No, this isn't JJ. This is Clay. But after his set at CD Connection last night, JJ not only said to say hey ya'll, he also asked me if I'd pass along a thing or 3. (I just have to say for the umpteenth time how great he is, how genuine he is, and how he looks you straight in the eye when he talks and listens when you talk, and how he makes you feel so comfortable. He's just an incredible person. I know I'm preaching to the choir here though aren't I?)
But first, to add a little to what skotdee said on the other post, they had about 275 people there last night for the CD release party. Tall people, short people, big people, small people, young people, old people, male people, female people, fat people, skinny people, in-betwixt people, mini-people, happy people, people-people----every god damn one of 'em MOFRO people!!!
Seemed to me like better'n half of the crowd bought CDs. I'll tell you it was kind of eerie watching JJ and nobody knowing the lyrics. There seemed to be quite a few people there that hadn't heard the songs yet.
Scott already posted the set list. I'll also post it on the set list page.
JJ said he knows there's a lot of buzz about where they're playing--or not--over the next 3 or 4 months to just hang loose. As I mentioned on another post, they're changing up the route a bit for the CD opening tour this time. But he asked everybody to hang cause they ain't slowing down and they WILL be coming your way again soon.
For our friends on the other side of the pond--and we've been getting a few site visitors every week from all over the world--JJ said they'll be going back to Europe and to Australia after the first of the year.
Asking him what songs off of OB are gonna be live jam songs and he said he honestly didn't know. Said they haven't had had time to get on stage and play the songs yet and get in a groove (my words). I guess we'll start finding out starting this weekend at BSR!
As for Florida dates, and New Year's, he said they aren't keeping it secret, but they're still working things on that too. He said they will be playing dates in Florida in December for sure, and that New Year's will be in Florida. He asked no one read anything into that, nor that the Freebird has been ruled out by any means.
If anyone is wondering if JJ hits this site, in a word--yes. I didn't ask him how often or anything like that. But if not often, it seemed like he's been through it pretty good, especially all the stuff on the message board.
He spoke of 3 things he's seen on the board that he wanted me to pass along his comments/clarifications: 1) George, 2) the name change, 3) the sitar.
Since there are board topics already opened on all 3 of those subjects, I will post them accordingly. (For those of ya'll on the board as I write this, I need sleep! My concentration levels are faddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
Wow, that's an awesome message, Clay. Thanks for sharing. I love how JJ is connecting with the fans. And I can already feel the energy that this new album and tour are creating -- in JJ, the band, and all of us Mofro nuts. Glad you had a great time and got home safely.
Doesn't it feel like nothing could go wrong in the world?
He's just the best. Kimberly, when they come your way again, do NOT leave without meeting him. On new record release tours, he ALWAYS hangs out afterwards and signs stuff and yaks with fans. He'll stay until every last fan has had a chance to meet, talk with him, have pics taken, etc. Lots of those times the other guys hang out too, so you can meet them as well. (If you're lucky, even Daryl will come out! He is NOT rude or anti-social or "stuffy," he's just very, very shy and not comfortable in crowds. When it's a small venue, or after the crowd has thinned out, he'll sometimes come out. He is VERY nice, very "Southern," and given the chance very funny too.)
---------- MofroFan1
Last Edited by on Aug 28, 2008 6:34 AM
Actually I never have wanted to meet people within bands… I have followed The Black Crowes around the country and Europe..and have only met 1 band member by accident- on a street in Amsterdam….and I felt like a total goober asking for a photo.
But this next show on 9/11 I am bringing my mom- who I turned on to Mofro last year- and she fell in love with them- when they came around in October ’07, the day of the show she was too sick to make it (she had just finished a 2 month round of chemo). She was so bummed. She just started chemo again yesterday but she should still be feeling ok then- I contacted the venue- g=some great peeps helped me out and secured her an unobstructed reserved seat (super small venue) ….we are GONNA make this happen this time..
