forestlike
JM = Jared Myers; JWH = Joshua Wayne Hensley
Where are you from?
JWH: We are based out of northern Indiana.
What is your earliest memory of music?
JM: I can remember playing with toys and dancing around to Creedence Clearwater Revival and thinking, “I really like this!” My older sister got the Bee Gees Gold collection, and we loved jamming that around the house. This wasn’t as early, but in 5th Grade there was a kid in my class who made Beach Boys mix tapes and would give them out at school. The Beach Boys street team ran deep back then.
JWH: I also have early memories of driving around with my dad blasting a Beach Boys cassette, and the first 45 that I owned was the “Catch a Wave” single. My earliest memories though were listening to Neil Diamond’s “Stones” album on the turntable and just being amazed at how music made me feel so alive.
When did you start being an artist?
JM: Nirvana hit when I was 14 and I knew I wanted to be part of something like that. I saved up and bought a bass guitar because someone told me bass was easier since it had less strings.
JWH: Yeah, it was around that same time for me as well. My friend Ben and I had also gotten really into Nirvana, and he got a G&L Telecaster for Christmas when we were in middle school. I loved playing around on Ben’s guitar when we hung out and so I started saving up for my own guitar so that we could form a band.
How would you describe your style?
JM: Forestlike is folky and softer with a lot of harmonies, not very flashy. It is lyrically driven and simple, but there are some subtle psych elements that keep it from just being straight-up folk.
Are there any particular themes or messages that you often explore in your music?
JWH: I think overall we both try to avoid themes or lyrics that spell things out too much. Neither of us are really “story song” writers, and we tend to keep things vague which is something we like in other songwriters. I think in general that leaves more room for the listener.
What is the meaning behind your stage name?
JM: I just found “forestlike” when I was flipping through the dictionary. Websters had it listed as one word and I’ve always liked one-word band names. We both enjoy hiking and spending time outside and the forest and woods have a warmth that seemed to fit the music we were making.
What is the story behind your most famous song?
JWH: You’ll have to come back to us once we have a famous song!
What is the hardest thing about being an artist?
JWH: It can be hard just learning to trust yourself and your tastes. There is so much great music out there and it can be easy to get caught up trying out different styles. I’ve been making music for years, but I’m still learning to trust my ears and just be myself.
What’s the best thing about being an artist?
JM: The feeling of making something that wasn’t there before.
What are your goals for your music career?
JM: We just want to keep going, keep enjoying it and keep it fresh.
What do you like to do in your free time (outside of music)?
JWH: We both spend way too much time staring at screens so any chance we get we like to spend time outside.
JM: My wife and I adopted a dog named Franny this year and she has some separation anxiety, so we’re in total dog-parent mode while she’s learning to trust us and grow up a bit. She’s only a year old so it might be a while!
Do you get involved with charities or causes that are important to you?
JWH: Forestlike is still fairly new so that’s not something we’ve really explored much as a band. We did record a version of Dinosaur Jr’s song “Freak Scene” that was part of a recent compilation to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?
JM: I’ve ran 2 marathons.
JWH: I don’t believe in crocodiles.
What does a typical day look like for you?
JWH: If it’s the weekend I get moving slowly, but usually by late afternoon I’ve had enough coffee and I’m down in the studio working on one song or another. I have a goal to do more reading this year in my never ending struggle to spend less time on the computer.
Do you have any upcoming projects we can be excited about?
JM: We’ve both been writing for the next record, but we haven’t started recording yet. We will be rolling out some videos in the upcoming months for some of the songs from this album.
What are some of the standout tracks on your latest project?
JWH: “Let’s Get Bent” stands out to me because our friend John Barlow added some beautiful lap steel. That’s the only part on the album that wasn’t played by me or Jared, and John really elevated the song.
JM: It wasn’t the first song we recorded, but “Weatherman” was the one that kind of set the tone for the record once the mix came together.
What are your favorite topics to write about?
JM: I’m really not into writing topical songs. I pull from my life experiences and assemble the pieces in a way that feels right to me but doesn’t necessarily have a straight narrative.
How do you deal with creative block or artist block?
JWH: I’ve never really worried about writer’s block. I think you can get too in your head if you are trying to force creativity and for me it’s always been more about getting out of the way and letting it happen. I go through creative phases, but I don’t stress when I’m not writing. You have to take time to refuel and live, otherwise you won’t have anything to draw from or write about.
What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
JM: Don’t overthink it, just keep making things.
What was the best show or tour you have ever been on?
JWH: Our old band did a little run to the East Coast and back. We had a couple shows in New York — one at Luna Lounge where Elliott Smith used to hang out on occasion — and that whole trip was a blast. Maybe too much fun.
What’s been your favorite moment of your career so far?
JM: It felt pretty great the first time we realized that people other than our friends or significant others were actually showing up to see us play.
Where can people find your music online?
JWH: Vinyl and downloads can be purchased at forestlike.bandcamp.com and all the direct streaming links can be found at bit.ly/forestlikestreaming
Thank you.
