[Journalist]

KISS 106.1 Interview Transcript

Transcripts | Posted by: gbnetadmin
Article Date: March 4, 2005 | Publication: KISS 106.1 | Author: KISS 106.1

my apologies. Jackie either calls the other one "Emily" or "Sammy" it was hard to tell!)

Bender: Movies in theaters now, “The Phantom of the Opera,” the Phantom himself Gerry Butler!

GB: Yes!

Jackie: Hey how are you?

GB: I’m good, how are you?

Jackie: We’re good, Bender just called you Gerry. Can you dig that?

GB: Gerry’s good, Gerry’s good.

Jackie: Do your friends call you Gerry?

GB: My friends, yeah pretty much everybody except my mother.

Jackie: Okay, does she still go with Gerard?

GB: Yeah, maybe Gerard’s good.

Jackie: Awesome! Sammy and I just watched you on Ellen!

GB: Oh did you?

Jackie: Yeah, we thought you were awfully cute…

GB: Oh thank you!

Jackie: And we also decided—we made an executive decision between the two of us—that we think you might be the next big thing.

GB: The next big thing?

Jackie: yeah, not to put pressure on you…

GB: Yeah, well I’ve been eatin’ a lot of donuts and I think I might just be the next big thing.

Jackie: No, not in *that* way! BUT, you know how Clive Owen is kind of, all of a sudden everyone’s taken notice of him or…

GB: Yeah.

Jackie: I think that, you are the *next* one.

GB: (laughing) Okay…

Jackie: The Hugh Jackman, the Colin Farrel, the Clive Owen of it all.

GB: Are you gonna write to the people that matter and tell them that? Alright?

Jackie: To your agents…

GB: I’ve been doin’ this for a long time. Hey, I’m the next big thing but nobody seems to be taking any notice.

Jackie: Doesn’t that frustrate you how long you’ve been doing this and all of a sudden it’s like ‘oh hi, nice to meet you!’

GB: It’s a thing they like to say, ‘the next big thing.’ And when they say it, it’s obviously very flattering, but if they say it…and then they say it a year later, and a year later then it starts…it’s ‘OK, this isn’t going like I thought it would!’

Jackie: It’s frustrating. Now where do you live now? Do you still live in Scotland, or do you live in LA permanently now?

GB: Pretty much in hotels to be honest.

Jackie: Wow.

GB: I, my base is in London, I just bought a place in NY, but here I am standing in a hotel room in LA. And I’ve been living out of a bag for about six weeks because we were doing the tour for “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Jackie: Yeah.

GB: And we were pretty much all over the world with that, and then I took a holiday in Bali and Australia. And now I’m back in LA. So.

Jackie: Now life must suck to be you!

GB: (laughs) yeah that sounds like I’m, y’know, sounds like I’m complaining…

Jackie: No! It sounds glamorous when you mention it, but then I’m a really bad traveler so I know, deep down even though I give you a hard time, that I would not do well keeping up with that sort of a travel schedule.

GB: Yeah, it gets tough sometimes, it gets tough. I mean I enjoy traveling and at the same time there’s many, many, many, many times I could do without it.

Jackie: Oh yeah, like sleeping in your own bed at night. Uch, wow!

GB: Absolutely.

Jackie: And I’m assuming it’s hard, do you have a girlfriend?

GB: No.

Jackie: See that would be really difficult.

GB: See, there you go!

Jackie: Yeah, well I’ve sorta gotta find out some good information!

GB laughs

Jackie: Wasn’t that slick?

Emily: Smooth way of asking it!

Jackie: Smooth way I put it in there, but. Oh what was the term for going in for a kiss?

Emily: Oh, what’s a uh…

GB: What what?

Jackie: What’s a proper kiss called?

GB: Goin’ in for a…OH! For a snog!

Both girls: SNOG!

Jackie: See Sammy and I want that to take off here in Seattle. ‘Looking for a snog!’

GB: Yeah, I don’t know how much Ellen liked that one. Y’know, I couldn’t tell (starts laughing)

Jackie: I think it’s hilarious you’re talking about kissing her and she’s a full blown lesbian. I LOVE it!

GB: I know, that’s why I thought it was funny, but I just couldn’t tell how funny she thought it was.

Girl 2: You know what, it came across as she thought you were funny.

GB: Ok.

Girl 2: It didn’t look like the joke bombed.

GB: ahaha! Well I’m glad somebody found me funny. I watched the show and I didn’t really feel I gave her the chance to be anything—I just didn’t shut up, y’know?

Girls laugh.

Jackie: Hey man, that’s your moment, you gotta take it while you can! I was amazed when you said you were cast for “Phantom of the Opera” before they really even knew that you could sing, and you had to *take* singing lessons.

GB: yeah, nono, well then I guess I didn’t, that wasn’t explained properly because what happened was they came to me—they didn’t cast me—they said they were interested in me for “Phantom of the Opera.” But, and it was *then* I started taking the singing lessons, but it was quite a while after that I was finally cast.

Jackie: But what are the odds though that you wouldn’t…you could have sucked at it!

GB: Nonono, I had to sing with the musical director a few times, AND go and sing for Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Joel Schumacher, before they gave me the job.

Emily: I think it sounds cooler though, if you say that you were cast before you even started singing.

Jackie: I’d stick with that story.

GB: Well that would maybe make me look cool, but it might make them look like idiots.

Jackie: (laughs) How are they into gambling?

GB: (laughs)

Jackie: Now of course you have “Dear Frankie” coming out, which what we heard it looks like a “sweet” movie (laughs)

GB: Yeah, you know what it is, it’s incredibly sweet.

Jackie: Well hey, we wish you well with “Dear Frankie” and of course, obviously, “Phantom of the Opera” doin’ well already, but um, we wish you well with everything you’re working on right now!

GB: Thank you guys!

Jackie: Take care!

GB: Byebye.