Switchback

Bill Monroe once stated that Ireland, and Celtic music in general, is the musical motherland of bluegrass. Switchback testified to just that when they took the stage of the Focal Point on Saturday night.

The band has made the trek to St. Louis since Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack began as a duo in 1993. They embody the dual musical citizenship of Celtic music and the traditions of what has become known as Americana.

Switchback played to a sold-out crowd inside the warm space of the Focal Point. This faithful following brings to mind the fervor (if not the size) of the loyalty matched by the fan-base of the Grateful Dead or Phish. Before the first notes were played it was easy to understand why the fans were dedicated; these road warriors have a personal relationship with their audience, to the point where FitzGerald and McCormack know a number of fans by name. Musically Switchback is a hybrid of everything they learned on the road as well as mentorships from Kenneth "Jethro" Burns (of Homer and Jethro fame) and Terrence "Cuz" Teahan.

The duo blasted through two sets that seemed to come more from audience requests before, during and amidst intermission than a preplanned song list, creating a looseness that the audience responded to with glee. Over the course of the two hours Switchback went through a repertoire that spans a 20-year career including traditional Irish songs, originals from numerous studio albums, musical delights and other surprises. Each song built upon the vocal abilities of both FitzGerald and McCormack, an uncanny approach to their instruments and a striking resemblance to Pete Seger. The duo enlisted audience participation and taught the history of the songs in their repertoire.

FitzGerald is a one man rhythm section supplying a bass groove and pounding out a drum beat with his foot, the later a rhythmic middle ground between John Lee Hooker and the bodhran. Wielding both the mandolin and guitar, McCormack danced around the stage playing with a stringed fluidity. As a mandolinist he drew images of the bluegrass of Bill Monroe and the jazz of David Grisman; as a guitarist his playing is a cascade of rhythm and lead work that pulsated with folk chordal patterns, arpeggios, Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher.

Libations flowed and the Focal Point seemingly turned from a listening room experience to an Irish pub. Jokes were made, stories were told and music filled the air as Switchback bounced from traditional songs, original compositions and Christmas tunes. They flowed from one song after another much like pints of stout rolling out of the tap.

Switchback took on traditionals like "The Wren," "Danny Boy" and the raucous "The Drunken Sailor." They showed off their songcraft with "Connemara Man" during which McCormack seemed to channel the spirit of Rory Gallagher, the country drinking song of "Pour Me" and "Nancy Whiskey." Snow had covered the streets of St. Louis, which made the seasonal faire of "Good Ole Saint Nick," "The Littlest Stranger in the Manger" and the encore of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" more than appropriate. Still, a night with Switchback would not be without its surprises, which came in the musical form of Hendrix's "Little Wing," the Iowa version, aka fast and loud, of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and a showcase for McCormack's mandolin skills with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's "Chasing Dreams."

As the show closed, the house lights went up and the crowd began to put on their hats and coats to embark outside to the cold St. Louis winter, vocalist and bassist McCormack braved the elements to thank the members of the audience for coming out. It is this dedication to the fans that has kept them coming back and filling up the Focal Point twice a year, every year and in some cases traveling beyond the St. Louis' metro borders to experience Switchback's live and in person. - KDHX Community Media

Former Chicagoan Ron Pen holds a very lengthy and lofty title at the University of Kentucky in Lexington: Professor; Director, John Jacob Niles Center for American Music; Coordinator, Division of Musicology and Ethnomusicology.

You might think him some stuffy, pipe-smoking academic. If so, you would be wrong.

He has a buoyant personality, sports a beard Santa Claus would envy and wears flip-flops year-round. That fashion statement caused more than a few double takes when he last visited Chicago in March, to pal around and perform on St. Patrick's Day at the Mayne Stage with two new friends, Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack.

They are known as Switchback and have been a musical duo for a very long and critically acclaimed time. They first met in the mid-1980s at Durty Nellies in Palatine.

“Imagine Marty in a green V-neck sweater up onstage playing with his brothers and his sister,” says FitzGerald — who plays guitar and mandolin and sings — of that encounter. “He's from a family of 10 kids, you know?”

“We were the von Trapp family of McHenry County,” says McCormack (bass, guitar, vocals).

They first played together in a larger band called the Wailin' Banshees.

“We played traditional Irish music, and as a rebellion against that, Marty and I started writing our own songs and playing them between sets. That basically alienated the others in the band,” says FitzGerald.

Deeply influencing their music and songwriting were the many concerts they saw and heard at the Berwyn club FitzGerald's. They never had to pay to get in. Brian's brother Bill owns the place, a venue that features performers from around the world.

“FitzGerald's really was our musical finishing school,” says McCormack.

