Free the Roads

Free the Roads, originally known as Save the Roads from 1956 to 1965, is an Cowellan rock and pop band. The group was founded in 1956 in Hallbridge, Western Province, Cowell, by Rachelle Leinart Pisano, Jack Russell Barron, Sr., Jimmy Wilfred, Leo Larson, Louise Del Goodman Jones, Cody Barrows, Mark Pleasant, Alice Merlin, and Peter Malone with Elvis Antonio and Eli Fisher joining soon after in 1970 and Eli’s sister Alex Fisher joining soon after in 1979 and she, Eli Fisher and Elvis Antonio retired in 1985.

## History

### Childhood Years (1931-1955)

On December 22, 1930, Jack Russell Barron, Sr., Jimmy Wilfred met Rachelle Leinart Pisano when they moved in 1542 Jackson Street in Hallbridge with their family for Christmas. During very early January and February 1931, they became firm friends/neighbours, they visit each other for twenty-five years.

On February 5, 1934, Jimmy Wilfred had an accident at kindergarten by falling off a tall tree and landed on the ground on a very sharp rock, and was sent to the hospital, so in May 1934, Jimmy decided to be a musician, so he formed a band "Ruby-Jimmy" with his schoolmates, including Ruby Wright, Marvin Johnson and Wilson Marsh.

On June 29, 1936, Rachelle Leinart Pisano celebrates her 14th birthday at Hallbridge Theaters, the movie was Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.

In February 3, 1947, Barron became a teacher at Hallbridge High School in Hallbridge.

### Formation, Early Years and First Album (1955–1970)

In September 1954, Jack Russell Barron, Sr. at the age of 29, Rachelle Leinart Pisano at the age of 32 and Jimmy Wilfred at the age of 25 founded the band name *Save the Roads*, in Hallbridge, Cowell. They recorded songs like “All Star”, “Mister Sandman” etc., and Barron decided to release the album on October 6, 1955, and wanted to perform with Pisano and Wilfred until November 5, 1955, but never done it. Unfortunately, it was delayed until June 17, 1956 due to the fact Barron had a job as a teacher at Hallbridge High School, so he quit on December 16, 1955. So, They played a few shows with covers of songs from various pop artists in Cowell. In 1965, the band would later retitle themselves to *Free the Roads* and begin writing original and cover songs and such. Jack Russell Barron, Sr. grew up in Cowell with longtime friends, Rachelle Leinart Pisano and Jimmy Wilfred.

In December 1954, Jack Russell Barron and Isabella Reichardt announced to the group that they were having twin babies, Angelina Contessa Barron and Rebecca Stephanie Barron.

The genesis of Save the Roads was a January 16, 1956, *The Phillip Boe Show* sketch. In it, they play the Goree Carter song "Rock Awhile". Before the actual live show, Wilfred, Barron and Pisano asked Roth and others to join them onstage in the outfits that would later become Save the Roads' look. Timothy Lee Jones taught Wilfred the lyrics to "Rock the Joint" so they could perform it that night. This was also discussed on Barron's "Jack Wellington's Wellington Mobile" radio show, when Lee Jones was interviewed about his Slide Guitar Summit album, and the song "Rock the Joint".

In 1956, the group begin work on their first record titled 'Save The Roads', in the same timeframe they played the infamous "Live at the Bar 1956" show at The Abbey Tavern. They start a 1956 "University Tour" for the EP while recording tracks for their debut album, which they'd focus much of 1958 on, and in March 1961, Louise Del Goodman and Leo Larson joined, and their next album "Man on a Mission" would release at No. 5 on the GARIA award on November 17th, 1961. For much of 1962, the band would embark on a tour for the album, then would take a break for the last quarter of the year.

### Elvis Antonio and Eli Fisher (1970–1977)

The band renamed itself Fix the Broken Road on April 1st, 1970, as many thought it was an April fools joke, it would not be, as well as in April 14th, 1970, Jimmy Wilfred took drugs and got kicked out of the band for 2 years so Rachelle Leinart Pisano brings in Elvis Antonio and Eli Fisher to replace Jimmy for the next album the group would release, which would be "Daydreams" recorded in April 27th, 1972 to May 23rd, 1972 in which the fans would love or hate this album and less album sales not until April 5, 1974 and it would debut at No. 194 on the RIAC No. 100 on November 1st, 1974.

