The McMontos – history

2000 :
In November Daniel Fraser and Johannes Single got to know each other at a gig together with both bands 'the banned' and 'manic depressions' in which they played at that time.

2001 :
They played the first sessions together. During the year the thought of forming a folkband came through...

2002 :
In January they formed a band called 'the mcmontos'. That name is a allusion to the Dublin area 'the Monto', which was one of the greatest red-light districts in Europe in the 19th century. First gig on St. Patricks Day 2002 at the 'Keltik Krok Irish Pub' in Kirchheim/Teck, followed by gigs at Cheers, Nuertingen, O'Reilly's Stuttgart and the Waescherschloss in Waeschenbeuren, together with Chris and Holger of the befriended folkband 'Chrinaho'. But in July, Daniel decided to go back to England and left the group. Together with Gert Balbach, Joe went on with 'the mcmontos'. In that time the first recordings were generated...

2003 :
In march there were new musicians on board, Attila on guitar and Eve on accordion. The group worked on new songs and new arrangements. In July Gine Mueller, playing flute, became a member of the band. In case of much work on new material, the band played only eleven gigs during the year.

2004 :
There were many personal changes in the first half of 2004. After only half a year, Gine left the band in January in cause of private misunderstandings. After the first national gigs, Attila decided to go a different way in May, due to musical differences. For a short time they went on as a Trio with Joe, Gert and Eve. With this Line-Up 'the mcmontos' started the recordings for their first album 'unreal'. During the recordings Georg joined in September, playing the fiddle. This line-up (Joe, Gert, Eve, Georg))was the first constant line-up without changes for one year.

2005 :
Due to Georgs joining, the recordings were delayed and in may 'unreal' was finished and finally published on July 7th. In August they did a few gigs, playing amongst others at the Europafest in Haslach and at the legendary 'Umsont & Draussen' in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. After All 'unreal' was presented in the Kulturpalast of the 'Freies Radio Stuttgart'. At that time, Eve left the band and 'the mcmontos' went on as a trio.

2006 :
Chris Simper, tin whistle and vocals, joined in February and 'the mcmontos' played more and more gigs. In march the group had the idea of making live-recordings for a new album and that was the signal of 'tales of a glumsy goblin'. During summer the group played on huge stages like the 'Hessenfolkfestival', the 'Harlekinade' and the 'Altburgfestival'together with groups like 'Currach', 'Broom Bezzums', 'Cromdale', 'Paddy Schmidt' and 'cobblestones'.

2007 :
In January 'the mcmontos' tried to shape their music with a bodràn, played by Peter Karas. In February the recordings for 'tales of a clumsy goblin' were finished and the group did the first gig abroad in Sitzerland, playing the Irish Festival in Jona, together with Kesh and Joe McHugh. On May 5th they published second album 'tales of a clumsy goblin'. It got great respone, e.g. from the Celtic Music Magazine in Austin/Texas :'The McMontos are like to keep the traditional sounds of Irish and Scottish folk music alive. However, with an added drop of modern rock, their sound becomes unique. In fact, their songs make excellent pub and drinking songs. This band has a ton of energy and lends it to each of the tunes they perform.'

In June the group broke up with Peter.

During the rest of the year 'the mcmontos' went on touring. On December 1st they played the last gig before a break to concentrate on new material.

Die McMontos-Begründer Joe und Fraser