The Builders and the Butchers

On the first date of a new national tour, the Builders and the Butchers’ frontman Ryan Sollee shared a conversation before their set at the A-Club in Spokane, WA. The Builders and the Butchers kicked the tour off with Spokane-native band, The Globes, who you should most definitely check out. Their debut LP Future Self will be out on Barsuk on May 10th. Their set was full of incredibly complex and intricate musicianship, yet they pulled it off masterfully. As Ryan stated, “we’ve played with the Globes before in Seattle, and they’re awesome”. Just before the B&B set he also remarked, “they’re one of the best bands we’ve played with”.

For those unfamiliar with the Builders & the Butchers, they’ve crafted a unique brand of twangy, Americana folk over three records. The band formed after several of the members relocated from Alaska to Portland, OR. “Four out of the five guys are from Alaska. I moved down in 2003, one guy moved before me, and two of the guys moved after me. It just kind of happened that way, randomly. Then in 2005, we started the band. We hadn’t made any music together before, we were just friends hanging out.”

Before releasing their first album in 2007, the band honed their sound with live performances in Portland. Ryan commented that Portland itself played a significant influence in the band’s development. “I think the environment definitely affected our music. Alaska is very cut off, you know. Being In Portland, you get exposed to a lot of different things, to everything. You act like a sponge and take it all in, then see how you brain filters it out with the music you write. There’s a sound there, it’s not a necessarily a direct influence. But everyone is super creative so it kind of pushes everyone to be better.”

On that Portland note, comparisons have been made to other bands in the area, such as Blitzen Trapper and the Decemberists. “Yeah, we get that [comparison] all the time. We all love that band [the Decemberists], and it’s hard, being from the same city and everything. But it’s not a bad thing. Though listening to their new record and our new record, I don’t think they’re that similar. Actually listening to it, it’s pretty different. We played with [Blitzen Trapper] at SXSW the first time we went. But we haven’t played with them locally, for whatever reason. They’re a great band. That was in 2008, that was the only time we went.”


The Decemberists comparisons may stem from the similarity between Colin Meloy and Sollee’s voice, however the latter has created his own unique lyrical style. Strong literary narratives pervade his lyrics and he noted how Southern literature in particular influences the Butchers’ work. “I read a lot of books about people at the end of their rope, in desperate situations, a lot about real human nature. And I think that’s super fascinating. As far as authors that might influence my writing; Cormac McCarthy, Larry Brown, Harry Crews, people who write about the South and real hard living and tensions and family, I find that fascinating. There’s a relationship people have there with each other and the environment that’s very unique.”

The band’s new record, Dead Reckoning, signaled a step in a new direction. Eager to embrace their live energy, the band recorded with minimal multi-tracking and overdubbing at Type Foundry Studios in Portland. “We captured more of an honest representation of what the band is live. We just wrote the songs, recorded them and that’s how it came out. For this album we were recording live, which tended to be more of a rock idea. I overdubbed only a few things. It also became more drum heavy and elaborate.”

A large component of the band’s exciting live identity stems for that elaborate drumming and creative use of auxiliary percussion, which strays from any traditional one-man, rock kit arrangement. “Basically, we had practiced a bunch and had a show and one of the guys didn’t have anything to play, so he just turned a bass drum on it’s head and played the in-between notes of the snare. It worked and we’re like ‘we should keep doing that’ and it just continued to grow from there.  But it was not a conscious decision at all. It’s been a conscious decision to make that a featured part of the band. And it is pretty unique. Basically, when we write a song, whatever somebody hears, they pick something up, and the other person joins. It just depends on the song, what people hear, what sounds the best. You know, ‘here’s the verse, here’s the chorus, here’s the main melody. Here’s what we have, now let’s arrange the parts to make it sound interesting.”

The Builders and the Butchers will remain on tour through June, with Damion Suomi & the Minor Prophets opening. Dates are listed below

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Upcoming Tour Dates:

04/12/11 Washington D.C.* Red Palace
04/13/11 Philadelphia, PA* Northstar Bar
04/14/11 Chapel Hill, NC* Local 506
04/15/11 Atlanta, GA* Drunken Unicorn
04/16/11 Nashville, TN* The Basement
04/18/11 Austin, TX* Emo’s
04/19/11 Dallas, TX* Doublewide
04/20/11 Wichita, KS* Fisch Haus
04/21/11 St. Louis, MO* Off Broadway
04/22/11 Lawrence, KS* Jackpot Saloon
04/23/11 Denver, CO* High Dive
04/24/11 Salt Lake City, UT* Urban Lounge
04/26/11 San Diego, CA* Casbah
04/27/11 Los Angeles, CA* Satellite
04/28/11 Sacramento, CA* Blue Lamp
04/29/11 Visalia, CA* Cellar Door
04/30/11 Santa Cruz, CA* Crepe Place
05/01/11 San Fransisco, CA* Bottom of the Hill
05/05/11 Anchorage, AK Bear Tooth
06/08/11 Portland, OR Doug Fir
06/09/11 Portland, OR Doug Fir
06/10/11 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern

 

*Dates with Damion Suomi & The Minor Prophets

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