The Forum

Gainesville-based indie band, The Forum, is showing us what they’re made of through their latest single, “Young Dumb Heads.”

The music for the single was written by the band’s drummer, Nick Wheeler, years ago, and was inspired by some of his favorite bands including Fickle Friends and the 1975. The band then came together to add some Jackson 5 vibes and to create the lyrics, which lead vocalist, Michael Higgins, says are used as a way to make light of situations where he would overthink.

“It talks about everything I’ve thought was make or break but turned out to be fine,” the singer tells us. “One of those situations I talk about in the song is when I had graduated college and was hard on myself for not getting any job offers.”

Speaking of college, that’s what brought the band together. Moving to Gainesville for school, Higgins says he was writing a lot of music and wanted to find some other musicians that could help, so he turned to Craigslist, leading him to Wheeler and the band’s bass player, Jake Farrell. Their meeting then inspired them to name their band The Forum. They later discovered their current drummer, Ethan Klohr, who was a pep band drummer for the University of Florida. 

In the early days of the band, their sound drew inspiration from big names like John Mayer, but as they started to grow, they started incorporating sounds from Brother Moses and The Band CAMINO. 

Now, the boys have come together to release a variety of tunes and music videos, including “Somebody to Rely On” and “Dancers,” both released this year.

When it comes to each of the songs, Higgins says each ties in sonically.

“Each single is a snapshot of what each person can bring to the table,” he tells us.

What makes “Young Dumb Heads” stand out from the rest, though, is that it feels “very full.” The singer tells us this was one of their biggest songs yet, production wise, with the chorus sounding like there are eight different voices singing. He also says six guitars were used, with bright sounds layering over one another.

“We wanted to make sure we were hitting high, middle and low ends all at once.”

The band is preparing to play four different shows across Florida, including our very own STArt the Music Festival coming up on October 2nd!