A 2005 interview was been published on VidSpace on February 7, 2005 with lots of views and lots of likes. Jack Russell Barron, Sr., and Rachelle Leinart Pisano asked about how the recording went down. Barron responded: "We just powered through songs, which I had written before founding the band. I thought the songs were genius when I was a pretentious little 18 year old, but, I just look back and cringe slightly, now.", and Leinart Pisano responded "And this just in, Eli Fisher and Elvis Antonio weren't very good at playing drums in our tour, but we see it gone well."

The group would embark on a 5-month tour for the album, which would later prove to be stressful under Fisher and Antonio's higher and higher demands. In April 1979, Steve Willum would join the group a month after, while Elvis Antonio and Eli Fisher would later join on future albums.

### Believe in Yourself, Move, Sleepwalk & Big (1977–1994)

In January 1977. The band would begin work on the 12-track album "Believe in Yourself" that same time, as well as being the first album with Jimmy Wilfred on lead guitars since their debut album, and the very first album for Steve Willum (born December 14, 1951). During this time the band would perform at various bands around Denver and Colorado promoting the new line-up. In May 1985, Elvis Antonio, Alex Fisher and Eli Fisher left the band and Cody Barrows, Larry Pleasant and Honey Merlin performed a duo with Jack Russell Barron, Sr. and Rachelle Leinart Pisano.

### Pressure, Coming To Your Rescue & One, Three, Four! (1994–1998)

Peter Malone would join in to fill the place for Steve Willum, who had unfinished guitar work on the album "Pressure", so this would be the only album with both of them credited. The record would prove to be successful as debuting on No. 1 on the RIAC 100 on August 21st, 1994. The group embarked on their first extended tour with an international branch in 1996, completing in October 1996.

The group would later take 1997 to work on their next album, a new more, Cowellan influenced album, "One, Three, Four!", which would debut at No. 3 on the RIAC 100 on December 2nd, 1997. This would later be the last album with Malone as the rhythm guitarist, as the band would later take a dark turn...

### Fallout (1998–2006)

During the fallout, Barron, Pisano, Wilfred, Goodman Jones and Larson, would embark on a small 3-month tour from July to October 1998, and then again in January 1999 to promote 'Popcorn Tour'. These would be the only performances with this form of the group as Wilfred would later leave once the band reconciled in mid 1999. The band would pop up at various bars in Colorado to play with the line-up of Barron, Pisano, Goodman Jones and Larson. Wilfred was working on a solo-album at the time and later would return to his rhythm guitar position in September with the Reunion tour.

The band would later take 8 months off while the fans thought it was just a hiatus from the band, they were secretly working on the 18th album, "The Stormy Season", which would debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 100 on July 23rd, 2000. They would later embark on a 4-month tour to support the release, along with a 3-month international extension.

It was announced in April 2003 that a Biopic on the group was in production entitled "The World Repeats Itself Somehow: The Free the Roads Story" for release in December 2003 in theaters.

### How We Popped, Pepperoni (2006–2009)

Although Barron's transition as Free the Roads' lead singer was "smooth" for the audience, it was more difficult for their parents. Barron said that "most adults understood". Louise Del Goodman Jones reported that by the group's 55th anniversary in 2011, due to the ever-changing nature of their audience, most of their young fans were unfamiliar with Barron. Goodman Jones stated that Barron's transition was challenging for the group because replacing their lead singer "changed their sound". Jason Pleasant characterized Barron's singing style as more operatic, so they chose different keys to sing and perform. Free the Roads never publicly disclosed how much Barron was paid, but it was reported that he earned $200,000 per year.

All the band members would have input while the movie would be based on the band's history along with the book written by Rachelle Leinart Pisano in 2006 entitled "Free the Roads: How We Popped."

On February 2nd, 2009. Barron told MTV News reporters that they were working on a new studio album titled "Pepperoni" in a statement.

"The song was written in three minutes and had some of the most lackluster lyrics I had ever seen, and we greenlit a song called "Pepperoni" for God's sake, it's that bad!" - Rachelle Leinart Pisano, in a 2010 interview from a source that wishes to remain anonymous.

### Modern era (2009–present)

In 2009, the Pepperoni Live Tour started on March 7, and ended on December 31, 2012.

Free the Roads performed charity concerts on 23 June to 26 July 2021 with the former members to have a 65th Anniversary of Free the Roads.

On February 19, 2021, Eli Fisher, his sister Alex Fisher and Elvis Antonio reunite the band.

In November 2021, Samantha Rushton and Joesph Rushton first joined the band as Chipply and Chip in the Free the Roads film: COVID-19: 886 Days, 126 Weeks & 29 Months, filmed in production in November to December 2021.

