We (my wife and I) first got in contact with Jason Galaz in 2012, or maybe 2011 when we had seen the line-up for the 2012 Muddy Roots Music Festival in Cookeville. I told her to look at it and asked if we should go, remember we live in Belgium, and she just said, “yeah sure, why not”. She caught me by surprise there… We had been traveling a big part of the world but never went to the USA. So we started making plans… But us being Belgians we needed to know a bunch of stuff about the festival, how to get there, how to get this and that… So I started to mail Jason on Facebook and just overloaded him with questions and he always replied with useful info. I liked that! What started out as an internet Q and A transformed into a friendship and I’m proud that I can call this man a friend. He does a great job with this whole Muddy Roots thingy and by his doing I gained so much more friends from all over the world that we came across at his festivals. We have 6 Muddy Roots festivals under our belt (3 in the USA and 3 in Europe) so we are veterans! And we owe it all to this man, enjoy!

1. Introduce yourself to our readers please.
Jason Galaz, the man behind everything Muddy Roots.

2. On what record would you have loved to play? (any style, artist, whatever)
I don’t know the first thing about playing music but I’d love to be in the room while some records are being recorded. Specifically all the early country and blue stuff like Jimmie Rodgers and Charlie Patton. Same goes with Hank Williams and Led Zeppelin.

3. What is the first concert that made a real impression on you and made you want to play music?
My first concert was Suicidal Tendencies, Metallica, Fight and Candle Box.  Alice In Chains was supposed to play but due to addiction issues  they canceled. It was 1993, I was 13 and it was mayhem.  It was in San Bernardino California which is a crazy ass place. I saw people get sliced with flattened beer cans, mosh pits around make shift fire pits, and folks were taking toilet paper rolls (the big ones) out of portapotties, lighting them on fire and throwing them into the crowd.  There were cops on horse back on the perimeter. That kind of mayhem had a huge effect on me. It was my first taste of pure anarchy in a music setting and made an impact on my young mind.

4. Is there a musician/artist you really want to work with and why? 
Many of them and most of them we end up doing so one way or another. I mean there are bigger names I can’t reach like Dwight Yoakam and The Stooges but that’s because I am not wealthy.

5. How did you end up in this “roots” scene?
I had moved to Nashville from California and was looking for music that filled the hole in my soul. I needed something deeper than what I was used to.  I started listening to Dwight Yoakam more often, came across Hank 3 and then my brother passes me a free digital cd from Soda Gardocki.  That mix right there was enough to get the wheels moving. I began looking for music I could feel more and eventually ended up finding places for them to play in my area so I could experience it live.

6. Do you believe in aliens, and if so… What does their music sounds like? 
I believe in illegal aliens. In America it would sound like Conjunto music but could also be Narco Mexicano music. The first would be my music of choice. Think Muddy Roots in Mexico, that’s what it is to me. The Hank WIlliams singers south of the border.

7. Who do you believe to be the most overrated band on the planet at this moment, and why?
That changes weekly. It is whoever is #1 on the charts. I don’t hate these people though. They are the product of a massive investment. If I had a bajillion dollars I’d put my own bands up top.

8. Just like any “scene” this one will explode in time, how do you see the future of this new “roots” movement?
There is no scene. Keep the walls off the movement allows it to grow organically in any direction it needs to.

9. What band or record do you really like, but you are a little a shamed about?
I listen to a TON of shitty music. I can’t listen to “Muddy Roots” type bands all day. It’s too good for my soul. It makes me want to just hang out and drink beer. I need to keep focused on work. I find gangster rap most motivational. They are always talking about hustlin’ and stuff.  Sometimes I’ll switch to drum n bass or even old techno. The tempo keeps me working just like it would in a gym.  Oh, and if I am feeling real cray cray I will put on Die Antword. That shit is weird.

10. Eating dog shit or record with Toby Keith?
I’d absolutely record Toby Keith and make millions off him. I just wouldn’t put the Muddy Roots logo on it. Shallow people need shallow music. That’s their problem. I gots bills yo.

You can find all the info you need about Muddy Roots at:
http://www.muddyrootsrecords.com/index.php

If you have never been to a Muddy Roots event, 2015 is the year to do so. It doesn’t matter who you are, what job you have or don’t have, what the colour of your skin is or which what country you come from. At Muddy Roots we’re all family. I can honestly say that we have had to most fun on the planet at each and every one we went to and got to know the most beautiful, crazy and kindest people in the world. So what’s holding you back?