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Taproot

Rolling Stone hailed them as "contenders" and Vanity Fair called them "ones to watch." They've shared stages with the likes of Linkin Park and Queens of the Stone Age, blanketed the airwaves with hook-laden rock radio hits and saw all three of their albums (2000’s Gift, 2002’s Welcome, 2005’s Blue Sky Research) chart within the top 35 on Billboard’s Top 200. We're talking of course about Ann Arbor, MI-based quartet TAPROOT, who have returned with their first album in three years—the highly anticipated OUR LONG ROAD HOME. Working with producer Tim Patalan (Sponge, Lovedrug), the band (vocalist/guitarist Stephen Richards, guitarist Mike DeWolf, bassist Phil Lipscomb and drummer Jarrod Montague) penned more than fifty songs for the album, twelve of which were recorded in a converted barn just a few minutes down the road from Richards’ home. “We made each of our previous albums in expensive studios and always had to keep one eye on the clock to finish on budget,” says Richards. “This time we got to record an album the way we did our early demos—relaxed, at our own pace, and allowed to indulge in our own guilty pleasures. It proved that you can actually go home again.” OUR LONG ROAD HOME reveals a revitalized band with a broadened range and deepened perspective. The album combines the feral ("Take It”) with the grandiose ("Footprints”) while exploring themes of loss ("Be The One"), liberation ("Run To") and the emotional carnage in-between. On tracks such as “Hand That Holds True” and smoldering lead single “Wherever I Stand,” Taproot blends iron-fisted backbeats, honeyed melodies and speaker-shattering guitars to thrilling effect. Additional highlights include the mile-high hook of “You’re Not Home Tonight” and the electrifying “It’s Natural,” which features guest vocalist Kristin Von Burnthal. “It’s the first time we’ve had someone else sing on one of our songs,” says Richards. “Tim heard the track and thought having another voice would add a nice color to the tone. He was right; Kristin sounds amazing.” The band started writing in late 2006 and continued on and off for nearly a year, working mostly in Richards’ basement. “It was a very organic process,” he says. “We didn’t go into it planning to write about specific subjects, but instead let the songs unfold naturally. I was away from my fiancée during the majority of the writing phase and I think some of the material comes across a little more emotional and lonesome-sounding because of that. But then, those are the kinds of songs that always seem the most relatable.” After recording three albums for a major label, OUR LONG ROAD HOME will be Taproot’s first as an indie band, and as Richards tells it, that suits them just fine. “Budget cuts and political shifts cost us our support system at the old place,” he says. “When our A&R guy lost his job, we knew it was time for a change. A few years ago, that might’ve been a scary thing, but it’s a brand-new world out there now for bands like us. We no longer have to rely on a big record company to make things happen and that’s exciting. We made this record without the pressure of having to write four smash hit singles hanging over our heads and that was liberating. “Of course,” he laughs, “there are a few songs on the album that could do really well on radio.” OUR LONG ROAD HOME will be released through Velvet Hammer, the label founded by the management company of the same name (System Of A Down, Deftones, Alice In Chains). About the album title, guitarist Mike DeWolf says, “It’s based on the idea that everything you ever wanted is right inside of you, you just have to dig and find it,” adds guitarist Mike DeWolf. “It’s been a long road for us, but it was all right here all along. We just had to come home to find it.”

Twitter Updates

@Zgradis Thanks for coming out! Have a good one.
07:11 AM December 20

Take It Tour in Las Vegas 4/16/09

The Take It Tour is in Las Vegas tonight for a special show at Wasted Space in the Hard Rock Hotel. Only the three bands ...

