By Therese McKeon

When Ozzfest hit Camden, New Jersey for the second time in two weeks, Shoutweb was there to catch all the action on the second stage. We tracked down Taproot backstage for an update on their tour schedule and plans for the next release, due to be recorded in the coming months. JRod and Mike D gave us the scoop on how Linkin Park has borrowed their bracket identity, why they chose to wear all white in a black T-shirt wearing tour, and the sad reality that second passes get you nowhere at Ozzfest.

Stephen Richards - vocals
Michael DeWolf - guitars
Philip Lipscomb - bass
Jarrod Montague - drums

Shoutweb: So what's up with Taproot?

Jarrod: We are on the Ozzfest. We're doing some off dates with Nonpoint, Drowning Pool, and Pressure 4-5 right now.

Mike: Those are just awesome. The shows have just been amazing. There have been so many kids out there supporting us and we love 'em. We're so thankful. They're making it fun for us.

Shoutweb: Where did you play last?

Jarrod: The last off date was Chattanooga, Tennessee and it was really, really good. There were almost 600 people there and it was crazy. It was a small little club and even though there was no moshing allowed people were still jumping and having fun. It's cool. We get to go home here in like a week. From there, we do two Ozzfest shows in Detroit. We do our own show headlining in Detroit and then we're doing a show supporting Marilyn Manson in Grand Rapids. So those will be really fun too.

Shoutweb: Have you done any bonding on this Ozzfest tour?

Jarrod: Yeah! When we're allowed to be by the main stage! We say hi to Linkin Park and Papa Roach and Disturbed. We've become really good friends with the Nonpoint guys and Pressure 4-5 and Systematic. It's cool and it's been fun.

Shoutweb: So you're on through the end of Ozzfest?

Mike: Yes, we go home for some dates but then we're done soon after that. We go home for two and a half weeks and then we go out to L.A. to meet with the producers. We're trying to decide who we're going to go with for the next album and then get started. We're really, really excited about this. We have a ton of new material that I'm just really pumped about. I can't wait!

Shoutweb: What is the name of the new song you're playing on Ozzfest?

Jarrod: It's called "Poem To Self". Then on the off dates we're playing "Get Me" that goes over pretty well with the crowd. We got to demo six songs with a guy named Fred Maher out in L.A. They turned out amazing. We're excited to start recording again. Hopefully it will be out in the Spring of next year, maybe April or May. We'll hopefully record it in late October, November.

Shoutweb: Have you guys had a chance to have a breather at all?

Jarrod: We've pretty much been doing four or five shows in a row. On our days off, we've been sitting around or we go to see a movie and do a decent dinner.

Shoutweb: What movies have you seen?

Jarrod: "Scary Movie 2" was pretty fuckin' funny. It was all about bodily fluids coming out. (laughter) That was pretty much the whole movie. It was funny.

Shoutweb: Are you guys changing your set up on tour at all?

Mike: We have about 25 minutes. We usually stick with the same set for Ozzfest. We have a long, whatever we want to do set on our off dates. Except for today, we mixed it up because we played here a week and a half ago. We wanted to switch it up for everyone who was here last time.

Jarrod: We even busted out some old tunes. For anyone who knows old school Taproot, we played "Low Life" at an off date show.

Mike: We tried to! (laughter)

Jarrod: That was about a week ago. You always get kids who yell out the old, old, old stuff.

Shoutweb: Those are the kids who have eBay and claim to have known you since the beginning. (laughter)

Jarrod: (laughter) Yeah, but they just found out about us yesterday.

Shoutweb: Any ideas on titles for the new record?

Mike: We have an idea of what it might be but we're not sure yet about that.

Shoutweb: Do you have any good Ozzfest stories?

Mike: Yeah, we were kicked off. (laughter)

Jarrod: We've almost been kicked off three or four times because the second stage passes don't mean shit! The head of security is a real asshole. (laughter)

Shoutweb: I won't print that.

Mike: No, print it. Last time you printed everything and it was so cool. It was the funniest fuckin' interview ever.

Shoutweb: Steve isn't here to burp though.

Mike: I'd like to talk shit about Mike from Linkin Park and have fun. (laughter)

Shoutweb: Give me some dirt on Mike. What's going on with him?

Mike: He created brackets. (laughter)

Jarrod: You know the Taproot brackets? Well, Linkin Park has them too. I think we had them before Linkin Park even changed their name to Linkin Park!

Mike: A year before actually probably. He comes in and says, "Oh, yeah, I invented that!" I was like, "Shut the fuck up!" (laughter)

Jarrod: They're cool guys.

Shoutweb: So tell me what is up in the wardrobe department? What is up with the all white outfits?

Mike: It's Ozzfest. Everything is black. Everything's metal. We're like, "Let's stand out and do something weird."

Jarrod: Mike even wanted to have a white tour shirt for Ozzfest but we all told him that it's a black T-shirt kind of crowd.

Mike: We were like, "Fuck it!" We're going to do everything white.

Jarrod: It's not a diss against Papa Roach. (laughter)

Shoutweb: Yeah, you guys are like the anti-Papa Roach.

Mike: No! (laughter)

Jarrod: Yes! (laughter)

Shoutweb: Someone recently e-mailed me about that interview I did with you guys on the Papa Roach tour to ask me who David was in Taproot! I told them to read the interview. It was a TapRoach interview or PapaRoot.

Mike: Now we're TapRoach 4-5.

Shoutweb: Can you describe the new material?

Mike: Amazing.

Jarrod: (in his best deep voice) It's heavy as fuck! It's melodic as fuck! It's everything you could ever want.

Shoutweb: That one new song you're playing on Ozzfest is awesome. Is it on the Internet yet?

Mike: No!

Jarrod: No, no. Please no!

Shoutweb: The kids reacted like they already knew it.

Mike: I think that's the most traditional Taproot sounding song so far that we've got as far as the new stuff. There are a lot of new moods. It's not necessarily always up and down all the time. Sometimes it's just straight slow and nice and sometimes it's beautiful and sometimes it's just heavy the whole time. There's all kinds of new stuff and it's all good.

Shoutweb: How many songs have you written so far?

Mike: I don't know. We have 15 or so all the way done and like 10 more that are in our heads.

Shoutweb: Are you changing the songs at all depending upon the reaction that you get playing it live?

Mike: No, not really.

(Out interview gets interrupted by the many people walking by.)

Mike: The God of Thunder just walked by.

Jarrod: Dee Snider. He's got blond hair. Wow, it's Dan and Fuzz from Disturbed. It's a party!

Mike: Oh my God, it's Ryknow from Mudvayne and he doesn't have his make-up on.

Shoutweb: Okay, guys. I will let you go now. Thanks for the update on Taproot!

Mike: Sure, I'm going to go eat like a pig right now.

Jarrod: We love Shoutweb!

Shoutweb: Have fun and good luck with the second stage passes!

Check out Shoutweb's Taproot Artist Channel or visit the official Taproot web site at www.taprootmusic.com.