Photo by Olivia Haas
Originally from Austin, Texas, Shakey Graves is making his way back to Boston for the second time on this tour, promoting his new album Can’t Wake Up. This Americana musician will share the House of Blues stage on Wednesday night with The Wild Reeds, the American Indie Folk band from Los Angeles. In preparation for his return to Boston, we spoke with Shakey Graves about Austin, his tour, the meaning behind his new album, and his creative influences.
Allston Pudding: You’ve been on tour for a while now, making stops in cities all over the U.S. Recently, and you just sold out a show at Red Rocks in Colorado. How was that show for you?
Shakey Graves: Oh, it was incredible. It was pretty intense. It was absolutely the largest single show that I’ve ever played as a headliner. To add to it, my entire team came out, and my family – my mother, my dad, both my sisters, and my grandma – it was a full house in more than one way. It was probably one of the most intimidating shows I’ve ever played probably for that same reason. Just because it’s like “Don’t fuck up! Don’t fuck up! Don’t fuck it up!” But yeah, it was crazy, very surreal.
AP: You’ve been performing with a bunch of different artists throughout your tour. You’re joined by The Wild Reeds at your Boston show. Have you ever performed with them before?
SG: I do know them but I don’t think we’ve ever played shows together. They’ve toured with buddies of mine and we’ve hung out lots of times at things like festivals. But I’ve gone to watch them play before I think their band is awesome. I’ve been kind of waiting for this to come around and it finally did.
AP: You’re going to be wrapping up the American leg of your tour at Austin City Limits. Being from Austin, what does it mean to you to be ending this tour there?
SG: You know, it means that I get to be home, which is key. I feel like I’ve been touring for forever. But this last trip, I was out for almost two months without coming home at all. Which was great, but that’s kind of about the limit. I guess I could’ve kept going, although I might’ve gone a little crazy. I just got home less than a week ago, and the way that I’ve been doing it is just by hiding inside – drawing and watching movies and not talking to people. I need both sides of the coin. I love being out and travelling and exploring and performing for people. But the nice part about ending the tour here is that I don’t have to travel back here. That last show is going to feel like that last show. It’s gonna be really great.
AP: How are you feeling about this upcoming Europe tour?
SG: This is going to be my third Europe tour. Each one is different. The first one was by myself. We started going to Europe maybe a little later than I should’ve. The first tour I did wasn’t that long ago and it was just me and the suitcase. Then me and the band all went out there together and that was a totally different experience. You know, playing with a band is definitely different and also having people to travel with through Europe is definitely so much better. But this time, I feel like we’ve learned a lot of stuff and we definitely figured out the songs. Because when we first went out there we were just starting to work on stuff off of the new record. It was pretty fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants in a foreign country which was, you know, for better or for worse, it was exactly what it was. So, this time I feel a little more in control. It’s exciting to see how that will pan out.
AP: You mentioned your iconic suitcase style, but you’ve opened up the sound of your music, especially in this last album. You even put some of the found sound recorded from your last Europe trip into the new record. Where did you get the inspiration to do that?
SG: I mean, I’ve always kind of done that. I used to travel with a tape recorder. I love found sound and intertwining music with environmental mood textures. I grew up listening to everything – from rap to weird, obscure indie music. There’s always tons of bands, tons of sound samples, or some weird skits with someone talking. That’s always just been part of something to me. I think it’s a pretty effective storytelling tool. The brain responds differently to any sort of audio. So, if you have the sound of restaurant noise in the background of the track, it will get into the mind of the listener in one way or another. So, it’s always something I keep in mind.
AP: You’ve said before that you wanted to have a larger narrative to this new album. That has sort of landed on allusions to the Wizard of Oz and some classic Disney movies. What pointed you in that direction?
SG: Well, the initial concept was that I just wanted the record to really feel like it went from black and white into color. Just because I knew that it was going to be a different sounding record in the first place. I noticed through retrospect that all of the other major releases have all had black and white record covers. So, I wanted it to be an entire feel like this record was in technicolor instead of black and white like the other ones. And I mean, it’s not like a total change, but that was my initial concept going in – that I wanted it to have a certain sparkle, a kind of feverishness like those Disney movies and The Wizard of Oz. Even though they’re family movies to a certain extent, they’re terrifying. They’re really intense movies, and they have a bunch of strange underlying themes that are very serious. So, I wanted it to have a lot of layers, both sonically and metaphorically. I wanted it to be a collection of songs that sound like one thing, but you get closer into it, and you realize it could be about a lot of things.
AP: Speaking of your album art, is it correct that you created and photographed this new album cover yourself?
SG: Yes, me and a buddy of mine that I went to high school with conceived of it. I built it in my house and he helped me photograph it.
AP: Keeping in mind all these different manifestations of that creativity in your new album, what was your favorite aspect of this album for you?
SG: I think it walks that line of…parts of it are about depression. I don’t necessarily mean that as in my own depression. People seem to talk about extremes, like heartbreak or love; true sadness or joy. But I think that most of life is spent in between, spent in limbo. And that limbo can be spun very darkly or a little bit more positively. There’s a lot of not knowing in life. No matter if things are going well for you, it’s really hard for anybody to know if they’re on the right path, let alone to be comforted by that. So, this record – all the songs are different pieces of that question; “Am I happy? Does it matter if I’m happy? Am I growing? Is anyone growing? Am I going to die? Does it matter if I die? Do I want to die?” And the whole idea of Can’t Wake Up is that voice that you can’t turn off. It’s your own questions, my own questions, human questions. So, the thing I’m the most proud of is it feels hectic and asks the questions that I still ask. It’s a true album to how I perceive the world these days.
AP: That kind of honesty is not something we see as often so it’s great to see that reflected in your work.
SG: Yeah, I always hope to start conversations instead of answer questions.
AP: Do you have a particular muse or source of inspiration that you contribute your creativity to?
SG: Well I think it’s one of those nature and nurture issues. I was raised and encouraged to be creative by my parents, my extended family, the community around me, and the people of Austin. It’s a very artistic place. There’s a certain kind of playfulness here that I think has helped me a lot along the way. And especially my friends and everyone I grew up alongside. I feel like my dear friend group has a very specific worldview that is relatable and is shared by others. We stick together and flesh things out, and aren’t scared of having stupid or deep conversations, often times in the exact same breath. I feel that worldview is something that I can express without fear because I feel supported by the people around me. That’s also what I encourage other people to do in any way they can.
AP: Is there anything else you want readers and fans to know?
SG: I guess just that, this whole thing is just an exploration of the mind. I feel really lucky to ask the same questions that other people ask, but in a public forum. It’s really intense and scary, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. So good luck out there to everybody.