Today we’d like to introduce you to The Last Gatsby
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Josh and I (Jonathan) first crossed paths in 2010 while serving LDS missions in France. It didn’t take long for us to bond over a mutual love of music, especially with bands like Blink-182, The Used, A Day to Remember and others. Between the conversations about life and our experiences together, we started writing songs together, dreaming about what could come next once our missions were over. We knew then that music was going to be a part of our lives, but we didn’t realize just how much it would shape our journey.
Fast forward to 2012. I was living in Arizona, and Josh was in Utah, playing shows with a new band he’d put together. After their first show, they realized they needed a drummer, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had to be a part of it. I messaged Josh, told him I’d perform for them, and not long after that first show, I became their permanent drummer, and The Last Gatsby was cemented.
Not long after, we needed a second guitarist. Josh had worked with Garrett Samuelson back in Utah County, and when they jammed, it just clicked. Garrett’s style was the missing piece we’d been searching for. With the lineup complete, we started grinding—playing as many shows as we could, trying to build something meaningful.
By the end of 2013, we dropped our first single, *Coffin*. That track became the foundation for our full-length album, *Hearts and Machines*. That album opened several doors for us. We found ourselves sharing stages with bands we admired—Cartel, Knuckle Puck, I The Mighty, and even playing Vans Warped Tour in 2014.
In 2016, we stepped it up again, recording our second album, *The Art of Recovery*, with Sam Pura at Panda Studios. The title of that record held more weight than we knew at the time. It was about healing, battling personal demons, about finding the strength to fight through difficult times. Honestly, by that point, life was pulling us in different directions, we were tired and feeling a little burnt out, so we decided to slow things down and take some time away from the band and then come back to it later. We didn’t know it at the time, but we what came next was a shock to all of us.
In 2018, Josh was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma, a rare slow-growing brain tumor that originates from the cells that produce the protective myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord. Everything took a back seat as we focused on supporting him through surgeries, treatments, and recovery. But even in those tough times, our friendship stayed strong. The work we did as band was a beacon of hope for all of us.
Early this year, Josh reached out about releasing a song called “Life Lessons” that next made it to record because of the bands time was cut short. We had recorded a rough version of the song back in 2015 and it was intended to be the title track on our third LP. The title took on a whole new meaning, reflecting everything we were going through—about living in the moment, about the value of time. We decided that we should release the track and bring things back.
Now, in 2024, with Josh’s cancer returning for a third time, we’re faced with the reality that time isn’t something we can take for granted. It’s become our mission to make as much music as we can, while we still can. The Last Gatsby has always been about more than just music for us. It’s about friendship, overcoming the odds, and leaving something behind that matters. That’s why we’re here now—doing what we love, for as long as we can. It also gave us the chance to have a platform to help others. Seeing Josh go through everything he has, makes us want to give back to those who give so much. As part of our mission as a band, we will donate a portion of all merch sales to the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute to hopefully find cures for cancer.
On 10/18/24 we are releasing Life Lessons, available anywhere music is streamed. This will be accompanied by a music video as well. We invite everyone to check out this song and support our music. In doing so they also support the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute.
thelastgatsby.com
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No! It certainly hasn’t been. Being in a local band is really hard. You rarely get paid, it’s all about self promotion, you get taken advantage of by people promoting “exposure” and assured success, it’s a lot of emotional exposure to disappointment. It’s hard. We’ve played shows with hundreds of people. We’ve played shows with no-one there. You could ask, “then why do it?” and honestly, it’s why a lot of bands don’t continue through. We pushed ourselves so hard and took ourselves too seriously.
Josh’s cancer has been hard for all of us, none more than Josh obviously. What we learned from this though was how important the music was to each of us and the bond that it created for each of us as friends and brothers. We learned that we should write meaningful music and stop worrying about “making it big” or becoming famous. We learned to enjoy the journey because it’s a unique experience for everyone.
Through all of it, there is a lot to be grateful for, especially our fans who have stayed with us through it all!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Jonathan Hoopes: Drums
– I began playing drums when I was 11 years old. I was obsessed it the snare drum. Specifically the snare drum. I was actually a little disappointed when I got a drum set for Christmas because it wasn’t just a snare drum. Obviously that was ridiculous. Drums have taken me places I didn’t ever think they could. I’ve been heavily influenced by drummers Travis Barker, Matt Greiner, Ash Soan & Craig Reynolds. Something that sets me apart is my song writing ability from the drum perspective. I lack several of the traditional drummer conventions, but do really well building song structure and playing fast ha.
Josh Paul: Vocals & Guitar
– Josh starting writing music on guitar and performing songs in Jr High. He played in bands throughout high school heavily influenced by bands like The Used, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182. Josh has really keen ability to hear melodies with almost any style of music. He is really good and being able to construct unique melodic choices and write really emotionally honest lyrics.
Garrett Samuelson: Guitar
– Garrett’s playing style is really unique and different. It’s what makes him such an important member of the band. He has this amazing ability to write guitar parts that you would never think could pair well with the rest of the song and they do. He does this over and over. His style of play is also unique in that it swings more that the standard fast down picking of the kind of music we play. It opens up the ability to swing songs more and open space. His stylistic background also gives a really good shimmer to the top end of the tracks we right. His main intro riff is what sparked the creation of Life Lessons.
Chase Gerber: Bass & Guitar
– Chase has played in several bands through the years ranging from pop to melodic hardcore. When we originally started the band he was playing guitar in another contemporary local band. Back in 2015 he joined the band when we were in need of a bassist and we never look back. He is an amazing musician, able to write super complex guitar and bass parts that give our band a lot more depth and intrigue. He’s also one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. He’s been a huge reason why making a comeback has been possible.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
– Wes Winner. Wes who joined the band in 2014 right before we played Warped Tour. He was a key piece in the band for several years and we still consider him a member of the band even though he lives in Baltimore now. He’s one of our closest friends and has done so much for Gatsby.
– Patrick Duff. He was the original bassist on “Hearts and Machines” and was such a valuable part of our story in the early days of Gatsby.
– Our families and friends. Being a local band is a lot of work and the people your closest to really bear the brunt of all of your ticket, merch and social media postings. These people mean so much to us because they inspire us to keep going.
– Our fans, and I mean every single one of them. One of our greatest pleasures of being musicians is connecting with people who connect with our music. We love them.
– Dave Zimmerman of Noisebox Studios, who produced, mixed & mastered “Hearts and Machines”. He was so fun to work with and helped us start to hone in our sound. Sam Pura at the Panda Studios, helped us raise the bar for ourselves as musician. He taught us that our performance of each element of the song could make or break the songs. He also helped shape us into better musicians.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thelastgatsby.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelastgatsby
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLastGatsby/
- Twitter: https://x.com/thelastgatsby
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thelastgatsbyband
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thelastgatsby
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pTxtSBy2MG9kY6gx1vC24
