This early dedication to the instrument was rewarded soon after as John
demonstrated enough discipline to inherit his grandfather’s 1930s
Dobro. This was a defining moment, now armed with a sense of linage and
total commitment John began to define his own voice on the instrument
via experimentation with open tunings and a gumbo of musical influences
from Celtic folk to Indian ragas and from blues to reggae. John
absorbed all of these until he was able to translate them through his
own instrumental voice and he began to perform his own music busking in
front of large crowds at the Fremantle markets.
Demand
for recorded versions of these early instrumentals became so great that
John realised the need to produce his first release. Completely self
funded, it would indicate the shape of John’s career from the outset.
‘Searching for Heritage’ released on tape in 1996 sold three and a half
thousand copies and enabled John to fund his first CD recording. These
early lessons of the demand for live energy on a recording and the
importance of artistic independence, re-investment, and a consistent
work ethic came so naturally to John that they only served to reinforce
his belief that this was the only way to conduct his career. John
continued to work hard on both performing and developing the next part
of his musical palette, a merger between his instrumental voice and
singing voice. Inspired by pivotal moments along the way such as a Jeff
Lang or a Tony McManus concert, John’s vocals and lyrics became further
inter-locked with his guitar and songwriting completing the puzzle and
revealing an inspired and energetic picture.
RECORDED YEARS
In 1998, the first incarnation of the John Butler Trio launched ‘John
Butler/ Self Titled’ followed in 2000/1 by the EP ‘Pickapart’, both
were well received and the track ‘Pickapart’ was added to high rotation
on national youth broadcaster, radio Triple J. This saw the band tour
long and hard nationally in support of the release. In April 2001, the
breakthrough album ‘Three’ was released through independent
distributors MGM Distribution and remained in the national alternative
charts for nine months rising to the number one position a record
breaking three times.
Meanwhile
in New York, manager Philip Stevens was forging working relationships
with booking agents, promoters and labels to find the best way to
continue John Butler’s independent model around the world. To this end,
in conjunction with fellow West Australian band, The Waifs, Jarrah
Records was formed as a new independent label that saw the release in
USA of “Three” in July 2002 which went on to sell over 10,000 copies.
By
the time ‘Three’ reached platinum sales status in Australia the JBT was
recognised and respected nationally as part of the Australian musical
landscape both on the airwaves and the touring circuit. In 2003,
‘Living 2001- 2002’, a double live CD, debuted at number six on the
ARIA charts also achieving platinum sales with the subsequent
mainstream focus and acceptance indicating a bright horizon for John.
The
release of the single ‘Zebra’ from the album ‘Sunrise Over Sea’ in
December 2003 would achieve the crossover into a historically difficult
market for independent artists, commercial radio. ‘Zebra’ not only made
it to number eight in Triple J’s esteemed Hot 100 but it was programmed
on high rotation around the country on mainstream commercial networks
such as Triple M and Nova. The debut of ‘Sunrise Over Sea’ at number
one in the ARIA charts created Australian music history. It was the
first time a release by a completely independent Australian artist on
their own independent label had rocketed to the top of the national
charts. ‘Sunrise Over Sea’ would go on to achieve five times platinum
status (350,000 copies) in Australian record sales alone and remained
in The Association of Independent Record Labels (AIR) charts for a
staggering 84 weeks. A sold out national tour followed in support of
the album with John donating one dollar from every ticket to the
Refugee Action Coalition. John has continued this tradition with
various causes such as The Wilderness Society, Save Ningaloo Reef
Campaign and The JB Seed all benefiting from touring donations.
Critical
acclaim rapidly followed when ‘Zebra’ won the highly prestigious
Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA) Song Of The Year Award,
again making history being the first time musical peers have voted for
a self-published, independent singer/ songwriter. Having been nominated
for a massive five awards at the 2004 Australian Record Industry
Association (ARIA) awards, The John Butler Trio started the evening by
taking out Best Independent Release and Best Blues and Roots Album. The
night culminated on a major high when John also took out the coveted
Best Male Artist Award. With landmark achievements and recognition born
of dedication, trust, and pure hard work, a precedent had been set, the
lesson being to aspiring artists, you can do this too.
