about:

Mat Vuksinich has been making music under the name The Sarcastic Dharma Society, both by himself and with the help of others, since 2003. They have released 5 albums, most recently "Sannyasa Songs (of Love)", a six song EP full of nostalgic minimalism and heartbreak, and "Other People's Songs (Volume One)", a collection of 10 covers, re-imagined versions of both well known and lesser known artists' songs. They can be found writing, recording, and regularly performing in the rainy city of Portland, Oregon.

"...some of the most delicate and honest songs you will ever hear"

--Slowcoustic

"Vuksinich’s music, his wandering guitar pluckery, his emotionally-strained vocals, all a kind of raw honesty, an actual and accounted for integrity, that most modern music completely lacks."

--A Secret Machine

"He makes his songs sound really good."

--Said The Gramophone

"Portland has become familiar with Vuksinich’s unabashedly frank, lovelorn lyrics and plucky guitar melodies that match his boyish exterior...the majority of songs appeal to the agonizing obsession of teenage love, but in a refreshingly candid and conversational way."

--PSU Vanguard

"It’s rare to find bands you would die to support, being ready to follow’em across the World for not particular reasons, if not for the love of their music and the vision of the World they fit in."

--SleepWalKing Magazine

right now:

"Live (Volume Two: 2010-2012)"2012

01. What You Need
02. Empathy
03. 3am
04. Surrender To You
05. I'd Leave Me

06. Life In Moments
07. Never
08. Our Love
09. Crazy
10. This Fool

over the last few years i've written a set of ten songs that i want to make into a record that will probably be called "Empathy". it's sort of a concept album in that each of the songs is pretty much about the same things, but from different perspectives. in a very anticlimactic fashion, you can, right now, listen to live (mostly solo) versions of all of these songs, because i keep sort of halfway recording them at various shows that i've been playing. love, -mat

"Sannyasa Songs (of Love)"2010
a six song EP full of nostalgic minimalism and heartbreak. tiny songs for people of all sizes.
Listen:     "The Giving Tree""

"Other People's Songs (Volume One)"2009
a collection of 10 covers, reimagined versions of both well known and lesser known artists' songs.
Listen:     "Shit On My Heart (by Meyercord)"

"This Is Me With A Piano And A Lot Of Love"2007
a small EP of previously released songs, rearranged for piano.
Listen:     "Red"

coming soon:

"Empathy"
10 songs about the love, regret, heartbreak, hope, and crushing sadness inside of us that we obsess over, while overlooking in others.
Listen:     "3am (live)"

"Sannyasa Songs (of Death)"
following "Sannyasa Songs (of Love)", four song EP of orchestrated pop songs recorded between 2009 and 2012.
Listen:     "Where Does It Go?"

"Other People's Songs (Volume Two)"
followup to Volume One, second set of 10 cover songs.
Listen:     "Tonight Was A Disaster (by CFTPA)"

"Duets With My Dad"
album of instrumental duets (guitar/mandolin) that i wrote/recorded with my dad.
Listen:     "After All"

ask a question
  • in absurdly good company.
go look at all of the crazy fucked up awesome that Philip Dearest does. rad deals.
love this,-mat 
    Permalink  |  Posted on Friday, February 24 at 2:14pm

    Reblogged fromintheaeroplaneoveraveryisland | (viaintheaeroplaneoveraveryisland)

    in absurdly good company.

    go look at all of the crazy fucked up awesome that Philip Dearest does. rad deals.

    love this,
    -mat 

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Thursday, February 23 at 12:43pm

    new song from The Ocean Floor, finally showing off a piece of the new sound that they’ve been secretly developing. i like it. i like it lots. so very excited to hear the new record, see the new shows. these guys seem to do good things all of the time. no secret, i have the hugest crush on this band, and on each of its individual members.

    much love,
    -mat

  • awww—a very sweet reference to the great Padraic Finbar Hagerty-Hammond’s song “I Can’t Sing (But I Love You)“ as seen here:

mp3 of this recording is here.
    Permalink  |  Posted on Wednesday, February 22 at 3:01pm

    Reblogged from143monsters | (via143monsters)

    awww—a very sweet reference to the great Padraic Finbar Hagerty-Hammond’s song “I Can’t Sing (But I Love You)“ as seen here:

    mp3 of this recording is here.

