The first time I saw Guy Forsyth was when he was a member of the Asylum Street Spankers, a totally acoustic band with “no demon electricity”, at the Antone’s in 1997. I liked what I heard, and I noticed this guy whose voice could be heard over the late night crowd at the club. Since then I have seen both the Spankers and Guy Forsyth with his own band several times. Last night I saw him at the Saxon Pub.

Guy Forsyth has gone through many different music phases during the 16 years since I first saw him, from the retro style of the Asylum Street Spankers, through several blues periods, through pop and back to where he seems to be now, doing his own blend of blues, a touch of Americana and some hard rock mixed in. He has also played with some excellent people during the years.

In 2001 he played the Ole Blues festival in Bergen, Norway, with George Rarey on guitar and Frosty on drums. He did, among other songs, his walk-about version of Pay to Lose, where he belched out the words while walking among the audience. I also remember his encore, Over the Rainbow, played on a saw. Magic!

The Guy Forsyth Band these days are Nina Singh-Botta on drums and Jeff Botta og bass. You would be hard pushed to find a better and tighterf drummer than Nina Singh-Botta. And her and Jeff are super tight together giving Guy room for his guitar and harmonica. The songs they played were mostly from the latest years, and from his latest CD, The Freedom To Fail.

In the beginning of September Guy Forsyth will play with Carolyn Wonderland at the Blues in Hell festival outside of Trondheim. Before that he is mostly playing USA, but he recently did a European tour. While you are waiting for him to show up at a festival or club near you, check out his CDs, and you will love what you hear. My favourite from the old ones is Steak from 2000, but if you check out Live From Gruene Hall from 2010, you will hear him belch out Taxi on the first track.

All pictures are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.