i actually saw US Maple twice! but i never quite "got" them. think i should give it another go.
― tylerw, Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:22 (eleven years ago) link
didn't they open for pavement at some point? i can't even.
they did, and it was very VERY funny
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:23 (eleven years ago) link
one of the only times I've seen a band in a huge venue (the Fillmore) aggressively antagonize the audience, who were booing and throwing shit
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:24 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i saw them alienate crowds that were waaay more into weirder/noisier shit than pavement.....i've given maple a whole lot of thought and i think the thing with them was the dichotomy of playing this sort of obscure/skewed music that never really let you get your footing juxataposed with a live persona that was kind of in your face and flashy, almost rockstar like in a way that you'd think they were playing this really anthemic stuff....
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:33 (eleven years ago) link
yeah that was what was so funny - guitarist was windmilling and jump-kicking all over the place like he was playing "Baba O'Riley" but the actual music couldn't have been further away from that
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:38 (eleven years ago) link
i read an interview with Al Johnson once in Skyscraper and he said his ideal model for live performance was a Judas Priest concert he went to as a young kid w/an older sibling or some older kid, he recalled being really scared by the whole thing, all the weird heshers and leather and stuff...he said he felt like rock concerts should be like that
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 18 October 2012 22:54 (eleven years ago) link
people should devote more time talking about how good a frontman al johnson is
― Master of Treacle, Thursday, 18 October 2012 23:47 (eleven years ago) link
The thing that was most astounding about their live performance was how faithfully they replicated the off-kilter arrangements from the albums. Even the stuff that sounded pretty much improvised.
― Burgled Hams (Old Lunch), Thursday, 18 October 2012 23:53 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, I interviewed Al once, and not only was he a really nice guy, he affirmed that the stuff was all pretty much composed and arranged. Storm & Stress was another one of those sorts of bands.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 19 October 2012 00:09 (eleven years ago) link
(Obv. Storm & Stress dude went on to Battles)
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 19 October 2012 00:10 (eleven years ago) link
Ohhh, I didn't know that. I dug S&S.
― Burgled Hams (Old Lunch), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:12 (eleven years ago) link
man i kinda forgot about storm & stress, i had one CD by them that was amazing....
i remember one time i saw maple Al had this captain and tenille type hat on and a yellow shirt that said "banned in boston"
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:33 (eleven years ago) link
i had a storm and stress lp that was either clear or the sleeve was clear or something. the packaging was amazing.
"improvised-sounding" rock is such a 90s thing i wish hadn't gone away.
― charlie the luna (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:34 (eleven years ago) link
jesus lizard dudes got into free jazz and shit got real
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:37 (eleven years ago) link
strongo - check out hasps (new band, 2/3rd of nu-skin graft band gay beast)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrcPXMMtfso
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:38 (eleven years ago) link
I thanked Al after a show and he gave me a long creepy hug and whispered in my ear "ohreallythankyoumanIwasn'tsurehowitwent" and so on until I was blushing, it was awesome.
― nice suit (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:41 (eleven years ago) link
m@tt that is pretty awesome.
do you know coptic light? they only put out one lp and might be too jammy for you but it's pretty tight.
― charlie the luna (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:48 (eleven years ago) link
no! but i googled and this is pretty raging!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1ABA0aWouQ
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:52 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i would seriously recommend seeking that lp out. it's definitely "post-don cab" but they go much further out.
― charlie the luna (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 19 October 2012 00:58 (eleven years ago) link
This is all record collector-y, but I liked the thematic thing that Maple did with their artwork. Still kind of want to get the metal jacket version of the first album, though I don't really do things like that anymore. The lyric sheet for Talker (high school theme) printed on 3-hole-punch paper like a corrected homework assignment was really cute. It's kind of amazing how much thought went into the presentation and music that then often got dismissed as random noise and grunting.
