For those with an appetite for substance and deft musical style, The Last Supper delivers a tasty buffet of hard-driving tracks on Zero Degrees - Order into Chaos, the group’s newest release for VAMP Records.
Bassist Scot Herndon and drummer Mauro Scatozza provide a solid foundation for Shwetz’s searing vocals and Peter Walker’s weaving guitar. While guided by a range of musical influences from hip-hop, to blues and rock, the recording is also flavored with the Egyptian spice of percussionist Diaa Tass. Renowned in the Middle East for his studio work with many top Eastern artists, Tass adds an exotic fragrance to many of the tracks, especially Awake and Carousalambra. "When Diaa joined us, he raised the bar for the group. He’s a real master and considered a top player in the Middle East. His passion for the music reminded us of why we originally got into music," says Shwetz. The track Humanity is a succinct summary of the band’s world-view. "It’s about the inequalities and the turbulence in the world, our motto has always been to think outside of the box.”
The album took almost four years to complete and portions were recorded in Mama Joe’s in L.A., Raven Street, Ottawa, Studios Piccolo, Montreal, and Pharaohs Audio Media in Cairo and EMAC Studios in London. Produced by Shwetz, the album’s mixed credits include Danny Brodbeck (Ghandarva’s, Headstrong), with preproduction time spent in L.A. with Grammy producer Mark Sparks (Salt & Peppa, Madonna, Will Smith). Key contributions were made by a number of Middle Eastern musicians including Ahmad Nasr (keys, percussion, and accordion), Asmaa Elmnawr (vocals) and Hesham Niaz (arrangements). "We actually developed it in 13 studios," explains Shwetz, adding that “0 degrees Order into Chaos” is the result of the bands “nine years experience.”
Founded by Shwetz and Walker in 1996 while attending the University of Western Ontario, The Last Supper was a name chosen to symbolize a gathering of friends. After graduation, the band decided they wanted to travel, using their music as the vehicle. The band spent time in Los Angeles, played the college circuit throughout Canada and the U.S. and released its first album “Beginning of the End” in 1996. From that album came the video for the single “Ignorance” which was featured countless times on Much Music’s indie spotlight. In 1998-99 the group released a second album, Lifeline. The title track was released as a single and made the Canadian radio charts. To date, The Last Supper’s music has received generous radio airplay in North America, Europe and the Middle East. The band’s music was also featured on a series of extreme sports videos that sold 150,000 units in the U.S. and Europe.
The group has played more than 600 live shows across four continents, and played with acts including Iron Maiden, Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton, Thin Lizzy, Our Lady Peace, Slash’s Snakepit, The Tea Party, Big Sugar and 54-40. They have appeared at numerous famous rock clubs including the Milkweg in Amsterdam, House of Blues (New Orleans), and the Whiskey-A-Go-Go and Roxy (L.A). Various other international shows include a stadium benefit concert in Turkey in 2000, and dates in Sharm El Sheikh and Cairo, Egypt.
The band geared up for a world tour called 0 – Order into Chaos in November of 2006. The band has played over 100 shows, and taken 5 trips overseas in the last 2 years. Each tour has included dates in Egypt, England, Holland, and Germany. The Last Supper recently finished their new album, titled 0 – Order into Chaos the album is released currently in the U.K under code 7 distribution and are working towards a spring and summer release for other European countries for 2008 The band has recently come off of a European tour and is scheduled to play several top festivals in Europe for the summer of 2008. The Last Supper was recently picked as one of the best 20 new bands on the planet for 2006 by Classic Rock Magazine from the U.K. and has been included on a compilation CD which was distributed by the magazine.
The band recently became part of a reality television show called Band Without Borders. The new series will feature life on the road with The Last Supper as they attempt to set the world record for most countries toured by a musical group. The band will be touring a 100 countries over the next three years and filming has already started on the project with plans to distribute the series internationally.
With close to a half a million hits on the bands web site since the start of the 0 tour, thousands of offstage albums sold, media coverage in many countries and being part of the new reality show, The Last Supper feels it is finally ready to go mainstream in 2010 and make the band an international household name.