David Cassidy on the Web
Austin Butler in ABC Family's 'Ruby and the Rockits'
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
By Kenn Gold
www.mediablvd.com/magazine
Ruby and the Rockits, ABC Family's new series is about the Gallagher family. In the '80's David and Patrick Gallagher were musical superstars. But Patrick gave it all up to start a family. David, however, is still touring. When he shows up on Patrick's doorstep with teenage daughter, Ruby, and Patrick agrees to help raise her while David is on tour, the fun begins. Austin Butler plays Patrick's son Jake.
Austin got his start at the age of 13 when he was invited to an open call. Over the next few years he began booking commercials and had parts in shows like Hannah Montana, Zoey 101, Out of Jimmy's Head, and iCarly. He is also one of the leads in the highly anticipated upcoming Aliens in the Attic. His character, Jake seems to be a brooding 16 year old, but that's just an act to impress the girls. He is the son and nephew of musical superstars, The Gallaghers (David and Patrick Cassidy) and when he meets his cousin Ruby, he realizes that together they may become the next generation of Gallagher Superstars.
Austin recently answered questions about how he got the part, and what it is like working with the famous musical Cassidy family on the set of the ABC Family series.
Question> Can you tell us about the audition and casting process that you had to go through?
Austin> When I saw the audition, when my manager told me about it, I didn't want to go in because I didn't sing, and they wanted me to sing. And so I was like, "Let's see how this is going to go." My manager convinced me to go, and I went, and they thought I was all right. So we went through all the auditions. And I didn't really know Shaun or David by just looking at them, and my mom of course went crazy when she heard that I was going to be there. And so I went in there, and I did the thing, and I remember seeing David and Shaun. And I kind of knew Shaun because I had looked on YouTube videos, trying to see him, and I saw him performing at the Grammies in tight, white pants and stuff. And then David, I remember him laughing at my song because I picked this really emo song on purpose, because that's kind of how my character is. So I picked this Death Cab for Cutie song that was really emotional. It was fun.
Question> Do you play guitar?
Austin> I do. I've been playing for about four, five years. Yeah.
Question> Do you have any YouTube videos?
Austin> I think I might. I think I made one as a joke. I don't do it as much as I would like. I'd like to be one of those people who has a lot of funny YouTube videos. I have a friend, Robert Hoffman, who has-he was in Step Up 2: The Streets, and he's like the main guy in that, and he does all these YouTube videos that are very viral. He does this one where he dresses up as a ninja and jumps out at people and runs through the streets. It's really funny. It's called "Urban Ninja." Yeah, it's really good.
Question> So we hear that you had more than 60 girls following you when you filmed at Disneyland. Are you getting used to being a teen idol, and what type of advice are they giving you?
Austin> I'm not used to it, for sure. And it's not as bad as I think-I mean, not that it's a bad thing, at all. It's a great thing. But it's not as excessive as Shaun's and stuff was. Yeah, it was really a surreal experience because when you go out like that and you're actually filming in a public place, then it brings a lot of attention to you and then people started going, "Oh." Because normally they would just kind of go, "Oh, I don't know who he is, really," just by looking at me. But then they'll say, "Oh yeah, now I know who that is." And so it kind of brings their-it brings you into their mind. And then once one person starts, then it grows into this crazy thing. And so it was really a surreal experience to have all these groups of people there. It was just insane.
Question> Have Shaun or David given you any advice on how to deal with the screaming girls?
Austin> They're really wanting to give me a lot of advice, and Shaun says to take his advice and David says to take his advice. But supposedly David was the crazier of the two. So Shaun I guess is more mature in that aspect. He handled himself better. Patrick says the same. But they've kind of warned me that if it gets too crazy that I should definitely ask them for their advice.
Question> So you're waiting.
Austin> Yeah, yeah. Kind of waiting.
Question> You said your mom was into David and Shaun. Were you a fan of Alexa?
Austin> I remember seeing Spy Kids and I loved that movie. And when I saw her at the audition, I did not know it was her, because she looks completely different. I haven't watched many of her other movies, but I remember loving Spy Kids. And she's so great. I mean, she's awesome.
Question> Do you do much of the actual singing with a live audience here? Or is most of this pre-recorded musical stuff?
Austin> In the pilot, we had pre-recorded all the songs, and then on the day we decided, "Let's do it. Let's sing it live." And I was really nervous, and we ended up doing it. And it makes it sound more raw and not so polished, and they liked that. But it's hard, because in the studio you can do the same line over and over until you get it perfect, and then do another line. But this way it was kind of like, "Oh, this is nerve-wracking." So Alexa and I were out in the back lot, singing really loudly. People were walking by us thinking, "Are you crazy."
Question> Do you think you'll ever make a record?
Austin> I would like to. I've been writing music, and I love it. I play piano and guitar and sing. I love it so much. But lyrics are really hard to write for me, so I'm working on that. And then hopefully I can record something.
Question> That's why you sing other people's songs first.
Austin> Yeah, exactly. Exactly. You do the covers. You kind of practice with the covers. Yeah
Question> Start with "I Think I Love You."
Austin> Oh my gosh, that's such a good song. I really love that song. And "Doo Run."
Question> "Da Doo Run Run."
Austin> "Da Doo Run Run," yes. I had heard that on YouTube, and when I went to my audition, I joked with Shaun, I said, "Okay, so I'm going to sing 'Da Doo Run Run,' and you're going to accompany me."
Question> Which is your favorite Cassidy brother?
