Gomez in the U-T

Gomez invites you into its garage
By Chris Nixon
Special to the Union-Tribune
July 22, 2004

Standing in a vast sea of automobiles and pavement, musician Ben Ottewell pokes fun at himself and the less-than-idyllic surroundings he finds himself in. Calling from a pay phone in a Seattle parking lot, Ottewell states in a deadpan English accent: "Now, this is the glamorous rock 'n' roll lifestyle."

Ottewell and the five-piece British band Gomez may have not traded up from parking lots to palatial hotel suites, but the group's retro-pop sound and electronic experimentations have poised the five Brits on the brink of mainstream American recognition.

British music fans have long been hip to Gomez. With its refined take (adding splashes of cellos, electronic beats or mellow horns) on boogie blues, roots rock and pop harmonies, the quintet scored a major-label deal without ever playing a live show. Ottewell and his mates – Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Paul Blackburn (bass, guitar), Olly Peacock (drums) and Ian Ball (vocals, guitar, harmonica) – created a masterpiece of pastiche rock by simply huddling in their cramped garage in a small town outside Liverpool.

"We had recorded the album already, but we did go to a studio to make it a bit more sparkly (after we got the deal). We created the first record in the garage really, not a studio," said Ottewell. "We don't sound like most of them at the moment, but we are truly a garage band."
Gomez's 1998 debut disc, "Bring In On," garnered the band the prestigious Mercury Prize, beating out the Verve, Cornershop, Robbie Williams and Massive Attack's classic "Mezzanine" album. Ottewell's gravelly vocals combined with the band's bluesy atmospherics and airy instrumentation set Gomez apart from the glut of retro Brit-rock bands coming out of Europe in the late 1990s. The 1998 album "Liquid Skin" found the five-piece delving into electronics even further, anchored by the songwriting talents of Ottewell, Gray and Ball.

Too many songwriters in one band can lead to friction, but Gomez members seem to keep their heads about them when deciding which songs make the cut for a record.

"Sometimes people in the band hit on a golden period in their writing; it kind of ebbs and flows like that," said Ottewell. "And we're not too precious about it either, which is good. It just naturally evolves from which songs people are getting most excited about or getting the best inspiration from."

the buzz > > > > > > > >

Hometown: Southport, England

Discography

"Split the Difference" – 2004

"In Our Gun" – 2002

"Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline" – 2000, B-sides and rarities

"Liquid Skin" – 1999 "Bring It On" – 1998

Lineup

Ben Ottewell – vocals, guitar

Tom Gray – vocals, guitar, keyboards

Paul Blackburn – bass, guitar

Olly Peacock – drums

Ian Ball – vocals, guitar, harmonica

Gomez followed the one-two punch of its first two albums by taking some time away from the road. During the hiatus, the band released "Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline" in 2000, a collection of B-sides and rarities. They also crafted the brilliant studio album "In Our Gun," a rambling collection of electronic blues songs and acoustic ballads. Much like Beck's "Mellow Gold" and subsequent albums, Gomez seems to capture the essence of bluesy acoustic music while stretching the boundaries with modern studio tactics and clever instrumentation.
"When we did 'In Our Gun,' we hadn't played live for a long time," said Ottewell. "So I think what we got out of that was a more 'studio' record. So it's more ephemeral. It's more of an introverted record."

This year, with Gomez's "Split the Difference," the band's rash of tours in the months before hitting the studio was reflected in the recording process. The live influence can be heard throughout the album, giving the album less of a knob-twiddling studio feel and more of an upfront live sound: "This one is coming straight off the road, so it makes sense for us to sound a little more live. It's more of a rock record, as far as we can be a rock band."

The British group seems to have found its muse in producer Tchad Blake (Los Lobos, Soul Coughing, Travis), keeping the album more cohesive than previous efforts. The album helped Gomez score a spot on this year's Lollapalooza. But the legendary touring festival closed shop after just a few weeks after the tour was announced, citing poor ticket sales.

"When we first heard about it, we were devastated," continued Ottewell, who will play the intimate environs of the Belly Up Tavern tomorrow night. "I think we're hitting most of the places we were going to be hitting for Lollapalooza. The Thrills are supporting us, and they were also going to be out on the road with Lollapalooza. It should be a fun tour. It just gave us a chance to put together Gomezapalooza."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego writer.

Warped Religion

Just got back from a few weeks in the High Sierras. Here's the Bad Religion/Warped Tour preview I put together for the Union-Tribune:

So happy together

Bad Religion, Vans Warped Tour make a fine pairing

By Chris Nixon
July 1, 2004
San Diego Union-Tribune

Bad Religion's Brian Baker and the Vans Warped Tour have been living parallel existences for the past decade.

Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman gave birth to the annual punk rock summer camp 10 years ago. The former Minor Threat and Dag Nasty guitarist Baker joined Bad Religion 10 years ago. Both epitomize punk's explosion since 1994, allowing the music to reach new ears without giving up its political conscience and the central tenants of the genre's aesthetic.

"(The Warped Tour) is a main reason punk rock has become an accredited musical genre," says Baker from his home in Washington, D.C. "You can walk into a mall (record shop) and there's a punk section, like there's an R&B section and a gospel section. You're dealing with a tour that can draw 20,000 to 30,000 people in any city."

The Warped Tour continues to book a cutting-edge blend of young-blood punks and old schoolers, with a splash of indie hip-hop.

And Warped has been a significant help to the career of Bad Religion.

The 13th album by the Los Angeles-based sextet – titled "The Empire Strikes First," commenting on the U.S. actions in Iraq – features songs penned by singer Greg Graffin and guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The duo wrote together during Bad Religion's early days. In 1994, Gurewitz left the band to concentrate on his successful label, Epitaph Records.

Bad Religion brought in Baker to beef up the band's sound in the 1990s. In 2001, Gurewitz rejoined the group for "The Process of Belief." The effort reunited Gurewitz and Graffin, a potent writing combo.

"When those two are on and together, working with and against each other, I think the music that comes out of them is absolutely spectacular," says Baker, who has a 24-year punk-rock resume. "The great albums come from Brett and Greg's dynamic. You remain relevant if you do something people think has value."

The Warped Tour continues to reinvent itself, adding little-known and local acts while bringing in punk's top echelons to draw the crowd. Lyman and the tour have also included up-and-coming hip-hop artists over the years, despite criticism from hardcore punk rockers.

"A lot of very relevant acts, from Black Eyed Peas to Jurassic 5 to Eminem to Ice-T to Kool Keith, they've all been on the Warped Tour," says Lyman, who once worked for San Diego's Bill Silva, along with Los Angeles promoters Goldenvoice and Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza Tour in its infancy. "There's a lot of that cool, underground hip-hop going on at the Warped Tour, but we're not out to force it down people's throats. I think if I stay with the roots (of punk) and put this stuff in as an addition, the kids will accept it more.

"Way back when, blink-182, nobody knew who they were. And they started on the Warped Tour."

So how does a tour, advertising itself as a bastion of punk rock, remain true to the roots of the punk-rock lifestyle? Like much of modern life, it involves compromise. Lyman promotes a controlled form of sponsorship, weaning a tour's needs from advertising dollars.

The Warped Tour continues to draw thousands, while Bad Religion continues to crank out pertinent political punk rock. So when does one get too old to be a punk? Lyman and Baker prove it's the mentality and not the mileage that punk music is all about.

"I think it's a good thing for kids, and I think it's a good thing for our scene," says Lyman. "Everyone will let me know when it's time to end."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego writer.