This edition of our Song Spinner series, which takes you into the hearts, minds and hands of local musicians and their creative processes, reveals the story behind "Highway Skies" by Marvelous Liars.

BIO: A trio based in Groton, Marvelous Liars is the brainchild of ex-Gone For Good guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Nicholas Johns - and is a proud effort to resurrect the increasingly rare dynamic of a pure rock 'n' roll band. Along with Johns are drummer Shane O'Connell and bassist Eric Riotte. Their brand new debut CD, "Another Castaway," features 12 tunes including "Highway Skies."

SOUND: As befitting Johns' encyclopedic knowledge of rock history and affection for bands whose sounds and styles span the decades, Marvelous Liars offer a driving, intricate brand of power-rock with ski-slope chord twists, defiantly joyous vocals and Super Glue-strong choruses.

HOW "HIGHWAY SKIES" CAME TO BE: Johns is a firm believer that a guitar is a creative portal unto itself. "The song came pretty organically," he says. "I was noodling around on my guitar and I pieced some stuff together. I normally have a melody in mind as soon as I start playing something. (With this song), I had it about 75 percent there but I had to work with it. I have to hear (the melodies) at full volume because I'm not a quiet singer. So I need the band because, if it's just me singing full blast, the neighbors will think there's a murder in my house or a big fight."

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? "It's a starting-over piece," Johns says, "and it's open to interpretation. It's about getting on that highway - and that highway can be anything. It could be a new job or whatever. Everything that you had before is over now and you're going to go for it and get something new.

"Sometimes you gotta cut out people you knew or relationships or even family members. (It's about) getting out and being free and it hurts sometimes but you've gotta do it."

VALUABLE INPUT: Johns is quick to emphasize that Marvelous Liars is far from a one-man-diva-with-a-rhythm-section situation. "I gave Eric and Shane a really raw demo," he says. "I wanted them to feel free to do what they want with it - and they did a great job of bringing stuff to the song I'd never have thought of. They're very good musicians."

"At first, I wasn't sure how far to go with the song," Riotte admits. "But with each week I'm more comfortable, and now I'm always trying to find little touches I can add or gaps I can fill."

O'Connell says, "If anything, I thought I could make it more dangerous sounding. I've always preferred music that sounds like it's about to fall apart. It keeps people on edge, wondering what's gonna happen next."