Geezer Butler
| Geezer Butler | |
|---|---|
 Geezer Butler performing live with Black Sabbath at the Vector Arena in 2013. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Terence Michael Joseph Butler |
| Also known as | Geezer |
| Born | 17 July 1949 Aston, Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, blues rock, hard rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | Sanctuary, TVT |
| Associated acts | Black Sabbath, GZR, Geezer Butler Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Heaven & Hell, Dio, Rare Breed |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Lakland Osborn Signature Model Rickenbacker 4001 Vigier basses |
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Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Birmingham, England) is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.
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Bio [edit]
Butler received the nickname "Geezer" at approximately age eight, because "I used to call everybody Geezer" at school. "It was just a slang term for a man. You know, like in America you say guy. In England, the term for that is either 'bloke' or 'geezer'. I used to call everybody else geezer and then eventually everybody started calling me geezer."[1]
Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of 1967. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in the blues foursome, Polka Tulk, along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed their band Earth, but after finding a band in the small-time English circuit with the same name, soon adopted Black Sabbath in early 1969.[2]
Butler played rhythm guitar in his pre-Sabbath days, including with Rare Breed, but when Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he would not want to play with another guitarist, so Butler moved to bass.[3]
Butler is noted as being one of the first bassists to use a wah-wah pedal on his bass, as showcased at the beginning of "N.I.B." which inspired many later bassists. For the Black Sabbath's third album, Master of Reality, he was also one of the first bassists to down-tune (from the standard E-A-D-G to the lower C#-F#-B-E), in order to match Iommi who had started tuning his guitar to C# (a minor third down).[3] While Ozzy Osbourne was the frontman of the band, Butler wrote almost all of the band's lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with religion, science-fiction, fantasy and horror, and musings on the darker side of human nature that posed a constant threat of global annihilation.[2]
During the latter half of the 1970s, Black Sabbath's popularity dwindled, although the group continued on in the early 1980s with ex-Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio and then with ex-Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan. Butler quit the band in the middle of 1984, forming the Geezer Butler Band. In 1988 he joined Ozzy Osbourne to take part in the No Rest For The Wicked World Tour. Butler re-joined Black Sabbath in 1991 for the reunion of the Mob Rules line-up, but again quit the group after the Cross Purposes tour of 1994.[2]
In 1995 Butler joined with Osbourne to play on the Ozzmosis album.[4] After recording Ozzmosis, he formed G/Z/R, issuing Plastic Planet in 1995.[5] His next solo album, Black Science, followed in 1997. Butler returned to Sabbath one more time for the 1997 edition of Ozzfest, and has remained with the band since. In 2005 he released Ohmwork, his third solo album. In October 2006 it was announced that Butler, along with Tony Iommi, would be reforming the Dehumanizer-era Black Sabbath line-up with Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio, under the name Heaven & Hell to differentiate between the reunited touring band fronted by Osbourne, and the current Sabbath line-up.[6]
Equipment [edit]
Butler is currently endorsed by Lakland basses and plays Joe Osborn and Bob Glaub signature basses.[7] For amplification Butler is endorsed by Hartke bass amplification, Kilo bass head and 4X10 HyDrive cabinet. In the past, he has been known to use Ampeg SVT & B-15 bass amps and Fender, Dan Armstrong Plexi, Rickenbacker, Yamaha BB, and Vigier Basses.
Personal life [edit]
He is married to Gloria Butler, who managed Heaven & Hell. He also shares his Los Angeles home with several cats, of whom he has posted pictures on his website.[8] His son, Biff Butler, was the frontman in the Nu Metal band Apartment 26.
According to Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography I Am Ozzy, Geezer "never uses foul language". An avowed vegan,[9] Butler appeared in an advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in 2009.[9]
Geezer is a passionate fan of Aston Villa football club and can be seen attending games along with fellow Sabbath member Tony Iommi. In 2006, when Black Sabbath were being inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Butler was quoted as saying into the microphone "Up The Villa".
He urged fans to boycott Fortnum and Mason's until they remove foie gras from their shelves. Geezer said,"I've seen some outrageous things in my time, but watching those poor birds suffer simply so that their diseased livers can be sold on your shop floor is horrific!”[10]
Discography [edit]
- 1995 – Plastic Planet (as "g//z/r")
- 1997 – Black Science (as "geezer")
- 2005 – Ohmwork (as "GZR")
- 1970 – Black Sabbath
- 1970 – Paranoid
- 1971 – Master of Reality
- 1972 – Black Sabbath Vol. 4
- 1973 – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- 1975 – Sabotage
- 1975 – We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
- 1976 – Technical Ecstasy
- 1978 – Never Say Die!
- 1980 – Live at Last!
- 1980 – Heaven and Hell
- 1981 – Mob Rules
- 1982 – Live Evil
- 1983 – Born Again
- 1992 – Dehumanizer
- 1994 – Cross Purposes
- 1994 – Cross Purposes Live
- 1996 – The Sabbath Stones
- 1998 – Reunion
- 2002 – Past Lives
- 2002 – Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978)
- 2004 – Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978)
- 2007 – Black Sabbath: The Dio Years
- 2007 – Black Sabbath: Live at Hammersmith Odeon
- 2013 – 13
- 1990 – Just Say Ozzy
- 1995 – Ozzmosis
- 2007 – Live from Radio City Music Hall
- 2009 – The Devil You Know
- 2010 – Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
- Non-album compilations
- 1989 – Stairway To Heaven/Highway To Hell (with Ozzy Osbourne)
- 1994 – Nativity in Black (with Bullring Brummies)
- 2013 - Device ("Out of Line")
References [edit]
- ^ The Geezer Butler Interview http://www.classicbands.com/GeezerButlerInterview.html
- ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Biography–Geezer Butler". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Artist profile-Geezer Butler". Ampeg. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Overview Black Science". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ Jeffries, Vincent. "Overview Plastic Planet". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Biography-Heaven & Hell". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Artist profile-Geezer Butler". Lakland. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Photos :: The Official Geezer Butler Website". Geezerbutler.com. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
- ^ a b "Geezer Butler Appears in Peta Ad as a Confirmed Vegan". Guitar World. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2011. "[...] teamed up with peta2 [...] to shoot a brand-new pro-vegetarian ad featuring Butler [...] next to the tagline "I'm Geezer Butler, and I'm a Vegan.""
- ^ "Black Sabbath's Geezer ButlerCalls for Foie Gras Boycott," Karrang Radio, 1 March, 2013.
External links [edit]
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