thePULSEBoston Legends Charlie Farren & Jon Butcher Reunite for FBI
By Jillian Locke
It’s a curious thing how sometimes, fate leads us home. After Charlie Farren, former lead vocalist of The Joe Perry Project and Farrenheit, left his 16 year musical career to settle down with his family and take a position in a hi-tech company, never did he think he’d be where he is today. “The economy started changing, and I was forced to look at other career options. My job ended, and I figured this was a good time to fall back on music.”
“Fall back on music”…that’s something you don’t hear every day. But for Farren and long-time friend and rival Jon Butcher (founder of Jon Butcher Axis and composer for the Electric Factory, which is responsible for scoring shows including “The Simpsons,” “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood,” and ~ more recently ~ “Shameless”), falling back on music was exactly what you would expect to hear. The resulting album, FBI, Farren Butcher, Inc., is an all-encompassing representation of the evolution of these two Boston music scene veterans.
“We deliberately tried to mix up styles. When Jon came and started this project, we knew what people would expect, and we wanted to do what wasn’t expected,” Farren explains. We thought about what we were trying to say and what the story was…we picked the songs about courage, hopefulness, and the ability to adapt to change. The idea is to communicate ways to find happiness in that challenge, with songs like ‘Soul Mate,’ ‘I Believe in You,’ and ‘Déjà Blue.'”
They also chose to re-write an old hit from The Joe Perry Project, “East Coast West Coast,” and “New Man,” a hit from Jon Butcher Axis. The tracks are up-beat, bluesy, jazzy, and above all, rockin’ renditions that breathe life into older tracks and lay fresh ground work for new classics.
In addition to the album, Charlie Farren is presenting a very special signature creation. “I have a new signature guitar called the FMan Guitar. It’s being offered as a customer order premier guitar by Campbell American Custom Shop of Woonsocket, R.I.” Check out his blog, www.myspace.com/charliefarren/blog, for more details on his new, “…true rock and roll XXL.”
With at least 16 tour dates lined up for the spring, Charlie Farren and Jon Butcher seem to have the musical world at their fingertips yet again. And they’ll be joined by some familiar faces that you’ll just have to see to believe. “When folks come out to see us ~ introduce yourselves! We want to know our audience!”
www.farrenbutcher.com
I have the new FBI CD. It is kool. Nice mix. I am hoping for more FBI concert dates this summer……….maybe even in CT? Best wishes to Jon and Charlie.
Toni
I have the FBI CD and once you listen to it, in the car or at home, you are haunted by several of the tunes; I Believe In You, East Coast/West Coast and my all time fav………………Deja Blue. I played it at work a few times and love to hear the staff hum or sing one of these tunes later in the week. The BEST was hearing an FBI song come on the radio……..I almost drove off the road guys. This album is magical.