I’m happy we can talk about your music. ‘Shoes’ was formed in Zion,
Illinois around 1974 by brothers John and Jeff Murphy, Gary Klebe and with
incorporation of several others. You knew each other from high school, right?

John: Yes, Gary and I met as sophomores in
high school. We hung out with the same group of guys at the time and kept in
touch after we graduated. Gary, along with most of the others, left for college
the following fall but I stayed back in Zion and attended a nearby junior
college. He and I kept in touch and eventually discovered that we liked the
same kind of music. We weren’t musicians then but we would bemoan the state of
pop music at the time. In one of our conversations, I mentioned that my brother
had just bought a reel-to-reel 4-track tape machine that allowed him to overdub
and build sounds one at a time on tape and that piqued Gary’s interest. Before
we knew it, we were bangin’ around in my parents’ basement, using a beat-up
acoustic guitar, an autoharp, maracas, wood blocks…anything we could get a
sound out of, since we couldn’t really play anything.

This was your first band and I have an
actual information you didn’t play any instruments, so you learned them  in about a year?

Gary: When we decided to start the band,
other than a few guitar chords, we knew very little about music. We learned to
play our instruments as we learned how to write songs and record. Our tape
recorder was an important tool that allowed us the freedom to experiment
through trial and error at our own pace. I think that our limited knowledge was
a blessing in disguise. We learned the power of simplicity and the true meaning
of “less is more”.

Soon you started recording an album
titled ‘One in Versailles’, which I believe was a private press. How many
copies were made and where did you got them pressed?

Jeff: The original release for the OIV LP
was 300 copies, which we had pressed at a record plant in Chicago.  It was the first time we manufactured vinyl
LPs and we learned valuable lessons that would help us when we released the
Black Vinyl Shoes LP, 2 years later.

I would really love if you could tell us
how did this recording sessions looked like?

John: Jeff lived in a tiny house, more like
the size of a garage. The drum kit was set up in the living room and the tape
recorder and mixer was in the kitchen. I was away at school when Jeff would
record but I assume he played guitar along with Barry (our drummer then) to get
the basic track and then built it up with overdubs. Most of my material was
recorded when I was home for a week during spring break. Again, I would show
Barry and Jeff the proposed song on an acoustic guitar and record it with drums
and then add bass and a vocal with Jeff manning the tape machine. Then Jeff
might add some guitar fills or we’d do some background harmonies. Our playing
wasn’t up to speed in those days so we’d punch in right before any mistake we’d
make and then play out through the rest of the track. We were still just
thrilled to be able to sound like a real band, even though that band only
existed on tape.

Why the name ‘One in Versailles’?

Gary: Immediately after we finished
recording our first album “Heads or Tails”, I spent a year in architecture
school studying in Versailles, France. In an effort to keep the flow going,
John and Jeff recorded One in Versailles while I was gone. Concerned that I
might feel left out or frustrated, they decided to dedicate the album to me.
They sent me a cassette of the album while I was still in France.  I was completely blown away. More than ever,
I wanted to get back and make more music.

Soon you began working on your second
album, which you released on your own little label called ‘Black Vinyl
Records’. You pressed 1000 copies and then you started selling them at local
shows and through ‘Bomp! Magazine’. How did you get signed up by such a major
label as Elektra Records in April 1979?

Jeff: The BVS LP was originally released on
our label, Black Vinyl Records in mid-1977 and from that release, it generated
interest from BOMP! and other indie labels. 
Greg Shaw from BOMP! was very helpful in advising us about the industry
and setting up a “Fan Club” PO Box for mailings and contacts.  He also introduced us to our future
publishing administrator, Dan Bourgoise at Bug Music Group, who also went on to
become our manager.  By mid-1978 the
indie distributor JEM Imports from New York signed a deal to re-release BVS on
their label, PVC/Passport Records and that was released in the fall of
1978.  Elektra discovered us from that
re-release and offered us a deal in early 1979.

I believe your very first release was
‘Heads or Tails’. It was only made as an acetate. How did you progress thru
years? Do you believe you progressed not only 
technically but also as a songwriters?

John: Oh, sure. We could see progress every
time we completed a project. We knew the kind of material we wanted to produce,
but it was a slow evolution to get there. As we got more adept at playing, we’d
seek out a better grade of gear: guitars, basses, drums, amps, effects, etc.
Through the years, as we could afford it, we went from a 4-track tape machine
to an 8-track and then a 16-track and a 24-track with 2-inch tape and, finally,
digital, always trying to better ourselves as musicians and improve the sound
quality of our recordings. As songwriters, we learned by emulating the kind of
music that drew us to this in the first place. Our influences are ingrained in
us without even having to think about it so we use our instincts about what
makes an interesting melody or a cool chord change or a memorable lyric. In the
end I think it’s our voices, combined or alone, that put a personal stamp on
our tunes.

