Jon Butcher is an American rock, blues song writer, guitarist & freelance multimedia producer.Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Influences 3 Johanna Wild 4 Jon Butcher Axis 5 American Tour opening for The J. Geils Band 6 1983 7 1985–1986 8 1987–1989 9 Barefoot Servants 10 Solo endeavors 11 Video 12 Multimedia projects 13 Discography 13.1 Albums 13.2 Singles 14 References 15 External links
[edit] Early life
Born Jon A. Toombs to Joan Butts and John A Toombs Sr., Jon picked up his new last name and his first guitar simultaneously at the age of six, through inspirations of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and other singing cowboys seen in old movies. In 1964, Jon's stepfather William Butcher adopted him and moved the family from Philadelphia, PA to Clear Air Force Base, Clear, Alaska, population 1,166 for career opportunities. In 1969, Jon's family moved back to Pennsylvania where Jon and his younger brother Brian finished Secondary education at Conestoga High School. Jon then attended Grahm Junior College in Boston, Massachusetts for Broadcast Journalism and it was there that his professional music career began in earnest. [edit] Influences
Many people have made comparisons between Jon Butcher and Jimi Hendrix particularly in the early stages of Jon's career; however those comparisons were ultimately short-lived. Some of Jon's influences are Richie Havens, John Lennon, Phil Lynott, Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal. While Butcher maintains humility in regards to Jimi Hendrix comparisons, he emphasizes they may be superficial. "Being black and playing a Stratocaster created certain inevitable comparisons, particularly in the early days", remembers Jon. [edit] Johanna Wild
During the middle to late 1970s, Jon Butcher toured the Northeast U.S. with the Boston based band, Johanna Wild. The band generated a large following during its tenure. Their early success was due to promotional practices such as self promotion, self marketing and self management. The most successful Johanna Wild lineup was: Jeff Linscot [guitar], Derek Blevins [drums], Troy Douglas Sutler III [bass], and Jon Butcher [guitar and vocals]. Their most popular song, "Suzanne" attained regular airplay at local radio stations like WBCN. Johanna Wild's chemistry influenced much of the Boston music scene of the 1970s. [edit] Jon Butcher Axis
Relentless touring and strong fan support for Johanna Wild afforded Jon Butcher quick media attention through the then blossoming cable TV networks MTV and radio medias, particularly the influential radio station WBCN in Boston, MA. With the radio promotion of supporters such as WBCN radio personalities Mark Parenteau, Oedipus and Carter Alan, Jon Butcher became a Boston music staple, and in the early 1980s he created Jon Butcher Axis with Chris Martin (bass) and former Johanna Wild drummer Derek Blevins. Jon Butcher Axis performed throughout New England including Uncle Sam's, the infamous The Rathskeller, The Paradise Theater and many others. The timing and apparent surge in popularity afforded Jon Butcher Axis' next opportunity through Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J. Geils Band. [edit] American Tour opening for The J. Geils Band
Jon Butcher Axis was invited to tour with Boston's already world famous J. Geils Band through Peter Wolf for their 1982 Freeze Frame American tour, culminating in 3 sold out night shows at The Boston Garden. It was the experience of performing in the Freeze Frame tour that led to Jon Butcher Axis first international record deal with Polygram Records. This began a recording and touring career which saw the release of Jon Butcher Axis "Stare At the Sun". Both of the Polygram records were produced by Robert Plant producer Pat Moran. [edit] 1983
