The Alternate Root - The Alternate Root Magazine has been committed to the redistribution of opportunity for success for independent American Roots musicians since 2007. We are an interactive music magazine featuring all genres of traditional American roots music including, Americana, Alt-country, Blues, Rockabilly, Folk, Bluegrass, Roots Rock and traditional country. We also produce the weekly internationally syndicated American Roots music show “Alternate Root TV” and publish the Top 66 International Airplay Chart. Our goal is to create the tools needed to advance the American Roots music format.
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Wednesday, Feb 22nd

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ALTERNATE ROOT TV

Alternate Root TV Teams Up with the Arts Block

A new collaboration between Alternate Root TV, The Arts Block and Roger Salloom began in September 2011. By using the publicity and promotional power of The Alternate Root magazine, the personal and attractive atmosphere of The Arts Block and the addition of personality Roger Salloom, who will host the program, “An Evening of American Roots Music,” will become a new and exciting addition to the programming on Alternate Root TV. National touring acts from the genres of blues, jazz, alt-country, folk, soul and Americana will be coupled with the best of New England regional talent on an ongoing series of live concert events, filmed and simulcast on the Internet and then edited for subsequent episodes of the new show for Alternate Root TV. Combining a live broadcast available to millions of Internet viewers, filmed before a live studio audience and then edited for television gives us an unlimited number of potential viewers.

Alternate Root TV has been downloaded by over 135 Public Access stations. The show has become successful in Tier A cable access markets such as Nashville, Philadelphia, Tampa, Chicago, Memphis, Charlotte, Atlanta, Baltimore/D.C. metro and New Orleans (see attached sheet for a full list of stations).

There is considerable debate as to the reach of Public Access Television as the channels are rarely monitored by Neilsen or Arbitron. The non-profit media watchdog FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting) studied Public Access Television numbers in 2010, reporting that more than 50% of US households with cable television access watched some or regular programming on Public Access Television. That means Alternate Root TV is available in over 13 million homes in the US, Canada and Europe. Programming aggregator PEG Media (PEGMedia.org) is a distribution point for 1,700 Public Access stations in the United States making programs downloadable for all of its member stations. Alternate Root TV is the #29 most downloaded program in the United States of ALL programs and the 3rd most downloaded music program after Juke Joint and American Songwriter.  

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Jon Fox and Tim Betts on Alternate Root TV

North Carolina based alt-country rocker Jon Fox and guitarist Tim Betts paid a visit to Alternate Root TV as the in-studio guests for Show 16 which hits the airwaves Thanksgiving week. Fox was on ARTV to promote a couple songs from his latest release 'Crooked Wheels' which is out at Americana radio now. Tagging along was the extraodinary guitar player Tim Betts whose work with CJ Chenier is well known to blues and traditional New Orleans music afficianados. The duo played 'Back to Harlan' a song about the distressing prectice of mountaintop removal coal extraction, also the first video from the album. 'Lie to You' is a coming clean song about relationships, and the accompanying trials and tribulations. Here's a peak at the duo on Alternate Root TV. Enjoy.

Jon Fox, Mountain Top Removal ,Crooked Wheels

Brian Molnar and the N@ked Hearts

brian molnar on alternate root tvWhen Brian Molnar named his band he probably never thought that publications who wrote about them would be classified by Google as "adult sites"...or maybe he did, the word n*ked is highly searched, perversion aside. Their music is adult for sure, just a different kind of meaning for "adult". Deep lyrics, accomplished musicianship and a collection of well crafted songs that offer everyone who has ever been scorned, loved, confused, contrite or confounded by life hope they will find the maps Brian Molnar has drawn to find the way out. Using names like Dylan, Prine, Springsteen, Earle to offer a reference point for Brian Molnar may be just a bit premature but not really by much as many of us who have followed his career since the brilliant "Feeling Out of Time" have already come to know. Brian Molnar's music is all about "Feeling Out of Time"; a double entendre that can be read as "time's up" or "wrong guy, wrong generation." Part time cynic, part time dreamer, full-time troubadour with a poet's soul born from the seeds planted long ago in Greenwich Village by the cynics, dreamers, poets and troubadours that paved the way for young artists like Brian Molnar. Although Molnar and the N-Hearts are based across the creek in New Jersey he's part of the re-generation of Manhattan's Lower East Side as the music, art and cultural hub of the planet and he belongs there

Molnar and his mates keyboardist Travis Miscia, bass player Todd Lanka, guitarist John Koneval and drummer CP Martin a.k.a. The N@ked Hearts (we have to protect our Google rankings) joined Avenue A label mates Joe Cassady and the West End Sound at a gathering for Alternate Root TV at Horizon Music GroupStudios in West Haven, CT for a special show we put together to highlight some of the bright new talent that is rising from New York City. This rootsy brand of Americana music has brought Molnar to the fore in the Americana community with a string of chart and critical successes and it's exactly what Alternate Root TV is all about. Here's four songs from the memorable six song set. We've kept two brand new songs out of the line-up, saving them for the upcoming release from Brian Molnar and the N@ked hearts. Enjoy!

