Jim interview with JamBase

[parkervb]

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/127073/Interview-Catching-Up-With-Jim-James-Of-My-Morning-Jacket

[dontgetupset]

Well that was depressing... Geez...

Very few positive takeaways...

[jcc0065]

i thought the process of creating a set was interesting, but still a few weird things going on. idk. music still sounds amazing so im not complaining, just different!

[dontgetupset]

Eye-opening. A lot of questions answered pretty clearly (OBH, Waterfall pt 2, no covers, no muppets) but for a guy that's as into vibes as he is (and not words which you can add to the above list) these vibes were not good.

[justbcuzido]

Eye-opening. A lot of questions answered pretty clearly (OBH, Waterfall pt 2, no covers, no muppets) but for a guy that's as into vibes as he is (and not words which you can add to the above list) these vibes were not good.

Yeah I was getting that; but, like he said, he was at an airport tired of traveling. I mean over the past year this is how his interviews have been.

Also, it doesn't help that the interviewer asked him the same question multiple times, "Anything you want to tell us Jim?" I imagine they weren't vibing well.

But either way, not really any great news to report on.

[rna2525]

I personally love that article the most!!!

I respect JJ for cutting out the bullshit that surrounds almost every band and just gets down to business which is the MUSIC! Brave guy!

[AlwxanderD10]

Yeah I honestly didn't really get that negative of a vibe from this interview either, just pretty straightforward. I mean, if I was dead tired doing a phone interview at an airport it would probably come off way worse than that. But, tone aside, some interesting info here. I'm hopefully for OBH 2017! It'd be my first!

[parkervb]

yea, I think there is a bit of projection being done here based on our perception of this guy that none of us really know. 

[sillyboob]

I think the tease of OBH 2017 is pretty darn good news!!

[dontgetupset]

It's somewhat depressing in that its not particularly exciting and shows minimal positive emotion. That's not to say that I'm speculating that JJ is "depressed" by any means. (Ignoring the annoying interviewer the sometimes not good questions and the whole travel thing) there seems to be little on Jim's part in which he says "I'm excited for X" "This tour has been especially meaningful because of Y".

To summarize the questions and answers

-I'm very private.
-Yes Jacket shows used to have more head-banging and such but they're more mellow now because time changes all.
-I'm a different person now that I was years ago and still affected by the back issues.
-I'm non-committal and definitely not greatly enthused by my previous side-projects
-I have minimal insight into another album because sometimes the energy's there sometimes not
-I'm tired of covers
- Making setlists is harder and I don;t play things when I'm not into them. Need emotional connections to songs
-I love working by myself
-Muppets heartbreaks and Muppets things for the bands haven't worked out

I have ignored some of the other questions and answers that were more "filler" than anything Jim seems to care about. Also when he says "I like working by myself" that's in a somewhat positive context about growing as someone doing studio stuff.

The reason is just to show there is a running theme of- for lack of a better term- negativity. If what I'm writing is accurate I feel bad for him and (this should be needless to say) don't BLAME him at all. Life on the road can be maddening. However, we don't get a lot of these comprehensive interviews from him and when something like this comes along that seems very honest and lacking artifice (as a previous commenter said: props to him for that) there's nothing wrong with treating it for what it is.

I'm super-excited for the show in 33 hours and for next week and "Mellow Jacket" has a different feel which is awesome in its own unique way.

[buymycar]

The reason is just to show there is a running theme of- for lack of a better term- negativity.

I just see it as honesty.

[Shug]

I get that this gives off an impression of weariness and somewhat of a lack of enthusiasm, but that is just one possible intrepretation.  He seems like he was tired, but that might have been just on that day.  Based on the shows I saw this tour, he didn't seem like he lacked any energy in his performances.  Impressively honest answers from Jim.  I'd rather hear him appear to be stoked and pumped, but that is unrealistic to expect from him every day.

I'd be super-excited for the upcoming shows if I were going and I'm jonesing to see them again as soon as I possibly can,  they played great in SF and Phoenix with plenty of moments that were as good or better as I've seen them (admittedly only going back to 2010 for me other than live videos).

[dontgetupset]

I can't stress enough that I love the honesty. Sooooo much better than hearing meaningless canned answers. I also love the imagery of Jim slumped in an airport terminal chair having this interview and actually verbalizing what comes to hi mind without there being a PR lackey sitting next to him in green room somewhere.

I'm just observing. Whether it's a bad day a bad month or a bad breakup he seems down. Maybe showing up to the Tower Theatre and facing a super enthusiastic sold out iconic venue  will wipe those blues away. I'm optimistic that (if my interpretation of his mood is correct) this WILL happen and that we'll these 7 nights will become legendary.

[APR]

I don't feel like Jim was negative.  He was more matter of fact.  I think the interviewer asked good questions, and Jim responded honestly.   

The one thing that struck me as odd is that the interviewer said (and Jim didn't refute) that Jim never wrote songs in the first person.  Tons of songs are written in the first person.

[wheelhousetunes]

The one thing that struck me as odd is that the interviewer said (and Jim didn't refute) that Jim never wrote songs in the first person.  Tons of songs are written in the first person.

Those were my thoughts exactly.

[jcc0065]

im starting to believe more and more that jim is secretly wearing a back brace underneath that cape/jacket/whatever. it just makes sense

[buymycar]

I absolutely love this answer. I've never heard of the seven years thing and I find it very interesting.

