Shanghaied in the Eug

The Shanghais

San Francisco band The Shanghais have never been to Eugene. Lead vocalist Natalie Sweet is wondering if we have any good vegan food here.

“I’m always on the hunt,” Sweet tells EW via email. Based on that question alone, the quartet should feel right at home in our fair city with its verdant veggie foodie scene.

The Shanghais will release their latest EP, Fall in Love with the Shanghais, this spring on Philadelphia-based label Endless Daze Records.

Shanghai’s track “I Fell in Love (With the Living Dead)” mixes the campy theatrical punk of The Cramps with The B-52’s funhouse take on ’50s-era rock ‘n’ roll.

Sweet describes her band’s sound as “’60s Motown girl-group-inspired garage-punk.”

“It’s a super high-energy rock ‘n’ roll dance party,” Sweet says of the band’s performances. “We love each other and we love everyone who comes out to our shows.”

So where would members of The Shanghais like to be shanghaied? “You’re officially the only person to get the name!” Sweet exclaims. [For those who still don’t know, Shanghaing was a method of kidnapping people and sending them off to work on ships in seas far, far away. Portland has some unique history on this. Google it.]

“Being shanghaied is no bueno,” she continues, “so we wouldn’t want that to happen at all. But we would love to go on a rock ‘n’ roll vacation (that’s what we call tour) to Europe and Japan!”

The Shanghais play with Eugene’s Not A Part of It, XBoyfriends and Saffron 7 pm Sunday, Jan. 17, at The Boreal, 450 W. 3rd Ave.; $7. All ages.