GLOCCA MORRA SIGNS TO LIVID RECORDS

In a world dominated by genetically engineered bands, genuine musicians often wait years to get discovered. But Glocca Morra doesn’t play by the rules.

            Formed in August 2008, the young Miami band signed to indie label Livid Records in May 2009. Their latest record, The Working Bones, A Health Decline, is set to drop on July 28. A Southeast summer tour and a Northeast fall tour will follow.

            The new album, recorded with Rob McGregor of Golden Tone Studios (Against Me!), ditched the clean-cut demo, Museum Mouth, for a more profound and rough sound. Featuring gang vocals, intricate drums, innovative guitar and more prominent bass lines, the eight songs take turns from ballads to chill-instigating tracks. However, it maintains a kick of funk that Glocca Morra manages to slip into just about every song. Bassist JP Casanova was left with one word to describe the release: Pandemonium.

            The members agree that stagnancy is not an option. Their mix in style ensures that they will never produce the same record twice. “Your music grows with you, so the music is going to keep changing,” Casanova said.    

            Although Glocca Morra’s sound will vary, the line-up is solid. Casanova and Zack Schwartz (vocals/guitar) played together back in their yester-years high school screamo band, Set Fire to Failure. They were both introduced to Arik Dayan (drums) through his old band, Call it Radar. The chemistry was obvious. With their witty attitudes and as the members call it, “boyish charm,” they were ready to generate ground-breaking tunes out of their warehouse practice space.

            Pulling influences from Cursive and The Strokes, the trio decided to give indie a try. The result: songs that the Miami music scene constantly gravitated towards in the local corner venues. The emerging band always sported the do-it-yourself spirit by hand drawing each demo cover on paper bags. They also supported themselves through an eight-state East coast tour while still unsigned.   

Yet, even with an ever-growing fan base, Glocca Morra knew that to reach the slap-in-the-face riffs they strived for, they had to add one more member. That’s when Ruben Gallego joined the mix as the second guitarist, allowing the band to cover more ground. “It’s easier to write more parts, because we can have more instruments with the addition of another player,” Dayan said. “He’s a great musician and a great human being.”

Although The Working Bones, A Health Decline has not yet hit the streets, the boys couldn’t help but get started on their next project, which moves towards shorter and more intimate sets.

Glocca Morra has no intentions of slowing down. They will continue to tour and write, not for any pro or anti message, but for the sake of playing music. A move to Philadelphia might also be in store, but they will wear their “this-is-who-we-are” style to every venue and are stoked for whatever comes next.

 “It’s liberating. It’s not like we’re trying to impress anybody,” Casanova said.  “We’re just some dudes doing our own thing.”

-Katie Condon