Butch Walker's multiple musical lives have developed as the only-in-Hollywood variety since he first headed west from his native Georgia in the late '80s. His early musical projects included straight-up Sunset Strip-style acts with creatively spelled names like Byte the Bullet. Following that came the power-guitar-rock act Marvelous 3, which enjoyed a major-label deal and minor success but never major mainstream velocity.
In ensuing years, Walker's really made his mark as a producer, notably giving compressed, big-room crunch to projects by acts like Weezer, Dashboard Confessional, and All Time Low. If there's a common thread among Walker's work, it's that everything he touches winds up with serious hooks and fist-pumping power. Both are offered aplenty on his own latest soloish project, The Spade, which he's released as Butch Walker and the Black Widows. No-frills and unapologetically begging for singalongs, each song packs an easy-to-digest, caffeinated jolt.
