In a Heartbeat – Shaky Lets Relevance Catch Up

There are musicians that just come and go; then a few simply step back and allow time to pass whilst the space fills with static and the remains of their presence turn into bare concrete from the beer rings on the floor until such a time seems right for them to return. Shaky is among those musicians that seem to have reemerged after a substantial period of absentia.

Shaky is from Pennsylvania and up until now has operated on his own terms to build a saga that mirrors the Hero's Journey whilst maintaining a heroic spirit with Do It Yourself mentality throughout the entire story. Shaky's robust, tumultuous first two decades were spent touring with Cold Fronts, Killer Bangs, performing at the Philadelphia venue The Rathaus, and living off of little else outside of short periods of sleep and borrowed amplifiers; then came a period of re-evaluation and recalibration. Fast forward to 2024: Shaky becomes a solo act and releases Kinda Wild II; he establishes Shaky Records and takes back total creative control (writing, recording, producing, mixing, mastering); NO MIDDLE MAN NEEDED; NO SAFETY NET; JUST INSTINCT. 

"In A Heartbeat" is the first single off of Kinda Wild II and lies precariously between the past and present. "In A Heartbeat" is melodic garage rock rich with the ashes of bygone days and the memories they represent as "Nostalgic, minus the cosplay." The music video for "In A Heartbeat," directed by Joe Lee, is composed of newly discovered footage from 2011 resembling a vintage tape that you could find lying in the bottom of your drawer that the passage of time has allowed to be stained with dust and smell like beer.

Kinda Wild, at #114 on NACC for a total of six weeks, was the party. Kinda Wild II is the following morning after the party. The mood is of a hangover, a little hope, and sunshine streaming through the blinds. Shaky waits for relevance to chase him, then gets it back in a split second.