SHAKEY GRAVES RELEASES SATIRICAL NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “KIDS THESE DAYS”, August 30 at Red Rocks

By
Alan Sperry
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Shakey Graves shares a new music video for the single “Kids These Days”

from his recent full-length release Can’t Wake Up, available now on Dualtone. The sub-consciously aware track takes on physical form in this satirical video where Alejandro Rose-Garcia, aka Shakey Graves, taps into the psyche of rockstar imagery in a way that mirrors and parodies his own shift as an artist. The video, which was directed by Jeremi Mattern, premiered on CONAN’s Team Coco column Fresh Noise.

 

The video begins at a campfire setting, with Shakey in a cowboy hat and suspenders with acoustic guitar in hand; a past trademark for Shakey, and also a commonly applied, if not pigeonholed, stereotype of Americana. Suddenly, the scene changes and he’s seen with a pink electric guitar in hand, and everything begins to change. The sharp yet contemplative lyrics “maybe I should give up the good fight and change my image overnight” come into play as Shakey morphs into a raging hair metal rock icon, then transforms again later into the SoundCloud rapper. Though comedic in onset, the video takes a deeper look into dealing with identity versus speculation, while both lyrically and visually also capturing the essence of Shakey’s progression sonically which, though subtle and warranted, may seem drastic and unexpected to those who’ve grown accustomed to the primary origins of “the gentleman from Texas.”

 

“I knew the “Kids These Days” video couldn’t take itself too seriously,” says Shakey. “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.”

 

Mattern playfully adds, “I learned two things while making this video:
1. When you combine long hair, guy-liner, and a leaf blower blasting someone in the face, you are instantly transported back to the 80’s.

2. When you pack 25 people into John Denver’s old tour bus, it’s gonna be a hot, damp, and sweaty party.”

 

As with the rest of the album, Can’t Wake Up veers from the inevitable to the revelatory, its thirteen songs teeming with jarring musical and thematic collisions and thrillingly seamless intersections, gnarly psychological hornswoggles and ecstatic resolutions. Central to the prevailing sense of disorientation are the lead vocals, none of which is purely solo. Instead, each lead performance is shadowed by a queasy harmony or slightly out-of-sync unison part, giving the sense-especially on headphones-that these voices are emanating from inside the listener’s head.

 

“Armed with new instruments and a lifetime of dreams, he forgoes his boot-stomping, cheeky folk for a sound that fluctuates between finely-tuned rock and full-band pop,” comments NPR’s Nina Corcoran. “Alejandro Rose-Garcia pulls it off in large part due to his storytelling prowess; these songs would be welcoming, even enthralling, in any style.”

 

Shakey Graves is currently in the midst of an international tour (known as The Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour Tour) with special guests Twin Peaks and The Wild Reeds. Future dates also include support from Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter, Lauren Ruth Ward, Paul Cauthen, The Band of Heathens, The Sheepdogs, and Blitzen Trapper, climaxing in August with a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison (Denver, CO). Next weekend he performs at Arroyo Seco Weekend, and will also appear at Newport Folk Festival, Pickathon, and Austin City Limits Music Festival.

 

For more information and concert tickets, visit shakeygraves.com.

WATCH “KIDS THESE DAYS”

SGrAdmat-SG-2018 Fall-Tour-x9poster_CreditDanny Clinch copy
Photo: Danny Clinch
TOUR DATES:
June 20 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre *with Lauren Ruth Ward
June 21 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren  *with Lauren Ruth Ward
June 23 – Pasadena, CA – Arroyo Seco Weekend
June 24 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park *SOLD OUT
June 27 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theater *with Paul Cauthen
June 28 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom *with Paul Cauthen
June 29 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall *with Paul Cauthen
June 30 – Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory  *with Paul Cauthen
July 26 – Newport, RI – Newport Blues Café *with The Band of Heathens
July 28 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival *SOLD OUT
July 31 – Washburn, WI – Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua
August 3-5 – Kaslo, BC – Kaslo Jazz Etc Festival
August 4-5 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
August 7 – Bend, OR – Oregon Spirit Distillery
August 9-12 – Edmonton, Alberta – Edmonton Folk Festival
August 10 – Regina, SK – Regina Folk Fest
August 21 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf
August 22 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf
August 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter*SOLD OUT
August 25 – Missoula, MT – Big Sky Amphitheatre *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter 
August 26 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter *SOLD OUT
August 27 – Spokane, WA Knitting Factory *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter 
August 28 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Rayland Baxter *SOLD OUT
August 30 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre *with Jose Gonzalez & The Brite Lites, Twin Peaks
August 31 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman *with Twin Peaks
September 1 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium *with Twin Peaks
September 2 – Des Moines, IA – Simon Estes Amphitheater *with Twin Peaks
September 16 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
September 18 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore *with The Wild Reeds
September 19 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *with The Wild Reeds
September 20 – Toronto, ON – RBC Echo Beach *with The Sheepdogs and Blitzen Trapper
September 22 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 *with The Wild Reeds
September 24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE *with The Wild Reeds
September 25 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall *with The Wild Reeds
September 26 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *with The Wild Reeds
September 28 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *with The Wild Reeds
September 29 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *with The Wild Reeds
September 30 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *with The Wild Reeds
October 2 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Palace *with The Wild Reeds
October 3 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *with The Wild Reeds
October 4 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle *with The Wild Reeds
October 5 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City Birmingham *with The Wild Reeds
October 5-7 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 12-14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 29 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVendenburg Ronda
October 30 – Cologne, Germany – Kulturkirche
October 31 – Brussels, Belgium – Le Botanique
November 2 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Hotel Cecil
November 3 – Groningen, Netherlands – Take Root
November 4 – Berlin, Germany – Heimathafen
November 5 – Hamburg, Germany – Gruenspan
November 7 – Vienna, Austria – Flex
November 8 – Munich, Germany – Freiheiz
November 9 – Solothurn, Switzerland – Kulturfabrik Kofmehl
November 10 – Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
November 12 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy 2
November 13 – London, UK – Koko
November 14 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
November 15 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3
November 16 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
November 17 – Belfast, UK – Elmwood Hall

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