Inside The Bubble: Exclusive Interview With Last Minet

Change is the only thing that’s constant. Things do not come to stay, they come to pass. One of the hardest things for people to embrace is change, uncomfortable growth. We have the pleasure of presenting on our platform, one of the most incredible bands in the world when it comes to dealing with adversity.

Zuri Fadul and Jovanna Cedeno, who make up the band Last Minet have been through a lot, but always find a way to channel the pain into the music. What Last Minet is all about for us is the cut and release, giving in to the guitars, and the drums. Letting it flow is all about the spiritual freedom of being above and beyond anything in the physical world.

We were lucky enough to catch up Zuri and Jovanna to ask them a few questions about their craft, their careers, and anything else we could think of. Check out the interview below.

Where It Started

Bubblingbox: Where are you from originally, where are you based out of now?

Last Minet: The band started out in Fort Lee, NJ in 2006.  Currently, we are based out of Weehawken, NJ.  

Bubblingbox: How did you come up with the name Last Minet?

Last Minet: The band was created by Zuri Fadul and a friend to compete in a Battle of the Bands in Fort Lee.  We wrote everything and joined the competition two days prior to the show.  We got fellow musicians (male and female) to improvise the day of the performance.  Originally the name was supposed to be J.A.C.Z., which was the first letter of everyone’s name.  And when the “J” didn’t show up, we had to find a replacement and a new name.  Being crunched for time, “Last Minute” came naturally and it stuck.  Following winning the Battle of the Bands, we discovered a cover band on YouTube with the name and decided we needed to change the spelling and have been “Last Minet” ever since. 

Bubblingbox: What’s the layout of the band, who does what?

Zuri:  Vocals, guitar, and bass.

Jovanna: Drums.

Bubblingbox: We understand that since the inception of the band, you took some time off for medical reasons, would you care to elaborate on that?

Jovanna: On 6/2/17 I was in a life-threatening car accident and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. Due to the extent of the injuries, I had an extensive hospital stay and had to learn how to do everything again including talking, walking, and drumming.  After years of TBI rehabilitation, I continued to push myself and got the confidence to get back in the studio and play again.  Zuri and I picked up where we left off and began to write new songs. 

Bubblingbox: Why did you want to become musicians, who inspired you?

Jovanna: I saw a female drummer in high school and she inspired me. I thought that she looked cool and it made me want to do it.

Zuri: My mother is a vocalist and my dad played guitar and when I was younger I was just always was around music.  I’d say my parents are mostly my inspiration.

Where It’s Going

Bubblingbox: We know you guys have been in the process of building a new studio space, tell us why that is important to you?

Last Minet: Our rehearsal studio is pretty much our second home.  It’s important for us to make sure the studio is [clean] and comfortable for us to relax and be creative.  Just being in the environment that we created is very motivating and keeps our creative juices flowing!  We like to keep it interesting and change it up every now and then.

Bubblingbox: The video for “Don’t Hold Back” is a different type of vibe that we’ve seen from you guys so far, please tell us why this song was important to you as a band, and why you chose the director you did?

Jovanna: This is our second song back after a three-year hiatus. To me, being that this was the second song recorded as a duo, it really felt personal.  It felt like after everything that has happened in the past few years, from changing the lineup to my recovery, there was nothing that could hold us back.

Watch the official video for “Don’t Hold Back” below.

Bubblingbox: How has the pandemic been treating you? Has it affected you as a music group?

Jovanna: When the pandemic first started the studio was closed down because it wasn’t considered an essential business and that really affected us because that was our main place to practice.  Sadly, I lost my mom to Covid-19 in April 2020 which has been life-changing in itself, and Zuri lost her job of eleven years.

Last Minet: As far as our music, we would say that it actually was something that we needed as a band because it gave us the time to focus completely on our music and our craft as well as vent about our experiences from the past few years leading up to today.

Bubblingbox: What are your short-term goals as a group, what’s next?

Last Minet: We recently went to California and recorded half of a music video and currently are working on filming the other half.  At the end of the month, we’re scheduled to be recording two new songs.  We’re always looking for new press opportunities and are going to start booking live shows for the end of summer into the end of the year. We also just released the acoustic version of our song called “All In” and we’ll be releasing the full band version on July 2nd.

Bubblingbox: What do you want your fans to know about you?

Last Minet: We’d like them to know that we’re regular people just doing what we love.  We like to laugh, we like to eat, we like to party, but most importantly we love to make music.

Watch the official video for “All In”(Acoustic Version) below.

One of the most inspiring bands we’ve come across. The ability to persevere is above all. We feel so honored to connect with these two inspiring musicians as they conquer the world with their own brand of glam a lam. We thank Last Minet for the interview and wish them the very best in all future endeavors.