Rusted Root (Michael Glabicki Interview)

It’s been nearly ten years since Rusted Root came onto the scene with their breakthrough, multi-platinum album When I Woke. Over the past decade, the Pittsburgh based sextet has carved out a unique sound combining soulful, percussion-based jams with powerful vocals and complex, multi-instrumental arrangements. Their energetic live shows have earned them a large devoted group of followers, as well as a great deal of respect from their peers – sharing the stage with bands such as The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, and Santana.

It’s been almost a year since the release of the band’s fourth album, Welcome to My Party and they will be hitting the road on March 27th for a five-week tour in the Northeast and Midwest. Glide Magazine recently had a chance to talk to Michael Glabicki, the lead vocalist and co-founder of Rusted Root.

So you guys are getting ready to do your first tour in some time, are you excited to hit the road again?

Yeah, we’re real excited. We haven’t played in a little while, and we’re just excited to get back out in front of our fans, and a lot of new fans too. A lot of young people have been coming out, you know, a lot of college kids, and that’s always exciting.

Well how do you choose a setlist each night?

Jim (Donovan), the drummer, he does a lot of the setlists, and then I kind of like look it over, make a few changes, and then it’s done.

I remember seeing you guys open for Santana back in the summer of ’97. That show is still one of my favorites of all time, and I remember Santana had just finished playing Bob Marley’s “Exodus”, and you guys came out and busted into “Ecstasy”. It was really amazing. You’ve toured with Santana a few times, is he as awesome as he seems to be?

Oh yeah, he is an incredible individual, and definitely a big feature for all of us.

You must have learned a lot playing with him. Any good stories?

Yeah, when we first did a tour with him, the first day, he invited us up on stage and he breaks into probably about four songs we had never heard, and his band had never heard…and you know, you’re just trying to figure it out, and all of a sudden he points at you and tells you to take a guitar solo. And then he leaves the stage and the spotlight is on you, and you’re in front of 15,000 people trying to figure out the song and a solo (laughs). But he’s not messin’ with you in a negative way. Beforehand, I perceived that he understood my style of playing, and our style of playing, and he knew that we could figure it out…and he just challenges us enough, you know, to make you sweat. So he’s cool that way.

So as a band, you guys took a couple years off, and now you’ve been back together for just over a year or so. What’s changed with Rusted Root? What kind of sound can we expect this tour?

Well we’re going to really strip it down, sort of like how we used to do it back in the old days. Like, back in 1992, when we didn’t have a percussionist yet, and we didn’t have a keyboard player yet…and we’re just gonna go out, and strip it down, and you’re going to hear a lot of acoustic guitar and a lot of Johnny B (Buynak) playing flute and guitar.

Yeah, the addition of the flute in your songs is really cool. Is there an instrument he [Buynak] doesn’t play? (laughs)

No…I’d have to think about that.

Word is you’re planning on releasing a live CD and DVD of the tour after it’s over?

Well we’re working on it, but it’s not done yet. There aren’t definite plans, but we’re pretty sure it’s going to happen.

You recently parted ways with Island Records earlier this year. How’s it been so far to be out on your own without a label?

Oh, it feels great. It’s really liberating, and exciting, ’cause we can do a lot more. You know, be more creative with what we have.

Do you find it easier to be independent these days with so many different channels available to artists, like the Internet?

Oh sure. It’s a whole different environment right now than when we started. We got signed early on, and nowadays, you know, for the past five years we’ve been wishing that we could be on our own. But it wasn’t until recently that we got off.

I heard that you’ve been building your own studio, and planning on releasing a solo album as well. How’s that going?

Oh, it’s going great. I just left the studio now. I just spent probably 30 hours in the studio. Not sleeping…just drinking coffee and recording, and it turned out great. I just finished like a pre-demo of the record and everything sounds really good, and I’m really excited about it. It has a neat energy to it. A lot more rock ‘n roll to it.

How about the other band members? I know you all have a bunch of solo projects, but are they kind of on hold now that Rusted Root is back?

Well we’ve got two tours that we’re doing this year. We’ve got this one coming up and five weeks in the summer. And then the rest of the year is off to do solo projects. So I think Jen (Wertz) and Liz (Berlin) are both working on solo albums, and I am…and Jim has been doing a lot of his drumming workshops, so that’s been working out great for him.

How is it having Jen back? Is the band complete again so to speak?

It feels really good to have her back. Definitely. When she came back there was just a really strong energy everybody fed off of.

Mr. Smalls sounds like such an incredible place. Do you plan on doing any recording there in the future? Or is that strictly for Liz’s stuff. (editors note: From the Mr. Small’s web site – Two fully equipped recording studios and a 550 capacity concert venue in an old catholic sanctuary with live recording capabilities, residential amenities for out of town bands and artist lofts and studios. Mr. Small’s SkatePark has an in-depth street course, and a great variety of ramps for skateboarding, in-lining and free-style biking).

That’s Liz and her husband’s project. They’ve just got a lot going on over there. They’ve got a skate park, a club, and they’re building a recording studio…and they’ve got apartments…it’s probably one of the best things in Pittsburgh.

Your last studio album, Welcome To My Party seems to be your most “poppy” album to date. Do you feel you are moving towards a more mainstream sound?

Well, when we got back together, I had been writing for a year and a half, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to put those songs on a solo record or do another Rusted Root record. And when the time came, I had enough material to do both, so it was just a matter of picking which one. So I decided to do a Rusted Root record. And having Jen back, she brought more of a pop attitude to the studio and it’s just what happened at that moment. I don’t think it’s, you know, a preconceived direction, or anything, it’s just sort of what happened. It was something to have fun with. In the future I don’t know what will happen. I mean, there are no plans really to do another studio record yet. It’s just gonna be like, get back together in about a year or so, and everybody sort of go ‘Well ok. You want to do something? Or not?’ (laughs).

Bill Bottrell produced that record, and he also produced When I Woke, which is obviously your signature piece. How was it getting back in the studio with him? He’s produced some great records over the years.

Oh it was fantastic. I mean, I think we all missed him. He was such a big part of When I Woke, and he’s such a big part of this record. And again, he does bring a pop attitude in the production. And he’s just a great guy too. You know, we did a lot of drinkin’…every day at 4 o’clock was happy hour (laughs). So he was good for that too.

This is a little off subject, but I understand you were all recently invited to the movie premier of Signs. How did that come about?

Well M. Night Shyamalan, the director, he’s a big fan, so…we weren’t on the soundtrack, but he wanted us to play the premier. And we thought we’d just be like scooted in the back door, and just play the after show party. But then he invited us to the premier…and we get out of our car, and we walk out, and we were on the red carpet…like, right behind Mel Gibson. And there are all these paparazzi everywhere, and taking pictures…and we looked like really scared (laughs). And it was really funny, ’cause like we wanted to be movie stars, and all the movie stars wanted to be rock stars…so it was comical. And it was like ‘oh my god’ you know, ‘there’s Spike Lee’ (laughs). But everyone was really cool, so it was fun…

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