Sean Forbes
Perfect Imperfection
Sean Forbes
grew up in a musical family. His father Scott and Uncle Dennis founded the
iconic Forbes Brothers Band giving country rock new meaning and substance. Both
Scott and Dennis are Michigan rockers at heart and have compiled impressive
songwriting credits. Dennis is the techno wizard of the clan and engineered
some of Bob Seger’s best recordings from the seventies. Given the Forbes family
history Sean was destined to become a musician. It was in his blood like oxygen
is to breathing. He’s been charting his path since toddlerhood when he showed
an affinity for beating on the drums. For Sean it was the roar that lies on the
other side of silence. It helped him to defeat the dark solitude of being deaf.
At times it could be heavy like living in a cave and not being wanted. Yet he
was loved dearly and his parents helped him go beyond those moments in which he
felt small and frail. As his keening senses evolved, he could smell the air of
the house he was born into. Sean has an uncanny power to feel voice tones and
unearth vibrations hidden from others. He could feel the phantom buzz and for
him it was an elegant surrender to his musical heritage. Sean learned about love from his parents and
he became a champion of those who are not loved. It is no small coincidence
that Sean founded the Deaf Professional Artists Network (D-PAN). It is an
organization that supports the arts and sciences to people who are deaf. D-Pan
has created a network of services and learning opportunities for anyone
interested in pursuing a dream
Sean’s first
full length CD Prefect Imperfection is the culmination of a life long quest for
the lost chords, beats and rhythms derived from the universal note. In making
the music in his mind, Sean has created an entirely new genre of musical
expression. There is nothing past or present that can compare to what Forbes
has dished out on his platter, a feast for the gods; a search for the Holy Grail.
Forbes is an alchemist forging an innovation never imagined; a disciple of Mary
Shelly imparting the secrets of love and immortality. Forbes has created a new
living/pulsating work of art. He is a lone genius crafting rhythmic patterns,
music for the soul. Pay attention, this just may be the last great musical innovation
in our lifetime. Forbes may be a post-modern Robert Johnson standing at the
crossroads between sound and silence. Forbes is beginning to understand that he
is not the sum of other people’s prescriptions and that dialectical dilemmas
exist in the music biz; rebel versus slave; to dominate versus being
victimized. He is on a moral high ground, making choices to help others through
D-PAN. His heart reaches out and touches a deep well of love and peace that
still exists for humanity. It is a brave new world in which a very literal
culture takes more stock in material acquisition and the cult of celebrity over
deep moral interests. It can prove to be unsatisfying. In this world water is
only H20. Forbes is the exception to the rule. He is deeply aware of his
longings, his selfdom. You can feel it in his beats and read it in his lyrics. Scott
now lives in a complex web of relationships never before imagined from Eminem
and Stevie Wonder to actress and mambo queen Marlee Matlin. Yet through all
this buzz of fame and notoriety, Sean has kept his head on straight. It’s
deeply imbedded in his genetic code.
His music
tells a story of struggle and triumph.. Forbes is able to bring his head and
body together and move from the heart. The message is transcendent
We Interrupt This Program
The disc
opens with a statement by Franklin Delano Roosevelt recorded at his First
Inaugural Address in 1933…
“So first of
all, let me assert my firm belief, that the only thing we have to fear is fear
itself”
This is a
catchy mid-tempo rap with rock steady beats with light percussion and
synthesized clips and washes
I’m Deaf
Deafer than
Def Jam. This is a love song, a message to everyone who is hearing impaired and
anyone who misunderstands the needs and strengths of people who are deaf. The
emotions run high and are not sugar coated or minimalized. Sean’s message is
not all about peace and love. It’s about frustration, communication and
do-gooders who invalidate differences. Sean admits that he isn’t about to let
anyone discount his intelligence or his craft. He admits that his hands talk
dirty, so do mine, like a middle finger salute. But Forbes shifts gears and
lists of people who have inspired him such as Jim Abbott, Helen Keller and
Stevie Wonder. The cat on the keyboards pounds out minor chords and fills out
the soundscape. At the Coda he plays a more intricate phrasing that conveys a
deeply felt emotional valence
Crazy About You
The music is
sophisticated minimalist phrasings reminiscent of early 10CC. Forbes vocals are
up front in the mix. Female singers enter the song with a sultry chorus
Crazy About
You
Crazy About
You
Crazy About
You (I can never get enough)
Love the
line about the struggles of maintaining a deep love relationship –
Building a
foundation
But there’s
no furniture in the house
PERFECT
Do You Know What I Mean
Forbes
handles the 100 mile an hour breakneck speed verses. His vocal is stylistically
adroit and powerful, almost breathless. The sing/song chorus has the hooks.
Howard Kaylan would be proud and smilin’
Do you know what mean
Watch These Hands
This song has a 59 second interlude (chill
out) motif that has an unmistakable Stevie Wonder vibe. It’s a song about real
communication, not the newspeak and doublethink predicted by Orwell and others
so many years ago. Forbes attempts to communicate deeply, almost religiously
instead of obfuscating and attempting to control thinking. He has hands that
talk, lips that move and eyes that see. He leads us by the nose to rediscover
the non-verbal ways of telling a story. Whew this is a double plus good belly feel.
Def Deaf Girls
Forbes is
signifying about more than recognizing the sensuous delights of deaf girls;
this is loin bumping, tongue-twisting and deep throated eroticism. It is an
ethological imperative; our instinct to be social and merge with others. This
is a cultural coming of age statement, a signal that the train is coming down
the track and speeding through the tunnel; hopping in the backseat for some
homegrown lovin’. Forbes gets that familiar groove pulsating with the beat.
It’s vice tight and fits just right, like jellyroll rockin’ my soul. Lord Have
Mercy.
Bob Dylan was the First Rapper
Great song
with a stolen verse from Dylan’s apocalyptic Subterranean Homesick Blues. The
chorus with unison singing just sloppy enough to make it real
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