Shannon and the Clams play songs from 'The Moon Is In The Wrong Place' at The Current
September 04, 2024
Bay Area four-piece indie-rock band Shannon and the Clams visited The Current for a studio session hosted by Jessica Paxton. You can watch the band's three-song set above.
Following the set of music, frontperson Shannon Shaw hung out for a heartfelt conversation with Jessica Paxton about the inspirations behind the album The Moon Is In The Wrong Place. Watch that interview below, and see an transcript just beneath that.
Interview Transcript
Jessica Paxton: Hi. I'm Jessica Paxton, afternoon host here at The Current, and I am joined by Shannon Shaw of Shannon and the Clams. Shannon, welcome. Thank you for being here. You and the band just wrapped up an incredible tour here in Minneapolis in support of your new album, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, a project that's been called "a powerful statement on time, loss, love and resilience, an ambitious and emotionally searing album." And I want to talk to you about the story behind the album. So thank you for being here.
Shannon Shaw: It's my pleasure.
Jessica Paxton: So let's just start with the title of the album. Where did that come from, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place?
Shannon Shaw: The title came from my fiancé, Joe [Haener], [who] was trying to ask me about what was going on in the universe astrologically; like, both he and I are not super knowledgeable on those things, I know slightly more. So I think he was trying to ask me if Mercury was in retrograde. And he was like, "What's going on right now, like, in the universe is, you know, when everything's going wrong, nothing's, you know, everything's falling apart. No one can communicate. Is it the moon is in the wrong place or whatever?" And I was like, "Whoa, that is amazing." Like, "Yeah, that's what it is." He's like, "No, no, what's it really called?" And I was like, "The moon's in the wrong place. That's it. I'm writing it down. I love it." And I put it, I wrote it down. And was like, "I'm never gonna forget, gonna forget that." He kind of, like, summed up so much in this, you know, one little sentence. And he passed away, like two weeks later or something, and I just felt so haunted by that statement. You know, "The moon is in the wrong place." Everything is wrong. You know, nothing feels good now. Everything's falling apart, you know? So the title is bittersweet. It was a really beautiful, funny, naive moment we shared, and the words came from him, you know. And I feel like it was kind of some foreshadowing or something.
Jessica Paxton: I was going to say, almost prophetic in the fact that you thought, "I'm going to write this down," and and then, like you said, barely any time afterwards, this devastating tragedy struck you. But then to take that tragedy, take that significant, devastating loss, and turn it into this body of work that you've now, you know, you're taking out on the road and sharing with people. I don't know that I could do that. I don't know that I would have the strength personally, to pick myself up like that, just even for myself, but then to share with my fans, share with my friends, share with my bandmates, everything that I'm going through. So to me, that just makes the album so much more powerful, and your work so much more powerful. But talk about that process, like being able to use your fans, use your audience as a source of inspiration and strength to move forward.
Shannon Shaw: The way I've always dealt with hard things is through creation. When I was a really little kid, if my brothers were picking on me, I would, you know, furiously, like, draw these, like, comic series of us in karate gis fighting each other — and I won, of course, every single time! Every brother, I beat them all. And I would feel better after I was done drawing this. Or I would, you know, make up songs and sing them to myself when I was sent to my room or whatever. So that's how I've always self soothed, is through creation. So it was only natural. You know, I maybe had a half a second worry that I wouldn't be able to ever make music again. But, I mean, it's absolutely not true. To me, it made perfect sense that I dove into work. You know, we took a couple months off of tour, but I've definitely thrown myself into work. And songs were coming to me immediately, you know? Probably the day after, melodies are coming, concepts are coming. I was surrounded by nature at the farm where Joe died. And I think that that power was overwhelming and just an endless source. [To dog] Are you done? Do you want to hold on?
Jessica Paxton: [to dog] Yeah! Hey, buddy! Hi. I'm your Aunt Jessica.