There was another release called
‘Bazooka’ released only on cassette. What can you say about this?

Gary: When I returned from France, we
immediately began recording Bazooka in Jeff’s living room studio. Since we only
had three months before school would start again, we had to do it quickly. John
and Jeff had recently finished recording One in Versailles, so they were
somewhat depleted of songs by that time. Since I had been away for so long, I
had more of a stockpile of material to work with. We started off recording my
songs first while the other guys wrote new songs. Just as before, as soon as we
finished, it was time to go back to school. We were completely tapped out of
money by that time, and couldn’t afford to have the album manufactured. By the
end of the school year, our minds were set on recording our next album, Black
Vinyl Shoes.

What would you say was your influence at
the beginning and do you think your influences changed during the years?

Jeff: Our core influences were initially
most things from the British Invasion of the mid-60’s; Beatles, Stones, The
Who, Kinks, Moody Blues, etc.  But by the
early 1970s other influences like David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), T.Rex, Big Star
and even bands like the Move, ELO, early Elton John (Yellowbrick Road) and
Fleetwood Mac had an impact.  The Beatles
were perhaps, the biggest influence.

You have pretty much a new album out
titled ‘Ignition’. Would you like to present us this album?

John: Well, there’s quite a range of
material on Ignition. There are more crunchy, driving tracks like Head vs.
Heart, Hot Mess and Nobody to Blame; some upbeat folk-rock numbers like The
Joke’s on You and Wrong Idea; the surging psychedelic feel of Sign of Life; the
wistful Maybe Now and the jugging groove of Heaven Help Me. We’ve got a
collaboration called Say It Like You Mean It that has a silky, organic patina
to it, which we all take turns singing lead on. There’s the pensive wordplay of
the hypnotic Where Will It End, the cascading wash of guitars and vocals of the
heartrending Only We Remain and the galloping lilt of the springy I Thought You
Knew. And there are some songs that are a little tougher to categorize, like
the evolving, atmospheric Out of Round and the brittle Diminishing Returns.
There’s almost an hour of music on Ignition and we feel it best represents our
strengths as songwriters and producers.

Was there any different approach as far
as songwriting goes?

Gary: We began the project with a common
understanding that we were making the album for ourselves. There was no concern
about following any particular trend or style, or to cater to any particular
group. We felt an overall freedom to extend our boundaries through
experimentation. Our song structures, themes and lyrical content wandered
somewhat beyond our normal lines, while still staying true to our pop
sensibilities. We felt no pressure to please anyone other than ourselves.

If we go back. Where was your touring
territory at the start when you were still a local band and how did it changed
during years?

Jeff: We have never see ourselves a a
touring band, as our true love is writing and recording in the studio.  It’s where we were born as a band!  But over the years we evolved and started
playing shows.  Mostly in the midwestern
US.  In and around the
Chicago/Milwaukee/Minneapolis/Detroit area. 
But in the early 1990’s we ventured off to the east coast and played
Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC and to the west coast and played
in California in Hollywood, Long Beach and Malibu.  In 2009 we were invited to do a brief tour in
Japan, so we headed over and had a fantastic time!  Now, if the right opportunity arises, we
consider all options to play out.

How would you describe scene from your
town. Were there any good bands worth mentioning?

John: When we began there were mostly just
cover bands in our area, doing radio hits by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bad
Company and KC & the Sunshine Band. But a band that stood out that had a
look and sound all their own was Cheap Trick. They influenced every band in a
50-mile radius at the time. They played the club circuit then and you could
catch them 3 or 4 times a month, if you wanted to make the drive. We
immediately fell under their spell and seeing them in those days gave us the
incentive to construct a live show, which we really hadn’t done yet.

What are some of your future plans?

Gary: We’ll continue to promote Ignition.
We’ve been very busy doing interviews and social media for the past few months.
The reviews have been great so far. There are videos in the works as well.  Reconnecting with our fans has been the best
part of this whole experience. We have been entertaining the possibility of
playing some live shows. Nothing is certain, but anything is possible.

Thanks a lot for taking your time.
Would you like to send a message to It’s Psychedelic Baby readers?

Jeff: First we’d like to thank It’s
Psychedelic for doing this interview! 
But we’d like to reach out to your readers, especially the folks that
lived through those early days of The Beatles and the British Invasion and let
them know that we didn’t forget about them. 
We identify with them and feel that, too often the music industry
ignores older listeners and targets the teeny-boppers, just to try and make a
quick buck.  But we feel that the true
music fans are ageless.  Music transcends
age!  We get the same thrill in writing
and recording now that we did when we first started 35 years ago.  There is nothing as satisfying as hearing a
great song and we will continue to do our best to make and deliver Shoes music
for the fans, because we too, are still huge music fans and feel the rush of
new musical discoveries.  Good music
never gets old!