Peach Jam Podcast: Fooshee's Forecast

 

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Fooshee's Forecast on the Peach Jam Podcast

Credit: GPB

 

Jon Fooshee: We're Fooshee's Forecast from Atlanta we play, were a jam band. We play rock music, funk music, folk music and everything in between.

Jeremy Powell: So when you say everything in between, it's like that's the understatement of the day, because your music is very, very hard to put a label on. Like it's, it's very hard to nail down.

Jon Fooshee: Yeah, that's, that's kind of the, the through current of a jam band is basically long improvised sections. And so what you do around that, the audiences are pretty open to it. So that's that's kind of the main attractive reason as to why I got into it is to have that musical freedom to be able to express myself. Yeah. And kind of not have that limit or that pigeonhole of like, this is our genre. And so now even off the camera, I've got to, you know, wear a certain thing or act a certain way. Yeah.

Jeremy Powell: Oh, you do you find that really that some people have to carry themselves in a certain way because of the music they play?

Jon Fooshee: Yeah, I mean, totally, because it's like a lot of times, you know, it's, it's about what shows you're doing, but it's also about, you know, how you come across on social media and stuff like that. And I think there's, you know, some musicians, they're playing a part and some musicians are the part they're playing is themself. And so I try to stay on that side of things.

 

Jeremy Powell: You guys are kind of a collective of local musicians who work with other projects. Tell me how that works.

Jon Fooshee: Yeah, I think I think that amongst the musician circuits, I think the circles are a lot smaller than people think. Actually, I was reading this book called Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and he was talking about like anybody's max social group is going to be 125 people. And so if you think about that, every different scene is going to be roughly around 100 to 150 people. And so, you know, a couple of years ago, I went to Georgia State, started playing the School of music there, started meeting people, and just became a part of that social group. And so, yeah, when we have a show, I'll call up, see who's available, and yeah, we'll just play and everybody's got something unique to bring to the table. So it ends up being a unique experience each time. But there's a lot of trust involved with, okay, they're going to show up, they're going to play their part, but they're also going to be a good vibe and they're going to be fun to hang out with because that's that's more than half of it.

Jeremy Powell: So you're almost like a conductor of local music. And in and around Atlanta where you're you're plucking these guys out to play with you and create something that's going to be unique each time.

Jon Fooshee: Yeah, totally. And there's there's certain staples, you know, certain changes will go through. But when we get into it, I want people to just express themselves.

Gus Glasser: A lot of personal management also, just like there's like a like a conductor not only of like the sound, but also of like the schedule and who gets here on time and who brings this and who brings... There's a lot of like moving parts.

Jeremy Powell: Somebody's got to bring the snacks.

Gus Glasser: Somebody has to bring snacks. Unfortunately, I did not. I suffered deeply.

Jon Fooshee: Because Sam got a Reuben, Sam and Jacob. They called me at the right time.

Gus Glasser: Did you get a sandwich too?

Jon Fooshee: I bought them their sandwich. Yeah. They asked.

Gus Glasser: We'll talk about it later. That's for later. Will you buy my lunch?

Jon Fooshee: Yeah.

 

 

Jeremy Powell: Jon, when we were talking earlier, I asked you I said, you guys are from Atlanta, but what part? And you said, No, I'm from Atlanta. I grew up in Buckhead. And my first thought was, nobody grows up in Buckhead, like who grows up in Buckhead? And then the fact that you're from Buckhead, I think makes you interesting and unique just in that fact, because that's not usually somebody's hometown.

Jon Fooshee: Yeah. I mean, my my experience in Buckhead was definitely interesting. You know, there's the whole, like Buckhead bubble, if you've heard of that. And it's it can be like a very, like, insular community. And so I found I had one view of the city for the majority of my childhood. And then as I started branching out and started meeting people from different parts of the city, I really started to understand everything that the city had to offer. And so a lot of people that I grew up with ended up moving elsewhere. And to I can't help but think like you missed out on this major part of the city, like this art community and this togetherness that is really it's really something cool and special.

Jeremy Powell: Do you find sometimes that people maybe automatically pass judgment on you because you grew up in in an area of town that is it's typically more expensive. It's typically more highfalutin?

Jon Fooshee: Yeah. I think I'm quicker to pass judgment on myself. I'm quicker to say like, maybe I don't have the right to be where I am or to do what I'm doing because of where I grew up or my circumstances. But luckily that's the one thing I can control is how I'm looking at myself. And so I know, I guess like the nuances of my situation. And yeah, as I've gotten older, I've become just more okay with it and I think I'm quicker to say, Yeah, I grew up in Buckhead and if somebody wants to find out more about me, they're absolutely welcome to. But if that's all they need to know, that's okay too.

Gus Glasser: I think. I don't think you give up that vibe either. Like, I've never heard somebody be like, Oh, Jon's from Buckhead. You know, like they they're just like, Oh, John's cool. And they're like, Oh, he's from Buckhead. Like, that's crazy because, like, you don't give up like that. VIBE Yeah. So people are like.

Jon Fooshee: Yeah, you know, Yeah, I've definitely had people be surprised where.

Gus Glasser: I was surprised by it. 

 

The Peach Jam podcast from GPB features songs and stories from a variety of the incredibly talented and diverse bands and artists who call the Peach State home.

Recorded live in our GPB studios, you get a front row seat for the intimate musical performances and free-flowing conversation from a truly eclectic variety of Georgia musicians. You can find more at GPB.org/PeachJamPodcast — please download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform as well.

And check out GPB's YouTube channel for exclusive live performances from all the feature artists.