Alternative reggae band Bare Feet has been rocking out at San Luis Obispo Brewing Company (SLO Brew) for four years now, and are finally becoming regular headliners.
Opening for bigger bands taught Bare Feet quite a bit, Leif Garrovillas, one of the band’s bassists, guitarists and vocalists said. He said they gained experience and looked to see how the bigger bands handled certain situations.
“The support from everyone we work with and our fans drives us to keep going,” Garrovillas said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have anything to work for.”
Bare Feet consists of Cal Poly alumnus Garrovillas, Jacob Rocha (guitar/vocals/bass), Justin Davidson (guitar/vocals/bass), Nathan Towne (guitar/keyboard) and Chris Racz (drums). Garrovillas said all the members are songwriters.
The band is no stranger to SLO; all five band members went to school together back in Orcutt. Now Garrovillas works as the assistant events coordinator for SLO Brew, he said.
Garrovillas graduated from Cal Poly this past June with a bachelors degree in graphic communication. Last year, Garrovillas worked as the music supervisor for Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), booking bands — though he wasn’t allowed to book himself.
Garrovillas said his major has probably helped with the band a lot, as well as his work with ASI. Being a music supervisor allowed him to make a lot of useful connections, he said.
“College is great for musicians because you get to meet other musicians and network,” Garrovillas said.
Jacob Rocha is currently attending Cuesta College. He said the public relations aspect of his major has helped him with Bare Feet and networking. He said as a band they meet a lot of people.
Rocha was the one to come up with the name Bare Feet, he said. It was before their first show, a high school talent show, when he came up with the name.
“I just said it,” he said. “We thought about changing it, but people like it because it’s original.”
Rocha said the name was appropriate because their sound is very stripped down, saying it had “no shoes and no socks.”
Bare Feet has a big reggae influence because Rocha said that’s what the band started out playing. Now, however, the band has gone for a more alternative rock sound, with a little bit of funk and jazz influence, he said.
“We got it all,” Rocha said.
Garrovillas said he’s been playing and singing since he was young. He said he met Rocha and Davidson in the fifth grade and the three have been in a band since they were 16 years old.
“It helped to have Davidson and Rocha with me to keep it going,” Garrovillas said. “Otherwise, I would have gone a different route.”
In the future, Garrovillas said he expects Bare Feet to be spreading their music and touring. He also hopes to be making music the way Bare Feet likes it.
“We want to expand our music as much as we can while staying as original as possible,” Garrovillas said.
In the past, Bare Feet has had a slow growth, Rocha said. He hopes things will pick up a bit and spread out.
“We want to grow with SLO and the Cal Poly community,” Rocha said.
John Towne, general manager of Bare Feet (and Nathan Towne’s older brother), decided to manage the band because he believes Bare Feet has great potential. He said at first, it was just his little brother in a band having fun playing with his friends. Now, however, he said Bare Feet has grown into a “really good-sounding band.”
Towne graduated from Cal Poly in 2009 with a bachelors degree in business administration. He said he concentrated in management and technology, which allowed him to get a broad aspect of business. He said the entrepreneurship classes he took help him the most now.
“A lot of things I learned in class was theory that I put into practice now,” Towne said.
As for the future, Towne hopes Bare Feet will put out a full-length album soon and land a record deal. He said in a few years Bare Feet will be around more, doing more shows all over California.
“The sky’s the limit for these guys,” Towne said. “In a couple of years you’re going to see a bunch of rock stars come out of the Central Coast.”
Bare Feet recently released a self-titled EP and are working to put it up on iTunes. Their song and video “Revolutionaries” can be found on YouTube.
Bare Feet headlines at SLO Brew on July 27 with Santa Cruz-based reggae rock band Thrive. Tickets for the all-ages show are available in advance for $10 and $12 at the door with doors opening at 7:30 p.m.