Producer, songwriter, solo artist extraordinaire Butch Walker sits down to discuss his new album LETTERS, what his fans mean to him and Elvis Costello Tattoos.
Currently out on tour with American Hi Fi and Val Emmich, Butch Walker brings his new album Letters (In stores August 24th) to the stage with a unique blend of raw emotion, rockin good times, and intimate crowd singalongs. Who knew you could get all of that in one show! His set consists mostly of songs from the new album, a few from his first solo release “Left of Self-Centered”, a fun cover with shared vocals, and he even pulls a few Marvelous 3 songs out of the vault. (One being my all time favorite Cigarette Lighter Love Song.) I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about American Hi Fi backing Butch as his band since I’m also a huge Hi Fi fan but it was such a natural chemistry and worked better than I ever could have dreamed. It was nice to see Stacy back on drums again too. I hadn’t even thought about that little bonus.
Before the show Butch took some time out of his hectic day to sit down with me and answer a few questions. Big thanks to him! He was very sincere and as always - hilarious. it was an honor and a privilege.~Mary
Interviewed by: Mary Ouellette | August 2004
It was cool, actually, I was out in L.A. doing the new American Hi Fi record with them, producing it. We got along so well and we wanted to do the record. We wanted to have fun and get a new record out for those guys because they have a large following in Japan and a record deal on Universal Japan so I went in the studio with them and we banged out a bunch of songs that sounded great. One night Stacy and I were out having drinks at a bar and we were planning a tour together in the States, like a band tour where he and I would go out together with our bands. I didn’t have a band put together because I did the whole record mostly by myself or with friends back home in Atlanta that were already in bands so Stacy was just like (he might have had a little bit of a buzz) “Well we’ll back you up” and I was like I’m gonna write that down so that when you’re sober tomorrow you know that you said it. So I held them to it, and that’s why they have to play two sets in one night.
Well, it doesn’t always work everywhere because I don’t know if there’s going to be a lot of fans to make it happen but a lot of times at the end of the night I play this one song unplugged (literally) and I do it out in the crowd with everyone. It’s a personal song and it just ends up being something that I feel better singing with everybody instead of up on the mic. It feels too cheesy doing it up on the mic even though it might seem cheesy doing it in the crowd. It just feels more personal and I like to have that little connection with them.
I have to feel it out. Sometimes I don’t play it at all.
Yeah me too!
I agree. Well I really really wanted it to be a more emotive record. I didn’t want it to be so tongue in cheek and ironic because I feel like I kind of wore that out. I just feel like I might have gotten burned on that aspect, everything being so cynical and not ever necessarily saying things from the heart but from the head. I always feel like I felt it. Maybe when I was being cynical or ironic or sarcastic or whatever you may call it (or mad or sad or glad) I just maybe pushed it hard. On this record I feel that the way I did it was just a little bit more natural. I just sat around and wrote these songs and wanted to record them mostly live. I don’t know why, I just feel that these are more personal songs. I know that’s a cliché but that’s probably the best way that I can describe it is the record is just less gimmick and it is more personal.
I did have a song called Best Thing You Never Had and that ended up making the new record. I never recorded it worth a damn so I ended up getting it right and putting it on this new record because it goes over live so well.
I don’t know, I’m a little frightened because I haven’t been able to write a song in a long time. I think I’ve actually forgotten how to do it because I’ve drained the well.
No no, it’ll come back..it just comes and goes. The thing is, when I end up doing a record I get in a mode where somehow this creative portal opens up and I’m able to do it. It’s unpredictable as to when it might happen so I have to have a guitar or a piano close by at all times. Lots of times it just comes from a melody. I don’t sit around and say “I want to write a song about this scenario”. For some reason a guitar progression or a piano progression or a chorus idea or a melody just sparks something that becomes a catalyst for a memory or a feeling about something that you’ve gone through or that someone’s going through - it’s really strange how that works. It’s a bizarre science meets art thing.
Yeah?
Well, there is a real Joan. It’s based on a true story but it’s probably based on a lot of people’s story. I try to keep it more open than that. I left it open for a lot of people because a lot of times people come up to me after the shows or a woman will come up to me after a show and will be like “I was that girl” or “My mom was that girl” and that’s pretty heavy.
Oh I do! All the ones you mentioned are my favorites – the whole record’s my favorite! (jokingly) I like playing so many of them live. Joan is a favorite but I don’t necessarily play it live because it has to be the right audience. Sometimes I will play it, sometimes I won’t. I really like Best Thing You Never Had but there’s a lot of songs that I’m into.
Yeah it’s very important. I’ve been on enough labels to not be selfish and realize that they don’t always do everything and have your fans in mind at all. I think it takes at least to have been through a couple of bad record deals to realize that sometimes the fans are all that you have at the end of the day so I want to respect them and respect what they want.
Yeah we have the lifers!
It mostly just happened by them liking the stuff I had done for my own group. I didn’t have the reputation for producing any big records. People just called and said “Hey we like the stuff you did for Marvelous 3” or whatever. Some people just wanted the songwriting help from just liking my songwriting, so I thought that was kind of nice. I won’t do it if I don’t like the people. If they’re not cool and they’re not friends that I can hang out with and talk regular shit with.
There’s so many. One of these days, before I die I need to do an Elvis Costello record because I’ve got him tattooed on my arm. It’s the least I can do. I’ll probably spazz out and be a total geek.
No never. That’s why I got into this in the first place was to give me a balance from touring because I toured so much growing up that I burned myself out. I felt like, I’m not going to quit, I just need a break from it. What am I going do in the meantime and producing was just something that sort of came to me naturally.
I think I have to find time for both. It’s the only balance that’s ever made me happy for a chemically imbalanced person.
Butch Walker’s official Website
American Hi-Fi’s official Website
