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Fire on McGinnis is what happens when a pipe and drum band gets bored playing "Scotland the Brave" over and over for 10 years. Lazlo was driving everyone crazy in Stroller White Pipes and Drums with this and that (don't ask) . . . until one day in 2004 Bruce McQueen suggested that the SWP&D band have a recital. Lazlo (so named during a Burns Night a few years before in which some Hungarian Tabasco sauce and a lot of whiskey ended up being thrown into the haggis before it was placed in the oven), being scared to death of playing bagpipes by himself in public, decided he would play electric guitar at the bagpipe recital instead.

Having sold his last guitar and amp while in college, he had to buy new equipment, which arrived the day before the recital. Everyone in the SWP&D band, plus a few more (Dayna Robertson on vocals, Jim and Martha Stey on mandolin and fiddle, Melanie Brown on flute, Allan McKinnon on pipe organ) played the Waly Waly/Sleepy Maggie/Scotland the Brave set at the recital in Northern Light United Church. Lazlo was convinced it was a rousing success even though we learned our first lesson that you can't tune the bagpipes to an old electric organ!

The Waly Waly set was reprised a few weeks later at a Marine Park Fridays in the Park concert. Shortly after that we became a band and picked the name Fire on McGinnis. We choose the name in part because of the most photographed mountain in the Juneau area (Mt McGinnis) but mostly because it sounds cool.

Our initial roster was Dayna Robertson on vocals, Doug and Laurie Gardner on pipes, Lazlo on guitar and Dave Sheakley on drums. In the early days we mostly played parties and occasionally played open mic nights at the Alaskan bar. Martha Defreest joined us on fiddle after we played a birthday party at the Buoy Deck. James Bibb joined us on bass about the same time. It wasn't long after cranking up the Musicians friend credit card that we had Mark Lukey join us on sound system (which is huge--managing our sound is a real challenge!).

With the addition of Martha and James we ramped up our set list to 4 hours and have been playing at various venues around town, esp. The Island Pub, the Alaskan Bar and the Hangar on the Wharf. For the past 3 years we have enjoyed playing the dance at the Alaska Folk festival.

Looking forward we hope to play some out of town venues so stay tuned! -Lazlo

I fell in love with the highland bagpipes when I was about 10 years old, but I didn't learn to play them for another 20 years. First came saxophone and clarinet, and then I traded in my comic book collection for my first electric guitar when I was 15. I bought my pipes in Pittsburgh and carried them around for years not knowing how to play them. That changed when I met Laurie G. in Juneau and joined SWP&D. From that point on, all I could think about was starting a bagpipe rock-and-roll band!

Influences: U2, Beatles, Brother, Green Day, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Tannehill Weavers. We have a really wide range of influences in Fire on McGinnis, so our sound is pretty eclectic. I am working on developing our "celtic grunge" sound more, but I use a lot of traditional songs and poems for lyrics, especially Robert Burns.

I’ve been playing pipes for a dozen or more years, and marching on top of bars for longer. My musical career started with playing the cello. The second time I met Lazlo, we were in a bagpipe shop in Seattle looking for bagpipe gear. My goal in life, my celtic quest, is to play a police officer’s convention and surf the crowd while playing bagpipes. I like spicy food and think FOM would be a hit in Karachi .

I was born playing bagpipes. The doctors thought it was unusual, but my dad was born playing bagpipes too, and so my parents weren’t surprised—not the most comfortable delivery for my mom though. I started playing piano at age 5 and violin at 7 years. I enjoy playing with FOM and SWP&D. My true love is teaching pipes and Scottish dance. My husband, Mr. D wants to surf the crowds and dance on bars, but careful girls, I’m watching from the stage.

My fiddle interests are balanced between Celtic traditional and eclectic composition, although I'm game for trying just about anything. Creativity with music partners is ranked among my all-time favorite vices, obsessions, & distractions and performing is a ton of fun.

My #1 fiddle was rescued from a fire at a school for the blind in New York City in roughly 1952 by my hubby's Granddad and restored about 1997 by luthier/bow maker friend Josh Henry.
I'm a song-writer, fiddle player, aviator, engineer, hunter, hiker, fisher(person), skiier, snowboarder, dog and horse person from Idaho who really likes bonfires on the beach with my buddies.

I’m a wanna-be garage band guy since high school, just like Lazlo. I played bass in high school, and girls in college. And in my 20s. And 30s. And…. Then I took a left turn and started playing drums (like my brother), but in a pipe and drum band. Next thing I know, I’m back to playing bass in a garage-band with bagpipes in Juneau , Alaska . My goal in life is to watch Mr. D surf the crowd playing bagpipes in a kilt.

I can’t stop buying and selling gear. Last week I played a Fender bass, but this week my main squeeze is this fretless babe, bass I mean. My amp is an Eden- Yum!

I was born in Alaska but raised in Erie, Pennsylvania along with a younger brother and two younger sisters. I would travel back to Alaska to visit family as a kid but always returned to PA. By my last visit in 1998, Juneau hooked me and I ended up moving there for good!

The first time I remember playing percussion was when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I would sit on the kitchen floor with upside down pots and pans using the lids as cymbals and wooden spoons as sticks. I guess it stuck. My great-grandfather, on my dad’s side, was a drummer too so I might have got a little of that in my genes as well. I actually play my great-grandfather's vintage early 1970’s Olympic Premier silver sparkle snare drum in my kit today. My Irish roots, from my mom’s side, is where the Celtic influence comes from.

My "official" percussion training in middle school when I joined the band. It’s been a long road of learning since then. High school is where I built most of my music foundation. I was in the marching band, concert band, jazz band, orchestra, choir, dancing show-choir and a number of "garage band" style rock groups. Today I am the drum sergeant of the Stroller White Pipes and Drums. The drummer for a local jazz trio called Julie and Jazz, and the dedicated beer and whiskey drinker for Fire on McGinnis.

For a living I run a photography business, David Sheakley Photography. I cover a wide range of photography including photojournalism, weddings, portraits, wildlife, outdoor, commercial and everything in-between. In the summer I teach photography to tourists on excursions from the cruise ships. I’m also a naturalist and guide travelers on trail hikes to hot spots for good photo opportunities. I’m a proud father of two sweet girls, Abigail and Clarabella, who keep me busy doing dad stuff. For fun I like weight lifting, exercising, golfing, mountain biking, snowboarding, photography, art, playing drums, dancing, singing, hanging with roadies, and drinking Irish beer and whiskey (not particularly in that order!). This life is too short; gotta keep it rocking!!