Butch Walker built his reputation with hard-hitting, self-produced rock albums marked by a bright, polished sound. When he set out to make Afraid Of Ghosts, an LP partially inspired by the death of his father, he decided to forget about perfection and aim for a more visceral, acoustic feel. The songs on Afraid Of Ghosts were written over the course of a year, then recorded with Ryan Adams and his band in a four-day burst of creativity. It’s the first time Walker worked with an outside producer. Walker will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on him.
Walker: I have a studio in Nashville called Traxidermy (I know, I’m a child), and it is filled with some beautiful pieces that I have collected or friends have sold or given me. I haven’t gone as far as Jack White and put an actual elephant head or anything like that up. I don’t have the space. But I have some pretty good ones (water buffalo, African kudu, elk, some great fish and the like … ). before you guys go all PETA on me (I am huge animal lover and supporter of animal rights), let me explain my thought process. I collect these things to show off and celebrate their beauty. I would rather hang them up and have them as art to marvel over, rather than someone kill it and then get tired of it and burn it or throw it in the trash, which is what happens, sadly. It’s a shame someone killed some of these animals, but if they can live on by being wall art and having a place for people to get an up close look at the beauty, then I am all for that. It’s a lot prettier than hanging up your leather belt or leather boots on the wall to look at.
