Drummer Olly Peacock (center) with Gomez bandmates Paul Blackburn (left) and Ben Ottewell. Peacock is also a member of the supergroup Operation Aloha.
(Marty Butler)
G FORCE | GOMEZ'S OLLY PEACOCK
Branching out
Drummer Olly Peacock (center) with Gomez bandmates Paul Blackburn (left) and Ben Ottewell. Peacock is also a member of the supergroup Operation Aloha.
(Marty Butler)
British rockers Gomez finally follow up their US breakthrough, 2006's "How We Operate," with their sixth studio album, "A New Tide," and a date tonight at the House of Blues. The disc shares a rootsy warmth with "Operate," but also branches out in funkier, more adventurous directions. We chatted with drummer Olly Peacock from his Brooklyn home about the new album as well as Operation Aloha, the supergroup that he and two of his Gomez bandmates formed with, among others, members of Maroon 5 and Phantom Planet. Operation Aloha's debut was released last month.
Q. This was your longest break between releases. What took so long?
A. Blacky [bassist Paul Blackburn] and I were getting married, and the other three were having kids, so it made our planning a bit more precise in terms of when to get into the studio. We wanted to be in the studio for less time so we'd be in for three-week periods. So that was good and healthy. You don't get as much cabin fever, and you can be more focused.
Q. There are a lot of different flavors and styles on this record, from folk to psychedelia, sometimes in the space of one song. What inspired the more experimental sound?
A. The process began with us all being in Virginia on the porch, five dudes with five guitars. It all got very folky and a little bit Crosby, Stills, and Nash for a while, which is fun, but we had to stop that because we got a bit campfire. (Laughs) When we brought [producer] Brian Deck in, him being an adventurous person musically naturally brought out the more experimental nature of ourselves.
Q. Operation Aloha is a pretty eclectic group of guys. How did that come together?
A. [Music photographer] Chris Wray-McCann, who's a good friend of ours, had this idea to put all these guys he's gotten to know over the years in a room and let's see what happens. He designated Hawaii. So I thought, I'll go and get some sun for a couple weeks and that'll be great. I'll take a few drum machines and guitars and see what happens. Basically we spent our days on the beach, drinking, hanging out - and I was nearly drowning trying to surf - and then late in the evening we would be in these treehouses and we would make music. It was a great experience. It was all very accidental and good fun.
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