JJ Grey & Mofro (formerly Mofro) is an American
Southern soul
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...
-
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from Jacksonville, Florida.
History
Early career
The early days of Mofro can be traced back to the mid-nineties when John Higginbotham aka "JJ Grey" and Daryl Hance signed with a United Kingdom label and played shows in Europe as Mofro Magic.
Grey and Hance met in their hometown of
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
while working for an air conditioning company and developed a friendship through music. Their first band together was a rock band called Faith Nation followed by a funk band called Alma Zuma.
The deal with the record label in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
fell through, and Grey and Hance returned to their native
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
and formed Mofro, then signed with Fog City Records in 2001.
The name "Mofro" was coined by JJ Grey as an explanation of the sound that the band made.
Grey says the word was originally a nickname that a co-worker gave him and Grey adopted it as the band name because it "sounded southern." Grey later changed the band name to "JJ Grey & Mofro" when his grandmother asked him if he was ashamed to use his own name.
[from an interview with JJ Grey o]
Americana Music Show #233
published on February 16, 2015.
''Blackwater'' (2001) and ''Lochloosa'' (2004)
The first studio album released by Mofro was ''Blackwater'', released in 2001.
The album is full of songs inspired by the surroundings of where JJ Grey grew up, such as "Blackwater" and "Florida".
A car accident in late 2001 involving several members of Mofro slowed things down for the band and it was not until 2004 until they released their next album Lochloosa.
This album continued to deliver songs about where Grey grew up and the industrial progress that continues to plague the natural beauty of the areas around
Lochloosa Lake
Lochloosa Lake is a lake about in area in Alachua County, Florida, about south of Hawthorne, and is up to deep. It is drained by Cross Creek into Orange Lake. It is largely surrounded by the Lochloosa Wildlife Management Area, and is a Fish M ...
and
Orange Lake.
The title track, "Lochloosa", describes the changing landscape in northern Florida and JJ Grey's soulfulness and deep beliefs come through in the song. ''Lochloosa'' would be the last album with Fog City Records and the last album under the name Mofro.
''Country Ghetto'' (2007) and ''Orange Blossoms'' (2008)
In 2007, JJ Grey & Mofro became the new name of the band under new record label Alligator, and the album ''Country Ghetto'' was released.
The album featured slower, more soulful songs such as "The Sun is Shining Down", along with faster, and more
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
type songs such as "War" and "Country Ghetto". The song "The Sun is Shining Down" is featured in the closing scene of the Season 3 Finale of House of Cards. The next studio album was ''Orange Blossoms'', released in 2008.
Orange Blossoms features songs such as "On Fire" and "Wylf (What You're Looking For)" that revolve around sexual themes more so than previous songs performed by JJ Grey & Mofro.
''Georgia Warhorse'' (2010) and ''This River'' (2013)
Their fifth studio album is ''Georgia Warhorse'' that was released in 2010.
The album is named after a cricket that is found in northern Florida that is known for its strength despite its small size.
The album features songs such as "The Sweetest Thing" that includes vocals from
Toots Hibbert
Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perform ...
, from Toots and The Maytals.
It also features
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sing ...
, from
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...
and The Tedeschi Trucks Band, on the song "Lullaby" playing slide guitar.
Daryl Hance, who was an original member of Mofro, left the band in 2010 before this album was made to pursue a solo career. Hance was replaced on the guitar by Andrew Trube.
JJ Grey & Mofro released ''This River'' in April 2013. The album features familiar upbeat songs such as "Florabama, "99 Shades of Crazy", and "Your Lady, She's Shady".
''Ol' Glory'' (2015)
JJ Grey & Mofro released ''Ol' Glory'' on February 24, 2015, marking their first release on Provogue Records.
Like many of their previous records, Ol' Glory contains tracks with southern inspired narratives with a unique blend of blues, rock, folk, funk, and gospel.
Musical style and influences
JJ Grey and Mofro's music has been described as a combination of blues, funk, soul, and rock.
All of the songs are written by JJ Grey and reflect the region where he grew up in around Jacksonville, Florida.
JJ Grey attributes artists such as
Big Bad John
"Big Bad John" is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean, who wrote and composed it. It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It won Dean the 1962 Gra ...
and
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...
due to their style of story songwriting and how that style has influenced the way he writes his songs.
Grey also credits
southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...
acts such as
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
and
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...
as artists who have influenced his style of music, as well as more soulful artists such as
Toots Hibbert
Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perform ...
and
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
.
JJ Grey and Mofro are also known for their extensive touring schedule and have continually played at major summer music festivals including
Bonnaroo
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...
,
All Good Festival
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
,
Austin City Limits
''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...
, Wakarusa, and Rothbury.
Early on in their touring days, JJ Grey and Mofro gained fame within the
jam band
A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...
scene while touring with acts such as
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guit ...
,
Galactic
Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Origins and background
Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...
and
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...
.
JJ Grey attributes most of the band's strength to their stage performances rather than in the studio.
Discography
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:JJ Grey and Mofro
Southern rock musical groups from Jacksonville
Swamp rock groups
1990s establishments in Florida
Musical groups established in the 1990s
Alligator Records artists
Proper Records artists
Provogue Records artists