Raw, swampy, earthy, pure groove: Florida’s JJ Grey & Mofro
One of my favorite musicians/bands is North Florida’s JJ Grey & Mofro. They were first MOFRO and now they go by JJ Grey & Mofro, but regardless I’ve been following since their first album, Blackwater. My sister played them for me and I fell deeply in love at first sound. I listened to that album on repeat for days and then went out bought my own copy and have bought every album since. I love the band’s vibe, mixing up Southern rock, straight up funk, and a raw groove. It’s just plain sexy.
Photo by Melanie Martinez (c) 2009 in Austin, Texas.
JJ Grey is more than a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and soulful vocalist. He is a storyteller, a folk philosopher, and a cultural historian. He sings with such passion about the beauty of the simple things in life and his homeland, the country in Northern Florida, on the outskirts of Jacksonsville. If you are a fan of great music, go see them live – you will thank me later.
The title song from their second album, Lochloosa:
The price of “War,” from the Country Ghetto album:
Many of JJ’s songs have a mystical quality, interweaving mysterious stories about relationships and people’s lives while connecting with the magic of the natural world. This is “Dewdrops,” from Orange Blossoms:
“Circles” from Country Ghetto, a song about the baggage we carry into our relationships. JJ says in his smooth drawl, “Now this song is for women – you gotta cut some slack on men…” To that I have to say, man when you say it like that, you got it!
“Air” from the first album, Blackwater:
Here’s an interview from 2008 with JJ Grey where he talks about a seasoned music audience being a part of the creative process on stage, meeting his musical hero, and the musical arrangements:
George Sluppick, now the drummer for Memphis’ The City Champs, whom I wrote about a few posts back, was the drummer for Mofro for many years when I first starting seeing them live. JJ Grey & Mofro has changed lineups over the years and added more arrangements (strings, horns, etc) to their sound as JJ spoke of in the interview above. I haven’t seen them since they added the horns, but I’d love to catch them with the full orchestration. On that “Dewdrops” video above, the strings create such a gorgeous, lush sound. I just adore JJ and no matter what he does next, I’ll be listening.
Links and Resources:
Blackwater by MOFRO
Lochloosa by MOFRO
Country Ghetto by JJ Grey & Mofro
Orange Blossoms by JJ Grey & Mofro
Mofro Official Website
I just had the absolute thrill of my life seeing JJ Grey & Mofro “LIVE” in Chico, CA on 9/13/2010, and he was everything I had hoped for and more! I danced my ass off for starters! And if fact, I’m still dancing to his music, however, now I’m in my living room! JJ Grey & Mofro work magic on my soul…I simply do not get tired of listening to them. And the hug I received from JJ-it was GENUINE!!!
Hi Jennifer, AGREED! I never get tired of listening to them either…JJ and his band is the real deal when it comes to music…straight up out of the bubbling core of the earth!
[...] song Footsteps. I found another blogger with info on these guys, who described them as “Raw, swampy, earthy, pure groove“. I couldn’t put it any better myself, so I [...]
JJ Grey and Mofro « Tunes Talk said this on July 7, 2011 at 4:33 am |
The last couple of times I’ve seen them they’ve been good but their sound has changed w/o the old guitar player and drummer.
More loud and less stripped down funk. Not as many solos.
I always said one of the best things about the band was they knew how to leave spaces between the notes in the right place. Now it’s like this wall of sound.
Oh wow…wall of sound…that never sounds like a good thing to me! It seems like every time they hit LA, I’ve got some major thing going on where I can’t make the show. Anyhow, thanks for visiting the blog!