Laramie, Wyoming-based band SGRNY (pronounced se-gUR-nee) pulls their influences from the funk, rock and hip-hop worlds. Their sound features traditional rock instruments combined with computer-generated backing tracks that provide listeners with an energetic and psychedelic experience.
Gaining momentum from their appearance at Treefort Music Festival in Boise earlier this year, SGRNY has had shows all over Wyoming and will perform in Jackson for the first time on Monday, Aug. 21 as part of the Music Mondays series.
In advance of their upcoming performance, co-presented by KHOL and The Center for the Arts, guitarist Aaron Zarzuela and bassist Danny Shade of SGRNY joined us in the KHOL Studio.
JACK CATLIN/KHOL: What is the SGRNY origin story? How did you guys all come together as a band in the first place?
AARON ZARZUELA: The project originally started with Twitch [SGRNY frontman], his brother and myself. We started off as a three-piece. We were hanging out more after COVID restrictions were lifted and we were able to go out a little more. We started talking about the glory days because we had all been in bands before COVID and were like, ‘I just want to be back on stage.’ They were kind of pipe dreams,. but then we sat down and listened to the first E.P., the unfinished tracks and we were instantly sold. We decided to go ahead and give it a shot.
The origin of the name is interesting. We knew that our music was different from everything that was happening here in Laramie, so we wanted more of an urban feel to reflect that. We’re all from some weird town and we all lived on South Sigourney Street. Then we shortened it to South SGRNY and eventually it just became SGRNY. And here we are.
KHOL: You pull from a wide range of influences like funk, electronic and hip hop, while drawing major inspiration from bands like Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala and Rage Against Machine. Can you expand on your style, your sound for us, and maybe what you get from those bands as far as inspiration?
DANNY SHADE: All four of us are from completely different music backgrounds and different upbringings involving music. For instance, Aaron is really into Eric Clapton’s blues-wise. I pull from Sun House, blues-wise. We have different styles. That’s where that wide range comes from because we all bounce ideas off of each other and then something will stick and we’ll say, ‘All right, that sounds good, let’s roll with that.”
ZARZUELA: Where we find common ground we tend to reinforce those styles. This EP in particular has had a lot of hip-hop influence and there’s an honest true love for that genre trying tomanifest. I’m getting into neo-soul and other downtempo genres. And I want to bring that out in my playing and reflect that. As far as the band, our main goal was to see people moving and dancing.
KHOL: So you released your debut EP “Leave at the Door” in 2022 and have followed that up with a couple of singles, “1% Juice” earlier this year and just recently, the song “Crush” at the end of July. Can you give us the story behind the new song, “Crush?”
SHADE: It’s about struggle.It’s about the vices that we all struggle with – as a band as a whole and also on an individual level and trying to cope. It really comes out in the outro with Twitch screaming. We all go through a lot in life. That’s where it all stems from lyrically. Musically, instrumentally and whatnot, it’s all over the place, which makes sense because the four of us are kind of all over the place with all of our own issues. We’re all struggling with stuff, everyone’s struggling with something.
ZARZUELA: We wanted to capture that.
Listen above for KHOL’s entire conversation with SGRNY.
