- Welcome to the OFFICIAL 'Sneaker' FanSite -
- Part of the West Coast Music Network! -Perhaps no other band eptomized the true meaning of West Coast Music,
and was as underrated, as Sneaker was in the early '80s.
So influenced by Steely Dan, the Band actually adopted their name from The Dan's "Bad Sneakers" track from Katy Lied. Above this, they actually take a crack at the Fagen/Becker penned "Don't Let Me In" and hit a homer right off the bat, putting the track as the 1st cut on their Debut Album and setting the stage for the rest of the fantastic original material to come.
Produced by (Now U.S. Defense Consultant) Jeffrey "Skunk" Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan), none of the tracks come off as being afterthoughts, making listening top to bottom enjoyable.
One particular shining example is "Jaymes", a soulful ballad written for
David Foster's sister Jaymes, featuring a tremendous vocal performance
by Mitch Crane-- half of the band's lead vocal and song writing tandem--
as well as a stunning Sax solo courtesy of Lon Price and
Mr. Foster himself on Clavinet.
The debut album also includes the band's top 40 hit "More Than Just
The Two Of Us" showcasing the piano and soaring vocals of the great
Michael Carey Schneider.
Their Sophmore effort (Loose in the World) is equally enjoyable and features the same Cast and Producer.
The band has also released a live recording from the "Loose" tour circa 1982 (Footprints in Japan) and an album of demos and other previously unreleased material (Early On).
It is wonderful to hear these competent musicians at the top of their form on these tracks-- a quality woefully lacking in more recent "music"--
Please enjoy our Sneaker FanSite!
Cool Slideshows
Visit Mitch Crane and Jim King at:
Sneaker - Live In Japan. 1982
The Sneaker line-up, Japan Tour 1982