Butterfingers (Australian band)

Butterfingers
OriginBrisbane, Australia
Genres
Years active2001–2009, 2017–present
LabelsValley Trash, Festival Mushroom, Warner
MembersEddie Mark Jacobson
Olly Thomas
Tony McCall
Past membersDave Crane
Damien Green
Brad Cochrane
Websitehttp://www.butterfingers.info

Butterfingers are an Australian rap rock group from Brisbane, Queensland. Most of their releases are on their own label, Valley Trash Records. They are currently signed to New World Artists.

History

The group was formed when lead vocalist 'Evil' Eddie Mark Jacobson booked himself in for a gig at The Zoo, a bar in Brisbane, without a band or any intentions of performing solo. The venue held Jacobson's booking to him, and a backing band was assembled featuring DJ/percussionist Olly Thomas, bassist Dave Crane, and drummer Damien Green.

Their first two singles "Everytime" and "I Love Work", reached No. 38 and No. 15 respectively in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003.[2]

Their next single "Yo Mama" also receiving airplay on Triple J with the group's debut album, Breakfast at Fatboys, on its national release, 3 May 2004, awarded Triple J 'Album of the Week'. The album debuted at No. 15 on the ARIA Album charts and was also nominated for the 'Best Independent Release' at the 2004 ARIA Music Awards[3] "Yo Mama" charted at No. 17 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004.[4] In October 2004 Butterfingers scored a Guest Programming spot on rage.[5]

In March 2005 Butterfingers aligned themselves with Festival Mushroom Records through a licensing deal between FMR and Valley Trash, the bands in-house label. Their first (and last) co-release was in June 2005 with the release of the single, "Figjam (Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me)". The song peaked at No. 50[6] and in October 2005, "Figjam" was nominated for 'Best Urban Release' at the 2005 ARIA Music Awards.[3] "Figjam" and the preceding single, "Jesus I Was Evil" (a Darcy Clay cover) charted at No. 11 and No. 69 respectively in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2005.[7]

The band released a new album, The Deeper You Dig... on 27 May 2006, which peaked at No. 14 on the album chart.[8] A single from the album, "Get Up Outta the Dirt", was released on 3 June 2006. The single peaked at No. 36,[9] and charted at No. 83 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006.[10]

In June 2007 the band won an APRA award - 'Most Performed Urban Work' for "Get Up Outta the Dirt".[11] The group then released "Nothin Much Happens" as a single in October 2007,[12] which landed on Triple J's "hit list" of songs receiving medium to high rotation.[13] A music video was produced for this song and was played on jtv,[14] and on rage,[15] and also Video Hits.[citation needed]

With the band on a presumed hiatus, lead vocalist Eddie Jacobson began performing with Brisbane-based punk band, SpitFireLiar.[16] Jacobson also went on to a solo single under the name Evil Eddie, entitled "Queensland".[17][18]

To be honest, I’m really gonna focus on the solo thing as much as possible, the other things are all collaborative; the solo thing is gonna be similar to what Butterfingers has previously sounded like. I was submitting a lot of the music for Butterfingers, I haven’t finished it all yet.

— Eddie Jacobson[16]

Jacobson's debut solo album, Welcome to Flavour Country, was released in November 2012.[19]

Butterfingers announced their reformation, alongside releasing a new single "Big Night Out," in March 2017.[20]

They then went on tour to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Breakfast at Fatboys in 2019, supported by Fresh Violet.[21]

The band released a new album, Bad News, in April 2020.[22]

Members

Current members
  • "Evil Eddie" Jacobson − lead vocals, guitar, samples (2001–2009, 2017–present)
  • Olly Thomas − keyboards, percussion, samples, turntables, backing vocals (2001–2009, 2017–present)
  • Tony McCall − drums, backing vocals (2017–present)
Former members
  • Dave Crane – bass guitar (2001–2009)
  • Damien Green − drums (2001–2009)
  • Brad "Bradzilla" Cochrane − bass guitar (2017–2021)

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[23]
Breakfast at Fatboys
  • Released: 3 May 2004
  • Label: Valley Trash Records (VTCD004)
  • Producer: Magoo
61
The Deeper You Dig...
  • Released: 20 June 2006
  • Label: Valley Trash Records (VTCD008)
  • Producer: Magoo & Butterfingers
14
Bad News
  • Released: April 2020
  • Label: Bewilderbeats[24]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Singles

Year Title Chart peak positions
AUS
Certifications Album
ARIA Charts
[23]
AIR Charts Hottest 100
2003 "Everytime" 16 38 Breakfast at Fatboys
"I Love Work" 98 15
2005 "Everybodys Jesus" 7 69 non-album single
"Figjam" 50 11 The Deeper You Dig...
2006 "Get Up Outta the Dirt" 36 83
"I Like Em When They're Trouble
2007 "Nothin' Much Happens" non-album single
2017 "Big Night Out" non-album single [26]
2018 "Bullet to the Head" non-album single
2020 "Dancing (To the Beat of My Own Drum)" Bad News
"Bad News"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually since 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2004 Breakfast at Fatboys Best Independent Release[27] Nominated
2005 "Figjam" Best Urban Release[28] Nominated

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).[29]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2007 "Get Up Outta the Dirt" – Eddie Jacobson Most Performed Urban Work[30] Won

References

  1. ^ "Biography of Butterfingers". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  2. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
  3. ^ a b Butterfingers at the ARIA Music Awards website
  4. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Rage Guest Programmers - Butterfingers (25 September 2004)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Figjam" at Australian-charts.com
  7. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 of 2005". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  8. ^ The Deeper You Dig... at Australian-charts.com
  9. ^ "Get Up Outta the Dirt" at Australian-charts.com
  10. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  11. ^ 2007 APRA Award winners
  12. ^ "Butterfingers & Warners split". The Scoop. The Blurb Magazine. October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  13. ^ 2007 Triple J hitlist, access date: 7 January 2008.
  14. ^ jtv playlist (October 2007)
  15. ^ rage playlist (November 2007)
  16. ^ a b Millman, Audrey (20 July 2009). "Eddie Jacobson: Butterfingers and beyond". TheDwarf.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  17. ^ Lendrum, Tony (11 November 2010). "Former Butterfingers front-man Evil Eddie releases new single 'QUEENSLAND'". The AU Review. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Evil Eddie News".
  19. ^ Strange, Jason (28 November 2012). "Album Review: Evil Eddie - Welcome To Flavour Country (2012 LP)". The AU Review. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  20. ^ Butterfingers Reveal New Single And Sign To New World Artists
  21. ^ "Butterfingers announce '15 Years Of Fatboys' anniversary tour". 8 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Butterfingers release new album 'Bad News', drop rescheduled tour dates". 8 April 2020.
  23. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 46.
  24. ^ "Bad News (LP) – Bewilderbeats".
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Big Night Out - song by Butterfingers | Spotify". Spotify.
  27. ^ "2004 Winners - ARIA Music Awards". Australasian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  28. ^ "2005 Winners - ARIA Music Awards". Australasian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  29. ^ "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  30. ^ "2007 Winners - APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2010.