Getting to Know: Hedley-Inspired Pop Rockers, I’ve Got Gloria
In today’s Getting to Know, we meet I’ve Got Gloria, a pop-rock quintet that likens its music to the personality of a teenager. If you are in an up and coming band that would like to partake in a Getting to Know feature, contact editor@riffyou.com to receive the questionnaire and instructions. Thanks!
Band Name: I’ve Got Gloria
Band Members: Matt Dell (lead vocals), Antonio Cirillo (guitar), Jason Golden (guitar), Ricky Moore (bass), and Nick Plati (drums).
Years Active: 5
City of Origin: Niagara Falls/Welland, ON.
Who are you and what do you do?
“My name is Matt Dell and I am the lead singer of I’ve Got Gloria.”
In 100 words or less, tell us how your band has gotten to this point.
“If I could write ‘hard work’ 100 times that pretty much sums up how we’ve gotten to this point. The music business is an endless game of practice, research, business contacts and the pursuit of perfection. However, if you truly love music, all of that hard work doesn’t seem like hard work at all. It’s fun.”
What is your latest release and how would you best describe it to someone who hasn’t heard your band?
“Our latest release is our EP called Here We Are,which sounds like Hedley’s pop-rock sound, with All Time Low’s edgy presence. The music of I’ve Got Gloria is kind of like a teenager: fun and popular with a bit of an edgy attitude.”
When making an album, which aspect of the process do you put the most time into and why?
“For myself, I focus all of my time on each process. Being a student of film and audio production, I know just how important each step is. Lacking attention on any one of them can negatively impact a song and hurt its chances of being the best you can make. And in this business, that’s what we shoot for. Being the best we can be as a band and as individual musicians.”
What is the best part about your band and why?
“One thing that stands out about I’ve Got Gloria is how connected we are with our fans. We understand just how important our fans are for the future of this band. Without their support we wouldn’t be able to do what we love with our lives. Music is everything to us and so are our fans.”
What makes your band unique from the rest?
“There’s a popular saying that only one out of a million will ‘make it’ in the music industry. But that’s based on how willing the band is to put in the hard work and never give up no matter how difficult it can get. That persistence is what I’ve Got Gloria is all about. We all as a group want this to be our careers more than anything. So we will never be told no and give up, we will never stop, and we will always strive to be better. That’s what makes us unique.”
How does your band survive the challenges of touring/gigging?
“We don’t look at it as surviving. Music is what we love to do. That includes everything that comes with it. We love to travel, we love to meet 
new people, and we love playing music. Of course there will always be some downsides to this career, but just because you try a flavour of ice cream that you don’t like doesn’t mean that you stop eating ice cream all together. That’s because we love ice cream. Even if we might have a couple of bad experiences with it.”
Would you rather be critically-acclaimed; rich and famous; or an under-the-radar band with a dedicated fan base?
“A band/musician is nothing without their fans. It’s what allows anyone to be able to be a part of this industry to begin with. So I would definitely rather be a band with a dedicated fan base. But, if you’ve got a dedicated fan base that comes out to see you perform every time you play live then it will never really feel like you’re ‘under the radar.’ However, making enough money to be able to pay off that mountain of student debt that I’ve racked up would be nice.”
If you’d have to compare your band to another one out there, living or dead, who would it be and why?
“I would compare our band to Hedley. I have followed them from the beginning and I’ve always appreciated and looked up to the hard work attitude they bring to their music career.”
Which band/musician would you like to share many drinks with? What would you talk about?
“I would really love to share a conversation with John Feldmann of Goldfinger. Feldmann has been part of so many successful projects from The Used to Story Of The Year and even We Came As Romans. I’m not too sure what we would talk about, but I hope it would end with us shaking hands and agreeing to work with each other.”
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