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.

Listen to the song while reading the text.

DT Jackson & Animal Control

Enter Levi Graves and Jake Zorinsky of Animal Control. Honing their chops at the same open mic, it seemed a worthwhile collaboration. We knew each other well and had thrown ourselves into frantic jams. It meshed. DT Jackson & Animal Control was a mix of alternative rock with a punk mentality and psychedelic guidance.

Ears perked up to the refreshing and unique tones until it came to a repeated offense that the name could not fit on every poster. Being billed as DT Jackson for a few shows in a row became apparent that a new name was necessary. Plenty of ideas were thrown about. Most were taken. Others hard to pronounce, until a reference to the Island of Dr. Moreau emerged. Beast Folk was a clear winner, but it took time for people to get it.

Beast Folk

Performing around the Seattle area, Beast Folk was a continuously frustrating error. If not Beast Folk, people seemed to think the band name matched the genre. This was definitely not folk. This was an explosion of energy. This was a direct middle finger to venues closing down and tech giants taking over. Seattle is dead? That was unacceptable.

Word was getting around town about the band, though we three were not born and raised there. Seattle held a special part of their hearts from groups such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. There was a foundation of an essence of grunge; this was not grunge. “It’s like grunge but modern”, “sounds like a darker R.E.M”, “kinda a heavy Radiohead” are things that have been muttered after and during sets.

Philosophic Horrors

We ourselves had trouble defining it, but it felt ready to lay on tape. That is when we took to Peel Studios to record with Michael Springer, which would ultimately be titled Philosophic Horrors (on most major platforms, released March 9th, 2019). A rollercoaster of hard driving riffs, glimpses of insanity and the ugliest beauty sometimes wrapped up in one song.

There is no rulebook. There is no idolization. This isn’t a tribute. There are no covers. This is a love/hate relationship. You get it or you don’t. This is Beast Folk. A band, not a genre.

The excitement of the release, like a freshly ripped bandage, has led Beast Folk to be played on local radio and added to Spotify playlists. Something is happening. The Seattle scene re-emerging. Don’t be the last to hear about it.

Beast Folk Beast Folk, Category: Artist, Albums: Philosophic Horrors, Top Tracks: Thieves, Blowjob Promotion, We Live Off the Swine, Dump Truck, I Don’t Want to (At All), Monthly Listeners: 10, Where People Listen: Seattle, Bruges, Lincoln, Lynnwood, Snoqualmie

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Artist’s Note

Seattle, Washington

Alternative, Punk, Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic

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