Legendary Shack Shakers

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Legendary Shack Shakers
Legendary Shack Shakers live performance.jpg
Legendary Shack Shakers in Lexington, Kentucky 2010
Background information
Origin Murray, Kentucky, United States
Genres
Years active1995–present
Labels
Members
  • J.D. Wilkes
  • David Lee
  • Gary Siperko
  • Fuller Condon
  • Preston Corn
Past members

The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an American rock band from Murray, Kentucky that was formed in 1995 by J.D. Wilkes. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in rockabilly, blues and Western swing. Subsequently, the band gained prominence in the alternative country scene with a sound that encompassed rockabilly, blues, country and punk rock and a lyrical focus on Southern Gothic themes. Over time, the band's sound shifted to emphasize country music.

Contents

History

Formation

Singer and harmonica player J.D. Wilkes developed an interest in Delta blues music as a teenager living in Paducah, Kentucky as a result of disinterest in the decade's popular music styles, familiarizing himself with the music of Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins, Brownie McGhee and Charlie Patton before moving backward into older styles of music "to see the roots of the roots". [1] He formed the Legendary Shack Shakers in Paducah with members of another band, Solid Rocket Boosters, who shared his interest in rockabilly, blues and Western swing; according to Wilkes, the only difference between the two bands was that they have different drummers. [1] [2] The original lineup of the Legendary Shack Shakers consisted of Wilkes, guitarists Nathan Brown and Brian Berryman, upright bassist Todd Anderson and drummer Chris Dettloff -- three of which were Murray State art majors, while the remaining two were a physics major and a psychology major. [2] The band's line-up subsequently changed to Wilkes on lead vocals and harmonica, JoeBuck on guitar, Mark "The Duke" Robertson on upright bass, and Pauly Simmonz on drums, all of which alternatively played for local country music acts, most notably with Wilkes and JoeBuck touring as members of Hank Williams III's backing band. [3]

Breakthroughs

Legendary Shack Shakers' 2002 album, Cockadoodledon't , established their prominence in the alternative country scene. [3] After self-releasing their recordings, including Cockadoodledon't, the self-classified "insurgent country" record label Bloodshot Records reissued Cockadoodledon't in 2003. [3] After JoeBuck left the band to join Hank Williams III's band full time, David Lee became the Legendary Shack Shakers' new guitarist, and the band signed with Yep Roc Records. [3]

In 2005, Simmonz left the band and was replaced by Brett Whitacre. [3] that year, Robert Plant asked the Legendary Shack Shakers to open for him on his European tour. [2] The following year, the band opened for Marty Stewart and Travis Tritt in 2006 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. [2] Subsequently, the band experienced increased mainstream media attention when GEICO featured their song "CB Song" in one of their commercials, and the band's song "Swampblood" was included on the soundtrack to the HBO series True Blood , earning the band a Grammy Award nomination. [2] 2009 saw the addition of Duane Denison, formerly of the Jesus Lizard, to the line-up. [4] The band released their seventh studio album; AgriDustrial , on April 13, 2010 on their own Colonel Knowledge record label. [5] The band would subsequently go on hiatus from 2010 to 2015, after which they reformed with a new line-up consisting of Wilkes on vocals, harmonica and banjo, Robertson on bass, Rod Hamdallah on guitar, and Brett Whitacre on drums, and signed with Alternative Tentacles. [3]

In 2017, Wilkes released his first solo album, Fire Dream, and the Legendary Shack Shakers' line-up changed to Wilkes, Hamdallah and new rhythm section, bassist Fuller Condon and drummer Preston Corn, before the band recorded and released the album After You've Gone, a song cycle inspired by Wilkes' divorce. [3] In 2019, the band performed on the PBS television series Sun Studio Sessions, and released an album of this performance under the title Live from Sun Studio. [3] In 2020, the band planned to play in Aurora, Kentucky, but the performance was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently delayed until the following year. [2] With a new line-up consisting of Wilkes, guitarist Gary Siperko, upright bassist Fuller Condon and drummer Preston Corn, the band released Cockadoodledeux, an album of traditional country and Western songs which includes guest appearances by seven former members of the band, as well as Alternative Tentacles founder Jello Biafra. [3]

Musical style

J.D. Wilkes of Legendary Shack Shakers crowd surfs while performing in Atlanta, Georgia in 2016. J.D. Wilkes performs live.png
J.D. Wilkes of Legendary Shack Shakers crowd surfs while performing in Atlanta, Georgia in 2016.

