Not only do we like to promote vegan food and our favorites restaurants here on the HappyCow blog, we like to recognize other vegans doing awesome things in the world! Like the all vegan band, We Are The Wilderness. This new band has been likened to Portishead and Postal Service. The band recently supported vegan fashion brand Modavanti for their Indiegogo campaign and teamed up with PETA as well. Health enthusiast and lead singer Shanda is a yoga instructor on top of being a beautiful and talented musician. We sat down with them to find out what they’ve been up to, why they are vegan and more!
HC: How long have you been vegan and what encouraged you to make the switch?
We have both been vegan for about 7 years. We were vegetarian before that for both animal rights and health reasons, and we decided to switch to veganism because it fully promotes animal rights, care for our environment and a healthier lifestyle. Everyone wins!
HC: Since you are on the road a lot doing gigs do you utilize the HappyCow website to find all the yummy vegan restaurants near you? How has the website (and phone app) helped make your travel more enjoyable?
Yes, we do use the HappyCow website. It helps us discover restaurants with vegan options and average price of a meal. Budgeting is really important on the road. It makes going out to vegan places in a different town a fun part of the process. (photo below is of WATW at Spiral Diner in Dallas, Texas)
HC: Do you find it hard to be vegan on the road? Do you have any tips for us on traveling as a vegan?
It’s not too difficult to have vegan food while traveling. We pack a lot of snacks that we buy in NYC for the road and we make a plan to stop in more vegan-friendly cities for substantial meals. As a very last resort in the middle of nowhere, we sometimes stop at Subway or Taco Bell since they have one vegan option each. When traveling as a vegan, pack some fruit, nuts, crackers, and other non-perishables that’ll keep you full until you can eat.
HC: What has been your greatest professional success and your biggest setback?
We have been very lucky to have a steadily climbing career. Each song we write is better than the last, and our live show is constantly evolving for the better. So far, we haven’t had a real setback and we count ourselves extremely lucky. Our biggest success so far would be our record release show at Glasslands in Brooklyn. We were lucky enough to share the stage with some phenomenal acts. As we see it, setbacks are disguised opportunities.
HC: Do you use your music as a tool for vegan activism? Give examples.
Our music is not a tool for strict vegan activism so much as a tool for awakening conscious thought. We aren’t offering any solutions through our music, but raising the question that if everyone lived their life openly and consciously, wouldn’t that be freeing for all forms of life? Hopefully, our writing about using thoughts to create a reality and the illusion of aloneness will resonate with some and spark a change of living in their lives.
HC: What bands, musicians, artists, etc would you say influence you as musicians? What are some of your personal favorite bands right now?
While writing songs for our first album, Descending From Paramount, we were listening to a lot of
SBTRKT, Little Dragon, Bloc Party, and Philip Glass. Lately, our personal favorites have been Atoms For Peace, Modeselektor, and Grimes.
HC: What is your favorite vegan restaurant and why?
We really like the Blossom Cafes in NYC. Their food contains simple ingredients, yet somehow has nice, complex flavors. The atmosphere is really great, too.
HC: What is the most vegan friendly city you’ve ever visited?
We live in NYC and it’s extremely vegan friendly, but as far as visiting, Seattle is probably the most vegan friendly city we’ve visited.
Thank you for reading and if you know of any other vegan musicians, artists, or anyone for that matter that you want to see interviewed do let us know in the comments!
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