"The Forbes Brothers have been rockin' the Detroit country scene for about 15 years. Led by Dennis and Scott Forbes the band has impeccable credentials. In fact the brothers seem to know every major Michigan rocker that's ever strapped on and plugged-in. Dennis even engineered many of Bob Seger's finest 70's studio work. I can only imagine sittin' in that studio in 1976 and hearing "Night Moves" for the first time and thinking ..."MY GOD HE'S FINALLY DONE IT!!!
And then tramping back to that very same studio in 1979 to listen to the plodding beat and recycled sentiments of "Old Time Rock 'N' Roll" and muttering..."maybe it's time for a break".
But that was another time
What Dennis and Scott have accomplished with the Forbes Brothers Band is nothing less than extraordinary. Forging a sound from the best elements of country and rock & roll is not at all new. But the Forbes have synthesized an authentic and original sound.
And it only took 15 years
Maybe that's the secret. Their instincts are informed by their historical sense of Michigan music. Their sixties credentials as Michigan rockers are as solid as their knowledge and love for traditional country music. Like any good Michiganders with an appreciation for the dialectical tensions between the past and present, the Forbes Brothers understand that Michigan was ALWAYS a hotbed for country music and that every major and minor country act has travelled the I-75 corridor between Saginaw and Detroit and played to legions of fans. Lefty Frizzell even wrote a country hit, "Saginaw Michgan" (1964) that seemed to compliment Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" (1963) at around the time Jack Scott was shifting (gradually) from rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll to a more countrified sound.

The Forbes Brothers Band recently released "Wrong Side of The Bar" a CD of orginal material written primarily by Dennis and Scott Forbes with occasional help from heartthrob vocalist Ron Jacobs. He's a compelling front man with THE PERFECT voice. He has it all, range, pitch, nuance...plus he's a rock 'n' roll screamer like Seger.
Very Cool
But Jacobs is only part of the magic
'Cos ya see the band is... K-I-L-L-E-R.
Tight and powerful.
The drummer Dave Jack not only kicks it-in but he has personality to boot - like Buddy Rich or Gene Krupa...even Sandy Nelson. LET THERE BE DRUMS!!!
The Dual guitars of Scott and Dennis remind me of Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood circa the Move's "Message From The Country" but kaleidoscoped through the lens of Phil Everly and James Burton. George Cantebury on keys, John Ross on bass, and Tom Holyer (on just about everything else) are uniformly excellent.

The Forbes Brothers have ignited a large gathering of fans and followers in Detoit and Flint and are now looking to win the hearts and minds of mid-Michigan's music lovers.
I am reviewing (as we speak) the Forbes Brother's latest and greatest elpee's worth of tunes, "THE WRONG END OF THE BAR". It's hot all points south.
Let's bring up north with a bang "
   Bo White, White's Bar - Saginaw 11/24/03

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