There’s a lot of power in not taking yourself too seriously. On Used To Be The Next Big Thing (out November 18th), the sophomore LP from Northern Vermont Americana/roots-rock act Maple Run Band, vocalist/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Crist spins yarns of lost love, shattered dreams, and lost potential with a wry wit and a tongue-in-cheek lyricism that would make John Prine proud. The stories Crist pens rarely come with happy endings, but there’s an intangible glimmer of positivity that radiates throughout the album, keeping the mood from ever getting too dour. “Nowadays it feels like you have to either be super earnest, or be a novelty act,” says Crist. “But guys like Roger Miller and Buck Owens, and John Prine nailed that middle ground. I wanted to really explore that middle ground with these stories.”
Used To Be The Next Big Thing is a ten-track collection of Americana vignettes that primarily highlight Crist’s evocative lyricism and storytelling prowess. Rather than acting as a confessional, the album serves as a work of fiction, a collection of short stories about the average everyday woes that wear us down as we progress through life, but with a playful irreverence that reinforces the idea that things just might be okay in the end. Vocalist and drummer Nicole Valcour takes the wheel on a few songs as well, with her expressive but ambiguous lyricism playing the foil to Crist’s direct storytelling style and giving the album a sense of balance.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the album’s title track, which hits you right out of the gate with a wave of jangly guitar ripping. With its tale of a Nashville musician on the brink of success that never comes, the tune is captures the tragedy that occurs when the commodification of art takes the place of expression. With its galloping piano, freewheeling guitar work, and infectious harmonies, the song is the kind of working class roots rocker that is perfect for the barroom. The little bit of country twang lingering throughout the tune allows the song to really shine.
Trevor Crist describes the inspiration behind the track:
“As the title track, this song is really the centerpiece of the album, and brings together a lot of the elements and themes that weave through the rest of the songs – the Hammond organ, the piano, a touch of cello, vocal harmonies, and some extra percussion beyond just the drum kit. It’s a straight up country rock song that draws as much from the Allman Brothers as it does from classic country acts like Buck Owens and Roger Miller. Lyrically it’s all tongue and cheek cynicism about the fickle nature of the music business – kind of a Nashville version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Have a Cigar.'”
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