Bring Me The Ass Of Jennifer Lopez-a journey into the mind of marvelous'3 Butch Walker

By-Bill Fiskin, Synthesis.net

Marvelous 3 is here to bring rock, porn and beer to the people. Singer / guitarist Butch Walker has been in the rock game for over 10 years, and with M3's second Elektra Records release, ReadySexGO, he's pushing the envelope further than ever before. Packed with an all-star array of guest stars ranging from Beck's Roger Manning Jr. to Lit's Jeremy Popov to Buckcherry's Yogi, ReadySexGO is a collective joyride of rock.

As if that wasn't enough they've even got an upcoming appearance on the WBTV series Charmed. I spoke with Butch while he was on the way to Lake Tahoe for a show about white trash, hell and Jennifer Lopez's ass.

So how did you guys get started?

The three of us have been playing together since we were in our young teens, like 15, 16 years old. My drummer and I started together. Our bass player started with us shortly after and we've gone through extra band member after extra band member - countless band members and names. Next thing you know we're still here. So that's the Marvelous 3. We don't take rock seriously and neither do we take our name seriously.

That's good. Rock 'n' roll shouldn't be taken seriously.

Not at all, it was a form of escape and rebellion from the get go.

So what is a Marvelous 3 live show like?

Sweaty, crazy, anything goes. You know, somewhere between the Beatles and Slipknot. We beat the hell out of each other but we laugh and smile about it.

And you're not wearing funny masks?

Depends on what night.

You guys have played all over North America, right?

Yeah.

What was the worst place you saw during your many drives?

The worst gig I've ever done was probably in Arkansas. I played on this lake at some lake resort, I can't remember the name of the town. We played on a dock, a floating dock. It was right there on the side where people would come down and watch you while you were playing. It was really conservative, like with families and three-year-olds running around. We're sitting there, trying to put on a rock show and the sound coming off the stage - even before they turned the PA on - was like 50DB over what they were allowing. It was just stupid and then they were all just staring at us. All these hillbilly rednecks staring at us while we are doing our show up there, rocking out, flashing the devil horns, shit like that. We get done, we start getting ready to pack up our gear and they turn on the music. It was "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails and people, without any hesitation flock quietly to the dance floor and start line dancing to it. And we left - we were freaked out.

Sounds like a version of hell.

Yeah, it was like a David Lynch movie. They didn't even look at each other, they just assumed the position and started line-dancing to Nine Inch Nails - like, with cowboy hats.

Wow, that just might be one of the scariest things I've ever heard in my entire life.

It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I was picturing, like, Billy Bob Thorton filming it.

Like in U-turn, did you see that movie?

Yeah, we were just talking about it today.

Why, Jennifer Lopez?

Jennifer Lopez!

Do you think of Jennifer Lopez often?

It just happens, it's just random. I don't know why.

It's the kind of thing that, when her video is on, you just put it on mute and watch.

Yeah, I heard the song in, like, a mall, in some cheesy clothing store or something. When I hear one of those songs without seeing the video, I just think that it's horrible. Then I realized who it was. I thought 'Well, that sums it all up right there.' You can watch MTV with the sound off and I would be just fine.

Have you seen The Cell yet?

I haven't seen it.

I haven't either, she's in it though.

Yeah, she sure is, hopefully not saying anything.

I read in your bio that you were driving a $100 Volvo station wagon before you got signed.

That's right, that just shows how hung I am. When I grew a dick I lost all my insecurities. I didn't have to flash my money and drive a Mercedes anymore.

What are you driving now?

A 1972 Grand Sport Buick convertible.

Nice, that's kind of pimpin'.

No, it's rockin', it's not too pretentious, it's just cool.

Do you have a good sound system in it too?

Oh yeah, that was the first thing I did. It needed a tune up bad, but I put a great radio in it.

Well, the louder your radio is, the fewer problems you will hear with your car.

Well that's what I wanted - something loud to drown out the knocking. I got a sub in the trunk and the whole nine yards. Yanni's Greatest Hits never sounded better either. I blare it going through the yuppie neighborhoods in Atlanta. It's great.

They're all scared of you.

They don't understand it. You can't drive a '72 Buick convertible listening to Tonic.

No that wouldn't work. Hip-hop would work, but not Tonic.

No, not even Papa Roach - it just wouldn't work. Slippery When Wet would work, Under Lock and Key would work.

You guys were on tour with a hell of a lot of bands, I was reading through some past dates.

Yeah, we got lots of those guys drunk on our bus.

Any standout memories from that?

Well, we met the guys in Buckcherry by daring them to shave their beavers with us. We got on our bus and got drunk and I pulled out the clippers and we were all daring each other to do it, who would shave off all their pubic hair so we ended up all doing it.

That's fucked up.

It was one of those big drunk hairy messes. It was pretty gnarly.

How drunk were you guys when you were doing that?

Oh, we were Iowa drunk - pretty drunk. Those guys just like to party and have a good time like the rest of us. We just befriended them and ended up becoming fans. The true spirit of rock n' roll lived in that band.

And you've got both Jeremy and Yogi on the album.

Yeah, it's kind of a celebration of the fact that those two guys and us were beating it out on the Sunset Strip in the late '80s. We all knew of each other back then and hadn't seen each other in 10 years. It was like 'Hey, I remember you!' All of a sudden it was like 'Hey, we're not dead. We're proof that rock does not die, it just comes back with a different haircut."

Pick up Marvelous 3's ReadySexGO (Elektra) at finer record stores everywhere.