Tag: My Morning Jacket

The Nonconformists – Mike & Joe Poetically Expand Folk Rock Boundaries on ‘What About You?’

Mike & Joe blend folk and rock influences on their latest album, “What About You?” Photo by Brandon Fecteau

As modern beat poets, Mike & Joe distinctly carve new pathways to folk rock.

The Detroit-Ann Arbor first-cousin duo of Mike Benoit and Joe Provenzano etches experimental elements of dreamy psych pop soundscapes, rich retro textures and deep mystical lyricism into traditional harmonized folk rock on their second and latest album, What About You?

“Our little tagline is ‘folk rock and beyond,’ and there’s a lot of folk rock on that first record, but when you get to the second record, you hear my crazy ass solos on ‘One Trick Pony?’ We’re able to do that because we trust each other so much as songwriters, and through doing that, we arrive at what we feel is an original, seamless collaboration that’s something special,” said Provenzano, co-lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist.

“If that trust and expansive, multi-genre appreciation didn’t exist in both of us, then it would be extremely stifling to our collaborative process, so that’s why we just trust each other and rock on.”

Throughout What About You?, Mike & Joe rock beyond typical folk genre boundaries and jam into new territories draped in jazzy prog, baroque pop and singer-songwriter sensibilities. They seamlessly weave a broad spectrum of folk and rock influences, including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty and My Morning Jacket, into 10 captivating, nonconformist tracks.

“They were making this music that was informed by their own enthusiastic study of history and filtering it through their own modern, original minds. It was like finding out this whole army of like-minded people existed, and they were acting, and they were doing so with power. It’s the extra torch-bearing, energizing thing that made us demand even more of ourselves and feel even more of a kindred association with those acts,” Provenzano said.

Provenzano and Benoit share this kindred association thematically through several internal struggles – heartbreak, inauthenticity, disillusionment, desensitization of violence and self-doubt – while externally chronicling their creative growth as songwriters, lyricists and musicians. Track by track, they share different emotional challenges, unearth hidden meanings and reflect poignantly on their newfound growth on What About You?

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‘Victory Dance’ – My Morning Jacket Captivates Fans with Magical Live Performances

The door to our hotel room slowly clicked open at 5 a.m.

I grumpily shifted in my sleep on June 14, 2008 as I heard my brother Steve creep into the DoubleTree hotel room. He quietly tried not to wake Brian and me after spending all night at Bonnaroo, but I was already up.

After opening both eyes, I saw his feet and legs were covered in mud, while the smell of sweat, rain and humid Tennessee air filled the room.

“Are you just getting back now?” I asked.

Steve triumphantly looked at me and said, “Yes, My Morning Jacket played for four hours in the rain at Bonnaroo tonight. It was one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.”

“Was it really worth staying out all night?” I asked.

“It was. You guys should have stayed,” Steve said.

“No artist is worth standing in the rain for four hours in the middle of the night to watch,” I said.

“Your loss,” Steve said with a victorious smile.

“Whatever,” I tiredly muttered and rolled my eyes as I went back to sleep.

Sadly, he was right. It’s not often I admit that, especially since I’m the younger sibling. (Steve will do a victory dance when he reads this part.)

I didn’t reflect back on that memory until two years later when I stood in the rain at My Morning Jacket’s May 2, 2010 show at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

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