Several beers succumbed to an errant beach ball that was pounded around the bar
at a recent Fire on McGinnis show. “You never know what’s going to happen at a FOM show” said Lazlo, the band’s guitarist. “We can count on plenty of beer and whiskey flying around... anything else, well; we've had a few surprises."

Fire on McGinnis plays a mix of traditional Celtic and Irish music pumped up a notch with many twists and turns along the way. “If you are looking for Enya you are at the wrong place--but we do play a few introspective tunes,” said the drummer, Dave Sheakley. In addition to Sheakley the band features Lazlo on guitar, Mr. D. on bagpipes and vocals, Laurie G. on bagpipes, James Bibb on bass, Martha Defreest on fiddle, guitar and vocals, and Mark Lukey on sound.

Fire on McGinnis began as an offshoot of Juneau Alaska’s Stroller White Pipes and
Drums bagpipe marching band. In 2004, a friend invited the marching band to hold a public recital at a local church. Lazlo, terrified at the thought of playing solo bagpipes in front of an audience, picked up an electric guitar and asked other members and friends to perform a few “bagpipe rock” tunes. “The show was both a success and a disaster,” Lazlo recalls. “We found that traditional pipe tunes sound great with a rock beat but we also discovered that bagpipes and old church organs don’t mix!”

The original band lineup consisted of Lazlo on guitar, Dave Sheakley on drums, Mr. D. and Laurie G. on bagpipes and Dayna Robertson on vocals. The band took the name Fire on McGinnis and played small shows and open mic nights around Juneau. “We had fun, but we were just a prototype band really. Lazlo said. You can’t have a Celtic rock band without a bass and fiddle player.”

At a bagpipe competition in Anchorage, word got out that one of the Stroller White Pipes and Drum players also played bass. James Bibb was asked to join the band even though his bass chops were a little rusty. “I played a lot of bass when I was a kid but it had gone by the wayside. It took a serious music project to really get me playing again,” he said.

Martha Defreest was pulled out of the audience to jam with the band at a birthday party. Shortly after, she was installed as the band’s fiddle player. Martha’s background and energy for traditional music brought a lot of new material to FOM’s set list and she soon became one of the creative forces in the band. “Typically Lazlo or I will introduce a song but everybody puts their creative juices into it. The band makes the magic happen but the true test is the sound guy. If Lukey’s foot isn’t tapping then we know it needs a twist or dump it,” Martha said.

Mark Lukey was asked to help as the band got serious about live performances. At the time Mark’s background was recording, so keeping one step ahead of the magnitude of Fire on McGinnis sound drew a complex set of solutions.  “I laugh when I think of the early rehearsals” Mark recalls. We fought horrible audio feedback and blamed everyone but the dog for those monsters!"

  The band made some equipment changes to combat feedback while other changes were made to dial in the sound they wanted. In early 2006 Dayna Robertson left the band to pursue a business opportunity. To fill the gap, Martha and Mr. D. added vocals to the long list of musical duties. “With two singers singing separately or together the dynamic of the band changed completely. Each show is different from the last. And it’s always fun to see what will happen. Sometimes we bring in highland dancers to dance a few songs. Other times the rest of Stroller White Pipes and Drums will join in for a few tunes. Last spring a group of contra dancers showed up. The leader of that group showed other audience members how to do the steps outside, and then brought them back into the bar to dance.  It was totally spontaneous, and everyone loved it!” Lazlo said.  The band expects craziness on the dance floor but is surprised at the wallflowers that stay for the entire show. “I guess that speaks to the “show” aspect of our performance,” Lazlo said. “We try to present the music in an interesting way and people want to see what’s next.”

-Brian Davies, The Source

 

 

-Brian Davies for The Source