Rusted Root returns to Fairbanks a little more than a year after its last Blue Loon show. “We wanted to come back sooner,” Rusted Root frontman Michael Glabicki, center, exclaimed.
“We wanted to come back sooner,” Rusted Root frontman Michael Glabicki exclaimed during a phone interview from upstate New York. “We played there a year ago and loved it.
“It was reminiscent of our early shows starting out as a band,” Glabicki continued. “Really good energy. The crowd really supported us. It was easy and expressive and so much fun.”
At that juncture, Rusted Root was little more than six months into a reunion of sorts. The band never really dissolved, but it hadn’t released a studio album in almost seven years. So the original core trio — Glabicki on vocals and guitar, vocalist/percussionist Liz Berlin and bassist/vocalist Patrick Norman — along with supporting musicians, were out showcasing that new album of earthy, neo-’90s hippie rock vibes, smoky barroom rockers and sweltering Latin rhythms, “Stereo Rodeo.”
Another year into the process and the results are starting to show.
“We’ve been playing a lot of shows and people are starting to sing along to the new songs as loud as they did the old ones,” Glabicki said. “You know you did a good job whenever that happens.”
Feeling the momentum of “Stereo Rodeo,” the band has been working on new material. At the same time, Glabicki is working on a solo record.
“It’s an interesting time to be songwriting,” he said. “It’s kind of all over the place. I like it that way. I can really see the distinction between the two and what is special about each.”
His solo album features more intimate material — acoustic guitar and voice — or “alternative” instruments, including Dobro, he explained. The Rusted Root material has a more “thematic sound,” with group vocals and greater expression of the major melodies and themes of a song.
“There’s a little more drama in it,” he added.
But being so deeply immersed and critical to both albums, can one really be separated from the other?
“It was hard for a while. It was really hard at first,” Glabicki admitted. “I’m not only trying to find the difference between Rusted Root and my solo record but also what’s a good next step for Rusted Root to take and what’s the essence of me solo.”
While Glabicki said it’s “possible” a couple of the new songs might be ready for the Fairbanks performance, he also noted that the band has been digging deeper into its early catalog, pulling out tracks like “Dangle” and “Sister Contine” from “Remember” and trying to go back as far as Rusted Root’s eponymous debut.
Glabicki credits the new backing band — Jason Miller on drums and percussion, guitarists Dirk Miller and Colter Harper and percussionist Preach Freedom — for providing fresh energy and creating an overall comfort level that begs for challenges.
“With the new people playing with us (core members), it has given us the flexibility to do some different things,” he said. “We can cover everything at this point. We’re happy to go back.”
And happy to go back to Alaska as well.
Contact features editor Glenn BurnSilver at 459-7510.
If you go
What: Rusted Root
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Blue Loon
Tickets: $35 advance, at Gulliver’s books, www.theblueloon.com; $40 day of show
Information: rustedroot.com
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