Gomez

Accidentally named after a close friend of the band, Gomez have grown up together through the years to become award-winning musicians, receiving a Mercury Prize as well as an NME and Q Magazine Award. This October they find themselves back on Australian turf to play their newest release ‘Whatever’s on Your Mind’ alongside previous tracks to the eagerly-awaiting Aussie crowds. BBM’s Frankie Salt talks to Olly Peacock of the band to give us a sneak peek into just what life would throw at us should we step into a Gomez shoe.

So… it’s 2012… you guys have been working your socks off and making music that we have heard since you were signed in 1997, how long before this were you making music and how has this year been compared to the rest?

I began with piano around 7-years-old. Later Ian and myself played in a band (pre Gomez) from the age of 15, and we played for about 5 years before we got signed. 2012 has seen us return to Europe and play some countries for the first time in ages. It was a great feeling to return to Italy and have such overwhelming feedback after 8 years away. The rest of the year we’ve been touring in the States and considering our next moves…

How did it feel to win the Mercury Prize, NME and Q magazine award not long into your musical career?

It was great and surreal! We had no expectations of selling records in the first place, never mind receiving awards. We took it in our stride and prevented ourselves from getting carried away with so many accolades. There was a massive learning curve to our career and we handled it alright, but we could have done with some help steering ourselves through the music business. I think our favourite award was from Q magazine. It was a video presentation from John Lee Hooker, he was holding the ‘Bring It On’ CD in his hand and said, “I have listened to this record…and I can find no defects!” haha!

When you had a fair few setbacks in the early days with issues with your record label and Virgin, did you ever feel despondent and feel like you would give up? How did you gain control again?

I think we’ve all wanted to give up at different points of our career….our fourth album being one of these times. This was the second record in a row being released coinciding with record label lay offs and staff dropping like flies. We had ‘In Our Gun’ and ‘Split The Difference’ lose momentum and the band itself were stretched with Ian moving to the States. We asked to be dropped from Virgin and went without a label for a year, which felt surprisingly liberating. We returned to the States to a great reaction and decided to focus our attentions on touring there. We released a live record and then signed to ATO Records. Our next record ‘How We Operate’ went on to be our biggest selling record in the US.

Where are you all living now? Is it true that you split the band between the UK and the US?

I’m in Brooklyn, Ian is in Los Angeles and Ben, Tom and Blackie are in Brighton, UK.

With there being five members, do you ever disagree on the production? How did you come to make an album using only your iPhones in the back lounge of the tour bus from Calais to Köln? Who’s genius idea was this?

We tend to agree on production but can have diverging opinions on songs! ‘The Final Keep Me Up’ songs had morphed out of playing with apps on tour and one night in the UK we had enough time to experiment. We finally plugged in together through a mixer and recorded live. It was hilarious. We chose specific apps for each song, predetermined the style and maybe how long it would last, then pressed record. I think it was the first iPhone/iPod record only using apps!

Tell me about “Operation Aloha”, sounds like a right good old crack!

It was an idea formed by a good friend of ours Chris Wray McCann, a photographer from LA. Chris had shot many bands over the years and wanted to gather everyone in one place and see what might happen. He chose Maui, Hawaii as the destination. We stayed in tree houses and a main house to record with the small amount of instruments and gear we could bring. The days were spent surfing, hanging at the beach, eating and then recording at night. “Operation Aloha” was the outcome of mad experiment by our friend!

How did the band come together and where did the name Gomez arise from?

Ian and myself were born 3 days apart and know each other from our parents meeting in the Hospital. We grew up together later forming a band who recorded, but only played a handful of shows. At college we started playing with Tom and Blackie for fun, making a few recordings. A couple of years later Ian met Ben at University and sent us a tape of him playing ‘Stagger Lee’. We were blown away with his voice and knew we had to have him in the band!

I have read that you played your first ever gig at the Hyde Park Social Club in Leeds which was my local for five years and a great venue – where has been your favourite venue to date?

This is the night which led to the accidental naming of the band. A friend of Ben’s named Jason Gomez was coming to the show and we hung a sign saying “GOMEZ” on the door…people mistook it to be the band’s name, since we didn’t have one it fell into place. I’m not sure if we had any other real options! We liked how ambiguous it was. Kind of stupid too! One of my favourite and memorable shows to date is Cockatoo Island in Sydney. We played a hanger on the island and the fans were just mental that day. We couldn’t put a foot wrong.

Tracks such as ‘Hangover’ have a very distinct sound- what instruments and programs did you use to produce tracks such as this?

As best as I remember we used very little on this track. It’s mostly live and recorded to tape, simple, old school!

To have released seven albums and have had the level of success you guys have had, do you feel the pressure is forever being turned up with everything you produce? How many albums can we expect from you?

I personally felt the pressure on the last record…I’m always striving to better what we have done before but it’s a very difficult process. I have no idea how many albums we have left in us…never have!

When you go to sleep at night and dream, who is ideally on stage with you singing your music?

The rest of my band! Pretty cool if Efterklang or Grizzly Bear showed up though.

What is your favourite day of the week and why?

Thursday at the moment. Seems like I get a little clarity by that point in the week!

What do you guys get up to when you’re not in the studio?

I see show/concerts, eat out, travel, photograph, and have wonderful days out with my little boy!

You have your tour of Australia coming up soon, where are you most looking forward to playing and visiting?

I don’t want to say one place and get flack, jeez! We love all of Australia, ha! Melbourne is pretty cool…and Sydney, and Brisbane….don’t forget Cairns! S’all good.

Here’s to the rest of 2012, what can we look forward to hearing from you lot?

We’re taking a break after this last tour. I don’t expect we’ll make any Gomez music for a number of years. In the meantime Ian has a solo record he’s working on and I’ll hopefully be releasing my masterpiece next year.

Prepare for quick fire!

Where do you stand on Marmite?

I’ll have it once in a blue moon.

Heavy Metal or Classical?

Both.

Do you moisturise?

Depends on what I’m moisturising!?

High fives or handshakes?

Shake Fives.

By Frankie Salt

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