Jacques & The Shakey Boys

When pressed for a "sounds like", Jacques & The Shakey Boys have coined a new descriptive phrase to 'explain' their music-Bluntry. This is what happens when the sharp end of the blues and the bottom end of country-collide. It is an apt description for what Jacques & The Shakey Boys are all about-emotional chaos,conflict, and inevitably,the fallout.
The music may be familiar--Jacques draws from his country heros-The Late Great Johnny Cash, Hank Williams I & III, Billy Joe Shaver,The Allman Brothers ....tinged with blues notes,surprise forays into swing and a little bit of rockn'roll.
Jacques songs evoke thoughts of the travelling story tellers folklore and history are made of...set in the modern world.
Like the wordsmiths of days gone by, Jacques has been traveling for a long,long time. He has packed several lifetimes of experiences into relatively few years. From Native Reservations to Indonesia, New Mexico (tending sheep!) to the mean streets of Oshawa, and countless points on the journey inbetween, Jacques starting writing it all down at the age of 12. And has been writing ever since.
People often wonder if The Shakey Boys songs are autobiographical. Sometimes,yes. Sometimes, no.
But " I can't tell tales of the things I don't know" (from 2002). Often, this comes from extraordinary powers of observation ,and the ability to "try walking in these boots tonight If you've never known nothing 'bout struggle and strife" (Oshawa Blues) .Recently, he picked up the guitar , gathered a band of like- minded ,incredibly talented brothers, and set all those poems,scripts and stories to music, thus kickstartin' his own brand of 'Northern Outlaw' musical revolution. It's about time.
His songs are of our physical, emotional and spiritual struggles to survive, of the search for a real love, of booze and drug dependencies, of family conflicts,of the quest to find meaning in an increasingly insane world..they are the "cautionary tales" of our time. The real world, not the 'reality' version TV brings us. These are our stories, about our lives. Yours. Mine. Songs that matter, that speak, that ring true, that bring hope. You will reflect, cry, dance and laugh. And it ain't even last call yet!
Are they 'desolation songs'? No..because real beauty is found in the 'ugliness' and pain, in the hardships of day to day life. Jacques & The Shakey Boys celebrate that beauty. Sometimes, they just celebrate!