Rusted Root Lead Singer Coming To Bemus Point

By JASON BUSSMAN

Michael Glabicki

6/21/2006 - Since 1988, Michael Glabicki and Rusted Root have toured the country playing with such bands as The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Santana and even Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.On Saturday, Glabicki will be on stage at The Village Casino in Bemus Point.Equipped with his acoustic guitar, the Rusted Root frontman is hoping to fill up The Casino with the band’s staples as well as new solo material.‘‘Because the band is gone, the guitar has room to come out and fill up the room,’’ Glabicki said. The show on the shores of Bemus Point caps Glabicki’s solo tour that has spanned the last three months.‘‘This tour was great. I’m having a lot of fun and loosening up quite a bit. I’m just sort of laying back and having fun with it all,’’ Glabicki said. ‘‘It’s a one-man show and it’s real different. It’s got a lot of power behind it and it gets the room rocking.’’Rusted Root recently reunited from a hiatus just in time to start their summer tour, which kicked off at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on June 17.‘‘Bonnaroo was great. It was our first time playing there,’’ Glabicki said. ‘‘A lot of people came out for our show. I was surprised by it. It was overwhelming.’’Glabicki founded Rusted Root upon returning from a post-high school trip to South America. Since the band’s inception, Rusted Root has had a unique sound that still flourishes 18 years later. While some argue whether Rusted Root should be labeled as a jam band, almost all will agree that there is no other band that sounds like them.‘‘We started getting labeled as a jam band when we were touring with The Grateful Dead and bands that follow that genre. We don’t really have the 30-minute guitar solos and all of that going on,’’ Glabicki said. ‘‘Nowadays, the jam band scene is more like rock and roll.’’Labels withstanding, Rusted Root has produced quality music for almost two decades. In 1990, they released a self-released CD, Cruel Sun. The disc attracted Mercury Records which signed which signed the band and released When I Woke (1994). Two more records (Remember in 1996 and the self-titled Rusted Root in 1998), three EPs (Evil Ways, Live, and Airplane), a home video (Rusted Root Live) and miscellaneous film and TV soundtrack credits (Twister, Matilda, Home for the Holidays, Party of Five, Homicide, and Ice Age) followed. Welcome to the Party (2001) is their latest album to date.‘‘Beyond the songwriting, there is a collaborative thing that happens that is unique in our band,’’ Glabicki said.On Saturday, a national recording artist is coming to Chautauqua County largely due to the efforts of Blue Moon Management.‘‘This acoustic show is really great because I can try new material on the road. It’s different, it’s not like seeing what makes the crowd dance or scream their heads off at the end, it’s more about picking a few people out of the crowd and feeling their reaction on a very subtle level. It’s a whole different world. It’s extremely powerful,’’ Glabicki said.‘‘Anyone who likes the songs of Rusted Root would in a lot of ways identify with me. They are experiencing something personal in the music.’’Doors open at 9 p.m. at The Village Casino in Bemus Point. Opening for Glabicki is The Steve Johnson Band — the lead singer of Big Leg Emma — and the soulful sounds of Jacinta Whitcome. Cost for admission is $10.

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