If you’ve spent a certain amount of time in Greater Bangor, you remember the parade of bands that have come and gone through the usual channels of live local shows and recordings. Opium Poet. Spork. Fork and Spoon Raspberry. Dugen (which is still around). Propane Tank and a .45 (which recently has re-formed) and the Chia Band.

The last was one of the seemingly ubiquitous jam bands to come out of the University of Maine. Jam bands are like that relative who comes to visit every year – sure, you love them and like seeing them for a little bit, but after a while you really, really want them to leave.

Chia Band spent 1995 through 1997 playing steadily in Orono and Old Town and sometimes Bar Harbor, and except for a few “reunion” shows, more or less broke up after the band members graduated from college. Eventually, they became the Irreverends, taking their cues more from Wilco than from Widespread Panic. The Irreverends, playing this Saturday at Carmen Verandah in Bar Harbor, has a new story to tell.

After graduating from UMaine, singer and guitarist Adam White, guitarist John Brookhouse and bassist Brendan Reilly trickled down to the Boston area. By 2001 the three had settled there, and that’s when Brookhouse approached White about forming a different kind of band.

“I don’t want to sound dismissive of [jam bands], ’cause we were really happy with it in school,” said White on Wednesday. “There was a lot of stuff we listened to back then that we didn’t take as writing influences until we got out of college and came down to Boston. We were rediscovering a lot of stuff.”

Brookhouse and White list the Rolling Stones, the Replacements, the country side of Elvis Costello and the Byrds as some favorites they’d always listened to. When they realized what they wanted to try playing, the Irreverends was born.

Reilly joined the band soon after, and Boston-based Chris Keene was later recruited to pound the skins.

“Brendan and I have been playing together for almost 10 years,” said White. “It’s kind of scary, but it’s good. There’s a kind of second-nature element to it. There’s an understanding about where you’re going with a sound.”

The Irreverends is musically quite far from the Chia Band, as their influences suggest. The band happily describes itself as a rock band, and enjoys playing loud, fast and fun. The group loves country and indie and pop and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll – genres be damned. Unlike a jam band, where the focus tends to be less on the songs and more on the technical, musical aspect, the Irreverends focuses squarely on both parts, and with great results.

“John will come to me with some musical idea, and then I’ll write the lyrics,” said White. “Brendan kind of provides the connective tissue, and Chris is definitely the power behind it. He’s sort of a Keith Moon-type drummer, and we feed off that power and harness it.”

It’s a typical story for a Maine band – heading off to Boston or another city to try to make it big after a year or two of playing the same three or four venues all the time. The Irreverends, though, doesn’t have quite those kinds of aspirations.

“Orono was a great resource for us,” said Brookhouse. “We had it a lot easier up there, with a built-in audience that were very supportive. There were some fun places to play back then, like the Ram’s Horn and the Penny Post. It’s a little harder in Boston.”

“It would be disingenuous of me to say that I just wanted to get out of Maine – I miss it a lot,” said White. “I miss the quality of life, and it’s very conducive to my personal style of writing.

“But what I can get here [in Boston] I can’t get in Maine,” he continued. “And what I can get in Maine I can’t get there. So, for better or worse, we’re here in Boston, trying to make a name for ourselves.”

The Irreverends is currently finishing up an EP, and preparing to record a full-length album. Judging from the early recordings available on its Web site, www.irreverends.com, the group has plenty of talent. Their jangly, Jayhawks-meets-Elvis Costello sound has enough country sweetness to seduce, but enough rock ‘n’ roll bite and swagger to stay interesting.

As for drive, the band doesn’t have any illusions about fame and fortune. They just want to play music.

“Our goal isn’t to get some major label deal,” said Brookhouse. “I’d rather just do what we do, and make a living going to towns playing music. That’s really what it’s all about.”

To see these Maine boys, you don’t have to go any farther than Bar Harbor this weekend to check them out. They’re returning to their home state for a nice, long gig at Carmen Verandah (www.carmenverandah.com) Saturday at 9:30 p.m., with a $5 cover charge. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.