My Morning Jacket

Carl Broemel, guitarist for the fast-rising band, chats about moving away from a country-rock label, playing the legendary Chicago Theater and just what all goes into the recording process

By Jeremy Schnitker

My Morning Jacket’s never liked being pigeon holed as a “country rock” band. And on their last two albums, they’ve taken some great measures to separate themselves from that label. First, on 2005’s “Z,” the band dabbled with some synthesizers and made a more psychedelic album than they ever had before. On “Evil Urges,” released earlier this year, they took that experimentation a little further. And it’s had mixed results. Some people love the album. Some people hate it. The Real Chicago’s Jeremy Schnitker spoke with the band’s guitarist, Carl Broemel, about the genesis of the new album, how it is being received live and their playing two upcoming shows at the legendary Chicago Theater. (Note: The Oct. 9 and 10 shows were postponed due to an on-stage accident just prior to their arrival in Chicago, but they will be rescheduled.)

Q: How has the response to the new material been at the concerts?
A: It’s been great. I think it took us a little while to figure out where to play what songs, but it’s been going well in general. We’re having fun integrating the new material with everything else.

Q: There’s been a bipolar response to this album; some people love it, some people aren’t so enthusiastic about it. Have you guys noticed that?
A: Yeah, but I think we noticed that about “Z,” too. We’re kind of having this same weird cycle that happens over and over; people are like ‘I hate it,’ or ‘Oh, I love it.’ Or ‘Oh, I like it when they rock’ or, ‘I like it when they’re quiet.’ Which is bullshit. It’s maybe a bit more heightened now since more people are becoming aware of the band. We see a lot of things said about us. I have to remember to tell myself to stop looking on the computer at people writing about it as they’re listening to it for the first time. That’s just like it’s kind of an anti-our thing. It’s gonna have to sink in, or you’re just not going to get it.

Q: Do you think people aren’t as open to bands that are willing to do different stuff as maybe they have been in the past?
A: I think we’re all beyond it. It’s impossible to please everybody, so we try to entertain ourselves and keep ourselves interested in what we’re doing. Everything else that happens, happens. When you make a record, half of it is yours and half of it is what happens when it goes out into the world. It’s like you have a baby or an 18-year-old kid and you release it out into the world; you kind of don’t have any control over it. It’s its own little beast, and everybody else contributes their own little energy to it. It’s always interesting to see what happens. As many people will like it as will be confused by it.

Q: Where does the inspiration come from for you guys to dabble with these different genres?
A: I think we’re all into different music in general. Jim (lead singer Jim James) writes the songs, so, what normally happens, and what’s happened with the last two albums — the only two I’ve been around for — he’ll make a round of demos or something that he plays everything, and then we all kind of feed off each other (when we’re making the songs). We try to dabble in as much as we can and kind of kick songs around that are interesting to us.

Q: I’m really curious about how this album came to be. So Jim had these ideas and brought them to you guys and was like ‘OK, this is what I want this album to sound like?’
A: Yeah. We recorded the album in Colorado and rented out a house and a barn and a small studio and just went through all the songs for a month and just played. And we almost had 30 songs arranged and figured out. We had all kinds of stuff. We even had time to explore stuff I knew wasn’t going to make the record. But a song like “Highly Suspicious,” Jim’s demo is pretty much exactly how we did the song.

Q: What was the look on your faces when he first played “Highly Suspicious?”
A: He sent me a demo, so I was by myself when I first heard it. I mean, it made me laugh, because I know Jim. I wasn’t surprised. We’ve just had so much fun with that song, and all the songs, in their own special way. It’s kind of nice people take us so seriously that it makes them mad. I’ll never take it for granted, cause that means they care, you know, they at least give a shit.

Q: Have you guys played the Chicago Theater before?
A: No, but I will be the third generation of Broemels to perform there. My dad played in the Indianapolis Symphony for a really long time, and he grew up in Chicago. He played there with the symphony. His father, my grandfather, was the music librarian there back in the silent movie days when they had an orchestra. He was in charge of all the music and the arrangements. So I’m really excited. It’s awesome to play in these old theaters that I’m sure people have had to fight to keep open.

Q: Everybody keeps talking about how this album is such a big departure for you guys, but songs like “Sec Walkin’,” “Two Halves” and “Librarian” aren’t that different than anything you’ve done on the last two records. Do you think you guys have changed as much as some people are saying you have?
A: I definitely don’t think this album is that big of a departure. I mean, we were really close to the material for months, so by the time it was released, it was second nature to us. It makes me happy and sad that there’s such a response. It almost feels like people want drama. They look for the one thing that makes them angry about an album. That’s part of human nature that I’ve noticed in the last couple years. And maybe that’s why we needed to make this record, to bring that out of people.

Q: Do you think that if more people were privy to Jim’s sense of humor that they would get you guys a little more?
A: (Laughing) Probably. I don’t know what else we need to do. We have fun. We do ridiculous things. If you follow the band at all, I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re passionate about it, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Q: My 49-year-old mother owns about as many My Morning Jacket albums as I do. And I know you guys are a very popular band in a lot of circles. But I’ve always wondered if it bothers you, having as accessible a sound as you do — one that somebody like my mother, who isn’t necessarily into a lot of new music, would dig — that you haven’t become more popular, or that you don’t get a lot of radio play. Does that sort of stuff irritate you?
A: I think it’s beautiful that you made a mix tape for your mom and that’s how she found out about us. To me, that’s way more special than somebody listening to a radio station and hearing one of our songs. That’s a much more personal connection, that’s something that you guys share. That means a lot. As far as trying to get on the radio, we’re getting more attention there than we ever have, but we’re not like ‘Man, if we could just get on the radio, that would be so much better!’ We love the gradual nature of the way things are going. We’ve been slowly playing bigger and better places, and we’re able to hire some awesome people to work for us. So we’re just stoked in general.

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