The Bearfoot Hookers
Sweet Pickle Grits
© 2003 The Bearfoot Hookers (801655084724)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
Beer Drinkin' Gospel
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
Recommended if you like ...
links
notes
Band Bio
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, Georgia, but they're really from smaller towns, like Waycross, where the trains roll through night and day. Their music is full of 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 deep inside, giving 110% 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 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, Georgia picked the soulful track "Beggar's Prayer" to be included on the 2005 Athfest Compilation disc. And tracks from both of the Hooker's CDs have been featured on radio stations throughout Georgia and on HoundogRadio.com, a Stone Moutain, GA based web-cast station which also broadcast a live interview with the band in September 2005.
Now the train has left the station and the Hookers are out on the road playing their songs just like before, but with a new intensity and a new desire... not to kiss the ass of some suit with a record label, but to preach the gospel to the people who inhabit dingy bars the Hookers call home. Those folks are out there now raisin' their glasses high and shouting "Hell Yeah" all night long. Life at the Bar is not just a title, it's a way of life. Here it comes... get on board...
Hookers In The Press...
Macon Telegraph, Macon, GA
November 18, 2005
Gig Guide, by Dan Malley
"This country-rock band from Athens might be taking its motto of "beer-drinkin' gospel" a little too seriously. These honky-tonk evangelists promise to baptize a youngster during tonight's show. Think twice, mama. Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys or Hookers. These guys pass around a bottle of Jack Daniels during shows and sing tunes like "I'd Rather Two-Step than 12-Step." This will be the Hookers' fourth gig in Macon in as many months. The locals are beginning to see the light - through bloodshot eyes."
The Eleventh Hour, Macon, GA
November 16, 2005
"This is one of our favorite bands that come through Macon. Beer drinking gospel, good time religion, locking jaws with traditional country, rock and roll. You'd expect them to come riding up in a '57 Chevy, with old amps, pedal steels and nearly rotten boots. They can create a whiskey slinging, dancing, throw your hat on the floor and stomp on it kind of party within minutes of arriving too."
AMPED, Macon Telegraph Music Blog, Macon, GA
September 4, 2005
Georgia Boys Gone Wild, by Maggie Large
"Pretty much all you need to know about The Bearfoot Hookers is that they are the kind of band that passes around a bottle of Jack Daniels during their show. If bar bands were on one side of the railroad tracks and honky-tonks were on the other, the Hookers would be the hobos inside the freight train boxcar."
Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA
July 19, 2005
Review of Life at the Bar, by Michael Andrews
"The Bearfoot Hookers are becoming the little bar band that could... [playing] country-influenced rock that harkens back to when the Allmans were young and reckless and "outlaw" was a new, hip way to describe an independent breed of country performer."
Morgan County Citizen, Madison, GA
July 14, 2005
It's a good "Life at the Bar" for Hookers
by Brooke Hatfield
"For some hipsters, there is a stigma attached to any act associated with Southern rock. But in this age of irony and emo, four guys who just want to take some shots and take to the stage to play some "beer drinkin' gospel" is revolutionary. And believe me, the Bearfoot Hookers like beer."
Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA
February 16, 2005
Wild, Wooly, Lonesome, and Local, by Michael Andrews
"In fact, if there were a grading scale of what makes a consummate bar band, the Hookers would excel with flying colors."
Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA
December 29, 2004
Bands to Watch in 2005, by Michael Andrews
"On Sweet Pickle Grits, released earlier this year, the Bearfoot Hookers come off as a fiery combination of the Bottle Rockets, Southern-rock-greats Wet Willie and the David Allen Coe "dirty" albums (minus the racism and homophobia, but not the good-natured misogyny). In Athens, terms, the rowdy four-piece recklessly wobbles along with the same torch previously carried by such warts-'n'-all performers as Redneck GReece and the Drive-By Truckers. With an impressive debut under their belt, a consistent performing schedule and the new album Life at the Bar about ready, the Hookers will likely pick up steam in '05. (That is, barring any AA interventions or bizarre religious conversions derailing this whiskey-powered locomotive.)"
Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA
September 8, 2004
Threats & Promises, by Gordon Lamb
"With this release the band hopes to shake the "funny country label". While I wish them well, that label will probably continue to stick if they keep their name."
Reply from The Bearfoot Hookers...
Dear Gordon... Thanks for your kind comments. We know that in our beloved city of Athens its a rare thing to find a band that has both a sense of humor and the ability to rock your fuckin' ass off. Guess there just ain't enough "stare at the ground" pained artists around. We'd love to see you at one of our shows to prove that while we are damn serious about our music, we love to have a good time too. Rock on brother!
Athens Banner Herald, Athens, GA
September 1, 2004
On the Record Player, by Carla LeFever
"Ty Manning and his band of merry men have just finished recording at Chase Park and I've got a copy! This band is full of fun, raunch and roll. Add a tablespoon of country, a dash of funk, an alligator and a cold beer and you've got the Bearfoot Hookers."