L.A. rockers TSAR defy the odds

Stubbornness pays off with a strong second album

The music business can be a cruel one these days. Major labels with a fixed eye on the bottom line no longer give young bands second chances to succeed. If they don't come up with the right sales numbers on their first record, the tendency is to give them the axe. That blow is enough to finish the career of most, but L.A. rock band TSAR have proved strong enough to survive.
The group's mainman, singer Jeff Whalen, summed up this scenario quite eloquently in his recent Tandem interview. "It is like an unattractive cliché. I don't want to be a big buzz band in LA, all the labels want them, sign a big deal, make a big record, it bombed, they got dropped, band broke up and that's it. That is not an interesting story to me. I want one with the unbelievable Hail Mary success or just a long-term belief, where we put out a bunch of records and are proud of ourselves."
TSAR were that big buzz band back in 1999. They attracted a strong following on the club scene in their L.A. hometown, and soon signed to the Disney-owned Hollywood Records. Their self-titled album came out in 2000, and their very first tour was supporting Duran Duran, but when the record flopped, serious problems at their label followed.
"We had long delays, years, in fact, in getting off the label," recalls Jeff. "That is very taxing on people, when their lives and dreams are kind of in the balance of this thing being run by evil and clichéd record company people."
Quitting wasn't an option for the dedicated Whalen. "You really put your life and those of others in jeopardy by doing this job. It takes a lot of belief. You have a lot of cooler heads and wise people telling you to have a back up plan, get a job. I can understand that, but this is the only thing I want to do. I'll live on a couch, I'll move in with my mom. I'll do whatever I need to give myself the best chance I can. I don't want to turn around in 10 years and wonder why I didn't try my absolute hardest."
His stubborn determination has paid off. Along with original guitarist Dan Kern, he recruited a new rhythm section, and signed a new deal (with TVT Records). TSAR is back with a new album, Bands-Girls-Money, and it's grabbing rave reviews. Deservedly so, as it's an energetic and hook-filled collection of songs that mix punk, power-pop and classic rock elements. Audible influences range from T-Rex and The New York Dolls to KISS, The Dead Boys and Cheap Trick.
To Jeff, "making this kind of music is very obvious. You write a catchy song with interesting lyrics, have the band play as exciting as possible, get some guitar solos going, and then I yell about something. Those elements are obvious things to do. I think many bands listen too much to the advice of A&R people, going 'this is how you do it,' and so bands up sounding all alike."
Whalen has a literary parallel to the way he writes songs. "My favourite writer is Raymond Chandler, and he has great slang in his books. He said he would only use slang that was either classic and time-tested, or he would make it up himself. He would never use the 'happening this year' slang, as that would get dated. I try to do that with music."
TSAR are a fun band live as well. We caught their recent Horseshoe gig, one that featured dry ice and flashing TSAR sign, props you don't expect to see in the club. The indie rock kids there seemed to think this was a bit unhip, but rock 'n roll needs the energetic showmanship of groups like TSAR.
Whalen stresses that the new record better reflects their live show than the debut. "This album is a lot more aggressively produced. The first one was a shiny production, with the big-name producer [Rob Cavallo - Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls] and the big-name presidents on the bills to make it. It was maybe more trying to make a classic rock record, like ELO meets the Sex Pistols or Led Zeppelin meets The Cars. It was a lot different from how we played live, which was fast and furious and unhinged. We wanted this new record to more represent the band live, and I think we captured the smell of that."

TSAR's Bands-Girls-Money is now out on TVT/Universal.

Publication Date: 2005-08-14
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=5470