22. LIFERS - Jeff Murphy

There are two kinds of pop music. There’s the pop music that wins Grammys and soundtracks teenage Tik-Tok videos. And then there’s the kind of pop music that Zion, Illinois’ SHOES plays: Pop music as a concept. A lost but golden ideal that bears little relation to what “popular” means in the real world. Reality be damned. SHOES would create their own reality. Virtually willing their band into existence, they recorded pop masterpieces on a 4 track recorder in the mid-70s that became the stuff of legend. When the majors came calling, SHOES were ready. But after three albums of seeing how the other half lives, they were dropped by the label and sent back to indie-land. It’s a common experience (boy, is it ever!) —and it’s one that’s broken more than a few bands— but it only made SHOES more resilient. They took their major-label money and built a world class studio in their hometown where they recorded countless bands, produced classic records by Material Issue, played mentor to Local H (who would soon go on to a remarkably similar career path), and somehow found time to make more SHOES records — stellar testaments to a pop reality that only they could’ve created. SHOES are a true American original and we were honored to talk with Jeff Murphy about his band’s history and their hard won ideals. If all this sounds a bit grandiose, don’t worry. It’s the Midwest, so no one’s taking themselves too seriously. This is a looooong episode, but we’re really proud of it. Thank you, Jeff. Shoes Website: https://shoeswire.com/ Local H Tour Dates: www.localh.com/tour.html LIFERS Podcast Mug: www.gandprecords.com/store/p180/The…offee_Mug.html 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s Podcast: @ben-reiser-605654396