Jacques and the Shakey Boys

Genre: Alt Country Hometown: Toronto ON
www.myspace.com/jacquesandtheshakeyboys

Saturday, March 18   9:00 p.m.
Opal Divine's Freehouse   (700 W 6th St)

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  Jacques and the Shakey Boys - 8 Ball Blues
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Jacques & The Shakey Boys

He’s at the mike, his guitar more an additional part of him than most folk’s right hand. Spiking a cigarette between strings on his peghead, he senses that the time is now.
“Good evening everybody. Welcome to Jacques & The Shakey Boys!” he growls, loud enough to shake the drinks at the back. And with that, Jacques has ignited another night of Jacques & The Shakey Boys’ patented “Bluntry”. What the hell is bluntry? Well, Jacques describes bluntry as what you get when the sharp end of the blues meets the smart edge of country. An apt description indeed for what Jacques & The Shakey Boys’ music is all about: emotional chaos, conflict, and the inevitable emotional & physical fallout.

For Jacques, the road to the stage has been a long one. From Native Reservations to Indonesia, New Mexico (tending sheep…) to the mean(!) streets of Oshawa, and countless points on the journey in-between, Jacques started writing it all down at the age of 12, and has been writing ever since. Eventually, he picked up the guitar and set all those poems, scripts and stories to music. A terminal wanderer, he has played all over the map, and gradually a band of like-minded, incredibly talented brothers gathered around him. Referred to collectively as “The Shakey Boys”, they are a loosely knit group of incredibly talented yet tragically misspelled Rez Dog musos whose lineup changes with the weather. They’ve all got Jacques’ back, ‘nuff said. Every player musically steeped (to varying degrees…that’s what keeps it fluid) in the legends that have inspired Jacques: from Johnny Cash, Hank Williams I & III to Billy Joe Shaver and The Allman Brothers. A Jacques & The Shakey Boys night is tinged with blues notes, surprise forays into swing and a little bit of rock & roll. With this tribe behind him, he’s kick-startin’ his own brand of ‘Northern Outlaw’ musical revolution.

Jacques’ songs are of our physical, emotional and spiritual struggles to survive, the search for real love; about booze and drug dependencies, family conflicts, and the quest to find meaning in an increasingly insane world. They are the “cautionary tales” of our time. These are the stories about our lives, yours and mine. Songs that matter, that speak, that ring true, and songs that bring hope. Jacques contends that many beautiful truths may be found in the ugliness, pain, and hardships of day-to-day life. Jacques & The Shakey Boys celebrate that beauty, and sometimes …they just celebrate! You will reflect, cry, dance, laugh, and it ain’t even anywhere near last call yet!