Richard Root (not his real name) started out behind the drum kit, playing garage pop with Toboggan Man and classic rock with Social Meteor back in Michigan. Songwriting was only an occasional role, but he always dreamt of fronting a punk band—which Richard Root & The Fancy Band isn’t quite yet, though the road may still lead there.
After moving to Brazil for love, the combination of a language barrier and a lack of musical connections gave Root the space to focus on his own songs. Over two years, he sharpened his string playing, fine-tuned his material, and learned to record with help from family and friends. The result is his solo debut My Way Or The Highway, out now on Knuckles on Stun (tape).
The 14 tracks are restless and full of surprises—garage rock and classic rock at the core, but with disco (Hang On To Me), funk (Freakin’ Out), and even a punk-ish take on Todd Rundgren’s I Saw The Light. It’s quirky indie rock at heart, like a double rainbow of styles, and an ambitious effort from a songwriter still finding his identity but clearly hitting a creative stride.