‘Rock’ trio ‘eclectric’ Maggi, Pierce and E.J. pay buckley homage on new album

Many music fans and critics don’t know what to make of Maggi, Pierce and E.J. But that’s OK with the Philadelphia-based trio, which will play at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Sea Dog in Bangor.

“It may work against us, but we are happy with the music we make,” said E.J., the long-haired one. “There are a lot of bands that genre-jump.”

The three have dubbed their sound “eclectric rolk.” There’s a little bit of everything to be heard, but what stands out are their exquisite three-part harmonies. The three are talented multi-instrumentalists who have been known to switch instruments during a “Chinese fire drill” in the middle of a live set.

Pierce and E.J. have been buds since junior high. They hooked up with Maggi after they left the seminal hip-hop-metal band the Goats five years ago.

What makes MPE work?

“We’re friends before we’re bandmates, and we know how to deal with each other,” explained E.J. by phone from a tour stop in Stevens Point, Wis. “We’re all adventurous in the music and have similar goals: to get to Europe, to tour [farther], to make different-sounding records.”

One place where the group is not so innovative is in its album titles. Its first three albums, with white, then black, then red covers, are all self-titled.

This time out, the fourth album (with a blue cover) has something new: a title. “For” is dedicated to the late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, who drowned in a Memphis river in 1997.

What was it about Buckley’s music that touched the trio?

“It’s the emotional depth and honesty, the way [his music] comes straight from his soul,” E.J. said.

Half of the new album’s songs were written before Buckley’s death, half after. Each song is dated so listeners can tell when it was written.

MPE has no one method to create new songs.

“All of us will write songs separately, or two of us together, or, as we’re jamming, the song comes out,” E.J. said. “That keeps the music fresh and flowing.”

Amid a two-month tour, the group is gradually expanding its regular circuit.

“We’re starting to hit the new places along with the old ones,” E.J. said.

For information, call the Sea Dog at 947-8004.