I got to see them live once, and it was fun to see them duplicate the album stuff (and the stage moves were great) but I don't know that they were better live than on album, based on that one show. Their records sound really great. I think I first heard Sang Phat, and didn't like it. Was drawn in by Talker and Acre, which go well together. The "Stuck" video makes me wish they'd made more videos...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOr_L5BebS0
― dlp9001, Friday, 19 October 2012 01:40 (eleven years ago) link
agreed, i believe the day-glo camo on the cover was about the idea of making vietnam "glamourous", that's why they were in GI gear on the postcard that was inserted into the album cover...have that framed actually
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 01:57 (eleven years ago) link
there's footage on youtube that i think was supposed to be for some US Maple documentary film that i don't think got finished or released
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKfNIN-1g3I&feature=relmfu
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 02:00 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKfNIN-1g3I
I think they're still working on that, they just don't have they money to complete the editing, etc. Maybe they should do a Kickstarter or something.
That's their second one, I got a CD of it after reading a review in a Sunday newspaper (if you can believe that). Probably the first really 'avant' thing I got into via alt rock and I still hum the first track in my head from time to time. I like it much more than the first, which is less tight, more meandering.
― wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara), Friday, 19 October 2012 06:55 (eleven years ago) link
I wish I'd seen them, but at least there's youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTr9fuz9jgk
― *rad hug eomticon* (Control Z), Friday, 19 October 2012 07:15 (eleven years ago) link
Pretty much been on a U.S. Maple bender since getting on board with the thread revival. Really wish there was more guitar playing like this in the world (I am older now and can appreciate that they don't get very loud, or go for real histrionics, just totally unique and engaging parts). Makes me want to be in a two guitar band.
That part in "Ma, Digital" where the guitars decide to go into a unison riff and actually "rock" is so great, though really it is all great. Love Al on that song.
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 14:39 (eleven years ago) link
Also, wanna say that the Coptic Light song posted above is great! Wish I had given that record more time when it came out, it came to the radio station I was DJing at but for some reason I just didn't connect with it. Gonna track that down for sure.
Oddly enough, both Coptic Light and Storm & Stress have the same drummer, Kevin Shea, who is really talented. Plays in Talibam! and a bunch of other stuff now.
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 14:42 (eleven years ago) link
was never huge into this band at the time but had acre thrills and talker, both of which i was intrigued by. i think i'd be more into them now. there's a bunch of good live footage on youtube.
i bought talker, 69 love songs, and dongs of sevotion on the same trip to chapel hill, without really knowing anything about any of them
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 19 October 2012 14:45 (eleven years ago) link
For those who aren't that familiar with U.S. Maple, another fun fact is that Al Johnson, the singer, has one of the cameos in the movie "Hi Fidelity". He plays the super nerdy guy who comes in looking to buy the Captain Beefheart record:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOwjVVSNOtY
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 14:50 (eleven years ago) link
I can only imagine how "Talker" sounded when included in a batch with "69 Love Songs" and "Dongs of Sevotion".
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 14:54 (eleven years ago) link
Sang Phat was my first introduction to the band-- a grad student from Knoxville-- and I didn't like it. Later that week another friend told me to get Talker and that did it.
I hadn't seen "Hi Fidelity" but that clip is funny
― nice suit (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 19 October 2012 14:56 (eleven years ago) link
"i've given maple a whole lot of thought and i think the thing with them was the dichotomy of playing this sort of obscure/skewed music that never really let you get your footing juxataposed with a live persona that was kind of in your face and flashy, almost rockstar like in a way that you'd think they were playing this really anthemic stuff....
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, October 18, 2012 5:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink"
I think this is a real key component of this band, they were playing strange/weird music but acted like they were playing Jesus Lizard cock-rock and it managed to piss off noise heads and rock dudes in equal measure. They legit made people mad in a way other more explicitly confrontational bands never did.
I always loved that their shows, were just that, shows, you got it and loved it or you didn't and hated it but they didn't seem to care at all and weren't going to give you any hand-holds one way or other.
Conceptually, I can't think of a more important band in shaping my own approach to music. Number one with a bullet.
― chr1sb3singer, Friday, 19 October 2012 14:58 (eleven years ago) link
this is my fave live clip so far, there's some real attitude going on herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LfdQQ0rbr8&feature=related
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 19 October 2012 14:59 (eleven years ago) link
I always called them Cubist rock.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:01 (eleven years ago) link
Also, just pat oursevles on the back, upper mississippi sh@kedown and I spent so much time in early twenties listening and seeing this band and people were constantly like "ugh US Maple is awful!" but we were always: one day this band is going to be seen as so ahead of their time and influential.
― chr1sb3singer, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:02 (eleven years ago) link
xpost (never thought the U.S. Maple thread would be moving too quickly for me to keep up with!)
Yeah, that's a pretty solid description.
― Burgled Hams (Old Lunch), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:02 (eleven years ago) link
ugh this totally makes me want to start a new band
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:04 (eleven years ago) link
That kind of transgressive approach you're describing, chr1s, in my experience, it doesn't do well in hometowns but it exports well
― nice suit (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:05 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, I have been playing guitar a lot and for the first time in a long time feel like a band could be a good idea.
Wish I had known dudes that were into U.S. Maple earlier than I did. I got into them right as things were winding down for them.
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:14 (eleven years ago) link
My enjoyment of stuff like US Maple has actually made it really hard for me to learn guitar. I'm trying to learn fundamentals, but in the back of my mind I'm always like " ... or I could just play it like this."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:16 (eleven years ago) link
I think it was a review of Acre Thrills in SPIN, of all things, that initially piqued my curiosity (and subsequently opened the door to the wonderland that is Skin Graft).
― Burgled Hams (Old Lunch), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:18 (eleven years ago) link
i think that audiences that were into US underground rock then were really accepting of noise or dissonance and fucked up vocals and confrontation as long as it ROCKED in a fairly conventional manner....Maple denied you the right to rock out or pump your fist, which is why i think they could really irritate ppl
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:20 (eleven years ago) link
the wonderland that is Skin Graft
When I was 19 I asked local dude in an improv outfit and a math-metal band for some music recommendations (or maybe he just felt moved to give me them) and he insisted I rush out and buy some US Maple. I couldn't find their albums, but I did find the Camp Skin Graft label comp, and wow that opened up a lot of things.
(eventually I found some US Maple albums and even more eventually I came to love them instead of just scratching my head at them)
― still small voice of clam (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:22 (eleven years ago) link
Huh I wonder if there's a Skin Graft S/D threadNope
― nice suit (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:25 (eleven years ago) link
btw i just discovered the camp skin graft comp is on spotify!
― i dox in yellow gox dox socks (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:26 (eleven years ago) link
Another killer version of La Click
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT0uhGIraGw
― prior, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:30 (eleven years ago) link
xp That is awesome and recommended listening but you cannot spotify the FREE STICKERS
(tries to resist the urge to throw the desk over and growl SKELETON KING at all my coworkers)
― still small voice of clam (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:31 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, the 90s had so many bands pushing the "spazzy", noisy, dissonant, and heavy angles, but U.S. Maple didn't really play ball fully with any of the usual moves, other than the dissonance usually existing in their songs. Plus, Al Johnson just really sold those songs in such unusual ways. I can't imagine any other singer working the magic that guy did on those songs.
― grandavis, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:32 (eleven years ago) link
At least one of the S&S guys found US Maple very sketchy, as in "they're biting our stuff! Of all the stuff to bite!"
― Three Word Username, Friday, 19 October 2012 15:33 (eleven years ago) link
― still small voice of clam (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:31 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
hahaha this will be my favourite ilx post of today just fyi
― it's the Suede/Denim secret police/they have come for your 90s niece (DJ Mencap), Friday, 19 October 2012 15:37 (eleven years ago) link
Al sometimes had an almost Charlie Chaplin aspect to his movements
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 January 2024 20:03 (two months ago) link
I kinda sometimes always kind of thought of US Maple as an ingenious parody of the Jesus Lizard.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 24 January 2024 20:16 (two months ago) link
they had very good hair
― ꙮ (map), Wednesday, 24 January 2024 20:19 (two months ago) link