July 13, 2025 • 42 mins
Back with another chapter in The Dialogue Series - A chill ‘n chat with authors, fellow podcasters, musicians, and more. Our guest is Grammy-nominated rock and soul guitarist Jon Butcher. He’s one of a select handful of influential recording artists who emerged from the legendary Boston music scene during the 1980s.
Butcher, who was also recently inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame, has enjoyed a five-decade-long career marked by major worldwide tours, MTV videos, eclectic radio releases, collaborations with other major artists, and incendiary live performances that continue to this day. He has a new album out titled Nuthin' but SOUL! It’s classic R&B-inflected Roots Rock, at once fresh and familiar. Jon’s here to talk about his music, the new album, and, of course, his love of rock and roll books.
Listen to Jon Butcher's new album Nuthin' But Soul
Visit Jon Butcher's website
----------
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The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe
Butcher, who was also recently inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame, has enjoyed a five-decade-long career marked by major worldwide tours, MTV videos, eclectic radio releases, collaborations with other major artists, and incendiary live performances that continue to this day. He has a new album out titled Nuthin' but SOUL! It’s classic R&B-inflected Roots Rock, at once fresh and familiar. Jon’s here to talk about his music, the new album, and, of course, his love of rock and roll books.
Listen to Jon Butcher's new album Nuthin' But Soul
Visit Jon Butcher's website
----------
BookedOnRock.com
The Booked On Rock Store
The Booked On Rock YouTube Channel
Follow The Booked On Rock with Eric Senich:
BLUESKY
TIKTOK
X
Find Your Nearest Independent Bookstore
Contact The Booked On Rock Podcast: thebookedonrockpodcast@gmail.com
The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On this episode of Booked on Rock, Grammy nominated rock
and soul guitarist John Butcher. We talk about his emergence
from the Boston music scene in the eighties, being the
only black guitar player on MTV at one time, his
favorite rock and roll books, and will he write a
book of his own one day? All that coming up next.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I know, dialogue. How's a fountain the conversation right, that's
a geyser?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Interesting?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Interesting as provocative. Daddy Man back Man, rock and Roll.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Everybody, Welcome back to book don Rock. Great to have
you back on, Eric Senach. We are back with another
chapter in the Dialogue series. It's been a while since
we had one of these episodes. Chill and chat with authors,
fellow podcasters, musicians and more. And our guest is Grammy
nominated rock and soul guitarist John Butcher. He's one of
a select handful of influential recording artists who emerged from
the legendary Boston music scene back in the eighties. John,
(00:57):
who also was recently inducted into the New England Music
Hall of Famous, enjoyed a five decade long career marked
by major worldwide tours, MTV videos eclectic radio releases, collaborations
with other major artists, and incendiary live performances that continue
to this day. He's got a brand new album out now.
It's titled Nothing But Soul. It's classic R and B
(01:17):
inflective roots rock. It is on fire. I was just
listening to it as we started recording. We'll talk about
that a little bit. John's here to talk about his
music and the new album, and of course his love
of rock and roll books. So welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
John, Yeah man, thanks for having me. I've been looking
forward to this all. Wait, Derek, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
This is awesome. Well, according to your online bio, you
are from Philadelphia. Tell us about your origins and what
led you down the path of music.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I started playing guitar early, man, I started at five
years old. My family has pictures of me in a
cowboy suit and a guitar. I couldn't decide which it
was gonna be cowboy or our rock guitar player. Anyway,
the last one went out, and I guess what started
me playing was there used to be these short movies.
(02:04):
They're called shorts Roy Rogers and other singing cowboys, and
that's what interested me. In the guitar. Of course, it
wasn't long after that that I discovered Jimmy Hendricks and
then the die was cast.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So you moved to the Boston area.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
When to go to school? I went to in the
Boston like a lot of guys did, to go to college.
You know. My parents wanted me to have something to
fall back on in case the music didn't work out,
So I went to Boston to go to a communications
school for broadcast journalism, Graham Junior College. And ironically, at
(02:38):
the same time as I was there, Johnny A was there,
So our paths were sort of converging from the very beginning,
and that led to me staying in Boston. That college
experience opened me up to the city and it was
a treasure trove for a young guy like me.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You were part of that scene in the eighties, the
Boston music scene. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I can't even really put words to it. The only
comparison I'd make is is the scene in London in
the sixties. That music scene was electric because there was
all of this fresh energy coming from every direction. And
that's what Boston was like, you know, being in the
(03:20):
same town with the Jay Giles band and Aerosmith and on.
I mean, I don't know where to stop. It fostered
great players and exciting performances. I give all the credit
to Boston and WBCN.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
We had a guest on recently, Gary Shay from the
band New England. I know Gart Okay. It's a small world, yeah,
And he's from my hometown here in Southington. So we're
talking about he was in Boston in the seventies and
talking about the scene at the time as well. What
about the musicians and the bands who influenced you. You talk
about Hendrix, but I'm also reading you're big fan of
Otis Rush and Freddie King and Wilson Pickett, sly Stone.
(03:58):
You could hear it in the music.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
All of those people. All of those guys had an
equal stake in making me want to be a player
for real. All of those guys. The first time I
heard Otis Rush about blew my mind because it was exciting,
it wasn't laid back, it was on top of the notes,
(04:23):
and it had a profound effect on me, as Jimmy
Hendrix did. It's just that, you know, he wasn't the
only one you'd mentioned. Sly Stone there would be no
prints period without sly Stone, there just would not have
been one. His influence is felt in so many ways,
and I wanted to pay homage to that in my
(04:44):
new album.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You toured with the Jaygaus band, right.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That was my big break? Yeah, that was what put
me on the map. Dude. We got a call. Me
and my bass player Chris Martin lived in this really
awful apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, freezing and hungry. The phone
rang and it was somebody from the Giles band asking
us if we wanted to open up for Giles at
(05:07):
the Boston Garden. Well, I checked my calendar for about
two seconds, there was nothing in it. I said, of
course we do. We did those three shows opening up
for Giles at the Boston Garden and never looked back.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And Jay Giles underrated guitarist, I think, although he's well respected,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
No, no, he was underrated because what his allegiance to
real blues and blues chronology. That guy's was a walking encyclopedia.
So I give him a lot of credit for bringing
forth the early influences that came out in the Jay
Giles band.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
When did the John Butcher Access Band form.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I was in this popular band in the late seventies
in Boston. We were tearing it up called Johannah Wild,
and that broke up, as bands do, and so I
was wondering, well, what am I going to do next?
And me and the drummer decided, well, let's try you know,
a quartet four guys. No, No, let's try three guys.
(06:07):
And it was just that sort of accidental and one
thing led to another, and before you know it, we
were selling out all the venues in New England everywhere
all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
You signed with Capitol Records.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
We signed with Polydor Records.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
First first okay, yeah, the first two.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Records were on Polydor, and then we switched to Capital
and I did a few records for Capital and that
was a great experience because I got I got to
travel the world. I got to go to Capital Studios
in Hollywood, California, where Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra recorded,
and there I am in Studio A for the first time,
(06:45):
this young guy gone, Holy crap, I have died and
gone to heaven.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, that's part of the question. I was going to
ask about how much of a whirlwind that was for you,
because you're touring with Rush def Leppard's Scorpions in Excess
and talked about Jake else band. You had singles. Successful
singles like Life Takes a Life, The Ritual, which was
nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental Grammy, The Sounds of
Your Voice and Stop Life Takes a Life received their
(07:12):
time on MTV in eighty three, which I want to
ask you more about later. But yeah, what was that like?
I mean that whole period because I always hear artists
when they talk about when you're young, and it's just
all happening so fast. It's just like a.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Whirlweb, you know what. I don't know what it's like
now to try and make it and come up through
the ranks and get noticed and play. I can't imagine
how difficult it is, even with the Internet, the World
Wide Web. And the reason why is because when we
were coming up, there was no web, so people had
to go out to to see bands. They had to
(07:46):
get off the sofa and go see us live if
they wanted to see us at all. Well, for a
guy like me, I was built for that, you know.
It was so exciting for me and so eye opening,
and I met so many people I don't know what
to say about my experience other than it was just unique.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
But you do have to be built for life. On
the road.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It was hard, you know what. I'll be honest with you.
Here's the hard part. The hard part isn't the plane.
The hard part isn't the what forty five minutes or
an hour you spend on stage. That's the fun part.
The hard part is sleeping on the bus, or not
showering for a couple of days, or not being able
to check into the hotel for forty eight hours, or
(08:29):
not being able to get clean socks, or catching a
cold and getting stuck on the bus. All that stuff
tears you down physically. I think that's why a lot
of guys who toured like that Aerosmith, they're a great
example of the road tearing them up. That's what happened.
