Off Kilter was a
Celtic rock
Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundat ...
band. Off Kilter was formed in 1997, and performed regularly at
Epcot
Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...
from their inception in 1997 through September 27, 2014. Their first album, ''Off Kilter'', included some traditional songs like "
Dirty Old Town
"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues.
History
The song was written about Salford, Lancashire, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was original ...
" and "
Fields of Athenry" as well as covers of popular rock songs generally from Canadian artists such as "
Takin' Care of Business" and "
Summer of '69
"Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian musician Bryan Adams from his fourth album, '' Reckless''. The song is about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The song was written by Adams and his longtime song ...
."
[Off Kilter Official Website]
/ref> They have also produced covers of the Battlefield Band
Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band.
The band is noted for t ...
's "The Rovin' Dies Hard". It was announced on August 28, 2014, that Off Kilter's final performance at Epcot would be September 27, 2014. They were replaced with a lumberjack-inspired show at the Canada pavilion, which was canceled November, 2015. Off Kilter announced their disbanding on December 11, 2021.
Lineup
The band consisted of Jamie Holton who is from Ormond Beach
Ormond Beach is a city in central Florida in Volusia County. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
on bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
, penny whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...
and vocals; Mark Weldon from Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on bass and vocals; Randy Holbrook from Richmond, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
on guitar and vocals; and Scott Zymowski from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on drums and vocals.
Jamie Holton: Piper, singer, co-founder of Off Kilter. Began playing bagpipes at age 11. Winner of several piping competitions. Formerly worked at Rosie O'Grady's in downtown Orlando. Began working for Disney at age 20.
Mark Weldon: Bass player, singer, and co-founder of Off Kilter. Native of Cork, Ireland. Toured with many bands in Ireland.
Scott Zymowski: Drummer. Native Floridian. Began playing for pay at age 13.
Randy Holbrook: Lead guitar. Began playing guitar at age 9. Played in "Liberty and Justice" in 1995, and at Disney's Pleasure Island in a group called "Frankie and The West End Boys".
Former member
Tony Escapa: Keyboards. Born and raised in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...
. Studied at Inter-American University and Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
in Boston. Headed his own band called "EscapeFM" which toured Europe before his work at Disney.
Discography
* ''Off Kilter'' (1998)
* ''Etched in Stone'' (2001)
* ''Celtic Armadillo'' (2003)
* ''The Live Tracks'' (2004)
* ''Kick It!'' (2005)
* ''One More Time'' (2016)
References
{{Authority control
Celtic music groups
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts entertainment
Epcot
Irish-American culture
Rock music groups from Florida