An initial period of heady success marked by big hits and critical acclaim in the ‘90s. The Mavericks, the eclectic rock and country group known for crisscrossing musical boundaries with abandon, has gone through three distinct phases since it was founded in Miami in 1989. He’s helped me record so many demos, watched way too many Wild Child sets and been a dear friend through a lot of crazy times (including this last week where we were bunked up at my compound with no power or water during a freak blizzard putting out literally fires in the snow).Any band that manages to survive three decades, seeing its core members go from young adults to music veterans, is bound to have its swings and cycles. I’ve had more late nights and bad acid trips with my brother Ali than I can count.
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Going back and listening to his first record has been truly nostalgic for me as it was the backdrop for some of my first national tours and he was one of the first friends I made making music in Austin. Seriously one of my favorite people and a true leader in my creative world. We have become completely different players and songwriters than we were back in the day but he is still just as special. Sometimes his guitar would be tuned in a completely different way than it was when we practiced and he would change the tempo up so many times live that you just had to play follow Ali and try not to look like an asshole. His first record Roll The Bones is probably my favorite, just because i used to play fiddle and sing harmonies with him back in the day. I’ve learned a lot from bouncing ideas off each-other and butchering live duet versions of each other’s songs that we barely know. talking about which song is the single and what’s going to work where. One of my favorite things is pulling an all-nighter with Ali, sharing demos and then rough mixes and then finally the mastered version of a new record. He’s one of my closest friends and a true inspiration to all those lucky enough to know him. Since then we have continued touring the country together, and staying up way too late drinking shitty wine and writing songs. After that we started touring together, starting with our “outside city limits” US Tour with another local band called Marmalakes. Alexander and I were playing just as a duo and Ali would play solo with his suitcase. It hasn’t existed in a long time but those monday nights about 11 years ago were pretty big start for all of us. Not a vinyl subscription member yet? Join the vinyl record of the month club!Īli and I had our first residency in a pink sparkly bar in Austin called the Beauty Ballroom. “It’s a record that sounds like my years of exploration and influence, funneled through my abilities at the time-and it all became something bigger,” he muses.
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A decade later, he wouldn’t change a thing. To him, it’s a scrappy effort, but the most intentional work he’s ever produced. It’s his genesis story before he had the studio time to make his 2014 Dualtone Records debut full-length And the War Came or the full-band cohesion to create 2018’s Can’t Wake Up. With Roll The Bones X, Rose-Garcia believes the release of his early output will provide some needed framing for his discography.
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“It gives you a sense of ownership as a listener.” “If you discover something for yourself, it will always hold more water because it’s tied to memory and coincidence,” Rose-Garcia says of embracing the direct-to-fan platform.
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Over the past decade the record has gone on to sell well over 100,000 units-despite being offered to fans on Bandcamp for “name your price”-and as a result, Shakey Graves has garnered a massive cult following. That year, Bandcamp made it a featured album for a month and from there it has stayed among the website’s top-selling records. Shakey Graves is the brainchild of Rose-Garcia who released Roll The Bones on Bandcamp in 2011 without any promotion and little information about Shakey Graves. Highlights include deep cuts, such as the first-ever true recording of “Late July,” a version that’s drastically different from the live rendition that’s generated over 14 million views on YouTube. Accompanying the anniversary pressing are 15 additional tracks comprising an Odds + Ends LP, which stands as an essential document of Shakey Graves’ early era. Roll The Bones X celebrates 10 years since the release of Roll The Bones.