Jason Michael Dunnington

Category: Uncategorized

  • in memory of Kevin Hiatt

             Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s I was an active musician throughout the region. For a while I lived in a college town called Pittsburg, Kansas. Around Summer 2000 I started frequenting an open mic night on Tuesday nights at a bar called Kitchen Pass. It’s called Chatters now- but way back- when they started the business, they did so after the original Kitchen Pass in Joplin. On Tuesday nights from early 2000 until late 2001 it was a really good open mic with a lot of local musicians like Dan Albertini, Jon Artz, Kendra and I remember Josh Friskel hosted it. I miss Josh a lot. Anyway, among the many talented musicians I met in this era was a guitarist and college professor named Kevin Hiatt. He played guitar phenomenally. And I don’t say that lightly. You can find his music on Apple Music, Youtube and all the other usual music apps. I got to know Kevin at this open mic and found out he was a professor at Labette Community College. At the time that college had a program for music recording. They had a studio set up in a commercial building right outside Parsons, Kansas which was twenty miles or so from Pittsburg. At that time they had a Mac with Protools, DAT and ADAT. There were instruments, sound booths, and microphones. Pretty much everything you would need to record music with at that time which wasn’t very common. 

              I had been in several bands and played a lot of acoustic sets by myself up until that point. I had a Tascam four track recorder with the cassette tape and by late 2000 I had recorded an entire album of demos on that four track. Kevin took me one evening to the studio with my four-track and we bounced the tracks over to ADAT and I was able to re-record some parts that I felt needed it and he showed me everything that I had been missing. Over the next couple weeks we mixed it down and mastered it. All along he walked me through the process. I made a bunch of copies of that album and shared them with all my friends. If you still have a copy please get in contact with me. Kevin was an extraordinary  person and he really made a profound impact on my life. From that point on I kept recording my own song ideas. By 2007 Protools and other DAWs became that industry standard over ADAT. By then I was able to buy a cheap laptop and install Ableton Live or something similar and get high quality results. 

              Years ago I was friends with Kevin on Facebook then over the years through the process of life I made new accounts and lost track of him until 2025 when I looked him up and noticed he had passed in 2024. I was deeply saddened by this news especially as I found out he was living in Kansas City, not far from me. It’s very unfortunate that I was unable to connect with him in the last few years since I got sober and made all the other advancements. Regardless I am forever grateful for Kevin Hiatt’s positive impact on my life and for that reason I wanted to make some sort of eulogy for my incredibly talented friend. When Kevin passed he didn’t have any next of kin family and he doesn’t have an obituary or anything available to represent his life. My hope is that my writing here will inspire others to also share some sort of eulogy or memorial for Kevin. 

              Kevin Hiatt was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1956. In 1986 he earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami after also attending UMKC. He composed over 80 works of formal concert music- spanning orchestral pieces, electronic music and string quartets. Around 1996 Kevin started performing on 6, 7 and 12 string acoustic guitars. He was using open-string tunings and started utilizing a unique two-handed tapping that was mixed with complex percussive techniques. It was really quite a sight to see him perform. His guitar work was definitely inspired by John Fahey and Michael Hedges but with a highly structured classical architecture underneath. Kevin’s discography includes the albums-  Another Look At The Sunrise, Strange Ships on a Blue Horizon, and a Holiday Jazz Songs EP. All those are available on Apple Music and Spotify, I also noticed both his full length albums were available on eBay and I purchased one. Kevin also has a notable presence on Youtube. I highly recommend giving him a listen.

  • Summer Solstice

    I started my two Summer semester classes a couple of weeks ago. These eight week classes go fast and they really pile on the classwork. I have also prepared something I am planning on sharing in the next few days. SOme memories of an old friend that I wanted to honor. That post will be up soon– I’ve been pretty active on social media (Facebook) sharing a lot of original music. I have also taken a lot of photos recently. Here is some of my work

    Some more of the ‘color pop’ flowers of June. June 2026

    ‘color pop’ June flowers 2026

    sunrise at Blue Springs Lake June 2026

    sunrise at Blue Springs Lake in June 2026

    Turkey Vulture at Blue Springs Lake early one morning in June 2026

  • Dean’s List and birthdays

    With 15 credit hours this semester I made the Dean’s List for Spring 2026. That makes two semesters in a row. After Spring Break was over I locked in and got it all done. I have two gen ed classes this Summer that I was able to arrange online classes for, which will help my commute time this Summer significantly. On May 31st, I will have obtained 7 years of continious sobriety. That was worth mentioning. As is my plans to tell some stories of friends long lost or soon lost. I have some interesting chapters from my life and people I have interacted with. Now that I have a foundational understanding for writing I feel like I can tell these stories and do them justice. – anyway here is some of my recent photography and artwork

