Ray Patricks (singer of Last Kiss Goodnight)
Coming off a highly successful album called ‘IMMORTAL’, Last Kiss Goodnight is going full steam ahead with their latest single/video, “Forty Five”.
The new song & music video, “Forty Five”, packs a powerful punch and will be featured on LKG’s upcoming EP called ‘long pause…’. Lead singer Ray Patricks discussed all of the exciting news surrounding Last Kiss Goodnight as well as how our “world could use more Love, respect, and consideration.” Ray also emphasizes that: “If we want to see a change for the betterment in America and American people then people need to unplug and become more involved in their communities. Put down your phone, your Netflix, your video games and become proactive in change. Even the Little Things in life count, so be the change you want to see and go out and make a difference today! Come ONE, Come ALL…And Vote!
J Rae: Where did the phrase Last Kiss Goodnight come from and is there any special meaning behind the band name?
Ray Patricks (LKG):
We had a lot of songs written before we went into record our first album ‘IMMORTAL’ at Waterford digital. We had about 13 songs all polished and ready to record. But we didn’t have a band name. We had a couple of ridiculous names as place holders… but nothing really solid or memorable. It took us a while to come up with a name that had value and appeal. It wasn’t until the day when Kevin (LKG bassist) walked into a band rehearsal and said “how about the name “Last Kiss Goodnight?” It is a lyric in one of our songs “Stitches.” The name seemed to resonate with Kevin. I thought it was one of the stronger ideas that we had. We threw it up on a whiteboard with a lot of other names and after a round robin of sorts, we decided that the name had a lot of weight and value. Soon after, the name kind of took on a double meaning for me. I have since grown really attached to it.
J Rae: Coming off your debut album last year titled ‘Immortal’, it seems you guys are charging hard out of the gate. With two chart-topping singles, “Love Separation” & “Miss Anything”, on your previous release, it’s a safe bet to say that Last Kiss Goodnight is off and running! Slow and steady is not winning the race for you, so can you tell us how it feels to be riding this wave of momentum so early on in your music careers?
RP: We’re all extremely pleased with how the album has been received. We couldn’t have asked for more positive acclaim and feedback. We hit a lot of pinnacles with our first album ‘IMMORTAL’. We charted on the Billboard and Foundation rock music indicators without a solid run of shows to preface the songs. Plus, having both songs rise to be in the top 10 of each one of those forums was also very exciting for us. Each one of us has been in the music industry for a very long time. But It wasn’t until this inception of this specific line-up of musicians that we have seen our talents thrive so swiftly.
J Rae: LKG is an Alt-Rock band and I, myself, am a big fan of the Alternative Rock scene. I certainly have my own, personal favorites in this category, but I’m sure the Skope audience would love to hear who are some of your all-time, favorite Alt-Rock artists & bands? And do any of these music acts have a major influence or effect on the music Last Kiss Goodnight creates?
RP: We each have our own individual interests and influences. I, personally, tend to gravitate toward the rock music of the mid 70s and mid to early 90s. I loved the Smashing Pumpkins when I was in high school. They played a huge role in influencing my love for alt rock. But I also grew a strong attachment to bands like STP and Sponge. I am very much influenced by a great number of artists, performers, and musicians from the 90s era of grunge, alt rock, and hard rock. It’s hard to really pin point or say that there is a specific person or band because I kind of like them all.
J Rae: Your group has had the pleasure to share the stage with such Alt-rock notables as: Papa Roach and Good Charlotte. What was it like playing with these widely popular bands and did you learn any valuable tips from these cool experiences? And on a side bar, anything crazy or out of the norm occur during these tours with Papa Roach and Good Charlotte; maybe something you haven’t shared
RP: Allow me to clear up some of the confusion and/ or misconceptions about the question. Yes. certain individuals in the band have shared the stage with Papa Roach and Good Charlotte. But that is when we were in different bands (Agents of the Sun, Live Alien Broadcast). Last Kiss Goodnight has shared the stage with David Ellefson (Megadeath bassist) and Jimmies Chicken Shack. We consider Jimmies to be good friends of ours. We’ve known the guys in the band for years. and both bands get along well when playing together. We really enjoy Jimmies Chicken Shack’s music as well.
And as far as any any crazy stories or debauchery…. we never kiss and tell.
J Rae: LKG is currently promoting a brand new single & video –
titled “Forty Five”, which is said to be politically charged and socially conscious. Would you mind delving more into this new release as far as the substance behind the music?
