Drinking with Strangers: Music Lessons from a Teenage Bullet Belt - Hardcover

Walker, Butch; Diehl, Matt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061787310 ISBN 13: 9780061787317

Publisher: William Morrow, 2011

Synopsis

Since his days with his Georgia band, the Marvelous 3, Butch Walker has been a successful record producer and performer—he’s played with Taylor Swift at the Grammys, he sells out shows across the country every year, and he continues to work with some of the country’s most iconic music acts, from Green Day and Weezer to Pink and Katy Perry.

But though Butch has made his career look easy, it’s been an epic and colorful battle every step of the way. He has lived in his car when he couldn’t make ends meet; he has been kicked off by about 4 record labels as a musician; he lost all of his belongings (including some of his master recordings) when the Hollywood house he was renting from Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, burned down to the ground during the ‘07 California wild fires ; and although he was originally supposed to be one of the judges on Mark Burnett’s “Rock Star,” his acerbic and critical appearances all ended up on the cutting room floor.

In his riveting memoir, Drinking with Strangers, Butch Walker tells the fascinating story of his life and remarkable career, taking readers on a breakneck ride from his Georgia roots to the Hollywood music scene, and giving us a close-up insider’s view of life behind closed recording studio doors.

About this title

About the Authors

Butch Walker is a recording artist, songwriter, and producer. He lives in Atlanta and Los Angeles. His latest recording with the Black Widows is The Spade.

Matt Diehl is the author of four books; his writing has also appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, SPIN, W magazine, and Interview. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

From the Back Cover

The artist named by Rolling Stone as one of America’s best singer-songwriters and the 2005 Producer of the Year shares the inside story of his music career

From his days with one-hit-wonder band the Marvelous 3 to his current work producing some of today’s hottest talent—from Weezer and Katy Perry to Pink, Avril Lavigne, and Panic! at the Disco—Butch Walker has proven himself a major influence in contemporary pop music. But the road to success wasn’t easy. Drinking with Strangers takes you into the studio and onto the stage, offering a rare glimpse into a life defined by raw talent, determination, a drive for perfection, and some ridiculous haircuts.

At age seventeen, Walker left small-town Georgia with his hair metal band and headed for the mean streets of Los Angeles. Full of piss, vinegar, and Jack Daniel’s (mostly the latter), these young Southern musicians were determined to become the biggest band on the Sunset Strip and land a major-label record deal. After many false starts—including an ill-fated concert tour of China—Walker’s rock-and-roll fantasies hadn’t quite come true, so he embraced the do-it-yourself approach. Taking control of his destiny, he learned to make success on his own terms, but not without some memorable, occasionally drunken stumbles along the way. Walker’s adventures taught him a number of life lessons he shares here with insight and candor, revealing the blessings of failure—and what it’s really like to spend your life going from gig to gig, drinking with strangers.

In a voice as wry as his lyrics, Walker pays tribute to his influences, from his parents to Mötley Crüe, from KISS to both Elvises (Presley and Costello). He offers a clear-eyed yet humorous look at the music business—the greed, the booze, the drugs, the infighting, the swindles, the unfulfilled promises—and explores its bad side, too. In documenting his rise to the middle, Walker frankly describes the delicate balance between success, selling out, and just knocking back another shot of whiskey to numb the pain.

Whether or not you are familiar with Walker’s music, Drinking with Strangers is a must-read for anyone who wants to make it in the music world, covering such essential topics as the digital revolution and its impact on both performers and producers, the art of creative collaboration, and what it’s really like to work with cutthroat competitors who might steal your soul (and your song). Unflinchingly told, Walker’s twenty-year journey of failing upwards becomes an unforgettable rite of passage.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061787310
• ISBN 13: 9780061787317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272