JJ himself married a second-generation Trinidadian from London, and their two children each have a panoply of legacies and bloods pulsing through their veins. He speaks with far more enthusiasm about rebuilding a sprayer for his pecan trees than about touring. He pointedly does not watch the news, and if his politics seem libertarian, they also seem intentionally vague. He played a well-received solo set atop Six Lounge, a full-band set under the tent at Holy Mountain on 7th Street, and a late-afternoon set the following day at the massive Auditorium Shores venue, the one place at SXSW that feels like a proper outdoor music festival.
After a masterly performance, centered on the new material from This River and commanding rapt attention from the fraternity bloc and the tie-dye crowd alike, JJ hung backstage with Luther and Cody Dickinson, the two brothers who founded North Mississippi Allstars.
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Like baby birds, man. It was the same way when I went to the all-redneck school. Because when I was a kid, brothers was listening to stuff like Time, you know.
It was called Morris Day and the Time eventually, but it was just called Time back in the day. Isley Brothers, stuff like that. My sister had a bunch of disco 45s that were killer. My parents let me keep it. JJ: I love playing Jannus Landing.
I like playing the House of Blues in Orlando. You drive right by it on the way into Key West. And in the middle of the museum, in the courtyard inside the fort, they put up a big old festival stage. And they put on a concert. That was awesome. The Gators was only an hour from where we grew up. They were terrible back then. I went to a game. I was a little kid, and I was already a Gator fan. I saw that guy come out with the spear—spear in the ground—and I was like, alright, Seminole fan!
I just like watching college football. JJ: Yeah I like it. No, no, no, no, no. But how many more Disney Worlds do we need? JJ: Playing with the Jacksonville Symphony was one of the highlights of my life. A guy combined a bunch of my songs, the melodies from them, and wrote this piece. To hear a piece outfit playing it, it was great. And then to sing—I did it one or two more times after that.
I remember the first time we did it, one of the vice presidents of Gate Petroleum was up there dancing with his wife, going crazy. I just exercise some, stuff like that. I come home, and I eat too much. JJ: I used to. I quit. People want you to get drunk. People buy shots and send it to the stage. I never did a bunch anyway. I was too much of a control freak to get too drunk or too wasted on weed. How does anybody smoke these sumbitches?
I love it. I physically feel the same as I did when I was When people talk about spiritual stuff, I think of unicorns and the little hippie shop in Cedar Key, you know what I mean?
I could keep going. I know one thing: not knowing is part of the gig. Brother Dave Gardner was a big influence on me. Brother Dave was a jazz drummer, ordained minister, a beat poet kind of dude from back in the day. And Jerry Clower. Those were two comedians. Jerry Clower, he was a Grand Ole Opry comedian.
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