Don't mention the beard thing

In some circles Carl Broemel may be better known for his solo work than his bread and butter day job with acoustic rockers My Morning Jacket (MMJ).

The guitarist, however, puts his interests aside to talk about their first gig in Luxembourg on November 11. The concert, at den Atelier, will see plenty of attention given to their newest album, Circuital, a 10-track classic which came out at the end of May this year.

“We usually make up the playlist on the afternoon of the gig, depending on how everyone is feeling,” he explains, adding: “We're playing a lot off the new record. But, we will make an effort to play as much as we can from our many records from over the years.

“We're really excited about the new record. There's so much that I like about it. I feel like every song is something that I want to play. That said I've a couple of favourites like Moving Away, which is the last song on the record.”

The latter, a bitter-sweet pared down melody in the usual MMJ mould, is a stark contrast to the funked-up Holdin' On To Black Metal, reflecting the well-established band's musical depth and richness. And it is the same depth which draws Carl back to his band mates.

With two solo albums already under his belt Carl has plenty of excuses to break away from the group he has worked closely with for the last seven years.

But, his affection and desire to see MMJ taken seriously is never in doubt. He diplomatically dodges any questions about band mates' bad habits, “Nobody is really the bad tour guy” but, he draws the line at trivial interview questions about hair.

“Sometimes when you sit down for an interview with the media the first thing they ask is about beards or hair cuts and it takes the wind out of our sails. The music is the only thing that we give a sh*t about. The other stuff is so distracting. It happens, I totally understand, but it's a let-off question. I'm not comparing ourselves to the Beatles but I'm sure they were sick of talking about their mop tops,” he says.

Get Carl off the subject of hair and onto the music, however, and he waxes lyrical. His heart lies in the recording process: “records are immortal”, he says. At the same time, the guitarist is philosophical about living for the moment. “We think that it's really important to live in the moment and not think about the future. We get a lot of visceral enjoyment out of playing. It's fun for us.”

And with a three-week tour planned of western Europe in their sights, there will be plenty of opportunities for doing just that. Happily for the band they should be performing to receptive crowds.

Over the years MMJ has played to sell out crowds in countries such as Holland and the UK, where Carl admits they have a larger following than some parts of the US. That said, performing their first gig in the Grand Duchy, Luxembourg will be new ground.

Carl is optimistic though. “This gig in Luxembourg has been a long time coming. The problem is that we will only be there for 15 hours. That's the down side. We rarely get to do anything when we visit new places”, he said.

For more information on this and all other concerts at den Atelier, visit their website: