Initially operating under the name the Conservatives, the Buffalo ensemble came together in 1997 and concentrated its early performances within the immediate region. Several cassettes and EPs appeared in early 1998 before the group placed its debut single, “Cardboard Soul,” on the Mary’s Lounge Records compilation MLR-1. Early the following year, the second single “Don’t Touch Me” received steady airplay on both Buffalo and college stations, helping the audience expand gradually despite, or perhaps because of, frequent comparisons to Counting Crows and Our Lady Peace. Unremarkable, the band’s first album, arrived in 1999 and was followed by further touring throughout the United States and Canada, including a showcase slot at the North by Northeast Festival. After the three-song EP My Old Self surfaced in early 2001, the musicians returned to the studio with producers and engineers who had previously collaborated with fellow Buffalo outfit Goo Goo Dolls. These In-Between Times was released on LC Music Group in 2002. The band has since opened for Ours, Nickelback, and Gigolo Aunts while sharing bills with Jimmy Eat World, Cold, and Sum 41, among others. Two years later, Robby Takac of Goo Goo Dolls produced On to the Next One, which appeared on Good Charamel. Pretty New Things followed in August 2006.
