Madison Magazine Interview: Butch Is Back

Madison Magazine Interview: Butch Is Back
Butch Vig Of Garbage Still Has His Finger On The Pulse Of Local Music Scene

UPDATED: 3:37 pm CST January 5, 2006

By Shayna Miller
Madison Magazine
Special to Channel 3000

Butch Vig of Garbage may have been on a world tour to promote the group’s latest CD Bleed Like Me when Madison Magazine caught up with him, but he’s still got his finger on the pulse of our music scene.

Madison Magazine: What is it like for the band when you return to Madison — how has the crowd reaction/turnout changed since you began the band here?

Butch Vig: We were pretty jazzed when we played Madison in May. It feels good to perform in front of an audience that really shows their love and support. I know there are some people in Madison who don’t think of us as a hometown band because Shirley is from Scotland, but I think Madison has become her second home, and she has a lot of friends in the Mad city. And Duke, Steve and I have played in every gin joint within a fifty-mile radius!

MM: How is the music scene in Madison?

BV:There has always been a healthy music scene in Madison. Having a constant turnover of students at the UW helps because it brings in a lot of new bands every year. It’s hard for me to keep tabs on all the new music because I travel so much, but I like Awesome Car Funmaker, Charlemagne, and Lorenzo’s Music to name a few. And Mark Croft, who is a really talented singer-songwriter. There is also a Smart Studios/Slipper Club compilation of new music in the works that should be out this fall, which has some really eclectic artists on it. Oh yeah, I can’t forget the Know-It-All Boyfriends (a Café Montmartre house band featuring Vig on drums)!

MM: Will Smart Studios ever leave Madison?

BV: No way! I split my time between L.A. and Madison, and in the last year I’ve seen another four or five major L.A. studios go out of business. I’m still surprised Smart has managed to survive for twenty years! These days, it’s easy to make quality home recordings on your laptop, and with the music business in a major slump, it’s hard to get new bands to commit to spending money in a recording studio. But we still have an amazing-sounding vintage console, great microphones, and outboard gear that you can’t duplicate in a computer.

MM: What city have you traveled to that most reminds you of Madison?

BV: Copenhagen has elements of what I like about Madison. It’s very liberal, the people are really friendly, there are good restaurants, the nightlife is exciting, and it’s got a really good vibe. And it’s more much tolerable in the winter months!

Stay Tuned: Look for Vig and the Know-It-All Boyfriends at Café Montmartre in February. Café Momo owner Craig Spaulding says he’s cooking up a sassy Valentine’s Day performance.

taken from http://www.channel3000.com/entertainment/5867250/detail.html