Getting to Know… One Of The Last | Interview 🎤

On the 118^th interview on The Musical Hype, vocalist John O’Connor gives us the scoop on the Brooklyn, NY hybrid metal band, One Of The Last.

“We describe ourselves as Hybrid Metal… our unique blend of hard rock, metalcore and thrash metal… We’re trying to bring metal back into the mainstream world while also making sure metal fans enjoy what we’re doing.” Good stuff, One Of The Last, good stuff! The hybrid metal band from Brooklyn, New York is the subject of our 118^th interview in the Getting to Know… series.  The band is comprised of John O’Connor (vocals), Mario Sleziak (guitar), Parker Ellis (guitar), and Matt “Tripp” Trippiedi (bass). John is kind enough to answering our burning questions – well, I’m not so sure they’re literally ‘burning’ but you get the idea! So, without any further ado or unnecessary BS, here is Getting to Know… One Of The Last: Interview #118.

Starting things off right, for those who may not be familiar with One Of The Last, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Well, first let me start off by introducing myself. My name is John and I’m the vocalist of Brooklyn NY’s Hybrid Metal band, One Of The Last. Our music is the most unique thing about us. We describe ourselves as Hybrid Metal: which is our unique blend of hard rock, metalcore and thrash metal. One of our goals is to make our songs accessible to everyone who listens. We’re trying to bring metal back into the mainstream world while also making sure metal fans enjoy what we’re doing. It seems difficult but I think we can accomplish that!

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your One Of The Last form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

Our band formed in 2016 when Mario (guitar), Parker (guitar) and Tripp (bass) left their old band to do something different. They wanted to make a melodic thrash band where the music is heavy with anthemic sounding vocal melodies. They added myself (vocals) and our old drummer, Brian, and they both have a hard rock and metalcore background.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Our main goal never really changed: it’s to play music for a living. We don’t care about becoming filthy rich or anything but if we can live comfortably while doing something that we love, I think that’s everyone’s main goal. We have smaller, attainable goals as well such as writing more songs, meeting new friends, and getting our name out there on social media. So far, we’re doing pretty well but we can always do better!

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

Personally, Linkin Park is one of my biggest influences. Their catalog of music spans different genres but when you hear an LP song, you know it’s them. They’ve grown a lot as artists and I want to follow in similar footsteps. Hell, I’d love to get Mike Shinoda on one of our songs or Mr. Hahn to direct one of our videos! Let’s make it happen!

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

I’ll tell you a story about how I accidentally “defecated” during a show. It was with my old band and we played at a well-known venue in NJ. The stage was about 5 feet off the ground and I jumped off of it. Well, I mistimed the jump and sort of gave myself vertigo. Thankfully it was during our final song and after the set, I needed to sit down. I sat down and felt a squish. I thought I sat in something but then it clicked. I rushed to the bathroom and cleaned out everything. It wasn’t too much and for effect, I splashed some water on my jeans to play the part of sitting in something. Only my wife knows about what truly happened and now, everyone reading this interview!

Wow! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

There’s a song we have called “Fear of the Unknown.” It’s not yet recorded but we’ve played it live. It’s a song that starts with a buildup and hits you with a breakdown out of nowhere! The lyrics are about the unknown and how unpredictable it is and the song matches perfectly. We’re going to try and record a video for that song. Might be a live video once we play some shows again!

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Besides not looking like a screamer in a metal band, I also train in Mixed Martial Arts, work 2 jobs and take IT Management classes. I’m a very busy guy! Another fun fact is I’m a concert junkie! I can remember almost every concert I’ve ever been to and I’ve seen close to 1000 different artists live! I have a spreadsheet with every show I’ve attended.

Closing things out, what is One Of The Last currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

There’s no secrets with us! Everything we’re about to do, we share with all our friends on our websites. First thing we’re doing is trying to find a drummer. Then we have about 15 different song demos to record. After that, we’re going to try and release a new song every 2 months with either a lyric video or music video accompanying it. When the world opens up, we want to play every market we can and hopefully get some labels to notice us. Our dream will become a reality and we won’t stop until we achieve it!

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

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Photo Credits: One Of The Last, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype; Icons made by https://www.flaticon.com/authors/freepik (Freepik)