Is that Eli Manning on the right? No, no – that’s Lincoln Conspiracy’s Steve Ordonez. Steve Lourie and Ethan Kreitzer (right to left) are the band’s other two members.

Credit: Jason Hall

If you sing along with the Mentos theme song during every commercial break, then you won’t want to miss Lincoln Conspiracy Tuesday at Club Khameleon.

But even if “the freshmaker” jingle doesn’t make your day, it could still be worth your while to check out this band’s “insanely catchy piano-based pop,” as described by the Boston Globe, the band’s hometown newspaper.

“We’ve always been compared to Ben Folds Five,” said Steve Lourie, drums, lead vocals. “But I would describe us as guitarless piano-rock; edgy but still mellow.”

Ethan Kreitzer (piano/keyboard) and Steve Ordonez (bass) are the other two conspirators in this trio, which is named after Edman Spangler, who held John Wilkes Booth’s horse during the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Lourie said the band’s musical goal doesn’t have anything to do with conspiring or scheming or plotting, but simply leaving a trail of music all over the country.

And this plan has been in action since 2003 with the release of its full-length album Details Are Everything. After playing hundreds of shows in New England, the band embarked on a full East Coast tour from Maine to Florida.

This year, with the release of John EP, the band is on the road again and getting closer to its goal of a country-wide tour with every show. Lourie said they are excited to play in Kent and are looking forward to the show.

“Any time we play outside of Boston is great,” Lourie said. “College towns are so fun. We have friends at KSU and we love Ohio.”

Friends mean a lot to Lourie, and he usually doesn’t lose touch with them. In fact, it was his friend Kreitzer with whom he started the band in high school.

He said even though they went to separate colleges, they still maintained interest in the band and playing music together. After college, they moved the duo to Boston and met Ordonez.

Lourie said Kent State students should go see the show, whether they want to dance or just relax in the corner.

“We offer a unique type of rock,” he said. “It’s an independent form of music. But I know that once people hear it, they will like it.”

Contact ALL correspondent Erica Crist at [email protected].