We're excited to announce that we're welcoming St. Louis Magazine's A-List nominees We Are Root Mod into the TalentPlus family! This soulful hip hop group brings meaningful lyrics and catchy rhythms to bring their message to listeners. Read on below to learn more about We Are Root Mod!
How did you come together for this project?
Being that most of our band is blood-related, many people inside and outside of our family would encourage (and at times even tease) all the members of our generation who were musicians to start a band, claiming that it would be ridiculous for us not to. After a few years Daniel Fitzpatrick II (keyboardist) sat down on his back porch and via cell phone, individually called his sister Bianca Fitzpatrick (lead vocalist), cousin Thomas Paden (drummer), and other cousin ITHINKITSBBP (lead vocalist/MC) to gauge their interest in starting a band of some sort. We all agreed to come together and write music and search for some sort of identity. We also strongly agreed that by all means, whatever we did had to look and feel original. We needed a bassist and guitarist, and we didn’t have to go outside of our natural or spiritual family to find the right people for the job. Landon King (bassist) and Peter Plank (guitarist) were just what we needed to begin to make these mere ideas, grow and come alive to songs that would clearly, lyrically, and sonically represent the message of We Are Root Mod.
How would you describe your sound?
Our sound is a fearless, grooving, cultured, gospel, pop, jazz, and hip-hop-infused approach to action-based lyrics. So for those that like to put musicians in a box, we’re a hip-hop-fusion band that you can’t quite put your finger on.
When did you start playing music?
We began playing music together as a band in the summer of 2017.
What is your favorite moment of performing for a live audience?
There are lots of great and even mushy moments that we’ve shared with our amazing fans, but we’d have to say our favorite moment thus far was when J Ross TV walked in to our show at Gaslight Lounge. He’s poppin.
What influences your music the most?
The combination of our music production styles and growing up in the black church are our biggest influencers. We retain so many ideas and vibes from either being in the studio alone writing and composing on top of all the hours we’ve spent at our church building listening to some of the best musicians in the world 10-20 ft. in front of us every single week.
Where did the name “We Are Root Mod” originate from?
We Are because I Am. That’s a motto we live by. As some may know, ‘I Am’ is a biblical term in the Bible referring to God. We collectively agree we wouldn’t be who and where we are without God orchestrating us to be here and giving us a specific purpose. That’s how we got ‘We Are’.
‘Root’ comes from a place of acknowledging God as the source of all, as well as appreciating and utilizing the richness of our heritage in the music and lifestyles of our families and our black culture as a whole.
While appreciating our past, ‘Mod’ is a word that collectively forces us to always look ahead and create and perform with no ceilings. Besides ‘mod’ being short for the word ‘modern’, mod also refers to the British noun used to describe a young person of a subculture characterized by stylish dress, the riding of motor scooters, and a liking for soul music. Check us out.
How has the band changed over the years?
With time we have played together in many moments and situations, and that time has enhanced our chemistry by naturally and effortlessly helping us retain the tendencies and intricacies of one another. It’s never-ending and we’re excited to grow together.
What is the best and/or worst part about being a family band?
Because we’re all from a common network, our styles our very compatible and somewhat cut from the same cloth. That’s great and pretty much priceless. On the other hand, the worst part about being relatives is that you don’t get the same respect that a third-party representative of the band would receive when making decisions, suggestions, and/or corrections. There’s always a little more bickering involved when dealing with family. We’re so fortunate to have the humility as individuals to push past things and keep the music and the message in the forefront, way above our disagreements.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
Snarky Puppy.
If you had to describe the band in one word it would be….
Stargazing.
How does being a family band influence the dynamics of the band and the music you choose to perform?
We all have a common perception of what’s whack and what’s hot to us. There’s not much of a drop-off or difference in taste or quality as it pertains to anyone in the band. And if someone doesn’t like something, we operate in an environment where you can just make it known without feeling alienated or like a villain.
What is the first record you bought? Where did you listen to it?
Well we’re a band of six members so we’ll have to give you multiple records. How about the Earth WInd and Fire Gold Album, Motown stuff like Jackson 5, Temptations, Four Tops, Thriller. Classic heavy-hitters.
If you could play on any stage, where would it be?
The O2 Arena, Madison Square Garden, and Lollapalooza... to name a few.
When you’re not playing music you...
There are a few of us that teach music within the school system or private instruction. We’re all music producers as well. We play basketball, listen to solos of all sorts on Instagram, find hilarious things to laugh at on social media, play NBA 2K, cook food, devour food, and have highly intense NBA debates. And Bianca does great custom personalization on leather goods. Seriously.
Does anyone in the band have an unusual talent?
Daniel (keyboardist) can whistle anybody under the table. Peter (guitarist) can do quite the rendition of the song “I Believe I Can Fly”. That’s all that seems unusual at the moment.
If you could perform a concert in any country which would you choose and why?
We would have to say Japan. They love music over in Japan and it’s widely known that many of the Japanese still buy physical CD’s within their music market. What group of musicians with a merch table wouldn’t love that?!
For booking inquiries contact:
314.421.9400
bookus@talent-plus.com
To vote for We Are Root Mod for St. Louis Magazine's A-List:
https://www.stlmag.com/alist
