Years before forming E.Z. Shakes, Zach Seibert grew up in small-town Illinois, raised on the sounds of heartland rock & roll, hard-hitting punk, and old-school country/gospel music. His parents were hippie Christians who bounced from church to church, searching for a congregation that suited their family’s countercultural ideals. The experience left a mark on Seibert, who developed an appetite for diversity — in art, life, faith, and beyond — that he’d later put to use as E.Z. Shakes’ raspy-voiced, genre-defying, storytelling frontman.
Over the course of two EPs and a pair of full-length albums, E.Z. Shakes have become one of South Carolina’s most acclaimed musical exports — a band of amplified roots-rockers whose regional acclaim is steadily turning into a bigger, bolder movement. Their songs are grounded in epic Americana twang and dressed up with layers of shoegazing shimmer, swooning pedal steel, atmospheric guitars, and rolling reverb. It’s a sound that’s as wide-ranging as the group’s own resume, with Seibert (vocals, guitar), Todd T. Hicks (pedal steel), John Furr (electric guitar), Stanford Gardner (percussion), and Jim Taylor (bass guitar) all cutting their teeth in other Carolina-based acts before banding together.
“I’m playing with a bunch of guys who are South Carolina all-stars,”says Seibert, who settled in the Palmetto State after stints in Illinois, New Orleans, Florida, and Virginia… and quickly earned his own share of local esteem by logging time in acts like Due East and Hardtack.] Collectively, they’re far greater than the sum of their parts, turning Seibert’s folk songs — autobiographical tunes that explore the human condition, written by a man who’s unafraid to shine a light on the demons haunting his own closet — into dark, moody anthems that are honest enough for the bar and dynamic enough for the arena.
Produced in-house by Furr, The Spirit marks E.Z. Shakes’ dreamiest, darkest, and most driving work to date. What began taking shape as an acoustic duo in 2017 — the year Seibert first teamed up with Hicks, looking to pair his own left-of-center country songwriting with Hick’s spacey pedal steel — has since turned into a cinematic band, its sound rooted in the stomp and swagger of five musicians who’ve all made unique marks upon the fertile music community of Columbia, South Carolina. The Spirit nods to those Carolina roots, with the band recruiting local hero Mitch Easter(the producer of seminal albums by R.E.M. and Pavement) to mix the album at his Fidelitorium studio. At its heart, though, The Spirit is an album that creates its own geography, swirling together a musical map of holy-roller BibleBelt storytelling, heartland hooks, big-city bombast, and southern roots music.
“My upbringing played a monumental role in my life,” says Seibert. “If I’m going to be honest as an artist, it’s hard to separate those personal experiences from my art. But I’m not out to proselytize anyone. These are personal stories. Hopefully, people can find some sort of hope in them.”
Glide is proud to premiere “The Rileys” (below) a guitar charged wake-up call that combines the fire and the fury of The Drive-By Truckers and the arena rock flair of Blackberry Smoke. E.Z. Shakes bring an immediacy and lyrically scalding approach that is incisive and sticking.
“The whole message of the song “The Rileys” could be summed up in the opening line: “I ain’t got time to waste, no/I’m gettin’ older, feelin’ bolder.” My dad lived out loud and full of conviction, so when he died a couple years back, there was this feeling of immediacy; sort of a shit or get off the pot moment that’s stayed with me, ever since. Do we want to stand or sit? Should we follow our dreams or stay put? Embrace the river’s current or sail around, haplessly? These are some of the questions entrenched in this song,” says Seibert.
“In the turnaround, or chorus, the words, “I know we break down easy, ’cause it gets so hard, when you’re coming down,” are more of a reflection than an active part of the song’s story; it’s a reminder that it’s not easy, and despite our best intentions, we’re all human and we all break down and fail. All that being said, it’s definitely not a song about failure, but intentionally living life to the fullest, with the understanding that there are risks.”
“The title of the song came from a term I grew up hearing around the house, “They’re living the life of Riley,” which I later understood was in reference to folks who had it easy in life. It’s funny because from what I’ve seen, folks who live out loud and with conviction, rarely (if ever), have it easy. My dad would often say, ‘You can be whoever you want, but there’s always a price to pay.’ That’s the essence of this song.”
“Our hope is that the themes and questions raised in this song, among others on the new record, resonates with people who are also reaching for their dreams, consequences be damned.”
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An exciting release for an exciting band!