why we like him?







Gomez refuses to play by the rules: Rather than churning out generic bubblegum pop, the band serves up an electronic rock mix that finds its roots in the blues and funk. According to drummer Olly Peacock, “That is the point of the band: that it is mixed up and you could expect anything. Songs can come from anything. It can be generated from a sample, or a bass lead, or someone can have a song, or a half-written song, and bring it to everyone else. Everyone plays around with that and things change. It's a messy process.” Luckily, it’s one that has worked well for the group over the years.



why is he famous?







Easy to listen to, but hard to classify, Gomez has been one of Britain’s leading alternative bands since establishing themselves with Bring It On, their 1998 debut. The innovative quintet is comprised of Ian Ball, Ben Ottewell, Tom Gray, Paul Blackburn, and Olly Peacock.











overall rating

80









Gomez is one of the world’s few bands whose name has entered the English lexicon as both a noun and a verb. According to industry insiders, “Doing a Gomez” refers to the act of releasing a debut album that is so phenomenally successful it becomes impossible to follow. That was certainly the case for the talented Southport rockers, who won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for their 1998 debut, Bring It On. Drummer Olly Peacock still remembers the experience vividly. "It was a bit bewildering,” he says. “We were just about a year old as a proper touring band. It was an alien experience. We had to learn very fast. We were chucked into the pool and had to learn how to swim.”







Gomez >> PAGE 2: COMMENTS











quote







“We're always trying to make music we haven't heard before. You know, actually trying to make sounds we don't recognize ourselves, that you don't find familiar."

-Ian Ball



bio







The story of Gomez begins with the friendship of guitarist and vocalist Ian Ball and drummer Olly Peacock. The two Southport, England, lads previously played together in a heavy metal band called Severed, but by 1995 were beginning to look for new musical challenges. Enter friends Tom Gray (guitar) and Paul Blackburn (vocals, keyboards, bass), two fellow locals who shared the boys’ desire to make music worth listening to. Already a quartet, the band soon added promising vocalist Ben Ottewell, whom Ball had met while attending The University of Sheffield.



Trivia: Which singer-songwriter did Gomez team up with for their first American tour?