To continue my summer artist series, I decided to venture a little far off the beaten path into country rock and roll. As a man who has a fair share of redheads in the family, a band that is made of up redhead triplets quickly caught my eye. Not only are the sisters of Red Roots beautiful and talented musicians, they offer a new realm of musical skill that is comforting. Red Roots consists of lovely sisters Natalie, Nicole and Nika Taylor. All three sisters have amazing instrumentation and a wide breadth of skill when it comes to music. Upon a stumble online, I decided to follow up with the ladies and learn more about their musical roots in their art.
To keep it simple, they shared their foray into music. “When we were in high school we prayed for guidance on whether or not to get ‘real jobs’ or be musicians, ha-ha! We felt [a calling] to take a step of faith and play music.” I Love it. That is probably the most simple and sweet reason to pursue such a career.
Red Roots elaborated a bit on their favorite work to date: “Straight Shooter is a different style song than we normally write and it has helped us broaden our audience some. [Another song that we are proud of is] Great Big Yes, because we have received the most touching feedback from fans about it being used [for encouragement]. That makes us happy!” These ladies are here to make great music and it seems their joy of creating it is supported by their love for their fan’s appreciation. Red Roots sing about topics, many attributed to elements of faith, which brings joy to the masses.
Being from the south, I imagine that there are tons of great venues they would love to perform at. “We would all like to play at the Grand Ole Opry. I think most bands would have that on their band bucket list. It would be neat considering the fact that it has a lot of history of so many great artists playing there and some even getting their start there. It would be cool to be a part even for just one night!” While that would be their ideal show, they have had some difficult ones along the way. Red Roots shared one in particular. “We were playing outside and (unknowingly to us) the day before, a squirrel chewed on the power pole line we were running our equipment through and our surge boxes were all popping and smoking. It was pretty scary thinking that all our speakers, subs, mixer, keyboard, and etc… were being blown right before us. Turns out we just lost a bass pedal. We still played after we changed our blown surge boxes and even though there was a drizzle of rain on the crowd they still watched and hung around. It was definitely worth it! (Any band [reading] never play without surge boxes).” Duly noted!
As they continue through this crowed music scene, I was curious to hear their thoughts on it all. “I think there’s a lot of great new opportunities for bands that are different and aren’t as well known in the media to really have a chance to have a decent career and develop a fan base through Internet outlets. I feel that any band can make it if they work hard enough using the Internet to their advantage and are constantly thinking of new ways to encourage their fan base and reach new fans.” It worked for them. Via Twitter and various music outlets online, Red Roots entered my music stream and are now permanent residences there. From their music, other branches of artists spring up and there lies the chance to discover more avenues filled with worthwhile musicians.
I have been a fan for quite some time with a love of their songs such as Christian Country Girl and My Kind of Faith. Despite the fact that their music relies heavily on Christian themes, the girls have a different viewpoint on how they would like to be portrayed. “We would like to change the way people label us … who have Christian lyrics in lots of their songs. We are just writing about our lives just like every other secular band and in that, being honest about our lives. Therefore, God does pop up in our songs. We can’t complain too much though because we have had a lot of secular opportunities come our way in the past couple years and we are grateful for it. We just decided we were just going to be honest [and] thankfully it has worked out for us.” Amen! I am not a religious person in any way, but I love their music. If the tune sounds good, enjoy it. That understanding of the music world has prompted them to continue working hard. However, they have ambitions for the future. “Right now we are focusing on our band… We could use some skills that we’ve developed on the road to help us with something different. It would be awesome to help others in any way possible.” True to their proud faith, Red Roots are gals who care and seem to want to make their music work for the common good.
Listeners can hear many different music influences in their music. In fact the ladies have tons of artists they look up to. “We listen to so many different styles and new artists every chance we get to just learn. Our biggest inspirations when we were younger were Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, and BarlowGirl.”
Currently, the girls of Red Roots are very busy. “We are touring a lot this summer. This time of year is the busiest and [most fun]! We just released an app that auto-notifies fans if we are playing locally in their area the week before. The app also has extra stuff on it!” Fans, if you have not already, download and explore. Red Roots will be offering more musical magic in the future. “We are currently writing… We are hoping [to finish] the end of this year or beginning of next year. We have already written more songs than ever to prep for an album and are still working hard to make it the best we possibly can.” I have a feeling they will have no problem in doing that. If their past success and talent have shown anything, it is that these ladies will soon become lasting staples in music. I look forward to seeing where these gals go and how many people they will turn into fans. Red Roots managed to get this 27-year-old dude from NYC into it, which is a feat in itself! Listen and be converted.
Jam On.
