'Party' Time For Rusted Root

Rusted Root, a pop group with the flavor of African and Latin Zydeco percussion, is back on the music scene with "Welcome to My Party," a new album released April 9.

"I don't know if anyone can really find a description for our music," Jim Donovan, drummer-percussionist-vocalist, tells The Saturday Early Show. "No one else really does what we do. You definitely know it's us right away."

The sextet originally formed in Pittsburgh in 1988 when vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mike Glabicki left college and teamed up with longtime friend Liz Berlin to focus on songwriting and arrangement. By 1990, the group ha dbeen expanded to include University of Pennsylvania students Jim Donovan (drums, percussion) and Patrick Norman (guitarist/bassist), and multi-instrumentalist / visual artists John Buynak. The final member, Jim DiSpirito, joined in 1993.

Rusted Root has released five other albums, leading off with their debut work “Cruel Sun” in 1994, followed by the multiplatinum "When I Woke," which featured the hit single, "Send Me on My Way."

"Welcome to My Party" songs range from the bright and bouncy "Too Much" and
"Hands are Law," to the softer and soothing "Blue Diamonds" and "Why Cry."

"BlueDiamonds" is particularly special because it concerns a personal incident inGlabicki's life. When he was a child, Glabicki was hit by a car and knockedunconscious. While he was unconscious, he met a celestial being and the song is about her, Glabicki said.

"In periods of my life I have forgotten her or put her away and this is about reconnecting with her in a way," he said.