News / Bands
The Slackers pay tribute to Hepcat with unique song

Posted by Loren on February 17, 2025

The Slackers pay tribute to Hepcat with unique song
The Slackers - My Last Star single

The Slackers have a new 12" single coming out soon, a song written by the late Greg Lee of Hepcat, who passed away last year.

The song comes from a dream in which Lee imagined a Slackers song, taking notes upon waking.

“I hadn’t seen Greg so excited about a new song in a very long time,” Lee’s partner Mandie Becker says. “I found the lyrics when I was organizing his things. I knew he had a voice recording on his phone, too. I decided the best situation was to offer it to The Slackers so we could all hear the song on the stereo from Greg’s dream.”

Dave Hillyard, Slackers saxophone player and one-time Hepcat member adds, “I was floored when I received Greg's vocal demo with the lyrics and I vowed to finish the song and make the dream a reality...I took the vocal demo to The Slackers, Vic [Ruggiero] harmonized it, and we wrote music around the words. With this song we came full circle. Greg had given us a gift and we needed to give it back to his family, friends, and musical community.  We are the medium for his message.”

Preorders are available now and the single comes out officially on April 25 via Pirates Press Records.

Tracklist:

01. My Last Star
02. My Last Star (Dub Version)
03. My Last Star (Instrumental Version)

THE SLACKERS TOURDATES:

03/28/2025 - Amityville, NY - Amityville Music Hall

03/29/2025 - Amherst, MA - The Drake
04/04/2025 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live

04/05/2025 - Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar

04/11/2025 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
04/12/2025 - Albany, NY - Lark Hall

04/13/2025 - Providence, RI - Alchemy
04/15/2025 - Ithaca, NY - Deep Dive
04/16/2025 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Iron Works
04/17/2025 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr Smalls
04/18/2025 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop - SlackFest Cleveland Night 1
04/19/2025 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop - SlackFest Cleveland Night 2
05/03/2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note (2 shows)

05/08/2025 - Los Angeles, CA - San Fernando Valley Pop-Up Show
05/09/2025 - Long Beach, CA - Alex’s Bar
05/10/2025 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House
05/12/2025 - Venice, CA - Venice West
05/17/2025 - Montreal, QC - Pouzza Fest
05/25/2025 - Zurich, CH - Dynamo

05/29/2025 - Regensburg, DE - Alte Mälzerei
05/30/2025 - Schlanders, IT - KASINO - Kulturclub @ BASIS Vinschgau Venosta
05/31/2025 - Pula, HR - Klub Kotac
06/01/2025 - Ljubljana, SI - Kino Siska
06/02/2025 - Verona, IT - Ca Bottona
06/04/2025 - Valencia, ES - 16 Toneladas
06/05/2025 - Madrid, ES - Sala Mons - Rude Mad Festival
06/06/2025 - Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES - Jimmy Jazz - Rude Gas Festival
06/07/2025 - Girona, ES - La Mirona - Rude Cat Festival
06/11/2025 - London, UK - New Cross Inn - Slackfest UK, Night 1
06/12/2025 - London, UK - New Cross Inn - Slackfest UK, Night 2
06/13/2025 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell
06/14/2025 - Glasgow, UK - Classic Grand - Ska Beat Fest

06/15/2025 - Shrewsbury, UK - Alberts Shed - Shrewsbury Ska Festival III

06/19/2025 - Rosslau, DE - This is Ska Festival
06/27/2025 - Tabor, CZ - Mighty Sounds Festival
06/28/2025 - Köln, DE - Kantine

09/27/2025 - Las Vegas, NV - Westgate Hotel (w/ FISHBONE)

The Slackers pay tribute to Hepcat with unique song
The Slackers - My Last Star single

Related news stories

Scientist Meets Hepcat - Deluxe Reissue

Posted in Records on November 4, 2024

The Slackers voting drive (via new single)

Posted in Bands on September 14, 2024

The Slackers' Close My Eyes again

Posted in Records on June 4, 2024

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025

Related album reviews

The Slackers

Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya
Pirates Press (2022)

Forget all the silly fourth wave hashtags for a minute. The Slackers have been playing old school ska/dub/rocksteady since 1991 now. Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya is their whopping 15th album (depending how people count the early self-released material). They’re not “prolific,” though. They’re hard workers. There is a clear working-class New York vibe that permeates their every song, … Read more

The Slackers

Redlight (20th Anniversary)
Pirates Press (2017)

Has it really been twenty years since this album made its way out into the world? Time does fly by when you are living life, but Redlight does not sound like a two decade old record in the least bit; the Slackers still sound down right in the moment with their second album and that in it of itself is … Read more

The Slackers

Self Medication
Indication (2008)

You might not like ska music, but The Slackers are the exception to that rule (at least for me and probably should be for anyone else) with their smoother sound and laid back vibes which incorporate a variety of sounds across many different genres from jazz to salsa to soul, which all create the amalgamation that is their distinct style. … Read more