Biography

The Alaska based five-piece band, Fire on McGinnis plays a sparky mix of Celtic, Irish and American rock. The band started as an unchecked offshoot from a larger bagpipe marching band called Stoller White Pipes and Drums. In the mid 00’s, the marching band was asked to hold a public recital. Lazlo, FOM’s eventual lead guitar and lead piper was terrified at the thought of playing solo pipes in front of an audience, so he picked up an electric guitar and asked fellow members to play a few “bagpipe rock” tunes instead. Their first song pitted the high energy of the traditional pipe tune “Paddy’s Leather Breeches” to the iconic riff of The Clash’s “London Calling.” The audience loved it.
The splintered group had too much fun to stop there, so they took the name Fire on McGinnis and continued to wow audiences with their pumped up variety of traditional music around their hometown in Alaska. Martha Defreest was pulled out of the audience to jam with the band at an impromptu bar gig. With her frenzied but smooth fiddle playing style and a wealth of musical knowledge, it wasn’t long before she became the lead spark in the FOM’s engine.
Fire on McGinnis made a few early demo recordings in 2007. One of the songs, "Seacoalers" was leaked to a local radio station and became a micro hit for the band. Spurred by the reaction to "Seacoalers" Fire on McGinnis began recording what would become their first album “Fire on McGinnis” which was released in late 2010 with one track, “Foggy Dew” gaining some momentum on independent radio broadcasts. Voted best "Celtic party band" Fire on McGinnis continues to write and perform around Alaska and has been cited repeatedly for its “Live and Loud” shows that habitually attract the attention of the local authorities.