Matt Butcher
Encyclopedia
Matt Butcher, born in Birmingham
, England
in 1983, is a Folk
, Americana
, Country
, Independent
recording artist from Orlando, Florida
. Butcher, former lead singer of Orlando's The Heathens
, recorded his first solo album during the summer of 2008. Entitled "Me and My Friends"
, the album was released independently in the fall of 2008 and was voted one of the ten best of that year in the Orlando Sentinel
.
, then to Amsterdam
then to Colorado Springs before finally settling in Orlando
in 1999. Learning to play the guitar at an early age, Butcher soon joined a series of local bands in Orlando, culminating with a position as lead singer and songwriter for The Heathens
. The band enjoyed moderate success, releasing one album, "Big White House", and touring the East Coast of the United States. After leaving The Heathens in August 2006 to pursue his own songwriting, Matt Butcher began playing with a series of different musicians in order to find a sound quality that would suit his distinctive style. Having opened as a solo artist for The Avett Brothers
, Conor Oberst
, and The Felice Brothers
Butcher was ready to add additional instruments to fully accompany his songs.
player Tom Cooper, Butcher soon added Daniel Berry on drums, Matthew Mendel on keyboard and vocals, Dave Chmil on guitar and vocals and Gus Ramage on bass. The newly named "Revolvers", both as an homage to the gunslinging South Butcher so often imbues and the multi-instrumentalist abilities of the players in the band, began almost immediately playing as Butcher's backing band at local Orlando venues, and soon built a loyal following; culminating in a sold out CD-Release show for "Me and My Friends". The album, produced by Justin Beckler and self-funded by Butcher, was given four and a half stars from five by Reax Music Magazine
: saying, "Matt Butcher has carved out his own immediately recognizable niche, a dewey-praire [sic] mix of wistfulness and confession executed with a deceptively light touch that only barely suggests the material’s substance... and it only gets better with repeated listens."
on their Florida tour dates.
After the construction and debut of his personal website in September 2009, Butcher opted to emulate Radiohead
and follow the "pay as you go" business model of In Rainbows
for the digital distribution of his music.
Butcher recently completed recording his second album, tentatively titled "Ghostwriting".
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1983, is a Folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
, Country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, Independent
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
recording artist from Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Butcher, former lead singer of Orlando's The Heathens
The Heathens
The Heathens were an Americana, indie rock band hailing from the Orlando, Florida area. Their first album, Big White House, was released by Post*Records in 2006.- History :...
, recorded his first solo album during the summer of 2008. Entitled "Me and My Friends"
Matt Butcher Me and My Friends
Me and My Friends is a 2008 album by Matt Butcher, accompanied by "The Revolvers". The album received overwhelmingly positive reviews, including commentaries from the Orlando Weekly, The Daily Times and KillerPop.- Track listing :...
, the album was released independently in the fall of 2008 and was voted one of the ten best of that year in the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
.
History
Born in England in 1983, Butcher spent his youth moving with his family; first to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, then to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
then to Colorado Springs before finally settling in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
in 1999. Learning to play the guitar at an early age, Butcher soon joined a series of local bands in Orlando, culminating with a position as lead singer and songwriter for The Heathens
The Heathens
The Heathens were an Americana, indie rock band hailing from the Orlando, Florida area. Their first album, Big White House, was released by Post*Records in 2006.- History :...
. The band enjoyed moderate success, releasing one album, "Big White House", and touring the East Coast of the United States. After leaving The Heathens in August 2006 to pursue his own songwriting, Matt Butcher began playing with a series of different musicians in order to find a sound quality that would suit his distinctive style. Having opened as a solo artist for The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of...
, Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, Norman Bailer , Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk.-Musical career:Oberst began...
, and The Felice Brothers
The Felice Brothers
The Felice Brothers are a folk rock/country rock band from Upstate New York founded in 2006.-History:The Felice Brothers got their start as a band playing in the New York City subway,. The sons of a carpenter, they would play together on Sundays at their father's afternoon barbecues...
Butcher was ready to add additional instruments to fully accompany his songs.
The Revolvers
Starting first with Pedal SteelPedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
player Tom Cooper, Butcher soon added Daniel Berry on drums, Matthew Mendel on keyboard and vocals, Dave Chmil on guitar and vocals and Gus Ramage on bass. The newly named "Revolvers", both as an homage to the gunslinging South Butcher so often imbues and the multi-instrumentalist abilities of the players in the band, began almost immediately playing as Butcher's backing band at local Orlando venues, and soon built a loyal following; culminating in a sold out CD-Release show for "Me and My Friends". The album, produced by Justin Beckler and self-funded by Butcher, was given four and a half stars from five by Reax Music Magazine
Reax Music Magazine
Reax Music Magazine is a Tampa-based music and art magazine first published by Joel Cook in 2006. Reax's distribution reaches nearly twenty markets throughout the state of Florida, including Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahasee, Miami, and Pensacola...
: saying, "Matt Butcher has carved out his own immediately recognizable niche, a dewey-praire [sic] mix of wistfulness and confession executed with a deceptively light touch that only barely suggests the material’s substance... and it only gets better with repeated listens."
Present Activities
After the success of his debut album, Matt Butcher and his backing band the Revolvers opened for The Avett BrothersThe Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of...
on their Florida tour dates.
After the construction and debut of his personal website in September 2009, Butcher opted to emulate Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and follow the "pay as you go" business model of In Rainbows
In Rainbows
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
for the digital distribution of his music.
Butcher recently completed recording his second album, tentatively titled "Ghostwriting".
External links
- http://www.mattbutchermusic.com
- http://www.myspace.com/mattbutchermusic
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECflReUW-RM&feature=player_embedded
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI6e9r4GMTY&feature=related
- http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20090910/ENT/309109947
- http://killerpop.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/matt-butcher-me-and-my-friends/