Group Members:
Similar Artists:
- Genres: Rock
- Representative Albums: "The First 7 Billion Miles," "Inner System Blues," "Radiant Black Mind"
Biography
When former Dream Syndicate guitarist Karl Precoda formed a band of his own in the late ‘90s, it was safe to assume that Last Days of May wasn't going to be a carbon copy of his old band (which he left in 1984). And sure enough, Last Days of May is no more a carbon copy of Dream Syndicate than Public Image was a clone of the Sex Pistols. The main thing that Last Days of May has in common with Dream Syndicate--especially the latter's early Precoda-era recordings--is an appreciation of the psychedelic rock and acid rock of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But that's where the similarity ends. Unlike Dream Syndicate, Last Days of May doesn't have a vocalist or favor standard song structures--Precoda's outfit doesn't go for the usual verse/chorus/verse/chorus format. Instead, Last Days of May plays trippy, bizarre, neo-psychedelic instrumental rock that is all about jamming, improvising and blowing. The band's direct or indirect influences include, among others, King Crimson, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Blue Cheer, and the main thing that Precoda (who went into academia after leaving Dream Syndicate) gets from his influences is a love of jamming; clearly, Precoda identifies with the more jam-minded (as opposed to song-minded and lyrics-minded) side of those artists. The fact that Hendrix was starting to embrace jazz-fusion before his death in 1970 isn't lost on Precoda, whose Virginia-based outfit isn't without jazz influences--most notably, Sun Ra and electric, post-1968 Miles Davis (as in Bitches Brew, Get Up with It and Tribute to Jack Johnson). Last Days of May isn't really fusion, although there are hints of jazz in the band's psychedelic rock, progressive rock and acid rock. The band's recordings have not been very radio-friendly; in the United States, most commercial stations aren't great about playing albums that have a lot of extended jamming and improvising. But one gets the impression that Precoda really doesn't care whether or not commercial radio accepts his band; he seems to have a stubbornly uncompromising attitude and is determined to play what he feels even if it means little or no acceptance from commercial radio. Nonetheless, Last Days of May has acquired a small, enthusiastic cult following, and the band's followers seem to be glad that Precoda and his colleagues are so uncompromising.Last Days of May's self-titled debut album was released in 1997 on the No-Fi label. The Virginia residents' second album, Radiant Black Mind, came out on Squealer in 2001, and in 2002, Squealer released Last Days of May's third album, Inner System Blues. Essentially, Last Days of May is a power trio that consists of Precoda on guitar, Thomas Howard on bass and James Ralston on drums, although Leonard Wishart could be considered an unofficial fourth member and sometimes provides electric keyboards. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
