Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Jonny Forbin was dancing around the house to his parent's tapes and records as soon as he could walk. Since childhood, he has demonstrated an insatiable appetite for entertaining, especially making people laugh. If you ask one of his friends, they'll tell you that Jonny has an uncanny ability to make even the most mundane story hilarious. However, it wasn't until his teenage years, when his father surprised him with an acoustic guitar and a cheesy instructional video that Jonny began to realize his true creative outlet: music.

After learning some basic chords, most teenagers hurry to learn their favorite easy to play songs. Not Jonny. He was already finishing up his first original song--"Destiny Unknown"-- a few weeks into playing! Continuing to write songs while attending college, Jonny built a name for himself locally, playing acoustic sets at parties and open-mic nights in the Washington D.C. area. It was then he began honing his unique style, which skillfully balances abstract moods, with poignant, descriptive imagery and narrative. During his senior year, he studied classical guitar with Professor Myrna Sislen, a former member of the famed Washington D.C. Guitar Quartet, and former student of Charlie Byrd. Jonny attributes his unique finger-picking style and classically informed chord progressions to her intensive instruction.

Immediately following graduation, Jonny moved to Tucson Arizona to pursue a Masters of Landscape Architecture. He managed to find time to form his first band and perform out while attending school, but it was a tough period for him. The summer after his first year in the program, he made the difficult decision to put classes on hold, and ride the musical wave that had been pushing him along, for all of these years. What followed was a time of great joy, and huge artistic growth. He ate, slept (well he could barely sleep) and breathed music in all of it’s aspects: getting into a mindset to write, writing, revising, learning theory, learning how to fill out a copyright form (you need something to obsess about after you abruptly leave grad-school), learning to sing and of course…running to his buddies at 4:00 AM to show off his latest. On the strength of some demos, he booked and played a wide variety of gigs in Tucson and Phoenix, including coffee shops, bars, clubs, sorority house fundraisers and even a wedding. His live performances are refreshingly eclectic, ranging from fiery classic rock swagger, to ethereal acoustic bliss. But, no matter the style, each of his original songs creates a complex and distinct mood that takes the audience along for his ride. Using his acoustic guitar, an occasional live sample and his intricate yet bold voice, he is a fresh new talent in the singer-songwriter world.

Currently, Mr. Forbin is building a name for himself performing throughout the East Coast (The Annex, The Fire, Milkboy Coffee, Grape Street, The Burlap and Bean, The Parkside Lounge). He has shared the stage with several fine national and regional acts (Stepanian, Artese N Toad, Sean Lee), and released a self-titled EP (November 2007), which was recorded in Philadelphia.