root boy slim - dc space - fall 1989

space was the place.

MacKenzie grew up in a wealthy household in Washington, DC. His mother was a society matron whose father was a North Carolina congressman who had chaired the House Ways and Means Committee. His father was a landscape architect who designed golf courses.
MacKenzie was an intelligent yet incorrigible youth who was invited to leave several private DC-area prep schools such as Sidwell Friends. He finally found his niche at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD, a boarding school. There, he played varsity football.
He went on to Yale, where he majored in African American studies, graduating in 1967. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. His fraternity brothers included future President George W. Bush. MacKenzie was a year older than Bush.
While at Yale, MacKenzie formed a band with classmate and fraternity brother Greenlee, who was quarterback of Yale's football team. The band was named Prince La La and the Midnight Creepers. Band members wore ermine capes, silver lame hot pants and boasted that they were never invited for return engagements.
The year after MacKenzie and Greenlee graduated, they returned to the DKE house during Yale's homecoming. Bush, who since their departure had become president of DKE, threw them out and banned them from the house.
Washington, DC

After graduating from Yale, MacKenzie returned to Washington, DC where he worked at various jobs, including one stint driving a Good Humor truck.
One day he took a lot of LSD and went to the White House and climbed the fence. (He later explained that he "was looking for the center of the universe.") He was apprehended by the Secret Service as he ran up the lawn toward the White House. He was the first intruder since the War of 1812 to get completely over the fence.
Following his arrest, he was sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital. This was the first of many visits that he would make in the coming years. The large dose of LSD he had consumed caused a psychotic break that led to schizophrenia, with the result that he would be medicated for the rest of his life.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• sex
• change
• boogie
• to
• you
• puke
• too
• sick
• reggae
• took
• lsd
• on
• the
• white
• house
• lawn

[BMayhew60]

The "ladies" were the Rootettes. The "horns" was Ron Holloway on Sax who also played with Dizzy G. Cheers...

[Olwarrior]

We did the gator in the alley, I guess it was like an alley-gator. Then we boogied till we puked. But dozin' and droolin' that was my favorite thing after takin' acid and climbing over the white house fence, just to see who was the president. Root you broke my mood ring when you left us...but you'll never die. Long live Root Boy Slim.

[snowcbearfun]

I missed it all as I was raising three kids, but true art is timeless and I found it now.

[thepixieful]

glad the songs are on you tube

[hope2prosper]

yea i saw this same lineup in Clifton Park, NY , smoked a fattie with Root outside and it was sad because he was a piece of burnt toast at this point in his career. Lots of incoherent yelling and mumbling.

[slickkery]

You gotta love how he leaves the stage in the middle of the songs. Only the Root could get away with that. Any Root fans should visit the fan page on Facebook or the official website. Tell them you want to see another tribute show like they played last night (1/16/2011) at the Whiskey in Annapolis. It was like finding a time machine, and hopefully they'll be inspired to do it again.

[pretorious700]

@rickinbutler He died 4 years later, I guess it all caught up with him.

[rickinbutler]

This is not the Root Boy that I've seen in concert in the early 80s. He was dynamic & all ver the place. Here, the band is cooking away as Root Boy flounders.

[jamiebalser]

My Childhood and life changed forever after seeing rootboy at the Old Fairfax Theater in about 1978. i was 14 and my buddy was 16, we stole his parents car and drove there from Vienna.

Jamie

[Stinkingass]

Roger that. Wayne's skill speaks for itself. I remember Slim billing Wayne as "20 fingers Tomlinson". It's a shame that Wayne never got the break that he deserved. I am still VERY proud of him.

:)

[msawbe]

Yea' I was there that night. I might of been working the door. Root was living in a Silver Spring group house at the time. They had some cool parties there. I played with Wayne in another band 4 awhile. The band leader tried to dress him up to look all rock star. Cowboy hat' the boots' the whole 9 yards.

I didn't see the point. His guitar playing speaks 4 itself.

[DRALBINO1]

root boy slim owes me money too .

Dr. Albino - former bass player