Check Out Jerome Forde’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerome Forde.

Hi Jerome, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve always loved music, but it wasn’t until I was about twelve or so that I started playing it myself. I picked up a few chords on the guitar and began writing songs. That’s pretty much all I did throughout my teenage years: play music with my friends and write music. Then at the age of eighteen, I met a girl, and we fell in love. I left my hometown and spent the next decade and a half travelling, studying philosophy, and starting a family. We lived like nomads for a while there, bouncing around the upper Midwest for a few years, then spending some time in the south, and finally ending up here in northern Michigan. 

I stopped playing music in my early twenties. It was only about two years ago that I took it up again, which has felt both strange and familiar. In some ways, it feels like I just woke up from a long nap and am picking up exactly from where I started. But in another way, it feels so different. It’s like coming back to anything you’ve left for a while. Change is like that, I guess. 

Almost as soon as I started writing songs again, I decided to put together a little demo recording and send it out to a few record labels. One of them was the Toronto-based indie label styled (weewerk), home of musical acts like Great Lake Swimmers, The Burning Hell, and Art Bergmann. The label’s founder, Phil Klygo, got back to me almost instantly, and we started talking. I got to work recording a batch of songs, and about three months later, the project was set to be released as my self-titled debut album. That was last April. More recently, I had the honor of recording a cover version of Art Bergmann’s song, “Death of a Siren.” That single was released in June. 

Since getting signed to (weewerk), I’ve been mainly focused on playing as many shows as I can all over Michigan. It’s been so long since I’ve played live. But it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve met a lot of great people and seen so many beautiful places. I plan on spending the fall recording my next album and putting together a tour for 2024. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No. The road here’s been anything but smooth. The main reason I stopped playing music in my early twenties was because I had what I’ll just call, for lack of a better word, an “experience.” I’m not sure how many people will relate to it, but it was sort of like when you’re all alone, with nothing to do and no place to be, and suddenly become overwhelmed with the question: “Why?” And not only why is “this” particular thing here or “that” particular thing there, but why is there ANYTHING AT ALL? I really hate trying to put the experience into words because no matter how hard I try it always seems to come across as way too abstract and detached from ordinary life. But at the time I had this experience (or “existential crisis,” let’s say), it couldn’t have felt more practical, more necessary, or more real. For me, it was a matter of life and death. So, I decided I’d try to hunt down an answer. I spent the next fifteen years studying philosophy, theology, and religious studies at different universities. I even went to seminary and eventually got my doctorate. I served some time as a minister and planned on teaching someday. I guess you could say it was all going to plan, too. But just when things were about ready to take off, I came to a somewhat disturbing realization: the “answer” I’d spent so much time, and energy chasing was never going to let itself be caught. I’d been chasing a ghost. 

So, I decided to do what a lot of people thought was crazy at the time: I abruptly left a perfectly good job and potential career behind to move my family to a place I’d never even visited before: northern Michigan. Having lived here for about two years now, I can safely say it’s the first place we’ve been able to call home in a long time. But it didn’t always feel like that. When we arrived, I didn’t exactly have a whole lot going for me. I worked some entry-level jobs while I tried to figure out what I was going to do. Honestly, I had no idea. 

Maybe it was the desperation I felt or the general sense of lostness that comes with leaving so much behind, but whatever it was, I found myself driven back to playing and writing music again. And who knows? Sometimes I think that maybe music is the answer I’d been chasing the whole time. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I guess the term normally used to label people like myself is “singer-songwriter.” I just started playing live gigs again a few months ago after taking an 18-year hiatus, so I’m not known for much yet. But wherever I’ve had the chance to play so far, I’ve been able to connect with the audience and have made some good friends along the way. I suppose I’m most proud of being on Phil Klygo’s record label (weewerk) and of having the chance to release my music there. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My songwriting hero is a guy named Townes Van Zandt. Once in an interview, he mentioned how his biggest motivation was to write a song good enough to save someone’s life. I can testify firsthand that he did just that for me, and more than once. And I suppose that’s what matters to me most, too. I want to write songs that aren’t just pleasant to listen to but actually mean something to people. Maybe talk of “saving” someone’s life is a little grandiose. But if I can at least give people something honest to listen to, that’s good enough for me. 

Contact Info:

• Website: weewerk.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeromefordesongs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeromefordesongs
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jerome_forde_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeromefordesongs
• Other: https://jeromeforde.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Falia Forde
River K