    Vaile Mansion in Indepence, Misssouri April 2026

    downtown Kansas City -April 2026

    Peony -April 2026

    April 2026

    A unique opportunity in Independence, Missouri May 2026

    Tommy the cat May 2026

    saturated roses May 2026

  • housing first, plc logic and defrost circuits

    This semester has been every bit the challenge that I expected it to be. I wrote a thesis for English on Housing First that changed my opinion on how to deal with helping people in addiction recovery and housing stability. I will likley end up sharing most of that here at some point. I found several local Kansas City studies that I was able to incorporate into that essay. Needless to say I am very pleased with the results. I have a class called Programmable Logic Controllers 1 that has definitely been a challenge as well as Commercial Refirigeration. There is four weeks of classes left before finals. I have a couple of ideas for Zines that I want to publish this Summer. After this semester closes out I am looking forward to getting some more artwork done. Here is some of my recent photography and artwork since my last post.

    Superior Linen Supply in Kansas City March 2026

    Maya Angelou mural in Kansas City March 2026

    dandelion April 2026

    The Bloch Building behind Nelson Atkins Museum April 2026

    Nelson Atkins Museum tulips in early April 2026

  • Spring Break

    The weather has been very active, even for March. We had 11 degrees and snow. Then a few days later it was 91 degrees. This has been an interesting Spring Break by way of weather. I have gotten out to take a few photos to share. My mid terms weren’t very fun. Not that you would expect them to be. I was scrolling social media on my phone last week and I stumbled upon an old friend I had nearly forgotten in time. Apparently he hasn’t been active for some time (2012) but the little bit I found was very profound and captivating. I am going to utilize what I have found with some ideas I already had for some music and artwork and incorporate that into the next few months. I want to share some of these stories that I have. I need to ask a lawyer about sharing stories from 25-30 years ago. I have some great material but I don’t want to open the door for legal issues so I definitely need some advice before I do that. Here are some of my recent photos and artwork.

    Some daffodils before the deep freeze. March 2026

    more daffodils from March 2026

    macro view of some crocus March 2026

    A view from Unity Village before the snow storm. March 2026

    Purple nettle (henbit) in a field with a silo.

    Englewood Theater in Independence, MO March 2026

    The Scout, taken at Scout Lookout Point in Kansas CIty. March 2026

  • Late Winter/early March

    My class schedule is really grinding on me. I finally have some schedule openings in the next month with Spring Break around the corner. Next week Daylight Savings TIme begins also. With all the drastic temperature changes this month brings I am looking forward to getting back to some macro photography. Flowers, insects and textures of all kinds. It reminds me of a good friend I lost years ago named Rocky. He was a painter. Not just like a house painter, he painted signs and murals. He was twenty-two years older than me and I met him in the 90’s as a teenager through some friend’s parents. I played guitar and a lot of the older folks in the town where I lived really liked me a lot. They included me in bars to drink and carry on like a regular customer when I was 18 years old because I was a known musician. I played in a lot of different bands back then. I played Country, Blues, Rock, Jazz, Synth Pop and typical music from the 90’s we all associate with that time period. I also got into played Reggae and Punk Rock in this time and my most successful bands were more original and had Punk roots with some Ska or Reggae mixed in. When I was 18 (1996) I was playing in 3 different bands as either a guitar player, singer or drummer. I needed work and Rocky offered me a job painting with him. I did that with him for every Summer for about 10 years. I really enjoyed doing murals on the sides of businesses. I really need to look for some of our old photos if I even still have them. The years haven’t been too kind for me keeping track of things like that unfortunately. Rocky, passed in late 2012. I miss him a lot. That’s where I get my painting techniques on canvas. I translated the skills I learned with him into an artform that is absolutely an essential part of who I am. My easel is in my kitchen right now with two stretched canvases on it.

    Anyway.. I have a few images to share this time.

    Our Lady Of Sorrows backdropped by The Sheraton Hotel. Kansas City

    Arp 2600 clone en macro Canon RF nifty fifty lens

    Late Winter cityscape KCMO Canon RF 35mm

    Collage created on Photoshop March 1 2026

    Variations on a theme. Collage created in Photoshop with a concept I previously incorporated. March 1, 2026

  • February

    This month has gone fast for me with this 15 credit hours I am working on completing this semester. Programmable Logic Controllers, Commercial Refrigeration and a few other classes. I have had a couple of opportunities to get some photos and I have been working on some music. I have been maintaining balance in my life. By Spring Break in 3-4 weeks I will be working on some more paintings. I may try to find some sort of band situation starting Spring Break with hopes to have something interesting lines up before this semester wraps up in early May. Soon (Spring) there will be more opportunity to get some nice macro photography. Here is some of my recent photography from the last month. Definitely some Winter vibes.

