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Country Ghetto Features
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About Country Ghetto
Amazon.com Within the soul-drenched music of northern Florida's JJ Grey and band, the roots run as deep as the influences are indelible. "War" and "By My Side" sound like Southern-fried Sly and the Family Stone. "Turpentine" recalls the swamp funk of Tony Joe White. Both "A Woman" and "The Sun Is Shining Down" suggest long-lost Otis Redding sessions in Muscle Shoals, while "Mississippi" takes Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" on a trip down to the delta. From the harmonica-laced country blues of the title track to the gospel piano and choir of "On Palestine," Grey's music compensates with conviction for what it lacks in originality. --Don McLeese Product Description JJ Grey and Mofro exude rocking, funky, melodic, front porch realism in every song they play. Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern storytellers, and his songs oftentimes use the loss of his natural surrounding and the marginalization of the Southern culture he grew up in as a metaphor for universal truths. "Gritty-voiced JJ Grey delivers funky, good-time Southern rock, sinuous ballads and brass-powered swamp soul." – MOJO Review A glorious, soul-drenched delight... down-home funk, blues and Dixie rock, unmistakably Southern, undeniably soulful -- Billboard Quietly intoxicating with a stunning melodic freshness...focused, deep songs -- The Boston Globe From the Artist NOTES ON FOUR SONGS BY JJ GREY WAR I often feel like the wars we fight as nations pale in comparison to the wars we fight between our own ears. Within my own thoughts I play politics while I juggle morality, personal loss or gain, and the wild needs of the "warrior" within. It seems so easy to lose yourself and your concept of right and wrong in that ever shifting haze of confusion. CIRCLES From Florida's vicious Barber-Mizell feud to religious stand-offs. From race relations to jilted lovers. Sooner or later someone has to break the vicious cycle of he-said, she-said by letting go and moving on. A WOMAN I was asked to write some songs for Cassandra Wilson and this was one of them. In the end the song wasn't used so I decided to change a few words and sing it myself. The lyrics all fall back to me being raised around and by strong women. There's nothing scarier, wilder or more attractive. COUNTRY GHETTO I grew up when the "root hog or die" days were still fresh in the minds of my parents and grandparents. I was brought up to earn it and not waste it, to respect and protect womanhood and promote manhood, and to be thankful for what you got. By today's standard we ourselves, and most of the folks we knew, lived below the so-called "poverty line." We were land and culture rich and dollar poor but I wouldn't trade my upbringing for any other. I've always felt blessed to be raised here, to know so many larger than life characters, and to steep in the years of blood, sweat and the grim determination of my people before me. My culture, my life, my love is here in this country ghetto. About the Artist From the beginning, Grey's songs have been connected to his ancestral Florida homestead 40 miles outside of Jacksonville, a landscape he writes about with passion and devotion. Back in 1986, Grey worked at an air conditioning company, where he befriended guitarist Daryl Hance. At the time Grey had a young, original band that needed a guitar player, so he gave Hance the call. Grey was immediately impressed with Daryl's minimalist approach. "Daryl plays like Curtis Mayfield or Peter Tosh. He plays like the older generation, with patience." Under the name of MOFRO (Grey's nod towards a lumberyard he worked at), they recorded a demo together, which drew the interest of a UK label. The two then flew to London in 1994 to record. While in London, the deal collapsed. Deciding to stick it out for a while, Grey placed ads in Melody Maker for musicians and quickly put together a band to play in the local London music scene. They were courted by a number of record labels, but were not at all impressed by the seemingly false and unrealistic promises being offered. On his own, Grey researched and found Fog City Records, owned by Dan Prothero. The two hit it off instantly. Returning stateside, Grey and the band -- with Prothero producing - recorded Blackwater in 2001 (released on Fog City and named by Amazon.com as one of the best CDs of the decade). In 2004 - again with Prothero at the helm -- they cut Lochloosa for Swampland Records. JJ Grey & MOFRO'sM rabid following, through hard work, touring and undeniable musical prowess, grew quickly. A National Public Radio feature in 2001 brought JJ's music to more people than ever before. Doors at press, radio and venues opened across the country. JJ Grey & MOFRO performed at Bonnaroo, opened for Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Galactic, B.B. King and Jeff Beck. Word of their live show spread quickly, and bookings at festivals and concerts around the world increased, including jaw-dropping shows at The Austin City Limits Festival and The New Orleans J
