Morning Glory

They’re here! New York’s Morning Glory hit our shores last week for a string of ska punk shows with local wonders The Bennies. Before they took flight, we were lucky enough to share a few words with main man, Ezra Kire. It’s time to start a revolution.
Hi Ezra, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte. How are you and what are you up to this morning?
This morning I’m packing up to get on a 32.5-hour plane ride to Australia … I really hope I don’t get the middle seat.
Your music has evolved quite a lot since you first started. What’s it like looking at the changes the band, and you as a person, have made over the years?
It’s funny, as songs get older they either stick or they don’t. We keep the ones that stick and discard the ones that don’t. That is to say some old songs fit perfectly with our current set and others are in some other category. But I feel the good ones are a small window into time. It’s like looking back you can say, ‘Well, at least I did that one right’.
You’ll be touring alongside The Bennies. Are you looking forward to be playing with them?
Well yes, but we’re going in completely blind. It’s like a blind date. Their singer Anty sent me a nice email the other day asking if we need anything, which was very cool of him. But beyond that I have no idea what we’re in for. We’ve never done a co-headliner before. This could be very good … or very bad. Plus, judging from their songs they like to “take the pot”, which should be fun for us to toy with since we are adamantly against the smoking of the reefer. We think it’s for hippies, hehe.
Part of the tour takes you to Geelong. Are you excited to be coming down?
One of the cool things about going out with The Bennies is that we get to hit lots of the “in-betweenies” as they have connections in many of these smaller towns. Personally I can’t wait to get outside the big cities. Typically they’re more enthusiastic, they truly enjoy their music shows, and the market isn’t over-saturated with bands. I hope someone brings a wallaby to one of the shows.
What can the crowd expect from your set?
We’ll be playing all our “hits” and some of the War Psalms record. Not much stuff off the Poets record is in our set this time. We’ll be playing all the tunes that get the crowd surfing and dancing and singing along. Plus we’ve got a piano in the mix to add some excitement to the sing along atmosphere. It’s gonna be stellar.
Do you have anything you’d like to do while you’re in Australia?
I can’t wait to see your toilets. I hear the water goes widdershins. (Widdershins is a great word for backwards.) I intend to find out if this is fact or myth.
What does the future hold for Morning Glory?
Well, it’s almost time for another record. Nowadays you have to put out a record every year to stay current. And I have a ton of songs ready to go. We’ll have some local shows upon our return as well.
Before we finish up is there anything you’d like to add?
Ya, I’ve been trying to think of a good Australian tune we can turn into a schmaltzy piano or organ sing along for our set. Suggestions are welcome!
When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – September 24 & The Barwon Club, Geelong – September 25
Photo by Alyssa-Tanchajja