Welcome to nofightin.com, our tribute/resource site for early-’90s California blues band The Red Devils and harmonica player Lester Butler.
For those who saw the band live, heard the album “King King,” or found a copy of the infamous Mick Jagger blues bootleg album with the Devils, you are well-aware of what made this band so special: Real blues played with a punk rock sensibility; a charismatic frontman whose harp style was a throwback to blues’ roots; and a small but fierce catalog of recorded material that became a template for bands around the globe.
Most haven’t heard the group, which is a shame. 1992’s “King King” is almost a litmus test for hardcore blues credibility; knowing looks and nods are exchanged by the small fraternity of music fans who have found this CD.
That its lifespan was limited doesn’t take away from the band’s story. With roots in California’s roots and blues scenes, The Red Devils were a sister band to the legendary Blasters and raised up with James Harman and associates. As their fame in Cali grew, so did their fans: They were the only blues band signed to Rick Rubin’s Def American label, and they were Bruce Willis‘ house band for Planet Hollywood openings.
After splitting in the mid-’90s, Butler went solo, releasing the intense “13 featuring Lester Butler” album. Butler died tragically in 1998, sparking several tributes in the Netherlands and around Europe, where the Devils and 13 had played several near-legendary gigs.
Information about the musicians is scarce online, though a devoted following remains overseas. We are hoping this site can be a repository for the good stories, photos and random links sprinkled throughout the world wide web.
A bit about the authors: I’m J.J. Perry, digital editor at a newspaper in Bloomington, Indiana; blues and roots drummer; and certified barbecue judge. Tom Harold is a writer, artist and musician, who can currently be found blowing harp and singing in Indianapolis’ Gordon Bonham Blues Band. We met in college at Indiana University in 1992; we first bonded over “King King.” Soon, we started our first band together, named after the Devils’ tune “Automatic.” But we’ll get into all of that later.
Until then, on with the show …
No Fightin' 
I’m a big fan of the Blasters. What’s the connection?
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Hi T — There are several complex connections, with band-switches and side groups with different members of X, The Blasters, James Harman Band, all sort of funneling down to the Red Devils.
The easy connections: Drummer Bill Bateman was in both groups, and Blasters piano player Gene Taylor guested on the Devils’ “King King.” Plus, the original name of The Red Devils was The Blue Shadows — also the title of a Blasters tune.
Stay tuned … we’ll be connecting these dots as we go through this blog. Thanks for asking!
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This is a great resource! What will be the editors’ opinion on submissions — articles, stories, tunes, etc?
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Hey Jim, we’d love to have any submissions, either in the comments or by e-mail (as soon as I get our nofightin.com email addys going).
This has a lot of potential to not only be an exhaustive site for Red Devils fans, but also tie in some of the other great related artists, such as James Harman, Hollywood Fats, etc. As much as folks would like to contribute would be great.
Tom and I will be building the resource stuff as we go; first will be a beefed-up discography, followed, hopefully, by timeline stuff, more links, a family tree and more.
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