Maple Mars

A dash of Pink Floyd, a sprinkle of ELO, some Jellyfish on the side, and a big dollop of the Beatles describe the Los Angeles band Maple Mars. Veteran singer-songwriter, guitarist Rick Hromadka (formally of LA pop icons Double Naught Spies) fronts this psychedelic rock outfit with drummer Ron Pak, guitarist Steve Berns, and bassist Jeremy Christensen. Their debut album entitled "Welcome To Maple Mars" (Permanent Press Recordings) had some critics naming the album one of the best indie pop-rock albums of 2001; and received rave reviews by such industry mags as Billboard, Album Network, Mojo, Hits Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, as well as many online publications. Songs from "Welcome To Maple Mars" have been featured on NBC's Thirdwatch and Fox's Felicity. Their second album entitled "Circular Haze" was released in 2003 on New Jersey label Kool Kat Musik, and upped the ante in the review category, also making many critics' top-ten lists for that year. "Beautiful Mess" - also on Kool Kat, and the third album from Maple Mars could be it's best yet, and made many lists as one of the best pop albums of 2007. The band has played on both coasts in the US, and in the United Kingdom

Landing in Los Angles from New Haven, Connecticut, Rick Hromadka first found a day job at Saban Entertainment and began penning songs for a variety of film and TV teen shows like Breaker High, Sweet Valley High, and the Power Rangers; also getting a track on the Power Rangers movie Turbo. Hromadka formed the power-trio group The Visionaries and released Every Other Saturday on Wrecking Ball Records. The band morphed into Double Naught Spies and was a fixture on the "LA Pop Scene" with their heavy 70's rock influence and melodic vocal arrangements. Their 1999 release The Shoephone Conspiracy (Cherry Boy Records) with engineer/co-producer Richard Bosworth (Dramarama, Wondermints, The Knack) brought the band major notoriety; being added to a number of college radio play lists, and was re-released in Japan on Air Mail Recordings (complete with bonus tracks and new liner notes). Songs from the CD have been used in several films and TV shows including Hanginaround (Winter Films) which also features music by The Who and Counting Crows; Piñata (Trimark Pictures) and King Cobra (HBO). Songs from The Shoephone Conspiracy - as well as the Maple Mars albums - have appeared on a variety of pop compilations from countries as diverse as Sweden, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, which have brought the band an international following. Rick Hromadka currently works in Burbank, CA as a successful sound editor, and has won three Emmys for his work on the television shows ER and Thirdwatch.