Carmaig de Forest (born September 9, 1957) is a singer-songwriter, mainly on the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, but also the guitar, originating from Los Angeles, California. Since starting his career as a ukulele singer-songwriter, he has mostly stayed in the creative musical underground of California and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, at one time touring with the

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

, who would later play with him on his ''DeathGrooveLoveParty'' album. Perhaps his most recognized achievement was being the warm-up artist for the Ramones in the early 1980s. De Forest's political songwriting style has been referred to as "

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mil ...

's poems set to music". His songs sometimes have an overtly political focus, such as his 1992 single "

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

Lies" re-recorded to protest

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for the 2004 Presidential Election. His song "Hey Judas" compares

John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, and

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

, suggesting that he might go to Hell for his attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan ''failing'', and making the president more popular. Many of his songs have been covered by his friends in the Baltimore and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

underground scene, including Canadian accordion player

Geoff Berner Geoff Berner (born 1971) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician from Vancouver. Musical career Berner originally studied piano in his youth. At a party, somebody asked him why he did not play the accordion. As a result, he began learn ...

, who claims to be "touring for two", as Carmaig de Forest plays mainly underground gigs, while Berner is a bit more on the road. His fourth studio album, ''Idiot Strings'', was released on the Serious Records label on September 9, 2007.

Discography

Albums

*''I Shall Be Released'' (1987) *''DeathGrooveLoveParty'' (1993) *''El Camino Real'' (1997) *''Idiot Strings'' (2007) *''I Shall Be Re-Released'' (2017) (an expanded edition of 1987 album, combining original album, live EP with four previously unissued tracks from the original album sessions and an additional unissued live recording)

Singles/EPs/Others

*''5 Songs'' (1982) cassette-only demo *''6 Live Cuts'' (1988) *''George Bush Lies/Love is Strong'' (1992) combining the original album, live EP and unissued materialcombining the original album, live EP and unissued material

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070203024849/http://www.carmaig.com// Official Website (Not working) American singer-songwriters Living people American ukulele players 1957 births Musicians from Los Angeles {{US-singer-songwriter-stub