Austin> Oh, I can't say that!
Question> Yes, you can.
Austin> They've all got their things that I love about them. Patrick and I, we'll work out together and we've been bonding, because he's like a workout fanatic, and he's in amazing shape. And so we'll work out together. And then David will show me things on the guitar. And it's so cool. It's crazy. Now that I know who he is and stuff, it's so crazy to play guitar with him. And then Shaun gives the best advice and he's so funny. They're all so great. And then Ryan, he's like the nicest guy in the world. He's just like such a nice guy. They're a wonderful family. And then Shirley Jones is here every Friday! I keep thinking there's so many of them.
Question> And there's all the grandkids.
Austin> Yes. And then they've got Katie Cassidy, right? I haven't met her yet. She's really pretty.
Question> You haven't read David's book, right?
Austin> I haven't read it. I need to. It's like his biography? And he wrote it? Oh, that's impressive.
Question> Is this your first in front of a live audience piece of work?
Austin> Yeah. I'd done a lot of single-camera stuff. I did this small part in Hannah Montana, and that was live audience, and that was my first experience. And it was really exhilarating. It's so cool to be here because there I had, like, four lines. It was a really small part. So here when I actually get to be in it more and then have the audience here, and they're so pumped up and it's such an exhilarating experience.
Question> So you're running the gamut on teen idols of various generations: Miley Cyrus on one hand and then the Cassidys.
Austin> Yeah, David Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy. Yeah.
Question> Have you been in any of the '80s retro music videos?
Austin> I haven't gotten to be. I want to be.
Question> You could be background.
Austin> I should be background in, like, a crazy wig. Oh, they are so funny. They have this one called "Chunnel of Love," and oh, it's so funny. Patrick's in this ripped British flag shirt with this crazy hair, and David looks kind of like a-we made a joke about it in a later episode that he looks like a witch because his hair's all crazy. Yeah. Very funny.
Question> How do you like working with Kurt?
Austin> Kurt lately has gotten into the mood of wanting to prank me like crazy. It's all he wants to do. And so he's warning me constantly, "I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you." And I was like, "I did nothing to provoke it", and I've been so nice. The first thing that, Alexa gave him the idea, was to put salt in my cereal on set. So I was having to eat Cap'n Crunch in the scene, and I left for a second, and they filled it with salt. I didn't want to eat it because it's soggy and I don't like soggy cereal, and then they were like, "Oh, no, it's really good. Cap'n Crunch is really good soggy." So I was like, "Okay, I'll try it." And so not only was it soggy, it was salty like crazy. So it was terrible. Last Friday, while we were doing the show, the audience was here, we had one scene in between our scenes that we were going to be in, and I saw him walking with this group of keys. And he had been warning me all day that he was going to get me. And I was like, "Oh, this can't be good." So I went to my room, and I hid in my bathroom. And sure enough, five minutes later him and four guys came in there, and Kurt's like, "Oh, here's the plan. We're going to put all his furniture in the middle of the room." And then they had this huge thing of Saran Wrap, and I came out and I screamed at him. And he's like, "Oh. You got me." So yeah. He was going to Saran Wrap all my furniture together.
Question> Keep you on your toes?
Austin> Yeah, exactly. Then Alexa, she's just wonderful. I mean, she's so cool to hang out with. She introduced me to sushi-but now I can't order for myself. She has to order for me, because she knows exactly what to order. So yeah, she's great. She's great to hang out with.
Question> Have you heard Sean's album?
Austin> They play them every now and then, the famous ones that I've heard. I haven't heard-does he have a lot of albums out?
Question> Three, four.
Austin> Really? What kind of music was it? Rock?
Question> The last one was. Yeah, kind of almost a techno kind of rock.
Austin> When was he really big?
Question> '70s, mid '70s.
Austin> Oh, so it was '70s. It wasn't '80s.
Austin> Okay. Alexa's little sister showed me this picture. It was '70s yellow tint because it's so old, and it was her grandpa, so it's Alexa's grandpa, who's Alexa's mom's dad, and he was sitting on this bed, which is Alexa's mom's bed when she was little, and there's these big Shaun Cassidy posters behind. And he was watching TV in her room, so you see all these posters behind him. I thought that was really funny.
Question> They've changed a little since then.
Austin> Yeah. Yeah.
Question>Well, I've heard, though, that with the performances, I don't know if it's only the first one, David will still sing and perform. Shaun won't. But then he put some of his music on or something.
Austin> Oh, yeah. They did. And David did sing a little bit, I think. Yeah. He's good. He comes out, like a dance and do his little show-pony thing. That's what he calls himself.
Question> Does it help to do the musical pre-show?
Austin> Yeah. Got to come out. I've been practicing my moonwalk so I can come out and do it.
Question> How old are you?
Austin> I'm 17. Turn 18 next month.
Question> Are you a senior?
Austin>I tested out when I was 15½, actually, so I haven't been going to school. I've been doing it, but it's kind of my own thing. I don't worry about certain subjects.
Question> So GED or-?
Austin> It was CHSPE. It's the proficiency exam. So I have a diploma and everything, and now I'll focus more on reading and I still do some math and stuff, but just not quite as excessive.
Question> Do you have any plans to go to college?
Austin> I would like to go to college. I'm not in any rush right now, but I would like to go eventually so I could say that I did. Yeah.
Question> Are you on Twitter?
Austin> I am.
Question>Are you? What's your Twitter account so we can follow you?
Austin>It's austin_butler.
