Tragedy forms foundation of new music for Portland band

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2024

By John Baker

Portland band Shannon and the Clams suffered through the aftermath of a tragic death, but have found healing in their new album. 

From the pain of loss through personal tragedy has emerged something musically special for a Portland-area group with roots in the local area.

Shannon and the Clams officially released its new album, “The Moon is in the Wrong Place,” on May 10 at The Showdown, but the genesis of its creation reaches back to a dark time for the group two years in the making.

In 2022, singer and bassist Shannon Shaw was living with fiancé Joe Haener when he died in a car accident at the family farm in Aurora just weeks before they were to marry.

“The Moon is in the Wrong Place” documents the band grappling with Haener’s death and the reverberations it sent through the group overall.

Longtime band collaborate Dan Auerbach, of The Black Keys, released the album on his label — Easy Eye Sound.

“The release of this album means everything to me,” said Shaw. “If I could build Joe a pyramid I would. Anything to honor him, memorialize our story and this experience.

“On top of it being my method for coping and processing this incredible loss, music was his religion, his solace, his daily inspiration, his way of connecting to people and the world itself. It makes sense that in a way, this album is my pyramid for Joe,” Shaw added.

To celebrate the new album release, the band had an event at Music Millennium in Portland on May 9. The store was one of Haener’s favorite places in Portland and considered a “sacred spot” for the band.

Earlier in that same day, the band did a livestream from the bean fields of the Haener family farm in Aurora from 2 to 3 p.m. on the group’s Instagram account.

Those bean fields, planted by Haener, were the site of his death, but also symbolize his lasting impact on those around him.

The livestream included some acoustic performances of songs from the record and an AMA with fans who are watching.

Shannon and the Clams is made up of Shaw, guitarist Cody Blanchard, keyboardist Will Sprott, and drummer Nate Mahan.

The group will be touring throughout 2024 to support the new album, traversing the United States from Oregon to Ohio to North Carolina and points in-between into mid-October.

For more information about Shannon and the Clams, go to shannonandtheclams.com.

You Might Like