05.20.2009 --- We are excited to annouce and upcoming show. FOM will be playing at the Viking, Saturday, June 6th 10pm till close. One of our members is taking a long road trip so we expect that this will be the only show for the summer. The band has been working on some new tunes and putting a different edge on others, we hope the new venue and the new crowd at the Viking will be fun. Come join us!
02.24.2009 --- We talk, oh yes we talk about recording this or recording that but the band gathered for 2 days of recording a few weeks back and recorded 5 songs! We recorded "Foggy Dew" which is a relative newcomer to the FOM set list. We also recorded one of our crowd pleasing fiddle tunes called "Catharsis." In addition we knocked out"Heave the Line Boys." "Wild Rover" and a big pipe tune called "Korgi." We hope to record again in late March and knock out enough tunes to complete a CD project.
Check out some pictures! http://mlukey.jalbum.net/Fire_on_McGinnis_Records_Feb_2009/
Why the big delay? The truth is Fire on McGinnis has recorded many hours of material since 2005 but most of the recordings are from live shows or rehearsals. The first real attempt at recording took place in November 2006 during an Alaska-sized snowstorm under the creative direction of Albert McDonnell. The band recorded 3 songs but only "Seacoalers" (See Home Page) was deemed good enough to make public (A few bootleg copys of "Paddy's Leather Breeches" have found their way to the local radio however!).
Since 2006 the band has had some success with single-track recording (See Bells of Dunblane, Jill's Endeavor and Seaforth Lullaby on the Home page). The results are great but the process of getting us nailed down individually to record drove our recording engineer nuts! To complicate things, some members of the band found it difficult to record without the visual cues from the band. So! Our recording engineer developed a new plan. Record as a "live band" but isolate the members as much as possible to get a clear recorded signal. This is no earth-shattering idea. Studios do this all over the world. It just took FOM a while to figure out what works best for us!
In other news. We are trying to line up a St. Patty's gig. The Red Dogg expressed interest but has not committed, Keep your eye this website for new intel!
-The Staff
02.02.2009 --- Sorry folks. The spammer spiders found our Forum. So instead of checking in with the band our fans got treated to porn and sex enhancing drug commericals. We had to let it go.. Our webmaster is going to look into other options.
01.20.2009 --- In celebration of Robert Burn's 250th birthday, Fire on McGinnis, Strollerwhite Pipes & Drums and Juneau Arts and Culture Center is holding a Celtic Festival at the JACC (The old Armory) building the night of January 23rd. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m.
All acts have confirmed. Here's what we have lined up:
7:30 Performance by Stroller White Pipes and Drums
7:45 Contra dance with Blessing in Disguise - Tom Paul, caller
8:45 Scottish Highland Dancers
9:00 Robert Burns 250th birthday toast
9:15 Michael and Carraig New, Great Highland Bagpipes
9:30 Tramwreck, a little taste of Juneau bluegrass
10:15 Henry Hopkins, Chris Behnke and Andy Ferguson
10:30 Fire on McGinnis, Celtic RockVendors: Brian Lupro, Celtic Airbrush Tattoos, Hanger on the Wharf
Admission - only 5 bucks!
Why the big hubbub? Well, every other year Strollerwhite Pipes and Drums holds the traditional Burns Night celebration at Centennial hall. 2009 is an "off" year but members of SWP&D and Fire on McGinnis thought it was important to recognize what would have been Robert Burn's 250th birthday. This will be a smaller event but more rocking! Come join us!
-The Staff
12.19.2008 --- Happy holidays everyone! We had hoped to pull off a show at the Island Pub for Christmas but busy schedules didn't allow for it. Lazlo, Martha and Dave have been asked to help with the annual Christmas program at Northern Light United Church in downtown Juneau. They will perform "Canon Rock" with members of the choral group.
What's cooking? Two things really. The band is back to holding regular rehearsals. Brushing up some old tunes and working on new ones. The big thing is we are planning a celebration for Robert Burns night. The idea is to rent JACC (the old Armory) and invite other performers to play. We hope to have some highland dancing, food and beer and whiskey garden. Right now this is planned for January 31. We think it will be a blast. Put it on your mental calendar. Check back here for updates. -The Staff
11.11.2008 --- New Message board launched. We thought it would be fun to have a way for our fans to contact the band and exchange information. We realize forums are a little tricky but don't worry - we are learning too!
Other news: After taking the summer and most of the fall away from the Fire on McGinnis project we are excited to get started again and have begun regular rehearsals. Why the big break? Most of the band is actively involved with the Stroller White Pipes and Drum marching band. The focus this summer was to compete at various bagpipe competitions in Canada and Alaska. The marching band did well and we had a blast!
