The Michigan pop/indie band Mason Proper will be at the Maintenance Shop Thursday night. The band’s first album, “There Is a Moth In Your Chest,” was released in 2006 with the help of composer John O’Mahoney.

Mason Proper singer Jonathan Viager gave FYI an inside look at the band.

FYI: The press release says you have been debuting new songs on tour – how exciting has it been with the EP coming out and the success you seem to be finding?

Jonathan Vlager: “It’s really exciting. We’re actually testing new material out on stage that might be on our next album.”

FYI: Who are some of your main influences as an artist?

J.V.: “Anyone who took strange ideas and made them work in a pop context. The Beatles, David Bowie, and The Talking Heads all did it, even Devo.”

FYI: What do you try to bring to your live performances that people don’t get from your studio albums?

J.V.: “We give them the visual side of it. People want to see something when they’re at a live performance. It’s also louder, which captures the energy.”

FYI: What are your main tactics while writing and setting up the songs?

J.V.: “We usually take an idea – an interesting line or melodic bit – and bring it into the room where we’ll work it out together. We realize where it’s going and chase the end effect.”

FYI: What did John O’Mahoney bring to the table when he came into the studio to mix the album?

J.V.: “Everything was already recorded. He basically helped us set levels and get some of the sounds we were trying to get. The aesthetic choices were our decision – he helped us really just get the sound we wanted.”