Butch Walker, formerly of the Atlanta-based group Marvelous 3, has been signed by Arista Records to an exclusive worldwide contract, it was announced today by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, President and CEO, Arista Records. Underscoring his success with M3, Butch surfaced as co-writer of the #1 Billboard Modern Rock track “Right Now” by Baltimore’s SR-71, and as co-writer of four tracks on “Atomic,” the new album from Orange County alt-darlings Lit. Having produced upcoming records for Injected (on Island/Def Jam Records) and Bowling For Soup (Jive), Butch is turning his attention to the completion of his debut album as a solo artist, expected for release on Arista in the spring 2002.
His cover-boy looks (as featured in last month’s “Vogue” magazine and a recent Calvin Klein advertising campaign) belie the fact that Butch Walker is a multi-talented veteran of the Atlanta rock scene. In addition to serving as lead singer and songwriter for Marvelous 3, he also handled guitar and keyboards for the group in the studio – while manning the console as producer and engineer as well.
Hometown favorites in Atlanta (where they grew out of Butch’s previous band Southland), Marvelous 3 won a strong local following out of the box with their indie debut “Math and Other Problems.” They went on to take the “Best Rock Band” and “Hardest Working Band” titles at the Atlantic Music Awards in 1997 and ’98. M3 was signed to Elektra Records and broke through with “Freak Of the Week,” first single from their major label debut “Hey! Album” of 1998. That same year they earned the “Buzzband” title at ASCAP’s South-By-Southwest Conference showcase.
“ReadySexGo!” followed in 2000, featuring “Sugarbuzz” and “Get Over.” At the same time, Marvelous 3 were included on the original motion picture soundtrack album for the Farrelly Brothers’ “Me, Myself & Irene.” Butch produced a brilliant version of “Reelin’ In the Years” for the film’s concept soundtrack of all-Steely Dan covers. In addition to appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” M3 has made cameo appearances on such TV shows as the WB’s “Charmed.”
