Biography of Rusted Root

Falling squarely into the jam-band camp first created by acts like Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors and the Dave Matthews Band, Rusted Root formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and quickly developed a following around area clubs. Consisting of Liz Bernlin (back-up vocals, percussion and violin), Michael Glabicki (lead vocals, guitar and mandolin), Patrick Norman (bass, percussion and back-up vocals), John Buynak (guitar, percussion, flute and mandolin), Jim DiSpirito (percussion and hand drums) and Jim Donovan (drums, back-up vocals and guitar), the group began to take shape in the late '80s when Glabicki and Bernlin met as part of a political youth group and began playing out together as an acoustic duo. They began to build an electric band when they were joined by Norman and Donovan, who studied jazz and classical music, respectively. After adding Buynak and percussionist DiSpirito, they had a workable group by the beginning of 1993. To meet the desire from fans for product, Rusted Root released the self-produced Cruel Sun, which went on to sell more than 80,000 copies around the U.S. and led to a deal with Mercury Records. Their free-spirited, jam oriented 1994 debut When I Woke scored a minor hit with the single "Send Me on My Way," and ultimately went platinum. For their second album, 1996's Remember, they worked with ex-Talking Head Jerry Harrison, who'd also produced Crash Test Dummies and Live; about a month after they finished recording, Rusted Root hit the road as part of the 1996 H.O.R.D.E. tour along with Blues Traveler and Lenny Kravitz. ~ Richard Skelly