Marvelous 3 Isn't Worried About Selling Out

02/11/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(2/11/99, 1 p.m. PST) - With its single "Freak Of The Week" moving up Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, the Atlanta-based Marvelous 3 appears to be headed for the big time. That's just fine with Butch Walker. The singer/ guitarist has no concerns about selling out. In fact, he welcomes it.

"I used to be concerned about indie cred until I realized what a small audience that means for your shows," says the Atlanta native. "In my aggro twenties, I thought it was cool to play serious music in the basement and claim I went to art school. But then I dreamed about buying all the stuff I ever dreamed of and playing music as a career. Why wouldn't you want to write a song that everyone relates to and loves?"

Walker and bandmates bassist Jayce Fincher and drummer Slug, who have been jamming together in various bands since they were little, hope that "Freak Of The Week"--which is currently No. 11 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart--is one of those songs. "It's about peer pressure. It makes you afraid of evolution and you worry about how you are perceived," Walker says. "It is somewhat autobiographical, but it also has some universal meaning. Lots of people ask me if it is about Courtney Love. It wasn't written to be, but she certainly could have been its focus. She used to be worried about being a corporate whore and wouldn't be caught dead writing a pop song. Then, all of the sudden, she decided to glam herself up and star in a motion picture. One wonders who she did it for, and does it make her happy?"

Marvelous 3 acknowledges the importance of being true to itself and has set out to correct something that's bothered the band members about rock 'n' roll lately. "We were tried of seeing all these art students dressed like golfers who pretended to hate what they were doing getting famous. They don't react to their fans or do anything different in their live show," says the product of '70s rock icons such as Kiss, Cheap Trick, the Bee Gees, Queen, and Earth, Wind & Fire. "Rock used to be fun. You used to listen to the double live album with a pullout poster and wonder what life was like for the band. You wanted the guy's wild hair or clothes. It was about persona. I'm not saying we all have to spit blood or set fires, but music and live shows should be engaging. Marilyn Manson is putting a face back on rock and shaking sh-t up. He is making it cool to say you are in a rock band again."

Marvelous's members hope to follow suit. They will attempt to carry rock's torch during this month's tour with Eve 6. "Touring is great if you have any sort of gypsy blood in you. I love seeing all the people and places," Walker says. "After the Eve 6 tour, we hope to jump from tour to tour at least through the end of the year. We plan to do that competitive opening band thing and steal the headliner's audience."

Features on Marvelous 3, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Marilyn Manson, and Eve 6 are all available now on LAUNCH.com.

-- Midnight Jones, Los Angeles

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