Layne Garrett discusses growing up in a typical household in Tennessee and spending his childhood, visiting family on long road trips to Texas. While interest in music was always present in Layne’s life, it was in high school that exposure to outsider literature and open tuning in guitar brought him to be a part of music projects and pursue creative expression. He reflects on four years of living in a new city in Phoenix after college, where lack of social engagements got him to experiment with music and composing. He started building instruments from found objects and after moving to D.C. in the early 2000s, started performing with these built sonic structures. Layne got involved in the experimental arts in the district, organizing shows at the Lighthouse, his own house basements, and, later, at the former location of the historic Back Alley Theater. In 2015, along with five residents from Takoma Park, Layne started working on building Rhizome DC. The starting group of individuals met through un-schooling their children, for whom Layne hosted circuitry workshops. While intended to focus on community DIY educations (with open possibilities), Rhizome DC filled a need for an experimental music community, since Union Arts was displaced by a hotel development around the same time. Layne reflects on some of the first performances at Rhizome, where his own 2-year-old (at the time) daughter partook in one of the first events. This shows the blurred lines between performer and audience and openness to participation (regardless of age and beyond.) Thinking about the next steps for Rhizome DC, Layne Garrett emphasizes the strength of the community and possibly transformations, informed by post-pandemic cultural events and the needs of the experimental arts community in the district.