Shannon Shaw: Anyways, just being out in nature, being on this giant farm, you know, just, it made sense that I was just constantly inspired and in awe and just constantly struck by the juxtaposition between death and life, you know? So we're just next to this like burnt hole in the earth surrounded by blossoms, and, you know, these pole beans and — or they're bush beans, I was corrected — and just having, like the most painfully beautiful sunsets and sunrises every morning and every night. And then the Perseid meteor shower was happening. So every night, we'd be sitting in the bean field just being told that life is more than what we know. At least that's how I felt. I just couldn't stop coming up with ideas when I was out there, and it was my way of self soothing. I've, like, needed to get to work and put the things I've learned to practice and try to, like, bring these things to other people.
Jessica Paxton: There's such a sense of the natural world in the album. And again, that idea of cosmic connection and the cathartic process of connecting with the cosmos. Were you already kind of into astrology and the idea of the celestial world, or did that sort of come through this process? And again, those words from Joe prior to his accident.
Shannon Shaw: Very little. I do have an astrologist that I talk to one time a year.
Jessica Paxton: Really?
Shannon Shaw: Yeah.
Jessica Paxton: Can I ask your sign?
Shannon Shaw: I'm a Gemini. It's Gemini season.
Jessica Paxton: I'm a Scorpio.
Shannon Shaw: Cody [Blanchard]'s a Scorpio.
Jessica Paxton: Say no more!
Shannon Shaw: But I'm, yeah, a Gemini, cusp of Taurus.
Jessica Paxton: OK.
Shannon Shaw: I really know very little, but I love to hear about it. I love hearing what other people have to say. It's just interesting, just being bashed relentlessly by nature and trauma. I mean, it changed me. It made me let go of a lot of things, a lot of like, kind of useless anxieties, and it clarified a lot of things. I don't know. It's been a really wild experience.
Jessica Paxton: Yeah! Well, there was a great quote that I read by you where you said, "You can't appreciate the purity or the brightness of a light until you've been in extreme darkness." And that, I thought, was such a beautiful way to articulate what you've gone through, which doesn't diminish the darkness, but it makes you almost appreciate it or acknowledge it—
Shannon Shaw: Totally!
Jessica Paxton: ... and come out on the other side. And the fact that you, I mean, obviously it's an ongoing process that will be forever, but recognizing that darkness has its place. And so I feel like this album is such a testament to that lesson.
Shannon Shaw: Yeah.
Jessica Paxton: And just really beautiful. And I was thinking too that, I mean, there's, well, 14 tracks on the album, starting out with a really lovely song called "The Vow," which, as I understand, I don't know ifyou want to talk about the inspiration for that song.
Shannon Shaw: "The Vow" is the only song that was partially written before Joe's death, and I'd actually written it ... So the day he died, I was on my way to my bachelorette party in Reno just a couple weeks before our wedding, and I'd written this song to perform secret, you know, a surprise at the wedding. The wedding was going to be so amazing! Someday I'll, I don't know, write a book report about how cool the wedding was going to be. But that was going to be an aspect, is this surprise song. But part of the significance is I wrote the song using just chords that Joe taught me on guitar, because I'm not a guitar player.
Jessica Paxton: Oh, and he was a musician as well.
Shannon Shaw: He was an amazing drummer.
Jessica Paxton: Very well known. Yeah.
Shannon Shaw: He played the Twin Cities many times. So I used these chords he taught me. And after he passed away, I felt so ripped off. I kind of got fixated on, like, "He'll never get to hear this song!" You know? I think it's easy to just grasp onto one thing, and that was my one thing for a while. It's like, "No one's gonna hear this song. No one's gonna ever know how much I loved Joe," or whatever. And I decided I was like, "I'm gonna torture everyone. I'm gonna finish the song with kind of with what happened. I'm gonna take the song to a point and then knock everyone, you know, off their pedestal and bring everyone down, and then bring everyone back up." And it was really a big decision to make it be the first song. But I was like, "There's no beating around the bush. This is what this album is," you know? And I was really worried that it was going to be too much. Same with like the "Bean Fields." It's so upbeat, and it's celebrating. That song is all about celebrating. I was worried about certain tones, you know, on the album, like, is that going to be off-putting that there's this joyous song about celebration, or is it going to be off-putting to have something like devastating in the beginning? And then I was like, I don't care. This is what I have to do. And I honestly feel so good about all those decisions, real or magic. That was the last song I showed the band, like the day before we wrapped the recording. And I was, I thought it was too sad, and because it's about an actual, you know, visitation I had from Joe after he passed away. And I just thought it was, like, too brutally ... I thought it would just be torturing everyone. And the boys were like, "No, this song is very special. We're recording it right now, and it needs a drum machine, and it's going to be a single." And I was like, "No, it can't be a single. It's too hard. It's like, too much." But I've realized that, like, by singing these songs, performing these songs, I feel, like, galvanized, you know? I feel like, every time I do it, I'm like, building some armor, and I am getting stronger.
