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This Day In Music: Butch Vig Born
This day in music the world became a better place, at least for ears. Butch Vig, drummer and producer, was born on August 2nd, 1955. This makes him both a Leo and one of the most formidable men in music.
Vig was born in Wisconsin and was a loyal citizen of that state for most of his career, basing himself in the hip college town of Madison. It was there that he studied at the University of Wisconsin and began performing with local bands.
In 1984, Vig founded Smart Studios along with Steve Marker, the guitarist for their future band Garbage. Prior to this, however, Vig worked as a music producer. He was responsible for some of the most iconic albums of the gurnge era including Nirvana’s Nevermind, The Smashing Pumpkin’s Siamese Dream, and several Sonic Youth albums.
It was after his experiences working as a producer that Vig decided to form Garbage, wanting to depart from the standard guitar-bass-drums model of music that seemed to dominate the early 90′s. Along with long time collaborators Steve Marker and Duke Erikson, Vig recruited Scottish singer Shirley Manson and Garbage was born.
So let’s all give a shout out to Butch Vig, whose birth we should celebrate as he has given us so much outstanding music to listen to over the course of his lifetime. Here’s to another five decades, sir! Cheers!