Patrick Hallahan at KCRW, 2005On September 17th 2008 Campus Circle published an interview with Patrick Hallahan written by Yuri Shimoda, original interview can be found here.
"I'd probably get a tattoo of a man running quickly while on fire."
My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan sums up the experience of recording their fifth full length album Evil Urges, in the form of a tattoo design.
"It was a difference between what we wanted to do versus what we had to do. That was the big difference between recording out at the farm and recording in new York", he continues. For a band of admitted control freaks, relinquishing a bit of power during the recording process for only the second time in 10 years since forming was akin to lighting themselves on fire.
My Morning Jacket's original lineup, including vocalist Jim James and bassist Two Tone Tommy, recorded their early work (1999's The Tennessee Fire, 2001's At Dawn) at the farm of first guitarist (and James' cousin), Johnny Quaid. In 2002 James recruited childhood friend Hallahan and MMJ set to work on their ATO debut, It Still Moves, at the Quaids' farm where, as Hallahan says, "We controlled every variable out there."
The band's relentless tour schedule eventually led to Quaid's departure. After the addition of Carl Broemel on guitar and Bo Koster on keyboards, the quintet went to Catskills to collaborate with producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Muse) on the critically lauded Z (2005). They also appeared in and contributed to Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, a film that paid tribute to their home state of Kentucky.
Music was a big part of growing up in Louisville. Hallahan says, "Music was always a staple in my house. My dad would play guitar and sing to put me to sleep. My grandparents were musicians so whenever I stayed at their house, they were always practicing. It was our entertainment instead of TV."
The entire band cites an eclectic range of influences
