Tennis Shoes
Decker Velie and Bill Gamble started writing music together in the 1980s when they made an album marrying “classic” folk music with rhythm-driven inspirations like the Police and the Cars.
The album was produced by multi-instrumentalist and writer Bill Barber, of Grammy nominee Flim and BB’s fame. It was recorded in Minneapolis at Sound 80, one of the most innovative studios in the country at that time having worked with Bob Dylan, Leo Kottke and Cat Stevens, as well as artists in virtually every other genre.
Decker went on to a successful career in music production, while Bill started a business and lived in several countries in Europe. Both of them, however, remained ever committed to music: Gamble as a classical and jazz musician, Decker as a prolific songwriter.
And while they have collaborated on a variety of songs through the years, their band took an extended break: until now. Both in Minneapolis, they recently returned to the studio and recorded these songs, their signature mix of pretty melodies, folky love stories, and offbeat cultural semiotics on full display.
Decker and Gamble share in their songs a passionate belief that a good story with a melody is sometimes just what we need.
Decker Velie spends most of his musical time as an acoustic guitar oriented songwriter. Decker spent his early years in a variety of bands down in Georgia during the height of the southern rock era. Since those days he has written for everything from children’s songs to commercials to live shows including Sesame Street Live. He now lives with his wife Bonnie in Minneapolis and south of Savannah.
Bill Gamble enjoys playing and writing a variety of musical genres. After studying composition and piano performance at Dartmouth College, he began an international business career, living in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In addition to Decker and Gamble, he has played in
Trio with Tony Glover and Galen Michaelson
Wild Bill and the Arkanauts, an Old Country band with musicians including Benny Weinbeck and Cierra Hill.
Bill lives in Minnesota with his family.
Thank you for listening.
Tennis Shoes Download Links