Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Jared Forth of West Suberbs

We recently had the chance to connect with Jared Forth and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
There was a time when I tried to pack in many things in to my morning routine; working out, music practice, reading, making breakfast, etc.

This meant I only had 15 to 30 minutes per task and made the morning feel frantic and a bit chaotic.

Recently, in the last few years, I’ve been focusing on doing fewer things, but going deeper.

Right now I do some stretches / warm ups for about 30 minutes and practice double bass for around an hour. I try to keep the pace slow and focus on quality over quantity.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a musician who is passionate about human connection and the way that art can connect people and provide insight into the human experience.

Recently, I’ve become more and more interested in participating in what Christopher Small calls “Musicking”; specifically the activity of making music with real humans in physical spaces. The internet can be an incredible resource to listen to a wide variety of music, but the live music experience is something that I feel is irreplaceable.

My current musical endeavors are mostly teaching guitar to students of all ages and performing on guitar and bass in a variety of contexts including pit orchestras and jazz / improvisational settings.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
One moment that shaped how I see the world and the power of music happened last year when a close family member was in a surgery.

I was in the waiting room for hours, and for some of the time I was there a volunteer pianist came in and played on the grand piano in the hospital.

The repertoire varied between hymns and old jazz standards, but by listening to familiar tunes by someone who clearly cared deeply about music and creating a calm atmosphere, I was comforted. Music truly is medicine.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
A main fear that has often held me back throughout my life is the fear of falling short of perfection, or of the ideal that I hold myself to.

This can manifest in a variety of contexts but I often have experienced it in performance settings where I do not meet whatever standard I have set for myself.

I wrote a piece on my website about this: https://jaredforth.com/blog/music/music-mental-health/ in which a shared a quote from the Chicago jazz guitarist Andy Brown. He says:

“Most insecurity comes from having an outsized view of your importance in the universe, so I try and keep things in perspective as much as possible. When you get upset with your playing it’s usually because you think you’re better than you really are, and that’s just a sign you need to work on your ego.” — Andy Brown

This is become almost a mantra for me that I come back to often. Humility is a powerful antidote to both pride and fear.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me has become closer to the real me the older I’ve gotten.

I’ve gradually become less and less active on social media, which can be a powerful way to engage with reality in a deeper way. Now, I don’t think of myself and my social profiles as being very connected or a core part of my identity,

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I think something that I offer to my students is both help in their musical journeys and also a listening ear to whatever is going on in their life.

Often, my lessons will be part music and part connecting about life. I think both aspects are important and may be something unique that I offer.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Josh Forth
Jeremy Garza

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