the phargeaux story...

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phargeaux is a late-emerging electronic artist whose music is powered by a lifetime of voice, discipline, recovery, and devotion to the transcendent moment when many people move as one.

His roots begin far from the dancefloor: as an Anglican choirboy, trained early in harmony, breath, and the emotional force of shared sound. That foundation deepened during five years performing professionally with the Chicago Voice Exchange, a professional five-man a cappella group that paved the way, performing pop covers and originals with effects and complex arrangements, for current groups like Pentatonix. He had formal theater and music training at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, NOLA Loyola's Summer Jazz & Theater programs and at Northwestern University, where storytelling, timing, and presence became second nature.

Then came a long, seemingly divergent chapter: 35 years working inside big enterprises, helping them navigate software, systems, and technological change... all while being a joyful, engaged Dad, Partner, and Recovery Sponsee/Sponsor. All the while, music stayed alive—quietly—beneath the surface.

Running parallel was another journey: recovery. phargeaux identifies as "neurodivergent," on a few dimensions, including "addict brain wiring" - an allergy,  an atypical physical response, combined with an non-controllable  psychological obsession, to and with mood-altering chemicals... when consumed. phargeaux is a recovered—and still recovering—alcoholic and drug addict. And has been blessed to walk that path his entire adult life.

That path, and the recovery communities and path encountered, and engaged throughout his adult life, sharpened his sensitivity to states of mind, emotional honesty, and the real hunger people have for release, connection, and meaning that doesn’t require numbing out.

The catalyst arrived unexpectedly: a decade spent attending EDM and Pop festivals with his kids. What began as parenting became initiation. Standing (and bouncing) in crowds, watching thousands of people synchronize to a single pulse, he felt something ancient and unmistakable—the tribal power of bass, rhythm, and shared motion. Not escapism. Communion. Transcendence. His old psychedelic friend... the Trance State... where "messages" are heard and felt, the reality of Connection is felt, viscerally... and the delusion of Self & Seperateness we share while "human being,..." our collective "insanity..." for a time... just melts away. Through... The Music. The Beat. 

The magick energy of Sound.

That was the moment the arc closed.

Today, phargeaux creates and performs original electronic music that fuses live vocals, expressive instrumentation, and modern production into immersive festival sounds & sets. His sound follows his own cravings, and heart, and is designed to deliver what he half-jokingly calls a “wubwash for the heart and mind”—music that moves bodies while clearing emotional static.

He loves Festival camping and the whole immersive Tribal experience and actively tours the Festival circuit. Sometimes alongside his kids. Sometimes solo. Always in service of the same aim:

to help people feel together, alive, and momentarily free inside the beat.

phargeaux isn’t chasing trends. He’s answering a call—one that’s been echoing since the first choir note, the first harmony, the first circle around a fire.