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The Voluntary Butler Scheme |
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The Voluntary Butler Scheme is the stage name for one-man band Rob Jones, based in Stourbridge near Birmingham. Recording and producing the majority of his material by himself in the home studio in his bedroom. The VBS (Voluntary Butler Scheme) uses the technique of live looping at gigs, playing in parts on various instruments such as guitar, synth, drums, kazoo and ukulele.
The debut album ‘At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea’ was released on September 7th 2009 on Split Records. Singles from the album have been championed by the NME, BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music and XFM, and The VBS has played sessions for Huw Stephens, Marc Riley, Dermot o' Leary and Jon Kennedy. Declared “one to watch” in publications as diverse as Q magazine and The Sun, even Suggs has stepped out and declared himself a fan, stating in an interview that ‘they are a very good band’ [1]
Biography
The Voluntary Butler Scheme came about in 2008, when a chance spotting on Myspace led to Rob Jones being asked to play a gig in Birmingham. He went ahead, playing 6 songs to a crowd of about 12, and subsequently decided that he no longer wanted to play with bands and that The VBS was the path he wished to follow.[2]
Within the next year, The Voluntary Butler Scheme toured with Duke Special, did a session on the Dermot O’Leary show, a BBC Maida Vale session, a Marc Riley session, supported Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, supported James on their Isle of Wight warm-up show, and performed at Latitude Festival.
Rob Jones draws influences from the likes of Granddaddy, The Flaming Lips and Slade, although he has no plans to follow their footsteps and form a band. However, a short spell in late 2008 did see The Voluntary Butler Scheme touring as a three-piece, with an additional percussionist and keyboard player, to cater for new songs that needed more than one pair of hands. Nevertheless, Rob soon decided to revert back to being the one-man band that he has received such critical acclaim for, and has mastered his live-looping techniques sufficiently so that having just one pair of hands of stage is not in the least bit detrimental to the music. [3]
Debut Album
The Voluntary Butler Scheme’s debut album ‘At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea’ was recorded in a month-long stint at a studio in Stockwell with producer Charlie Francis (known for his work with REM and the High Llamas) and a handful of guest musicians.
‘At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea’ has gained much attention with regard to the unusual and quirky lyrics. Q Magazine says “The lyrics of longing about running shoes, coffee, MP3 players and turning vegetarian are clearly quite daft but utterly endearing” [4]. A BBC Music Review states that Jones “has a wicked line in witty lyrics” [5], and The Daily Growl commends his “quaintly observational everyday lyrics” [6]. The line ‘wear a De La Soul t-shirt once in a while to make you feel more hip hop than you are’ has even been put onto VBS merchandise t-shirts.
Rob states of his lyrics, "I think it's about not trying too hard…You know, I read something Phil Spector said in some sound magazine, about the recording of 'Be My Baby', and asking, 'Is it dumb enough? Are people gonna get it?' I'm not trying to make it dumb, but there's something in that - stuff feels so much more honest when it's simple." The single ‘Trading Things In’ contains the lyric "yes we can listen to La Bamba on your mp3 player”. Mexican folk song ‘La Bamba’ is one of Rob’s all time favourites, though he states “I don't even know what the guy's singing about…it really doesn't matter. The way he sings it – it just breaks your heart. And I remember thinking, oh, I can probably just talk about whatever I've been up to that day and it'll work." [7]
Press
Q Magazine: “Infectious and charming, one-man-band Rob Jones is like a mix of Badly Drawn Boy and Brian Wilson’s more acid-fried work”
The Sunday Times: “Bubblegum, call-and-response Motown, manufactured in the Midlands and as sweet as candy”
BBC Music: “a remarkable package, announcing the arrival of a special talent who can turn the introspections of a young man’s mind into intelligent, catchy melodies”
The Times Online: “possibly the most joyful and merry melody you’ll hear for some time”
Drowned in Sound: “hooks so big they'd make Paul McCartney blush”
Altsounds: “endearingly low-tech but also highly inventive”
Discography
Singles
- "Multiplayer" (2009)
- "Tabasco Sole" (2009)
- "Trading Things In" (2009)
Albums
- "At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea" (2009)
External links
