Music Star Guy Forsyth On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
Be kind. The world is full of hardships, do what you can to make it a better place. You can disagree and still be kind. It is not easy to be kind, it is far easier to be hard. Be kind anyway.
As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Guy Forsyth.
Guy Forsyth is an Austin, Texas-based musician, singer, storyteller, and songwriter. Guy has won several Austin Music Awards, including best vocalist, while delivering diverse roots music, especially the blues, both classic and original, in which the story always comes first. He earned a ten-year residency at legendary Antone’s nightclub, “the home of the blues,” and recorded several records on the house label. He has toured the U. S. and Europe and opened for Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Dr. John, B. B. King, and Lucinda Williams, among many others.
To his mastery of the guitar, harmonica, and musical saw he brings an unforgettably passionate and plaintive vocal soundscape. As Texas Music Magazine observed, “The insanely talented multi-instrumentalist can put on one hell of a show, alternately dazzling and amusing audiences on a musical journey from ragtime jazz and Delta blues to socially conscious folk and rollicking modern rock.” As powerful as his records remain, Guy’s live shows will make you whole.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born in Denver Colorado. My Dad worked for TWA, the airline and it was like being an upper middle class army brat. We moved around a lot, New York, Connecticut, Kansas City, Pasadena, back to KC. Now I have the American news casters accent.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?
My parents met at the university of Arizona in Tucson, discovered they had similar tastes in music and were married. My brother was born, and then myself, 18 months after. My folks had some of the same records so they gave the duplicates to my brother and I, along with a Fisherprice record player. At the same time I was learning to stack blocks I was learning to drop the needle. When I was a toddler I started to memorize lyrics to songs I heard on the radio. Later, my Dad gave me a copy of Jon Gindick’s Country and Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless. It came with a Pocket Pal harmonica and a cassette tape lesson. I carried the harmonica everywhere, and played in every stair well I could find. I first heard Robert Johnson on a record I found in the public library. There was something going on in his music that was different then what I was hearing on the radio. It was more personal, there was more at stake. Later still, when I had moved out a friend told me that John Hammond was playing, and that I should go because I was into country blues at that point (as well as punk rock, showtunes, novelty songs, ext.) so I went to check him out. I took a date with me and balked at the door of the club (The Jazz House, in Lawrence Kansas) when I found the cover was $6. The door guy said If I didn’t like it he would give me my money back. John Hammond performed by him self, accompanied by his guitar, harmonica and stomping foot, and it changed my life. I don’t think I looked at my date once except to say “That’s it! Thats what I want to do!”.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
That’s a hard one. I got to sing This Land Is Your Land with Bernie Sanders. The New York Times called me to ask about my relationship with Sandra Bullock. I got to perform and hang out with Dan Rather at his retirement party. I got turned off a train at the Polish border to Germany by men with machine guns because I didn’t have my papers. I was forced to wait at 3 am for the next train back to Germany on a cold train station platform. I played guitar for the border guards and we became friends and they shared their coffee and little space heater till it was time to go.
I hiked the Himalayas in Nepal with a guitar on my back and played Sitting On Top Of The World at the crest of the Cho La Pass at 5,500 meters. I have shared stages with Ray Charles, Lucinda Willams, Townes Van Zandt, Pinetop Perkins, Lazy Lester, Danny Gatton, Wavy Gravy, James Cotton and many others. I have played to crowds of 20,000 and to a single person in a hospital bed. One of the best things about this calling is you never know what you are going to get.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The first time I played at Mojo, a blues club in Copenhagen, we were very excited and wanted to really hit it hard and impress the room. I thought I was owning it until a woman in the front of the room reached up while I was singing on stage, and she zipped up my fly. The whole room roared with laughter. You have to be able to laugh at yourself.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Sjef Willemen was a Dutch medical doctor and amateur radio DJ who came to Austin in the early 90’s to stay with radio legend Larry Monroe and learn from the master. Larry sent Sjef down to Six Street where I was playing a regular gig at Joe’s Generic Bar. Sjef decided right then that he would record the band and go into the music business. We recorded a live show in a Dutch club and he released it on his Lizard Disk Label that he created just for this purpose . He took that recording and would go to the offices of big music festivals in Europe and wait in the office until they listen to the tape of my band and got us some fantastic gigs, really opened up Europe for us. I have never known anyone in the recording trade to be so passionate and determined. He died about ten years ago, but I will always owe him for the stand that he took for the music. He believed in it %100. He was the first.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am most excited about the new songs we have coming out in November, and EP titled Rider. I recorded with Mark Addison, who I have worked with a good bit before and who really brings out a different side of me. He is a legit mad scientist of the ear. I also have been playing tenor banjo in a 20’s/30’s Jazz band called the Relevators. It’s been a challenging gig, reading charts at breakneck speeds but has been great for my skills and the whole band is made up of heavy hitters playing music they love!
