There comes a time in his life when each and every man needs to express himself, and for Nathen Maxwell that time has come. For the past thirteen years Maxwell has been leaving his heart on stage as the bassist for the seminal Celtic rock band Flogging Molly, one of the biggest touring punk acts in the world. An accomplished songwriter in his own right, Maxwell has contributed songs to Flogging Molly albums in years past, but things progressed differently when the band went into the studio to record Float, their most recent release. I played these songs for the band and our singer Dave [King] said, Nate, you ve got your own story and I really think you should record these songs, Maxwell explains. Once I got his blessing I figured it d be bad karma not to record and release them. To capture the true spirit of these songs, Maxwell hooked up with his father, who he not only refers to as his favorite drummer, but who is also responsible for introducing Nathen to Flogging Molly. It s comes full circle musically for my dad and I, and I couldn t be happier or more proud in returning the favor to him. In the studio, Maxwell teamed up with long time Flogging Molly producer Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem, Chuck Ragan, Lucero, Bouncing Souls). I wanted to record these songs in the most simple and effective way possible, Maxwell explains, my guitar playing is very limited to rhythm and my rhythms are really limited to certain strumming patterns and a reggae skank, but aside from that it was really about whatever came naturally. The result is a refreshingly stripped-down album that fully reconciles Maxwell s love of rock, reggae and folk music into an honest collection of songs that will appeal as much to fans of Jack Johnson, Manu Chao, and Bob Marley as it will Flogging Molly and the Pogues. I was a little anxious and stressed out when we went into the studio because it was my first time doing something like this, he admits, but in the end it was just an amazing experience. Ultimately Maxwell would never do anything to take away from playing bass in Flogging Molly a gig he considers the best job in the world however he couldn t be more excited to get these songs out into the world and finally allow an audience outside of his immediate family and band- mates to hear them. I really see this project as limitless, he explains. I have this music inside me that is not Flogging Molly music and it was just time get it out into the world, he summarizes. Let s get it out in the universe and see what it does... because I m up for anything.