The Last Drive is a Greek
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
group, which was formed in 1983, broke up in 1995, and reunited in January 2007.
History
1983-1987: The beginnings
The Last Drive started playing under the name "Last Drive" in late 1983 and their first performance was at the "Rodeo club" on December 27th, 1983. They adopted the name "Last Drive" after noticing a cocktail by that name at a bar menu. During 1984, Yiorgos Karanikolas was added on lead guitar. The group was basically playing garage rock mixed with
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
and
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...
. They started playing in underground joints of that time, while some band members played with
Blue Light (group) at their first live performance at
Pegasus club. In 1985 they released their first record, the 7" single ''Midnite Hop'', which now is the most sought-after record by collectors in Greece. They also participated with a song in a compilation tape by
Dikaioma Diavasis records, ''Live at the Kyttaro club''. In 1986 they released their full-length LP album ''Underworld Shakedown.'' The content and the quality of production (by the Drive themselves) was considered unusually high for the standards of the independent scene of that time. The LP contained covers of garage standards such as
Misirlou
"Misirlou" ( el, Μισιρλού < tr, Mısırlı 'Egyptian' < ar, مصر ''Miṣr'' 'Egypt') is a folk song from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The original author of the song is not known, but Arabic, Greek, and Jewish musicians wer ...
and
Night of the phantom, as well as their own material.
1987-1990: Europe
They continued to appear live in Athens and many other cities in Greece, and in the spring of 1987 they toured abroad for the first time, in Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. They performed alongside
the Fuzztones
The Fuzztones are an American garage rock revival band formed in 1982.
History
Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi in New York City, the band has gone through several member changes but is currently active in Europe. Dismissed by some cri ...
,
the Creeps,
the Stomachmouths,
the Dizzy Satellites and others. In 1988, having replaced Nick "Pop Mind" with Panos Kasiaris on rhythm guitar, they released ''Heatwave'', which was produced by
Peter Zaremba of
the Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976.
History 1976–1979
The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...
. That was the album that brought them to the attention of
Music Maniac Records, a German label specializing in garage-rock releaseses, which re-released it with a new cover. This release brought them to Germany, where they participated in the ''
Berlin Independence Days'' festival and also recorded the ''Time'' EP.
By this time the sound of the group had started to somewhat change, becoming harder and speedier and moving towards
stoner rock
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...
and
neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...
, without however burning the bridges with its garage past. The band also caught the eye of
Paul B. Cutler
Paul B. Cutler is an American producer and guitarist, best known for his work with the Dream Syndicate and 45 Grave.
Career
Cutler's first band, the Consumers, were the first punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. In 1979, he founded the punk an ...
, of
Dream Syndicate
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...
fame, who would produce their next two records.
1990-1995
Their LP ''Blood Nirvana'', released in 1990, marked the change in their sound, a fact that let down some of their hardcore garage fans and ended their cooperation with Music Maniac. At this time they were considered a part of the "explosion" of the hard rock/indie Greek scene that took part during the early 1990s. Thus, they started becoming more popular among rock fans in Greece, and on the same year they were voted "band of the year" by the readers of the leading music magazine, ''Pop & Rock''. They played as a support act for the
Wipers,
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they rele ...
,
The Gun Club
The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce.
History Early days (1979–1980)
The Gun Club w ...
, and toured Germany with
Dead Moon
Dead Moon was an American punk rock band active from 1987 to 2006, formed in Portland, Oregon.
History
Fronted by the singer/guitarist Fred Cole, the band also included the bass guitarist Toody Cole and the drummer Andrew Loomis. Veterans ...
. In 1992 they released the ''F*head Entropy'' album, which is their most mature work. Following a tour in Spain, the Last Drive celebrated their 10th anniversary with a live performance (pie fight included) at the "West Club" on December 23, 1993. In 1994, their contract with their long-time company, ''Hitch Hyke Records'', ended. They signed for the multinational ''BMG Hellas'' and released ''Subliminal'', an album in which songs followed a somewhat slower tempo than before. In 1995, Karanikolas left the band and moved to the United States. Some months later the Last Drive was disbanded, after twelve years on the road, having created a dedicated following in Greece and abroad, and an explosive live act.
1995-2007: Intermission
Yiorgos Karanikolas created the band
Blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
, who generally picked up from where the Drive had stopped, but with a greater emphasis on neo-psychedelia, and became quite popular at the time.
Alex Kalofolias and Thanos Amorginos created
The Earthbound in 1998, a band with a completely different orientation around ethnic/Latin/desert rock. There have been rare instances in which The Earthbound were joined on stage by former Drive members. Kalofolias and Amorginos also co-wrote the music for Stratos Tzitzis' film
Sose me ''(Save me)''. Amorginos also wrote music for theatrical plays.
Chris Michalatos played with ''The Speedballs'' a rockabilly act, for a while.
2007-present
In early 2007, the band announced on their official website their reunion for some gigs. They performed live in Athens on May 11, 12 and 13th -all three dates being sold out- in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
on the 19th and in
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
on June 2.
