Bad Decisions. An interview with Chad Cherry from The Last Vegas.

The Last Vegas is a band that has taken a few chances in their career. They’ve endured all the highs and all the lows it takes to make it in the music business. After winning a Guitar Center contest that included a management deal, some cash, equipment and a coveted opening spot for Motley Crue. The band seemed on top of their game and poised for stardom. Unfortunately, not all stories have a happy ending. Things happen, and situations change. With the music business on it’s ear, the band regrouped and decided to get back to their roots. Recording in their hometown of Chicago, The Last Vegas have emerged a smarter, tighter band that is back on track and ready to conquer the world all over again. With the recent release of their first album in three years, The Last Vegas are more ready than they have ever been. Bad Decisions dropped on August 28th, check it out. You may have a new favorite band.

Chad Cherry joins me today. Chad is the vocalist for The Last Vegas. First off, thanks so much for joining us today, and welcome to the UnsungMelody.Com family.

Bad Decisions is your guys new album. I’ve spun it a few times over the past couple of days. In my opinion, it’s a bit of an evolution for you guys. It’s a little more raw, but I think it’s a better capture of who you guys are. What are your thoughts on that?

I think I’d have to agree with you on that. Our last record, we did in L.A., and this one we did in Chicago. We had more time to work on it and let some of the songs breath. We’re not going to put the same record out every time. That’s just not the kind of band that we are. We believe variety definitely is the spice of life. It is a little bit more rough around the edges, and a little bit more raw for sure.

I think that’s a good thing though, for what you guys put out there, and who you guys are, I think that raw sound, in my opinion at least, is what was missing from the last album. So, I’m all about it.

Yeah, it works well with us. I mean, we’re a band that wears our influences on our sleeves. (laughter) We’re totally into a lot of arena rock and we’re also into a lot of punk rock.

With a title like Bad Decisions, it makes me wonder if that’s a hat tip to a certain event. What’s the story behind the title?

Well, everybody likes to have a good time. Sometimes, you have too much fun and it seems the best times always end up in making a bad decision. That was kind of our mantra. You have to make bad decisions to have a really good time. Buying our record would definitely be a bad decision. (laughter)

Evil Eyes is the new single, first off, thanks for getting that eye, eyes stuck in my head.

(laughter) I know I’m doing a good job then!

How has the song been received by the industry so far?

With positive regards really. Everybody is really into it. We did a video for it. We wrote the song a year ago. Seems to be doing quite well. It just hit radio, so I’m excited to see what else we can get out of it.

I would imagine the song and video are not a favorite of Erin Andrews from ESPN.

(laughter) I’m not going to apologize. (laughter)

You guys do a Ron Davies cover on this record, you recorded it at Blues Heaven Studios. What was that whole vibe like?

Yeah, Chess Records. It was wonderful. We initially did it with our producer Roy Z, who is a great guy, great producer, great guitar player. He plays for guys like the Iron Maiden guys, the Rob Halford guys. He’s just a great guy. We arranged the song there, and recorded it at Chess Records. Which was really cool, we had Willie Dixon’s Granddaughter doing handclaps on it. It was a good time. We felt the spirit of the blues for sure. We initially did it there, and then we re-recorded some parts of it at Groove Master, but we combined them both together. Simply because it was such a great experience for us. We wanted the Chess sound to be on there.

You guys have a few tour dates out there, with the release of the album, I’m sure more are coming. What’s the rest of 2012 hold for The Last Vegas.

Lots of touring, lots of hard work, more videos and hopefully by January maybe even before, we have talks about going into the studio to record some new music. Then, go back out on the road and tour more.

On more of a personal note, you are a writer yourself. You do a column about all things horror. How did that situation come about?

I know a lot of people that work in L.A., in the fashion industry. One thing led to another with meeting a couple of people. They basically wanted me to write about anything I wanted to. It’s for a clothing company called Lip Service. It was their webzine, and they wanted me to do basically horror stuff because they know that’s what I know. I started interviewing cult icons of sci-fi, and horror, and authors, and really anybody that I could get in touch with that I was a fan of as a kid, or right now. I started doing that, and it kind of blossomed into whatever it is now.

Alright, I always end on a random question. Since we just spoke about how much you enjoy the horror stuff, I thought I’d base your question on that. So, here goes yours; A movie studio comes to you and says, you have the lead role in the remake of any horror movie that’s ever been made. What movie do you choose, and why?

Oh wow, that’s a really good question. There’s a lot of them. I always think about, what would make a good remake, and what would not ruin the original. Because, usually, the original movies are always the best. Even with the 70’s cheesed out, it’s still always a little bit better. I think that I wouldn’t remake anything. I always had the idea of going with the old cartoon, the Thundercats. I always wanted to do a real primal, rated R movie of that. Not like Transformers and made for the family or anything like that. Something like Clan Of The Cave Bear meets Thundercats. (laughter) There’s so many good movies. I always saw myself maybe doing a Creepshow movie. Like the George Romero, Tom Savini, Stephen King movies. I wanted to do Creepshow 3. Then I saw it in a DVD store for like $0.99, and I bought it. It was just a piece of crap. So, I guess I could say I would like to do a real version of Creepshow 3 before I die. I’d have to have everyone that worked on the other movies to be in it too. I love the one-ups from the movies. Tales From The Darkside. Tales From The Crypt. Where the bad guys think they have the upper hand, and the underdog kind of takes over and wins.

Chad, I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today. The site and myself, wish you and the band absolutely nothing but the best. Hopefully, we can catch up at a show sometime soon.

The Last Vegas members:
Chad Cherry-Vocals
Adam Arling-Guitar
Johnny Wator-Guitar
Nathan Arling-Drummer
Danny Smash-Bass

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