Elizabeth Butters

Artist Information

Biography

Elizabeth used to think she was born in the wrong era. Now she knows that she probably wouldn't have fit in any time period. Still, she suffers from nostalgia and false sympathies with the past. She identifies most strongly with the thirties, the highways and open roads, the dust bowl, and Bonnie & Clyde. The only things she prefers to be new have expiration dates.

In her own individual way, Elizabeth is crusading against the tide of modern conformity: the words "digital," "cellular," "upload," "download," "iPod" (does that one count as a word, she wonders?), and "texting," among others, make her cringe, but yet she is here, on Myspace. Why? Like most of us, she is not immune to hypocrisy.

Elizabeth hopes that her sentiments are evident in the presentation of her music. She prefers to work with analog recording equipment, to pay for physical copies of her favorite artists' work, and generally performs pre-war folk blues in dignified and authentic attire. Elizabeth strips traditional and obscure folk songs down to their barest bones and infuses a great deal of sincerity and emotion into all that she touches. Her instruments of choice are the Appalachian dulcimer and guitar, but the true magic comes from her voice.

She is not only a purveyor of traditional American music; after years of solitary research, at age nineteen she was taken under the wing of erstwhile folk socialite and proprietress Betsy Siggins. With Betsy, Elizabeth has worked extensively on archival material relating to the old Club 47, a Cambridge venue that was central to the 1960s folk movement and continues on today.

During her time at the Club, Elizabeth has had more than a few brushes with greatness. For instance, after his marvelous performance, Charlie Louvin walked by little E.B. and told her, "Gosh, yer cute!" More importantly, however, Elizabeth has had the honor of meeting many lesser-known luminaries of the early 1960s Cambridge Folk Revival. One of them is her regular coffee-buddy and close confidante: artist, manager, and promoter Byron Linardos.

Elizabeth now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and frequents the folk venues in the area. She also plays with the all-female trio "The Everly Sisters." Elizabeth's debut album, recorded in Covington, Kentucky with the Soledad Brothers' Johnny Walker, was released on Detroit-based Top Magic Records in early 2010.

Influences include Mimi Fariña and Jean Ritchie, among others. Onstage, she has been accompanied by Eli Smith, The Gories' Danny Kroha, Woody Pines, Dooley Wilson, and more.

Instrumentation

Elizabeth Butters: vocals, dulcimer, guitar

Various: guitar, banjo, musical saw, harmonica

Discography

"Elizabeth Butters Sings Folk Blues for Appalachian Dulcimer and Guitar"

Links

• MySpace

Audio

• 99 Year Blues
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• Hard Time Coming
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• Rose Connelly
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Elizabeth Butters [+ Show ]
  

  This 10-inch release marks the vinyl debut for one of the 25 "most stylish Bostonians of 2008," but ...This 10-inch release marks the vinyl debut for one of the 25 "most stylish Bostonians of 2008," but never mind her devotion to old-timey outfits, it's the music that will make her a star. The incomparable Butters remakes some of our nation's oldest songs—her a capella version of "Cherry Tree Carol" revives the Christmas carol from the dustbowl dustbin.
  
  Of all the songs here, "Henry Lee," previously covered by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, might be the most recognizable. She sets it in a reverbed distance, her delicate drawl poised over a whispy saw and fluttering mandolin. On "99 Year Blues," she sings "Give me my pistol / three rounds of ball / I'm gonna kill everybody / I don't like at all." I don't know enough folk music, but I have never heard anything like Ms. Butters, and I hope it stays that way.

• Ear Candy [+ Show ]
  

  Swaying waltzy tempos, the provincial mysticism of a singing-saw’s howl and the tin pan clattering o...Swaying waltzy tempos, the provincial mysticism of a singing-saw’s howl and the tin pan clattering of a banjo that can coax a curlin’ smile. This East Coast-based songstress (age 19) seems transported straight from the gravelly roads of 1930s American Folk, with dust-blown suitcoats and pedal picking. Her timorous voice, combined with vernacular-nodding contractions, is heavy on the back-to-the-Old- World thing but should fit well with lazy summer afternoons. — Jeff Milo
  
  Worth a listen: "Hard Time Coming"

• Elizabeth Butters [+ Show ]
  

  Elizabeth Butters doesn't feel like she fits in this time period. Her answer to this quandary is an ...Elizabeth Butters doesn't feel like she fits in this time period. Her answer to this quandary is an aesthetic and aural leap backward—not to the '90s, or the '80s, but much, much farther. Butters says that she identifies most strongly with the 1930s, when Ford Model T's still rumbled and paved roads were at a premium.
  
