ZapTown

(All Photos By Gary Mead)

John Orr is a man who always has his hands full. As a musician, writer, and actor, his calendar is constantly filled with various engagements and projects. Although Orr has been in the Indianapolis scene for years, life has never been more productive and conducive to his whims, as this is just the beginning for a predominately one-man creative machine.

Recently MC-ing and performing in the first concert of a series he created called La Vida Variety, and an upcoming residency at The Earth House for the 2009 Indy Fringe Festival, this is only the tip of the iceberg for Orr and his alter ego, The Last Domino.

“I always have to have a project to work on,” he said. “People will hear me spout off something and friends can vouch for the fact that I will follow through with what I say. Because of all the potential and people doing great things out there, it’s difficult to say no.”

Musician, writer, actor — Orr is a culmination of the three. Whether its his towering, thin-set frame and spiked hair nestled on top, making him that much taller, or his continued presence in the scene, you do not have to look too hard to find Orr behind a microphone or contributing to something in the city. And his growing popularity does not dilute the fact that Orr is a genuinely nice person.

“A lot of bands already think they are rock stars. Let’s put away the delusions of grandeur.”

As The Last Domino, you will come to understand that there are two sides to the band: one with a full lineup, featuring Matt Foster on bass and Dave Evans on drums. The other, and more dominant side, is a one-man powerhouse who uses loop pedals to build layers of sound and entice you with the illusion of a stage filled with people, when in actuality, it’s a stage filled with instruments.

“When I got into the idea to loop the sound and do it live, I realized it was fun to do improv and build layer upon layer of your own song and watch it come alive before your eyes,” said Orr. “However, I am not really into jamming so I do none of that. When I heard the Mars Volta live CD and they took a song and played it forever, I realized that was not what I wanted to do, so I stay close to how the structure of the recorded songs actually sound.”

Usually strapped behind a red mahogany acoustic guitar with various instruments like a saxophone to one side and percussion on the other, it usually starts with some thumbing on the guitar, followed by a simple non-chord string strumming. Add in a basic guitar rhythm, and he is off to meander through solos, harmonics, bridges, choruses and wherever else his emotions take him.

You cannot blame him for wanting to do it all. He’s been surrounded by music his entire life and immersed in a creative culture since his pre-teen youth, picking up the sax at age 10 and having a friend teach him guitar by the age of 13. Orr was able to quickly pick up musical instruments and learn them quickly, along with the discovery that he also has vocal talent.

Throughout high school and college, Orr spent time in several different bands ranging in various styles.

“I have always been in bands with two songwriters, and there was a degree of pressure to it.”

Between the last band he participated in and The Last Domino, something happened. Orr needed a break and moved to Chicago for a brief period. His outlook was not so good. He was in a position in life where he did not know what to do and did not have his friends close to help support him. Not long after the Chicago move, he went through a mental collapse and eventually checked himself into a stress center.

“It was overwhelming,” he said. “I was afraid that I could not produce what other songwriters could. I got over it with medication.”

After checking himself in, he was diagnosed with depression and social anxiety.

“I always knew there was something not right with me chemically. I would be overtly conscious about everything. I can understand people who are on meds. There are those who say that you are weak if you take meds, and you can get over it without medical aid, but I can relate. I have been on meds since 2005, and I feel like I’m more fortunate than a lot of people. I know people who are still trying different combinations of drugs just to get it right. Luckily, it worked for me on the first try.

“With this, I discovered everything good about myself. I was able to hit the ground running.”

When he moved back to Indianapolis, a friend bought him a guitar, and it gave him a renewed opportunity to explore his own personal creativity. He began with covers of songs and then added in original music, which makes up his first EP Romanticide.

“Romanticide was something I just needed to get out. My first gigs were at Potbelly in Chicago. I played two-to-three shows with nothing but covers. It was the first time playing solo and working with acoustic material. My general mood at the time was a feeling of neuroses.”

That mood played into the ideology of writing about fictitious scenarios and an escape from the self, as well as Orr staying away from what he calls cliche elements like “chics and love.” His music was more about the bottom of the glass and Mark Eitzel-esque meanderings.

Then almost two years later came Seconds, his first full-length.

“Seconds is complete fiction with ideas and ethos based around the characters I’m writing about. There is always a part of me even in a fictional sense. It’s fun to stretch out my acting chops in songs.”

His fictitious values comes from his ability to also be a skilled writer.

“My dad was such a grammar nazi,” he said. “I was in spelling bees, and he would make me read so much in a certain amount of time.”

All of this helped play into his skills as a writer.

“I’m not about what word rhymes with another word. I found my niche when I started writing rhyme schemes and metaphors that adhere to a form that tells a story. I love those musicians who don’t pigeonhole themselves as artists. I still love ‘90s alternative music at heart. The Colour And The Shape by The Foo Fighters or Mellon Collie by Smashing Pumpkins, those are great albums.”

The need to incorporate more personal elements of his life into his songwriting came when writing his most recent release Diamond Days & Firenights, documenting his life from the past four years. For him, it works best when he can write what he wants and not succumb to a certain standard.

“On some subconscious level I do keep it personal where I would hope that people can really relate. One night I met a girl at one of the all ages show. She wanted my autograph. I would not sign it and told her that I’m not famous. But after talking to her, I eventually did sign something for her. Later I became friends with her on Facebook. I found out she was going through the same thing I was going through and my music helped her. It’s something every musician hopes for.”

As Orr recorded all the songs on Diamond Days & Firenights by himself, he brought Evans and Foster together to bring a richer live experience. With this, it brought more power, energy, and emotion to Orr’s music. Plus it gives a degree of malleability for Orr to use both in the studio and on stage. He’s even re-wrote some of his earlier songs to fit into the full band structure and give his earlier tunes greater depth.

It also gives him the opportunity to play a wider range of events from a place like Birdy’s to doing something like La Vida Variety. Orr is a chameleon, and he’s able to transform himself into any situation and adapt and fit in to any act that surrounds him.

“I remember the exact moment I thought of the idea to do a variety show. We played a show in Chicago and had to stay until the last band because the club was in a basement and we couldn’t load up. The promoters ended up booking seven bands, and we had to stick around until 2 a.m. By the time for us to get paid the owner gave us 10 dollars. All the local bands got 100 bucks each.

“Our bassist went home while David and I stayed with a friend. I was seething. I woke up the next day and still felt like crap and was going to shelf Last Domino. But I ended up finding my friend’s copy of The Flaming Lips’ The Fearless Freaks. I watched it for the first time, and it completely rejuvenated me. I called up my friend Phil who is a comedian and said we are going to do a variety show. Then at the Indianapolis Music and Arts Festival, I talked to Paul from Lord of the Yum Yum, and he wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to come out swinging with this first show and pulled out all the stops.”

But with Orr’s recent work, don’t expect him to admit that he has made it and don’t expect him to slow down anytime soon. He’s currently working on an acoustic album and another album with the full band.

“People come up to me all the time and ask if I made it. I haven’t made it. When I’m not making music, I work at a bank. I do this because I love it.”

Check out the band’s website for all of the information relating to Orr and The Last Domino: http://www.thelastdomino.com/index.html