Tag Archives: 13 featuring lester butler

Lester Butler & 13 reviews, collected

Reviews for 1997’s “13 featuring Lester Butler” were collected at the time by Jasper Heikens for the Lester Butler Tribute Site. These long-lost reviews provide a snapshot of a moment in time when Butler was still breaking ground, “the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion meets Little Walter.”

Intveld on Butler: ‘Taking something beyond where it’s been before’

Lester Butler and 13 were supposed to play their first gig at the Dixie Belle Restaurant in Downey on June 27, 1998. Butler never made it, but a tribute show was held for him that night. (An article that day noted Smokey Hormel, Steven Hodges and John Bazz all playing.) The man who promoted the show, EdContinue reading “Intveld on Butler: ‘Taking something beyond where it’s been before’”

Catching up: Red Devils Pinkpop podcast; Lester Butler in OOR

Before we launch into a busy new year, here are a couple of quick items you might have missed toward the end of 2021.

Groanin’ Lester Butler onstage in 1996

If you lived around LA in 1996, there were plenty of chances to catch “Groanin’ Lester Butler” snoozing the blues at Jack’s Sugar Shack, Blue Cafe, the House of Blues, and many other haunts.

From Screamin’ Jay to Icepick James to 13 … the birth of a ‘Plague’

The recent health news of James Harman has reminded me, again, of the cyclical nature of the blues, and the passing down of music from one to another. Lester Butler was (in)famous for partaking in this tradition. What many probably don’t know is that the most notorious song on “13 Featuring Lester Butler” is notContinue reading “From Screamin’ Jay to Icepick James to 13 … the birth of a ‘Plague’”