The Mood Kings

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte-based band The Mood Kings, which has ties to the Lumberton area, is celebrating the release of its debut album “The Wonder of It All” with a series of album-release concerts, and a charitable partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The official album release date is June 15, but the band’s preorder campaign, running now through June 30 on PledgeMusic.com, allows fans to sample songs, get updates, and watch the buildup to their “3 Shows in 3 Cities in 3 Nights” event in July. The band will play album release shows in Boone, Lumberton, and Charlotte on July 13, 14, and 15.

The album is a collection of songs that documents the journeys of Mark Schwarze (drums), Herman Ospina (guitar/vocals) and Joey Townsend (bass/vocals) as they played in bands, built families, fought addictions, reveled in recoveries and fostered connections in all areas of life.

All three members grew up in Lumberton and played in popular local bands. Schwarze has since moved to Boone and Townsend to Charlotte. Ospina still lives in Lumberton. They alternate traveling to cities for rehearsals and other band business.

“As fans of The Mood Kings, we are so excited and honored that they have chosen to donate a portion of proceeds from sales of The Wonder of it All to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,” said Kristina Fransel, president, Greater Carolinas chapter. “The money they contribute will support much-needed services and resources for local people living with MS, as well as the ground-breaking research we’ve pioneered for decades.”

The album will be released June 15 and will be available in retail stores, concerts, and the band website, as well as available for download at all digital outlets. Tickets to the Boone and Lumberton shows are sold out, but are still available to the July 15 Charlotte show at the Evening Muse at ticketfly.com For information, visit www.themoodkings.com. - The Robesonian

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The Mood Kings to Release Debut Album on June 15
Lifelong Friends Find Their Sound After Finding Each Other Again

May 3, 2018 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte-based band The Mood Kings are celebrating the release of their debut album “The Wonder of It All” with a unique preorder campaign, series of album release concerts, and a charitable partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The official album release date is June 15, but the band’s preorder campaign, running now through June 30 on PledgeMusic.com, allows fans to sample songs, get updates, buy exclusive merchandise, and watch the buildup to their “3 Shows in 3 Cities in 3 Nights” event in July. The band will play album release shows in Boone, Lumberton, and Charlotte respectively on July 13, 14, and 15.

Their debut album “The Wonder of It All” is a collection of songs that documents the journeys of Mark Schwarze (drums), Herman Ospina (guitar/vocals) and Joey Townsend (bass/vocals) as they played in bands, built families, fought addictions, reveled in recoveries, and fostered connections in all areas of life. These experiences led to songs that tell the stories of lives lived with regret, purpose, resilience, and vigor.

Fours years ago, when they walked off the stage of their 25th year reunion show of the band they started in their teens, Schwarze, Ospina, and Townsend looked at each other and contemplated why it took so long to play music together again. This “one night only” reunion led to three long-time friends reconnecting in a way that was unplanned and unexpected. Starting out simply as “catching up”, it quickly turned into conversations of music, songs, and artists they now loved,
and a surprising realization they were all in similar places in their lives. It didn’t take long for a guitar to come out, a melody to be sung, and a song to be created. Their goal: to enjoy playing music together again. As the friendships were reborn, so were the jam sessions that turned into songwriting weekends. Before they knew it, they had some new songs and a new band.

If a music writer was to offer up a perfect tagline to describe the music of The Mood Kings, it would go something like: “an appealing blend of the Americana roots-rock sound with strong melodic sensibilities”.

However, if you asked The Mood Kings to describe their music, they would say throw the entire rock catalog from the late 60s through late 80s in a 9x11 pan, add generous helpings of Dylan, Waits, and Petty. Bake at NIN degrees for 45 min. Take out, top off with Sly and Prince. Cut into Andre the Giant portions. Garnish with Springsteen. Pairs nicely with a Sanford and Son marathon. Also good reheated.

Working as a trio in the writing and recording process, the band fills out their unique sound with additional musicians in the live arena. Eschewing traditional labels of their music, they have also made conscious efforts to play small theatres, festivals, and performing arts venues that attract fans that come for the music. “We are interested in our audience, and we want them to be interested in us”, says Schwarze. “Our hope is that we make connections with our music.”

The Mood King’s “The Wonder of It All” is the album you want on road trips where you throw the map out the window and simply enjoy the drive - letting the road rise with the next song. It makes you take the long way home to see where the music goes next. At the next turn, you’ll find quiet reflection with songs like "This American Life" or “Texarkana” and exuberant energy with the hooky rhythm of songs like "Loretta" and “Last Wishes”.

The members of The Mood Kings are also interested in giving back and supporting causes that are important to them. Townsend has watched as his sister has struggled with living with multiple sclerosis and the band knew that the album release and subsequent shows would be a way to honor her and help raise funds for a worthy cause. Proceeds from the album and concert sales will go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “As fans of The Mood Kings, we are so excited and honored that they have chosen to donate a portion of proceeds from sales of The Wonder of it All to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,” said Kristina Fransel, President, Greater Carolinas chapter. “The money they contribute will support much-needed services and resources for local people living with MS, as well as the ground-breaking research we’ve pioneered for decades.”

The album will be released June 15, 2018 and will be available in retail stores, concerts, and the band website, as well as available for download at all digital outlets. Tickets to the Boone and Lumberton shows are sold out, but are still available to the July 15 Charlotte show at the Evening Muse at ticketfly.com For more information visit www.themoodkings.com.

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The Mood Kings are a band that needs to come out with more music. I can’t believe it’s been almost 18 months since we’ve reviewed them on the IMP website! We have played them on Indie Music LIVE too and almost had them as a featured artist once. The band is good. I mean really good. Their new single “Texarkana” takes the musical cake too. “Loretta” (their last single) is great too, but “Texarkana” is a much more exciting new song to me that deserves a listen.

Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, located in the Ark-La-Tex region. It’s a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. Now, this track isn’t a get-up and dance song but rather a sit back, relax and look deep inward. This is a song of hope starting the lyric video out with the quote “Some beautiful paths can’t get discovered without getting lost”…

The band is venturing into some country landscapes as well. I used to think of The Mood Kings as a rock band, but now I’m not so sure. Their influences seem to be much more than rock from their previous efforts. But hey, we’ll need to hear more tunes from them to truly figure out their “genre” right?!?! Hint Hint!

I’ve mentioned this in past reviews about The Mood Kings, but these boys got some tone! I’m not a guitar player, I’m not a drummer or even a bass player, but I know amazing “tone” when I hear it. What is tone you ask? Well, if you’re not a musician the “tone” is the quality of the sound of one’s instrument. This is something that each one of the band members seems to have mastered. Many bad sounds can be fixed in the mix, but it also takes a great band to get across those sounds and tones even without the help of a talented engineer, although it helps. My point: I bet this band would sound just as good live as they do on recordings.

If you can dig on a few songs for a while, this is a great band to put on your playlists. My gripe is that it’s hard to get the real identity of a band with so few songs. Unfortunately 1 song a year isn’t going to push them into the limelight, but I’m not trying to get on their back too much. Art is Art, even in small doses. Maybe that’s what they’re going for! Thanks for reading and as always, SUPPORT INDIE MUSIC! - Indie Music Plus

The Mood Kings music (song) is great. Let me first say, I wish there were more! So here’s the deal. The band have been friends for over 30 years. Their bio states:

“The inside jokes, comedic rhythm, and musical chemistry have been honed over a 30 year friendship. The three met in their early teens and formed their first band together. Years later, with marriages, births, deaths, addictions, recovery, and a variety of life experiences behind them, The Mood Kings are blending an Americana roots rock sound with strong melodic sensibilities to create a collection of songs that tells the stories of lifetimes lived with purpose and vigor.”

Ok, well first glance at their website looks like they’re not doing much. Hopefully they’re just in a transitional or building stage. The band only has one song but it sounds like they have plenty to build on. One of the first comparisons I can make is obviously Tom Petty. I love Tom Petty and the type of music he makes. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that The Mood Kings sound exactly like him or anything like that. I can merely hear the similarity in some of the guitar sounds. Overall, The Mood Kings sound a bit more on the edgy rock side than where Mr. Petty sits.

The production on the song “Loretta” is very good and it sounds like the band knows exactly what they’re doing. At 5:18 the song runs a bit long for my tastes but the band does a great job at keeping the listener interested. Intriguing lyrics over clean rock guitars with plenty of melody is my initial description of this mature group of fine musicians.
One of the parts in “Loretta” that really grabs me is the bridge section starting around 2:40. This section of the tune brings out the type of beattle-esque background vocals and chord changes that grab my attention in a song almost every time. This is some great songwriting! Again, I WISH THERE WERE MORE!!!

The guitar solo after the bridge is nice as well. Once again, these guys do a great job at making a somewhat lengthy song very interesting! The band pulls out all the stops when they break down the tune right after the bridge before going into once last chorus. I completely understand a band wanting to leave their fans wanting more but this is ridiculous!! LOL!! I’m kidding of course.