Adam Ezra Group ARTV Special

 

Adam Ezra Goup on Alternate Root TV

The Adam Ezra Group


The vision is of a soldier walking a patrol on a clear desert evening. He is lulled into a false sense of security by the beauty and calmness of the desert night knowing that at any moment "it could all go down," Adam Ezra says to his audience in calm, serious tone. The song 'Soldier,' a brand new song by Boston's Adam Ezra Group was written about the many brothers and sisters serving in the U.S. Adam Ezra Group in the Alternate RootMilitary and is part of a new eight song album due for release in early 2011. The album is being released in two parts with tracks produced by Aaron Johnson and recorded in Los Angeles and at Q-Division in Somerville, MA. Johnson is the man behind the dials for artits as diverse as The Fray, Colbie Callait and Eve 6.

The Adam Ezra Group performed  four of the new songs that will be featured on the newest release, Part One' for a small audience and Alternate Root TV in late August at The Space, a multi room recording studio and lounge in Lowell, MA. That small audience of about 40 people were squeezed into the studio and given an intimate look into this outstanding group of musicians while Alternate Root TV was priviledged to record the magic.

Another of the new tracks, 'Taking off Today,' written about the crumbling mill towns of New England andthe difficulties of escaping the desolation and deterioration of the world around us. Ironic in that Lowell, MA was once of those crumbling mill towns that is seeing a bit of a resurgence and the magnificent facility, The Space, is part of that resurgence.Adam Ezra group in the Alternate Root

'Everytime We Say Goodbye,' as Adam describes it is one the band performs regularly as part of the new repertoire but as yet has not found a slot on the album. It's gospel feel is the perfect spot for the soulful keyboards of Josh Gold. Among the many highlights of this memorable session is the interaction between Adam and his band and the connection with the band's other front-man, the inimitable percussionist Turtle. It's eveident again as the song tails off with a driving riff between Ezra and bassist Rob Soper.

'Miss Hallelujah,'  another soulful song that sees Adam forfeiting guitar and handing the melody over to Josh Gold as the keyboards and percussion drive the song behind Ezra's gritty vocals. 

The night belonged to Adam Ezra, his band and the lucky fans that were fortunate enough to weather the rain and fog to make it to The Space for something all of us who witnessed it will not soon forget. Here it is, including a few warm up tracks from the critically acclaimed 'View From the Root.' Enjoy.

 

Our Favorite Videos of the Year

We've featured over 80 videos on Alternate Root TV during our first season, many of them have aired multiple times. Most of our videos are from independent and relatively unknown musicians who are making great music and good quality video. Some of our favorites include Chip Taylor from the film New Songs of Freedom all filmed in a film-noir style at a small club named Banjo Jim's in lower Manhattan, Del Castiilo's 'Anybody Wanna', a Tex-mex, reggaeton mix with a cameo from Willie Nelson and a cool community theme. We try and feature as many of the videos we receive as we can. If you have one for us, let us know.

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Alternate Root TV

Ward Hayden on Alternate Root TV
The frontman of the Boston based Alt-Country band Girls Guns and Glory, Ward Hayden stopped by Alternate Root TV for Show #10 to play a few songs from the top 5 album Inverted Valentine and a few new songs from a yet unnamed new album due in 2011. Girls Guns and Glory has received a plethora of critical acclaim for the Inverted Velentine album as well as being named Boston's best Indie band in 2009 and winners of the prestigious WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble the same year. Hayde's sweet as country jam voice and skill as a songwriter and singer has placed Girls Guns and Glory on a trajectory that finds them at the top of the roots/Alt Country circuit with bands like Wilco, Yarn, Band of Heathens, Son Volt and the Bottlerockets. We look forward to more from the talented Ward Hayden and GGG in the future. For now, enjoy the music of this rare acoustic performance.

Ward Hayden, Girls Guns and Glory,

Randy Thompson Interview with Reb Landers

randy thompson on the alternate root
Virginia's Piedmont region has provided a backdrop for some of our history's most turbulent and formative events and produced an uncommonly rich variety of compelling musical styles and voices, from blues to country to bluegrass and beyond. It's a heritage that Virginia-based singer/songwriter Randy Thompson intuitively understands and brings vividly to life on his third release, Further On, a work that lovingly embraces the past even as it pulls it – kicking, picking, singing, rocking – all the way into the 21st Century.

