BY JO WILLIAMS
Starting out as a busker in Fremantle, guitarist, singer and songwriter John Butler has become one of the most successful independent musicians in Australia. His band, the John Butler Trio, is donating $1 from every ticket sold on its current national performing tour to Refugee Action Collectives around the country.
Butler says the federal government's policy of mandatory detention of refugees is "completely shameful, a dark period in our history".
The band is also donating $1 from each ticket sold on their national tour to The Wilderness Society, but want to specifically highlight the refugee campaign through the media around their tour.
"I'm able to give money away, I'm able to feed myself, support my family, be doing my art, so I'm comfortable enough to put my money where my mouth is and support causes that need the money", he told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly.
The trio's latest album, Sunrise Over Sea, is a diverse mix of blues, reggae, rock and more that showcases his impressive skills as a guitarist. Beautiful musicianship, some great string arrangements and a variety of additional instruments all contribute to a great album.
Butler says that songs such as "Home is Where the Heart Is", which have a strong anti-racism message, criticising the government's refugee policy, are usually well received by the band's audiences.
Born in California, at the age of 11 Butler moved with his family to a small town in Western Australia. He remembers being amazed when he arrived in Australia to find that a visit to the dentist was free. He is opposed to the current push to privatise more health and education services, which he sees as taking Australia in the direction of the USA.
"In 18 years, I've seen things slowly change. They're privatising everything. I don't want Australia to become another state of America. We should be socialising these things."
Commenting on the upcoming federal elections, Butler says the key issue is "getting rid of the Liberal government, not that the Labor Party is much better".
"As far as human beings are concerned, [the Liberals] don't care. They're bad on land rights, bad on the environment... We should get out of Iraq."
Performing on Channel Ten's Rove Live program on May 11, Butler displayed a No HoWARd sticker prominently on his guitar.
As well as advertising the websites of the Refugee Action Collectives around the country, the John Butler Trio website has links to a range of environmental organisations including Friends of the Earth and the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of WA, with the advice that they "can help give you answers you won't readily hear".
A message forum called Mother Earth encourages the band's fans to discuss environmental issues and current affairs. Butler's passionate lyrics warn against environmental destruction and corporate greed and argue for peace and solidarity. He has performed at several benefit gigs for various causes, in particular campaigns against the logging of old-growth forests.
While Butler considers himself a "musical activist", he stresses that he doesn't write music to change people's minds. "I don't want to be condescending... I write from a personal place, and I think that if I speak my truth, then that's going to resonate more than telling people how to feel about it. It's like, this is what's going on, you should find out about it. If I wrote a song like a politician most people would probably turn off."
He says that although a lot of people ask him about the environmental politics of his music, for him "the songs transcend environmental politics. They're really human; who doesn't want clean air? It's just common sense."
For information about the John Butler Trio's national tour, which kicked off in Broome on May 13, visit .
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, May 19, 2004.
Visit the