Brisbane indie four-piece Last Dinosaurs have been hunkered down working on the full-length follow-up to their 2012, In A Million Years, but the band have broken their relative silence with some rather sad news, the loss of of one of their longterm band members.
Bassist Sam Gethin-Jones has announced he is quitting Last Dinosaurs, revealing the news to fans via the band’s Facbooke page this afternoon. The post begins: “Sam here. I come with the unfortunate news that I will no longer be a part of Last Dinosaurs. For the band to move forward in the strongest way possible it is best that we part ways now.”
Despite not emphasising any specific reason for the split, the bassist has parted ways on amicable terms. “I can honestly say that the best experiences in my life have been with the guys, and I’ll always be grateful for the memories we’ve shared.”
Gethin-Jones was a founding member of Last Dinosaurs along with the guitar playing Caskey brothers, Lachlan and frontman Sean, as well as drummer Dan Koyama. “To Lach, Sean and Dan I want to wish you fellas the best of luck moving forward,” writes the bassist in his public resignation, while also thanking all of the band’s fans for their interactions over the years “from the bottom of my heart.” “For the band to move forward in the strongest way possible it is best that we part ways now.”
As for the second album, Gethin-Jones teases that “it is going to blow your minds (you’ve been warned),” but whatever the results, they’ll be without the young bass guitarist and backing vocalist. “This isn’t the end of my life with music, just a different pathway for me to follow now. So keep your ears to the ground and I’ll see you all soon with something new and exciting.”
Last Dinosaurs, who are currently signed to Brisbane-based indie label Dew Process, first formed in 2007 and released an EP (2009’s Back From The Dead) and a string of hit singles – including zinging guitar slices ‘Honolulu’ and ‘Zoom’ – before recording their debut album In A Million Years with producer Jean-Paul Fung (Little Red, Birds of Tokyo, Bluejuice).
