What do you get when you combine four fine young musicians from Carrollwood, add in great songwriting, harmonies and just a totally original and tight sound?

You get My Name Forever.

My Name Forever is comprised of Shane Toriscelli on Vocals, Guitar and Keys, Devin Lee on Guitar and Vocals, Trevor Jackson on Percussion and Jacob Nesler on Bass.

After hearing their excellent CD, “Hope Like A Light” recently, I was anxious to learn more about this sensational quartet from the Tampa Bay area.

I had the opportunity to chat with Shane and Devin to ask a few questions and to introduce this incredible band to The Global Dispatch readers.

Q- How did you guys hook up and how long have you been playing together?

A- We have been playing together as My Name Forever for about a year and a half. We all live within a mile of each other in the Carrollwood area of Tampa, FL, and have known each other since elementary school. The four of us have played music together since 7th or 8th grade, but we changed our name and switched to an acoustic format around a year and a half ago in an attempt to capture a cleaner, more pure sound.

Q- How did you come up with the name “My Name Forever”?

A- Devin actually came across the phrase as he was reading the bible in his junior year of high school. We were struggling to find a name at that point, so he tried to convince us he had found “the one”. The rest of the band was hesitant to go for it at first, just because Devin had a history of thinking up quite a few bad band names in the past. But eventually we all came around and officially chose “My Name Forever” (redeeming Devin from all the embarrassing names he came up with before that).

Q- I understand that the band has won some “Battle of the Bands” competitions in Tampa, can you tell me more about that?

A- We were very fortunate in that respect, because we won the only Battle of the Bands we’ve entered. It was put on by Gorilla Music and had a two round structure with twelve bands in each round. The top three bands in each first round would advance to the finals. The final order was determined by crowd applause at the end of the show, and we had enough applause to advance in the first round and win the second round.

But, by far the best thing that came from our Battle of the Bands experience was that it gained us a little bit of exposure with the owner of the Orpheum (the venue where we played the show), Jerry. He helped us take our next steps after seeing us play in the “Finals” show. He’s really been a mentor to us, and helped to introduce us into the local music scene in both Tampa and Gainesville. We cannot thank him enough!

Q- You guys have a new CD out, which by the way is fantastic. Great lyrics, musicianship and harmonies and such an original sound. Who are the band’s major musical influences?

A- The Avett Brothers, Right Away Great Captain!, Fleet Foxes, Death Cab for Cutie, Manchester Orchestra, Beach House, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Bob Dylan have been the main influences in the song writing process thus far.

Q- What new projects do you guys have lined up?

A- Shane is constantly writing new songs and recording little ideas and riffs. Right now he’s got enough material queued up for our next album and then some, and we’re hoping to record the songs and release our second album this winter.

Q- Where would someone go if they wanted to buy a copy of “Hope Like A Light”?

A- We sell it online through, http://mynameforever.bandcamp.com/, or come out to a show and we can get you a physical copy for a very reduced price! All the proceeds that come from our CD sales go towards the recording of our next album.

Thanks guys, I look forward to listening to the new material and I wish you much success in your future.

Follow the band on their Facebook page

Watch the performance of “If I” Live at The Orpheum



Video courtesy of My Name Forever