In May 2022, Jack Barron informs the gang that The Jack Wellington Concert Tour will be performed in May to June 2022, with lots of songs from Free the Roads.

In August 2023, Cody Barrows, Larry Pleasant & Honey Merlin left the band.

On January 20, 2024, Free the Roads planned to make a sixteenth album, it was going to be recorded on February 26, 2024 to March 13, 2024 and released on June 1, 2024.

## Band Members

### Current members

* Zoe "Muzza" Wellington Jones (Rachelle Leinart Pisano) (b. June 29, 1922) – bass, lead singer (1956–present)
	+ As of March 1947, Leinart Pisano, aged 26, and her wife, Bessie, were married due to their 7th anniversary of being a couple, and had three children - older daughter Blossom Leinart Pisano (born August 5, 1947), younger son Max Leinart Pisano (born April 17, 1949) and youngest son Period Leinart Pisano (born April 26, 1956).
* Jack "Flats The Flounder" Wellington (Jack Russell Barron, Sr.) (b. January 26, 1925) – founder, lead singer (1956–present)
	+ As of January 26, 1952, Barron, 27th birthday, was married to his wife, Isabella and the couple had four children. He had studied at Hallbridge High School and then worked as a teacher before forming Save the Roads in 1956.
* Jim "Covid" Wellington (Jimmy Wilfred) (b. June 12, 1929) – drums, percussion, singer (1956–present)
	+ As of September 1959, Wilfred, aged 26, and his wife, Chili, had two twin daughters named Evelyn Wilfred (born March 1, 1957), Cindy Wilfred (born March 1, 1957), and a son named Luke Wilfred (born January 29, 1966).
* Hogatha (Louise Del Goodman Jones) (b. May 13, 1934) – keyboards, saxophone and woodwinds, singer (1961–present)
	+ As of September 1959, Goodman Jones, aged 25, and her husband, Jeffrey, had two sons named Phillip Goodman Jones (born January 11, 1964) and Matthew Welt Goodman (born February 25, 1969).
* Leo "The Lion" Larson (Leo Larson) (b. October 5, 1937) – guitar, saxophone, singer (1961–present)
* Peter "Farmers" Malone (Peter Malone) (b. October 8, 1966) – rhythm guitar (1994–present)
* Wolfgang (Elvis Antonio) (b. April 6, 1963) – saxophone, drums (1970–1985, 2021-present)
* "Bakana" Elisha (Eli Fisher) (b. June 28, 1965) – bass guitar, drums (1970–1985, 2021-present)
* Emily "Magical" Wand (Alex Fisher) (b. May 9, 1969) – percussions (1979–1985, 2021-present)
* Chipply (Samantha Rushton) (b. January 23, 2005) and Chip (Joseph Rushton) (b. January 23, 2005) - zendrum (2021–present)

### Former members

* Steve "Scooter" Willum (Steve Willum) (born December 14, 1950) – rhythm guitar (1979–1994)
* Chainsaw the Prince of Karate (Cody Barrows) (b. April 9, 1942) – saxophone (1985–2021)
* Jackson Man (Larry Pleasant) (b. September 5, 1952) – bass guitar (1985–2021)
	+ As of March 1993, Pleasant, aged 40, and his wife, Lucinda, are married and get a two sons Larry Pleasant (born November 1, 1995) and Loris Pleasant (born May 7, 1996).
* Janice Lady (Honey Merlin) (b. August 26, 1953) – bass guitar (1985–2021)
	+ As of February 1987, Merlin, aged 33, and her wife, Wendy, are married and get twin daughters and twin sons.

### Early members

* "Growling Tiger" Anthony (Anthony Lacey) (March 1, 1934-November 14, 2023) – keyboards (1956–1961)

