A high school band is often a person’s first foray into fulfilling their Rock & Roll dreams. And the members tend to make up for lack of skill, organization or natural aptitude with pure excitement. At least for about a year or two before the band inevitably implodes.
But what if the band doesn’t give up? What if the musicians keep at it, keep growing their catalog of songs, play any gig they can, expand their talents and creative experimentation with hopes of making music that was just as passionate as those early halcyon days, but backed by technical proficiency? That’s the scenario behind Cincinnati-based quartet The Grove.
The history of vocalist/guitarist Adam Forsthoefel, drummer Jeff Voegele, keys/vocalist Matt Forsthoefel, and bassist Stefan Games can be traced back to the hallways of Archbishop McNicholas High School in Anderson Township, where Adam and Voegele met freshman year and became fast friends. The two had been playing their respective instruments for years and bonded almost immediately over, among other things, a love of playing music.
However, sometimes the ideas that are right in front of you are the hardest to see.
“It took until senior for us to realize we should jam, so eventually Jeff and I formed a project (called) SomeDaze, with a ‘z’ because we were edgy like that,” Adam says.
The project continued through the end of high school with regular area gigs. Even going to different colleges didn’t keep the duo down — Voegele would take frequent trips up to Athens, Ohio to join Adam and a band to play house parties, often for hours at a time… or at least until Athens’ finest decided the fun was over.
“It was like, ‘We’re going to play ’til the cops come.’ Our payment was a case of beer and a place to lock our stuff up in the house,” Adam says.
Voegele adds, “I think we definitely increased our skill level during that time because we would just play for hours.”
Those early shows helped the band find its initial sound, a mix of traditional Rock & Roll structures, bluesy guitar work and heartfelt vocals, but things really kicked into gear when Voegele transferred to Ohio University and joined Adam in Athens. The musicians got serious and their goals came into clearer focus. Three of the four band members lived together in a house on Grosvenor Street, the name of which gave the group its new name.
“I would say that was the birth of The Grove, when we signed our lease and were excited to live together,” Adam says. “We’re going to live together and hang out and jam a lot. I think that’s where a lot of our writing for that first album came together. At that house — that’s where we gained chemistry as a band.”
Now that The Grove had a new name, a new house and a new drive to improve, the band dived into performing live as much as possible. The house shows coupled with weekly, multi-hour long sets at Athens’ Red Brick Tavern helped the group hone its conventionally arranged Rock & Roll style. But that status quo was shaken up when Adam came home during a school break to discover that his little brother, Matt, had learned piano.
“I sat down at the piano one day and went on YouTube and learned some songs and instantly fell in love with playing, so I played around the house,” Matt says. “Adam came home for break one year and he heard me playing and was like, ‘Wow! You’re pretty good; you should play with us some time.’ So I went up to OU a couple times, played a couple house parties with them, a couple bar gigs.”
Matt became a full member of The Grove shortly thereafter and quickly put his own touch on the band’s established sound. Bringing synths into the equation has allowed the quartet to expand its output and experimentation. The guys have never been complacent with their music. After almost 10 years, keeping things fresh is the key to keeping their interest and talents dialed in.
“I think our sound has changed significantly since we’ve started and I think it’s going to keep changing because that’s what makes it fun. If it doesn’t keep changing I don’t think we’ll keep playing,” Adam says.
The Grove has evolved from the tried-and-true four-chord Rock trope into an amalgamation of Blues, Electronica, Jam music and just about any other guitar-driven influence you can imagine. Adam’s soulful guitar playing and down-to-earth lyricism coupled with the new tools provided by his brother’s keys have enabled the band to explore avenues never imagined back in the college bar days. It has also provided the band with the opportunity to release two full-length albums and an EP, with another full-length in the works (it’s tentatively slated for release this summer). Each release has maintained a stylistic thread that frays out into myriad sounds.
This desire to keep things fresh correlates directly to the stage as well. The quartet is used to competing with DJs for a crowd’s attention and has crafted a live show that is chock full of exemplary musicianship but doesn’t get lost in the weeds of technique for technique’s sake.
“Every show you hear us play is going to have a level of improv. Always,” Adam says. “We never play the same song the same way; a lot of the parts will be similar but it won’t be 100 percent (the same).”
Pairing the improv with a catalog that’s nearly a decade in the making has allowed The Grove to keep pushing forward and continually earn new fans, but it’s also kept the quartet excited about making music. Ultimately, they’re a group of guys that started a band for all the right reasons and never lost sight of that fact. And that’s what makes their first near-decade of history seem like it could be just the beginning.
The Grove presents its third-annual Rock ’n Revival for a Cure concert on March 10 at the Southgate House Revival. The benefit for the John Forsthoefel for Glioblastoma Research Fund also features Lemon Sky, 500 Miles to Memphis, See You in The Funnies, One Day Steady, Current Events, 90 Proof Twang, Saturn Batteries, Sundae Drives, Freak Mythology, Circle It, Room for Zero, Infinity Spree, Kaitlyn Peace and JamWave. More info: thegroveband.com or southgatehouse.com.
