How to start a band on Craigslist
Jacob Farrell lost touch with music when he got to the University of Florida, which was very unlike him as he has played music pretty much his whole life. On a whim he decided to post on the Gainesville Musicians board on Craigslist in 2015. It just so happens that his future bandmate, Michael Higgins, had also posted.
“We were both terminally bored,” said Farrell, the band’s bassist and singer. “I realized that I needed to start playing music again, which led me to the drastic choice of posting on Craigslist.”
About six years ago, The Forum was formed. Because of a post on an online forum.
The band said they identify most with the catchy, rhythmic genre of indie-pop. Think the 1975 and COIN. Through the years they have seen a lot of change in roster, but after all the years among the four-member band remains the two original members.
Image Courtesy: Jade Pike
The current band members are the lead singer Michael Higgins, bassist Jacob Farrell, lead guitarist Nicholas Garcia and drummer Ethan Klohr.
Though the band formed in Gainesville its members currently live in Orlando. Higgins, lead singer of The Forum, said the band considers both places their ‘home.’ Higgins said he is a little partial to Gainesville because he feels that the indie band scene is strong.
The final show of The Forum’s six-show tour of the Southeast United States was their show at Will’s Pub in Orlando.
"There's a certain comfort in playing in a venue that you know and knowing that you'll see friends there,” Farrell said. “It'll never get old because it's so cool.”
Image Courtesy: Amanda Laferriere
While the band loves the comfort of the home shows, Higgins said for the first time they recognized people returning and they noticed the crowd getting bigger at out-of-state shows.
“It felt like ‘Oh, this is progressing in each place, when we get back there are more people,’” Higgins said.
Farrell said one of the best things about playing shows is the community that is formed. This community is what found The Forum their new lead guitarist. Farrell said earlier this year Nicholas Garcia joined the band because they saw him performing with his other band, Mirror Parts.
“All I can physically and emotionally do is music. So, like, I don’t really think I have a plan B,” Garcia said.
Image Courtesy: Amanda Laferriere
Garcia said he feels most fulfilled when he is playing the most music he can. Garcia, 20, is the youngest in the group and focuses most of his time on music when not at his retail job. Farrell, 26, said he and the other band members have to juggle their professional day jobs with the band.
“We hope just all of a sudden we see numbers go crazy. We get put on a playlist, or somebody finds our music and puts it on a TikTok,” Farrell said. “That’s really how any indie band becomes beyond just a pastime.”
Farrell said no matter what happens with their numbers, he never wants to go back to not playing music. Farrell said there is a lot of new music coming in 2023. So, stay tuned.
Strike Out,
Orlando
Writer: Reanna Haase
Content Editor: Melissa Donovan
Copy Editor: Gabby Macogay
Reanna Haase is a content writer for Strike Magazine Orlando. She is a virgo sun with a libra moon so her social battery is always confused and you can usually find her writing or listening to music. She is a mom to a cat named after Stevie Nicks and a leopard gecko named Harry. You can reach her at reannah@knights.ucf.edu or on instagram @reannahaase.