As soon as Serraphic played the opening chord to their first song, the people waiting in the crowd quieted in excitement.
“Serraphic, that one sounds exciting to me,” Caleb Brown, a freshman at Sedro-Woolley said when asked what band he was looking forward to.
On Friday, March 7, an event called “The SWAMP” was held at the YMCA recreation center, an event aimed to strengthen the community while letting people enjoy themselves for a night. One of the founding members of the SWAMP is Clay Christofferson, who helped explain what was happening there.
“My biggest hope is that everybody who comes here gets to see that anybody can do music at any time,” said Christofferson.
This was their fourth show, and they were excited to host it.
“First up, there’s Serraphic, they’re from Anacortes, they’re an all-girl punk rock band, kinda rag-girl style, then it’s Surreal out of Mount Vernon, They’re an alternative grunge band, and then Jennifer What, from Anacortes,” Christofferson said.
Colorful lights, loud music, friends, and people brought these groups together for a night of rock and roll, the SWAMP.
“I’m here to have fun, and hang out with friends,” Brown said, as a person who enjoys a good distraction from the stresses of school.
Brett Sandstrom, a teacher at Sedro-Woolley High School, spoke about his experience at punk shows all around.
“I grew up going to teen centers to all age shows, and seeing punk bands continue 30 years later, getting to see bands play,” Sandstrom said. “I think Sedro-Woolley doesn’t offer enough events for teens. To have a space where you could create bands Or watch bands play,” Sandstrom talked about other communities that did something like the SWAMP.
They had an Anacortes Music Project, which is the Anacortes Project, and they’ve been doing it for several years.
“They have jams for every teen who wants to come play music. They can come and just jam on the stage, they have shows, they create bands, and they have practice space,” Sandstrom said.
When searching around for any sort of community inside the walls of the SWAMP, one was found. The people had expected a fun time, and they seemed to have gotten it. Through the night, a community appeared to have formed.
“Nobody needs to be here, nobody’s paid to be here, we’re just all coming together to say ‘Hey, I wanna hear what you do, and I’m here to applaud and support you,’ That’s really cool,” Christofferson said.
Others agreed, too.
“The amount of people who are out here, and the amount of activities available for them definitely supports the community,” said Marie Newman, mother of the drummer of Serraphic.
Christofferson says why they had helped start the SWAMP in the first place, to help people practice their music, exactly like Sandstrom had said.
“I think I’ve always been a big music fan,” Christofferson said. “When I was in high school, we didn’t really have places to play and space where everyone could come and play their music on a good stage with good sound for all their friends and kinda have that experience. Makes me feel good.”
Then, when his true purpose with the whole SWAMP performances, Christofferson revealed they did it to encourage whoever needed it.
“I hope to inspire others,” Christofferson said.