Music: Gomez

Gomez play Brighton Dome & you choose the set list!

Back in 1998, Gomez came up on the inside track to practically steal the Mercury Music Prize from the likes of Massive Attack and Pulp, with their debut album Bring It On. The band managed to capitalise on that result to forge a career that continues to this day, and with the exact same original line-up.

Comprising Ian Ball (vocals, guitar), Paul ‘Blackie’ Blackburn (bass), Tom Gray (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitars) and Olly Peacock (drums, synths, computers), they played their first gig in ‘96 without having a name. Legend has it the band left a sign out which read ‘Gomez in here’ for a friend of theirs whose surname was Gomez. People saw the sign and assumed this was the band’s name! The name stuck…

Soon after, a bidding war erupted after a handful of demos were sent out to labels. Realising they were onto a good thing they forced labels to come to rehearsals and after playing to over 25 labels, they finally chose Hut.

Gomez have three singers and four songwriters, with the resulting sound encompassing blues, indie, alternative, rock, folk, psychedelic and experimental strands. Currently the band members are split between the UK and US with Ian Ball residing in Los Angeles, Olly Peacock in Brooklyn, New York, and Paul Blackburn, Tom Gray and Ben Ottewell here in Brighton. With the band members now scattered across two continents, tracks are written and recorded individually and then merged online. This process allows for an open and adaptive songwriting approach.

The band’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed over the years, but they have retained a very strong fanbase. Their latest album, Whatever’s On Your Mind, is again another solid offering that has sold reasonably well.

Although the raw, youthful experimentation, blending British and American folk of their earlier albums has been replaced with a more straight ahead approach, it’s still a delight to hear Ben Ottewell’s croaky roar and the general upbeat nature of their music.

For this gig the band are asking fans to choose the set list, all you have to do is go to the Brighton Dome site and click on the link under Gomez gig.

Sunday 22 April, Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, 7pm, £20