Birth of A Band, The Record Deal and The Making of 'Present Tense'

With nothing more than their love of melodic, guitar-driven, rock music and the will to be in a band, three friends from a small mid-western town in Illinois; John Murphy, Gary Klebe and Jeff Murphy started their band; SHOES before any of them even knew how to play an instrument. Raised on the pop/rock inspiration of the British Invasion and Chicago's vibrant AM radio of their childhood, they not only taught themselves how to play their instruments and write songs, they also learned how to record and produce themselves, as well as manufacture and release their recordings on vinyl. They ended up signing a major-label record deal and having videos on MTV and VH-1. Getting their start during the early days of the Do-It-Yourself, home-recording renaissance of the 1970's, SHOES went from recording in their living room to recording their major-label debut in England at the legendary Manor Studio, with Queen's production alumnus; Michael Stone as their co-producer. They eventually built and ran their own recording studio and indie record label. With a musical career that now spans more than 40 years, this book documents the band's inception, through the process of recording that first major-label album; 'Present Tense'. This 40th Anniversary re-release edition includes a new Epilogue that expands on the years since that release. It's a 'behind-the -music' peek at how they did it and what they went through along the way. In a testament to their common bond, they remain close friends and are still musically active, today.