For those who lament the lack of music for the almighty dollar, Chris Butler's latest release, "The Devil Glitch", might satisfy your desires by clocking in at a whopping 73 minutes long. But at first glance, this disc only contains two songs; a 5 minute "edit" version, and a 68 minute single, broken up into 16 different "parts" by a wide assortment of different artists.
The story is as intriguing as the length of the single. Butler explains, "The concept was to have a 5 minute version of the tune, then fill out the rest of the disc with a 65+ minute version - with different music from different artists, and different lyrics. Anybody can record a song using loops - the challenge is to write a song with lyrics that change."
Butler was the guitarist, sole writer, and co-producer of the Akron, Ohio based Waitresses. The band was initially formed as a "hypothetical" band on the side from the real band he was involved in, Tin Huey. "When I wrote songs that didn't fit into the Tin Huey style", Butler muses, "I began to think of them as 'Waitresses' songs."
One of those songs was the almost top-40 hit, "I Know What Boys Like". Butler soon moved to New York City, and in 1979, industry executives wanted to know where the rest of the Waitresses were. Putting together a band consisting of former Akron people in the New York area and other friends and associates, The Waitresses soon came into being. Although the sole writer for the group, Butler falsely proclaims that "Songwriting doesn't come naturally to me; I have to work at this. It's not a natural flowing event."
Fans might disagree, as the Waitresses were known for their eccentric little pop ditties. "I Know What Boys Like" didn't light up the charts on its release in the early 80's, but has now become a staple on the flashback hours, and appeared on compilations including one of the Just Can't Get Enough series, but also on the Waitresses' Best Of compilation. And, perhaps his best known song was the holiday single "Christmas Wrapping" which has now become one of the cool songs you don't mind hearing in late December.
"The song ("Christmas Wrapping") was a total goof. Our independent label gave us one week to come up with a Christmas song for an album they were recording. We gave them the song and forgot about it, until one day my wife heard it on the radio."
For the past 15 years, that song has been on many a radio station, and even been a #1 requested song surpassing Bruuuuuuce and other more famous artists, at many stations.
Friends and musical acquaintances who Butler met over the years, starting with his days before his fame with the Waitresses, became the backbone of "The Devil Glitch". Participants in this effort included people such as former Waitress saxophonist Mars Williams, who's creating a stir of his own these days with the Chicago-based acid jazz group Liquid Soul; Liam Sternberg, who wrote the Bangles international #1 hit "Walk Like An Egyptian"; Hoboken indie-pop band the Gefkens, and Freedy Johnston. The connection with Johnston was founded the same way Butler got linked with artists such as Scruffy The Cat and Joan Osborne - producing the albums which jumpstarted their careers *before* hitting the bigtime.
So how did it feel to watch someone like a Joan Osborne (some of Butler's work on Blue Million Miles can be heard on her recent re-issue, Early Recordings) working with a new producer on the major label debut, without the typical producer buy-out? Butler talks frankly, without any hint of remorse or sense of vengeance: "Most producers say 'I'll do this indie release cheaply, but if you go somewhere (to a major label), you either have to hire me or buy me out.' I always thought (to my naivete) that was a nasty thing to do to an artist. It spoils the fact that the artist had won (by going to a major label)."
"I now understand why the paperwork is in there. I will work smartly from now on, and be more mature in my business relationships. I kept thinking more from the artist's point of view than the producer's. Everyone who I've worked with, I wish nothing but the best and that's sincere - I'm friends with all these people, and intend to stay friends with all of them. That's not the same as wanting my piece of the pie."
The matter-of-fact manner in which Butler talks about incidents shows that he's not only a realist, but also a true lover of *music*. Butler's interests lie not only in the present, but the past. He has recorded two singles, "The Wilderness Years" (Volumes 1 and 3 - no Volume 2) using instruments from the past: a Webster-Chicago Model 180-1 wire recorder from the late 1940s, and a late 19th century Edison "Spring Motor" phonograph.
While putting the finishing touches on these records - released in 1995 - a pair of other musicians managed to hear a copy and liked the approach of recording today's music on equipment nearly 100 years old. And with the release of Factory Showcase, They Might Be Giants have taken the "old is new" idea to a national audience.
Although neither Flansburgh or Linnell were among the artists who submitted material for "The Devil Glitch", their eccentric style makes its way in many of the tracks. The North Jersey pop band Fear of Falling plays using a ukelele, and winds up sounding like an alternative barbershop quartet. Former Waitresses soundman Kramer took a 24 track tape from a band which had stiffed him money, turned it upside down, and ran their music backwards through the multi track machine, all the while moving the faders and reversing everything yet again. Another Chris Butler (this one with the middle initial D.) made up instruments by distorting and filtering the sound waves. And so it goes - each musician taking a similar intro/outro to the song, and Butler's repetitive opening of "Sometimes you can fix something by..." and sculpting their own design.
On the letter Butler sent out to prospective contributors, Butler explained the idea behind the lyrics. "'The Devil Glitch' tune is about wrestling with a dysfunctional machine-a computer, a toaster, an ATM - anything that suddenly decides not to work as advertised...and usually at the worst possible moment. 'The Devil Glitch is a gremlin...the malevolent ghost in the machine (or in our lives) that is waiting to wreck everything."
A disc such as "Devil Glitch" would cause marketing nightmares at some major labels, trying to determine the proper format, edits, remixes, etc. One of the benefits of producing and releasing your own record is avoiding such headaches. But what was the goal of "The Devil Glitch?"
After a short pause, Butler responds: "I wanted to have a hell of a lot of fun in the studio; see if I could do something that was totally crazy, get back in touch with people I haven't worked with in a long time, and do something which is entirely new."
The project took 1 1/2 years to complete, and according to Butler, "I think it's amazing. There are some things I would change; I stressed for people to do something weird, and I hoped that people would change things more. I think there's a nice blend between stuff that really rocks, and stuff that's just out there. It's the most fun project i've ever worked on".
If Butler's vocals could be compared to anyone's, it would probably be Michael Penn's - a little rough around the edges. However, the beauty of "The Devil Glitch" isn't in the vocals, but the never-ending, never-repetitive lyrics combined with the uniqueness each artists adds to Butler's original design. It's like being invited to see the finished product of many different musicians - and then seeing where it all started. Most of the time, we're only able to see one completed path - the initial demo, and the final interpretation of this demo. In this case, Butler allows the artists to take his canvas and thoughts and create their own artwork from his original idea.
To purchase The Devil's Glitch, send $11.24 ($10 + 1.24 shipping) as a check or money order to Future Fossil Music, PO Box 6248, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Or, to find out more information on the musical voyages of Mr. Butler, he may be contacted directly via e-mail at beezwax2@aol.com