They just got beat up. And of course then drugs
(08:49):
come along because you feel like crap, right, you don't
want to feel that way, and you're gonna go on
stage in forty minutes, so that's how those things happen.
My experience fortunately bypassed the drug part and just focus
on the music and we tried to stay as healthy
as we could.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And the more successful you are, the more they're going
to want you on the road.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yes, but the key you know what it's like pro sports.
You gotta stay healthy. You have to stay healthy. If
you're not healthy, sooner or later, stuff catches up to
you and that's when bad things happen.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Of the bands that you supported, which fan base responded
the best and was there a fan base that was
the hardest to win over when you played?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Man, what a great question. I'll start with the last part. First,
we opened up for Rush. Now, Rush is you know,
they're legendary. Everyone knows that they're a legendary band. And
so the good news is, you know you're going to
have a full house. But the bad news is Rush
fans don't want to know from the opening act. No
(09:53):
they don't. They weren't Rush. And so the first night
we opened up for them, you know, ladies, gentlemen, you know,
the John Butcher axes and the lights go up and
it wasn't Rush. And for just a few seconds you
could see the stunned face, you know, like, you know,
who's that guy? He's huh you know, So I'm thinking, oh, man,
(10:19):
they're gonna kill us. Right, They're gonna throw shit and
it's gonna be bad. So what I did was I went, Okay,
we're guys, we're gonna go for broke, and I'm playing
in with one hand and I'm throwing it around here,
round the back. And long story short after that, twenty
four minutes, twenty four minutes on stage, we had them,
(10:40):
but I killed myself doing it. Because Rush fans want Rush,
they don't want the opening act. So that was the hardest.
Now the most fun easily. Def Leppard really want yo
check it out. We went on tour with them during
Pyromania and that was one their big records, and I
(11:01):
wasn't that familiar when we started the tour. I wasn't
a big fan. But those guys, now you have to
remember I'm a young man with what I'm about to
say next. Those guys had so many girls at their
shows that when the house lights went down, it was
like beatlemanial. And they loved having an opening app you know,
(11:23):
So I mean they throw the guitar around her one hand,
the other hand, no hands, and they loved us. And
not only that, the band loved us, so they let
us play longer, then let us play longer. Then they
gave us all the lighting on the stage because famously,
headlining bands keep hold back some of the lighting and
some of them out. Not these guys. Long story short,
(11:45):
After forty dates, we're sleeping in each other's hotel rooms
and crashing out and having fun and going out to dinner.
And it was one of the most fun tours I
ever did.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Wow, how cool is that? I'm a huge stuff Leppard fans.
That's just great to hear.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Oh it was. And two this day when I see
Phil it's like family.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Wow. Yeah. And you see in interviews how down to
earth and just a good guy, good dude.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
They really are like that.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And they're fans of music too. That's Joe Elliott will
talk about how much he loves all these bands that
inspired him. He just turns into He goes from rock
star to fan himself. You know, he just loves talking
about it.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So the music still lives in them. And that's the
important part. How to have how to have a long career.
Here's how you got to like what you're doing. You got,
in fact, you got to love what you're doing because
that's what you're committing to. You're not committing to the money,
because that can change. You're not committing to any accouterments
(12:43):
you know, that are associated with with rock lifestyle, because
those certainly change. The only commitment is to the music.
And if you can do that, I'm good for another
twenty years.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah. I've always now, having followed music for so long,
there are certain artists who I've seen play in front
of ten thousand, but play in front of a thousand,
and they're putting as much into it on the smaller
crowds than they were in the biker It didn't matter.
They just loved it. Yeah, total pros.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I love it. There's something to tell you who.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
David Lee Roth was one when Del did nineties, when
he was playing smaller clubs, he would still put it
all out there, man. I mean he was just he
wasn't just you know, phoned it in saying payma.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
That was my favorite. I don't want to get sidetracked,
but that was my favorite iteration of van Halen. It
was my favorite. I think it was a lot of
people's favorite. Nothing against Sammy, but that era of Van
Halen was fresh and ferocious, and you could tell they
all had unity. They were all brothers in that time.
(13:46):
And I really like.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Now let's talk about your solo workers. After Access, you
then have some solo albums that are successful as well,
in nineteen eighty Seven's Wishes, nineteen eighty nine Pictures from
the Front, and then you formed Barefoot Servants in ninety four.
Where did that name come from? By the way, I
love that name.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
There's a Jimmy Hendrick song called All Along the Watch
Oh of course, yeah, and Barefoot Servants too. Anyway, we
liked the name. It was me, Ben Schultz, Ray Brinker,
and the man Leland Sklarr. Oh if I died tonight,
Having worked and lived and bled with Lee Sklaar is
(14:28):
one of my major accomplishments. One of the best players
walking the earth period fall stop, and one of the
worsest guys I've ever met.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
How did you meet him? How did you team up
with him? How that all happen?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I'm not exactly sure. I think my songwriting partner in
the band, Ben Schultz, somehow had met Lee. I don't
know how exactly, but he said Ben and I were
doing demos of the first record and they sounded pretty good.
So somehow we got a demo to Lee. You know,
you never know, we didn't expect anything. I mean, the
(15:00):
guy was at that time touring with Phil Collins, right, So.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Well, that's what he's most famously for you to see
him in those videos, he's the guy with a long beard.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah. So he gets back to us and says, when
can I come by the studio.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So one day League List Clark comes down to our
studio in Los Angeles and we started jamming, and boom
he asked, He asked if he could join.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
That's so awesome. Yeah, I mean von Phil Collins, Toto,
Jackson Brown, James Talne, and the guy.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I don't know where that list starts and ends. You know,
there's so many artists that he's played with, and everybody
feels the same about this guy. Everybody loves him. Everybody
everybody admires his work, ethic and his personality. It's so
much nicer to be in a band with guys you
(15:53):
like and admire. I there's no substitute for it, really.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah. Did you always get along well with your bandmates
that you have any difficulties? Because I get life on
the road. Everybody's all up in each other's face.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Me and Chris Martin, the original bass player, for Axis.
We're best friends to this day. And no, I've always
gotten along pretty well with the guys I was in
bands with. I think that was important to me, and
so maybe that filtered through and it was important to
them too.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Tell me about this production company, the state of the
art recording studio. You call it Electric Factory. This you
launched in the nineties, I believe.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Yeah, back in the days when my studio was completely analog,
you know, big tape machines, two inch street machines.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
I wish every album was still recorded on analog. You
could tell the difference.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I'll tell you what. We have a I now do
split my recording here in my house, in my basement.
I have a home studio, and there's another studio at Gloucester, Massachusetts,
where I live, and I go there to work with
an engineer that I'm friends with. Bottom line is I
get to do all this music promotion essentially home and
(17:05):
produce myself, which is what I wanted to do from
the very beginning. That was my frustration with the first
Access record. I don't think it turned out like we
knew it was supposed to be and how we sounded live.
So now I have the luxury of recording, you know,
on my terms, in my style, at my behest, and
(17:26):
I really enjoy that very much.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
There's a studio in San Fernando Hills, California. Is that no?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
No, no, I now live. Let me back up. I
had the Electric Factory, began the studio in California in Silmar, California.
I moved from the West coast back to the East
coast in twenty ten and so I kind of resurrected
my studio again. Here.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Is it still under the name Electric Factory.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Oh yeah, that's the name of my business.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Dude. You do not only work with recording artists, but
a lot of television, film, computer gaming projects are recorded there.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Yeah. I was lucky to have made some connections in
the nineties with guys that do media music, and I
had a really great run for a few years doing
Star Trek almost Ugly Betty. There was a TV series
called Ugly Betty that we did a bunch of shows.
I can't even think of it.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Well, I got some of them here. I just lifted
them from Wikipedia. So if they're wrong, you tell me.
But let's see HBO series dead Wood, A and E's
The Life and Times of Wild Bill Cody, the hughgles
from UPN, The Unit, CBS, Ugly, Betty ABC, Star Trek,
the Next Generation UPN My name is Earl NBC and
(18:44):
Hendrix the movie Wood Harris.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, yeah, that was. That was. I don't know whether
you saw that movie or not, the one with Wood
Harris played Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Okay, yeah, got it.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
The movie wasn't that good us They were blocked from
using Jimmy's songs. Let that sync in. Yeah, the movies
about Jimmy Hendrix, but there's not one originally penn Jimmy
Hendricks song in it. They couldn't get permission. So it
(19:19):
was wild Thing and she's a couple of her covers
and I just wasn't that good. But I had my
chance to play guitar as Jimmy Hendrix in the movie, so.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
That was cool. Booked on rock Podcasts. We'll be back
after this.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Don't go away, gentlemen, we may need all of you.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Let's talk about the new album. Nothing but Soul came
on July first, So what can fans expect to hear
on this album?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Nothing but Soul is an accumulation, an aggregation of all
the music I've done all my career, from Life Takes
a Life to now. It also reflects all of the
influences that went into making me who I was. And
I thought to myself, I don't know how many records
I have ahead of me at this point, but if
(20:10):
I were to pass away, I'd feel good about this
being my last record. That was my goal. I wanted
to make a record that really I felt secure and intentful.
