Ryan Masters is a songwriter and musician from the Santa Cruz Mountains. He fronts The Suborbitals (Monterey, California). He was a founding member of Smoke Chaser (Santa Cruz, California), Goatboy Johnson (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Pan (Tainan, Taiwan). He is also the founder of Heroic Dose Records.

SeattleSynth is a resource for people in the Pacific Northwest (and beyond) to keep up to date on synth artists, new releases, concerts and news.

Dining Dead, a Seattle-born music project, was formed after Emma Belmont and Sammy Skidmore, both Seattle natives, reconnected years after meeting at summer camp. Bonding over their shared love of guitar, The Shins (they would see the band together at Bumbershoot in 2008) and The Pixies, they were fast friends in 7th grade. Fast forward years later and the two began writing songs at Emma’s home, joined by future drummer Bogie Pieper. The project’s sound expanded from singer/songwriter to full-blown band with the addition of Shannon Barberry (bass), Bogie Pieper (drums), and Kennedy Webb (violin, synth, and backup vocals). 

Their unique style blends poetic lyrics, ethereal vocals, funky rhythms, narrative and melodic guitar solos, and an orchestral sensibility shaped by Kennedy’s classical violin training. With this lineup, Dining Dead breaks traditional song structure and incorporates swing and funk-influenced grooves with classical leaning composition and pop song feel.

Dining Dead’s lyrics range from poignant to nonsensical, with vocal and instrumental motifs adding detail, intricacy, and dimension to their songs. Guitar and violin riffs, operatic doubled vocals and fuzz pedal use converge on their sophomore album. Emma Belmont’s distinctive unfolding and story-telling guitar solos often take center stage as the band’s second signature voice.

Dining Dead’s sound draws from Seattle’s music scene and the folk-country influences of Kennedy and Shannon’s Mississippi and Tennessee roots. The complex, syncopated rhythms brought forth by Bogie imbue Sammy’s songwriting (shaped by artists like Neko Case, Patti Smith, Kim Gordon, and Kate Bush) with more interest. These influences and elements converge to create a meaningfully diverse catalog of songs. 

Dining Dead’s sophomore album Is This a House? blends traditional pop structures with experimental, meandering forms. Rejecting the patriarchal "beginning, climax, ending" narrative, the band challenges conventions in several tracks. In Goddammit, the lyric “even hell has community guidelines” highlights the absurdity of the human experience and the ways in which we police ourselves and others.

Hands/Body combines dark lyrics with a bouncy beat, breaking typical song structure in an unexpected way at the tail end of the song. Dining Dead aims to merge the playful and cerebral, mixing catchy hooks with deep themes.

Emerging from Seattle’s DIY music scene, Dining Dead made their debut at celebrated local venues like Stone Way Café and Café Racer, and continue to perform in DIY spaces, at house shows, and on established stages. They have played Belltown Bloom, Capitol Hill Block Party, The Crocodile, The Tractor Tavern, and more. They have graced the stage with local legends Black Ends, and Zookraught and have opened for notable touring acts such as Everyone Asked About You and The Red Pears.

Their sophomore album, Is This a House?, was released on April 11th, 2025. They will be hitting the road for an East Coast tour in May 2025 and they can’t wait to see what the future brings with the release of Is This a House?

Followers of Dining Dead