I really respect My Morning Jacket, because they’re fearless. They aren’t worried about anything except for their current whims, and they just seize on that and do everything with so much heart.
—
Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog
September 2008
(Source: austinist.com)
The band records its next album over a three-day weekend in the summer of 2000. The record remains… the best of what’s possible with a one-inch tape machine, pieced-together equipment and late nights spent making each other howl with laughter as much as creating music.
—
Tom Blankenship, talking about At Dawn
October 2010
I am forever inspired by the passion it takes to drive a public radio station. In the winter of 1999, I experienced what would be the first of many trips to WFPK’s studio. There, in the basement of the old Louisville Public Library, I stood impressed. The studio wasn’t slick, it wasn’t packed with new equipment. But the passion that guided the staff was palpable, and listeners can feel it coming through the airwaves.
—Patrick Hallahan shares “The top 10 reasons I love Louisville, Ky. public radio station WFPK.” Read all ten online at Louisville’s LEO Weekly. (via publicradiomusicmonth)
I really fell in love with At Dawn and The Tennessee Fire when I first joined the band. It was weird. I could kind of distance myself from the whole thing. It didn’t feel like it was band I was part of when I listened to the records. When we played them live, I felt like I was part of it. But it was nice to sit back and get into the heart and soul of the music at the time.
—
Bo Koster
September 2008
We had talked for years about making a record like At Dawn. We had done a lock-in, but that record was done in three days. Everybody had day jobs, so we took Monday off and we had Friday afternoon through Monday night to lock ourselves in and make the record. We had a whole month (for Z) where it was just us. We came down from the mountain every Sunday to have dinner in the normal world. Otherwise, it was like having our own little world; we ate at the facility and did everything there. Our rooms were literally down the hall from where we recorded. It was just a fun time, like being at Boy Scout camp or something. A slumber party that lasted for an entire month.
—
Tom Blankenship, talking about making Z
October 2005
That one took a lot of work. When you plan something like that, you basically have to pretend you’re 16 again.
—
Carl Broemel, talking about My Morning Jackets 4-hour, 35-song Bonnaroo set in 2008
August 2011
There are sensitive guys with guitars who are depressing, and then there are some, like our friend Mr. Oberst, who express their pain, and it feels sad, but it resonates so deeply with hope and passion that it grabs your heart. That’s what sets Conor apart.
—
Jim James talking about Conor Oberst
January 2005
(via lovemonsters)
(Source: Boston.com, via lovemonsters)
We look out there and it’s really ageless and there are no division lines between the people – it’s such a hodge-podge of everybody. By the end of the day we’re just sitting back going ‘wow this is exactly what we’ve always wanted to do – appeal to different people all over the place’. Because you only get so far when you appeal to one group of people and we don’t want to make one sound. So just seeing the audience reflection of that, it’s very rewarding.
—
Patrick Hallahan, talking about the audience at My Morning Jacket shows
May 2006
“We are very honored that Mr. Patrick Hallahan is playing one of the prototype player date kits tomorrow night (Saturday the 25th // 10 pm eastern) at the Spirit Awards in Los Angeles. Excited for the player date’s national tv debut and to hear the Jacket! click the photo to go to the Spirit Awards web-site.”
(via candcdrums)
October 2003
Interviewer:
If you had $17.99 to spare, what album would you buy for a friend?
Jim James:
If it was a younger friend who didn't really know the music that I love, I would take that $17.99, add another $10 and buy Physical Graffiti. The first time I heard Led Zeppelin was on Halloween night when I was in fifth grade. It was Ramble On from Led Zeppelin II, and it changed my life.
I’m a 20-year-old video-store clerk playing in a band. A bandmate gives me a cassette for another project he’s working on. … I listen to the tape, amazed that this hilarious dude Jim has written these beautiful songs.
—
Tom Blankenship, looking back at the time around The Tennessee Fire
October 2010
I would have to say that it is a tie between my Takamine G332 acoustic guitar and my Gibson Flying V. My parents gave me the Takamine for Christmas when I was around 12, and I’ve written so much stuff on it. It is really magic for me, it is the sound of love and familiarity. The Flying V rocks like no other guitar I’ve ever held. Sometimes it rocks so hard, I can’t even bear to play it and I want to lay down and sleep. Sometimes, if I haven’t played loud or live in awhile, and I strap on the V, I feel like I have a machine gun or a sledgehammer in my hand and nothing can stand in my way.
—
Jim James, when asked which guitar is most special to him
March 2007
My black 1988 Les Paul Standard is definitely the most special guitar in my collection. I’ve been playing it for 14 years, and have replaced the tuners, frets, pickups and pots, and eventually added a Bigsby (so I could pretend to be in Crazy Horse). I guess I’ve just played it so much, and used it to record so often, it’s become the main thing that makes me sound like me. I once watched in shock as it flew out of my friend Mike’s pickup truck and landed neck first on Indiana Highway 37. Hard. But somehow, Ol’ Blacky lives to tell the tale.
—
Carl Broemel
March 2007
A friend of mine used to play bass with this Oklahoma City Trio. He swore by their musicianship and told me that they really know how to put it down. Every time I think of them, I think of that movie Slapshot starring Paul Newman (a classic). They should dress up as the Hanson brother from that movie, that would be sweet. So, I’d be interested to see what kind of adults they’ve become and what kind of music they’re making. Don’t hate, or I’ll mmmmm bop you on your head.
—
Bo Koster, talking about Hanson
February 2008
People ask me what my first musical experience was, and it’s what I heard on The Muppet Show. I like the way that show appealed to both older people and younger kids. That’s kind of where I wanna shoot with My Morning Jacket-to create something that people of all ages can really enjoy.
—
Jim James
November 2005
(Source: straight.com)
