Butch Vig | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vig in 2006, at hisSmart Studios recording studio | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bryan David Vig |
| Also known as | Nevermind Man |
| Born | (1955-08-02)August 2, 1955 (age 69) Viroqua, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Origin | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Member of | Garbage |
Bryan David "Butch"Vig (born August 2, 1955)[1] is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of therock bandGarbage. Known for producing thediamond sellingNirvana albumNevermind (1991),[2] Vig also produced for several otheralternative rock acts of the 1990s, includingthe Smashing Pumpkins,L7, andSonic Youth. Some notable production credits of Vig's include L7'sBricks are Heavy (1992) and the Smashing Pumpkins'Siamese Dream (1993).
A native ofWisconsin, Vig studied at theUniversity of Wisconsin and performed in local bandsSpooner and Fire Town. He set up his own recording studio inMadison,Smart Studios, with bandmateSteve Marker.[3] After becoming well known as a producer, he formed and played drums with Garbage, which sold 17 million records over a ten-year period. Vig returned to producing full-time when Garbage went on hiatus in 2005. The band reconvened in 2010 to record material for their fifth album. In 2012,NME ranked Vig the ninth greatest producer of all time.[4]
Vig was born inViroqua, Wisconsin,[3] son of DeVerne William Vig (1922–2021) and Betty Jeanette (1931–2005), née Brewster. DeVerne Vig was a hospital staff doctor who practiced medicine with his twin, David, and their elder brother, Edward, in Viroqua for nearly forty years;[5] Betty Vig was a music teacher[6] and clinic administrator who played an active role in the community as a Sunday School teacher, Girl Scout leader, and director of the Country Club and Viroqua Bloodmobile Service.[7][8] Vig has two siblings, Chris and Lisa.[6] Vig acquired the nickname Butch as a child, due to the severe crew cut his father gave him.[3] Vig studied piano for six years. After seeingThe Who perform onThe Smothers Brothers, he swapped his piano for a $60 drum kit.[3]
Moving to Madison, Vig enrolled at theUniversity of Wisconsin to study film direction.[9]
While a student at the University of Wisconsin, Vig met his eventual Garbage bandmateSteve Marker. Vig contributed severalelectronic music soundtrack pieces to low-budget films, including one song onSlumber Party Massacre, a HollywoodB-movie. This soundtrack work stirred Vig's interest in the manipulation of sound. Vig joined a number ofgarage pop bands, including Eclipse,[10] and in 1978 joinedSpooner withDuke Erikson, Dave Benton, Jeff Walker and Joel Tappero.
The following year, Vig helped Marker build a home studio in Marker's basement.[10] Benton, Marker and Vig also started a small label, Boat Records, to release records of Spooner – which included their 1979 debutEP,Cruel School – and other bands they liked, which led to around twenty local acts. The self-producing was later described by Vig as "kind of a trial by fire".[3][11][12][13]
In 1984, Vig and Marker foundedSmart Studios in Madison, while still performing drums in Spooner at night and driving ataxi cab during the day. When Spooner lost momentum, Vig formed a band called First Person with Marker and Phil Davis and a side project calledFire Town featuring Davis and Erikson. Fire Town quickly became Vig's priority, and after their first album was signed toAtlantic Records.[10] Atlantic hired producer Michael Fondelli to work with Fire Town on their second album. While the sessions did not do well, and the resulting record sank, Vig learned a lot of production techniques from the process. Fire Town split, and Vig reformed Spooner for a final album before working as a producer became his full-time career.[3]
Vig's first high-profile production work was in 1991, when he producedThe Smashing Pumpkins'Gish andNirvana'sNevermind. Vig incorporatedoverdubs and vocaldouble tracking, whereas Nirvana's previous album,Bleach (produced byJack Endino), had a more "lo-fi" sound.Kurt Cobain originally refused to double-track his vocals and guitars but Vig reportedly got him to comply by saying "John Lennon double-tracked". Cobain would later criticize Vig for the album's slickness, although this might be due toAndy Wallace's mixing of the album.[14] Cobain said in a 1993MTV interview that "Butch Vig...recorded the album perfectly". The success ofNevermind earned Vig the nickname "Nevermind Man", according to theBBC.[15]Billy Corgan welcomed Vig's elaborate production on The Smashing Pumpkins'Siamese Dream. This album met with widespread acclaim and strong sales, breaking another indie band into the mainstream. Vig also produced two critically praisedSonic Youth albums, 1992'sDirty[16] and 1994'sExperimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.
