At 56, Jay Shogren has not settled into the lifestyle that typically points toward retirement. There are not the stereotypical markers of Wednesday-afternoon bridge matches, complaining about the absurd youth culture, and settling into a monotonous routine.
Instead, Shogren is putting on folk-rock shows that are populated by 20 and 30 year-olds. He’s acting in local theatre productions. He’s traveling the world giving talks on resource economics.
Shogren, a professor of natural resource conservation and management at the University of Wyoming, has struck a playful balance on the scale of economics and art.
“I’ve got a pretty split brain,” Shogren said.
Growing up in the music-rich scene of Minnesota, dominated by artists like Bob Dylan, Prince and Hüsker Dü, the scale first tipped towards music. He took his first guitar lesson at age 10, and quickly put his own spin on the Minneapolis music scene with the Swedish named punk-polka band, Flyggapojkerna.
As Shogren pursued higher education, the scale tipped toward economics.
“Economics was incredibly intuitive, I’m a constant balancer,” Shogren explained. His intuition turned into impressively successful career as an economic scientist, writer and professor. One of Shogren’s most memorable experiences as an economist was in 1997, when he was named to the president’s council of economic advisors during the Clinton administration. This appointment led to the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement that aimed to reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Shogren’s success as an economist continued when he was named an advisor to the king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf. Around the same time he was a part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which included former Vice President Al Gore. The group won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for their reports on the impact of man-made climate change and how to counteract that change.
Shogren is mightily understated about his accomplishments. On his time with IPCC, he describes himself as one of the “worker bees.”
“I just happened to be there and learn something from it,” Shogren said. “It was just another chance to grow another level. No matter how good you are there’s always a faster gun, just like in the cowboy movies.”
In recent years, Shogren has found a balance between music and economics. His band, J Shogren Shanghai’d, has released several albums, played all over the region and won the Wyoming Blues Challenge in 2012. The band’s sound has changed over the years, (it used to include accordions and banjos) and he labels the current incarnation of his music as “catawampus Americana music.” He describes his music as akin to “driving a truck down the road and things are falling off the back-end because you’re hitting bumps.”
Shogren’s been on this bumpy ride for years now. If you ask him about the keys to his success, in economics or music, Shogren will likely shrug and tell you to “say yes.” He advocates for throwing yourself headfirst into situations, even if you may be uncomfortable at first. When asked to work at the White House or for the King of Sweden, Shogren thought to himself, “When am I ever going to get this chance again?”
This “say yes” attitude continued when Shogren was asked to perform in Centennial’s community theatre several years back.
“My daughter wanted to tryout. So, I drove her in to tryout, and we both got a part,” he said.
That was 2003, and Shogren has been acting in local theatre ever since. Most recently, he acted in the Laramie-based theatre company, starring in the Laramie-based Relative Theatrics production of “Owen Wister, Considered” and “Nocturne.” “Jay is great,” Anne Mason, founder and producer of Relative Theatrics, said. “He brings a fresh, creative aspect to the process.”
Shogren looks to continue this balance in the coming years. He wants to tour around the country with his band, write a book on environmental economics, continue to dabble in acting and all the while maintain his roles as a husband and father.
How does one manage to balance all of these things? The same philosophy that has made him successful in both music and economics, “cutting out things you don’t need—that’s the key.” Shogren thrives in this paradox of saying yes while still cutting the fat. It may be catawampus, but that’s the way Jay likes it.
Make sure to catch J. Shogren Shanghai’d and Jalan Crossland perform at the Alibi Pub on June 19.
