Tortilla Army
Encyclopedia
Tortilla Army is a British
grunge
metal
band that was formed by singer/guitarist Jim Noble and bassist Sy Morton in Whitstable
, Kent
in 1998. Tortilla Army went through a succession of members until establishing the four current members, being mainstays Jim Noble and Sy Morton. Drummer Mik Gaffney joined the band in 2003 and lead guitarist Joe Coomes joined the band in 2006.
, drawing inspiration from 90’s grunge
bands like Nirvana
, Pearl Jam
and Alice In Chains
among others. The original line-up consisting of singer/guitarist Jim Noble, bassist Sy Morton, drummer Chris Jones and percussionist Colin Lovatt honed their sound with hours of practice, adding the unique (at the time) element of live percussion to their sound and live shows. They released their debut album entitled A New Journey independently in 2002. Drummers come and drummers go, and that’s exactly what happened in 2003. Out went founder member Chris Jones in comes Mik Gaffney. Mik immediately put his stamp on the band’s sound and style (in fact one of their first song writing sessions yielded fans favorite “Broken”). The new four-piece continued to develop their sound until Colin Lovatt decided to quit the band to continue his life in Australia
. Colin has since returned to the UK, and is playing percussion for Get Ape. So Tortilla Army reverted to a trio format, something all three members were comfortable with. After some interest from minor record companies Tortilla Army unexpectedly chose to remain unsigned. Tortilla Army found unexpected local success with “Broken”, the band's lead track from their second album of the same name, 2004’s Broken. It wasn’t until during a string of dates with U.S. act Moth
(where they acquired the use of Moth's
touring guitarist for a show) did the band feel that a little extra depth was needed. A second guitarist was added in shape of Joe Coomes, the band finally had the perfect line up. Never before did Tortilla Army have such a full sound and the right balance of the right people. Subsequently, Tortilla Army began a small nationwide tour with Swedish heavy metal
/hard rock band Freak Kitchen
in 2006 bringing along their grunge
sound with great live performances. After four years Tortilla Army released their much anticipated third album 2008’s Finally. The album was the first to feature recordings from guitarist Joe Coomes who’s input included shredding riffs and blistering guitar solos on top of the seasoned tightness of the original trio of Jim Noble, Sy Morton and Mik Gaffney. This seemed that Tortilla Army were onto a winner with their new direction in sound. Tortilla Army has come a very long way from the initial steps in the backroom of the East Kent public house in Whitstable
, Kent
(spiritual home) to where they are now, and things continue to move forward. With the release of their new EP One For The Living in April 2010, an ever increasing presence on Facebook
, Twitter
and Myspace
, dates with U.S. band’s Moth
& Fizzgig and upcoming tours with the Mighty Freak Kitchen
in 2010 being put together as we speak, the band are going from strength to strength striding forward.
metal
. The band has cited being influenced by bands such as Kings X, Nirvana
and Pantera
. These bands inspire Tortilla Army's "catchy vocals, aggressive riffs and melodies" according to band member Sy Morton. The band themselves consider their music as genre free, with Morton going on to state that "We’re simply a rock band with grunge and metal influences, and I’ve said that from Day One". Tortilla Army have been praised in the local press for the bands efforts in their synchronised and melodic song structures. When asked on their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Mortan commented that, "We're more interested in what our music sounds like and entertaining the local crowds than selling out or selling our fans short".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
grunge
Grunge music
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band that was formed by singer/guitarist Jim Noble and bassist Sy Morton in Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in 1998. Tortilla Army went through a succession of members until establishing the four current members, being mainstays Jim Noble and Sy Morton. Drummer Mik Gaffney joined the band in 2003 and lead guitarist Joe Coomes joined the band in 2006.
