Interview by Kris Peters
The Butterfly Effect are possibly one of the greatest rock outfits to emerge from this country.
Since releasing their self-titled EP in 2001 which led to their superb debut album Begins Here two years later, The Butterfly Effect have epitomised the Aussie battler in musical terms, often punching above their weight but invariably taking the points on a TKO every time.
As with most bands, The Butterfly Effect have had their share of ups and downs but have always emerged triumphant with their integrity intact.
Now, 20 years after the release of Begins Here - an album that spawned the singles One Second Of Insanity, Crave, Always and Beautiful Mine - the boys from Brisbane have decided to relive those early days of struggle and uncertainty by taking to the road to celebrate that groundbreaking album by playing it in full.
What started as only a handful of shows soon swelled to double digits, with almost half sold out already - still two weeks out from the first show.
HEAVY tracked down frontman Clint Boge earlier this week to discuss the tour and the album that started it all.
"They said we'd never make it mate, and we're here," he smiled. "Australian heavy music is alive and well and still going. You've got all of the bands that paved the way - trail blazed - back in the day, and can I just say I am super stoked to be a part of it 20 years on. I'm probably a little bit heavier, a little bit wiser with a few more grey hairs, but I'm still here."
We mention the tour and press Boge on how excited the band is to hit the road and journey back to their musical roots every night.
"We're nervous. There's a sense of anxiousness around the group at the moment, and we're nervous," he admitted, "because we want it to be great. We haven't played some of these songs for 20 years. I think we played Without Wings in its demo format at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Gold Coast in 2001/2002 and that was the last time that thing got played. Overwhelmed got played in I think 2004 - that was the last time it got played - so we've had to relearn, rejig and duck, weave and dodge because the brain isn't as malleable as it was 20 years ago. The excitement is palpable around the group at the moment. Glen is coming up this evening, and I'm going in the studio tomorrow to do some touch ups for vocal stuff. We're doing a full band practice, it's all systems go. We're firing on all cylinders, which is great."
In the full interview, Clint talks more about the tour, the fantastic response from fans, what we can expect from the gigs, playing Begins Here in full and any difficulties it presented, the planning stages for the album and what was discussed, his memories of making it, his initial thoughts on how good the material was, his personal favourite tracks on the album, if he thinks the songs have stood the test of time, how The Butterfly Effect have changed as a band since it was recorded, their latest album IV and how the fans reacted to it, future plans and more.