Formation and first single U.S. Maple was formed in 1995 at DeKalb's Northern Illinois University by former members of
Shorty and the
Mercury Players. Two members from each band met at the corner of Grand and Western Avenues, and as the band later described on their website, began discussing a disdain for indie rock conventions. They took interest in forming a band, and subsequently began rehearsing the same year. As a band, U.S. Maple inherited vocalist Al Johnson and guitarist Mark Shippy from Shorty, while drummer Pat Samson and second guitarist Todd Rittman were transplants from the Mercury Players. The band's first recording came in the form of a two-song 7" single produced by Doug Easley and recorded in September 1995 at
Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. During these sessions a cover version of
AC/DC's "Sin City" was also recorded, and was eventually released on Skin Graft's
Sides 1-4 7" compilation. U.S. Maple's first single featured the songs “Stuck” and "When a Man Says Ow!” The independent label Skin Graft Records took an interest in the band and signed them to the label, releasing the "Stuck" single in the fall of 1995.
Albums on Skin Graft The band recorded their first album,
Long Hair in Three Stages, late in 1995 at Illinois' Solid Sound Studios, located in
Hoffman Estates. The album was produced by
Jim O'Rourke who was core to other
leftfield indie bands in Chicago in the 1990s. Despite their disdain for
indie rock conventions, the album showed the band engaging contentiously with
Rock and roll, mainly via the strong influence of
Captain Beefheart. Skin Graft released the album in October 1995 in both vinyl and CD formats; the vinyl pressings included a bonus track and hand-made sheet metal jackets manufactured by the band members themselves. The band then embarked on a six-week, twelve-country European tour in support of their first album. While in England, the band recorded a Peel session for
John Peel's
BBC Radio 1 show. When the band returned home from their European tour they recorded a second single featuring a cover of the 1961
Dion and the Belmonts hit "
The Wanderer", as well as an original composition, "Whoa Complains." In 1997, the band returned to Solid Sound Studios to record their second album, again with producer Jim O'Rourke. This session produced the album
Sang Phat Editor, which was released by Skin Graft Records in June 1997.
Albums on Drag City In the fall of 1998 U.S. Maple left Skin Graft, signing to
Drag City the following year, due in part to the influence of Drag City labelmate Jim O'Rourke, but also due to an agreement by the label to support the band during their busy tour schedule. 1999 saw the band returning to the studio to record the followup to their Skin Graft work. Their third album,
Talker, a darker, sparser record than their previous ones, was recorded at B.C. Studio in
Brooklyn, New York. The album was recorded by
Michael Gira, lead singer and musician of
No Wave post-industrial rock band
Swans, with
Martin Bisi engineering. In 2001 the band released their fourth album,
Acre Thrills. The album was recorded in
Cannon Falls, Minnesota, at
Pachyderm Studio, and mixed a week later in
Richmond, Virginia, at Sound of Music. In the summer of 2001, after the recording of
Acre Thrills, drummer Pat Samson left the band, and was replaced by Adam Vida. With Vida, the band released their fifth studio album, 2003's
Purple on Time, which saw a departure from the confrontational, fervent, and violent aspects of previous releases.
Purple on Time contained more conventional
song structures, instrumentation and singing. ==Discography==