Australian singer/songwriter Butterfly Boucher’s mother was notconvinced she was ready to name her child “Butterfly” even thoughshe was already a few weeks old.
“Mom and Dad did not have a name for me, and if you leave it solong the state will name your child,” Boucher said. “They had givenmom and dad a week’s warning. I think it had been two weeks — fairenough, really. But Mom was not convinced with the name’Butterfly.'”
Boucher said her mother asked God for three signs to let herknow what to name her child — and she got those three reasons. Hermother’s dance teacher came to class in a butterfly costume, apainting on the wall at her older children’s school and a songpointed out by a teacher on a children’s record called “TheButterfly Song” all led her mother to choose the name.
Boucher’s name is not the only unusual thing about her debutalbum. On “Flutterby” she plays nearly every instrument, exceptsome strings and an oboe.
Boucher said her multi-instrument style comes naturally.
“A guitar riff comes with a drum beat and comes with a stringarrangement for me,” Boucher said. “I hear a lot more. Because I amplaying everything there is a distinctive rhythm or sound to all ofit. There is a tight feel about it.”
Boucher said she usually composes her music on guitar or pianofirst and then works out the rest of the arrangement.
Boucher said her inspiration often comes from personalmemories.
“The music inspires the lyrics,” Boucher said. “It is often apersonal experience, but I do not want to make songs so about methat it cannot be someone else’s song. I am making music for otherpeople to enjoy. I want to make music that is personal andhonest.”
Boucher will be in New Orleans Monday opening for SarahMcLachlan, who helped get the word around about Boucher.
“She gave some people a boast about me,” Boucher said. “She saidlovely things about me to people in the industry, and confirmedwhat I was doing. She is an old school artist who writes and playsand is very real, not a plastic kind of artist.”
Boucher said when she plays live, her show takes on an angriertone.
“I am more aggressive than the album,” Boucher said. “Iconcentrate and sing and suddenly I have attitude.”
Boucher moved from Australia to the United States five years agoand now is living in Nashville.
Boucher said American culture heavily influences Australianmusic, but she said Australian music is more unpolished.
Boucher said her musical influences include everyone from CyndiLauper, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC,current artists like Franz Ferdinand and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, aswell as several bands from her native Australia.
Boucher said she hopes her music achieves the pop-rock she calls”gut pop.”
“It is pop rock but I would like to believe it is gut pop,”Boucher said. “That’s what I have it listed as in my iTunes, likeold school pop when it was real.”
Boucher said the song on her record that best achieves thissound is “A Walk Outside.”
“I finished recording that and I was like ‘That is the balance Ilike,'” Boucher said. “I captured the sound I wanted to achieve. Iam quite proud of that song.”
Boucher said though she loves being a musician, she could seeherself doing plenty of other things.
“There is a lot I enjoy, but I always felt music was thestrongest point in making a career of something,” Boucher said. “Ilike other kinds of arty stuff. I want to design furniture. I aminterested in interior design. Music has increased my ability to doother things, like the artwork for the CD and directing the videos.Music is a nice launching pad for everything.”
Butterfly Boucher will open for Sarah McLachlan on Monday nightat the New Orleans Arena.