compared to what

A chance mention of Otis Redding by a friend the other day got me googling some question I no longer remember. Early in the googling, I was struck by the phrase “front porch soul”, and thinking it was interesting, and perhaps connected in an interesting way to Redding, I finally got listening to a band whose name I’d seen many times on local calendars, but whom I’d never stopped to hear: JJ Grey and Mofro. 

“Circles” (Seattle, WA, 11/07)


The phrase that hooked me in was a red herring, but a welcome one. Lead singer, songwriter and Redding acolyte refers to his own mixed genre style as “front porch soul”, and it’s as good a description as I can think of - it’s  swampy soup of blues, funk and soul with a message. Reminds me a lot of Paul Thorn and why I like him. Who knew I could like a band without a bass so much? The funky horns help a lot:

“Ho Cake” (Lawrence, KS, 11/07)

Next, a beautiful ode to home, and Grey’s equally beautiful intro to it, in which he shows that he understands that you can love where you’re from without seeing the rest of the world as flawed.

“Lochloosa” (Hollywood, CA 10/07)

Writing this, it makes me realize how many of my current musical interests have a similar approach, although some very different sounds. Jason Ricci, John Butler Trio, Back Door Slam, Paul Thorn Band, and, now, Mofro all have a common structure and game plan: (1) a lead guy with a strong musical vision and good song writing (and, in most cases, strong instrumental chops), (2) a consistent band that supports that vision, both on tour and in the studio, (3) a commitment to live performance, touring most of the year with both old and new material. These guys are all in different places in terms of commercial “success”, but they’re all doing fine, and more importantly to me, making great music. It’s a good time to be a fan.

categories: live, music
tags: blues, funk, JJ Grey, MOFRO, Otis Redding, soul