Meet Martin McCormack of WayGood Productions in Rogers Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Martin McCormack.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Martin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

Brian FitzGerald and I formed the band Switchback and began WayGood Productions back in 1993, after seven years of performing in a traditional Irish band named the Wailin’ Banshees. At that time during the late 80’s, we would finish our shows with the Banshees and head over to FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, which Brian’s family owns. There we would see these singer/songwriter musicians, many from Texas and many steeped in the life of the independent musician. They inspired us to follow their path. We wrote and performed our original material, drifting further from the Irish clubs and centers in the process.

After a few half-hearted attempts at seeking support from local labels, we decided we were “going it alone”. We did not necessarily want to be part of a label and subservient to a company as we had heard horror stories of bands owing money to labels and having whole albums shelved. At the time, we had already written a number of songs and were on the road performing for clubs, retirement homes, and even the occasional prison. Our main goal was to survive as full-time musicians. We realized that we would be able to survive and thrive in our business, provided we ditched the idea of being rock stars and adapted the approach of being business partners who happen to play music. That change, which took some time and ego adjusting (hard to rock out a nursing home!) helped us branch out into areas of music that other music groups would avoid or never think about. It was an experiment of seeing just where our music could be heard. Caves, barns, VFW halls, even a funeral reception became our venues. Along the way, we built a following that, like us, liked to be rebels against the big labels (which were dying pretty fast) and the clubs that tended to squeeze the very soul of the acts they hired.

By 1993, Brian had moved to Lansing, in northeast Iowa (where Chicago legend Bonnie Koloc also lived) and we started a company based on a northeast Iowa term for bliss: WayGood. I remained in Chicago and eventually settled in Rogers Park. We began to expand our territory, playing first between our respective homes and then further afield. Our musical fame would be won one fan at a time. And in the meantime, we decided that we also would have as much fun with the business as we could. So we started traveling with fans to destinations, developing our own festivals, and creating our own label.

Has it been a smooth road?
One of the major hurdles of being the “product” is that when something does go wrong, there is no one there that can take your place. For example, we had to soldier on when Brian had surgery to remove vocal nodules. Or when a freak accident left him with a severely burned and bandaged strumming hand. The show does and will go on, even when the flu bug hits!

We drive over 35,000 miles a year (fly even more), and thankfully I can count on one hand the number of accidents, collisions with deer, and the like we have had. We have been through blizzards, have played outside in the snow, performed through four tornadoes, and performed at one festival that literally canceled everything while we were playing in the middle of a song. We had a transmission fail in Lafayette, Louisiana en route to San Antonio and managed in 45 minutes to roll into a shop, rent a van, unload and reload the equipment, then drive like lightning across Texas. We arrived 30 minutes late and fifteen minutes later were up and playing. It’s the music business, and in time, all of this takes on a humor of its own.

Aside from the day to day physical challenges of being an entrepreneur, there is an emotional toll. Divorce, kids, spouses, and families needing us back at home. Unscrupulous club owners canceled shows and broken contracts. But Brian and I have been extremely lucky in that we have had some great support from loyal friends who have literally helped us with the business.

Sue Arnold and her husband Andy are both patrons and help manage the business. Dr. Mary Ellen Mitchanis has been a strong patron over the years, helping us finance two albums. John and Susie Wilson have lent business expertise and face to face promotion of our band to movers and shakers in the area. Karen and Jim Sundberg do everything that has to do with marketing and promoting the image of the band around the world. And we have volunteers in almost every town we play that help sell merchandise, pitch our shows and fill the halls. So whatever struggles we have had have been largely balanced by the love and support of our WayGood family.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with WayGood Productions – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
What we envisioned was using our band, Switchback, as the engine to drive a lot of offerings. We created tours to Ireland and other destinations so that our fans could experience traveling with us. To date, over 500 people have traveled to Ireland, Italy, Costa Rica, Spain, and the UK with us.

We started a publishing company for our music and have had songs picked up commercially by companies like Chevy Blazer and also for network television and movies, like NBC’s show “Grimm.” Brian and I both grew up playing for church. We started a site that offers sacred music, jubilationmusic.net. This site offers not only sheet music, but recordings and opportunities for performances at liturgies and/or concerts. To date, we have written five Catholic Masses as well as other sacred songs.

Our mission from the beginning was to reach out to audiences that would not ordinarily have access to live music, such as special needs audiences, the elderly, and indigent. We also continue to perform for audiences worldwide at performing arts centers and festivals, racking up about 200 live performances a year. We also work with aspiring musicians by presenting a songwriting workshop held every spring at a mansion overlooking the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I think Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The energy of the people, positive, can-do attitude makes it a great place to live. The central location makes it attractive to me as a working musician. I joke that it is exactly 8 hours flying to Honolulu and 8 hours flying to Dublin, so it is great to get to destinations from Chicago.

I don’t really have any dislikes of the city.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 773-283-2830
• Website: waygoodmusic.com
• Phone: 800-600-7071
• Email: waygoodmusic@gmail.com,  Tiffany@goodmanartists.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/switchback

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