About Our Business

We are a music service that goes from a Live music band to a DJ or in combination of both. In addition, you may see any one of us as a single, duo, trio, or a 5-man band. We play mostly classic rock and country, plus blues, the Eagles, and lots of Jimmy Buffett tunes. All members sing lead as well as harmony. Instrumentation includes keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. We also program MIDI sequences and drum machines.

You can see us at many places in the Illinois Valley and Morris area including:

Starved Rock Lodge

August Hill Winery

Jamie's Hideaway

Clark's Creek Winery

Cattails, Utica (Torn down for a Caseys :(

The DePue Boat Races,

Morris Corn Fest annually

Veteran's Home, LaSalle

Hegeler-Carus Mansion

Condit's Ranch, Putnam

Clayton's Tap, Morris

South 20 Private Club, Morris

Carson's Tap House, Morris

Mustaccio's in Carbon Hill

The Paramount Club

The Wine Cafe, Wilmington

The Veteran's Home, LaSalle

Pleasant View Nursing Home, Ottawa

A Backyard or Pool near you

All area Banquet Halls

Various Boat Clubs and Country Clubs and more.

The DJ service specializes in, Sock Hops, and theme parties. Check above for a cross section of many of the places we've played. We have always been a wedding group and we have logged many years of experience doing them. We also play Reunions, Drawdowns, Company parties, Graduations, and Holiday Parties.  So you see, we do just about everything.

Who We Are

The Duo

Brian Benkse:

Keyboards, guitars, vocals, DJ, computer geek, MIDI sequencing. Music Major at Illinois Wesleyan, piano performance, education and vocal minor. Began playing as a single or in groups since high school (My Brother's Soul, Sounds of Fury) and ran three successful groups since the 70s.(Venom, Bacchus, and Last Call) Also played studio sessions for a number of local musicians.(Donnie Bryan, and JJ Dickens, to name a couple).

E-mail: lastcall@lastcall-music.com

Jim Noethe:

Electric and Acoustic Guitars, DJ, Uke, and vocals.Loves his Godin, Strat, Gibson Les Paul, Doublenecks, PRS. Gretsch, Taylor, and Yamaha acoustic/electric. Jim,  began playing in High school with the premier local group 'Maizon Blue'. They could be seen throughout the Illinois Valley, but most often at the Arena in Peru or the Feed Store in Naplate. Jim and Brian have been working together in Last Call since 1988. 

Email: lastcall@lastcall-music.com

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The Extended Band

Todd Forney:

Drums and vocals. Todd was an original member of Last Call. He took over for his cousin (in Bacchus) when he was 16. A Jimmy Brown alum, he plays any kind of music we throw at him. He recently got a new set of drums and has never sounded better. Sings a mean Proud Mary and plays a wild Wipeout.

Al Brown:

Bass and lead/ backing vocals. Another original member of Last Call. Al plays electric P-bass, Acoustic/Electric, and Stand up basses. He has worked with a number of musicians and bands in the IV area most recently with The Crowd. He is definitly the "drive" of the band. Come hear us and you'll know what I mean.

Jeanie Brown:

Keyboards and vocals. Jean has played basicly forever. She plays Piano, Hammond Organ, and Synth - all extremely well. Her day job is teaching piano to about 40 students so she knows her way around the keys. She's married to Al and played with The Crowd and several other groups over the years. They also play as a jazz duo throughout the IV area.