Features

JJ Grey: Swamps, Soul & Survival

Photo by Tobin Voggesser

In Southern slang, a yellow grasshopper often found near Florida’s northern border is called a Georgia Warhorse. It is small, tenacious and known for its strength and resilience.

It is also a fitting metaphor for singer/guitarist JJ Grey’s steady rise in popularity over the course of his career. For more than a decade, Grey and his longtime band Mofro have been fixtures on the jamband and festival circuits—sharing the stage with everyone from Widespread Panic, Galactic and The Allman Brothers Band to Mavis Staples, Booker T. and Sharon Jones. In that time, Grey has slowly amassed a loyal following without having a hit record or the rock star drama that has marked the careers of many of his contemporaries.

He has his own fan site—Mofrofans.com—and has played to the masses at festivals like Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, Austin City Limits and Wakarusa. Despite all of his worldly adventures, Grey couldn’t help but think back to the small grasshoppers he first encountered as a child when it came time to pick the title for his latest album, Georgia Warhorse.

“I grew up in Florida, 25 miles from the Georgia line,” Grey says in a deep, Southern drawl. “For me, the grasshopper represents the toughness and tenacity of my grandmother—something I always wanted to be able to pull off. My dad and all the older people I grew up with all pulled it off. I am waiting for my turn to get there.”

Grey—who grew up in an area he affectionately calls “the redneck triangle”—has always used his blue collar, Jacksonville, Fla. hometown as a backdrop for his songs. Before he was able to play music fulltime, the 43 year old held a number of jobs to support his fledging career—everything from being a lumberjack to booking bands and throwing festivals. He remembers those humble roots and one can hear the working-class mentality in his voice—the lynchpin of Mofro’s mix of classic soul, gritty funk and front-porch blues.

“I know I’m not planting a flag or nothing,” Grey admits of Mofro’s sound. “I’m not claiming that I do something that’s so different than anybody else. It’s like saying that you speak different from everybody else. Hell, we all speak the same, but some people speak [in a way] you’ve never heard before [that you find interesting] while other people’s voices sound totally familiar. Regardless, you still want to hear what everybody has to say.”

While everything from Grey’s sandy, graying hair to his flannel shirts feels like a reflection of his toughness—especially when compared to many of his jamband peers like Umphrey’s McGee or The String Cheese Incident—these days, the singer can justifiably say that he’s made it. Mofro is currently signed to Alligator Records, one of the most respected labels putting out blues-based music today. Without much fanfare, Grey has turned into one of the most prominent singers in a scene often defined by instrumental virtuosity. He’s not only been able to pay respects to traditional blues and soul but also has helped introduce those sounds to a young, hungry audience.

“I often think of reggae, which sticks closer to its tradition, where [the artists] have never really thought to change it—to try add new chord progressions or different rhythms and [so as] not do the skank,” he says. “They never wasted time thinking about stupid stuff like that. Consequently, what happened is the music [naturally] became different.”