Twisted Roots

Artist in the Spotlight: Twisted Roots from Portland Maine

Pete Giordano joins us for an interview about the Roots and their upcoming material, as well as biographical work.

What is new for Twisted Roots?
We just finished the tracks for eight new songs we are hoping to release by 2007.

Do you have a name for the album so people looking for it will know what to ask for?
We have no official name, just a tentative title, "Twelve Skies, Fire and the Black".

Is there a story behind the title?
Yes, it is a continuation on a concept we started with our last EP release, "The Seed". The Seed was about a child who was conceived when the character of the story drank a handful of water that had "The Seed" floating within it. When the female character drank The Seed, the crocodile tried to kill her, because The Seed unbeknownst to any of the characters, brings the end of all life. "Twelve Skies" continues the story at a later time. The Seed is grown and beginning to yearn for something far away. What it calls to it, is something that could only be described as a space organism that is so large, if you were to see it from the Earth, it would encompass all the skies globally, that is the story behind the name Twelve Skies. Preceding the organism are other smaller space organisms, they are black gelatinous creatures made up of super proteins. A peculiar thing occurs after these smaller black creatures break apart and fall through the planets atmosphere, but I can't tell you anymore, listen to "Fire/The Black".

Do any of the other songs have a relation to the concept?
No.Just Twelve Skies and FIre/The Black

You played us a preview of three songs that will be on the upcoming album. They seem to be a bit of a departure from your other albums. Was this intentional?
No.

In an earlier conversation, you had mentioned that it took only three days to record all the tracks for the album.
That's right. Mark, Sonny, Adam and myself did an incredible amount of homework for this recording. We spent 9 1/2 months hammering out tiny details and structural arrangements. We did not want to be ad-libbing stuff on studio time. When we went in to record, we knew exactly what we were going to do.

Twisted Roots has been around a while. How did you guys get together and what are your goals now?
Adam and I had played in earlier incantations of Roots since 1989. We met Sonny when my brother Phil Giordano left the drums. Actually, we met Sonny because we were trying out singers for the band at the time. Sonny's friend Todd tried out and Sonny had come to the audition for support.
With Mark, Adam had been in contact with him previously and called him up to try out for the band when Neil Collins left.

Right now, our goal is to put this album out and follow it up with blistering live rock performances everywhere. Our end focus is a multi-million dollar contract with tour support and CD sales in malls and Wal-marts worldwide.

Looking at your discography, there seems to be a stretch of time between albums. What is the reason for this?
Do you want the real story or the B.S. one?
We would prefer the real one.
Personally, I had gone through a great series of let downs, between management and showcase gigs down in Boston and New York. I had given everything to become a successful musician, from changing my image to adding a new member to the group. When my girlfriend Sheridan, my now wife, had become pregnant, I was one step away from homelessness, not to mention the fact I was poor as shit. Things needed to change in my personal life in order for me to survive, so I took a break from music to get things in order.

Just curious, what was the B.S. story?
Well... I had gone camping with Sheridan and we lost our compass and map. We wandered around in the woods for a couple of years. Reading up on the subject, we discovered that lost people wander in circles, go figure. We had been walking in circles the whole time.

What is your favorite movie?
That is a tough one. I think it would be Matrix Reloaded, particularly the Swarm of Smiths part where Neo battles hundreds of agents. I also like Shawn of the Dead alot, killer spoof with tons of previous zombie movie references.

Say you were to achieve your goal, what next?
It has always been a dream of ours to use a foam machine. It would be great to play an arena and fill it completely with foam.

Is there any advice you can give to artists or musicians that follow your music?
Not really. The only thing that you can do is to keep at it. Everyone approaches music differently, just know what it is that you are trying to accomplish and be confident.


				TWISTED ROOTS



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