Foma *

These gentlemen all come from unique musical backgrounds, resulting in a melting-pot of rock and alt-country themes, strong bluesy vocals, Beatle-esque harmonies, and funk/latin based grooves. In less than three years of hard work, they’ve developed a maturity in their music that many bands don’t see in a decade. Influences range from Radiohead to Van Zandt, but the Denverites are coining a sound that’s all their own. With a dedicated fan base that consistently packs houses, and a debut album freshly released in the summer of 2009, they have nowhere to go but up.

The spread of classic and contemporary influences is evident in Foma*’s music, all the way down the little asterisk in the band’s title (), which is a reflection of Kurt Vonnegut’s. Smykil, being an actor and well versed in many types of literature, discovered the fictional term in Vonnegut’s book, “Cat’s Cradle”. He prefaces the book with a statement: "Live by the foma that make you brave, kind, healthy and happy." The little star steers you to a footnote that reads: : “harmless untruths”.

In the short time they’ve been together, Foma* has managed to be TWICE awarded the title “Best New Band In Denver” by their vast community of fans, and a panel of music industry judges. They were given this award in January ‘08, and ’09, which provided them with the money and resources to finish their first album, “Songs for the Surgeon General”, (the title being a mock reference to the band’s love/hate relationship with tobacco products). The album carried the group’s single, “Long Way Home” to receive airplay on one of Denver’s top radio stations, ALICE 105.9.

They have played over 100 shows all over the Denver metro area, and are excited to play many more shows in support of Denver’s blossoming music scene. They expect many summer festivals and shows, state-wide shows, and hopefully a tour before the end of the year.

But ultimately, Foma* is on a mission purely science-fictional in nature: to fly into uncharted space and discover other galaxies, in the comfort of rusty ol’ jalopy. Who wouldn’t want to hear what that sounds like?