I knew I had reached I said what I wanted
to say, I played what I wanted to play, and
I thought this was the best extrapolation of what I did.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Twelve tracks altogether. My favorites my Blue Sky Jam, the
title track. There's some cool stuff too. There's some sound elements,
like what's the one that has the It opens with
the sound of the police cars.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
And oh yeah, arrested, no arrested.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
No charges. Another great one.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
There's a lot of social commentary, Just like Life Takes
a Life was, there's a lot of social commentary in
my music. What I don't like to do is soap by,
you know, and be obviously political. I don't like that.
It's not cool with fans, and it just it narrows
the amount of people who can hear you. But I
(21:11):
have a point of view, and so that point, those
points of view come through those songs. I think Nothing
but Soul says more about me over my lifetime than
any of my other records have.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
And people can get it. It's on Spotify, people can
get it all the usual places, all.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Of the places that you download music. It's there right now.
And if you go to my website, John Butcher dot com,
we have hard copies for those who still have CD players.
I'll have vinyl in another month because that's my thing now.
I collect vinyl, and so we're gonna put this out
on vinyl. But you can find Nothing but Soul everywhere
(21:49):
that you download music right now.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
You're on fire on guitar, you're on vocals, but talk
about the rest of the band. Who else are we
hearing on these tracks?
Speaker 2 (21:58):
A lot of this record is me. I played bass.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah, I played a lot of the keyboards, although I
did have some help. A wonderful singer songwriter by the
name of Chris Pierce helped me with vocals, so you
hear his voice on it. Debbie Holliday, a terrific singer
in Los Angeles. You hear her voice on it Renee
dupre you hear her voice. Sandy Mack is playing some
(22:24):
B three for me, but a lot of the stuff,
a lot of the piano, bass, guitar, and some drums too.
I did myself.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
And you're gonna go on on tour to support the album.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh yeah. We're setting updates now and I figure we'll
go into rehearsal sometime in late summer early fall. And
I can't wait to actually get back to the Southwest.
I haven't been to Oklahoma and Texas and New Mexico
in a long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing
the United States again and seeing our fans who have
stayed with me for so many years.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
And who's going to be on the road with you?
Who's the band?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I am putting a new band together right now. It's
under wraps because it's going to be a big I'm
going to make a bit. It's a big splash. Okay,
I can't talk about that yet, but hopefully we'll get
a chance to talk about it again.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
But people just follow you on your website. Social media
dot com is.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
The best way. Of course. I'm at all social media.
I'm easy to find. There's just not that many John Butcher's.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
There are many outdres It's the one and only John Butcher.
Let's talk about some of the books on rock that
you've read. I always love asking these questions. Books that
you've read, want to read, want to see written. So
let's get into a books on rock you've read. Right now,
you're reading Life by Keith Richards. This book came out
in twenty ten. It has since sold over one million copies.
(23:40):
One I mean for books that is very rare.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I can tell you why. Unlike a lot of guys,
Keith said what was real? He said it. A lot
of the things that he says and has said people
take issue with, but the guy's outspoken and who if
not him, has earned the right at a little truthiness.
You know. He talks about the Stones, he talks about
(24:07):
his relationship with Mick, and he gives insight into what
a crazy ride the Rolling Stones were from the start
till now. The fact that they're still doing it now
says everything that needs to be said about that guy,
Keith Richards.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
What do you think would have happened if because we
know in the mid eighties Keith did some solo stuff
and Mick did some solo stuff. If either one of
those careers really took off, like if Mick had a
career like Phil Collins selling millions of albums, would we
ever have seen the Stones again?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
What you were suggesting, in my opinion is impossible. Here's why.
We all know Mick did his solo records. We all know,
and they were good.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
They're good.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And we all know Keith did solo records, and a
couple of those are great.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I love them.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
But the truth is, neither of them could eclipse the
shadow that the Rolling Stones cast on rock. Neither of
them impossible. It can't happen because that shadow is large everywhere,
no matter where you go.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And you know they realize that too. By the end
of the eighties. Yeah, they realized they needed each.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Other and they worked through bad stuff, you know what
I mean. I would love to meet Keith Richards. I
really would, because if he's not an og, I don't
know who is.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
He is amazing and from what I've heard, he's just
a down to earth guy.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I would love to meet him. I hope I get
a chance to sometime.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Somebody was telling me a story about they were on
vacation somewhere and this older gentleman with a dog comes
walking up to them because this person had a dog
and he was He's like, oh, I love your dog.
There and he had the English accident. He looks up.
It's Keith Richards and he just wanted to talk about
regular stuff. He didn't want it wasn't the rockstar attitude.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Not the coolest guy playing guitar as far as I'm living.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
What is it about his style of playing that makes
him so unique?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Oh that's easy. It's stupidly simple. It's not complicated. So
many guitar players have become sort of speed demons, one
playing faster than the other, and that flurry of notes
usually washes right over most people. They can't hear it.
Keith Richards simplicity as a player, and finding licks. We
(26:35):
remember playing licks. You remember, they're in my DNA. You know,
start me up. It's it's in everybody's DNA. That is
a particular talent that very few guitar players have. Simplicity,
economy and licks. You remember.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
You know it's interesting that you say that, because I
remember somewhere reading about how lyrically he is exactly the
same way when he takes his lyrics He really strips
it down to the basics, sent the yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Well that's the that has become the Stones formula. That's them.
They take this simple thing and spin it in a
way that's infectious that you remember. If you can't tell,
I'm a big fan.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Books you haven't read yet, but plan on Room Full
of Mirrors of Biography of Jimmy Hendricks by Charles R. Cross.
Also Hendrix Setting the Record Straight by John McDermott and
Eddie Kramer.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I haven't read. I want to read the John McDermott book.
John McDermott is responsible for creating the experience Hendrick's tour.
He is affiliated with the family, the Hendricks estate, and
so he that I'm hoping that in that book are
insights that you couldn't get from you know. And let
(28:03):
me tell you.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I was.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Fifteen, sixteen years old and I heard Purple Haze. And
it's hard to explain, especially in today, twenty twenty five,
how a thing can like alter your DNA alter it.
Somehow I was changed. I was in my room. I
(28:29):
had one of those record players that you open and
you close the record and the needle was in the
lid and you play it like that, right, that's old school, dude.
And I listened to that song oh fifty times in
a row, sixty trying to understand woooooooooo, trying to understand
(28:51):
what I was hearing, you know, and feedback that inextricably
changed me. And so there are many guitar players I
admire and have learned from, Jeff Beck being one, but Jimmy,
Jimmy created my path.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Dennis McNally, he was the Grateful Dead publicist for a while,
but he's also an amazing author, and he wrote this
great book recently about the San Francisco Hate Ashbury scene,
and he's talking about the concert in sixty seven Monterey,
and Jimmy was unfortunately, you know, if you handed him drugs,
(29:32):
he would take it. So he was really out of it.
And there was somebody that had seen him backstage like
minutes before he's going on, and he looked like I
think he described it as like a like a pile
of laundry sitting there, like there's no way he's gonna
he's no way he's gonna get up there, like we're
gonna have to figure something. He got up on stage
and just killed it. Yeah, and that's I guess something
(29:54):
you can speak to more as a musician. There's something
that happens. I guess when you hit the stage, no matter, there's.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
No doubt about it. It's a supercharge. Imagine, before you
go on stage, you have the most potent energy drink
you've ever had, right that, when the house lights go
down and you hear the first roar zoom, you know,
you're shot full of adrenaline. And I think that's what
(30:19):
Jimmy was playing on. Of course, the drugs killed him,
but the fact is that jolt that you get is
hard to explain, but it's palpable, you can feel it.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
What do you think he would have gone on to do.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
I'm certain he would have ended up in some facet
of jazz. I'm certain of it.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Right, That's what a lot of people have said.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Well, here's why he was experimenting. At the end of
his career. You began to hear experimentation. You began to
hear him want to break out of purple haze. Right.
