An Interview with Foreverinmotion
By Amber Clark
In an age where the dominant concept of a musician has become a solitary individual with a microphone, Foreverinmotion seeks to redefine the notion of the one-man band. Brendon Thomas, 24, has snuck onto the scene accompanied by only his instruments and vocals to produce a sound that is uniquely individual, a difficult feat in a time where distinctness is hard to master in the music world.
Thomas entered into the field of music as any young kid does, by pickup up the guitar at the age of 14; prompted by his favorite bands of the time. Nirvana and Everclear, among others, intrigued Thomas, who admits these choices weren’t exceptionally radical, “Cliché, yes, but I was just a kid who like to skateboard and listen to punk rock.”
This refreshingly normal beginning funneled Thomas into his first band, Color Blind. Thomas jokes, “Young and excited with hardly a clue, but we had a lot of fun.” He moved onto to a new project during is senior year of high school. The band, called Blind Luck, introduced Thomas to the more professional side of being a musician including the experience of the tour.
During his time with Blind Luck, Thomas began to explore solo endeavors recording a solo album using a Yamaha mixer, mic and a Dell PC. The end result became Foreverinmotion’s first self-titled album. Soon after releasing this record, Thomas became focused on his solo adventure full time, bestowing it with the name Foreverinmotion. The intriguing name stems from an old journal entry, “It was a rant about tie and the illusion of past and future, and how the only thing that truly exists is the present, moment by moment, forever in motion.”
Thomas turned Foreverinmotion into one of the most unique sounding one-man bands on the scene not only through his ability to perform all of the instrumentals on his tracks, but via his impressive songwriting capabilities and complimentary vocals. Thomas claims the source for his poetic lyrics grows from his surroundings. “My inspiration stems from the equilibrium of my madness and appreciation for beauty,” which is evident through a single glance of his lyrics.
The combination of lyrics and instrumentals creates an individual sound that even Thomas has trouble comparing to another like band. He describes his sound as a, “handsome mess of chords and words floating in a puddle filled with moon water and mirrors that occasionally overflows and lets you see your reflection in the dirt.” In light of absorbing Foreverinmotion’s sound, this eloquent description is eerily fitting. Thomas sound allows one to be drawn in and identify with the beautifully simple lyrics.
Although Thomas’s sound proves incomparable to another, his influences are numerous. Taking note of everyone from Nick Drake and Bob Dylan to Ray Charles and Jack Kerouac right down to his two-year-old cousin Fiona. This assortment of artists becomes enmeshed within Foreverinmotion’s sound giving base to its unique sound; yet not appear within the music recognizably.
Thomas takes Foreverinmotion on the road rather regularly, touring through out the United States everywhere from major arenas to smaller venues. Despite this big-time tour atmosphere, he holds that one of his favorite shows ever played was at a house in the backwoods of Vermont and if he could tour with anyone in the music industry it would be Bob Dylan, simply for the backstage chat.
To date Thomas has released two albums, the debut self-titled record in 2004 followed by his sophomore effort The Beautiful Unknown in 2007, and is currently sitting an untitled album waiting for release this summer. In addition to Foreverinmotion, Thomas is embarking on the journey of a new band, which he kept mum about. After the release of his up-coming album, he plans to head out on the road again. Until then keep an ear out for a potential new band and check out iTunes for a taste of Foreverinmotion.