A while back when I first found this site there was a link to the topic "Reason for the name change" from MOFRO to JJ Grey & MOFRO, but the link never went anywhere. I've been listening to them only since January so to me they've always been "JJ Grey & MOFRO", but I've always wondered why they changed. Can anyone let me know?
In an interview in 2007, Grey explained the addition of his own name to his project:
"I was always shy about putting my own name on my music. I knew that other people went by their own names with their own music but for whatever goofy reason I was too nervous to do it. All of the songs have been about personal experiences at some level in my life some good and some bad. A couple of the songs are about someone very dear to me who thought I was too embarrassed to have my own name associated with the songs I wrote about them. In the end it made me realize that my music is too damn personal to have a name I made up (Mofro) as the inspiration behind it."
Nice, skot. I've researched it quite a bit. I've got a few links that reference it in interviews, and others that I found through posts on music boards elsewhere. I've got 'em in a file but have never had time to put them up. It's a good question, as there are still people that wonder.
What I've learned, other than what skot posted (which is the "official" line written by the band's management, Madison House)is issue of copyright. Except for a few, JJ has written all the songs. But other than Daryl, Mofro has been an amalgamation of artists. By adding his name JJ protects his ownership to the songs, as opposed to an "entity"--the band. The entity would have a much harder time suing someone for infringement (partly because the entity has had so many different members) than the person. (That doesn't mean the other members don't get royalties or whatever arrangements they got, it just means that JJ gets legal protection from outsiders copying songs.)
I'm sure there are people more knowledgeable on the subject than me. ---------- MofroFan1
Last Edited by on Aug 24, 2008 9:02 PM
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