Why you need to know:
Ryan Gosling is a great actor and no one disputes that. However, we are sure that they did not know his musical past with Dead Man’s Bones, the band he formed and few remember.
In this world there are people who have a lot of artistic talent, so much so that they try to get into everything they can and almost always do great things. One of those cases is Ryan Gosling, who besides being an impressive actor, showed that also raffles in music with the band Dead Man’s Bones.
It is no secret to anyone that this great actor has a lot of musical ability, because in La La Land he raffled off singing and even playing the piano. However, many years before this film, Ryan Gosling made it clear to the world that if he wanted to, he could leave Hollywood to become a full-time musician with the band he formed.
The birth of Dead Man’s Bones, Ryan Gosling’s band
Ryan Gosling conoció a Zach Shields (director and producer who has been in charge of films such as Godzilla vs. Kong y Krampus) in 2005, when Ryan was dating Rachel McAdams and Zach was dating her sister, Kayleen. Beyond the fact that the film industry unites them, they both clicked because they noticed that they were almost obsessed with similar thingslike attraction The haunted mansion of Disneyland, ghosts and the paranormal.
And it is that it is not for less that they were connected by these lurid issues, because as a child, Zach Shields went to therapy for his fear of ghosts, while Ryan Gosling and his parents had to move out of his childhood home because they believed it was haunted.. The two noticed this and decided to make a musical themed around monsters and supernatural beings.
Going back to 2000, Ryan Gosling released a solo album called Angel With Tatooed Wings (which sounds great and you can find on the internet). Thanks to this, he managed to gain some experience in music, which helped him years later to resume the project he had in mind with Zach Shields. When starting to compose the songs, they realized that it would be very expensive to mount a thematic staging, that is why they decided to form a band: Dead Man’s Bones.
Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields recorded all the instruments on the Dead Man’s Bones album
Actually, Dead Man’s Bones is just the duo made up of Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling. But the truth is that they did not need anyone else, since They raffled off how the greats learned to play and taking care of the recording of each of the instruments on their debut album (As a curious fact, Ryan was in charge of vocals, guitar, bass and cello).
In addition to taking full charge of the music, this pair set some rules for themselves when entering the studio, such as record without a metronome and try to do no more than three takes on any song, leaving any blemishes to be clear on the album. So, Ryan Gosling y Zach Shields echaron a andar Dead Man’s Bones.
As if this were not enough, for the recording of the debut album by his band, Zach and Ryan Gosling with the participation of the Children’s Choir of the Silverlake Conservatory –who founded Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers–, whichThey gave a creepy touch to the songs and that it even inspired the blackened death metal band, Behemoth, who did something similar on their album I Loved You At Your Darkest.
It was not until 2009 when the first Dead Man’s Bones album appeared.
After releasing videos for songs like “In the Room Where You Sleep” and “Name In Stone”, On October 6, 2009, Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields released Dead Man’s Bones’ self-titled debut album. To the surprise of some, this album received great reviews from specialized music media, where they mentioned that the songs were unique, striking and disturbing.
To promote the Dead Man’s Bones album, Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields put together a thirteen date tour in the United States, where they performed alongside neon skeletons and glowing ghosts, and at each performance they were invited to a local children’s choir. In addition, instead of having an opening act, at the beginning they put on a talent show with emerging artists.
In addition to the recognition the duo received for this Dead Man’s Bones album in the music media, they also received film credit, as in the end credits of the 2013 French film Age of Panicthe song “Lose Your Soul” appears. For his part, the song “In the Room Where You Sleep” was included in the soundtrack of the first film of The spell.
And to all this, what happened to Dead Man’s Bones and why didn’t the band continue?
On September 4, 2010, Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields gave the last Dead Man’s Bones concert, at FYF Fest. In 2011, the actor spoke of his intentions to record a second albumwhere he said he was not considering working with children again because “You can’t smoke, you can’t swear, you can’t get drunk. You have to make sure they have pizza and go to the bathroom. It’s not very rock ‘n’ roll.”
However, after that concert, everyone resumed their projects within the film industry. Ryan Gosling continued his career as a Hollywood star and Zach Shields went on winning important productions. They haven’t gotten back together to record music with Dead Man’s Bones since then (although they haven’t announced a breakup or anything like that).
Although the return of Dead Man’s Bones seems distant (especially since Ryan Gosling’s schedule is so full), he himself does not rule out the return of the band, but the reality is that it is uncertain if they will return soon. How are you? Did you know the musical side of this great actor? There is no doubt that it is a whole case of cuteness.