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Wednesday, February 22 at 12:18pm

    Okay - “My” - Live at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco (2.21.2012)

    Okay played their first show in some years last night and here is some video from it!

    for those unaware, Okay is the music of Marty Anderson, who previously made music in the consistently fantastic bands Dilute, Howard Hello, and Jacques Kopstein. all of his records are amazing, and he’s been a huge influence on the way that i think about writing and recording (and listening to) music. i really can’t express how exciting it is to see him playing out, and i really can’t wait to see what happens!

    much much love to marty,
    -mat 

  • 
typewrittenword:
“This Fool” by The Sarcastic Dharma Society
Submitted by alittlelissa





oooo, i got typewrited. such a cool thing when someone takes something you’ve done and does something else with it. alittlelissa, you’re awesome. i think that’s pretty rad looking, even though this line, and really this whole song, feels frustratingly cheesy to me a lot of the time.
i don’t know if it’s obvious to people or uninteresting to people, but the part typed out here is a direct reference to the first line of the French Quarter song “Build Fires”:

our wills and our waysare two very different things





which, if i remember correctly, was originally written as a poem by someone else (i don’t have my record in front of me and i can’t find the credits online anywhere, sorry to you, unnamed incredible writer of words) and then set to music by Stephen Steinbrink. i love this song. it’s fucking fantastic. and that line is so understated and so beautiful and so sad and so universal and so honest without trying to be anything. (as are most french quarter songs) i’m really interested in the weird sort of hypocrisy thing where people so often knowingly, willingly, regretfully, “sin”. we’re just so goddamn fallible. and impulsive. and weird!
that said, i suppose my line is less about personal shortcomings and more about all of the circumstance and mistakes and unintended consequences, and the sort of naive futility in “wanting” things, which is sort of an integral part of “sadness”, and which i have come to see as sort of the center of a lot of feelings and emotions (and, consequently, a lot of art): expecting one thing, receiving another—that you don’t really like as much.
i’m generally opposed to the whole “songs about writing songs” thing, mainly because it seems really indulgent when i do it, and pushes things into that “journaling” direction that i’m not very interested in. that is, i want to write something honest, but, more so, i want to convey something honest, in the best way that i can, which is rarely accomplished by taking a picture of my frowny face in the mirror. if it had fit the consonants better, i probably would have written “painter paints” to avoid feeling douchey, but, again, here i’m really just talking about “art”, and really only to talk about the strong emotions and difficult experiences that make our lives ridiculous and confusing; that make us “feel” things.
the other frustrating deal, is that it’s usually important to me to make sure that whatever i’m writing into a song sounds like something that could be spoken aloud in conversation without prompting someone to ask “what’s that from?”, and no part of this particular song really passes that test. it’s written from a much less “human” perspective than i’m accustomed to, and even though it’s a really intentional thing, it’s still difficult for me to read back and not feel insincere about. i guess it’s just not the voice i’m most comfortable being responsible for.
the three pieces of this song were written at three different points, each about a year apart from each other (in reverse chronological order) so some of these words are remnants of long gone thoughts and struggles, which can be a weird process. it took me a long time to feel like i was really saying anything clearly with it, and i still go back and forth a lot, feeling like i need to scrap the whole thing and try again, but, whatevs, it’s chill, i like pieces of it a lot, and i like the overall vibe of the thing. it’s also, on its own, at shows, quite a thing getting to scream “how worthless i am” at people. i don’t have a lot of moments like that in my songs. or in my life. i suppose most people don’t. weird dealz, man.
much love,-mat
    Permalink  |  Posted on Saturday, February 18 at 2:08pm

    Reblogged fromtypewrittenword | (viapaperparapet)

    typewrittenword:

    This Fool” by The Sarcastic Dharma Society

    Submitted by alittlelissa

    oooo, i got typewrited. such a cool thing when someone takes something you’ve done and does something else with it. alittlelissa, you’re awesome. i think that’s pretty rad looking, even though this line, and really this whole song, feels frustratingly cheesy to me a lot of the time.

