#olymusic

Forest Ray @ The Lo-fi  12.21.18

This is me looking freaked out after touring the new @kaosolympia station. Fancy. It was an honor to be invited back to Evergreen to speak about the legacy of #KAOScommunityRadio. There was limited time to speak, so I didn't get to say everything I wanted to say. I‘ll try to do that here. When I arrived at KAOS as a wide-eyed 20-year old, I knew nothing of the station's legendary history, nor anything about the #OlyMusic scene, nor anything about community-building. I was simply a girl who loved making mix tapes for my friends with a curiosity about doing a show. Over the course of my 9 years with the station, I became inspired by the fabled stories of the KAOS folks who came before me. Further more, I learned so much about DIY culture and grew to feel empowered. For me, this translated to: If there's something you think should exist or improvements in your community that need to happen, don't sit around complaining about it, DO IT YOURSELF. Community is what we make of it. In the beginning of my era at KAOS, I kind of resisted the local music scene. I was all wrapped up in historic recordings from the 40s, 40s, 60s, 70s. I didn't feel the local scene had anything for me. However, since I was Music Director at KAOS, I was literally forced to listen to all those records as they were released. Over time I began to acquire a taste for it, but more importantly, I found inspiration in witnessing these folks who were right there in my tiny town having the guts to put their music and art out there in the world. This pushed me to always focus on the quality of my own projects. I was amongst "big shots" in the indie music sphere. I needed to produce something worthy of that. So, I took on an approach of "Never half-ass anything I'm putting out for public consumption, you never know who's gonna be out their listening." Those experiences in Olympia in the late 90s and early 2000s molded my world view, established my ethics, and informed/inspired my creative endeavors. KAOS and its community made me an outspoken lefty who is not afraid to use her voice (this sometimes get me into trouble). In fact, KAOS taught me (continued)...

Hanging out while @ashley__mckenzie shoots @alisonmariebaker. Ali looks great in my Persephone headdress. So nice to visit with these ladies! #olymusic #olympiaarts #olympiaphotographer

Got a little blues out of my baby today. Working back up to where I used to be, and then to where I want to be, is a road I need to travel. #saxophone #altosax #blues #musician #olymusic