Militarie Gun Delivers Catchy Aggressive Riffs at Gramps

Not too much good came out of the pandemic, but for Ian Shelton, the pause gave him the time to form his band Militarie Gun.

"It started off as a solo project," he tells New Times over Zoom from what appears to be the front seat of his car. "The last people I saw before the pandemic ended up being the band. We spent two years writing and recording before we ever played live."

Those songs eventually became the band's debut album, Life Under the Gun, released last summer. It's made up of a dozen aggressive songs featuring Shelton's screaming vocals atop catchy riffs. "The whole record was written before we played a show. We demoed it three times," he adds. After each demo, the members worked on fine-tuning each track. By the time Militarie Gun finished its first tour in 2022, the band knew exactly what direction they wanted to go when they stepped into the studio.

Though Shelton hesitates to share the band's recipe for its secret sauce, with a strict "no comment" on the meaning behind the name Militairie Gun, he's willing to divulge the influences behind Life Under the Gun. "I have a love for any style of music. I want to embrace the option that anything could be an influence," he explains. The most important ingredient for the songs on the album was they had to be "short songs for short attention spans."

While Militarie Gun started in Southern California, where the five members currently reside, Shelton grew up in the state of Washington. Music had always been his calling, though he never had formal training besides a few bass lessons. It was during his fifth-grade talent show, where he and some friends covered a Green Day song, that the idea of being a working musician began. "I picked up and put down many hobbies. Music was the one that stayed," he adds.
For him, Los Angeles is the perfect place to be a musician, with many creatives calling the entertainment capital home. "There's an ease of access to so many awesome people. Being able to be in a studio any day of the week with so many studios accessible also makes it easier," Shelton says.

That ease of access allowed Militarie Gun to turn out its latest track, "My Friends Are Having a Good Time," quickly. The song is featured on the EP Life Under the Sun, which includes the tracks "Never Fucked Up Twice" and "Very High (Under the Sun)." All three songs are much more mellow and melodic than anything on Life Under the Gun. Shelton says not to read too deeply into the calmer sound. "The big thing is trying what we want to try," he says. "This time, we leaned into melancholy instead of poppy instrumentals."

The band is set to make its second appearance in Miami at Gramps on Friday, February 9. Militarie Gun first played at the Wynwood venue last September, but the weather was less than cooperative. "It was one of those torrential downpours," Shelton remembers. "There was so much rain we were wondering if the show was going to happen."

The show went on, and concertgoers can expect more of the same the second time around. "We play with a lot of energy jumping up and down. The goal is to walk away and say there's nothing more we could have done," he adds.

The band will spend a lot of time on the road in 2024, including its biggest gig ever at Coachella this April. "We'll have to be louder and even more of ourselves to reach the large amount of people there," he notes.

Militarie Gun. With Pool Kids, Spiritual Cramp, and Death Lens. 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 9, at Gramps 176 NW 24th St., Miami; gramps.com. Tickets cost $20 to $22 via eventbrite.com.