Drexel and the Bootleggers

Drexel Baker III was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. As a young man Drexel roamed all over the US and even to Australia, moving from scene to scene seeking inspiration. Along the way he performed and recorded with the likes of Ken Coomer (Wilco), Audley Freed (Black Crowes), Skeeter Thompson (Scream), and Ben Mize (Counting Crows), but not until he moved to New York City did he begin to mine these experiences and record the songs he had been writing all his journey.

Traveling between New York and Arkansas Drexel constructed his sophomore release, Green Sky, with the help of up-and-coming producer Mark Turrigiano (Ingrid Michaelson). Multi-instrumentalists Geoff Curran, Charles Wyrick, Jason Weinheimer, and other friends filled out the collective that eventually became known as the Bootleggers.

The much used term indie has become too watered down to define a performer or a sound any longer, but if we may return to one of the original meanings of the term as it pertains to music, it fits perfectly in this instance. Drexel and the 12 songs that comprise Green Sky follow in the independent traditions set forth by artists such as Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Paul Westerberg expressing outside ideas and attitudes through familiar rock rhythms.