Taproot (band)
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Taproot is a four-piece music group from Ann Arbor, Michigan formed in late 1997. Taproot has become well known in nu metal circles, touring with bands such as Linkin Park and KoЯn.
History
Taproot's rise to fame began when they sent their demo to Limp Bizkit frontman/businessman entrepreneur Fred Durst in 1998. He promised the four-piece the world. But Durst never followed through with the deal and Taproot landed a lucrative record deal with Atlantic Records. Durst felt betrayed and heavily cursed the band on vocalist Stephen Richards' answering machine. He also put some blame on System Of A Down who assisted Taproot in getting the Atlantic deal. The band put the Durst issue behind them and went forward.The Band Manager, Mark Wakefield, was a former band member & Lead Singer of "Xero" a Underground band now known by the name Linkin Park.
Their Atlantic/Velvet-Hammer debut, Gift was released in June 2000. Thanks to the liking of Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack, Taproot scored a spot on the second stage of the 2000 Ozzfest Tour. Two years later, Rolling Stone hailed Taproot as the "next contenders for the nu-metal crown". They then spent seven months in Los Angeles recording a follow-up to Gift. The end result was, Welcome, a more melodic effort. Welcome debuted at #17, selling over 51,000 copies in its first week on the back of the monster hit and video "Poem" which shot to #5 on the Modern Rock Charts. The album's second single "Mine" followed with more moderate success. Welcome is Taproot's most successful album to-date, selling near Gold at 472,000 copies. After touring across the country on Disturbed's Music as a Weapon Tour and across Europe, the band took a long two year break. Returning from exile the band released its long awaited follow-up album with Blue-Sky Research in 2005. Billy Corgan assisted in song-writing on the album, which was again produced by Toby Wright and has sold over 100,000 copies. The album saw the band moving away from the nu metal genre and finding their foundation in more rock-oriented grounds. While label issues with Atlantic Records are unstable due to the relative disappointment in Blue-Sky Research sales, they recently finished a headlining tour with Evans Blue and From Satellite.
On June 13, 2006, via Taproot's [Myspace blog], Jarrod Montague announced that the band had indeed parted ways with Atlantic Records, stating that they had a good relationship but there were "amazing opportunities on the horizon that we are excited about and plan on exploring". He also went on to say that they had begun the writing process for their next album, and were keen to tour again shortly.
Currently, bassist Phil Lipscomb annnounced a new side-project called "The Toques" and have released the song "Breakdown" which was featured on the soundtrack to the film Stick It.
Members
| Name | Birthdate | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Richards | October 16, 1977 | Vocals, Guitar |
| Mike DeWolf | July 5, 1976 | Guitar |
| Phil Lipscomb | September 2, 1976 | Bass |
| Jarrod Montague | January 28, 1976 | Drums |
Discography
Independent Releases
- ...Something More Than Nothing (1998)
- Upon Us (1999)
Major Label Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US Sales |
 | June 27, 2000 | Gift | Atlantic Records | #160 | |
 | October 15, 2002 | Welcome | Atlantic Records | #17 | |
 | August 16, 2005 | Blue-Sky Research | Atlantic Records | #33 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 2000 | "Again & Again" | - | - | #39 | Gift |
| 2001 | "I" | - | - | #34 | Gift |
| 2002 | "Poem" | - | #10 | #5 | Welcome |
| 2003 | "Mine" | #26 | #23 | Welcome | |
| 2005 | "Calling" | #7 | #23 | #11 | Blue-Sky Research |
| 2005 | "Birthday" | #39 | Blue-Sky Research | ||
References
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External Links
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