Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
Guitarist Dylan Forshner Debuts with 'What Am I Doing?' – Exploring Life's Uncertainties Through Raw Music

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Guitarist Dylan Forshner Debuts with 'What Am I Doing?' – Exploring Life's Uncertainties Through Raw Music
Dylan Forshner
Fri Oct 06, 2023
Cashbox Canada

Parsing through the uncertainty of life is core to the human experience. For Toronto-based guitarist and songwriter Dylan Forshner, it’s part of what brought him to music in the first place.

“What Am I Doing?” is Forshner’s debut as a songwriter, fit with the authentically raw trepidation of a musical caterpillar with the chops of a chrysalis ready to crack. Over a grungy riff with enough tempo to replicate the confusion of an occupied mind, Forshner repeatedly asks the most rhetorical of questions:

“What the f*** am I doing?
What the f*** am I doing?
Who told you I was okay
I’m ‘bout to drink until we parlay”

Watch and listen to“What Am I Doing?” on YouTube here:

 Forshner fashioned the song at 2 a.m., unable to sleep and working over lyrics and a chord progression he’d created. After three and a half years of playing guitar covers, the musician was finally branching out into original songwriting, and the quintessential existential thought crossed his mind: “What am I doing?”

“This phrase captured not only how I felt in relation to that moment but how I was feeling emotionally at the time with various struggles in my life having me feeling overwhelmed,” Forshner said. “It encompasses the thought of not knowing what you’re doing contrasted with a sense of optimism to let go of that feeling of helplessness and power on.”

It’s an appropriate, honest open from someone who’s admittedly green. For most of his youth and young adulthood, Forshner was not playing the guitar or writing songs - he was learning and working in the black-and-white world of finance. But that left him feeling unfulfilled, and he changed careers to find something less stressful and with a better work-life balance.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/5tjkwL1Izg436C4hvvZAwg?si=ec09e9ca93da4300&nd=1

While on leave from work in December 2019, the then-27-year-old decided to pick up the guitar. Forshner fell in love with learning riffs and eventually playing full songs, and he was hooked.

In October 2022, he did his first open mic. Knees and voice shaking, he fought through the nerves and got his first taste of performing live. One month later in November, a friend in the music scene set Forshner up for his first gig. He admits he wasn’t ready for it, but he delivered anyway, doing his best to take the songs he knew and give the crowd something to enjoy.

“This felt like a turning point to push harder and harder to learn as much as I can and perform as much as I can,” Forshner said.

In May 2023, Forshner took his first stab at writing his own music, and everything took off from there. He’s since been steadily gigging, writing, and jamming with other musicians, his life completely alien to how it was just five years ago.

He’s now making and releasing his own music, with “What Am I Doing?” an early introduction for the world to the Ontario artist. Though the track was released under Forshner’s name, the final version was a group effort. Drummer Marcelo Maltez of The Howlin Gales and bassist Cas Lucchetta of The Kaspers agreed to practice and perform with Forshner as a favour for his first-ever full band performance. From there, it quickly evolved, and Mark Sinclair of The Howlin Gales got involved to help on lead guitar.

“Without the help of my fellow musician friends in the Toronto music scene, I do not know how this would have ever seen the light of day,” Forshner explained. “I am eternally grateful for everyone who has shown support to keep on trucking as I venture into the journey of a songwriter.”

linktr.ee/dylsguitarvidz

Reviews
Album
Dylan Forshner
Month: Sep 2023
Jack Browning Folk-Maestro Jack Browning Prepares to Mesmerize with Debut Album Red Eye…
Laurie LeBlanc Sing Along with Multi-Award-Winning Country Music Star Laurie LeBlanc on His…
Lawrence Curry Nova Scotia's Lawrence Curry Unveils His Debut LP 'I Sail To Thee,…
Logan Brown Logan Brown: A Decade in Entertainment, Combines Comedy and Music to…
Month: Oct 2023
Econoline Crush Econoline Crush Unveils Powerful “Locked In Your Stone” Written Through…
Alex Nunes Alex Nunes' New Single 'Fear Of Being Erased' Invites…
Dan McLean Jr Guelph’s Soulful Sensation Dan McLean Jr To Release Debut Album Rhyme as Reason
Dylan Forshner Guitarist Dylan Forshner Debuts with 'What Am I Doing?' –…
Land Heart Song Celebrate the Changing of the Seasons with Land Heart Song’s New Single “Green Leaf”
JC Sol Canadian JC Sol Releases New Eddie Bullen/Michael Shotton produced single “…
Martin Larose Lighters Aloft For Renowned Musician Martin Larose’s Latest Release: 'The…
Synthetik Blonde Regina's Synthetik Blonde Electrifies Audiences with 'Manic Mind…
Winsome Kind Folk/Pop Duo Winsome Kind Release Double A-Side Delight: 'Keep on Lovin…
Vandana Vishwas Critically-Acclaimed World Music Artist Vandana Vishwas Set To Release…
Buwa Nigeria-Born, Nanaimo, BC-Based Buwa Returns with New EP Just Call Me Buwa…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 106
  • Page 107
  • Page 108
  • Page 109
  • Current page 110
  • Page 111
  • Page 112
  • Page 113
  • Page 114
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers