Sentiments from the PV staff.....

 “Nick Wheeler of the All-American Rejects introduced me to Butch Walker's music a few years ago. He told me everyone should have his album, Left of Self-Centered, and that "Freak of the Week" was a kickass Marvelous 3 song. I heeded his advice and was hooked on his hooks instantly.” -- Jessica Sager

"Butch Walker creates music that’s timeless. His albums have stood the test of time in my CD player. No matter what trends have come and gone in the industry, Marvelous 3 albums have never left my rotation. He’s a musical God, but so humble that I don’t think he even realizes it. He deserves the world at his feet, and once you see him live, or listen to any of his songs, you’ll know why.”  --Joelle Caputa

"I think Butch Walker is genius. Not only is he a great producer, but he's an incredible musician. His stage presence and show are amazing, but the cool thing about him is that he's sheer musical talent. His voice can be rock ‘n roll and yet also operatic at times. He's one of a kind and anyone who has seen him live knows that. --Jordana Reim

“I LOVE him from the cockles of my heart. He inspires me beyond belief. You can't listen to that Cartersvillianand not soak in all his poetry. He's a lyrical, musical, and personal genius. A world without Butch Walker is not a happy one. I haven't met one person that has listened to B-Dub and has not fallen completely in love.” --Cait Earnest

"What's not to love about photographing anyone caught in a passionate moment? The one word I'd use to describe Butch on stage is passionate. Oceans of melody pour from this guy's body with such a natural ease that it convinces his audience of one major thing- there is no question as to what Butch Walker is here to do. He's an amazing artist and an even cooler guy. No one rocks on stage more than Butch and the pictures speak for themselves."  --Dave Sgalamabro

“Besides being one of the most humbling men I've ever met, I wouldn't have been able to survive NYC's most rickety table without his helping hand.” --Jessie Zacharda

...... And Artists:

Gabe Saporta, Midtown/ Cobra Starship:  “What people don't realize about Butch Walker is that he is the master of vibe. Of course he's an amazing singer, musician and songwriter, but his greatest talent lies in laying down the best vibe. He walks into a room and suddenly you see rainbows and carebears. That's what makes him so amazing in the studio; he just sets an atmosphere that makes the whole experience fun.”

 Nick Wheeler, All American Rejects:   “Butch is a great songwriter. I definitely admire his solo work, in addition to Marvelous 3. And he does a great Queen cover, too!”  

Val Emmich: "I've had the pleasure of touring with Butch Walker a few times and I also wrote some songs with him for my upcoming record, Slow Down Kid, due out this fall 2005. The guy boggles my mind, and for so many different reasons. 

First of all, whether he's in the studio, on stage or rocking out to one of his impromptu iTunes mix parties on the bus, music oozes out of Butch like no one I've ever seen. He can pick up any instrument at any time and play the shit out of it (and yes, better than you).

While the industry probably knows him best for the work he does for other artists - producing, writing, recording songs for people beneath himself, and generally making them look a lot better than they really are. True Butch fans know that you have not heard or experienced Butch Walker unless you've seen him perform live. When he's on stage it's as if that's the only place where he was put on this earth to be. The stage is where he truly lives, breathes, sweats and dies. And he does it every single night. He's got endless energy. To see him live is to believe him.

To top it all off, Butch is also the nicest guy in the world. He's witty, generous, kind and intelligent. You see him on stage and you see a real deal rockstar and you meet him and you see nothing but a regular dude with cool hair and a lot of tattoos. If Butch has a weakness, it's the fact that he can do anything. In today's15-second-attention-span cookie-cutter world, it's difficult to trap Butch into one easily labeled box and perhaps that's the only reason why he's not the biggest star on the planet today." 

Adam Richman: "Butch Walker inspires me in all ways! I do everything that Butch Walker does! That guy is a God. I mean, he knows how to write, and the only thing I can say about Butch Walker is that I wish I were like a tenth of the performer that he was… or that he is. Because he can just control an audience like they're in the palm of his hand. I mean, I don't know how he does it, he's just amazing. He's probably one of the best rock shows I've ever been to. Butch is a great diverse songwriter; Butch will not pigeonhole his songwriting at all. I look up to Butch immensely, in so many different facets of my career, and I've had doors open for me because people saw my likeness to Butch, and they've enjoyed Butch. And that’s been a blessing too I think, as far as people to emulate. Especially because with all that's current, and you don't know what's fleeting and what's lasting, Butch Walker has just been doing it for so long. And I feel like Butch Walker is forever, and if you do what he does, it's a timeless approach to making music and writing songs, and that's how you should always do it."

