The RootSoul Project

Artist Information

Biography

RootSoul Project is duo from Wilmington, North Carolina that blends the soulful aspects of numerous genres from rock and blues, to reggae and hip-hop. The band has been together since Spring of 2004, and has performed alongside names like Tim Reynolds, Culture, Victor Wooten, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Corey Smith, The Nappy Roots, Matisyahu, and Widespread Panic. RootSoul Project was also a house band at The House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach through the summer of 2008.

RootSoul Project is just what the name says it is. It started as a project to fuse the styles of roots music that the band loves with the styles of rock & roll, hip-hop, and soul that they grew up listening to. The result is a sound that pays homage to their musical role-models, while staying fresh in its approach and delivery. RSP tries to emphasize versatility in their shows, transitioning between contemporary and traditional styles of music without alienating the listeners.

Randy McQuay (vocals, keyboard, guitar, harmonica, drums) fronts the group, writing most of the songs and laying down the soulful vocals that have become the calling card of RSP. His vocals are heavily influenced by classic soul, reggae, country, and hip-hop, and are often compared to singers like Otis Redding and Ray Charles. Randy’s musical education started in high school, and continued through college, where he began to learn the piano, and majored in percussion.

It was in college where he met back up with a high school friend, Justin Johnson (lead guitar, slide guitar, bass). Justin’s main influences have been blues, bluegrass and early rock n’ roll. During a gig in the summer of 2002, Justin was asked to sit in on a few songs with Randy’s band. The few songs turned into the whole night, and he began playing every gig with Randy, adding his unique style of lead guitar to the band's sound. Eventually, the group’s name was changed to The RootSoul Project and Randy and Justin began touring around North and South Carolina either as a duo, or with a full band.

In January of 2005, Randy and Justin went into the studio with a few friends to record their first album, featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica, slide guitar, percussion, and cello. The tracks were recorded and produced by Tommy Brothers at Audio Genesis in Wilmington, NC. The songs formed their first album, “Little Things”, which has received a great response from fans, solid reviews, and airplay on several radio stations.

Another year of gigging and writing followed, and in the Summer of 2006, RootSoul Project went back into the studio to record a self-titled, full band album. This time they brought along TJ Prystal (drums), Mike Hickman (bass, cello), and Rich Zimmerman (saxophone). The recording was done at Matrix studios in Wilmington, NC, and released in 2007.

In 2008, RootSoul Project went back into the studio to record an all gospel album, with Randy and Justin recording all of the tracks themselves on guitar, mandolin, bass, drums and harmonica. Once again the recording was done with Tommy Brothers at Audio Genesis.

Instrumentation

Randy McQuay- Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboard, Harmonica
Justin Johnson- Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar

Discography

"Little Things" (2005)
"The RootSoul Project" (2007)
"Will You Be Ready?" (2008)

Official Website

http://www.rootsoulproject.com

Audio

• Rehab Blues
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• Everything's OK
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• I Saw a Girl
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• Whether the Weather
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• Wrong Again
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• The RootSoul Project: Consciously cool. Affectionately chic. [+ Show ]
  

  The RootSoul Project: Consciously cool. Affectionately chic. By Katie Salter ..."Playing a mix...The RootSoul Project:
  Consciously cool. Affectionately chic.
  By Katie Salter
  
  ..."Playing a mix of covers as well their originals, RootSoul takes otherwise full, layered sounds and strips them down acoustically. On top of it all, lead singer Randy McQuay makes his lurid voice come alive with a stretched diaphragm that doesn’t seem biologically sound in a small-town white boy. Such an evocative combo gives the band a very unique attitude. This attitude grows from the band’s never ending quest to pay homage to roots music, like reggae, jazz and folk, which they fuse into soothing sounds of their own."
  
  ..."Lush with sultry vocals, RootSoul has a conscious cool to its rhythms, as heard in 'Right Here' (a song you can hear on the band’s website, www.rootsoulproject.com). Despite its frequent late-night performance, there is something about the tune that is like the bittersweet peace of rain in the morning. The music starts off slow and careful, but the lyrics leave listeners with a sense of progression: 'I’m going through some changes,' lead singer Randy McQuay croons with affection that rises from the core of the body. A place where feeling meets physicality, it’s soulful and tight."
  
