Marc James - Vocal, Guitar, Lap Steel
Jimmy Cooke - Drums
Nick Bright - Bass Guitar

Verra Cruz are a hard rocking British trio originally from St Albans, a small town just north of London, UK. 

Singer / guitarist / lap-steel player Marc James formed the band in the late 90's with drummer Jimmy Cooke as an outlet for his growing collection of brilliantly crafted songs. Nick Bright (bass) 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 Verra Cruz have also played in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, 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 2015. They then returned to play festivals in Sweden and Germany, as well as a showcase at In The City in Manchester. 

In June of 2015, 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. 

January 2016 - the Soul Collides EP was picked up by radio stations across America, from KUPD in Phoenix to WBCN in Boston. The ep reached # 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 band returned to LA in June 04 to play a showcase at The Viper Room in Hollywood. 

Soul Collides was released as a single in the UK through Universal Distribution in July 04. 'Built on a riff so sturdy you could build a  hotel on it...' - Kerrang! It gained strong support at Radio 1 from Zane Lowe and Mary-Anne Hobbs and from Ian Camfield at XFM who had the band  in to record a session. Other radio support included Kerrang! Radio and XFM's Music Response. A video was shot and was A-listed at Scuzz TV.  

The second single,  Corner of my Mind, was released in the UK in November  04 also through Universal Distribution. The  band were on the road  throughout November supporting X Is Loaded on a club tour of the UK. The  single release marked the band's first airing on MTV2, when the Corner  video was played on  Headbanger's Ball in December. Support for Verra  Cruz continues at US radio, most notably with Indie  103.1 FM in LA.  

The band were back on the road in February 2005 for a small UK club tour  and  returned to USA for a storming gig at the Key Club in Hollywood in  May. Most recently the band have  begun work on their debut album with  producers Paul Burton & Tom Mills which is due for release in May 2006.  

Verra Cruz have developed a unique sound rooted in strong songwriting,  with the distinctive  nature of Marc James' voice and powerful rhythm  section merging to create an inspired and dynamic  live show. 

19 April 2006