## Discography

### Studio albums

1. Save The Roads (June 17, 1956) *(studio album)*
2. Man on a Mission (December 18, 1961) *(studio album)*
3. Reese (May 13, 1965) *(studio album)*
4. Free the Roads (June 15, 1971) *(studio album)*
5. The System They Came: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (January 30, 1973) *(soundtrack album)*
6. Daydreams (April 5, 1974) *(studio album)*
7. Free the Roads’ Our Time Now: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (January 2, 1977) *(soundtrack album)*
8. Blue and Red (March 13, 1979) *(studio album)*
9. Believe in Yourself (May 26, 1980) *(studio album)*
10. Free the Roads’ Roaring the Way at Seven: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (August 8, 1980) *(soundtrack album)*
11. Planets!: Free the Roads' Greatest Hits (June 19, 1981) *(compilation album)*
12. Move (May 1, 1983) *(studio album)*
13. Sleepwalk (April 29, 1985) *(studio album)*
14. Free the Roads’ Cuppa Joe Makes You Swinging: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Recording (October 5, 1985) *(soundtrack album)*
15. Planets!: Free the Roads' Greatest Hits - 30 Years of Free the Roads (June 17, 1990) *(compilation album)*
16. Big (June 25, 1991) *(studio album)*
17. Free the Roads’ The State Around The Shore: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Recording (January 13, 1994) *(soundtrack album)*
18. Pressure (February 28, 1994) *(studio album)*
19. Coming To Your Rescue (May 14, 1996) *(studio album)*
20. One, Three, Four! (April 13, 1998) *(studio album)*
21. Free the Roads’ World of Fires: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (November 30, 2005) *(soundtrack album)*
22. Goodnight Baby (May 18, 2006) *(studio album)*
23. Pepperoni (October 16, 2009) *(studio album)*
24. Free the Roads’ COVID-19: 886 Days, 126 Weeks & 29 Months: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (February 5, 2022) *(soundtrack album)*

### Live albums

1. The Gang Have Left the Building (October 2, 1966) (Recorded on January 14 – January 18, 1965 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
2. The Help (September 30, 1972) (Recorded on June 28, 1972 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
3. We Are Free the Roads... And So Are You (April 20, 1978) (Recorded on August 26 – August 30, 1977 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
4. The Girls Rule! (February 1, 1980) (Recorded on April 30, 1979 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
5. Starfish (May 7, 1981) (Recorded on November 15, 1980 at the Sapphire Bay Spectrum)
6. Cuppa Joe Makes You Swinging (July 15, 1985) (Recorded on January 13, 1985 at the Emerald City Entertainment Centre)
7. Live at Markley Pacific Park (October 18, 1989) (Recorded on December 1, 1988 at Markley Pacific Park)
8. It’s OK (May 30, 1992) (Recorded on March 13, 1992 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
9. XOXO (July 8, 1994) (Recorded on February 1, 1994 at the Emerald City Entertainment Centre)
10. Free the Roads is Rocking Your Town! (March 1, 1997) (Recorded on December 1, 1996 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
11. Hurrah! We Have A Great Success (February 8, 1999) (Recorded on December 11, 1998 at the Sapphire Bay Spectrum)
12. You're So Hot! (August 13, 2005) (Recorded on October 16 – October 17, 2003 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
13. Heaven By Storm (May 7, 2007) (Recorded on August 19 – August 20, 2006; at The Big O)
14. Get Insane (December 15, 2009) (Recorded on November 7, 2009 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
15. Stormy Season (March 7, 2013) (Recorded on December 1 – December 3, 2012 at the Carson Amphitheatre)
16. 886 Days, 126 Weeks & 29 Months (November 16, 2023) (Recorded on July 5 – July 13, 2023 at the Carson Amphitheatre)

## Filmography

### Films

1. The System They Came (July 5, 1973) (Produced: September 19, 1972–November 24, 1972)
2. Free the Roads’ Our Time Now (July 13, 1977) (Produced: February 5, 1976–May 20, 1976)
3. Free the Roads’ Roaring The Way At Seven (February 28, 1981) (Produced: February 5, 1980–March 31, 1980)
4. Free the Roads’ Cuppa Joe Makes You Swinging (March 5, 1986) (Produced: January 26, 1985–January 30, 1985)
5. Free the Roads’ The State Around The Shore (February 5, 1994) (Produced: July 30, 1993–September 5, 1993)
6. Free the Roads’ World of Fires (July 27, 2006) (Produced: January 1, 2006–February 26, 2006)
7. Free the Roads’ COVID-19: 886 Days, 126 Weeks & 29 Months (April 25, 2022) (Produced: November 23, 2021–December 18, 2021)

### Documentary

1. Free The Roads: The Blair Witch Project (October 9, 1999)
2. You're So Hot! (September 11, 2001)
3. The World Repeats Itself Somehow: The Free the Roads Story (December 20, 2003)

