Root! (stylised ROOT!) was an Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

formed in 2005. Their music combines

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

with elements of

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

and

post-modernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

. They have gained attention through a band member being a former member of Melbourne band

TISM TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eu ...

.Christie Eliezer's Music Business News: Festivals
/ref>

History

In early 2005, Root! began as a series of demos written solely by lead singer Damian Cowell ("DC Root"). In late 2006, guitarist Henri Grawe ("Henri Root") was hired as a tradesperson to build a set of shelves for DC. "Henri came 'round to my house to build me some shelves and I discovered that he was a jazz trained musician". During 2006, the group was fleshed out with Steve Root on keyboards and Barnaby Root on drums. Cowell and Grawe knew each other as far back as 2000 – Grawe had worked with Cowell's former band

on their 2001 album '' De Rigueurmortis''. Their first concert as a group was made at the closing party of Melbourne's Spanish Club on 17 June 2007. Although barely announced, word that an alleged member of TISM was unveiling a new project led to a large, expectant crowd assembling. From there, word of mouth spread, leading to heavy traffic on the band's nascent MySpace page, the creation of a fan website entitled ''The Root! Compendium'', and growing demand for an album. Root! appeared at a handful of other performances over the next few months, whilst re-recording tracks for their debut album, ''

Root Supposed He Was Out of the Question ''Root Supposed He Was Out of the Question...'' is the debut album by Australian rock band Root!, released on 7 December 2007. The album is a mixture of country, rock and comedy lyrics, as well as sections of spoken word. Although the album wa ...

.'' In 2008, the band played live with additional musicians Joe Talia (a.k.a. Joe Root,

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

and banjo) and Douglas Lee Robertson (a.k.a. Doug Lee Root, bass).The Root! Compendium – Old News – February 2008
– "I was accompanied to my left by the ..figure of Doug Lee Root on bass and vocals. ..the bassist and singer for Melbourne's much-loved, critically acclaimed Ice-Cream Hands" -DC Root ''Root Supposed He Was Out of the Question'' was released in December 2007 and featured no singles. During 2008 tours, new material was played including "Get Up Yourself" which became the first single from the follow-up album ''

Surface Paradise ''Surface Paradise'' is the second full-length album by Australian rock band Root!, released on 24 July 2009. The album follows the previous year's EP release ''Get Up Yourself'', of which several references are made to. Continuing the band's ...

''.The Root! Compendium – Old News – October, 2008
"See Root! play their forthcoming album ''Root Is The Money Of All Evil''..." In 2009, drummer Barnaby Root left the band and was replaced with Smiley Root. After playing several gigs and appearing in the video for "My Other Bumper Sticker is Intelligent", he left the band to be replaced by Owen Root. Around this time, the album ''Surface Paradise'' was released. After a handful of gigs in mid-2010, Root! announced they would be playing their "Last Ever Show" on 20 August 2010. Although the press release concluded with "... is there a new project on the way? All will be revealed soon. Stay tuned." For the next three years, Cowell, Robinson and Grawe performed as a trio under the name

The DC3 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. For their one-year anniversary, Root! reformed to open for The DC3 at the Regal Ballroom, 3 February 2012.

Musical style and influences

DC Root and Henri Root claim that their initial common musical ground was the

Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

Webcuts Music: Root! The Interview
(Interview) 27 April 2008. Accessed 10 July 2008. and

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...

. DC describes Root! as made up of all the things he loves about country that has been mixed with other genres. It is the "long-winded musical excursion" with "a little wit as well" inherent in country music that allows DC Root to employ poetic, literary imagery and then undercuts it with self-effacing references.

Members

* DC Root (a.k.a.

Damian Cowell Damian ( la, links=no, Damianus) may refer to: * Damian (given name) * Damian (surname) * Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also * Damiani, an Italian surname * Damiano (disambiguation) * Damien (disambiguation ...

The Age, 7 September 2007 "Out of the question"
/ref>) – vocals, samples * Henri Root (a.k.a. Henri Grawe) – guitar, vocals * Doug Lee Root (a.k.a. Douglass Lee Robertson) – Bass, vocals * Steve Root (a.k.a. Steve Paix
/ref>) – keyboards, vocals * Owen Root (a.k.a. Owen Smythe) – drums – Former drummer for Grin Dogs and Splurge. ;Former members * Barnaby Root (a.k.a. Barnaby Gold) – drums, vocals * Joe Root (a.k.a. Joe Talia, played live only) – slide guitar, banjo * Smiley Root (a.k.a. Derek Smiley, former drummer for Ice Cream Hands)

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

References

{{Authority control Victoria (Australia) musical groups Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 TISM