The man behind Shakey Graves shines through
Actor Alejandro Rose-Garcia reveals more of himself with latest album
Who do you ask for when you’re phoning the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name of Shakey Graves? Mr. Graves? Shakey? Or you could try the birth name that he still goes under for his acting career, Alejandro Rose-Garcia (best known for his role in television’s Friday Night Lights).
Finding the right name is part of the enigma when you’re trying to sort out this son of Austin, Texas, based in Los Angeles for about five years now when he isn’t on tour. Judging by the smile in his voice and chuckles in our conversation, he likes it that way. And Graves’, er, Rose- Garcia’s story grew even more complicated this spring when he released his fourth album Can’t Wake Up.
That title is more than a broad hint. It’s a project set squarely in dreamtime-pop, a quirky, aurally psychedelic take on dream reality, but subtly caught up in the humour and tragedy of everyday 2018. His themes aren’t entirely different, but the album’s intriguing layered soundscape seems a dramatic departure from the one-man-band concept he has played on since
his music career started about a decade ago.
He agrees it’s a significant stretch from the persona that most people know of as Shakey Graves, that lone silhouette of a guy with a guitar, stomping out baselines on a kick petal connected to his customized suitcase drum and high hat.
“For people who have maybe grown accustomed to me wearing a cowboy hat on YouTube it might be a little jarring, but if you’re familiar with the first releases from 2011 it’s not quite so far. The title came after all the songs were compiled and I thought it framed things nicely.”
To the extent that Rose- Garcia has a writing process he says the music usually comes first, then he adds “vowels or tongues” and eventually listens back to see “if I’m trying to say something.”
“There’s sort of an intuitive lyric or theme in most of my music, which is why some of it sounds more exciting than others because your brain doesn’t always expect what’s coming, and then when you hear it, it’s like it has always been there. So I try and find that. Some songs take years, and some an hour or so.”
For influences he credits films — from The Wizard Of Oz to classic Disney cartoons like Fantasia and Snow White — but you might hear a hint of Harry Nilsson or The Beatles in there too.
If you check the credits on Can’t Wake Up you’ll find that most tracks are co-writes in varying degrees, some with his band, drummer Christopher Boosahda, guitarist Patrick O’Connor, and bassist Jonathan Shaw. Longtime friend Rayland Baxter was also a valuable contributor to writing and recording sessions in several far-flung locations. And some songs still feature Rose-Garcia playing almost everything, up to six instruments.
“Collaboration was more important to me this time, as opposed to isolation, which is where a lot of my music has come from in the past. I had a loose goal and vague idea of what I wanted and went exploring based on little melody things, sticking pieces together as I found them, writing a story.”
Despite his reputation as a barebones stage performer — and his Sunday set on the Edmonton Folk Music Festival mainstage will include a solo portion, as he performed in 2012 — the studio is his real comfort zone.
“Recording is still one of my favourite things to do, far over live performance. I love playing live but at times it’s a means to an end. I’d rather just make things in my house and then release them into the world. Live performance is more about interpreting the songs than re-creating them, trying to find new pockets in the same old music.”
While his home town is one of America’s great music cities, RoseGarcia says Austin’s music scene was less important early on, before it was “the canvas on what my life is painted.” He was raised by “artist types” in the theatre field, a playwright-director-actress mother and a father geared to lighting and set design, and “urged toward the creative spectrum of life.”
With their help, his acting experiences also started in childhood. He took up guitar around age 11 and began writing songs as soon as he could, “like drawing a picture or making stuff,” but he didn’t treat it as a possible career avenue until his late teens. He dabbles in visual art too, like the elaborate nighttime street diorama on the cover of his new album
“Music was always a presence, but what drove me to it was just being able to create the sounds I loved by myself, going from chord to chord, unlocking that cryptic magic of how music works. That can seem very abstract but being able to create something with your hands feels great.”
Rose- Garcia continues to act — his starring role in the forthcoming Robert Rodriguez picture Red Eleven is among two upcoming film performances — and he says acting informs his music too.
“It gave me a lot of experience going in with the comfortability of the stage and my relatability with an audience. I have some habits from stage performance that could be re-designed for music.”
With his new Can’t Wake Up sound, despite the continuing moniker of Shakey Graves, you have to wonder whether the real Alejandro Rose-Garcia is finally coming out of hiding.
“I never billed myself as a oneman-band and Shakey Graves is just when I play music, just when I’m helming something, but maybe it does sound more like me. The heart and soul of it is just connection and communicating with people and trying to start conversations about things I think are important, to enjoy my life and live passionately.”