Here's a treat for Rootboy Slim fans. This is a vinyl rip from my collection. The Debut "Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes" (Warner Brothers, 1978) LP and and the follow up LP "Zoom" (IRS Records 1979). Rootboy was pretty whacked out, and was charecterized as punk by some. Really it is straight up fun rock n roll. Whimsical, funny, nothing too serious. His music is reminiscent of Crack the Sky, Frank Zappa, and The Good Rats. I say this because the tunes are funny, yet put down to some very good music. Ron Hollaway a famed Jazz Sax man plays on both albums. I saw Rootboy a few times. Always an outragous show. Everyone drunk and especially Rootboy. Anyone ever do the "Gator" on stage with Root?
The Debut album on CD is available on Amazon. The Zoom LP is on e-bay for $64.00!!!!!
From Amazon Reviews:
Root Boy Slim is hard to describe, maybe ''blues based mayhem'' is a start. He has been compared to Captain Beefheart and Dr. John. One thing for sure, he has a hardcore cult following. His most popular (and probably his best) album is Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band, which was originally issued on Warner Brothers Records in 1978. It features the underground hit 'Boogie 'Til You Puke'. This album is making its worldwide CD debut on Wounded Bird Records. 11 tracks. 2003.
A great review that says it all from a user on Amazon:
This is THE essential party album. It originally was released on vinyl by Warner Brothers in the '70s, but must have fallen down a black hole as far as a CD was concerned--then Root Boy OD's a few years ago in a sort of down-and-out way, and my guess is that the rights to the music were messed up somehow.
Anyway, the lyrics tell the story.
From "Mood Ring"- -"When I first saw you tonight/Could not believe my eyes/You got my Mood Ring smokin'/I wiped it on my thighs/Drank three tequilas/Just to calm me down/The damn thing 'sploded/And spread my mood around. . ."
From "My Wig Fell Off"- -"Tryin' to pass for eighteen/Is a tough thing to do/You can't make it in the disco/When you're forty-two/I've been looking for love/In every disco in town/My wig is gettin' shaky/My truss is slippin' down. . . [Chorus] My wig fell off/Hand my toupee to me/I'm quittin' the disco/I'm almost forty-three. . ."
From "The Heartbreak of Psoriasis"- -"You can see it on your TV/In your private home/You can see it on the scoreboard/At the Astrodome/Itching elbows/Back of the neck/Who knows where the heartbreak/Will strike next. . ."
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Here'a Another Review:
Slim(Root) Loved playing Albany NY and Washington DC area . Root was a Yale graduate and one cool cat . His humour in his songs added zest to that boogie woogie rock n roll style this band excelled in . His 45's like Xmas at K-Mart(everyone shopping for the blue light special) and World War III, Dare to be fat and The Shah is gone(he's gone away) are very rare to find for an even the most advid vinyl collectors. Always nice to have the CD but agree with the earlier rater the vinyl has more horns and is better. Delicious nutricious "Root Loops" as he threw Fruit Loops at the audience... Root was the most versatile outrageous band EVER. I recommend this CD if you can't hunt down his vinyls . When it comes to keepin' it real....nobody does it like Root Boy! Just wish he was still doin' it. I can't ever get enough of it. If you like to rock out with a tight band, and have a good laugh at the same time, this one is a must. Can't wait for Zoom to come out on CD. My vinyls are wearing out!
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Awesome in depth info from Wikepedia:
Root Boy Slim (born Foster MacKenzie III) (born July 9, 1945 — died June 8, 1993) Asheville, North Carolina; was an American singer-songwriter for the band Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band. He died in his sleep in his home in Orlando, Florida at the age of 48.
The band favored a mix of Memphis-style boogie rock/blues and produced six albums. Its most famous recording was "Boogie 'Til You Puke" from the debut album Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes, (Warner Brothers, 1978), which also featured "I Used To Be a Radical," "I'm Not Too Old For You," and "(You Broke My) Mood Ring." Another famous recording was the band's holiday favorite: "Christmas at K-Mart". Most of the songs were written by MacKenzie, guitarist Ernie Lancaster, and bassist Bob Greenlee. The lyrics often satirized society and mixed in autobiographical elements from MacKenzie's storied life.
