Biografia

14 aprile 1980 · The Woodlands, Texas, Stati Uniti

Edwin Farnham Butler III

1,94 m

His first date with wife (and bandmate) Régine Chassagne was to a French-subtitled showing of La tigre e il dragone (2000).

Son of Liza Rey Butler.

Member of band, Arcade Fire.

Grandson of bandleader and guitarist Alvino Rey and Luise King.

Older brother of bandmate Will Butler.

[Defining his Arcade Fire philosophy] I was really sick of bands just ignoring the audience as a posture in rock music. And I think we fed off each other in terms of trying to engage the audience, not in a hammy way, but actually trying to be aware of the space that you are playing in and trying to connect in some way through the music.

A lot of people get really stuck in this idea that everything's been done and there's nowhere left to go. Rock 'n' roll is almost the most conservative form of performance art: you play your guitar, these are the moves, this is what the songs are about, and this is the energy. I always felt like there's so many sounds to make and things to talk about in songs. There's more to life than 'I love you baby, la, la, la'. I approach it more like filmmaking: you would never say every film has been made. You just tell another story.

People don't necessarily know that they're taking on a worldview, or absorbing ideas [while watching television]. It doesn't necessarily seem like [it's happening], but it definitely does. I find it very easy to get sucked in. It starts to affect the way you see the world.

Our music may sound big emotionally, but that's more to do with the playing, the level of musicianship and the full-on energy. Often, the lyrics are often quite small and focused.