Butch Walker

0:00Hey man. Hey, bud. How's it going? I'm doing pretty good just in Kansas City today about to sweat my ass off Not really yeah, well, you know depends on how much you want to sweat, but uh, yeah I sweat a lot my play sweat like Whitney Houston. So it's kind of you know, it's kind of adding insult to injury Yeah It's going great I mean, this is like my third tour. I've done with her. So you know her fans are very open and giving so from You know if someone had me on tour with slipknot or something. I'm sure it wouldn't be the same We're so it's pretty nice to actually have a a fan base of hers that really so not hate what I'm doing

0:53So now a lot of people know you've written with her before you'd I mean you've been writing and producing with a lot of bands lately We're only still naming you the hot producer of 2004 Congratulations first on that. Thanks, man. Thank you. Yeah, I was very surprised by the irony of being an artist my entire life and still being an artist that's sort of relatively Unknown and then to get hit with uh, I like it though. Keeps life interesting There are things awful start things off right off with a tune off the new album off letters Well, I guess not really knew when you weren't spent over about a year now, but uh, what do you want to hear? What do you want to play off of? Wow, let's see. Let's be different. Why don't we play something? Let's play. Um, some or jam

2:07Where they get together and you know, they have their little fine with it and then when the success dies off

5:28They realize sort of the appeal of went through that when we were signed when we were a sort of a Hair metal band when we were all 19 years old to a big label deal and kind of got a taste of semi success and not so semi failure Early on and we sunk it out and we went we kind of went DIY and went out on the road We know bought a van and having a reason hump our own gear as a year and we did that off to the 90s and

6:16really grew as people and grew closer as friends and I Think by the time the Marvel of three happened we'd already been through it a couple of times on the roller coaster ride and we decided that Point we didn't want to be written off is just some one hit wonder band Being known for a radio song like people didn't know anything about our history and didn't realize we were you know We had grown up together playing together and never been apart never really knew it was like to play another band with Parting it turned out a lot better than most people's

7:13Divorces do that's for sure. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah So I keep getting played on a couple of songs on the record slug and I were you know We were the longest friends. I heard it and written for me too. You know, that's good No, those guys are you know, not really into the road thing anymore They like to kind of stay close to home and I think that was part of it too was we all had different views on On how much we should be traveling, you know How much we should be touring because we put in more touring miles that people don't even know about all three the 90s

8:02And most you ever miss it going out like that in a van and just you know Jim with your friends overnight Well, you know the best part about this is I'm I'm still on the road, you know, I'm I'm touring the country in a bus all the time with with new friends and you know, so I'm not so new friends You know, my band members are all people that are you know, just you know friends of mine But I was known for a little have a whole different dynamic, you know miss big eyes from My old band yeah, but I mean I'm not missing I'm not having any issues with wishing out by people I'm with now to the first like I said the first time in a long

8:49Time I've ever been able to even be out with people with a different lineup of people so it's exciting cool I know American high-five back to you up for a while. How hard is it to have a new band? You know teach them all the songs over again I know American high-five must have gone pretty quick since you were on tour with them for a while now You got a backing band is it hard to teach them new songs like if you will It did I would love to be able to keep this lineup together For a while, you know, this would be a good way to keep to keep me from having to teach people how to songs But it's been you pretty easy for that but it matters more about how We're gonna jail on stage and how we're gonna sound coming out of speakers and it does you know perfect

9:40There's a little more mellow than you know, you know your other stuff. Yeah. Yeah, definitely Just you know want to change it up. Well, we kind of didn't we kind of didn't When I said out to make letters that I wasn't trying purposely to make a record that I Didn't enjoy doing it because I did and that's all you know I came from that growing up a more rock background

10:25But I also came from listening to a lot of singer songwriters growing up and a lot of more Stuff and I think because I'm in a life in my and people around me and the loss of people and the New love of people all those things added up to reflect and making a record that I didn't think deserved to be some other little cynical diss to the industry or jaded sarcastic love song thing that I may have been known for pulling out of my hat pretty good about doing this record

11:13The way I the way I did it, which is like I said it's a little bit more sincere and heartfelt for lack of of a better cliche description of a record, but I feel really I Feel really good about it and you know, I was worried more I think about losing fans if I If I pulled back on the guitars and pulled up the piano or something like that But you know what it didn't happen everybody matter of fact You know my my crowds are bigger than they've ever been and not just touring with you know someone like Avril But even headlining you know, so I feel pretty good. I think I must be doing something right so You still do the unplug campfire thing where you go on the crowd just because guitar no microphone or anything Sometimes I mean it's kind of hard to do out on this tour because we're putting these big arenas if I did it No one would hear it. It's definitely definitely fun to do when I do my own shows

