New faces: John Butler Trio plays in Geelong this month.
Erin Pearson
A JOURNEY of change will bring a new-look John Butler Trio to Geelong this month.
Butler will play tracks off his latest album with new band members after a line-up change last year.
“You can’t stop evolution,” said the three-time ARIA award winning musician.
“It’s sometimes painfully slow and other times brutally quick but nevertheless it’s ongoing.”
Butler said his embrace of evolutionary processes allowed him to record April Uprising, his first album in three years.
“I’ve been going through a bit of a personal, spiritual, and musical revolution of late,” he said.
“I really wanted to make a strong, focussed, song-driven album.
“We came together as a great production team and our chemistry just added to the potency of what we created.”
Brother-in-law Nicky Bomba has joined the trio on drums and percussion with new bass player Byron Luiters.
Butler believed his new line-up helped produce a “more edgy, more naturally fluid feel” on April Uprising.
“I definitely wanted to create a more aggressive and focused sound,” he said.
“Songs like One Way Road, Revolution and even Close To You are all addressing certain attributes of living in this extreme day and age, whether it’s wondering how we all put up with the complete lack of common sense and respect in our society or wondering why we aren’t encouraged to follow our dreams and take risks.
“The people you work with want to know that their experience and opinions matter, are appreciated and respected.”
Butler said the title of the album reflected the change in his band.
“April Uprising is a metaphor for transformation,” Butler said.
“April was the month when this huge period of change in my life manifested in the foundations of this album.
“It still feels like just the beginning which is exciting.”
The group recently performed in front of 8500 people at an iconic Red Rocks Colorado in June and a crowd of 5500 at a prestigious Summer Stage in New York.
The band has also celebrated its most successful year on national radio, with the album’s second single, Close To You, securing the title of most-played Australian song this year.
The new album has also officially achieved platinum status and Butler’s third ARIA chart album to debut at number one.
John Butler Trio will perform with special guest Blue King Brown at Geelong’s Costa Hall on September 19.
