It seems so along ago now that we were basking in the sunshine of a glorious Download Festival, that’s right… it didn’t pour down with rain this year. Looking back on what was yet another stellar line up across the weekend it’s tough to try and pick a stand out performance but one contender springs to mind and that, was the incredible debut of The Fever 333.

Not many bands can say that their inaugural UK performance just so happened to be on the hallowed turf of Donington but if anyone had  doubts going into the festival that this might have been a bit of a gamble they were  instantly proved wrong as the Los Angeles trio showed a full to the brim Avalanche Stage exactly what they are all about.

The guys return to the UK next week with a headline show at the O2 Academy in Islington followed by a set at Reading Festival and we managed to catch up with frontman Jason Butler to find out what he made of it all, what he feels The Fever 333 can bring to the table and the direction this new project is heading in.

Kicking things off we had to start with that performance at Download and how Butler thought it went. “Well it was pretty incredible man,” he tells us. “I mentioned it on stage at the time, but I’ve got a pretty unique relationship with Download so to have the new project received so well was incredible. There wasn’t one issue with security, it was all cool and everything was great.” Butler explains in relation to the fact that as always security on site were in great spirits and did their job professionally while allowing everyone to express themselves and have fun.

As we’ve mentioned above not many bands can say they’ve kicked off their UK life on a stage as big as Download so was Butler happy about this? “We were really lucky to be able to have our first demonstration in the UK at Download. It was a great moment for us and we just hope that the fans enjoyed it as much as we did,”

And did they manage to catch any of the other great bands playing at Download this year? “Unfortunately not man, we were just there for the day. We flew in and did a session at Maida Vale Studios in London and then we played Download and then we headed home the next day,”

Those that were lucky enough to be at Download and caught The Fever 333 will bear witness to just how epic a set it was and will fully understand the hype around the band. But for those who weren’t we asked Butler what he thought they had missed out on. “Well I wouldn’t want to say that they missed an opportunity of a life time you know? But I will say that you only get one first impression but the one that we were able to make and share with everyone there was special for us,”

And when the main man at Download Festival leads your praises you know you’ve done something right as Butler tells us “Also the man who practically IS Download Festival Andy Copping came up with some extremely kind words about the set. And for a man who has seen it all and to come up with such kind words, it really meant a lot to me, so it was just a really special moment.”

I’m sure that everyone reading this will know Butler’s last project and it was of course a huge success, but how does he feel about starting something new which can be daunting to even the most seasoned musicians. “It’s super exciting and it’s exactly what I want to do, I believe in artistic evolution and you’ve got to try hard to not only keep up with yourself but to also improve and do better each time and just out do yourself. I’m able to work with people on this project who are just so insanely talented and accomplished and who have such different backgrounds to my own that it challenges me to be the best that I can be, to be honest and authentic and I just feel really lucky to be able to do this project in the way we have.”

We’ve established that The Fever 333 put on an incredible live show but what message are they trying to get out there with their music? “This whole project is informed by the three C’s and ‘C’ is the third letter of the alphabet hence the name The Fever 333. These stand for community, charity and change. Everything we do is informed by those three C’s there’s a contingency for charity on every dollar that we make, for every demonstration that we put on. Basically every time that we are making ourselves known there is an effort there to affect the area that we’re doing the demonstration in positively, or speaking on an issue that we feel needs to be highlighted and ultimately creating a space for people to feel free and to feel like they can accomplish what they want to accomplish while being who they can or want to be. And that’s really what we’re trying to facilitate with this project which is always informed by those three C’s.”

We live in a world which is seemingly dividing itself more and more so it’s a breath of fresh air to see bands trying to bring people together and to facilitate change for the better in us all. So how does Butler feel about being in a position to bring out the best in people and in some cases change their lives for the better? “That would be incredible, if we could have such an impact on any individual that would be amazing. But I think the best we can do is offer representation to those that feel under represented. Not only in music but in society and socio-politically also, as well as emotionally, intellectually and ideologically. We’re just trying to create a space that respects a wider spectrum for people to be involved and to be more inclusive then your typical rock or hip-hop gig.”

Moving on to their new EP ‘Made an America’ and the process of writing and recording it, how was the experience for Butler? “Well that, and I don’t mean just me but the scenario itself was pretty prolific working with Travis Barker from Blink-182 and John Feldmann from Goldfinger and many great people in production was great. Every single day we left with something that was worth at least trying to make in to a track. We left with something every session and the way those gentleman work is unbelievable, It’s so inspiring because I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking that I was overly ambitious or like I wanted too much out of my art but then I got to work with those two guys and they not only validated that, but made me want to work even harder than I was already. So putting the EP together was easy. It was easy because it was fun, it was easy because we all respect each other, and it was easy because we were excited. So yeah, it was easy!”

The Fever 333 have already produced an incredible EP and a spectacular live performance at Download Festival but what’s next for the guys? “We’re just writing more tunes and trying to create a foundation for our message. We’ll be performing and having multiple demonstrations throughout Europe and then we’ll back in the UK for a Sold Out show at the O2 Academy Islington before heading on to Reading Festival which will be cool and that’s really all we want, for it to be cool.”

You can catch The Fever 333 at the O2 Academy in Islington on 22nd August if you were lucky enough to snag a ticket and they’ll be hitting the Lock Up Stage at Reading on Friday. Their debut EP ‘Made an America’ is out now.

CHRISTOPHER LEE