Mutations of Mutations: locals pay tribute to the scene in new "Maine Covers Maine" release
Written by F. J. Gallagher
Everybody loves a good cover song.
For artists, covering a song by another musician represents a way to honor performers and songwriters they respect and admire. For listeners, a good cover offers an onramp to new music by creating some common ground. Chances are, if you like the cover, you might well like some of that musician’s original stuff, too, or at least be willing to give it a listen.
Which brings us to "Maine Covers Maine: Mutations of Homegrown Standards," an astonishing collection of tracks from a deep roster of Maine musicians, all covering each other’s material. The release, out on the local Mutants Of The East label, dropped back on Aug. 1 and is available for download on the label’s Bandcamp page.
“The basic goal was to create something collaborative instead of competitive, to honor the artists who built Maine’s music scene while connecting different generations of musicians through reinterpretation rather than imitation,” Mutants mastermind Ryan Von Ghoulsworth said of his label’s latest effort. “Every track is a love letter to a fellow Maine artist, reimagined in each band’s own voice.”
And a mighty long love letter it is.
"Maine Covers Maine" contains no fewer than 28 tracks from a lengthy list of Maine musicians who cover a round-up of songs that stretches back decades into the mists of the Maine music scene.
The lineup includes a bunch of local heavyweights, such as Toby McCallister, Covered In Bees, Jeff Beam, Snake Lips, and OGRE, as well as a liberal dose of up-and-coming acts like Intricate Mouse Work and Little Oso.
The list of acts covered is equally broad, including tunes from the likes of Cryin’ Caleb Aaron, Big Meat Hammer, SeepeopleS and Kip Brown, who was the very first musician to perform at Geno’s back in the day.
Maine’s music scene has always thrived on overlap, reinvention, and community memory. Bands share members, practice spaces, basements, radio stations, gear, burned CDs, home-recorded cassettes, and decades of influence passed hand-to-hand. Even scenes that appear disconnected often trace back to the same rooms, the same towns, and the same people showing up for each other at gigs and rehearsals, over and over again.
More than anything, Von Ghoulsworth said, the "Maine Covers Maine" compilation is a snapshot of the state's music community, a portrait that captures the diverse array of genres and styles that area musicians bring to local stages throughout southern Maine and beyond every night of the week.
“There’s always been a surprising amount of connection between musicians here,” he said. “But a lot of those relationships, influences, and shared histories don’t always get documented. That’s what this compilation is meant to celebrate.”
"Maine Covers Maine: Mutations of Homegrown Standards" is available for download from local label Mutants Of The East’s Bandcamp page.