Jason Aalon Butler speaks out on the anniversary of Letlive. and teases reissue and reunion tour
Jason Aalon Butler has spoken out about the anniversary of Letlive. and has teased an album reissue and reunion tour for the band.
According to a series of new social media posts, the post-hardcore band are seemingly reforming for a series of farewell shows across the world next year.
They are also releasing a new, remastered version of their landmark album, ‘The Blackest Beautiful’.
The influential band’s final line-up consisted of lead vocalist Butler, guitarist Jeff Sahyoun, bassist Ryan Jay Johnson and drummer Loniel Robinson. Throughout their career, they released four albums and one EP, with their final album, ‘If I’m The Devil’, released in 2016. They broke up in 2017, announcing the split on social media at the time.
In a new post on the band’s social media page, they wrote: “11 years of ‘The Blackest Beautiful’ after 7 years of silence. Remixed, Remastered, Revisited.”
They added: “And to our friends that we never got to say goodbye to – we’ll see you next year to do so. Promoters see slide 2. We’d like suitable spaces around the world for proper farewells,” they added, making a plea to promoters to get in touch.
They concluded: “ll.ove one last time.”
In a lengthy new post reflecting on the band’s split, Butler added: “I spent so many years of my life trying to find myself in this band. Trying to understand what I believed mattered. What was worth fighting for and, equally, what was worth sacrificing for. Which is what I did when I decided it was time to walk away from @letliveperiod.”
“It was a sacrifice. A necessary one for my own mental, emotional and physical health. It was somewhat Shakespearean realising that in order to truly honour myself and this band I had to let people love it in their own way even when I was having trouble love myself and let this idea we created be remembered in an honourable state. When I put this project to rest I didn’t know when or if I’d ever come back to it.
“The pain, the peril, the literal hazards I and members of this project experienced are almost too wild to be true. But, in fact, they are. And that is why I felt one last time around the as necessary. This band was not easy for me. It was never ever glamorous. And sometimes it was hard to believe it loved me back the same way I loved it, but I recently came to realise it was y’all that made this band. It was y’all that made it unique.
“The disparate identities colliding to form one common belief system each night as well a the 15 years of its existence is still something I cannot believe happened. But it very much did. Y’all are the reason letlive. was able to exist and y’all are the reason I’ve decided to come back for an actual farewell.”
He continued: “ I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in this project and every other I’ve been a part of as I know so many of you followed me from here. Thank you for letting me be vulnerable while attempting bravado all at once. Thank you for laughing, singing and exploring with me. Thank you for hurting, living and learning with me even more so. With that being said- I ll.ove you and me and the boys will see you soon-ish.
“If you’ve read this far- keep up the community and drop your favorite memories, shows, people you’ve met due to your relationship with ll. in the comments. I love reading that sh*t.”
After Letlive., Taylor went on to form Fever 333 alongside former The Chariot guitarist Stephen Harrison and Night Verses drummer Aric Improta.
Back in January, Fever 333 shared a blistering new single titled ‘Ready Rock.
In ‘Ready Rock’, frontman Jason Aalon Butler and co. play homage to the Black artists who founded rock n’ roll, and use their signature heavy sound to shed light on the musicians that came before them but were denied due credit.
“With this month (February) being Black History Month, ‘Ready Rock’ pays homage to black artists of the past that unequivocally built rock n’ roll into what it is today. Fever bring light to the lineage of iconic rock sounds and sonics that have often gone uncredited to their proper black creators, with the assertion, Rock Music is Black Music,” a press release stated.
‘Ready Rock’ was produced by Fever 333, and features co-production from both the Grammy Award-winning Beach Noise (Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem) and Glassjaw’s Justin Beck.
The newly shared single marked the second track to be shared from the group following a major line-up change last year.
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Elizabeth Aubrey
NME
