After the Downbeat

The Death and Rebirth of the Gainesville Music Scene

The Waiting Game

As he looks around at the collection of bandmates, friends, family, managers, and fans, Michael Higgins realizes that he has Craigslist to blame for all of this.

The 25-year-old leans against the tall wooden table and chats with his manager, Tara Carroll, 20, before the concert. To his far left, his bandmate Nick Wheeler, 28, wearing an all-black ensemble, stands at the bar ordering a pre-show beer. And to his back left, his other bandmates Ethan Klohr, 23, with his lavender shirt and small smile, and Jake Farrell, 24, in his black dress shoes, tapered black pants and oversized cream shirt, stand with cold drinks in their hands, talking to each other.

The four band members face unforgiving Florida weather this Saturday night in August — all mugginess and no relief. The blue wrist-banders (band members and managers) relax in a back corner of the Heartwood Soundstage venue, next to the merchandise tables and bar, while the pink and orange wrist-banders are scattered about the rest of the outdoor venue. Those concert attendees stroll about the various food trucks in the back, claiming chairs on the lawn before the festival begins or checking in at the small table that serves as the venue entrance.

Background music blasts through the large onstage speakers. The song selections reflect the festival genre; artists from Phoebe Bridgers to Lorde to The Neighbourhood fuel the pre-concert atmosphere.

Ethan and Jake eventually saunter over to Michael with the familiarity of family but the nerves of strangers.

“We haven’t played a show since March 2020 in person,” Ethan says to the group. “It’s a whirlwind of emotions. Just being back in Gainesville. I feel good; it’s like being back home.”

The other members smile, reminiscing on all the good fortunes Gainesville has brought them — from their origin story to getting signed with Swamp Records.

“Nick and I usually play off of each others’ nerves,” Michael says. “When one of us is really nervous, the other one usually isn’t and will help the other one out. Tonight we’re both nervous, but I will play the role of the calm person.”

As Michael says that, the first band in the Indie Live Presents: Back to School Fest, Driptones, sets up for their set. And so the final 40 minutes in The Forum’s 533-day waiting game begin. At that point, the band members disperse — to get another drink, talk to friends or stay at the same table.

Michael looks at the crowd that’s been trickling in since 7 p.m. and sees hundreds of people spaced out in groups of chairs on the lawn. About 10 minutes into Driptones’ set, he notices a crowd of people, all wearing masks, have formed a pit area at the front of the stage. Until that point, Michael and his bandmates have thought that audience members weren’t allowed to make a pit, as they observe orange tape blocking people from getting too close to the front.

Their assumptions were wrong. Mostly young adults dressed in trendy, all black outfits start entering the orange tape area. They get the “okay” to enter from a venue employee sitting on a chair at the pit opening.

And as the lead singer in Driptones announces they are about to perform the last song, Michael, Nick, Jake and Ethan all return from milling about the venue to their temporary home base by the merch table. They put their drinks down and walk further to the back area of the stage. It’s nearly time for them to set up.

Ethan says, “It’ll feel more and more real with every minute that passes tonight.”

Lying Dormant

A lesser-known music industry compared to cities like Nashville or New York, Gainesville, Florida still has a strong community. But keeping the music scene afloat during the past 19 months of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge. From live performances not happening, studios being closed and band members separated by distance, it might appear bleak.

But the Gainesville music scene hadn’t gone anywhere — it’s just been dormant.

The local musicians in the industry have felt the effects of every struggle, and each has their own story. As live performances, arguably one of the most important parts of music, are coming back, these local musicians have their home to return to now.

The Forum’s first home was Craigslist. Three of the current members serendipitously found each other via ads on the website (the current drummer, Ethan, was added to the group a few years after their formation when the previous drummer had to leave due to scheduling conflicts). The indie-rock band has been releasing music since 2017, with some fan favorites being “Comet” and “When Did Everything Change.” The group consists of four members: Michael Higgins, Ethan Klohr, Nick Wheeler and Jake Farrell. They’ve grown up together in the studio, on the road and on stage. Before March 2020, touring was one of the biggest parts of The Forum’s presence as a band.

“It’s very fun and very tiring and very uncomfortable, like physically uncomfortable, because we packed into cars or a van at one time,” Michael said. “We slept on a lot of floors. But it’s really fun just because, and Nick and I have always talked about this, we love being somewhere that we’re technically not supposed to be.”

