Midnight Morning

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 that 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, former psychobilly locals The Heaters and the punk juggernaut FTN. 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 Botero’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. Please burn me their CD.” My cousin caught their performance at my birthday. His reaction? “Man, they tore the house down, those guys rocked!” I’ve hung-out with my buddies at some of their gigs. The next morning, those same slightly hungover friends called me up: “Hey, I don’t remember much from last night, but I do remember that that band was fun as hell.” Now, next time anybody asks me, I know: Midnight Morning plays whatever the heck kind of music they feel like playing. That kind of creativity cannot be classified. But personally, I call their style: “Midnight More Please!” 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. But, don’t take my word for it… check them out for yourself!!Albert del Toral Editor of Electronic Media BizBash Florida Magazine
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