Los Angeles-based Anna Butterss is a bassist who has made a winding path from Adelaide, South Australia to working as one of the most captivating bassists around the world– known for their solo work, collaborations with guitarist Jeff Parker, backing folk artist Phoebe Bridgers, and the group SML who will be performing this upcoming Pickathon festival. Before their performance at the festival of the work of their latest album from International Anthem Record Co., Mighty Vertebrate, Alex Newman made the sojourn from Portland to Butterss’ Los Angeles living room to have a conversation with the young artist about their fascinating career.
00:00 - Introduction to Anna Butterss– how their Australian musician parents met in Dublin, Ireland, musical family and early upbringing
2:30 - How Butterss gravitated to jazz in listening to early recordings at home as opposed to the radio or their own recordings
4:00 - The parental diligence of practicing as a child on the instruments they provided which led to Anna gaining the chops to enter into university as a musician.
6:30 - How Butterss landed on matriculating into Indiana University’s historically prestigious jazz program in a one semester exchange program
9:40 - Various folks Butterss met at their time at Indiana University (Josh Johnson, Ben Lumsdaine, Dustin Laurenzi, Hunter Diamond, and others)
10:55 - On Butterss almost inherent belief that their career would be as a jazz bassist in the United States, as a dream made real even with no clear path in mind, and getting established in Los Angeles
15:45 - On working as a session player in Los Angeles to seeking out more creatively-aligned endeavors and grow as an electric bassist
18:40 - On how their work playing with Phoebe Bridgers shaped their hearing, moving from a more jazz sensibility to include other approaches
20:00 - On how Butterss’ solo work was organically following what they found to be good irrespective of genre
21:00 - An more in depth discussion into Butterss’ composing process with “Doo Wop” for example, the approach to 2022’s Activities and subsequently the 2024 Mighty Vertebrate album
25:20 - On their compositional approach approach for Mighty Vertebrate and the morphing band interplay
28:00 - On finding the creative balance in finding work as a musician and their own creative endeavors