2 (Barefoot Servants)
No matter what type of music you listen to or where in the world you live, you've probably heard or seen one or another of the Barefoot Servants.  Individually (and collectively as Barefoot Servants) Jon Butcher, Ben Schultz, Leland Sklar and Neal Wilkinson have provided music and music production for some of the world’s most important and notable artists. In their roles as producers, touring musicians, song writers, recording artists and composers, Barefoot Servants have been involved with artists and projects such as: Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Don  Henley, Phil Collins, Belinda Carlisle, B.B. King, James Taylor, Mike + The Mechanics, Cher, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Robert Plant, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Joe Cocker, Randy Newman, American Idol, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Hughleys, and HBO’s Deadwood. The Servants were formed in 1993 as an idea hatched by guitarists Jon Butcher and Ben Schultz. Having been introduced to legendary bass player Lee Sklar by a mutual friend, the studio veterans (along with session drummer Ray Brinker) began recording their debut CD, Barefoot Servants, at Capitol Records Studio A in Hollywood, CA. The CD was released in 1994 to critical and commercial success. Having completed one US tour in support of the first CD, life intervened and the Servants became the victims of their own individual success. Barefoot Servants found themselves eyeball deep in other artists album projects, commercial film projects, network television and international concert touring for the next 10 years. Then in 2004, Ben, Lee and Jon reconvened around an unrelated studio project and as luck would have it, the camaraderie was still there. Enlisting ace studio musician and drummer Neal Wilkinson to round out the quartet, Barefoot Servants were re-born and back in the studio to record the follow-up to its highly regarded debut CD. Simply titled Barefoot Servants 2, the new disc picks up where the first CD left off but surpasses it in terms of sonic quality and song writing maturity. The Servants took full advantage of time and resources to record more than 30 songs over an 18 month period. Recorded at Barefoot Sound Studios, Servants 2 is a classic mixture of all of the coolest influences which have characterized the Servants individually for more than a decade. Barefoot Servants, along with artists such Prince, have elected to primarily self-distribute their new CD, making it available at their own web site(www.barefootservants.net), performaances and sites like Amazon.com. Jon says, “We’ve decided that we’re done with handing over the lion’s share of sales to major corporations.  It’s an old way of doing business that makes no sense from an artist’s point of view.” Released by independent ATOM Records, Barefoot Servants 2 is the best of nouveau-classic rock, presented in a trend-setting format certain to engage any listener from yesterday to today. The band plans to tour in 2006, with “An Acoustic Evening with Jon Butcher” performances scheduled for the U.S. and Canada beginning in summer 2005. These shows will not only feature Barefoot  Servants songs, but songs from Jon’s entire career. Joining Jon at these performances will be multi-instrumentalist and fellow Servant Ben Schultz. Barefoot Servants inject a breath of fresh air into today’s music climate. They aren’t afraid to embrace the past but have made an album which takes them into uncharted waters. Get it. And listen for yourself.