My Morning Jacket
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My Morning Jacket is an American rock band known for their reverb-soaked sound and their enthusiastic live shows. Formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, the band signed with ATO Records four years later.
The band's moniker comes from a discarded coat that lead singer Jim James saw with the letters "MMJ" on it. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/8719246/kentuckys_finest
Singer/songwriter/guitarist James' bandmates include bassist "Two Tone" Tommy, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist/pedal steel guitarist/saxophonist/vocalist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster.
History
The original line-up of MMJ in 1998 consisted of Jim James on guitar, "Two Tone" Tommy on bass, J. Glenn on drums, and Johnny Quaid on guitar. In 2000 Danny Cash (layout and keyboards) also joined.By late 2000, J. Glenn had left the band and was briefly replaced by Chris Guetig, and then later (in May 2002) by Jim James' childhood friend Patrick Hallahan.
In 2004, Johnny Quaid and Danny Cash both amicably left the band, and were replaced by Carl Broemel and Bo Koster.
The Tennessee Fire, the band's debut, was released in 1999 on Darla Records, as was At Dawn two years later. In 2003, they released It Still Moves, their major-label debut. After the release of the album, the band rewarded fans with the live EP Acoustic Citsuoca. This EP displayed James' vocal talents complemented by minimal instrumentation and a total absence of reverb. After three albums and multiple EPs, 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.
MMJ performed at Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The band's 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival performance has been cited by many fans as one of the most legendary in the band's history. It has been dubbed "Return to Thunderdome" due to the massive thunderstorm that rolled in as the band closed their set with "Steam Engine." Both the 2004 and 2005 sets have been released as official downloads at the Bonnaroo website.
In early 2005, James was featured on the Bright Eyes album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and on two tracks off of the M. Ward album Transistor Radio. In October of that year, the band released Z, which greatly displayed the evolution of the band, as the album itself received critical acclaim.
My Morning Jacket also made a cameo appearance in the 2005 Cameron Crowe film, Elizabethtown, as the fictitious southern rock band, Ruckus, performing an almost note-for-note rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird". Their songs "Where to Begin" & "Same In Any Language" were also featured in the film's soundtrack.
Austin City Limits aired a My Morning Jacket performance on February 11, 2006, and on April 30, 2006, they appeared at the Coachella Valley Music Festival. MMJ also performed at the 2006 High Sierra Music Festival on June 30 and July 1, 2006. James was given an "Esky" for best songwriter in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue.
My Morning Jacket opened for Pearl Jam during the first leg of their 2006 tour which began May 9 in Toronto, Ontario and ended June 3 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On June 8th, they were the musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. During this performance they were joined by several members of the Boston Pops.
Trivia
- In the November 2004 issue of Wired Magazine, a CD with 16 songs in the Creative Commons was bundled. "One Big Holiday" by My Morning Jacket was on this CD.
Discography
Albums
- The Tennessee Fire (1999)
- At Dawn (2001)
- It Still Moves (2003)
- Early Recordings Chapter 1 - The Sandworm Cometh (2004)
- Early Recordings Chapter 2 - Learning (2004)
- Z (2005)
- Okonokos (2006)
EPs
- Heartbreakin Man (2000)
- [[Split EP (My Morning Jacket/Songs:OHIA)|Split EP]] (with [[Songs:OHIA]]) (2002)
- Chocolate and Ice (2002)
- Sweatbees (2002)
- My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style (2002)
- Acoustic Citsuoca (2004)
Notes
}External links
- [MMJ Official Website]
- [Myspace]
- [Guitar Tabs and Chords]
- [Interview with Jim James, September 2005]
- ["Strong on the Horizon", PopMatters interview (10/2005)]
- [Interview with Jim James in The Marquee, October 2005]
- [Rolling Stone feature]
- [Rolling Stone article] The band's manager, Mike Martinovich, on Digital Rights Management (DRM)
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