Bringing Our Community Together by Defending Different

For 70 years, PEMCO has cared for our customers and communities in the Pacific Northwest by celebrating our differences. From “We’re a lot like you, a little different” to “Defenders of the Northwest”, we have always embraced what makes each of us unique.

Today we are excited to bring this message to life through a project that brought together a diverse group of Northwest musicians to create something truly special. This video, in which one song is interpreted in many ways, underscores our cultural commitment to embracing our differences. Indeed, our diversity pledge to “Defend Different” honors that commitment and our history. We share it now, during this time of unprecedented uncertainty, to highlight that while circumstances and social distancing may require us to be further apart in some ways, ultimately, we’re still all in this together.

We wanted to show that what makes us all unique is the way each of us understands and interprets the world in our own way. We visualized this through the expression of music. The exact same notes on a page can be expressed in so many different ways: the twang of a guitar, the swell of an orchestra, the heartbeat of a piano, or the energetic groove of a rock band. The song of life is beautiful, no matter how you play it. Different is worth defending.

The way this project came to fruition also reflects the very message it conveys. We brought together an eclectic group of artists with vastly different backgrounds, styles, and personalities — and they gelled immediately. Everyone was thrilled to try new things and work together in service of this important message. The excitement to collaborate was palpable.

The theme of diversity and inclusion extended to our crew and locations as well. An all-female creative team concepted the vision and then a person of color as director turned it into reality. We tapped the energy of some of Seattle’s most hallowed musical spaces to record and shoot, including the legendary Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, Hazy Boy Music -- a new up-and-coming sound studio in South Park, and the Central District’s Washington Hall, which has supported and celebrated Seattle’s black community for decades.

Now it’s more important as ever to come together as a community and break down barriers. Music can help do that, and you can find more information below on the amazing musicians who were the heart and soul of this project. We are so grateful to them for their generous and creative spirit, and we hope you check out more of their incredible work.

The song, “Day N’ Nite”, was written by Whitney Mongé, who appears at the start and end of the video. Whitney busked at Seattle’s Pike Place Market for 10 years, and performs regularly throughout the city.
Twitter: @whitneymonge
Instagram: whitneymonge

Andrew Joslyn, leader of the Passenger String Quartet, is known throughout the Northwest as a creative force to be reckoned with. He has collaborated with Macklemore, Mark Lanegan, Allen Stone, Suzanne Vega, and more. He is joined by Alina To on violin, Seth May-Patterson on viola, and Rebecca Chung-Filice on cello.
Twitter: @joslynmusic
Instagram: andrewjoslynmusic

Pianist Jovino Santos riffed on so many different versions of the piece we lost count. His calm, joyful demeanor allowed him to experiment with the song in ways we never expected. Jovino is a multiple Latin Grammy nominee and teaches at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts.
Twitter: @jovinosneto
Instagram: jovinosantosneto

Elan Wright and Nima Skeemz, the bass and drum duo, are prolific hip-hop collaborators in the Northwest. Having partnered with artists like Sol, Parisalexa, Campana and Travis Scott, they brought an effortless groove to the set that helped everyone work together.
Twitter: @elanwright, @nimaskeemz
Instagram: elanwright, nimaskeemz

Geoffery Castle is “the guy” you call when you need an electric violinist. His warm presence and full-length leather coats introduced a whole new dynamic on set. He riffed like a rock guitarist, with an effervescence that took the song into unexpected territory.
Twitter: @violincastle
Instagram: castleviolin