Living Through Art: Behind the Music of Foatinground
The Ogden-based band has a big show Saturday and releases new single ‘Panicka’
NEWS | MUSIC
Floatinground practice at home studio in Odgen. Photos by Deann Armes
Floatinground, a three-piece original rock band, just dropped a new single “Panicka” and will take the stage at Ogden’s Own Distillery’s Summer Live Music Series on Saturday. It will be their longest set to date featuring all ten songs from their upcoming album, including fan favorites “Honey” and “21 Days.”
Ether Warburton formed the Ogden-based group three years ago and has since written 35 songs, four of which are on their debut EP “Chasing Bunnies” (2024). Their first full-length album is underway at an independent recording studio in Ogden.
The first single off the new album, “Panicka,” is one of Warburton’s favorites to perform, a lighthearted diss track about their former bass player who left the band – they’ve gone through three bass players and are currently seeking a new one. Check their Instagram page for tryout dates.
Warburton (lyrics, acoustic guitar, vocals), Jon Abegglen (lead guitar), and Westley Renner (drums) are the original three who first met at Lighthouse Lounge (no longer in business) in Ogden. Warburton and Renner worked there, and Abegglen was a regular who frequented the open mics. Before closing, Lighthouse Lounge was the hub for music and connection. Warburton found a home, and their way back to music, in this community. “I feel so lucky to have caught it,” they said of this era in the music community.
Warburton’s journey to Ogden resulted from a mishap. The plan was to move to Oregon from Southern Utah where they grew up, but those plans were derailed. Their roommate at the time moved to Ogden, and Warburton followed without any intention of making it their home for the last decade.
A multi-faceted artist – poetry, visual arts, music – Warburton has “lived on words” for as long as they can remember, often writing poems as a young child. They began writing songs in their teens and 20s but music wasn’t their focus until it became an outlet for grief after the sudden death of a lover.
Turning to songwriting was second nature. They were raised by a mother who used the power of words to heal from trauma and surrounded by music from their musician father.
The shocking loss of the most important person in their life was too much to hold. “Bringing an emotion to light through a song is a way to release it and connect it to people who don’t have that voice or haven’t found a way to connect to that part of themselves,” Warburton said. “But to say the death is the reason for my music would be a diminishing notion but it was a catalyst.”
There just wasn’t a sense of urgency before to finish art to completion. The loss pushed them to want to connect to others who were grieving and show them a way out, acknowledging those feelings and not trying to run from them.
Warburton has lost two lovers. After the first, who died by suicide, they ran away from the pain and escaped through drugs and alcohol. But this time, they didn’t suppress their feelings and instead put them into “something beautiful and worthwhile they can revisit…like a time capsule for what that meant to you.”
“Honey” is the song they started writing after their lover died in 2021. Something was missing, and they went to search their “orphanage of lost lyrics” and found a line they’d written before he died that didn’t make sense at the time: ‘I’m a lot like honey in a hot cup of tea. I’ve lost my shape but I’ve kept my taste.” It made the song complete.
The day they finished “Honey” they attended open mic and performed for the first time in ten years. After that, another local musician and friend Zaza Historia VanDyke invited them to open with a solo set at their next show. “That’s when I decided I wanted to pursue music,” they said.
The power of words is also illustrated in “Cat Song” (“Chasing Bunnies” EP 2024), a tune they wrote in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Warburton wrote the lyrics in the first verse “I want to start a band, I’ve got two hands” and the second verse “I just started a band, I’ve got two hands.” They didn’t realize until recording the demo that they now had a band, yet at the time the song was written there was no real intention to start a band. It was just silly words that came out. “It’s so important what you say,” they said.
The band’s name, Floatinground, was intentional. It means “untamed electricity” which the band unanimously agreed to as it perfectly described their collective energy. Warburton has learned to embrace chaos, to let their creativity flow without judgment or overanalyzing or waiting for it to make sense. Together there is trust and collaboration and the music flows easily. Warburton credits the band for keeping them accountable and the momentum strong.
Warburton wants to support other artists with their creativity and share what they’ve learned: “Once you train your brain that everything is conspiring for your highest good you see all the reasons for anything you call a misstep and that it’s adjusting you to a new better situation. You just have to train your brain for what to look for because it’s already there. Manifestation isn’t drawing something to you; it’s noticing.”
For example, the first band that was booked for their show on Saturday had to cancel. As a result, a band they love Sean Baker’s Recycled Stardust is now on the bill with Floatinground. It’s the perfect way to give back to a band they love that helped them fulfill a bucket list goal to play at Piper Down in Salt Lake City.
Floatinground is part of building a new hub for community — one of the places being Side Bar at Ogden’s Own. Warburton said the Sunday open mics with Riley and Trent are bringing new great artists to connect with and share knowledge. They are showing up for their music every day taking nothing for granted.
“Through experiencing death you can, if you choose, really learn to live,” Warburton said. “Everyone you connect with and love is forever a part of you and if you can bring that into art and music and whatever you create then every love that you’ve held can live forever.”
Floatinground will be performing with Sean Baker’s Recycled Stardust on Saturday, May 31, 6 p.m., at the Summer Live Music Series. Their new single “Panicka” is available now on all streaming services.