Goodnight Sweethearts

After spending the summer on tour with Rocco DeLuca & The Burden, The Last Goodnight gave fans a “Poison Kiss” with the release of its first major studio album on Tuesday.

Often compared to bands like Maroon 5, The Fray and Matchbox 20, The Last Goodnight mixes alternative and classic rock with upbeat pop songs. The 12 tracks on the guitar-heavy album evoke artists as varied as Ella Fitzgerald and Massive Attack, but with a modern twist.

“My dad’s advice was to always keep it simple and make it emotional so people could connect to it. It was always about the melody and the words,” said lead singer and pianist Kurtis John, who learned music from his blind father, a self-taught jazz man. “My father had an unusual way of teaching me about music. It was about how to hear music versus seeing it, since he learned everything purely by ear.”

John took to music early as a way of communicating with his father. “Growing up, I couldn’t throw a football or baseball with my dad like the other kids, but music was a special way for us to bond,” said John, who received a drum kit at age five and a guitar three years later.

The Connecticut-based group formed in high school when John and lead guitarist Mike Nadeau met at a party. After the two recruited bass player Leif Christensen and the multitalented Anton Yurack on guitars, keys and vocals, a band was born.

Originally called Renata after a waitress at a diner they frequented, the band’s early success on the concert circuit earned them radio airplay and opening gigs for Lifehouse, Avril Lavigne and Howie Day. In between attending college and waiting tables, the band toured up and down the East Coast. But it was at a gig at the Whiskey in Los Angeles that producer Jeff Blue, who’s worked with Linkin Park and Macy Gray, discovered and signed the band.

With a new name and two new members — Ely Rise on keys, piano and vocals and Larone “Skeeter” McMillan on drums — the group’s musical flair is reflected in its sense of style and edgy haircuts. A typical outfit for the mohawk-wearing John is a pair of fitted G-Star jeans, with a vintage Dolce & Gabbana collared button down shirt, topped off with a Levi’s vest with a broken-in pair of black Converse sneakers.