Tom Blankenship at Greek Theater in Berkely, 2008, photo by pneyu
On the 18th of June 2008 The Aquarian Weekly published an interview with Tom Blankenship, done by Tina Whelski. The original interview can be found here.
Keywords: Evil Urges, Evil Urges (the song), Songwriting, One Big Holiday, Radio City Music Hall, Live show and touring
Give My Morning Jacket an open road and they’ll jam it with fans. At least that’s what the Louisville, Kentucky band’s been doing for nearly a decade. There’s just something about these hillbilly rockers that people can’t help but like. Maybe it’s those honest, sweet guitar sounds juxtaposed with the band’s super-frenzied performance? Or it’s that haunting, soul-searching reverb that’s aching for contact? No one knows for sure. Not even the band. But what is clear is that My Morning Jacket is quickly becoming known as one of the best live acts in America. The band’s upcoming show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall scheduled for June 20 sold out in just 22 minutes. And with the release of their 5th album, Evil Urges (ATO Records), just a few days ago, it is obvious My Morning Jacket is heading for new territory.
My Morning Jacket established its signature sound with independent releases of The Tennessee Fire (1999), At Dawn (2001), and its ATO debut It Still Moves (2003)—all recorded in their Louisville, Kentucky farm studio. The band became more adventurous on 2005’s Z, leaving home for Allaire Studios in the Catskill Mountains. But with Evil Urges, the band deliberately made itself uncomfortable, opting to record in the less serene New York City at Avatar Studios. The result is an impressive evolution in their sound.
It seems the wider My Morning Jacket travels, the more interesting things get. But even though Evil Urges stretches east, south, north, and west musically, there’s still a familiar space grounded by Jim James (frontman), Tom (“Two-Tone Tommy”) Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboards) that you’ll recognize as pure My Morning Jacket.
My Morning Jacket bassist, Tom (“Two-Tone Tommy”) Blankenship talks about Evil Urges.
You recorded Evil Urges in Manhattan with Grammy-award-winning producer/engineer Joe Chicarelli. What was different about the way the band approached this album?
I think we intentionally set out to have a different recording environment than we did the last time. We’ve worked at Allaire before in upstate New York and it was definitely out in the middle of nowhere. It took like fifteen minutes just to drive up the hill. And the records before that were all done at the farm. We’d always been kind of secluded. So we really wanted to switch it up this time. All of us were really excited to go to New York to do it in a big city. I think we all wanted to experience it as well personally. So the prospect of spending a month living in Manhattan was pretty enticing.
How did this change affect the music?
It was a good work environment because we spent twelve hours a day locked in a studio from eleven to eleven or twelve to twelve or whatever it was. It was different because before everything was more relaxed. You just kind of strolled into the studio whenever you woke up. If a couple guys wanted to stay up late until 2:00 a.m. and work on something they could. If you wanted to wait until it was really late at night and light some candles and look out over the mountains or look out over the farm and record a song, you could do it. It was different here because you had these twelve hours you had to work. That was it…It was more like you just focused on what you had to do and spent a day or two on a song tops knowing that maybe you wouldn’t get the chance to re-visit it again. So there was a certain amount of pressure that added, which I found nice and freeing in a way. To have everything structured and set in stone. You know how your work day was going to go, how your work week was going to be.
Did you have a specific thematic intention entering the studio?
I think personally I had an idea what the record was going to be like and it didn’t turn out anything like that, but we’d never really discussed going for a certain sound or a certain kind of direction. It was just we had this group of songs and we kind of cut out a few here and there. So it came down to like twenty songs or something. And it would be like, “Let’s try this twenty or seventeen and see how it goes.” Cause usually the album will sort of piece itself together.
Is there a song that’s particularly special to you?
Yeah, there are a couple, like “Evil Urges.” I think that was one of the most fun to write because it started out as two riffs. Like that intro riff with the bubbling roads and stuff and then the kind of big chorus part. Those were just two riffs that Jim had and he wanted to fit them together. I think it was the first song that we worked on and it was kind of nice because we were all starting from scratch. It wasn’t a demo that we had previously or something that we were familiar with. So it was a nice ice-breaker. And it was one that we spent the entire month in Colorado last year rehearsing. Every day we would play that song. So every day it really went through a lot of changes and was probably the most collaborative thing that we’d done.
How does an MMJ song typically come to life?
The process doesn’t change too much. Jim makes demos at home and hands us like two dozen songs or something. And we all live with them for a while. Then we get together and everybody just plays whatever comes into their minds. We just kind of hammer them out from there.
Where does inspiration often strike you?
I would listen to the songs in the morning here at the house and I guess it was last spring I had to do a lot of mowing. I had to mow the yard like every five days or something and then I had to rake between mowing because I had this ancient mower. So anyway, I spent a lot of time outside working and I would still have the songs in my head and I could hear little bass parts come up that way. So a lot of my stuff came when I was just working in the yard.
Your first-ever headlining show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall is scheduled for June 20 and it sold out in just 22 minutes. How does it feel knowing people can’t wait to be in the room with you guys?
It’s surreal. And it’s insanely flattering and unbelievable. Definitely unbelievable would be the major thing. I obviously believe in us, but just that anybody really wants to see us that much and that a show would sell out that quickly just blows my mind.
What do you think makes your live show such an attraction?
That’s a good question. It’s funny, when I see “Okonokos” [live 2006 DVD] or something like that. When I actually see clips of us playing, it’s like “Oh wow these guys are pretty good.” It’s so strange. Well I guess it’s not that strange. When you’re in the middle of it and you’re doing it you just have no clue. But even when I saw Patrick and Carl play with Bobby Bare Jr. in Austin a couple of years ago I was like “Holy shit,” watching them play. I understood. Not being a part of what they were doing and watching them play as individuals. There was a weird energy and a magical thing that happened. It’s hard to describe. I don’t know, it’s weird. Years ago when we were touring on At Dawn live shows were so different. It was like we wanted to be, I don’t want to say we wanted to be a metal band, but that’s what it felt like when we got on stage. Like we were Metallica in the ‘80s or something. (laughs). It wasn’t even something we talked about. It was just like that was what we did. I guess it was what we had grown up listening to and watching all the time. Hardcore and metal and stuff like that. I guess that really seeped its way into the live show, whereas the recording was a totally different world. Maybe that’s where it comes from. Just that music we were listening to growing up.
Do you have a song that’s a favorite to play live?
"One Big Holiday” would probably be the obvious answer. Because we’ve been playing it for so long, since the first year the band started. That’s one that I can’t get tired playing. And hearing people chime in at the verses. Its like, “Oh my God it’s insane.” And you can’t beat that intro. You know the ticking and then the guitar comes in. It’s like one of those live staples. Like it was written to be that kind of song. One that would get people off their feet. So that’s always fun to play.