Bass Frontiers wrote that Legendary Shack Shakers "have been billed as everything from rockabilly to gothic country, psychobilly and alt. country". [6] J.D. Wilkes says that the original incarnation of the Legendary Shack Shakers focused on playing rockabilly, "hillbilly" music, Memphis blues and Western swing. [2] Wilkes described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as "Americana rockabilly"; Vail Daily said that the band performs a mix of blues, rock, punk rock, and country music. [7] The Phoenix New Times said that "the southern gothic rockabilly act goes above and beyond much of those genres to throw down their captivating version of hillbilly blues-rock." [8] The Kalamazoo Gazette described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as "mutant Southern rock". [4] AllMusic described the Legendary Shack Shakers as a "raucous roots rock band". [3] According to City Beast, the band's musical style also encompasses country blues and carnival music. [9]

Wilkes publicly disavowed the psychobilly label the band is sometimes categorized under, considering the genre's performers "all pompadour and no substance", stating of the scene, "These new bands trying to sound like the Cramps or doing the ‘hellbilly’ thing — they only pick up on the clichés of it." Wilkes took issue with the genre's fans' lack of familiarity with rockabilly artists like Charlie Feathers and dismissed psychobilly performers as "mall punk with pompadours", calling psychobilly fans "pompadork". [4] Additionally, Wilkes "openly expressed disdain for alt-country and its musical carpetbaggers", according to The A.V. Club . [10]

Wilkes stated regarding the band's use of the term "Southern Gothic", "I don’t think we’re Goth in the sense of veils and black clothing, people in perpetual mourning, funereal mode. [...] It’s the traditional term, rather than the trendy, Americanized, fad version of it. [...] [Southern Gothic] takes an angle that there’s something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living." [1] Wilkes connects the many styles the band performs to the blues, saying that he considers rockabilly "the white man's version of blues" and klezmer to be "the Jew's blues". [1] He described the band's performance as being "like a Pentecostal church revival, whipping them into a frenzy and getting them involved in the moment." [1]

When Duane Denison joined the band, the Legendary Shack Shakers shifted their sound again, with Wilkes calling this new sound "agridustrial", explaining that it is "kind of chunky industrial patterns, but give it kind of a rustic feel [...] like the sounds of farm implements, that clanking cacophony of rural industry. Kind of like how Johnny Cash used a train rhythm." [4] Since 2015, the Legendary Shack Shakers have predominantly played country music. [2]

Wilkes cited as musical influences Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Tom Waits, the Louvin Brothers, Dock Boggs, James Harman and Roscoe Holcomb. [11] Outside of musical influences, Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoon "Cow Tools" inspired the name of one of the band's introductions. [9]

Discography

Studio albums
Live albums

Filmography

Related Research Articles

Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."

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The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A Prick magazine reviewer called Heath the "godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. Wilkes</span> Musical artist

Joshua "J. D." Wilkes is an American visual artist, musician, amateur filmmaker and author. He is best known as the singer for the rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, and is also an accomplished harmonica player, having recorded for such artists as Merle Haggard, Sturgill Simpson, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton, and Hank Williams III in the American Masters film "Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues". His song "Swampblood" can be heard on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for HBO's True Blood series. Wilkes is a resident of Paducah, Kentucky and is the author of two books, The Vine That Ate The South and Barn Dances and Jamborees Across Kentucky.

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<i>Believe</i> (Th Legendary Shack Shakers album) 2004 studio album by Legendary Shack Shakers

Believe is the fourth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, released in 2004. This album, along with Pandelirium (2006) and Swampblood (2007), form a trilogy of albums referred to as the "Tentshow Trilogy" by the band.

<i>Pandelirium</i> 2006 studio album by Legendary Shack Shakers

Pandelirium is the fifth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the second album in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy", which began with Believe (2004) and concluded with Swampblood (2007).

<i>Cockadoodledont</i> 2003 studio album by Legendary Shack Shakers

Cockadoodledon't is the third studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 22, 2003, the album established the band's presence on the alternative country scene.

<i>Swampblood</i> 2007 studio album by Legendary Shack Shakers

Swampblood is the sixth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the third and final entry in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy" of albums, after Believe (2004) and Pandelirium (2006).

JD Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers American roots band

JD Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers are an American roots music band. The frontman for the band is JD Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Yawpers</span>

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Gothic country is a genre of country music rooted in early jazz, gospel, Americana, gothic rock, and post-punk. Its lyrics focus on dark subject matter. The genre has a regional scene in Denver.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Oksenhorn, Stewart (February 21, 2006). "Shack*Shakers get back to the roots of Goth". The Aspen Times. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wright, John (August 20, 2021). "Returning to where it all started: Legendary Shack Shakers, founded at Murray State, came up with name 26 years ago at Kenlake". Murray Ledger and Times. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Legendary Shack Shakers Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wedel, Mark (October 1, 2009). "In the name of the father, the son and ... Th' Legendary Shack Shakers". Kalamazoo Gazette. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Legendary Shack Shakers Album/Tour/Free Download on JamBase". Jambase.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ Vahle, Shane (October 20, 2011). "Interview: Mark Robertson". Bass Frontiers. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Subranni, Allison (June 1, 2009). "Legendary Shack Shakers "Billyrock" their way into Vail". Vail Daily. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ Klasek, Garyn (September 15, 2015). "Legendary Shack Shakers Have Impressed a Lot of Famous Musicians". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Baker, Brian (May 24, 2017). "Sound Advice: Legendary Shack Shakers with Jesse Dayton (May 25)". City Beat. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Kyle (February 2006). "Pandemonium". The AV Club. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Th' Legendary Shack Shakers' J.D. Wilkes (March 30, 2009) : Interview". PlugInMusic.com. March 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Seven Signs | Raindance Film Festival 2008". Raindance.co.uk. October 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
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