Go back in time to the start of the Last Dinosaurs

New evidence has been uncovered just northwest of New Mexico that the last dinosaurs were once thriving before their untimely extinction.

It suggests that their health was in check, and their communities were distinct and lively. Whilst not nearing their end, the same can be said about Brisbane rock outfit Last Dinosaurs, as they renew their wellness in the form of their reincarnated sophomore album, whilst reflecting on the community that built them. 

Keep connected to your live music scene here.

 

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Dating back to the 2010’s, Last Dinosaurs were a vital part of the burgeoning Brisbane music ecology; one that cultivated a standard of excellence, driven by the DIY. Among them was Violent Soho, Tired Lion, The Jungle Giants, Ball Park Music, and Cub Sport. They were all coming off the back of the 90s and early 2000s pavers Powderfinger their predecessors The Saints. For Last Dinosaurs Sean Caskey, the setting opened up a world for Last Dinosaurs to roam. 

“We had it good! We definitely fully appreciate the fact that we were coming up at the absolute primetime. While we were in high school, there was a whole scene before us that was paving the way and the club scene in Brisbane was the best. Every night of the week you could go into the Valley and there would be at least one venue out of the 10 or 12 having some sort of a gig with some local bands. It was the best time. We basically started just so that we could get free drinks. Now we get free drinks and sandwiches,” he laughs.

It’s a band not only born from the wider community scene but by their Brisbane State High upbringing. Sean Caskey, and his younger brother Lachlan Caskey, Dan Koyama, and chance meeting with Michael Sloane would change the course of their lives. 

 

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“We came from a really good school, Brisbane State High; the culture there was really good, so I’m so grateful for our beginning,” he explains.

“[Sloane and I] have the same birthday. That’s how we met in school actually. We weren’t friends yet but I came over in grade eight or nine, standing next to each other awkwardly and he just brought up to me that he was getting some Warhammer soon…I asked why and he told me his birthday was coming up, and I was like “me too”. Then we found out we were both on July 25 and it was instant best friends.”

First came Back From The Dead, an EP that would take off on triple j unearthed. It was then followed by In A Million Years, the band’s debut album in 2012 which by all accounts was a success for the band, leading to major festival stages and making the band a household name. So when it came to the sophomore, the stakes were high. Enter Wellness.

Initially released on YouTube as demo tracks, and packaged from fan requests, the album was a sore point for Caskey. 

“The fans on YouTube wanted it to be released and we just went “okay, maybe we should stick to that lofi sound’. That actually propelled the rest of the way we make music. We started doing it as a DIY approach, but I always want to have more of that polished sound and refine it.”

He continues, “It’s like the extreme pressure sophomore album and if you are looking at that trajectory on a graph, you can see where we expected it to pick up and I think we just didn’t get there. With that first album we got pretty lucky with how well it did, but Wellness definitely didn’t get a great reception until afterwards it had this second life.”

Whilst most bands revisit the albums that are their most popular or their most proud, the ten year anniversary of Wellness was a chance for Caskey to right the ‘wrongs’, and reshape his feelings toward the songs. It was a sole pursuit for the primary songwriter, released as WELLNXSS last month. 

“It was an extremely intense recording process. It’s the first time ever where I’ve done the entire thing myself and I started directly after quite a long tour as well. I think for me being the primary songwriter, I had a solid idea of how I wanted it to sound but we were pretty amateur back ten years ago. Now I have more skills to be able to achieve those sounds.”

“It was actually kind of like I was looking at all my childhood photos and just doing a retouch  of them. It almost feels like you recreate the memories.”

With it came a calling for the road to celebrate the album. The band will be heading across the country this winter, stopping on the Surf Coast to play Torquay Hotel on Friday 19 June and Melbourne’s Northcote Theatre on Saturday 20 June. They are supported by Woodland Hills California rockers Bad Suns.

Tickets are on sale now, get them before they’re extinct here.