    i don’t know if it’s obvious to people or uninteresting to people, but the part typed out here is a direct reference to the first line of the French Quarter song “Build Fires”:

    our wills and our ways
    are two very different things

    which, if i remember correctly, was originally written as a poem by someone else (i don’t have my record in front of me and i can’t find the credits online anywhere, sorry to you, unnamed incredible writer of words) and then set to music by Stephen Steinbrink. i love this song. it’s fucking fantastic. and that line is so understated and so beautiful and so sad and so universal and so honest without trying to be anything. (as are most french quarter songs) i’m really interested in the weird sort of hypocrisy thing where people so often knowingly, willingly, regretfully, “sin”. we’re just so goddamn fallible. and impulsive. and weird!

    that said, i suppose my line is less about personal shortcomings and more about all of the circumstance and mistakes and unintended consequences, and the sort of naive futility in “wanting” things, which is sort of an integral part of “sadness”, and which i have come to see as sort of the center of a lot of feelings and emotions (and, consequently, a lot of art): expecting one thing, receiving another—that you don’t really like as much.

    i’m generally opposed to the whole “songs about writing songs” thing, mainly because it seems really indulgent when i do it, and pushes things into that “journaling” direction that i’m not very interested in. that is, i want to write something honest, but, more so, i want to convey something honest, in the best way that i can, which is rarely accomplished by taking a picture of my frowny face in the mirror. if it had fit the consonants better, i probably would have written “painter paints” to avoid feeling douchey, but, again, here i’m really just talking about “art”, and really only to talk about the strong emotions and difficult experiences that make our lives ridiculous and confusing; that make us “feel” things.

    the other frustrating deal, is that it’s usually important to me to make sure that whatever i’m writing into a song sounds like something that could be spoken aloud in conversation without prompting someone to ask “what’s that from?”, and no part of this particular song really passes that test. it’s written from a much less “human” perspective than i’m accustomed to, and even though it’s a really intentional thing, it’s still difficult for me to read back and not feel insincere about. i guess it’s just not the voice i’m most comfortable being responsible for.

    the three pieces of this song were written at three different points, each about a year apart from each other (in reverse chronological order) so some of these words are remnants of long gone thoughts and struggles, which can be a weird process. it took me a long time to feel like i was really saying anything clearly with it, and i still go back and forth a lot, feeling like i need to scrap the whole thing and try again, but, whatevs, it’s chill, i like pieces of it a lot, and i like the overall vibe of the thing. it’s also, on its own, at shows, quite a thing getting to scream “how worthless i am” at people. i don’t have a lot of moments like that in my songs. or in my life. i suppose most people don’t. weird dealz, man.

    much love,
    -mat

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Monday, February 13 at 2:54am

    Lev did a valentine’s day thing. i used to go to in-n-out a lot.

    <3,
    -mat 

  • first comic from Levni Yilmaz&#8217;s upcoming book/DVD &#8220;The Doom Room&#8221;. If you haven&#8217;t seen all of this dude&#8217;s &#8220;Tales Of Mere Existence&#8221; youtube videos, i recommend you go watch all of this dude&#8217;s &#8220;Tales Of Mere Existence&#8221; youtube videos.
    Permalink  |  Posted on Wednesday, February 8 at 1:49pm

    first comic from Levni Yilmaz’s upcoming book/DVD “The Doom Room”. If you haven’t seen all of this dude’s “Tales Of Mere Existence” youtube videos, i recommend you go watch all of this dude’s “Tales Of Mere Existence” youtube videos.

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Sunday, January 29 at 9:40pm

    Reblogged fromcrudo-soy | (viacrudo-soy)

    xgetxlonelyx:

    The  Sarcastic Dharma Society - First day of my life ( bright eyes cover)

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Saturday, January 28 at 4:18pm

    new Hop Along! AHHHHHH!

    Tibetan Pop Stars

    How content are with ones with simple demands? They meet their fiancés cherry picking out in Canada.
    While cursing the river, a seven fingered man, his three sleepless wives all equally sick of him. 