  Butters, only 22, has been collecting records from that era since she was 13, specializing in what she describes as "obscure, creepy, sad and strange" material. For the last two years, she has been performing that same material, in faithful rendition, while dressed in period clothes that she calls "dignified and authentic attire."
  
  During a recent performance at Somerville's PA's Lounge, she played in a diaphanous blue, high-collared ankle-length dress. Her hair was held atop her head by a matching ribbon. David Goligorsky, her musical accompaniment, wore a buttoned coat, dress pants and shoes. Their nine-song set was composed almost entirely of pre-war murder ballads. Goligorsky played musical saw while Butters sang and played dulcimer and acoustic guitar. If you ignored the crowd and PA's brews on tap you could have convinced yourself Prohibition was still in effect.
  
  Butters was nothing but demure. She and Goligorsky sat while they played, and between songs Butters fidgeted with her microphone and made disparaging comments about her performance. But despite their understated presence, they held the audience in rapture. There is something mesmerizingly incongruous about Butters' slim, prim countenance imploring her audience, "How came my blood to be on your shirt sleeve?"
  
  She does not write new material, rework traditional songs or modernize their language; even her high falsetto voice sounds like it might have been borrowed from someone decades dead. She owns hundreds of vintage dresses and collects cigarette cases, holy water bottles, compacts and other antique memorabilia. Butters' fixation with the era is more macabre than romantic. When asked, she is quick to say that she doesn't think things were better in the '30s—race relations especially—but believes that, "if I lived in the '30's it wouldn't be my fault when I wasn't happy."
  
  Butters' career goals are as modest as she is. She would like to go on a tour of nursing homes and prisons, and release a full length vinyl record. The prison tour might not happen, she admits, but the record will. In mid-February she is traveling to Kentucky to record the songs in her repertoire. She doesn't have a record deal for what she produces yet, but she is less concerned with that than excited by the prospect of recording on antiquated, analog equipment.
  
  When she's finished with the recording she will return to Somerville, resuming her job as an archivist at Club Passim, her radio show on Wellesley's WZLY and a schedule of performances that will take her through the end of March. Able to perform regularly without soliciting for shows, Butters and Goligorsky could easily be stars of the new folk revival. The only problem with that prospect, for the traditionalist Butters, is that, "if there were a Folk scene now, everyone would be congregating around their computers."

• 25 Most Stylish Bostonians: Elizabeth Butters [+ Show ]
  

  Age: 23 Job: Musician (singer, Appalachian dulcimer, guitar) Residence: Somerville Your mus...Age: 23
  
  Job: Musician (singer, Appalachian dulcimer, guitar)
  
  Residence: Somerville
  
  Your music and the way you dress evoke the 1930s. What from that time most appeals to you?
  
  I liked the way things looked. I have a real romanticism about open roads. My favorite movie is "Bonnie & Clyde." In my shows, everything is from the '30s and '40s, but I also have bathing suits from the '40s, records from the '50s and early '60s - 33 r.p.m., because I don't really like 78 r.p.m.
  
  What sorts of clothing appeals to you?
  
  Certain types of collars. Peter Pan collars, bib collars, dotted Swiss fabric, organdy.
  
  Where do you shop?
  
  Café Society in Brookline. I've been going there since I was 14. I really like the women in that store. I also go to antique stores in New Hampshire and Vermont with my dad. I like all kinds of old stuff; I'm lucky my parents do, too.
  
  Do you think something has been lost in terms of style or the way we live today?
  
  I think everything is disposable. I don't think our grandkids are going to log into our e-mail accounts to find what was there . . . Before, things were good. In the '60s, there was great recording equipment. You can erase everything now.
  
  What are some items you'd never part with?
  
  I always use a quilt with a wedding-ring pattern that my great-grandmother made in the '30s. I also have a picture of my great-grandfather sitting on a paper moon from the 19-teens. . . . I have an Art Deco holy water bottle from the '30s. I'm not religious, so I don't know why I like it so much.

Setlist

Setlist is typically 8-10 songs and ranges from 20-35 minutes. Elizabeth is usually accompanied by one other musician.

Crow Jane
Jack on Fire
Will You Miss Me
99 Year Blues
Henry Lee
Hang Me Oh Hang Me
Goodnight Irene
Hard Time Coming
Wildwood Flower
Honeycomb

Basic Requirements

Calendar