The night before Good Things Festival kicked off its 2025 tour, Californian punk/alternative-metal band Fever 333 tore into an exclusive sideshow, an intimate club show in Melbourne that left bodies sweating, grins spread across those brave enough to enjoy a front-row experience, largely splayed across speaker wedges.
The band, spearheaded by Jason Aalon Butler officially since 2017, have undergone their own periods of metamorphosis and evolution.
Formed following the disbandment of beloved post-hardcore group letlive., Fever 333 became an avenue for Butler to explore new sonic inspiration while also defining a new pathway for him to marry his voice and activism in a way that engaged new listeners.
The band’s latest album, Darker White, arrived in 2024 and with this year’s Good Things tour, Fever333 have finally made their Australian return.
For Butler, it’s only been mere months since he was in Australia – the recently reunited letlive. completed their ‘farewell’ tour in September. It’s the first time this lineup of Fever 333 have toured Australia, with guitarist Brandon Davis, drummer Thomas Pridgen and bassist April Kae joining in 2023).
When Butler and bass player Kae join us after their first festival set of the run, both are in a good headspace. Bringing music that is unapologetic and confrontational in a sonic and emotional way to audiences in this environment can make for unpredictable energy in the crowd, but Fever 333 have built and attracted a community that has been with them along each step of their journey.
“I almost never hop down and greet the crowd, it’s a safety element for me,” Kae admits.
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As the only female in the band – especially as a black, queer woman in 2025 – she is open about the level of awareness she carries herself with when stepping onto unfamiliar stages, in unfamiliar places. Reflecting on these first Fever 333 shows here, a smile spreads across her face as she describes the vibe.
“As a black woman in a space that’s not full of other black women, I was a bit hesitant. I felt so welcomed, I felt compelled to run down and greet everybody I could!” she says.
“Folks were really receptive. We do always have a couple of people in the crowd, mean muggin, I’m sure they were out there too; this is a diverse space, just as the States are. For me though, as an individual and as a black, queer woman coming into this space, I felt really welcomed. Jason has done work for so many years, even before Fever, to set that up. Folks are receptive and respectful.”
Though renowned for his high-energy, sometimes manic, stage antics and presence, Butler holds himself with a grounded sense of peace offstage. He makes time to chat and engage with many, while keeping a close and nurturing eye on his five-year-old son who has joined him on tour.
Leaving everything on the stage has always been part of Butler’s process but as he simply puts it, he feels buoyed by the energy he receives from the audience — regardless of venue, reason for discovering the music, or personal background.
“That’s one of the most important parts of being at a Fever event, realising that our energy is tied to observing what we see in the crowd,” he explains. “We feel like we’re having our own show given back to us. I don’t know how many things in life are like that. We feel very lucky, it’s why we get to do what we do, in the way we do it. We’re actually just trying to honour what we’ve been given, and try to continue to do that.”
The frontman is keenly aware of how relevant the topics traversed within Fever 333’s music, including social and political inequality, racism, and capitalism, remain in today’s climate.
Especially from his and the band’s perspective as Americans, more specifically American people of colour, Butler feels the importance of holding power for community within structures built to oppress.
“To come into this space, with what we’re doing and what we’re saying, it can seem endemic to American issues. But I think that we’re seeing these issues all over the world, this imbalance of power and misunderstanding.”
“The reality is, at least for me, knowing that the space that we create is the one that we own, no matter where we go. It has to be for us.” he says. “’No’ is not necessarily an act of violence, you know? Claiming our space in these spaces is not anti-white, it’s not anti-anyone else – it’s just pro-us. We need to be.”
Weaving stories of resilience with reflections on personal struggles and overcoming one’s own demons, Darker White was a way for Butler to navigate periods of change within his own life; by extension, the evolution of Fever 333 has also been reflected in the empowering nature of the music.
Yet while the messaging and the activism remains as potent as ever, both Butler and Kae acknowledge the unpredictable nature of being human as well. Regardless of their background and individual journeys through life and artistry, the musicians aren’t without their faults — there is always more work and learning to be done, about each other and about others.
“It can seem like a fragile space to navigate,” Butler explains. “Maintaining a level of openness and willingness to make mistakes and to learn, that is what I would like to foster and facilitate in these spaces. People being able to openly ask questions and not feel like they’re going to be admonished.”
Kae agrees. “It feels really good to show up on stage and to be able to have fun, while at the same time realising that there is still a lot of work that has to be done. If you look at the States, it’s bleak. It’s a reminder that we have to move with strong intention in every single thing that we do. That includes us too — we mess up all the time in all sorts of ways. We hold ourselves accountable. We also protect each other.”
“We’re all so different,” she adds. “We all have our own relationship with the music and with the experience. That’s what I love about it. We all have very unique viewpoints and vantage points. We don’t agree on some things, but we all agree on protecting and supporting each other.”
