Maplewood

Sixties "Canyon rock" disciples Maplewood came together with the intent to relive the sounds of America, the Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, 30 years after the fact. Comprising co-vocalists and guitarists Mark Rozzo (of Champale) and Steve Koester (of Two Dark Birds), guitarist Craig Schoen, bassist Jude Webre, and Nada Surf drummer Ira Elliot, the band released its eponymous debut through New York's Tee Pee Records in 2004. (from All Music Guide)

"Maplewood are like a summer breeze, makin' yah feel fine..."
-- Village Voice

Rising up on a breeze of three-part harmonies and twelve-string acoustic guitars comes Maplewood, evoking a joyride up the Pacific Coast Highway. Like the scent of night jasmine in bloom, the Maplewood sound wafts from the canyons to the beaches and out into the desert, an ode to a Californian ideal mapped out by such precursors as America, Bread, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gene Clark, 70s Beach Boys, late-period Byrds, The Stone Canyon Band, John Phillips, Neil Young, Hearts and Flowers, and even CSNY. Maplewood are one toke away from the cosmos, the press says, and harbingers of a movement already afoot.

For the five dudes who make up Maplewood, lost gems like "Ventura Highway" and "Make It With You" evolved from guilty pleasure to buried treasure: In such castoff anthems of mellowness, Maplewood managed to find improbable inspiration. Call it canyon rock, call it breezy, call it desperado dust. Maplewood is like a desert sunrise, like a dappled afternoon up in the orange groves, like a moon-lit walk on the beach and a swig of dandelion wine with the one you love the most.
(from Maplewoodfeelsgood.com)