Now she, on the other hand, would be completely stoked to meet him…I’m gonna have to take our time getting outta there after the show is over and maybe it will happen.
p.s MOFROTM~ I can assure you I am a pleasant fan – no wrestling needed
---------- I love me some Mofro
Last Edited by on Aug 28, 2008 10:40 PM
Wow, Kimberly, that's so great to take your mom to the show. I know she will love it. That Mofro soul is just gonna fill her up and she won't be able to stay in her chair!
I hear you on loud and clear on your thoughts about meeting band members and had that same view before I went to my first Mofro concert. I have talked to Clay about this subject a little when this site was still in it's starting stages and I know everyone else agrees when they talk about meeting JJ. Clay and I talked about this being one of the reasons why Mofro Fans are so lucky, because JJ and the band are not like any other band. At my first concert, when I heard they were gonna hang out after the show and chat or kick it, I was thinking that it would be a regular table with a line and JJ and maybe a few of the guys signing stuff, you walk up, have the time for them to sign something to say anything to them and they wisk you away. Not even close. It's like a bar scene and especially with JJ, it's laid back, like being out with friends. Art and Dennis have really added a very cool vibe with thier antics and ongoing jokes. AC seems the same way from what little I've seen of him. Yes, JJ is signing things, as are the rest, but they are up, walking around, having a drink and chatting as if they were in thier own backyards having a cookout with close friends. When I saw that, I was blown away. Then came back for another, same thing, and again, and again.
The one thing that really amazes me to this day, is how JJ gives everyone the same consideration, the same attention, and he has fun with it. The concerts at the Rhythm Room that I've been to have always lasted into the wee hours of the morning, they always have a show the next day in LA, a 7 hours drive, sometimes like March '07 have a radio appearance around noon, and JJ is chatting with the fans until 3 am before hoping on the bus and getting on the road. He doesn't complain, or not talk to anyone cuz he wants some free time to himself or maybe a little shut eye. Sometimes I think the guy is a machine and doesn't require sleep. And he has always made it a point to talk to everyone standing and waiting to talk to him before going.
Best proof would probably be if Danny O. would chime in on this, being he's seen it many times over with the band and from my personal experience, he carries the exact same qualities of being genuinely considerate, generous, polite, proper, I could go on for days with this, right Clay?
And last but not least, it's one thing to portray that to everyone, but you can tell it's genuine with these guys with how they go out of thier way for the little things and from the times I've been around JJ, the memory this guy has is unreal. People coming up to him left and right telling him about times they saw them play way back in 2003, 2004, and so on, and JJ is nodding his head tossing back stories about how the venue was set up that night, the weather they treked through to get there, recognizing peoples faces. They make thier way and he's turned talking to the next person probably answering questions about the harmonica if it's me, all the while smiling and having a good time.
So to make my long story short, I think you should make it a point to take your mom to meet him, I have no doubts that he will make her smile, take a picture with you two, sign whatever, and a goodbye hug, sorry, the line is drawn there, remember, JJ's a happily married man. You'll walk away shaking your head in disbelief as to how lucky we all are to be a fan of JJ Grey and Mofro and you'll know exactly what Clay and I were talking about along with everyone else who's experienced such a thing first hand.
With you're story, my prayers go out to you and your mother. My mother is going through the same thing, and while she's not a big fan of JJG&M, I can't think of anything else that would lead her to Brighter Days, then if she was a big fan, to meet someone like JJ who lives up to the hype, lives up to the billing, lives up to the reputation. I'm a Believer.
---------- Delerious Tyme
Mofro for life in Arizona The Rhythm Room is exactly that when the boys are kicking it here. "Walking on Moonlight in the Day."
Last Edited by on Aug 28, 2008 8:24 PM
DT- thanks for all the insight- and the kind words. It's a tough situation to have a sick parent- good thoughts & vibes to you and your mom.
So are you guys saying just hang back a little after the show in the bar and there’s a good possibility of running into them?
My husband and I were talking about this tonight and it would be cool for her- thanks for the assurance that if we do get to snap a photo & met him/them...it will be very laid back.