With a Virginia bloodline that traces back to the early 1700s, Thompson, who now resides in the small town of Clifton, Virginia, gives new meaning to the term "roots music." And like his musical antecedents, he tends to draw inspiration directly from his own experience, creating starkly drawn musical and lyrical pictures.

His 1998 debut, Wearin' Blue, garnered widespread critical raves, while his 2004 sophomore release 'That's Not Me' generated significant national and international airplay, debuting at No. 1 on the Euro Indie Radio chart and reaching top 40 on national Americana, Country, and Roots Rock charts. AboutCountry.com, among others, listed 'That's Not Me' as a top 10 album of 2004. The Washington Post deemed it, “a superb disc.”

The new 'Further On’ takes Thompson's artistry to a whole new level. Forged on the road and carved from hard-lived experience, the album, like the artist himself, is naturally resistant to pigeonholes. Call it country, call it roots music, call it Americana; in the end it's the sound of Randy Thompson, raw and real. It's the sound of an artist who knows where he comes from and where he stands. It's the sound of the Virginia hills, of war and peace and love and fear. Further On is the sad, simple, beautiful sound of the truth.
Randy invited Alternate Root TV to Clifton, VA to film the interview and some live performance during the summer. Here's a look at those memorable days. Enjoy.

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Randy Thompson- Alternate Root TV

Ellis Paul Interview with Reb Landers

Ellis Paul- Folk Americana

Folk music icon Ellis Paul sat down with Alternate Root TV host Reb Landers during a visit back to Boston to promote his album 'The Day After Everything Changed' at WERS Radio. A staple of the grand folk revival in Boston during the 1990's Ellis released his first album as an independent artist having fan funded the record after years of releases on Rounder records. He talks about his philosophy of songwriting, his political views and how they appear in his music and his close knit relationship with his fans and followers. Ellis graced us with some acoustic versions of a few of the new songs. It's a wonderful interview with some fantastic music. Enjoy.

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Ellis Paul- Folk Americana

Ottomatic Slim on Alternate Root TV

Otto Lenz is somewhat of a regional legend around New England. He's been one of the premier blues harp players for some 20 years playing smokey clubs in and around Boston and his base in Northampton, festivals in Montreal and sharing the stage with legends like James Montgomery, Roomful of Blues, David Maxwell and others with his band Ottomatic Slim. Guitarist Scott Monette is a master axe-man in his own rite and when the two join together on stage it's kind of a magical event. Otto can play harp like few others and has a stage presence to match. Bassist Matt McManamon a young man of just 23 and the newest addition to the lineup lays down a tight groove along side drummer Jim Arnold and the two make for a formidable rhythm section to complete the high power quartet. Ottomatic Slim recorded The Other Side of Nashville segment for Alternate Root TV at Armadillo's in Keene, NH, rumbling through a five song set that will be featured on Alternate Root TV the roots Americana music show #12. Here's a taste of the slow driving blues and jump blues style of Ottomatic Slim that highlights the diversity of the band. Find out more about the band at www.ottomaticslim.net


 
 

Peter Parcek on Alternate Root TV

Peter Parcek, Blues

When Peter Parcek picks up a guitar the experience is magical. We met with him at Q-Division studios in Somerville, MA for a rousing 5 song set with his band PP3. The following clips are from that memorable session. Parcek is incendiary; able to rip through a variety of styles and techniques while avoiding the tendency to overplay. His album was met with overwhelming praise and critical acclaim from blues purists and guitar aficionados alike with coverage in Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar and most of the other publications that search for the next shredder. You can find out more about Peter at his website www.peterparcek.com. 

Peter Parcek, Blues

 

Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez on Alternate Root TV

Soulful, bluesy, always rocking, Christine Ohlman and her quartet Rebel Montez paid a visit to Alternate Root TV for a set from her album The Deep End, filmed at Horizon Music Group Studios in West Haven ,CT. Along with guitarist Cliff Goodwin, drummer Larry Donahue and bassist Michael Colbath, Ohlman performed "Love You Right" and her tribute to the city of New Orleans post Katrina, "The Cradle Did Rock." Ohlman, whose 20 year career as the front woman for the Saturday Night Live band along with a host of other monumental performing achievements is one of the most powerful female vocalists on the roots music scene. The performances will be feature in the upcoming show 14 for Alternate Root TV, broadcast in over 40 markets coast to coast. Enjoy.