Pride in This Name

This EP contains a stack of Celtic-influenced songs that Mark Cantwil has written, and a collaboration with Back Forty that has been a decade in the making. The experience turned into one of the most ambitious and memorable projects for all involved, and was long overdue for both acts. The idea of recording this album live and all together was always there from its conception, but the session exceeded everyones expectations. The EP was tracked live in 14 hours and mixed and mastered in its entirety in four short weeks. Mark has been quoted saying, "This was one of those projects where the stars aligned, everything came together quickly and the project went better than anyone had planned or expected". The idea of "Pride In This Name" was conceived the first week of January, 2017 after Mark, and longtime friend, Scott Wendeln wrote "Ode To McKennedy" together. At that point, Mark had a small lot of tunes that had a Celtic flare but he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Mark immediately contacted, longtime friend and producer, Colin Murphy about the idea of recording a concept EP of Celtic tinged and influenced tunes. Colin loved the idea and immediately suggested that Mark use his band Back Forty (a Funk Grass-Jam Band from Ann Arbor, MI) to back him in the studio. Mark loved the idea and the rest, as they say, is history! Mark Cantwil - Lead Vocals, Back-up Vocals and Acoustic Guitar Back Forty: Colin Murphy - Fiddle and Vocals Dan Ripke - Lead Guitar Andy Benes - Mandolin and Vocals Rich Rickman - Bass John Yax - Drums