Country strong

I have never liked polished, mainstream country music. Outlaw country, the whiskey-besotted truth-telling poured out by Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Tony Joe White and, closer to home and more recently, Whitey Morgan, the Orbitsuns and Doop, I can't get enough of. But when the twang's gone, when the dirty jeans and workaday beards are replaced by $400 jeans, Stetsons and line dancing, I sick up in my mouth a bit.

So when I was first offered an interview with John Maison, I must admit my country music bigotry snuck into my thinkin'. And when his manager told me that Maison had been touring with Josh Gracin and Uncle Kracker, I feared the worst. Vile thoughts of Tea Party types and Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus and Carrie Underwood crept into my head like a grade IV cancer, alongside the idea that Maison must be disingenuous, a country-music mannequin, out for profit in a phony nudie suit.

I was, of course, wrong.

Yes, Maison's sound is clean. Sometimes, irritatingly clean for my tastes. Honestly, the dude could do with some cigarettes and alcohol burn in his larynx. But to consider him dishonest is grossly unfair. He's a funny, very "Michigan" sort of guy who naturally gravitated to country music through a love of classic rock. 

Maison first picked up a guitar when he was in high school. "I was in bands before then," he says. "And I've been a fan of music my whole life. Growing up in Michigan, there's a lot of different genres in the area. A big mix. So I was exposed to a lot of classic rock and also a lot of country. When I started to write songs, they came out more country. It's hard to say how long I've been in country music, but as long as I've been writing, it kind of popped up as my style."

The misconception is that Detroit isn't a worthy breeding ground for country music bands and fans. Rock, electronica, hip hop and R&B — shit, yeah — but country? But why wouldn't it be, with its Southern roots and sister cities Memphis and Nashville? Maison agrees. "I'm from metro Detroit, Macomb County, and most people, especially out of Michigan, are surprised that I listen to country. They didn't know people in Michigan listen to country. Detroit is one of the largest markets for country music ... big summer country concerts at DTE, the Hoedown ... " 

Maison does concede that his sound is cleaner than many local countrified combos, such as the Orbitsuns, Whitey Morgan and Doop and the Inside Outlaws. Maison says, "My sound is a little more driving; there are rock elements in there. The whole twang sound is not so much my style. That comes from my influences growing up, artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, the Eagles and a lot of classic rock guys. I'm a fan of the alt-country stuff, but I would agree that my style is different in that aspect. Josh [Gracin] is great. I've met him a couple of times, and I really like his sound. It's not too far from what I'm doing. I like exciting music. When I put something out there, more times than not it will be up-tempo and aiming to excite the listener as much as possible."

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