Boston Band Crush

Band Crush: Butterknife

On 01.20.12 | In Band Crush | by Richard Bouchard

Looks like Butterknife has finally put the finishing touches on their latest EP Do the Needful. They’ll be releasing it at the Middle East upstairs on 1/28, with Guillermo Sexo, The Susan Constant, and Garage Sale Picasso helping them out. We caught up with the Phil Wisdom, Jim Theodore, and Kieran Stone on the internet earlier this week to find out how things are going. Take a look:

Boston Band Crush: It’s been about a year and a half since you released your debut LP onetworeadygo, how long after that was complete did you start working on new stuff?
Phil: We had two songs done that were supposed to be a quick follow-up single, but then we had more songs in the works that were almost ready. I think we all liked the idea of putting out an EP instead, so we just kept going. It was nice to be able to offer up “Restless” for a BBC sampler last year. Jim keeps track of this stuff better than I do.
Jim: I think we started the EP just about the same time that we released onetworeadygo. We had “Restless” and “This was a Romance” recorded first and then we followed up later that year with “$100″, “Coattails” and “June 4.”

BBC: Will fans recognize the new songs from your live show?
Phil: Yeah, we’ve played all of these songs live before. We’re either very very bad about holding things back, or we’re very very good about offering up new unreleased material very quickly. We’re going back in the studio again soon to record new songs, and we’ll likely play all of those at shows before the next thing comes out.

BBC: Once you decided to make the new EP, how did you decide where to record it and who you wanted to engineer it?
Jim: We’re a very DIY kind of band. From promotion, to website stuff, to recording, we keep it very close, and each of us has our own area of expertise. In my case, I’m a producer/engineer, so we record and mix at my studio. It’s very convenient and we were able to take as much time as we needed to get things right. It doesn’t have a ton of guitars and “vintage” gear hanging around, but it does the job that we need it to do. We have a decent mic package and a few great pieces and we get the most out of them. We’ve recorded in a few other places and it’s been a blast, but just for this one we stayed local. One thing we don’t do is mastering, we used TW Walsh of Pedro the Lion fame to master the EP. He’s a local guy and does a really nice job on our stuff.

BBC: Your lead guitar player, Tim McCarthy, left the band last year. How has that changed your live performance?
Phil: There are less drink tickets to go around, so that’s unfortunate. We didn’t really have a “lead” guitarist, Tim and I just tried to play parts that complemented each other and worked for the song. I definitely had to learn a lot of his stuff to make the songs work in a trio format. Kieran stepped up in a big way too, his bass playing has always been melodic but he’s really taken on a much bigger role in the songs, both in his playing and in singing more harmonies onstage.
Kieran: Wait… you guys told me that Tim was just running out to check on the cheesecake he had in the oven… WTF??
Jim: Hell with the cheese cake… talk about the moonshine he makes out there in Worcester County!

BBC: Did he play a big role in songwriting? How has that changed without him in the group?
Jim: The volume changed. We’re now 3/4 as loud!
Phil: He absolutely contributed as much as the rest of us. The music is all written very collaboratively, nobody brings in complete songs and says “Learn this.” So this time it was just the three of us doing it instead of four. We definitely had less ties when we voted on things. Now there’s one less person saying “no” to my ideas.
Kieran: All it means is that Jim and I each need to say “no” to Phil’s ideas 4% more often.

BBC: How does Do the Needful differ from onetworeadygo.? What did you know going in to recording this time that you wish you’d known the first time around?
Kieran: I would say that the gift of time and experience helped a great deal here. As a band, we edit ourselves a lot more than we used to. Songwriting really is a very democratic thing for us – we’re all comfortable enough with each other to stop a song in the middle of practice to say, “hey, try it this way”, “play less here”, “play more there”, and then be able to say “yeah, I like that”, or “meh…never mind.”
Jim: I feel like the EP is more cohesive and feels more relaxed. Being a band now for 5 years, we’re able, like Kieran and Phil said, to really edit ourselves to play for the song and what works best in that context. It’s a fantastically democratic and ego-less process.
Nothing is precious enough not to be pulled apart and looked at. And if something isn’t working, be it a part, or even a song, we’ll drop it or re-visit it another time.
Phil: What they said. The obvious thing on Do the Needful is the tempos are a little slower, and there’s a bit more space in the songs. We were working on “Restless” and Jim came to practice one day and said “Y’know what’s a great song? ‘Billie Jean.’ Let’s slow this one way down and see what happens.” And it sounded much better than playing it a million miles an hour like we had been. We have enough really fast songs in our pocket that we can move on to writing different things now. Lyrically, I think it’s a darker record, or at least the relationships depicted in it are more complicated. Except for “Coattails”, which is probably the most optimistic thing I’ve written.

BBC: What’s the state of pop music in Boston right now? It seems like the Americana, electronic, and heavier rock scenes are all doing really well, what do you see going on with the more pop, happy fun time bands in the city lately?
Kieran: Can we be a “happy fun time” band? That sounds fun. And happy. As far as the state of pop music in Boston, I just want to see people support bands and artists who are brave and ambitious enough to put their stuff out there – regardless of whatever genre or classification they fall into. If a band is doing something that you think is cool/interesting or makes you feel good, then support them. I love what TT’s and Great Scott are trying with the Bridge Pass. The more accessible music is for people, the better…
Phil: I just go see the bands I like. Bands that I think of as pop music might not consider themselves that way, but it doesn’t matter. Looking at last year’s Rumble, where you had bands like Spirit Kid on the one hand, and Black Thai on the other? There’s room for all of it, and we’re all lucky to have a city that’s really active musically but there isn’t a local “sound.” I for one really like the bills that are all over the map stylistically.
Jim: I can’t agree with Kieran and Phil more. If you like it, listen to it, and support it. Doesn’t matter what genre they’re in.

BBC: What Boston bands are you crushing on right now?
Jim: I’m a huge Letters to Cleo fan. Their record GO! is a great 35 minutes of pop. In particular the rhythm section is just killer. More current bands are the Fatal Flaw, Full Body Anchor, Paper Snakes, TW Walsh, Wil Dailey and the Rivals, and Sonic Disorder.
Phil: Honestly there are so many bands in Boston I admire and enjoy… I was sad to see Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women call it quits this past year, but it’s exciting to have Lifestyle coming back. Francine I love. Seeing the Bon Savants again this month was a real treat, and their unreleased record is fantastic. The Pills blew my face off at TT’s last year. Mount Peru have a great record out and are wonderful live. The Appreciation Post, Devil on Horseback, Full-Time Dreamers, Township, Sidewalk Driver… there’s no shortage of great rock n’ roll bands in this town. Also, any band where Charles Hansen picks up a guitar. I love Sodafrog, that’s a beautiful record. Effzero are a new band I like, they’re punk in that Minutemen, Meat Puppets, early SST Records kind of way which is exciting to me. I really like Arms and Sleepers, they make this gorgeous downtempo, ambient, trip-hop type music. My Own Worst Enemy I’ve been a fan of for years now, I just saw them put on a great show. And we’re really lucky and excited to be playing with Guillermo Sexo, The Susan Constant, and Garage Sale Picasso. I could go on and on and on.
Kieran: Phil has successfully named every band in Boston…I’ve been spinning The Susan Constant and The Fatal Flaw’s new records a fair amount. I’d be all for the residents of Cambridge occupying Central Square until The Bon Savants all moved back here and started playing regularly again.

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Butterknife is:
Phil Wisdom – vocals, guitar
Kieran Stone – bass, vocals
Jim Theordore – drums

Official website
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