My Morning Jacket is an American rock band known for their reverb-heavy sound, their eclectic mix of country rock, indie rock, funk, psychedelic, and southern rock styles, and enthusiastic and energetic live shows.
The band comprises Jim James (singer-songwriter, guitarist), "Two Tone Tommy" Blankenship (bassist),[1] Patrick Hallahan (drummer), Carl Broemel (guitarist, pedal steel guitarist, saxophonist, vocalist), and Bo Koster (keyboardist).
History
My Morning Jacket was formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, consisting of Jim James on guitar, "Two Tone" Tommy on bass, J. Glenn on drums, and Johnny Quaid on guitar. The band's moniker comes from a discarded coat lead singer Jim James found while sifting through the remains of his favorite bar after it burned down. The coat was embroidered with the letters "MMJ".[2]
In 1999 the band's debut album, The Tennessee Fire, was released on Darla Records. In 2000 the band was augmented by the addition of Danny Cash (layout and keyboard instruments). Although the second album At Dawn was recorded with drummer J. Glenn, he had already left the band by the time the album was released by Darla in 2001. J. Glenn was replaced by Chris 'KC' Guetig. In May 2002 James' childhood friend Patrick Hallahan replaced Guetig.
My Morning Jacket signed with ATO Records in 2002 and in 2003 they released It Still Moves, their major-label debut. The release of the album was followed by the live EP Acoustic Citsuoca. This EP was notable for the total absence of reverb on Jim James' vocals, a sound very different from their earlier works.
In January 2004 Quaid and Cash both amicably left the band to be replaced by Carl Broemel and Bo Koster. In November 2004 the band released two collections of early work, which included old demos, live versions, and covers. These discs, entitled Early Recordings Chapter 1 – The Sandworm Cometh and Early Recordings Chapter 2 – Learning, document the formation and progress in the band's early years.
October 2005 saw the release of the critically acclaimed album Z, which greatly displayed the evolution of the band. The band was featured (under the name Ruckus) in the 2005 film Elizabethtown and contributed the song "Where to Begin" to the soundtrack.
In 2006, My Morning Jacket were musical guests on The Late Show with David Letterman, performing with members of the Boston Pops, with whom they played two shows at Boston Symphony Hall later in the month. In 2006 the band also released a live double album and DVD entitled Okonokos.
In 2007 the band recorded their album Evil Urges, which was released on June 10, 2008 and was followed by a June 20 show at Radio City Music Hall. They performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2008.
They performed for a fifth time at the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2008. They played an almost four hour long set starting at midnight on Friday; it featured guest appearances by Kirk Hammett of Metallica and comedian Zach Galifianakis, as well as the Nashville-Louisville horns. Thirty-five songs were performed during the marathon set, including many covers (i.e. Erykah Badu's "Tyrone", Kool and the Gang's "Get Down on It", Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime", James Brown's "Cold Sweat", Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street", Funkadelic's "Hit It and Quit It", Velvet Underground's "Oh! Sweet Nuthin", and Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home"), all but two tracks of their latest album Evil Urges, and a majority of the band's many fan favorites.
On May 10, 2008, they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and played "Evil Urges" as well as "I'm Amazed" off of their upcoming CD.
In August 2008, an animated music video for the song "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2" was released. The video has been well received by critics and fans alike and was created by the graphics design team Hornet's Mixtape Club.
Band members
Current members
- Jim James – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars (1998–present)
- "Two-Tone" Tommy – bass (1998–present)
- Patrick Hallahan – drums (2002–present)
- Bo Koster – keyboards & layout (2004–present)
- Carl Broemel – guitar (2004–present)
Former members
Side projects
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles and EPs
- Heartbreakin Man (May 2000)
- My Morning Jacket Does Bad Jazz (July 2000)
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! a.k.a. My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style! (October 2000, US version)
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! a.k.a. My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style! (December 2000, EU version)
- My Morning Jacket Does Gold Hole (January 2001)
- Split EP (with Songs: Ohia) (April 2002)
- Chocolate and Ice (April 2002)
- Sweatbees (November 2002; UK version)
- Sweatbees (May 2003; Australian version)
- Run Thru (November 2003)
- Acoustic Citsuoca (May 2004)
- Off the Record (EP) (October 2005)
- I'm Amazed (May 6, 2008) (#6 Billboard Triple A[3])
DVD
Compilation appearances
- Little Darla Has a Treat for You Vol. 14 (2000)
- Louisville Is for Lovers Vol. 1 (February 2001)
- 2 Meter Sessies Volume 10 (September 2001)
- Louisville Is for Lovers Vol. 2 (February 2002)
- KVRX 91.7 FM presents local live v.6 unlimited bandwidth (June 2002)
- ATO Records 53 (October 2002)
- A Gift from a Garden to a Flower: A Tribute to Donovan (November 2002)
- The Mother Lodge: A Tribute to the Rudyard Kipling, Volume 1 (March 2003)
- Live from Bonnaroo 2003 (October 2003)
- X-Ray CD #10 (October 2003)
- 270 Miles from Graceland - Bonnaroo 2003 (DVD) (November 2003)
- ATO Records 54 (December 2003)
- Live @ The World Café Volume 18: I'll Take You There (September 2004)
- KCRW Sounds Eclectic 3 (October 2004)
- SPUNK Days of Future Past (October 2004)
- KEXP presents Music That Matters Vol. 1 (November 2004)
- KFOG Live from the Archives 11 (November 2004)
- Louisville Is for Lovers Vol. 5 (February 2005)
- duyster. (March 2005)
- Return to Sin City - A Tribute to Gram Parsons (DVD) (March 2005)
- Bonnaroo Music Festival 2004 (April 2005)
- Live From Bonnaroo 2004 (DVD) (May 2005)
- Live at KEXP Volume One (June 2005)
- MOJO: Dylan Covered (August 2005)
- Elizabethtown - songs from the brown hotel (EP) (August 2005)
- Austin City Limits Music Festival - Live From Austin, Texas 2004 (August 2005)
- Austin City Limits Music Festival - Live From Austin, Texas 2004 (DVD) (August 2005)
- Elizabethtown - music from the motion picture (September 2005)
- For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records (October 2005)
- MOJO: Born in the USA Volume 2: The New American Songbook (December 2005)
- Elizabethtown - music from the motion picture - vol. 2 (February 2006)
- Louisville Is for Lovers Vol. 6 (February 2006)
- On XRT: Live from the Archives, Volume 9 (October 2006)
- Endless Highway - The Music of The Band (January 2007)
- Paste Magazine - New Music Sampler - Issue 44 (July 2008)
TV appearances
Notes
External links
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