Their first record ("Midnite Hop") was re-released by Greek
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
label Blind Bastard Records. They also played at the "Open Air Festival" in Athens on July 6. Finally, they were the headliners on the first day of the "Indie Rocket Festival 2007" (along with the
Devastations, Acid Cobra and
The Cesarians) that took place in
Pescara
Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
, Italy on June 22 . In May 2008 the band did another Greek tour, while a live CD-DVD covering their reunion shows in Athens was released by Blind Bastard Records. In the same year a film documentary was released entitled "20000 Miles Ahead: A Last Drive Story" covering their story till the reunion gigs. In May 2009, a new CD came out entitled "Heavy Liquid". In September 2009 Inner Ear released it as a limited edition LP (500 black vinyls and 500 red vinyls). In April 2010 an art and comics anthology came out, entitled "At The Drive Ink" with artwork by 31 Greek artists inspired by the songs of "Heavy Liquid". In October 2010 the band contributed the track "Love & Terror" to the CD/booklet "Horror & Romance", a compilation of songs and music inspired by Stefanos Rokos' art exhibition. In June 2012 the band released a new EP called "News from Nowhere" and shortly after the guitar player Thanos Amorginos was replaced by Stefanos Flotsios. Since their reunion they tour Greece every year.
Members
*Alexis Kalofolias (Alex K.) - ripper bass, vocals
*Yiorgos Karanikolas (B.George Bop) - lead guitar, vocals
*Christos Michalatos (Chris B.I.) - drums
*Stefanos Flotsios - guitar
ex-members
*Nikos Kapetanopoulos (Nick "Pop Mind") - guitar
*Panos Kasiaris (P.PEP) - guitar
*Thanos Amorginos (T.H. Lime) - guitar
Discography
In Greece
Singles/EPs
*Midnite Hop (7", Art Nouveau 1985)
*I Was A Teenage Zombie (with the Fleshtones as "The Pleasure Hustlers") (Time Bomb: The Fleshtones present the Big Bang Theory, Hitch Hyke 1989)
*Time (12" EP, Hitch Hyke 1989)
*Overloaded (7" single sided promo, Hitch Hyke 1991)
*News From Nowhere (12'ep, Happy Crasher Records / Inner Ear, 2012)
LPs
*Underworld Shakedown (Hitch Hyke 1986)
*Heatwave (Hitch Hyke 1988)
*Blood Nirvana (Hitch Hyke 1990)
*F*Head Entropy (Hitch Hyke 1992)
*Subliminal (BMG 1994)
*The Bad Roads , The Best Of The Last Drive (Columbia 2007)
*Time Is Not Important (Live DVD-CD
hot and recorded at their 2007 reunion shows @ Athens Blind Bastard Records 2008 )
*Heavy Liquid (Happy Crasher Records 2009)
*The Last Drive (The Lab/Labyrinth of Thoughts, 2018)
Contribs
*(''Live sto Kyttaro'', Dikaioma Diavasis 1985)
*May This Bullet (''The Thing From Another World Volume 1'', The Thing magazine 1995)
*Chain Train; Gone Gone Gone (''Rock Fm - Rodon:Live'', Music Box 1991 (LP)/2000 (CD))
*Jailbird; Outlaw (''Local Heroes '95 Comp.'', Pop & Rock mag.)
*Love & Terror ("Horror & Romance" Compilation, 2010)
Abroad
Singles/EPs
*Blue Moon / Every Night / Sidewalk Stroll (7", Voxx 1987)
LPs
*Heatwave (LP, Music Maniac 1988)
*Their Story So Far (Underworld Shakedown + Heatwave) (CD, Music Maniac 1989)
*Blood Nirvana (Romilar D 1991)
*Blood Nirvana (LP/CD, Music Maniac 1991)
*Blood Nirvana (CD,
Restless 1992, bonus "Time Has Come Today" alternative mix)
Contribs
*Every Night (''Battle of the Garages Vol. 4'', Voxx 1986)
*Valley of Death (''The sounds of now'', Dionysus 1986)
*I love Cindy (''The secret team'', Voxx 1988)
*Hell to pay (''Music Maniac Gimmick Comp.'', 1989)
*Black Limo (''The monster dance hall favorites vol. 3'', Munster 1990)
*Overloaded (''It's a Restless World'', Restless 1991)
*The End Inc. (''Larsen/Zine Comp.'' 1993)
*Outlaw (''Enclosed Please Find... Your Invitation To Suicide: A Tribute to the Songs of Martin Rev & Alan Vega Double'' LP, Munster 1994)
References
* Merlin's Music Box Greek music magazine, various issues (No. 5, No. 15, No. 25)
Article at Roadhouse.gr Music Portalphotos and an interview from 1986 ''
*''The Thing'' fanzine vol. 8, 1994 (discography)
*''Pop & Rock'' magazine # 195 (1995), # 190
* ''ΟΖ musical newspaper'', issues 1993-1994
External links
Last Drive official websiteLast Drive on MyspaceMyspace fan club of The Last DriveFan site of The Last Drivefor a radio station in Arta, Greece (Greek).
Article by Dimitris Dimitrakasat In Rock fanzine (Greek).
Their first online interview, after their comebackat mic.gr (Greek)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Drive, The
Greek alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 1983
Musical groups disestablished in 1995