I know when she feels that live mofro music & vibe she will feel good…that’s what it’s all about…
"For our friends on the other side of the pond--and we've been getting a few site visitors every week from all over the world--JJ said they'll be going back to Europe and to Australia after the first of the year."
As one of the aforementioned over the pond site visitors, can I just say "Glory glory hallelujah!" to the news of the guys heading this way at some point in 2009. Best news I've had in the last 2 months (seriously, a split from girlfriend of 9 years, my sister lost her baby at 28 weeks, summer 08 has been dark times indeed and Mofro have been lifting my spirits).
The UK needs more Mofro, doing my best to spread the word.
All the guys are very nice and humble, I met JJ in Austin and Denver at fests and this summer in VT, Art invited my brother and I on to the bus to grab a beer and hang out, unforunately my bro and I had to stick with the other friens we were with and miss out on a great opportunity. I remember talking to JJ Denver and I noticed how attentive he was when I was talking. He is going to be excited next time when I tell him that my brother works for an organization that protects land, in specific alachua county. ---------- ...when that gal gets down, you can't help but stare, cuz that frame's lit smokin like a signal flare..she's on fire
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."
---------- Delerious Tyme
Mofro for life in Arizona The Rhythm Room is exactly that when the boys are kicking it here. "Walking on Moonlight in the Day."
I better answer these other questions or Gr8ful is gonna eat his keyboard!
DT, thanks for jumping in with the help, but he's also known as John Dude. Loooooong time fan, traveled all over to follow them, a great taper, hell...he's been on the bus (I ain't never been on the bus, man.)
He was referring specifically to what JJ said to me about it in response to something I had said on the message board.
To answer that, JJ said it did not have to do with song ownership, copyrights or anything like that. He said said he owns the Mofro name. He said that the official line (what DT posted) is absolutely fact.
He went on to add a few more things. As the band has gone on to become more known, his family felt his name should be a part of it. I do hope I'm paraphrasing JJ correctly there, because that's not exactly what he said, but it's the sentiment.
He said that since so many of his songs are about his family life, and members of his family, and the life experiences of his family, that his family wondered why his name wasn't part of the band's name. He said one of the reasons why he did it was because of his Granny. That as she has aged he felt like she wanted that too--especially since many songs involve her and his late Granddaddy, or stories they would tell, etc. And he wanted it as something of an honor toward her.
He said that he finished playing a solo acoustic set a couple years back--I can't remember the details but it was something where leaders of bands did their own work--and someone came up to him and said "...hey when are you going to cut a solo record of your own...?"
JJ was like, man these ARE MY songs. These are the stories of my life, I wrote all these songs, about people and places and things that I know.
He said he felt it to be more real. He said that doesn't mean necessarily making everyone in his family happy, it just means real. He cited "Higher You Climb" as a song that some people in his family "...are not going to be very happy about. But they're real things happening to real people and I'm just telling the stories."
That sums it up best as I can, I think. As for George, I got to get some work done! I'll kick in with what he said about that later on today or tomorrow.
Thanks for the kind thoughts UHollis. Just awaiting my copy of Orange Blossoms as it wings it's way across the atlantic ocean for a new slice of Mofro to raise my spirits higher.
Outstanding, kneel and pray to the gods of overseas delivery and lo, the padded envelope doth plop through my letterbox an hour later. We have a winner!
here is a funny one on the name thing. I was at the wicker park festival in chicago last year,mofro plays and afterwards I went over to the merchtable to say Hi to jj (while waiting there the merch girl absolutely MADE me buy a sticker,good salesgirl) anyway I listened to a woman asking jj about all that name business,why and bla bla.she was kinda annoying and he was being kinda nice so than at the end she ask him to sign something and he says"so what do you want me to sign? jj grey and mofro? or just mofro?or just for YOU I sign mofro,ok?
ha!
I'm back home in(on?-forgive my grammar errors but Im german) fort myers beach
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