"We try to find the biggest, emptiest fish tank, really."- Jim James, when asked how MMJ conjure their sound
(CMJ New Music Report interview, August 2003)
2001
In an 2001 interview with Philadelphia Citypaper Jim James mentions his love of reverb and how it makes him feel happy.
"I love to sing in a world I’m comfortable in. I love big open rooms and lots and lots of reverb…. Reverb makes me feel like Roy Orbison, and when I feel like Roy Orbison I feel happy, though I know I’ll never even come close to him."- Jim James
(Philadelphia Citypaper interview, June 2001)
2003
In an 2003 interview with CMJ New Music Report Jim James is asked several questions about reverb. Among other things he talks about how lucky the band is to be able to record out on a farm in Louisville.
"I'm just a huge fan of reverb, so I like to make reverb a part of everything we do. We've got tons of different kinds of reverb - but huge old plate reverb from the '50s, we've got a silo that we use as a reverb chamber, we've got a garage that we use as a reverb chamber."- Jim James
(CMJ New Music Report interview, August 2003)
James also comments on what draws him to reverb, saying that he finds it hard to explain, but that using reverb is kind of like almost becoming a superhero.
"To me, reverb is the difference between heaven and earth and the difference between feeling like I could sing like the Righteous Brothers or not sing at all. It's something that makes me feel amazing and makes me feel so confident in the way I sound. I don't even like to sing at home without reverb. I don't like to sit in a bedroom - I like to sit in a shower or stairwell or silo or parking garage - sit with a four-track with tons of reverb on it. It just makes me feel right."
- Jim James
(CMJ New Music Report interview, August 2003)
In a 2003 interview with Billboard James also talks about the importance of reverb.
"I'm a reverb maniac, I can't even sing at home in my closet without reverb. (...) They [venue sound engineers] tell us it's unprofessional and that it doesn't sound right. Luckily, we're now able to start bringing our own sound guy and have more control over it."- Jim James
(Billboard interview, September 2003)
In 2003 interview Johnny Quaid revealed just how important reverb is to the band and to James personally.
"Jim actually has a chemical imbalance where he cannot survive without reverb, it’s like oxygen to him. He won’t even have a conversation with any of us unless he’s talking through a small amp. He walks around with a small amp on his belt and a mic, and talks to us all the time in reverb. It’s kind of disturbing."- Johnny Quaid
(PopMatters interview, October 2003)
September, 2003
Jim James: It's reverb, echo, delay. We use tons of different kinds of reverb. I'm obsessed. We try to use a lot of variety, with different rooms, garages, silos. We've got a big plate reverb out at the farm that we use, and all kinds of digital reverb
Interviewer: Is this hard for you to reproduce live?
Jim James: Yeah. Most sound guys don't understand it all and try to fight you. [In hick voice] "You're not supposed to have that much reverb!" It's always a big bullshit battle
Interviewer: So somewhere, are there versions of these songs without the vocal effects?
Jim James: No. It's a part of it from the very beginning. I can't even write a song without reverb. I've always got to have reverb
2004
"Reverb is music to me. I don't ever play music without it. I don't sing without it, I don't like to play guitar without it. It is what makes music a joy for me personally. It's the difference between being a normal human being and some weird force that's unexplainable. If you think about it, reverb is all around you. If you have a big house with high ceilings it sounds a lot different than if you have small place with tightly packed rooms full of shit. I hate singing into a dry microphone. It sounds dead and lifeless to me."- Jim James
(JamBase interview, January 2004)
However...
"Sound guys hate reverb. Sound guys fuckin' despise it. It was a huge battle until we finally got our own sound guy and now it's fine."Jim James
(JamBase interview, January 2004)
"I just need a comfortable place with lots of reverb and I just zone out and let it happen, to me, reverb is dreadfully important, just as important to me as a guitar or a voice. It's definitely got its own life force."- Jim James, talking about recording It Still Moves
(The Age interview, March 2004)
2005
"I don’t sing without reverb. I think the sound of a dry microphone against the human voice is kinda gross. It works for some other people but I just don’t like it for my voice. I think we did a good job of messing around with it on the new record. It’s not just all big reverb. We tried different delays and different room sounds. There’s a lot of texture on the vocals on this record, but they’re not all buried in reverb, and they’re not dry either. Some sound like a robot. I’m just obsessed with making things sound weird."- Jim James
(PopMatters interview, October 2005)
2006
"Obviously, the reverb— especially on the vocals and drums. I think those sounds are kind of a signature. You always know it’s My Morning Jacket when you hear the drums start. Songwriting-wise we’ll always be all over the map but production wise there’s always little hints of what came before, a My Morning Jacket vein that runs through everything."-Tom Blankenship, when asked about the defining characteristics of the band’s sound
(Pitchfork interview, April 2006)
2008
“To Jim, reverb’s another instrument and another sound on the record and he plays off that texture. It’s really important he has it in his headphone mix and he hears exactly how it is going to sound on the album, whether it’s a plate or a chamber or an old ’80s AMS RMX16 non-linear program.”- Joe Chiccarelli
(EQ Magazine interview, December 2008)
“I just have a need for space in a recording. I feel that a lot of modern recordings are lacking space and depth in the stereo field. Many recordings sound flat, with all the sounds pushed right up in your face. I hate that. I like older recordings where you can feel the space around the performers. It’s not that I’m on some retro trip—that gets old—I just want there to be some difference in distance between the instruments.”- Jim James
(EQ Magazine interview, December 2008)
