Father John Misty Proclaims, "Don't sleep on Butch Bastard:" Ian Murray Performs "Live" In LA!!! & Unleashes Bob Dylan & David Bowie Covers Ahead of I Am Not a Man Solo Debut (self-released)
"Don't sleep on Butch Bastard," read a statement credited to Josh Tillman of Father John Misty and Fleet Foxes fame attached to a cold submitted message sent days after I posted my email address on Twitter, along with an open call for new music "not featured on Pitchfork;" after reaching out to Poor Moon bassist and newly-christened Butch Bastard frontman Ian Murray himself, the Father John Misty-affiliated artist would go on to specify, "[Josh is] my friend and I appreciate his endorsement, but I don't wish to be viewed as an appendage to his career." It would likely appear as though Butch Bastard was born when the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer, producer, and director uprooted his life from Seattle to Los Angeles in 2014 and started recording tracks from the comfort of his bedroom. Murray's wonderfully titled forthcoming album, I Am Not a Man, which currently lacks a proper label or release date, showcases 10 self-produced compositions performed in character as Butch Bastard along with Tillman, Father John Misty keyboardist Jonathan Wilson, and drummer Mitchell Rowland with additional engineering from Nico Aglietti.
Bastard's trademark sound has been fittingly self-described as "Slap Happy Rock "N" Roll, Cutie Pie Hardcore, Neo-George Thorogood, Proto-Tiger Woods Spank, Stoner Spaz, Rat Tail R&B, Meta Potty Mouth Bedroom Spunk" and readily cites his greatest influences as Billy Crystal and Catherine Zeta-Jones. "THE FOLLOWING LIVE PERFORMANCE TOOK PLACE IN LOS ANGELES, CA... THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD," reads a brief description presented ahead of "Live" In LA!!! "'Magnolia," along with other delightful sides, will be featured on Butch Bastard's forthcoming LP," a VH1-reminiscent Pop Up Video text bubble reveals during the introductory minutes of Murray's impromptu presentation. Ian Murray is currently shopping his debut project as Butch Bastard, I Am Not a Man, around to prospective labels for a tentative wide release this upcoming Summer or Fall, but until then, he's uploaded two stripped down Bob Dylan and David Bowie covers to his equally sparse BUTCH BASTARD Soundcloud page. Stay tuned to this space, as I've recently been in touch with Murray and his management team with hopes of conducting and publishing an exclusive Butch Bastard interview in the not so distant future!