The John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio
The John Butler Trio (left to right: John Butler on guitar, Nicky Bomba on drums, Byron Luiters on bass) performing in Toronto c. 2012
Background information
Origin	Fremantle, Australia
Genres	Alternative rock, bluegrass, blues rock, funk rock, jam band, reggae, roots rock
Years active	1998 (1998)–present
Labels	Jarrah, ATO, MapleMusic Recordings (Canada)
Associated acts	Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Website	www.johnbutlertrio.com
Members	John Butler Byron Luiters Grant Gerathy
Past members	Nicky Bomba Shannon Birchall Michael Barker Gavin Shoesmith Rory Quirk Jason McGann Andrew Fry

The John Butler Trio are an Australian roots and jam band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums and Gavin Shoesmith on bass. By 2009, the trio consisted of Butler with Byron Luiters on bass and Nicky Bomba on drums and percussion, the latter being replaced by Grant Gerathy in 2013.

The band's second studio album, Three (2001) reached the top 30 in the Australian album charts and achieved platinum sales. The band's subsequent studio albums: Sunrise Over Sea (2004); Grand National (2007); and April Uprising (2010) all debuted at the number one position on the Australian album charts, with all three albums reaching platinum sales status. Living 2001–2002 (2003), the band's first live album, reached the top ten and also achieved platinum status in Australia. The band's second live album, Live at St. Gallen (2005), also achieved gold record status. The band's releases since 2002 have been marketed independently by Jarrah Records, which Butler co-owns with West Australian folk band the Waifs and manager of both acts, Philip Stevens. Their sixth studio album, Flesh & Blood, was released in February 2014.

The John Butler Trio is fronted by John Butler on vocals and guitars. He started his career as a busker in Fremantle, Western Australia and released a self-recorded cassette, Searching for Heritage in 1996. Gavin Shoesmith on double bass and bass guitar founded Katamaran in Darwin with Mark Hoffman on didgeridoo and Grant Smith on percussion. With Butler, Shoesmith and Jason McGann on drums, John Butler Trio was formed in Fremantle in 1998 and independently released the John Butler album in December. It was produced by Butler and included re-recorded versions of two tracks from his Searching for Heritage.