The Last Domino  Is Our Sonic Bids Emerging Artist of The Week previous... Visit The Last Domino Website John Orr, AKA The Last Domino, began writing solo music in early 2005. The Romanticide EP was released soon after, showcasing acoustic songs that Orr describes as "fictional accounts of people who die for reasons tied to love." Most of the songs on Romanticide are quite dark and moody (think Ryan Adams meets Jeff Buckley), but John also shows his humorous side on the album with tracks like the Tom Waits-ish "Adventures In Whiskeytown" and the over-the-top Beatles pop of the hidden track, "The One I Love". The Last Domino did not perform live much in its first year, due to Orr's desire to write more up-tempo songs, which would be conducive to putting on a live show with more variety. In late 2006, he began writing new material for a full-length entitled Seconds. As with Romanticide, certain recurring themes were peppered throughout the songs, which deal with "second chances, second guesses, and the second hand itself," as John explains. The music on Seconds is, in fact, much more lively than previous material and creates an energetic atmosphere at shows. As a solo act, Orr puts on a unique show that implements organic beats and guitar loops, which serve as the foundation for appearances from such unexpected instruments as the djembe and the saxophone. This all breathes a different kind of life into some of The Last Domino's already entrancing songs, but Orr also knows when to strip down to a simple guitar-and-vocal combination. In November 2008, Orr released his ambitious double album, Diamond Days & Firenights. With a loose concept behind it and a collection of songs that span a myriad of genres, Diamond Days is both the summation of and the glimpse into the future of The Last Domino's music. "Let's Try This Again" and "Loophole" are reminiscent of songs from past Domino albums, but incorporate full band instrumentation, which Orr now replicates live with drummer Dave Evans and bassist Matt Foster backing him up for even more powerful shows. John also stays true to his roots on the discs with singer-songwriter tracks like "Definition Of Love" and "Rift", featuring that signature saxophone. Immediately following the release of Diamond Days, The Last Domino was invited to play the 11th annual Jeff Buckley tribute festival in Chicago. Keeping the festival mindset going into 2009, Orr conceived, booked, hosted, and performed at ¡La Vida Variety!, which featured a myriad of local acts. The show was lauded by the Indy press and ¡La Vida Variety! is now a recurring series with different themes and acts chosen by Orr himself. Though The Last Domino's role is slowly being phased out of the series, Orr and the band still play as many shows as possible. For more information, mp3s, and videos, visit www.thelastdomino.com. Instrumentation John Orr: vocals, guitars, bass, drums, percussion, keys, saxophone, etc. Dave Evans: live drums Matt Foster: live bass/vox Kevin Kirk: occasional live violin Discography Diamond Days & Firenights (2008 double LP) *Disc 1 - The Snowglobe* 01. 11:11 02. Diamond Days & Firenights 03. Rift 04. Midwinter Massacre 05. Last Call (Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bottle) 06. Bottle Lover's Waltz 07. Loophole 08. Perpetual Motion Machine 09. This Is Me Smiling 10. Tracks In The Snow 11. Muzzle *Disc 2 - The Breakout* 01. Let's Try This Again 02. Dark Alleyway 03. Definition Of Love 04. An Intervention 05. On Your Mark 06. Alone 07. Girl With The Rhino Skin 08. Ellipsis 09. The First Time I Died (Pt. I - The Discovery, Pt. II - The Descent, Pt. III - The Climb, Pt IV. - The Rescue) 10. Union Tower 11. 12:34 Seconds (2007 LP) 01. Washed Ashore 02. Seconds 03. You Don't Know The Half 04. Naive 05. Summer Flame 06. Last Call (Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bottle) 07. Clean Break 08. Born To Runner-Up 09. Autumn Twilight 10. The Last Joke You'll Ever Play On Me Romanticide (2005 EP) 01. For You 02. Tracks In The Snow 03. The Way It Goes 04. Adventures In Whiskeytown 05. Swan Song 06. One Last Thing (For Four Romanticidals)