U.S. Maple

In early 1995 U.S. Maple coalesced in Chicago from the remnants of Shorty, whose members included vocalist Al Johnson and high-end guitarist Mark Shippy, and the Mercury Players, whose lineup featured drummer Pat Samson and low-end guitarist Todd Rittman, all of whom had attended Northern Illinois University. After those earlier groups dissolved, the four musicians convened to explore ways of stripping rock down to its elemental core. Three albums have followed that initial effort. Their debut single was cut in September 1995 at Easley Recording Studios in Memphis, TN, under the supervision of producer Doug Easley; the A-side, “When a Man Says Ow!,” later appeared on the band’s first LP, while the B-side was titled “Stuck.” Chicago’s Skin Graft imprint signed the group that autumn and promptly issued the “Stuck” single. Later the same year the quartet tracked their debut full-length, Long Hair in Three Stages, at Solid Sound Studios in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, again with indie producer Jim O’Rourke; the album surfaced in October 1995. Ahead of the next studio album the band cut a fresh single plus a contribution to a tribute project. Early in 1996 the Sonic Bubblegum label released their radical reworking of Dion & the Belmonts’ 1961 hit “The Wanderer,” backed by the original “Whoa Complains.” In May of that year they supplied a version of the AC/DC song “Sin City” to a Skin Graft tribute compilation that also featured Chicago acts Shellac and Big’n. Returning to Solid Sound Studios with O’Rourke in early 1997, the group completed Sang Phat Editor, issued that June. Seeking greater tour support, U.S. Maple departed Skin Graft in fall 1998 and signed with another Chicago independent, Drag City Records, early the following year; their interest in the label stemmed in part from prior contact with several of its artists, including O’Rourke. Late in January 1999 the band tracked their third album, Talker, at B.C. Studios in Brooklyn, NY, this time under the direction of Michael Gira, formerly the frontman of the Swans; the record appeared the next year. Acre Thrills reached stores in spring 2001. That summer Samson exited and was replaced by Adam Vida, whose résumé already included work with fellow Drag City artist Edith Frost.