    Honey I left to see some action. What’s with all these swamps? All I’m passing are hospitals and space-camps. Nobody is asking me “What about your other?” If they did I’d tell them you’re a 

    Stanger in India 
    I’m gonna be creepin’ on you so hard 
    You’re seducin’ Tibetan pop stars and 
    Wreckin’ motor-cars 

    I know its true. This Is wrong love. Why is everything so expensive? Maybe in two years you can forgive me. I’ll be living kinder. I’ll have found my place as a 

    Stanger in India 
    I’m gonna be creepin’ on you so hard 
    You’re seducin’ Tibetan pop stars and 
    Wreckin’ motor-cars 

    A stranger in India. Doing ok so far. I’m just waiting on the feathers and tar. You are the only one. You are.

    Nobody deserves you the way that I do. 

    Come home my stranger in India because waiting on you is too hard. The reason I haven’t written back is because I’m still doing all that bad sh** I was. 

    My love is average. I obey an average law.

  • Otis Redding
    "For Your Precious Love"
    The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads
    Plays: 51

    Otis Redding - “For Your Precious Love”

    “i just keep wanting you. nobody but you.”

    hey! listen! to this. i love it lots.

    this week i’ve been working on arranging parts for my song “surrender to you”, which has meant listening to a lot of smokey robinson, sam cooke, temptations, things of that ilk, looking for inspiration [read: things i can rip off]. (i usually listen to lots of this anyway, but whatever) in particular, this recording of otis redding doing “For Your Precious Love” is a goldmine. it’s also just heartbreakingly beautiful. actually, the whole record that it’s on, “The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads” is amazing. i really love how consistent the instrumentation is throughout, like, they have a solid band doing incredible things, and they don’t get gimmicky or do anything weird from track to track. and the horn parts for every goddamn song are perfect, and are always really aware of what the vocal is doing, always careful not to overstep. it is the great.

    furthermore, “for your precious love” is pretty much the same chord progression, in the same key, as what i’m working on, which is silly convenient for stealing. har har. most especially some of that badass lead guitar is going into my song. well, not directly, but in spirit. also those big horn swells. they’re awesome. i really hope i can make that work. it’s in the movie “Mr. Nobody”, which i watched, like, 4 times during the period where i was writing my song, so i’m thinking i was inadvertently ripping it to begin with. hah. i love that movie, by the way, i mean, it’s fucked, but if you haven’t seen it, i recommend.

    “i wanna tell you just one more time!”

    much love,
    -mat 

    Permalink   |   Posted on Friday, January 27 at 8:00am
  • twobadour Asked:

    "You're running out of tea? That's awful. Especially if it's rainy! What kind of tea do you drink? Or are you a well rounded tea drinker?"

    The Sarcastic Dharma Society Answered:

    picture of the pretty tasty genmaicha that i was drinking on my porch this morning—i had to go and find it yesterday after running out.

    are you a tea person? i’m pretty into tea, but i wouldn’t say i’m well rounded, as i’ve really only the most cursory understanding, passing familiarity with the deals. i like a lot of stuff, some most recent favorites: mao jian, gyokuro, bao zhong, genmaicha—i usually drink a lot of puerh, but i’m sort of burnt out on it right now—had a bunch of good white peony this week, green jasmine’s really good iced, but it’s way too cold right now for that nonsense. actually so is mao jian. mao jian’s just really good. man, i’m gonna go heat up some water.

    hey, kids, drink more tea. tea is the shit. the shit is tea.

    <3,
    -mat 

    Permalink   |   Posted on Thursday, January 26 at 11:53am
  • Permalink  |  Posted on Thursday, January 26 at 11:15am

    Reblogged fromohkarolle | (viathe-beautiful-freaks)

    the-beautiful-freaks:

    having a coke with you

    (Source: ohkarolle)

  • Permalink  |  Posted on Wednesday, January 25 at 2:21pm
  • Permalink  |  Posted on Wednesday, January 25 at 8:00am
  • megclaire Asked:

    "hey there, thanks for the follow. i think your music is very rad! did you grow up in pdx?"

    The Sarcastic Dharma Society Answered:

    hey! thank you for the follow. and for the kind words. i grew up in california, i’ve been in portland for about 5 years. i like it. it’s pretty rainy sometimes, but i like it. it’s really rainy right now, but i’m getting through it. i’m running out of tea though, which is scary, because it’s rainy out. so much rainy out.

    <3,
    -mat 

    Permalink   |   Posted on Tuesday, January 24 at 6:36pm