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Clator Butler breaks out of his cell with the album "White Collar Crime." Over two years in the making, Clator emerged from the studio with twelve brand-new songs that illuminate you about the fall of Wall Street, the perils of complacency and codependency, the rise of terrorism, the hope for a way out and the promise of a new generation. While structured so that each song can stand on its own, the album boasts far greater depth when listened to in a single sitting, much like a novel or a rock opera. Literally a "Washington Beltway Insider," Clator lets his life and musical influences reveal themselves in songs that are ripped-from-the-headlines just as much as they're ripped-from-Clator's-life.

... but this is not Clator's first epic. Clator poured his heart and soul (and life savings) into the recording of his first album, "A Critical State of Affairs," in which he tackles the troubling side of media culture. Clator infuses his progressive-rock roots into alternative, folkish and anthemic songs on the eclectic 14-cut, independently-produced album, which has been featured on DC-101 FM's Local Lix and on the nationally syndicated Greaseman Show.

A former newspaper reporter and editor who now runs his own Web consulting company, Clator has written and performed almost every note on his recordings. But no man is an island. On White Collar Crime, rising DC drumming sensation Jon Jester re-recorded all of the drumming, giving Crime a bombastic wall of sound that punctuates every melody, every riff, and every emotion. On A Critical State Of Affairs, his longtime pal Steve Semich performed guitar leads on three tracks and singer Melanie Colton added a feminine touch to the vocals of two tracks.

Clator's introduction to music began with the church choir at the age of five. Refusing to take piano lessons early on because he enjoyed playing by ear, he later learned to read and understand music when he took up trombone in middle school (which he continued playing well into college). Upon getting his first electric guitar at sweet 16, he began writing his own music and has since performed with bands as well as solo in his various homes of Burlington, NC, Clemson, SC, Danville, VA and the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Clator Butler is a member of ASCAP, the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA), the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW), and the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA). More information can be found on his web site at http://www.clator.com

(Parts of this bio were written by Mark Toner.)