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iPhone App Sep 14
Take It Tour/Free Music Downloads Mar 12
Taproot's "Our Long Road Home" Available Now! Sep 15

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Apr 16, 02:30 PM

Take It Tour in Las Vegas 4/16/09

The Take It Tour is in Las Vegas tonight for a special show at Wasted Space in the Hard Rock Hotel. Only the three bands from the tour are on the bill - Taproot, Dear Enemy, and Adakain. Dear Enemy and Adakain have been winning over crowds all over the US so make sure to come early to see some great up and coming talent! Taproot, of course, will be headlining the show. Las Vegas is like a 2nd home for the band as Vegas fans have proved time and time again that they love their Taproot! $15 Doors @ 830pm. 21+
Apr 13, 05:31 PM

Taproot on the West Coast

Taproot is finally on the West Coast section of the Take It Tour! Tomorrow we have Los Angeles, then Las Vegas, and work our way up the coast to Seattle, then travel the northern states back to MI. See dates below.

April 14 Los Angeles, CA The Key Club
April 16 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel - Wasted Space
April 18 Bakersfield, CA Fishlips
April 19 Modesto, CA The Fat Cat Music House and Lounge
April 22 Seattle, WA El Corazón
April 23 Coeur D'Alene, ID The Grail Rock Venue
April 25 Billings, MT FOE
April 27 Maplewood, MN The Rock
April 28 Marshfield, WI Bakersfield Sports Bar
April 29 Waterloo, IA Reverb Rock Garden
May 1 Jasper, IN Calumet Lake Pavilion.
May 2 Lansing, MI Small Planet
Apr 02, 08:02 AM

Fort Hood and The Music Vault

Taproot will be doing a meet and greet/signing with Downsiid at the Clear Creek PX for the Army at Fort Hood today at noon til about 2pm. Come say hi to the guys, get an autograph, get your picture taken, and buy official Taproot merchandise for them to sign.

Tonight Taproot is playing at The Music Vault in Harker Heights with Downsiid, Adakain, Dear Enemy and PainFilled Silent.
Apr 01, 06:02 AM

ATTN Texas!

The Take It Tour started when we were invited to do a few shows down in Texas, which snowballed into a full on tour. We have a total of 8 shows in 7 cities in TX.
That's some Texas love right there! A few updates:

San Antonio's show had to be moved from Club Rio to The Warehouse. All tickets sold for the Rio can be used at The Warehouse.

April 3, 2009
The Warehouse
1305 E.
Houston
San Antonio, TX 78205

For those that haven't heard, the El Paso show is back on at a different venue. Appropriately enough we are playing a club called Take II.

April 10, 2009
Take II
6315 N Mesa St
El Paso, TX 79912

If you're in Texas, chances are we're playing close to you for a show. Check out our full tour dates on our concerts page and come see a bad ass show.
Be sure to check out our support bands for the tour, the Dallas-based Adakain and Atlanta-based Dear Enemy!
Mar 25, 02:51 PM

Tour Updates

There have been a few changes, see below:

Due to excessive ticket sales, we've had to add another date to Dallas, TX. We will now be at Skillman's Street Pub on April 5th and 6th. Get your tickets while you can!

Fayetteville's venue has been moved. It is now at The Gypsy, not at Froggy's.

3/28/09
The Gypsy
1930 N College Ave.
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Hattiesburg is now at The Bottling Co., not Side Street Bar.

3/30/09
The Bottling Co.
126 Mobile St.
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
Mar 19, 06:00 PM

Tour Review - Cleveland, OH

We're here at Peabody's in Cleveland getting ready for the first show of the tour. Dear Enemy drove about 13 hours from Atlanta and Adakain drove for 24 hours to get here from Dallas, TX. It's been a long day for everyone but we're still ready to kick some ass tonight! Everyone's really excited for the shows.
It's been a lot of preparation and it's finally here - The Take It Tour

We want to try something new out for this tour.
We'd like to hear your reviews on the shows on our blog on MySpace. We're going to do this for every city we're in, so if you're coming to Grand Rapids tomorrow, wait for tomorrow's blog on Grand Rapids to comment. I'm going to start a new myspace blog for each city every day, and if you're coming to the show we want to see a comment. If you came to the show, we want to hear what you thought about it.
So let's start with today - Let us hear your voices Cleveland!!

Go to our myspace blog here.