PSYCHEDELIA LOVES (SHAKEY GRAVES)
The emergence of YouTube channels has been a revelation for those with a broader mind, open to discovery and dismissive of preconceptions. Cats like KEXP and Music Fog have given a pedestal for the unsigned and the established to perform and reach a wider audience, from Utah to the UK, it’s a broad mission that’s certainly met considerable success.
Had it not been for the aforementioned online-savvy pioneers and the blessed digital radio stations, like Texas’ Koke FM, this writer would be unaware of the likes of Shovels and Rope, Lee Bains III, John Fullbright, Chris Knight, Jimbo Mathus and Hayes Carll, all of whom are making a storm overseas but barely a ripple here.
Most recently, a young Texan one-man-band by the name of Shakey Graves has dominated my personal airspace. As a solo artist with the power of an undetectable band behind him, Shakey has the multi-limbed ability to stamp and strum his way through glorious reverberating country backed by enthused and gifted wordplay. He’s a glorious character who looks like Hank Williams one day and a dust-kicking rocker the next. Find him in a vest or find him in a Stetson, either way you’ll unearth a sporadic medley literarily accomplished songs, driven by echoing riffs, country-blues susceptibility and shrewd tales of concerned human nature. He has a lot to give and an astute mind that merits gratitude.
Let’s thank the Good Music Club for this one…