History
The band established itself as part of the pub/club music scene in KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, drawing inspiration from 90’s grunge
Grunge music
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
bands like Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
and Alice In Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
among others. The original line-up consisting of singer/guitarist Jim Noble, bassist Sy Morton, drummer Chris Jones and percussionist Colin Lovatt honed their sound with hours of practice, adding the unique (at the time) element of live percussion to their sound and live shows. They released their debut album entitled A New Journey independently in 2002. Drummers come and drummers go, and that’s exactly what happened in 2003. Out went founder member Chris Jones in comes Mik Gaffney. Mik immediately put his stamp on the band’s sound and style (in fact one of their first song writing sessions yielded fans favorite “Broken”). The new four-piece continued to develop their sound until Colin Lovatt decided to quit the band to continue his life in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Colin has since returned to the UK, and is playing percussion for Get Ape. So Tortilla Army reverted to a trio format, something all three members were comfortable with. After some interest from minor record companies Tortilla Army unexpectedly chose to remain unsigned. Tortilla Army found unexpected local success with “Broken”, the band's lead track from their second album of the same name, 2004’s Broken. It wasn’t until during a string of dates with U.S. act Moth
Moth (band)
Moth is a U.S. alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio formed in 1989. The band has released five albums including a major label release on Virgin Records. They have done live performances on The Late Late Show, AOL, and Mancow's Morning Madhouse, numerous national tours and a UK tour...
(where they acquired the use of Moth's
Moth (band)
Moth is a U.S. alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio formed in 1989. The band has released five albums including a major label release on Virgin Records. They have done live performances on The Late Late Show, AOL, and Mancow's Morning Madhouse, numerous national tours and a UK tour...
touring guitarist for a show) did the band feel that a little extra depth was needed. A second guitarist was added in shape of Joe Coomes, the band finally had the perfect line up. Never before did Tortilla Army have such a full sound and the right balance of the right people. Subsequently, Tortilla Army began a small nationwide tour with Swedish heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
/hard rock band Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1992. Because of the high technical level of their compositions people sometimes refer to their style as progressive metal or progressive rock.-History:...
in 2006 bringing along their grunge
Grunge music
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
sound with great live performances. After four years Tortilla Army released their much anticipated third album 2008’s Finally. The album was the first to feature recordings from guitarist Joe Coomes who’s input included shredding riffs and blistering guitar solos on top of the seasoned tightness of the original trio of Jim Noble, Sy Morton and Mik Gaffney. This seemed that Tortilla Army were onto a winner with their new direction in sound. Tortilla Army has come a very long way from the initial steps in the backroom of the East Kent public house in Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(spiritual home) to where they are now, and things continue to move forward. With the release of their new EP One For The Living in April 2010, an ever increasing presence on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, dates with U.S. band’s Moth
Moth (band)
Moth is a U.S. alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio formed in 1989. The band has released five albums including a major label release on Virgin Records. They have done live performances on The Late Late Show, AOL, and Mancow's Morning Madhouse, numerous national tours and a UK tour...
& Fizzgig and upcoming tours with the Mighty Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen
Freak Kitchen is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1992. Because of the high technical level of their compositions people sometimes refer to their style as progressive metal or progressive rock.-History:...
in 2010 being put together as we speak, the band are going from strength to strength striding forward.
Style and influences
Tortilla Army's music has been described by fans and critics as grungeGrunge music
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. The band has cited being influenced by bands such as Kings X, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
. These bands inspire Tortilla Army's "catchy vocals, aggressive riffs and melodies" according to band member Sy Morton. The band themselves consider their music as genre free, with Morton going on to state that "We’re simply a rock band with grunge and metal influences, and I’ve said that from Day One". Tortilla Army have been praised in the local press for the bands efforts in their synchronised and melodic song structures. When asked on their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Mortan commented that, "We're more interested in what our music sounds like and entertaining the local crowds than selling out or selling our fans short".
Current members
- Jim Noble - Lead Vocals and GuitarGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
(1998–Present) - Sy Morton - BassBassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and Vocals (1998–Present) - Mik Gaffney - DrumsDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
(2003–Present) - Joe Coomes - Lead GuitarGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
(2006–Present)
Previous members
- Chris Jones - DrumsDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
(1998–2003) - Colin Lovatt - Percussion (1999–2004)
- Martin Wisbey - Lead GuitarGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
(2005–2006)
Studio albums
- A New Journey (Independent Release, 2002)
- Broken (Independent Release, 2004)
- Finally (Independent Release, 2008)