The Mighty McGuiggans
Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012
Music
Press
“A Mighty McGuiggans show is a fine escape indeed... a near-constant ride for both band and audience.”
- Darren Hunt, Whatzup (Feb 26, 2015) - Whatzup
Mighty McGuiggans Fort Wayne, Indiana combine lively Irish fun with original compositions and some well trod covers.
Gritty, real and beautiful, like a single malt scotch or a fine stout. Raucous drinking songs, beautiful ballads, hilarious songs that tell a story and some pirate tunes to boot!
We were delighted to hear from American Irish Celtic-Punk band The Mighty McGuiggans in the run up to St. Patrick’s Day. They had a new release coming out and thought we would like to review it? Well we never say no so checked through the internet and soon found a whole host of live clips from several recent live shows that fair blew our socks off. With a live set that brings in some classic Celtic-Punk from scene favourites Flogging Molly, The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, etc. alongside their own material they have seen their popularity grow at home and now hopefully with their debut EP fans will arrive from further afield. So with St. Patrick’s Day 2023 now just a drunken haze its time to look forward to next years… and remember next year it’s a Saturday!
While it was London Irish psycho-ceilidh rockers Neck who said that “every day is St. Patrick’s day” The Mighty McGuiggans proclaim “Every Day Is Almost St. Paddy’s Day!” with us all having something just around the corner to look forward to! At the centre of The Mighty McGuiggans’ sound is songwriter, and possibly the only Celtic-Punk frontman to play ukulele, Mark Turney. He has led the band for over a decade and instrumental in evolving the bands sound from acoustic-based Irish Folk to a full-blown electric Celtic-Rock band. He has been accompanied since the earliest days by multi-instrumentalist Tommy Myers, Jesse Evans who plays assorted wind instruments adding much of the ‘Irishness’ with his knowledge of reels and jigs, John DeGroff on bass, David Coleman on drums and guitarist and singer Shawn Browning, as Mark so eloquently puts it, “Shawn adds the balls to the band.”
The EP opens with ‘Boys Have Gone The Knuckle’ with samples from the likes of JFK, the war-monger George Bush, the class clown Don Lemon among radio ads and static the song erupts into fast, catchy Irish Folk-Rock. Almost entirely acoustic its great fun altogether with a sound that reminds me a little of Swedes Finnegan’s Hell. Next up the fellas ‘pirate’ it up with ‘Pass Around The Rum’ not so fast but just as catchy and a nice touch with the ‘Swallowtail Jig’ in the middle.
The first song to be released from the EP was the triumphant ‘The Day I Beat McKluskey’ back at the end of January. A raucous Irish romp telling the tale of a bully getting their just deserts with a real funny twist at the ends that made me howl with laughter. A catchy as hell chorus that by the end of the first time you hear it you’re singing along with!
“It’s a drop of the pure for courage, & it’s Sláinte one & all!
I hit the bully on the nose, & made the bully fall.
The day I beat McKluskey, I could hold me head up high;
It’s a day that I’ll remember well until the day I die.”
Among all the mad as hell Celtic-Punk I hear I love a ballad. To be a world class Celtic-Punk band you need to be able to crank out a decent ballad (and also give it some trad. Irish too) and ‘Devil’s Drink’ is a wonderful song with a touch of darkness like a really good pint of Stout. The EP ends with the EP’s title song ‘Every Day Is Almost St. Patrick’s Day’ another belter of a song that ends the release with a smile.
“Every day is almost St. Paddy’s Day;
It’s really not so far away,
So let’s raise a pint, and keep sorrow at bay!
Every day is almost St. Paddy’s Day!”
The Mighty McGuiggans are a fantastic addition to the American Celtic-Punk scene with everything that makes the scene over there so good. A mix of story telling and uplifting good time music to leave your sorrows at home and simply have a great time. This EP concentrates on their fun side and their is absolutely nothing wrong with that. - London Celtic Punks
Discography
Every Day Is Almost St Paddy's Day (2023)
Photos
Bio
The Mighty McGuiggans Bio
Why do people love Irish rock? It's gritty and real. And yet, in the midst of its rigorousness lies a simplistic honesty. Lyrically, Irish music can simultaneously be witty and snarky; funny and somber; morose and hopeful. Irish music honors every facet of life. In a nutshell, Irish music is enchanting, like a single malt scotch, a fine stout, or the refreshing sting of a cold, dewy November morning on the rolling hills of a far-off countryside. But it’s also as brazen and spirited as a seedy, neon-lit borough in any brash metropolis. Let’s face it; a good Irish band is just tons of fun.
Enter The Mighty McGuiggans, Fort
Wayne, Indiana’s most accomplished Irish band. The music is predominantly rowdy
rock & roll tinged with traditional instrumentation. The band effortlessly blends
steel-chiseled rhythms, raucous melodies, and a colossal slathering of humor to
deliver lively Irish merriment from sea to shining sea. The Mighty McGuiggans
deliver their rambunctious pub songs, sing-along sea shanties, and even an endearing
ballad or two to pubs, bars, all-age venues, large tent stages, and St. Paddy’s
Day blowout celebrations. You might even catch the band delivering a
“McGuiggan-ized” cover of a well-chosen popular song!
At the core of The Mighty McGuiggans’ sound is principal songwriter and
visionary Mark Turney. Over the last three decades, Turney has written and
performed everything from avante garde alternative to world music to early hot
jazz. Mark has been fronting the band for a decade, honing the band’s evolving
sound from an acoustic-based Irish folk band to a full-blown electric rock band
with muscle and teeth while still retaining the comedic element and captivating
storytelling. It’s noteworthy that Turney insists that The Mighty McGuiggans
are the only Irish band to feature a ukulele. The rest of the band suspects the
reason is that all of the ukulele players in Ireland were beaten up!
Multi-instrumentalist Tommy Myers is a well-studied jazz student and former
Broadway pit musician who has been with Turney from the band’s inception. Tommy
sings backing vocals and plays several instruments, not limited to, but
including accordion, mandolin, and whistles.
Speaking of whistles, highly trained orchestra conductor and performer, Jesse Evans is the resident commander of the “Beefy Tin Whistle” and other assorted wind instruments. He adds much of the “Irishness” to the band with his skill and knowledge of the reels and jigs that pepper The McGuiggans’ music.
John DeGroff, an accomplished progressive rock bassist, provides the foundational bottom end for the band. It’s notable that DeGroff was a founding member of the legendary band Petra in the early 70’s.
David Coleman is the “new kid” on drums. He’s new to the band, but not new to his chosen instrument. Dave’s experience brings a level of musicality to The McGuiggans that is often not considered by most drummers.
Guitarist and singer Shawn Browning rounds out the McGuiggans’ line up through his caterwaulin’ and thumpin’ the strumbox. Browning has been a staple in the Fort Wayne music scene for 40 years and as vocalist Mark Turney so eloquently puts it, “Shawn adds the balls to the band.”
The Mighty McGuiggans deliver a full
night of rowdy fun in the vein of bands such as Flogging Molly, The Pogues,
Dropkick Murphys, and Great Big Sea. One thing is for certain, The Mighty
McGuiggans will leave you with aching facial and stomach muscles from smiling
and laughing. That’s why people love Irish music.
But Irish music isn’t just for March 17th. Oh no, lads and lassies...Every
Day is Almost St. Paddy's Day!
Band Members
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