Butch Walker built his reputation with hard-hitting, self-produced rock albums marked by a bright, polished sound. When he set out to make Afraid Of Ghosts, an LP partially inspired by the death of his father, he decided to forget about perfection and aim for a more visceral, acoustic feel. The songs on Afraid Of Ghosts were written over the course of a year, then recorded with Ryan Adams and his band in a four-day burst of creativity. It’s the first time Walker worked with an outside producer. Walker will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on him.
Walker: I am an addict at heart; I am sure of it. I mean to anything. Which is why I can’t and really never could do drugs. I go like a goddamn frat boy on anything I do. Probably a cross between Jim Belushi’s character in Animal House and Andrew WK. This is why I tread lightly with my obsessions and habits. Coffee is one of the few that hasn’t almost derailed me, and I am sorta a snob about it. It’s a sad day on the road when all that is near the tour bus is a Starbucks, so I usually bring my own beans, grinder and French press on the road. But nothing tops the experience of getting coffee at your favorite shop. Barista Parlour in Nashville is my friend Andy’s place, and he is killing the game right now. His places are warm and inviting, stylish and musical. He usually outsources the best beans in the biz from roasters like Stumptown, Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia and many others, but now he has a second location and put his own roaster in it to do their own beans, which I am excited to try. Oh … and coffee is not a chocolate milkshake with a shot of espresso in it. That is called type-2 diabetes. I prefer my coffee like I prefer my boots: black.
Video after the jump.
http://vimeo.com/86451433
