“We’re just trying to go along with things as they come, take them one day at a time,” says the vocalist/guitarist. “All this stuff that’s happening, it’s still in the virtual world. Talking to people online, getting songs out on the internet. And we’re still just sitting in our rooms on our laptops, doing shit all. But we’re still just extremely excited to get things going, play some shows and see what could happen. For the last little bit, it’s been too virtual; people knowing people and what not. Now we’re finally going to go and play these shows. Do things physically.”
For a young act like Last Dinosaurs, they still employ something of an old-school attitude. In A Million Years is a strong, cohesive release that, while amply produced by Jean-Paul Fung, still favours compact, hooky songs over studio trickery.
What’s more, Last Dinosaurs didn’t rush into In A Million Years. Showing a patience and maturity beyond their years, Caskey reveals how the album could’ve been released much sooner, though the band wouldn’t have been nearly as proud of their output.
“We’d been writing for awhile; we had a chance to write and record an entire record’s worth of stuff awhile back,” he says. “The songs were good, but we decided to wait a little longer. We waited another six months or so and see what else we could come up with. I’m grateful we were patient; the album was written just three months before recording. We feel much better about this new record.”
For all their maturity, the collective age of this effusive four piece still adds up to only 83 years. But Caskey isn’t deterred. You can certainly hear a youthful exuberance on each of their pop-punk punch-outs, and he believes their age is more of a help than a hindrance.
“We were always told to not even talk about our age,” he says, with clear defiance. “But you know, I don’t really give a shit. We are young, sure. But what the fuck does that mean? We’re just having fun. We’re happy to be doing what we’re doing at this stage. People try and judge us, sure. But I think our audiences always connect with us because they’re the same age. We party in a similar way, I guess.”
“We’ve been a band for ages,” he continues. “We’re young, but we’re not kids. I’m not going to try and hide our age though. I think that’s silly.”
It’s been a long time coming for the gang in Last Dinosaurs. The band got together in 2007, brought together by the idea that a great live show should be more about musical talent than a lack of such scoring points with the hipster faithful.
Their dedication to their craft can be heard on In A Million Years. Full of tracks that are catchy enough to be hit singles yet articulate enough to not simply be flashes in the pan, one gets the sense that Last Dinosaurs are just getting started.
“I do realise that as a songwriter, I’m still very far away from my peak,” says Caskey. “There’s still just so much more to do. I’m very optimistic about the future. We did a good job on this one though. Maybe I’m not supposed to say it like that. We think about a band like Phoenix. You listen to their first record and every record afterwards; there’s an amazing progression. I really hope we can do something like that. I’d like to have every record be a step up. Of course, I’d like this one to be recognised as a good album though.”
BY JOSHUA KLOKE
