The Mudflap

Songwriter and vocalist Johnny “Mudflap” Gibson has mastered the art of living life to the fullest. His spontaneity and willingness to exploit every opportunity he encounters has led him down many roads literally and figuratively. Logging more than a half a million miles on his motorcycles, obtaining a BS in Chemical engineering, raising a family, and performing covers and creating original music for over 30 years are just some of the highlights. In 1991 “Mud” attended a jam session at a blues bar and with no notice and no experience, he took the stage and sang a couple of tunes. By the end of the night, he had agreed to front a blues/rock band and worked with “Tall Paul and the Mudflap Band” for 5 years. It was after leaving Tall Paul (great guitar player BTW) that Mud started LiveWire, a very popular cover band that played all over Arizona with semi-annual appearances in New Mexico. After a few iterations and a revolving door of players, Mud met Butch Durlin. They became fast friends in rock-and-roll and debauchery and LiveWire hit a new level of popularity. 

Mud and Butch worked together fronting “LiveWire” for seven years, before the party ended. “It was like the universe just called it to a halt,” Mud explains. “Butch took a Job in Florida, and I took a Job in California.”

While living in California, Mud got his foot in the door with an originals band and spent a very busy six months writing, recording, and rehearsing songs. Their first gig was at a biker bar in San Bernardino where they took the stage at midnight after the headliner got done with their set. Mud tells the story…“The crowd was all hanging around outside and the bar was empty when we took the stage. By the end of the first song, people were coming back inside. By the middle of the third song, chicks were on stage taking their clothes off, and by the end of the night the place was wall to wall with screaming fans. We were a huge hit! The band was mobbed after the show and all was well. The next morning I got a call from the band leader and he told me the bass player quit. I couldn’t believe it. Then he told me that the band was breaking up and just like that… It was over. The main takeaway for me was just how much I enjoyed the song writing process. It was a side of music that was almost lost completely until one hot summer day in 2019.”

Almost 11 years after the failed experience and burned out on bar owners and cover tunes, Mud was not working in music at all. It was during that time that Butch came to town and the two friends discussed an original project. Mud had a song that he had never finished still stored away in the cloud and Butch resurrected it, and the two got busy.

Mud explains, “Things just blasted off from there and one project led to another eventually becoming The Mudflap collaboration. Our friendship runs deep and the chemistry has always been there, so it was easy from the start.” 

Today, the pair are focused on writing and producing songs that are eclectic, energetic, emotional, and sometimes fun to dance to. They bring the songs to life using a stable of top-notch studio musicians along with their own unique musical styles. 

“I write what I feel. To me creating music is like giving birth. Somewhere floating around the universe is a song that wants to be brought to life and it has chosen me to make that happen. As it whispers in my ear letting me know what it wants to be, I listen and do my best to comply. I never force a song, I just let it be what it wants to be. It's not about who likes it and who doesn’t. It's about allowing the song to be its genuine self. Like the Big Lebowski says, 'It is what it is.' ~ Johnny “Mudflap” Gibson

As Johnny “Mudflap” Gibson is the musical heart and soul, Butch Henry Durlin is the provider of the air and life blood for The Mudflap project. His career as a musician, songwriter, producer, and studio engineer spans over four decades. Highlights include a full-ride college music scholarship, touring experience as a road manager, audio engineer, and musician, and a 20-year tenure as a media arts college professor, teaching studio and live production with  bachelors and master’s degrees in Entertainment Business and Audio Production. 

His first show as a guitarist was at age 14. “We were playing in bars from age 16 on; it was a crazy environment to grow up in as a kid!” The passion for rock music was evident when he gave up his music scholarship to join a band full time at age 19. He toured the midwestern states in a popular rock cover and original band known as Genocide (recently inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) in the late 70’s. The band cultivated a huge following and recorded two singles. “Playing in front of crowds of thousands of fans and getting the attention that we were was overwhelming to say the least.” After the band’s disbandment, Butch embarked on a career as a tour manager and audio engineer for the bands High Fever, Georgia Satellites, and Vixen during their early years. Working with audio engineers and A and R reps, Butch  found a passion in the technical side of music making and performance. He then joined up with members of High Fever when they disbanded and went on a U.S. tour under the name Sircus during the late ‘80s. The band wrote several songs that never saw the recording studio. Constant touring and life on the road soon took it’s toll and the band went their separate ways. Butch adds, “I recently saw the Motley Crue movie ‘Dirt’…that was literally our life every day…lol.” 

Butch then landed in Tucson, Arizona where he put together a solo project known as Dorian Lord. The group released a full-length CD in 1997, and wrote a second album that was never released. “For years I had compiled large amounts of music and lyrics, and finally found the opportunity to write and produce them on my own terms.” Following the death of his bassist, Ichiro Kato and later guitarist Scott Reidle, the band was put on indefinite hiatus. 

He then joined forces with Johnny "Mudflap" Gibson. The two took the Livewire Band to the clubs and biker events in Arizona and New Mexico, making a name for themselves as high energy performers. “Johnny is a force to be reckoned with on stage. We feed off each other’s energy, and that energy becomes contagious to our audiences.” After the band’s successful seven-year run, Johnny moved west to Los Angeles, Butch to the east to pursue a teaching career in Orlando, Florida. The two remained close friends as they raised families and played in local bands in their respective locations. While teaching in Orlando, Butch became more heavily involved in the studio environment, honing his mixing and producing skills. While on one of his visits to Tucson to hang out with Johnny, the two stumbled across a song that had been recorded almost ten years prior. Just for fun, they collaborated on the song just to see how far it would go. The song "Disco Dive" then came to life. From that moment on, it was game on. “Johnny is an amazing storyteller, and he has plenty of stories to tell. His time in LA made him realize that he could mesh his storytelling and passion for music into songwriting. "Just like our stage performance we feed off each other’s energy when we write and produce music together.” Butch goes on to say, “Our music is not based in one specific genre, but rather the genre that fits the story. Regardless of the style, all of our music has energy and passion in common. We would like to feel we have something for everyone; hopefully our audience will feel the same!”