Islander and singer-songwriter Ike Harmon (aka Harmon Arroyo) has written a song designed to bring communities together, and has planned a Vashon “unity march” to take place this Sunday to film the video that he hopes will be shared across the internet.
“The seeds for this idea came from participating in the caucus vote a few months ago at the Open Space,” he said. “I’ve never seen so many friends and neighbors in one place, talking to each other, getting to know each other. I thought, ‘Let’s do something cool to bring the community together.’”
Harmon, whose background in music reaches back to his teens when he sang with Anne and Nancy Wilson in high school before they became Heart, as well as a stint as a professional piano tuner, left the industry to get his degree in education. But after years of “closeted” song writing and recording and a serious car crash a couple of years ago, he decided it was time once again to embrace his longtime passion.
“That accident changed everything,” Harmon said of the event that nearly took his life. “It spurred me to get back to my roots, and this is the best music I’ve ever written in my life.”
For three years, Harmon has been working on and recording a CD at Vashon’s Village Sound Studio with engineer Jeff Woollen. The CD’s final song, described as an “anthem” by Harmon, has been mixed to sound like it was recorded in front of a stadium full of people. Performing on the “We Are the World-esque” track with Harmon are island musicians and vocalists Luke McQuillin, Doug Pine, Callie Wong, Michael Marcus, Isaiah Hazzard, Rick Dahms, Edna Dam, Sara Hall, Jan Lofland and Wesley Peterson. When Wong, a Vashon High School student and studio apprentice heard it, she told Harmon that it made her envision people walking down a street arm-in-arm. And with that, an idea was born.
“I’ve never experienced anything that was put together simply for the sheer joy of doing something as a community,” he said. “And given recent events with so many people wondering ‘What are we going to do now,’ it just made sense. … Let’s get together and sing.”
On Sunday morning, everyone is welcome to participate in the video shoot for Harmon’s song, “Into the Infinite.” The highway through town will be closed beginning at the theater at 8:30 a.m. Vashon’s Unofficial Mayor, Bernie O’Malley, will welcome the crowd, the song will be played once for everyone to learn the chorus — which is purposely simple — then videographer Peter Ray will shoot the video with a drone, focusing of the musicians and crowd, singing and walking down the street. Harmon anticipates the event will take about 40 to 45 minutes, and he is counting on good weather to give them a closing shot of Mount Rainier in the distance.
Aside from supporting his CD, this video project will have its own Facebook page to share the song with as many communities as possible. Harmon’s hope is that it will inspire others in similar ways.
— Sarah Low
