If members of Last Chance Dave could have anyone’s career theysay it would be Ashlee Simpson’s.
“If we could make money and just record all day, I could dothat, and be like Ashlee Simpson,” said LCD’s lead singer andguitarist David Brooks. “We could do a real ‘Making the Band,’ asopposed to the Puff Daddy version of it.”
Last Chance Dave is at a crossroads. The band is moving fromBaton Rouge — where it has been playing music for three years –to Nashville, Tenn.
The band — lead singer and guitarist David Brooks, leadguitarist Kyle Harvey, bassist Nick Butitta and drummer Drew Greene– will leave soon after playing its farewell show this Friday atthe Varsity.
For Harvey, the move to Nashville makes perfect sense.
“It has the infrastructure,” Harvey said. “Nashville has all thestuff that goes into the business part of it. Hopefully we willmeet the right people and play in front of the right people.”
Nashville also gives the band a chance to explore its countryside.
The band’s music balances alternative-country sounds withtraditional rock songs.
Brooks and Harvey said the band’s influences include Weezer,Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, Ryan Adams, Wilco and Fountains ofWayne.
“Some [songs] are upbeat rock songs and some are more twangyalt-country — but not alt-country in that we are playing fiddlesor banjos or stuff like that,” Brooks said.
Harvey said the type of music the band makes really depends onwhere Brooks is getting his inspiration.
“It all depends on who Dave’s dating at the time,” Harveysaid.
The farewell show Friday also will mark the release of theband’s latest EP “Good Luck.”
Brooks said the EP best represents their stylistically-splitsound.
“The EP as a whole is the two sides of the story,” Brooks said.”The first track [‘Good Luck’] is a pop-rock go-go-go kind of song.The other new song [‘Let’s Talk it Over’] is very much a countryacoustic guitar and harmonica kind of song. It is very muchNashville ready.”
The EP is rounded out with two songs from the band’s 2003release “Chin Up.”
To the band, “Chin Up” still represents the quality of music itis striving to make.
“We are still happy with the way it came out,” Harvey said. “Weset the bench mark with what we are trying to do. It’s aprogression from terrible to hopefully mildly decent — fromterrible to bearable.”
After the release of the album, the band waited until everymember was ready to leave before moving away from Baton Rouge.
“We didn’t want to take an unnecessary break from playing musicto move,” Harvey said.
Once everyone in the band was ready, the group made plans tomove to Nashville.
The band chose Nashville because it provided a central locationfor touring.
Band members said their shows are geared toward good time rockand roll.
“Even if the songs are of a heavy nature, we smile while we areplaying them,” Brooks said. “There is no diva orpretentiousness.”
LCD said the crowds often get involved in the good time aswell.
“It’s like a Greek orgy,” Harvey said. “We stir up a ruckus andencourage people to take their clothes off.”
And on occasion, audiences actually do take their clothesoff.
Brooks said at a recent show in Hattiesburg, Miss. a man in theaudience stripped down after the band encouraged him to dance.
“This guy just took his pants off and stood in front of thestage,” Brooks said.
The band members hope the move to Nashville will allow them tomake a career of playing music.
“We want to lead financially stable lives and do what we love todo,” Brooks said. “We want to generally lead a less boringlife.”
But band members said they would not mind being a little morethan just financially stable.
“Our goal is to be as ridiculous as we want to be and havepeople to deal with it because we are so wealthy,” Harvey said.
Last Chance Dave’s farewell show starts at 10 p.m. at theVarsity Friday night. Tickets are $7 and the first 25 guestsreceive a free copy of the band’s “Good Luck” EP.