Rocky Mountain Beauty

by Haley Harkin

Rocky Mountain Beauty by Haley Harkin
Upon driving into Rocky Mountain National Park, the first thing we spotted was a moose.

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Sifting Through Garbage: The Pet Traits Story

by Kyle Johnson

Sifting Through Garbage: The Pet Traits Story by Kyle Johnson
I have an incredibly vivid memory of the first time I heard Bad Brains. It was the first punk rock I had ever heard. I was fourteen years old, and I’m twenty-one now, but I can still conjure the feeling of that moment. The music tore through me. I felt the sound more than I heard it. It was summer, and I was staying in on a beautiful day to listen to music that a youtube algorithm was recommending me – but I’m so grateful I did. It made something click in my brain, like a light in a dingy basement being flicked on for the first time. I felt completely at home in the break-neck speed and sheer volume of the music. If you know that record, the first Bad Brains record, it is insane sounding even by today’s standards. I left the first playthrough of hundreds a completely changed kid. The world looked and felt different. I was in on some kind of secret.

I would later learn, of course, that I was far from being the only person that had this exact revelation. Very far. But it felt so special to me. I’ve played in bands and written at least a couple hundred songs since that day. I started a band with my best friends (Bad Nostalgia, check us out) that’s still kicking to this day, and we’ve played countless shows. We made an album by ourselves. I have grown as a person and lived through trial and tribulation as we all have. But that first experience hearing punk rock music was my watershed moment.

It encapsulated everything I love about music, art, and life. It’s all lead to me starting Pet Traits. I wanted to capture that feeling of excitement and wonder and use it as a creative power-tool. I threw out a lot of what I knew about music: the conventions, the chase of perfection, the safe bet, for total creative liberation. This is how I did it.

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Fly My Freak Flag

by Jesse Whetsell

Fly My Freak Flag by Jesse Whetsell (TheTaxies)
I’m Jesse, an independent singer/songwriter/producer. I’ve been recording music in different projects since 2009. Juliet’s Funeral, The Freddy Velcroman Expedition, and International Spies just to name a few. I’ve always been inspired by the DIY concept of garage rock and punk bands. I’m a huge fan of the ’60s and ’70s psychedelia and pop music.

I would describe my music as Alternative Pop Rock with explorations into Folk/Blues, Reggae and Jazz. I’m trying to find that someplace out there for my music, those ears to hear it and hearts to feel it. It’s been hard with such a wide range of influences. That’s when I realized I’d have to carve out my own corner here on this earth to fly my freak flag.

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It Started Around A Glass Table…

by Catch Me Catatonic

It Started Around A Glass Table by Catch Me Catatonic
Catch me Catatonic is Soul-Punk. It started around a glass table. Some of us had been friends for years, and some of us had only just met, but we were immediately connected by our passion for music. We come from different places and pull our musical inspirations from even more places, but we contribute equally to the creation of every song we play, and it’s been magic from day one.

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Two Junkies

by Jade Steven

Burnt Toast Cosmonauts’ Two Junkies by Jade Steven
So when I was living in Lakewood, CO and I was beginning to write what would end up being Burnt Toast Cosmonaut’s self-titled album. I was getting a lot of my first shows in Colorado even though they were just acoustic gigs I was taking a lot of pride in what I was I doing. At this time I was working at this nursing home because at the time I was a CNA, which in and of itself was incredibly rewarding. But any who one day this just super cute mousy girl Shelbe started working with us.

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Life is Best When it’s Moving and Changing

by Jazzy Stardust

Life is Best When it's Moving and Changing by Jazzy StardustI basically just make music as a way to express something that’s not really that easy to say. I record and produce everything myself as well, so it’s a pretty personal thing for me. Expression is the key: If I don’t have anything I feel I need to say, I usually don’t have a song to write.

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