"Geezer" Butler
Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with schoolmate John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of 1967. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in the blues foursome, Polka Tulk, along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed their band Earth, but after finding a band in the small-time English circuit with the same name, soon adopted Black Sabbath in early 1969.
Butler played rhythm guitar in his pre-Sabbath days, including with Rare Breed, but when Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he wouldn't want to play with another guitarist, so Butler moved to bass.
Butler is noted as being one of the first bassists to use a Wah-wah pedal on his bass, as showcased at the beginning of "N.I.B." which inspired many later bassists. He was also one of the first bassists to down-tune (from the standard EADG to the lower C#F#BE), in order to match Iommi who had started tuning his guitar to C# (one and a half steps down).
While Ozzy Osbourne was the frontman of the band, Butler wrote almost all of the band's lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with religion, science-fiction, fantasy and horror, and musings on the darker side of human nature that posed a constant threat of global annihilation.
"Geezer" Butler's Website: http://www.geezerbutler.com/
Source: Wikipedia
Tags: Michael Joseph, N.I.B, Butler, band, wah wah pedal, global annihilation, Johngeezer butler
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