The Alternate Root began when three music business veterans, Bill Hurley, Fred Boenig, and Danny McCloskey, saw a need for Roots music to have the same advantages as the industry gave to Pop acts in the Top40 marketplace. The beginnings were in 2007, when Americana music was starting to push open the doors to the traditional music industry. The Alternate Root set its sights online, giving a web presence to the organic forms of acoustic and electric music found in American Roots genres such as Bluegrass, Soul, Folk, Blues, Rock’n’Roll, Zydeco, Jazz, Rockabilly, Classic Country, World Music as well as many more niche styles and all of the hybrids from the merging and blending of the sounds. We introduced the Roots community to the teams behind the bands, giving print space to producers, labels, publicists, songwriters, venues, and tour promoters.
The plan was to level the playing field, putting all artists on the same field no matter their time together, their catalog, or popularity. Every album was heard for its own merit. There were artists that the Roots community cherished who The Alternate Root made its core as well as new music from bands just beginning to record who we championed. We wrote about the music, we created players to listen and captured live performance on video. Bill Hurley and Fred Boenig were behind the cameras, Danny McCloskey booking artists to film. We would spend three to four days filming non-stop, introducing ourselves to the community, writing and filming artists that deserved a bigger platform for their work.
From our online beginnings we grew. Adding in partners when Robyn Kaleta and Jeff Munger offered their assistance to the work, and expanding on our website presence with a print magazine as well as venturing into television, first with a cable access show before airing weekly in the New England market and establishing shows on both YouTube and ROKU. The Alternate Root continued to champion new releases from the American Roots community that offers music from around the globe.
Time changes and the original partners felt the need to pursue passions individually. Fred Boenighas become a voice and activist in the political arena, taking his natural inclination to be a watchdog onto his own website, The Daily Ripple, calling out inequality and fighting the good fight. Bill Hurley began the Extended Play Sessions, rising from modest studio beginnings, developing Alternate Root TV and ADC Film and creating The Fallout Shelter in Boston before wrapping film, music, history, and education for Roots music into the Grass Roots Cultural and Performing Arts Center, located in the Boston, Massachusetts area as well as continuing to air content through his ROKU channel. Danny McCloskey is still behind the wheel of The Alternate Root magazine with Jeff Munger continuing his role and Jeff Taylor (J. Alan Taylor) bringing his talents to both the music and the business side of the organization. The Alternate Root has become a trusted voice online for Roots music, continuing to listen to music for its own merits as well as taking the online presence back into the world with showcases and live performances, particularly in the Southern California area as Desert Roots Music.
The plan was to level the playing field, putting all artists on the same field no matter their time together, their catalog, or popularity. Every album was heard for its own merit. There were artists that the Roots community cherished who The Alternate Root made its core as well as new music from bands just beginning to record who we championed. We wrote about the music, we created players to listen and captured live performance on video. Bill Hurley and Fred Boenig were behind the cameras, Danny McCloskey booking artists to film. We would spend three to four days filming non-stop, introducing ourselves to the community, writing and filming artists that deserved a bigger platform for their work.
From our online beginnings we grew. Adding in partners when Robyn Kaleta and Jeff Munger offered their assistance to the work, and expanding on our website presence with a print magazine as well as venturing into television, first with a cable access show before airing weekly in the New England market and establishing shows on both YouTube and ROKU. The Alternate Root continued to champion new releases from the American Roots community that offers music from around the globe.
Time changes and the original partners felt the need to pursue passions individually. Fred Boenighas become a voice and activist in the political arena, taking his natural inclination to be a watchdog onto his own website, The Daily Ripple, calling out inequality and fighting the good fight. Bill Hurley began the Extended Play Sessions, rising from modest studio beginnings, developing Alternate Root TV and ADC Film and creating The Fallout Shelter in Boston before wrapping film, music, history, and education for Roots music into the Grass Roots Cultural and Performing Arts Center, located in the Boston, Massachusetts area as well as continuing to air content through his ROKU channel. Danny McCloskey is still behind the wheel of The Alternate Root magazine with Jeff Munger continuing his role and Jeff Taylor (J. Alan Taylor) bringing his talents to both the music and the business side of the organization. The Alternate Root has become a trusted voice online for Roots music, continuing to listen to music for its own merits as well as taking the online presence back into the world with showcases and live performances, particularly in the Southern California area as Desert Roots Music.
