As Taproot were writing songs for their third album -- the August 16th release, Blue-Sky Research -- the Michigan-based hard rockers began tossing around names of dream producers and collaborators, such as Dave Grohl and Billy Corgan.

"We heard Billy was working with Breaking Benjamin so we knew that it was possible that he might be interested in working with us," says Taproot frontman Stephen Richards. "We sent a couple CDs to his people, and he thought we had a lot of talent but wanted to point out some habits that he thought we were falling into that he wanted to help us break. We kind of fell into a comfort zone with the way we wrote songs, going heavy to quiet, not really exploring how to keep the song interesting all the way through."

The Ozzfest veterans teamed with the former Smashing Pumpkins frontman for the tracks "Lost in the Woods," "Violent Seas" and "Promise," with Corgan chipping in the occasional guitar part and vocal melody, along with his advice.

"At first it was just a feeling-out process," Richards says. "We weren't quite sure if we were going there to sit down and write songs together or if we were just going to tear some of our existing stuff apart and rework it with him. It ended up being a little bit of both. He was really honest with us like, 'I see what you're doing there, but it doesn't really do anything for me. Gimme something else you guys are really psyched on.'"

Corgan's critiques helped focus the group. "We used to throw in extra beats and use odd time signatures just to fuck with your head," Richards says. "This time, we wanted to have more straight-ahead, good songs, and I think we do."

Taproot are currently on tour with Chevelle.

Taproot tour dates:

7/19: Pittston Township, PA, The Staircase
7/21: Hampton Beach, NH, Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
7/22: Northampton, MA, Pearl Street
7/23: Atlantic City, NJ, House of Blues
7/25: Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom
7/26: Dewey Beach, DE, Baycenter at Rusty Rudder
7/28: Virginia Beach, VA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
7/29: Philadelphia, Electric Factory
8/1: Portland, ME, State Theatre
8/2: Boston, The Roxy
8/3: New York, Irving Plaza
8/5: Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
8/6: Columbia, SC, Headliners
8/8: Orlando, FL, House of Blues
8/9: Tampa, FL, Jannus Landing
8/11: Birmingham, AL, Sloss Furnace
8/13: Chicago, Tweeter Center
8/14: Madison, WI, Alliant Energy Center
8/16: Detroit, St. Andrews