A Navigation of Life and College

An audio story by Katrina Perce

October 20 2024

“I do think it’s kind of punk to want to save the environment”

Peyton Schwitters is a 20-year-old environmental science student balancing more than just her studies and her everyday life. In her free time, she is the guitarist of two Las Vegas-based bands: Between the Dogs&I and Sunday Mourning.


We take a look into Peyton’s background and experiences to see the intricacies of a college student balancing a dynamic life.

Audio Transcript

00:00:00 Peyton

OK, back to E standard. I think we’re gonna…

00:00:14 Katrina

Peyton Schwitters is not your average college student balancing a busy life. Behind the environmental science student is a punk musician playing guitar for 2 Las Vegas based bands.

00:00:31 Katrina

Peyton is someone easy to spot on campus. With her baby bangs, fishnets and piercings, she stands out amongst the crowd and stands out, especially as someone that looks like they have a story.

00:00:44 Katrina

Music had always been a part of Peyton’s life.

00:00:47 Peyton

I just really, I’ve always loved music, no matter what.

00:00:51 Katrina

Her earliest memories including an audio system with a three-disc rotary changer and her older sister’s iPod connected to a speaker.

00:01:00 Peyton

So, growing up, my mom always had music playing and we were always watching weird movies and weird TV shows and stuff like that. Like I wasn’t allowed to watch SpongeBob in 3rd grade, but I was allowed to watch Sweeney Todd.

So yeah, that that made me a little bit weird.

00:01:15 Katrina

Peyton’s love for guitar started early, when she was only in the second grade.

00:01:20 Peyton

And we went to this little local music shop in Vegas. There was, like, this old jazz man, and his name was, was Vance or Vince or something like that. But he was like this little old guy, and he taught me, and I learned really, really quickly. And he was like, man.

00:01:34 Peyton

You know, like if everybody was as good as you like, my old women aren’t even as good as you. And so I immediately just like fell in love with it.

00:01:43 Katrina

Peyton’s life experiences have had a great influence on her current interests.

00:01:49 Katrina

Her journey through music is accompanied with support in every step of the way.

00:01:53 Peyton

And then I had this other family friend who actually was the one that mainly introduced me to punk.

00:01:57 Peyton

He gave me this whole stack of vinyls. He was like “here, here’s some like some real music kid,” but it was a minor threat vinyl. It was their first 2-7 inches and I was just, I went crazy. And I remember, I remember the moment so vividly putting it onto my record player.

00:02:13 Peyton

And then hearing. It for the first time and be like “oh, my God. What is this and so then after that I was hooked.

00:02:18 Katrina

Peyton is the guitarist of a band called Between the Dogs & I, which she joined in September of 2022. When the time came to choose the next path on the journey after high school, Peyton’s mom steered her toward college.

00:02:31 Peyton

I feel like there’s so many options. Ideally, my band will be famous and I’ll never have to work, but in reality, I think… I don’t know. There’s so many pathways I can go with environmental science, but I do think it’s kind of punk to want to save the environment.

00:02:48 Katrina

Peyton’s band mates support her venture to college, working around the semester schedule.

00:02:53 Peyton

I think it’s a nice little break for all of us because then during the summer we just get to focus in on it so hard and it’s really fun and it’s nice to be back and to be making music with everyone.

00:03:03 Katrina

Being away at college has not stopped Peyton from exploring her world of music and even growing in it.

In July of 2024, she joined Sunday morning, a band considered big in the scene with a large following.

00:03:15 Katrina

Knowing that the band would need a new lead guitarist, Peyton put her foot forward through mutual friends.

00:03:21 Peyton

I was like, “hey, tell the lead singer if they needed another guitarist like, I’m down to come for a little audition.”

00:03:26 Katrina

Much to her surprise, she got an immediate response directly from the lead singer: an offer to be the band’s new guitarist.

00:03:33 Peyton

So I started freaking out cause there’s, like, a whole cult following around this band and I was like, “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh my God, yes.”

00:03:40 Katrina

Lucky enough, while away at college, Peyton does not have to look far past Reno to keep her punk heart alive.

00:03:47 Katrina

Even in between her classes and studying, the music finds its way back through

00:03:50 Peyton

The thing is, once you learn the songs, you don’t forget them. I mean, you might need a little refresher, but the songs get stuck in my head, like when I’m walking the class and I’m always playing them in my head.

00:04:01 Katrina

Peyton is someone that never fails to surprise you and will always think of the next best thing for her to do.

00:04:07 Peyton

After I graduate from here, I’m going to Mortuary science school. So my actually my five career paths.

00:04:14 Peyton

I’m going to be a mortician, a piercer.

I’m going to be in a band. I’m gonna be an environmental scientist and a hairstylist, obviously.

00:04:23 Peyton

Yeah. So I decided instead of getting a masters, I’m gonna go to Mortuary school.

/End/