“I sat with [Bangor Savings’] VP of marketing,” says Gaylord, “and he seemed like a regular guy, he had an XM satellite thing in his car, and he really liked the music, he was really psyched by it. I think that’s like the average person: someone who listens to music in their car . . . I would think they’d really like it. Are they going to go out and buy the artists’ CDs? I’m not really sure. But I think the first couple of cuts — the Steve Jones cut, the Sara Cox song — anybody would like those songs. They’re terrific.”
Those two tunes, “Time for You” by Jones and “Willow” by Cox, are definitely pretty great, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is all old-people-accessible alt-country. Bangor Savings chose the tracks themselves and Phantom Buffalo’s “Be the Boss” made the cut, as did Spouse’s “Catch 22,” Micah Blue Smaldone’s “Tatterdamelion Stomp,” X-Ray Actress’s “I Want It All,” and As Fast As’s “So Good.” That’s not thrash metal, I’ll allow, but that’s some good indie rock, experimental pop, and contemporized roots, right there. Generally, Bangor Savings’ taste is pretty good, with an ear for the singalong and a well-played instrument (great choice, for instance, to include Matthew Robbins’s instrumental “Lazy Breakdown” — I remember him playing that at the second GFAC 207 release show at the old Stonecoast Brewery and Joe Brien coming on afterwards to call Robbins the coolest guy in Maine).
“We were able to develop something that was unique, about Maine, that coincided with our philanthropic philosophy,” says Breen, whose company also used Green Design Furniture to outfit its branches with locally made furniture, “and it’s damn good music.”
That it is. Thanks to Bangor Savings, maybe a few more people will realize that.
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Sam Pfeifle: sam_pfeifle@yahoo.com
