The Marvelous Butch Walker
of Marvelous 3
By Victoria Manick
From
RocknRollReporter.com
October 9, 2000
| Patiently waiting to go back
on tour, Marvelous' 3, Butch Walker, is in the studio working on tension building intros
for the live shows. They took time off their 300 shows a year to record their latest
release, ReadySexGo; an album Walker calls "celebratory." Walker does all the
writing for Marvelous 3, a band that has been together since adolescence, to leave their
mark on music history. You've helped co-produce ReadySexGo and your Hey! Album. What kind of musical freedom does that give you as musicians? As far as records go, I've always had a hand in controlling what goes on because I'm very protective of my work. I don't want anyone telling me how to express my art. I usually bring in someone I like and admire to co-produce with me, that way I'm just as heavy handed in recording, engineering, and mixing as they are. I've found a great person in Jerry Finn (producer of ReadySexGo). He's secure enough with his abilities to let me do my thing and vice versa. Producers have burned me before. You have to be careful who you work with and they have to be passive enough to understand the way I am and the vision I'm seeking. Musical inspiration comes from every avenue of life, but what exactly provided you guys with inspiration for this album? Being on tour last year. After playing together since we were kids, we got to play on Letterman, be on MTV, make videos, play huge rock festivals, and meet our favorite bands, who in turn became our fans. It was one long overdue party. We were ready to cash our karma in and get the fuckin' party started. This record shows that. We reflected our history and realized how far we've come. We decided to write about why we wanted to get started in this business, regardless if we sell one record or a million, we wanted to leave a mark. I decided to make this record as a statement. Did you plan on using an 80's influence or did that happen during recording? It's never been intentional. I can't hide the fact that I grew up listening to that kind of music, so of course the influence is there. You know what's so funny is a lot of bands are trying to sound 80's because it's trendy again. But I'm not trying to talk about rubics cubes and parachute pants. What are some of the pros and cons of working with big record companies? I wanted to sign a major deal because I need them to get my music out there. I really wanted a million people to hear my music. I can use them just as much as they're using me. They're using me for money and I'm using them for resources. After Hey! came out, I tried to get us signed. I went to label after label, but they didn't want anything to do with us. When "Freak of the Week" became a hit, I couldn't get the labels off the phone. Do you prefer being in the studio or out on stage? Being on stage can be a rush, a headache, miserable, and the best thing in the world. It depends on the crowd or whether we're sprinkled with "fairy dust" that day. The studio is my first love. I learned how to produce and engineer a record before I could perform on stage. Now that I have a few years of performing under my belt I really enjoy it. I'm just glad to be in front of people. You've modeled for Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch, what is the difference between a model photo shoot and a band photo shoot? Oh God, well, I like being in front of the camera, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm a fuckin' ham and I know it. There isn't much of a difference. Posing is just another form of expression. I like to get a visual and sonic point across. What future aspiration do you have now? I'll be happy if we sell as many as we did on the last record. I would love to see this album do as well as it possibly could. I want everyone to understand it, buy it, love it, and become a part of it. I just want to be heard and take it from there. We may have been doing this for a long time but we're just getting started. Victoria Manick |