RP: I think the lyrics to the song had been building in me for a while. I think since the beginning of 2018. And within these last few months I have been screaming obscenities at certain political groups, social groups and at specific individuals in our government that come on the TV. But “Forty Five” is not just about a person. It’s also about the political and social movement in our country. It’s about a thought process or a lack thereof. But we (Last Kiss Goodnight) are in no way set out to take some political stand or make a political statement as a band. That is not what we do. We are musicians and entertainers first. We have no intentions to morph into a politically charged anti-establishment group. The world already has a few of those bands. The main purpose of our song “Forty Five” is to raise awareness about the blind perspective on voting in our country.
J Rae: What do you hope that listeners will grab from the new track/video, “Forty Five”, and is it key that people do pick up on this element?
RP: We hope that our song encourages people who weren’t thinking about voting to go out and vote!
J Rae: It is said that “Forty Five” hints at the current President but of course, as you mentioned before, the material is about so much more according to LKG. A couple of items on the agenda you mention would be the widespread use of propaganda by way of social media and news outlets. If this is a major problem in our society, how can we, as a culture, help fix this to make the whole system better for our future?
RP: Global technology is always advancing and evolving. And that’s not a bad thing. But with technology should also come the understanding that we should continue to think for ourselves. It’s become more and more evident that the mass population is easy to manipulate. We are manipulated every day by way of social media and conspiracy-theory-YouTube-channels. We have to be smarter as a society, do the research, and rely on the facts. We shouldn’t rely on some garble that Joe-Q Jones is putting out in cyberspace. The only probable reason to do that is to just gain a few more likes for his/her site or page. Joe-Qs’ only motivation is probably collecting royalty checks so that he/she can go to the Wal-Mart to buy the latest first-person-shooter-video-game and go back to his mom’s basement and waste countless hours trash talking to some twelve year old on the other side of the globe about how he stole his virtual weapon. SMH. Simply this: If we want to see a change for the betterment in America and American people then people need to unplug and become more involved in their communities. Put down your phone, your Netflix, your video games and become proactive in change.
’ll also give you this quote:
Gandhi said “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
J Rae: LKG’s current mission statement reads: “Seeking To Inspire Freedom Of Thought, Hope And Resilience Amidst A Divided Nation”. With people from all walks of life, different strokes for different folks is a reoccurring theme in our nation and ONE that this country is built on. What is the easiest solution toward achieving a Less Divided Nation and more of a United Front?
RP: It starts with listening. Listening to the oppressed, the minority groups, the impoverished, the helpless, the homeless, marginalized youth, and the less fortunate people of our nation. Then, and only then, will we begin to understand how to fix the broken threads that were once used to bind humanity. But we first need to be open minded and listen.
J Rae: “Forty Five” will be featured on your upcoming EP, which is set to be released in early 2021. Is that still on schedule and are you at liberty to tell the Skope readers more about this new project?
RP: Our next release will be an EP titled ‘long pause…’ The EP will house five songs that were left over from our first record ‘IMMORTAL’. The EP will include “Forty Five” and a song called “The Red” which we are currently in pre-production with the video of that song. 2021 will be full of great stuff coming out of our camp. I think LKG fans will really enjoy the next batch of songs, videos, and merchandise that we are going to turn out in the up-coming months.
J Rae: What methods are you currently using to help promote the new single/video and how has the overall reaction & response been so far for “Forty Five”?
RP: Social media is huge for us. But we also have taken on a lot of interviews and distributing the single through numerous streaming services such as: Itunes, Amazon music, Spotify, Reverb Nation, and Pandora. All the feedback has been great. We are glad to see so many people have a positive response to both the video and the single. And a lot of people have commended us on the message that we are sending… “Vote!”
J Rae: I ALWAYS end my interviews on a positive note and wanted to focus on the topic of Little Things this time around. I am a BIG believer in the small things that can sometimes make the biggest impact. It’s the Little Things that matter most for some and so first wanted to ask—What little thing did each of you do recently that you felt made someone or something better around you? If each of US just do one small thing daily or even weekly to help brighten someone’s day OR help a community, then I feel we’d be just that much stronger and ONE step closer to the promised land. What are your thoughts on that concept?
RP: It’s a great concept. Reminds me of the “paying it forward” concept. With Covid putting such a hard strain on the world, our local communities and neighborhoods have become a safe haven, of sorts. My wife and I often check in with our elderly neighbors to see if they need anything from the store or if they need any help with handy work around their homes or yard work done. It is a gesture that is received well and the gratitude that comes with doing something for others is a great reward. We are also teaching our children to partake in helping those in need. That is something that our world could use more of. Love, respect, and consideration.
By Jimmy Rae (https://skopemag.com/?s=Jimmy+Rae)