1983 saw the release of their first and self-titled album, Jon Butcher Axis, featuring a Johanna Wild revision of "(It Takes) A New Man". Other notable tracks included "Ocean in Motion" and "Walk Like This". This album reached #21 in the Billboard Pop Albums chart and Jon Butcher Axis' video "Life Takes A Life" became one of the first videos by a black artist to receive airtime on MTV. At that time, the only two black artists enjoying MTV coverage were Jon Butcher Axis and Michael Jackson. Their sophomore album, "Stare at the Sun" (1984), reached #55 on the Billboard charts album chart and as a result of these two albums' successes afforded further growing popularity for the band which added the opportunity to tour with Rush and Def Leppard. [edit] 1985–1986
In 1985, Jon Butcher Axis signed with Capitol Records and released "Along the Axis". The track, "The Ritual", earned Jon Butcher a Grammy Nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. On that same album, singles and videos were released for the songs "The Sounds of Your Voice" and "Stop". "The Sounds of Your Voice" was the only single to hit the Billboard charts Hot 100 reaching #34. Quotes Jon, "The Capitol Records experience was a positive one, allowing us to record in one of the most famous recording studios in the world, that being Capitol Studio A. Jon Butcher Axis frequently toured major venues across the US and Europe during this period, opening for INXS and again with Rush. [edit] 1987–1989
The following releases, "Wishes" (1987) and "Pictures From The Front" (1989) were simply recorded under the Jon Butcher name. "Wishes" was Butcher's most successful album, reaching Gold Album status. MTV videos released from both of these records included "Holy War", "Goodbye Saving Grace" and "Wishes". [edit] Barefoot Servants
In 1991, Jon Butcher Axis ended its run. Jon Butcher himself spent most of the 90's on various multimedia projects. In 1994, he formed "Barefoot Servants" which released its self-titled album on Epic Records. The band included Leland Sklar (bass), Ben Schultz (guitar) and Ray Brinker (drums). Their second record, "Barefoot Servants 2" was released by Atom records in August 2005. Drummer Ray Brinker was replaced by Londoner Neal Wilkinson. [edit] Solo endeavors
In the mid 1990s, Butcher released two solo blues albums, "Positively The Blues" and "Electric Factory". In 1998, Razor and Tie released "The Best of Jon Butcher – Dreamers Would Ride". In November 2000, Butcher released a CD exclusively through his web site "A Long Way Home". "A Stiff Little Breeze" was released on Atom Records in 2001 and was Jon's first project with the independent label. This CD resurrected the Jon Butcher Axis name. 2002 brought an additional Jon Butcher Axis release, "An Ocean in Motion – Live in Boston 1984". Jon joined the Chris Pierce band in 2008 as guitarist and released a live CD "Live at the Hotel Cafe". Jon is currently working on Chris' third studio release. [edit] Video
