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FRONT PORCH SOUL AND LIVE 'JOOKHOUSE' FUNK FROM THE BLACKWATER SWAMPS OF NORTH FLORIDA... Nestled in the wilds of north Florida between two large lakes is the tiny community of Cross Creek. It was here in the 1940's that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived, and it was here that she was inspired to write her classic novels Cross Creek, The Yearling and South Moon Under. Palmetto plains with towering pines stretch on like an impenetrable jungle filled with rattlesnakes and wild hogs. Summers here are unbearably hot for the native let alone the non-native, the only form of relief being the cool black water swamps, clear water springs and the many large lakes that dot the sweltering landscape. Nearby Lake Lochloosa and Lake Orange play home to a myriad of creatures including the alligator, Sand Hill cranes, otters and large mouth bass. South and central Florida have seen many drastic changes over the last century, but little has changed here. Still a wilderness, still 'behind the times' and still deeply Southern. Singer / songwriter JJ Grey grew up 65 miles North-Northeast, in a small rural area on the outskirts of Jacksonville, developing a taste for raw grooves and living a life to inspire his soulful lyrics. JJ explains the Cross Creek connection: 'My grandfather used to carry me and Daryl's daddy used to carry him down to Lake Lochloosa and Lake Orange to go fishin'. I loved it there and still do, but the last time I went down there they was building a bunch of new houses. I guess time, progress, and money have all caught up with old school Florida. I'm sure Daryl and me goin' fishin' down there helped shape our lives and music beyond our knowledge of it. ' JJ talks about life closer to the big city: 'We used to collect soda bottles and get 2 cents each for them at the local grocery store, then we'd take the pennies and put 'em on the railroad tracks for the trains to crush. One of the regular haunts for soda bottles was a little juke house/barbeque joint called K-D'S NITE LIMIT. That's where I got my first taste of Soul, Blues and Funk music. Everybody up there would be hangin' out playin' cards. They'd always give me some bottles, a plate of 'Q' and let me take a swig of beer or two. I remember everybody up there would be listening to the ISLEY BROTHERS or somebody like that on the stereo. ' JJ's lifelong buddy Daryl Hance provides a side portion of guitar flavor and solidifies the North Florida orientation of Mofro. 'Everybody here's got an uncle or dad who can have you laughing your ass off at their funny stories about the booze running (moonshine) days,' says Daryl. 'Or a fishing story where someone ends up runnin' from the game wardens with a fish hook stuck in their butt. I know some folks say otherwise but Southerners genuinely love to laugh and b. s. with all comers, no tale too tall, no detail too small. ' Blackwater, Mofro's debut release on Fog City Records, maintains the label's focus on musicianship, fat tones and good times, and a real sense of place. It's that last quality that's especially strong with this record, deepened by JJ's lyrical insights into a region and culture that is slipping away with Florida's steady march to 'progress'. JJ talks a bit about the changes happening in north Florida: 'All these new people around here are always askin' me where I'm from. They say I don't sound like I'm from here (Florida), I sound like I'm from Georgia or Alabama. Sometimes it can get to you, but I always joke with them and say 'last time I checked, Florida was south of Georgia and Alabama'. ' Hitting a more serious note, JJ had this to say about recording Blackwater: 'today, almost all forms of regional culture are being swallowed by the giant monochromatic blight of pop culture. When it came to the cultural distinctions in our music Fog City not only accepted it, they whole heartedly encouraged it, and helped us create a record that we fully (and finally) believe in. ' And we aren't alone... amazon. Com included it in their list of The 10 Best R&B/Soul CDs of 2001, and there was that profile on MTV