| 
Feature: Jack Foley
THE VERRA Cruz are a three-piece band from St Albans, a small
town just north of London, UK, which was formed by singer/songwriter,
Marc James, amd drummer, Jimmy Cooke, in the late 90’s as
an outlet for his growing collection of brilliantly crafted songs.
Bass guitarist, Nick Bright, joined the band in September 2000.
Together they are a powerful, tight and passionate live band
and have a large and loyal fan base.
They have toured hard and appeared at festivals as far away as
South Africa - which they toured in September 2001.
Since Summer 2000, The Verra Cruz have also played in Belgium,
Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Estonia, as well
as playing all over the UK.
Growing interest in the band in the US lead to a series of shows
in LA and New York in April 2003.
They then returned to play festivals in Sweden and Germany, as
well as a triumphant showcase at In The City in Manchester.
|
|
In June of 2003, The Verra Cruz recorded
sessions with US rock producer, Jason Corsaro (Soundgarden/Soulfly).
Jason’s involvement with the band came about after hearing
a demo and believing them to be the most exciting band he had
heard since the early 90’s.
The sessions were engineered by Matthew Ollivier (Doves) and
mastered by Howie Weinberg as a favour to Jason. They became the
Soul Collides EP, which is now available.
In January 2004, the Soul Collides EP was picked up
by radio stations across America, from KUPD in Phoenix to WBCN
in Boston.
It reached number 7 in the FMQB US radio specialty chart.
Jed the Fish at KROQ, Los Angeles’ premier rock station
received a copy of the ep and instantly made it his Catch of the
Day. He so liked Soul Collides he again made it his Catch of the
Day for the second time within a week!!
The Verra Cruz have developed a sound based mainly on strong
songwriting and the distinctive nature of Marc James’ voice,
but that takes in the Seattle style rock of bands like Soundgarden
and Pearl Jam, the soul of artists like Ben Harper and the melody
of contemporary UK bands such as Feeder and Coldplay.
A solid and strong rock sound with true mainstream crossover
potential. |