    The city in light. Feb 2026

    Lake Jacamo frozen over in early February 2026

    Mural at the location of the former Isis Theater at 31st and Troost in Kansas City, Mo. Walt Disney worked here and showed some of his first animations here.

    Kansas City downtown area glowing from the sun on an early February afternoon.

    This photo was clearly a found opportunity. early Feb 2026 at the WW1 Memorial KCMO

    I shared a similar photo last Summer. This one taken in early February 2026 had some interesting color combinations to work with.

    Winter time view of the city from the Troost overpass. early Feb 2026

  • early January

    In the past I had a real problem with deciding I wasn’t good at something. Maybe I tried something once or twice and had bad results or lost intrest. Among the things I thought I wasn’t good at were web design, graphic design, managing fianances and writing lyrics for songs. There are some other things that I considedered myself having a basic understanding and I lacked the discipline necessary to do anything really of merit with it. Like painting pictures and photography. Over the last few years I have reopened the door to trying those things. Except this time, with structure and discipline. I love to read so I bought a lot of different books on subjects and set aside time each day to read. Then I set aside time to try building my own web page, along with watching tutorials on YouTube to learn Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to give me some sort of real world reference for what I was reading in books. That’s another big part of taking on learning something new. Not just reading the literature but finding real world applications of those processes.

    What I have learned from all this is to do my best to not ever say I can’t do something and instead say “I haven’t tried that yet.” Because I know full well with a little understanding and practice I can do just about anything. Most limitations are mental constructs that can be easily avoided or countered with genuine curosity. I am sharing some images I created in photoshop and lightroom with my own personal photography. I guess you could call this graphic design. This is artwork I have created over the last few weeks.

    This stray cat was so photogenic and I really love how this image lent itself well to this effect.

    On a foggy early Winter evening I got some interesting light trail photos.

    This is a photo I took back in September and I had a photo of a painting I made back in August. During some down time over Christmas break I was stacking these images in Photoshop and trying different things. This happy accident really gave me a lot of ideas for future renderings.

    Some of the photo impressionist ideas I love to work with in negative.

    Photo impressionism is kind of becoming my niche.

    This stack was more intentional after the aforementioned happy accident.

    Photo impressionist design with key esoteric symbolic elements.

  • What a year!

    I have been so busy with class and especially finals. The end of the year just sort of arrived while I was busy living. I am so blessed and lucky to have been afforded all these opportunities, and I know that. This is why I give the amount of effort that I do. I’m all in on life and the more I give the better it gets. During Christmas break I am working on some music and photography. I’m making a lot of short video clips for social media that are gaining some traction. Otherwise my photography work gets the most hits from people that don’t know me. The music content gets the most hits from people that know me. I thought about doing an end of year review of my favorite books and music– that I found this year. Not necessarily stuff made in 2025. maybe a “best of new-to-me books and music 2025”

    I feel like I am going to make the Dean’s List. Unfortunately they didn’t publish the list before break. I did however enter my grades into the GPA calculator that the school website has and it indicates that I definitely made the right grades to appear on the list.. Perhaps in early January the list will be provided. Anyway, here are some photos I have made since my last post.

    Edit- I made the Dean’s List for Fall 2025 Semester.

    reflection in the pond Nov 2025 Canon RF35mm

    midtown KC in early December 2025 Canon RF35mm

    well-placed artwork in midtown KC Dec 2025 Canon RF 35mm

    Country Club Plaza Holiday season light display Dec 2025

  • early November

    Currently life is really busy. I am now legitimately a Sophomore in college. After a lot of hard work I have finally made some significant progress. No time to rest on my laurels though. I will press on. In December and early January I expect more post frequency. I also have some plans to play a few open mics in Kansas City in December and January. I have had several opportunities to get some photos that I want to share

    Union Hill – Kansas City, MO Oct 2025

    Liberty Memorial area Kansas City, MO Oct 2025

    Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Kansas City, MO Oct. 2025

    Liberty Memorial – Kansas City, MO November 2025

    Union Station – Kansas City, MO Oct. 2025

    Lake Jacomo – Lee’s Summit– Jackson County, MO