The Insurgents opens in New York Mon, Nov. 12 2007 This week "The Insurgents", a film by Scott Dacko with music by Ben Butler and Mario Grigorov opens at Coblle Hill Cinemas in Brooklyn NY. The DVD is also available at Amazon.

Suzanne Vega Tour Tue, May. 15 2007 With a new album "Beauty and Crime" to be released on Blue Note Records, Ben will be joining Mike Visceglia, Doug Yowell and Alison Cornell on tour in the USA and Europe. Tour information is posted on the Suzanne Vega website.

Happy New Year! Sun, Jan. 7 2007 January is already shaping up nicely with some EVOC shows in Park City and Vegas, some dates with good friends Mike Vseglia and Jerry Moratta's project String Theory (featuring Valerie Carter and Jill stevenson) and a weekly residency with Redtime! Add to that some great recording projects (tba) and more writing for TV and you've got a busy month. PS... I hear EVOC is starting work on a second album... watch this space!

Insurgents Movie Thu, Aug. 24 2006 Just completed the score with Mario Grigorov of Siblings for the film The Insurgents. Written and directed by Scott Dacko, The Insurgents is a dark and disturbing look into to the minds of some home-grown terrorists in a post 9/11 world. Look out for the film at major festivals this year.

Summer Update! Sat, Jul. 1 2006 So many great projects in the works that are nearing completion: Jim Kremen's new album, produced by Ken Rich at Grand Street Recording, Goat (Andy Rosen) has a new CD produced by Mark Christensen of the Engine Room (live shows TBA), Insurgents (independant film directed by Scot Dacko) is currently being scored by Mario Grigorov and Ben Butler, and there are plenty of cool live shows this month too (check the LIVE link) including Chiara Civello, the East Village Opera Company, Goat, Tsidii Le Loka, Redtime and more...

Click here to see East Village Opera Company live on A&E! Mon, Feb. 27 2006

Ben performs with Andrea Bocelli Sun, Feb. 12 2006 Promoting his new release "Amore", Andrea Bocelli appears on TV shows across the country, including The View, Martha Stewart and Tony Danza. The band includes Rob Mounsey (keys), Roger Squitero (percussion), Conrad Korsche (Bass), and Mark Mclean (drums).

Dar Williams New CD and US Tour Sun, Sep. 18 2005 "My Better Self" in stores now, featuring Marshall Crenshaw, Ani DiFranco, Soul Live, Patty Larkin, Mike Visceglia, Julie Wolf, Steve Holly, Stuert Smith, Rob Hyman and Ben Butler. Dar is currently on tour with Ben, Mike, Steve and Julie. Check Dar's site for tour dates.

Chiara Civello and band tours Italy Sun, Jul. 31 2005 Chiara and her band enjoy a two week tour of her homeland Italy. Highlights include the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, the Casa Del Jazz in Rome, the Blue Note in Milan and a beautiful old ruined cathedral in Palemo, Sicily. Chiara's CD is doing very well there on radio and in stores, and the live shows were very well recieved... and let's not forget the food!

"Heights" premier at the Paris Theater New York! Sun, Jun. 5 2005 Merchant Ivory Pictures/Sony Classics film "Heights" will premier at the Paris Theater New York City June 6th. The film stars Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, Jesse Bradford and James Marsden, with original score by Martin Erskine and Ben Butler.

Chiara Civello Band Tours Japan Sun, May. 29 2005 Since the album's release in February, "Last Quarter Moon" has generated much interest in Japan, Italy and the United States. The band (featuring Allain Mallet on keyboards, Richard Hammond on bass, Dan Rieser on drums and Ben Butler on Guitar) has just returned from a two week-tour of Japan, playing Blue Note Jazz clubs, the Motion Blue jazz club in Yokahoma and several concerts sponsored by Cartier. The band is booked to tour Italy in July, including a performance at the Umbria Jazz Festival. Also look for US dats in June...

Click here to watch EVOC in the studio! Sun, May. 1 2005 (for broadband users only- large file!)

EVOC in the studio Sat, Apr. 30 2005 Wasting no time since signing the deal, the East Village Opera Company has been hard at work in the studio this last month. With Grammy award winning producer Niel Dorfsman at the helm, the band has been camping out at Avatar Studios NYC and BiCoastal Music in Westchester. The record is shaping up to be an amazing debut for the band, and is slated for release in the fall on Decca/Universal.

East Village Opera Company signs with Universal/Decca Sat, Feb. 26 2005 This past weekend at an incredible show in Toronto, the founders of EVOC signed a deal that will see a record released in the fall of this year. EVOC includes vocalists Tyley Ross and Ann Marie Milazzo, and arranger and pianist Peter Kiesewalter. Richard Hammond, Byron Estep, Steve Hass (or Rich Mercurio) and Ben Butler are the band with a fabulous string section holding up the "Opera" end of the equation. We are all very excited about this development and what lies ahead for us this year.

Chiara Civello CD released Wed, Feb. 23 2005 Released by Verve, Chiara Civello's CD "Last Quarter Moon" is now available in stores. The band has been performing around the Northeast region and will be headed to Japan in May. A US and European tour is being scheduled for later this year. The band includes Alain Mallet on Piano, Dan Rieser on Drums, Richard Hammond on Bass and Ben Butler on Guitar.

