Catch Of The Week: Forged
Meet Forged, a country band from Southern, NH and beyond!
When last we heard from Forged they were a duo, made up of Jessica Teixeira and Shauna Muhonen. Fast forward nearly 3 years and the duo is now a band. Picking up pieces of inspiration from all over the musical map, from pop, to gospel and country, Forged finds comfort in their harmonies, and strength in their lyrics.
For lead singers Jessica and Shauna, music has always been a part of their lives, and it was the force that brought them together. They forged a friendship after first singing together at a women’s retreat. As the duo evolved they realized they wanted more; a bigger sound, a different approach. Enter: Rob Murphy with his big bad bass, Matthew Johndrow to hold down the beat on drums and Mike Piston -guitar slayer.
Forged Music
Hot off the presses… New music from the group! Push play for “You Can’t Fix Crazy.” This is a good kind of crazy that you’ll want to listen to over and over again. Guitar riffs and rockin beats give this song a sassy and soulful Carrie Underwoodish feel. Let it rip…
Now, take a listen to this high energy neo-traditional gem, “Old Bones, ” another brand new creation from Forged. It may remind you a little of the Sara Evans classic, “Suds In The Bucket.”
Forged Facts
- From: Coast to coast and Canada! Now lives in New England
- Current single: You Can’t fix Crazy started with someone throwing out the line “you can’t fix crazy” and we decided to write a song around it! Old Bones came about because of a crazy dream one of our children had. As we were talking about it a song idea formulated. We had some additional musicians/friends help us with the music on both of these songs. Our friend Rob Shapiro played banjo and Rob Waltz played lead guitar.
- What lead you to music: We were all drawn to music at an early age
- Instruments played: Rob plays Trumpet, Keyboard, Violin, Bass – Upright and Electric . Matt-hand drums-djembe, congas, dunbek and branched out to the kit about 5 or 6 years ago, as well as guitar, keyboard. Shauna play piano but has recently started playing mandolin. Mike plays bass, keys, sax and is now our guitar payer. Jess doesn’t play any instruments…yet
- How would you describe your sound: As we have evolved from a duo into a band our sound has also evolved into more of an Americana/Backporch country style. Our first EP took on a darker country pop sound but as we learn new instruments, we are finding ourselves return to country roots, almost Americana. Old Bones is a good example of this. We are heavily influenced by The Band Perry from the early days.
- Who inspires you: As a band our new sound is largely inspired by The Band Perry – their early days.
- How did you get your name: Since we are creating something new and bringing new music into being we decided Forged was the right fit for our name.
- Awards/accolades: We are so proud that Rob Murphy got Boston’s Best Bass Player!
- Dream duet partner: We would all love to work with Miranda of course! We’d also love to work with Lori McKenna as a writing partner. For Jess and Shauna, she embodies everything they dream of as mother’s and songwriters in country music.
- All- time favorite country song: I don’t think we can all agree on just one!
- What songs do you like now on Country 1025: 7 Summers, Love and Hate, and everything you guys play!!!
- First country concert: Mike’s and Jess’ first show was Rascal Flatts. Mike is primarily a bass player so he’s a huge Jay DeMarcus fan
- If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing: Probably dreaming of playing in a band.
- Day Job: Mike is the Director of Technical Services at a Software Communications company. Jessica is a mother of 4 and a mental health counselor. Shauna is raising her 6 children while running a small farm. Matt -sales enablement. Rob-College Professor & Division Chair.
- Most proud moment: Our kids!!! We all have children and they are the priority and biggest accomplishment. Mike has a 14 year old son that plays bass and the most proud moment he had was watching him play at the Bull Run in Shirley MA. Mike still hasn’t played that venue and while proud, we think he’s a little jealous.
- Crazy thing that happened in your music career: Rob broke his foot jumping up and down on stage singing a song. Mike: One time, I drove an hour into Boston to play 12 songs and get paid $5. Oh wait, that was with Forged, the early days. Jessica met Garth Brooks in Nashville and gave him a copy of their first EP!
- Fun facts: We are kind of lame, we like to facetime to “write songs” and we all just play with the different filters for an hour and get nothing done.
- Mantra: I don’t know if I’d call it a mantra, but we always talk about “when we get to Nashville”
Follow Forged
Every week, Kruser’s Local Catch highlights New England’s homegrown country music talent, and tells you where to catch them locally and in Nashville. Click here to view previous catches.
Singer/songwriters with original music: Please submit for consideration on The Local Catch by emailing Kruser at: carolyn.kruse@bbgi.com
