One Foot In is a Southern California-based acoustic folk, rock, blues (and more) combo playing original songs. What sets these guys apart is the songs and how they approach them. With guitars, bass, mandolin, banjo, keyboard, drums, and occasionally supplemented by fiddle, harmonica and more, this band cooks up everything from gumbo through bluesy rock to corn pone - one minute poignant, the next tickling your funny bone. "Eclectic" is an overused word these days, but we can't do without it here.
Think the following and you should be in the ballpark: John Prine and The Band gather to try some CSN harmonies, travel through New Orleans, then down a spooky southern mud road, emerge into a Hee Haw cornfield, encounter creepy crawlers and cheatin' women; ending with redemption. folk-pop-rock-blues-country and more.
Come on over - with both feet.
One Foot In is a flexible collection which plays in trio, quartet and quintet configurations. Trio members Russ Lewark, Michael R. Gardner and Jeff Newell are joined by Kevin Gore to form the quartet, then by drummer Clayton Scott for the larger unit.
One Foot In has been performing around Southern California for about seven years, emphasizing multi-part harmonies and original material. With its varied instrumentationguitars (6 and 12-string), mandolin, bass, Dobro, keyboard and banjo (plus drums when a quintet)the group delivers a palette ranging from folk to pop, rock, blues, country and more ("FoPoRoBluCo"). Roots and Roll.
Russ, whose performing history extends back to his time with the celebrated Buffalo Nickel Jug Band and beyond, brings with him the traditions of jug band, folk, old-time finger-pickin' blues and mountain music, plus his own songwriting style and more instruments than you can count.
Michael's background is more in the singer-songwriter tradition, and he works to bring blues, country, folk, rock and other material to the group. Having avoided live performance until the late 1990s, Michael found himself hooked right away on playing before live audiences.
Jeff's musical history has taken him through rock, country rock and folk rock bands, playing all around the United States in the process. Jeff has built a fine digital home recording studio, where he serves as engineer as well as musician. Jeff engineered One Foot In’s first CD entitled “Best Foot Forward”, and is just finishing a new CD of original material entitled “Songbook”, due for release in Summer of 2006.
Kevin Gore plays piano, banjo and mandolin for One Foot In. Kevin has been an in-demand musician on the west coast for many years. He has toured throughout the west playing music festivals and concerts in rock, country and bluegrass bands. He is also a successful studio musician, having credits playing on CD, video, TV and movie projects.
Clayton Scott plays drums for One Foot In as well as lending his vast experience in arrangement, recording and mixing. Originally from Canada, he now resides full-time in Southern California. Clayton delivered drums on nearly all the tracks of “Songbook”, One Foot In’s latest effort (for release in the summer of 2006). He also lent his fluency in the French language to the first track of the new CD, “Oo La La.”
One Foot In has opened shows for B. J. Thomas, Katy Moffatt, Lowen and Navarro, Cecilio & Kapono, Rick Shay, and others, and has performed on stages such as The Coach House, Galaxy Concert Theater, Coffee Gallery Backstage, Martini Blues, The Marine Room, Fret House, McCabes Guitar Shop, Boulevard Music, Living Tradition Folk Series in Anaheim, along with a wide variety of Southern California festivals, bookstores, coffee houses and other assorted venues.
Love playing live.
Bob Dylan, John Prine, James Taylor, Everly Brothers, the Eagles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Neil Young, Lowen & Navarro, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Kenny Edwards, John Fogerty, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Severin Browne, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Led Zepplin, David Roth, Sloan Wainwright, Steve Earle, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash, Lowell George, Eric Clapton, Mortimer Snerd
Acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, keyboards, acoustic & electric bass, drums, harmonica, fiddle, dobro
Michael and Jeff are both members of the JPF (Just Plain Folks) chapter in Orange County, CA