CMJ New Music Monthly interview (2003)

Cover of CMJ photo by Drew Goren September, 2003

In September 2003 CMJ New Music Monthly published an interview with the band, written by Steve Klinge.

Keywords: genre, One Big Holiday, band members, band chronology

The Hog Pit, perched on the edge of New York's Meatpacking district, is sort of a family-friendly version of notorious faux biker bar Hogs & Heifers, down the street. It has barbeque, bottles of Lone Star in buckets of ice, classic rock and country on the jukebox and lady bartenders in cowboy boots. It's sort of the place that inspires futile questions. Like asking My Morning Jacket to describe their own music.

"Rock 'n' roll. That's all I can say," singer/guitarist Jim James says in a standard, but deceptively appropriate response. "It's everything; Rock 'n' roll encompasses all the emotions."

And then the jukebox in the next room kicks in and drummer Patrick Hallahan smirks. "I can't help it, this song is just amazing as the backdrop to this conversation. It's Achilles Last Stand by Led Zeppelin. Fuckin' amazing."

"That's one of the things about your question," keyboardist Danny Cash interjects. "This [Led Zeppelin song] is rock 'n' roll, Chuck Berry's rock 'n' roll

http://books.google.se/books?id=3ikEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=I%27d+like+to+think+that+somebody%27s+name+was+My+Morning+Jacket+cmj&source=bl&ots=-f99X94jop&sig=eagL3HelrmpITXSPlBt9xVZJUzU&hl=sv&ei=LvNPTZ-CFof4sgaklb2RDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Photo by Drew Goren, from the article, 2003

Photo by Drew Goren, from the article, 2003

CMJ New Music Report (2003)

"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)

On August 11 My Morning Jacket was featured in CMJ New Music Report. In the feature the band talks about how the band creates its reverb sound, different kinds of reverb, why the band is so drawn to reverb and other reverb-y albums by other artists.


Posts containing quotes from the interview
Reverb





(CMJ New Music Report interview, August 2003)

CMJ New Music Monthly interview (2002)

Photo of the band, from the article

"I like to think that somebody's name was My Morning Jacket"

- Jim James
(CMJ New Music Monthly interview, June 2002)

In June 2002 CMJ New Music Monthly published a short interview with Jim James, written by Kara Zuaro.

Keywords: The band name, Live show and touring

"There was this weird old bar next to the arts building at the University of Lexington that burnt down while I was there", My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James drawls. His then unnamed band wandered into that bar's basement , where a shady exotic dancing operation had once been. They found a stripper's robe, mysteriously spared by the flames and monogrammed with the initials MMJ. "I like to think that somebody's name was My Morning Jacket", he muses. This is the sort of imagination that fuels the innovative rock and storyteller lyrics of the band's new Chocolate And Ice EP (Badman) and their recent split CD with Songs:Ohia (Jade Tree). Chocolate comes with a 24-minute epic that rings of Hendrix-tinged astral rock and Shuggie Otis's psychedelic soul; their live show evokes Granddaddy and Skynyrd at the same time. The Louisville five-piece is building a following in the States, but their most fervent fanbase is, oddly enough, in the Netherlands, thanks to a Dutch novelist fan who an MMJ album to his friends in the Benelux press. "They treat us nice over there," James grins as he speaks of their series of sold out Eurotours. "And we always like to crank it up a couple of notches. We like to blow the doors off a bit when we play live."