‘DIFFERENT APPROACH’
Shakey Graves says his writing is ‘ever-changing’ as he ages
Things are breezy for Shakey Graves.
He is enjoying a day off in North Dakota before the chaos continues.
“We’re on a very fun tour,” he says in a recent phone interview. “We’re doing some fun festivals. For whatever reason, the routing on this tour gives us a lot of days off. That means I’ll be eating chips and getting fatter. You know, making all those bad decisions.”
All kidding aside, Shakey Graves does stay productive while on tour.
Born Alejandro Rose-Garcia, he is excited to have his latest album, “Can’t Wake Up,” released to the world.
His tour takes him to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe for two shows.
“As far as Santa Fe is concerned, I’ll be there for a week beforehand,” he says. “I’m going to eat a lot of green chile.”
The Austin, Texas-based musician recently released the video for the single “Kids These Days.”
The video begins at a campfire setting, with Shakey Graves in a cowboy hat and suspenders with acoustic guitar in hand. Then it transitions into a world of ’80s nostalgia.
“I knew the ‘Kids These Days’ video couldn’t take itself too seriously,” he says. “The song itself is partially about the way that every generation inevitably rebels against the one before it and in turn is baffled by the generation that follows. The feeling of growing up is always framed by the unconscious costumes we all wear throughout our lives, and our goal with the video was to show cycles of the past and present. I am so grateful to all the incredibly talented people who jumped in to shoot this ridiculously fun video in such a short period of time. Kick back, put on your favorite wig and enjoy.”
Shakey Graves says he wears a wig in the video, which made him feel like his dad.
“My dad’s hair looked like that,” he says with a laugh. “My hair only grows out so much. I don’t think it would ever look that cool.”
He worked on production for “Can’t Wake Up” for six months, although the writing took more than a year.
“My writing is ever-changing,” he says. “I used to write differently, because my life is very different. When I was younger, I was lonelier, crazier and less settled. I wrote compulsively and in a manic way. Now that I’m older, I take a different approach to it all. You never know what’s going to resonate with others. It’s about me being as honest as I can be.”