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Just as watery mist remakes the world and whisky remakes the man, Angus Mohr revitalizes traditional Celtic music’s brogue with an American blues accent while rejuvenating rock ’n roll’s broad spectrum with bagpipes and pennywhistles. No one is ever going to mistake Angus Mohr for a cover band. Sure, they play songs like “Foggy Dew,” the 1916 Easter Rising ballad, and “Whisky in the Jar,” a sixteenth century tale of love and betrayal, and their set list is peppered with songs penned by Dylan, Pink Floyd, Johnny Cash, and the Ramones. But you’ve never heard “Ring of Fire” or “I Wanna Be Sedated” until you’ve heard it with the pipes’ spiraling keen.
Angus Mohr’s piper, Matthew McDaniel, plays penny-whistles, guitar, and keyboards–sometimes all in a single song. He also shares lead vocals with bassist and frontman Paul McDaniel. Drummer Steve Mossholder takes a turn at the mic as well, lending his tawdry rasp to “Drunken Sailor” and Flogging Molly’s “Devil’s Dance Floor.” Mark “Byrd” Tester says little, but wields his guitar with precision and grace.
These four men in kilts prove that you don’t have to wear saggy pants or skinny jeans to join the musical revolution. Welded together not by genre, but by a philosophy that embraces resistance to oppression and the fight for freedom, Angus Mohr crosses musical boundaries to pull in a diverse audience where fans steeped in blue collar classic rock, hippies old and young, grown-up metal heads, and the occasional post-industrial punk, dance to timeless music about timeless ideas. Music that is, like mist and whisky, the water of life.
“Buckle your kilt,
Sharpen your dirk,
Fill your flask,
And get ready to rock
With Angus Mohr”
“Angus Mohr, a Denver-based four piece, featured a hard-rock sound focused around traditional Celtic rhythms and pipes. They seemed to channel as much Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden as Scottish-Irish chants, and the audiences loved it.”
Billie Thieme - Denver Post Reverb
“A tossed salad of punk, Celtic and rock influences, the music doesn't sit neatly in one genre, but picks and chooses what it likes from each. Add to that the Highland backbone and you have a recipe for flavorful music that won't allow you to walk away without experiencing it.”
Catherine L. Tully - Celtic MP3s Music Magazine
“Angus Mohr is quite popular all along Colorado's front range, with their energetic and electric interpretations of Highland music... And it's not often you see a rock band wearing kilts. Next time you get a chance to see Angus Mohr, take it.”
Michael Thompson - Examiner - Denver
“Angus Mohr creates an emotionally charged performance, blending Celtic music with rock, playing original and traditional songs. But there’s nothing traditional about Angus Mohr.”
Janice Mason - Estes Park Trail Gazette
“Hooray! Highland rock and roll, done very well! This is an album you explore, not just listen to.”
Catherine L. Tully - Celtic MP3s Music Magazine
