Most bands, when they want to get out of Maine, head south. They go to Boston, or New York, or Philly. Farmington’s Gristlestick took the opposite approach: they went north. Way north. Fairbanks, Alaska, to be exact.

“It was wild,” said lead singer and ukelele player Russ Copelin (don’t worry, we’ll get to the ukelele in a minute). “Sure, it’s far away, but I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to play there. It’s beautiful, and people are so receptive to new music.”

Over the summer of 2006 they played in Montana, throughout western Canada (“Whitehorse, Yukon is a great town, it’s the size of Waterville but it has 15 bars,” said Copelin) and all over Alaska, driving an old school bus named after Copelin’s grandfather. Upon returning to Maine in the fall, Gristlestick was a band reborn. Tighter. Road-tested. Better friends.

Now they have another summer of gigs lined up, though this time it’s a lot closer to home. The funky, funny, high-energy Gristlestick, one of Maine’s best-kept musical secrets, will play Saturday night in Bar Harbor, at Carmen Verandah.

But let’s talk about what makes them such a special band. Ukelele, anyone?

“I was getting bored with guitar, and I had like 30 bucks in my pocket. They had a ukelele at Downhome Music in Fairfield, and I was like ‘Why not?'” said Copelin. “I bought it on a whim and I fell in love with it. I learned chords from the Internet. It’s a unique sound. Every band has two guitars, bass and drums. We wanted something different.”

Different is just what they got. Copelin, Jim Doucette, Leif Devine and Tom Stevens are all multi-instrumentalists in the truest sense of the word. For example, Devine plays bass, cello and guitar. Stevens plays lap steel, banjo and bass. Copelin busts out the harmonica and often steps behind the drum kit. Doucette handles just about every form of percussion known to man. And they all sing, too.

“We all take turns. Sometimes it’s nice to just cut the guitar out of the equation completely and just have bass, uke, lap steel and drums,” said Copelin. “Who needs a guitar?”

Those myriad instrumental elements contribute to Gristlestick’s eclectic, funky take on rock ‘n’ roll. As their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/gristlestick) attests, it’s just plain rock, “eyeliner and pre-ripped jeans not included.”

They also draw from a lot of sources, everything from Frank Zappa to George Clinton to an array of heavy metal. The Zappa influence especially shows, not least in the band’s funny, often raunchy lyrics.

“Yeah, some of it’s pretty crude,” said Copelin. “We try to depict life as we see it. Life isn’t so polite. Sometimes it’s funny, and a little rude. Sometimes it’s just plain blunt. They say if you offend one person, you make 20 friends. We get the bar laughing.”

Copelin himself is a born frontman, with a raspy, big voice and a quick wit.

“I was always the kid that wanted to be the center of attention,” he said. “I only get to be upfront with everyone listening to what I say, what eight hours a week? I have to live it up.”

Though they’ve only been together two years, Gristlestick has been through a lot: national tours, a couple recordings, including the soon-to-be-released “Live at the Carrabassett Inn,” and, at least in Copelin’s case, the ability to actually do music for a living. Might they take off for the Great White North again, and this time not come back?

“Despite the high taxing, and the no jobs, and the ‘oh God, it’s hard, it’s hard!'” said Copelin. “But I love Maine. I want to stay here. It’s home.”

Gristlestick will play a 21+ show at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at Carmen Verandah in Bar Harbor. They will play again at 8 p.m. Friday, June 15, at the Lookout Pub in Belfast, and a record release party for “Live at the Carrabassett Inn” is set for Thursday, June 21, at Granary Brew Pub in Farmington. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.