GRAMMYs @ Lollapalooza 2011 with My Morning Jacket, August 2011
On August 18th 2011 TheGRAMMYs published a video interview with My Morning Jacket at Lollapalooza, video above, rough transcript below.
Video runtime: 6:15 minutes
Show recorded at: Lollapalooza
Keywords:
Patrick Hallahan: I'm Patrick Hallahan
Carl Broemel: Carl Broemel
Jim James: I'm Jim James
Tom Blankenship: I'm Tom Blankenship
Bo Koster: Bo Koster
PH: It's just a huge honor to headline a festival, we're fans of the festival
JJ: Yup
PH: And y'know we're joining some pretty good company of people who've headlined in the past so, that's fantastic
JJ: Yeah, it's insane
PH: And we soundcheck a lot earlier, we soundchecked at 9:30 this morning
JJ: Lollapalooza was the first festival I ever went to as a kid, as a youth, sophomore in high school '94 Lollapalooza '94 in Cincinnati, so yeah I mean going to Lollapalooza in '94 and now getting to headline it is pretty... surreal.
JJ: I wouldn't say it's any different we try to look at every show the same really, I mean obviously there's some technical things you have to address that are different from stage to stage, but we, I don't know, we're all about trying to find that special place where time and space stop and you're not anywhere anymore. You're not at a festival or a club, you're just gone. So that's our goal always, to try to transcend wherever we are and hope that the audience comes with us, y'know and hope that it's transcendent for everybody. So we always just try to look at it all the same.
BK: Most days we get up at 6 am and run about like fifteen miles
PH: [laughs]
BK: And leading up like a couple weeks before a big festival, we pump it up to like 20, 21, 22 depending on how many beers we've had the night before, so...
PH: I think what makes Lollapalooza stand out from the rest is that this is one of the only ones that's actually like an urban setting, so having a city as a backdrop to the music festival is a whole different feeling from being secluded on a piece of land. It just has a great aesthetic to it. When the buildings are all lit up at night it just makes for such a cool atmosphere for a music festival.
JJ: I think for a lot of us too, Lollapalooza has some bigger sense of nostalgia
PH: Absolutely
JJ: Y'know I really love, all the festivals have their own special thing, but for Lollapalooza y'know for a lot of us that was the first festival we ever even heard of. You heard of Woodstock or whatever, but it wasn't relevant, I mean, to you as a festivalgoer. But for our generation, I feel like Lollapalooza, especially when it traveled was such a pivotal moment for everybody. I remember being in high school being like 'Oh my God, there's this thing called Lollapalooza where I can go see all my favorite bands at once, y'know such a mind blowing thing. Now I think it's, I don't want to say cooler, but I think it's cooler almost now that it's rooted in Chicago, 'cause Chicago is such an amazing place, so great to have a reason to come here, all the time. Not that there's not a million reasons to come here, but it's just great to have it anchored here.
PH: I would personally tell my 1998 self not to take no for an answer and to... not care about what other people think I guess. I would definitely try to instill some more confidence in that head of his.
JJ. In 1998 I was really worried about the Y2K distaster
PH: [laughs]
JJ: So I would really look back and tell myself that Y2K is, just don't worry about it. Y'know, it's going to be okay, even...
CB: The Mayan Calendar
JJ: Yeah it's more about 2012
PH: You brought up the Mayan Calendar now [laughs]
JJ: Don't worry about 2000, worry about 2012
[more laughs]
JJ: Because that's... Yup, you got plenty of time.
JJ: The world is very different now, I don't think that it has to change for us, as far as putting out our art form, because we still really care about the packaging and really care about releasing vinyl. So it's kind of like the world has grown, but it's almost become more of a buffet table y'know. Like every person can take what they want, 'cause I think we're all... I'm into everything. I really think there's a cool side to the digital music scene and getting things and I love physical things, I got a giant vinyl collection at home and as a traveling musician to be able to have so much music with me on a hard drive at all times is just, been unbelievable privilege. I think in today's day and age it's so important that people really respect the honor system. If you're doing well for yourself, please buy your digital downloads and please support the artist that you love, but if you're struggling and you can't afford health insurance, please steal our record. I love the idea of people who are struggling to get by to be able to get free music, to me is a really, I mean that's how it should be. I think that people have to look at it fairly, 'cause music is expensive, it costs a lot of money to make a record and put it out and if nobody pays for it, then music's going to suffer. I think if people are on the honor system and try to support the bands they love if they can, that's my personal view on it.
JJ: I think what Patrick said about, just don't take no for an answer and don't let anybody tell you that your ideas are crazy or that there's some reason you shouldn't do something. Voices pop in your head for a reason and I think it's a hard job to listen to the voices that pop into our head and try to respect what your head tells you to do in regards to your art.
PH: It's also, it's easy to be lazy when you get a good idea to just go on about your day. I think it's important to remember too, if you have like a really good idea or a moment of enlightenment, to write it down or record it or whatever, just so you can have it. So you can reflect back on it later, especially for songwriters, I think it's... y'know you walk around all day and sing songs to yourself, singing in the shower, if you have a good idea, try and capture it. Iphones are really good for that, but I just feel like a lot of the times... When I was younger I would have an idea and I would just go on and it would be gone forever, it could have been something amazing. I think it's important to capture those moments.
