Venus brings infectious groove to Maine

Can a band named after the goddess of love move from a small Colorado town to an East Coast metropolis and find happiness and success?

If the group is the Boston-based quintet Mountain of Venus, the answer is yes.

Mountain of Venus is Tanya Shylock (lead vocals, percussion), Jody Cohen (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Mike Pascale (lead guitar, vocals), David Gesualdo (bass, vocals) and Eric Barry (drums, vocals). The band is returning to Maine for shows in four towns over eight days, starting tonight at the Sea Dog in Bangor.

Although its members come from across the United States, the improvisational band got together in 1999 in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

“We were all involved in various musical projects,” recalled Shylock by phone from the band’s house near Boston. “Mike Pascale invited us to record some of his songs. That went so smoothly that this was something we decided to follow up on.”

What made the group click, right from the start?

“Our personal ties are very compatible,” Shylock said. “We all hear music, and are inspired by music, the same way. All the music we write sounds like songs we should be playing. I think it’s magic, actually.”

They recorded their first studio album within weeks of forming. (Their current album is the self-explanatory “Live, Volume 1.”)

Shortly thereafter, they decided to move east, to the musical mecca of Boston. They’re now featured monthly at the prestigious House of Blues in Cambridge.

“It’s a really challenging musical environment,” Shylock said. “It’s been going great. We’ve made a lot of progress since we got here.”

Cohen is the band’s most prolific songwriter, Shylock said.

“He’ll have a concept, either lyrics or some music, and bring it to rehearsal,” she said. “There we’ll work on it, and everyone will create their own parts. We improvise, practice, get the creative flow going.”

Mountain of Venus has two strong bases of fans – its native Colorado and the Northeast. The group toured down the East Coast into the south last year. This summer, they’ll be heading out West for the first time, including the High Sierra Music Festival July 4-7 in Quincy, Calif.

“That puts us in an environment where we’ve never been, which is definitely more challenging,” Shylock said.

The group also has been helped out by the Home Grown Music Network, whose Web site promotes band and hooks them up with venues and agents.

“They’ve really done a lot of work for us,” Shylock said. “Our name has been spread around quite a bit.”

The band also records about 90 percent of its shows, both for archival purposes and to send out bootlegs to fans.

“We’re trying to support the music that way, to get the word out,” Shylock explained.

New England has quite a history of jam bands, including Phish, Strangefolk and Max Creek. So why did Mountain of Venus choose to go in that direction?

“It’s the ultimate creative freedom,” Shylock said. “There’s some structure, but the improvisational parts are free space, where we can create in the moment.”

Mountain of Venus will play March 15 at the Sea Dog in Bangor, March 16 at Spirits in Waterville, March 21 at Front Street Tavern in Farmington and March 22 at the Sea Dog in Camden. For more information, access www.mountainofvenus.com or homegrownmusic.net.