Jessica Paxton: I feel like the album is like a 14 chapter, because 14 songs, but like 14 chapters to coming out on the other side. You know, starting at this place of hope and love, and then going through the total effenheimer that I can't say. I'm from Minnesota. But then coming out the other side, you know, the fact that there is that sense of celebration and joy, and you know, staying true to the sound of Shannon and the Clams — like you are one of the most infectious, fun bands to see live — but then have this music that is also, see now I'm gonna start crying too, but that is also so deep and powerful and important and human, but still a whole hell of a lot of fun.
Shannon Shaw: I'm really glad that that came across and that you got that out of it. That's important to me, because this tragedy, it's not one thing, you know? It's not just sad forever. You know, it's multifaceted. You know, like going back to the duality of like, the brightness against the darkness. You know, it's like you need both things, and then there's all these greys in between, too. I've felt so relieved, like the first day that I was able to, like, smile and laugh after he died. And something I've learned, that I think is important to say, is that, so I'm in a grief group every week, and one day this this girl asked the professor who's leading the class — one of my friends referred to it as Grief Club, which makes it sound a lot more fun. So I was in Grief Club, and this fellow widow asked, she was like, "Well, so how long are we grieving for?" Like, "How long am I gonna be crying? Like, how, you know, I got a life to live, and when does this end?" And I immediately had this thought that was like, "I don't think I want it to end." You know, I don't want to, like, lose touch with, like, that, the power and beauty that has come from this. And instead of like, like, a lot of people have said things to me, coming from a good place, of like, "Oh, that was a while ago. It seems like you're doing great now, like you're getting through it." And it's like, you don't get through it. I think that I saw a visual representation one time that was like, you know, the grief is like a big boulder, and instead of like, eventually being able to let the boulder go, you get stronger, and you're able to hold the boulder easier, and it becomes just like a part of your life, and being able to, like, share the boulder with other parts of your life.
Jessica Paxton: That's really beautiful.
Shannon Shaw: Thanks.
Jessica Paxton: I'm sorry I'm making you cry.
Shannon Shaw: It's just, crying's a part of my life. All the time.
Jessica Paxton: I just hope you know how truly honored I am to be able to have this conversation with you, soo thank you.
Shannon Shaw: Thank you.
Jessica Paxton: So Spanky Joe. I was looking at the album cover, and I'm like, "OK, the four members of Shannon the clams, and this must be Joe." Joe Haener. And who is this little pup? And then I did. I just, I love that there's another Joe.
Shannon Shaw: I know. Me too.
Jessica Paxton: And that Joe is such a big part of everything here.
Shannon Shaw: [to dog] Come back. This is your time to shine. [to Jessica again] This is Spanky Joe. He came into my life, I think, two weeks after Joe passed away, but he has kind of a wild tale. I mean, he has a wild tail, but he ... So my friend has an animal rescue in Petaluma, California. He was born in a homeless camp, and his mom got hit by a car when he was two days old, and someone dropped him off to my friend's rescue, and she started posting these pictures of him on Instagram. And I was like, "Holy smokes, that is the cutest little cotton ball I've ever seen." And every time she'd write me and be like, "Dude, this is your dog. Since I got him, I felt like, 'This is your dog.' Come get him." And I was like, "Oh, haha. Well, me and Joe can't have a dog. We live in an apartment." She was like, "He's more like a cat. You should definitely come get this dog." I was like, haha. Didn't take it seriously. But every time she'd post a picture, I'd be like, "Oh my God, I feel connected to this dog through the screen." I've never had a dog in my life. I always had gigantic dogs, never tiny. And fast-forward to me and Joe in my solo band play a show in the Bay Area. That morning, he had to fly back. He's a farmer as well as a musician, so he had to fly back early in the morning to do some farming, and I did not want him to go. I was so stressed. And it was never like that. Like we are used to saying goodbye to each other between
Jessica Paxton: Because super busy lives.
