could see where I live.
There's one Welsh band in particular that I love at the moment and that's The Joy Fomidable. We played alongside them at a festival last year and they were just incredible. You should check them out. I know a few of us like the early Manic Street Preachers stuff, grew up listening to the Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Jarcrew, Melys, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci... But at the moment I just can't stop listening to Echo & the Bunnymen. Ian McCulloch's from Liverpool. An influx of Welsh people moved to Liverpool in the 19th Century. Doesn't that make him practically Welsh?
Er, no. You've only just released your debut single, which is pretty impressive considering you've already supported some massive bands.
It feels amazing, the Bon Jovi gig couldn't have come at a better time. It was roughly a month before the single came out so we've basically had rolling press for 2 months which for a debut effort you can't complain. The majority of the feedback has been very positive so far, so it's very encouraging and we are very happy at The Last Republic HQ.
Is there an album in the works?
An album was completed just before we went out on tour with the Levellers in March. It's called 'Parade' - most of it was written in a cottage on the Gower peninsula in South Wales during some really rough weather, which seemed to add to the whole sentiment of the album. We recorded it Monnow Vallley studios with Tom Manning, Chris Sheldon and Andrew Scheppes who've all worked with the likes of Radiohead, U2 and Biffy Clyro. It's out sometime in October.
What can we expect from The Last Republic for the rest of the year? Anything exciting planned?
We're playing festivals with the likes of The Automatic this summer. Our highlight of the summer though will be to share the main stage with James at Beautiful Days Festival in August. That will be a weekend party for us and a nice way to end the summer. Our next single 'CCTV' is out in September and we'll be on tour around the release of the album, too.
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