As they kick off the new era of Fever 333, and fresh from their storming Download Festival set, writer Yasmine Summan explores why Jason Aalon Butler has had such an important impact on the scene.
2013 was one for the books, let’s say that. A decade later and my hair is still yet to recover from the routine hair-straightening, hairspray, and hair bleaching that came with being an honorary, card-carrying Tumblr emo. On the alternative music front things couldn’t have been better. The “Warped Tour-core” boom of metalcore, screamo/emo, and pop-punk artists from the mid-2000s was finally seeing huge commercial success. Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Sempiternal,’ Paramore’s self-titled record, Citizen’s ‘Youth,’ and Twenty One Pilots' ‘Vessel’ are just a few of the huge albums released during that time. Though a fruitful time for alternative music’s commercial success, a common factor amongst most artists celebrated wasn’t just their catchy riffs and ability to headbang. Alternative music’s worst-kept secret is its struggle for representation. Flashback to a decade ago and any magazine, viral Tumblr post, or festival lineup was in dire need of some representation, both in gender and race. Being a little brown emo kid was a tough feat, how do you survive as an outcast amongst the so-called outcasts?
For all the troubles it brought me, it made finally finding myself in this community that much sweeter. Pierce The Veil had released their 2013 ‘Collide With The Sky,’ and though it boasts some iconic collaborations with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, Jason Aalon Butler’s soulful contributions on ‘Tangled In The Great Escape’ completely blew anything else out of the water. There’s something so painful, so wounding and yet cathartic in his exasperated cries throughout that track that resonated with my 14-year-old self. After convincing my parents relentlessly, I was lucky enough to see Letlive. supporting Pierce The Veil on tour. For all my years of being a die-hard fan that went to every show for every band, I was yet to see a crowd and stage of performers as diverse as that show. I didn’t have that anxiety of being the only brown person in the room, twiddling my fingers wondering if everyone was staring at me, if they noticed too that I stuck out like a sore thumb.
Naturally, as anyone does when they find an artist they like, I became persistently obsessed with anything Jason did moving forward. Once Letlive had run its course, we saw Jason pounce into Fever 333, and with each project, I’ve always appreciated how Jason emotionally, mentally, and physically labours himself for his work. Whether he’s climbing stage towers, or being unapologetically honest about his experiences as a black man in America, his pursuit for open conversations and change has created a huge community of likeminded individuals that finally feel welcome in this music scene – although, much of what I know of Jason, he’s far too humble to admit that.
“Jason has always been a huge advocate for women and POC in the scene, especially at a time when it was still somewhat of a novelty,” says longtime fan Eris Kay. “In 2016, I travelled down from Aberdeen to Manchester by myself to see Letlive.’s headline tour in the UK. The gig was spectacular – stage dives, appearances from family, tears, hanging from the ceiling, it had it all. After the gig, Jason spotted me hanging around awkwardly outside and called me over. He complimented me on my very old Letlive. shirt, asked how far I’d come, gave me a hug and a picture, and then made sure I was safe getting back to my hotel. It was such a lovely gesture, and having followed his work for a very long time, it meant a lot to me that he willingly gave up his time to make sure I was alright.”
Pippa Tyler says Letlive. helped her through the hardest parts of her life. “Letlive. has always been there, they’ve got me through some of life’s hardest battles. They honestly saved me more times than I care to admit. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be here or at least I wouldn’t be the same person given my circumstances.”
Anouk has found some of her dearest friends though Jason’s work. “Through the power of social media I met some incredible people who I keep in touch with daily, people I feel lucky enough to label ‘family’, for sure. Fever’s message is an important one, and Jason’s work is golden in my eyes. He’s incredibly talented, versatile, genuine and an all round good human being, if you ask me. I cant wait to see what fever has I’m store for the world next.”
Boushra was inspired by the messaging of Jason’s music to found the “move333ment”, in their words “a FEVER 333 community I founded in 2019 during their European tour. Its goal was creating a community that believes in the 3 C’s : community, charity and change. By working on projects within the community of Fever fans, we raised funds that we would send to The Walking In My Shoes Foundation and Black Lives Matter.”
“It all started with the flag project, it went from Paris to Russia.”
“And thanks to those projects, lots of beautiful friendships were created among individuals who never even met in real life but we all believed in the message of Fever.”
Speaking to those who know him closely, radio host and presenter Sophie K is someone who’s known Jason for decades. “One of the hardest parts of my job is making friends or networking. As one of the only women at my level in the UK scene you can end up in sticky situations, that is why I have only ever swapped numbers with maybe less than 5 band members. One of those is Jason Aalon-Butler. I have never met anyone who moves through this scene with a level or respect and advocacy for this scene the way Jason does. My first memory of really chatting with him was at Download festival, he asked “how are you?” and I replied with some expected shallow response about how work is busy but life is good. Jason screwed up his face and said “I didn’t mean work, I meant how are you, you??”. As I write this it seems so insignificant but in an industry which is extremely shallow and you are defined by your job this felt huge. He’s one of those people who genuinely cares about people.”
“I will never forget seeing Fever 333 at Download festival for their first ever UK show. Jason was talking about racism and everybody in the crowd had a fist in the air, as a black mixed women I welled up. People talk about community in the scene but that was the first time I have ever fully felt that because here I was standing in front of a sea of allies.”
Jason’s impact on the scene is cannot be understated, and the countless stories we hear of his impact through music or how he carries himself as a person speaks to the core of who he is. A good person, one who has made so many people feel welcome.
