Limp Bizkit: The time Fred Durst threatened Taproot after trying to sign the band to Interscope.
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#freddurst #limpbizkit #taproot
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people’s accounts, so I don’t guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
I want to thank Marcus and a few of my subs for suggesting this story. The rock band Taproot would emerge out of michigan in the mid 90’s. By the later part of the decade things were looking pretty exciting for the band as they courted major record labels. Former Taproot Drummer Jarred Montague (mont-agew) would release a book a few years ago called True Rockstars: 12 Guiding Principles For Success And Happiness. In the book Montague recalls attending college and playing with Tap Root on the weekends in and around the college town of ann arbourt, michigan.
He would write in his book Dozens of my friends were coming to Taproot shows and buying our homemade demos and T-shirts. Taproot was also building a following on the internet. In early 1999, there were only two unsigned bands that were marketing themselves well in that relatively new medium: Taproot and Juice who would become Adema. We found small pockets of fans were developing outside of Michigan. Across the country one or two people would order a CD, send us cash or a check, and then we would ship them a CD with a hand-written “Thank You” note. Apparently they would listen then tell their friends about Taproot because we would obtain subsequent orders from quite a few other people in the same city.
The band became so successful out side of michigan that their fans offered hotel and gas money for them to play their cities which they did.
Tap Root frontman Stephen Richards would tell Loudwire about the band’s early days and how they caught the attention of fred durst revealing “Mike [DeWolf] and I saw Korn with Limp Bizkit before Limp Bizkit was actually releasing a record, so we had the drop on that. We were fans, we loved it and we knew their record was coming out and where we grew up it was in Ann Arbor, college town.” Richards would go on to reveal that he and his bandmates got their hands on Limp Bizkit’s debut record before it came out because the local studnet paper reviewed it and it was normal for the student writers to sell albums after reviewing them for beer money. When the members of Tap Root got their hands on an advance copy of limp bizkit’s first album they noticed an address on the record asking for demos. They would send their demo to the address nearly two weeks before before the record came out giving them a jump on the competition. Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst took a liking to the band and got intouch with Tap Root with Richards recalling to CMJ magazine what came next saying “we started hanging out and he promised us the world.”
Richards would add telling loudwire Every time they’d come through town we’d hang out and he was really good to us (referring to fred durst and limp bizkit), I’d sing with him onstage and stuff. We were itching to go and he was getting really busy. He was cool though, I went to L.A. and stayed with him and got to sit through Interscope meetings about their second record coming out at the time.”
Not only did Durst hang out with the band but he started giving shoutouts to the Taproot in various press interviews and wearing their shirts on stage. Montague would write in his book He told us that we were the “next big thing” and he wanted to make a deal with us. It frankly seemed too good to be true given that we had become such adoring fans of Limp Bizkit.
It was during this time the band was putting out independent releases and cutting new music. It was around the time that limp bizkit was promoting their second album significant other that they started to garner attention outside of Fred durst and company with Montague writing in his book Soon after this epic 24 hour hang we got a call from a representative from Arista Records, and he asked to have lunch with us to discuss our aspirations. This was definitely an indicator that things were now escalating to a new level for Taproot. Here was someone from out
side the Bizkit crew expressing interest in our band.
By this point the band had sold around 10000 albums through their own efforts. It was around this time Fred Durst appeared on an MTV show called diary which profiled celebrities daily life. Fred Durst would appear on one episode and gave taproot another shoutout as you can see here
source
Here's a story on the RATM Limp Bizkit Feud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh6U4lljeJU&t=196s
Fred Durst is a filthy culture vulture. I'd love to have five minutes alone with him
Well we all know Fred Dursts reputation "He's a total dickhead" Period end of story
Limp sucks. Fred acted like an a hole. All trash.
What an absolute twat! I never liked Limp Bizkit's music much but I was just assuming this guy's probably just some normal likeable guy who happens to be good at writing very cringey music that sells. But this rubbish he's doing here is absolute pathetic nonsense toward people who were fans of his, for daring to recognise a con when they see it? What the fuck was that contract? Such complete and utter bullshit, I don't blame anyone for saying no to that. What the hell with all this "we own your songs now" crap. So they're gonna tell someone they're not good enough to sign, but are good enough to steal? Chancers, complete chancers. Taproot made some damn good songs too, nothing I could ever accuse Limp Bizkit of doing. But it's almost besides the point, you just don't treat people like that that's crap that is. Talk about fame going to your head.
