The
Butanes were formed shortly after Curtis Obeda returned home from Chicago
in 1983. A blues protege, Obeda began his career playing guitar
with the Twin Cities Blues luminaries of the late 70's and early 80's:
Mojo Buford, Baby Doo Caston, Lazy Bill Lucas, Big
Walter Smith and W.C. Handy Award winner Sonny Rodgers. He moved
to Chicago and began performing around town with Hubert
Sumlin, Sammy Fender (Redmond)
as well as occasional others. Curt's tenure in Chicago honed his guitar
playing skills and cemented friendships with many Windy City Blues men,
notably Albert Collins, Jimmy
Dawkins, Lefty Dizz, Hip Linkchain
and Big Smokey Smothers.
 Curt
returned home to rejoin the Mudsharks, the first band he ever worked
with, only to have the leader of the band abandon music. Left with a
band and some previously booked gigs Curt assumed the leadership, revamped
the setlist and renamed the band the Butanes. A large variety of local
musicians moved in and out of the Butanes' lineup for the next few years.
Things began to really heat up when John Lindberg, Curt's grade-school
friend, joined on bass and Robb Stupka, ex-Luther Allison, arrived on
drums. The band was offered a house gig at the 400 bar and worked every
Thursday as a trio from 1987-91. Around this time they occasionally
added a pair of ex-Willie & the Bees to the show: baritone sax/vocalist
Maurice Jacox and Merlin "Bronco" Brunkow on tenor sax - a
"proto-Soul Revue."
  They
were often seen backing visting luminaries at the Blues Saloon and other
midwestern nightclubs and festivals. Earl King hired the band to play
behind him at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival from 1991-2002,
a 1993 tour of Europe, a 1999 trip to France, various Black Top Records'
Blues-A-Ramas, the Bayfront Blues Festival, many dates at Buddy Guy's
Legends and the First Annual St. Croix Blues Festival in the U.S. Virgin
Islands. In 1992 local promoter Jim "Corps Solide" Callen
hooked the Butanes up with Grammy-award winning zydeco accordionist
Al Rapone and the band joined him on east coast, west coast, midwest,
carribbean and Alaskan tours disguised as the Zydeco Expressmen. In
1997 Al and the Butanes released Al Rapone Plays Tribute - a tribute
to Clifton Chenier on Atomic Theory records.
 During
the evening of April 11, 1998 the Butanes added Michael B. Nelson on
trombone and Jim Greenwell on tenor saxophone and started another live
recording project at the Cabooze bar in Minneapolis, MN. Originally
planned as a promotional and songwriting demo it proved so popular among
fans and booking agents that they went back Monday afternoon July 10,
2000 to record the additional material needed to complete the CD. Christened
Day & Night the CD was released on Haute records in 2001.
The Butanes
have begun work on their next recording projects: more sweet soul music
with former Goldwax records' vocalist Willie Walker. You may even hear
some of the new material on the next show!
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