CD: We had hoped to a CD completed by Christmas but have run into technical difficulties. We are half way there however! Our engineer/ producer has sent 5 songs to the David Locke studios for mastering. Soon after the songs will be listed on various music websites for download.
Other news: Fire on McGinnis has been invited to play at the Atlin Arts and Music festival in Atlin next July. It' s not offiicial yet but we are excited at the possibility of joining our friends in Canada for good times and music!
Show: We have been asked to perform at the Island Pub around the Christmas holiday. The date is not solid yet but we will keep you posted.-Cheers! -F.O.M.
08.12.2008 --- Finally, A new FOM website is launched. Our webmaster decided that good ol' version ll did well but it was tired. The new site features the ability to play a few tunes right from the home page. Saves on the clicking around...
The band is taking a little hiatus from rock shows to focus on Stroller White Pipes and Drums. Every year the marching band competes in competitions in the US and Canada. Despite the marching around we are working on some new tunes and giving a final polish to some older ones. Check back here for shows, new web features and band updates! -FOM
08.12.2008 --- Finally, A new FOM website is launched. Our webmaster decided that good ol' version ll did well but it was tired. The new site features the ability to play a few tunes right from the home page. Saves on the clicking around...
The band is taking a little hiatus from rock shows to focus on Stroller White Pipes and Drums. Every year the marching band competes in competitions in the US and Canada. Despite the marching around we are working on some new tunes and giving a final polish to some older ones. Check back here for shows, new web features and band updates! -FOM
05.11.2008 --- Fire on McGinnis is pleased to annouce 2 upcoming shows on May 24th and July 4th. Both shows will be at our favorite venue, the Island Pub in Douglas. Hopefully the July 4th show will be outside! The band has been busy working out the bugs on some old tunes and learning some new ones. Recording is somewhat "glacial" but we are making baby steps. Getting multiple people with multiple personalities and multiple jobs together for a single studio session is a little difficult!
We've enjoyed all the shows and all the people but our soundguy hasn't been too thrilled about the venues, that's why we are excited to get back to the Island Pub where the FOM sound is the best!
We are excited that "Seacoalers" is getting regular airtime on the radio. Look for the tune on KXLL "Excellent Radio" in Juneau, Alaska.
Thanks for tuning in. See you at the Island Pub!
02.06.2008 --- Taking a quick breather now after 3 weekends and 3 shows. The glacier show was by far the nicest setting the band has played in, right in front of the large windows that overlooked the Mendenhall Glacier and the mountain we named the band after (Mt McGinnis). Juneau had one of the winters biggest snowstorms the day before so we would like to thank the folks that braved the snow and the cold to come see us.
FOM has talked about doing an "outside" show (outside for us meaning outside of Alaska) for some time. Our chance is upon us as we have an offer to perform in New York City for St. Patrick's Day. Stay tuned. Meanwhile we continue to plug away at recording. "Jill's Endeavor" is nearly complete. "Jill's" is a traditional tune we have been playing since the start. The other song, "Seaforth Lullaby" is more of a solemn FOM tune. So solemn in fact that Lazlo usually plays it at funerals. It's rarely played at a show and wasn't even on the plate for the CD until our Sound guy begged us to record it.
Cheers!
01.21.2008 --- Lot of things on the FOM plate lately as we are busy holding regular rehearsals, recording (a very slow process!) and playing live shows. Speaking of shows, the show at the Island Pub (Jan 12th) was awesome. The crowd response to the new tunes was better than expected. Lukey thought the floor was going to cave in! Lazlo, the stage techno king, introduced his new gadget - a looper with various quotes and musical loops. One particular loop meant that it was time to toast somebody. We had lots of fun with it.
Burn's Night was held the following weekend at Centennial Hall. This event is held every year but every other year is the "big one" meaning full on highland dancing, contra dancing, special bagpipe performances by Stroller White Pipes and Drums, Special guests, Whiskey tasting and of course Haggis! FOM was invited to play two short sets and was happy to do it. We want to thank all the fans that danced until the bitter end.
Our next show is at the Glacier Visitors Center. There's some confusion about what the event is but it looks like it's an open house with lots of events (Music, Dancing, storytelling etc.). FOM hits the stage at 3 p.m. We are a little concerned about the crowd running away scared so please come cheer us on!
Though not confirmed, FOM may be playing at Eaglecrest on March 9th for the UAS winter jamfest. Cheers! -FOM
11.28.2007 --- New website launched!
The old website served us well but the band decided it was time for a fresher look. Fortunately for us our "inch high and a mile wide" sound guy and #1 music critic-Lukey decided to take on the task after breaking his leg dancing at the 4th of July show. We've added some new features like a picture gallery, better music interface, a band and individual bios, links and a mailing list. In the future we hope to add other features like a blog, guestbook, archive videos, better music selection etc. Stay tuned...
