Shakey Graves
Shakey Graves,
otherwise known as Alejandro Rose-Garcia, first came to the attention of
Australian audiences touring over here early last year with fellow American
songsters Shovels & Rope.
His blending of
Americana, blues and rock ‘n’ roll has also hit chords elsewhere around the
globe, so much so, Rose-Garcia, in September last year, took out the Best
Emerging Artist gong at the annual Americana Awards in Nashville – no mean feat
for one whose debut album, Roll The Bones,
was only released in 2011.
Despite all this
though, he’s adamant he’s not an ‘Americana’ artist, at least not as other
people may see it. “I would never refer to my music as Americana, it feels like
Americana is everything that’s not rap,” he says with a laugh. “I wasn’t reared
on country music per se, not Top 40 country… but there was always that element
of Stevie Ray Vaughn 12-bar blues, plenty of Texas swing, and then a lot of
John Prine-y, storytelling songwriter [stuff].”
Hailing from
Austin, Texas, where all these influences were born and bled into his music, Rose-Garcia
will head to Australia for a second time in a couple of months, playing the
Byron Bay Bluesfest, as well as a handful of side-shows. This time, he’ll bring
with him his trio, as recorded on latest cut, 2014’s And The War Came, an album which really showcases his eclectic use
of various American musics.
“I’m just trying
to play what I want to hear. It’s not as simple as that, but I’m not trying to
overthink it,” he muses. “So those dynamics (loud, soft) are something I saw
potential for in myself a long time ago, and it’s been an honest goal of mine
to try and fuse it together, because that’s what I want out of a show.”
Samuel J. Fell
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