Watch Shakey Graves Talk Theater-Kid Background, ‘True Honor’ of Performing
Alejandro Rose-Garcia, known as Shakey Graves, brought Rolling Stone backstage with him for his NYC show at Terminal 5. Watch him discuss his rising fame and theater background in the latest installment of “RS Live.”
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Rose-Garcia burst onto the Americana scene in 2011 with his debut, Roll the Bones, and has toured extensively since then. Growing up, the singer-songwriter was raised by a set-designer father and writer-director mother. He went on to become a theater kid in a high school that had a strong appreciation for the performing arts. “Being onstage is crazy,” he tells RS. “I always really enjoy performing and memorizing stuff. It’s a strange process that I really enjoy. I spent a lot of time as a kid in theaters.”
Rose-Garcia’s upbringing helped to make dressing rooms a familiar, comforting place for him, and it also prepared him for playing to large crowds like the one at Terminal 5. “My favorite part of all this is the fact that it’s a job,” he says. “It feels engaging and challenging and super scary and also important in some way. It’s really a true honor to have a platform to speak your mind or showcase your personality or ideas or my own corner of the rug.”