First time listeners and veterans alike are taken in by the soulful melody of the Main Line’s Love Syndicate which has flooded their home-base the Gryphon Café, in Wayne and other Tri-State area venues. The band’s first full-length album “Songs of Innocence and Experience,” was released on Sept. 7. The record was recorded at Studio-4 in Conshohocken and produced by Phil Nicolo, most highly recognized for his work with John Lennon and Santana.

This album includes Josh Komorowski (guitar, vocals), Erin Ryan (cello), Chris Luxton (bass) and Bob Wolter (drums). However, after the album’s completion, Luxton and Wolter left the band to concentrate on school, attending University of the Arts in Philadelphia, leaving original memebers Komorowski and Ryan. Komorowski explains, “we [Erin and I] started playing together all the time at the Gryphon, essentially forming the first part of the band.” Luxton and Wolter joined up to complete the 4-piece ensemble after meeting Komoroski and Ryan through open mic at the artsy coffee shop. There has even been talk that Ryan has also left the band to pursue her own way. But this piece of news remains unconfirmed.

Despite the rocky last few months of confusion and uncertain futures, the remaining member(s) of Love Syndicate will still be up and kicking coffee shops, colleges and bars around the area. Local fans will always remember the powerful rhythm section of Luxton and Wolter’s funky soul beats, which has now departed. Wolter commented, “Overall it was a huge growing experience for me musically and a huge eye-opener as far as the music business is concerned.” Luxton and Wolter have been playing together since eighth grade. Komoroski adds, “[Luxton and Wolter] are not replaceable, I’m just looking to better myself in music maybe it means going a different direction.”

The 11-track “Songs Experience and Innocence” represents the product of years of growth as a band and as writers. Each member delivers a noticeable personality and style, and these work together to form a warm blend of emotion and uniqueness which has created such a local fan base. Wolter says his drumming style “is an extension of his personality.” And this seems to be true with the remainder of the band.

It would be hard to pin-point a song that dominates all the rest. On the mellow side we have “Backwards,” “Absence” and “Ocean.” While on the upbeat side, we have “Taken In By You” and “Sense of You.” The band is not quite fully rock, funk, soul or anything else, but rather a combination of various elements which give the band its own sound that is made up of its own talent and effort.

The local popularity and fan loyalty was seen on Sept. 7 at the last show with all the Love Syndicate members at the Gryphon Café. The small Main Line café was stuffed beyond capacity with listeners who even resorted to standing on chairs, while every inch of floor space was filled. Wolter expressed, “the last two shows were great. I had a blast and they were two very fitting venues for us to rock it one last time.”

Of course this caught the attention of the Radnor police, who demanded that the fire code be enforced since the tiny place was double over the limit!

But the “love” of Love Syndicate will not be dying in the foreseen future. Komoroski states, “I plan on continuing writing songs and searching for new sounds, bettering my song writing, performances and that possibly lies in different people and places.”

You can catch an altered version of Love Syndicate tonight at Dogfish Head in Delaware with an acoustic duet between Komoroski and Ryan. More locally, Villanova’s neighbor Rosemont College will host Love Syndicate on Sept. 28 including a guest reunion of the former rhythm section Luxton and Wolter. On top of that, you can purchase the new record through Cdbaby.com or ask for it at the Gryphon Café.