Butch Walker to Rescue Indie Rock from American Apparel

Just as indie rockstar wanna-be's rip off Butch Walker's songwriting style (and fail miserably), they too often steal his style.

Let's not forget it was Walker, in his Marvlous 3 days, who first wore the skinny tie. Of course, at this point, the wanna-be rockstar local band boys were still a little slow. It took a few years for them to dig this trend into the ground.

Then it was the bandanna. I remember the first time I saw Butch perform solo, he had one of the red rags flowing from his pocket. About a year later, the emo kids once again have killed the bandanna (RIP.)



Last night, at Webster Hall, Butch Walker And His Gang of Merry Musical Melodymakers took a stand against all the girl-pants-wearing boys, whether you realized it or not. Walker and co. took the stage in plaid shirts. Ok, minus Randy Michael, who always looks so dapper in his suits and fedoras and new hot dude Chris, who has a tattoo of a pin-up girl on a tiger (two of my favorite things), so that should not be covered up.




The subliminal message was evident.

Attn.Those who worship Butch Walker so much that you steal his style musically and fashionably:

Don't fall any further!

VICTIM.

Give your girlfriend her jeans back!

DO NOT PUT ON THE SPANDEX!

V-Neck shirts are only sexy if you have cleavage! We don't want to see curly chest hair strands sticking out!

Dress like a man!



On another note...

VENUES: Please note....

When you are fortunate enough to have Butch Walker grace your stage, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT disrespect the man by pumping god-awful techo (described by Walker as "the devil's music) on the floor below!

* By Joelle, who along with Jess, escorted their friend Nicole to her first BW show last night. Nicole left saying "That man has so much talent it should be illegal."


Go here:

www.savethetigerfund.org

The Legacy of Jerry Finn

In heartbreaking news, record producer Jerry Finn passed away on August 21 at the age of 38. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in July and was eventually taken off life support Aug. 9. Sadly, he never regained consciousness.

Finn contributed his many talents to the landscape of Pop/Punk's sonic playground over the years and helped lead the genres to what they are today.

His final work, Morrisey's Years of Refusal , is slated for a Feb. 09 release.

Mark Hoppus (Blink 182/ +44) posted this:

“Today the world became a lot less musical. One of my best friends passed away today. Jerry Finn was one of the most talented, funniest, coolest, smartest and honest people I have ever known.

“He worked on many of my favorite albums of all time, and helped shape the sound and direction of Blink-182 from Enema of the State all the way through to the end and into +44. He was into Family Guy, South Park and Mr. Show before anyone else had even heard of those shows. And when my son was born, while everyone else was sending us baby blankets and teddy bears, Jerry and his girlfriend gave him a tiny extra small black leather jacket covered in metal studs and Ramones pins."


Not only did he produce one of my favorite albums of all time-- Marvelous 3's Ready, Sex, Go-you'll also recognize his name on these albums:

Green Day - Dookie (1994) (mixed)
The Muffs - Blonder and Blonder (1995) (engineered and mixed)
Pennywise - About Time (1995)
Rancid - ...And Out Come the Wolves (1995)
Jawbreaker - Dear You (1995) (mixed)
Green Day - Insomniac (1995) (mixed)
Fastball - Make Your Mama Proud (1996)
The Daredevils - Hate You (1996)
Smoking Popes - Destination Failure (1997)
Coward - Self-Titled (1997)
Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key (1998)
Rancid - Life Won't Wait (1998) (mixed)
The Vandals - Hitler Bad, Vandals Good (1998) (mixed)
The Living End - The Living End (1998) (mixed)
blink-182 - Enema of the State (1999)
Madness - Universal Madness (1999) (mixed)
Fenix*TX - Fenix*TX (1999)
blink-182 - The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) (2000)
MxPx - The Ever Passing Moment (2000)
The Marvelous 3 - ReadySexGo! (2000)
Fenix*TX - Lechuza (2001)
Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler (2001)
Alkaline Trio - From Here to Infirmary (2001) (mixed)
blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
Green Day - International Superhits! (2001) (co-produced)
Bad Religion - The Process of Belief (2002) (mixed)
Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer (2002)
MxPx - Ten Years and Running (2002)
Sparta - Wiretap Scars (2002)
Vendetta Red - Between the Never and the Now (2003)
AFI - Sing the Sorrow (2003) (co-produced and mixed)
Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning (2003) (co-produced and mixed)
blink-182 - untitled (2003)
Morrissey - You Are the Quarry (2004)
Marjorie Fair - Self Help Serenade (2004)
The Vandals - Hollywood Potato Chip (2004) (mixed)
Eisley - Room Noises (2005) (mixed)
The Offspring - Greatest Hits (2005)
Alkaline Trio - Crimson (2005)
blink-182 - Greatest Hits (2005)
AFI - Decemberunderground (2006)
+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006) (co-produced and mixed)
Tiger Army - Music from Regions Beyond (2007)
Morrissey - Greatest Hits (2008)
Morrissey - Years of Refusal (set for February 2009)



* By Joelle, who thinks you should all go listen to one of these records in honor of Finn.

A Whole Lotta Lovin' Butch Walker

My name is Joelle and I'm a Butch Walker-aholic. When Butch binges occur, I can often be found making my own version of his greatest hits and stuffing them into Christmas/birthday/you name it gifts for my friends. I've even sunken to making my mother watch clips of his DVD and my co-workers go visit his MySpace page. Luckily, my boyfriend accepts this and it doesn't cause any turmoil in our relationship. Actually, he's probably even got a manly crush on Butch. He is quite the enviable one, one after all.

No one else can control a crowd like Butch Walker. Hell, he should be called in as an emergency rescue worker next time a riot breaks out, they way people worship his every word. This week, he had the entire pretty much sold-out crowd at Irving Plaza under his command. When he told the audience to sing, they belted out notes. When he said sit, boy did their buttocks hit the floor. The same thing occurred at The Stone Pony the previous evening.

Maybe it’s magic. Or it’s just that current musicians lack personal connections with their fans, whereas Walker thrives. It could be his devastatingly sexy allure and the way he catches that guitar pick after spitting it out his mouth. Or his gift for witty lyricism to which no one can compare and eye locking live performances that make you sweat just watching him work that stage.

Whatever it is, it’s something that middle America needs right now. Not just the indie rockers and hipsters who secretly like those Avril Lavigne songs he worked on. Butch Walker restores faith in modern music. There is life outside emo, guys! There’s a musician who’s schooled in the classics, can cover songs better than their originators and is constantly evolving. And he’s on a stage somewhere in the world right now, holding his microphone out to the crowd and smiling as they sing “Best Thing You Never Had” for him. Each Butch Walker album might as well be a testament in the Rock ‘N Roll Bible.

During my worship this week, I suffered a bit of a straight-edge hangover, going to shows multiple days in a row and not being able to function at work because I can’t miss a moment of Butch Walker in the area. This tour in particular was one of my favorites because he dusted off some Marvelous 3 classics. The only downside was that there were more people in my way and sometimes it was hard to see. But the noticeably larger crowds are a sign that Butch Fever is spreading and that’s a reason to rejoice!

*By Joelle, who has written about Butch Walker more than any other artist and probably won’t be writing about anyone else until next time he’s around. Haha






STAY TUNED FOR MORE BUTCH WALKER AS CAIT REVEALS WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOLLOWING THE TOUR FOR A WEEK AND EVEN LETTING HER VOCAL CHORDS LOOSE DURING A SHOW!