Butcher's first DVD video release came in 2004. "Live At The Casbah" was filmed in December 1984 at The Casbah concert venue in Manchester, NH. It contains several never-released songs, and additional music from his first three Jon Butcher Axis releases. [edit] 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 recording studio "Electric Factory" located in the San Fernando Hills of California. In addition to providing music production services for recording artists, Butcher through his company "Electric Factory Music" spends a great amount of his time scoring music for television, film and computer gaming. Recent projects include music for the HBO Series "Deadwood" and A&E's "The Life and Times of Wild Bill Cody", The Hughleys (UPN), "The Unit" CBS, "Ugly Betty" ABC, "Star Trek:TNG" (UPN), "My Name Is Earl" NBC, and "Hendrix: The Movie" (Wood Harris). [edit] Discography [edit] AlbumsYear Album Tracks Credits Billboard Review 1983 Jon Butcher Axis Label – Polydor Producer – Pat Moran 1. "Life Takes a Life" 2. "It's Only Words" 3. "Ocean in Motion" 4. "Can't Be the Only Fool" 5. "Sentinel" 6. "New Man" 7. "Fairlight" 8. "Send One Care Of" 9. "Walk Like This" 10. "We Will Be as One" Derek Blevins – Drums Jon Butcher – Guitar, Vocals Christopher Martin – Bass Pat Moran – Producer, Engineer 91 [1] 1984 Stare at the Sun Label – Polydor Producer – Pat Moran 1. "Wind It Up" 2. "Victims" 3. "Dreams Fade Away" 4. "Stay Low" 5. "Can't Tell the Dancer from the Dance" 6. "Don't Say Goodnight" 7. "Walk on the Moon" 8. "Call to Arms" 9. "Eros Arriving" 10. "Breakout" Derek Blevins – Drums Jon Butcher – Guitar, Vocals Christopher Martin – Bass Pat Moran – Producer, Engineer 160 1985 Along the Axis Label - Capitol Producer - Spencer Proffer 1. "Stop!" (4:14) 2. "Electricity" (3:35) 3. "Sounds of Your Voice" (3:38) 4. "Only the Fox" (4:07) 5. "Along the Axis" (3:40) 6. "Two Hearts Running" (4:29) 7. "I've Got Money" (3:45) 8. "Between the Lines" (4:38) 9. "Carrie" (3:34) 10. "That's How Strong My Love Is" (3:29) 11. "The Ritual (Instrumental)" (3:11) Randy Bishop - Vocals Derek Blevins - Drums Larry Brown - percussion Jon Butcher - Guitar, Percussion, Arranger, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Ava Cherry - Vocals Thom Gimbel - Guitar, Arranger, Horn, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Maxtone Hanspeter Huber - Engineer Jimmy Johnson - Bass Moneygrabbers - Vocals Spencer Proffer - Arranger, Producer 69 1987 Wishes Label - Capitol Producer - Spencer Proffer 1. "Goodbye Saving Grace" 2. "Living for Tomorrow" 3. "Holy War" 4. "Wishes" 5. "Churinga [Instrumental]" 6. "Long Way Home" 7. "Show Me Some Emotion" 8. "Little Bit of Magic" 9. "Angel Dressed in Blue" 10. "Partners in Crime" 11. "Prisoners of the Silver Chain" Derek Blevins - Percussion, Drums Jon Butcher - Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals Thom Gimbel - Horn, Keyboards Hanspeter Huber - Engineer Rob Jefferies - Bass Spencer Proffer - Producer 77 [2] 1989 Pictures from the Front Label - Capitol Producer - Glen Ballard 1. "I'm Only Dreaming" 2. "Might As Well Be Free" 3. "Live Or Die" 4. "99 (May Be All You Need)" 5. "Beating Drum" 6. "The Mission" 7. "Send Me Somebody" 8. "Division Street" 9. "Come And Get It" 10. "Waiting For A Miracle" Glen Ballard - Keyboards, Producer Jon Butcher - Guitar, Vocals Jammin' James Carter - Bass, Vocals Thom Gimbel - Guitar, Horn, Keyboards, Vocals Jamie Hunting - Bass Ronnie Lee Sage - Percussion, Drums, Vocals Timothy B. Schmit - Vocals 121 1995 Positively the Blues Label - Blues Bureau Producers - Ben Schultz, Jon Butcher 1. "Cadillac Limousine" (2:54) 2. "Clean-Up Time" (6:52) 3. "Taxman Blues" (3:39) 4. "Union Hall" (2:19) 5. "Honey Bee" (3:47) 6. "Here I Am" (2:54) 7. "20 Years" (3:47) 8. "I Hate Myself" (3:00) 9. "At the Feet of the Master" (5:53) 10. "Two Penny Nail" (4:13) 11. "High Heel Shoes" (4:07)" 12. "Sail On" (1:44) Jon Butcher - Dobro, Guitar, Vocals, Producer Ben Schultz - Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Engineer, Slide Guitar - [3] 1996 Electric Factory Label - Blues Bureau Int'l Producer - Jon Butcher 1. "Rocket Ship" (6:25) 2. "Chili Sauce" (6:23) 3. "Rather Go Fishin'" (3:14) 4. "Cactus Flower" (7:08) 5. "A Sea of Blues" (5:04) 6. "The Fireman's Ball" (3:19) 7. "Gambler" (5:07) 8. "Yes, She Does" (3:45) 9. "Brian's Electric Factory" (5:24) 10. "The Coleman Mine" (1:04) 11. "By Railroad Line" (3:24) Jon Butcher - Multi Instruments, Producer Kelly Rucker - Harp Ben Schultz - Multi Instruments, Engineer, Mixing - [4] 1998 The Best of Jon Butcher: Dreamers Would Ride Label - Razor & Tie 1. "Might as Well Be Free" (4:32) 2. "Life Takes a Life" (3:54) 3. " Goodbye Saving Grace" (4:16) 4. "Holy War" (4:11) 5. "Don't Say Goodnight" (3:23) 6. "Stop" (4:11) 7. "Sounds of Your Voice" (3:41) 8. "Waiting for a Miracle" (5:19) 9. "May This Be Love" (3:08) 10. "Wishes" (4:01) 11. "The Ritual" (2:57) 12. "Whiskey River" (3:47) 13. "If I Love You" (1:42) 14. "Send Me Somebody" (4:07) 15. "This Raging Fire" (4:10) 16. "It's Only Words" (Live) (3:48) 17. "Division Street" (4:45) - [5] 1999 King Biscuit Flower Hour Label - King Biscuit Producer - Joe Pheifer 1. "Writing on the Wall" (3:40) 2. "Life Takes a Life" (5:01) 3. "Long Way Home" (4:27) 4. "American Dream" (3:59) 5. "Goodbye Saving Grace" (7:25) 6. "Heaven" (6:43) 7. "Wishes" (3:59) 8. "Fire Down the Well" (7:09) 9. "Holy War" (4:34) 10. "Higher Ground" (5:26) 11. "Interview With Jon Butcher" (12:09) Jon Butcher - Main Performer Kevin Flaherty - Executive Producer Len Handler - Executive Producer Joe Pheifer - Producer Kevin T. Cain - Executive Producer - 2001 Stiff Little Breeze Label - Orchard Producer - John Butcher 1. "Stiff Little Breeze" (2:43) 2. "Tie the Devil Down" (3:37) 3. "Red House" (4:39) 4. "The Tiger in the Tall Grass" (4:42) 5. "Big Guitars" (3:29) 6. "Love Is a River" (3:35) 7. "Bats" (1:27) 8. "High Road to Heaven" (3:17) 9. "Money" (3:35) 10. "The Dreamer" (3:13) 11. "Wicked Woman" (3:57) 12. "A Light Texas Rain" (2:14) 13. "When the Heart Beats Once" (3:14) 14. "Beal St." (1:26) Jon Butcher - Producer, Engineer Jeff Clark - Engineer Larry Mah - Mastering - [6] 2002 An Ocean In Motion: Live In Boston Label - Atom Producer - John Butcher 1. "Ocean in Motion" (2:54) 2. "Victims" (4:56) 3. "Life Takes a Life" (4:42) 4. "Fairlight" (4:42) 5. "Sentinel" (6:24) 6. "Walk Like This" (3:15) 7. "Walk on the Moon" (5:23) 8. "New Man" (4:46)" 9. "It's Only Words" (3:30) 10. "Not Fade Away" (3:11) 11. "Don't Say Goodnight" (4:28) Derek Blevins - Percussion, Drums Jon Butcher - Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Liner Notes, Graphic Design, Art Direction Thom Gimbel - Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals (Background) Larry Mah - Mastering - [7] 2004 American Dream Label - Disky 1. "American Dream" 2. "Fire Down The Well" 3. "Higher Ground" 4. "Long Way Home" 5. "Writing On The Wall" 6. "Holy War" 7. "Heaven" 8. "Life Takes A Life" 9. "Wishes" 10. "Goodbye Saving Grace" Derek Blevins - Percussion, Drums Jon Butcher - Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Liner Notes, Graphic Design, Art Direction Thom Gimbel - Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals (Background) Larry Mah - Mastering -
[edit] SinglesYear Single The Billboard Hot 100 Mainstream Rock Tracks Album 1983 Life Takes A Life - 26 Jon Butcher Axis 1985 Stop - Along the Axis Sounds of Your Voice 94 - 1987 Goodbye Saving Grace - 7 Wishes Holy War - 25 1989 Might as Well Be Free - 38 Pictures from the Front Send Me Somebody - 7
