Kimberly Recommends: “Roll the Bones” by Shakey Graves

One of my favorite things to do on a weekend night is to sit in a cozy living room, sip on some wine or a cocktail and listen to music. There’s just something both “grown-up” and “youthful” about that atmosphere that makes me feel like there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.

On one of these nights I was in Chicago staying with my cousin and her husband. And just like we do at my own house, we designate someone’s tablet as the “music producer,” search YouTube for songs we want to hear and add the music video to the queue so that it will project onto a large TV for everyone to enjoy. It was on that night that I was introduced to “Roll the Bones” by Shakey Graves.

I was first impressed with the fact that this artist is playing an electric guitar, a bass drum activated with one foot AND a tambourine with the other foot. That’s just cool. But then when I heard the guitar chords, I fell in love with the song. It’s full of swings between major and minor chords, with bluesy 7th chords and maybe even other, less-often-used chord types in there.

He has an amazing voice, too. It’s gravelly and perfect for blues. And he has phenomenal vocal control, and throws in some cool slides into his singing to match the bluesy thing he’s dong on the guitar. Shakey Graves would be a trip to see perform live.

(And after you check out this song, check out a super-cool duet called, “Dearly Departed.”)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD72LbIk02M(Song recommendation by Kimberly Wolkens)