Posts Tagged ‘Butch Walker’

There is a good chance that many of you reading this (OK ‘many’ is optimistic of our viewing stats) will be thinking ‘Who is Butch Walker?’, the irony being you may not know his name, but you have almost certainly heard a track he has produced at some point.  Having worked with the likes of Weezer, Pink, Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry, he knows how to twiddle a knob, so to speak.

‘The Spade’ is his second album with ‘The Black Widows’ and is clearly an album put together to enable Butch to tip his cap to the music and bands that have inspired him over the years.

Coming on like a 70s Glam rock throw back, ‘Every Single Body Else’ is a loving homage to T-Rex and shows the ease with which Butch Walker can pen a tune for any genre he chooses.

‘Summer Of ‘89’ is the first single and it is not hard to see why, a glorious autobiographical rocker, with more than a tussled nod back to his hair metal days.  ‘No one knew Bryan Adams wasn’t cool, the TV just told us he was’ nicely sums up that period of your life where what you like Vs what is ‘cool’ is just starting to become important.  As much as you may want to fight it, only the stoniest heart will be able to resist the ‘whoa-whoa’ chorus…. Trust me, Gloria Estefan was right, the rhythm is going to get you.  A summer radio hit, if we still had summers… or radio hits.

The 80s-tastic ‘Synthesizers’ replete with references to Duran Duran and CHiPs is hard to resist especially for those of us of a certain age and is in stark contrast to the ‘Closest Thing To You I’m Gonna Find’ with its more earnest, country tinged feel.   The album gleefully wanders any musical path it chooses, pop, rock, country, glam, take your pick, there is a little of everything here.

Romantic or creepy, you decide! ‘Answering Machine Girl’ is a love song about a message from a wrong number and the infatuation that grows around it.  More charming than it sounds but ladies, dial carefully in future.

This is a good time rock ‘n’ roll record, a certain tongue in cheek humour runs throughout with snippets of ‘behind the scenes’ banter giving the impression this was less work, more play.  Loaded with tunes and an easy charm, it is a timely reminder that rock music can be bloody good fun.

Jules says….

Find out more about Butch Walker HERE.

This week Kodiak Jack drummer and Tape2Tape contributer Matt got to chat to writer, producer, singer song writer, front man, lead guitarist and all round good egg, Butch Walker.

As Matt loves getting elbow deep in cock rock, and with Butch’s beginings being in hair metal out fit Southgang back in the late 80′s there was no better question to ask….well maybe there was but this is definately a good one.

In true rock n roll style, Butch showed a blatant disregard for the rules and gave us his Top 10!

The full interview will follow, keep checking back or follow us on Twitter or Facebook (click the logos on the right) for instant updates on new posts!

Butch Walkers Website:
Pre-Order the new album:
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/butchwalker

Musical renaissance man Butch Walker has confirmed the August 30 release of ‘The Spade,’ his debut album for Dangerbird Records. An adrenaline-pumping blast of hook-fueled rock and roll, ‘The Spade’ features 10 new tracks written by Walker and his longtime bandmates The Black Widows: Fran Capitanelli on lead and rhythm guitar, Jake Sinclair on bass and backing vocals, Chris Unck on rhythm guitar. The album was recorded in Venice, CA and also features Butch’s friend Patrick Keeler of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes on drums. An avid Tumblr user, Walker will be the first musician to be featured in the social network’s Tumblr Tuesdays post, which goes to all 16 million users. He’ll exclusively premiere the first single “Summer of 89″ on his Tumblr page recently.

Check out Butch’s page and listen to the song here….

The record showcases Walker’s sharp lyrical wit and unbridled affection for the anthemic pop of his youth. From first single “Summer of 89″ (where he sings ” Nobody really knew Bryan Adams wasn’t cool / The TV just told me he was”) to “Synthesizers” (“I don’t have a synthesizer / I can still get down like Duran Duran in 1985″), the album is full of knowing winks, half-cocked smiles, and monster sing-alongs. Walker writes with a boozy swagger, leading his band through what sounds like the soundtrack to the world’s greatest house party.

Walker has produced hits and written songs for some of the biggest names in music today, including Katy Perry, Weezer, Pink, and Avril Lavigne. He was named Producer of the Year by Rolling Stone and performed alongside Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks at The Grammys. Walker’s latest album, ‘I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart,’ earned sterling reviews, with Rolling Stone calling him “one of America’s best singer-songwriters” and the LA Times calling it a “reaffirmation of the pleasures of witty phrasing and a perfect chorus.”

This fall, Butch Walker will release a collection of behind-the-scenes tales of his life in music via William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins. More details about the book and Butch Walker and the Black Widows tour dates will be announced soon.

Butch Walker—“One Of America’s Best Singer-Songwriters” (Rolling Stone)

Go To Butch’s Tumblr Page Today To Hear First Single “Summer Of 89″: http://bit.ly/bTlVoV

Butch Walker is also set to release a collection of behind-the-scenes tales of his life in music later in the year via William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins

Butch Walker on the Web:
http://www.butchwalker.com
http://www.facebook.com/butchwalker
http://www.twitter.com/butchwalker
http://www.youtube.com/user/butchwalker
http://dangerbirdrecords.com