Vig worked withJimmy Eat World on their sixth album,Chase This Light, released in October 2007. His first production for an English band was 2008'sAll or Nothing byThe Subways. He also worked withAgainst Me!, producing their twoSire Records releases, New Wave and White Crosses, as well as working with singerLaura Jane Grace on her solo EP,Heart Burns. Vig produced the eighth studio album byGreen Day, 2009's21st Century Breakdown,[17] which won the Grammy Award forBest Rock Album.[18] Recently, Vig has been partnered in duties by his engineer and mixerBilly Bush, who also worked on Garbage's albums and live tours.
Vig composed and produced the soundtrack for the filmThe Other Side. In 2009 Vig recorded two new tracks for the long-awaitedgreatest hits release by the Foo Fighters, most notably the single "Wheels" and ultimately produced their April 2011 follow-up,Wasting Light.[19] In 2010, Vig producedMuse's single "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)," which was featured on theTwilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack.[20]
In 2020, Vig produced the soundtrack for the 2021 filmPuppy Love, including tracks byPortugal. The Man,LP,Mickey Avalon,Wayne Newton, and others.
Vig stated, "Part of the reason why I startedGarbage was that by the time I'd done 'Nevermind,' I'd recorded – I swear to God – 1,000 bands that were just guitar-bass-drums. I was reading about all these other records that I was getting excited about – likePublic Enemy using a sampler in the studio – and I just decided I wanted to do a bit of a U-turn."[21] Afterwards, they hired Scottish singerShirley Manson and began composing together.[2]
Garbage released a string ofsingles in 1995–1996, including "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains". Their debut album,Garbage, was anunexpected smash, selling over 4 million copies and certifieddouble platinum in the UK, United States and Australia. Garbage won the Breakthrough Artist award at the 1996MTV Europe Music Awards.[22] The band then spent two years working on follow-up album,Version 2.0, which topped thecharts in the UK upon its 1998 release and the following year was nominated for twoGrammy Awards,Album of the Year andBest Rock Album.Version 2.0 went on to match the sales of its predecessor. Garbage followed this up by performing and co-producingthe theme song to the nineteenthJames Bond movie,The World Is Not Enough.[23]
Despite being named one ofRolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of The Year,[24] Garbage's 2001 third album,Beautiful Garbage, failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors.[25] Garbage quietly disbanded in late 2003, but regrouped to complete fourth albumBleed Like Me in 2005, peaking at a career-high #4 in the U.S.[26] The band cut short theirconcert tour in support ofBleed Like Me announcing an "indefinite hiatus",[27] emphasizing that they had not broken up, but wished to pursue personal interests.[28] In 2006, Vig returned to producing while Manson worked on a solo album (as of yet unreleased). Garbage ended their hiatus in 2007,[29] and releasedgreatest hits retrospectiveAbsolute Garbage. Worldwide, the band have sold over 17 million albums.[30] The band got back together in 2010 and began recording their new album,Not Your Kind of People, which was released internationally on May 14, 2012. This was followed byStrange Little Birds, released on June 10, 2016, and subsequentlyNo Gods No Masters (2021). Their eighth studio album,Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, is scheduled for release on May 30, 2025.[31]
In 2011, Vig formed analt-country band called The Emperors of Wyoming with Phil Davis, Frank Anderson andPete Anderson. They released a self-titled album on September 17, 2012.[32]
In 2017, Vig debuted his band 5 Billion in Diamonds.[33] Theirself titled debut album was released on August 11, 2017.[34][35] Their second,Divine Accidents, was released on November 20, 2020.[36]
Vig is married to Beth Halper, a formerDreamWorksA&R executive; they have a daughter, Bo Violet.[37] They live in theSilver Lake neighborhood ofLos Angeles.[38]
Spooner
Fire Town
Garbage
5 Billion in Diamonds
Vig served as the record producer, or co-producer on the following records:[39]
Vig has remixed songs for the following artists:Against Me!,Ash,Beck,The Cult,Depeche Mode,EMF,Fun Lovin' Criminals,House of Pain,Korn,Limp Bizkit,Alanis Morissette,Nine Inch Nails,Michael Penn,M.O.P andU2, as well as his own band Garbage.[41]
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