Andy Smetanka is a very talented person. This zine was an early example of that talent. When he stopped publishing Shat Upon, Missoula was left with a serious cultural void. This was a big zine in a small town. After each issue came out there was always a buzz for a few weeks about the content. It was packed with Missoula history, stories, band reviews, interviews, and strange Northwest cultural happenings. I once wrote an article for Shat Upon about animal scat. Traditionally after an issue came out, Andy would take all the Shat Upon writers out for free beer at Charlie's to say thanks. To this day, I have never had a worse hangover....
Before I left Missoula in 2001 Andy and I spoke on a panel about our experiences as zinesters at the Montana festival of the Book. It was a cool bookend to my Missoula days.
Andy went on to become the Arts Editor at the Missoula Independent. He currently makes stop-action animated movies and music videos. Check his stuff out at nickellbag.com
