“I saw the Misfits show when I was my son’s age,” says Hardwick via phone. Last Gasp plays a record release party on Saturday, Jan. 13, at No Class. Bitter Truth, Direct Measure, Doubt It!, Salt and Atomic Witch open the show. “I was really young. I was 12 or 13. It changed my life. That was the big eye-opener. It made me realize I was going to do this for the rest of my life. I bought an Earth Crisis basketball jersey at that show. I late sold it to go to on tour one time, and I will do never forgive myself for it. So dumb!”
As Hardwick started getting into hardcore and more aggressive music, he began listening to Boston-based bands like Slapshot and American Nightmare.
“I thought the Cleveland hardcore bands were too metal,” he says. “I’ve never been a metal guy. I know that’s sacrilegious to say. Now, looking back on it, I appreciate it. But I just wanted to play fast.”
About five years ago, Hardwick had been playing in a band called Significant Loss but then quit to open Black Cat Barbershop in the Gordon Square Arts District.
And yet, he couldn’t leave the music behind.
“After opening the barbershop, I was itching to play again,” he says when asked how Last Gasp first formed. “I was listening to fast hardcore and wanted to do a band but as an adult. I had become more responsible. One of the barbers is a great guitar player and super into hardcore. He’s my link to what is hot and fresh. We had talked forever about doing a band. It finally came to fruition.”
The band put out several singles and one full-length before regrouping with a new rhythm section.
“Where we’re at now, our style has changed,” he says. “It’s more straightforward hardcore. That’s how it goes when you add new members to the band. It’s organically changed, but I’m really happy with it.”
The group recorded its new album locally at Spider Studios with Ben Schiegal and then sent the tracks off to L.A. for final mastering.
I’ve worked with Ben before, and he is so easy to work with and so talented,” says Hardwick. “Nick Jett in L.A. then mixed and mastered it. It turned out great.”
One highlight, “Seizure the Day,” features driving guitars and parched vocals but still somehow retains a sense of melody.
“When we wrote that song, we just knew it was the track, and that it would be the single,” says Hardwick. “That might be the first song we wrote with the new lineup. I wrote it from an existential crisis perspective. I’m a really happy guy. I’m 38, and I have a family, and I’m happy. But this album lyrically is much more political for me and about the pains of growing up. It’s about the doldrums of everyday work and life and how your schedule can beat you down.”
Hardwick and Co. handpicked the other hardcore bands that’ll play the upcoming release party.
“We booked all of our friends on this show,” says Hardwick. “Every band opening the show rules, and they are connected to us in some way or another. They’ll all friends, and I’m super excited for the show.”
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This article appears in Dec 20, 2023 – Jan 2, 2024.
