Biography
Emerging as a side project from Built to Spill, Butterfly Train operated under the direction of frequent BtS bassist Brett Nelson, who should not be mistaken for Brett Netson, the separate Built to Spill associate that fronted Boise, ID's Caustic Resin. Having spent his youth in Twin Falls, ID, alongside the eventual Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch, Nelson first collaborated with him in Farm Days, a punk band launched in the mid-'80s during their high school years. Martsch later joined Treepeople and then established Built to Spill in 1993 as an open-ended collective intended to facilitate work with various musicians he admired. This setup led to Nelson receiving an invitation to handle bass on the second Built to Spill release, 1994's There's Nothing Wrong With Love, joined there by ex-Farm Days drummer Andy Capps. The resulting visibility secured a contract with Up Records for Nelson's concurrent endeavor, Butterfly Train, at first a punk-pop ensemble that included bassist Forrest Orr and drummer Tim Harris. Fronted by Nelson on vocals, the band released the 1994 Up single "Blame Weight" b/w "Dog Day" and finished its debut full-length, Building Distrust From Trust, the same year. For the follow-up album Nelson recruited an entirely fresh lineup—guitarist Eric Penney, bassist Ambrose Richardson, and returning Andy Capps on drums—while shifting toward a new wave pop orientation. Issued in 1996, Distorted, Retarded, Peculiar featured Nelson on bass, guitar, and piano. He next received an invitation to rejoin Built to Spill for the 1997 major-label album Perfect From Now On, after which Martsch installed him as a permanent member, thereby bringing Butterfly Train to a close.
Albums
