Photo by Tony Mott
Drummer Ben Hall talks to Vertigo about the birth of The Butterfly Effect.
It’s always refreshing to talk to a musician who doesn’t feel the need to harp on about their latest album or upcoming tour. Ben Hall, drummer for Brisbane-based heavy rock act The Butterfly Effect, is a down-to-earth guy who’s more than happy to stray from the press release to tell you a great anecdote. I was a little surprised because, let’s face it, he’s definitely got some bragging rights.
Since the release of their self-titled EP in 2001, the Butterfly Effect have presented audiences with a distinctly melodic approach to heavy music without compromising the intensity of their live performance. Eight years and three huge albums later, there’s little wonder they are selling out venues like Sydney’s Enmore theatre.
The way Hall tells it, all of this came about through a shared loathing of mathematics.
“Kurt and I were in Year 10 and we realised that if we took a music lesson it would get us out of our maths class in the afternoons. We had a really cool teacher who just played the drum kit instead of all the orchestral stuff. We loved him but he left after about six months. The next guy they got in did things by the book, we had to start playing boring pieces and everyone just thought fuck it, I’d rather go to maths,” he says.
Fortunately he wasn’t totally deterred.
“I bought my first kit at the start of Year 12. I had worked at the dirty bird for a couple of years and saved up for it. We started entering band competitions and even competed against Sunk Loto. Their drummer was still in Year 7 and the other guys were in Year 8 and they were just shredders, dude!”
Hall is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with the Oz-rock alumni. Over the years, the Butterfly Effect have forged friendships with many up-and-coming acts, including Perth outfit Karnivool.
Laughing, Hall says, “Their bass player, Jono, got into town last night. He must’ve rung me about 5000 times because he just wanted to get pissed. I think he wanted to celebrate their number two chart position this week. I told him, ‘I’ve gotta rehearse tomorrow, it’s not a good night, leave me alone!’ He kept ringing and saying, ‘Come on man, just a quiet one?’ He’s one of the loosest guys I’ve ever met in my life. You kind of know when he calls just to ignore it!”
Next on the agenda for the Butterfly Effect is a national tour, where they will be supported by their friends in Dead Letter Circus, and new acquaintances Calling All Cars. Hall is expecting more than a bit of on-tour debauchery.
“I used to live with Kim, the singer of Dead Letter Circus and there were definitely some antics then. Actually, Remembering back to those days, I kind of hope there won’t be,” he says.
Earlier in the year, the Butterfly Effect did a European tour, taking in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. Ben says it was a welcome reminder of how things were before the Butterfly Effect got their big break in Australia.
“We played in tiny venues. Like 100 to 200 capacity rooms. I really enjoyed it because it took a lot of the pressure out of it all. When you play in front of a massive crowd there’s never a chance to relax, and you’re thinking if something goes wrong here then a lot of people are going to see it.”
“When you play a smaller show it’s very intimate and very rock. It takes you back to the Annandale and Club 77 days. When shit goes wrong you just stop and say, look, we’re a useless bunch of pricks, we made a mistake and we’re going to start again. I really liked that element,” he says.
Given his humble attitude, one has to wonder if it’s unsettling for Hall to see fans branded with Butterfly Effect tattoos?
“It’s not a bad feeling, you’ve obviously struck a chord but you just kind of wonder if they’ll like the next record. It’s an absolute honour to have people do those things, but then you think, well what if you just really hate our next record? Is that going to be a problem, that thing on your arm there?”
The Butterfly Effect commence their ‘Final Conversation’ tour this July. Their latest album, ‘Final Conversation of Kings’ is available now.