12:02I think the I'm part of it and they feel becoming I'm not gonna do it all the time I only do when I really feel like it's right I guess I feed off how well the show has gone if it's been a crappy show in my mind I'm probably not gonna do it But if I feel like that the synchronicity between the audience and myself has been like perfume again your choice I mean it could be off Marvel's three record could be off one of your records up to you. Oh, okay Okay, cool. Let's play

12:50Play indie queen off of hey album Formally a mark of three you decide who to give songs to well, I don't over extend myself

17:44As far as you know trying too hard to push my music down people's throats I wait till someone asked me if they want me to call that within my will if they want me to just produce them then I will It has to be sort of organic, you know, I don't go in with a song going. Hey, I wrote the song for you Here's this, you know it has to kind of come to you and you guys just sit there with acoustic guitars And then you know just start strumming away and then some words will come you'll just start writing together No, I've never been good about just coming up with stuff right there in the room with someone There usually has to be some sort of preconceived idea, you know

18:30Maybe have a song idea or chorus idea that I think would be great for them That didn't necessarily to get finished with myself for myself And vice versa someone has an idea or a song already written I want to bring it in and they need to finish it I can usually help them do that To do it instead of go okay, let's sit down and what are we gonna write about? We meditated and sort of cheesy to me. I don't think I could ever make it happen that way You recorded live and let die for rebel billionaire. How do you cover a Paul McCartney song and as you heard it Yeah, I mean well, you know I grew up a huge You know fan of all things beetles and all things wings and you know anything that the that the beetle

19:19Beal members did on their own so song when they asked me to be recorded the first thing I thought was well You know it's borderline sacrilege, so I want to make sure that I do a faithful Interpretation of the song so and that that's what they wanted to so it's actually more just more fun and a challenge because the song is so over the top No, I would need an orchestra Nikki six from Motley crew played on the record. Oh, yeah, I played on my last solo record I'm left to self-centered. I'm what this house here. Yeah into the black did it give you any crazy Motley crew stories? Every time you open his mouth. It was a crazy story. Yeah, he he's a great dude and

20:06trying to get over the fact that I was such a Motley crew fan growing up and the fact that I had a scrapbook full of pictures and stuff from when I was in eighth grade Was pretty hard, but he's great. He treated me like a normal human being and was very candid and I loved him I'm assuming a lot of people give you CDs on the bus and when you're on tour, you know Hey produce me or hey, right with me or something. Do you ever listen to people CDs? Do you get a lot of CDs? Oh? Yeah, all the time. I mean, I don't want to miss out on anything So I gladly accept anybody's recording, but I don't I'm not one of those you know Industry types. It's like please no one saluted tapes or CDs on the road

20:52I'm really get something because you never know what you're gonna get You know, I mean how I got my foot in the door when I was young was being and I think that's half of it You know can't just all be about some formal law. You're pushing some band down your throat. That's his nephew's band or something How did you start off? How did that all go down? You just hand it CDs to clubs and to labels as much as you could Yeah, um, I started out playing clubs when I was really young like Way too young to be playing in bars drinking bars, but all the band members were all and I wasn't but I I looked a lot older than I I looked a lot older. I was tall and big for a 16 year old So I usually didn't get in trouble for it play clubs all the time and just started to buzz that way

21:39And then when I the day I got out of high school. I like moved straight to Los Angeles and We started playing and knocking down doors and firing everyone and making posters for our shows and selling tickets to girls hanging out on the sunset strip and Next thing you know, we were the biggest drawing band and the labels just couldn't avoid it You know they'd come out and see what all of Your choice again, please Play Joan

23:10I

24:07Never got sent to a guy in Colorado since 1994 I know it's wrong No To talk about blisters and bruises of anger she bought a Two of them on your arm you ever met the head showed him the tattoo at all

26:32Yeah, I actually was a little bit appalled because I thought that myself You know, there's not many people that I would get tattooed on my body and there's certainly not that many people that I would Be starstruck meeting and when I met him I was in an elevator at my hotel and he was staying at the same hotel and he got me elevator behind me and for some reason I just knew it was him behind me. I turned around and and I just knew he was behind me. It was weird and I couldn't say anything So I just can't pull up my sleeve and showed him my tattoo and he just looked at me weird and was like, oh, that's nice And I was just I just ran like a little girl down the hallway Happened but I thought what happened