The Mood Kings

So, the positives of this band is that they are amazing songwriters and even though there is only one tune, it seems they are able to translate their musically abilities well onto a recording. The negatives of this band is there’s not much out there about them…

I would really like to see more of them in the near future. Please share this post and support Indie Music and the musicians that make it possible.

Check out The Mood Kings and download their song as a reminder that there is hopefully more to come from this rock trio! - Indie Music Plus

The Mood Kings to Release Debut Album on June 15
Lifelong Friends Find Their Sound After Finding Each Other Again

May 21, 2018 – Charlotte, NC – The Mood Kings are celebrating the release of their debut album “The Wonder of It All” with a unique pre-order campaign, series of album release concerts, and a charitable partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The band has North Carolina roots in Charlotte, Boone, and Lumberton and have an official album release date of June. However, the band’s pre-order campaign, running now through June 30 on PledgeMusic.com, allows fans to sample songs, get updates, buy exclusive merchandise, and watch the buildup to their “3 Shows in 3 Cities in 3 Nights” event in July. The band will play album release shows in Boone, Lumberton, and Charlotte respectively on July 13, 14, and 15.

Their debut album “The Wonder of It All” is a collection of songs that documents the journeys of Mark Schwarze (drums), Herman Ospina (guitar/vocals) and Joey Townsend (bass/vocals) as they played in bands, built families, fought addictions, reveled in recoveries, and fostered connections in all areas of life. These experiences led to songs that tell the stories of lives lived with regret, purpose, resilience, and vigor.

Fours years ago, when they walked off the stage of their 25th year reunion show of the band they started in their teens, Schwarze, Ospina, and Townsend looked at each other and contemplated why it took so long to play music together again. This “one night only” reunion led to three long-time friends reconnecting in a way that was unplanned and unexpected. Starting out simply as “catching up”, it quickly turned into conversations of music, songs, and artists they now loved,
and a surprising realization they were all in similar places in their lives. It didn’t take long for a guitar to come out, a melody to be sung, and a song to be created. Their goal: to enjoy playing music together again. As the friendships were reborn, so were the jam sessions that turned into songwriting weekends. Before they knew it, they had some new songs and a new band.

If a music writer was to offer up a perfect tagline to describe the music of The Mood Kings, it would go something like: “an appealing blend of the Americana roots-rock sound with strong melodic sensibilities”.

However, if you asked The Mood Kings to describe their music, they would say throw the entire rock catalog from the late 60s through late 80s in a 9x11 pan, add generous helpings of Dylan, Waits, and Petty. Bake at NIN degrees for 45 min. Take out, top off with Sly and Prince. Cut into Andre the Giant portions. Garnish with Springsteen. Pairs nicely with a Sanford and Son marathon. Also good reheated.

Working as a trio in the writing and recording process, the band fills out their unique sound with additional musicians in the live arena. Eschewing traditional labels of their music, they have also made conscious efforts to play small theatres, festivals, and performing arts venues that attract fans that come for the music. “We are interested in our audience, and we want them to be interested in us”, says Schwarze. “Our hope is that we make connections with our music.”

The Mood King’s “The Wonder of It All” is the album you want on road trips where you throw the map out the window and simply enjoy the drive - letting the road rise with the next song. It makes you take the long way home to see where the music goes next. At the next turn, you’ll find quiet reflection with songs like "This American Life" or “Texarkana” and exuberant energy with the hooky rhythm of songs like "Loretta" and “Last Wishes”.

The members of The Mood Kings are also interested in giving back and supporting causes that are important to them. Townsend has watched as his sister has struggled with living with multiple sclerosis and the band knew that the album release and subsequent shows would be a way to honor her and help raise funds for a worthy cause. Proceeds from the album and concert sales will go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “As fans of The Mood Kings, we are so excited and honored that they have chosen to donate a portion of proceeds from sales of The Wonder of it All to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,” said Kristina Fransel, President, Greater Carolinas chapter. “The money they contribute will support much-needed services and resources for local people living with MS, as well as the ground-breaking research we’ve pioneered for decades.”

The album will be released June 15, 2018 and will be available in retail stores, concerts, and the band website, as well as available for download at all digital outlets. Tickets to the Boone and Lumberton shows are sold out, but are still available to the July 15 Charlotte show at the Evening Muse at ticketfly.com For more information visit www.themoodkings.com.

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