“There’s no reason, other than the fact that we are playing music that night, for us to be in that place, and that seems really cool to us.”

Katie Harmon, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Florida, made the unique decision to start her music career during the COVID-19 pandemic. She’d written music in the past, but had never done anything with it until now.

“It gave me the time to just sit down and write, which I was really thankful about,” Katie said. “And I feel like a lot of creative artists during that time, while it was so difficult, finally had time to sit down and be like ‘let me focus on what I’m trying to channel.’”

Harmon chose to record, release and promote her first ever single, called “falling hard,” in February 2021. Though she’s not currently signed to a label and never expected to launch her career in Gainesville, Harmon did work with some producers on the single and has hopes of being signed one day.

“It honestly is so exciting and makes me so happy because, honestly, UF was never a place that I thought I would come to,” Katie said. “I thought I was getting out of Florida and New York was where I was going. So to experience the support that I have at UF and the excitement from people I didn’t know is what is so cool.”

Second Chances

In his dorm alone in fall 2014, the UF freshman Michael Higgins sat on his bed with his legs crossed, strumming his guitar and humming melody ideas. He jotted down lyrics, parts for other instruments and even harmonies.

He thought to himself, “It would be really nice to play with people here, ‘cause I haven’t played alongside friends since earlier in high school.”

Michael decided that his one-man-band wasn’t what he really wanted to do, and opened his laptop to start the search for a band. Craigslist was the first stop on his digital journey, purely because he didn’t know where else to look. Michael never posted his own ad, but instead searched “Gainesville musicians” and responded to two or three ads put up by other students.

One of the students, Jake Farrell, responded to his message. A jolt of excitement went through Michael. Jake’s post said he’s a bassist, and that was hard to find in Gainesville. They shot some emails back and forth, but nothing ever really came to fruition.

Now Michel was nearing the end of his freshman year and was bummed that the band he dreams of hadn’t worked out yet.

One spring day in April, Michael and his friends, lured in by the free t-shirts advertisement, walked to a UF tennis match. They got their free t-shirts and sat down on the bleachers. After a few minutes, friends of friends were spotted in the crowd and the two groups began chatting.

“Wait, you’re the guy I’ve been talking to — you’re the Craigslist guy!” Jake said to Michael.

Michael’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. After all those weeks of emailing, they’d run into each other at the most random, non-music related place. Michael and Jake exchanged numbers, and in the process realized they’re both from Orlando.

The school year came to an end, and Jake and Michael both headed home to Orlando for the summer holiday. That summer, the two met up all the time to get to know each other, played songs together and wrote music. They really got into the groove of it by the time the next school year started — Michael’s sophomore year.

Though a lead singer and a bassist were a great start to a band, they definitely didn’t complete one. So for the second year in a row, Michael continued his Craigslist search for band members. He noticed a second ad from one of the original students he contacted and remembered that the guy never got back to him. Still, Michael decided to reach out to this second post anyway, and finally got a reply. The dude, Nick Wheeler, and Michael decided to meet up on campus for coffee, and it was a friendship born in an instant.

After that, Michael, Jake and Nick all decided to meet up at Michael’s apartment to write music and try to kickstart a band. They found a drummer, and then, though they didn’t need a forum to find band members anymore, they kept the idea of it alive in their band name, The Forum.

Somebody to Rely On

While all the Gainesville musicians had their own demons to face during the pandemic, the struggle extended to everyone in the music scene, including venues and record labels.

“It [COVID-19] was a really interesting way for bands to get a new perspective on how to do things,” said Shannon Mercatante, President of Swamp Records. “We did our first virtual festival last fall with COVID and it actually turned out to be one of our most successful fundraisers. It was tough but it made people think out of the box.”

Swamp Records is the most prominent record label in Gainesville and has managed well-known local groups like Flipturn and Driveaway. Currently, they’re managing five local groups: The Forum, Driptones, MADWOMAN, The Late Night Losers and Faith and Majesty.

One of those groups was signed to their label during the midst of the pandemic; Faith and Majesty. The sister duo got signed to the label in February 2021. The Smith sisters aren’t just any typical folk music duo, playing acoustic guitar and singing personal songs of heartbreak and growth. They are also COVID-19 nurses.