Also what the hell was that stupid camera work going on in that clip of the documentary? Can't figure out what they were trying to achieve there, was Fred meant to be some sort of posessed horror antagonist or something? Talking all serious about business while intermittently escaping from his corporeal form for no reason at all. Weird choice! Such a weird choice. Kinda hilarious.
Taproot was one of my favorite bands growing up. Along with Adema. Fred Durst is a PUNK. He got mad because he had some type of financial incentive to bring them on and Taproot didn't want to be screwed
The crazy thing about the voicemail is it sounds like he is reading it from a piece of paper. What a fucking lunatic.
That’s hilarious
Why does Durst sound like he's reading a transcript on the message hahaha
Taproot, incubus and deftones show in early 2000 little rock, ar was the best thing i've ever seen!
I know that this may be slightly off-topic, but, am I the only one that notices how in suburban Detroit, they NEVER take the time to embrace some of these kickass rock bands?
taproot riffs were cool but dudes voice is awful
Taproot > Limp Bizkit, not even a competition
I hate fred durst sooo much.
Sooo much, I clicked on this just to hate at him.
This sounds great , keep it up. Subbed 👍
I forgot about Taproot. I never got around to them. I was listening to Significant Other. 😎
thats so cute to think Fred Durst is a threat to anyone
Kerry King said it best “the world would be a lot better place if Fred Durst didn’t live in it”
My girlfriend at the time had a huge crush on Fred Durst and the day I had to drive her car to the shop for her I found out it was a weird ass shrine to the guy with pictures of him plastered all over the inside of the car. Fuck Fred Durst
You guys should check out the director's cut of "The Fanatic". It has an extra 25 minutes where Devon Sawa is just blowing Fred Durst. It's completely unsimulated.
The riff to "eye" got me into guitar. I wonder how many kids grew up wanting to rap because of Fred durst
Fred is bitchin yet it was his s*it contract that caused this
I love how the singer of Taproot shares the name of a wrestler
Steven Richards,though it's spelled different
It blew my mind when I was 14 and I bought the Linkin Park Reanimation and it said featuring Stephen Richards on a song
I was like "Right To Censor leader can sing?"
Taproots ‘myself’ is the song that turned me from listening to hip hop to rock and metal. Literally changed my life as a 10 year old kid.
Too scared to record the word FUCK,lol…someone does all the work and you just POST,lol.real talent there Skippy.
I love taproot and still listen to them regularly, but Fred had solid points. They got beat. And fell off immediately. They didn’t know the game like he did and he was grooming them to slowly rob them. Either way, I love taproot
This sounds great , keep it up. Subbed 👍
The whole mess happened because of Taproot's management, Velvet Hammer, Fred would not have been so angry about them going to another label. Although I agree that Fred should not have taken the time to sign them and give the band an answer. It doesn't seem right to me that you do a marketing campaign for a band for free, wear their t-shirts, talk about them in interviews and they just go to another label without saying a word. But the real problem was their manager, remember Fred also said in the audio: "Your manager slings our name around, he's gonna be blackballed and probably be erased, and you will, too. He's a fucking idiot". It is worth remembering that they were also the management of System Of A Down, and that Fred's disagreement with Velvet Hammer, caused SOAD to be pulled from the Family Values Tour. And Fred said that he had no problems with the band members, but that he hated his manager. Fred was angry that Taproot's management was dirtying Limp Bizkit and Interscope Records name around and that he felt Taproot was part of this as well, and that the band treated their publicity help as if it were nothing. So he felt betrayed.
It's hard to think of a single redeeming quality about Fred Durst.
Fred durst saw that Richard dude as a shiny object. After he saw he didn't want to to do anything to do with him ( Richard) his feelings got hurt, because he couldn't get money outta him 🤑
Taproot's entire discography is top notch, can't say the same for LB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oq6DUP8YRQ demo 2022
As entertaining as the voicemail was and as much as I respect Limp Bizkit, I think what Fred Durst did was very immature not to mention unprofessional. What Interscope offered to Taproot simply didn't suit the band and in the end still had a successful career on Atlantic Records even though it didn't last very long. In the end, Fred should've just let it slide and at least be happy that the band he had faith and touted about in press gained success in the long run
Taproot played the second stage at ozfest the summer when limp bizkits second album came out and they played this voicemail at the beginning of their set lol then the band jokingly played the first few seconds of the first song off bizkits new album. I was a fan of both bands at the time too