We’ve all been there, at 4AM in some random kitchen scheming with your buddy. “No one does it the right way, we could do it better.” But then you never follow through with it. Whether it’s a business idea, criticism of the scene, etc. It’s usually just a pipe dream. “Bag chat” if you will.

Well, after years of doing just that, we had had enough. We decided to try.

A logo reveal of the new We Tried logo.

The two of us had similar visions; a thriving scene that put sound system culture, artistic creativity, and fresh ideas at the forefront. We already knew it was possible as Seattle has a rich history of raving going back to the early 90’s. Many of the people that lifted us up when we were new came from those early years and shared their stories of late nights in warehouses with us. It was exciting, inspiring, and gave us hope for the future.

Cue COVID-19 and the shutdown of life as we knew it. When venues started to reopen again (or at least what was left of those that hadn’t been forced to shutter their doors), we noticed a significant change. Many of those that had been a part of the scene for years had retired, started families and moved on, or fully left for another place to call home. Fewer venue spaces to throw events at, a smaller pool of DJ’s actually getting opportunities that appeared to be based more on social-media clout than skill, and most importantly a near complete lack of quality sound systems (or emphasis on sound) throughout the region.

As time went on, our frustrations grew. We began brainstorming, researching, and compiling data; venues, local artists, sound systems we could rent, etc. In time we were lucky enough to find all of the ingredients needed for a night we could be proud of. For us, every good night needs 3 key things:

Good sound. Good music. Good people.

Since our first official show in October of 2024, we’ve brought some of our favorite artists from around the world. So far, we’ve booked:

Monty, Two Swords, Joker, Commodo, Ternion Sound, Criso, Shades, Ed Rush & Optical, Quadrant & Iris,
and so many incredible local artists here in Seattle.

Both of us are new to this whole promoter thing and we’re working hard, making mistakes, and learning from it as we push forward. We have to give a HUGE shoutout to Jake and the whole Substation crew for working with us, as well as Chris and the Foundation Entertainment team for letting us borrow the massive PK rig for our shows.

Most importantly though, we want to say thank you to each and every one of you that has come to a show, bought a ticket, and shared in this experience with us. We have so many ideas and plans for the future and for the first time in quite some time, we’re feeling excited about what’s ahead. We seriously couldn’t do this without any of you and it means the world to us to have your confidence and trust in what we’re doing. If you have any feedback about the shows, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us personally.

So yeah… thanks for sticking with us. We’re trying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Big ups,

Aleks & Chase

Why We’re Trying