  ..."RootSoul is a feel-good band with unmistakable talent and a penchant for entertaining the crowd."..."It only takes one show to get hooked, so you’re sure to join the masses who have made this local act the talk about town."
  

• ROOTSOUL PROJECT [+ Show ]
  

  ROOTSOUL PROJECT Seen: At Rox in downtown Wilmington April 10 By Jaclyn Piermarini Sta...ROOTSOUL PROJECT
  Seen: At Rox in downtown Wilmington
  April 10
  By Jaclyn Piermarini
  Star News Correspondent
  
  ..."This is a serious musical undertaking that stretches across several styles of music."
  
  ..."The crowd that gathered around them no doubt had a blast that night as they danced and sang along to their favorite hits."
  

• URBAN MUSIC: THE SOUNDTRACK TO THIS WEEK [+ Show ]
  

  ..."The name says it all for The RootSoul Project, blending genres of all sorts for a unique sound t......"The name says it all for The RootSoul Project, blending genres of all sorts for a unique sound that may seem unexpected coming from five white guys. But we shall not be deceived—this band knows how to make us move."

Setlist

THE ROOTSOUL PROJECT
SET LIST


ORIGINALS
Little Things
Wrong Again
I'll Sing for You
Somehow
Right Here
Latino
Just Leave
Ain't Changing Me
Nobody Said It Was Painless
Whether the Weather
I Saw a Girl
Everything’s OK
Things Have Changed
Worst Case Scenario
Come Back Home
Rehab Song
What Do I Gotta Do
Looking Back on Times When I…
I Sing to Jesus
Every Time I Think of You
It
Will You Be Ready?
I Don’t Want Your Cup of Coffee
When My Ship Comes In
I’ll Be Somewhere Singin’
While This Crazy World Spins Around

COVERS...

Ray Charles
A Fool for You
You Don’t Know Me
Georgia on my Mind
I've Got a Woman
The Night Time is the Right Time
Mess Around
Drown in my Own Tears
Lonesome Boy Blues
Hallelujah, I Love Her So
Hard Times

Eric Clapton
Before You Accuse Me
Running on Faith
Alberta
Walking Blues
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
Wonderful Tonight

Stevie Wonder
I Wish
Superstition
A Place In the Sun
Isn’t She Lovely
You Are the Sunshine of My Life

Van Morrison
Wild Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Have I Told you Lately (That I Love You)
Into the Mystic
Moondance

Marvin Gaye
Let's Get It On
Sexual Healing
What's Going On
Mercy Mercy Me

Bob Dylan
Wagon Wheel
When I Paint My Masterpiece
To Make You Feel My Love
I Shall Be Released
Don’t Think Twice

Bob Marley
Stir It Up
Redemption Song
Burnin' and Lootin'
Get Up Stand Up
Forever Loving Jah
Rastaman Chant
No Woman, No Cry
I Shot The Sheriff
Mellow Mood
Roots, Rock, Reggae
Don’t Rock the Boat
One Cup of Coffee
Natural Mystic
Kinky Reggae
Waiting in Vain

Otis Redding
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
These Arms of Mine
Dreams to Remember
When a Man Loves a Woman
Pain in My Heart

Sam Cooke
A Change Is Gonna Come
Nothing Can Change This Love
What A Wonderful World
You Send Me
Earth Angel
Bring It On Home to Me

Sublime
Bad Fish
Don't Push
Doin' Time
Jailhouse
Let's Go Get Stoned
Garden Grove
Little District

Ben Harper
Steal my Kisses
Walk Away
Burn One Down
In the Lord’s Arms

The Beatles
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Something
Across the Universe
Yesterday

Keith Whitley
Don't Close Your Eyes
When You Say Nothing at All
Tell Lorrie I Love Her
On the Other Hand

James Taylor
Fire and Rain
Something In the Way She Moves
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
Country Road

Doc Watson
Down Yonder
Windy & Warm
Salt Creek
Bill Cheatum
Fire on the Mountain

Lionel Richie
Easy
Sail On
Hello

Garth Brooks
Friends in Low Places
Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old
The River
If Tomorrow Never Comes

Bill Withers
Use Me
Ain't No Sunshine
Just The Two of Us

Jerry Garcia, David Grissman
Stealin’
Shady Grove
Take Me

Ray Lamontagne
Trouble
Shelter
Crazy?

