SHAKEY IS GOOD

2009. Shakey is Good won the number 2 spot in the Sunday Times Top 20 Albums of 2008. "That Jim Neversink is not celebrated as the closest thing this country has to a modern-day Johnny Cash is criminal." Sunday Times Magazine 21 December 2008. Jim remembers how the title of the second album was decided: “One night we played some new material and we didn’t play particularly well. After a song Matthew said: “Jeez, that was a bit shaky”, so I said, shaky is good!” The ‘incorrect’ (shaky) spelling for Shakey was a conscious decision. Jim is a big Neil Young fan and, as fans of Neil Young know, he often goes by the pseudonym Bernard Shakey. ‘Shakey’ is a musical tribute to Neil. Another connection: “When Chris Barnard asked Louis Washansky how he felt before his heart transplant, he said: “Actually, I feel kind of shaky.” This appeals to Jim’s sense of humour. When asked about the song Even Elizabeth Klarer, Jim says it was written four years ago and is about South Africa’s most famous U.F.O. abductee. When Jim was checking his facts on Elizabeth Klarer a while ago, he noticed that Chris Roland was making a movie about her. He tried to find out more about Chris Roland and the UFO movie and he was surprised to see that Chris Roland was the same guy who had made the “Stander” movie. Jim sent the song to Chris and said: “Ok, so you guys didn’t use ‘Ride, Ride, Ride’ for Stander, but maybe you’ll want to use this one for Klarer” Jim got the following reply: “No promises, Jim” That seems to be the loserbilly story of Jim’s Life: No Promises. When asked why Jim Neversink does not appear on the bill at festivals he responds: “Festivals are exploitative. And the organisers just don’t get me. I don’t have the time or the energy to teach them my ways.”