Shotgun Sally: Keeping Sleaze Rock Alive in a Scene That Barely Exists

Shotgun Sally are part of a small but determined hard rock scene in Serbia, playing a brand of sleaze rock inspired by early ’90s bands, with punk and blues influences.

Originally published in Serbian language on Junkyard Rock Stories on October 20, this interview was conducted ahead of the Glam Special shows featuring Cyanide 4, Shotgun Sally and Crockett in Niš and Belgrade on November 5 and 6.

At the time, we spoke with Luka, aka Ratched Cat, and Milan, aka Lane Reefbrewer, from Shotgun Sally about how the event came together and what brought these three bands onto the same stage.

1. How did the idea of organising Glam Special in Niš come about, and why did you decide to bring these three bands together at Livnica?

Milan: It’s simply a logical progression of events. After touring Europe together with Cyanide 4 last year, and our guest appearance in Athens this February, it was time for Cyanide 4 to come to Serbia. They had wanted to do that for a long time. Novi Sad’s Crockett, with whom we play quite often, are a band that fits the hard rock/glam sound, so it really wasn’t a difficult choice to have them join us.

Luka: Generally, there aren’t many options in Serbia when it comes to raw rock music, either in terms of bands or venues. Sleaze as a concept is largely unknown in our part of the world, and beyond. Unfortunately, there are only two or three bands besides us that actually play this mix of blues, glam and punk. So the only logical thing to do was to join forces and do what we love most, which is rock ‘n’ roll.

2. Livnica is a relatively new venue on Niš’s concert map. What attracted you to the place and made you choose it for the show?

Milan: Honestly, we don’t know much about the Niš music scene, at least when it comes to clubs, but a little Googling led us to the right place. We saw that Livnica has an excellent programme. The club has a great space and sound system, everything you need for a proper RNR party…

Luka: It’s well known that cities like Niš, Novi Sad and Pančevo have had a more pronounced rock subculture than Belgrade lately. From that perspective, we chose Livnica, believing that the local crowd would want to hear a band like us.

3. Shotgun Sally and Cyanide 4 shared the stage on a European tour last year. Is there any particular story from those shows that you still talk about today?

Milan: The guys from Cyanide 4 and Jolly Rox (Italy) are simply fantastic. It’s that Southern European mentality, charm and humour. I’ll pick out one tragicomic situation. We played in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, not exactly a small town, with a great club, an excellent stage and plenty of enthusiasm… The showtime was slowly approaching, but there was no audience. In fact, only one guy had turned up, and he had travelled from another city 90 kilometres away. Then, while talking to the bartenders and the sound engineer, we realised that the club management hadn’t advertised the show anywhere. Not on social media, no posters, nothing… Of course, the owner wasn’t answering his phone either. That’s when the bartender told us: “I only found out there was a gig tonight a little while ago. The sound engineer told me when he arrived.”

Hahaha. Out of respect for the guy, who had found out about the show by following Cyanide 4 on Instagram, we played the entire evening just for him. We even threw in some covers of well-known bands he likes. Actually, it turned out to be a fun night in the end.

Luka: Yes, but I can’t really convey the context of that story on paper. Joking aside, there were some interesting moments, but the tour itself was something we really needed.

4. What would you like someone who is hearing about all three bands for the first time to take away with them after Glam Special on November 5?

Milan: The memory of a great gig. We know that Niš has always been a rock city, and there’s no doubt everything will be great.

Luka: Raw rock ‘n’ roll energy!

5. Shotgun Sally have been part of Serbia’s domestic sleaze/glam rock story for years. How do you see the scene in Serbia today, and what do you think it lacks the most?

Milan: The glam/sleaze scene doesn’t actually exist, unfortunately. Even when some bands emerge, they usually disappear pretty quickly. If we go back about 15 years, the situation was the same back then. There was a Belgrade glam/sleaze band called Filthy Cathouse, which was almost single-handedly keeping the genre alive. For a glam/sleaze scene to exist, you need several bands from that genre playing the same or a similar style, collaborating with each other, performing and releasing material… The bands are the protagonists, while the audience is there to follow them.

Luka: You mean, what isn’t missing from it? LOL. Well, what can I say… The concept of a scene is something that changes rapidly from year to year. It’s 2026 now, and you need a huge amount of infrastructure just to take care of the simplest things. What Serbia is missing is precisely a scene, because it simply doesn’t exist at the moment. We’re always the same few kids who have escaped from our own generation. We’re surviving on Planet Pink.

6. What’s currently cooking in the Shotgun Sally kitchen? Is there anything new you’re working on that fans can look forward to in the coming period?

Milan: The long-awaited album is cooking. It’s currently in its final stages, and its release is planned for the end of the year. Over the next 20 days or so, Shotgun Sally will also release two music videos as a preview of the album. So keep your eyes wide open!

Luka: There are always new songs and new projects. The problem is how to put that bag of bones together into something ready for consumption. What I mean is that the hardest part is sticking to the established goal and forgetting about all the details that keep coming at you from different directions. The hardest thing is knowing when to say that’s enough, it’s ready for release.

7. You have 30 seconds to convince someone who is planning to stay home on November 5 to come to Livnica instead. What would you tell them?

Milan: The message is clear: take the opportunity to see and hear three bands bringing different sounds, styles and looks, and perhaps even showing you what an RNR band should actually look like. Something atypical for the domestic scene. But above all, show some respect for the guys from Athens, who will travel a huge distance, ready to deliver pure RNR energy.

Luka: Well, if you want to win some money, you have to place a bet. If you want live rock ‘n’ roll, then your destination is clear: Livnica, November 5.

8. Finally, which song from each of the three bands should people definitely listen to before the show?

Milan: Crockett – Bad Cat, Shotgun Sally – Bedtime Stories and Cyanide 4 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Hero.

Luka: Shotgun Sally – High Heeled Angel, Cyanide 4 – So in Vain and Crockett – Bad Cat.

Everything You Need to Know About Shotgun Sally

From: Belgrade, Serbia
Active since: 2015
Releases: Bedtime Stories (single), High Heeled Angel (single), Love Ride (single), debut album – coming soon
Vibe: Classic sleaze rock inspired by early ’90s bands, with punk and blues influences.

Shotgun Sally:

Luka Marjanović – vocals

Milan Drinčić – guitar

Miloš Kostić – guitar

Stefan Milanović – bass

Milenko Kostić – drums

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