Pete Francis to 'Wake the Mountain'

(Left to right) Andy Wrba, Wayno, Garrett Duffy, Will Evans, Pete Francis and Jay Driscoll (Credit: Gasper Chiaramonte)

It's pretty much standard protocol for young bands to cover the work of their influences. However, it's rare that one of those ensembles then finds itself in the position of playing, recording and touring with one of the artists who helped shape their sound.

However, thanks to a mutual acquaintance in producer/engineer Jack Gauthier, up-and-coming roots-rock band Barefoot Truth caught the attention of Pete Francis, one of their main influences and a prominent figure in the jam band and college rock scenes thanks to his work with Dispatch.

"(Gauthier) told me about the Barefoot Truth guys, told me they were great guys, and then I heard the music and I thought it was very cool," Francis recently recalled. "They had been working a lot on their own, kind of doing similar stuff to what Dispatch did when we began as a band, playing a lot of prep school shows, college shows, and over the years they've just gotten to be a really good band, they've gotten tighter and tighter."

Francis produced Barefoot Truth's 2006 EP "Clubhouse Sessions," and the singer/songwriter joined forces with the band for "Wake the Mountain," an EP released this month, as well as a supporting tour that will come to the Saint in Asbury Park on Saturday (March 14) and will feature takes on Dispatch, Barefoot Truth and solo Francis material.

"I think these guys are just growing at an incredible rate and they put on a great live show, and so it's just really cool to bring my tunes and see how they interpret my tunes and also how I can sprinkle a little magic dust on theirs," said Francis. Francis, along with Barefoot Truth drummer/singer Will Evans and guitarist Jay Driscoll, recently spoke to Metromix Jersey Shore.

Jay, can you tell me a bit about the influence that Pete and Dispatch may have had on Barefoot Truth when you guys were first starting out?
Jay Driscoll: When Will and I first started playing together, we actually listened to different music. I was actually into Dispatch more and he was into some more classic rock stuff. But, I was a bit of a Dispatch, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews fan and we started jamming a lot on those kind of tunes and a lot of the Dispatch songs, and then we were playing at bars and things like that, doing those covers and a couple of our own.

Then, (in 2004) we went up to the Hatch Shell (in Boston), Dispatch's last show, and that's where we met the other two guys in (Dispatch) actually, Chad (Urmston) and Brad (Corrigan), which was just cool, and they were the ones that connected us to Jack ... and we've kind of been crossing paths with Pete along the past few years, a few different shows and things like that, and it's really cool for us to get to play with one of the guys who inspired us to get together and play.

The new EP feels very laid back and relaxed. What was the process or writing and recording the record like?
Will Evans: It was, in fact, very laid back. We were kind of learning the songs as we were in the studio, and we did it in three days, so we pretty much did all of the music live, and actually a couple of the tunes were entirely just "push record" and we just went. We wanted to kind of keep that vibe, you know, a very live kind of feel and experimenting with each other's songs and stuff.

Pete, how is it, after putting out several solo albums, to be working with this band in a full-band setting and revisiting Dispatch material?
Pete Francis: Oh, it's cool, because these guys have heard the Dispatch tunes for a while now, so they kind of have their take on it, and it's great. Will goes back and forth with me and we trade some verses, and it's really cool to see how he takes a verse, and then it's the same with the guitar parts and the bass parts. You know, working on Dispatch tunes kind of brings the songs to life in a whole different way.

Will, how has it been playing the old Dispatch tunes with Pete and bringing your own kind of style and your own touches to the table?
WE: Oh, it's cool. I picked up so many of Brad's harmonies and drumming styles and stuff; it's difficult to break way from that a lot of times because you get something so ingrained in your head, but I'm trying as much as I can to be authentic and original with it and just splash my little love all over it.

Pete, as someone who's headlined and sold out Madison Square Garden, how does it feel to go out on these intimate club runs?
PF: Well, it feels great. I love playing and you know, Madison Square Garden, of course, was extraordinary, but playing gigs and playing for people who are psyched to hear the music and people who want to dance is really the best feeling in the world for me, to play music. So, it feels great, actually; these intimate settings just give it kind of a cozy vibe and I feel like something's alive and growing and emerging.

You end the EP with a really strong cover of a Dylan tune, "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)." What do you think goes into picking the ideal Dylan cover?
WE: I think we just wanted to have something with a very kind of revolving chorus line, because we all wound up singing on that; at the end, we went back and all threw our voices back on it and some stomping and clapping and stuff. It just kind of was the capstone of what we were trying to go for with the EP, because we were having a good time, and that's what we hope to do with this whole tour. Hopefully, people will get that from our shows, that we're having as much fun as they are, and hopefully they are having fun.