When Alek Gayton first started playing the drums at the age of nine, he had no idea someday he would be performing for close to 60,000 people. The Olympia native spends most of his weekends as part of the Seattle Seahawk’s band, Blue Thunder.
Alek says music was always a big part of his family growing up. “The music element was always there, including my very first memories. Anything that made a sound, anything that was some kind of musical thing, I just gravitated towards,” Alek says. He started playing the piano at age eight and then got ahold of drumsticks. “I found something that was so embodied of me, something that was such a part of me that I haven’t stopped.”
By the age of twelve, Alek was already playing small shows around town for fun, but it wasn’t until high school that he started to take music seriously. “I realized in my junior year of high school that I could go to college, study music and earn a living,” says Alek, a 2010 Black Hills High School graduate who credits his experience in marching band for this realization. Alek enrolled at Eastern Washington University in Cheney and earned a degree in performance, playing every type of music possible. “I gave myself every opportunity to play music full-time, whatever that was.”
After college, Alek returned to Olympia with hopes of becoming a professional musician. He remembered an instructor who played for Blue Thunder. He auditioned and became a part of the drum line in 2010. “As the team has gotten better, people are showing up. The talent has gotten better and the group itself is becoming a higher product, which is really great.”
Established in 2004, Blue Thunder includes about 40 musicians and plays at all the home Seahawks games. The drum line also practices on Saturdays and Sundays, which can make for long weekends and hard work. Blue Thunder also plays at about 100 performances off the field. However, Alek says it’s worth it to be such a large part of a great organization. “We are essentially cheerleaders, musicians, and a voice for the 12th Man and the community. It’s all these things,” he explains. “That’s the element of music and why we’re doing this – to give some inspiration.”
Alek says it’s about so much more than just playing great music. It’s the community aspect that he really loves. “You get to be in front of 60,000 people. The energy is crazy and you’re brushing up with players. They’re always very supportive of what we do. It’s been one of those very unique experiences.”
Blue Thunder has also helped Alek make connections in the area. Being a professional musician can often be a shuffling act, he says. Alek also plays with Olympia Jazz Senators, performing big band music. He is the newest member of the local band that plays various gigs around town.
“Blue Thunder demands high levels of energy both from a musical standpoint as well as a visual one. We have to compete with 60,000 screaming fans. However, the Olympia Jazz Senators requires more improvisation, creativity and musical interpretation. The drummer is often called upon to lead and direct the momentum of the music,” says Alek.
These days Alek has discovered a love of teaching music to the next generation. “I want to give as much as I can to younger kids. Hopefully all my mistakes I made coming up can be diverted and kids can have a little bit more of a seamless path if they decide to go that way.”
For Alek there really is no other path, music is his life. “This is it. There’s nothing else I want to do. Art is so important to me. I think drumming is just this unexplained thing. I sit down and it’s just very uplifting. It’s been with me through all the bad times. Music keeps you afloat.” This doesn’t mean he hasn’t had days where he doubted if everything would work out, but he just keeps pushing through.
When I ask him what he tells his students, and others who want to make it in the music world, he has these words of advice. “The biggest thing is patience. Be patient with yourself. It’s a journey, it’s a path. It doesn’t all come to you at once. Push yourself to be the best you can be. The key is just staying with it.” And take every gig that comes along because you never know who may be listening.
