Preparing to hit the Aussie public with a tour that kicked off last weekend at the Gold Coast Indy to launch their new single ‘Nothing Much Happens’, a surprisingly mild-mannered “Evil” Eddie Jacobsen from Butterfingers took time out to chat to ITM about the life and times of hip hop superstardom.
“Manic” is a word that comes up frequently in the Butterfingers vocabulary, and it’s also the best way to describe their musical style. Following the success of their debut album ‘Breakfast at Fatboys’ in 2004, and the follow up, ‘The Deeper You Dig’ in 2006, the Brisbane-based band are currently hard at work on a new album, which is due out early next year.
Who are Butterfingers, exactly?
Myself, Edie Jacobsen, often referred to as Evil Eddie, but I don’t know! Olly Thomas plays samples and percussion, Damien Green plays the drums, and David Crane plays the bass guitar.
How did the band start out?
We were all friends from previous bands and I kind of had this opportunity to play this show and I called in all the usual suspects. It went from there.
How did you come up with the name?
It’s sort of a no brainer really, I thought of it originally because I’m kind of that guy and I think it’s a cool word. I was kind of never really good at sports or anything like that. I had this list of names that we had to choose from, and basically everyone hated everything else I came up with except that one.
Your hometown is Brisbane, where’s the best place to play in the city?
I really like playing The Zoo, I used to work there as well so it is very much like home. But probably one of our best shows we’ve played ever, even outside of Brisbane or not, was at the Arena.
You’ve had great success with Triple J, how did that come about?
Basically, I didn’t know how to get on Triple J. There was a girl called Nicole Foote who used to host the Hip Hop show, I sent her the first EP we had which had the ‘Every Time’ track on it, she played it a couple of times and a couple of people heard it and it started getting requested on ‘Super Request’. Then Robbie Buck asked for a copy of it, so he could play it on ‘Home and Hosed’. Then the next song that we released was ‘I Love Work’ and they were pretty keen to give that a go too.
Where do you get your inspiration from when you’re making music?
A lot of the time, as you might be able to tell, I get it from everyday stuff. You know, the crazy shit that happens in my life, but I try to get creative and think of really stupid stuff that hasn’t happened in my life too.
How did you first get into music?
I started playing guitar when I was 8. My parents were always really keen for me to be musical because, although they were music fans, they weren’t musical themselves.
How do you chill out when you’re not doing band stuff?
Lots of TV and too much alcohol.
What keeps you sane?
I’m not sure that anything does, I’m on the verge of going over most of the time!
What’s the best thing about performing live?
The nervous poo beforehand!
You’re in the process of launching your new single, ‘Nothing Much Happens’. How’s that going?
Really good yeah, we just finished filming the clip for it and it was probably the most spectacular clip we’ve ever done. It had a car crash in it, and a burning man and it was pretty cool.
You sing about sex a lot in your songs. Is it true what my mother always said; that those who talk about it the most do it the least?
Haha! Nah, I think I have a fairly average sex drive, I don’t think I’m undersexed, and I’m not oversexed. I think I’m somewhere in the middle. But when you think about it, everything about it is just ridiculous!
Do gorgeous girls throw themselves at you now that you’re a big star?
Well, we played at Valley Fiesta a few weeks ago and I had two bras thrown at me. I thought that was pretty cool.
What’s the best come on line you’ve heard?
Hmmm… I was with a girl that suggested that we slap each other in the face for the adrenalin rush, and I thought that was pretty weird, but kinda cool. It was kind of exciting.
Who’s your favourite person in the whole world?
That’s a hard question. If I say my mum, my girlfriend will be pissed off. If I say my girlfriend, my mum will be pissed off…
So, where to from here for Butterfingers?
We’re going around the country, but I’d like to expand even further. I’d like to go overseas pretty soon, the UK, America, Europe… pretty much everywhere except Afghanistan, really.
Be sure to catch Butterfingers this October and November as they undertake a national tour to launch their new single ‘Nothing Much Happens’:
26 Oct – Factory Theatre, Sydney
27 Oct – Stonefest, Canberra
1 Nov – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
2 Nov – Hyde Park Hotel, Perth
3 Nov – Night Train Entertainment Complex, Adelaide
5 Nov – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
9 Nov – Sands Tavern, Maroochydore
10 Nov – The Zoo, Brisbane
23 Nov – Mona Vale Hotel, Sydney
24 Nov – Newcastle Uni, Newcastle
Check the clip for ‘Nothing Much Happens’ below!
