User: Taproot
Date posted: Wed, 17 May 2017 01:02:54 GMT
Phil here. This is going to be a long one folks. Feeling very appreciative.
First off, this weekend proved yet again, even after 20 years since our inception, we still have the greatest fans in the world! I’ve been very busy with building my new life and enjoying my family, but this weekend showed me maybe there is indeed a possibility to make them both work together. (Sorry Shawn…for now 
;) )
There were a lot of behind the scenes things you guys don’t get to see, things that... could have made this whole thing even more stressful – from minor to major – but everyone pushed forward and we made the best of it and pulled off an amazing weekend!
A few quick Thank Yous (in no particular order, but an attempt at chronological per events):
Tim Patalan at The Loft Studios for giving us a place to rehearse and always being so welcoming and generous with us, even when we come bringing rambunctious kids!
Thank you to GHS Strings! Long story short, I grabbed the wrong sets of custom gauge/length strings and Jon Moody went above and beyond to overnight some sets for us to have for our shows. In spite of Jon’s best efforts, the strings did not arrive in time due to a series of unfortunate events with the guy in the brown uniform. Still not sure where the disconnect happened. Thank you anyway, we appreciate all the support GHS has given us over the past 17 years!
Kevin Zink and staff at The Machine Shop and Tony LaBrie and everyone at The Banana 101.5! Who would have thought one of the best radio stations and coolest rock clubs in the country would be in Flint, MI, but there they are! Such a great vibe and rock scene they have here but as Kevin told me on Saturday, it’s the people that support the scene that deserve the credit.
The Daves! Dave Coughlin and Dave Lizzio, everybody spoke very highly of your performances and personalities. WE already love you guys but this past weekend our fans expressed their approval as well. And Coughlin, you always bring out the best in me, it’s a pleasure playing with you. Lizzio…I couldn’t hear you from my side because my bass was a-booming, but I’m sure you were great, too. I don’t worry about either of you. #TaprootFamily
The Wives – We know you put up with a lot. None of us are easy to deal with and even less so with the pressure of a show coming up. It’s not all fun and excitement, so thank you for supporting us through it all…especially when we book a show on Mother’s Day and on some of our kids’ birthdays!
New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, New Mexico, Toronto and many other places both near and far, our fans came out to support us and see this special Anniversary Show. We’ve grown up with so many of you and we also keep meeting new fans that are seeing us for the first time even though they’ve listened to us for years or even for a short time in their life. Music is Life and Life is Music, and this weekend just reminded me how good life could be.
Shawn May will hate me mentioning him on here but he deserves a ton of credit. He’s an extremely talented and attentive guitar tech in addition to being an incredible bass player and does a fantastic Courtney Cox’s dance in that Bruce Springsteen music video. I hope to be asking him to do more work for us soon. He kept us moving along, organized, set up and it was all done with very little direction which is HUGELY appreciated by me and I’m sure everyone else. It felt great not to have to worry.
Jarrod Montague and I have been talking about doing a show like this for years, and it took him taking the intiative to get this ball rolling and brought this whole thing to fruition (with the help of those mentioned above and many others of course). He is a genuinely great guy and I could go on and on about his many virtues, but luckily you guys all know him so I don't have to. Thank you J for having the drive to get us moving again.
I’m sure I’m forgetting many, many people and I’m sorry but I have to be up at 2am for my “day job” and I don’t get on here much so I’m not sure how much follow up you’ll see from me. I am inspired though and…oh, how could I forget?
THE NEW SONG! How great is that? When Stephen Scissrs Richards sent that to me I got really excited, this is the kind of song I always wanted to hear from him. Written completely by him, this song is the most ass-kicking Taproot song to date, in my opinion. You can argue it, but that’ll just make me happy you love our other stuff too. ☺ I’ve heard a demo version and it crushes, I can’t wait to hear a studio version. If you read this far I applaud you. Thank you thank you thank you! We all had a blast and there’s definitely a renewed energy in the air. Can’t wait to see what comes next! -Phil
enjoying life.