The Builders and The Butchers: 10 Cool Facts You Didn't Know

I discovered The Builders and The Butchers a while ago (thanks to my good friend Potskerf). I was hooked on this folk rock band the second I watched a live performance of their track “Vampire Lake” on YouTube. It wasn’t long before I was exploring their music on Spotify and I have to admit that I’m completely blown away.

I decided to do a deep dive (thanks for the term Penelope Garcia) into this band (who are not that well-known outside their native USA). This is what I found out.

Here are 10 Interesting Facts About The Builders and The Butchers

1. The Builders and The Butchers are based in Portland, Oregon in the USA.

2. The band have been around since October 2005. They came together because a lot of bands were all breaking up around the same time, and they were looking to get into something new – so it just worked out. Each member is originally from Anchorage, Alaska. They migrated separately to Portland, Oregon to start a career in music.

3. The current members of the band are Justin Baier, Willy Kunkle, Ray Rude, Ryan Sollee and Harvey Tumbleson. Alexander Ellis, Brandon Hafer, Adrienne Hatkin and Paul Seely are the former members of the band.

4. To date, The Builders and The Butchers have released 5 full-length albums, 1 live album and 2 EP splits.

5. The band was originally known as “The Funeral Band”.

6. Whether playing bar gigs for 50 people or opening arena shows for 3000, the band strives to connect with the audience, and for the audience to connect with one another, every time they take the stage.

7. The band toured throughout the US and Europe from 2007-2012, playing music festivals, such as Sasquatch and Lollapalooza, and acting as support for Portugal. The Man, Heartless Bastards, Amanda Palmer and Murder By Death.

8. The Builders and The Butchers‘ album artwork is produced by Portland, Oregon artist Lukas Ketner.

9. Their latest album was released, The Spark was released in May 2017.

10. The band’s song-writing process involves Ryan Sollee writing the lyrics out and presenting it to the other members, who then start playing and putting the music around these lyrics.

Well, there you have it, 10 Interesting Facts about The Builders and The Butchers. This band is definitely on my bucket list. I would not mind if someone can send them to tour South Africa (pandemic permitting of course).

Check out their live performance of “Vampire Lake” below and you’ll see why I fell in love with their music from the get-go.