Dar Williams back in the studio Sun, Feb. 6 2005 After a quiet year devoted mostly to her new baby boy, Dar and her band camped out in Allaire Studios in Woodstock for a week to lay down the tracks for her forthcoming CD. The band included Stuert Smith (guitar), Ben Butler (guitar), Steve Holly (drums), Mike Visceglia (bass), Julie Wolf (keys), Rob Hyman (keys) and Stuart Lerman at the helm as producer. An incredibly good time was had by all and the tracks sound amazing. Look for a release later this year and a US tour in September.

"Heights" shown at the Sundance Film Festival Wed, Jan. 19 2005 The Merchant Ivory Film "Heights" (Scored by Martin Erskine and Ben Butler) will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival January 20th-30th.

2005!?! Thu, Jan. 6 2005 January... not so cold after all... Over the last two weeks I have been working on my solo cd, a collection of original compositions and arrangements for solo acoustic guitars of various kinds. Be sure to sign up to my mailing list so I can let you know when it is available. Also this month I will be seeing Dar Williams and her band again as we start working on her next CD, plus, more gigs with Chiara Civello, the East Villiage Opera Company and Redtime. Fun!

Shrek 2 Soundtrack goes Gold Thu, Dec. 30 2004 The Shrek 2 soundtrack includes the song "On My Way" by Rich Price, produced by Andy Zula, featuring the guitar work of Ben Butler.

Busy month... Thu, Oct. 28 2004 Many new projects have come along this month... Kyler England, Bill Strecker, Redtime, Maria Christensen, Goat, Perce Turner, Chris Willis, plus Chiara Civello is back from Italy and will be performing every monday in November, and the East Villiage Opera Company is at Joe's Pub again with newer, even more dazzling renditions of Italian Arias. Also, soon to visit NY is Australia's biggest selling artist in 2004, Shannon Noll, who will be performing two showcases at Sine, November 10th and 11th. How about a day off???

Jonatha Brooke Tour Sun, Jul. 18 2004 Ben will be joining one of his favourite artists, Jonatha Brooke, for shows in the north east in August. The band includes Rich Mercurio on drums, Darren Embry on bass and long-time friend and collaborator Ann Marie Milazzo on keyboards, acoustic guitar, clarinet and vocals.

Jim Kremens CD gets amazing reviews Tue, May. 25 2004 Jim Kremens "Spun" is getting amazing reviews and is featured this week at CDBaby.com. The music editor at CD Baby says: "I adore Jim's music. I've had his album on repeat for the last few days... We get about 75 new albums a DAY coming in here now, (about 30,000 total)... and yours is one of the best I've ever heard." Spun features Ben Butler on guitar, bass, percussion and some co-written songs. Jim (with bassist Whynot) will be joining us monday June 14th at the Bitter End to play a set of songs from the album.

Summer is coming... Fri, May. 7 2004 Just spent a week recording a CD for Irish Singer/Songwriter Peirce Turner, with Jerry Marotta (drums), Mike Visceglia (bass) and Roman Klun engineering at Jersville in Woodstock NY. Also, the single "Tear Streaks" from Dana's CD Thread Of Blue (produced by Ben Butler) is currently at #31 this week on the FMQB AC charts (second week out)

Website Wed, Mar. 31 2004 The big news... my site is up!!! Many thanks to Istros Media Corporation who designed it! Isn’t it cool?.

Currently in the studio with: Mon, Mar. 29 2004 Rich Price (Geffen Records, produced by Andy Zulla) a gifted singer/songwriter... Collaborating with Martin Erskine on the score for "Hieghts", a Merchant Ivory production staring Glenn Close Morley, the beautiful and soulful songstress just completed another CD, produced by Ken Rich... Neshama Clarebach is working producer David Morgan on an all acoustic album of her father’s material, re-arranged in a world music/jazz format... Frederik Doci (Blue November Records, produced by George A. Gessner and Harold Stephan) an Albanian singing star performing world and classical music with folk/electronica production. Bari Koral (Independant Release with Jerry Moratta and Tony Levin among others) Lafayette Harris, who is doing a smooth-jazz album with Buddy Williams on Drums, Gary Haas on Bass... Composer Robert Miller, playing on the soundtrack for “Instant Karma”, starring Pierce Brosnen and The Rock, currently in production... “Kenny the Shark” and A&E Biography are currently both places where you will hear the compositions of Peter Kiesewalter, and the guitar playing of you know who... loads of fun...

Currently performing live with: (Check calender for details) Sun, Mar. 28 2004 Chiara Civello, (Verve, Producer Russ Titleman), playing every Monday in March at The Living Room- beautifully written and sung original songs with a jazz and brazillian flavour, featuring Allain Mallet on keyboards, Richard Hammond on bass and Dan Rieser on drums. Joey Eppard- watch out for this super talented young singer, songwriter and fierce acoustic guitarist. The band, including Jerry Moratta on drums and Mike Vseglia on bass will be playing every Monday in April at the Bitter End, along with special guests, tba. The East Villiage Opera Company, featuring Tyley Ross on vocals and Peter Kiesewalter on keyboards, musical arrangements... “where the pomposity of opera meets the majesty of rock... and vice versa” check http://www.eastvillageoperacompany.com for details. Peter Eldridge and Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices, playing material from each of their solo projects, with Ben Whitman on drums and Tim Lefavre on bass. Kyler England, with Whynot on bass and Ethan Eubanks on drums...a kick-ass singer songwriter! Check her out...