Born in Denver 30 years ago, Guy grew literally from sea to shining sea; his father's job with an airline kept the family on the move during his early years. Between relocations, he found himself listening to the records his parents grew up with: cowboy balladeer Marty Robbins...Broadway soundtracks...even comedy albums by Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks.

In junior high and high school, the admittedly shy Guy discovered theater and began to blossom. "Theater was something I could do because I had a real good imagination--I spent a lot of time listening to the voices in my head," he recalls.

The original cast of Camelot eventually gave way to the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys in Guy's musical pantheon, but it was on the day on which he first heard Muddy Waters' epochal Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live album that he discovered the soundtrack of his life. Later, in Lawrence, Kansas, a concert by bluesman John Hammond cemented Guy's decision to become a musician.

After knocking around the country role-playing in various Renaissance Faires (as Robin Hood, no less), Forsyth wound up at age 21 in 1990 in fertile musical breeding ground of Austin, Texas. After establishing a reputation as one of the town's premiere musicians, songwriters and showmen with the Guy Forsyth Band, Guy recorded his second album, Needlegun (a previous disc was recorded and released overseas).

In the wake of the album's release, Forsyth and some kindred spirits reacted against the big beat sound of their bands in an unusual fashion: they formed an all-acoustic, unamplified ensemble dubbed the Asylum Street Spankers. The deliberately archaic sound of the band, combined with top-notch musicianship and up to the minute lyrics quickly became one of the city's quirkiest and most enjoyable groups. "There's a hunger for nostalgia which I feel probably comes from a lack of direct connection with history," Guy theorizes.

The band, with Guy, released their debut album, Spanks For the Memories, in 1996.

Today, Guy is no longer a part of the Spankers ("I had to choose one band or the other, or it wasn't fair to either," he explains), but remains on good terms with the members. Indeed, members of the Asylum Street Spankers are prominent on several of the tracks of Can You Live Without.

With his energies fully focused on his own projects, Forsyth finds himself turning more and more to the things that endure: handmade instruments and time-tested themes. That's where he finds his strength and inspiration.

Review
Can You Live Without review

Albums by artist:
Can You Live Without
Needlegun
Steak

Listen:
To listen to sample tracks, click the album of choice above.

Artist's Links:
Artist's Homepage
The Musical Saw Everything you ever wanted to know
Guy's Tour Dates