My Morning Jacket.

HAILING OUT OF Louisville, KY, My Morning Jacket is one of the sickest bands around today. Their original mix of Southern psychedelia and indie hair rock has won them a far-reaching fan base. They're probably the only group invited to both Coachella and Bonnaroo (in the same year!). With a brand new double live CD and a live concert film in stores, both titled Okonokos, MMJ are poised to dominate in 2007. Bass player Two-Tone Tommy, a skateboarder from way back, was psyched to spread the word to the Thrasher masses.

You're the skater in the band?

I'm probably the only one to have ever had a subscription to your fine mag, waxed the islands of every local bank, and sanded my wheels down to absurd slivers so that I could ensure a grain of sand would send me flying to my death.

Were you involved with the skate scene in Louisville growing up?

Not really. Growing up outside of the city, Louisville seemed like a distant, exotic planet at that age. There was a small group of us that skated out "in the county." My friend Matt had a halfpipe in his backyard and we had a couple other spots, mostly parking lots and banks, that we would frequent until we got kicked out.

Have you skated the park there?

Unfortunately no. There was talk about a park being built in the city when I was skating, but I had lost interest years later when it was finished.

Is My Morning Jacket a jam band?

No. But if Smucker's offered us a lifetime supply of free jams and jellies, we'd happily call ourselves the Smucker's Brand Jam Band, ya'll. Mmm, apple butter.

How do you hide money from a hippy?

In any hygiene product--soap, shampoo, deodorant--or in the adult world, places where folks work or generally lead responsible lives.

What's orange and yellow and smells like crap?

A hippie on fire?

Do you guys ever get grief for being hippies?

Just from those people who think we are. So the populace of earth minus the five of us.

You guys played Bonnaroo, Coachella, etc. What's the coolest festival to play, and why?

Lebowski Fest. It's full of bowling, costume contests, movie screenings, bowling, celebrity appearances, white Russians, bowling, and of course What-Have-You. And it's in the greatest city in the world: Louisville.

You guys are probably one of the few bands that appeal to both the Coachella and Bonnaroo crowds. How are you able to do that?

I generally find that crowds at festivals are there for only two reasons, to see bands and have fun, while we always come in wanting to slay them and have fun in the process. It's a good combo.

Have you ever camped out in a parking lot to see a band?

Nope. But I have slept in a van in a parking lot so I could play a show the next day. I can assure you it's not nearly as fun.

What's the biggest audience you've played for?

Probably Bonnaroo. Not sure how many faces we saw then, 10,000? Maybe more. But, oh, we rocked them all.

What's the smallest?

I can think of several times we played to only the other bands on the bill. Their faces were undoubtedly rocked as well.

What kind of music were you into growing up?

Koji Kondo and Hirokazu Tanaka. Between the two of them they composed the music to almost every popular Nintendo game, and Lord knows I probably spent most of my childhood playing them. After I put the controller down in the eighth grade, it was all metal, hardcore, and a lot of great Louisville bands.

What music did you hear as a kid that made you go, "I want to do that. I want to be in a band and perform"?

Led Zeppelin, and every friend that started a band in high school. I think every boy goes through a massive Zeppelin phase as a rite of passage into manhood. I can't deny the effect they had on me. But as cool as they looked and sounded, nothing was more inspirational than the guys I grew up with. It seemed like everyone I knew started a band in high school--played shows in parents' basements, helped each other record on jam boxes. Our rural county was a place of magic.

Is this a dream come true for you?

Oh yeah. Honestly, all I ever aspired to do was play a show outside the state of Kentucky and have a record whose cover wasn't printed at Kinko's. The past several years have been icing on a cake of dreams.

What's the best thing about being in My Morning Jacket?

One, not sucking, because we're, like, awesome. Two, not working at a video store.

How has Louisville influenced your music?

Living in a river valley means we do our singing, playing, and talking without the use of our nostrils.

Z is a departure from your last studio album. How has your sound evolved?

Z is our first record with the amazing killing machine tag team of Carl and Bo, the first time we used a producer--the legendary John "Jules" Leckie--and the first time we've recorded someplace besides the farm in Shelbyville. Feels like we're always evolving, usually not intentionally, but just out of necessity.

What's the future hold for MMJ?

Jam and jelly sponsorships, rehearsal in space, more of the not-sucking thing, helping the Recording Industry Association of America to initiate the Aluminum Record for sales in excess of 5,000 copies, eventual death.

What's up with Jim James playing solo at Vegoose?

My ass is getting married the weekend before the show. The rock can, and will, wait.

What the hell is a morning jacket, and why do you have one?

It is actually Profundo's Jacket of Divine Vengeance. Years ago Dungeon Masters started affectionately calling it a morning jacket due to its increased effectiveness in the morning following a successful nighttime campaign. The jacket is crafted from fine elf-maiden hairs, and adorned with flakes of enchantment, or the near indestructible dandruff of the Cave Troll. Though consisting of no metal itself, this jacket acts and functions as plus-four magical platemail. Dungeon Masters should be careful to not give one out until your PC(s) have reached at least seventh level.