The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock band from

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,741 during the 2010 U.S. census, and its micropolitan area's po ...

that was formed in 1995 by

J.D. Wilkes Joshua "J. D." Wilkes (born April 18, 1972) is an American visual artist, musician, amateur filmmaker and author. He is best known as the singer for the rock music, rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, and is also an accomplished harmonica player, ...

. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and Western swing. Subsequently, the band gained prominence in the

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

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.

History

Formation

Singer and harmonica player

developed an interest in

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

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 McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

Lightning Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

, Brownie McGhee and Charlie Patton before moving backward into older styles of music "to see the roots of the roots". He formed the Legendary Shack Shakers in Peducah with members of another band, Solid Rocket Boosters, who shared his interest in

and Western swing; according to Wilkes, the only difference between the two bands was that they have different drummers. 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. 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 Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

acts, most notably with Wilkes and JoeBuck touring as members of

Hank Williams III Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional country music, rockabilly, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the ...

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

Breakthroughs

Legendary Shack Shakers' 2002 album, ''

Cockadoodledon't ''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. Musical style The music of ''Cockadoodledon' ...

'', established their prominence in the

scene. After self-releasing their recordings, including ''Cockadoodledon't'', the self-classified "insurgent country" record label Bloodshot Records reissued ''Cockadoodledon't'' in 2003. 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. In 2005, Simmonz left the band and was replaced by Brett Whitacre. that year,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

asked the Legendary Shack Shakers to open for him on his European tour. The following year, the band opened for

Marty Stewart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work a ...

and

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

in 2006 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Subsequently, the band experienced increased mainstream media attention when

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

featured their song "CB Song" in one of their commercials, and the band's song "Swampblood" was included on the soundtrack to the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' True Blood'', earning the band a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination. 2009 saw the addition of Duane Denison, formerly of

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with s ...

, to the line-up. The band released their seventh studio album; ''

AgriDustrial ''AgriDustrial '' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 13, 2010, the album was the only release by the band to feature guitarist Duane Denison as part of the band's line-up. Composition In ...

'', on April 13, 2010 on their own Colonel Knowledge

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. 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 Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

. 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. In 2019, the band performed on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television series ''Sun Studio Sessions'', and released an album of this performance under the title ''Live from Sun Studio''. In 2020, the band planned to play in Aurora, Kentucky, but the performance was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and subsequently delayed until the following year. 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.

Musical style

says that the original incarnation of the Legendary Shack Shakers focused on playing

, "

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

" music, Memphis blues and Western swing. Wilkes described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as " Americana rockabilly"; ''Vail Daily'' said that the band performs a mix of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, punk rock, and

. 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." The ''Kalamazoo Gazette'' described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as "mutant Southern rock".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the Legendary Shack Shakers as a "raucous roots rock band". According to ''City Beast'', the band's musical style also encompasses country blues and carnival music. Wilkes publicly disavowed the

psychobilly 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, ram ...

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 The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

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 Charles Arthur Feathers (June 12, 1932 – August 29, 1998) was an American musician most associated with the rockabilly scene of the 1950s. Although not initially recognized for his contributions to rockabilly, over time his presence would bec ...

and dismissed psychobilly performers as " mall punk with pompadours", calling psychobilly fans "pompadork". 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. .. outhern Gothictakes an angle that there’s something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living." 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 Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

to be "the Jew's blues". 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." 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 John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

used a train rhythm." Since 2015, the Legendary Shack Shakers have predominantly played country music. Wilkes cited as musical influences

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, Howlin' Wolf,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, the Louvin Brothers,

Dock Boggs Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and Af ...

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biograp ...

and Roscoe Holcomb. Outside of musical influences, Gary Larson's ''

The Far Side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealist ...

'' cartoon "

Cow Tools "Cow Tools" is a cartoon from ''The Far Side'' by American cartoonist Gary Larson, published in October 1982. It depicts a cow standing in front of a table of bizarre, misshapen implements with the caption "Cow tools". The cartoon confused many ...

" inspired the name of one of the band's introductions.

Discography

; Studio albums *'' J.D.'s Tasteless Chill Tonic '' (Conan Records, 1996) *'' Hunkerdown ''(Spinout, 1998) *''

'' ( Bloodshot, 2003) *''

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

'' (

YepRoc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul We ...

, 2004) *''

Pandelirium ''Pandelirium'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Musical style The music on ''Pandelirium'' was described by AllMusic as a further departure from the Legendary Shack Shakers' established style than their p ...

'' (YepRoc, 2006) *''

Swampblood ''Swampblood'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Musical style The music of ''Swampblood'' encompasses rockabilly, alternative country, bluegrass, blues, country, psychobilly, rock and roll, Southern Goth ...

'' (YepRoc, 2007) *''

'' (Colonel Knowledge, 2010) *''The Southern Surreal'' (Alternative Tentacles Records, 2015) *''After You've Gone'' (Last Chance Records, 2017) *''Cockadoodledeux'' (Alternative Tentacles, 2021) ;Live albums *'' Lower Broad Lo-Fi ''(Arkam Records, 2007) *'' Live from Sun Studio '' (Chicken Ranch Records, 2020)

Filmography

* ''

Seven Signs In Christian scholarship, the Book of Signs is a name commonly given to the first main section of the Gospel of John, from 1:19 to the end of Chapter 12. It follows the Hymn to the Word and precedes the Book of Glory. It is named for seven no ...

'', shown at the Raindance Film Festival 2008

References

External links

Official website

Artist Page on YepRoc Records

Artist Page on Bloodshot Records
;Interviews and reviews
Interview and Performance on Corporate Country Sucks TV show.

Harp Magazine Interview, 2003

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legendary Shack Shakers, The Alternative Tentacles artists American alternative country groups American blues musical groups American punk rock groups American southern rock musical groups Bloodshot Records artists Country music groups from Kentucky Gothic country groups Rockabilly music groups Roots rock music groups Yep Roc Records artists