Local Recording Artist Forrest Day Eyes Future

It’s difficult to identify what makes Forrest Day so different. It could be the way he sings his scat-rap influenced rhymes, or the fact that he’s been known to wear a muumuu that he once bought at  at live shows.

One could come up with myriad reasons why Day’s sound is singular, but trying to describe it takes away from what really makes it unique. Simply put, the best description of Day’s music comes through experiencing it.

Day, who says his music is influenced by jazz, hip hop and rock, among other genres, believes his style is truly one of a kind.

“I think the content is a little bit more ‘off the path,’ as far as lyrical content. It’s a totally unique style. I haven’t really heard anything out there like it,” Day told me over the phone from his residence in San Leandro.

The five-piece band is composed of Day on vocals, saxophone, and keys, Terrell Liedstrand on guitar, John Sankey on bass, Jasper Skydecker on drums and Nick Wyner on keys. The band has also been known to utilize a variety of different sounds and instruments—bagpipes are just one example.

“I don’t really focus on the same kind of stuff over and over again. I just like to kind of explore different rhythms and sounds,” Day explained. Day says a few of his musical influences include Jay-Z, Busdriver and Modest Mouse.

In addition to a sound that is genuinely original, much of Day’s popularity can be attributed to energetic live performances, which have been gaining popularity in a viral fashion over the past few years.

Day and his band have been touring the West Coast almost non-stop for the last four years, garnering large fan bases all over California, Nevada and Idaho. The band was also one of the featured local artists that played at Live 105’s BFD last month, one of the largest annual music festivals in Northern California.

“The shows are just the real deal,” Day said. “We don’t have any of those backing tracks or things that people like to play with now. We don’t hide behind anything. It’s all real. [No] fake synchronized dancing or bland little shenanigans. It’s just a real, raw show. Sadly enough that’s become more and more rare.”

Honesty seems to be one of the distinguishable qualities of Day’s music, including his lyrics, which he rewrites meticulously. Day tackles several not-so-fun subjects in his debut album, including getting fired from his job (“Assholes”) and the perils of a medically overprescribed America (“Meds”), and he does so in a truthful fashion. Furthermore, he always seems to include a dab of humor that makes the subject matter a bit lighthearted.

“That’s just how I am as a person. If you can’t laugh at things, you’re not gonna make it. You’d become a callous, hardened person. I definitely like to laugh at everything. I use the term ‘tragicomedy,’” Day said.

A good example of Day’s sense of humor is in the beginning of the song “Hyperactive.” In the beginning of the track there is a sample of what I could only describe as a nasally Islamic hymn. When I asked Day about the interlude, he immediately began to recreate the goofy, awkward tune.

“I was working at a daycare, and I’d sit there and sing that and the kids would just laugh,” Day said with a chuckle. “They’d laugh so hard. And then it became this thing where they’d sing it with me. One day I just recorded it in my phone and then I’d press play and the kids would laugh. I used that same sample from my phone that made the kids laugh in the beginning of 'Hyperactive.'”

It’s also notable that the band's following has come without having a major record in circulation. Although Day did put out an electronic EP on iTunes a couple years back, he has since yanked it from distribution. He believes that his music has evolved so much since he first began that he only wants his latest creations getting the exposure.

“I want to put my debut record out and have that be the only thing representing me,” Day said.

Forrest Day’s self-titled debut record will be released Oct. 11. In the meantime, Day is continuing to tour through September, then will settle a bit to focus on his album release. After that he and his bandmates will get back to the usual grind of touring and working on their second album.

“I’m going to record a new album in the winter, and then we’re going to go out on another tour in the spring. It’s gonna be an interesting year. We’re just ramping up for this release,” said Day.

Day, who jokes that either Brad Pitt or Philip Seymour Hoffman would probably play him in a movie about his life, is already anticipating major changes between his debut and sophomore albums, which include the addition of some brass.

“I’m really excited to record my next record with some trumpets,” he said. “The last couple of months I’ve started to fall in love with brass. Trombone and a couple trumpets will be on the next record. I want it to sound kind of Spanish.”

If there’s one thing that is clear, though, is that Day’s love for life is apparent in his music. He says he’s enjoying this time in his life touring and putting out albums, and he just wants to soak up the experience as much as possible.

“We’re really just shaking the tree pretty hard, waiting to see what falls.”

Check out the online version of Forrest Day's debut album here.

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