By Erin Cross
Aussie hip hop legends Butterfingers are back on the scene with a new found vigor, releasing their new album Bad News on March 30th. The much anticipated new album marks a come back from a decade long break for these musical misfits, a taste of what life has been like for them outside of making music.
Their 2020 national tour has been postponed due to the Coronavirus, but Butterfingers is still planning to grace stages around Australia once the healing has begun.
Frontman Evil Eddie Jacobson admits postponing the tours has been difficult, but is excited for the future. And as many artists are showing, there are other ways people can support the music community.
“On our website there’s a shop link and that’s got all of our merchandise and stuff so that’s been helpful,” says Eddie.
“I have been thinking that I could kick off a Patreon account, link it to the YouTube channel and start teaching people about everything about being in a band. We’ve learnt so much by doing this record by ourselves. I think people would want to learn about that and I think it would be a good idea.”
Butterfingers is known for blending genres, humor and obscenity and Bad News is true to form. The latest album will encompass hip hop, punk, reggae, drum & bass, stoner rock and electronica, all mixed together to tell fans what happened between the last album and now.
Evil Eddie revealed that Bad News is a journey through the trials and tribulations he faced during the band's break, the process of getting back together and jumping back into the music scene.
“Part of it involves hating music, hating the music industry to being forced or coaxed back into it and realising that I actually love it,” he says.
Butterfingers have developed their unique sound throughout their career, keeping up with the music industry even from a distance. Their latest album is a testament to their dedication to growth. Using story writing techniques, Evil Eddie has created a concept record with a twist.
“The theory is that every story is the same, from the Bible to Star Wars. There’s a series of challenges that a character has to go through to get to the other side,” he says.
“I just took the concept and went “You know what? Let’s use this to formulate the whole album and run it on a theme. Not every song is that literal but if you know, it’s kind of hard to un-know.”
Evil Eddie is stoked that Butterfingers is back together but it wasn't all smooth sailing. The album explains this in detail through potty-mouthed gutter rhymes and heartfelt crooning odes.
He explains how, like a movie, the album starts at the break through point for the band and then journeys back to explain how they got there.
“The opening track is Dancing To The Beat Of My Own Drum. Dancing is like the track where we break through and are finally free of all the crap we’ve been dealing with,” he says.
“After that track it goes to Suburbia, the real beginning of the story. That’s all about me saying “I’m a washed-up rock star, I hate music, I hate my life, I hate everything but there’s nothing I hate more than the place I live in and that’s suburbia,”
“The next track is called Dem Billz and that’s what they call a call to action. In it, I have to get money because the tax department is threatening to bankrupt me and send me to jail. So, Dem Billz is me going “I don’t know how I'm going to avoid this jail time unless I get the band back together, which I don’t want to do because I hate the band. And then I go “Alright fuck it, I’ll do it.” he continues.
The Butterfingers journey is relatable and honest. Not only do the songs hit at the heart of problems felt and faced by people on a day to day basis, but it’s also incredibly appropriate for the current climate of uncertainty.
“One of the songs is called Bad News, as is the album. But the clip for it is newsreaders reporting on all the bad stuff that's happening. The concept was planned way before Coronavirus hit the scene so it’s just funny that it worked out that way,” says Eddie.
One thing’s for sure, their story is one that will keep old fans happy and capture new ones.