John Butler’s fondness for slide guitar rings true on his trio’s new Grand National CD

When I ring up John Butler on the east coast of Australia, he sounds extremely relaxed, so much so that it’s hard to tell if he’s really into talking or not. You can’t blame him for exuding the ultra-mellow vibe, though, since he’s hanging at the Byron Bay East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival, which is one seriously laid-back event.

He’s been performing there with the likes of Wilco, Buddy Guy, and fellow Aussie Xavier Rudd, the latter being someone Butler shares a few other similarities with. Both have an activist bent, both mess around with didjeridus, and both specialize in killer slide guitar.

Slide runs in Butler’s blood. His grandfather was a slide player, and though Butler never met him, the lineage carries on whenever he picks up the 1930s National Dobro his grandpa owned.

“I don’t take it out on the road to perform with,” he says of the vintage instrument, “but I play it a lot when I’m home. It’s a special part of my life.”

Butler’s fondness for slide is evident on the John Butler Trio’s latest CD, Grand National. It was produced by famed knob-twiddler Mario Caldato Jr., whose work with the Beastie Boys—particularly on the albums Ill Communication and Check Your Head—made a lasting impression on Butler. The music heads in a poppier, more upbeat direction than previous JBT releases, but still touches on the social and political topics he’s noted for. “Gov Did Nothin’ ”, for example, is a biting commentary on the bureaucratic failings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“There are songs about people,” says Butler, “songs about me as a person, songs about the world I see, everyday life. And politics is part of it.”

For the last five years the trio has included bassist Shannon Birchall and drummer Michael Barker, who Butler refers to as “breathtakingly inspirational” players. Together they make music that Butler describes as “further down the road” than that heard on their previous CD, 2003’s hugely successful Sunrise Over Sea.

“It’s probably a little bit more eclectic,” he offers, “with a wider span of feels and grooves.”

Even if Grand National doesn’t go five-times platinum in Australia like its predecessor did, it’s clear that Butler’–who plays the sold-out Commodore Ballroom on Saturday (April 12)–has come a long way since his days busking on the streets of Fremantle, Western Australia. But even back then, his guitar-driven tunes struck a chord with people.

“In my first hour, I made 30 bucks,” he recalls, “so it was pretty good for me.”

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