O'Malley's March

O'Malley's March
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland Washington D.C.
Genres	Irish Rock, Folk Rock
Years active	1988–present
Labels	none
Members	Martin O'Malley Jared Denhard Jamie Wilson Jim Eagan Ralph Reinoldi Sean McComiskey Pete Miller
Past members	Danny Costello
Website	www.facebook.com/pages/OMalleys-March

O'Malley's March is an American Celtic Music and Folk rock band based in Baltimore, Maryland.

The group is well known for former Governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley being the founder, namesake, and lead singer.

History

While attending Gonzaga High School in Washington D.C. in 1979, O'Malley and his football coach Danny Costello formed a band known as The Shannon Tide. With the Shannon Tide O'Malley and Costello played numerous shows around the D.C. and Delaware areas, focusing on Irish, Celtic, and Folk rock.

After graduation, O'Malley went solo. Playing shows without the former title of Shannon Tide in 1985.

O'Malley's March was formally founded in 1988 and has maintained a constant presence ever since. The band is based in Baltimore, Maryland with the members living in the surrounding areas.

Members

O'Malley's March is currently made up of seven members from across the state of Maryland.

Martin O'Malley

O'Malley founded the band formally in 1988.

O'Malley, the former Governor of Maryland (2007-2015) has taken his band on the road to campaign events. O'Malley has said he grew up surrounded by Irish music, and that inspired him to focus on this sort of music. O'Malley is fond of playing Folk tunes as well, such as including renditions of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," the parlor song "Hard Times Come Again No More," The Pogues' "Body of an American," and Passenger's "Scare Away The Dark.

Jared Denhard

Celtic harper, storyteller, highland piper and trombonist. Currently a member of the Celtic rock band O’Malley’s March, the medieval jazz group Keltia, and the early music ensemble Boar’s Head Consort. He is a visiting artist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Arts Excel educational outreach program.

A popular performer at Celtic, classical, and jazz events in the Mid-Atlantic region. Jared has performed as soloist on the highland bagpipes with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Municipal Band, and the Lexington Brass Quintet.

Jared is also an active composer whose works have been performed and recorded by the United States Air Force Band, The Kinetics Dance Theatre,the London Portable Harp Company and the Annapolis Brass Quintet.

Jared is a 1989 graduate of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. He and his wife Heather live in Columbia, Maryland, with their seven children.

Jamie Wilson

Wilson moved to Baltimore in 1972 from Portsmouth, Virginia to attend the Maryland Institute-College of Art receiving a BFA degree in 1977. He has played a wide variety of music in the Baltimore / Washington area for over thirty two years, R&B, soul, traditional American, Punk and Irish.

In the late 60's and early 70's, Jamie was playing gigs like New York city's famous C.B.G.B Club. In the 80's he played with the Trutones who opened for Charlie Musslewhite, Tinsley Ellis and Koko Taylor among some of their great openers - mid 90's with Smash-the-Windows, a large Irish group formed by Martin O'Malley; to late 90's ,The Shannon Tide which featured fiddler Robin Bullock of Helicon fame.

Jim Eagan

A lifelong resident of Northeast Baltimore, Jim learned to play the violin through the “ Talent Education Center” a Baltimore City sponsored Suzuki music program. At about the same time, he started learning “Irish Step Dancing” from Kevin Broesler, a New York based Step Dancer. He danced from age six through fifteen. These years of dancing led to his love and appreciation of Irish music. He was fortunate to meet the virtuoso Irish fiddler Brendan Mulvihill and subsequently studied Irish fiddle from him for several years.

At the Waldorf School of Baltimore, where music and dance was fostered, especially by the presence and influence of Paul Levin, Jim continued to develop his skills. He continued his musical studies at the Baltimore School for the Arts graduating in 1998. He went on to Loyola College in Maryland and received a Bachelors Degree in Sociology, in the “Class of 2002”.

Jim has traveled and played in Ireland where he took third place in the “All Ireland” music competition in 1996.

He has played at numerous Irish festivals (cèilidhs) and is a regular in sessions at Baltimore's J. Patrick’s Pub where he also plays in the band Custom House. For the past seven years he has been on the music staff of “Irish Week” at the Augusta Heritage Center, Davis and Elkins College. Jim toured with the “John Whelan Band” for the past four years, traveling throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and especially in Ireland. He has recorded with John Whelan on two CD’s, “Come to Dance” and “Celtic Fire”.

Jim’s love of Irish music has led him to pass along to others the tradition of the Irish fiddle. He teaches the techniques and styles of the Irish fiddling to both young and old, from beginners to accomplished violinists.

Ralph Reinoldi

A veteran of numerous Baltimore area rock/pop bands, playing music ranging from original art rock through covers of soul, disco, and crossover pop to biker bar rock, blues, country rock, and rockabilly. On the local folk scene, he is currently playing bass, mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar in the acoustic-rock band Dharma Bums, and has been filling in occasionally on guitar for the Dilettantes. First appearing with O'Malleys March as a guest musician to give a more rock sound to the band - ala Shane MacGowan and the Saw Doctors - Ralph has developed into a full-time member.

Though not directly involved in playing Irish music in the past, he has had previous exposure to the genre while playing with Dan Cummins, Bob Smith (currently of Custom House and Banjos From Hell), and Bill Phelan (currently of TARA) before they evolved into the Irish pub group Rye Whiskey.

Since joining the March, Ralph has immersed himself in Celtic music, both traditional and rock. His taste ranges from O'Carolan through Planxty to MacGowan. On the local scene he likes the Cadence Committee, jazz guitarist Carl Filipiak, and acoustic guitarist Mac Walter. He hopes to expand his skills into the traditional music realm by sitting in on octave mandolin and bouzouki with the local group TARA.

Sean McComiskey

As the son of the great Button Accordion player, Billy McComiskey, Sean has been surrounded by the sounds of Irish music, especially Irish accordion music, his entire life. Before picking up "the box," Sean tried various other instruments, including the piano and the fiddle, but none of which seemed to fit him. It wasn't until the summer of 1998 when he learned his first tune on the button accordion. Since then he's been hooked.

Sean has performed at a variety of concerts and festivals - the Washington Irish Festival, the Kennedy Center Millennium stage, and the White House St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Sean graduated from Calvert Hall College High School, with honors, in June 2002, and is a graduate of Towson University. He is regular at J. Patrick's Pub, in Locust Point. Sean can also be seen in and around Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis performing at céilís and sesiúns and with O'Malley's March.

Pete Miller

He has played bass professionally since he was 13. His roots are based on contemporary forms of jazz, complimented by musical theatre, big band swing, soul, rhythm and blues, and many forms of rock. Pete began playing Irish music in the early '90's as a member of Shannon Tide.

Miller also performs with the Eastport Oyster Boys' Back Creek Band - playing original compositions based on local maritime experiences; and with the Spa Creek Jazz Band - a sextet of talented jazz musicians from the Annapolis and surrounding Anne Arundel County areas.

He is also a registered architect, graduate of the University of Maryland School of Architecture, working as vice-president of an Annapolis based design firm.

See also

• We Shall Overcome, a 1987 folk album recorded by fellow 2016 Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders