The Porter Method

Butch Walker is back with a 2 disc live album just released today on Valentine’s Day. The album, “Leavin’ the Game On Luckie St.”, was recorded live at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA on April 20, 2007. The concert was recorded for a DVD that will be released in March and, this is the album version of the performance.

I was at that show and this album really captures the energy and excitement that was present that night. As always Butch demonstrates during this show what separates mere musicians from real performers. He is able to grab the audience and have them at his mercy and in his complete control throughout the entire show.

The sound on the album is awesome. The Tabernacle itself had pretty poor sound quality up in the balcony where we were sitting, but the mix that was recorded sounds great. Butch is an incredible live performer and always intermixes his song performances with various musical improvisations and crowd interactions. There are some nice instances of “Story time with Butch” in which he talks about some of the songs and their inspirations and background. These are always fun moments in his shows. And of course there are some great crowd sing-a-long moments which is a staple in almost all of his live shows.

This album also marks the beginning of him changing up how he releases his albums. Before he has always worked through a major label, but this release represents him commiting to switch to independent releases. This album is only available for download as mp3’s. Currently you can get it here through Amazon.com for the bargain price of $6.99. That is almost 2 hours of entertainment for only $7. Give it a listen, and pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

This will be a busy year for Butch. He has just released this live album today. Next, he will be releasing a live DVD, followed by a new band project called 1969, and then ending up with a Butch Walker album of new material entitled “Sycamore Meadows” before the end of the year.

Update: For a limited time, you can also download this record for free from Butch’s new provocatively titled site. It is via a strange little flash widget from Musicane.com so YMMV (I could not get it to work with Firefox).

Oh, and one of the best descriptions I’ve seen of a Butch Walker live show is written up here at RockNWorld.com

Any of you that read this space or know me are familiar with one of my favorite musicians, Butch Walker. Unfortunately tragedy has struck him out in California.

I just saw this from Butch Walker’s MySpace Blog and this news article from MTV http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=5523:

From his blog:

“hey all. i just want to say thanks for anyone and everyone who sent their wishes to me about the fire (yeah our house burned down in the california wildfires last week). it’s pretty crazy to lose everything you owned. but note that i said “owned” not “had”. there is a big difference. you can be sad about losing everything you worked hard to buy, and everything you inherited from late relatives, etc… but you have to be happy that you didn’t lose anyBODY. i am very thankful, in a screwed up sorta way, that i get to start anew and begin a new chapter in my life. i’m not gonna write some long-ass diatribe here about becoming spiritual and realizing what’s important because, trust me, if this happens to you then you will already feel the same way i am now… i’m just going to say “thank you”. friendship was always underestimated in my book… until now.

i’m gonna play a little show in LA at the Hotel Cafe with a bunch of friends on Dec. the 17th at 8pm sharp. we are going to raise some money to pay for some of the things that MY FRIENDS lost in the fire at my house. i want them to at least get back the things that they let me borrow, use, or just may have left over there when they were too drunk to remember to take it with them on the way home.. tickets will go on sale tonight on the Hotel Cafe website at

www.hotelcafe.com/tickets

so come out and have some fun for a good cause.

happy holidays….

Butch”

From the article:

“In a tragic turn of events, it has come to light that the rental home owned by Flea that burned in the Malibu, California, wildfires over the weekend was being occupied by Avril Lavigne producer Butch Walker - and he lost everything in the blaze.

Walker was touring New York at the time of the incident, and “had just consolidated my entire recording studio and house from Atlanta into the one house in Malibu,” the songwriter/producer, who has also worked with Pink, Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is…, Tommy Lee and others, said in a press release. “I lost everything I’ve ever owned. Every master of every song I’ve ever recorded, every piece of recording equipment, guitars, drums and things I’ve collected over the years, cars, motorcycles, every family memorial, heirloom, picture, and document we ever had. … Gone. I feel like I finally know the difference between ‘going back’ and ‘going home.’ ”

Over the weekend, Flea said in a text message obtained by the Los Angeles Times that his $4.8 million home in Corral Canyon was “burnt to a crisp” by the fires on Saturday morning. According to TMZ.com, a second, $10 million Malibu home owned by Flea - the one in which he currently resides - did not burn. The one that did was a $4.8 million house that the bassist had been renting - most recently to Walker - and currently has up for sale, the site reports.

Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose also had a close call when the fires burned his roof and singed some of his property. According to a report on KCAL-TV, Rose’s assistant said the rocker “was with the hose everywhere” on his property, fighting to save his home.

The fires, which have largely been contained, were the worst in Malibu in years, according to the Times. In late October, another series of fires forced evacuations in the area but hit the San Diego area much harder. ”

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Sadly this reminds me of many of my friends’ experiences after Hurricane Katrina. Be strong Butch.