It has become such clich?(c) to speak of a band's meteoric rise in a short period of time that rock and roll beckons for a band to take the long road. Cramped bars, try-and-fail efforts at capturing a sound, and simple development are character traits missing from modern rock today.
Buffalo's the Last Conservative, appearing in tomorrow's finale of this summer's Thursday In The Square concert series, is the antithesis of the aforementioned meteoric rise. In their seven-year existence, the band has moved in every direction: artsy to straightforward, guitar driven to vocal-based, and everything in between. One way the band has consistently moved, however, is forward.
Vocalist TJ Zindle started the Last Conservative in 1997, but he knew well before that he wanted to be a singer. What he needed to do was figure out how to best use his unique voice.
"It's really tough not to sound like a stupid, artsy rocker, but I had a weird voice and I knew I wanted to sing, but didn't know where to start," Zindle said. "It's bad when all your dad can muster is, 'Tim, you've got a ... unique voice.' "
The road to refining a different sounding voice follows the path trodden by many before.
"I tried singing like Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), but that's near impossible. At the time I was into the great early records by Counting Crows and Our Lady Peace. That's where I got a lot of my phrasing and melody," Zindle explained. "I'm only learning to control it now. I've kind of dragged it along, kicking and screaming."
Zindle apparently kicked it into submission, as it has evolved into a realm of its own: A mixture of Placebo's Brian Moloko, optimism and unquestioned heart. On the band's latest record, "On To The Next One," Zindle had a little help from someone who knows a little about catchy rock and roll. The band signed to Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac's Good Charamel Records.
"Robby tried to get inside me and understand where I was coming from. He really took what I started with and sonically sculpted it." Zindle said. "I wrote 'Car Alarm' about a girl who broke into my car and then house and destroyed any sense of security I had. Robby helped me mold those emotions into delivery."
Those emotions had to be a handful for Takac to handle. The Last Conservative has run the emotional gauntlet. The band's first record, "Unremarkable," was a mish-mash of creative music, but there was an underlying tension. It almost sounded uneasy.
"I tried to control the songwriting, which works when you're a legend. I'm not a legend," he mused.
The band next released the "My Old Self EP" in January 2001. It was a three song flash of immense, intelligent rock and roll talent. Zindle and then-guitarist Roger Bryan (now of the Old Sweethearts) simply meshed.
Inherent tension in the band was evident in 2002's "These In Between Times." Creative differences had put Bryan and Zindle on completely opposite sides. Bryan only wrote one song, "2004," on the album.
Two members left, including Bryan. Zindle and bassist Roger Zeis then made the change that shaped the Last Conservative into what they really needed to be, adding drummer Tom McCluskey and guitarist David Julian.
"Tom is one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. He's so positive. I got real used to tension, but with Tom, even I've been able to relax," Zindle said.
Julian is a local all-star. A songwriting anchor in defunct Buffalo gem Grand National as well as former guitarist for Blue Bullet Skater and the Plaster Sandals, Julian brings an unrivaled musicianship to the table.
"I think someday they could be talking about great guitarists of our time and they'll be talking about the Edge (of U2), Johnny Marr (of The Smiths) and Johnny Greenwood (of Radiohead)," Zindle said. "Dave could be the forth."
Zindle is no slouch himself. His stage presence is in a league of its own, resembling either a controlled seizure or classic rock pageantry, depending on the minute, or second, he's performing.
"It came really naturally," Zindle explained. "I've always been really twitchy, always adjusting my hair and shirt. On stage, it just goes away. I just know what to do."
Thanks in large part to Takac, Good Charamel just inked a nationwide distribution deal that will land "On To The Next One" in Best Buy stores, among others. Having already opened for national powerhouses Phantom Planet, Sugar Ray, Nickelback, the Goo Goo Dolls and Superdrag, the Last Conservative seems poised to be a popular success as well.