He didn't want to live there anymore. He wanted to experiment. Well,
what happens when guitar players start seeking elsewhere and look
(31:02):
and casting about and looking for other inspiration. Oftentimes it
leads you to jazz.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Booked on Rock podcasts. We'll be back after this.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Oh this is heavy. There's that word again, heavy? Why
A thanks so heavy that future? Is there a problem
with yours? Gravitational pull?
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Find the bookdown Rock website at booked on rock dot com.
There you can find all the back episodes of the show,
the latest episode in video and audio, plus a video
highlight and link to our YouTube channel, links to all
of the platforms where you can listen to the podcast,
plus all the social media platforms were on Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
and x. Also check out the Booked on Rock blog.
(31:42):
Find your local independent bookstore, find out all the latest
hot rock book releases. And before you go, check out
the Booked on Rock online store. Pick up some booked
on Rock merch. It's all at booked on Rock dot com.
All right, some other books that you want to read.
They Can't Hide Us Anymore by Richie Havens. And also
you have Joey Kramer's book Hit Hard. Haven't read that
(32:02):
one yet.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Everybody tells me that's a good book because Joe look,
you know, as the drummer of Aerosmith, he was there
from the very beginning. I mean from day one there
he was in Brighton, Massachusetts, Cleveland Circle, and I would
run into these guys in the street, I mean literally
doing laundry at the laundry mat or the common market,
(32:24):
you know, a closed store back then. And so you're
walking the street like London, You're walking around and you're
seeing these guys in real life, and it makes you
feel like that you belong there, that you're part of
this tapestry. So Joey Kramer's book is, as I understand it,
a real insight into the Aerosmith dynamic. I'm really looking
(32:46):
forward to reading it.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you
think about Aerosmith's impact on rock history.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
If they weren't the American Rolling Stones, then there is
no such thing. Case closed Tyler. In his early days
when he was getting famous, a lot of guys would mention,
you know, the American Mick Jagger. I don't know if
that's true, but I do know this. I can't think
of another American band that had the same broad appeal
(33:15):
to several generations, not just one, that Aerosmith had in
their heyday. So I give them a lot of credit
for making rock homespun. We didn't need to just look
at the Rolling Stones in England. We had Aerosmith here
in America.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
You know what I thought was really cool. I'd have
heard this more often than not. Grunge rock artist grun
rock bands among the bands who inspired them early Aerosmith, that.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Doesn't which is so cool.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
No, if you listen to their arrow, you know before
all of the dude looks like a lady before that,
right right? They were basic and R and B and
blue driven rock. And Tyler had a way of being
the voice of that. I mean, a real distinctive voice.
(34:09):
So it doesn't surprise me that their shadow is large.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Here's what I'd love to know, John, I mean, you
can answer this as a singer. He was just Stephen
was just part of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute show. Sounded perfect,
sounded great now? So yeah, is it just he could
do a one off show because obviously Arismith had to
call it quits because they're saying that Steven Tyler had
an injury to his vocal chords, his voice, but yet
(34:36):
he's there singing great. Is it that he can't do
an extended tour?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Well? That's one night. Yeah, you know, two nights whatever
it was. That is not eighty cities. And remember I
told you early on, it's not the gigs, just the gigs,
but the traveling. Even if you, dude, if you're traveling
first class, best the best planes and the best cars
(35:00):
in the best hotels, you're still traveling. You're living out
of a suitcase. You're not at home. If you catch
a cold, it's a it's a problem, it's a bummer.
Where's the closest drug store? Can I get nipwel? You
know what I mean. So it doesn't matter how famous
you are. The traveling kicks the stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Right out of you. And so there's something with his voice.
It's just not strong enough to withstand that anymore.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Oh and God bless him, he's only been doing it
for forty years or whatever it is, you.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Know, Yeah, just to see him up there again, it's like, Man,
I miss Steven Tyler. Yes he killd it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Yes, I tell you that. Tell you that music still
burns in his heart. That's what it is. He's not
at home of counting his bank role. He wants to
He wants to put it out there, whether or not
he's able physically to still do eighty ninety one hundred
and ten cities is immaterial to me.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
So what do you think he's doing? Because he can record,
then I'm sure he could record if he wanted to.
He's gotta be to do something, you.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Know, I think he will. I do. You know guys
like that, they take a break, they get rested that,
you know, then they go out for a one off
like with Ozzie and they go geez, I remember this,
this is pretty cool. So I expect to see some
one more thing from Steven speak of that.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
How about Ozzie? I thought sounded great. Yeah he was sitting,
you know, everybody was concerned, like what's gonna happen. It's
gonna be a disaster, But no.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
He did great. Is the same thing, It's the same dynamic.
These are guys, the guys were talking about, David Lee,
Roth Tyler, Ozzy. Music burns in them. It's like a
coal that's still burning. That ember is hot and you
got to do something with it.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
For me, it was making nothing but soul. That ember
was burning. I had to do it. And Tyler had
to do that Ozzie homage. He had to be there
I understand precisely how they feel.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Let's finish with books on rock. You'd like to see written.
You'd like to see a book about black musicians in rock?
You say, quote, what do Sister Rosetta Tharp, Ben Harper,
Ray White, Arthur Lee, Darryl Jones, Phil Lynnett, Vernon Reid
and me all have in common? Black rock musicians, all
indelible contributors into the book of rock, but not as
(37:25):
well known as Jimmy Prince or Chuck Berry. I'd love
to see a book on this as well, and I
don't see why you should not be the guy to
do it. Would you write a book one day?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I don't know. I'm not sure if I have the patients,
I would sure like to. I would love to collaborate
with somebody at some point, I think, especially as my
first time, a collaboration makes sense. But no, those artists
that I mentioned, most people, you know, I I call
it the people magazine people. They haven't heard those names,
(37:55):
you know. They don't know who those guys are. They
know who Prince is because he was able to break
outside of black rock musician into the mainstream. But that
doesn't happen all the time. So Yeah, I would love
to see a book like that, and if I could
be involved in it, I would love to to you.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Arthur Lee love. I finally had a chance within the
last few years to really dive into their catalog.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
It's eye opening. You can see seeds, you know what
I mean. You hear little beginnings of things that went
and you know, in a direction. I love discovering music
like that because there's gifts in it. There's discovery making.
The discovery of new music is the best gift ever.
(38:40):
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Yeah. Robert Plant was a huge fan of Arthur Lee. Yeah,
I think that says it all. That says it all.
You were getting airplane MTV at a time when black
artists were not getting much airplay at all. In fact,
you're the only black rock guitar player on MTV at
one time. Correct.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Isn't that weird? It's so weird to think about it
like that. My early record companies, when we started to
take off access, I don't think they knew what to do.
I really don't. I don't think they knew exactly how
to you know, well, wait a minute, he's rock. Of course,
there was Jimmy or Jimmy Henders. I don't think they
knew what to do with me. Now today, the business
(39:19):
has changed so fundamentally that it's fragmented into several niches,
you know what I'm saying. But then it was still
a conglomerate. You know, there was corporate rock. There was
corporate rock music video TV, and that's what it was.
And so being there in those early days was interesting,
I'll say it that way.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
There's a famous clip of David Bowie criticizing MTV while
being interviewed by MTV, saying, you don't have enough black
artists on because I remember, I think Michael Jackson was
really the guy that became the first pop artist on
MTV that really blew the doors open.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
But well, he blew doors open though you said it
right there. No one opened the door for him. You know,
he blew them open, and that's what it took.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
And Quincy also incorporating rock and roll elements into the
album Thriller with that e van Halen.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Yeah, you having Eddie van Halen play on Beat. It
did not hurt. Michael Jackson booked on.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Rock Podcasts, will be back after this. Oh here's knife, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Look the way to the future did the Horizon, never
his mind on where he was.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Hey, guys, thanks so much for checking out the Booked
on Rock podcast. If you've just found the podcast, welcome.
If you've been listening, thank you so much for your support,
and make sure you tell a friend, a family member,
share on social media and let people know about Booked
on Rock. And if you do like the podcast, make
sure you subscribe give a five star review. Wherever you
listen to the Booked on Rock podcast, run Amazon, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, Speaker,
(41:00):
tune in in on YouTube music. You can check out
the full episodes on video, along with video highlights from
episodes on the Booked on Rock YouTube channel. Find it
at Booked on Rock. Thanks again for listening. Now back
to the show. All right, before we wrap this up,
John tell us again about the new album. Where can
people get it? Where can people find you online?
