U.S. Maple began in Chicago sometime in 1995. Birthed from the maniacal minds of Al Johnson (lead singer), Mark Shippy (guitarist), Pat Samson (drummer), and Todd Rittman (guitarist)—together they became the deconstructionists of Rock and roll. Their first recordings came that year with two song 7" featuring “Stuck” and When a Man says Ow!” as well as a cover of the AC/DC song “Sin City.” The band signed with the infamous Skin Graft record label, which has released some of today’s greatest experimental artists. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... AC/DC is an Australian hard rock band, although most of its key members were born in the United Kingdom. ... Skin Graft is an influential contemporary no wave, noise rock, art punk, rock label based in Chicago. ...

The band recorded their first full length, Long Hair in Three Stages late in 1995 and their second album, Sang Phat Editor in 1997. Both were recorded at Solid Sound Studies in Hoffman Estates, Illinois with now-notorious indie producer and Sonic Youth member Jim O’Rourke. Both albums are fueled with jarring guitar noodling, vocal wheezes and howls, and spastic drumming—staples of the bands elastic song structures. Sonic Youth are an experimental rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ...

In ’98 the band headed over to Drag City Records to produce two more albums with all of the same elements, only sparser than before, darker. In 1999 the band came out with Talker a dark, spiraling trip into the limits of rock. In 2001 they released Acre Thrills, just as dark and bare. These albums were recorder in New York with Michael Gira the former singer from The Swans. Drag City is a Chicago, Illinois based independent record label. ... The talker is a kind of MUD, or a kind of chat system, depending on how it is looked at. ... Michael Gira was the founder and lead singer in the New York City rock band, Swans. ... Swans were one of the few bands to emerge from the New York, USA No Wave scene intact. ...

In 2001 drummer Pat Samson left the band, replaced by Adam Vida. With a new drummer they released Purple On Time in 2003, which saw a departure from the confrontational, fervent, and violent aspects of their anti-rock. Instead this album has verses, easier-to-follow instrumentation, and singing (instead of the famous animalistic moaning and crooning).

Links

Skin Graft Records: http://www.skingraftrecords.com/ Drag City Records: http://www.dragcity.com/