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Archive for “The Roots” news
Seth Meyers to Succeed Jimmy Fallon on Late Night, Roots Replacement Unknown
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/13/2013
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Saturday Night Live lead writer and "Weekend Update" host Seth Meyers will succeed Jimmy Fallon at Late Night, NBC announced yesterday. (Fallon will mercifully replace Jay Leno, in case you missed the news while watching Colbert like everyone else.) The edgy, acerbic days of Late Night--yes, Conan and Letterman were edgy when they first hosted the show--are now officially behind us. Fallon and Meyers, unlike their predecessors, have a friendlier, more earnest thing going on. But here's what really matters:
No decisions have been made yet about whether the format of the show will change in any substantial way, Mr. Meyers
Now that Fallon’s Taking Over for Leno, Will the Roots Perform on the Tonight Show?
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 3/20/2013
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The Times reports that Jimmy Fallon will replace Jay Leno at The Tonight Show, maybe/probably/don't trust Leno around Fall 2014. Which means one thing for sure: the show's moving back to New York, where it began in 1954. And it also raises the vital question: Will the Roots still be Fallon's house band? I hope so, because I'm about as ready for the Kevin Eubanks era to end as I am for Leno to finally step down. Note: a colleague alerts me to the fact that Kevin Eubanks hasn't been Leno's bandmate for like 3 years. Somebody's been watching! Maybe that
Video: Questlove Stars in Mini-Documentary on Bonnaroo
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 3/20/2013
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Last July, during the Bonnaroo music festival R'n'B singer D'Angelo performed on stage for the first time in 12 years. A documentary about SuperJam session during which D'Angelo sang is being released in chunks, and the first episoded aired today. Questlove (who held down is your narrator and guide, and you'll ride his steady ship from 30 Rock in New York City to Manchester, Tennessee, where the epic sounds of the concert competed mightily with the aroma of pot and porta-potties that welcome revelers to Bonnaroo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3woHfDKTjqU#!
[Glide Magazine]
The Roots Help NBC’s Brian Williams Slow-Jam the Debt Ceiling
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/30/2013
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Apparently when Jimmy Fallon wants somebody to spice up an incredibly tired, tendentious story about fiscal crises in Washington, he turns to Brian Williams. It's like a reverse jinx. (See: 2010, extension of the Bush tax cuts.) And when Brian Williams wants to take back the spotlight from his "Girls"-starring daughter Allison, he turns to the Roots. Below, way down there on this blog post, baby, Brian Williams slow-jams the debt ceiling. [Huffington Post]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bWfuENnxjI
Questo Reveals Lineup for Roots Picnic
By Joel Mathis 1/22/2013
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Sure, it's freezing outside. Warm yourself, though, to thoughts of shaking your thang at this summer's Root's Picnic. Questlove unveiled the lineup Tuesday morning via Twitter:
Naughty By Nature is still performing? Amazing. Also on the bill: Gary Clark Jr., Solange, Robert Glasper, DJ Premier, and several artists who use dollar signs to spell the letter "S" in their names. Should be fun!
Fourth of July Jam Will Be Broadcast on VH1 This Year
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/09/2013
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The history of Philadelphia: international powerhouse to national powerhouse to semi-provincial big city with grit and potential. (That's where we are now.) Maybe bringing the country's largest outdoor concert--the Roots' 4th of July Jam--to national television will restore some glory. The show, which has drawn about a half million people in recent years, is going to get seen by the whole country, might even upgrade its roster. Writes a hopeful Dan DeLuca:
The good news about this for Philadelphia is that with the addition of a national audience, the quality of the talent pool is likely to get richer at the
Temple Orchestra, Springsteen, The Roots Score Grammy Noms
By Janine White 12/06/2012
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Grammy nominations had their own TV special last night. If you turned the channel 30 seconds in because you couldn't get through the tortured opening dialogue between LL Cool J and Taylor Swift (oh, LL, a honky-tonk is a bar, silly!), you missed a tribute to Johnny Cash, a performance by Maroon 5 and all men being nominated in the category of Album of the Year. Philly connections for the nominations: The Temple University Symphony Orchestra picked up two spots in the Best Instrumental Composition category; Bruce Springsteen picked up three (including Best Rock Album for Wrecking Ball); and The Roots scored one
VIDEO: That Time Questlove and Dave Chappelle Went to Prince’s After Party
By Mike Bertha 9/11/2012
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In an animated video a la The Ricky Gervais Show, Grantland has offered up visual interpretations of the B.S. Report (a podcast). This video includes an animated version of Neal Brennan's story about a Prince concert. Brennan—co-creator of Chappelle's Show—was hanging out with Dave Chapelle and Questlove when The Roots drummer suggested they check out Prince's concert. Prince called out to Chappelle from the stage and invited the guys to his hotel room after the show where they hung out with his Canadian wife's family. Prince even offered them pancakes. The only thing that would make this cooler is if
?uestlove Re-Launches Okayplayer Records
By Mike Bertha 8/14/2012
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?uestlove has announced that he'll be re-launching his Okayplayer Records this fall. The label has been hiatus since the 2004 release of the True Notes Vol 1. compilation. Okayplayer Records will release Payback by Atlanta rapper Danny! on September 25th and then an instrumental album by Young Guru called Essentials Vol 1. on October 9th. Common, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, and Philly's own Jill Scott have previously worked with the label. [Billboard]
The Roots and Jimmy Fallon Play “Call Me Maybe” With Carly Rae Jepsen
By Mike Bertha 6/08/2012
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If you weren't already on the "Call Me Maybe" bandwagon, consider this your official invitation. Jimmy Fallon and his house band, The Legendary Roots Crew, helped Carly Rae Jepsen perform the hit single with a xylophone, a triangle and a kazoo. Happy Friday, you guys.