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah? Man, First of all, you can find me online
easily at John Butcher dot com. That's my website. If
you're at social media, type in your search box John Butcher,
I will almost certainly come up and you can get
the new album both at my website. Hard copy. You
can go to John Butcher dot com and we'll send
you a hard copy or you can download it at
(41:42):
all the usual suspects.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
And there is a link to the album in the
show notes. People can go there give it a listen.
This is a kick ass album. You're on fire. I
keep saying that, but that's the first thought that comes
in mind.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
Thank you so much for having me on. I really enjoyed.
I really enjoyed the chat. Fun, great questions and anytime
if you want to have you back on ready.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Oh absolutely, And I hope you come around my way.
Maybe on this tour you come around with Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Yeah, I'm sure I'll be down there. I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
All right, cool John, thank you, thank you so much for.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Having me on.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
No, no, that was an adventure.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I was quite assure you put on the bank. Well,
let me just close this conversation by saying you are
one unique individual.
On this episode of Booked on Rock, Grammy nominated rock
and soul guitarist John Butcher. We talk about his emergence
from the Boston music scene in the eighties, being the
only black guitar player on MTV at one time, his
favorite rock and roll books, and will he write a
book of his own one day? All that coming up next.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I know, dialogue. How's a fountain the conversation right, that's
a geyser?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Interesting?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Interesting as provocative. Daddy Man back Man, rock and Roll.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Everybody, Welcome back to book don Rock. Great to have
you back on, Eric Senach. We are back with another
chapter in the Dialogue series. It's been a while since
we had one of these episodes. Chill and chat with authors,
fellow podcasters, musicians and more. And our guest is Grammy
nominated rock and soul guitarist John Butcher. He's one of
a select handful of influential recording artists who emerged from
the legendary Boston music scene back in the eighties. John,
(00:57):
who also was recently inducted into the New England Music
Hall of Famous, enjoyed a five decade long career marked
by major worldwide tours, MTV videos eclectic radio releases, collaborations
with other major artists, and incendiary live performances that continue
to this day. He's got a brand new album out now.
It's titled Nothing But Soul. It's classic R and B
(01:17):
inflective roots rock. It is on fire. I was just
listening to it as we started recording. We'll talk about
that a little bit. John's here to talk about his
music and the new album, and of course his love
of rock and roll books. So welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
John, Yeah man, thanks for having me. I've been looking
forward to this all. Wait, Derek, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
This is awesome. Well, according to your online bio, you
are from Philadelphia. Tell us about your origins and what
led you down the path of music.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I started playing guitar early, man, I started at five
years old. My family has pictures of me in a
cowboy suit and a guitar. I couldn't decide which it
was gonna be cowboy or our rock guitar player. Anyway,
the last one went out, and I guess what started
me playing was there used to be these short movies.
(02:04):
They're called shorts Roy Rogers and other singing cowboys, and
that's what interested me. In the guitar. Of course, it
wasn't long after that that I discovered Jimmy Hendricks and
then the die was cast.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So you moved to the Boston area.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
When to go to school? I went to in the
Boston like a lot of guys did, to go to college.
You know. My parents wanted me to have something to
fall back on in case the music didn't work out,
So I went to Boston to go to a communications
school for broadcast journalism, Graham Junior College. And ironically, at
(02:38):
the same time as I was there, Johnny A was there,
So our paths were sort of converging from the very beginning,
and that led to me staying in Boston. That college
experience opened me up to the city and it was
a treasure trove for a young guy like me.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
You were part of that scene in the eighties, the
Boston music scene. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I can't even really put words to it. The only
comparison I'd make is is the scene in London in
the sixties. That music scene was electric because there was
all of this fresh energy coming from every direction. And
that's what Boston was like, you know, being in the
(03:20):
same town with the Jay Giles band and Aerosmith and on.
I mean, I don't know where to stop. It fostered
great players and exciting performances. I give all the credit
to Boston and WBCN.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
We had a guest on recently, Gary Shay from the
band New England. I know Gart Okay. It's a small world, yeah,
And he's from my hometown here in Southington. So we're
talking about he was in Boston in the seventies and
talking about the scene at the time as well. What
about the musicians and the bands who influenced you. You talk
about Hendrix, but I'm also reading you're big fan of
Otis Rush and Freddie King and Wilson Pickett, sly Stone.
(03:58):
You could hear it in the music.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
All of those people. All of those guys had an
equal stake in making me want to be a player
for real. All of those guys. The first time I
heard Otis Rush about blew my mind because it was exciting,
it wasn't laid back, it was on top of the notes,
(04:23):
and it had a profound effect on me, as Jimmy
Hendrix did. It's just that, you know, he wasn't the
only one you'd mentioned. Sly Stone there would be no
prints period without sly Stone, there just would not have
been one. His influence is felt in so many ways,
and I wanted to pay homage to that in my
(04:44):
new album.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
You toured with the Jaygaus band, right.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
That was my big break? Yeah, that was what put
me on the map. Dude. We got a call. Me
and my bass player Chris Martin lived in this really
awful apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, freezing and hungry. The phone
rang and it was somebody from the Giles band asking
us if we wanted to open up for Giles at
(05:07):
the Boston Garden. Well, I checked my calendar for about
two seconds, there was nothing in it. I said, of
course we do. We did those three shows opening up
for Giles at the Boston Garden and never looked back.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And Jay Giles underrated guitarist, I think, although he's well respected,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
No, no, he was underrated because what his allegiance to
real blues and blues chronology. That guy's was a walking encyclopedia.
So I give him a lot of credit for bringing
forth the early influences that came out in the Jay
Giles band.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
When did the John Butcher Access Band form.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I was in this popular band in the late seventies
in Boston. We were tearing it up called Johannah Wild,
and that broke up, as bands do, and so I
was wondering, well, what am I going to do next?
And me and the drummer decided, well, let's try you know,
a quartet four guys. No, No, let's try three guys.
(06:07):
And it was just that sort of accidental and one
thing led to another, and before you know it, we
were selling out all the venues in New England everywhere
all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
You signed with Capitol Records.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
We signed with Polydor Records.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
First first okay, yeah, the first two.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Records were on Polydor, and then we switched to Capital
and I did a few records for Capital and that
was a great experience because I got I got to
travel the world. I got to go to Capital Studios
in Hollywood, California, where Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra recorded,
and there I am in Studio A for the first time,
(06:45):
this young guy gone, Holy crap, I have died and
gone to heaven.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, that's part of the question. I was going to
ask about how much of a whirlwind that was for you,
because you're touring with Rush def Leppard's Scorpions in Excess
and talked about Jake else band. You had singles. Successful
singles like Life Takes a Life, The Ritual, which was
nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental Grammy, The Sounds of
Your Voice and Stop Life Takes a Life received their
(07:12):
time on MTV in eighty three, which I want to
ask you more about later. But yeah, what was that like?
I mean that whole period because I always hear artists
when they talk about when you're young, and it's just
all happening so fast. It's just like a.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Whirlweb, you know what. I don't know what it's like
now to try and make it and come up through
the ranks and get noticed and play. I can't imagine
how difficult it is, even with the Internet, the World
Wide Web. And the reason why is because when we
were coming up, there was no web, so people had
to go out to to see bands. They had to
(07:46):
get off the sofa and go see us live if
they wanted to see us at all. Well, for a
guy like me, I was built for that, you know.
It was so exciting for me and so eye opening,
and I met so many people I don't know what
to say about my experience other than it was just unique.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
But you do have to be built for life. On
the road.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It was hard, you know what. I'll be honest with you.
Here's the hard part. The hard part isn't the plane.
The hard part isn't the what forty five minutes or
an hour you spend on stage. That's the fun part.
The hard part is sleeping on the bus, or not
showering for a couple of days, or not being able
to check into the hotel for forty eight hours, or
(08:29):
not being able to get clean socks, or catching a
cold and getting stuck on the bus. All that stuff
tears you down physically. I think that's why a lot
of guys who toured like that Aerosmith, they're a great
example of the road tearing them up. That's what happened.
They just got beat up. And of course then drugs
(08:49):
come along because you feel like crap, right, you don't
want to feel that way, and you're gonna go on
stage in forty minutes, so that's how those things happen.
My experience fortunately bypassed the drug part and just focus
on the music and we tried to stay as healthy
as we could.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And the more successful you are, the more they're going
to want you on the road.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yes, but the key you know what it's like pro sports.