### Television

1. Save the Roads: The All Rockin’ and Rollin’ Band (TV Series) (September-October 1966) (Produced: November 1965-January 1966)
2. The Adventures of Free the Roads (TV series) (January 1969-February 1969) (Produced: May 1968-August 1968)
3. The New Adventures of Free the Roads Show (TV series) (December 1974, September 1983) (Produced: 1st season: April-June 1974, 2nd season: April 1983-May 1983)
4. The Further Adventures of Free the Roads Rock 'n' Rolling Show (TV series) (September 1994, October 1998) (Produced: 1st season: April 1994-June 1994, 2nd season: August 1997-November 1997)
5. Free the Roads: The Animated Series (January 2001) (Produced: August 2000-October 2000)
6. The New Rockin’ Adventures of Free The Roads Show (September 2006-October 2006) (Produced: December 2004-February 2005)
7. The New Free the Roads Show (TV series) (November 2017, September 2021) (Produced: 1st season: January 2017-February 2017, 2nd season: April 2020-May 2020)
8. The Very New Adventures of Free the Roads Show (February 2024) (Produced: April 2023-May 2023) (tentative)

## Tours

1. The University Tour – October 20, 1956–July 7, 1957
2. Save the Roads Independent Touring – September 4, 1957–May 1, 1959
3. All Star Independent Touring – August 26, 1959-December 5, 1961
4. Man On A Mission Show – May 31, 1962–May 26, 1965
5. Reese Independent Touring – June 13, 1965–November 3, 1966
6. Reese Tour – November 9, 1966–March 31, 1971 *(band played under Free the Roads for first time throughout the tour.)*
7. Free the Roads Tour – April 14, 1971–June 29, 1974
8. Daydreams Tour – September 18, 1974–November 23, 1977 *(In the song, "Fantasy Island" everyone appear on roller-skates in the tour in April 1975 onward.)*
9. Our Time Now Tour – December 1, 1977–June 9, 1978
10. Blue and Red Live – January 13, 1979–January 18, 1980
11. Believe in Yourself Tour – May 6, 1980–August 30, 1983
12. 1984 Tour – February 21, 1984–November 23, 1984
13. Schmaltz Tour – January 23, 1985–April 18, 1985
14. Sleepwalk Tour – November 26, 1985–August 30, 1987
15. Reese Tour – January 5, 1988–June 25, 1990
16. Christmas Tour 1990 – December 1, 1990–December 27, 1990 *(band played on December 1st, December 8th, December 14th, December 21st, December 25th and December 27th.)*
17. Reese Tour 1991 – January 2, 1991–January 27, 1991 *(band played on January 2nd, January 8th, January 14th, January 21st and January 27th.)*
18. Big Tour – February 14, 1991–November 6, 1993
19. Pressure Tour – February 13, 1994–August 27, 1995
20. Coming To Your Rescue Tour – January 14, 1996–March 28, 1999
21. Popcorn Tour – July 4, 1999–May 13, 2001
22. Rocking Your Town! Tour – September 1, 2001–May 30, 2006
23. Goodnight Baby Tour – July 30, 2006–December 21, 2008
24. Pepperoni Live Tour – March 7, 2009–December 31, 2012
25. Digging Show – January 13, 2013–May 6, 2016
26. Starfish Tour – August 27, 2017–December 25, 2020
27. XOXO Tour – May 14, 2021–April 8, 2022 *(First tour since May 2021)*
28. The Jack Wellington Concert Tour – May 13, 2022–June 30, 2022
29. Planets! Live Tour – August 18, 2022–April 13, 2023
30. Our Time Now Live Tour – July 5, 2023–August 8, 2025

## Anniversary Tours

1. 5th Anniversary Concert Tour – June 17, 1961-June 26, 1961 *(band played on June 17th, June 20th, June 23rd & June 26th.)*
2. 10th Anniversary Celebration Tour – June 16, 1966–July 5, 1966 *(band played on June 16th, June 25th, July 2nd & July 5th.)*
3. 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour – June 16, 1981–June 30, 1981 *(band played on June 17th, June 22th, June 25th & June 30th.)*
4. 30th Anniversary Celebration Tour – June 27, 1986–July 5, 1986 *(band played on June 27th, July 2nd & July 5th.)*
5. 50th Anniversary Celebration Tour - June 13, 2006-June 18, 2006 *(band played on June 13th, June 15th & June 18th.)*
6. 65th Anniversary Celebration Tour – June 23, 2021–July 26, 2021 *(band played on June 23rd, June 26th, July 13th, July 21st, and July 26th.)*
7. 68th½ Anniversary Celebration Tour – August 23, 2024–September 30, 2024 *(band played on August 23rd, August 26th, September 13th, September 21st, September 26th & September 30th.)*