Artist Bio



Here's the thing about revolution--it's ever present. It doesn't end with the dreams of a former generation, nor is it waiting at the end of some rainbow. It's not an end at all, in fact, but a constantly renewing beginning. 'Revolution' is also track one on John Butler's new album, 'APRIL UPRISING', his first studio offering in three years since the much acclaimed 'Grand National'.


The announcement of a new John Butler Trio with Nicky Bomba on drums and Byron Luiters on bass, was a surprise for those who were turned on to John's music through his globally successful 'Grand National' album of 2007.

For music lovers who have known him longer - maybe since his '98 debut, or his multi-platinum 'Three' and 'Sunrise Over Sea' albums - renewal and revolution have always been constant in his band and his music.

This rebirth was the culmination of an especially momentous period in his life. It began with the seemingly innocuous acts of cutting his hair and taking a few months off in late 2008.

Although many of the tracks for the new album had been written before John took on his incredible journey with documentary makers 'Who Do You Think We Are' the exceptional genealogy series which aired on SBS TV late last year, the title 'APRIL U
PRISING' came to him after that journey. John started the voyage hoping to find poets, musicians, and revolutionaries in his past. He traced the Butler name through generations of hardship to a matriarch who sang for her survival and he traced his Bulgarian ancestry to a fore bearer caught up in a violent revolt.

To say the least, John Butler's previously unknown history of trailblazers, idealists and bona fide revolutionaries helped make profound sense of his long-simmering passions as a writer and musician.

John's bond with his brother-in-law, Nicky Bomba, one of Australia's most inventive and experienced drummers, had been proven with his drumming role on the studio album, 'Sunrise Over Sea'. Less expected was the undeniable chemistry they found with Sydney bassist Byron Luiters, sealed in a single jam in John's new Fremantle studio back in February 2009.

Come September, with long-time engineer Robin Mai, whom also engineered and mixed 'Sunrise Over Sea', at the desk, the new trio had 22 songs and a whole new musical palette in the can: playful and explosive, rhythmically complex and melodically immediate, charged with new purpose but more committed than ever to the principles of classic song craft.

'APRIL UPRISING' is John's most focused, diverse and accessible album to date, showcasing innovative sounds from the trippy steel drum detail on 'Take Me' to the roaring radio chorus of 'To Look Like You'; the tender ache of 'Steal It' and 'Fool For You' to the rustic folk of 'Ragged Mile' and the hysterical rock attack of 'C'mon Now', to the second single , a rock disco classic 'Close To You' where John lets rip with the electric Telecaster.

Between the epic opening track 'Revolution' and a whispered acoustic coda 'A Star is Born', dedicated to John's son, 'APRIL UPRISING' is an album that combines the The John Butler Trio release 'APRIL UPRISING' around the world in March and April 2010. They will be touring their highly acclaimed live show to all corners of the world with many iconic festivals and sold out headlining concerts awaiting them.

Revolution Underway!

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