It is with butterflies in my stomach, a tear rolling down my face, a lump in my throat, and a twinkle in my eye that I proudly announce the release of the second Butch Bastard LP: Las Vegas Salvation. I hit the road tomorrow supporting Father John Misty to spread the word, but it’s my people on the newsletter who I want to tap in with first.
Las Vegas has always been a point of fascination for me, and I used it as a muse for this album. It’s as though someone built a monument to Hell. Everything is bright, shiny and opulent on the veneer, but it’s a soulless place that preys on every human weakness. It’s a microcosm for America. You feel free and full of promise, but you are being watched, you are being played, you are a monkey in a lab. People come from far and wide for the chance to strike it rich, but it’s a scam. They will not let you win. But if you keep your head and cut your own path, you can make it out of there having had a great time: eating White Castle sliders, burning calories up and down the strip, and drinking free cocktails off of 25 cent bets at the video blackjack machine. I love it, but I can’t wait to leave it. When I come home I feel depressed for a week. But I always go back. With this album, I wanted to bottle that feeling and dissect it.
I tapped videographer extraordinaire Mike Immerman to accompany me to Las Vegas to shoot the video for the title track and I am absolutely blown away by what he was able to put together from a night of us walking around from 8pm to 5am getting footage of anything we came across. I came to him with a very vague description of what I wanted and he created something that I will cherish for all of my days. I told him it’s the best depiction of Las Vegas since Scorsese’s “Casino” and I meant it. Bravo, Mike Immerman.
Putting out music independently is a slog. It’s one thing to write and produce your own material, but as an independent you have to become a graphic designer, a manager, a CEO, a booking agent, a videographer, a businessperson, an editor, and most soul-depleting of all, your own publicist. I didn’t even bother pitching this record to a single label. I take pride in wearing all those hats and carving out my own lane. But it’s a lot of time and work that doesn’t involve making music.
What I’m trying to say is, it took a TON of work to get to this day. This album may not reach as many people as it would have had it been plugged into the machine, but I’m proud of what I made, and I’m proud of the way I made it.
I want to thank Ryan Nasci who offered whatever time and resources he could to help me make this album.
I want to thank Dave Cerminera for joining forces with Ryan and I to mix this thing.
I want to thank my bro Mitch Rowland who offered his services on drums yet again. Without Mitch, Butch Bastard probably never gets started. He is the one true legacy member of this project.
I want to thank Richard Gowen for totally icing this record on drums and graciously accepting a chicken tarna plate from Zankou Chicken as payment.
I want to thank my literal brother Peter Murray for being a singular musical talent and for always being eager to work with me.
I want to thank Bill Patton for making Waiting For a Hot Pocket at least twice as good with his pedal steel.
I want to thank Laena Myers-Ionita for being a friend I could lean on in my darkest pizza hours and for adding textures to this album that took it into a realm beyond the confines of my imagination.
I want to thank Aaron Otheim for being the ultimate cheat code on keys, and for playing a bunch of dismal shows with me around LA when he lived here.
I want to thank Grant James and Mike Immerman for offering their world class video talents.
I want to thank Josh Tillman for always seeing the value in what I make and taking me on tour with him.
I want to thank my daughter Mia for sharing her nursery with me to track this album when she wasn't sleeping or napping.
I want to thank Katherine Murray, for never once even suggesting that I divert my focus from my pursuit as an artist. She could be with any hedge fund manager she wants, living comfortably, but she loves me, and I think that speaks well of her.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you. Like I said earlier, this music will not likely reach as many people as I would like it to, but to have a relatively small group of people who appreciate what I am putting forth is enough for me to never stop doing it. It is a very selfless thing to open your time, thoughts, and emotions into something that someone else has made, and I am deeply humbled by such generosity. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.