Bo Koster (born August 22, 1974) is an American keyboardist and record producer. He is best known for his work as a member of the band My Morning Jacket and as a touring musician with Roger Waters [1] and Ray LaMontagne. [2]
Koster grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, a city in the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area. He attended Lakewood High School, Cleveland Institute of Music and Berklee College of Music. [3]
In 2003, Koster became a member of the band My Morning Jacket. The band's sound, rooted in rock, alternative, and alt-country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a large following beginning in the early 2000s, in part due to their powerful live performances. In 2005, their album Z was universally acclaimed as one of the best albums of that year. [4] The band has also been nominated for a Grammy three times in the Best Alternative Music Album category. [5]
In 2017 and 2018, Koster was part of the Roger Waters Us + Them world tour [6] [7] and subsequently appeared in the companion film Us + Them. [8] He had previously performed with Waters when My Morning Jacket backed him at the Newport Folk Festival in 2015. [9]
In 2016, he joined Ray LaMontagne and other members of My Morning Jacket for the Ouroborous tour. Later, in 2018, he appeared on LaMontagne's album Part Of The Light. [10]
Koster has also collaborated with Neko Case, [11] T Bone Burnett, [12] City & Colour, Strand Of Oaks, [13] Carl Broemel, Young The Giant, [14] Laura Viers, Sam Outlaw, and Delta Spirit. In 2010, he co-produced the Delta Spirit album History from Below. [15]
Prior to joining My Morning Jacket, Koster worked on several television documentaries as an associate producer, including Modern Marvels and Haunted History. [16]
Koster is an avid basketball fan, especially of his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers. [17] He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The band's sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances.
Z is the fourth studio album by psychedelic rock band My Morning Jacket. This collection features a much spacier and more polished sound than previous releases, making heavy use of synthesizers throughout and incorporating reggae and dub influences. The heavy reverb that was a defining characteristic of the band's prior recordings is largely absent. The songs on the album are more focused and shorter compared to the band's previous albums.
Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released nine studio albums: Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, Supernova, Ouroboros, Part of the Light, Monovision, and Long Way Home. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills. Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to that of Otis Redding, Ryan Adams, Beck, Pink Floyd, The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley.
Trouble is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne. It was released on September 14, 2004, in the United States, and on September 20, 2004, in the United Kingdom. Although the album was released in 2004, the song didn't enter the top five of the UK charts until August 2006. The album was produced by Ethan Johns, released on RCA Records, marketed by BMG and distributed by Stone Dwarf Records. The album has sold 239,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Jennifer Stills and Sara Watkins are featured on several tracks. The album cover was designed by Jason Holley, and was chosen by LaMontagne as a "powerful and poetic piece of art".
Fruit Bats is an American indie rock band formed in 1997 in Chicago, Illinois, as the project of singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson. Johnson is the band's sole permanent member, with various musicians joining the band in live and studio settings.
James Edward Olliges Jr., professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums.
Okonokos is a live album and concert film by the American band My Morning Jacket released on October 31, 2006. The album was recorded during the band's fall 2005 Z Tour, over two nights at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California. This is the first My Morning Jacket album for which frontman Jim James does not receive a production credit; he is credited for "concept/story".
Lakewood High School is a public high school located in Lakewood, Ohio, west of Cleveland. The school colors are purple and gold and the mascot is the Ranger Man. The school athletics program is currently a member of the Cleveland West Conference.
Evil Urges is the fifth studio album by My Morning Jacket. It was released by ATO Records on June 10, 2008. The album was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, ultimately losing to Radiohead's In Rainbows.
Carl Broemel is an American rock musician. He currently plays guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone and sings back-up vocals for the Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket. He played guitar in the pop/rock band Old Pike and in the alternative pop/rock band Silvercrush.
"Off the Record" is a single from Louisville, Kentucky indie rock band My Morning Jacket released in October, 2005 by ATO Records.
Early Recordings is a compilation album series by Louisville, Kentucky rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released in 2004 on Darla Records. The two constituent albums, called chapters, are called The Sandworm Cometh and Learning respectively. Danny Cash created the graphic design to both albums and played bass and keyboard on the second. J. Glenn performed drums for the series and Johnny Quaid played guitar. "Two-Tone" Tommy played bass for the first album, but Quaid took over for the second.
Circuital is the sixth studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released on May 31, 2011.
"The Bravery of Being Out of Range" is the fifth song and second single from the album, Amused to Death, released by former Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters. According to Waters, the song was written as a criticism of the neoliberal policies adopted by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
Love for Levon: Benefit to Save the Barn was a benefit concert held on October 3, 2012 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The concert was a tribute to the life of The Band's co-lead vocalist and drummer Levon Helm, who died of throat cancer on April 19, 2012. The concert featured a wide variety of musicians who had worked with Helm as well as musicians who were influenced by him. Proceeds from the concert went towards keeping Helm's Woodstock barn in his family's control as well as continuing his Midnight Ramble concert series in the barn. The concert's musical directors were Don Was and Helm's frequent collaborator Larry Campbell. The concert was released on CD and DVD on March 19, 2013.
Wax Fang is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, that combines elements of classic, psychedelic, progressive, and experimental rock music, as well as electronic and folk. The band consists of Scott Carney, Corey McAfee, Zach Driscoll, and Dave Chale.
The Waterfall is the seventh studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. Produced by Tucker Martine and group frontman Jim James, the album was released on May 4, 2015 by ATO Records and Capitol Records. After touring 2011’s Circuital (2011), for two years the band took a break before regrouping in late 2013 to begin work on The Waterfall, a process which took eighteen months.
Ouroboros is the sixth studio album by Ray LaMontagne, released on March 4, 2016. It features My Morning Jacket's frontman Jim James, who also produced the record. Lead single "Hey, No Pressure" debuted online on January 20, 2016. The rest of My Morning Jacket, minus James, joined LaMontagne on the road for the album's release tour.
Roger Waters: Us + Them is a 2019 British concert film and live album by English musician Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd. The film was directed by Waters and Sean Evans, and captures a truncated performance from Waters' tour of the same name. This is the second film where both Waters and Evans are involved, their first being Roger Waters: The Wall.