A Conversation with John Butler – HuffPost 2.5.14

Mike Ragogna: John, your new album Flesh & Blood continues your trio’s trademark sound that was pretty much established on April Uprising and Grand National. How do you approach the creative and recording elements for each project?

John Butler: First of all, all of us in the band agree that this song is boss and we are it’s employees and we let the song do what it wants. Second of all, there are no rules on how it wants to be brought into the world and it’s up to us to bring our skills and intuition to the table so as to bring life into the song. It can be real instruments, programs, and anything in between, whatever it takes to make the song feel like it’s been realized.

MR: The acoustic live video for Flesh & Blood‘s “Livin’ In The City” has gotten a lot of attention. As a live ensemble, what do you think is the trio’s superpower?

JB: I guess what I wanted to show more of on this album was the “experimental” music aspect that is one of the trio’s strong suites. The ability to have a wide dynamic range in a song that you can go from hearing a pin drop to a massive psychedelic musical experience in one song, I call it “flowering”–the opening and closing of the dynamic range.

MR: What do you think are the most powerful tracks on Flesh & Blood?

JB: “You’re Free,” “Blame It On Me,” “Wings Are Wide,” “Living In The City,” and “How You Sleep At Night.”

MR: Why did you title the album Flesh & Blood?

JB: I just thought it reflected the lyrical and musical content on the album. We’re all made up of flesh and blood, and these songs are all about the human condition and what it is to be human on this planet. Byron, the bass player, interprets the meaning as a fleshing out and evolution of the sound, but keeping the core; the blood, the songwriting tradition of the John Butler Trio.

MR: How does the band’s sound gel when members change?

JB: This album is mostly made up of the same musicians as April Uprising–Byron Luiters on bass, Nicky Bomba on drums and Grant Gerathy, our new drummer, played on “How You Sleep At Night.” I’ve only shaken up the trio’s lineup twice. It’s not something I doing often. But I do feel every player has left their mark and made this band what it is today.

MR: When April Uprising was released, it hit #36 on the Billboard album chart and you had a #1 Triple A hit with your song “Better Than.” Do these successes affect your creativity or approach for the next projects?

JB: No, because if you start coming from that world, it’s a very uncreative place.

MR: You’ve had major success in Australia,your home base. How do the Australian and US audiences and fans differ and how are they the same?

JB: They’re mostly the same. What I find between every country is that they have their own flavor of passion. Americans are quite encouraging and gung-ho; Australians are just as passionate, but there is a certain prode in their love. The French have an almost revolutionary type of passion, which has a completely different gusto than the rest of the world. But essentially, we’re all the same. We like good music and want to have a good time.

MR: What does the future look like?

JB: If I had a dollar… Essentially, the past doesn’t exist, neither does the future. The present looks awesome!

MR: What is your advice for new artists?

JB: Do what you love, work hard, know the definition of luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. Play every gig like it’s your last, always follow your gut, even if it doesn’t make perfect sense in a so-called “real world.” Oh yeah–don’t take yourself too seriously.