The Roots and Jim James Share the Stage in Brooklyn
... Jim James &
The Roots co-headlined Brooklyn, NY's Prospect Park Bandshell last night. Though billed as State of the Union: An Evening of Collaborative Performances, the evening ended up featuring separate sets by each act with a few collaborations at the end of the night. The My Morning Jacket frontman opened the night with his solo band, charging through most of his new album Regions of Light and Sound of God. He also offered two numbers from his Monsters of Folk super group, "The Right Place" and "Changing World" at the end of his segment. Then, New York transplants
The Roots offered their trademark mix of originals and covers. At the end of
The Roots' set, James sat in for a four-song encore. Their collaborative segment included "Dear God 2.0,"
The Roots' rearrangement of James' Monsters of Folk song, Prince's "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man," Bill Withers' "Use Me" and John Lennon's "Instant Karma." James performed in Prospect Park as part of a Withers tribute a few years ago and covered "Instant Karma" as part of Bonnaroo's SuperJam on Saturday night. He regularly performs "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" with My Morning Jacket.
Roots drummer Questlove is an outspoken ...
[ read more ]Life Is Good Festival Announces 2013 Lineup Including Hall & Oates, Jack Johnson, The Roots, and More
... alternative motive of raising funds for a good cause. The goal is raise over $1 million in supporting the Life is Good Kids Foundation. With the scene set at Prowse Farm, there will be a 3 stage set up including an area set up for children's crafts and activities. Artists will include hit such as
the Roots, Amos Lee, and Trampled by Turtles. This two-day celebration will bring a ray of light and hope to kids from all over. All donation and net profits go directly to the Life is Good Kids Foundation which makes this concert spree a naturally optimistic and positive environment for all who choose to take part. Do yourself a favor and jump on the Life is Good Festival bandwagon. Check out the full festival line up below. Life Is Good 2013 Line Up Saturday, Sept. 21 Daryl Hall & John Oates
The Roots Dawes Trampled By Turtles Thao and the Get Down Stay Down Lake Street Dive Jesse Dee Sunday, Sept. 22 Jack Johnson Amos Lee Preservation Hall Jazz Band Good Old War Delta Rae Bahamas Kids Acts - Both Days Yo Gabba Gabba! Recess Monkey Josh and The JamtonesTweet Life Is Good Festival Announces 2013 Lineup Including Hall & Oates, Jack Johnson,
The Roots, and More ...
[ read more ]Singer Macy Gray, Saxophonist David Murray Grow Collaboration from the Roots
... you want to replicate that," he says. "I don't want to be bored or go flat. In order to inspire yourself with your own music, it has to live. Composers tell you how good you are, but music doesn't register until it's heard. "Until you bounce it off someone, to me, it doesn't exist." Murray says his collaboration with Gray has been a delightful surprise. "It really worked well -- she has a lot of depth that I never really imagined," he says. He says the paring "is growing stronger and stronger as we go." Singer Macy Gray, Saxophonist David Murray Grow Collaboration from the
Roots ...
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The Roots
(1987-)
Black Thought (MC)
?uestlove (drums)
Kamal (keyboards) 1995-
Frank Knuckles (percussion) 2002-
Cap 'n Kirk (guitar) 2002-
Mark Kelley (bass) 2011-
Artistfacts®: You can leave comments about the artist/band at the bottom of the page.
The Roots' drummer ?uestlove was good friends with
Amy Winehouse before her untimely passing. The two used to Skype back and forth sharing tidbits about music. When talking about his late friend, ?uestlove once told MSN that he had "never met a woman that knowledgeable about music."
The group signed with Geffen Records in 1993, and left the label in 2005 on bad terms, with the band claiming they felt restricted. After leaving Geffen, The Roots took matters into their own hands and recorded themselves almost entirely using Apple's Garageband software. Game Theory, the resulting album, was released by Def Jam in 2006. The album landed The Roots a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.
Unknown to many fans, the person in the photo on the cover of The Roots' 2004 album The Tipping Point is Malcolm X. The picture was taken when he was only 18 years old before his conversion to Islam in prison. The iTunes version of the album features The Roots' MC Black Thought in the same pose in the place of Malcolm X.
Comedian Dave Chappelle makes a guest appearance on The Roots' sixth album The Tipping Point. He's on a hidden track called "In Love with the Mic." Chappelle is not credited in the liner notes of the record.
The Roots' drummer ?uestlove is notorious for falling asleep during movies. When he was six, he went to see Star Wars at the movie theater but fell asleep. He tried watching the re-release of the same movie in 1997 but fell asleep again. ?uestlove told The Believer magazine that "ever since Rain Main, I've realized that if I sit still for more than 2 hours, I'll fall asleep."
Drummer ?uestlove from The Roots used to work at a record store called Sam Goody. He admits that he stole a cassette copy of De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising from the store and has loved the group ever since.
The Roots were in New York City during the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and almost stayed at a hotel just four blocks from Ground Zero. Strangely yet fortunately, the hotel lost their reservation and the band was left scrambling to find another place to stay at the last minute.
The Roots' drummer ?uestlove is a technology junkie. Although he owns 8 Apple MacBooks and two cell phones, he's most known for Tweeting during The Roots' live shows. ?uest has been known to Tweet 60-70 times a day or more.
Comments:
Dean Friedman - "Ariel"
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.
Dean Pitchford
Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in
Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."
Bass Player Scott Edwards
Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."
