The Making of Z by My Morning Jacket - featuring Jim James

For the 20th anniversary of the fourth My Morning Jacket album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. The band originally formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by Jim James, Johnny Quaid, Tom Blankenship and J. Glenn. After signing with Darla Records, they released their debut album, The Tennessee Fire in 1999. Danny Cash joined on keyboards before the release of their second album, At Dawn, in 2001. Patrick Hallahan took over on drums as they signed to ATO Records. Their third album, It Still Moves, was released in 2003. At this point, Johnny Quaid and Danny Cash decided to leave the band so they held auditions and recruited Bo Koster and Carl Broemel. For their fourth album, they hired producer John Leckie and began recording outside of their home studio for the first time. Z was eventually released in 2005.

In this episode, Jim James describes this pivotal moment for the band when they were challenging themselves by recording outside of Louisville with a seasoned producer. By working with John Leckie, they were able to rely on his expertise in the studio and push themselves in a new direction sonically. He discusses how their early characterization as a southern rock band made him want to evolve musically and try new approaches by incorporating synthesizers and drum machines. He also shares how he was experiencing depression at the time and struggling after the suicides of two of his close friends, Tim Cushing and Aaron Todovich. With the pressure of trying to make a great record mounting, he describes how his depression was clouding his judgement as he felt like this might be the last record the band would ever make. Luckily the band was able to continue and Z proved to be a turning point as new members Bo Koster and Carl Broehmel have remained two decades later. From borrowing a Juno synth and demoing with a cheap Walmart keyboard, to getting into Prince and Fela Kuti for the first time, to mixing at the legendary Sunset Sound, to calling on friends Andrew Bird and M. Ward to play on the record, to writing abstractly about the state of the world, to using music as an outlet for anger, to the enduring quality of these songs that continue to make the MMJ setlists, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.