The Long Straight Forever hailed from Minneapolis (USA). They were Michael Matheny (vocals, mandola, acoustic guitar, Irish bodhrán), Raymond Yates (vocals, acoustic guitar), Matthew Ogden (electric guitar, vocals) and Matt Miller (upright bass).
Their self-tittled album was released on July 1, 2010. It was recorded at a cabin on the Upper Eau Claire Lake near Barnes, WI on April 24 and 25, 2010 and engineered, mixed, and mastered by Raymond Yates using Garageband and a random assortment of aged, dented, and otherwise well-loved microphones.
They also released a single that was recorded live at The Cedar Cultural Center 9/10/2010.
The songs are on rotation on Celtic Folk Punk Radio.
The band disbanded when Michael Matheny passed away in 2012. "El Dorado" is the long-awaited solo album, produced after Michael's death, featuring his original recordings with performances by friends and bandmates. It was released on April 28, 2017 and is available at CDbaby.
When Michael David Matheny died of cancer in February 2012 at the age of 45, he was well known in the Twin Cities Irish Music scene as a singer and songwriter, as a member of Gallowglass Irish Trio and The Long Straight Forever, and as a warm, funny, talented man. A few months before his death, he wrote this note for us:
"Faced with the harsh reality of a serious cancer diagnosis in 2010, I began to realize that none of us will be here forever. In early 2012, while undergoing chemotherapy and taking advantage of good days and nights as they came, I slowly began working on cataloging and archiving all the songs and tunes that I have written. Some songs also appear on various recordings here and there, and some are seen here for the first time. Many of these are songs that no one—not even those closest to me or my bandmates—have heard me play. I thought it would be nice to get them down, just for the record. "
In the end, he finished five tracks, and recorded many more. Unfortunately, some of his recordings were low-fidelity, captured with the equipment he had available for recording at home. Hoping for the best, we placed these recordings in the hands of Scott Keever. After more than a year of hard work, and with the help of Michael’s friends and former bandmates, Scott has created a fitting tribute to Michael’s talent. Three of the instrumentals (Lullaby, Kaia’s Reel, and Remission) were untitled when he died. For each song, we’ve listed the dates when it was written as well as when the original track was recorded.
We hope that you enjoy Michael’s music and share it widely. That is what he would have wanted.
When Michael David Matheny died of cancer in February 2012 at the age of 45, he was well known in the Twin Cities Irish Music scene as a singer and songwriter, as a member of Gallowglass Irish Trio and The Long Straight Forever, and as a warm, funny, talented man. A few months before his death, he wrote this note for us:
"Faced with the harsh reality of a serious cancer diagnosis in 2010, I began to realize that none of us will be here forever. In early 2012, while undergoing chemotherapy and taking advantage of good days and nights as they came, I slowly began working on cataloging and archiving all the songs and tunes that I have written. Some songs also appear on various recordings here and there, and some are seen here for the first time. Many of these are songs that no one—not even those closest to me or my bandmates—have heard me play. I thought it would be nice to get them down, just for the record. "
In the end, he finished five tracks, and recorded many more. Unfortunately, some of his recordings were low-fidelity, captured with the equipment he had available for recording at home. Hoping for the best, we placed these recordings in the hands of Scott Keever. After more than a year of hard work, and with the help of Michael’s friends and former bandmates, Scott has created a fitting tribute to Michael’s talent. Three of the instrumentals (Lullaby, Kaia’s Reel, and Remission) were untitled when he died. For each song, we’ve listed the dates when it was written as well as when the original track was recorded.
We hope that you enjoy Michael’s music and share it widely. That is what he would have wanted.
Michael’s mother Marilyn and his brother Kevin
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