Jeff Murphy is best known as the guitarist and singer with the seminal power pop band Shoes. While Shoes received positive press and sold reasonably well, they were reluctant to tour, which prevented them from scoring a breakthrough hit. After Shoes parted ways with the Elektra label, they recorded at Short Order Recorder, a facility in their native Zion, Illinois; Murphy helped manage the studio and produced other artists. Shoes continued to release albums through their Black Vinyl label, while Murphy kept busy as a producer, working with Material Issue, the Sneetches, the Squares, and Herb Eimerman. In 2006, Murphy published a memoir about Shoes' rise to the spotlight. The following year, he rediscovered home recording and cut his first solo album, Cantilever. ~ Mark Deming