Switchback

Artist Information

Biography

For over two decades, Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack, known as Switchback, have entertained crowds with their unique American Roots ~ Celtic Soul blend of music. Brian and Martin play an exciting mix of mandolin, guitar, and bass. Their harmonies have won them comparisons to famous duos, such as the Louvin Brothers, the Everly Brothers, and Simon and Garfunkel. Music Connection Magazine said of Switchback: "The words ‘American Roots & Celtic Soul’ only begin to describe this unusual act, whose vocal prowess is as pure as it is unique...there is no denying the stunning vocal blends that are achieved by this duo."

None other than the Grammy Award-winning producer Lloyd Maines chose to work with Switchback in producing three of their albums and considers the duo one of the most important acts playing Americana music today. Their latest collaboration has resulted in Switchback’s 13th album "Kanoka.” With the soaring pedal steel of Maines along with the boxcar-hopping harmonica of Chicago's own Howard Levy, Switchback has created a musical journey that will make every Midwesterner proud of the heartland and every non-Midwesterner longing for it.

The ability to write songs that touch the soul, and to convey those songs in a manner that brings the most diverse audience together, are what set Switchback apart from other performers. FitzGerald and McCormack are more than entertainers; they are more than songwriters. Joseph Woodruff, director for the Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua, WI, sums it up best: "Marty and Brian established a connection with the audience better than anyone else we've had play here. They have such a personable delivery that makes the crowd feel like they are playing to them individually."

In 2013, Switchback continues to make strides in the music world. Their television specials “The Americana Sessions” and “The Celtic Sessions” have aired on PBS stations around the U.S. The band has also been working with Paul Mertens (who arranged the music for “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin”) on orchestral scores for “Kanoka: A Postcard from the Heartland” and “Bolinree: A Celtic Journey” suitable for a 50-chair orchestra.

On top of their usual tour schedule, Switchback regularly presents outreach programs for schools, community events, senior citizen groups, and special needs audiences. They offer outreach programs on Celtic music, songwriting, and music appreciation as well as music residencies.

Unusual, honest, heartfelt, humorous, personable, talented, spiritual, and spirited – these all describe the band Switchback.

Recognition, Memberships, and Awards

Irish Music Association: Top Duo in a Pub, Festival or Concert (US, IRE, EU, UK) 2008
Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster
Illinois Arts Council Artist in Education
Iowa Arts Council Performing Artist roster
North American Folk Alliance Member
Americana Music Association Member
ASCAP-Plus Awards Recipient 2005-Present

Instrumentation

Brian Fitzgerald - Vocals, Guitar, mandolin
Martin McCormack - Vocals, Bass Guitar

Discography

Kanoka - 2013
Ghosts of the River Folk – 2010
Celtic Sessions Vol. 1 (DVD) 2008
Celtic Sessions Vol. 2 (DVD) 2008
Americana Sessions Vol. 1 (DVD) 2007
Americana Sessions Vol. 2 (DVD) 2007
Falling Water River – 2006
A Very Switchback Christmas – 2005
Bolinree – 2005
10th Anniversary Collection – 2003
The Fire That Burns – 2002
Nancy Whiskey – 2001
Dar's Place – 1998
Good Church - 1997
Seven Rowdy Irish Tunes (and Two Sad Ones!) – 1996
Check on Out - 1995
Ain't Going Back - 1994

Official Website

http://www.waygoodmusic.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Pinterest

Audio

• Pour Me
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• Kanoka
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• High Plains Killers
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• Van Tassel
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• Wrong You Can Write
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• Rope As I'm Riding
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• The Farmer Leaves the Dell
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• Apple Of My Eye
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• The Mayfly Dance
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Lyrics

• The Farmer Leaves the Dell
• Apple of My Eye
• Pour Me
• Kanoka

Video

Ain't Goin' Back - Live at WTTW in Chicago

Photo Gallery

Press

• An Irish Blender [+ Show ]
  

