A local musician’s passion for music draws him away from Moscow
Local musician and sound technician Bart Budwig has made it to a point in life many people dream of — the point where they can quit their day job to pursue their true passions.
Ian Bartlett | Rawr
One World Cafe was able to hear Bart Budwig sing his music one more time before he left town to move to Enterprise, Oregon.
Budwig, who grew up in Moscow, will leave the community and the people he’s come to love for a fresh start in Enterprise, Oregon, where he’ll be able to pursue music full time.
“I just want to go all in for a while,” Budwig said. “It’s what I need to do, and I’m at the right point in life for that.”
Budwig left this week for a tour with Portland bands, Radiation City and Wild Ones. He’ll be accompanying the bands as a sound technician, which calls for skills making up only a portion of his repertoire.
Budwig comes from a musical family, and though he said he can’t remember the first time he picked up a trumpet, his love for music began somewhere around that time.
He grew up playing the trumpet, and said he and his family would even go Christmas caroling as a four-piece brass band. Later, Budwig learned to play the guitar and began songwriting as a way to deal with tragedy in his life.
Budwig’s mother was killed in a car accident when he was only 12 years old, six years later, another accident took the life of his best friend. The incidents, Budwig said, have influenced his music, which he used as a tool to grieve and express his feelings the only way he knew how.
While tragic, Budwig said music and a supportive community and family helped him deal with the losses and have made him a better person. He doesn’t define himself by the tragedies, but rather embraces them as part of his history.
“Everyone experiences loss in life,” Budwig said. “I’m a person of great hope. I think loss, when dealt with, makes you a beautiful person.”
Budwig describes his music as deep and dark, yet contains characteristics of his generally fun-loving, charismatic personality.
Growing up in Moscow and becoming active in the local music scene has afforded Budwig the benefit of extensive community connections. From the people at Bucer’s Coffeehouse and Pub who recognize him instantly, who stop to say hi and are greeted with a friendly hug from Bart, to the musicians and the people he’s worked with for years, it seems Budwig knows or is known by just about everyone in Moscow.
Now, he’ll be starting over in Oregon, but he said he’s already started to build a community there as well.
“It’s definitely difficult to leave,” Budwig said. “For me, having that backbone of community is really important. I’ve built relationships with people. I respect them and they respect me. The scary thing is going somewhere new, but I’m in the right place for it and I’ve connected with great people there, and that’s important.”
Budwig will live in an apartment attached to a theater in Enterprise, where he’ll run sound as part of his rental agreement. The connection to the theater is six years in the making, as he’ll be working for a long-time friend and fellow musician. The affordable living arrangement is what will make it possible for Budwig to pursue his own music full time. Between his work as a sound technician for other groups and his personal music aspirations, Budwig said he’s already lined up three months of work and is still actively booking gigs.
“I don’t want to limit myself, so my plan is to just go there and work and play shows,” Budwig said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but that’s the beauty of it.”
Through his extensive musical quests, Budwig said his hard work and dedication is the thing that’s helped him be successful, find work and make connections.
His only advice to people wanting to pursue a similar path is to “be passionate, work really hard and do it for a long time.”
“I’m just really thankful for the music community and Moscow,” Budwig said. “It’s hugely shaped me and who I am as an artist.”
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]