Biography
Blues-influenced hard rockers the Red Devils came together in Los Angeles, California, USA, during 1988. Core personnel included Lester Butler, who handled vocals and harp until his death in 1998, along with Jonny Ray Bartel on bass and Bill Bateman on drums, while the 90s configuration also incorporated lead guitarist Paul Size and rhythm guitarist Dave Lee Bartel. An impromptu jam session gave rise to the group, and Bateman remembers their debut audience as ‘nine champion skateboarders sitting at the bar’. Butler first picked up the blues harp at six years old, drawn to it simply because it fit his limited funds at the time. He later studied under urban blues guitar maestro Hollywood Fats, whose résumé encompassed contributions to the Blasters and the James Harman Band. Fats’s passing in 1986 supplied the spark that propelled Butler toward a professional music career. After playing countless high school parties and similar casual gatherings, Butler crossed paths with Bateman and Bartel, both already active in the Los Angeles roots rock circuit, where Bateman had previously appeared on three albums with the Blasters. In the early 90s Def American Records and Rick Rubin discovered the band, recognizing the potential in their dense, excitable blues rock approach. Rubin also produced their debut album, which captured the Red Devils performing in their unvarnished live environment. The year before that release they joined Mick Jagger for studio work, although none of those recordings appeared on his Wandering Spirit album. Butler later moved to HighTone Records and issued a solo album in 1997 before succumbing to a drug overdose the next year.
Albums