Stevie Ray Vaughn
Pride and Joy
Leave my Little Girl Alone
Life by the Drop

Jimi Hendrix
Mockingbird
Little Wing
Castles Made of Sand

Johnny Cash
Busted
Folsom Prison Blues
25 Minutes to Go

Jimmy Martin
Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
Beautiful Brown Eyes
Bluegrass Singin’ Man

Hank Williams Jr.
Family Tradition
Blues Man
Old Habits

Hank Williams
Hey Good Lookin’
Half as Much

Joe Cocker
You Are So Beautiful
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

Musiq Soulchild
Don’t Change
Just Friends (SUNNY)
‘L is Gone

Al Green
Let's Stay Together
For the Good Times

Peter Tosh
Pick Myself Up
Downpressor Man

Martin Sexton
Freedom of the Road
Can’t Stop Thinking Bout You

Dave Mathews
Crash
Crush

James Brown
I’ll Go Crazy
Please, Please, Please

Travis Tritt
Drift Off to Dream
Anymore

Elton John
Daniel
Your Song

Temptations
My Girl
Just My Imagination

Donny Hathaway
You Were Meant for Me
What’s Going On?

JD Crowe & The New South
Old Home Place

Merle Travis
Goodbye My Bluebelle

Ricky Skaggs
Let It Be You

Bill Monroe
Blue Moon of Kentucky

Earl Scruggs
Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Lynard Skynard
Tuesday’s Gone

N.E.R.D.
Provider

Randy Travis
Forever and Ever Amen

Johnny Lang
Good Morning Little School Girl

Roger Miller
Oo-de-lally

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Aeroplane

LL Cool J
Hey Lover

The Drifters
Under the Boardwalk

Dr. John
Such a Night

Don Gibson
I Can’t Stop Loving You

Lenny Kravitz
Can’t Get You Off My Mind

Black Crowes
She Talks To Angels

B.B. King
The Thrill is Gone

Billy Joel
New York State of Mind

David Gray
This Year’s Love

Sizzla
Solid as a Rock

Stevie Nicks
Landslide

Weezer
Say it Ain't So

Pearl Jam
Black

Etta James
At Last

Jodeci
Stay

D'angelo
Brown Sugar

Gnarls Barkley
Crazy?

Merle Haggard
Mama Tried

T-Bone Walker
Stormy Monday

Allison Krauss
When God Dips His Pen
Oh, Atlanta

Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here

R. Kelly
When A Woman's Fed Up
Ignition (Remix) Freak!

Little Feat
Oh Atlanta

Heatwave
Always and Forever

Radiohead
House of Cards

George Gershwin
Summertime

Sonny Rollins
Autumn Leaves

George Strait
You Look So Good In Love

Gil Scott-Heron
Get Out of the Ghetto Blues

Old Crow Medicine Show
Wagon Wheel

GOSPEL…
Will You Be Ready?/ RootSoul Project
I Sing to Jesus/ RootSoul Project
In the Garden/ Traditional
Hallelujah, I Belong To the Band/ Rev. Gary Davis
Workin’ On A Building/ John Fogerty
Church On Time/ Ben Harper
In the Lord’s Arms/ Ben Harper
Jesus Is Love/ Commodores
Jesus Gave the Water/ Sam Cooke
Thank You Lord/ Bob Marley and the Wailers
Driftin’ Too Far From the Shore/ Bill Monroe
Amazing Grace/ Traditional
Will the Circle Be Unbroken/ Traditional
I’ll Fly Away/ Traditional
Down In the Valley to Pray/ Doc Watson
When the Saints Go Marching In/ Traditional
The Old Rugged Cross/ Traditional
Adam and Eve/ Bob Marley
I Am A Pilgrim/ Traditional
When God Dips His Pen/Allison Krauss

Basic Requirements

Calendar