Militarie Gun stands as a dynamic force in the realm of alt-rock since the group’s 2020 debut. The band quickly garnered attention from listeners who were surprised by its melodic, pop-forward approach, given founding member Ian Shelton’s hardcore background.
According to Shelton, the band harbors a vibrant energy and chooses to embrace goofiness over hyper-masculinity. Militarie Gun has released three EPs, full-length album Life Under The Gun, toured with bands like Scowl, Gel and Touché Amoré, and had its resonant track “Do It Faster” featured on a Taco Bell commercial.
The band is composed of vocalist Shelton, William Acuña and Nick Cogan on guitars, Waylon Trim on bass and Vince Nguyen on drums. While on the road, Shelton took some time to chat with the Weekly about MG’s first headlining tour, the progression of alternative music, time spent with Post Malone, and of course, Taco Bell.
On tour, you get little snippets of local scenes in various cities. Do you feel like hardcore culture is isolating, or is there more connectivity?
It’s hard because the nature of hardcore punk is to be counter to the mainstream. People are writing really catchy songs right now and it’s getting bigger audiences. It could be for everyone if you’re willing to accept the aggressive nature of it. I hate the gatekeeping nature of the internet. I don’t think that thing exists in real life because if you were a part of it pre-pandemic, you mainly played shows to 50 people and those were the big shows. And now we should all be grateful that there’s so many people choosing to spend their time doing this.
Considering that shift to more people embracing hardcore and alt music, do you feel this takes away from the music at all?
It depends on the style of the band. A band like us, we come from the hardcore scene and have the hardcore label, but we’re more or less just a rock band. We just want to write the catchiest songs we can, and when it comes to writing catchy songs, that’s where a greater audience can find appeal. I play in another band called Regional Justice Center and that is not meant to have a mass audience. That is meant to be antithetical to the mainstream, where Militarie Gun is very much a band that is about reaching wherever we can and trying to get our message into everyone’s head with a chorus.
You’re well into the Life Under the Gun tour. Have there been any standout shows?
Austin was an absolutely incredible show that felt like something that I’ve waited my whole life to do. I’m very excited to get back to the West Coast, very excited for Vegas. We’ve played that venue before [Eagle Aerie Hall]and I think this will be a very different show than the previous times we’ve played there.
You’re also playing with Vegas band Roman Candle on that last stretch of tour. What’s Militarie Gun’s connection to them?
We played Vegas with them before and we keep our ear to the ground on bands that are getting a lot of attention and that we also creatively intersect with.
How was it hanging with Post Malone? Can we expect a collab from you guys in the future?
I love hanging out with Post Malone. He loves music more than most people and being around him is just very fun because he’s very good at making everyone else feel important in the room. But a collab? Who knows?
One last hard-hitting question: What’s your Taco Bell order?
The new Stacker … it feels like very nostalgic Taco Bell to me. Historically though, three Soft Taco Supremes and a Crunchwrap Supreme.
MILITARIE GUN With Pool Kids, Spiritual Cramp, Roman Candle. February 29, 6 p.m., $22. Eagle Aerie Hall, seetickets.us.
