‘Dead Man’s Bones’: Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields’ Love Letter to Ghosts and Monsters

Actor Ryan Gosling and film producer Zach Shields met in 2005, bonding over their shared interest in ghosts, ghouls, and monsters. They formed the musical duo Dead Man’s Bones, putting out a self-titled album in 2009. The album featured the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir and was essentially a love letter to all things spooky and scary.

Gosling performed under the name Baby Goose, and the pair played all instruments themselves, even the ones they were unfamiliar with. The album was released through ANTI- Records, and Gosling and Shields even embarked on a tour.

In itself, the album is a fittingly eerie conceptual piece with cinematic influences. “My Body’s a Zombie for You” and “Paper Ships” sound like haunted graveyard doo-wop tunes, while “Pa Pa Power” remains Arcade Fire-esque. Initially, the album was supposed to be just for the children’s choir, but Shields and Gosling decided to make it a series of duets between them and the kids.

“When we first wrote the songs, all the vocals were for the children’s choir to sing,” Shields told Rolling Stone in 2009. “We were never going to sing on the record. But when we were working out the parts for them, we started singing and decided to make it into a duo between us and the kids.”

[RELATED: 7 Fun and Spooky Songs for Your Halloween Playlist]

How Did Dead Man’s Bones Come About?

In 2005, Ryan Gosling was dating Rachel McAdams while Zach Shields was dating her sister. The two explained how they put on an impromptu performance in a hotel bathroom during a road trip for Gosling’s sister’s birthday, which hatched the plan to start a band.

“We started putting on these performances for our friends in the [hotel] bathroom,” Gosling said at the time. “We’d go in the shower and we’d use the shower curtain as the stage curtain.” Shields added, “They would laugh afterwards and be like, ‘That was so funny!’ And we’d be like, ‘We weren’t kidding,’”

The album is undoubtedly a hit, with the ethereal “Young & Tragic,” haunting “Buried in Water,” and electric, meandering rouser “In the Room Where You Sleep.” The duo stated at the time that they considered themselves musical novices. However, Dead Man’s Bones speaks to a deep well of creativity and passion. The album is spooky without being morbid, and the inclusion of the children’s choir adds another chill-inducing level to the entire project.

Featured Image via YouTube