Shannon Shaw: Super busy lives! And like, you know, I tour all the time, and his farming schedule was like, you know, unforgiving. You out here in Minnesota know what that's like, I'm sure. And I just did not want him to go. I had the, like, most panicked feeling, and was like sobbing, but like, being like, "Let's change your flight. I'll talk to your dad. Let me talk to Delbert and tell him, you can't make it." He's like, "I can't do that." So Joe flies. And I'm like, "Well, I'm gonna meet this dog." So my friend drives me to this farm, and I meet all of the other animals. My friend saved him for last and handed him to me. And he just like, melted into me like this, and fell asleep. And I even made a post. His name was Peabody at the time. And I was like, "If this dog was mine, he'd be named Spanky." And I felt the deepest connection, you know? And my friend Sienna was like, "He doesn't do that with everyone. See, I'm telling you, it's your dog!" Joe passes away. I sent Joe videos and photos, and he's like, "He's really cute, but we can't have him. We're gonna get married really soon. We'll get a house and I'll get you every dog you've ever wanted, every donkey, every emu. You'll have it all." Joe passes away shortly after, and my friend contacts me and is like, "I'm sorry this is the reason, but I knew there's a reason why I'm holding this dog." And "He's yours, I'm gonna bring him to you." She wanted to bring him to me in Oregon, and was like, "If he's too much, I'll take him back. If you don't bond for some reason, I'll take him back." But we were already bonded, like from the second I picked him up. So Cody very sweetly drove me all the way down from Oregon to get him, and he crawled right onto my lap. We drove to Oregon. It was like we'd always been together. So I kind of think that Joe and him interacted in some way on the astral plane. And Joe was like, "You have a important job here, buddy. You have to take care of Shannon. You have to be good on tour to make her feel better."
Jessica Paxton: OK. Well, he's really sweet. It is, again, such an honor to have you here. Congrats to you and all the members of the band on an incredible album, an incredible tour. Now you guys get to go home and chill and relax, as Spanky closes his eyes and says it's time for a nap. Well, kudos to you and the rest of the band, and it's really a thrill to meet you and to talk with you, and congrats on the album, and looking forward to the next body of work and tour as well.
Shannon Shaw: Thank you. I can't wait to come back. Honestly, since the first time we ever played Minneapolis, we felt very, like, connected. And St. Paul, too!
Jessica Paxton: Go Capital City!
Shannon Shaw: Go Capital City! But we've always, always loved it here. It honestly feels really good to end the tour here.
Jessica Paxton: That's awesome. It's an honor to have the tour ended here, and so to know that there's that serendipitous feeling with the band. That's awesome.
Shannon Shaw: We've always loved it.
Jessica Paxton: Well, right back at you. We love you, too.
Shannon Shaw: Yeah, thank you. I feel like I could live here someday.
Jessica Paxton: Oh my God, let's make it happen.
Shannon Shaw: Thank you.
Jessica Paxton: Again, Shannon and the Clams and the album, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, available now.
If you are grieving and in need of help, you are not alone. Help is available. Speak with someone today. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7. Phone or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
Songs Performed
00:00:00 Bean Fields
00:03:05 What You’re Missing
00:05:51 Real Or Magic
All songs from Shannon and the Clams’ 2024 album, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, available on Easy Eye Sound.
Musicians
Shannon Shaw – vocals, bass
Cody Blanchard – vocals, guitar
William Sprott – keyboards, vocals
Nathaniel Mahan – drums, vocals
Credits
Guests – Shannon and the Clams
Host – Jessica Paxton
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Audio Engineer – Josh Sauvageau
Video Director – Erik Stromstad
Camera Operators – Erik Stromstad, Peter Ecklund
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor
External Link
Shannon and the Clams – official site