Playing everything from bluegrass to country to blues to jazz and rock 'n' roll, with Celtic thrown in as well, Switchback has been on the road since 1993, stopping only long enough to create some great albums and DVDs.

The pair's album “The Fire that Burns,” was named one of the top choices for 2003 by Performing Songwriter magazine, a national publication. For three years in a row, the pair was named the Top Irish Group by the Irish Musicians Association. Their admirably ambitious 2005 album, “Falling Water River,” a tribute to fallen soldiers in contemporary wars, was called by Robert Tomaro, music director of the Beloit/Janesville Symphony, “Beautifully conceived, beautifully orchestrated and performed. It's an instant American classic.”

I wrote, “(It's) a stunning and remarkable achievement … a sweeping and moving musical tale, (that) touches the heart and mind and soul in ways that are real and unforgettable.”

The duo play some 200 shows a year, across the planet. They have opened for the Moody Blues and Leon Russell, shared stages with Gaelic Storm and Chicago's Liz Carroll. They tour Ireland yearly.

“If you really want to make music for a living and for a life, you have to get out there and play everywhere,” says McCormack. “You play retirement homes, you play churches, you play schools and you play prisons.”

“It is a good thing to get off the beaten path,” says FitzGerald. “There are a lot of small towns where people have a real hunger for live music.” - Chicago Tribune/Rick Kogan

BLOOMINGTON – When Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack started out performing American and Irish roots music as a duo 27 years ago, their primary method of getting music to their fans was sending cassette tapes in the mail. This they did all over – McCormack recalls sending international cassette shipments over the ocean to Ireland itself on a regular basis. So suffice to say, things have changed quite a bit. In fact, the only thing that hasn’t changed is the duo’s passion for traditionally inspired, acoustic music.

“We were both classically trained, but I always knew that I wanted to do something using my own songs,” said McCormack, who performs Saturday night alongside FitzGerald as the duo Switchback at the annual Bruegala beer festival in Bloomington. “We both got exposed to a lot of singer-songwriters, which inspired us to take our own duo on the road for the first time. And we’ve been determined to keep ourselves independent musicians ever since.”

McCormack was by no means born on the Emerald Isle, but he does maintain Irish dual Irish citizenship, owing to family who still reside there. Today he lives in Chicago, although he’s familiar with Decatur as well, having previously performed with Switchback at the Decatur Celebration. His brother, Dr. Tony McCormack also lives in the city and practices at Decatur Memorial Hospital.

The vocalist McCormack, however, was a student of roots music rather than medicine. Traveling to Ireland, he learned from traveling musicians and veterans of the folk music scene, men who hiked from town to town, still making a living as literal troubadours. Bringing those influences home with him, he then fused Irish folk music with his own vein of Americana to form the signature sound of Switchback.

“Really, many forms of American folk music are so closely related to Irish music that you can see the direct evolution,” he said. “Most of the old cowboy western songs are based on old Irish melodies. The Americana side infuses a little higher-octane fuel into our sound.”

More than anything, though, McCormack considers the duo “a Midwestern band.” Albums such as 2010’s “Ghosts of the River Folk” focused on a particular Midwestern region, in this case the upper Mississippi River, and telling the everyday stories of those who reside there. The singer sees these kinds of stories as not only particularly relevant but particularly well received on the modern folk and roots landscape.

“I’m encouraged right now to see that Americana music is being recognized as a legitimate form of music that is separate from country or rock,” he said. “It’s about trying to go back and take the vibe of a guy like Woody Guthrie and apply it to today. It’s been embraced in other parts of the world, and it’s popular with young people today as well. It’s a great time for this kind of music.”

It’s for that reason that McCormack believes the duo will be able to continue on after 27 years together, continuing to make a living even as the overall music industry continues to contract in size. He and FitzGerald maintain a bond built on mutual respect for each other’s songwriting abilities, and both still long for the life of those songwriting wanderers of Ireland.

“There will always be a place for the journeyman musician, and live music will always be more important than recordings,” McCormack said. “More than any other time, because we have the ability to go get lost online, the need for people to come together in one space and at one time to share music is absolutely vital.” - Herald and Review

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.” - Whatzup.com

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 - Sing Out! Vol. 47 #3 Fall 2003

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 - Performing Songwriter

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 - Performing Songwriter

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." - Daily Times, Maryville TN

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." - Daily Times, Maryville TN

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. - Lee County Courier, Tupelo MS

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. - Lee County Courier, Tupelo MS

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. - DIRTY LINEN magazine, Feb/Mar '04 Issue 110

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. - DIRTY LINEN magazine, Feb/Mar '04 Issue 110

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 - Sing Out! Vol. 47 #3 Fall 2003