When he was 16, he started playing guitar (acoustic and electric) and later studied fiddle, mandolin, viola, cello, bass (electric and upright) dobro and even ukulele. He began his professional career at 16 yrs old, playing most styles, though he seemed to find a niche for his natural talent in the ever growing field of modern country music. His dexterity and inventiveness on all instruments soon earned him an unrivalled reputation, as did his breathtaking speed & clarity - on the banjo in particular. Johnny has worked with some of the finest musicians in his field, including such great names as Bill Keith, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves and Bob Black to name but a few. He has won many international awards for his playing - on all instruments, (many of which were when he lived in the U.S.A) and has experience in all areas of the music industry at international level, from roadie to manager and everything in between. In 1989 he put together the award winning country band 'Hard Cash' taking the BCMA  award. He is rated as one of the top bluegrass banjo players in the world and one of the best multi - instrumentalists in Europe. In 1998, he was one of three nominees for European fiddle player of the year award - in Vienna. 

A highly proficient guitar player (both fingerstyle & flatpicking)  his electric playing has a style reminiscent of Albert Lee/Ricky Skaggs - though he has never studied either in any detail. Indeed Johnny Butten has his own unmistakable style on everything he plays. He has a wonderful feel for everything he plays, be it a breathtakingly fast solo, or a gentle love song.

He is just as at home playing bluegrass as blues, jazz as rock -  on any instrument. While he can play music with a more traditional flavour, he is also a  progressive player  utilizing  banjo, fiddle, dobro etc in rock/indie/funk/blues/jazz and has experimented with numerous drum & bass/techno dance projects.