Guy Forsyth (born November 30, 1968) is an American blues rock singer and songwriter. He has toured in the U.S. and Europe and has been the opening act for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

, and

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

. Forsyth's repertoire primarily incorporates elements of blues and Americana traditions, with the requisite traces of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, R&B,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and pop. As a songwriter, many of his albums contain his own work and songs he co-composed with other musicians. Forsyth has won several Austin Music Awards, including one for "best male vocalist" in 2005.

Life and career

Forsyth was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. With an airline employee as a father, Forsyth's formative years were interspersed with frequent moves to New York, Connecticut, and California before the family returned to Kansas City. By the age of 16 he began playing harmonica, in addition to singing, and was influenced by the work of

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

to learn guitar. Forsyth moved to Austin, Texas, in January 1990. By the mid-1990s, Forsyth's live performances became well known around Austin. In addition to solo work and with his own band, Forsyth was one of the co-founders of the Asylum Street Spankers. The band developed a raucous and irreverent sound that was driven by musicianship and theatricality. The band played most of its early concerts without amplification. Forsyth played on the 2000 album, ''Spanker Madness''. A Dutch based independent record label had earlier released ''High Temperature'' (1994), a live recording of Forsyth's own band's work. The following year, ''Needle Gun'' was released by

Lone Star Music Lone Star Music, also called LSM, is a San Marcos, Texas-based music company which operates a website drawing half a million visitors a month,

, with the work also billed as by the Guy Forsyth Band.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

noted that his live work was "loud, raw and raucous." Forsyth played a lengthy residency at Antone's during this time and, in preparing work for his third album, he left the Asylum Street Spankers to pursue his solo career. In 1999, ''Can You Live Without'' was released, and in the following year ''Steak''. Forsyth tried to promote both efforts but his

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

hit financial trouble and momentum was lost. In 2002, he set up his own label, Small and Nimble Records. In 2005 ''Love Songs: For and Against'' was issued. Forsyth increased his touring schedule and performed at the

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...

in 2005 and 2007, plus the High Sierra Music Festival (2007),

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(1994), Los Alamos Festival, BBQ & Blues Festival,

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(2008), Rhythm 'n' Blues Festival, American Music Festival,

Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, h ...

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by the husband-wife team of Rod Kennedy ...

and Rochester's Bricktown Festival. 2007′s ''Unrepentant Schizophrenic Americana'', was a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

live compilation album. ''Calico Girl'' (2008), featured new songs as well as re-recordings from ''Can You Live Without''. ''300 Miles from Here to There'', a live performance CD and DVD was issued in 2011. In 2012, ''The Freedom to Fail'' was released by

Blue Corn Music Blue Corn Music is an American blues, Americana, bluegrass, and roots music, independent record label. It was founded in 2001 by label president Denby Auble. Blue Corn Music celebrated its 10th anniversary on June 21, 2011 at Antone's in Aust ...

. "These songs represent an articulation of the changes in my viewpoints and the new legality that I see." Forsyth explained. "Becoming a father in this period of time and looking around me and trying to figure out what it is that I had to say to my daughter to explain myself. I don't feel the need to explain myself to everyone, but I sure as hell feel the need to explain myself to my daughter, because I want her to have that sort of connection with her origins." It was recorded at the Lost Oasis Studio in Austin, Texas, and included musical contributions from

Jon Dee Graham Jon Dee Graham is an American musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference in 2006. He was inducted into the Austin M ...

, plus Asylum Street Spankers band mates Jonathan Doyle and Sick. Forsyth continued to tour and perform regularly in 2015. Forsyth contributed "Thanks Me" to the satirical album ''Floater: A Tribute to the Tributes to Gary Floater'', released early in 2018 on the Austin-based Eight 30 Records.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, Guy 1968 births Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues harmonica players Texas blues musicians Songwriters from Colorado Singers from Denver People from Denver People from Austin, Texas Songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Colorado Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links