Unexpected Mary Wash
Nathan Argust
Unexpected Mary Wash Episode One – Nathan Argust
TO BE A DRUMMER IS TO BE IN FIFTY PLACES AT ONCE AND MAKE IT SEEM EFFORTLESS.
Nathan Argust is a senior Philosophy student with a minor in Music at the University of Mary Washington. I met Nate during the first week of our freshman year by asking about his skate shoes while standing in line for the dining hall; it was after the honor convocation, a rainy day in August of 2019. “You said like, nice shoes, or something,” Nate recalls, laughing, “And then asked if I wanted to play music sometime.” The conversation was longer than that, but I remember finding out Nate played the drums, telling him I played guitar and bass, and planning to jam together in Pollard.
“You’re probably one of the only people I still talk to from that era of freshman year,” Nate adds. We ended up jamming together only once, but from our music theory class in the spring of 2020, jazz improvisational workshop on Zoom in the fall of 2020, and astronomy class for the entirety of junior year, Nate and I’s paths continued to intertwine during our college experience. This summer, my friends and I went to see his band Hanoi Ragmen play in D.C., and this fall I sent Nate a long and discombobulated text asking if he’d be interested in being the subject for a mini-documentary series I was creating for an individual study capstone project. The project was called Unexpected Mary Wash, a multimedia endeavor intended to highlight the unexpected experiences of students at UMW.
Nate enters James Farmer Hall, home of UMW’s Philosophy major
During our conversation in the recording studio of Pollard, UMW’s music building, Nate reflects on his experience at the university over the years. “When I came here, I didn’t even expect to pursue music at the level I do today, if it weren’t for Mary Washington,” Nate explains. He started taking drum lessons with Professor Matt Case at UMW and joined the Jazz Ensemble with Dr. Doug Gately during his freshman year. Nate credits Case and Gately for his musical success, explaining how he learned to practice his craft, instead of just playing drums for fun.
“Jazz teaches you to be cool and collected, you know?” Nate poses his statement in the form of the question, but I don’t think there’s a more fitting way to describe Nate than “cool and collected.” Regardless of the fact that he somewhat resembles a madman when he’s in the middle of drumming, Nate’s persona away from the drum set is about as calm and unflappable as they come. His lilting surfer-esque style of speech, frequent easy laughs, and ability to dig deep into a topic at hand show the ways in which Nate’s Philosophy studies have crafted his personality. “It’s something I’m growing at constantly,” Nate says when speaking of his dual studies in Philosophy and Music,
“They are similar. Music for me, or playing the drums, is an act of self-betterment. It’s something you can be mindful on.“
Nate plays drums in Pollard’s recording studio
While he credits much of his musical growth in the past four years to professors Gately and Case, Nate’s own drive and determination have pushed him to become the musician he is today. Nate has played drums since he was eight years old and took lessons at a local Alexandria rock school program. His band, Hanoi Ragmen, was founded in 2018 with Nate (drums), Max Powell (lead guitar), Gabe Harr (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Beck Moniz (bass and vocals). The band released their debut album, The Oldlight earlier in 2022, signed by local Alexandria record label Baffin Records.
“I met this guy in school,” Max Powell states when I meet him, pointing at Nate, who sits behind the drum set wearing sunglasses. The two played in a band called Spork together in middle school, before eventually forming Hanoi Ragmen. “Yeah, who knows where I would be without Spork,” says Max, with a laugh almost identical to Nate’s.
Watching the two play music together feels like being a fly on the wall in the back-in-the-day footage of a rockumentary for a world famous band. There’s a kind of palpable chemistry among bandmates that can only be formed through playing music you love together. You can see the way they both get lost in the music, whether it’s a song by Queens of the Stone Age, or a Hanoi Ragmen original, Nate and Max’s ability to disappear in a song makes Pollard 218 buzz with energy. When you watch Nate’s video, pause at 6:35 and watch him get my attention to film Max’s guitar solo, then go on Spotify right now and listen to The Oldlight. My favorite tracks are Foolhearted and Hummingbird, but I guarantee you’ll find any one you listen to stuck in your head all day.
Nate Argust (left) and Max Powell (right)
The door to Pollard’s balcony reads NOT AN EXIT, but Nate props it open with a trashcan and leads the way out. “This is one of my favorite places on on campus,” he tells me. From this balcony to the upstairs of James Farmer Hall’s Philosophy department, to Marshall hill outside his freshman dorm, Nate regales me of his fond memories of Mary Wash.
“This is where it all started.” Standing atop Marshall hill, Nate points to the soon-to-be-demolished Marshall dorm. “My class was the last to live there. One time we were sledding down this hill on pizza boxes when it snowed, it was awesome. I almost broke my arm though. It was a great time.” With an easy laugh, Nate turns to catch one more glimpse of his former home, which will be deconstructed in the coming years to build a new music theatre building for the campus.
When asked what the main thing he wants to take away from UMW is, Nate leans back in the squeaky Pollard recording studio chair and looks at the ceiling. “I guess… everything I’ve learned, really. Not only a bunch of music theory,” he says, “But I’ve also learned how to practice efficiently; the ability to work hard on music, or anything, really.” He motions to the panel of recording studio controls, “And I’ll hopefully record something here. I still don’t know what all these buttons mean, but I’m getting there.”
The final question I’ve asked everyone for Unexpected Mary Wash is what they’d tell someone coming to Mary Wash, either a freshman, or a younger version of themselves. Nate takes the question in stride. “Going along with the theme of unexpected… don’t make any assumptions. About people you meet, what you’re learning. Don’t undermine this place.” He takes a moment to think before finishing, “You can find something you love and pursue it here, and you will find people to push you to be better at it. And I’m really glad this has been my path.”
Nate plays guitar in Pollard’s recording studio
To be a drummer is to be in fifty places at once and to make it seem effortless. Nathan Argust proves how a combination of hard work, dedication, passion, and true introspection can combine into a recording-artist-philosophy-student-force-to-be-reckoned-with. Despite his prowess, Nate laughs off any claims to fame. “My roommates hate it when I play guitar, which I always do. I’m just sitting there like,” Nate plays an air guitar and laughs, “they’re like Nate, go downstairs.”
Nate’s interview was the first one I recorded for Unexpected, and I called my dad right after I got in my car to drive home. “Nate was the perfect person to film with first, because he’s treating this interview like it’s the Rolling Stone,” I remember saying.
Nate, thank you for being part of this project. From the dining hall freshman year, to Pollard 218, to our music theory, jazz improv, and astronomy classes, to the crowd of your band’s show, being able to highlight your experience at UMW is something I’m proud to be a part of.
Everyone else, go listen to The Oldlight by Hanoi Ragmen on Spotify, and buy tickets to see them pay on December 22th in Washington, DC. I’m serious.
Nate will graduate in 2023 with a major in Philosophy and minor in Music
Tickets for Hanoi Ragmen’s show in Washington DC, December 22, 2022
Follow Hanoi Ragmen on Instagram: @hanoiragmen
Copyright Tess Wilhelm 2022. Photos, text, footage creative property of Tess Wilhelm unless otherwise specified.
For questions, please contact tesswilhelm@yahoo.com
Resources and credits; footage and photos below courtesy of Nathan Argust. Photography/videography credit to original owners.
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