Rusted Root

An eighteen year old named Michael Glabicki had just returned from a trip to Nicaragua, when he decided to drop out of college after his freshman year to become a musician. He placed a call to a talented vocalist that he had gone to high school with, Liz Berlin. Berlin would introduce former classmate Glabicki to two of her current classmates, Patrick Norman and Jim Donovan. Rusted Root was born.

Donovan said the first time the four played together felt like magic “For one, it was just exciting hearing people who play and sing their own songs. I think we played Artificial Winter that day. Mike’s open tunings on the guitar were unlike anything I’d ever heard”.

A year later, the band would pose for photographers John Buynak and Jenn Wertz, who through a twist of fate also happened to be musicians; they would become Rusted Root members five and six.

After their self released album Cruel Sun in 1992, Rusted Root hit the big time when they signed with Mercury Records and released the 1994 platinum selling album When I Woke.

Rusted Root: The Original Four

Yes, Jim Donovan was himself now part of that highly polished music establishment, although not really.

Rusted Root would tour the world playing in front of massive audiences. They shared the stage with the likes of Santana, Dave Matthews Band, Allman Brothers Band, and Jimmy Page/Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin). They would perform as part of Woodstock ‘99, an event attended by a crowd of over 200,000 people, and would be the opening act for The Grateful Dead at their final show before Jerry Garcia’s death. Their music added a soul to hit movies like Ice Age.

But through it all, they were able to do something many successful bands couldn’t — they were able maintain their artistic integrity. The musicality of the members of Rusted Root became legendary to their fans, as together they would play nearly sixty different instruments during the course of a show.

“In any good creative relationship there are always disagreements and we had our share. The good thing was that for the most part, these disagreements didn’t revolve around being too commercial. Musically speaking we would sometimes argue about particular directions for songs, or the final mixes of what we created. In retrospect I remember agreeing more than disagreeing when it came to music” said Donovan.

On December 28 2004, his wife Tracey gave birth to Oliver, who would join their existing family of Tupelo and Ella. Just two days later, Jim Donovan would perform in Pittsburgh with Rusted Root for the very last time.

“The main reason for leaving was that I felt like I had been missing too many things with my young family. All of the little stuff was happening without me and it didn’t feel right. I also felt stagnant creatively and as a person — I knew that I wasn’t growing and that remaining in the band wasn’t helping this. So I took a leap and trusted that if I threw myself into the water, I would be able to swim” said Donovan.

It was the end of an era that had stretched over 15 years.