New York Press interviews JJ

[LaurieBlue]

(forgive me if this has been posted already)...

http://www.nypress.com/14/24/music/feature3.cfm

YUNMI CHO
MUSIC

My Morning Jacket

When I first played My Morning Jacket's new CD At Dawn (Darla), the air in my room became instantly filled with the swampy, star-studded heat of a southern night. My Morning Jacket has the type of sound that makes sense when the mugginess outside is unbearable and you lounge in your apartment toking on a joint, thinking about your chaotic life with a fan aimed at your face. The sound draws your roaming thoughts deeper into sun-soaked daydreams; it flows on, one lily pad ahead of the snapping alligators that are its melancholy twangs and melodies.

The man behind the broad, soulful vocals is Kentucky singer and songwriter Jim James. His voice is even more beautiful on their newest album than on Tennessee Fire, their first.

My Morning Jacket is coming to Brownies this Saturday to play New York for the first time. This gave me an excuse to call James.


Okay, so let's start with your age.

I'm 23 years old.

That's so young. You sound like you're about 10,000 years old on the album. When did you start singing?

A long time ago, when I was in about seventh grade. I was like 11 or 12 years old and I was still watching The Muppet Show.

Did you go to college?

Yeah, I went for a year and half and I thought it was fun, but I didn't have enough time to do music. I would probably go back if I wasn't in a band.

What'd you study?

I studied art and education while I was there, you know. Just making shit.

I know you've toured Belgium four times. Why Belgium and why not New York or New Jersey?

It's been Belgium and Holland, actually. It was just one of those weird chain reactions that start off a career. A couple people got a hold of the album over there and started spreading it around to their friends and eventually it leaked out to the press. Oor magazine, the Dutch equivalent of Rolling Stone, ranked it their number-one album of the year. It was number one for like eight weeks in a row.

So what're your live shows like in Belgium versus in the States?

The only thing that's different is that when we play over there we headline, so we have more time to showcase the different things we do–slow songs as well as fast songs. We can change it up a bit. But if we're just opening up for a bigger band in the U.S., it's usually a quick set, so we'll just play our best, our most fun songs.

Who turns out for the shows? What's the atmosphere like in general? Your music's so laid-back, I picture lots of potheads.

[Laughs] We have more fun live–we turn it up and rock. We've seen lots of bands that are boring live and we don't want to be like that. We don't want to cry and tell the audience our problems. You've got the record, which you can listen to over and over again in your room and be moved by it. But when we're playing live, we like to shake things up. Not that it's some AC/DC rock-out thing–we still want to move the audience–but we like to have fun and fucking rock.

Do you write all the songs? How do the others contribute to the band?

Pretty much I write everything. All the ideas start out in my head. I bring the songs to the table and they put in their guitar lines and bass lines. But I get the song in my head and I know what it's going to sound like from the start. I receive it as a package.

Who do you listen to?

I listen to a lot of older Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Erykah Badu...OutKast. My favorite band is Led Zeppelin and I like the Band. And Jimmy Rogers, the father of country music. I'm into Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash.

Besides other musicians, what else influences your music?

What happens to me every day is a fucking influence. Everything in the world from the grasshoppers to the lawnmower to just running around in the park. It all affects my music, you know?

Definitely. And being from the South has really played into the sound you've developed.

The landscape and the people, the way people down here talk, and the way the river navigates through Kentucky. All that totally impacts the sound. Absolutely.

Is your permanent residence still in Kentucky?

Yeah.

Any plans to move soon?

Nah, not right now.

My Morning Jacket plays Sat., June 16, at Brownies, 169 Ave. A (betw. 10th & 11th Sts.), 420-8392.

Volume 14, Issue 24

[EC]

Nice.  Thanks LaurieBlue!

[ChiefOKONO]

thanks for posting!!!

[utonynashm]

My Morning Jacket give me a musical erection!

[EC]

(just wanted to clear up that this article is from:
 Issue date :   6/13/2001 - 6/19/2001) :)

[LaurieBlue]

(just wanted to clear up that this article is from:
Issue date :   6/13/2001 - 6/19/2001) :)

I had a feeling it was old news (should have double-checked that gig date), but not THAT old - wow.

"never mind" ;-)

Laurie

[SMc55]

My Morning Jacket give me a musical erection!

Now there's an image  ;)