THE JOHN BUTLER TRIO

Interview conducted by

Brendan John Worrell

BJW "Ok, the John Butler Trio, if I've got it correctly you guys come from the south west though have recently moved east to the big smoke. This action is often considered a necessity for so many bands yet the danger of being swallowed up by the mass is a reality. Obviously you've taken the challenge and believe in your ability to crack the eastern market in the same way as you did on your home turf - how's it going so far?"

JBT "We are doing really well, we are actually pulling more punters here than we did back at home now...but that may have a little to do with the old population ratio thingy. We are all very thankful for it and realise that a lot of great bands get stuck in the traffic over here...and we have been afforded a pretty cruisy ride."

BJW "What precautionary measures are you taking to remain committed to your ideals in your quest for success or have you simply sold out big time and don't give a naff' for your original fan base? Realising you used to busk outside the Freo' markets to the position you are in today- how are you managing to fit your heads into your skivvies so to speak - any cranium dilemmas?"

JBT "We still get our hands really, really dirty...we are 100% independent...not even with an independent record label, that means all the money from those busking days was put straight into making tapes, then reinvested into albums and it has been that way ever since. We tour extensively which keeps us in strong contact with our fan base new and old..and still some of the same people who used to watch the busking are coming to our shows today. As for our skivvies...we seems to be having much more problems fitting into our jocks..you know ego, grows and reproduces in one's testicles."

BJW "For those readers out there who may not have heard your music yet, who have you been compared to in the past and who would you say you aspire to?"

JBT "We have been compared to Dolly Parton on acid, Leo Sayer on downers somewhere between the philharmonic orchestra and Slayer."

BJW "On an industry level, many live rock n roll theorists bemoan the late to mid nineties and the present, in terms of mass music culture having sliced the throat of the local pub rock scene as more punters are inclined to visit a night club rather than support a local band. In your view is this just retro pessimistic slop from failures who never cracked the big time cos' they couldn't stop smoking dope or is it a reality you're still trying to confront and modify?"

JBT "I don't know about confronting and modifying anything we are just doing what we do...but the scene has definitely changed. It just seems that there is less support for live original Australian music...but at the same time I have no idea what the pub scene was really like in the eighties and nineties...first time I went to a pub was to do a gig. What I really think sucks is that live music venues are being shut down all over the country because of these dodgy complaints from newly arrived inner city dwellers...in Brisbane there is only 2 or 3 live music venues left after a veritable culling over the past 4 or 5 years, that along with the pokie revolution is bound to ruin any pub rock scene."

BJW "For someone who has no idea what is going on in the music world apart from Kylie's new cd, what's actually happening out there today? Who are the movers and shakers on a national scene, what other bands are of the ilk to take it to the top?"

JBT "We really don't know what is going on in the music world, we literally have our heads down touring, driving, lugging, sound checking, playing, packing up etc etc most of the time. There are countless bands that have the ilk...far too many to mention..and far too many we don't know about yet."

BJW "Ok, the million dollar question, what about the babes? Any thing you'd like to say to prospective groupies out there who wanna' get down your pants when you come to town?"

JBT "Yeah, I'm married, and the drummer and the bass player both have girlfriends. But please come check out the MUSIC."

BJW "Last question- Australia 2002 - where are we going, what's going on, what happened to the vision, gimme' some hope, you guys are meant to be spokespeople for the culture - are you fulfilling your role or wasting the privileged position your talent has attained for you?"

JBT "I'm concerned that Australia will turn into the 53rd state of America. I'm concerned about the mining and clear-felling of this amazing country so that we can sell it away to multi-national corporations, leaving us with more desert than we already have. I'm concerned that people vote for people like John Howard. As for our part, check the artwork of the new album, check the links on the website, and listen to the lyrics. We don't offer any answers we just pose some interesting questions, and try to get people thinking, rather than turn off and tune out."

BJW "Ok, thanks heaps- hope you like Darwin and come back again."

JBT "Thank you, and we are all really looking forward to our first gig in Darwin."