John Butler Trio
The John Butler Trio are an Australian roots/rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums, Gavin Shoesmith on bass and John Butler on vocals. By 2009, the trio consisted of Butler with Byron Luiters on bass and Nicky Bomba on drums and percussion, the latter being replaced by Grant Gerathy in 2013. After both Luiters and Gerathy exited the trio in early 2019, bassist OJ Newcomb and drummer Terepai Richmond (also of The Whitlams) joined the band, accompanied by touring musician Elana Stone on keyboards, percussion and backing vocals.
John Butler Trio
Fremantle, Western Australia
1998–present
Jarrah, ATO, MapleMusic Recordings (Canada)
John Butler
OJ Newcombe
Terepai Richmond
Byron Luiters
Grant Gerathy
Nicky Bomba
Shannon Birchall
Michael Barker
Gavin Shoesmith
Rory Quirk
Jason McGann
Andrew Fry
The band's second studio album, Three (2001) reached the top 30 in the Australian album charts and achieved platinum sales. The band's subsequent studio albums: Sunrise Over Sea (2004); Grand National (2007); and April Uprising (2010) all debuted at the number one position on the Australian album charts, with all three albums reaching platinum sales status. Living 2001–2002 (2003), the band's first live album, reached the top ten and also achieved platinum status in Australia. The band's second live album, Live at St. Gallen (2005), also achieved gold record status. The band's releases since 2002 have been marketed independently by Jarrah Records, which Butler co-owns with West Australian folk band the Waifs and manager of both acts, Philip Stevens. Their most recent studio album, Home, was released in 2018.
History[edit]
Early career[edit]
The John Butler Trio is fronted by John Butler on vocals and guitars. He started his career as a busker in Fremantle, Western Australia and released a self-recorded cassette, Searching for Heritage in 1996. Gavin Shoesmith on double bass and bass guitar founded Katamaran in Darwin with Mark Hoffman on didgeridoo and Grant Smith on percussion.[1] With Butler, Shoesmith and Jason McGann on drums, John Butler Trio was formed in Fremantle in 1998 and independently released the John Butler album in December.[2] It was produced by Butler and included re-recorded versions of two tracks from his Searching for Heritage.
The trio toured throughout Western Australia in 1999, then The Waifs invited Butler to perform solo on their Australian tour – he also performed his own gigs. The John Butler Trio then launched their own tour where Butler met his future wife Danielle Caruana in Broome.
The John Butler Trio released the four-track extended play, JBT, in April 2000 with songs short enough to win radio play. It was produced by Butler and Shaun O'Callaghan.[2] Radio station Triple J chose the track "Pickapart" to put on high rotation. The band began to develop a wider reputation with a performance at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay in 2000.[3] Butler recalled that his first gig had about 50 people, the second gig started the same way when "it absolutely pissed with rain and 3000 people ran into our tent. And the show just went berserk. It was like a suffocated fire – you lift the lid and it explodes".[3] The John Butler Trio has become a regular artist at the annual event.[3]
Three[edit]
In April 2001, John Butler Trio released Three and relocated to Melbourne to promote the record on the east coast. The track, "Betterman", was on high rotation by Triple J.[4] Three peaked at No. 24 on the ARIA Charts.[5] It also remained on the alternative charts for nine months reaching No. 3. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 the album won an award for 'Best Independent Release'.[6] "Betterman" reached No. 5 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2001.
Shoesmith left the trio to form his own band, The Groovesmiths, Butler replaced him with 19-year-old Rory Quirk, who was on their first tour of the United States in 2001. Quirk, in turn, left in 2002 to pursue a career with his band, Quirk. Andrew Fry joined as the next bass player.
The success of Three led to its release in the US in 2002 and two tours of the US followed. The band supported the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer as well as playing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and the South by Southwest Festival. The band also played at the Splendour in the Grass Festival in Australia. Butler, his manager Phil Stevens and fellow Western Australian folk artists, The Waifs, founded Jarrah Records in July 2002.[7]
As a result of intensive touring, the band developed a great live reputation in Australia. The band released Living 2001-2002 in February 2003, a double live album which had a top ten debut in the ARIA album charts and went on to achieve platinum sales. Butler took a brief break after five years of solid work since 1997 for the birth of his daughter Banjo.
Sunrise Over Sea[edit]
In late 2003, John Butler entered Woodstock Studios in Melbourne owned by Joe Camilleri, the leader of Jo Jo Zep and the Black Sorrows. He had a new band consisting of percussionist Nicky Bomba and upright-bass player Shannon Birchall. After recording the album, Bomba returned to his own reggae band and was replaced by drummer/percussionist Michael Barker.
John Butler told the Australian edition of Rolling Stone released in April 2004 that he wanted greater freedom to pursue his vision. "Essentially what I learnt out of this process was, more so than ever, I'm the keeper of the music. I have the intuition and the foresight to pick the right players to my music. I've learned it's not always about having the same players for five, six or 10 years, it’s having the right chemistry for these songs at this time. Some of my favourite Jimi Hendrix music is off-the-cuff stuff with Band of Gypsies."
The title Sunrise Over Sea is taken from the lyrics to the second track, Peaches and Cream. The album debuted at number one in the national album charts on 15 March 2004 and achieved gold record status in its first week of release.
The Zebra EP was released in December 2003 and made the ARIA singles charts in early 2004. The song was voted No. 7 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2004 and also was the first John Butler Trio single to gain significant airplay on commercial FM radio across Australia, although it was still quite popular on Triple J.
John Butler would win an Australasian Performing Right Association award for Song of the Year in March 2004. On 20 October 2006, the track also appeared as the opening music for the episode 'Traffic' (Season 3, Episode 5) of the popular US Crime drama Numb3rs.
In 2005 John Butler and co-founder Danielle Caruana (his wife) inaugurated the JB Seed grant program. "The Seed aims to help Australian artists from any background, creating art and music across any genre, to establish themselves as self-sustained, professional artists."[8] Caruana also plays independent music, she plays under the name Mama Kin.[9]
Political activism[edit]
The band performed at The Wilderness Society's Save the Kimberley concert on 5 October 2012, alongside Clare Bowditch and Missy Higgins. The concert was part of a long-running campaign to protest against a proposal to industrialise the James Price Point area in Broome, Western Australia, and also featured an address from former leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown.[33]
Current members
Current touring musicians
Former members
Former touring musicians
Timeline
Studio albums
Live albums
Awards and nominations[edit]
AIR Awards[edit]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.