Charming Birds is releasing The Moses Diaries on 2/9 w/ Wow & Flutter and El Rey. Here's what The Portland Mercury has to say about it:

Fronted by Will Johnson (formerly of Moonshine Hangover), Charming Birds are a departure from the local singer/songwriter's whiskey-soaked previous work. This tightly wound rock outfit celebrates the release of their basement-recorded (in a good way) EP, The Moses Diaries. This half-dozen-song debut is a no-frills collection of gruff-voiced upbeat rockers that make for the ideal soundtrack to downing a few cheap beers at the tail end of another endless work week. The distinct depth of Johnson's gritty delivery and the band's unkempt nature make for one of the most promising releases of this young year. EAC

Hey all, There are some nice happenings around the Moonshine Family these days. Kris’ band , Root Jack , has just released their debut album, In The Pines. Reviews are starting to trickle in, including this great one from Nine Bullets that gives pays some homage to Moonshine Hangover: ......... A couple of years back I told y’all about a band coming out of Portland called Moonshine Hangover. At the time, I was a little bummed to have only found out about the band after they’d decided to call it quits. Well, flash forward two years (insert Garth and Wayne sound effect here) and I get an email from former Moonshine Hangover guitarist Kris Stuart announcing his new band, Root Jack, and their new cd, In The Pines. After a few exchanges via email I found out that while in Moonshine Hangover, Kris wrote the occasional song, but now with Root Jack he’s become the principal songwriter and it’s given him the confidence to write more personally. As we all know, the closer to the heart the song is born, the better it will be, and In The Pines is chock full of great songs. In The Pines is pretty straightforward country rock instrumentally, while lyrically it would be best described as music for lumberjacks to drink to. Being from Florida, my logging knowledge only extends to what I’ve seen on The Discovery Channel, but with tracks like “30 Days” and “Pastor of the Pines”, you can tell that Kris’ knowledge goes a little deeper than that. In closing, I gotta say that before I heard a single arrangement or listened to a single actual lyric, I knew I was gonna love this album, based simply on Kris’ voice. Dude can sing the fuck out of a song and is perfectly matched to this style of music. While I was bummed to tell y’all about a good band whose time had passed, I am extremely pleased to introduce y’all to its cousin; their name is Root Jack and they’re Essential Listening. ...... Root Jack is playing a dual release party with our pals Truckstop Darlin’ at the Ponderosa Lounge in Portland on Saturday October 16th. In other news, Will and Greg’s band, Charming Birds, is working on their debut release. Look for a song or two to be leaking out in the very near future. Charming Birds opens for legendary Dutch indie-rockers Bettie Serveert at Dantes in Portland on Oct 10. In other MSH news, Greg continues to play regularly with Station Zero and the ever enigmatic future-historical prog band, Robo Erectus. YD continues to build bad ass custom guitar amps and effects while honing his skills for the impending passing of the torch from Neil to YD to front Crazy Horse. Most importantly, he still drinks because of you. This is all for now. XOXO, MSH

Hello Everybody!

It's been a long, long time since anyone's logged into this here MySpace, so we thought we'd give everybody a little update as to what we're all doing in our post MSH lives.

Kris is still going real strong with Root Jack, who have taken MSH's spot among the elite of Portland's country rock scene. An album is in the works and you can see these fellers a few times a month at all of our favorite old time NW haunts.

Will and Greg will be debuting their new band, Charming Birds, in April. Charming Birds is a major departure from MSH, trading the twang of country for the energy and sonic noise of garage oriented rock. The boys are switching things up, too, with Will fronting the band on guitar and Greg trading drums for Moog.

Greg also plays drums in PDX indie rock band Station Zero. You can catch them around town a couple times a month. New album in the works.

YD has been wood-shedding, honing his skills and dialing in his sound in preparation for that inevitable day when Neil calls him up to take over Crazy Horse. He still throws a mean tequila party. YD was last seen stealing hearts and melting faces at the Portland Roots Rock All Star Hootenany.

That's it until next time. Thanks everybody for stopping by!

MSH

A few months back, I got an email from the good folks at McMenamins.  They were planning to make October 2008 some sort of showcase for who they felt were the White Eagle's all time best acts and wanted MSH to play.  I politely explained that we had split and that we wouldn't be interested.  I emailed the fellas and told them of the honor and a conversation brewed.  After a day or two of deliberation, we decided to give the White Eagle one more night.

On Friday, October 17, I will be stepping onto that little stage one more time with YD, Kris and Greg to drink beer and sing all those songs we've sung so many times before.

Our brothers and sister from Seattle, North Twin, will be joining us with an opening set.  We're really stoked about that.

It's gonna be as fun as a bar full of old friends can be and it probably isn;t gonna happen again, so make sure you come on down if you have the inclination.

 

Smoke em if you got em.

Will & MSH