The Maroons
(CD release party) w/Once For Kicks, Visqueen
Sat June 8
Chop Suey, $7.

The interview was rolling along smoothly, and then--a pause. Usually this is my worst nightmare, the result of a subject who hasn't much to say. But this time it was I who became speechless, struggling to process the silliness of Maroons guitarist Jim Talstra's explanation for why his notoriously low-output Portland-based band might become more productive in the near future: "I think John [Moen] has become more confident performing in front of people. And sometimes, still, the last thing I want to do is get onstage and perform. It's kind of embarrassing." A day later, singer/guitarist Moen concurs: "Jim and I have that curse of always considering ourselves beginners, no matter how long we've been at it. I'll be 60 and thinking, 'Well, I'm almost getting it.'"

Fully entrenched in their 30s, Talstra and Moen have been playing in bands for more than half their lives. Moen, who is currently a member of Stephen Malkmus' band the Jicks, and Talstra, who also guitars for No. 2 (led by Heatmiser co-founder Neil Gust), began playing together in the late '80s in a band called the Dharma Bums, which released three albums and toured extensively before breaking up in '92. Moen then went to Japan with the Fastbacks, and Talstra stood among local giants Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck in the Minus 5. Hence the silence on my part. The slideshow of these talented musicians' pasts was clicking by, and I was watching in wonderment.

The Maroons (the name refers to idiots, not the color) are right up there with Quasi in terms of really great pop bands out of Portland. Moen is blessed with a singing voice that ranges from honeyed croon to graceful falsetto, and has a knack for writing pop songs that display the perfect mix of sweetness and sarcasm. That I had to wait until 2002 for a follow-up album to the Maroons' 1996 debut, I Am to Blame, is just a minor annoyance now that You're Gonna Ruin Everything has finally been released.

In person Moen reminds me of a young Tom Hanks, and Talstra has always had a John Doe air about him. Pay either one a compliment and you will witness an unintentionally comic display of someone attempting to actually turn himself inside out with embarrassment.

Now a five-piece augmented by keyboardist Mike Clark (drummer Eric Bennes and bassist John Cox are founding members), the Maroons are a blast to see live. The guys' ability to look like they're playing by the seat of their pants is the key to their charm. Talstra explains, "Sometimes I'll see bands and think they're really good, and then I'll think about us and say, 'Well, we're not the greatest bunch of musicians, but I feel like we have something to offer that a lot of bands don't have'--which is just a pretty carefree attitude [onstage]. Especially when Mike started to play with us, it became a lot more fun because he adds a lot musically and visually. He's our Kurt Bloch--he loves rock and roll, and he loves playing it."

Since 1996, the Maroons have played in Seattle perhaps three times, but don't count on that performance rate to rise with the release of You're Gonna Ruin Everything. "We haven't really invested in 'band' things, like a van that will break down somewhere," laughs Moen. "That's another thing about getting older; it's harder for us to just jump out there and get on the road, because we've done that all our lives, really. And the Maroons don't really have a huge audience, even though the people who like us are the best people. [Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, Conrad Uno, and Dave Dederer are fans.] I'm not against touring; it just would be nice to go about it in a way that won't break everybody's butt. We did the sleeping-in-cat-urine-on-somebody's-floor thing already, and it's hard at this age to go back to that. Playing a show can sometimes be nothing more than dragging equipment... that rush of 'Oh, we're playing!' just isn't the same for me. And I'm a chicken who doesn't want to stick his neck out."

Moen's laughing hard now as he utters what could be his band's ultimate slogan. "The Maroons: The Oldest New Band in the World."