You gotta stay healthy. You have to stay healthy. If
you're not healthy, sooner or later, stuff catches up to
you and that's when bad things happen.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Of the bands that you supported, which fan base responded
the best and was there a fan base that was
the hardest to win over when you played?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Man, what a great question. I'll start with the last part. First,
we opened up for Rush. Now, Rush is you know,
they're legendary. Everyone knows that they're a legendary band. And
so the good news is, you know you're going to
have a full house. But the bad news is Rush
fans don't want to know from the opening act. No
(09:53):
they don't. They weren't Rush. And so the first night
we opened up for them, you know, ladies, gentlemen, you know,
the John Butcher axes and the lights go up and
it wasn't Rush. And for just a few seconds you
could see the stunned face, you know, like, you know,
who's that guy? He's huh you know, So I'm thinking, oh, man,
(10:19):
they're gonna kill us. Right, They're gonna throw shit and
it's gonna be bad. So what I did was I went, Okay,
we're guys, we're gonna go for broke, and I'm playing
in with one hand and I'm throwing it around here,
round the back. And long story short after that, twenty
four minutes, twenty four minutes on stage, we had them,
(10:40):
but I killed myself doing it. Because Rush fans want Rush,
they don't want the opening act. So that was the hardest.
Now the most fun easily. Def Leppard really want yo
check it out. We went on tour with them during
Pyromania and that was one their big records, and I
(11:01):
wasn't that familiar when we started the tour. I wasn't
a big fan. But those guys, now you have to
remember I'm a young man with what I'm about to
say next. Those guys had so many girls at their
shows that when the house lights went down, it was
like beatlemanial. And they loved having an opening app you know,
(11:23):
So I mean they throw the guitar around her one hand,
the other hand, no hands, and they loved us. And
not only that, the band loved us, so they let
us play longer, then let us play longer. Then they
gave us all the lighting on the stage because famously,
headlining bands keep hold back some of the lighting and
some of them out. Not these guys. Long story short,
(11:45):
After forty dates, we're sleeping in each other's hotel rooms
and crashing out and having fun and going out to dinner.
And it was one of the most fun tours I
ever did.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Wow, how cool is that? I'm a huge stuff Leppard fans.
That's just great to hear.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Oh it was. And two this day when I see
Phil it's like family.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Wow. Yeah. And you see in interviews how down to
earth and just a good guy, good dude.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
They really are like that.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And they're fans of music too. That's Joe Elliott will
talk about how much he loves all these bands that
inspired him. He just turns into He goes from rock
star to fan himself. You know, he just loves talking
about it.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So the music still lives in them. And that's the
important part. How to have how to have a long career.
Here's how you got to like what you're doing. You got,
in fact, you got to love what you're doing because
that's what you're committing to. You're not committing to the money,
because that can change. You're not committing to any accouterments
(12:43):
you know, that are associated with with rock lifestyle, because
those certainly change. The only commitment is to the music.
And if you can do that, I'm good for another
twenty years.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yeah. I've always now, having followed music for so long,
there are certain artists who I've seen play in front
of ten thousand, but play in front of a thousand,
and they're putting as much into it on the smaller
crowds than they were in the biker It didn't matter.
They just loved it. Yeah, total pros.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I love it. There's something to tell you who.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
David Lee Roth was one when Del did nineties, when
he was playing smaller clubs, he would still put it
all out there, man. I mean he was just he
wasn't just you know, phoned it in saying payma.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
That was my favorite. I don't want to get sidetracked,
but that was my favorite iteration of van Halen. It
was my favorite. I think it was a lot of
people's favorite. Nothing against Sammy, but that era of Van
Halen was fresh and ferocious, and you could tell they
all had unity. They were all brothers in that time.
(13:46):
And I really like.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Now let's talk about your solo workers. After Access, you
then have some solo albums that are successful as well,
in nineteen eighty Seven's Wishes, nineteen eighty nine Pictures from
the Front, and then you formed Barefoot Servants in ninety four.
Where did that name come from? By the way, I
love that name.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
There's a Jimmy Hendrick song called All Along the Watch
Oh of course, yeah, and Barefoot Servants too. Anyway, we
liked the name. It was me, Ben Schultz, Ray Brinker,
and the man Leland Sklarr. Oh if I died tonight,
Having worked and lived and bled with Lee Sklaar is
(14:28):
one of my major accomplishments. One of the best players
walking the earth period fall stop, and one of the
worsest guys I've ever met.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
How did you meet him? How did you team up
with him? How that all happen?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I'm not exactly sure. I think my songwriting partner in
the band, Ben Schultz, somehow had met Lee. I don't
know how exactly, but he said Ben and I were
doing demos of the first record and they sounded pretty good.
So somehow we got a demo to Lee. You know,
you never know, we didn't expect anything. I mean, the
(15:00):
guy was at that time touring with Phil Collins, right, So.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Well, that's what he's most famously for you to see
him in those videos, he's the guy with a long beard.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah. So he gets back to us and says, when
can I come by the studio.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
So one day League List Clark comes down to our
studio in Los Angeles and we started jamming, and boom
he asked, He asked if he could join.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
That's so awesome. Yeah, I mean von Phil Collins, Toto,
Jackson Brown, James Talne, and the guy.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I don't know where that list starts and ends. You know,
there's so many artists that he's played with, and everybody
feels the same about this guy. Everybody loves him. Everybody
everybody admires his work, ethic and his personality. It's so
much nicer to be in a band with guys you
(15:53):
like and admire. I there's no substitute for it, really.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah. Did you always get along well with your bandmates
that you have any difficulties? Because I get life on
the road. Everybody's all up in each other's face.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Me and Chris Martin, the original bass player, for Axis.
We're best friends to this day. And no, I've always
gotten along pretty well with the guys I was in
bands with. I think that was important to me, and
so maybe that filtered through and it was important to
them too.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Tell me about this production company, the state of the
art recording studio. You call it Electric Factory. This you
launched in the nineties, I believe.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Yeah, back in the days when my studio was completely analog,
you know, big tape machines, two inch street machines.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
I wish every album was still recorded on analog. You
could tell the difference.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I'll tell you what. We have a I now do
split my recording here in my house, in my basement.
I have a home studio, and there's another studio at Gloucester, Massachusetts,
where I live, and I go there to work with
an engineer that I'm friends with. Bottom line is I
get to do all this music promotion essentially home and
(17:05):
produce myself, which is what I wanted to do from
the very beginning. That was my frustration with the first
Access record. I don't think it turned out like we
knew it was supposed to be and how we sounded live.
So now I have the luxury of recording, you know,
on my terms, in my style, at my behest, and
(17:26):
I really enjoy that very much.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
There's a studio in San Fernando Hills, California. Is that no?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
No, no, I now live. Let me back up. I
had the Electric Factory, began the studio in California in Silmar, California.
I moved from the West coast back to the East
coast in twenty ten and so I kind of resurrected
my studio again. Here.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Is it still under the name Electric Factory.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Oh yeah, that's the name of my business.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Dude. You do not only work with recording artists, but
a lot of television, film, computer gaming projects are recorded there.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Yeah. I was lucky to have made some connections in
the nineties with guys that do media music, and I
had a really great run for a few years doing
Star Trek almost Ugly Betty. There was a TV series
called Ugly Betty that we did a bunch of shows.
I can't even think of it.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Well, I got some of them here. I just lifted
them from Wikipedia. So if they're wrong, you tell me.
But let's see HBO series dead Wood, A and E's
The Life and Times of Wild Bill Cody, the hughgles
from UPN, The Unit, CBS, Ugly, Betty ABC, Star Trek,
the Next Generation UPN My name is Earl NBC and
(18:44):
Hendrix the movie Wood Harris.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, yeah, that was. That was. I don't know whether
you saw that movie or not, the one with Wood
Harris played Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Okay, yeah, got it.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
The movie wasn't that good us They were blocked from
using Jimmy's songs. Let that sync in. Yeah, the movies
about Jimmy Hendrix, but there's not one originally penn Jimmy
Hendricks song in it. They couldn't get permission. So it
(19:19):
was wild Thing and she's a couple of her covers
and I just wasn't that good. But I had my
chance to play guitar as Jimmy Hendrix in the movie, so.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
That was cool. Booked on rock Podcasts. We'll be back
after this.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Don't go away, gentlemen, we may need all of you.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Let's talk about the new album. Nothing but Soul came
on July first, So what can fans expect to hear
on this album?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Nothing but Soul is an accumulation, an aggregation of all
the music I've done all my career, from Life Takes
a Life to now. It also reflects all of the
influences that went into making me who I was. And
I thought to myself, I don't know how many records
I have ahead of me at this point, but if
(20:10):
I were to pass away, I'd feel good about this
being my last record. That was my goal. I wanted
to make a record that really I felt secure and intentful.