WHAT'D WE DO? BIOS ETC:
Danny McCloskey, Co-owner The Alternate Root, Desert Roots Music. A thirty-year-plus veteran of the music industry, Danny is well suited to run the operations for The Alternate Root magazine. From 1979 to 1985 he wrote and developed radio shows, developed programming and organized the yearly local music event ‘The Rock and Roll Rumble’ for legendary radio station WBCN in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1985, Danny joined Atlantic Records, and handling services for Island and Virgin Records when under the Atlantic umbrella, as promotion manager for the Boston / New England region where he remained until 1990. Moving on to San Francisco in 1990, Danny managed a publicity firm, The Madera Group. He started his own firm, Next Step Promotion and Publicity in 1996 which later became Next Step Music Management handling artist management, music supervision, publishing and artist development. Songs With Vision started operations in 2002 focusing on film and television music placement for labels and independent artists and acting as a Music Supervisor for a number of film projects as well as in-house for Hallmark Films. Songs With Vision joined forces with The Artist Development Group in 2007, going on to form The Media Guide, The Alternate Root magazine, ADC Films, Alternate Root TV, and other arms of The Alternate Root. The common factor in all the endeavors has been music. Luckily, what Danny does for a living and the way he lives have never been separated.
Jeff Munger Co-Owner,The Alternate Root, Desert Roots Music. Owner, JTM Music. Jeff began his music career in 1982 at the iconic FM radio station WBCN in Boston, Massachusetts where he worked until 1990. While there, he was part of a production team, organizing and coordinating all aspects of the stations highly rated drive time radio show. In addition to his production work, Jeffplayed an important role as a promotions assistant, helping to bring together all aspects of logistical planning for an always busy promotions department. After taking a leave of absence from the music industry, Jeff re-entered the fray in 2000 with his own radio show at KPCW in Park City, Utah. From Utah, it was on to Durango, Colorado in 2007 where he has had a college radio show at KDUR, the Fort Lewis College community radio station, for the past 10 years. In addition to his radio show, Jeff owns JTM Music which works with artists to make recording projects become a reality. Jeff has worked with Garrett Lebeau Band from Austin, Texas, developing his career from a basic local act to a national presence. Jeff serves on the advisory board of California Country Records, home to Calico the band, Ted Russell Kamp, and Alice Wallace. In 2009 Jeff came on as a managing partner at the Alternate Root Magazine. It’s his love not only for music, but also for the artists themselves that drew Jeff to the Alternate Root. “Creating something that champions independent artists is what we’re all about. It’s that simple.”
Jeff Taylor (J. Alan Taylor) Co-Owner, The Alternate Root, Desert Roots Music. As administrator for The Alternate Root, J. Alan brings a thirty-year track record of successful business management as well as a diverse range of skills to the organization with personnel management, financial management, talent recruitment, relationship building and sales. His love of music, strong communications and well rooted professional skills, make him the perfect fit in The Alternate Root. He joined the team in January 2016 and has been a strong contributor to the growth of the magazine as well as being co-developer of Desert Roots Music.
Jim Cortez- webmaster/social media/music
Jeff Munger Co-Owner,The Alternate Root, Desert Roots Music. Owner, JTM Music. Jeff began his music career in 1982 at the iconic FM radio station WBCN in Boston, Massachusetts where he worked until 1990. While there, he was part of a production team, organizing and coordinating all aspects of the stations highly rated drive time radio show. In addition to his production work, Jeffplayed an important role as a promotions assistant, helping to bring together all aspects of logistical planning for an always busy promotions department. After taking a leave of absence from the music industry, Jeff re-entered the fray in 2000 with his own radio show at KPCW in Park City, Utah. From Utah, it was on to Durango, Colorado in 2007 where he has had a college radio show at KDUR, the Fort Lewis College community radio station, for the past 10 years. In addition to his radio show, Jeff owns JTM Music which works with artists to make recording projects become a reality. Jeff has worked with Garrett Lebeau Band from Austin, Texas, developing his career from a basic local act to a national presence. Jeff serves on the advisory board of California Country Records, home to Calico the band, Ted Russell Kamp, and Alice Wallace. In 2009 Jeff came on as a managing partner at the Alternate Root Magazine. It’s his love not only for music, but also for the artists themselves that drew Jeff to the Alternate Root. “Creating something that champions independent artists is what we’re all about. It’s that simple.”
Jeff Taylor (J. Alan Taylor) Co-Owner, The Alternate Root, Desert Roots Music. As administrator for The Alternate Root, J. Alan brings a thirty-year track record of successful business management as well as a diverse range of skills to the organization with personnel management, financial management, talent recruitment, relationship building and sales. His love of music, strong communications and well rooted professional skills, make him the perfect fit in The Alternate Root. He joined the team in January 2016 and has been a strong contributor to the growth of the magazine as well as being co-developer of Desert Roots Music.
Jim Cortez- webmaster/social media/music
