Cherrywine marked the return of Ishmael Butler, aka Butterfly, who made considerable waves in the hip-hop world with
Digable Planets.
DP called it quits in 1996, and Butler returned to his boyhood home of Seattle, where he rediscovered the blues and taught himself to play the guitar, among other instruments. He also dabbled in acting, appearing in Dream Hampton's acclaimed short film I Am Ali. Joining Butler's vocals and guitar in
Cherrywine were Thaddeus Turner (guitar, vocals, keys), Gerald "Tugboat" Turner (bass, vocals), and Bubba Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals). While it was technically a hip-hop project,
Cherrywine featured no DJ, didn't rely on straight rapping per se, and often dabbled in neo-psychedelia and deconstructed pop and blues. The debut LP
Bright Black dropped in May 2003 from Dcide/Babygrande, and comparisons were made to everyone from
OutKast and
Prince to Butler's own past in
Digable Planets.
Cherrywine toured throughout the summer of 2003 in support of the album. ~ Johnny Loftus