Taproot’s Stephen Richards Guests On New Song

Taproot singer Stephen Richards is on a new song with an artist named Wes Anderson.

Anderson talks about working with Stephen: " I've been a massive Taproot for decades and pretty much grew up on them. Working with Stephen on this is a huge notch on the belt for me, and he brought his A-game to this song. I've always loved his ability to seamlessly go from beautiful harmonies to guttural screams in the same phrase, and this song showcases that rare ability. I rarely get a vocalist on a song that is so involved and excited about a project. I think it's a special song, and I can't wait for the world to hear it." 

"Goodbye" follows up Anderson's June release of "Heads Are Gonna Roll," the Reggae-tinged rocker "Heads Are Gonna Roll," featuring Skindred vocalist Benji Webbe, with founding Alien Ant Farm bassist Tye Zamora and drummer Donald Spangler (Ballyhoo!).

Stephen told me about the collab. "Yeah, I was approached by a guy named Wes Anderson—not the famous director, but he’s a musician who goes by “Songs by Wes.” You can find him on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms. He’s known for doing different types of music and collaborating with various artists. He’s worked with P-Nut from 311, Tye from Alien Ant Farm, and the singer from Skindred on his last song. He approached me and gave me a song. When I first heard it, I remember thinking, “How do you not expect me to sound like Chino?” It was a bit redundant but with great riffs. I couldn’t figure out the organization at first, so I told him I would chop it up like crazy. I did, and it blew his mind."

He went on to talk more about the song. "Conceptually, it was very deep for me lyrically. It was also the first time I wrote an entire song—lyrics and vocals—over someone else’s music. I’ve done guest vocals, choruses, and bridges with other bands, but this was a first for me. It was a great experience, and the song turned out really cool—dark, but cool."

As far as the song "Goodbye", he said he had other ideas for the title. " I actually called it “God Bye” initially, but Wes wanted to tone it down. I added some extra noises in the background, but he didn’t want to use them because the song was already pretty dark. I wrote it during a time when there were several mass shootings within a couple of weeks. The verses reflect that—trying to get into the mindset of what these people were thinking, not that I’d ever want to promote or condone anything like that. The choruses represent the angel on my shoulder, trying to talk me out of doing anything bad. It’s pretty—like the angels have your back, turning the story positive." Until the end..."Yeah, pretty much until the very last word."

Check out the song here.

Please listen to my Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast for more rock interviews.

Listen to the complete interview below.

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