  By Ryan Smith The music of Chicago’s Switchback is a warm and inviting blend of styles combined fro...By Ryan Smith
  The music of Chicago’s Switchback is a warm and inviting blend of styles combined from an eclectic mix of musical influences, prominently featuring American and Irish folk traditions. The duo consists of Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack who formed the group back in 1993. The two originally began working together in 1986 as members of the band of one of the most revered figures in traditional Irish music in America, Terry “Cuz” Teahan, who passed away in 1989. By 1988, the two had joined up with another Chicago outfit, the Wailin’ Banshees, but in 1993 opted to form Switchback. Since that time, the band has recorded and released no less than 13 albums, had one song featured in a Chevrolet commercial, engaged in an annual music tour of Ireland and opened for the likes of the Moody Blues. Fans of mainstream rock acts like the Chieftains and Van Morrison, as well as those who enjoy traditional folk, country and Irish music will likely find something to enjoy in Switchback’s repertoire. McCormack was exposed to Irish music at an early age, coming from an Irish family in Chicago that emphasized the traditions of their ethnic heritage. FitzGerald, however, was thrust into the genre rather unexpectedly one night when Teahan’s band played at FitzGerald’s, a bar and music hall in Chicago that his family ran and he himself worked at. “[The band] started talking to my dad, and they just introduced me to Cuz and Cuz says, ‘Go on home and get your mandolin.’ And that’s how I got into Irish music,” he says. “They kept me up onstage the entire time they were there. And then they dragged me into this recording project they were doing and then with the whole southside Irish community ... and I wasn’t even really that keen on Irish music, to tell you the truth. I liked rock n’ roll and I liked classical, but I really wasn’t all that keen on the Irish thing at the time. But that was the first real, professional gig that I got.” Eventually, practice with the genre, hard work and a little luck paid off, as Switchback’s music caught the ear of well-known country producer Lloyd Maines who eventually produced several of the band’s albums. One, The Fire that Burns, from 2002, was chosen as one of Performing Musician Magazine’s top picks in 2003. It’s also led to an annual musical tour of Ireland that includes local fans traveling along with the band as they play to audiences in that country. While one might assume that a foreign trip with a band would only be for their most dedicated fans, according to FitzGerald, some have joined on the tour with only the slightest introduction to Switchback. “Sometimes all it takes is for some people to see us once and they’re looking for something fun to do, and they just say, ‘Well, we want to travel to Ireland with these guys.’ And then we’ve got fans [that go along] who have been with us for 20 years, or 10 or 15 years, people who have been seeing us play,” he says. Their somewhat eclectic music is also a means of bridging cultures for the audiences in Ireland, who have the opportunity to hear Americans play traditional American music as well as a unique take on their own folk traditions. “[The Irish audiences] want to hear Johnny Cash, you know. They like it all. They like a range of their stuff too. We play traditional Irish music, but we do it the way we do it. It’s very ... it’s different,” FitzGerald says. “And in a lot of ways, it’s kinda like high octane because we kinda build a little more speed into it and there’s more like bluegrass renditions of things that they’re used to hearing much slower. So it’s kinda fun for them to hear their stuff done the way we do it.” In fact, it may be that mix of musical traditions, along with their skill at executing their song catalog, that results in the broad array of people who make up their fan base. Just as their music appeals to audiences in both Ireland and America, it’s also inviting to fans of all ages as well. “We have a really wide spectrum of ages. Some kids, really young, all the way up to retirement, because there’s something in this music that ... feels just lovey,” he says. “It’s not like just people in their 20s or 30s [are listening to us].” While Switchback have been productive and achieved a considerable amount both in studio and on tour, they still have more they would like to accomplish. “We’d love to perform on a talk show like Letterman,” says FitzGerald. “It would be great for us to be on Prairie Home Companion. I would love to open for Willie Nelson. We did open for the Moody Blues when Willie Nelson was supposed to be there but switched to the Moody Blues after Willie Nelson was asked to go out on the road with the Grateful Dead on the first tour after Jerry Garcia died ... it would be great to just get more established.”

• Sing Out! album review: Switchback, The Fire That Burns [+ Show ]
  

  Once you start crossing genres, there's no end to possibilities. Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCorma...Once you start crossing genres, there's no end to possibilities. Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack create something akin to progressive Celtic on the Fire That Burns. Rocking cuts like "Connemara Man" stand beside beautiful ballads like "End Over End." The boys also dabble in country ("Genevieve") and dance music ("Wild Irish Polkas"). Fun stuff--RL

• Dirty Linen album review: The Fire That Burns [+ Show ]
  

  With its Celtic-tinged approach to Americana, Switchback has been one of the Midwest's most exciting...With its Celtic-tinged approach to Americana, Switchback has been one of the Midwest's most exciting roots duo for more than a decade. With its seventh album, The Fire That Burns, The Chicago-based Martin McCormack (acoustic guitars, bass, vocals) and Brian FitzGerald (acoustic guitar, mandolin, bocals) join with multi-instrumentalist and producer Lloyd Maines in a genre-bending collection of original tunes.

• Bluegrass Rockers Churn Out Cool Jams [+ Show ]
  

  By Jim Clark Publisher Perhaps bluegrass that rocks seems like an oxymoron. But when Brian FitzG...By Jim Clark
  Publisher
  
  Perhaps bluegrass that rocks seems like an oxymoron. But when Brian FitzGerald (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Martin McCormack (bass, vocals) blend the two, the end product is as smooth as peanut butter and jelly. The glue that holds the two sounds together is the strong Celtic sound that runs throughout the course of The Fire That Burns.
  
  The duo have formed a band called Switchback, which incorporates the talented cellist Cathy Kuna and ever present, percussionist Alpha Stewart.
  
  Although they have released six albums prior to this, you may be unfamiliar with this primo Irish/American roots band. They have appeared on WHBQ's "Morning Show," in Memphis, played at FitzGerald's Casino in Tunica and have shared the stage with the likes of Kansas, Leon Russell and Willie Porter.
  
