Petoskey’s Famous Last Words finds chart success with new ‘theatrical post-hardcore’ album, launches tour in April

Spawned and based in the northern Michigan hamlet of 5,600, Famous Last Words is a hard-rocking, national touring headliner with hundreds of thousands of fans. Get the back story at Local Spins.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS

The tony resort town of Petoskey isn’t known as a hotbed of hard-rocking music, but don’t tell that to JT Tollas.

The lead vocalist and songwriter for Famous Last Words grew up in the northern Michigan hamlet, and he and most of the band live there when they’re not out on the road.

His explanation for coming out of Petoskey as a metallic alt-rocker?

“We live where we live,” he said.

Well, yes, there is that.

The fact is, musicians are influenced by the music they choose to listen to and draw from. For Famous Last Words, those influences range from the heavy sounds of bands like Anthrax and Queensrÿche to the theatrical approach of composers such as Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In addition to Tollas, the post-hardcore band includes Evan Foley, rhythm guitar; Matthew Bell, bass; Tyler Myklebust, guitar, backing vocals, programming and strings; and Craig Simons, drums.

Growing up, the 24-year-old Tollas was surrounded by music, including that of Broadway cast albums.

“We listened to musicals a lot (at home). ‘Phantom’ was the first, and ‘Rent,’ ” he said.

‘THEATRICAL POST-HARDCORE’ WITH HEAVY BEATS, LOUD GUITAR RIFFS

So enamored was he of the approach that he adapted it for his personal style of expression, with its heavy beats, loud guitar riffs, and his alternately screaming and melodic vocals, a style which he dubs “theatrical post-hardcore.”

“Each album tells a story. It has a lot of musical theater elements,” Tollas said. “We’re a concept record band.”

The concepts aren’t necessarily easy, either.

The band’s first album, 2013’s “Two-Faced Charade,” tells the story of a psychopath whose twisted idea of love drives him insane. It spawned a 30-minute movie, “A Two-Faced Charade: The Story Revealed.” (The video for the track, “The Show Must Go On,” from the album has racked up more than 14.2 million views on YouTube. Watch it below.)

“Council of the Dead,” the band’s follow-up released in 2014, features eight individual narratives, each delineating a specific story. They share a common theme: an account of a person’s life as they near death. Ultimately it showcases how people persevere through the trials and hardships of life.

The group’s 2016 outing, “The Incubus,” tells the story of a woman being terrorized by her husband. Each song builds on the one before, telling the story of how the protagonist Christine first celebrates her anniversary before falling into a nightmare, then discovers the nightmare is actually caused by her husband. She works through both her husband’s attempts to control her and her own fears and is ultimately able to escape from him.

The music, like the subject matter, is undeniably heavy.

COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL WITH THE BAND’S NEW LABEL

The band signed with North Carolina-based Revival Recordings in January last year, which released “The Incubus” in September. The label describes the band’s music as “Northern Michigan storytime core.”

Tollas said the band has complete creative control, and the label allowed the group to do what he calls “a really cool special edition for the release, which is something we’ve never done before.”

The album charted on Billboard, reaching No. 8 in Hard Rock Records, No. 21 in Alternative
Albums, No. 25 in Independent Albums, No. 99 in the Top 200, and No. 51 in iTunes Album Sales. The band’s Facebook page boasts more than 300,000 ‘likes.’

Famous Last Words grew organically, with Tollas and his pals graduating from practicing together to playing venues of all sizes.

“In high school, a group of friends would put on shows at the Petoskey Fairgrounds,” he said. “We’d get 200 to 400 kids sometimes.”

The group eventually began venturing further afield, first downstate, then to nearby states like Ohio and Indiana. Over the years, musicians came and went; today, Tollas is the only surviving member of those early incarnations, which morphed from A Walking Memory to Famous Last Words.

ACROSS-THE-STREET PETOSKEY PALS

While Tollas and bass player Matt Bell, who has lived across the street from him since fifth grade, are the only Petoskey natives, the rest of the band has moved to the town of 5,670 as well, with the exception of guitarist Evan Foley, who resides in Florida. For Tollas, it’s a chance to reconnect with his family, including his parents and his seven-year-old daughter.

Famous Last Words has both been a supporting act and a headliner, touring with similar style bands such as The Funeral Portrait, Versus Me, and It Lives, It Breathes.

In mid-April, the band will play the Launch Music Conference and Festival in Lancaster, Penn. with other bands from Revival Recordings, followed by a 10-day U.S. tour with The Funeral Portrait and Convictions that kicks off April 15. After that the band takes part in a co-headlining tour with Canadian band Manafest.

And wherever Tollas is, he’s always coming up with new song ideas, which he typically puts on his phone. “My phone is filled with ideas. Most don’t make the cut,” he said.

His songwriting process takes root from the story ideas, though not in the typical order. He first comes up with the overall concept, then fleshes it out through the melodies and moods of the music before moving on to the words.

“I get the vibe – sad, happy, scary. Then I score it to the concept,” Tollas said. “Then I
write the lyrics to tell the song.

“I’ve been doing this since sixth grade. It’s always been the goal. My ambition was to be a touring musician.”

VIDEO: Famous Last Words, “The Judged” (from “The Incubus”)

VIDEO: Famous Last Words, “Council of the Dead” (from “Council of the Dead”)

VIDEO: Famous Last Words, “The Show Must Go On” (from “Two-Faced Charade”)

Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC