Close Encounters of the Marvelous Kind

by Georgeanna Smith & Lauren Statts

Special to SAVVY

"Get your rock hands up, get your rock hands up!" Butch Walker, charismatic frontman of the Marvelous 3 yells to a Thursday night Chattanooga crowd.

Exclamations like this are just one part of the band's electrifying live show. Without incredible pyrotechnics, smoke or sometimes even a backdrop, they are arguably one of the best live acts in today's music business.

So how do they do it? Take away all of the special effects and you would still not have a band with greater energy, musicianship or connection with its fans and audience. The attitude and energy of their live shows hearken back to those of legendary "80's rockers Motley Crue and Kiss;. The Marvelous 3 have been known to pull out a cover of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody" or even some Kiss-style sync guitar playing. Their sound is pop with a punk edge.

You will sing, you will scream, and you will have a great time. The audience does not come to just watch the show; they're part of it.

Still, the Marvelous 3 remain their own unique band.

All of this, though, does not come without a price. This Atlanta-based power pop trio, in addition to being one of the best, are also one of the hardest-working bands around.

In addition to supporting his own band, Butch Walker co-wrote SR-71"s hit 'Right Now" with lead singer Mitch Allan. Though only gaining recent mainstream success through "99's runaway hit 'Freak of the Week," they are not strangers to the industry. Friends and band members Butch (lead guitar and vocals), Jayce Fincher (bass and backing vocals) and Mitch McLee aka Slug (drums) have been playing together since they were in high school. They have been professional musicians since the late '80's when they were members of a band called Southgang.

Until the success of "Freak," the Marvelous 3 were touring the US independently, doing about 250 shows a year. Their "college," as they refer to their years of hard work, has afforded them a philosophy that they strongly follow, as Butch explained to the Chattanooga crowd: "We started this band with a certain saying, and that was, no matter what happens, no matter if we sell one record, or one billion, it doesn't matter. We're going to be our own individuals, and be leaders, and not followers."

Their motto carries through to everything they do. The Marvelous 3 genuinely love playing live, and it shows. It is a rare occasion when Butch does not wander out into the audience, or invite some fans onstage to be part of the show. At Rockfest "99 in Atlanta, the band forced a crowd of more than 100,000 to sing Naked Eyes' 'Always Something There to Remind Me" in rounds.

"You guessed it, this is the cheesiest, cheesiest moment of you life. And you know what, the minute that you can embrace the cheese, your life will be complete, and nothing else will matter ever again because you know what, you'll know that you're cool&ldots;if you can do this. It's sing along with Butch time!!!"

We experienced the band"s dynamic personalities firsthand last September. While driving past the venue the afternoon before the show we spied the Marvelous 3's tour bus. We drove by the bus again, rolled down the windows, and blasted one of the band's songs. As we were about to leave, Butch walked out of the bus, looked at us, grinned and promptly began to air guitar. After chatting for awhile, Butch invited us to come back for soundcheck. Later that day, the band ran through their songs, along with covers of Journey's 'Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin,'" an alternate version of "The Brady Bunch" theme song, and South Park"s Big Gay Al's 'I'm Super, Thanks for Asking!"

It was surprising to see how much hard work goes into the offstage aspects of the professional musician's life. Of course, the live show was powerful. Marvelous 3 manages to blend stellar musical artistry and a highly comical interaction with the audience. Lead singer Butch's commanding stage presence infuses the crowd with positive vibes; his amazingly gorgeous voice manages to sing not scream powerful pop/rock songs with heartfelt emotion.

After the concert, the band hung out with the fans until the last one had gone home, about 4 a.m. They did not act like some rock stars, claiming that they didn't have time for autographs, or that they were too tired.

Even though they were badly in need of rest, the whole band, including their touring rhythm guitarist, J.J., signed autographs and posed for pictures until the last fan had personal time with each band member.

Marvelous 3"s colleagues in the music industry also respect them for this personal approach to the job. Amber, a former Top 40 DJ, said this of the band: 'I've met 'rock stars' before and been really disappointed by the way they treat their fans. Not M3, they were wonderful &ldots; I've never met a group of musicians who care more about their fans &ldots; They were definitely the most professional, most genuine group of musicians I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

When we contacted Butch to ask if we could interview him, he responded within the hour, despite the fact that we are not a major magazine.

All these attributes combine to form a band that is musically innovative, dedicated and a whole lot of fun. The Marvelous 3 echo a long-forgotten virtue; they became involved in the music business not to make money or become ridiculously famous, but because they had an honest love of creating music and sharing it with others.

Butch promises, "I won't let anything in this world stop us from making the best music possible or being the best friends in the world. &ldots; We will never stop making music or striving for success or ever be crushed by anything. We have done this for the love of music, in the end."