SHRAMANA.

One of my first experiences hearing KBGA radio was Dirty Flannel, Shramana guitarist Reggie Herbert's Thursday evening show which offers up a heaping serving of doom and gloom. I'll admit, it is quite refreshing to turn on the radio when I'm working around the house on a Thursday night and be like, "Woah, sweet, Weedeater is on the radio." If we're in need of some cilantro or extra quinoa or some other ingredient for a Thursday night's dinner, I will enthusiastically volunteer to go on a grocery run so I can cruise around town to the tunes of Saviours, Inter Arma, Sleep or whatever Reggie happens to be playing during his weekly slot. I find some near-end-of-the-work-week personal joy driving down Higgins, past the line at Big Dipper and families walking their dogs and Chariot strollers, amped up on whatever d-beat hardcore/doom/sludge/black metal awesomeness happens to blasting on the Dirty Flannel playlist.

It's pretty apparent that Shramana's Reggie, Duane and Levi share a passion for all things heavy, from their radio shows and promotion of local punk and metal shows to their involvement playing in Shramana. Firmly rooted in punk rock, they 'get' the Total Fest thing and have certainly struck a chord with many of us around these parts. In past few years since they started playing on local show bills, they've evolved significantly, dialing in their instrumentation and focusing that guttural raw thunder to a finely-tuned gritty, syrupy mix of sludge, hardcore and atmospheric metal. Their recent EP, Toska shows the current direction of this exciting young Missoula band and where they're heading. We're excited to have Shramana on board for Total Fest XIII and look forward to sharing them with our out of town friends.