The
year 2005 also saw the realisation of a long time dream for John and
his partner Danielle Caruana as The JB Seed Arts Grant Programme became
a reality. Initially independently funded by John, the programme is
designed to explore and encourage the social, cultural, and artistic
diversity in Australian society. The JB Seed in its second year has
developed and been nationally recognised with industry peers and
experts both offering contributions financially and via their knowledge
and time. In October 2006 The JB Seed dream was further enhanced when
its inaugural Managers Workshop/Conference was held in Katoomba, the
hub of the beautiful Blue Mountains. Another vision become an actuality
for John and Dan and their team as twenty successful applicants from
around the country gathered for three days workshopping and networking
with industry experts covering topics such as management, legals,
copyright, publicity and promotion in an enabling and trusting
environment. In mid 2006 John Butler held an insightful interview with
Andrew Denton who, when canvassed about the interview subjects he most
admired in the 2006 November edition of The Sydney Magazine (Sydney
Morning Herald), referenced John stating, “He’s put in $100,000 of his
own money to seed other artists coming through. I find that very
impressive.” The JB Seed continues to grow, for more information visit
www.thejbseed.com .
Despite
incredible success received to date John Butler and his fellow band
members, Shannon Birchall on bass and Michael Barker on drums, did not
rest to bask in the glory and as always went back to work. During the
last two years The JBT has been making new friends and winning over
large audiences all over the world. Highlight performances so far have
included two sold out shows at the legendary Fillmore East in San
Francisco, a standing ovation at the celebrated New Orleans Jazz
Festival, selling out the prestigious Grand Rex in Paris, rocking the
Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, becoming the highest selling act at the
Cambridge Folk Festival and performing main stage at Glastonbury, one
of the most coveted gigs on the international festival circuit, and a
landmark television performance on the David Letterman Show.
During
this time the decision had been made to sign with Lava Records, an
imprint of Atlantic Records, for the release of their CDs outside of
Australia and New Zealand. A decision not taken lightly but born of the
belief that the music needed to be heard by as many people as possible
through out the world. In a rare deal John retained full artistic
control and also the ability to have all CDs and promotional material
printed on recycled paper. Sunrise Over Sea went on to sell a further
200,000 copies around the world.
Back
home John Butler jumped at the chance to give something back at the
Wave Aid benefit concert held in Sydney in January 2005 for victims of
the Boxing Day tsunami. The group joined a host of Australia’s
frontline acts including iconic political musicians Midnight Oil and
Silverchair to raise money and awareness for the plight of hundreds of
thousands of people caught up innocently in possibly the world’s
largest natural disaster. The Wave Aid Tsunami Relief Concert,
co-organised by John Butler’s manager Phil Stevens, raised over two
million dollars and this figure continues to grow through DVD sales.
In
July 2005, a performance in Switzerland at the St Gallen open air music
festival was recorded in analogue on two inch tape and critically
captures the warmth of a JBT performance both in sound quality and
atmosphere. The concert was released as the ‘John Butler Trio - Live At
St Gallen’ with a bonus DVD component and reflects the group’s ability
to make an impact on the international stage. Australian fans are not
forgotten however, and are thanked by John on the cover for making all
of these shows possible in the first place.
In
January 2006, John and fellow band members Shannon and Michael began
pre-production at Couch Studios (WA) with engineer Shaun O’Callaghan.
The first recording session for the album started in February at
Woodstock studios with engineer Robin Mai who also worked on the ground
breaking ‘Sunrise Over Sea’ album. Session two, saw the band moving to
Sing Sing studios (Melbourne) where John came together with legendary
Mario Caldato Jnr (Beastie Boys, Beck) to co-produce and engineer.
October
2006 saw the start of a new chapter for John Butler with the release of
the single ‘Funky Tonight’ which was snapped up by radio programmers
Australia wide and came in as the second most added track at radio the
week it was serviced. The band will support the release with a major
tour throughout November/ December 2006 and can’t wait to share the new
tracks in front of a live audience.
A
very special performance took place in Melbourne at the out set of the
tour when The John Butler Trio took part in an historical event created
to increase awareness of the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY Campaign
www.makepovertyhistory.org. John as always was honoured to support such
an important cause and joined members of U2 and Pearl Jam, as well as
many of Australia’s finest acts in performing to raise awareness of the
extreme gap between rich and poor nations. John Butler sees this agenda
of extreme importance.
The
new album, which sees release in early 2007 offers a broad, solid, and
deep collection of tunes with all the energy and unique sonic tapestry
of a John Butler Trio live performance, captured for eternity in a
studio environment.
John is honoured to share this new journey and welcomes everyone along for the ride.
www.johnbutlertrio.com
www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio
www.thejbseed.com
John would like to acknowledge the musical contributions of the past members of the trio.
Jason McGann, drums
Gavin Shoesmith, bass
Rory Quirk, bass
Andrew Fry, bass | 
