On a sleepy and snowy Thursday afternoon, powerful synth chords and upbeat drums emanate out of the pantry of Ethan Vastola’s family home, which has been repurposed into a makeshift studio. He’s seated behind a desk squeezed between two professional speakers. He has a session pulled up on his laptop, with a synthesizer and keyboard surrounding him.   

After experimenting with more sounds, Vastola then pulls up a different audio session of a song that he hopes will be part of his first production venture, alongside his producing partner and childhood friend, Dominique Smith, who is seated behind the keyboard. After reaching a good stopping point, the two trade seats so that Smith can take over from there.

Smith and Vastola originally met in Blatchley Middle School’s music program nearly two decades ago, lingering in the practice rooms alongside a mutual friend to jam out together. As they got older, the two ended up going in different directions, with Smith moving to Anchorage for work in 2019, and Vastola attending college in Bellingham, Washington, where he befriended people in the local electronic music scene. The two then returned to Sitka in 2021 and 2022 respectively, both taking jobs at SEARHC. While their passion for music has persisted throughout their lives, it wasn’t until Vastola had a near-death experience that he was inspired to pursue music full-time. 

“I was hit by a drunk driver here in town,” said Vastola. “I just think that that was kind of the main thing that pushed me to kind of realize I was not doing all the things I need to do to feel fulfilled in life… I took a trip, went and saw family and friends, spent some time in studios in LA and New York and in Seattle. And it just kind of solidified for me that this is what I want to do. So we’ll make it happen by any means.”

With Smith’s encouragement, the two quit their jobs to pursue music production full time, culminating in Sitka’s first large-scale rave this past August, and another event on Halloween. Smith said they’ve been overwhelmed with the love and support they’ve gotten across Sitka in bringing the rave to life, from partnering with local organizations like Sitka Fine Arts Camp (which helped spark Vastola’s interest in electronic music in the first place,) and Mean Queen to assist in securing a venue and drinks, to the over 400 people who attended their first event.

“A lot of people that I still come up with or come across [say] ‘I went to your last show!’ ‘I didn’t make it to the show before that,’ or ‘When’s your next one?,'” said Smith. “That’s also been a big question, but it’s just been a lot of good support from the community at large. And that’s been the nice thing about Sitka, they’re always very supportive of anything and everything pertaining to the arts.”

That’s not to say that there haven’t been challenges in bringing a rave scene to Sitka. Vastola said the delayed arrival of a haze machine — essentially a more subtle version of a fog machine — has made him unable to put his large containers of haze fluid to good use, so they’re currently shoved between his desk and the wall. And the challenges of bringing DJ and rave decorations like laser lights to a rural Alaskan town is something that Smith seconded. 

“This has been the biggest obstacle, especially this time of year, given the constant weather changes and delaying with so much stuff,” said Smith. “Even during the summertime, when we were getting set for our flagship show, we had to deal with the challenges of getting some of our supplies and our other equipment here on time.”

Despite these challenges, both Smith and Vastola agree that the joy of bringing an electronic music performance space to Sitka is deeply rewarding to them.

To further provide more creative opportunities for youth in Sitka, Vastola has begun offering DJing and music production classes at his home to students of all ages. 

“My seven year old student that I work with, he navigates this equipment like he’s been using it his entire life,” said Vastola. “Just seeing [his] eyes light up, and having him just have ideas, and playing things on the keyboard, recording it down, every moment like that for me is definitely very, very cool to witness.” 

Smith agrees with how valuable it is to have access to in-person training to work with industry-standard DJand music production equipment. 

“We taught ourselves, but I think having somebody at the helm who is a lot more experienced would definitely have benefited both of us,” said Smith.  

In response to their most highly asked question, “What’s next?,” Smith and Vastola will be DJing SEARHC’s holiday party, a full circle moment for them to return to their former workplace while pursuing their passion. Vastola also plans to continue offering his lessons, and the two are currently working on planning next year’s events and launching their music production venture. As they head into the new year with high ambitions, Smith and Vastola plan to keep the decks spinning in Sitka for a long time.

The Sitka Jazz Festival is just around the corner, and this year promises another star-studded lineup, including student musicians from around the state. KCAW’s Erin Fulton spoke with a few of these younger performers about what it’s like to rub elbows with some of the best in the business.

The 25th annual Sitka Jazz Festival is just around the corner, February 6-8th. Director Mike Kernin joined KCAW’s Meredith Redick in the studio to talk about this year’s lineup.

Two Sitkans were among 35 Alaskans selected last month for locals won Rasmuson Individual Artist project awards. John Ingman and Ellie Schmidt each received $7,500 for to advance their artistic work — which could not be more different. Ingman plays the Irish bagpipes and Ellie Schmidt is an interdisciplinary artist.

Ellie Schmidt

“I’m an artist as a catch-all phrase,” Schmidt said as she showed me around her studio at the Yaw Center. She works in this space most of the year. But she’s in the middle of packing up for the summer to make space for the fine arts camp.

Schmidt has been busy with an ongoing project these past few years: a small poetry book about her mother — and wolves. In 2015, she volunteered with the Yellowstone Wolf Project during the winter where she “just observed wolves.” At the same time, her my mom was preparing for knee surgery.

“In my head I had these two seemingly unrelated things happening of my mom’s declining health and these wolves that they’re desperately trying to keep healthy in Yellowstone.” The poetry book explores how those themes and experiences combine. “It’s going to take a kind of a funny format,” Schmidt said. “Right now I have these single lines paired with an image.” She has between 150 and 200 individual lines of poetry and will create an image to accompany each line.

