Gomez The Gig's In Here

In 1996, an un-named band debuted at the Hyde Park Social Club in Leeds. To alert a friend of theirs to the location of their show, the band members posted a sign out front which read, “GOMEZ, THE GIG’S IN HERE.” A band name was born….

WHO ARE GOMEZ? Ian Ball, Paul Blackburn, Tom Gray, Ben Ottewell, and Ollie Peacock. Ian, Tom, and Ben take turns singing lead.

WHAT ARE GOMEZ? "Rock/Indie/Alternative/Blues/Folk/Experimental" is a good place to start.

WHEN ARE GOMEZ? Gomez have released six full-length albums: Bring It On (1998), Liquid Skin (1999), In Our Gun (2002), Split The Difference (2004), How We Operate (2006), and A New Tide (2009). The band also released a live album, Out West (2005) and two compilations, Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline (which includes Machismo, an EP, as a bonus disc) and Five Men In A Hut (2006). Ball released a solo album, Who Goes There? (2007) and various members have been involved in some other projects.

WHERE ARE GOMEZ? Although the bandmates are from Southport and Matlock in England, Ball now resides in Los Angeles, Blackburn lives in Detroit, Peacock lives in Brooklyn, and Gray and Ottewell live in Brighton. The band recently performed at Glastonbury and Hard Rock Calling in London.

WHY ARE GOMEZ? My first conscious exposure to Gomez came via the song "Silence," which was included on a sampler from the short-lived Tracks magazine. I was really impressed with the song, but didn’t do any exploratory follow-up, in large part because I wasn’t really exploring any music at the time. A few years later, I re-stumbled upon them while tooling around the Internet Archive in search of, among other things, a file of the one Grateful Dead concert I went to (1994, Deer Creek, IN). I saw "Gomez" listed among the hundreds of artists in the Live Music Archive and decided to have a listen to a show of theirs from Boulder, CO. The reasons I picked that show in particular? It included "Silence" (the only song I knew of theirs) as well as covers of "Not Fade Away"and "Don’t Bring Me Down." I listened. I was floored. I was hooked. Over the past couple years, I’ve gathered up the band’s catalog, getting A New Tide on its release date, and acquired several other concerts from the Internet Archive. I also learned along the way that they were the band that covered "Getting Better" for the Philips commercials several years back and they won the Mercury Prize (like that means anything to me) for Bring It On. Last June, I received an early Fathers’ Day present in getting to see the band live in Covington, KY. Best Fathers’ Day present ever.

HOW ARE GOMEZ? I made this CD primarily for my brother, whose curiosity for the band I piqued through my inclusion of their songs on some of my mixes he’s gotten. My purpose was to present a broad overview, skipping over most of their better known songs, as well as ones I’ve used before on other mixes. The only real conceit here is the inclusion of the hometown-name dropping "Charley Patton Songs." "Sweet Virginia" and "Get Miles" are from that very first concert in Boulder I heard, "Breakfast In America" is from a solo gig Ball played in Sydney, Australia, and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" was recorded at last year’s Bonnaroo (although the band debuted this Led Zeppelin cover at the show I saw). NW010.

01. These 3 Sins
02. If I Ask You Nicely
03. Rhythm And Blues Alibi
04. Girlshapedlovedrug
05. Hangover
06. Ruff Stuff
07. Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone
08. Detroit Swing 66
09. Charley Patton Songs
10. Here Comes The Breeze
11. Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol
12. Drench
13. Blue Moon Rising
14. Win Park Slope
15. Bone Tired
16. We Don't Know Where We're Going
17. Sweet Virginia (live)
18. Get Miles (live)
19. Breakfast In America (live)
20. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (live)