Butterfly Boucher

by David JeffriesBorn into the middle of a seven-daughter family with creative and free-spirited parents, Butterfly Boucher's first name was suggested by some divine intervention her mother was experiencing. A picture on an elementary school wall, a print on a dance teacher's leotard, and a 45 rpm single of "The Butterfly Song" (brought home by one of Mrs. Boucher's other daughters) all pointed to the name. Her father had pursued a professional career in music but when that failed, all their possessions were given away and the family piled into the car and traveled to Australia's outback. Things settled down, but the wandering spirit stuck with Butterfly. Since most of her young friends had little interest in creating music, Butterfly was left to play all the instruments herself when she started experimenting with a four-track recorder at the age of ten. She later joined her sister's band, the Mercy Bell, on bass, but when a record deal fell through some of the siblings headed to Europe to form a busking "street theater" group. A friend and fellow musician Mike Dixon appreciated Butterfly's stage presence and talent and suggested she try her hand at a solo career. Spending every bit of money she had, Butterfly bought a laptop for recording and headed to Stockton, England to refine her writing and playing. She recorded demos, playing every instrument once again, and through Dixon's connections in the business, she ended up with a contract with A&M records. The fully realized demos didn't need much added to them, and appeared mostly untouched on her debut, Flutterby, released in late 2003.