Washington

Summer Band Camp Series

by The Uncivil Society

Suburban Utopia Projects


Project Manifesto:

Let’s face it, as we get older it is hard, hard to balance the demands of work, life and family.  Where we suffer is that we loose the connection to the formative communities that helped shape us by finding our place, our voice and people.

When I moved to Wisconsin in 2001 from the bay area, I struggled to connect with the community, and found solace in recording solo projects.  When I moved to Washington in 2005 I encountered the same constraints and in the 20 plus years since I have continued to write, record and produce by myself.

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The Ten Counter Arguments

by The Uncivil Society

The Uncivil Society


When interpreting philosophers’ works and transforming their ideas into lyrical poetry, I understand all too well how their ideas can become didactic. Compounded by my tone-deaf vocal delivery, I have found that in every project, when I get to track 8, I am sure the listener needs a break. Ludwig Wittgenstein said it himself that “when one cannot speak, one should be silent.” Having an instrumental track is the best way to respond!

Because music is the management of vibrations that we can audibly perceive, this spectrum itself has a range of limitations. In creating instrumentals, I research a connected idea and use it as a sonic template. I found that even using the same chord structures of these songs, my limitations and aesthetics yield a truly different result!

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Electro-Witch

by Megan McDuffee

Megan McDuffee, your friendly neighborhood electro-witch


As I sit down to write this, I have several topics swirling around in my brain. I could spill my life’s story, I could educate you about music for the video game and film trailer industries, I could ramble about my frustrations and stress around having to wear too many hats, and so on. But for your sake (and mine honestly), I’ll keep it simple.

Welcome to my blog post! Thanks for being here. My name is Megan McDuffee and I’m a composer, music producer, and artist primarily for video games. I’ve built a successful client business over the past decade, and have gotten to work on some very cool things like all the Atari Recharged games, River City Girls 1 & 2 from WayForward, Apex Legends Mobile, the trailers for Annihilation and The Predator, and many more. You can even hear my songs in reality TV shows like The Bachelor and Love Is Blind. It’s been a wild journey, and there’s still so much more to tackle.

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Radical Presence

by Alexander Jones aka THATS NOKAY

Photo Credit: Jake Hanson 


A few years ago I found myself banging away on a $12 Casio from goodwill in a basement in Edmonds making some weird experimental pop songs.  Soon a pandemic was upon us and I decided to buckle down and learn how to make beats and use Logic to record.  Some friends gave some pointers and drum kits to download, and soon I was off and running, making beat tapes and collaborating with vocalists over the instrumentals.

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Singing to Survive: From “Skin and Bones” to “A Fully Educated Man”

by Paul Kameen

Singing to Survive: From 'Skin and Bones' to 'A Fully Educated Man' by Paul Kameen width=
“I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free.” I like those lines from the famous gospel song “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” especially as sung by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who convey in both their instruments and voices all the hardship and pain that often precede or surround the moments of happiness and freedom that singing can create, the way one really depends on the other to achieve its full impact.

I create a lot of different kinds of things. Singing is the one among them that always gives me more back than I put into it, leaves me feeling happy and free. Whether it’s dark or light in my life at that moment those sounds are being made, I always feel that a good eye is still on the sparrow.

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Beast Folk: a Band, Not a Genre

by DT Jackson

Beast Folk: a Band, Not a Genre by DT Jackson
When Beast Folk formed in 2018, we were not called Beast Folk. It was a melding of the minds of a few friends who frequented Darrell’s Tavern in Shoreline, WA. I was slated to play the Hybrid Festival in Everett. Being an acoustic performer engaged in an event that mostly revolved around metal was a jarring task of fear management. I needed a band.

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The Time Of Love Is Now

by Matthew Hughes

The Time Of Love Is Now by Matthew Hughes aka Ataurus Minor
The album A Beard Of Stars from Ataraus Minor was recorded accidentally on purpose when I bought my first bass guitar and wanted to practice to some T. Rex songs. I started recording, and a week later, the album was finished. I played and recorded everything you’ll hear. The words and music are, of course, by Marc Bolan.

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Writing music is the closest I’ll get to playing god.

by The Red Priest

Writing music is the closest I'll get to playing god.
I’d rather retreat into a world of sound that I made up than have to deal with the world as it’s given to me. Maybe then I can come up with a clever idea to change it. Music has always been sort of an escape for me, and sometimes I choose to isolate myself from those who love me the most so that I can just play. Solitude is great, but don’t get solitude confused with loneliness. I look at solitude as being good company to yourself and loneliness as being double un good company to yourself.

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