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Composition was Don’s first love, and he spent his days in local studios composing and producing jingles and music beds. Some notable local projects included Wayne Cody’s KIRO Sports radio theme, a jingle package for KZOK-FM, and the locally produced (Kaye-Smith Studios) nationally syndicated “Fantastic Four Radio Program” starring a very young Bill Murray as the voice of Johnny Storm. His studio work and search for unique sounds led him to work with some of the first commercially available synthesizers – programming and playing ARP, MOOG, and OBERHEIM instruments which eventually opened a door to the technical side of the media and entertainment industry.

In the mid-’80s, Don left Seattle to work in LA for Roger Linn who designed and built the first sampled-sound drum machines (LinnDrum, used by artists like Phil Collins/Genesis and Stevie Wonder), then he entered the broadcast technology industry where he helped to design, develop and market the “DigiCart” for 360 Systems. This was the first commercially successful digital audio player utilized by every major network broadcaster for audio playback. The David Letterman show used them to fire off sound effects like breaking glass when Dave would randomly toss pencils from his desk!

After 12 years in broadcast, Don joined a startup company in the film/cinema industry and participated in the development and marketing of the first digital mastering and playback systems that enabled the movie industry’s transition from distribution of film prints to digital media. He spent several years running the cinema business for public company DTS (Digital Theater Systems) which was initially funded by Universal Studios to produce a more authentic sound experience for Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. (Remember those first T-Rex footfalls?) During his time in LA, he continued playing, mixing live sound, and developing his own musical projects.

After a decade in the film industry, he formed his own consulting company and returned to the Northwest and to broadcast, providing business development services for Lawo, (www.lawo.com) a German-owned company that provides large format mixing consoles, video routing, processing, and monitoring solutions used by a majority of global networks and content providers, and for major sports events like the Olympics, World Cup, NFL, MLB, PGA and more. If you are a late-night TV fan, you’ve experienced Lawo’s technologies in use for virtually all the late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, as well as providing the backbone for NPR, SiriusXM, local affiliate KIRO-TV, Root Sports, and many of the major tech companies’ production facilities in Seattle, Redmond, and Silicon Valley.

At the young age of 24, Don met and married Guemes artist Loalynda, who owns Paper Birds Studio and founded the Guemes Island Earth Day Luminary Parade. Loalynda introduced Don to her family cabin on west beach when they started dating as kids, and he fell in love with the island, returning with their family every year for vacations until they were finally able to realize their dream of moving full time to the island in 2014 where Don has continued his consulting business and now enjoys developing his various music projects alongside Loalynda’s many artistic creations, classes, and events. They’ve come full circle as a musician and artist who started out creating side-by-side in their own studios in Bellevue, to now supporting the local music and art scene on Guemes Island and throughout the Skagit Valley.



Don has recently released a solo album of new-age orchestral compositions, “Floating On Moonlight”, as well as forming his own original band, Children of the Blues, which released their first album “Space Lounge” in October and are now playing a psychedelic blend of jazz and blues in venues from Anacortes to Seattle. You can catch their next gig Saturday, March 26th at the Rockfish Bar and Grill. In Don’s own words, “I’m very grateful and blessed to be able to participate in and support the strong artistic and musical community on the island, grateful to Mark and Willie for giving us an awesome local ‘pub’ and bringing great music to the island, and now to have the addition of the new park stage venue to perform and mingle with neighbors, fellow artists, and musicians—not to mention the support of the AMP organization.”

You can find Don’s music on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and other digital platforms. Just scan the QR code in the business card at the top of this post or search the online music streaming services for "Don Bird" and/or "Children Of The Blues".

Tom quickly made friends with neighbors and fellow ferry passengers. Community involvement is important to Tom and he was interested to learn more about our island organizations and activities. A recent opening on the GICCA Board provided him with the opportunity to bring his work and hobby experience to the Community Center Association. He answered the call and submitted a letter of interest. The GICCA Board voted unanimously to appoint Tom to the Board.

Currently a high-end web and software developer, Tom has also worked in the restaurant industry in both staff and management positions. He started his own commercial landscape business overseeing five condominium complexes. Acting as the general contractor, Tom built two homes and remodeled three in the Seattle area. These varied and useful skills will be invaluable to the Association and to our island community. Tom’s enthusiasm and willingness to be involved are his greatest assets. He has already hit the ground running and is helping to design GICCA’s new “sister” website that will feature the many artists of Guemes Island.

We welcome Tom and Virginia and their sweet dog, Trigger, to our community

The Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) is a part of the CDC and they outline ways that YOU can create community where you live. The following are excerpts and links from the CPR’s “create community” newsletter.

Care for Each Other – Take care of yourself and others.
The greatest strengths of a community might be its people and their relationships with each other. People who are personally prepared, invested, and socially connected are often better able to protect themselves and more willing and ready to help others through adversity.

Improve Access – Support the needs of the whole community.
Community health preparedness and resilience is not achieved until everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as prepared as possible. It is the shared responsibility of the whole community to find ways to make preparedness more inclusive, available, and achievable for everyone.

Lead by Example – Inspire others’ healthy behaviors.
Get in the habit of being a preparedness role model for your family and in your community. Modeling healthy behaviors, attitudes, and habits, like getting a seasonal flu vaccine and frequent handwashing, can inspire others to do the same.

Get Involved – Take action to help improve everyone’s health and resilience.
People who are resilient and ready to care for their neighbors can have positive and even life-saving impacts on their neighbors and in their communities at large. Response training and exercises, donations, and volunteerism are just a few of the many ways that you can help yourself and others prepare for, respond to, and recover from an emergency.

The Guemes Island Community Center Association has recently posted, on our website and on island bulletin boards, a list of our Top Ten Volunteer Opportunities. YOU can help to “create community.” There are many ways, even during a pandemic, to safely connect with or inspire others, to become more resilient, and to become more involved. Whether it is just neighbor helping neighbor or through greater involvement with island organizations, your efforts will build “community.”