[show_avatar email=jess@iwenttoashow.com align=left avatar_size=62] Recently, we sat down at Café Ventana with members from ALL THREE acts scheduled to play this Friday’s Sheldon Concert Hall show. After snagging a moodily-lit conference room, and talked to Týr Jameson and Matt Strom of Union Tree Review, Syrhea Conway aka Syna So Pro, and Bredon Jones of Last to Show First to Go about who they are and what they’re doing around the city. All images by Annie McCance.

IWTAS: How’d you come up with the name Last to Show First to Go?

LTSFTG: Part of it has to deal with being sort of late coming to an understanding about things that are going on in the world. I think I was in my late mid to late 20s when I thought, “Oh man, there’s some really bad stuff going on, and here I am worrying about what car I’m driving and what clothes I want to buy.” I felt pretty naïve and stupid…so I guess it’s about arriving late to the game, but then acting right away and making changes.

IWTAS: How does that part of your life continue to influence your music?

LTSFTG: Well, although we still have our share of depressing relationship/break-up songs, as we grow more into our own style as a band, we’ve been kind of hijacking a lot of those older love songs and turning them into songs about our culture. Essentially, I’d describe the music as folk rock with a bit of an activist tinge.

IWTAS: How about you guys [UTR]? Do you  find that the themes of your songs change as you play together more?

UTR: Our situation is a little unique. By the time we got together, there was already a large body of songs that [singer and guitarist] Tawaine had written. Up until recently, he’s been the chief songwriting component in the band. Lately, instead of fully formed songs he’s been coming to us with lyrics or a melody, and the rest of the band adds the individual flourishes that they bring to the table. It doesn’t necessarily change the meaning of songs, it just gives them a richer texture.

IWTAS: Syrhea, essentially we have two folk rock groups on the Sheldon bill…and then you. The addition of Syna So Pro adds some dynamism to the night. Talk to us about your sound.

SSP: I really just think of it as pop – an attempt at well-arranged pop. It’s hard to categorize it beyond saying it’s bits of everything I’ve ever heard with a lot of choral background thrown into the pot. My choir instructor always used to tell me, “Mezzo- forte is mezzo- boring”, meaning that if you sing the same the entire time, you lose people. I just get really excited about epic and cinematic sound.

IWTAS: How did you all end up being booked at the Sheldon?

UTR: Ryan Harris seems to be spearheading this new line of shows that take advantage of the space upstairs – The Sheldon Ballroom – which is just a gorgeous, spectacular room. It’s a great place for local bands to play. We caught the Rats + People show there, and it was just fantastic.

IWTAS: It’s nice to see venues that don’t traditionally headline with local bands reaching out in that way. As someone who spends a vast number of evenings at Off Broadway and The Firebird, it’s cool as a fan to be invited into a new, different sounding and different looking room.

LTSFTG: Yeah, the Sheldon puts on a diverse variety of shows, but up until this point, they haven’t necessarily focused on local rock or pop music. They’re inviting in a new, younger membership as well as expanding the horizons of current members.

Last to Show First to Go – “Short Cuts,” Nov 4, 2010 from Bredon Jones on Vimeo.

Union Tree Review, Syna So Pro, and Last to Show First to Go play The Sheldon on Friday, February 18th. 8pm. $10.

Author Note:
What was meant to be a short interview to promote a show turned into a great roundtable discussion on the EP versus the full length, the state of music in St. Louis, and building a creative community among artists and fans. We’re going to keep that bit in our pocket for now, but will be sure to offer it up at a later date.