“Recently, we started doing travel nursing to help out with COVID-19 and the vaccinations,” Faith, 28, said. “We are actually in Portland right now doing that.”

Their focus on connecting with others seeps into every aspect of their lives — from their storytelling through songs to tending to patients. Faith and Majesty hadn’t always worked closely together, though.

“We really weren’t super close,” Faith said. “She’s [Majesty] always been into music, and then we started writing together just to experiment and see how it went, and it actually went really well. And we’ve been doing it ever since.”

The duo works together to write songs about trust, heartache and growth that flow together in rhythm with their newfound bond.

“In this moment I give you rest.
Cherish things when they run out.
Like holding hands and speaking loud.
Feathers plucked one by one seems painful, senseless and wrong.”
from their 2021 single “Premise.

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That magic that fuels their songwriting and singing is part of what drew Swamp Records to sign them in a time when most artists felt they were taking a step back rather than a step forwards. Other groups at the label also worked to take steps forward. Tara Carroll, the Director of Artists at Swamp Records as well as The Forum’s manager, saw that firsthand.

Throughout the pandemic, they’ve been working together remotely, and eventually in person, to write, record and release three singles since the pandemic started. The first one they released was called “Somebody to Rely On,” dropped on January 22, 2021. The next one was “Dancers,” released on May 14, 2021. And the most recent one, released on August 30, 2021, was called “Young Dumb Head.”

And they were excited to get the opportunity to perform all three new songs for the first time at the Back to School Fest concert in August.

Metamorphosis

After taking 20 minutes to set up their microphones, instruments and wires onstage, the members of The Forum are almost ready to launch into performing their first song. With their guitars strapped on, Michael, Jake, and Nick all walk to Ethan at the drums, forming a circle. They go over things for a second, and then assume their spots. Facing the stage, Nick is placed on the front left with his guitar, keyboard and microphone, Michael is front and center with his guitar and microphone and Jake is on the front right with his bass and microphone.

From the center back of the stage, Ethan raises his drumsticks and begins the first song, “Dancers” from 2021.

“She said I should be afraid
Of the new routines I’ve made
A conversation that is making me uncomfortable
How many people wanna change this
Slinking into stasis
Laughing at the punchlines we already know.”

Offstage, Nick appears relaxed, thoughtful and almost brooding; he leans into that when performing. As he plucks his guitar and sings a harmony for the song, his face contorts with the emotional burden of someone who’s lived 100 lifetimes. As an audience member, you can feel what he’s feeling without an ounce of doubt. Nick is the definition of “it’s written all over his face.” As he gets into the pocket of the song, he moves with the melody like his body is merely an extension of the guitar.

Ethan’s presence isn’t completely transformed, just pivoted. Offstage, he brings a content, calm focus to every word he says. Onstage, that focus is poured into the beat. While his bandmates jump and move around the stage, Ethan and his drums are the steady force that keep the music going. He is literally and metaphorically the anchor.

Jake is gleeful. A large smile plastered on his face, Jake moves through the song with an energy matched by the crowd. It looks like there’s nowhere he’d rather be. He looks to his right at Michael and smiles wider. Whether it be from the joy of performing after so long or from the thrill of the song, it doesn’t matter. Jake is clearly there because he loves it.

With his hair taken out of its bun for the first bit of the set, Michael is the lead singer. Though he was certainly feeling the nerves before the show, they aren’t his focus once performing.

As he sings about feeling stuck to the crowd, it’s undeniable that Michael isn’t feeling stuck in this moment.

Both the people in the pit and the folks on lawn chairs are appreciating The Forum’s performance. The pit members jump up and down with the beat of the music. Some people are taking videos, others are singing along and others are trying to get the band members’ attention by saying, “I want more hair flips!”

As they cruise through their set, the members of The Forum gradually loosen up more and more.

At one point in between songs, Michael pulls his phone out of his back pocket and says, “Alright everyone, let’s make a TikTok!”

He puts his phone up to the crowd and then has everyone cheer and put their hands up in the air. The audience eats it up and everyone in the pit throws their arms up to form a sea of hands. Michael laughs and says thank you, and then they go into their next song.

Ethan, Nick, Michael and Jake come together to perform the last song in their set — from their 2021 song “Young Dumb Head” — and the friends accomplish the goal they’ve been striving for for so long.