A Little About Myself

       Stanley Edward Butler Jr.

• I was born in Harlem New York City. My father was of Bahamian decent (Nassau ) and my mother was born in South Carolina. At my birth my parents moved to mid-town Manhattan on its west side. I feel that this move proved to be a great blessing in my life because of the expanded culture that the area provided and which would inject to play a huge part of my personal make up. The Amsterdam Projects is a housing complex composed of 13 buildings and I feel that I lived in the most diverse building of them all.

  There were 7 families per floor and 13 floors in stories in the building. The blessing that I refer to is the diversity of the ethnic backgrounds of the families in the housing unit. Being black, I was surrounded be many cultures such as Puerto Rican,( and all varieties of Latin America )  Irish, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, Polish, you name it we had it and I know that your influences within your life will help to mold your character.  The influences also played ( and still today ) a huge part with my musical ideas and development. Also growing up across the street from Lincoln Center Of The Performing arts provided me to all of the cultural experiences to be imagined.  In elementary school, I was drawn to music but my greatest love was sports ( baseball, football boxing & basketball ). I wasn’t until my mid- teens that through a friend I was invited to hang around with his band and this is where I picked up the bass guitar and I actually went on the road and lived a communal life for a couple of years with the band as form the first time that I picked up the bass, my mind was made up that I wanted to play as my livelihood. Being self-taught I later went on to college to learn musical theory and other applications. Living with musicians served to bring out the true passion that I will possess until the end. By being around musicians who woke up playing and fell of sleeping while playing was a driving force for me and it led me with my skills to organize and leadership roles throughout my career. I feel to be blessed being raised in N.Y.C.

   

• My favorite tools of my trade are my relationship with God as my guidance and force. My working tools are as now, my voice, bass guitars, keyboards, electric guitars, song writing, producing, arranging,  musical books, musical computer software, sequencing, experience, versatility, applications, leadership & communication. 

                                      STANLEY E. BUTLER JR.

 

PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN/OWNER OF CITYBLOCK MUSIC COMPANY

 

Writer Producer

Session Musician

Vocalist

Specialist in : Electric basses. Fretless bass. Four-string, five-string, and six string basses. Upright bass.

Electronic Keyboard Sequencing.

Style proficiencies. Pop, Blues, Jazz, Funk , Rock, Caribbean, Latin, Oldies, Country.

 

EDUCATION

 

Bronx Community College and City College, New York City, N.Y.   Associates of Arts Degree .

Classes in basic music theory, form & analysis, counterpoint.

 

San Bernardino Valley College, San Bernardino CA, 1988-1991. Classes in Electronic Music. Keyboard  synthesizer programming, console mixing, music sequencing. Classes in jazz arranging harmony ,form 7 analyses.

 

Experience

 

Work with: Al Wilson ( Musical Director, 1996-1998 ) , Brenton Wood, Buddy Miles,  Roy Gaines, Finis Tasby ( Musical Director 2005-2008 ), The Coasters., Floyd Snead ( Three Dog Night ), King Floyd,  Tyrone Downey ( Bob Marley ) Dave Valentin, Jaco Pastorius, Delmar Brown, Lisa Gay & The Gentlemen Of Thrill, The Mamas Boys, Joe Ortiz, Eddie Daniels ( The Platters ), Lady GG, Janette Turner ( Ike Turner ) Deacon Jones, Johnny Dyer, Archie Lee Hooker, Smokey Wilson ,The Intruders ,Kirk Fletcher , J.J. Bad Boy Jones, Morris Wade ( The Drifters ). Bernard Purdie. Quentin Dennard, Rosie & The Originals. Roy Hamilton Jr.

 

Records. Productions :Stanley Butler (The Way You Move Me) Perserverance Records 2019 Finis Tasby ( Keeping The Blues Company 2006 ) Don Affleck ( In A Moment 2004 ) The Mamas Boys (Pretty Good 2000 ) The Mamas Boys ( 6 by 4 1999 )   Al Wilson ( Spice Of Life ( Co-Producer  1999) A Wish For Christmas( Producer 1998 ) Needle In The Groove; Say You Don't, Sure Sound Music Productions 1985.

 

Videos.

 

Soundtrack Productions: All American Circuses for Youth Y.M.C.A. 1998 . ABS Buns and Thighs, Martin Henry, 1992.

Soundtrack co-writer: Stretch For Life, Doreen Rivera 1986.

 

Bands Founded: The Stanley Butler Band : Featuring Tightly Loosened  (2011 -present) City Block  This & That( 2001 ), Rush Hour 1992, Message 1980 Soultura 1976 & various others.

 

Teaching. Electronic Music at San Bernardino Valley College 1992-1995. Private Bass & Theory.

 

Management : Musical Director: The Blue Guitar, Palm Springs CA. 2007-2008.

                          Event coordinator: The Boiler Room, Redlands CA.  2004-2006.

                          Artist Development: Sure Sound Productions, Newark N.J.  1982-1986.

 

My personal thoughts of music is something I can only say is a gift from God to man and of Him, it is too great to explain but I will say that along with love, it is the lifeline of the universe.

I believe that music is a main facet of life and it is endless in its potential. There are so many gifts that music brings as it interchanges with love. It is a source that connects us all in mind and spirit. It also can serve in the barest form of animal life as birds sing to each other and to the most intellect within our human society in which we see in forms of jazz and classical music. As I stated, I believe it is God’s gift to mankind and as far back as the beginning man has used music as a form of communication and rituals and in many cases healing. I do not think any of us could ever imagine a world without music. It serves me best to realize its origin and its main purpose to link us all in communication and worship to God.

 

 

The future of young people in music can be viewed as an interesting topic. I many ways people for different generations can be judgmental both positively and negatively. My personal views are of and art getting lost. I think that the direction of most of today’s popular music is losing its historic form and based on trends and peer pressure as I also think that the now generation has become judgmental of musical styles that preceded. I think that this is not a good sign for future musicians as they seem not to make any use of the true art form of music. There are some who try but what I have seen that they are usually pushed of into some eclectic category of pushed off the side or seen as uncool. I would like to see the young stars of today break from the projected mainstream and bring some of the true classic forms of songwriting back into the mainstream. If so, I believe that it would impact the creativity of future musicians for generations to come. I personally feel a need to do all that I can in this area.

 

 

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The Stanley Butler Band: Tightly Loosened appears regularly @:

The Omni Hotels Blu Ember Restaurant

41000 Bob Hope Dr.

Rancho Mirage CA. 92270

Firday & Saturday Evenings

6 till !0 pm.

      

 

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