Mofro
| JJ Grey & Mofro | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Mofro |
| Origin | Jacksonville, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Southern rock, blues rock, soul rock, funk rock, swamp rock, jam rock |
| Years active | Late 1990s–present |
| Labels |
Fog City Records Alligator Records Provogue Records |
| Associated acts | The Revivalists |
| Website | JJ Grey & MOFRO home page |
| Members | JJ Grey Eric Brigmond Marcus Parsley Dennis Marion Craig Barnette Zach Gilbert Todd Smallie |
| Past members | Anthony Farrell Andrew Trube Anthony "AC" Cole Jeff Dazey Art Edmaiston Fabrice Quentin George Sluppick Nathan Shepard Mike Shapiro Adam Scone Steve Cybulski Daryl Hance Bea "B.B.Queen" Gayle |
JJ Grey & Mofro (formerly billed just as Mofro) is a Southern rock/soul/funk/blues jam band from Jacksonville, Florida composed of JJ Grey (vocals, electric piano, acoustic guitar and electric guitar, harmonica), Zach Gilbert (electric guitar and slide guitar), Eric Brigmond (keyboards and Hammond organ), Craig Barnette (drums), Dennis Marion (trumpet), Marcus Parsley (trumpet) and Todd Smallie (bass guitar).
The early days of Mofro can be traced back to the mid-nineties when John “JJ” Grey and Daryl Hance signed with a United Kingdom label and played shows in Europe as Mofro Magic. Grey and Hance met in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida while working for an air conditioning company and developed a friendship through music. The deal with the record label in London fell through, and Grey and Hance returned to their native Jacksonville and formed Mofro, then signed with Fog City Records in 2001.
The name “Mofro” was coined by JJ Grey as an explanation of the sound that the band made. Grey says the word was originally a nickname that a co-worker gave him and Grey adopted it as the band name because it "sounded southern." Grey later changed the band name to "JJ Grey & Mofro" when his grandmother asked him if he was ashamed to use his own name.
The first studio album released by Mofro was Blackwater, released in 2001. The album is full of songs inspired by the surroundings of where JJ Grey grew up, such as “Blackwater” and “Florida”. A car accident in late 2001 involving several members of Mofro slowed things down for the band and it was not until 2004 until they released their next album Lochloosa. This album continued to deliver songs about where Grey grew up and the industrial progress that continues to plague the natural beauty of the areas around Lochloosa Lake and Orange Lake. The title track, “Lochloosa”, describes the changing landscape in northern Florida and JJ Grey’s soulfulness and deep beliefs come through in the song. Lochloosa would be the last album with Fog City Records and the last album under the name Mofro.
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