Butch Vig

Butch Vig
Butch Vig in Madison's Smart Studios recording studio in 2010, recording the Muse song 'Neutron Star Collision'
Background information
Birth name	Bryan David Vig
Also known as	Nevermind Man
Born	August 2, 1955
Origin	Viroqua, Wisconsin, US
Genres	Alternative rock, grunge, noise rock, electronic rock, power pop
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer, remixer
Instruments	Drums
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Geffen, A&E, Atlantic
Associated acts	Garbage, Fire Town, Spooner, Killdozer, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Foo Fighters

Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of diamond-selling album Nevermind by Nirvana.^[1]

A native of Wisconsin, Vig had been based in Madison for much of his career, from studying at the University of Wisconsin, to performing in local bands Spooner and Fire Town, and then to setting up his own recording studio, Smart Studios, with bandmate Steve Marker in the town.^[2] After becoming well known as a producer, he formed and played drums with Garbage, who sold 17 million records over a ten-year period. Vig returned to producing full-time once Garbage was put on hiatus in 2005. The band reconvened in 2010 to record material for their fifth album.

In 2012 Butch Vig ranked number nine in NME's Top 50 Greatest Producers Ever.^[3]

Early life

Butch Vig was born Bryan David Vig to Dr. DeVerne and Betty Vig,^[4] a music teacher,^[5] in Viroqua, Wisconsin.^[2] Vig has two siblings, Chris and Lisa.^[5] Vig acquired the nickname Butch as a child, due to the severe crew cut his father gave him.^[2] Vig studied piano for six years. After seeing The Who perform on The Smothers Brothers, he swapped his piano for a $60 drum kit.^[2]

Moving to Madison, Vig enrolled at the University of Wisconsin to study film direction.

Career

Early musical career

While a student at the University of Wisconsin, Vig met his eventual Garbage bandmate Steve Marker. Vig contributed several electronic music soundtrack pieces to low-budget films, including one song on Slumber Party Massacre, a Hollywood B-movie. This soundtrack work stirred Vig's interest in the manipulation of sound. Vig joined a number of garage pop bands, including Eclipse, and in 1978 formed Spooner with Duke Erikson, Dave Benton, Jeff Walker and Joel Tappero.

The following year, Vig helped Marker to build a home studio in Marker's basement. Marker and Vig also started a small label, Boat Records, to release records of both Spooner – which included their 1979 debut EP, "Cruel School" – and other bands they liked, which lead to around twenty local acts. The self-producing was later described by Vig as "kind of a trial by fire".^[2][6][7][8]

In 1984, Vig and Marker founded Smart Studios in Madison, while still performing drums in Spooner at night and driving a taxi cab during the day. When Spooner lost momentum, Vig formed a band called First Person with Marker and Phil Davis and a side-project called Fire Town featuring Davis and Erikson. Fire Town quickly became Vig's priority, and after their first album were signed to Atlantic Records. Atlantic hired producer Michael Frondelli to work with Fire Town on their second album. While the sessions did not do well, and the resulting record sank, Vig learned a lot of production techniques from the process. Fire Town split, and Vig reformed Spooner for a final album before Vig's production work became a full-time career for him.^[2]

Production career

Vig's first high-profile production work was in 1991, when he produced The Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Nirvana's Nevermind. Vig incorporated overdubs and vocal doubletracking, whereas Nirvana's previous album, Bleach (produced by Jack Endino) had a more "lo-fi" sound. Kurt Cobain originally refused to double-track his vocals and guitars but Vig reportedly got him to comply by saying "John Lennon double-tracked". Cobain would later criticize Vig for the album's slickness, although this might be due to Andy Wallace's mixing of the album.^[9] Cobain said that "Butch Vig...recorded the album perfectly," in a 1993 MTV interview. Billy Corgan welcomed Vig's elaborate production on The Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream. This album met with great commercial and critical reception, also breaking another indie band into the mainstream. Vig also produced two critically lauded Sonic Youth albums, 1992's Dirty^[10] and 1994's Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.

In 2003, Vig worked with AFI to produce their first major label album with DreamWorks, Sing the Sorrow. Vig worked with Jimmy Eat World on their sixth album, Chase This Light, released in October 2007. He is also working on soundtracks for two new movies. His first production for an English band was 2008's All or Nothing by The Subways. He also worked with Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! on her solo EP, Heart Burns. Vig produced the eighth studio album by Green Day, 2009's 21st Century Breakdown, which won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Recently, Vig has been partnered in duties by his engineer and mixer Billy Bush who also worked on Garbage's albums and live tours.

Butch Vig composed and produced the soundtrack for the film The Other Side.

In 2009 Vig recorded two new tracks for the long awaited greatest hits release by the Foo Fighters, most notably the single "Wheels" and ultimately produced their April 2011 follow-up, Wasting Light.

In 2010 Vig produced Muse's single, "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)," which was featured on the Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack.

Garbage

Butch Vig playing drums for Garbage.

Vig stated, "Part of the reason why I started Garbage was that by the time I'd done 'Nevermind,' I'd recorded – I swear to God – 1,000 bands that were just guitar-bass-drums. I was reading about all these other records that I was getting excited about – like Public Enemy using a sampler in the studio – and I just decided I wanted to do a bit of a U-turn."^[11] Afterwards, they hired Scottish singer Shirley Manson and began composing together.^[1]

Garbage released a string of increasingly successful singles in 1995–1996, including "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains". Their debut album, Garbage, was an unexpected smash, selling over 4 million copies and certified double platinum in the UK, United States and Australia. Garbage won the Breakthrough Artist award at the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards.^[12] The band then spent two years working on follow-up album, Version 2.0, which topped the charts in the UK upon its 1998 release and the following year was nominated for two Grammy Awards, Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. Version 2.0 went on to match the sales of its predecessor. Garbage followed this up by performing and co-producing the theme song to the nineteenth James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough.^[13]

Despite being named one of Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of The Year,^[14] Garbage's 2001 third album Beautiful Garbage failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors.^[15] Garbage quietly disbanded in late 2003, but regrouped to complete fourth album Bleed Like Me in 2005, peaking at a career-high #4 in the U.S.^[16] The band cut short their concert tour in support of Bleed Like Me announcing an "indefinite hiatus",^[17] emphasizing that they had not broken up, but wished to pursue personal interests.^[18] In 2006, Vig returned to producing while Manson worked on a solo album (as yet unreleased). Garbage ended their hiatus in 2007,^[19] and released greatest hits retrospective Absolute Garbage. Worldwide, the band have sold over 17 million albums.^[20] The band got back together in 2010 and began recording their new album, Not Your Kind of People, which was released internationally on May 14, 2012.

Personal life

Vig is married to Beth Halper, a former DreamWorks A & R executive; they have a daughter, Bo Violet. They live in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.

Discography

Spooner Every Corner Dance (1982) Wildest Dreams (1985) The Fugitive Dance (1990)

Fire Town In the Heart of the Heart Country (1987) The Good Life (1989)

Garbage Garbage (1995) Version 2.0 (1998) Beautiful Garbage (2001) Bleed Like Me (2005) Not Your Kind of People (2012)

Production career

Butch Vig served as the record producer, or co-producer on the following records:

1982: Die Kreuzen – Internal 1984: Killdozer – Intellectuals Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite 1985: ivory library – 1st e.p. 1985: The Other Kids – Living in the Mirror 1985: Killdozer – Snake Boy 1985: Laughing Hyenas – Come Down to the Merry Go Round 1986: Killdozer – Burl 1987: The Other Kids – Happy Home 1987: Killdozer – Little Baby Buntin' 1988: Die Kreuzen – Century Days 1988: The Cheeters – Sign of Fire 1988: Killdozer – For Ladies Only 1989: Killdozer – Twelve Point Buck 1989: Laughing Hyenas- You Can't Pray a Lie 1989: Stuart Stotts – Music in My Mother's House 1989: feedtime – Suction 1990: Urge Overkill – Americruiser 1990: King Snake Roost – Ground into the Dirt 1990: Laughing Hyenas – Life of Crime 1990: The Fluid – Glue 1991: The Fluid – Spot the Loon 1991: Gods of the Revolution 1991: Cosmic Psychos – Blokes You Can Trust 1991: The Smashing Pumpkins – Gish 1991: Nirvana – Nevermind 1991: Tad – 8-Way Santa 1991: Young Fresh Fellows – Electric Bird Digest 1991: Overwhelming Colorfast – Overwhelming Colorfast 1991: Die Kreuzen – Cement 1992: Sonic Youth – Dirty 1992: House of Pain – Shamrocks and Shenanigans 1992: L7 – Bricks Are Heavy 1992: Chainsaw Kittens – Flipped Out in Singapore 1992: Drain – Pick Up Heaven

1992: Gumball – Wisconsin Hayride 1993: Gumball – Super Tasty 1993: Gumball – The Damage Done 1993: Crash Vegas – Stone 1993: The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream 1993: Gumball – Real Gone Deal 1994: Sonic Youth – Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star 1994: Helmet – Betty 1994: Freedy Johnston – This Perfect World 1995: Soul Asylum – Let Your Dim Light Shine 1995: Garbage – Garbage 1997: The And – Day 1997: The And – And Night 1998: Garbage – Version 2.0 2001: Garbage – Beautiful Garbage 2003: AFI – Sing the Sorrow 2005: Garbage – Bleed Like Me 2006: Kilroy – LP 2007: Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light 2007: Against Me! – New Wave 2008: The Subways – All or Nothing 2008: Tom Gabel – Heart Burns 2009: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown 2009: Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits 2010: Against Me! – White Crosses 2010: Muse – "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" 2010: Never Shout Never – Harmony 2010: Goo Goo Dolls – Something for the Rest of Us 2011: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light 2012: Garbage – Not Your Kind of People 2013: Sound City Players – Sound City: Real To Reel 2014: Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways[21]

Remix work

Butch Vig has remixed songs for the following artists: Against Me!, Ash, Beck, The Cult, Depeche Mode, EMF, Fun Lovin' Criminals, House of Pain, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Alanis Morissette, Nine Inch Nails, Michael Penn, M.O.P and U2, as well as his own band Garbage.

References

1. "Garbage: Behind The Music". Behind The Music. 2002-03-31.
2. "Welcome to Spooner Town". Record Collector. February 1, 1997
3. http://www.nme.com/list/the-50-greatest-producers-ever/262849/page/5
4. Burgess, Joan (August 23, 2005). "Obituaries". Madison.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
5. "Obituaries (Tuesday August 23, 2005)". Wisconsin State Journal (reproduced on Madison.com). August 23, 2005. Retrieved 2009-04-05
6. Buskin, Richard (March 1997). "BUTCH VIG: Nevermind The Garbage". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
7. Steve Marker of Garbage on his approach to production and the joys of living in Colorado
8. Punks: A Guide to an American Subculture. Sharon M. Hannon. p. 115
9. Berkenstadt, J. (1998). Nevermind Nirvana at pg. 96. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-864775-0
10. 1992 THE BEST & WORST MUSIC, Entertainment Weekly.
11. Mapes, Jillian (October 19, 2011). "Butch Vig: Garbage's Hiatus Cleared Members' 'Baggage'". New York City: Billboard. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
12. "Version 2.0 press release" (Press release). Mushroom Records. March 30, 1998.
13. "Beautiful Garbage press release" (Press release). Mushroom Records. July 27, 2001.
14. ""Breaking Up the Girl" Hits magazine trade ad". Retrieved 2008-02-24
15. "Bleed Like Me press release, published by Geffen Records, dated February 21, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-24
16. Murphy, Peter S. (2008). Absolute Garbage biography.
17. "Shirley Manson on Garbage Hiatus: 'I'm Burnt, I'm Done, I'm Toast' says singer.". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
18. "Dear worried and confused". Garbage.com. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
19. "Garbage End Sabbatical for Benefit Show". Music.AOL.com. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
20. "New Best of Album". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
21. Darren Levin (August 26, 2013). "Butch Vig teams up with Foo Fighters for "KILLER new songs"". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. Retrieved November 8, 2013.

External links

• Butch Vig at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website Garbage
• Butch Vig Interview at drummagazine.com