If you were to pass John Butler in the street, with his dread locks, unkempt facial hair and long nails, you could be forgiven for thinking he was just another hippie.  What’s more- you would right. If you were to find out he was one of Australia’s best selling artists you could easily think that this particular hippie just got lucky.  However, you would be very much wrong.

Branded as the ‘million dollar hippie’ because of his financial success, the real story is how he has kept to his values of peace and unity.  Born in April 1975 in California USA and migrating to Australia in 1986, his love for music started at a young age spurred on by his grandfather who taught Butler sounds, morals, and the guitar. As soon as Butler could, he began buskin’ on the streets of Fremantle in Perth, the Western coast of Australia.

Butler recorded his first album and had 3500 cassette tapes of it made. These eventually sold from his street performances. He was no ordinary busker though; he had a real gift for the guitar.

Starting with Indian inspired bluegrass roots music he favored long solos. His weapon of choice the Maton 12 string with the G-6th String removed. Using a style of playing called ‘hybrid picking’; Butler plays multiple notes at the same time. This creates a sound which simply can’t be replicated by other playing styles.

From that moment on, Butler’s life changed rapidly. He began playing every Tuesday at ‘Mojos’ in Fremantle, building his fan base locally. Hard work and determination eventually got him the recognition he deserved and he went on to record his first studio album in 1998 (John Butler).  John Butler was a toned down version of his distinctive style, it was an album that consisted of the lengthy solos he was known for along with some other, not so lengthy solos written with radio play in mind. Radio play is exactly what they got; ‘pickapart’ was picked up by Australian Radio station Triple j and put on high rotation.

As time progressed his nails became acrylic (because with his aggressive style his real nails didn’t last long) and he got more skilled as a performer. Along with the honing of his skill and his flair for producing an exciting spontaneous gig his success became more profound. Over a decade later and Butler is know one of Australia’s most successful exports and is actively involved in helping the environment. His passion for music and affinity for upcoming artists led him to create his own record label, Jarrah Records. Through his record label the ‘JB Seed’ grants program was founded in 2004. The focus of the grant program is to bring “social, cultural and artistic diversity in Australian society” (Donovan Patrick, Co-founder) and has to date spent over $400,000 on launching the careers of Australian youths, notable mentions being Missy Higgins,  Paul Kelly and The Waifs.

Butler is currently working on his 5th studio album and remains actively involved with the wilderness society. From a very humble beginning, playing on the streets, to now being the ‘millionaire hippie’ Butler maintains his love for playing live,  the only difference is now he does it to sold out crowds in Australia’s premier venues. His hopes to now expand his fan base to America no doubt mean you will be seeing a lot more of ‘Australia’ best kept secret’.

With the success that surrounds him Butler maintains he is an artist, nothing more, nothing less.

“Life and the human condition; Love, justice, the spirit, politics, the land, are my inspirations,” he adds.