This fact may be hard to believe, but throughout their long and storied career the Preservation Hall Jazz Band have never released a studio album consisting entirely of their own original compositions. The legendary New Orleans act will change all that come July 9, with the release of That’s It! via Sony Legacy. The 11-track record, which was recorded at the band’s home-base at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter, was co-produced by Pres Hall’s own Ben Jaffe and My Morning Jacket front man Jim James, who has been championing the band over the last handful of years.
In advance of the record’s release, Preservation Hall has released this behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album. Let’s check it out…
List Time: 15 Oddest Walk-On Songs of 2013 MLB season
Finally, it appears that we may finally have an answer to ongoing “are they” or “aren’t they” story surrounding the relationship between former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and rootsy songstress Patty Griffin, who have been romantically linked since 2011. The pair, who appear together on Griffin’s new studio album American Kid, had been previously thought to have eloped last summer, despite conflicting reports to the contrary. Earlier this week in an interview with Billboard Griffin set the record straight, telling the industry rag “We’re not legally married, no,” while also going on to speak about their musical connection, “We get a lot of energy from each other’s singing. We both have similar places that we come from as singers-a lot of emotion, and sometimes the emotion overrides technique. He inspires me. He goes far and deep.”
Jim James and The Roots really hit it off a few weeks back when the My Morning Jacket front man visited Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on two consecutive nights to promote his solo debut album. Double J and The Roots will collaborate for a one-night only event dubbed State of the Union: An Evening of Collaborative Performances on June 19th at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn.
There will be a Roll Call exclusive Pre-Sale starting at 10am on Wednesday April 17th.You must register for a Roll Call membership in order to be able to participate in this pre-order event. Roll Call members will receive an email with the pre-sale password and links to purchase tickets for this event before it begins. James and The Roots
In order to receive a code, you must become a member of Roll Call no later than 5pm EST on Tuesday April 16th.This code is exclusive to you. Do not share it because it’s good for only one use. Each code allows you to purchase up to 4 tickets. We recommend copying & pasting the code exactly as it appears above to make sure it’s correct when you enter it while making your purchase.
We can’t wait to see what these two HT faves come up with. No word on the Jim James / Questlove album both men alluded to back in February following Jim’s appearance on Fallon.
Last month Jim James performed an intimate show at the pop-up venue that hosts the much-buzzed about theater presentation Sleep No More in New York City. Pitchfork spoke with James about Sleep No More, technology addiction and much more for a clip that was just posted on site.
In addition to the interview, James and his band perform State Of The Art…
Back in January we told you about the first batch of tapings for the 39th season of long-running music television program Austin City Limits which featured Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, The Lumineers and Shovels and Rope. Today, ACL producers have revealed details about two more tapings for Season 39 – set to debut this fall – starring HT faves Jim James and Grizzly Bear.
Grizzly Bear, who will be making their Austin City Limits debut, will take the ACL Live at Moody Theater stage on April 10th. Jim James will make his sixth ACL appearance on an epsiode that will be filmed on May 5th. Keep your eyes on the ACL Facebook page to find out how to attend these tapings.
The Lips will likely preview material from their new album The Terror, while James is expected to focus on material from Regions of Light and Sound of God. As with other Auditorium Shores SXSW shows, this event is free and open to the public.
In one of the least surprising announcements of this festival season, the Newport Folk Festival Twitter feed has just revealed that My Morning Jacket front man Jim James will return to the event this July in support of his recently released solo debut, Regions of Light and Sound of God.
James has a long history of performing at Newport Folk, not only as a solo artist but also with My Morning Jacket and New Multitudes. Newport Folk founder/producer George Wein wrote about Jim James importance to the festival for the event’s website.
Here’s a look at the Newport Folk Festival 2013 lineup thus far…
One of the founders of Tibet House US, famed American composer Phillip Glass, will once again be appearing at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21 for the 23rd annual benefit concert. This year he will be joined by Tenzin Choegyal, Ira Glass, Ariel Pink, Rahzel, Patti Smith and her band, tUnE-yArDs and My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James (@jimjames).
Today on Twitter Glass and James chatted in a conversation facilitated by WNYC’s Soundcheck (@Soundcheck). The first part of the #tibethousechat had James posing questions to Glass, and concluded with Glass querying James for a few insights. Tickets, widely ranging in price, are available for purchase here.
My Morning Jacket front man Jim James has just released the official video for A New Life – the first single from his recently released solo debut album, Regions of Light and Sound of God. The vid starts with Jim simply strumming his acoustic before he opens the door and finds a new frontier filled with a buffalo-headed woman and a formally dressed dance troupe. Yes, it’s bizarre.
Before and after Monday night’s performance of A New Life by Jim James (@jimjames) on Jimmy Fallon, show house band drummer Questlove (@questlove) professed not only his affection for the single from the My Morning Jacket frontman’s first solo LP, Regions Of Sound And Of God, but for the tune itself. Everthe prolifictweeter, Questlove raved about the chance to work with the Louisville crooner in a series of tweets culminating with James responding to the drummer’s desire for the pair to record together. Who knows what will come of the tweets below, but a Jim James/Questlove collaboration would certainly be something we’d like to see.
Made @jimjames promise me that if I ever made an honest woman outta some gal he will sing the EPIC song we did today on @latenightjimmy
It also wouldn’t be the first time the two collaborated for the studio, as James lent vocals and a sample of the Monsters of Folk track Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) to The Roots for their version, Dear God 2.0, which appeared on their 2010 album How I Got Over. Check out the video of James with The Roots for that track below the tweets.
My Morning Jacket front man Jim James appeared on last night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in support of his first solo album, Regions of Light and Sound of God. James was backed by The Roots and a bevy of other musicians as he performed A New Life.
The tune started off soft and sweet before a trio of bass drum wielding musicians helped add extra oomph to A New Life, leading to a full ensemble including horns and string section lending a hand.
My Morning Jacket front man Jim James has just announced a month-long tour in support of his forthcoming solo debut Regions of Light and Sound of God that will kick off in his hometown of Louisville on April 17th and runs through a May 15th performance in Seattle.
“hello friends! i have put together a special band of some of my oldest pals to help bring this album to life on the road! we are very excited about it and cant wait to bring it to light! see ya out on the open road!” said James in a statement on his website. James already had three shows on the books scheduled for next month, all of which have sold out. Roll Call members (MMJ’s fanclub) will have first first access to pre-sales for tickets this Wednesday at 12noon EST followed by general on sales this weekend. James will donate $1 per ticket to Cancer Research Hospital and Treatment Center, City Of Hope, for each show.
In other Jim James news, you can stream Regions of Light and Sound of God at NPR Music. Plus, Jim will perform backed by The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on February 4th. The next night, JJ will return to Fallon to sit in with The Roots for the entire show as a guest performer.
Earlier today Jim James participated in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit and reeled off dozens of answers to fans’ questions. You can read the whole thing here, but we’ve distilled the session down to 11 of the My Morning Jacket front man’s responses for this week’s B List.
1. Jim and a band he’s putting together will play at Bonnaroo
yes i will be at THE ROO with the new band i am putting together to perform the solo record. they are old pals i have known a long time. its going to be a fun new adventure with some old pals!
2. Jim and MMJ were a “little scared” about how their appearance on American Dad would turn out
mike barker from the show approached us with some really funny and crazy ideas. we were flattered and honored and also a little scared- cuz you are kind of helpless in a situation like that not knowing how it will turn out- but in the end they were really kind and did a really amazing job and we were beyond stoked and flattered!
3. Love is the secret ingredient in Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise (see Highly Suspicious)
Jim James of My Morning Jacket will answer questions from fans as the latest musician to take part in an Ask me Anything thread on Reddit. To participate, simply log in to Reddit or create an account and ask your question on the thread that will be created here starting at 12 noon ET tomorrow (Jan. 22).
An announcement on MyMorningJacket.com explains that Jim will answer questions about My Morning Jacket, his solo album or “anything else” so feel free to ask whatever your heart desires.
The 23rd annual Tibet House Benefit Concert will take place at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 21st featuring HT faves Jim James and tUnE-yArDs along with Rahzel, Patti Smith with Jessie Smith and Philip Glass. More acts are expected to be added soon. Tickets just went on sale via Carnegie Hall’s website, so grab ‘em while you can. [via JamBase]
Finally, we’re happy to report that organizers of Gathering of the Vibes have struck a deal with the city of Bridgeport, Conn. to keep the festival there through 2017. The jam-friendly fest, which began in 1996 and called Seaside Park home from 1999-2000, returned to the scenic park in 2007 and has been there ever since. The 2013 edition of the event will take place on July 25 – 28. Early-bird tickets for the four-day festival are currently on-sale now in a variety of formats.
Last week we brought you the news that Jim James would finally release his long-in-the-making solo debut Regions of Light and Sound of God on February 5 via ATO Records. The album, according to James, was inspired primarily by Lynd Ward’s 1929 graphic novel Gods’ Man, which “chronicles an artist’s struggles with temptation and corruption, along with finding true love.” While that doesn’t really give us much to go on in terms of what to expect, we were fortunate enough to have the My Morning Jacket front man offer up an advance taste of the record’s lead single – Know ‘Til Now.
The track, which blends jittery Radiohead-inspired beats with psychedelic soul sounds, is currently available as a free download, but also via this Andy Warhol screen test-inspired music video that features looping footage of a static wide-angled shot of James with his back turned to the camera…
, which “chronicles an artist’s struggles with temptation and corruption, along with finding true love.” While that doesn’t really give us much to go on in terms of what to expect, we were fortunate enough to have the 