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Talent is a gift from the cosmos, and it can show up anywhere. It must be acknowledged that white males have dominated the entertainment industry, just like they have most industries. This is because of well documented advantages in access and opportunity, and has denied the world voices that have not been heard. Tribalism is very dangerous in our densely packed modern world, and the way forward must include a place for everyone. This all inclusive diversity is the only way to see the world as a home to all, and protect against the will of the few controlling the many. Only when everyone has a seat at the table will the truth that we are all one family be realized. It is the role of the artist to lead this change always. Art is how we foster empathy, and empathy is the only positive future.
As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?
You must make space in your life for wonder. You must chase the ecstatic experience of losing yourself in the moment. You must commit to loving what you get to do. You will not be paid enough, you will not get what you want, but you will have the chance to be the thing you love. And that can transform you, and the world around you.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1 . My advice to young musicians is get a business degree. You are going to need it for self-defense. I believed in myself when I started out, but I also signed a recording contract without a lawyers help. The contract protected the label but did not protect me, so when the label had trouble I had trouble and had to ride it out. The music business will treat you like a resource to be exploited and you need to know how to negotiate because some people will take whatever they can get.
2 . Keep a journal of the people you meet. It will help you see the connections you make. I am not good at this, I have trouble remembering names. People like it when you remember them.
3 . Your opinions are the most valuable thing you bring to the table. Other people are not wrong if their options differ, they just see something else. But it must mater to you if someone else is going to believe you. Your opinions will not always be the same, that is ok. Your intuition is the key to art. Listen to other people, learn from them. But also listen to yourself.
4 . Be kind. The world is full of hardships, do what you can to make it a better place. You can disagree and still be kind. It is not easy to be kind, it is far easier to be hard. Be kind anyway.
5 . Forgive yourself your bad decisions, you learn more from your mistakes then your victories.
Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?
I used to be scared to look too close at my creative process because I didn’t understand it and I was afraid I would scare it away. But I think that I have a much better understanding now, and that has come from taking about songs. Conversations with other writers and listeners about what makes a song work, or not, gets you inside the craft of song writing. There are rules that take shape, and ways to tell your story that work better than others.
Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?
I think that people are at their best when they are sharing something they love, and I love what I get to do. I try to bring the coolest stuff I can find.
How do you connect with your audience?
I think if I can get out of the way of the song, and let the music come through me, then it connects us both, the sound and the ear.
With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?
I try to make sure that I get to spend some time by myself, walking, swimming, reading, exploring wherever I go. Crowds and elements of fame are toxic if there is no attempt to ground that energy.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
That music is something that we all can do together. It is a gift that we can give ourselves, that it can connect us in very old and powerful ways. This is a great time to be a consumer of music, but a hard time to be a participant. We use recorded music to cover up the undesired sounds of this mechanized age the same way we burn incense to cover up the smell of the cat box. And we forget what magic might be made by hand. And shared.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Tom Waits, he is my spirt animal.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Guyforsyth.com GuyForsythBand on Facebook and Instagram
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