Jarrett Beeler, Copperpot: "The Hey! Album, like Costello's This Years Model or Matthew Sweet's 100% Fun, is a perfect pop record. Butch is an amazing songwriter and performer, and has pretty much established himself as one of the most sought after producers out there. Above all that, he's one of the most genuine, humble, and kind people you could ever meet. The guy's a shit softball player though.”

Steve DeMaio,  Manhattan At Dawn: “I love Butch Walker! He is my God! I opened for him about three years ago, and he was not only the most amazing performer I have ever seen, but one of the coolest level headed Atlantian’s I have ever met! May he continue to be more talented than he is given credit for!

 Adam Bird, Perfuma: “I love Butch Walker because back a million years ago, I was watching the Marvelous 3 on HBO's Reverb, and Butch threw his pick behind his back, kicked it back up, and caught it-all during a guitar solo! I've been in love ever since.”
 

 Ellen Hudson (label rep):  “When I get frustrated with the music business, Butch's live show reaffirms that talent shines with a higher purpose than ego.”
 

Mike Bender, The Pennyroyals: “I love Butch because he pours his heart into his music. He is the best singer/songwriter/musician/performer that I've ever seen and/or met in my life. He has inspired me as a musician to write what comes naturally to me and not be afraid to let your music become you.”

 Jeff Gray, Cleopatra Records: “Butch inspires me because of all bullshit he's been through in the music industry, he still keeps his wry sense of humor and sarcasm about it. Butch knows how to tear someone's ass apart without making them feel like the dick they really are. He'll also make them want to sing along.”
 

"I think you always have to do what you set out in life to do, regardless of how successful you are at it. You are successful when you're doing what you want to do. You're not successful if you give up and do something that you don't want to do. It's not about how much you make, as much as it is that you actually went for it." - Butch Walker to Planet Verge's Jordana and Joelle

When PV’s Jordana interviewed Butch Walker as part of her feature on The Style Network’s The Look for Less, the former Marvelous 3 frontman -gone- solo- singer/producer-extraordinaire, reflected on the musical path he’s traveled, and what he’s learned from it. Read what he had to say, and then see what his peers had to say about him.

PV: You just returned from touring in Japan with Avril Lavigne. What was that like?
Walker: I found the fanship to be pretty insane. They would follow us and pay money to go through the train station, but not get on the train. They'd just come in and sit right outside your window of the train, and just stare at you. These three girls drove all the way from one end of Japan to the other, which is a long way. They couldn't even get into the show with Avril. Some of the crew came and got me, so I came outside and they started crying. It was sweet. I got them passes to the show. They didn't know what I was saying, so a guy had to translate it. I stood there and watched him translate what I had just said, that I wanted to give them passes. All of a sudden, two of them fainted. It was amazing. I was very flattered, but at the same time, it was crazy.


PV: How do you feel about the promotion of your new album, Letters?
Walker: I think that it could be better. I've beat my label up about it to the point where I think they feel bad for me now and they're gonna actually work it. It's a slow, steady climb. When I tour, people buy the record. When, I'm not on tour, I don't actually sell a lot of records because I don't have my own reality TV show. You gotta have all these ridiculous things to sell records these days.

PV: Are you at a point in your career where you feel satisfied, or is there something that you're still striving for?
Walker: I'm pretty satisfied. I'm finally making the kind of music that I want to make, and I'm making records for other people that I want to make. It could have gone two ways. I could have been a really huge artist and a producer that doesn't have a successful track record, so most of my records that I produce are more obscure records. It would give me the freedom to produce whoever I wanted. But the fact that I landslid into being a producer who produces big acts, and I've been fortunate to sell a lot of records, and then the artist career of mine is the opposite of that- it's more underground and a more personal, family, friend, cult. I like that it happened that way instead. It's the best of both worlds.


PV: How useful have you found MySpace to be in promoting your music?
Walker: It's worked a lot for me. It's how you virally spread your music. It's actually sold a lot of records that way, a lot more than I normally would. I think it's very important, when your label nine times out of then, doesn't help do shit for your band. You better rely on a lot of Internet marketing. It's something that you can do for free and do yourself. It's extremely important for the midlevel to starving artist.


You need Butch Walker in your life now: www.butchwalker.com
www.myspace.com/butchwalker

Psss... this is just one of our many interviews with Butch Walker. Want more? Then order a copy of our past issues!