The Last Drive is a Greek punk garage rock group which formed in 1983, broke up in 1995, and reunited in January 2007.

1983-1987: The beginnings

The Last Drive started playing under the name "Last Drive" in late 1983 and their first performance was at the "Rodeo club" on December 27, 1983. They adopted the name "Last Drive" after noticing a cocktail by that name at a bar menu. During 1984, Yiorgos Karanikolas was added on lead guitar. The group was basically playing garage rock mixed with rockabilly

Rockabilly

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 and surf rock. They started playing in underground joints of that time, while some band members played with Blue Light (group) at their first live performance at Pegasus club. In 1985 they released their first record, the 7" single Midnite Hop, which now is the most sought-after record by collectors in Greece. They also participated with a song in a compilation tape by Dikaioma Diavasis records, Live at the Kyttaro club. In 1986 they released their full-length LP album Underworld Shakedown, the content and the quality of production (by the Drive themselves) of which was considered by some as unusually high for the standards of the independent scene of that time. The LP contained covers of garage standards such as Misirlou

Misirlou

Misirlou , is a popular Greek song with popularity in five styles of music: Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish klezmer, American surf rock, and international orchestral easy listening .- History :...

 and Night of the phantom, as well as their own material.

1987-1990: Europe

They continued to appear live in Athens and many other cities in Greece, and in the spring of 1987 they toured abroad for the first time, in Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. They performed alongside the Fuzztones

The Fuzztones

The Fuzztones are a garage rock revival band formed in 1980. Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi The Fuzztones are a garage rock revival band formed in 1980. Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi The Fuzztones are a garage rock revival band formed in 1980. Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi...

, the Creeps

The Creeps

"The Creeps" is a song written and sung by Camille Jones, and remixed and produced by Fedde le Grand. It has a techno party beat and quiet singing....

, the Stomachmouths

The Stomachmouths

The Stomachmouths were a garage punk band from Stockholm, Sweden active in the 1980s.-Members:*Stefan Kery, vocals/guitar*Martin Skeppholm, drums*Lars Kjellen, guitar*Par Stavborg, bass*Anna Nystrom, organ*Jens Lindberg, bass -Discography:...

, the Dizzy Satellites and others. In 1988, having replaced Nick "Pop Mind" with Panos Kasiaris on rhythm guitar, they released Heatwave, which was produced by Peter Zaremba

Peter Zaremba (musician)

Peter Zaremba is an American singer and musician and member of the The Fleshtones. He was also the host of the MTV television I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge that aired from March 1983 to September 1987, as well as the sequel The Cutting Edge Happy Hour.-References:...

 of the Fleshtones

The Fleshtones

The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...

. That was the album that brought them to the attention of Music Maniac Records, a German label specializing in garage-rock releaseses, which re-released it with a new cover. This release brought them to Germany, where they participated in the Berlin Independence Days festival and also recorded the Time EP.

By this time the sound of the group had started to somewhat change, becoming harder and speedier and moving towards stoner rock

Stoner rock

Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...

 and neo-psychedelia

Neo-psychedelia

Neo-psychedelia is music that emulates or is heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. It began to be revived among British post-punk bands of the later 1970s and early 1980s and was taken up by groups including bands of the Paisley Underground and Madchester scenes, as well as...

, without however burning the bridges with its garage past. The band also caught the eye of Paul Cutler, of Dream Syndicate

Dream Syndicate

The Dream Syndicate was an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California active from 1981 to 1989. The band was associated with the Paisley Underground music movement.-History:...

 fame, who would produce their next two records.

1990-1995

Their LP Blood Nirvana, released in 1990, marked the change in their sound, a fact that let down some of their hardcore garage fans and ended their cooperation with Music Maniac. At this time they were considered a part of the "explosion" of the hard rock/indie Greek scene that took part during the early 90's. Thus, they started becoming more popular among rock fans in Greece, and on the same year they were voted "band of the year" by the readers of the leading music magazine, Pop & Rock. They played as a support act for the Wipers

Wipers

The Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. Wipers were one of the earliest American purveyors of the genre, and the group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion has been hailed as extremely...

, The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...

, The Gun Club, and toured Germany with Dead Moon

Dead Moon

Dead Moon was a United States punk rock band from 1987 to 2006, formed in Portland, Oregon. Fronted by singer/guitarist Fred Cole, the band also included bassist Toody Cole, Fred's wife, and drummer Andrew Loomis. Veterans of Portland's independent rock scene, Dead Moon combined dark and lovelorn...

. In 1992 they released the F*head Entropy album, which is their most mature work. Following a tour in Spain, the Last Drive celebrated their 10th anniversary with a live performance (pie fight included) at the "West Club" on December 23, 1993. In 1994, their contract with their long-time company, Hitch Hyke Records, ended. They signed for the multinational BMG Hellas and released Subliminal, an album in which songs followed a somewhat slower tempo than before. In 1995, Karanikolas left the band and moved to the United States. Some months later the Last Drive was disbanded, after twelve years on the road, having created a dedicated following in Greece and abroad, and an explosive live act.

1995-2007: Intermission

Yiorgos Karanikolas created the band Blackmail, who generally picked up from where the Drive had stopped, but with a greater emphasis on neo-psychedelia, and became quite popular at the time.

