Los Angeles based, genre-blurring rock band letlive. recently completed a totally kick-arse tour of Australia supporting Deftones and they have definitely picked up some new fans along the way. If you didn’t manage to catch the guys while they were here then you need to add letlive. to the top of your gig list stat!
Notorious for his on-stage antics and high-energy presence, frontman Jason Butler had a chat to us while he was in town about the new album The Blackest Beautiful, his pet dog, the weirdest thing he’s seen at a show and more!
On the new album The Blackest Beautiful
The album itself is a pretty good representation of the last couple of years since Fake History. Weve taken everything that weve learned and experienced and wanted to do and put it into this album. Weve done everything we can to present something thats going to succeed Fake History in the proper manner.
On touring in Australia
Its fantastic and not just because Im being questioned by Australians. From the culture to the actual protocol weve experienced here as a band touring, its very different and I feel its very appealing and attractive in a way that we dont experience in other places, especially home. We love it. Anytime we even have a notion of coming to Australia were elated, very excited, so thank you Australia.
On what hes been listening to lately
My most anticipated album of this year is by a band called Daughter. Its called If You Leave and its pretty much the antipode of what people may think I listen to. Its a very somber, deep and delicate album. The singer is a woman and opposed to discussing how she wants to find love and all the ways shes been hurt, its actually kind of self-deprecating and shes very reckless in that fashion and I think its really interesting to hear someone singing so beautifully over such lovely music talking about how she fucked everything up. Its cool.
Must-have items on tour
Baked goods. Anything of the cake variety. Cupcakes, slices of cake, pound cake, ice cream cake, Pizza cake, yeah just cakes. Any sort of interaction with a canine of some sort.
On pets
I live with one of my best friends and the dog that inhabits the household is named Coby. Hes a two and a half year old English bulldog. Hes fantastic. Hes charismatic and hes got so much personality, I truly believe that hes not actually a dog and that hes a reincarnation of somebody really rad with no ability to talk.
On off-tour activities
I spend as much time as I can with my best friends. Skateboarding is one of the most cherished of my pastimes. Recently we began working on motorcycles and doing all that kind of Sons Of Anarchy kind of bullshit which is really fun, on top of writing and reading and trying to enjoy the very little time we have at home.
On horror movies
When I was younger a friend and I we were pretty big fans of the cult classics like Evil Dead. I actually thought the new one was pretty good, although it could have explained the source of the curse better.
On the weirdest thing seen at a show
We were playing a show and it was so crowded that this girl was pushed up against the front barrier. I was really in my zone and I was yelling and I looked at her and she looked at me and she just vomits as Im screaming, just all over the place. Im trying to be serious and I just go are you alright? and she looks up and goes yeah, yeah! and I kept playing. Thats probably the most recent thing I can recall really, the girl vomiting as I screamed in her face.
On music guilty pleasures
I just own up to it all. I listen to whatever I find some sort of value in or some sort of redeemable quality in. I cant really think of something that people would think is a guilty pleasure. I think Lady Gagas pretty dope. I listen to the radio a lot.
What makes you a MANIAC?
My musical guilty pleasures and baked goods.
The Blackest Beautiful is due out July 5 via Epitaph Records.
Stream the whole album now!
