Mad Marv’s Music Den: A kaleidoscope of sound

A couple of months ago, I had the honor of getting a link to check out the new album coming out soon by local band The Maple Bars. “Drop In,” the band’s third album, is a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, and, boy oh boy, is it a doozy.

Many styles of music are being employed: I hear jazz, rock, funk, EDM, hip-hop and a slew of production layering. It is a captivating listen. The bands it brings to mind include Ween, Sublime and Melvins.

I sat down at my crib with Mason McCroskey, who formed the band in 2009, to discuss this beast of an album set to drop within the next month.

Marvin Lee: The Maple Bars members have changed throughout the years. Who are the members who make up the current lineup and how long has it been this unit?

Mason McCroskey: Well, Laki Ah Hi (guitar) has been in the band for six years, Nathan Golla (bass) has been in the band for five years (and also is a member of The Khind, featured in the Sept. 28 issue of Inland 360) and Jim Laws (drums) has been in the band for two years.

For two years now, this has been such an incredible group of dudes because they’ve all been truly my heroes prior to them being in the band.

ML: Are these all your songs or did other members submit songs for the final track listing?

MM: I wrote the majority of these songs, but Laki did write the song “Miss Brown,” and I would expand on that by saying that while I started the idea for these songs, I don’t consider them my songs. I consider them our songs because I’m not a bass player, a drummer or a lead guitar player, so the other dudes are what made the songs what they are.


ML: I saw a video on YouTube that you guys put out called “Break the Internet” that’s lively and amusing. Who made it?

MM: Our friend Jon-Paul Durant did the video. He recorded all of the green screens down at Jeda Media Group studios in Lewiston and from there did all the editing himself. We told him that we wanted him to document the craziness of the internet, and we think he did a perfect job of that.


ML: My favorite song is “Soul Fi Felon,” because it has interesting parts, and you even rap on it. What is the song about, and did the rapping come naturally to the songwriting process or was it added later?

MM: The song comes out of local folklore about somebody who was involved with a church in northern Idaho who was using the church to launder money for the sale of methamphetamine, and I enjoyed that story. I felt it was like something from the FX show “Justified,” and that’s kinda where it started. I felt like rap was the antithesis of what a North Idaho redneck preacher on methamphetamine would want in a song about himself, so it was kind of an anti-North Idaho redneck mentality. I felt like rapping would be kinda funny.

ML: What is your favorite song and why?

MM: My favorite song on the album is “Totally Not Cool Dude.” I think it’s my favorite because, in writing it, I was listening to the album “Stardust” by Willie Nelson, and I just loved the jazz mixed with Americana, and my intent was to write a “Stardust” type of song.


ML: I hear quite a few different sounds and effects. Do you know how many different styles of guitar pedals were used in this recording?

MM: I would say at least 10 or 12 pedals and, as well, a good part of the guitar tones is multiple amplifiers being used. We tried to use the full palette of options of amps that Nate (Nathan Golla) has at his studio, Khind-Of Records.


ML: Who makes the final decisions on how the songs are recorded and dressed up with production techniques?

MM: This is the third album I’ve recorded with Nate and, at this point, I have so much faith and trust in him and his ideas that we don’t spend much time questioning his intent on production choices.
He knows what to bring out in a song to make it better, and so Laki and I, having done the last recording with him as well, learned to just not waste time questioning things and just trust his approach.

ML: Will there be an album release show and if so, where and when?

MM: There will be a release show, but we are doing our best to take our time and plan it correctly to make sure we’re crafting a fun experience that’s not just a regular show but truly a celebration of our album.


ML: Where will your CDs be available for purchase?

MM: We’re going to sell them whenever we play a show and at Greenfield Glass & Goods in Clarkston and Seidel Music is the Lewiston Orchards — and hopefully a store or two in the Palouse area as well. We will also have it on Spotify and Bandcamp.


ML: One last “need to know” question: Which Sesame Street character do you prefer, Bert or Ernie?

MM: Ernie. All the way. My boy is named Ernie.

Lee is a self-professed music nerd and part-time artist. He can be reached at marvin.lee@live.com.