Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian
singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
-based
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...
with his wife
Régine Chassagne
Régine Alexandra Chassagne (; born 19 August 1976) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.
Early life and career
Régine Alexand ...
.
Early life
Butler was born in
Truckee, California
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...
, and raised in
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...
, with a
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
upbringing. He lived in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina, before his brother
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
was born.
His father, Edwin Farnham Butler II, worked as a geologist for oil conglomerate
Halliburton
Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. His mother, Liza Rey, performed on the family TV show, ''
The King Family Show
''The King Family Show'' is an American musical variety series that featured The King Sisters and their extended musical family. The series first aired on ABC from January 1965 to January 1966. The series was revived in 1969, airing from Marc ...
'', plays jazz harp and sings. Butler's parents currently live on
Mount Desert Island, Maine. Butler's maternal grandfather was
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
ist
Alvino Rey
Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader.
Career
Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...
, a pioneer bandleader whose career spanned eight decades. His maternal grandmother, Luise, was a member of
The King Sisters
The King Sisters were an American big band-era vocal group consisting of six sisters: Alyce, Donna, Luise, Marilyn, Maxine, and Yvonne King.
History
Born and raised in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the King sisters were part of the Driggs family of e ...
, who starred in a weekly variety program on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
called ''The King Family Show''.
At the age of 15, Butler started attending the
Phillips Exeter Academy
(not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God)
, location = 20 Main Street
, city = Exeter, New Hampshire
, zipcode ...
preparatory school in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, where he lived in
Abbot Hall. After graduation, he studied photography and creative writing at
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
, but left after a year.
Career
Butler moved to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada in 2000 to attend
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, where he met his future wife,
Régine Chassagne
Régine Alexandra Chassagne (; born 19 August 1976) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.
Early life and career
Régine Alexand ...
, whom he married in 2003. Butler graduated from McGill in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in religious studies.
Butler participated in the 2005
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
benefit project, "
Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is a charity record inspired by "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was released on October 11, 2005, in Canada on Vice Records by a cast of rock artists and other performers under the name "North American Hallowe ...
," along with Chassagne. The two also collaborated on the music for the
Richard Kelly film ''
The Box''.
On April 2, 2011,
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...
played its last concert before its disbandment. Arcade Fire performed with them during the song "North American Scum." During
James Murphy's stumbling introduction to the song, Butler shouted out "shut up and play the hits!" Murphy immediately responded, "ladies and gentlemen, for our live record entitled 'Shut Up and Play the Hits'" and Butler's cry later became the title of the
documentary of the concert.
In September 2011, Butler played in a charity basketball tournament in Toronto, Ontario, known as "Rock The Court." Several other celebrities and athletes participated, such as
Matt Bonner
Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980), also known as the Red Rocket or Red Mamba, is an American former professional basketball player. Bonner played college basketball for the University of Florida before being selected by the Chicago Bu ...
of the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
.
Butler also works as a
DJ using the stage name Windows 98. Sometimes he works under this moniker as the opening act for Arcade Fire itself.
[
In March 2015, Butler and Chassagne attended the launch of ]music streaming
A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...
service Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
, and revealed themselves, along with other notable artists, as shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
s in the company.
Personal life
Butler is married to fellow Arcade Fire member Régine Chassagne
Régine Alexandra Chassagne (; born 19 August 1976) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.
Early life and career
Régine Alexand ...
, who gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, in 2013.
Butler lives in New Orleans with his family.
Butler was naturalized as a Canadian citizen on July 9, 2019, in a ceremony held in Montreal and hosted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...
minister Ahmed Hussen
Ahmed Hussen ( so, Axmed Xuseen; born 1976) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Hussen has also sat as the memb ...
.
Butler is a frequent participant in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game is an annual exhibition basketball game held by the National Basketball Association that takes place during the NBA All-Star Weekend and features retired NBA players, WNBA players, actors, musicians and athletes ...
, and won the game's Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
award in 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
.
Sexual misconduct allegations
According to a ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' article published on August 27, 2022, four individuals have accused Butler of sexual misconduct, with some saying he initially contacted them on social media. Butler said all contact with the accusers was consensual, and he denies all allegations of misconduct. In a statement to Pitchfork, a representative for Butler acknowledged he had sexual interactions with each of them, but said they were not initiated by him and were consensual. His wife corroborated his statements.
On November 22, 2022, Pitchfork published a follow-up article detailing Butler's manipulative interactions towards a fifth person. These interactions were described by the individual as "Emotionally abusive, manipulative, toxic, and using his power dynamic to exploit my body at times that were convenient for him."
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Win
1980 births
Alternative rock guitarists
American rock singers
Singer-songwriters from California
Canadian rock singers
Arcade Fire members
Living people
McGill University alumni
Musicians from Houston
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Sarah Lawrence College alumni
American indie rock musicians
Canadian indie rock musicians
Grammy Award winners
People from Truckee, California
People from The Woodlands, Texas
Former Latter Day Saints
Guitarists from Texas
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American singers
21st-century American pianists
21st-century American keyboardists
American mandolinists
21st-century American bass guitarists
American banjoists
American male singer-songwriters
21st-century Canadian guitarists
21st-century Canadian male singers
21st-century Canadian pianists
21st-century Canadian keyboardists
Canadian mandolinists
21st-century Canadian bass guitarists
Canadian banjoists
Canadian male singer-songwriters
American male pianists
American male bass guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Texas