JJ: Hmm. That's a good question. [Something I didn't used to do was] just trying to stand still. I feel like I couldn't sit still. I was filled with something that made me want to head bang and jump around all the time and not that it's bad but it's a different me and I'm not the same person, literally and metaphysically. They say every seven years all your cells have changed. You shed skin and hair cells and you are literally not the same person. I like to think about that a lot because I like to listen to what the universe is saying and when you have back surgery, the universe is saying something pretty big to you. I try to listen.

[Stevie]

It's somewhat depressing in that its not particularly exciting and shows minimal positive emotion. That's not to say that I'm speculating that JJ is "depressed" by any means. (Ignoring the annoying interviewer the sometimes not good questions and the whole travel thing) there seems to be little on Jim's part in which he says "I'm excited for X" "This tour has been especially meaningful because of Y".

To summarize the questions and answers

-I'm very private.
-Yes Jacket shows used to have more head-banging and such but they're more mellow now because time changes all.
-I'm a different person now that I was years ago and still affected by the back issues.
-I'm non-committal and definitely not greatly enthused by my previous side-projects
-I have minimal insight into another album because sometimes the energy's there sometimes not
-I'm tired of covers
- Making setlists is harder and I don;t play things when I'm not into them. Need emotional connections to songs
-I love working by myself
-Muppets heartbreaks and Muppets things for the bands haven't worked out

I have ignored some of the other questions and answers that were more "filler" than anything Jim seems to care about. Also when he says "I like working by myself" that's in a somewhat positive context about growing as someone doing studio stuff.

The reason is just to show there is a running theme of- for lack of a better term- negativity. If what I'm writing is accurate I feel bad for him and (this should be needless to say) don't BLAME him at all. Life on the road can be maddening. However, we don't get a lot of these comprehensive interviews from him and when something like this comes along that seems very honest and lacking artifice (as a previous commenter said: props to him for that) there's nothing wrong with treating it for what it is.

I'm super-excited for the show in 33 hours and for next week and "Mellow Jacket" has a different feel which is awesome in its own unique way.

I wouldn't agree with most of your bullet points.  Sorry, i think you are injecting your own interpretation of his words because those are definitely not facts. 

[Stevie]

Overall it was an interesting and revealing read.  Some things that piqued my interest...

1.  The muppet thing comes off has utterly heartbreaking... talk about disenchantment.  I really hope some day he's able to work with them and cleanse himself of the feelings that he seems to have now. 

2.  The next album isn't nearly as close to done as many of us were hoping.  I suspected that this was the case.  The 80% comments came out around the time that they finished recording in California and maybe a little excitement got in the way of practicality.  In interviews since that time period it was clear that Jim was stepping back off of that claim by saying things like "we should be able to get the next one out a little quicker than usual," which is much different from "the next one is 80% done."  So, to me i'm thinking 2017 seems more likely than a 2016 release.  HOWEVER...

3.  regarding OBH3 - "We're taking a year off. We just didn't have time in 2016."  This hints at something i've really been wondering about.  To me that does not sound like they will be taking a break.  So possibilities:  1.  Second round of touring (US, Worldwide, or both) 2. Studio time 3. Band parts for side projects.  4.  Combination of the 3.  I would love it if they did another US tour ala 2012 but since they brought back SC for the Waterfall tour I think they did a good job of merging two different setlist philosophies (New Album and Hits vs. Deeper Cuts) into one tour and i'd almost rather they went back to work on new material.  Either way it will be interesting to see what happens. 

4.  The back issues and the lack of stage movement:  The fact that he says he is listening to his body and the universe, and that they are telling him to slow down, makes me wonder how this different kind of energy will impact his songwriting and playing style going forward.  I would be tempted to say that maybe we will see a return to the more acoustic type of early Jacket songs, but he's already commented on how he has grown tired of playing guitar AND he has talked on numerous occasions about his excitement for learning the ins and outs of the studio (not to mention his recent first-time-ever digital rearrangement of a Jacket song (Spring)).  So while it may seem like money in a lot of peoples' excitement banks for him to sit on a stool and strum and pick, my guess is that we are way more likely to continue to see experimentation with unique pieces of gear (see:  Omnichord, Weird thing around neck for VD) and digital manipulation. 

Overall, count me in as one of the people who found his honesty very refreshing.  To me, he comes off as someone who won't toil around in things that he becomes bored with just because they would be beneficial to him career-wise and/or financially.  It takes courage to be constantly looking for something new and different to prove yourself in.  As I've stated previously in a thread about setlist expectations, I've made a conscious decision to stop hoping for the type of Jacket that I want to hear on new albums and to just embrace whatever they decide they are passionate about at the moment.  To me, that's really all i can ask for and I'll listen to them for as long as they are riding that vibe. 

[dontgetupset]

Excellent points and extremely well written, Stevie. I may have entirely allowed some sort of preconceived notions to creep into my interpretation of his words. Occam's Razor would probably dictate that the more sensible explanations: yours, fatigue, airport, tired, back may have sapped some enthusiasm out of him at the time of that interview.

He was as into it last night as he's been on any point in 2015 (post OBH). I actually think that this entire thread has some relevance to last night: Nobody's yet brought up Carl getting pretty PISSED during Mahgeetah when he had a guitar in the wrong key and they had to re-start the song (correct me if it was something other than a guitar in the wrong key that triggered this). Carl is a super-nice guy and was in a fine mood right after that for the encore. Someone COULD interpret his throwing his pick and getting upset as a signal that something's wrong in the band OR a normal interpretation would be that he's human and had a few minutes of frustration. So too here in the Jim interview I'm gonna change my view and err on the side of Stevie. Fascinating interview and love the honesty.