I knew I had reached I said what I wanted
to say, I played what I wanted to play, and
I thought this was the best extrapolation of what I did.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Twelve tracks altogether. My favorites my Blue Sky Jam, the
title track. There's some cool stuff too. There's some sound elements,
like what's the one that has the It opens with
the sound of the police cars.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
And oh yeah, arrested, no arrested.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
No charges. Another great one.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
There's a lot of social commentary, Just like Life Takes
a Life was, there's a lot of social commentary in
my music. What I don't like to do is soap by,
you know, and be obviously political. I don't like that.
It's not cool with fans, and it just it narrows
the amount of people who can hear you. But I
(21:11):
have a point of view, and so that point, those
points of view come through those songs. I think Nothing
but Soul says more about me over my lifetime than
any of my other records have.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
And people can get it. It's on Spotify, people can
get it all the usual places, all.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Of the places that you download music. It's there right now.
And if you go to my website, John Butcher dot com,
we have hard copies for those who still have CD players.
I'll have vinyl in another month because that's my thing now.
I collect vinyl, and so we're gonna put this out
on vinyl. But you can find Nothing but Soul everywhere
(21:49):
that you download music right now.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
You're on fire on guitar, you're on vocals, but talk
about the rest of the band. Who else are we
hearing on these tracks?
Speaker 2 (21:58):
A lot of this record is me. I played bass.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah, I played a lot of the keyboards, although I
did have some help. A wonderful singer songwriter by the
name of Chris Pierce helped me with vocals, so you
hear his voice on it. Debbie Holliday, a terrific singer
in Los Angeles. You hear her voice on it Renee
dupre you hear her voice. Sandy Mack is playing some
(22:24):
B three for me, but a lot of the stuff,
a lot of the piano, bass, guitar, and some drums too.
I did myself.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
And you're gonna go on on tour to support the album.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh yeah. We're setting updates now and I figure we'll
go into rehearsal sometime in late summer early fall. And
I can't wait to actually get back to the Southwest.
I haven't been to Oklahoma and Texas and New Mexico
in a long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing
the United States again and seeing our fans who have
stayed with me for so many years.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
And who's going to be on the road with you?
Who's the band?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I am putting a new band together right now. It's
under wraps because it's going to be a big I'm
going to make a bit. It's a big splash. Okay,
I can't talk about that yet, but hopefully we'll get
a chance to talk about it again.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
But people just follow you on your website. Social media
dot com is.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
The best way. Of course. I'm at all social media.
I'm easy to find. There's just not that many John Butcher's.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
There are many outdres It's the one and only John Butcher.
Let's talk about some of the books on rock that
you've read. I always love asking these questions. Books that
you've read, want to read, want to see written. So
let's get into a books on rock you've read. Right now,
you're reading Life by Keith Richards. This book came out
in twenty ten. It has since sold over one million copies.
(23:40):
One I mean for books that is very rare.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I can tell you why. Unlike a lot of guys,
Keith said what was real? He said it. A lot
of the things that he says and has said people
take issue with, but the guy's outspoken and who if
not him, has earned the right at a little truthiness.
You know. He talks about the Stones, he talks about
(24:07):
his relationship with Mick, and he gives insight into what
a crazy ride the Rolling Stones were from the start
till now. The fact that they're still doing it now
says everything that needs to be said about that guy,
Keith Richards.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
What do you think would have happened if because we
know in the mid eighties Keith did some solo stuff
and Mick did some solo stuff. If either one of
those careers really took off, like if Mick had a
career like Phil Collins selling millions of albums, would we
ever have seen the Stones again?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
What you were suggesting, in my opinion is impossible. Here's why.
We all know Mick did his solo records. We all know,
and they were good.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
They're good.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And we all know Keith did solo records, and a
couple of those are great.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I love them.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
But the truth is, neither of them could eclipse the
shadow that the Rolling Stones cast on rock. Neither of
them impossible. It can't happen because that shadow is large everywhere,
no matter where you go.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And you know they realize that too. By the end
of the eighties. Yeah, they realized they needed each.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Other and they worked through bad stuff, you know what
I mean. I would love to meet Keith Richards. I
really would, because if he's not an og, I don't
know who is.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
He is amazing and from what I've heard, he's just
a down to earth guy.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I would love to meet him. I hope I get
a chance to sometime.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Somebody was telling me a story about they were on
vacation somewhere and this older gentleman with a dog comes
walking up to them because this person had a dog
and he was He's like, oh, I love your dog.
There and he had the English accident. He looks up.
It's Keith Richards and he just wanted to talk about
regular stuff. He didn't want it wasn't the rockstar attitude.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Not the coolest guy playing guitar as far as I'm living.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
What is it about his style of playing that makes
him so unique?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Oh that's easy. It's stupidly simple. It's not complicated. So
many guitar players have become sort of speed demons, one
playing faster than the other, and that flurry of notes
usually washes right over most people. They can't hear it.
Keith Richards simplicity as a player, and finding licks. We
(26:35):
remember playing licks. You remember, they're in my DNA. You know,
start me up. It's it's in everybody's DNA. That is
a particular talent that very few guitar players have. Simplicity,
economy and licks. You remember.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
You know it's interesting that you say that, because I
remember somewhere reading about how lyrically he is exactly the
same way when he takes his lyrics He really strips
it down to the basics, sent the yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Well that's the that has become the Stones formula. That's them.
They take this simple thing and spin it in a
way that's infectious that you remember. If you can't tell,
I'm a big fan.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Books you haven't read yet, but plan on Room Full
of Mirrors of Biography of Jimmy Hendricks by Charles R. Cross.
Also Hendrix Setting the Record Straight by John McDermott and
Eddie Kramer.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I haven't read. I want to read the John McDermott book.
John McDermott is responsible for creating the experience Hendrick's tour.
He is affiliated with the family, the Hendricks estate, and
so he that I'm hoping that in that book are
insights that you couldn't get from you know. And let
(28:03):
me tell you.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I was.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Fifteen, sixteen years old and I heard Purple Haze. And
it's hard to explain, especially in today, twenty twenty five,
how a thing can like alter your DNA alter it.
Somehow I was changed. I was in my room. I
(28:29):
had one of those record players that you open and
you close the record and the needle was in the
lid and you play it like that, right, that's old school, dude.
And I listened to that song oh fifty times in
a row, sixty trying to understand woooooooooo, trying to understand
(28:51):
what I was hearing, you know, and feedback that inextricably
changed me. And so there are many guitar players I
admire and have learned from, Jeff Beck being one, but Jimmy,
Jimmy created my path.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Dennis McNally, he was the Grateful Dead publicist for a while,
but he's also an amazing author, and he wrote this
great book recently about the San Francisco Hate Ashbury scene,
and he's talking about the concert in sixty seven Monterey,
and Jimmy was unfortunately, you know, if you handed him drugs,
(29:32):
he would take it. So he was really out of it.
And there was somebody that had seen him backstage like
minutes before he's going on, and he looked like I
think he described it as like a like a pile
of laundry sitting there, like there's no way he's gonna
he's no way he's gonna get up there, like we're
gonna have to figure something. He got up on stage
and just killed it. Yeah, and that's I guess something
(29:54):
you can speak to more as a musician. There's something
that happens. I guess when you hit the stage, no matter, there's.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
No doubt about it. It's a supercharge. Imagine, before you
go on stage, you have the most potent energy drink
you've ever had, right that, when the house lights go
down and you hear the first roar zoom, you know,
you're shot full of adrenaline. And I think that's what
(30:19):
Jimmy was playing on. Of course, the drugs killed him,
but the fact is that jolt that you get is
hard to explain, but it's palpable, you can feel it.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
What do you think he would have gone on to do.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
I'm certain he would have ended up in some facet
of jazz. I'm certain of it.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Right, That's what a lot of people have said.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Well, here's why he was experimenting. At the end of
his career. You began to hear experimentation. You began to
hear him want to break out of purple haze. Right.
He didn't want to live there anymore. He wanted to experiment. Well,
what happens when guitar players start seeking elsewhere and look
(31:02):
and casting about and looking for other inspiration. Oftentimes it
leads you to jazz.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Booked on Rock podcasts. We'll be back after this.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Oh this is heavy. There's that word again, heavy? Why
A thanks so heavy that future? Is there a problem
with yours? Gravitational pull?
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Find the bookdown Rock website at booked on rock dot com.
There you can find all the back episodes of the show,
the latest episode in video and audio, plus a video
highlight and link to our YouTube channel, links to all
of the platforms where you can listen to the podcast,
plus all the social media platforms were on Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
and x. Also check out the Booked on Rock blog.
(31:42):
Find your local independent bookstore, find out all the latest
hot rock book releases. And before you go, check out
the Booked on Rock online store. Pick up some booked
on Rock merch. It's all at booked on Rock dot com.
