Progressive rock group led by Keith Amtmann (guitar, vocals ex-Wildfire…), and John Cochran (bass, keyboards, guitars, bass ex-Down n’ Dirty, Good God, Expressway…). With additional musicians: Chris Cullen (lead guitar ex-Polarity, Down ‘n’ Dirty, Good God), Rob Sturla (drums, percussion ex-Rare Dog), Nelson ‘Rock’ Johnson (drums), Al Dahlstrom (sax ex-too many bands to mention!), Chickie Ayd (bass, vocals -Wooden Steele), Nick Celinese (drums -Bag of Humans).
“Borrowing their name from the structurally unsound roller coaster at OC’s Jolly Roger amusement park that had a nasty penchant for derailment and thus hurling (or stranding) its passengers, Wild Mouse looked to achieve a similar, albeit safer, visceral effects through a constantly shifting, often sharply contrasting ride through the neo-classic rock smorgasbord.”
“The seeds of Wild Mouse were sown in the summer of 1988 when Amtmann and Cochran, who worked the dock of the North Plaza K-Mart during that period, realized they had certain musical proclivities and goals in common. The duo began writing songs at a feverish pace, by far outstripping their ability for performing and/or recording any more than a meager fraction of them at any time. Completely self-instructed and intuitive, Amtmann emerged as the creative wellspring, with a majority of the actual lyrics and licks originating from his pen. As a foil, Cochran, who had trained at Peabody Conservatory and had a solid background in music theory, orchestration and studio production, was invaluable in rounding out the raw ideas and making the project fly.”
“Performing at open mike nights and private occasions to hone their sound and chops, their live appearances displayed a whimsical tomfoolery which would appear to be antipodal to the sternly serious vibe of their recorded output. Wild Mouse stood apart from their mid-90s Neo-Retro revivalist brethren by refusing to embrace merely a single style; virtually every track on their eponymously titled CD differs radically from one to the next, but remains cohesive by way of an attitude that encapsulates everything loose, mellow and slightly decadent regarding the ‘70s.”
“As would seem inevitable, success came with numerous personal trifles and wracked the band. By the early ‘00s, Wild Mouse found itself on a prolonged but necessary furlough. In May of ’04, the duo of Amtmann/Cochran, (along with Bag of Humans drummer Nicholas Celinese) performed, with John Waters looking on, at the Shamrock Inn as Bee Mania. Their nefarious past difficulties now in their rear-views, the future appears ripe for Wild Mouse to pick up where they left off and begin forging their unique and eclectic brand of neo-classic rock once again.”
Wild Mouse bio courtesy of John Cochran.
Wild Mouse produced a full-length demo CD. Their tracks “Invocation,” and “Fly” were included on the comp Best of Baltimore’s Buried Vol. 2 (OHO Music 053
