Summary: Barefoot Hookers Listen closely and you can hear it. You'll feel the earth tremble as it approaches. And finally, when that whiskey-powered locomotive is upon you - you'd better jump in the passing boxcar quick - 'cause that's where the party is. The Bearfoot Hookers hail from Athens, GA, but they're really from smaller towns, like Waycross, where the trains roll through night and day. Their songs tell stories about good times and bad, empty bottles, aching heads, broken hearts, and demons that haunt you at the end of a long night of playing the blues. They're not the next big thing. They're not watching the trends. The Bearfoot Hookers are just four guys playing songs that come from their own experience, giving it all they've got every time they hit the stage, and ready to play 'til the audience goes home or collapses. When asked what kind of music they play, they'll answer "beer drinkin' gospel" and if you don't understand what that is, stick around 'cause the preacher is in the house! Johnny Cash knew what it meant. The Rolling Stones have been there a few times. And a little band of southern boys from Jacksonville, Florida damn sure knew what it was. The Bearfoot Hookers formed in 2003 and promptly produced their debut recording Sweet Pickle Grits as an attempt to capture the energy that was building from their live shows around Athens. An aggressive performance schedule followed and the audiences grew steadily in towns across Georgia. Atlanta's 96 Rock (WKLS FM) was quick to pick up on the track "Sister" and give it play on its Stage 96 show. The Hooker's traveling rock & roll show garnered the attention of New York film director John Nijhawan who followed the band filming 3 Day Drunk, a documentary of the raucous full-on show The Bearfoot Hookers were bringing to their audiences. After a year of playing smoky bars throughout the South and a year's worth of new stories that became songs, they went to Athens' famed Chase Park Transduction to record their second album Life at the Bar in the fall of 2004. Critical acclaim has followed. Just as Life at the Bar was being pressed, Flagpole Magazine selected The Bearfoot Hookers as one of their "Bands to Watch in 2005". Following the album's release, Ghostmeat Records of Athens, GA picked the soulful track "Beggar's Prayer" to be included on the 2005 Athfest Compilation disc. And tracks from both of the Hookers' CDs have been featured on radio stations throughout Georgia and on HoundogRadio.com. And most recently, "I'd Rather Two-Step (than twelve-step)", a new track that is slated for an upcoming third album, was selected to be included on the 2006 Athfest 10th Anniversary Compilation disc. The year 2006 will be a busy one for The Bearfoot Hookers. Now the train has left the station and the Hookers are on board brining "beer drinkin gospel" to those who inhabit the dingy bars that The Bearfoot Hookers call home. It's in those places that honest songs and showmanship still mean something. Here comes the train… get on board.
