Diamonds in the Rough 02.20.09: Taproot

Posted by Leo Rivera on 02.21.2009

From Nu-Metal darlings to modern rock veterans.

Hot on the heels of the impending return of "every-body's favorite band to hate" Limp Bizkit, I had to, just had to refocus my attention on Nu-Metal bands this week. I figured a good way to do that would be to talk about a band that was immersed in controversy with the one and only Fred Durst during Nu-Metals glory years. I am talking about Taproot.





Where do I even start with this band? Taproot have been to hell and back in the cut throat music industry and have survived and musically thrived to live to tell the story. for years, they were hailed as the next best thing in Nu-Metal (something that never came to fruition, but as it turns out, that's not a bad thing).


Taproot formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the late 1990's and after cutting their teeth in the hard rocking mid-west, Taproot caught the ear of Nu-Metal king ping and Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst. during the late '90's, Durst had a reputation of having his finger on the pulse of Nu-Metal. He is credited for "discovering" Staind and Puddle of Mudd and was an executive at Inter-scope Records. So Taproot sent their demo over to Durst in hopes of getting a deal. Durst was so impressed with Taproot that he offered to help sign them to Inter-scope. As soon as other record labels knew about Dursts' intentions, they quickly started a bidding war over what they saw as "the next best thing."

So, Durst be damned, Taproot ended up taking a lucrative deal with Atlantic Records, with the help of System of a Down. I know it sounds weird, but back then, all of the bands looked out for each other.





Needless to say, the backward Yankee cap wearing rap/rock guru was pissed. Durst went as far as to curse Taproots vocalist Stephen Richards out in his answering machine. Being the hater that he is, Durst also blamed System of a Down for his failure to sign Taproot, and as revenge he kicked System off the coveted 1999 Family Values Tour. He replaced them with Staind and the rest is history. Staind would breakout huge due to Fred Durst joining them on stage every night to play "Outside." So we can thank Uncle Fred for Staind.


Taproots Atlantic Records debut album Gift was finally released in June of 2000. Fred Durst' support or not, Gift quickly gained traction as its lead single "Again and Again" went into heavy rotation on MTV2 (which at the time catered to rock music fans). Taproot was also able to strive on the metal festival circuit despite being shunned by the Family Values Tour. Jack Osborne (Ozzy's son for those of you who live under a rock) was a fan of the band and helped Taproot secure a second stage slot for Ozzfest 2000 and 2001.


After touring consistently behind "Gift" for over a year, Taproot holed up in Los Angele's to rest and record. Their sophomore effort Welcome was released on October 2002 and debuted at #17 on the Billboard 200, selling over 51,000 copies in its first week. The success of Welcome was powered by the infectious single "Poem" which shot to # 5 with a bullet on the mainstream rock charts. The albums 2ND single "Mine" continued the success of what would be Taproots highest selling album to date with over 475,000 units sold.

Taproot were unique to a lot of other Nu-Metal bands in that they rarely ever rapped and were melodic with a heavy musical back bone. As indicated in songs like "Poem" and the self-loathing "I", Taproot had the ability to be melodic like Incubus and rock hard like Sevendust all within the context of one song. Their musical flexibility made Taproot very appealing to other bigger named bands who needed a great opening band, so they fit in to any rock bill.





They played Disturbed's inaugural Music As A Weapon Tour, to cap off what was their most successful period of Taproots career. Burnt out and uncertain about the music industries direction (The Strokes and The Hives making peoples years bleed) Taproot went on a two year hiatus in 2003.


The band that returned in 2005, was a different Taproot. Sure the members were the same, but gone was any inkling that would suggest that this band was ever associated with the Nu-Metal genre. Gone were the double layered guitar crunch, traded away for a more melodic, sonically invigorating sound.


It was almost as if Taproot had strategically kept a low profile between 2003 and 2005 while Nu-Metal crumbled to its bitter death. This turned out to be a smart move, considering all the bands that fell by the wayside (Adema, Default, Ra) once Nu-Metal was unceremoniously swept under the rug.


To put a stamp on their new Alternative sound, Taproot enlisted Smashing Pumpkins front-man Billy Corgan to assist in co-writing songs for their third album. Blue Sky Research was released in August 2005, with the single "Calling" heading the charge. Unfortunately, the album failed to reach the top 25 of the Billboard Charts, landing at #33 and just 28,000 copies in their first week. I say unfortunate because despite the change of direction, Blue Sky Research was a really solid album, songs like "Calling" and "Birthday" showed Taproot fully embracing their melodic side, in an appealing way, i guess their old fans just weren't ready for change.


Despite a slow start, Taproot hit the road and hit it hard. First, they embarked on a headlining tours with Evans Blue as the opener. They then went on tour in support of Chevelle and 30 Seconds to Mars. The most high profile tour that Taproot embarked on during this time period was Stainds' Fall Brawl which also featured fellow Nu-Metal survivors P.O.D and a little known band (at the time) by the name of Flyleaf.

In mid 2006, after disappointing record sales, Atlantic Records dropped Taproot from their contract (and a bunch of other good bands for that matter). Taproot had only managed to sell a meager 112,000 copies, which pales in comparison to their previous effort which sold three times as much. Without a label to call home, Taproot found themselves as a band without an island, and thus once again went on a hiatus.





Taproot returned in early 2008, a wiser more war torn band, after recording their latest record Our Long Road Home for over a year and a half quietly in Ann Arbor Michigan. After months of pondering , Taproot decided to evade signing with a major record label and released their new record independently through their management firm Velvet Hammer Music.


After wetting their feet again and brushing off their dust by playing solo shows in small towns, Taproot were invited to tour with fellow hard rock survivors Sevendust. It was during that tour that i first saw Taproot live (I missed them during Fall Brawl) and now I know why they were on the cusp of greatness back in the day and why they have weathered the storm. They are an awesome band, singer Stephen Richardson carries himself like the rock veteran that he is, with a confident calm that suddenly turns into a a raucous fury of all the angst that he and his band has been through. the highlight of their show is when Richardson goes out into the crowd to mosh with the fans, and songs like "Poem" and "I" still sound as good as new. Taproot are currently on their own headlining tour entitled the Take It tour and are gonna be hitting a city near you, so if you have never had the fortune of seeing these guys live, now is your chance, you won't regret it.....trust me.