Butch Vig

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Butch Vig, really Bryan David Vig, is an American producer, drummer and songwriter. He was born in 1955 in Viroqua, Wisconsin. As a child he had piano lessons, but after seeing The Who on television he traded the piano for a drum kit. He studied film at the University of Wisconsin and played in local bands such as Spooner and Fire Town. In 1984 he founded the recording studio Smart Studios in Madison with Steve Marker.

Music and breakthrough

In 1991 he broke through as a producer with Gish by The Smashing Pumpkins and above all Nevermind by Nirvana. Where the previous Nirvana album, Bleach, had sounded raw and lo-fi, Vig had the vocals and guitars double-tracked. Kurt Cobain did not want that at first, but Vig convinced him by saying that John Lennon did it too. In this way Nevermind got a full, powerful sound. He then produced Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins, Dirty by Sonic Youth and later 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day and Wasting Light by the Foo Fighters.

Influence

After Nevermind, Vig by his own account had had enough of bands that played only guitar, bass and drums. He therefore started the band Garbage with the Scottish singer Shirley Manson, in which he drums and co-produces. Garbage mixed rock with samples and electronics and scored with Stupid Girl and Only Happy When It Rains. In this way Vig determined to a large extent how alternative rock sounded in the 1990s.

Listening

In School of Rock

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• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader