Rise Up pairs excellent songwriting with the energy put forth by ROC every time they take the stage. Creating and defining their own Reggae/Rock sound while incorporating elements of Dub, Dancehall, Live Electronica, Hip-Hop, and Funk.
8/20/06
The forum is back up! only problem is, we had to start from scratch.
Sorry about that, but please don't hesitate to sign up again and get the
ball rolling.
Also, keep checking back- more updates that are on their way!
6/29/06
We've changed web hosts so the forum will be temporarily down. We're
working on getting it back up so check in later
5/11/06 -Universal Soldier Featuring C- Money from John Brown's Body
is now posted on Myspace
for your listening pleasure!!!
Universal Soldier will be on ROC's forthcoming album due out in early
fall. Check back here and myspace often for any updated news on the
albums release.
-A student documentary has just been filmed about Roots of Creation,
excerpts from the video will be available on our myspace soon...........in
the meantime you can read an article about the video here:
FPC students made a
film after following around the band "Roots of Creation" by Juliana
Spence/Exchange Staff Writer
A student-made ethnography about the local
reggae-jam, fun-rock band Roots of Creation, (ROC) will be shown publicly on
Wednesday May 3rd at 6 p.m. in the Fitzwater Lecture Hall.
Seniors Eddie Westdal and Soren Wills followed around ROC for seven
months "examining the culture in and around the band." They videotaped 15
shows including the coffeehouse performance that ROC gave at Franklin Pierce
College on April 13th. Westdal said, "The crowd at the FPC show was
probably the most rocking crowd I?ve seen in my taping, besides Harlow?s
which is like hometown (for the band)."
For Westdal, who is a graduating anthropology major, the ethnography
became is senior thesis project. "It was really interesting studying a
culture that I can identify with as my own," Westdal said. Westdal and
Wills went on a four-day tour with the band to capture much of footage that
is used in the video.
Brett Wilson, the lead guitarist and singer for ROC, said, "I was
excited to capture moments of us playing to look at and analyze and then to
have something to look back on later in life."
Westdal and Wills spent many hours editing down over 4200- minutes of
footage to create a 1hour and 15 minute film. Featured on the video are
interviews with all the band members talking about the history of the band,
fans telling their opinions, and studio-recording footage from the making of
ROC?s new album. Westdal does voice-overs that keeps it moving. "The video
is a journey through my research," Westdal said.
After spending all of spring break editing the video everyday for at
least 12 hours, Westdal said, "I learned that doing a video wasn?t going to
be easier than writing a thesis paper."
All the music in the video was recorded live at the shows by John
Sulkala, a senior fine art major, who accompanied Wills and Westdal during
the filming.
The video ends with Ian Stitch, the former bassist of the band leaving
and Jay Felitto stepping in to take his place. "An interesting thing to
catch is the process of Stitch leaving and Jay coming and how that affected
the music the difference of before and after," Westdal said.
For Wills, a Mass Comm major concentrating in Media Production, the
video became the basis of an independent study with Professor Zrzavy. He
said, "My original inspiration was making the video 6AM (a ROC song) that I
worked on with Steve Maynard for Advanced Media Production last semester
with Prof. Tullio."
Wills then bought an editing system that his uncle, a professional film
editor in Boston, taught him how to use. "The video gave me a really a
great chance to learn everything about editing because I had to teach Eddie
so he could help." Wills has one about 20 smaller projects, but he said,
"This is the longest yet." Wills and Westdal borrowed all the equipment
used during the filming from the Fitzwater Center Depot'
Wilson said, "I think that they did a great job and we?re going to be
taking the video and putting it in our electronic press kit and maybe
putting it as a bonus on our next CD."
This was the first time Westdal researched a culture and made an
ethnography. One thing he said he learned about the ROC culture is that,
"At every show there are people who are going to dance."
...Wills and Westdal said they are both excited and nervous for the video to
be shown. They have invited the band, as well as the public, to the
screening which will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday May 3rd in the Fitzwater
Center lecture hall' Roots of Creation music can be heard at
www.rootsofcreation.com.
3/14/06 -Hey everyone, We've decided to clear the message board.
If you've seen it recently then, I'm sure, you can understand why. We
apologize to everyone that has actually been posting on there, but, the spam
is out of control. I put up just a few forums to start, so.......don't
be afraid to get on there and be the first to post on ROC'sNEW
MESSAGE BOARD.
-IT'S OFFICIAL!! JASON FELITTO is ROC's new bassplayer! After a
search far and wide we found someone who is very complimentary to our style
and sound. He adds a great element of sound searching,
experimentation, and energy to the ever evolving ROC sound. Come out,
and make him feel part of the ROC crew. Here's a little bit of Jay's
background.
*Jason Felitto (Piano, Bass) received his B.M. in Piano
Performance from the Boston Conservatory, where he studied with Janice
Weber. He has participated in many competitions and won 1st
prize in the prestigious Littmann Music Competition in Bronxville New York.
His studies in New York also include The Manhattan School Of music where he
studied String Bass with Linda Mcknight. At Manhattan he was co-principle
of the Senior Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jonathan
Strasser. He has also played with the Boston Conservatory Orchestra and the
Principle Orchestra of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Youth Orchestra,
under the direction of Robert Genualdi. Chamber Music includes the Honors
Chamber Program done in conjunction with Hartt School of Music, Hartford, CT
and South Shore Music, Westport, CT. He studies electric bass with Marc
Freedman (The Slip) and has played major clubs around the Boston area such
as the Paradise and the Middle East. Jason has participated in groups
ranging from chamber music to progressive jazz and fusion and is Bandleader
of The Skyline Quintet jazz and dance band.*
-Check out new pics in the media section. Also, check some of
the new shows on ARCHIVE.ORG. Harlow's 2/24/06 is up on archive, and
is Jay's first recorded show with us.
-We will probably be posting some tracks from our forthcoming album on
myspace.com so keep checking in
1/27/06 -ROC has won 5th place in American Idol's underground contest in
the electronica category for the song 3 men in a tub dub. Click
here to
check it out.
-ROC is currently being featured on Boston Acoustics website in the lounge
section. Come check us out in the lounge as well as their great audio
products.
www.bostonacoustics.com/lounge
-> vote for ROC to open up for Dave Matthews Band!!! Use the
link listed below and fill our name in as the band you want to see open for
Dave Mathews Band this summer. Forward this message to your friends/family
to fill out. Every little bit helps!!
click on this link:
http://www.dmband.com/surveys/OpenerSurvey.asp
and enter your info and our band name.
Thanks for your time and support!!!
1/7/06
-HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
-Thanks to everyone who helped bring in the new year. All the shows
were amazing thanks to all of you!
* Burlington was a great kick off with our new friends Casual
Fiasco.
* Fall River was amazing! Narrows is a great and intimate
venue/artist space. This was a great turnout, Fall River seems to be
growing community for us, and we appreciate all the love we receive when
we're there. Thank you!
* La Cocina!! Always a great crowd ready to get down until
the end. Quite a party, always!
* NYE @ Harlow's. This night couldn't have been any better.
The show was sold out by 9p.m. the dance floor was jammed all night,
and we feel blessed to have brought in the new year with all the
beautiful people that shared this special night with us.
*SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE 2005 AN AMAZING AND INSPIRATIONAL YEAR,
WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR SUPPORT, AND LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER AMAZING YEAR,
THANKS FOR THE LOVE!*
-We're taking most of January off from shows to spend some time in the
studio. check our shows page to see when we're coming back to
your town. See you all soon!
1ne,ROC
12/18/05
-Check us out on
myspace !!!
-Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend, all the shows were a
great send off before we take a short break for the holidays. Pics and
audio from this weekend will be up soon!
-We'll be back in full force to help bring in the new year!! A new show in
Burlington has been added to our new years run,
-Dec. 28 @ Club Metronome, Burlington, VT w/ CASUAL FIASCO
-Dec. 29 @ Narrow's Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA
-Dec. 30 @ La Cocina, Pittsfield, MA
-Dec. 31 NYE!!! @ Harlow's Pub, Peterborough, NH
12/15/05 New pictures are up in the media section. There are still more to
come, but check out the Halloween '05 section for some laughs. Or the
body shots section to maybe see yourself from a recent show.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROC is back in the studio working on our sophomore release. There
will plenty of songs that you'll know from shows, along with some new
material that will be sure to please. The disc will also include some
very special guests!!!
-look for its release come late spring!
!!HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!
12/12/05 Get your tix for NYE @ Harlows!! There is a good chance this event
will sell out!!! Tix are available @ Harlows in downtown Peterborough.
If you do not live in the Keene/Peterborough area and would like to pre
order your tix e-mail us and we'll see
what we can do.
We just learned how to update our website ourselves. Check back for more
news pictures and music to come.
4/27/05 One of our
friends and biggest fans Jeremy Buck passed away recently. We are already
doing a benefit at Harlows for the local food pantry (so bring your unwanted
cans) but we are also going to use this friday's show also as a celebration
of Jeremy's life. So we are going to donate a portion of the proceeds of the
show to his family to help them out. Please come and join in a musical
eulogy to a beautiful person that touched so many.
RIP Jeremy Buck
-Roots of Creation
4/5/05 More updates added including new message board
Live shows now available for download at
Archive.org
ROC starting to record next full-length album
Tour to Georgia in May! check back for more details
Two Strangers Helping Strangers (www.SHStrangers.org) Food Drive R.O.C.
shows have been announced. There is one this WED (4/6) at the Plantation
Club in Worchester MA for Wormtown's Battle of the Bands and the next
Harlows Pub show on 4/29. Get involved and help those in need with food you
can spare! See our
tourdates page for more details...
"Strangers Helping Strangers is pleased to announce that they will be
conducting a food drive at Roots of Creation's show on 4/29 at Harlow's
Pub. Please bring non-perishable food items to the show for the local food
bank in Peterborough, NH. Strangers Helping Strangers will be holding
drawings for gifts from those who donate. For more information, please
visit
www.SHStrangers.org"
3/17/05 New site! we're still undergoing some updating, so keep checking back!
3/10/05 ROC to tour from Vermont to Georgia in mid-MAY!!!!! check out the gigs
page frequently to find new shows....also new website will but up in a few
weeks as well!!
2/7/05
Tons of NEW SHOWS on tour dates page!!!!:
including... Middle East this w/ Umelt, Colby College w/ Freespace any many
more!!!
Opening for
Matisyahu the Hasidic Reggae Superstar for the second time!!! Wednesday Jan 19th in Burlington VT at Club Metronome. show is 21+ ROC
plays from 9-10pm. we are so excited to be sharing the stage with this great
band. Good vibes from two multi-cultural "conscious" reggae bands.
lots more shows announced on the gigs page. its gonna be a great year!!!! e-mail us if you wanna
promote and be on the street team
ROC shoots DVD and starts recording second CD Shout outs to everybody at the barley pub and Big bear lodge show. lots
of new fans turned on at the barley pub and we shot a sick DVD with Lords of
Fitness on camera duties and
studio.metronome
on sound. look for it soon. also ROC is in the studio soon to start on their
second CD with many of the new songs that you will hear at the up coming
shows. including newbies "sorry I had to go" and "universal soldier" and
classics: "rise up" and "arabia."
Who We Are,
When Roots of Creation was formed in 1999 there was a general idea as
to
what this band could offer the musical world. As songs started to be
written and
ideas were presented, it became apparent that we wanted to include our
audience
in the meaning of the R.O.C sound. The goal was, and still is to combine
the
foundation of Reggae: musically and lyrically, with the improvisational
rock,
and soul music that not only moves people, but reaches out and delivers a
purpose. In this age of music, it is hard to find a band that can stand
out: A
band that goes beyond the technical, beyond the musicians, beyond just the
music. As a unit, Roots of Creation is about writing songs for the people,
and
including the stories, feelings, situations, and the highs and lows of all
of
us. Songs such as Another Song of Freedom, and Universal Soldier are just
two
examples of what it means for us to be in this band. Our goal is to not
only
share music with our fans, but to include them into a musical mind set
that
links us all. Whether it be the lyrics, the music, the feelings, or the
just the
moment, we are creating a family. A family that is united through a
feeling:
unsung to some, and clear to our listeners. The Roots of Creation Nation
is
you. From all of us in R.O.C, we would like to “thank you all with all our
souls,
listen close and hear it all.”
Sincerely Yours,
Roots of Creation
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