Mana Kintorso gains following with catchy St. Patrick’s Day tune
By Jim Hagerty / Staff Writer for Rock River Times
While there are a lot of songs that celebrate Christmas, birthdays—even Halloween—works centered on the activities of St. Patrick’s Day are somewhat limited to Irish folk ditties and standards. A Rockford band has set out to change all that.
Indie band Mana Kintorso may have a holiday viral hit on their hands with the St. Patrick’s Day tune, “Pot o’Gold.” The song was released last year on the band’s five-song EP.
Guitarist Brent Shelton said the song, like the band, is amassing a sizable following locally and through music download sites. While spring-boarding onto the national scene can be challenging, Shelton says it doesn’t hurt to have a catchy song to drive the force.
“You never know now in the digital world,” Shelton said, “if someone grabs a hold of a song like ‘Pot o’ Gold,’ who knows. The DJs just eat it up. It’s funny.”
While “Pot o’ Gold” is, in fact, funny, it certainly doesn’t lack musicianship and creative arrangement. Written by Shelton and band co-founder Damion Davis, “Pot o’ Gold” embodies the Americanized version of St. Patrick’s Day. And with the holiday less than a month away, March 17 will likely include Mana Kintorso leading a green brigade of hoopla.
The self-title EP is the brainchild of Shelton and Davis, who played as an acoustic duo for two years. Picking from a sizable pool of originals, the guitarists recruited some players, and a CD—and full band—was born.
“When we went to record, a few of our friends helped us,” Shelton said. “A few of them stuck with it. We went from a two-man acoustic act to a band just by going into the studio.”
Rockford fans are glad for that. Mana Kintorso is playing throughout the area, drawing well and getting crowds interested in their catchy originals. In addition to “Pot o’Gold,” the EP’s other tunes are just as catchy with an erudite blend of pop and rock and roll.
