- Jon Butcher
Infobox musical artist
Name = Jon Butcher
Born = 5/5/1955 ??,Alaska
Genre = rock,blues
Years_active = 1970s—present
URL = Official|http://www.jonbutcher.comJon Butcher is an American rock and
blues singer andguitarist andfreelance multimedia producer.Early life
When he was 7 years old he picked up his first
guitar . Butcher says he was inspired byGene Autry .... "He had the horse, the gun, the girl and the guitar."Fact|date=February 2007 When he was 12, he took a year ofpiano lessons which he said made him never want to play piano due to getting rapped on the knuckles by the instructor. When Butcher was older, his family moved toPennsylvania , and from there he went toGrahm Junior College inBoston, Massachusetts . He then alienated himself from most of his family as he pursued his dreams. He didn't want where he was from to compromise where he was trying to go. When was the last time he went home to Lancaster P.A. He won't even mention where he's from.Johanna Wild
Butcher cut a path through the
Northeastern United States Rock & Roll scene in the early to late 1970s, when his premierBoston based club band, Johanna Wild, garnered a very large following. The most popular Johanna Wild lineup featuredJeff Linscott ,Derek Blevins andTroy Douglas Sutler III . Other musicians who participated wereCliff Goodwin ,Jamie Pease, Glenn Evans andKent Pearson in the early years, and later,Sandy Higgins .Influences
Many people compared Butcher to
Jimi Hendrix initially. Butcher says that all musicians and bands from the 1960s influenced him. He lists among his many major influencesJohn Lennon andKeith Richards . While Butcher is humbled by the comparison to Hendrix, he likes to emphasize that "because I am a black man and playguitar everyone assumes that Hendrix was my one and only influence and he was not."Fact|date=February 2007Jon Butcher Axis
The fanbase and relentless touring of
Johanna Wild enabled Butcher to gain immediate media attention when in the early 80s, he formedJon Butcher Axis , which consisted of Butcher and Kent Pearson onguitar and vocals, Chris Martin on bass and formerJohanna Wild bandmate Derek Blevins on drums. The band frequently played Uncle Sam's, a large nightclub in Nantasket Beach, MA during this era where Jon Butcher would draw huge crowds into the hundreds. It was not uncommon for Jon Butcher to have a half dozen or more Fender Stratocaster guitars on stage, each in a different color, adding allure to his stage presence.Opening for J. Geils Band
Jon Butcher Axis was picked to support
Boston 's already world famousJ. Geils Band on their 1982 "Land of a Thousand Dances " American tour, which ultimately led to a major label contract withPolydor . One of the high moments of Butcher's career was the homecomingJ. Geils show from that tour.Jon Butcher Axis had the great pleasure of opening a 3 night stand to packedBoston Garden audiences. The band did not disappoint the Boston crowds who were already very familiar with their music.1983
1983 saw the release of their first album titled "
Jon Butcher Axis ". It featured a reworked version of a late 70sJohanna Wild single that had attracted a lot of localBoston radio attention, titled "(It Takes) A New Man ". Other notable tracks showing off the band's tight hard rocking sound included "Ocean In Motion " and "Walk Like This ". The album reached #91 inBillboard Pop Albums chart and Butcher'svideo for "Life Takes A Life " was one of the first by a black artist to receiveairtime onMTV . The follow-up album, "Stare at the Sun", (1984) managed to reach only #160 on theBillboard album chart.1985 - 1986
In 1985, Jon Butcher Axis moved to
Capitol Records and released "Along the Axis ". A song on that album, "The Ritual", earned Butcher aGrammy nomination forBest Rock Instrumental Performance . Singles andvideo s were released for "The Sounds of Your Voice " and "Stop ". "The Sounds of Your Voice " was the onlyBillboard Hot 100 hit; it reached #94.Jon Butcher Axis frequently toured major venues across the country during this period, opening for INXS.1987 thru 1989
The following releases, "Wishes" (1987) and "
Pictures From The Front " (1989) were simply under the Jon Butcher name. "Wishes" was Butcher's most successful album, reachingGold Album status.Barefoot Servants
In 1991, Jon Butcher Axis ceased to exist. Butcher spent the rest of the 90s on several projects. In 1994, he led a group called
Barefoot Servants , which released a self-titled album onEpic Records . The band includedLeland Sklar (bass),Ben Schultz (guitar) andRay Brinker (drums). "Barefoot Servants 2" was released byATOM Records in August 2005. DrummerRay Brinker has been replaced byLondoner Neal Wilkinson .Solo endeavors
In the mid 90s, Butcher released two solo blues albums, "
Positively The Blues " and "Electric Factory ". 1998 sawRazor & Tie issue "The Best of Jon Butcher – Dreamers Would Ride ". In November 2000, Butcher released aCD via his web site - "A Long Way Home "."
A Stiff Little Breeze " was issued in 2001, and was Jon’s first project with the independent labelATOM Records . This CD resurrected the Jon Butcher Axis name. 2002 brought an additionalJon Butcher Axis release, "An Ocean in Motion – Live in Boston 1984 ".Video
Butcher's first
DVD video release came in 2004. "Live At The Casbah " was filmed in December 1984 at a club inManchester, NH . It contains several never-released songs, and additional music from his first threeJon Butcher Axis releases.Multimedia projects
In addition to touring all over the United States and other countries to support various incarnations of both Jon Butcher Axis and Barefoot Servants, Butcher created his own production company and state of the art studio named "Electric Factory". In addition to providing music production services for recording artists, Butcher spends a great amount of his time scoring music for television, film and
computer gaming . Recent projects include music for theHBO series "Deadwood" & A&E’s "The Life and Times of Wild Bill Cody ".Discography
Albums
ingles
External links
*Official|http://www.jonbutcher.com
* [http://www.atomrecords.com/profiles/butcher_profile.htm ATOM Records]
* [http://www.rockdetector.com/artist,4739.sm Rock Detector]
* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Jon_Butcher Yahoo Group]
*MySpace|jonbutcher
* [http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/jon-butcher-concert/20052602-3598.html Listen to Jon Butcher Live at the Hollywood Palace on July 31, 1987]
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