Jiff and Lee, who had previously played together in a band called Fungus Mungus, started Moonshine Coyote in 2016 when, coincidentally, they had both taken up new instruments and the sounds complemented each other…
Jiff had grown dissatisfied with the music he was playing and craved something a bit more raw, which led him to the blues and more specifically the sound of a resonator cigar box guitar. So he immediately built one, and set about getting used to only having 4 strings!
Meanwhile, Lee had just bought himself a cajon, so it seemed natural that he would team up with his old friend Jiff to explore their new directions in music together, and Moonshine Coyote was born.
The name Moonshine Coyote came from an incident at a gig some years before where Jiff and Lee had referred to themselves as “Moonshine Coyotes” for smuggling beer into the green room – “coyote” is Mexican slang for smugglers and moonshine because they were smuggling alcohol…
At one of their early performances, Ken, a well-travelled authentic American from North Carolina, new to the local music scene, heard them play the sounds of home and was keen to return to his roots. A blues player for many years, his bass guitar and vocals added a depth to the sound the pair were looking for and Moonshine Coyote became a trio.
By now the band was starting to define a unique style – drawing influences from a wide range of artists, from the raw blues of Memphis Minnie, Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton to more contemporary acts like The Dead South. As well as sounding distinctive they were also developing a strong visual appeal – Jiff had designed a logo, built several more cigar box guitars including a bass for Ken, some small amps, and covers for the stage amps that give the appearance of old packing crates containing sugar, corn meal and yeast – the ingredients to make moonshine…
Something was still missing though, but that changed in 2019 when Moonshine Coyote played a gig at Fairycroft House where another band, Rusty Rockets, were also playing. Jiff, Lee and Ken all loved the sound of the lap steel in the Rusty Rockets set – a guest appearance by Martin.
After the gig Jiff said to Martin (they knew each other slightly) “I didn’t know you slid” to which Martin replied “I’ve been sliding for years…” Shortly after, Martin joined the band and Moonshine Coyote completed their current lineup.
A series of high profile local gigs in and around Saffron Walden followed, including the Fete de la Musique, Dance in the Square, The Big Day Out and opening for Toploader during the Round Table’s “8 Day Weekend” Carnival.
While looking forward to many more great gigs, the emphasis in the music has shifted to performing and recording more original material, leading to the band’s debut release – a four song EP entitled “Waitin’ On That Train”…
Download as PDF: Moonshine Coyote Bio
