The Legend Grows
As the legend of The Godzilla Attacks Tokyo Kamikaze Blues Band grows, the men behind the music also grow and get better each and every year. If you haven't caught a Godzilla show yet, then you don't know what you're missing. Fun blues songs, great guitars, lots of booze and crazy fans who just can't get enough. The band is currently on hiatus riding out the Covid-19 crisis in a small cabin in the Smokey Mountains of Georgia. They're writing new material and will be back on the circuit as soon as the bars start hopping again.
Meet The Band
"Big Burly" John Butterwick
Big Burly John began playing guitar when he was just 4 years old. He picked up a cigar box guitar his grand pappy built himself. Within a few weeks of playing that 3 string guitar Big Burly John wrote 4 songs and he never looked back. He started smoking Marlboro Reds when he was 8 and drinking whiskey by 10. He never really could sing in key and he never cared. Burly John just likes to write songs, smoke his butts, drink cheap beer and travel from honky-tonk to honky-tonk playing his tunes, meeting ladies and living the bluesman life. Although, Big Burly John has never been blue a day in his life.
Burly John sings most of the songs, plays a lot of cool guitar riffs and keeps everyone in line. They don't call him Big Burly John for nothing.
Mike "Lightning" McGhee
Mike "Lightning" McGhee didn't pick up a guitar until he was 18 years old. Mike was working in a coal mine in the Georgia mountains when a devastating avalanche of coal came down upon him and his crew of 30 men. He survived in that mine for 31 days and was the only survivor. Mike came out of the mine with a concussion and severe memory loss. After he got out of the hospital he wandered into Jimmy Jack's Hoping Blues Bar where Big Burly John was playing. Mike walked up on stage grabbed a guitar and started wailing away. He doesn't know why he knows how to play, he just digs doing it. Big Burly John said "it's like he was struck by lightning." Mike said "more like struck by a lump of coal." At least something good came out of that coal mine disaster.
He's been with Big Burly John ever since.
"Skinny" Pete "Skinz" Johnson
Skinny Pete grew up right next door to Big Burly John. He started his career in percussion the same way many poor Georgia boys do - playing his mama's pots and pans. But, Skinny Pete took it a bit further. He couldn't afford drums until he was almost 20 years old. So, he made a complete set of drums out of old pots and pans and him and Big Burly John started playing in juke joints and bars with those crazy drums. He used to be skinny too (which is where he got his name) until he finally started coming into money and now he eats everything he can.
When he finally got those drums Big Burly John said, "now your name is "Skinz" because you finally got some." But most people still call him Skinny Pete.
Bass Player
No one really knows why, but The Godzilla guys can't seem to hold on to a bass player longer than a couple of weeks. They've had a different bass player on every song they've ever recorded. Sometimes they get to their gigs and ask the audience if anyone plays bass. They almost always get someone willing to give it a try.
The band is hoping to find a permanent bass player after the Covid-19 mess. They figure there has to be someone out there that can hang with them. But, if it doesn't happen they won't lose any sleep over it. They've made it this far without a full-time guy and they'll keep plugging away no matter what happens.
If you know anyone who plays the bass, likes Marlboro Reds, can throw back a bunch of beers without passing out email us.