The band favored a mix of Memphis-style boogie rock/blues and produced six albums. Its most famous recording was "Boogie 'Til You Puke" from the debut album Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes, (Warner Brothers, 1978), which also featured "I Used To Be a Radical," "I'm Not Too Old For You," and "(You Broke My) Mood Ring." Another famous recording was the band's holiday favorite: "Christmas at K-Mart". Most of the songs were written by MacKenzie, guitarist Ernie Lancaster, and bassist Bob Greenlee. The lyrics often satirized society and mixed in autobiographical elements from MacKenzie's storied life.
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Background
MacKenzie grew up in a wealthy household in Washington, DC. His mother was a society matron whose father was a North Carolina congressman who had chaired the House Ways and Means Committee. His father was a landscape architect who designed golf courses.
MacKenzie was an intelligent yet incorrigible youth who was invited to leave several private DC-area prep schools such as Sidwell Friends, whose alums include Chelsea Clinton. He finally found his niche at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD., a boarding school. There, he played varsity football.
He went on to Yale, where he majored in African American studies, graduating in 1967. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. His fraternity brothers included future two-time President, George W. Bush. MacKenzie was a year older than Bush.
While at Yale, MacKenzie formed a band with classmate and fraternity brother Greenlee, who was quarterback of Yale's football team. The band was named Prince La La and the Midnight Creepers. Band members wore ermine capes, silver lame hot pants and boasted that they were never invited for return engagements.
The year after MacKenzie and Greenlee graduated, they returned to the DKE house during Yale's homecoming. Bush, who since their departure had become president of DKE, threw them out and banned them from the house.
Washington, DC
After graduating from Yale, Root Boy bummed around Washington, DC for a number of years in different jobs, including one stint as driver for a Good Humor truck. One day he took a lot of LSD and went to the White House and climbed the fence. (He later explained that he "was looking for the center of the universe.") He was apprehended by the Secret Service as he ran up the lawn toward the White House. He was the first intruder since the War of 1812 to get completely over the fence.
Following his arrest, he was sent to St. Elizabeth's Psychiatric Hospital. This was the first of many visits that he would make in the coming years. The large dose of LSD he had consumed caused a psychotic break that led to schizophrenia that he would be medicated for during the rest of his life.
MacKenzie grew up in a wealthy household in Washington, DC. His mother was a society matron whose father was a North Carolina congressman who had chaired the House Ways and Means Committee. His father was a landscape architect who designed golf courses.
MacKenzie was an intelligent yet incorrigible youth who was invited to leave several private DC-area prep schools such as Sidwell Friends, whose alums include Chelsea Clinton. He finally found his niche at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD., a boarding school. There, he played varsity football.
He went on to Yale, where he majored in African American studies, graduating in 1967. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. His fraternity brothers included future two-time President, George W. Bush. MacKenzie was a year older than Bush.
While at Yale, MacKenzie formed a band with classmate and fraternity brother Greenlee, who was quarterback of Yale's football team. The band was named Prince La La and the Midnight Creepers. Band members wore ermine capes, silver lame hot pants and boasted that they were never invited for return engagements.
The year after MacKenzie and Greenlee graduated, they returned to the DKE house during Yale's homecoming. Bush, who since their departure had become president of DKE, threw them out and banned them from the house.
Washington, DC
After graduating from Yale, Root Boy bummed around Washington, DC for a number of years in different jobs, including one stint as driver for a Good Humor truck. One day he took a lot of LSD and went to the White House and climbed the fence. (He later explained that he "was looking for the center of the universe.") He was apprehended by the Secret Service as he ran up the lawn toward the White House. He was the first intruder since the War of 1812 to get completely over the fence.
Following his arrest, he was sent to St. Elizabeth's Psychiatric Hospital. This was the first of many visits that he would make in the coming years. The large dose of LSD he had consumed caused a psychotic break that led to schizophrenia that he would be medicated for during the rest of his life.
The Sex Change Band
Following his release from St. Elizabeth's, he reconnected with Greenlee and some other musicians. They recorded songs that found an audience on underground stations in the Washington area, such as WGTB, the Georgetown University station, and WHFS, then based in Bethesda. Besides Greenlee, who played bass, the other musicians in the Sex Change Band included Ernie Lancaster on guitar, Ron Holloway on saxophone and Winston Kelly on keyboards. Other notable musicians who played with the band over the years include Tom Lepson and Deanna Bogart.
