Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band

The origins of Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band lie in a studio project built around the guitarist and leader’s album Solar Motel, which Paradise of Bachelors issued in October 2013. That four-part suite mapped the evolution of rock guitar from Jerry Garcia through Tom Verlaine and back, and it was realized with drummer Mike Pride, keyboardist Shawn Edward Hansen, and electric bassist Peter Kerin. Working as a unit expanded the options available to Forsyth, previously recognized chiefly for solo work and collaborations. Under the name Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band the musicians began touring and documented a performance with the April 2014 release of Solar Live 11.15.13 on Electric Ragtime. After Pride departed, Forsyth, Hansen, and Kerin recruited drummer Steven Urgo and second guitarist Paul Sukeena to record the follow-up Intensity Ghost, which No Quarter brought out that October. The double-album The Rarity of Experience surfaced in 2016, featuring Forsyth, Kerin, Urgo, Hansen, and additional guitarist Nick Millevoi; once the sessions ended, Ray Kubian took over the drum chair from Urgo.