Review Text
The Slewfoot Project. Americana before the genre technically existed. Back when we started, we called it folk-rock-jam-pop-alt/country. The music you hold in your hands is an accurate reflection of our influences as four disparate backgrounds converge to make Slewfoot music. This 10-song collection is the culmination of 3+ years of writing and performing and was recorded live over two nights in October of 2000, at Cool Beans coffeehouse in Oradell, NJ. The origins of The Slewfoot Project can be traced back to 1996 with an informal agreement on the part of Bryan and Billy to add their talents to a recording session for a handful of folk songs Kevin and drummer Tom Fisher had been playing in local coffee houses, cafes and bars of northern NJ/NY. An open invitation was extended to join the live act and we continued on, unnamed (or as Kevin & Friends), through the cassette release party in 1997 for "Inside the Rain" at Frantik cafe/gallery in Tappan, NY. It was around this time when Kurt, who was running the kitchen at Frantik, began to jam with the group during his breaks/nights off. Kurt's edge was an agreeable compliment to the group's sound and soon we were gigging regularly with him as a member. It was at this point that the loose collection of songs began to take on more of a focus and concentrating on original material became increasingly more important. Our regular (seemingly weekly) gigs at the Coffee Dog Cafe in Harrington Park, NJ allowed us many opportunities to jam and work up new material in a live setting. The Slewfoot moniker soon followed, as well as a faithful legion of regular fans. Somewhere along the way we lost Tom but we still had the appropriate accompaniment for our acoustic-based music with Billy's wall of percussion instruments. Unfortunate circumstances led to the closing of our unofficial home base, the Coffee Dog. Following this, we continued to gig regularly at various locations throughout the area but soon found another "home" at Cool Beans coffeehouse. It was at Cool Beans where we attracted regular crowds and ultimately found a room suitable to document some of our songs. This is a live recording and, although there are some miscues, we selected songs that we feel capture the spirit of those nights. Who knows what the future may hold.... We Hope you dig it! Kevin Cubberly - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica Bryan Schmidt - Bass Guitar Bill Scalzitti - Percussion Kurt Stahl - Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals, lead Vocals on The Firelight.
