Last Breed - Interview - PETE'S ROCK NEWS AND VIEWS.COM

Interview with Robert Ballinger Jr (Power Theory) – lead and rhythm guitar of Last Breed and Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)

PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?

BB: Hard and Heavy Rock n’ Roll

PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.

BB: Originally from Philly and started trying to play guitar at about 10 years old, back in the day I fell in love with Hard Rock guitar driven music.

Last Breed came into existence as a pandemic project with Myself, Alan D’Angelo from Power Theory on bass, Caesar Ettore on vocals from Season of Mourning, Tony Stahl from Silent Assasins and Dead Risen on Keys, Márton Veress from Orgy and Davey Suicide on studio Drums, and London Fowler on lead guitar as well.

PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?

BB: I think everything and everyone around me inspires me to make music ya know, sort of mood driven by life experiences, but specifically some of my guitar heros are still around and kicking ass like Michael Schenker, Adrian Vandenberg, Ace Frehley, and a few others.

I usually come up with a theme and for this Last Breed project Caesar wrote the majority of the lyrics based on my themes. We did collaborate on one or two together.

PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?

BB: To play for and meet people that enjoy the music I create, travel, and make memories that last forever, and in the words of Viv Savage “have a good time, all the time” lol!

PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?

BB: Being able to play in Europe in 2015 and 2016 with my main band Power Theory, which will return to Germany and play Hard Summer Festival again this September. As I inclined before, the people there have become like family and the memories are amazing.

PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?

BB: Well this Last Breed project is 2 years in the making with the writing, pre-production recording, recording and mastering and is just starting to see the light of day now. So we are starting a PR campaign ahead of fully releasing this with Zach at MDPR in hopes of generating some interest and potential interest from labels. So far so good !

PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?

BB: Nothing is booked for Last Breed right now as all members are in other bands and have commitments, but we are testing the waters and are ready, willing, and able when the time is right. As far as promoting goes nowadays it’s a combination of responsibilities between the bands, booking agency’s, and venues in order for success, and although social media seems to be the norm, It doesn’t always work if all parties aren’t doing their parts. Word of mouth helps also!

PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?

BB: It’s the choice of most of the modern generation and I’m not a huge fan as the artists never get back what they deserve or put into it. But I’ve been doing this now for a pretty long time and if I was in it to only make money we wouldn’t be talking right now lol

PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?

BB: That’s a hard one but, I Wanna Know What Love Is!

PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?

BB : There is a lot lol. But I’ll say the touring costs and travel expenses currently and how that really hurts younger and up and coming bands.

PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?

BB: Myself and London Fowler have a whole new albums worth of material for Last Breed that’s ready to start final arranging and pre-production, and rehearsals and preparations for upcoming Power Theory warm up gigs for Germany which London will be playing also.

PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?

BB: We are currently going to release another single and lyric video the end of May and are working on a Bandcamp Page and but also;

https://www.facebook.com/LASTBREEDROCK/

https://youtube.com/@lastbreedrock