Author Archives: J.J. Perry

Live in Bloomington, 1992

Just a few months after first hearing The Red Devils in 1992, I was thrilled to learn the band would be performing just down the street, at Jake’s Nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana. The show — originally Sept. 28 — was rescheduled for Oct. 13, one week ahead of my 21st birthday. A press pass fromContinue reading “Live in Bloomington, 1992”

“Goin’ to the Church” lyrics

“Goin’ to the Church” (Lester Butler), from “King King” I’m goin’ to the church Fall on my knees and pray I’m goin’ to the church Fall on my knees and pray Got a bad old man People I just can’t stay People I just can’t stay People I just can’t stay People I can’t stay

DVD review: Red Devils at Moulin 1993

By the 1993 Moulin Blues Festival, the Red Devils had been touring for several months on end, and the wear and tear can be seen — but not heard — in the three bonus tracks on the DVD. While the band looks beat up, they are as tight a musical unit as one could hopeContinue reading “DVD review: Red Devils at Moulin 1993”

DVD review: Photos show Butler’s private side

Besides the stellar concert, the DVD “Live at Moulin Blues Ospel 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig” boasts a photo gallery totalling about 80 pictures, many of which are never-before-seen personal images of Butler and his family. Over a music bed of 13’s “Pray for Me” and “Way Down South,” the images on the DVDContinue reading “DVD review: Photos show Butler’s private side”

DVD review: Lester Butler at his best

It’s very easy in hindsight to project added significance to the DVD “Live at Moulin Blues Ospel 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig.” Every song choice, every note, every glance can take on a different meaning knowing that Butler would be dead just a week later. The reality is he probably considered it just anotherContinue reading “DVD review: Lester Butler at his best”

The Greatest Music Never Sold

There’s a relatively new book out on the market that it seems not many people know about, or at least not many of the people who hang out here, and that needs to change. Journalist Dan LeRoy, who has written for the likes of the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Newsweek, among others, tookContinue reading “The Greatest Music Never Sold”

DVD: Live at Moulin 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig

It’s rare for any “new” Lester Butler or Red Devils material to be released now, more than 10 years since Butler’s passing. Which is why the 2008 DVD “Live at Moulin Blues Ospel 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig” is such a special document. Recorded at Butler’s last gig, just a week before his untimelyContinue reading “DVD: Live at Moulin 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig”

Lester Butler — 13 with a bullet!

One of the best interviews with Lester Butler floating on the Internet is a 1997 Q&A with New Zealand music magazine The Real Groove called “13 with a bullet!” It touches on blues, drugs, religion and spirituality, tattoos, death, rehab and more. The interview is getting harder to find on the web, so here itContinue reading “Lester Butler — 13 with a bullet!”