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The Legend Grows… On the eve of the New Year, the crew from the Rootstand paced about the well-lit stage of the seaside pub. Despite their decades of experience in these waters, it wasn’t the last passing minutes of the previous year of adventure that made them nervous- it was the wildness of the hundreds that had gathered there to drink and raise hell. The crowd surged and teemed in stormy delight as the clock ticked down. There was nothing they could do but wait in nervous reverence for the silence to break. It was then that they thought back to where it all began… Over ten years before the Rootstand had set course from the uplands and urban jungles of Michigan to seek their fortune on the seas and sounds of the roots of America and beyond. From fair shores to foul weather, the Rootstand has remained stout-hearted; an honor that is reflected in the strength of its crew.

The Sound… …Rebel Rootsgrass and Reggae, Swashbucklin’ Folk and Blues… a highland, island sound, abound with the wild blood of american roots and grass, alive with the joy of the jam and the pain of the ballad…Acoustic-electric battlefield blues and rootsrock, country-boy hip-hop and whiskey reggae…

Greetings friends, family, booking agents, barkeeps, writers and radioheads, hippies, homeboys, and highlanders!.

Now is the time to recruit the mighty Rootstand to your cause. The grassroot determination of our crew has sailed us through high seas and heavy weather, to green fields and higher ground. Not for lust of gold, nor pirate booty, have we endured these troubled waters for over ten years. It is to prove to ourselves and our children that we are men of substance, and to reassure the faith of the thousands that have rallied to our side..

This is not a pitch to hire us. This is not the whimperings of the inexperienced, nor the dilusions of a band of misfits. It is an invitation, it is a gift, it is a pirate’s map. It is the whimsical dregs of adventure thrown from the decks of our ship in an extra stout bottle. Perhaps you may find it washed upon your doorstep, and take the time to consider what we offer..

Fair Seas,.

The Rootstand Crew.

From Will Stewart's article in the Ann Arbor News Spotlight, May 26th, 2005

"...listen closely and elements as diverse as Irish reels and dancehall reggae mingle comfortably alongside country blues and bluegrass, murder ballads and high-lonesome harmonies.".

From Bill Chapin's article in Spin , Port Huron, MI May 23, 2006.

"...Rootstand is an equal-opportunity employer of musical styles. The acoustic band utilizes just about any form of roots music you can imagine-bluegrass, country blues, Celtic Folk,-as well as urban stlyles with grassroots origins- such as hip-hop or reggae...".

From Kristy Dellach's article in South End, Wayne State University's newspaper. January, 2007.

"During a mild winter of plowing pumpkin shells and managing corn bugs, Rootstand remains a fertile blend of cow tippin' rebellion, funky folk and backwater blues..."…

Greetings from the Rootstand Family, The trials, tribulations, and grassroot determination of our team has exposed us as one of the most upcoming and notorious roots bands on the scene. Few other bands dig as deep in to the God-given mojo and animusical magnetism afforded to Michigans favorite acoustic ghetto rebel sons. Rootstand successfully marries the sounds of traditional forms of Roots musics, like Irish reels, and old world polkas, Caribbean ska to American blues and bluegrass to the cutting edge sounds of experimental blues and groove, urban hip-hop, dancehall reggae, and electronica. Our music is very diverse, yet completely logical: Ska and Polka, bluegrass and reggae, hip-hop and country blues, dancehall and Irish reels. What we do is not a token conglomeration of popular forms, it is altogether something new, a new sound, built upon the foundations of traditional music but never intending to replicate it.

Who has Rootstand played with?

Rootstand had the opportunity to jam with a host of great musicians in the past few years, including John Sinclair, Donna the Buffalo, Lotus, The Brothers Past, Sam Bush, George Clinton and the 420 Funk Mob, Victor Wooten, The Zen Tricksters, Melvin Seals and Rob Wasserman, Tony Furtado, Vince Welnick Band, Mr. Blotto, Derek Trucks Band, Benevento and Russo Duo, Railroad Earth, Jorma Kaukonen and Hot Tuna, Ekoostik Hookah, Tim O'Brian, Mamadou Diabate, Jazz is Dead, Melvin Seals and JGB, Tony Rice and Peter Rowan, Cornmeal, Chris Smither, Grada, Tom Constanten,Terrapin Flyer, Henry Butler, Particle, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Dark Star Orchestra, David Gans, and seriously many more. We are honored to have shared the stage with these, and all our brother and sister musicians.

How can I book Rootstand?

All of our press info is available at our web home, www.rootstand.com. This is where you can check up on our calendar, read tons of press and feedback, and check out pictures and free music. We are currently finishing our box set, from which the Grassroot Ghetto and Roots and Branches selections have been made. . We can be contacted via e-mail at booking@rootstand.com, or community@rootstand.com. We can also be contacted through myspace, or at our booking line 810-424-2516. We also have a merchandise line...give us a holler if you want some gear.

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