On Monday April 15th, I had the extreme pleasure of talking with Michael Glabicki and Jenn Wertz of Rusted Root before their show in Philadelphia, PA at the Electric Factory. Michael and Jenn were super nice to and talked with us for over an hour before tearing the roof of the Factory. It was an honor to talk with two artists as nice and humble as these two were. Take a listen as we talk about Rusted Root's breakup/makeup, Jenn's reentrance into the band, selling out, and hell, even Mozart gets a mention in there.

1. About a year ago, rumors were all over the Internet about the demise of Rusted Root. Next thing you know, Jenn is back in the band and Jim DiSpirito is out. What in the hell happened, and how have the dynamics in the band changed since Jenn has been back?
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2. At what point did you know that Root was back?
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"[Producer] Bill Bottrell was probably most wasted!!"

3. What was the writing process for Welcome to my Party like, especially compared with the previous studio CDs?
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4. Welcome to my Party features a lot of older songs like "Sweet Mary," "Too Much," "Artificial Winter," etc...How did they make it onto the record?
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5. Some fans have complained about the length of the CD since it can hold around 74 minutes but the disc clocks in around 45 minutes. Why so short?
Answer 6. A lot of artists have strong opinions about MP3, especially in relation to their record sales. What are your thoughts about MP3s?
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7. Their has long been rumored a live album on the way, will we ever see one?
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"I'm really not a fan of Jam Bands Per-say..."

8. Your sound has changed a lot over the years. Has it been a conscious effort and what do you say to fans who worry about you "selling out"?
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****The selling out question was attributed to Scott McCamley purely by mistake. Scott said nothing about the band selling out, but rather how the band writes a song, whether it be a certain style or not was his question. We here at the EmpyreLounge really appologize for the mistake and hope we did not hurt Scott too much by our carelessness. So he knows, the person who made the mistake is being castrated as i write this....that careless bastrard!

9. How do you come up with the setlists for your show, is it anything goes on stage or do you have a set number of songs you have to play with just a few empty slots?
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10. If you could put together an All-Star band featuring artists both live & dead, who would be in it?
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11. Who have been some of your influences?
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"Its like making the doughnuts…"

12. Do you have any pre-show rituals and how does that carry over onto the stage? Do you feel/feed off the crowd energy that is put to you?
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13. Is it more important for you to be a studio band and sell millions of records or a strong touring band, a la the Grateful Dead?
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14. How do you spiritual beliefs tie into your music?
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15. Who are you currently listening to?
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"...sitting on a hill side, he [Robert Plant] would grab a pillow and lay down next to you…"

16. You have jammed with a lot of musicians, do you have any favorites?
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17. What is the next step for Rusted Root?
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I want to thank Mike and Jenn and everyone at the record company for hooking this up. Not only was it a great show, but they were the nicest people that I have met and made a conscious effort to talk with us..and not give us the standard answer. Everyone should check out Rusted Root when they come to your town. Check out to see if Rusted Root is playing in your area!

Scott Hamilton & Mike Kaveney
EmpyreLounge.com

Drop us a line to let me know what you think of what Mike & Jenn said or just to tell us how much we suck! Email me at root@empyrelounge.com