Visit our Website: http://www.midnightmorning.com
Visit our MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/midnightmorning13
I was once asked to describe what kind of music Midnight Morning plays and, despite having gone to all their gigs, I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question. Now, I am. Midnight Morning plays their own kind of music. With songs ranging in topic from taking down Castro ("Hey Hey Revolution!") to getting down on the dance floor ("Shake"), their musical style screams of their hometown—that, of course, being Miami. Yet, at the same time, they can play their songs anywhere and still get the same positive reactions because they aren’t tied down to this town, nor to any one musical genre.
Composed of three Hispanic musicians whose parents have more stories to share from their immigration battles than 50 Cent has bullet wounds in his chest, Midnight Morning knows everything there is to know about the art of storytelling. Since they have family histories immediately incorporating five different countries (Anthony’s Cuba, Choupah’s Venezuela, Nick’s Colombia and Italy, and the U.S.A., where the three of them have spent most of their lives), they have unwittingly taken in a lot of different cultures along the way, something that is very blatant in their varied musical influences, which range from Victor Wooten and Gloria Estefan to the Beatles and Pantera. It is a mixture of this musical overflow and their pristine storytelling that makes them as good as they are, and defines them as a force to be reckoned with in the South Florida music scene.
Their lead singer and guitarist, Anthony Gras—or "An-Tony", as he’s often referred to—is a musical prodigy. Playing something like 1,000 instruments, he has the unique ability to pick-up a guitar for the very first time on Thursday morning and pump-out Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Free Bird" by Friday night. Backing-him is their drummer Choupah, a man who looks like Slash but who tears it up like John Bonham, who can play the sweetest melody one second and completely tear the house down the next, a skill which is partially to blame for his becoming an indie scene sensation with metal act Alice’s Wonder and former psychobilly locals The Heaters. Completing this trio is the band’s bassist and backbone Nick Musumeci, who befriended Anthony in high school and later recruited Choupah through his Uncle Alex’s connections, when the two finally decided to get serious with their music.
What formed is a band that people can fall in love with because they’re all over the place, as human nature often is. One of their songs will brag about how ladies love them because they’re good with their hands ("Get Down") and the next one will admit that they’re tired of hearing girls sing them the blues ("Little Mamma"). These seeming contradictions seem to make sense when you mix a catchy three- to four-minute beat into the background, enough so to make an "M & M" performance great for everybody you know. A couple of times, I’ve taken dates to their shows, the reaction once we left was: "They were great. Do they have a demo?" I took my cousin one time. His reaction? "Man, they tore the house down! Can you burn me their demo?" I’ve gotten drunk with my buddies at some of their gigs. The next morning, those same friends called me up: "Hey, I don’t remember much from last night, but I do remember that that band kicked some major butt! Where can I get a copy of their demo?" Sadly, I always had to deny everybody that simple pleasure because the band had nothing but a unique sound to their name. That is why today is the greatest day in a long while—because Midnight Morning has finally got their demo!
Now, next time your friends ask you, because I’m sure they will, you can not only burn them a copy of this demo, but you can also let them know what kind of music Midnight Morning plays. And FYI, in case you haven’t heard, that’s whatever the heck kind of music they want to play. If it’s classic rock you want, check out their Led Zeppelin cover of "Immigrant Song". If it’s hip-hop you desire, check out "Get Down". If it’s pop you need, "Little Mamma" will probably be your favorite. And if rock is what tickles your pickle, well then "Black Sea" and "Hope" will get that pickle laughing hysterically. Personally, I call their style: "Midnight M’Original".
But, don’t take my word for it… check out that demo!!
Visit our Website: http://www.midnightmorning.com
Visit our MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/midnightmorning13
