Taproot: an interview with Jarrod Montague

by Robert Frezza
www.staticnoise.net

Taproot’s third album, Blue Sky Research, finds the band enlisting the help of Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame, finds kissing nu-metal buh-bye pretty easy and demonstrates how the band has progressed through the years. I recently talked to Jarrod Montague, drummer of Taproot and here’s what he had to say:

SN: How do you think Taproot has progressed as a band?
JM: I think we have become better song writers and we try to push our limits as much as we can. Most of our fans say that our first album was the best because it was the hardest, but with every album we try to do different styles of music and see what the four of us are capable of doing.

SN: Billy Corgan produced three songs for Research. How was this recording process different from the others or was it at all?
JM: We went to Chicago and wrote with Corgan on three songs. We wanted to go a little more raw on this album and we kept takes that were not the most perfect takes, but took the ones that had the most feel.

SN: Which do you like better---touring or recording?
JM: They both have their pros and cons, but overall from the day to day stuff, touring is more fun because you can get instant gratification. An example would be getting applause after a song is played versus recording when you really don’t get to hear the fans’ reactions.

SN: Touring for Ozzfest must have been an incredible experience. What was it like playing for Ozzy?
JM: It was awesome. It was like one big touring summer camp. There’s a ton of bands out there that we made friends with. It’s hanging out with other bands and meeting fans.

SN: What do you think of rock music today?
JM: It seems like anything that is popular or that is selling is pop and hip hop right now. The problem is that labels promote a certain pop song more and more and we hear it more. Rock is not getting the promotion it should. There is still a lot of good rock music out there, you just have to search for it and keep your ears open. If you find something you like, promote and support that band. That is the only thing that is keeping rock music alive!!

SN: Do you think nu-metal is over?
JM: We wanted to distance ourselves from that stereotype because we were being compared to bands like Limp Bizkit and such. When we first came out we were kind of grouped in that style of music. We really kind of consider ourselves more of a rock/alternative band more than anything else. I think categories like nu-metal are a little too limited when you talk about music. We should pick two or more bands that they were influenced by instead of calling it emo or nu-metal.

For more information on Taproot, their tours and more visit their official Web Site.