Verra Cruz

Verra Cruz are a British rock band from St Albans, north of London. The group forms in the late 1990s when Marc James, who sings and plays guitar and lap steel, starts the band with drummer Jimmy Cooke. Nick Bright joins on bass in September 2000, and the group later expands to include Henry Cross on bass for its second full-length album. The lineup given for the band is Marc James, Jimmy Cooke and Nick Bright.

Style and lineup

The band is described as a hard-rocking trio with a sound rooted in strong songwriting, a distinctive vocal style from Marc James, and a heavy rhythm section. Their music is tagged as rock, hard rock, progressive rock, blues and christian.

Touring and live work

Verra Cruz build a large live following through extensive touring across the UK and Europe. They play in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, and also appear at festivals in South Africa. They later play shows in Los Angeles and New York, return to the US for a performance at the Viper Room in Hollywood, and play at the Key Club in Hollywood in May 2005. They also support X Is Loaded on a UK club tour.

Recordings and releases

In June 2003 the band records sessions with American producer Jason Corsaro, whose credits include Soundgarden and Soulfly. The sessions are engineered by Matthew Ollivier, known for work with Doves, and mastered by Howie Weinberg. These recordings become the Soul Collides EP. The EP receives radio play across the United States and reaches number 7 on the FMQB US radio specialty chart. It is later issued as a single in the UK through Universal Distribution, followed by the single Corner of my Mind, also released through Universal Distribution. The Corner of my Mind video appears on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball, and another video for Soul Collides is added to A-list rotation on Scuzz TV.

Radio support and later work

Verra Cruz gain radio support from stations and presenters including KUPD in Phoenix, WBCN in Boston, Jed the Fish at KROQ in Los Angeles, Zane Lowe and Mary-Anne Hobbs at Radio 1, Ian Camfield at XFM, Kerrang! Radio, XFM's Music Response, and Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. The band begins work on a debut album with producers Paul Burton and Tom Mills, and later releases its second full-length album, Innocence, which includes Henry Cross on bass.