We recently had the stellar opportunity, to check out the new single, “MB Anthem ( The Market Basket Song) , via Rum Bar Records from long time Boston , based band, Stop Calling Me Frank. You can listen to the instantly iconic “MB ANTHEM ( The Market Basket Song) on Spotify Here and on Apple Music Here

Those of us lucky enough to call New England home , can’t but help but feel a sense of pride when the subject of the iconic New England based , supermarket Market Basket , comes up. With their iconic slogan “More For Your Dollar”,that feels more like a way of life than a slogan Market Basket, is undeniably New England.

Not too long ago, Terry O’Malley of Stop Calling Me Frank got unexpectedly caught up in perhaps the most New England experience imaginable – he was stuck in traffic behind a bunch of cars all headed to the local Market Basket.   

“I saw a line of cars stopped on a highway off-ramp that leads to a plaza with a Market Basket,” recalls the saxophonist of the venerable Boston rock band. “I said ‘Everybody’s going to the Market Basket!’ sort of as a joke, but I liked the way those words scanned.”

Tapping into the New England zeitgeist of our modern day, one lined with salmon-colored checker board floors, maroon jackets, and a whole lot of savings, Stop Calling Me Frank soon had a proper rock and roll banger on their collective hands. The sweaty, beer-fueled, and sax-driven rock and roll band now unleash “MB Anthem (The Market Basket Song)” today (Friday, September 26) on Rum Bar Records. 

Of course, this rabble-rousing ode to the beloved grocery chain, a classic Stop Calling Me Frank cocktail of jittery hooks and bratty punk-rock urgency, arrives (admittedly unintentionally) at a controversial moment in Market Basket’s history. It hits the streams just over two weeks after the company’s board of directors infamously voted to oust beloved longtime CEO Arthur T. (“Artie T.”) Demoulas over disagreements on how to run the once-family business

All I know is that I love the employees of the Market Basket, and the employees love Artie T.!” says bassist Dan Caspariello. “So I’m already on their side for this one. The other thing that boggles my mind is how much more money do you need? It’s all about greed.”

O’Malley, Caspar jello, and Stop Calling Me Frank as a band, assert with conviction that this song is for Market Basket, its long-standing culture, and the legions of people who have shopped, with unwavering dedication, at one of the 95 stores around Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine since the grocery store was first founded way back in 1917.

In the usual Stop Calling Me Frank style of loud-fast-fun, the 100-second-long “MB Anthem (The Market Basket Song)” follows a streak of hyperactivity from the band, which got back in the proverbial van just before the pandemic after 25 years out of the Boston scene. In January of this year they released The First Six Years compilation, a callback to those early days, and followed that up with a pair of animated singles in April’s gritty “Good Enough” and July’s punchy “Where You Gonna Hide.”

The band – O’Malley and Caspariello rounded out by vocalist Lennie Donohoe, drummer Eddie Barese, and guitarists David Forbes and Jeff Ousborne – knew they had something special when O’Malley first came to them with the music and lyrics of “MB Anthem.” 

“The first verse came right away,” he adds. “I quickly gave up trying to rhyme ‘basket’ repeatedly and focused on internal rhymes. The guys liked it right away, but it was still a work in progress. I was still tinkering with the exact word order even while we were recording it.” 

A bit of “Frankifying” was done by the band, adding their own special flair to the composition, and the track was complete. Recording took place at engineer Ed Riemer’s Edsbarn studio in Canton, about six miles or so from the closest Market Basket in nearby Brockton. The band plans to head back there later this fall to record a few more songs that will appear on a new Stop Calling Me Frank album, but in the meantime, the gentlemen are focused on “MB Anthem.” 

It doesn’t matter if you prefer the rotisserie chicken or the delicious hand made donuts at Market Basket,we can all agree Stop Calling Me Frank, has crafted an absolute gem with , “MB Anthem ( The Market Basket Song”