“And I always wanted the music I make to be outside of any genre. I think Gavin and Jeff were great about that because we never really felt we were indie-rockers. We had all played different kinds of music, so we had a lot of curiosity and restlessness. Sure, there were times when it didn’t work — we wrote some songs that just had too many chords because I’d want to challenge myself. The things that worked we held onto, and the things that didn’t we let go of.”
So Glorytellers is the next logical step. “I think we had done a lot with Karate, and I wanted to totally start from scratch. I have tinnitus, so it was getting to the point where it was difficult for me to play on stage with a loud rock band. And getting quieter was an impulse that took on a life of its own, because I play acoustic guitar and sing in the band — and the bass is essentially played with my thumb. So the arrangements are totally different from regular rock-band arrangements. It’s the same kinds of songs I was playing in Karate, but it’s upside down or something.”
The links between Glorytellers and Karate remain strong: when Luther Gray’s wife had a child and he couldn’t tour, McCarthy took over on drums. And that seems to be a running theme, since McCarthy is now due to be a father later this year. Farina also recently lost a guitarist, Josh LaRue (of Mice Parade and HiM), to fatherhood, and LaRue’s replacement, local jazz guitarist Jef Charland, isn’t going to be able to make a European tour scheduled for later this year because he too is expecting.
“That’s what you should print about the band,” Farina quips. “Glorytellers have to be the most fertile band in Boston because everybody who joins pretty much becomes a father within six months.”
GLORYTELLERS + JOE LALLY + THALIA ZEDEK + DREW O’DOHERTY | Middle East upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | May 23 | 617.864.EAST