One day in 1977, Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan) was visiting DC and heard the band's version of "Laundromat Blues" on WGTB. He called the station for a copy of the song, and took it back to the west coast and gave it to music producer Gary Katz. Katz signed the band to Warner Brothers, which resulted the band's debut album.
Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes
In 1978, the band released "Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes."
During the same year, the band played a date at The Varsity Grill's Back Room in College Park, Maryland (home of the University of Maryland). A riot ensued and the College Park City Council later banned Root Boy Slim and The Sex Change Band from the city. (The ban was lifted a few years later and they played an engagement at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum). Most of the original band members went their separate ways, reuniting mostly for recording projects. For nightclub performances, Root Boy was backed by a series of other bands, including New Hope for the Criminally Insane, Capital Offense and the Barbecue Juiceheads.
Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band's fifth anniversary took place in 1982 at the Psyche Delly in Bethesda, MD, and featured home movies of Root Boy, who wore an orange and white checkered 7-Eleven clerk's shirt and a white 10-gallon cowboy hat throughout the concert. The band's 10th anniversary concert took place at The Roxy, a club in downtown Washington. A line formed hours prior to that show and the club's three levels were standing room only. By the time the fourth set began, there were at least 25 musicians on the stage who had recorded or played clubs with Root Boy during his career. That show was also the debut of the "Rich, White, Republican," a biting satiric attack on Republicans that prophesied the eventual election of George W. Bush to the White House.
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Death
After his death in 1993, the Washington Area Music Association held a memorial concert at The Bayou on K Street in Georgetown. Root Boy fans traveled from as far away as California to pay homage to "The Lenny Bruce of the Blues."
Death
After his death in 1993, the Washington Area Music Association held a memorial concert at The Bayou on K Street in Georgetown. Root Boy fans traveled from as far away as California to pay homage to "The Lenny Bruce of the Blues."
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Discography
Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes (Warner Brothers, 1978)
Zoom (IRS Records 1979)
Dog Secrets (Congressional Records, 1983)
Don't Let This Happen to You (Kingsnake, 1987)
Left for Dead (Kingsnake, date unknown)
Root 6 (Ichiban, 1990)
Zoom (IRS Records 1979)
Dog Secrets (Congressional Records, 1983)
Don't Let This Happen to You (Kingsnake, 1987)
Left for Dead (Kingsnake, date unknown)
Root 6 (Ichiban, 1990)
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Band members, etc.
Ron Holloway - Saxophone
Ernie “Sex Ray” Lancaster - Guitar
Bob "Rattlesnake" Greenlee - Bass
The Rootettes
Steel Guitarist - Walt Andrews of Daytona Beach, FL
Gary Katz - Producer
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Ron Holloway - Saxophone
Ernie “Sex Ray” Lancaster - Guitar
Bob "Rattlesnake" Greenlee - Bass
The Rootettes
Steel Guitarist - Walt Andrews of Daytona Beach, FL
Gary Katz - Producer
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Trivia
The bumper sticker with the statement "Root Boy Slim Owes Me Money" was available during some shows.
The song "Boogie Till You Puke" from the recording "Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes" was aired on the Drew Carey Show on Friday, January 24, 2003.
The bumper sticker with the statement "Root Boy Slim Owes Me Money" was available during some shows.
The song "Boogie Till You Puke" from the recording "Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band with the Rootettes" was aired on the Drew Carey Show on Friday, January 24, 2003.
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01 BOOGIE TIL YOU PUKE
02 I'M NOT TOO OLD FOR YOU
03 I USED TO BE A RADICAL
04 HEARTBREAK OF PSORIASIS
05 I WANT IT NOW
06 MOOD RING
07 TOO SICK TO REGGAE
08 MY WIG FELL OFF
09 COUNTRY JOE
10 IN JAIL IN JACKSONVILLE
11 YOU CAN'T QUIT MY CLUB
12 WORLD WAR III
13 DO THE GATOR
14 THE LONLIEST ROOM IN THE WORLD
15 QUARTER MOVIE ON MY MIND
16 SUGAR DADDY
17 IGNITE IT
18 SHE WANTS TO MOVE IN
19 DARE TO BE FAT
20 MOTEL OF LOVE
21 DOZIN' AND DROOLIN'
22 EXPRESS TRAIN
69.8MB, WMA 9.1 CBR @128kbps
Publisher file with CD artwork included with download
Download here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2CZ9JK7A
Microsoft Word File with artwork: http://rapidshare.com/files/65091678/rootboy.doc
