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" on it. [1]
Singer/songwriter/guitarist James' bandmates are bassist "Two Tone" Tommy, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist/pedal steel guitarist/saxophonist/vocalist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster.
Contents
1History
2Side projects
3Trivia
4Discography
4.1Albums
4.1.1Compilations
4.2Singles & EPs
4.3DVD
4.4Compilation appearances
5Notes
6External links
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 1999 The Tennessee Fire, the band's debut album, was released in on Darla Records. In 2000 the band were augmented by the addition of Danny Cash (layout and keyboards). 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.
In 2003 MMJ 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 distinctive of 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. In 2006 MMJ 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. 2006 also saw the release of live double album and DVDOkonokos.
They will not perform at this year's Bonnaroo, to rest and record a new album. This was confirmed by the band's management, but is still being disputed by some of the band.
James and Hallahan will appear on America's upcoming comeback album, Here & Now, in a cover of "Golden."
Trivia
My Morning Jacket performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, making them the only band to be invited to the festival four years in a row. Both the 2004 and 2005 sets were released as official downloads at the Bonnaroo website. Their marathon three-and-a-half hour set in 2006 was available via webcast the following evening.
Jim James was given an "Esky" for best songwriter in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue.
My Morning Jacket (minus Koster) also made a cameo appearance in the 2005 Cameron Crowe film, Elizabethtown, as the fictitious southern rock band, Ruckus, performing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" with Hallahan appearing on keyboards as actor Paul Schneider portrayed the drummer.[2] Their songs "Where to Begin" & "Same In Any Language" were also featured in the film's soundtrack.
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.
The song "Mahgeetah" appeared in a beer commercial in 2005. They had initially sold the rights to the song to Coors under the impression that it would be used for a Coors Light advertisement. Upon finding that the commercial had been released supporting the new Coors Aspen Edge, they donated every cent of the proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and swore to never do another commercial.[citation needed]
Jim James' real name is James (Jim) Olliges Jr., according to liner notes of bands he previously played in. About his name change he said the following in an interview with the Louisville Eccentric Observer (conducted June 19, 2003 in Shelbyville, KY): LEO: What about your name change from Jim Olliges to Jim James? JJ: It was just easier. When I was playing a lot of open mic nights, I’d put Jim Olliges and they’d go, Jim Olgus or something. I liked the way Jim James sounds. Kinda sounds like a western gunslinger name. It’s a lot easier, and it impacts on your brain quicker.
Two-Tone Tommy's name is Thomas (Tom) Blankenship.
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