SHANGRI-LA

Having only caught a set of theirs once, I didn’t know too much about Shangri-La when we began the interview, but I quickly learned that they are music lovers. Not in the sense that all people in bands are music lovers, but in the sense that they seem like the sorts of dudes who don’t try to get too caught up in drawing lines around what they enjoy and don’t. They sound like they’re welcoming of change and musical differences and into exploring and poking their heads in the next room to see who the hell is playing that weird theremin-sounding thing (turns out it’s just my little brother going “woooOOOoOOoOoO” into the oscillating fan...I wish my dad had enough money for toys). Here’s an interview with Shangri-La:

Forgive me, but I don't know how long you've been around. Are you guys named after the Shangri-La Spa and Sauna in our hometown of Billings, which was busted for hosting a prostitution ring in the not-so-distant past?

Well... no. It was rather a hilarious coincidence. We did in fact use to promote our shows there, Hail the Rub and Tug! We are actually named after the lyric in the song "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin ('My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon.').

I know that you guys have described the band history as being "fucked up", or something along those lines. Can you give us a brief band history...or is it a really involved story?

Fuck no, it’s not involved at all we're just really lazy. We began, shit happened, we rocked some shit, more shit happened, hiatus for a year... beer happened. We came back, more shit happened, more pot and beer happened, line up change (many have happened.) and we're very satisfied with the current line up/songs. (Bacon.)

Shangri-La. I'm Down with this band. heh. See? ...'Cause the shirt...
so...pretty clever, right? ...Somebody make the pain go away.

You're a metal band, but are there any genres of metal you don't really care for?

Well first off we don't know what we really are... and all us listen to a broad spectrum of metal music that have influenced us in our writing. But fuck dem perrty boyz.

Conversely, are there any genres of music that you don't play but really like?

No. And if we haven't we will be in the near future.

Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?

What are YOU doing in heaven? Faggot.

Which other bands would you recommend that folks watch at Dreyfest?

Ando Ehlers (Seattle, WA)
The DAMN Union (Mesilla, NM)
Noise Noise Noise (Billings, MT)
Duffy and the Beer Slayers (Minot, ND)
Poetic Intelligence (Billings, MT)
Systems Victims (Bismarck, ND)
Mr. Dad (Minot, ND)
Posture (Seattle, WA)
Weather-Control (Cody, WY/Boise, ID)
Alex Nauman Organ Trio (Billings, MT)
The Helligans (Great Falls, MT)
Farley Moore (Billings, MT)
AssNynE (Billings, MT)
Deadnecks (Billings, MT)
Armaund Hammer (Missoula, MT)
No Cigar (Billings, MT)
Friends of Cesar Romero (Phoenix, AZ)
Tribe (Billings, MT)
Shramana (Missoula, MT)
Tales From Ghost Town (Bozeman, MT)
The Budgets (Billings, MT)
Too Many Teeth (Fort Collins, CO)
The Michael Character (New Jersey)
Idaho Green (Billings, MT)
Duchovny (Greeley, CO)
KaNcErUs (Billings, MT)
Bedlam Saints (Billings, MT)
Show For Nobody (Billings, MT)
Oxen Free (Fort Collins, CO)
Australis (Billings, MT)
Jamz Dean and Legacy (Billings, MT)
Part Time Ninjas (Billings, MT)
Medicine Bow (Laramie, WY)
Greater Apes (Billings, MT)
Shangri-La (Billings, MT) - fuck these guys.
Buddy Jackson (Missoula, MT)
Stranded By Choice (Billings, MT)
Vibe Technicians (Billings, MT)
Reid Perry (Billings, MT)
Katy Kemmick (Billings, MT)
PD Lear (Missoula, MT)
Halfway Killed (Billings, MT/San Francisco, CA)
Grunt (Missoula, MT)
Into Orbit (Billings, MT)

If you had to change your band's name (forced by a threatened lawsuit or something), what do you think you might change it to?

The Third Nipple.

What do you do when not rocking?

Mostly, we dwell upon the path of spirituality and immerse ourselves in knowledge - plus some fun on the side which reflects upon our music.

What will you be doing, band-wise, in the upcoming months?

Well, drinking beer and writing music. Dreyfest (Woooo!) then some upcoming shows at the newly opened Cine7 (Aug 23rd or 24th.) We are releasing a 3 song EP with the great fellows from Tribe and AssNynE called '...lets fucking call it Bacon.' Then after that, we are recording our first album (possibly two?!) To be continued...

Shangri-La. I have no idea how they knew that I’m gay when they weren’t even sure who the interviewer was. Unless they were attempting to call me a cigarette. Which is possible because my last name does sound very similar to a common cigarette brand. That’s right, my last name is Matural American Spirit. Watch Shangri-La rock hard at 4pm at Harper & Madison on Saturday, August 3rd. And don’t forget that they have a track up on this here sampler: http://richardtryfest.bandcamp.com/album/richard-tryfest-2013

See you at Dreyfest!