27:21But he's definitely you know, he got me through a very dark period of my life when I was you know, very depressed young And their truly helps they spoke to me, you know I'm the same reason a lot of people come up to me it shows and say the same thing about my music it makes me honored that That I can help him, you know through whatever with my lyrics I never thought that anybody else would make me feel that way still to this day But definitely a lot of his songs have any other artists that make you feel that way? on I mean, I think more than anything in life and I needed that you know other artists. I think it was mostly musically

28:15No one ever really just dug in and made me feel You know, there's a couple of others I think you know, Jeff Buckley was definitely somebody who His lyrics always really got to me. He's always more sort of an abstract or already kind of a poet rather than a loss of love But they all have their way, you know of getting under your skin, so What's a typical day like for you on the road or in the studio? Is a guy in my room? It depends some days. Yes some days. No you know some days we have a lot of a To poetry and you know staying up To put some comes up and hanging out at bars and then some nights were watching Think or mail walker midnight and then we go straight to bed to thing. It just kind of happens

29:14You know to either happens naturally or you can't we don't get can't force partying anymore, sir Yeah, I've been touring way too long for that Where I felt like I had to be that way on the road another soon once again always your choice I'm trying to think If I spun the wheel right now, what would it land on maybe I would land on The wrong guy because I probably would piss off the industry by saying this but you know get my music out there and get noticed

34:03It's not like I sell millions of records email or something and say oh I heard you I found you on On why and I downloaded a song just to see if I would like it and I couldn't you know believe out I'd been missing getting the praises from that or it's nice because history has a great way of trying to tell you That it's such a bad evil thing and that it's stealing money from them But they've been getting the lion's share of the profits off of records for years and the artist's been getting pennies And if anybody's scared about it

34:49They are but for that the artists are are getting ripped off They need to reassess their own guild and their favor and not in the artist forever And you got to figure the artist that only sell a few thousand records Which percent of artists out there only sell that that come out you just never heard of them That's just it. They're releasing thousands of records a year. You only hear of like 10 They get in hurt by pirated music because they're selling millions of records Those are also the only records that are available in stores Usually whereas the artists you've never heard of the little little you know the elephant in the toe is

35:38Describe that artist, you know and they're sitting there with this record. They just poured their guts out to make And you can't even find it in the stores because it's not on MTV or something for the label Doesn't care about promoting it and the store doesn't care about promoting it How else are you gonna find it? I would beg people to go out and find it online and get it for free because How else is anybody gonna know you exist if you're that if you're that person that you know part of the 95% of records that come out that nobody ever hears Do you think the way things are going with all this downloading that label is just gonna go away? It's all gonna be indie stuff people just be I think I think the label is not very necessary anymore. They're more like a bank You know, I mean if they give you a huge amount of money Sure, that's appealing, but if they're not promoting your record, then what are they doing?

36:27You know, why don't you just get your own distribution and your own? You know your own art department and everything and just do your view you know that money back anyway So it's not like you're ever gonna really make any money if you're if you're not careful Definitely you think with iPods too, I mean you don't even need the art department really anymore which is a little too bad It's too bad. I am very just just heartened by the digital age as far as I'm a little bit more of an old-school romantic where I really love album artwork and Things like that and you know you look at a kid's CD collection or whatever on a airplane and it's all burn CDs There's no artwork and nowadays of course, you know, it's an iPod So there's no really no work anyway, you can actually have the album cover inside the iPod now, but that's not the liner notes or

37:19The credits or the individual pictures in the book would not really something tangible you can hold I think now, but I'm all about embracing the digital age been running from it I'm and like I said, it has its upswing as well and the ability to market undiscovered music easily through the internet Without having to wonder why you can't find it in a music store next to Chingy or you know Amory or something like that. You know, it's nice to be able to say oh I found this new rock band because If it wasn't for the internet, I would have never found it sure. I don't have the artwork, but I'm listening to the music

38:04All right, well we do this thing on the show ever we called five questions There's five quick questions one word answers iPod or CD iPod Leninger McCartney Alcohol or marijuana alcohol song you've written your most proud of Joan and one word which Walker confused Thanks so much, man. Appreciate it