  Their largest following is in the Illinois and Iowa area, where the two hail from, but the secret is getting out and, I have little doubt, their presence down south will increase two-fold. I was most impressed with "The Farmer Leaves the Dell," "Apple of My Eye," and the longest jam on the album, "The Has-Been That Never Was." For more go to www.waygoodmusic.com.

• Switchback combines Celtic sounds with Midwestern Americana sound [+ Show ]
  

  May 16, 2003 by Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times Staff, Maryville, TN Despite the Celtic soun...May 16, 2003
  by Steve Wildsmith
  of The Daily Times Staff, Maryville, TN
  
  Despite the Celtic sounds of their music and the bit of brogue sported by bass-player Marty McCormack, the two men known as Switchback are not from Ireland.
  
  They're from Chicago. Sort of. McCormack and Brian Fitzgerald got their start in Chicago, anyway, playing Celtic tunes and Irish bars. These days, they exemplify the Midwestern branch of Americana music, albeit with strong Celtic leanings, and Saturday night, the band will headline the WDVX-FM Camperfest in nearby Kodak.
  
  Just don't ask them to describe the Midwestern feel to their songs.
  
  "It's not an easy thing to describe," FitzGerald said this week. "The songwriting deals with a lot of the fact that you're going through the seasons ..."
  
  "The Midwest is a real mixing bowl of a lot of different feels, and that's why our music is so hard to pin down," McCormack interjects. "All these different influences pollinate each other, if you will, just like in every other part of the country."
  
  The two met 16 years ago, quickly developing a regional following from Chicago to Minnesota down to Illinois and Iowa. But instead of transforming into a two-man version of The Chieftains, the two approached the Celtic music of their ancestors from an American perspective, carving out their own niche the way Irish immigrants carved a home out of the American wilderness that was the Midwest almost 150 years ago.
  
  "A successful show for us is like an amusement park ride -- it's a rush," FitzGerald said. "Our Irish is a little more aggressive, and it's coming at you a little harder, because we're coming out of small, jaunty Irish bars, and all these biker bars out of Iowa where it's something that's demanded of you. There's a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy to our show.
  
  "People look at you like you're nuts to go in there without a drummer, but by end of the night, we're on top of the bar and everybody's like, 'Wow!'"
  
  Legendary Texas music producer Lloyd Maines produced the band's most recent album, "The Fire That Burns," which feature dual harmonies over sweet instrumental work reminiscent of a faster-paced, more aggressive version of the Gary Louris-Mark Olson band The Jayhawks.
  
  "We're finding that the new album, with songs like 'The Fire That Burns,' is encouraging people," FitzGerald said. "They're telling us it's helping them through these tough times. And that's another Midwestern trait -- we're both from huge families, so there's tons of conflict and friction built into that family."
  
  The pair said they're looking forward to coming to East Tennessee, the cradle of bluegrass and a hotbed of roots music, and especially to playing for Americana fans at Camperfest.
  
  "Tell your readers we're just going to come up there and play our hearts out," FitzGerald said. "It's a wide array of sound, a lot of different styles to kind of draw from and a lot of harmony."

• Performing Songwriter: Switchback places in top 12 DIY albums [+ Show ]
  

  Album Review from Performing Songwriter Top 12 Reviews for Do-it-yourself songwriters by Clay Ste...Album Review
  from Performing Songwriter
  Top 12 Reviews for Do-it-yourself songwriters
  by Clay Steakley
  Vol. 10, Issue 67, Jan/Feb 2003
  
  Switchback
  The Fire That Burns
  
  Produced by Lloyd Maines
  
  Chicago duo Switchback has delivered yet another exhilarating blend of acoustic roots rock, Celtic folk and dazzling musicianship with The Fire That Burns. Produced by Texas music giant and Dixie Chicks producer Lloyd Maines, this is their seventh, and most accomplished record. From the Irish hillbilly kickoff with "The Farmer Leaves the Dell," Brian Fitzgerald (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Martin McCormack (bass, guitar, vocals) and friends prove that they have not only the chops, but also the understanding of American and Celtic music to pull off the kind of material tackled here. With Everly Brothers harmonies and Fitzgerald's whirlwind and soulful mandolin work, Switchback romps and reels with audacity and talent.
  
  WayGood Productions
  405 East Ridge Road
  Griffith, Indiana, 46319
  800-600-7071
  waygoodmusic@gmail.com
  www.waygoodmusic.com

Setlist

Switchback plays mostly original music. With a discography of 13 albums, a song list would get lengthy! Our sets usually range from 60-90 minutes. We typically do two 45 minute sets for a concert performance or a 90 minute set for a festival. This is flexible. We do change up the set-list a bit with covers. Our Americana covers range from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, to Steve Earle, to Rodgers and Hart, to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Switchback can also play a full Celtic program of traditional and modern Irish music. Our Celtic covers include the Pogues, The Waterboys and U2. We are a very eclectic duo, so beware of the lone jazz cover or cowboy song thrown in. We also have a selection of educational and community outreach programs and can do workshops on a variety of topics: voice, mandolin, guitar, music appreciation, intro to Irish music - even songwriting.

Basic Requirements

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