Roots Tonic was the name of the three piece rock-reggae band best known as Matisyahu's backing band during live shows and studio recordings. The band was made up of

Aaron Dugan Aaron Dugan (born June 20, 1977) is a guitarist, composer and songwriter originally from Philadelphia who resides in Brooklyn. Dugan has performed and recorded with a wide variety of musicians and producers including Roots Tonic, Matisyahu, Trevor ...

(

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and sounds),

Josh Werner Josh Werner (born September 17, 1974) is an American bassist, producer, composer and songwriter. Life and career Werner grew up in Milwaukee, WI. He works in a variety of styles, most notably reggae, experimental rock, hip hop and jazz. He was ...

(

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

, also co-writes songs with Matisyahu), and

Jonah David Jonah David (born October 30, 1977) is a drummer/percussionist who has performed and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Matisyahu, Costello, Roots Tonic, Josh Werner, Bill Laswell, Braindance, Joshua Nelson, King Django and th ...

(

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and percussion). They have recorded two studio albums and a live album with Matisyahu, but the name Roots Tonic was first mentioned on the inside cover of Matisyahu's 2006 major label album ''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

'' and its dub version, ''Youth Dub''. ''Youth'' producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

was so impressed with the band that he invited it to record a dub album with him. The result, ''Roots Tonic meets Bill Laswell'', was released in mid-2006 on Reach Out International Records. In 2007, first

, and shortly after

left Matisyahu's live band, which meant the end of Roots Tonic as well. In 2009/2010,

Dub Trio Dub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. History Dub Trio consists of bassist Stu Brooks, guitarist DP Holmes, and drummer Joe Tomino. With the addition of electronic, rock, punk and heavy metal, the grou ...

became Root Tonic's successor to support Matisyahu live on stage. In 2011, Bill Laswell and Josh Werner produced

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

's studio album "Rise Again"; Aaron Dugan plays guitar on select tracks.

Album discography

Solo

with Matisyahu

References

External links

myspace page
American reggae musical groups Jewish musical groups {{US-band-stub