Alex Kalofolias and Thanos Amorginos created The Earthbound

The Earthbound

The Earthbound is a Greek band.The band was formed in Athens in 1998 by six members and former members of The Last Drive, Honeydive, Rockin' Bones and Engine-V...

 in 1998, a band with a completely different orientation around ethnic/Latin/desert rock. There have been rare instances in which The Earthbound were joined on stage by former Drive members. Kalofolias and Amorginos also co-wrote the music for Stratos Tzitzis' film Sose me (Save me). Amorginos also wrote music for theatrical plays.

Chris Michalatos played with The Speedballs a rockabilly act, for a while.

2007-present

In early 2007, the band announced on their official website their reunion for some gigs. They performed live in Athens on May 11th, 12th and 13th -all three dates being sold out- in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

 on the 19th and in Larissa

Larissa

Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...

 on June 2nd.

Their first record ("Midnite Hop") was re-released by Greek DIY label Blind Bastard Records. They also played at the "Open Air Festival" in Athens on July 6. Finally, they were the headliners on the first day of the "Indie Rocket Festival 2007" (along with the Devastations, Acid Cobra and The Cesarians

The Cesarians

The Cesarians are a London-based group consisting of singer Charlie Finke, pianist Justine Armatage, drummer Jan Noble and an all woman wind section...

) that took place in Pescara

Pescara

Pescara is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of January 1, 2007 it was the most populated city within Abruzzo at 123,059 residents, 400,000 with the surrounding metropolitan area...

, Italy on June 22nd . In May 2008 the band did another Greek tour, while a live CD-DVD covering their reunion shows in Athens was released by Blind Bastard Records. In the same year a film documentary was released entitled "20000 Miles Ahead: A Last Drive Story" covering their story till the reunion gigs. In May 2009, a new CD came out entitled "Heavy Liquid". In September 2009 Inner Ear released it as a limited edition LP (500 black vinyls and 500 red vinyls). In October 2010 the band contributed the track "Love & Terror" to the CD/booklet "Horror & Romance", a compilation of songs and music inspired by Stefanos Rokos' art exhibition.

Members

• Alexis Kalofolias (Alex K.) - ripper bass, vocals
• Yiorgos Karanikolas (B.George Bop) - lead guitar, vocals
• Christos Michalatos (Chris B.I.) - drums
• Nikos Kapetanopoulos (Nick "Pop Mind") - guitar
• Panos Kasiaris (P.PEP) - guitar
• Thanos Amorginos (T.H. Lime) - guitar

In Greece

Singles/EPs

• Midnite Hop (7", Art Nouveau 1985)
• I Was A Teenage Zombie (with the Fleshtones as "The Pleasure Hustlers") (Time Bomb: The Fleshtones present the Big Bang Theory, Hitch Hyke 1989)
• Time (12" EP, Hitch Hyke 1989)
• Overloaded (7" single sided promo, Hitch Hyke 1991)

LPs

• Underworld Shakedown (Hitch Hyke 1986)
• Heatwave (Hitch Hyke 1988)
• Blood Nirvana (Hitch Hyke 1990)
• F*Head Entropy (Hitch Hyke 1992)
• Subliminal (BMG 1994)
• The Bad Roads | The Best Of The Last Drive (Columbia 2007)
• Time Is Not Important (Live DVD-CD [shot and recorded at their 2007 reunion shows @ Athens] , Blind Bastard Records 2008 )
• Heavy Liquid (Happy Crasher Records 2009)

Contribs

• (Live sto Kyttaro, Dikaioma Diavasis 1985)
• May This Bullet (The Thing From Another World Volume 1, The Thing magazine 1995)
• Chain Train; Gone Gone Gone (Rock Fm - Rodon:Live, Music Box 1991 (LP)/2000 (CD))
• Jailbird; Outlaw (Local Heroes '95 Comp., Pop & Rock mag.)
• Love & Terror ("Horror & Romance" Compilation, 2010)

Abroad

Singles/EPs

• Blue Moon / Every Night / Sidewalk Stroll (7", Voxx 1987)

LPs

• Heatwave (LP, Music Maniac 1988)
• Their Story So Far (Underworld Shakedown + Heatwave) (CD, Music Maniac 1989)
• Blood Nirvana (Romilar D 1991)
• Blood Nirvana (LP/CD, Music Maniac 1991)
• Blood Nirvana (CD, Restless
  Restless Records
  Restless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1981 by Enigma Records and primarly released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute Records...
  
  1992, bonus "Time Has Come Today" alternative mix)

Contribs

• Every Night (Battle of the Garages Vol. 4, Voxx 1986)
• Valley of Death (The sounds of now, Dionysus 1986)
• I love Cindy (The secret team, Voxx 1988)
• Hell to pay (Music Maniac Gimmick Comp., 1989)
• Black Limo (The monster dance hall favorites vol. 3, Munster 1990)
• Overloaded (It's a Restless World, Restless 1991)
• The End Inc. (Larsen/Zine Comp. 1993)
• Outlaw (Enclosed Please Find... Your Invitation To Suicide: A Tribute to the Songs of Martin Rev & Alan Vega Double LP, Munster 1994)

External links

• Last Drive official website
• Last Drive on Myspace
• Myspace fan club of The Last Drive
• Fan site of The Last Drive
• Mini site at Music Maniac Records
• Two audio interviews for a radio station in Arta, Greece (Greek).
• Article by Dimitris Dimitrakas at In Rock fanzine (Greek).
• Their first online interview, after their comeback at mic.gr (Greek)