You know the old saying, “If you want to be a booking agent, throw away your map’ … Well, we’re calling this the Frequent Flier Tour.”

Matthew “Bob” Stull begins to describe The Bobs’ relatively brief but nonetheless daunting two-week tour that is now under way. I get tired just hearing about the flying from the west coast to the Midwest to the East Coast, and any tour that, within one week, has singers traveling from Bethel, Maine, to New York City, back to Ellsworth and then out to Los Angeles is just plain wrong.

But The Bobs don’t want to be right. An a cappella quartet out of California, The Bobs are known for their raucous vocal music and onstage antics. Much better-humored than I at 10 in the morning, Stull is bubbly and articulate about touring, The Bobs and the music scene in general.

“It’s great that vocal music has made this comeback,” Stull said. “It’s gotten huge, especially here in the Northeast. It’s great to see that after us, there’s a second and third generation starting to perform. Record companies haven’t picked up that there’s a huge audience for it yet, but they will soon.”

The Bobs (short for “Best of Breed”) began to form in 1981 after two of the original members finished a stint with a singing telegram company. Advertising and fate helped the duo become a quartet in 1982. Though personnel has changed twice since then, and even become a quintet at one point, the current line-up consists of Matthew “Bob” Stull, Richard “Bob” Greene, Amy “Bob” Engelhardt and Joe “Bob” Finetti. Nine albums and 20 years later, The Bobs have seen and done a lot.

Is mainstream success a goal of The Bobs? “Absolutely not. God, no!” exclaims Stull. “Can you imagine what it’s like for the guys in ‘N Sync? I can’t imagine what it’s like to live in that kind of fishbowl, to not be able to do what you want.” The Bobs have done some high-profile events, however, including commercials for Gap, Levi’s and Pepsico. They have also appeared on network television a number of times, most notably on the 1995 Emmy Awards, which Stull lists among the highlights of The Bobs’ 20 year career. “When you’re about to go onstage, and they tell you, ‘There are, like, 400 million people watching,’ that’s a big deal.”

Though The Bobs’ nine albums are very good (one was nominated for a Grammy), fans agree that they are best experienced live. “We always try to have fun on stage,” jokes Stull, “even if the audience isn’t.” He’s being modest, because most audiences recognize the musical in jokes that are throughout The Bobs’ work, even when the audiences don’t speak English.

“In America, we’re seen as more of a comedy act, whereas in Europe, they see us as a serious music group” said Stull. “It’s nice to be taken as serious musicians.” Stull describes European audiences as “more sophisticated, culturally” and “more open-minded.” One reason for that, he observes, that European radio stations are “all over the map,” not playing just one format, as are their American counterparts.

Music has “gotten too narrow-minded in America. We’re in a rut,” claims Stull. The Bobs are happy to break audiences out of that rut, jumping stylistically from a madrigal version of The Doors’ “Light My Fire” to a new intrepretation of They Might Be Giants’ “Particle Man,” or an update of Peggy Lee’s steamy classic “Fever.” It’s hard to pin down The Bobs, difficult to describe in a few words, which is fine with them. “People are tired of being pigeonholed,” Stull said.

Ecclecticism is a trademark of The Bobs, owing to their varied tastes. Their musical influences are everything from classical, especially Liszt, to rap, jazz, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Cajun zydeco music.

Though they have a lot of fun on stage, musically, The Bobs should not be taken lightly. When you listen to a Bobs CD, it’s easy to get caught up in the amusing lyrics or sing along to a familiar tune in your head. But every now and then, a chord or phrase will jump off the CD that is almost shocking in its harmonic tension, reminding you that these jokesters are also musicians of the highest order. Their intonation and harmony are so good, it’s no surprise that they’re thought of as the best of their genre, their music having even been added to the permanent collection of the Media Archives of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History.

What’s in store for The Bobs? Stull expects they will release a new record later this year, and they would like to do more movie and television music, especially television theme songs. “We’re always saying, ‘We could write a better theme song than that!”‘ recalls Stull. The Bobs are also working on a fine arts show with a monologist about the history of music tentatively titled, “Survival of the Loudest.”

The Bobs will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13 at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. Tickets are $18 adult advance, $20 at the door and $10 for children under 17. For information, call the box office at (207) 667-9500.

The Bobs: Discography

The Bobs, 1983 (re-released on Rhino Records, 1993) My I’m Large (re-released on Rhino Records, 1993) Songs for Tomorrow Morning (re-released on Rhino Records, 1993) Sing the Songs of … (re-released on Rhino Records, 1993) All Ears Review, ROM Records Jazz, Blues & More, Blue Plate Music Modern Acappella, Rhino Records Shut Up & Sing, Rounder Records 1993 The Bobs Cover the Songs of …, Rounder Records, 1994 Plugged, Rounder Records, 1995 Too Many Santas, Rounder Records, 1996 I Brow Club, Rounder Records, 1997