The Rasmuson Foundation grant will allow Schmidt to complete the project and print the poetry books. That’s just one of her projects. She also paints, makes films, and takes photographs, and often works across media. The ocean and marine life have always been central to her work.

“Just basically I love the ocean,” she said.  “It’s a very huge theme so I never feel like I get tired of it. She grew up in Colorado, but her family spent summers on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. There, she developed a deep affection for marine life.“ [The ocean] always maintained this mystical quality because it was just a summertime thing for me,” Schmidt said.

Alongside making art, she took ecology and marine biology classes in college. A Sitka Fellows Art Residency brought her to Alaska after graduation. Then, Schmidt started fishing to support herself. She spends her summers working on a gillnetter and the rest of the year working on art. She hopes to finish the book in the coming year. But for now, while the days are still long, it’s back to the docks.

“I’m kind of excited to hang up my artist hat for a little bit and just work and be outside,” she said. “for me it’s hard to come home from work and work on art so it’s nicer to have these chunks of time that are delegate to work or art.”

Find more of Schmidt’s work online at https://ellieschmidt.com/

Follow her @ellie.tes

John Ingman

John Ingman practices the Uilleann pipes for at least an hour every day. They require a bit of set-up.

“They call it strapping in,” Ingman said, with a laugh. He wiggles his right arm into a strap and tucks the bellows between his chest and his elbow. The bellows on Uilleann pipes is just like a bellows for a fire, Ingman explains.

Ingman pumps air into the bellows with his right arm. That fills the bag with air, which travels down to the chanter. The chanter has a double reed inside, like an oboe or a bassoon. The tube also has holes to control pitch. But that’s not all. A drone mechanism produces a steady, low tone. He plays chords with regulators — a series of keys.

“It gets very complicated very fast,” Ingman said. “It’s kind of like juggling when you get going.”

Complicated is right. It’s taken Ingman years to learn how all of this works. He first discovered the instrument while he was studying tuba at the University of Oregon. He taught himself through YouTube videos, instructional books, and lots of remote lessons. As far as he knows, he’s the only person in Sitka with a set of Uilleann pipes.

“When you hear it, you’ll know if you have the calling to play it or not,” he said. “The pipes called to me and it was like, okay, this is the instrument I need to be playing.”

It’s taken years to secure his own instrument. He started out playing on a borrowed set, then began to explore options for his own.

“They’re totally custom made,” Ingman said. He waited three years for a pipe maker in Minnesota to build the basic pieces. Then, it was another three years to make the regulators. All said and told, Ingman’s pipes cost between seven and eight thousand dollars. But the cost doesn’t bother him.

Still, Ingman has been hesitant to put his music out there. He grapples with doubt about whether or not he’s good enough to make recordings or videos.

“One of the things with this Rasmuson grant is like am I good enough to put stuff out there,” Ingman said. “And generally, I say no.”

Luckily, the Rasmuson Foundation team thinks otherwise. Ingman plans to use the grant from the Rasmuson Foundation for more lessons with a world-class piper, and to attend more conferences and gatherings. And maybe that will give him more confidence.

“That’s the thing, to get out of my comfort zone and play, and then maybe I’ll put tunes on YouTube.”

Ingman plays Irish sessions every Saturday at Beak Restaurant from 1-3pm.


A third Sitkan, Richard Nelson, won the Rasmuson Foundation’s 2019 Distinguished Artist Award. Read KCAW’s profile of him here.

(Photo provided by SFAC)

Sitka Fine Arts Camp faculty members, Amy Butcher and Paul Cox, talk about the upcoming final performances from the high school camp, all this week! The final showcases are this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, at either the Odess Theater or the Sitka Performing Arts Center.

There will be theater, dance, and music performances showcasing what campers have been learning the past two weeks.

“It’s really neat to see these students really try and take a risk, and step out of their comfort zones to pursue art and self expression,” Butcher said.

The full schedule can be found on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp website.

Downloadable audio.

Thursday July 13th Final Performance, 7pm, Odess Theater on SFAC Campus

Friday July 14th Final Performance, 7pm, Sitka Performing Arts Center

Saturday July 15th Showcase: Performances, Readings, Displays & Art Show, 1pm-4pm,

Saturday July 15th Final Performance, 7pm, Sitka Performing Arts Center

Rock Band Performance, 10pm, Odess Theater on the SFAC Campus

Downloadable audio.

The 22nd Annual Sitka Jazz Festival is next weekend, February 2nd – 4th. Director Mike Kernin and Assistant Director Nichel Kernin preview the line-up, which includes guitarist Mimi Fox, tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds, as well as the Tierney Sutton Band. The festival kicks off Thursday, February 2nd with the Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble and continues into the weekend with brown bag lunches, workshops, student and evening concerts. Click here for the full schedule. 

Local artist and educator Heather Bauscher installing a piece fashioned out of marine debris by students at Pacific High School. Photo provided by Sitka Sound Science Center.

The Greater Sitka Arts Council presents an evening of music and art  on Saturday, June 4th, 7 p.m. at The Loft. Tickets are $10 at Old Harbor Books. The event will feature a conversation with artist Heather Bauscher and music by Julie Schmitts, Ted Howard, Mike and Candy Pierce in a “reunion” of their 1970s’ band, Cornsilk.

Downloadable audio

Downloadable audio.

Don Sineti is the official Sitka Whalefest Shantyman. He’s been coming to Sitka for the festival for 15 years to perform music connected to maritime history. He chats about how he began visiting Southeast for the annual festival.

Downloadable audio.