ABOUT

THE BAND

In 2009 vocalist/guitarist Don Fornis(The Duodenums, Pruno) and local solo artist
KeyDragon first collaborated after the duo worked remarkably well together in an Elvis
cover band. Both lovers of all genres of punk rock and oldies, the duo met at work and
enlisted an additional musician/colleague to complete the project, playing many
successful events around Auburn, CA.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN...

From an eclectic gold rush era mining town in the Sierra Nevada foothills halfway
between Sacramento, CA and Reno, NV, FORNIS is a progressive 5 piece band inspired by early punk with musical elements of power pop, doowop, oldies, and new wave.

This enigmatic bunch of hometown heroes stand out on any billing, effortlessly complementing the ever changing Northern California live music scene with their fresh approach to throwback tunes.

The project thrived for the next half decade, but Don was itching to circle back around to his old Pruno material and all the lingering potential that still loomed, a potential that began to haunt him as the years went on. Much like the gold flakes that shimmered downstream and away from so many miners’ pans, the band's opportunities were eroding over time; as if its fate had somehow been squandered. Five years went by at a lightning speed and as one year quickly turned into the next and he feverishly wrote new material - material that had no soft place to land.

Flash forward to 2014 when Fornis and KeyDragon enlisted the skills of friends Johnny Trapper Herzog, James McEntire, and ROLO on drums, bass, and backline sound/tech support, respectively.

With the combination of revamped Pruno tunes plus all of the actualized new songs, the quintet was reborn as “Fornis”, and the freshly rechristened band feverishly began gigging out all over the greater Northern California area.

Don Fornis

// vocals // guitar

Fornis version 1.0 released their first album, a self titled venture in 2016 before a lineup
change the following year stationed KeyDragon on “bass”, taking over his half of the percussive duties on synth and keyboards. This was one of the first of many defining steps the band took to pioneer the current unique sound setup they maintain to this day - a combination of punk rock sensibilities and new wave technology with an overarching oldies-rock n’ roll vibe.

Full of jam bands, pop country and classic rock cover acts, the small yet faithful music scene of the Sierra Nevada foothills immediately latched on, creating enough demand for them to release two more singles that same year before pivoting to working on their second full length album in 2018.

The release of Endless Night in late 2018 is a encapsulation of Fornis’ expansion into
more experimentally progressive music: darker, edgier, and extra conceptual, the
sophomore album got immediate play on college and independent radio stations

throughout the nation, with east coast listeners taking a special interest in the
enigmatic quartet from a small town on the way to ski resorts in Northern California.

The following year found Fornis with a new drummer, local stick man Rob Bingham
formerly of Pittman’s old band Pruno. Rob’s “high and tight” technical drumming style fit right in with the new material the band was recording for their 2020 release, PlasticFace, which also housed a handful of re-recorded older tracks, all of which they continued to play throughout the Bay Area, Sacramento, Reno, and beyond.

Key Dragon

// keyboards, backing vox

2021 saw two more singles for Fornis, “Wake Up” and “Showing You How” and as the
year turned the corner into 2022 the band was met with the departure of Bingham, his
replacement being an Alesis SR16 drum machine manned by ROLO live. With catchy,
twangy, bouncy tunes that are lilted with glam rock and marbled with Jerry Lee Lewis
style rock n’ roll, “power punk” is the way they prefer to describe their sound in 2022,
coining the eponymous hashtag during the pandemic for the release of single “Don’t
Mean Mug Me”.

On February 4, 2023 Fornis released their latest EP "Tickled By Flies" and is now booking shows around Auburn, Sacramento, Reno, and beyond.

In February 2024, Fornis enlisted the drumming skills of local musician Dustin Burton and brought soundman/producer Dillon McGillicuddy in to play bass guitar, rounding out the production of a bigger, fuller live sound in time for the summer surge of shows around Northern California. A new album is currently in the works consisting of many new tracks, a couple of previous songs re released, a shelved track from 2020, and a few surprise covers totally Fornisized!! Expected release dates late summer 2024 for the first single.