All right, some other books that you want to read.
They Can't Hide Us Anymore by Richie Havens. And also
you have Joey Kramer's book Hit Hard. Haven't read that
(32:02):
one yet.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Everybody tells me that's a good book because Joe look,
you know, as the drummer of Aerosmith, he was there
from the very beginning. I mean from day one there
he was in Brighton, Massachusetts, Cleveland Circle, and I would
run into these guys in the street, I mean literally
doing laundry at the laundry mat or the common market,
(32:24):
you know, a closed store back then. And so you're
walking the street like London, You're walking around and you're
seeing these guys in real life, and it makes you
feel like that you belong there, that you're part of
this tapestry. So Joey Kramer's book is, as I understand it,
a real insight into the Aerosmith dynamic. I'm really looking
(32:46):
forward to reading it.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you
think about Aerosmith's impact on rock history.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
If they weren't the American Rolling Stones, then there is
no such thing. Case closed Tyler. In his early days
when he was getting famous, a lot of guys would mention,
you know, the American Mick Jagger. I don't know if
that's true, but I do know this. I can't think
of another American band that had the same broad appeal
(33:15):
to several generations, not just one, that Aerosmith had in
their heyday. So I give them a lot of credit
for making rock homespun. We didn't need to just look
at the Rolling Stones in England. We had Aerosmith here
in America.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
You know what I thought was really cool. I'd have
heard this more often than not. Grunge rock artist grun
rock bands among the bands who inspired them early Aerosmith, that.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Doesn't which is so cool.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
No, if you listen to their arrow, you know before
all of the dude looks like a lady before that,
right right? They were basic and R and B and
blue driven rock. And Tyler had a way of being
the voice of that. I mean, a real distinctive voice.
(34:09):
So it doesn't surprise me that their shadow is large.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Here's what I'd love to know, John, I mean, you
can answer this as a singer. He was just Stephen
was just part of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute show. Sounded perfect,
sounded great now? So yeah, is it just he could
do a one off show because obviously Arismith had to
call it quits because they're saying that Steven Tyler had
an injury to his vocal chords, his voice, but yet
(34:36):
he's there singing great. Is it that he can't do
an extended tour?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Well? That's one night. Yeah, you know, two nights whatever
it was. That is not eighty cities. And remember I
told you early on, it's not the gigs, just the gigs,
but the traveling. Even if you, dude, if you're traveling
first class, best the best planes and the best cars
(35:00):
in the best hotels, you're still traveling. You're living out
of a suitcase. You're not at home. If you catch
a cold, it's a it's a problem, it's a bummer.
Where's the closest drug store? Can I get nipwel? You
know what I mean. So it doesn't matter how famous
you are. The traveling kicks the stuff.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Right out of you. And so there's something with his voice.
It's just not strong enough to withstand that anymore.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Oh and God bless him, he's only been doing it
for forty years or whatever it is, you.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Know, Yeah, just to see him up there again, it's like, Man,
I miss Steven Tyler. Yes he killd it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Yes, I tell you that. Tell you that music still
burns in his heart. That's what it is. He's not
at home of counting his bank role. He wants to
He wants to put it out there, whether or not
he's able physically to still do eighty ninety one hundred
and ten cities is immaterial to me.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
So what do you think he's doing? Because he can record,
then I'm sure he could record if he wanted to.
He's gotta be to do something, you.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Know, I think he will. I do. You know guys
like that, they take a break, they get rested that,
you know, then they go out for a one off
like with Ozzie and they go geez, I remember this,
this is pretty cool. So I expect to see some
one more thing from Steven speak of that.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
How about Ozzie? I thought sounded great. Yeah he was sitting,
you know, everybody was concerned, like what's gonna happen. It's
gonna be a disaster, But no.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
He did great. Is the same thing, It's the same dynamic.
These are guys, the guys were talking about, David Lee,
Roth Tyler, Ozzy. Music burns in them. It's like a
coal that's still burning. That ember is hot and you
got to do something with it.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
For me, it was making nothing but soul. That ember
was burning. I had to do it. And Tyler had
to do that Ozzie homage. He had to be there
I understand precisely how they feel.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Let's finish with books on rock. You'd like to see written.
You'd like to see a book about black musicians in rock?
You say, quote, what do Sister Rosetta Tharp, Ben Harper,
Ray White, Arthur Lee, Darryl Jones, Phil Lynnett, Vernon Reid
and me all have in common? Black rock musicians, all
indelible contributors into the book of rock, but not as
(37:25):
well known as Jimmy Prince or Chuck Berry. I'd love
to see a book on this as well, and I
don't see why you should not be the guy to
do it. Would you write a book one day?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I don't know. I'm not sure if I have the patients,
I would sure like to. I would love to collaborate
with somebody at some point, I think, especially as my
first time, a collaboration makes sense. But no, those artists
that I mentioned, most people, you know, I I call
it the people magazine people. They haven't heard those names,
(37:55):
you know. They don't know who those guys are. They
know who Prince is because he was able to break
outside of black rock musician into the mainstream. But that
doesn't happen all the time. So Yeah, I would love
to see a book like that, and if I could
be involved in it, I would love to to you.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Arthur Lee love. I finally had a chance within the
last few years to really dive into their catalog.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
It's eye opening. You can see seeds, you know what
I mean. You hear little beginnings of things that went
and you know, in a direction. I love discovering music
like that because there's gifts in it. There's discovery making.
The discovery of new music is the best gift ever.
(38:40):
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Yeah. Robert Plant was a huge fan of Arthur Lee. Yeah,
I think that says it all. That says it all.
You were getting airplane MTV at a time when black
artists were not getting much airplay at all. In fact,
you're the only black rock guitar player on MTV at
one time. Correct.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Isn't that weird? It's so weird to think about it
like that. My early record companies, when we started to
take off access, I don't think they knew what to do.
I really don't. I don't think they knew exactly how
to you know, well, wait a minute, he's rock. Of course,
there was Jimmy or Jimmy Henders. I don't think they
knew what to do with me. Now today, the business
(39:19):
has changed so fundamentally that it's fragmented into several niches,
you know what I'm saying. But then it was still
a conglomerate. You know, there was corporate rock. There was
corporate rock music video TV, and that's what it was.
And so being there in those early days was interesting,
I'll say it that way.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
There's a famous clip of David Bowie criticizing MTV while
being interviewed by MTV, saying, you don't have enough black
artists on because I remember, I think Michael Jackson was
really the guy that became the first pop artist on
MTV that really blew the doors open.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
But well, he blew doors open though you said it
right there. No one opened the door for him. You know,
he blew them open, and that's what it took.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
And Quincy also incorporating rock and roll elements into the
album Thriller with that e van Halen.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Yeah, you having Eddie van Halen play on Beat. It
did not hurt. Michael Jackson booked on.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
Rock Podcasts, will be back after this. Oh here's knife, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Look the way to the future did the Horizon, never
his mind on where he was.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Hey, guys, thanks so much for checking out the Booked
on Rock podcast. If you've just found the podcast, welcome.
If you've been listening, thank you so much for your support,
and make sure you tell a friend, a family member,
share on social media and let people know about Booked
on Rock. And if you do like the podcast, make
sure you subscribe give a five star review. Wherever you
listen to the Booked on Rock podcast, run Amazon, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, Speaker,
(41:00):
tune in in on YouTube music. You can check out
the full episodes on video, along with video highlights from
episodes on the Booked on Rock YouTube channel. Find it
at Booked on Rock. Thanks again for listening. Now back
to the show. All right, before we wrap this up,
John tell us again about the new album. Where can
people get it? Where can people find you online?
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah? Man, First of all, you can find me online
easily at John Butcher dot com. That's my website. If
you're at social media, type in your search box John Butcher,
I will almost certainly come up and you can get
the new album both at my website. Hard copy. You
can go to John Butcher dot com and we'll send
you a hard copy or you can download it at
(41:42):
all the usual suspects.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
And there is a link to the album in the
show notes. People can go there give it a listen.
This is a kick ass album. You're on fire. I
keep saying that, but that's the first thought that comes
in mind.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
Thank you so much for having me on. I really enjoyed.
I really enjoyed the chat. Fun, great questions and anytime
if you want to have you back on ready.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Oh absolutely, And I hope you come around my way.
Maybe on this tour you come around with Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Yeah, I'm sure I'll be down there. I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
All right, cool John, thank you, thank you so much for.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Having me on.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
No, no, that was an adventure.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I was quite assure you put on the bank. Well,
let me just close this conversation by saying you are
one unique individual.
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